"TO REDEDICATE & STRENGTHEN"

At conference end, the NATO heads of state issued a Declaration of Principles and a communique. In both were words to which the people of the Atlantic community, and people everywhere, could rally. Excerpts:

The Declaration of Principles

We, the representatives of 15 nations of the North Atlantic Alliance, believing in the sanctity of those human rights which are guaranteed to all men of free nations by their constitutions, rededicate ourselves and our nations to the principles and purposes of the North Atlantic Treaty.

"This treaty . . . was founded to protect the right of our peoples to live in peace and freedom under governments of their own choice. It has succeeded in protecting this right. Building on our experience and confident in the success already obtained, we have agreed together upon means to give added strength to our alliance.

"We are always ready to settle international problems by negotiation, taking into account the legitimate interests of all ... We continue firmly to stand for comprehensive and controlled disarmament, which we believe can be reached by stages.

"We have agreed to cooperate closely to enable us to carry the necessary burden of defense without sacrificing the individual liberties or the welfare of our peoples. We shall reach this goal only by recognizing our interdependence and by combining our efforts and skills in order to make better use of our resources.

"Conscious of our intellectual and material resources, convinced of the value of our principles and of our way of life, without provocation, but equally without fear, we have taken decisions to promote greater unity, greater strength and greater security not only for our own nations but also, we believe, for the world at large."

The Communique

"Our alliance cannot be concerned only with the North Atlantic area or only with military defense. It must also organize its political and economic strength on the principle of interdependence, and must take account of developments outside its own area.

"At the Geneva conference of heads of government in July 1955, the Soviet leaders took a solemn commitment that 'the reunification of Germany by means of free elections shall be carried out in conformity with the national interests of the German people and the interests of European security.' We call upon the Soviet Government to honor this pledge.

"We confirm the support of our governments for the independence and sovereignty of the states of [the Middle East] and our interest in the economic well-being of their peoples. We express our interest in the maintenance of peace and the development of conditions of stability and economic and political well-being in the vitally important Continent of Africa . . . Historic, economic and other friendly ties between certain European countries and Africa would make such cooperation particularly desirable and effective."

The Working of the Alliance. "The strength of our alliance, freely concluded between independent nations, lies in our fundamental unity, in the face of the danger which threatens us. Thanks to this fundamental unity, we can overcome our difficulties and bring into harmony our individual points of view." The Secretary-General and the permanent representatives to NATO were instructed to insure effective consultation and, where necessary, to seek conciliation of policy disputes among members.

Disarmament. "The NATO Council will neglect no possibility of restricting armaments within the limits imposed by security . . . We state our willingness to promote, preferably within the framework of the United Nations, any negotiations with the Soviet Union likely to lead to implementation of disarmament proposals . . .

"Should the Soviet Government refuse to participate in the work of the new [U.N.] Disarmament Commission, we would welcome a meeting at foreign ministers' level to resolve the deadlock."

NATO Defense. "NATO has decided to establish stocks of nuclear warheads which will be readily available for the defense of the alliance in case of need. In view of the present Soviet policies in the field of new weapons, the Council has also decided to put intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the disposal of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The deployment of these stocks and missiles and arrangements for their use will be decided in conformity with NATO defense plans and in agreement with the states directly concerned.

"Only an intensified collective effort can safeguard our peoples and their liberties. We have, together, ample capacity in freedom to defend freedom."

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