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United Nations ... ," Secretary of
State Shultz continued . " We have
no choice but to respond in kind."
Result: yet more s tri fe and con–
tention.
After one sess ion, both Mr .
Oleandrov and Mr. Walters rode up
to thei r rooms in the Fairmont Hotel
in the same elevator. 1 happened by
c hance to ride with them. Even
though the two delegates chatted
amiably (in Russian-Mr. Walters
speaks eight languages ftuently), it
most certai nly was "small talk."
Being able to speak the same lan–
guage doesn't overcome deeply held
ideological positions.
1
n San Francisco, severa! dele–
ga tes from the smaller nat ions
expressed , to one degree or another,
the frustrations of being pressed
between the two superpowers on var–
ious political and economic matters.
Life for them at the U.N. may not be
easy; they have their own individual
concerns- and fears-too.
The issue of human rights is
especially sensi t ive to the many
count ries in the developi ng world.
While ldi Amín ruled Uganda, for
exampl e, he was generally pro–
tected from criticism in the U.N.
by other nations not wishing their
own records to be too closely scru–
tinized.
And now we bear reports of
almost unspeakable new atrocities
from that area. Will these, too, be
covered up?
So, while the superpowers are
roundly criticized, the principie of
Romans 3:23 holds true, that "all
have si nned and fall short of the
glory of God" (Revised Authorized
Version throughout).
Original Signers Speak Out
Overall, the United Nations, while
it may have contributed to lessen–
ing the possibility of an all-out glo–
bal war, has not been able to deal
with the
causes
of war and con–
ftict.
General Carlos P. Romulo, one
of the original signers of the Char–
ter, was invited to say a few words
preceding the main l un c heon
add ress on J une 26. He chose to
add ress this issue:
"We have yet to accept the chal–
lenge to deal witb tbe basic causes
of war," said this highly decorated
international diplomat. The peoples
4
of the world, he added , have been
unable to cross "the great bridge
from unfettered nat ional sovereign–
ty to a workable world order."
Still Iacking, General Romulo
said, is the means to bring "the rule
of Iaw to bear on nations them–
selves. Tbe absence of law by defi–
nition is anarchy."
While the U.N. has made con–
siderable progress in deal ing with
problems of health, hunger and
international development, efforts
in these areas cannot be effective,
Dr. Romulo said, " in the context of
world crisis and tensions."
The most urgent need now, con–
tinued Dr. Romulo, is for a world
organization capable of " defining
and enforcing acceptable standards
of human behavior [and] capable of
defining and enforci ng peace in the
common interest."
It
remained for another Char ter
signatory, Dr. Charles
H.
Malik of
Lebanon, to place the U.N. of 1945
and 1985 in the proper perspective.
The energetic Dr. Malik forceful–
ly told the collected U.N. represen–
tatives and conference attendees thar
"our world order is one of sovereign
nation states.... The United Na–
tions is not a world government and
can never become one."
Dr. Malik then rehearsed what he
had said on April 28, 1945, at the
original San Francisco Conference:
"When we Iook ahead to the years
of peace, we find that distressingly
little is being contemplated to be
done in this Conference in the realm
of the mind and spirit. For the most
part, we are dealing with means and
instruments and machinery and
mere framework and form, but cer–
tainly the fundamental thing is tbe
spirit that fills and justifies that
form....
"lt
is to the spiri t and mind of
man, to his ideas and his alt itudes,
that we must devote considerable
attention if the peace is going to be
truly won. Unless we secure the
right conditions for spiritual and
intellectual health and unless we
determine the right positive ideas for
which man should live,
1
am afraid
all our work in this Conference may
prove to have been in vain."
Dr. Malik expanded on bis words
of 40 years ago, in an interview with
members of the
Plain Truth
staff.
Asked whether his assessment of
the United Nations in 1945 was as
applicable today, he responded:
"Certainly. Every word there is
applicable.... That's tbe weakness
of the United Nations. It cannot
deal with fundamental issues of
huma n mind, and heart, a nd
thought, and intention, and will. "
Dr. Malik then drew upon tradi–
tions in his own culture to explain a
"missing ingredient" in under–
standing world problems.
"There's an old wisdom in the
Middle East with which we are fu l–
ly acquainted.... One of the basic
things that you fi nd everybody
believes in. Everybody without
exception in every village in Leba–
non , in every village in Egypt,
everyone....
"Now you ... [in the Western
world] have outgrown tbis old wis–
dom of the Middle East. ... We
believe that the devil is at work in
the midst of all these events. And
while the devi l is at work and has
not yet been completely conquered ,
vanquished, we will never have
peace. We will never have peace.
" You think the United Nations
is going to bring about peace so
long as the devil is around? We had
1,000 people today at lunch, more
than 1,000, maybe 1,500. 1 was sit–
ting down and thinking all the
time ... what is going on in the
minds of these people ... with all
their schemes, and ideas, and emo–
tions, and aspi rat ions, and plan–
nings, and all kinds of things. The
devil is at work."
True words! The contempora ry
Western Christian world almost
completely overlooks the real ity of
Satan, the great spirit being c learly
labeled in Scripture as the "adver–
sar y" of all mankind. He is the
"prince of the power of the air, the
spi rit who now works in the sons of
disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).
How many politicians and world
leaders today recognize this
reality
in wor ld affairs?
Firsthand Account
Anothcr individual was present in
San Francisco ciuring those forma–
tive days of the United Nations.
Herbert W. Armstrong, founder and
editor in chief of
The Plain Truth,
was in attendance then, as he was at
this year's review conference.
(Continued on page 39)
The
PLAIN TRUTH