"Today I come before you because our human commonwealth is once again in a state of anxiety and turmoil," said President Eisenhower in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Seldom has any state paper carried so many far-ranging yet specific new proposals for U.S. policy. Chief among them:
United Nations. "Only through the United Nations organization . . . can humanity make real and universal progress toward the goal of peace with justice." The U.S. stands "squarely and unequivocally in support of the United Nations and those acting under its mandate in the interest of peace," backs Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in his attempt to bring order in the Congo, and promises support against "a few nations which wish to prolong strife in the Congo for their own purposes."
Africa. "If the United Nations system is successfully subverted in Africa, the world will be on its way back to the traditional exercise of power politics." To help develop the "emerging African nations":
∙ All nations should pledge themselves not to interfere with internal affairs of new African nations by "subversion, force, propaganda or any other means"; in the Congo specifically, they should ban all arms shipments and refrain from inciting rival leaders or tribes to violence.
∙ U.N. military advisers should train and arm the internal security forces of new African nations, which should in turn depend on the U.N. "to organize an effective response if their security is threatened" rather than resort to arms races.
∙ U.N. members should pledge themselves to support Secretary-General Hammarskjold's proposed $100 million emergency program in the Congo.
∙ Through such agencies as the World Bank and the United Nations Special Fund, U.N. members should help finance the long-range industrial and economic development of the new Africa. "Many forms of aid will be needed, both public and private, on a bilateral and multilateral basis. For this assistance to be most effective it must be related to the basic problems and changing needs of the African countries themselves."
∙ To help train new leaders for "the incredibly complex and important responsibilities" of new nations, the U.N. should set up institutes for health and vocational education, organize a commission to allocate African students to universities abroad.
Force. The U.N. should establish a staff within the Secretariat to plan for future needs of U.N. forces. Member nations should earmark military forces for emergency contingents—"now, at this assembly." The U.S. in addition will promise to keep air and sea transport for such contingents on a standby basis.
Outer Space. "National vested interests have not yet been developed in space or in celestial bodies. Barriers to agreement are now lower than they will ever be again." Therefore, it is high time to agree to:
∙ No national sovereignty claims on celestial bodies.
∙ No warlike activities in outer space.
∙ No weapons of mass destruction in outer space, no launching of space rockets without prior verification by the U.N.