UN General Assembly
1955

117. In the first place, I should like to say that, when the alternative is put, whether it is advisable for certain matters to be discussed publicly here in the Assembly, or whether it would be preferable to try to settle them in a more discreet way through ordinary diplomacy, my delegation is decidedly in favour of the former course. For surely the aim of the United Nations is precisely to establish better understanding and closer relations between peoples, and one of the best ways of achieving this is to bring them together here, so that they can work in concert for the solution of problems which may affect their future and the maintenance of international peace and security. Senator Vandenberg put it in a nutshell when, in his now famous phrase, he called the United Nations “the town meeting of the world”. This idea would seem to imply a form of public diplomacy contrasting with the secret diplomacy which has been the rule hitherto.