UN General Assembly
1963

Mr. President, please accept on your own behalf, and also on behalf of the Vice-Presidents, the congratulations of the delegation of Sierra Leone for having been elected to preside over the eighteenth session of the General Assembly. 2. Our able Secretary-General has presented a report on the work of the United Nations for the past year [A/ 5501], for which we congratulate him and his staff. We are proud that we belong to an Organization which, despite the many problems which confront it, has nevertheless not deviated from the noble purpose for which it was founded, namely, the maintenance of lasting peace everywhere. The year has seen a significant easing of the tensions between East and West, particularly following the agreement to cease from nuclear tests on land, sea and in the atmosphere. By signing this agreement in the three capitals where it is open for signature, the Government of Sierra Leone has publicly expressed its gratification at this sign that the nuclear Powers have not turned a deaf ear to the pleas of mankind that the great advances of science may be used for peace and human development rather than for the destruction of humanity. We also regard this step towards an eventual complete banning of nuclear arms as a real achievement for the United Nations.