13011949 Text of the Speech made by Sir Benegal Rama Rau (India) in the Security Council Meeting No. 399 held on 13 January 1949

13011949 Text of the Speech made by Sir Benegal Rama Rau (India) in the Security Council Meeting No. 399 held on 13 January 1949

May I first, on behalf of my Government, express appreciation of the very generous references made to the efforts of my Government to reach a satisfactory compromise with regard to this very difficult problem. I should also like to associate myself with the tribute paid by the President to the members of the Commission for the success they have had in the first and most difficult step towards the establishment of peace between India and Pakistan. Everyone knows of the formidable difficulties with which they were faced, and this great achievement has revived the faith of many people in the utility and effectiveness of the Security Council and of the United Nations generally.

India has also demonstrated its faith in the United Nations by going very far to achieve this result. I am sure that this effort to reach agreement by peaceful methods will be an encouragement to all those who have attempted to reach satisfactory agreements in other spheres, in other parts of the world.

I should also like to take this opportunity, if I may, to thank the President personally for the part he has played in this matter. I do not wish to single out any particular member of the Security Council, but I should like to mention the great part played by the representative of China and his efforts to reach a satisfactory agreement. The consequences of all this are extremely important not only from the point of view of India and Pakistan, but also from the point of view of the whole of Asia because the future of Asia depends, to a large extent, on the friendly relations established between those two countries, and because, to some extent, those two countries are great stabilizing forces in Asia today. They inherited a well-ordered system of government from the British, and this administration has played a great part in maintaining law and order in the south of Asia.

I do not wish to make this an occasion for a lengthy speech. I shall only conclude by presenting my best wishes to the Commission for the further efforts they are likely to make at attempting to reach a satisfactory settlement of this very difficult and complicated problem. On behalf of my Government, I can give the assurance that it will not only cooperate to the utmost with the Commission itself towards a settlement in Kashmir, but also with the United Nations in securing peace everywhere, because it believes that this Organization offers the only hope for peace for future generations, on a secure basis.