Letter from President Harry S. Truman to the American Association for the United Nations

85.A HARRY S. NATIONAL TRUMAN LIBRARY ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE February 21, 1951 GOVERNMENT TO THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE UNITED NATIONS: I deeply regret that I cannot be present at the national conference to be held in Chicago on February twenty-fifth, twenty- sixth and twenty-seventh under the auspices of the American Associ- ation for the United Nations. I have frequently stated that the United Nations is the world's best hope for peace. The peoples or the world fervently desire peace and they look to the United Nations to help them ful- fill this desire. The United Nations, as even the Soviets should know, furnishes an important forum for the peaceful settlement of differences among nations. The United States continues to stand ready, as it has in the past, to explore every approach to the honorable conciliation of outstanding difficulties between it and any other nation. When, however, an aggressor strikes without provocation, the United Nations can act with determination to resist the attack. This has been made clear in Korea. It is to be hoped that the United Nations' action in Korea, in addition to other measures of self-defense taken by the free world, will restrain potential aggressors from other imperialistic ventures. The purpose of the United Nations is not only to develop collective action to secure and maintain the peace, but also to stir the world into action against the ancient enemies of people - hunger, misery, and despair. It is highly important when so much of our emphasis must be placed on the strengthening of free nations to prevent aggression that we not neglect to remove these fundamental causes of world unrest. And it is equally important that our attention be concentrated on another great purpose of the United Nations I promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The United Nations has made very real progress during its short life. Meetings such as the one you are planning can do much to develop a better understanding among the people of our Corres pondence filed PP72248