An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 17 Unless the League can inspire confidence it clearly cannot stand. Subscribing to what has been proved to be a delusion is not the way to secure confidence. If confidence is to be restored to the masses it can only be by rigidly restricting commitments to those we know can be loyally carried out and which the average man can believe will be carried out. By all means let us keep before us the ultimate ideal, which we desire to reach, and work as far and as fast towards it as we can, but let us contract only for that which we can in the time of test certainly perform. Let us face the fact that economic and financial sanctions can be made effective only if we are prepared to back them up by military measures. Let us face the fact that every nation may, when the test comes, have many good reasons for shirking the terrible responsibility of entering upon a war. Let us face the fact that not one of the fifty nations represented here is prepared to face war to preserve the principles of the League in the present dispute. For the sake of a nation in Africa, apparently no one is ready to risk now a war that would be transferred to Europe. That is the position today, and does anyone doubt that some similar position can occur tomorrow. Europe is obviously the danger point. If we want to be realists we will concentrate upon Europe without delay, and once our common commitments under the League are explicitly defined (and clearly these commitments do not include and cannot at this time be amended to include an obligation to go to war to maintain the principles of the League) let us, if we are think- ing only of the future, set about the urgent task of preserving peace in Europe and leave aside for the moment such questions as how the Covenant should be altered to make it as a world organisation, effective and universal. The peace of Europe depends, as everybody knows, on the will of the great Powers. If the great Powers of Europe would only meet now in that Peace conference which will have to be held after Europe has once more been drenched in blood; if they would be prepared to make now in advance only a tithe of the sacrifice each of them will have to make should the war be begun, the terrible menace which threatens us all today could be warded off. The problems that distract Europe should not be left to the soldiers to decide. They should be tackled now by the statesmen. If these problems cannot be settled by conciliation, let them be submitted to arbitration. I will be told that there are difficulties. Of course there are difficulties. There are difficulties in every direction that lies open to us, but in which direction are there the least difficulties. Are there more difficulties along the way of peaceful adjustment by conciliation or arbitration than along its alternative way of a modern war? It has always been urged that if there had been a League of Nations in 1914 - if there had been a Council or an Assembly - where the problems and the dangers that then threatened could be discussed, the Great War could not have happened. It was argued that in the absence of a League the military machines were set in motion before the statesmen could get together. The statesmen can now get together, but what are they doing? Millions are being squandered on armaments, but are the root causes of the trouble being sought out and effective steps taken to remove them? If the major problems of Europe can be settled, all can be settled. If the problems of Europe are not settled, it is vain to talk in the wider terms of a world League. The French prime minister has spoken of disarmament. If Europe can be persuaded to settle its present problems peace- fully, the policy of a rapid reduction of armaments will for the first time get a chance, and the wealth that is being wasted in preparing instruments of destruction can be made available for improving the conditions of life of many millions of people. Despite our judicial equality here, in matters such as European peace, the small states are powerless. As I have already said, peace is dependent upon the will of the great states. All the small states can do, if the statesmen of the greater states fail in their duty, is resolutely to determine that they will not become the tools of any great Power and that they will resist with what- ever strength they may possess every attempt to force them into a war against their will. In September 1938 de Valera had the distinction of being giv- en the highest office within the organisation, that of president of the General Assembly. This period in the League's history was very trying, especially with the withdrawal of Germany, Japan and Italy from the organisation. Shortly after de Valera took up his new position, the Munich Agreement was signed and de Valera praised Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain for their efforts to keep the peace in Europe. Unfortunately, within a year of the signing of the agreement in Munich, World War II erupted and the world was once again plunged into warfare. This was the death knell for the League of Nations. By 1946, the League of Nations was seen as no longer fit for purpose and was officially dissolved with the establishment of the United Nations. While the United Nations was modelled on the former organisation, it had increased international sup- port and a structure that would ensure its power and recogni- tion in an international arena. On 1st January 1942, representatives of 26 Allied nations fighting against the Axis Powers met in Washington, D.C. to pledge their support for the Atlantic Charter by signing the 'Declaration by United Nations'. This document contained the first official use of the term 'United Nations', which was suggested by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (seated, second from left). Photo #31319 UN Photo

• Cover