Sir Leslie Munro Speaks On Geneva Prospects

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27699, 1 July 1955, Page 3

Sir Leslie Munro Speaks On Geneva Prospects

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

LOS ANGELES, June 29. Sir Leslie Munro, the New Zealand delegate to the United Nations, today j asked that the Big Four Powers accept i the responsibility of strength and act I with respect for the equal rights of all I nations. His suggestion, made as arrangements were being completed for the Big Four conference at Geneva, was contained in an address at a meeting of the American Association of University Women in Los Angeles. “For the smaller nations, aligned though they may be with one group or another/’ he said, “it has seemed increasingly dangerous to rely for security on the checks and balances of Great Power relationships.” Sir Leslie Munro referred to the disarmament proposals outlined at the tenth anniversary meeting by Mr Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, and the general prospects for disarmament and control of nuclear weapons. “It is too early to say whether the recent discussions among the Great Powers have brought success within I reach.” he said. “They do. however, •reflect a renewed determination to i spare no effort in the search for a fair I and workable disarmament pro- ' gramme.” ■ He was unable to give a final answer

to the question of whether the work of the United Nations for world peace was fully effective, but he added: “Efficient though it may not always have been, it has become indispensable.” “Chance for Smaller Nations’S The United Nations had provided an opportunity for the smaller nations to develop an influence which had reduced the authority of the Great Powers through the use of the United Nations. “The Great Powers have been obliged to sit around the council table together, and always with certain of the smaller Powers,” he said, “and in the full light of world publicity, to announce, explain, and justify their attitude to questions of international peace and security.” Referring to the problem of nationalist aspirations by the colonies, Sir Leslie Munro cited the history of the development of the British Commonwealth of Nations as proof that colonial Powers should not always be suspected of selfish motives. He regretted a developing tendency to regard the United Nations as a medium for applying pressure on members administering dependent territories. The nationalistic aspiration of such territories would would not be helped by ill-considered criticism in the United Nations.