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17:52
President Kennedy's Final Address to the United Nations General Assembly
C-SPAN
·
May 12, 2026
Open on YouTube
Transcript
0:04
Mr
0:07
President as one who has taken some
0:09
interest in the election of presidents I
0:12
want to congratulate you on your
0:13
election to this High
0:15
office Mr Secretary
0:18
General delegates to the United Nations
0:21
ladies and gentlemen we meet again in
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0:25
the Quest for
0:26
Peace 24 months ago when I last had the
0:30
honor of addressing this body the shadow
0:33
of fear laid Darkly across the
0:36
world the freedom of West
0:39
Berlin Wars in immediate
0:42
Peril agreement on a neutral Laos seemed
0:46
remote the Mandate of the United Nations
0:48
in the Congo was Under
0:51
Fire hold back the
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0:54
darkness today the clouds have lifted a
0:57
little so that new Rays of Hope can
1:00
break through the pressures on West
1:03
Berlin appear to be temporarily
1:06
eased political unity in the Congo has
1:10
been largely
1:11
restored a neutral Coalition in Laos
1:15
while still in difficulty is at least in
1:18
being the Integrity of the United
1:21
Nations
1:22
Secretariat has been
1:24
reaffirmed a United Nation's decade of
1:27
development is underway
1:30
and for the first time in 17 years of
1:32
effort a specific step has been taken to
1:36
limit the nuclear arms
1:38
race I refer of course to the treaty to
1:42
ban nuclear tests in the atmosphere out
1:46
of space and
1:48
underwater concluded by the Soviet Union
1:51
the United Kingdom and the United States
1:55
and already signed by nearly 100
1:58
countries it has been hailed by people
2:01
the world over who are thankful to be
2:04
free from the fears of nuclear
2:07
fallout and I am confident that on next
2:10
Tuesday at 10:30 o00 in the morning it
2:14
will receive the overwhelming
2:17
endorsement of the Senate of the United
2:20
States the world has not escaped from
2:23
the darkness The Long Shadows of
2:26
conflict and crisis envelop us still but
2:29
we meet today in an atmosphere of rising
2:33
hope and at a moment of comparative
2:37
calm my presence here today is not a
2:41
sign of Crisis but of
2:44
confidence I am not here to report on a
2:47
new threat to the peace or new signs of
2:51
War I have come to salute the United
2:54
Nations and to show the support of the
2:56
American people for your daily
2:59
deliberations
3:01
for the value of this body's
3:03
we the reduction of global tension must
3:07
not be an excuse for the narrow pursuit
3:10
of
3:11
self-interest if the Soviet Union and
3:14
the United States with all of their
3:17
Global interests and clashing
3:20
commitments of
3:21
ideology and with nuclear weapons still
3:25
aimed at each other today can find areas
3:28
of common interest and agreement then
3:31
surely other nations can do the
3:33
same Nations caught in Regional
3:36
conflicts in racial issues or in the
3:39
death throws of old
3:41
colonialism chronic
3:43
disputes which divert precious resources
3:46
from the needs of the people or drain
3:49
the energies of both sides serve the
3:52
interests of no one and the badge of
3:56
responsibility in the modern world you
3:59
is a willingness to seek peaceful
4:02
Solutions it is never too early to try
4:05
and it's never too late to talk and
4:09
United States as a major nuclear power
4:13
does have a special responsibility to
4:15
the world it is in fact a three-fold
4:19
responsibility a responsibility to our
4:22
own
4:23
citizens a responsibility to the people
4:25
of the whole world who are affected by
4:28
our decisions
4:30
and to the next generation of
4:32
humanity we believe the Soviet Union
4:36
also has these special
4:38
responsibilities and that those
4:41
responsibilities require our two Nations
4:44
to concentrate Less on our differences
4:47
and more on the means of resolving them
4:50
peacefully for too long both of us have
4:54
increased our military budgets our
4:56
nuclear
4:58
stockpiles and our cap capacity to
5:00
destroy all life on this
5:03
hemisphere human animal
5:07
vegetable without any corresponding
5:09
increase in our
5:11
security our conflicts to be sure are
5:14
real our concepts of the world are
5:18
different no service is performed by
5:21
failing to make clear our
5:23
disagreements a central difference is
5:26
the belief of the American people in
5:29
self-determination for all
5:31
people we believe that the people of
5:34
Germany and
5:35
Berlin must be free to reunite their
5:38
capital and their country we believe
5:41
that the people of Cuba must be free to
5:45
secure the fruits of the
5:47
Revolution that have been betrayed from
5:49
within and exploited from
5:52
without protection of freedom and our
5:55
determination to safeguard that freedom
5:58
will measure up to to any threat or
6:02
challenge but I would say to the leaders
6:04
of the Soviet Union and to their people
6:08
that if either of our countries is to be
6:10
fully secure we need a much better
6:13
weapon than the hbomb a weapon better
6:16
than ballistic missiles or nuclear
6:19
submarines and that better weapon is
6:22
peaceful
6:24
cooperation we have in recent years
6:27
agreed on a limited test B treaty on an
6:31
emergency communications link between
6:33
our capitals on a statement of
6:36
principles for disarmament on an
6:39
increase in cultural exchange on
6:42
cooperation in outer space on the
6:44
peaceful exporation of the
6:47
antarcticspring last year's crisis over
6:51
Cuba I believe therefore that the Soviet
6:54
Union and the United States together
6:57
with their allies can achieve further
7:01
agreements agreements which spring from
7:03
our mutual interest in avoiding Mutual
7:07
destruction there can be no doubt about
7:09
the agenda of further steps we must
7:12
continue to seek
7:13
agreements on measures which prevent War
7:16
by accident or
7:19
miscalculation we must continue to seek
7:21
agreement on safeguards against surprise
7:24
attack including observation posts at
7:28
key points we must continue to seek
7:31
agreement on further measures to curve
7:33
the nuclear arms race by controlling the
7:37
transfer of nuclear weapons converting
7:40
fishable materials to Peaceful purposes
7:44
and banning underground testing with
7:46
adequate inspection and
7:48
enforcement we must continue to seek
7:51
agreement on a freeer flow of
7:53
information and people from east to west
7:57
and west to east we must continue to
8:00
seek
8:01
agreement encouraged by yesterday's
8:03
affirmative response to this proposal by
8:06
the Soviet foreign minister on an
8:09
arrangement to keep weapons of mass
8:11
destruction out of outer space let us
8:15
get our negotiators back to the
8:16
negotiating table to work out a
8:19
practicable arrangement to this
8:22
end
8:24
purposes finally in a field where the
8:26
United States and the Soviet Union
8:30
have a special capacity in the field of
8:33
space there is room for new
8:36
cooperation for further joint efforts in
8:39
the regulation and exploration of
8:42
space I include among these
8:45
possibilities a joint expedition to the
8:48
Moon space offers no problems of
8:51
sovereignty by resolution of this
8:54
assembly the members of the United
8:56
Nations have for sworn any claim
9:00
the territorial rights in outer space
9:03
are on celestial bodies and declared
9:06
that inational law and the United
9:09
Nations Charter will
9:11
apply why therefore should Man's first
9:14
flight to the moon be a matter of
9:17
national
9:18
competition why should the United States
9:20
and the Soviet Union in preparing for
9:24
such
9:25
Expeditions become involved in immense
9:27
duplications of research construction
9:30
and
9:31
expenditure surely we should
9:33
explore whether the scientists and
9:36
astronauts of our two
9:38
countries and that freedom is more
9:40
enduring than
9:41
coercion and in the contest for a better
9:45
life all the world can be a
9:48
winner the effort to improve the
9:50
conditions of man however is not a task
9:53
for the few it is the task of all
9:57
Nations acting alone acting in groups
10:01
acting in the United Nations for plague
10:04
and pestilence and plunder and
10:06
pollution the hazards of Nature and the
10:10
hunger of children are the foes of every
10:15
nation as man had such capacity to
10:18
control his own
10:20
environment to end thirst and hunger to
10:23
conquer poverty and disease to banish
10:27
illiteracy and massive human
10:30
Misery we have the power to make this
10:33
the best generation of mankind in the
10:36
history of the world or to make it the
10:40
last unit the provision of development
10:44
assistance by individual Nations must go
10:48
on but the United Nations also must play
10:51
a larger role in helping bring to all
10:54
men the fruits of modern science and
10:57
industry
10:59
a United Nations conference on this
11:01
subject held earlier this year at Geneva
11:05
opened new Vistas for the developing
11:08
countries next year a United Nations
11:11
conference on trade will consider the
11:13
needs of these nations for new markets
11:17
and more than four fifths of the entire
11:20
United Nations system can be found today
11:24
mobilizing the weapons of science and
11:26
technology for the United Nations decade
11:29
of development but more can be done a
11:34
World Center for Health Communications
11:37
under the World Health
11:38
Organization could warn of epidemics and
11:41
the adverse effects of certain drugs as
11:44
well as transmit the results of new
11:46
experiments and new discoveries Regional
11:50
research centers could Advance our
11:52
common medical knowledge and train new
11:55
scientists and doctors for new nations a
11:58
global system of satellites could
12:01
provide communication and weather
12:03
information for all corners of the earth
12:06
a worldwide program of conservation
12:09
could protect the forest and Wild game
12:12
preserves now in danger of extinction
12:15
for all time improve the Marine Harvest
12:18
of food from our oceans and prevent the
12:21
contamination of air and water by
12:24
industrial as well as nuclear
12:27
pollution and finally a world worldwide
12:29
program of farm productivity and food
12:33
distribution similar to our country's
12:35
food for peace program could now give
12:39
every child the food he needs new
12:43
efforts are needed if this assembly's
12:45
Declaration of Human Rights now 15 years
12:48
old is to have full meaning and new
12:52
means should be found for promoting the
12:54
free expression and trade of ideas who
12:58
travel and communication and through
13:01
increased exchanges of people and books
13:04
and
13:05
broadcasts for as the world renounces
13:07
the competition of weapons competition
13:10
in ideas must flourish and that
13:13
competition must be as full and as Fair
13:16
as possible the United States delegation
13:20
will be prepared to suggest to the
13:21
United Nations initiatives in the
13:24
pursuit of all these goals for this is
13:27
an organization for peace
13:29
and peace cannot come without work and
13:33
without
13:34
progress the peacekeeping record of the
13:36
United Nations has been a proud one
13:39
though its tasks are always formidable
13:43
we are fortunate to have the skills of
13:46
our distinguished Secretary General and
13:48
the brave efforts of those who have been
13:51
serving the cause of Peace in the Congo
13:54
in the Middle East in Korea and cashmir
13:58
in West Guinea and
14:00
Malaysia but what the United Nations has
14:02
done in the past is less important than
14:06
the tasks for the future we cannot take
14:09
its peacekeeping machinery for granted
14:12
that Machinery must be soundly financed
14:15
which it cannot be if some members are
14:18
allowed to prevent it from meeting its
14:21
obligations by failing to meet their
14:24
own the United Nations must be supported
14:27
by all those who exercise their
14:30
franchise here and its operations must
14:33
be back to the
14:34
end to often a
14:37
project I also hope that the recent
14:40
initiative of several members in
14:42
preparing standby peace forces for
14:45
United Nations call will encourage
14:47
similar commitments by others this
14:50
nation remains ready to provide logistic
14:54
and other material
14:56
support policing moreover is not enough
14:59
without provision for Pacific settlement
15:02
we should increase the resort to special
15:04
missions of fact finding and
15:07
conciliation make greater use of the
15:09
international court of justice and
15:11
accelerate the work of the international
15:14
law
15:15
commission the United Nations cannot
15:17
survive as a static
15:20
organization its obligations are
15:22
increasing as well as its size its
15:25
Charter must be
15:27
changed as well as its Customs the
15:30
authors of that Charter did not intend
15:32
that it be frozen in
15:34
perpetuity the science of weapons and
15:37
War has made us all far more than 18
15:41
years ago in San Francisco one world and
15:45
one human race with one common Destiny
15:49
in such a world absolute sovereignty no
15:53
longer assures us of absolute security
15:57
the conventions of peace must pull a
15:59
breast and then ahead of the inventions
16:02
of war the United Nations building on
16:06
its successes and learning from its
16:10
failures must be developed into a
16:12
genuine World security
16:15
system but peace does not
16:18
rest two years ago I told this body that
16:23
the United States had proposed and was
16:26
willing to sign a limited test B B
16:29
treaty today that treaty has been
16:32
signed it will not put an end to war it
16:36
will not remove basic conflicts it will
16:39
not secure freedom for all but it can be
16:42
a
16:43
lever and aredes in explaining the
16:46
principles of the lever were said to
16:49
have declared to his
16:50
friends give me a place where I can
16:53
stand and I shall move the
16:56
world my fellow inhabitants
16:59
of this planet let us take our stand
17:03
here in this assembly of
17:05
Nations and let us see that if we in our
17:09
own time can move the world to a just
17:13
and Lasting peace
17:17
[Applause]
— end of transcript —
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