INAUGURATING THE 15TH PUGWASH CONFERENCE
We and the Ethiopian people are honoured to welcome
to our country this most distinguished gathering of eminent
scholars and scientists. The occasion is of especial signific-
ance to Us since We respect and earnestly seek to support in
all Our actions the very principles which have brought you
together here from diverse nations and political creeds
vigorously and openly to discuss with one another some of
the major problems of our time. We are pleased, indeed,
that the University and the Foundation which bear Our
name, have been able in some measure to further the noble
work and ideals of the great men whose efforts led to the
creation of this extraordinary series of Conferences on
Science and World Affairs. We must acknowledge once
more Our sincere admiration for Lord Bertrand Russell,
whose indomitable courage and profound moral and scientific
teachings have left an indelible mark on the history of
our times, and whose spirit infuses and enlivens the discus-
sions which take place under the aegis of these Conferences.
It was, of course, inevitable that Pugwash should one
day come to Africa; nor could a more appropriate location
have been found for the first of these Conferences ever to
be held on African soil. For it was in this very room that
the unity of Africa first took form and substance less than
three years ago with the establishment of the Organization of
African Unity. The location is appropriate, not merely because
this room and building are in some ways symbolic of
the common hopes and aspirations of all the free peoples of
this continent, but also because the fundamental principles
which Africans have espoused in so joining together appear
to Us to be closely linked with those which underlie the
Pugwash Conferences.
These Conferences arose out of the belief that there
were certain problems facing the world today; problems of
such vital importance to mankind that there was great need
to discuss them freely without reference to conflicting moral
or political ideologies; problems indeed of such magnitude,
such universal importance, that common ground of agree-
ment must and could be found and common proposals for
their solution could arise through the process of objective
observation and analysis in which scientists are trained.
Free Communication Needed
Africans, too, have recognized the imperative that there
must be, for the sake of their common welfare, some means
for the free communication and exchange of ideas in an at-
mosphere untainted by extraneous political considerations.
We may not consciously have sought the “scientific” way to
deal with Our problems, but we have recognized and continue
to maintain Our belief in the necessity for an objective approach
to the difficulties which we share.
In these hours of crisis and tension across the world, no
nation, however willing, can hold itself apart from the
encroachment of political and nationalistic forces. Nonetheless,
it remains clear beyond doubt that the interests and
concerns shared by the developing nations cover a vast
expanse demanding exploration, but as yet scarcely known
to exist.
Thus, the subject matter of this, the fifteenth of the
Pugwash Conferences, is vital, timely and potentially of far-
reaching importance. The developing world now includes
the greater part of the human race; thence it is essential
that the hopes, the aspirations, and the necessities of its
peoples be carefully evaluated and understood.
Progress in this world had been possible only through
the consistent application of knowledge which was amassed
by you scientists and your predecessors during the past
centuries. One need look no farther than the wonders of
Axum and Lallibela to realize that this continent in which
you are now assembled did, at one time, share the benefits
of science and technology.
However, all of you here, trained, and excellent, in the
application of your minds to the true understanding and
betterment of the world, are now confronted with what has
been termed the “revolution of rising expectations.” Ultimately,
this is a revolution which can be peacefully accomplished
only through an unselfish cooperation among nations.
Yet we cannot postpone the needs, the hopes, the aspirations
of our peoples indefinitely.
Little Spent For Development
To be sure, there exists throughout the world a sense
that something must be done, and, as well, a belief that all
that should be done is being done. But in terms of the
enormous resources squandered in wars or in the amassing
of weapons of destruction or even devoted to the enthralling
conquest of space, the amount which has been allotted to
bettering the existence of the individual in the developing
world is little indeed.
Poverty, fear, ignorance, disease are not problems van-
quished in the wake of scientific progress; they are the pro-
blems with which we struggle from day to day.
All these problems will surely not be solved by the present
Conference. But, it is Our earnest conviction that, at
the very least, the forthright exchange of ideas and impress-
sions concerning them will occur here.
In a world made strong and prosperous through the
force of man’s intellect, it is a further challenge to that
intellect that science be charged to solve the unique problems
of development; for all mankind must share in the better
life which progress has made possible.
It is this challenge which must triumph over the evils
that plague our peoples; which must temper and reduce the
racial, political and religious differences among them; which
must bring to them the peace required for the better world
which you seek to create.
It is this challenge which must be the impetus and the
inspiration of your deliberations here.
Dec. 29, 1965.
Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie - page 105 –
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