The Rotary Balita no. 784 (November 10, 1955)

By ALECO ADAMSON Chairman, International Service Committee Excellencies, Honored Guests, Rotary Anns, Fellow Rotarians, Ladies and Gentlemen: Manila Rotary extends to you a most hearty welcome and felicitations in celebrating United Nations World Fellowship. Ten years ago, at San Francisco, California, the United Nations was born whose lofty ideals and purposes were to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations based on the equal rights and self-determination of peoples and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen peace, to achieve cooperation and solve international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems, promote and encourage respect for human rights as well as the fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of race, language, or religion. In such a short space of time, the United nations has wrought miraculous changes in the lives of millions of people. The United Nations was founded right after the end of World War II, where millions of people died in the struggle, homeless, hungry victims of war's devastation and starvation even when peace was declared. People everywhere yearned for lasting peace. The people who lived under the yoke of oppression were also demanding justice and freedom. All these were borne and on that day of June, 1945, fifty nations gathered in San Francisco, U.S.A. and made their purpose cla as expressed in the United Nations Charter: "We the people of the United Nations, det mined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war... to reaffirm faith in funds mental human rights... to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom... have resolved to combine our efforts secure these aims." Today, these sixty nations represent more the 1,800,000,000 men and women who comprise the United Nations and with additional 35 countries wh although they are not yet members participate in the work of related United Nations agencies. The United Nations aims to settle international disputes to prevent war or aggression. All the member nations bring their problems and troubles to this organization. The United Nations bas solved many of these problems, first in Greece, when the Security Council condemned the aid given Communist guerrillas so that the Greek Government eventually succeeded in restoring peace to its people. In Korea, for the first time in the history of out world, collective action by an international organization succeeded in stopping aggression or what might have been World War III. Aside from this, the United Nations takes active part in Children's Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization; the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the World Health Organization; the Technical Assistance Administration; the World Bank; the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and so many other less-known but hard-working organizations. The sharing of knowledge for the first ten years in the United Nations existence has certainly been an inspiring one, and of course there is no limit to the achievements that the United Nations will endeavor to accomplish in the future. If I am not mistaken, by 1953, 22,000,000 children have been saved from tuberculosis; 3,000,000 have been cured of the disfiguring disease of yaws; 12,000,000 protected from malaria. However, I must caution here that great social or economic problems can seldom be accomplished with quick results or solutions, but the start has been made and I am sure the completion will be successful with the lofty ideals of the United Nations. The General Assembly which is the main organ of the United Nations for deliberating man's problems meets usually once a year. The Security Coun Icil which is composed of 5 permanent members and 6 elected by the General Assembly is the organ which member-states look to for the primary responsibility in maintaining peace and security. The economic and Social Council makes studies, reports, and recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matdoms for all. The Trusteeship Council and Non- Self-Governing Territories and finally the Secretariat whose duties and responsibilities are exclusively on an international basis and no matter what nationality, its staff member is an international servant who serves not only his country but the world at large. Thank you.