[ 1946-47 ] part 1 chapter 2 the general assemblycdn.un.org/.../1946-47yun/1946-47_p1_sec2.pdf · 1...

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Part One:

II. The General Assembly

A. THE CHARTER AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1

The General Assembly is the first of the sixprincipal organs of the United Nations and isthe only principal organ which consists of allof the Members of the United Nations.

The General Assembly has been character-ized as the "town-meeting of the world" andis said to represent "the open conscience ofhumanity." It is essentially a deliberative,overseeing, reviewing and criticizing organ.

In broad terms, the Charter states that theGeneral Assembly may discuss any questionsor any matters within the scope of the Charteror relating to the powers and functions of anyorgans of the United Nations, and it maymake recommendations to the Members of theUnited Nations or to the Security Council, orto both, on any such questions or matters, ex-cept disputes or situations that are beingdealt with by the Security Council.

The functions and powers of the GeneralAssembly fall into three main categories:maintenance of international peace and secur-ity, promotion of international economic andsocial co-operation and operation of the Inter-national Trusteeship System.

Although the Security Council is entrustedwith the primary responsibility for the main-tenance of international peace and security,including the formulation of plans for theestablishment of a system for the regulationof armaments, the General Assembly mayconsider the general principles of co-operationin the maintenance of international peace andsecurity, including the principles governingdisarmament and the regulation of armaments,and may make recommendations with regardto such principles to the Members of the UnitedNations or to the Security Council, or to both.

The General Assembly may discuss any ques-tions relating to the maintenance of inter-national peace and security brought beforeit by any Member of the United Nations, orby the Security Council, or by a State whichis not a Member of the United Nations if that

State accepts in advance the obligations ofpacific settlement provided in the Charter, andmay make recommendations to the State orStates concerned or to the Security Councilon such questions unless they are already be-ing dealt with by the Security Council. Anysuch question on which action is necessary isto be referred to the Security Council by theGeneral Assembly either before or after dis-cussion.

The General Assembly may recommendmeasures for the peaceful adjustment of anysituation, regardless of origin, which it deemslikely to impair the general welfare or friendlyrelations among nations, including situationsresulting from violations of the Principles andPurposes of the United Nations, provided suchsituations are not being dealt with by theSecurity Council.

The General Assembly may call the attentionof the Security Council to situations which arelikely to endanger international peace andsecurity.

While the Security Council is exercising itsfunctions in respect of any dispute or situation,the General Assembly is not to make anyrecommendation with regard to that disputeor situation unless the Security Council sorequests.

The Secretary-General, with the consent ofthe Security Council, is to notify the GeneralAssembly at each session of any mattersrelative to the maintenance of internationalpeace and security which are being dealt withby the Security Council and is similarly tonotify the General Assembly, or the Membersof the United Nations if the General Assembly

1 This section is a summary of the Charter pro-

visions with respect to the General Assembly.Chapter VI, Articles 9-22, of the Charter is de-voted to the General Assembly. Other provisionsare to be found in Articles 1-2, 4-7, 23-24, 35,60-60, 66, 85-88, 93, 96, 97-98, 101, 104-05, 108-09of the Charter, and Articles 4, 7-12, 32-33, 69 ofthe Statute of the International Court of Justice.

52 Yearbook of the United Nations

is not in session, immediately the SecurityCouncil ceases to deal with such matters.

The Security Council is to submit annualand, when necessary, special reports to theGeneral Assembly, and the General Assemblyis to receive and consider them; these reportsare to include an account of the measures thatthe Security Council has decided upon or takento maintain international peace and security.The General Assembly is to receive and con-sider reports from the other organs of theUnited Nations.

The General Assembly is to initiate studiesand make recommendations for the purpose of:

(a) promoting international co-operationin the political field and encouraging the pro-gressive development of international law andits codification;

(b) promoting international co-operation inthe economic, social, cultural, educational andhealth fields, and assisting in the realizationof human rights and fundamental freedomsfor all without distinction as to race, sex,language or religion.

The functions and powers of the UnitedNations with respect to international economicand social co-operation are vested in the Gen-eral Assembly and, under the authority of theGeneral Assembly, in the Economic and SocialCouncil. Subject to the authority of the Gen-eral Assembly, the Economic and Social Coun-cil may make studies and recommendationswith respect to international economic, social,cultural, educational, health and relatedmatters; make recommendations for the pur-pose of promoting respect for, and observanceof, human rights and fundamental freedomsfor all; and may prepare draft conventionsand call international conferences on mattersfalling within its competence. Subject to theapproval of the General Assembly, the Econo-mic and Social Council may enter intoagreements with specialized agencies andmay co-ordinate the policies and activitiesof specialized agencies.

The functions and powers of the UnitedNations with regard to Non-Self-Governingterritories not designated as strategic thatare placed under the International Trustee-ship System, including the terms of Trustee-ship Agreements and of their alteration oramendment, are exercised by the GeneralAssembly; the Trusteeship Council, operatingunder the authority of the General Assembly,

assists the General Assembly in carrying outthese functions.

In addition to the functions and powers inthese three main categories—maintenance ofinternational peace and security, promotion ofinternational economic and social co-operationand operation of the International TrusteeshipSystem—the General Assembly exercises anumber of organizational, administrative andbudgetary functions and powers.

The General Assembly elects the non-per-manent members of the Security Council, themembers of the Economic and Social Coun-cil, and such members of the TrusteeshipCouncil as may be necessary to ensure thatthe total number of members of the Trustee-ship Council is equally divided between thoseMembers of the United Nations which admin-ister Trust Territories and those which do not.The General Assembly and the Security Coun-cil, voting independently, elect the membersof the International Court of Justice.

Upon the recommendation of the SecurityCouncil, the General Assembly appoints theSecretary-General of the United Nations.The Secretary-General acts in that capacityin all meetings of the General Assembly, andmakes an annual report to the General Assem-bly on the work of the organization. Heappoints the staff of the Secretariat in accord-ance with regulations established by the Gen-eral Assembly.

The General Assembly considers and ap-proves the budget of the United Nations. Theexpenses of the United Nations are to be borneby the Members as apportioned by the Gen-eral Assembly. The General Assembly con-siders and approves any financial and bud-getary arrangements with specialized agenciesand examines the administrative budgets ofsuch agencies with a view to making recom-mendations.

Upon the recommendations of the SecurityCouncil, the General Assembly may admitany State to membership in the United Na-tions; suspend the exercise of the rights andprivileges of membership by any Memberagainst which preventive or enforcement ac-tion has been taken by the Security Council;and expel from the United Nations any Mem-ber which has persistently violated the Prin-ciples of the Charter.

The General Assembly, upon the recom-mendation of the Security Council, is to deter-mine the conditions on which a State which

The General Assembly 53

is not a member of the United Nations maybecome a party of the Statute of the Interna-tional Court of Justice. The General Assemblymay request the International Court of Jus-tice to give an advisory opinion on any legalquestion, and it may authorize the Economicand Social Council, the Trusteeship Counciland the Secretariat, as well as the specializedagencies, to request advisory opinions of theCourt on legal questions arising within thescope of their activities.

The General Assembly may make recom-mendations concerning, or propose conven-tions on the privileges and immunities of theUnited Nations, of representatives of Mem-bars of the United Nations and officials of theUnited Nations, to the Member Governmentsof the United Nations.

Any amendment to or alteration of theCharter will come into force when it is adoptedrespectively by a two-thirds vote of the Gen-eral Assembly or of the General Conferenceand ratified by two thirds of the Members ofthe United Nations, including all the perma-nent members of the Security Council.

The voting and procedure of the GeneralAssembly are defined as follows:

Each Member of the United Nations maysend not more than five representatives tothe General Assembly, but each Member hasonly one vote.

Decisions of the General Assembly on im-portant questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members present andvoting. These questions shall include: recom-mendations with respect to the maintenance ofinternational peace and security; the election

of the non-permanent members of the Secur-ity Council, the election of the members ofthe Economic and Social Council; the electionof members of the Trusteeship Council; theadmission of new Members to the United Na-tions; the suspension of the rights and privi-leges of membership, the expulsion of Mem-bers; questions relating to the operation ofthe trusteeship system; and budgetary ques-tions. Decisions on other questions, includingthe determination of additional categories ofquestions to be decided by a two-thirds major-ity, are to be made by a majority of theMembers present and voting.

A Member of the United Nations which isin arrears in the payment of its financial con-tributions to the organization is to have novote in the General Assembly if the amountof its arrears equals or exceeds the amountof the contributions due from it for the pre-ceding two full years. The General Assem-bly may, nevertheless, permit such a Memberto vote if it is satisfied that the failure topay is due to conditions beyond the controlof the Member.

The General Assembly meets in regular an-nual sessions and in such special sessions asoccasion may require. Special sessions maybe convoked by the Secretary-General at therequest of the Security Council or of a major-ity of the Members of the United Nations.

The General Assembly adopts its own rulesof procedure, and it elects its President foreach session.

The General Assembly may establish suchsubsidiary organs as it deems necessary forthe performance of its functions.

B. STRUCTURE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The General Assembly consists of all ofthe Members of the United Nations.

At each annual session the General Assem-bly elects a President and seven Vice-Presi-dents, who hold office until the close of thesession at which they are elected. If the Presi-dent finds it necessary to be absent during ameeting or any part thereof, he appoints oneof the Vice-Presidents to take his place. Ifthe President is unable to perform his func-tions, a new President is elected for the un-expired term.

There are four types of committees of theGeneral Assembly:

(1) Procedural Committees.(2) Main Committees.(3) Standing Committees.(4) ad hoc Committees.

There are two Procedural Committees: aCredentials Committee and a General Com-mittee.

The Credentials Committee, which consistsof nine members, is elected at the beginningof each session by the General Assembly onthe proposal of the President. The Committeeis to examine and verify the credentials ofrepresentatives.


The General Committee consists of fourteenmembers, no two of whom may be nationalsof the same State, and is so constituted as toensure its representative character. It com-prises the President of the General Assembly,who presides, the seven Vice-Presidents andthe Chairmen of the six Main Committees. Itassists the President and the General Assem-bly in drawing up the agenda for each plenarymeeting, in determining the priority of itsitems, and in co-ordinating the proceedingsof all committees of the General Assembly. Italso assists the President in the conduct ofthe work of the General Assembly which fallswithin the competence of the President. Itis not, however, to decide on political ques-tions.

There are six Main Committees:First Committee (Political and Security);Second Committee (Economic and Finan-

cial);Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian

and Cultural);Fourth Committee (Trusteeship);Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budg-

etary);Sixth Committee (Legal).

These Main Committees correspond to themajor fields of responsibility of the GeneralAssembly. They have the double role of con-sidering agenda items referred to them bythe General Assembly and of preparing draftrecommendations and resolutions for submis-sion to the General Assembly. On each of theseCommittees all Members of the United Na-tions have the right to be represented.

The Political and Security Committee con-siders, among other items, appropriate aspectsof the admission, suspension and expulsionof Members; any political and security matterswithin the scope of the Charter or relating tothe powers and functions of any of the organsof the United Nations; the general principlesof co-operation in the maintenance of interna-tional peace and security and the principlesgoverning disarmament and the regulation ofarmaments; the promotion of internationalco-operation in the political field and the peace-ful adjustment of situations likely to impairthe general welfare and friendly relationsamong nations.

The Economic and Financial Committee con-cerns itself with the economic and financialaspects of the program of the Economic and

Social Council and of the specialized agencies,and may consider any economic and financialmatters within the scope of the Charter orrelating to the powers and functions of any ofthe organs of the United Nations. It mayalso consider the promotion of internationalco-operation in the economic field, includingquestions of higher standards of living, fullemployment and conditions of economic prog-ress and development. It may also deal withthe question of equilibrium and stabilizationof prices.

The Social, Humanitarian and CulturalCommittee considers the corresponding aspectsof the work of the Economic and Social Coun-cil and of the specialized agencies, and anysocial, humanitarian, cultural, educational,health and related matters within the scopeof the Charter or relating to the powers andfunctions of any of the organs of the UnitedNations. It may also consider the promotionof international co-operation in the social,humanitarian, cultural, educational, andhealth fields and assistance in the realizationof human rights and fundamental freedoms. Itmay also consider conditions of social progressand development.

The Trusteeship Committee has the largeand clearly defined task of considering itemspertaining to trusteeship arrangements asset forth in Article 16 and Chapters XII andXIII of the Charter. This Committee mayalso consider any matters arising under Chap-ter XI relating to non-self-governing peoples.

The Administrative and Budgetary Com-mittee considers matters pertaining to thebudget of the organization, changes in theassessments of Members, financial and bud-getary arrangements with the specializedagencies referred to in Article 57 of the Char-ter and the examination of the administrativebudgets of the specialized agencies. It mayalso consider the staff regulations to be estab-lished by the General Assembly.

The Legal Committee considers the legal andconstitutional aspects of such matters as pro-posed amendments to the Charter, requeststo the International Court of Justice for ad-visory opinions and legal problems referredfrom other committees. It may also considermeasures to encourage the progressive devel-opment of international law and its codifica-tion.

There are two Standing Committees: anAdvisory Committee for Administrative and


Budgetary Questions and a Committee onContributions.

The Advisory Committee is charged withthe responsibility of expert examination ofthe budget of the United Nations. It consistsof nine members, at least two of whom shouldbe recognized financial experts. The membersof the Advisory Committee are elected onthe basis of broad geographical representation,personal qualifications and experience andthey serve for three years.

The Committee on Contributions is ap-pointed to report to the General Assemblyconcerning the apportionment, under Article17 of the Charter, of the expenses of theUnited Nations among Members, broadly ac-cording to capacity to pay. The Committeeshould also report to the General Assemblyon the contributions to be paid by new Mem-bers; appeals made by Members for a change

of assessment; and the action to be taken withregard to the application of Article 19 of theCharter, which deals with the question ofMembers in arrears in the payment of theirfinancial contributions to the United Nations.The Committee consists of ten members whoare elected on the basis of broad geographicalrepresentation, personal qualifications and ex-perience; they serve for three years. Themembers of the Committee retire by rotationand are eligible for re-election.

In addition to Procedural, Main and Stand-ing Committees, the General Assembly mayappoint such ad hoc committees as may berequired from time to time for special pur-poses. During the first part of its first sessionthe General Assembly appointed an ad! hocLeague of Nations Committee and an ad hocPermanent Headquarters Committee.

C. FIRST PART OF THE FIRST SESSION

1. ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERSThe General Assembly held its first meeting

at Central Hall. Westminster, London, on Jan-uary 10, 1946. Representatives of all 51 Mem-bers of the United Nations were present.

The Preparatory Commission had recom-mended that the first regular session of theGeneral Assembly should be divided into twoparts, the first part in January to be devotedmainly to organizational and proceduralmatters, the second part in the spring of 1946to be devoted to substantive matters. Thesecond regular session of the General Assem-bly was to be held on the first Tuesday afterSeptember 2, 1946, the date set for the regularannual meetings of the General Assembly,according to Rule 1 of the Provisional Rulesof Procedure.

It was subsequently decided not to hold anysession in the spring of 1946, but to hold thenext session of the General Assembly inSeptember 1946. The General Committee ofthe General Assembly considered, however,that the September session could not be calledthe second regular session as Article 20 ofthe United Nations Charter provided that theGeneral Assembly should "meet in regularannual sessions." The General Committeetherefore recommended and the GeneralAssembly adopted at its 26th plenary meetingon February 9, 1946 the following resolution:

1. The present session of the GeneralAssembly shall be adjourned in February ona date to be subsequently determined andshall be known as the first part of the firstregular session.

2. The second part of the first regular ses-sion of the General Assembly shall be con-vened on the first Tuesday after 2 September1946 in accordance with Rule 1 and Supple-mentary Rule B of the Provisional Rules ofProcedure.

3. Supplementary Rules C, F and G of theProvisional Rules of Procedure shall applyfor the second part of the first regular sessionof the General Assembly rather than Rules7, 11 and 13. References elsewhere in theSupplementary Rules or in resolutions of theAssembly and its Committees to the "secondpart of the first session" shall be construedto refer to the second part of the first regularsession.1

The first part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly lasted from January 10 toFebruary 14, 1946. During this time theAssembly held 33 plenary meetings and 102committee meetings.

The second part of the first session wasscheduled to convene on September 3, 1946,in accordance with the above-mentioned reso-lution. When it was decided, however, to

1 The Provisional Rules of Procedure apply toall sessions of the General Assembly, while theSupplementary Rules apply only to the firstsession.


convene the Peace Conference in Paris onJuly 29, 1946, Members of the Council ofForeign Ministers recommended that the Gen-eral Assembly be convened on September 23instead of September 3, to avoid possible con-flict between the two international gatherings.On July 11, 1946 the Acting Secretary-Gen-eral addressed cables to all 51 Members ofthe United Nations, informing them that theGeneral Assembly would convene on Septem-ber 23 unless objections were received to thisrecommendation for postponement by July20, 1946. No objections were received and theActing Secretary-General on July 24, 1946,announced the convocation of the GeneralAssembly for September 23, 1946.

By September it became apparent that theParis Peace Conference would not be ableto conclude its work by September 23, 1946.On September 9 the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations received a cablegram fromthe President of the General Assembly statingthat the Governments of Belgium, China,France, the U.S.S.R. and the United Kingdomfavored postponement of the General Assem-bly to October 23, 1946, and that the Govern-ment of the United States did not oppose thissuggestion. After obtaining assurances fromthe Members of the Council of Foreign Minis-ters that they would request no further post-ponement, the Secretary-General on Septem-ber 9, 1946, sent cables to all Members of theUnited Nations recommending postponementof the General Assembly to October 23, 1946,and requesting them to reply to this suggestionnot later than September 13, 1946. By Septem-ber 12, 37 Members had agreed to the post-ponement. In the absence of rules of proce-dure concerning postponement this majoritywas held adequate to decide the question. BySeptember 16, 49 Members had replied favor-ably to the Secretary-General's communication.Thus the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly was scheduled to open atFlushing Meadow Park, New York, on October23, 1946.

a. Adoption of the Provisional Rules of Pro-cedure and the Provisional Agenda

At the second plenary meeting on January11, 1946, the General Assembly, after somediscussion, decided to adopt provisionally theProvisional Rules of Procedure drawn up bythe Preparatory Commission. The Rules, to-gether with several amendments proposed

during the discussion, were referred to theSixth Committee (Legal) for study.

The General Assembly decided, further, toadopt the provisional agenda proposed by thePreparatory Commission. A list of supple-mentary items proposed by Members was re-ferred to the General Committee for its con-sideration and report.

b. Election of Officers of the General Assembly(1). Election of the President

At the first plenary meeting on January 10,1946, the General Assembly elected its Presi-dent. The representative of the U.S.S.R. pro-posed Mr. Trygve Lie, Foreign Minister ofNorway, as candidate for the post. The Chair-man of the Preparatory Commission, whoacted as provisional Chairman of the GeneralAssembly, pointed out that Rule 73 of theProvisional Rules of Procedure provided thatall elections should be taken by secret ballot.The representative for the Ukrainian S.S.R.,supporting Mr. Lie's candidature, proposedthat Mr. Lie be chosen by acclamation. A votewas therefore taken on the question of votingby acclamation. The Assembly decided 15 to 9in favor of a vote by secret ballot. When theballot was taken Mr. Lie received 23 votesand Mr. Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister ofBelgium, 28. Having obtained a majorityvote of the Members present and voting, Mr.Spaak was elected President of the GeneralAssembly.

(2). Election of the Vice-PresidentsAt the third plenary meeting on January

11, 1946, the General Assembly elected sevenVice-Presidents. According to the Rules ofProcedure the President of the General Assem-bly, the Chairmen of the Main Committeesand the seven Vice-Presidents compose theGeneral Committee. The Vice-Presidents areto be elected with a view to ensuring the re-presentative character of the General Com-mittee. Upon the proposal of the representa-tive of the Netherlands the General Assembly,by acclamation, elected the Chairmen of thedelegations of the following countries as Vice-Presidents:

ChinaFranceUnion of South AfricaU.S.S.R.United KingdomUnited StatesVenezuela


c. Appointment of Committees

(1). Credentials CommitteeAt its second plenary meeting the General

Assembly unanimously accepted the Presi-dent's proposal that the delegations of thefollowing countries form the Credentials Com-mittee in accordance with Rule 23 of theProvisional Rules of Procedure:

Byelorussian S.S.R.ChinaDenmark (Chairman)FranceHaitiParaguayPhilippinesSaudi ArabiaTurkey

(2). General Committee

According to Rule 32 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure the General Committee isto be composed of the President of the GeneralAssembly, the seven Vice-Presidents, and theChairmen of the six Main Committees. In thecourse of the discussion concerning adoptionof the Provisional Rules of Procedure therepresentative of Cuba proposed that the Gen-eral Committee be composed not of fourteenmembers but of the heads of all 51 delega-tions. In addition there should be an Execu-tive Committee consisting of the President,the seven Vice-Presidents, and seven othermembers to be elected. This, the Cuban repre-sentative suggested, would make for perfectequality and freedom of expression in theCommittee. Although it had been stressed byrepresentatives favoring a small General Com-mittee that the Committee's functions wouldbe limited to administrative questions, heconsidered that the General Committee mightbe involved in political questions as well. Infact, the Preparatory Commission had refusedto accept a Belgian motion to the effect thatin the General Committee no decision whichhad any political import should be taken. Itwould, moreover, be difficult to determine ineach case whether a question was importantpolitically or not. His proposal, the Cubanrepresentative considered, safeguarded theprinciple of full representation in the GeneralAssembly; it also safeguarded the principleof. freedom of speech and avoided a limitedbody which might prove to be a gag shouldany critical situation arise.

In reply the representative of the UnitedKingdom remarked that the question raisedby the Cuban representative had been dis-cussed at great length by the PreparatoryCommission and it had been decided that forthe sake of the efficient conduct of the GeneralAssembly's business a small General Com-mittee was preferable. Everybody was agreed,the United Kingdom representative stated,that Rules 32 and 33 made it impossible forthe General Committee to consider questionsof political importance. The representative ofthe United Kingdom therefore proposed thatthe General Assembly accept the ProvisionalRules of Procedure as presented by the Pre-paratory Commission, and refer the Cubanproposal to the Sixth Committee (Legal) forstudy. The British proposal was accepted andthe Sixth Committee was instructed, by a voteof 29 to 18, with 4 abstentions, to report tothe General Assembly within eight days con-cerning this matter.

In the Sixth Committee the Cuban repre-sentative withdrew his proposal for a GeneralCommittee of 51 members, substituting in-stead the following proposals: (a) that aprovision should be added to Rule 33 statingthat the General Committee should not decideany political questions; (b) that a new Rule33 A should be included as follows:

A Member of the General Assembly whichhas no representative on the General Com-mittee, and which has requested the inclusionof an additional item in the agenda, shall beentitled to attend any meeting of the GeneralCommittee at which its request is discussed,and may participate, without vote, in the dis-cussion of that item.

At its third meeting on January 22, 1946, theSixth Committee adopted the Cuban proposals.The General Assembly in turn adopted themby a large majority at the eighteenth plenarymeeting on January 26, 1946.

(3). Main CommitteesThe substantive work of the General Assem-

bly is divided among the six Main Committees.The Committees elect their own Chairmen,Vice-Chairmen, and Rapporteurs. The Prepara-tory Commission recommended that theseofficials be elected on the basis of equitablegeographical distribution, experience and per-sonal competence. The Main Committees eachmet for the first time on January 11, 1946, toelect their Chairmen. The following Chairmenwere elected by acclamation:


CommitteeFirst Committee (Political and Security)Second Committee (Economic and Financial)Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian

and Cultural)Fourth Committee (Trusteeship)Fifth Committee (Administrative and

Budgetary)Sixth Committee (Legal)

ChairmanDmitro Z. Manuilsky (Ukrainian S.S.R.)

Waclaw Konderski (Poland)

Peter Fraser (New Zealand)

Roberto E. MacEachen (Uruguay)Faris el-Khouri (Syria)Robert Jiménez (Panama)

(4). Standing CommitteesAdvisory Committee on Administrative and

Budgetary Questions. — According to Rules37-39 of the Provisional Rules of Procedurethe General Assembly was to appoint an Ad-visory Committee for Administrative and Bud-getary Questions of seven members. Thematter was referred to the Fifth Committee(Administrative and Budgetary), which onJanuary 28 unanimously adopted the recom-mendations of the Preparatory Commission.At the next meeting of the Fifth Committee,however, the representative of France pro-posed an amendment increasing the member-ship of the Advisory Committee from sevento twelve. The representative of New Zealandconsidered that a Committee of seven wouldmake for greater efficiency, while the repre-sentative of Chile stressed the desirability ofenlarging the representation of smaller coun-tries on this important Committee. The FifthCommittee, at the suggestion of the repre-sentative of Mexico, accepted an amendmentto the French proposal that the membershipof the Advisory Committee should be nine.The General Assembly at its 31st plenary meet-ing on February 13, 1946, therefore adoptedthe proposals of the Preparatory Commissionas amended by the Fifth Committee. TheAdvisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions, thus to be composed ofnine members, was to be appointed duringthe second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly. It was to assist the FifthCommittee in the consideration of budgetaryand administrative matters.

As a result of the Assembly's decision toincrease the membership of the Advisory Com-mittee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions, the Provisional Rules of Procedureof the General Assembly were amended asfollows:

Rule 37The General Assembly shall appoint an

Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions (hereinafter called the"Advisory Committee") with a membershipof nine, including at least two financial expertsof recognized standing.

Supplementary Rule JAt the second part of the first session, the

General Assembly shall elect simultaneously,in accordance with Rule 75, the nine membersof the Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Questions, two of whom atleast shall be financial experts of recognizedstanding. It shall then, by a second vote, choosethree of the elected members, one of whomshall be a financial expert, for the three-yearterm. By a third vote it shall choose three ofthe remaining elected members, one of whomshall be a financial expert, for the two-yearterm.

Committee on Contributions.—According toRule 40 of the Provisional Rules of Procedurethe General Assembly was to establish a Com-mittee on Contributions of seven members.The matter was referred to the Fifth Com-mittee, which on January 29, 1946, acceptedby 30 votes to 4 an amendment proposed bythe representative of Venezuela increasing themembership of the Committee on Contribu-tions from seven to nine. On February 11, 1946the Rapporteur of the Fifth Committee statedthat representatives of the following countrieshad been put forward as possible candidatesto serve on the Committee on Contributions:

ChinaFranceIraqSouth AfricaU.S.S.R.

United KingdomUnited StatesUruguayYugoslavia

The representative of Belgium consideredthat the list of nine proposed candidates wasnot entirely satisfactory, since, aside from the


five major powers, it included only one repre-sentative of Members whose contributionswould be between one per cent and four percent as against three representatives of Stateswhose contributions would be under one percent. Moreover, he considered that the geo-graphical distribution was not altogetherequitable. For these reasons he proposed theaddition of Australia to the list. The Com-mittee felt that to vote for nine of the tencandidates might prove embarrassing. A pro-posal put forward by the representatives of theNetherlands, the U.S.S.R. and France to in-crease the membership of the Committee onContributions to ten was, therefore, acceptedby a vote of 18 to 6.

At its 31st plenary meeting on February 13,1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyaccepted the recommendations of the FifthCommittee concerning the composition of theCommittee on Contributions and appointedthe following members:

To serve for a term of three years:J. P. Brigden (Australia)Martínez Cabanas (Mexico)Seymour Jacklin (South Africa)Nicolai V. Orlov (U.S.S.R.)

To serve for a term of two years:M. Baumont (France)Sir Cecil Kisch (United Kingdom)Nedim El-Pachachi (Iraq)

To serve for a term of one year:Paul H. Appleby (United States)Chi Chao-ting (China)Pavle Lukin (Yugoslavia)

As a result of the General Assembly's de-cision to increase the membership of the Com-mittee on Contributions from seven to tenthe Provisional Rules of Procedure were amen-ded as follows:


expert Committee on Contributions, consistingof ten members.

Supplementary Rule KAt the first part of the first session, the

General Assembly shall elect simultaneously,in accordance with Rule 75, the ten membersof the Committee on Contributions. It shallthen, by a second vote, choose four of theelected members for the three-year term. Bya third vote it shall choose three of the remain-ing elected members for the two-year term.

(5). ad hoc CommitteesLeague of Nations Committee. — At its

eighteenth plenary meeting on January 24,

1946, the General Assembly, upon the recom-menda t ion of the General Commit tee ,established an ad hoc committee, on which allMembers were represented, to consider thetransfer of certain functions, activities andassets of the League of Nations. At its firstmeeting on January 31, 1946, the League ofNations Committee elected Erik Colban ofNorway as its Chairman.

Permanent Headquarters Committee.—Uponthe recommendation of the General Committeethe General Assembly at its eighteenth plenarymeeting on January 24, 1946, established acommittee, on which all Members were repre-sented, to consider the question of the site ofthe permanent headquarters of the UnitedNations. At its first meeting on February 4,1946 the Committee elected Eduardo ZuletaAngel, of Columbia, as its Chairman.

d. Election of Members of Councils

(1). Election of Non-Permanent Membersof the Security Council

Under Article 23 of the United NationsCharter, the General Assembly elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council.

When the General Assembly, at its fourthplenary meeting on January 12, 1946, pro-ceeded to elect the six non-permanent membersof the Security Council, the representative ofthe U.S.S.R. moved that the election be post-poned for several days, so that the delegationsmight have more time to consult with eachother. The representative of the United Statesopposed the Soviet proposal, stating that thePreparatory Commission had adopted theprovisional agenda of the General Assemblyon December 23, 1945, and that the delegationsthus had had ample time to consider the mat-ter. To postpone the election would set anexceedingly bad precedent. The representativeof New Zealand supported the Soviet proposalfor postponement, on the ground that therepresentatives should be given more time toconsider the application of the principle ofequitable geographical distribution to thiselection. In particular he urged that the Coun-cil consider the important problems of thePacific, and asked that the South and South-west Pacific be represented on the SecurityCouncil. Australia should be considered acandidate for that position. The General


Assembly by 34 votes to 9 rejected the Sovietproposal for postponement of the election.

The representative for the Ukrainian S.S.R.then suggested the following countries as non-permanent members of the Security Council:

Brazil and Mexico to represent SouthAmerican Countries,

New Zealand to represent the SouthPacific,

Poland to represent Eastern Europeancountries,

Egypt to represent the Arab countries,and

Norway as the sixth non-permanent mem-ber of the Council.

The representatives of New Zealand andNorway stated that their countries were notcandidates for membership of the SecurityCouncil. When a. vote was taken the followingfive countries were elected on the first ballot,by a two-thirds majority, as members of theCouncil: Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Nether-lands, and Poland. Canada and Australia ob-tained the highest numbers of votes short ofthe required two-thirds majority and a secondvote was taken to determine which of thesetwo countries should sit on the SecurityCouncil. As the second vote was inconclusive,the Canadian representative at the fifthplenary meeting of the General Assembly onJanuary 12, 1946 withdrew the candidatureof Canada and asked the General Assemblyto make the election of Australia unanimous.

By a simple majority vote the GeneralAssembly then decided that Australia, Braziland Poland should sit as non-permanent mem-bers of the Security Council for a term oftwo years; and Egypt, Mexico and the Nether-lands for a term, of one year.

(2). Election of Members of the Economicand Social Council

Under Article 61 of the Charter, the GeneralAssembly elects the members of the Economicand Social Council.

At its fifth plenary meeting on January 12,1946 the General Assembly elected on the firstballot, by a two-thirds majority, the followingseventeen countries as members of the Eco-nomic and Social Council:

ChinaColombiaCubaCzechoslovakiaFranceGreece

PeruUkrainian S.S.R.U.S.S.R.United KingdomUnited States

Yugoslavia and New Zealand obtained thehighest number of votes short of the requiredtwo-thirds majority. Two further votes todetermine which of these two countries shouldserve on the Economic and Social Councilfailed to break the tie. At the sixth plenarymeeting of the General Assembly on January14, 1946, New Zealand therefore withdrew infavor of Yugoslavia.

By a further simple majority of three votesthe General Assembly decided:

(a) that the following countries shouldserve on the Council for a term of three years:

Belgium ChinaCanada FranceChile Peru

(b) that the following countries shouldserve on the Council for a term of two years:

CubaCzechoslovakiaIndia

NorwayU.S.S.R.United Kingdom

BelgiumCanadaChile

IndiaLebanonNorway

(c) that the following countries shouldserve on the Council for a term of one year:

Colombia Ukrainian S.S.R.Greece United StatesLebanon Yugoslavia

(3). Terms of Office of Members of CouncilsRule 78 of the Provisional Rules of Pro-

cedure1 provides that the term of office of eachmember elected by the General Assembly toserve on the Security Council and the Economicand Social Council shall begin immediatelyon election by the General Assembly andshall end on the election of a member forthe next term. Supplementary Rule S providesthat the terms of office of members of Councilselected for one, two and three year termsshall end on the day of the elections held atthe second, third and fourth regular sessionsrespectively of the General Assembly. As itwas originally planned to hold the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly in the spring of 1946 and the second regu-lar session in September 1946, applicationof these rules would have meant that theterms of office of the members elected in

1 See footnote, p. 55.


January 1946 for one year would have beenshortened to eight months.

After considerable debate, the Sixth Com-mittee (Legal) to which the question was re-ferred, adopted an Egyptian amendment toprovide that new members of the Councilshould be elected at the regular sessions of theGeneral Assembly in September each year, butshould not take office until the following Janu-ary, so that members previously elected shouldserve their full terms.

By the time the question came up for con-sideration by the General Assembly in plenarysession, it had been decided not to hold thesecond part of the first session in the springof 1946, as originally planned, but in Septem-ber. It was pointed out that if Rule 78 andSupplementary Rule S of the Rules of Pro-cedure were applied, the effect would bo tolengthen the terms of office of members ofCouncils to twenty months instead of shorten-ing them to eight months. Some representa-tives were in favor of this; others opposed iton the ground that to lengthen or to shortenthe terms of office of Council members wascontrary to the Charter. An amendment pro-viding that three non-permanent members ofthe Security Council and six members of theEconomic and Social Council should be electedat the second part of the first session inSeptember and take office in the followingJanuary, thus enabling members elected inJanuary 1946 to serve for twelve months, waslost by a close vote. The President thereuponruled that Rule 78 and Supplementary Rule Sremain unchanged.

After the question had been referred to theGeneral Committee for interpretation the draftresolution was amended to read:

RESOLVED that it is the sense of the GeneralAssembly that Members of Councils elected inJanuary 1946 under the provisional Rules ofProcedure shall hold office for twenty monthsand that elections of their successors shall beheld at the second regular session of the Gen-eral Assembly.

The Secretary-General is requested to reportat the opening of the second part of the firstregular session what, if any, changes in therules he deems necessary to give effect to theforegoing.

The General Assembly considered this draftresolution at its 31st plenary meeting on Feb-ruary 13, 1946. Two amendments were pro-posed changing the term of office from twenty

months to twelve or eight months respectively.The General Assembly after further discus-sion, voted in favor of the twelve months term.The resolution as finally adopted, therefore,was as follows:

RESOLVED that it is the sense of this As-sembly that members of Councils elected inJanuary, 1946 under the Provisional Rules ofProcedure shall hold office for twelve monthsand that elections of their successors shall beheld at the second part of the first regular ses-sion of the General Assembly.

The second paragraph of the draft resolu-tion above remained unchanged.

e. Election of Officers of the United Nations

(1). Appointment of the Secretary-GeneralArticle 97 of the Charter states that the

Secretary-General shall be appointed by theGeneral Assembly upon the recommendation ofthe Security Council.

At its second plenary meeting on January11, 1946, the General Assembly decided thatthe Executive Secretary of the PreparatoryCommission and his staff should perform thefunctions of the Secretary-General and the Sec-retariat pending the appointment of the Sec-retary-General.

At its fourth meeting (private) on January30, 1946, the Security Council decided torecommend to the General Assembly thatTrygve Lie, Foreign Minister of Norway, beappointed Secretary-General. Upon this rec-ommendation the General Assembly, at itstwentieth plenary meeting on February 1,appointed Mr. Lie Secretary-General of theUnited Nations. The official installation tookplace at the 22nd plenary meeting on February2, 1946, the Executive Secretary of the Pre-paratory Commission administering the oathof office to Mr. Lie.

(2). Election of Judges of the InternationalCourt of Justice

Article 8 of the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice provides that the GeneralAssembly and the Security Council, votingindependently, shall elect the members of theCourt.

The Executive Secretary submitted a list ofcandidates nominated in response to the invita-tions issued by the Executive Secretary at therequest of the Executive Committee of the Pre-paratory Commission by the national groups


in the Permanent Court of Arbitration and bysimilar national groups appointed by thoseMembers of the United Nations which werenot represented in the Permanent Court ofArbitration. The list of candidates submittednumbered 78, three of whom, however, declaredthat they did not wish to be elected.

The General Assembly proceeded to the elec-tion of the judges of the International Courtof Justice at its 23rd plenary meeting on Feb-ruary 6, 1946. The Security Council voted onthe same day. The following thirteen judgesobtained the required majority of 26 in theGeneral Assembly on the first ballot and werelikewise elected by the Security Council:

Isidore Fabela AlfaroAlejandro AlvarezJosé Philadelpho de

Barros AzevedoAbdel Hamid Badawi

PashaJules BasdevantJosé Gustavo GuerreroGreen H. HackworthHsu MoSergei Borisovich

KrylovSir Arnold Duncan

McNairJohn E. ReadCharles de VisscherMilovan Zoricic

(Mexico)(Chile)

(Brazil)

(Egypt)(France)(El Salvador)(United States)(China)

(U.S.S.R.)

(United Kingdom)(Canada)(Belgium)(Yugoslavia)

Mr. Bogdan Winiarski (Poland) and Mr.Helge Klaestad (Norway) obtained the highestnumber of votes short of the required majority.As a second ballot proved inconclusive, a ques-tion of procedure arose.

Article 11 of the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice reads as follows:

If, after the first meeting held for the pur-pose of the election, one or more seats remainto be filled, a second and, if necessary, a thirdmeeting shall take place.

As the General Assembly had already heldtwo meetings on this day (February 6, 1946),the President proposed that the General As-sembly adjourn to reconvene the same after-noon in a third meeting to complete the elec-tion. Mr. Guerrero, of El Salvador, who hadpreviously served as President of the Per-manent Court of International Justice, main-tained that "meeting" should be interpreted tomean one day and not just one ballot. TheCouncil should continue its balloting, and ifno results were obtained meet on a subsequent

day. The General Assembly by a vote of 24 to11, with 3 abstentions, upheld the ruling ofthe President. At the 25th plenary meetingon February 6, 1946, Mr. Winiarski (Poland)and Mr. Klaestad (Norway) were electedjudges of the International Court of Justice.

At the 26th plenary meeting on February 9the General Assembly by the drawing of lots,in accordance with Article 13 of the Statuteof the Court, decided the terms of office ofthe judges to be as follows:

Nine-YearTerm:Mr. AzevedoMr. AlvarezMr. BasdevantMr. GuerreroSir Arnold

McNair

Six-YearTerm:

Mr. ReadThree-Year

Mr. Fabela Term:Alfaro Badawi Pasha

Mr. Hackworth Mr. HsuMr. Klaestad Mr. WiniarskiMr. Krylov Mr. ZoricicMr. de Visscher

In view of the difference of opinion whichhad arisen regarding the meaning of the word"meeting" in Article 11 of the Statute of theCourt, the representatives of France and theUnited Kingdom suggested that the GeneralAssembly request the International Court ofJustice to give an advisory opinion on theinterpretation of Articles 11 and 12 of theStatute of the Court relating to the electionof judges. A resolution to this effect was sub-mitted to the General Committee, which, how-ever, at its meeting on February 14, 1946,decided not to recommend its inclusion in theagenda of the General Assembly. The repre-sentatives of the United States and China con-sidered that no elections would take place forthe next three years. The matter, therefore,was not urgent and should be referred to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly for consideration by the Sixth Com-mittee. The representative of the United King-dom protested against this decision, pointingout that the Security Council had agreed toask the advisory opinion of the InternationalCourt and that the General Assembly shoulddo the same.

f. Procedural Matters(1). Nominations

At the second plenary meeting of the Gen-eral Assembly on January 11, 1946, the repre-sentative of the Ukrainian S.S.R. proposedthat Rule 73 of the Rules of Procedure beamended so as to provide that all candidatures,both of States and persons, should be brought


forward at meetings and that discussion shouldtake place before a vote was taken, except incases in which the Assembly unanimously de-cided to proceed to a vote by acclamation. Thisquestion was referred to the Sixth Committee.

A Sub-Committee of the Sixth Committeeadopted a compromise proposal requiring thatcandidates should be nominated insofar asthey were persons, but that there were to beno nominations of States. Nominations couldbe made either in writing 48 hours in advanceof a meeting or orally from the floor. Speechesshould be limited to two for and two againsteach candidate. At the fourth meeting of theSixth Committee on January 23, 1946, how-ever, the representative of Lebanon intro-duced an amendment to the Sub-Committee'sreport stating that "there shall be no nomina-tions." The Sixth Committee accepted theLebanese amendment by a vote of 22 to 21,with 8 members absent.

The General Assembly discussed the Com-mittee's report at length at the eighteenthplenary meeting on January 26, 1946. In favorof the Ukrainian proposal requiring nomina-tions it was argued that representatives com-ing from all over the world were not wellacquainted with one another. Qualified candi-dates of small countries particularly mightnot be generally known. Nominations anddiscussion would place the representatives inpossession of sufficient information to votefor the most suitable candidate. It wouldfurther avoid the risk of persons or Statesbeing elected who did not wish to serve. TheGeneral Assembly during the present sessionhad usually voted on the basis of nominations.Everyone had accepted this procedure asnatural and in most cases the committees hadbeen able to make elections of officers by unani-mous vote. To forbid nominations was undemo-cratic. It was the basic right of every Memberof the organization to make proposals on everymatter within the competence of the GeneralAssembly. To except the matter of electionswould be a breach of the spirit of the Charterof the United Nations. To avoid frank discus-sion at the General Assembly's meetings wouldlead to lobbying, intrigues and discussion be-hind the scenes. Nominations would, on thecontrary, tend to discourage the formation ofblocs within the General Assembly.

In favor of no nominations it was main-tained that only in this way could absolutefreedom and independence of voting be en-

sured. Discussion of the qualifications of can-didates might easily lead to embarrassmentand might impair the prestige of countriesnominated or making nominations. The Pre-paratory Commission had discussed fully andhad rejected a proposal for the formation of aNominating Committee.

When a vote was taken on the proposal thatthere should be no nominations, 25 represen-tatives voted in favor, and 18 against. TheGeneral Assembly therefore adopted the fol-lowing resolution:

Rule 73THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:

Rule 73 shall be amended by the addition,at the end, of the following sentence:

"There shall be no nominations."

(2) Rules of Procedure Concerning Languages

Rule 51 of the Provisional Rules of Pro-cedure proposed by the Preparatory Com-mission provided that "the rules adopted atthe San Francisco Conference regarding lan-guages shall prevail until otherwise decided."When the question of language rules wasunder discussion in the Preparatory Com-mission, several representatives had pointedout that the practice at San Francisco hadbeen more liberal than the actual rules. Whilethese rules provided that speeches made inRussian, Chinese or Spanish should be trans-lated into one of the two working languages—French or English—the actual practice hadbeen to translate such speeches into both work-ing languages. The Soviet delegation hadattached particular importance to the principleof equality of the five official languages:Chinese, English, French, Russian and Span-ish. The Preparatory Commission thereforerecommended to the General Assembly thatit should take into account the practice atSan Francisco as well as the actual rules, whenreviewing this problem.

Upon the recommendation of the representa-tive of the United Kingdom the General Com-mittee referred the whole question of rulesof procedure concerning languages to the FirstCommittee of the General Assembly (Politicaland Security). The Committee was instructedto consider language rules which might uni-formly be adopted by all organs of the UnitedNations.


On January 30, the First Committee unani-mously adopted the following draft resolution:

RESOLVED THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:(a) ADOPTS rules of procedure concerning

languages in conformity with the rules here-with presented (annex);

(b) RECOMMENDS to the other organs ofthe United Nations the adoption of languagerules in conformity with the rules herewithpresented;

(c) RECOMMENDS that the Secretary-Gen-eral makes a thorough enquiry into the ques-tion of the installation of telephonic systemsof interpretation and, if possible, arranges forthe establishment of such a system for thesecond part of the first session.

Annex1. In all the organs of the United Nations,

other than the International Court of Justice,Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanishshall be the official languages, and English andFrench the working languages.

2. Speeches made in either of the workinglanguages shall be interpreted into the otherworking language.

3. Speeches made in any of the other threeofficial languages shall be interpreted into bothworking languages.

4. Any representative may make a speechin a language other than the official languages.In this case he shall himself provide forinterpretation into one of the working langua-ges. Interpretation into the other workinglanguage by an interpreter of the Secretariatmay be based on the interpretation given inthe first working language.

5. Verbatim records shall be drawn up inthe working languages. A translation of thewhole or part of any verbatim record into anyother of the official languages shall be fur-nished if requested by any delegation.

6. Summary records shall be drawn up assoon as possible in the official languages.

7. The Journals of the organs of the UnitedNations shall be issued in the workinglanguages.

8. All resolutions and other important docu-ments shall be made available in the officiallanguages. Upon the request of any represen-tative, any other document shall be made avail-able in any or all of the official languages.

9. Documents of the organs of the UnitedNations shall, if those organs so decide, bepublished in any languages other than theofficial languages.

The First Committee's report to the GeneralAssembly noted that it was generally under-stood that sub-committees and ad hoc com-mittees might, in consultation with the Secre-

tariat, adopt simplified rules of procedure con-cerning languages.

At the 21st meeting on February 1, 1946, theGeneral Assembly unanimously adopted theFirst Committee's draft resolution.

2. POLITICAL AND SECURITY MATTERS

a. Establishment of an Atomic Energy Com-mission

In a declaration issued in Washington onNovember 15, 1945, the Governments of Cana-da, the United Kingdom and the United Statesproposed the establishment of a commissionunder the United Nations to study the prob-lems raised by the discovery of atomic energy.At the Moscow Conference of Foreign Minis-ters in December 1945 the U.S.S.R. agreed tojoin in the sponsorship of a resolution for theestablishment of such a commission to be pre-sented to the first session of the GeneralAssembly, and the text of the proposed reso-lution was agreed upon. Canada, France andChina agreed to join in the sponsorship of theresolution drafted by the Foreign Ministersin Moscow.

On January 6, 1946, the resolution wasaccordingly submitted to the Executive Secre-tary of the Preparatory Commission, and wasplaced on a supplementary list of agenda items.On the recommendation of the General Com-mittee the General Assembly at its sixth plen-ary meeting on January 14, 1946, decided toplace the resolution on its agenda, and referredit to the First Committee (Political and Se-curity). Following is the text of the resolu-tion:

RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OFTHE UNITED NATIONS to establish a Commis-sion, with the composition and competence setout hereunder, to deal with the problems raisedby the discovery of atomic energy and otherrelated matters:

1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSIONA Commission is hereby established by the

General Assembly with the terms of referenceset out under section 5 below.

2. RELATIONS OF THE COMMISSION WITH THEORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

(a) The Commission shall submit its re-ports and recommendations to the SecurityCouncil, and such reports and recommenda-tions shall be made public unless the SecurityCouncil, in the interest of peace and security,otherwise directs. In the appropriate cases


the Security Council should transmit thesereports to the General Assembly and the Mem-bers of the United Nations, as well as to theEconomic and Social Council and other organswithin the framework of the United Nations.

(b) In view of the Security Council's pri-mary responsibility under the Charter of theUnited Nations for the maintenance of inter-national peace and security, the Security Coun-cil shall issue directions to the Commissionin matters affecting security. On these mattersthe Commission shall be accountable for itswork to the Security Council.

3. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSIONThe Commission shall be composed of one

representative from each of those States repre-sented on the Security Council, and Canadawhen that State is not a member of the Secur-ity Council. Each representative on the Com-mission may have such assistance as he maydesire.

The Commission shall have whatever staffit may deem necessary, and shall make recom-mendations for its rules of procedure to theSecurity Council, which shall approve them asa procedural matter.

5. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE COMMISSIONThe Commission shall proceed with the

utmost despatch and enquire into all phasesof the problem, and make such recommenda-tions from time to time with respect to themas it finds possible. In particular, the Com-mission shall make specific proposals:

(a) for extending between all nations theexchange of basic scientific information forpeaceful ends;(6) for control of atomic energy to theextent necessary to ensure its use only forpeaceful purposes;(c) for the elimination from national arma-ments of atomic weapons and of all othermajor weapons adaptable to mass destruc-tion;(d) for effective safeguards by way of in-spection and other means to protect comply-ing States against the hazards of violationsand evasions.

The work of the Commission should proceedby separate stages, the successful completionof each of which will develop the necessaryconfidence of the world before the next stageis undertaken.

The Commission shall not infringe upon theresponsibilities of any organ of the UnitedNations, but should present recommendationsfor the consideration of those organs in theperformance of their tasks under the termsof the United Nations Charter.

During the discussion both in the FirstCommittee and in the General Assembly therepresentative of the Philippines remarkedthat the proposed Atomic Energy Commissionwould be a mere duplication of the SecurityCouncil, since except for the addition ofCanada it had the same membership as theSecurity Council and was to report to theCouncil. Once the General Assembly hadcreated the Commission it would practicallylose control over it. If the General Assemblywas granted the power to create the Com-mission, it should likewise have the powerto alter, modify, control or abolish altogetherthat which it created. Otherwise it would bebetter if the whole problem were assigned tothe Security Council. He suggested, therefore,that the resolution before the General Assem-bly be referred to the Security Council forappropriate action. The representative ofAustralia feared that it would be hard toestablish the Atomic Energy Commission'sresponsibility to the General Assembly as theSecurity Council would be able to decide whichreports of the Commission should be for-warded to the General Assembly. He proposedthat the Security Council should include areport of the Commission's work in its annualreport to the General Assembly. The repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R. considered that,owing to the fact that the General Assemblyset up the Commission, the rights and powersof the Assembly were fully protected. Therepresentative of Brazil thought it importantthat the veto should not apply to the work ofthe Commission. The representative of Polandremarked that it was not sufficient to actthrough the organs of the United Nations toprevent the use of atomic energy for destruc-tive purposes. He suggested that the GeneralAssembly recommend to the delegations thattheir parliaments adopt laws embodying thefollowing principles:

1. That States should exchange betweeneach other all discoveries of a scientific charac-ter such as that of atomic energy.

2. That the results obtained in this scientificfield should be used only for the benefit ofhumanity and not for its destruction.

3. That the Member States should supportthe United Nations organization in its effortsto control and supervise the use of atomic en-ergy for peace.

4. That the Members of the United Nationsundertake to eliminate atomic arms and other

4. RULES OF PROCEDURE


arms for mass destruction from their nationalarmaments.

The question was also raised of the expedi-ency of rotating the membership of the AtomicEnergy Commission in accordance with the ro-tation of the non-permanent members of theSecurity Council Some representatives pointedout that a frequent change of membershipwould deprive the Commission of the servicesof representatives who had gained experiencein this intricate problem. It was agreed, how-ever, that it was not desirable to limit themembership of the Commission for all time tothe original twelve. The Commission, more-over, could at any time seek the advice of anyMember of the General Assembly.

No representative pressed his views to thepoint of opposing the resolution. On January22, 1946, the First Committee by a vote of 46to 1, with 1 abstention, adopted the draft reso-lution agreed upon at the Moscow Conference.At the seventeenth plenary meeting on January24, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyapproved the report of the First Committee.

b. Extradition and Punishment of WarCriminals

On February 2, 1946, the General Committeerecommended to the General Assembly that aByelorussian draft resolution concerning theextradition and punishment of war criminalsbe included in the Assembly's agenda. Thedraft resolution was referred to the first Com-mittee. After some discussion, during whichseveral representatives stressed the importanceof bringing war criminals to justice, the FirstCommittee appointed a drafting committee,which made some minor alterations in the textof the draft resolution. The revised resolutionwas unanimously adopted by the First Com-mittee on February 11, 1946, and by the Gen-eral Assembly at its 32nd plenary meeting onFebruary 13, 1946. The resolution as adoptedread as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY :taking note of the Moscow Declaration of 1

November 1943 by President Roosevelt, Mar-shal Stalin and Prime Minister Churchillconcerning enemy atrocities in the course ofthe war, and of the declaration by certain al-lied governments of 13 January and 18 Decem-ber 1942 concerning the same matter;

taking note of the laws and usages of war-fare established by the fourth Hague Conven-tion of 1907;

taking note of the definition of war crimesand crimes against peace and against human-ity contained in the Charter of the Interna-tional Military Tribunal dated 8 August 1945;

believing that certain war criminals con-tinue to evade justice in the territories of cer-tain States;

RECOMMENDSthat Members of the United Nations forth-

with take all the necessary measures to causethe arrest of those war criminals who havebeen responsible for or have taken a consent-ing part in the above crimes, and to cause themto be sent back to the countries in which theirabominable deeds were done, in order that theymay be judged and punished according to thelaws of those countries;

AND CALLS UPONthe Governments of States which are not

Members of the United Nations also to takeall necessary measures for the apprehension ofsuch criminals in their respective territorieswith a view to their immediate removal to thecountries in which the crimes were committedfor the purpose of trial and punishment ac-cording to the laws of those countries.

The Uruguayan delegation submitted a draftresolution against the infliction of the deathpenalty on war criminals. In view of strongopposition from the representatives of theU.S.S.R. and the Ukrainian S.S.R. to the in-clusion of this item on the agenda of the As-sembly, the Chairman of the General Commit-tee, on February 6, 1946, asked the Uruguayanrepresentative whether he would consider with-drawing his proposal. On February 11 theGeneral Committee by a vote of 10 to 1 de-cided not to recommend the inclusion of theUruguayan resolution in the agenda. The Uru-guayan representative, upon instructions ofhis Government, did not press his proposal.

c. Relations of Members of the United Nationswith Spain

On February 8, 1946, the General Committeedecided to recommend to the General Assemblythe inclusion in the agenda of a draft resolu-tion submitted by the representative of Pan-ama concerning the relations of Members ofthe United Nations with Spain. On the sugges-tion of the representative of the United States,seconded by the representatives of the U.S.S.R.and Venezuela, it was decided to recommendthat the General Assembly should proceed to


examine this draft resolution without refer-ring it to a committee. Following is the textof the resolution:

1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY recalls that theSan Francisco Conference adopted a resolutionaccording to which paragraph 2 of Article 4of Chapter II of the United Nations Charter"cannot apply to States whose regimes havebeen installed with the help of armed forcesof countries which have fought against theUnited Nations so long as these regimes arein power."

2. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY recalls that atthe Potsdam Conference the Governments ofthe United Kingdom, the United States ofAmerica and the U.S.S.R. stated that theywould not support a request for admission tothe United Nations of the present SpanishGovernment "which, having been founded withthe support of the Axis powers, in view of itsorigins, its nature, its record and its close as-sociation with the aggressor States, does notpossess the necessary qualifications to justifyits admission."

3. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, in endorsingthese two statements, recommends that theMembers of the United Nations should act inaccordance 1 with the letter and the spirit ofthese statements in the conduct of their futurerelations with Spain.

During the discussion at the 28th plenarymeeting of the General Assembly on February9, 1946, the representatives of France, Nor-way, the United Kingdom, the United States,Uruguay, Yugoslavia and Venezuela spoke insupport of the resolution. The representativeof Czechoslovakia considered that individualMembers of the United Nations should drawthe necessary inferences from the proposedresolution in their relations with Spain andshould support the Spanish Republicans. Therepresentative of Mexico stated that his Gov-ernment, as the seat of the Spanish RepublicanGovernment in Exile, was honor-bound to thecause of Republican Spain. Mexico did not seekinterference in the national affairs of Spain,but asked that Members of the United Nationsshould refrain from having diplomatic rela-tions with the illegal regime of General Franco.The Byelorussian representative drew the at-tention of the General Assembly to the factthat the Byelorussian S.S.R. was actually ina state of war with Franco Spain as a Spanishdivision had fought on the side of Germany onthe eastern front.

The General Assembly adopted the resolu-tion as quoted above by a vote of 45 to 2.

3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL MATTERSa. Recommendations Concerning the Economic

and Social Council and Observations on Re-lationships with Specialized Agencies

The recommendations of the PreparatoryCommission concerning the organization of theEconomic and Social Council were submittedto the first part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly for approval. The PreparatoryCommission had considered that the Economicand Social Council should be organized at theearliest possible date and had recommendedthat the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions or the Executive-Secretary of the Pre-paratory Commission should summon the firstsession of the Economic and Social Councilin London fifteen days after the election of themembers of the Council by the General As-sembly. The Council should adopt the Provi-sional Agenda and Provisional Rules of Pro-cedure drawn up by the Preparatory Commis-sion. It should also establish, at its first ses-sion, the following Commissions:

Commission on Human Rights,Economic and Employment Commission,Temporary Social Commission,Statistical Commission,Commission on Narcotic Drugs.The Economic and Social Council should, fur-

thermore, consider the desirability of establish-ing at an early date the following Commis-sions:

Demographic Commission,Temporary Transport and Communications

Commission,Fiscal Commission,Co-ordination Commission.

The Preparatory Commission recommendedthat the Commissions should be kept of man-ageable size, and that they should be composedof a majority of responsible, highly qualifiedgovernmental representatives. In establishingthese Commissions the Council should take intoaccount the following considerations:

(1) Duplication between specialized agen-cies and the Council should be avoided. The

1 The original text of the resolution read"... that the Members of the United Nationsshould take into account the letter and the spiritof these statements...." The text was changed inaccordance with an amendment proposed by therepresentative of Norway, who felt that thischange made the meaning more precise.

68 Yearbook of the United Nationsfollowing subjects were assumed to fall withinthe responsibility of the specialized agencies:

(a) relief and rehabilitation;(b) monetary co-operation and international

investment;(c) trade policies;(d) food and agricultural policies;(e) labor standards, labor welfare and re-

lated social questions;(f) educational and cultural co-operation;(g) health;(h) some aspects of transport;(i) some aspects of communications.

The Commissions of the Council shouldfunction in areas not covered by the specializedagencies, or function temporarily in the abovefields until specialized agencies could be set up.

(2) The Commissions should consider thecomplex economic and social problems whichhad arisen out of the war. The most urgent ofthese problems was that of refugees, which theEconomic and Social Council should considerat its first session.

(3) The Council should make provision forthe continuance of certain functions and ac-tivities of the League of Nations.

(4) There should be a maximum of flexibil-ity in the number, scope and activities of theCommissions.

(5) The importance of co-ordination of ac-tivities in related fields should be kept in mind.

The Preparatory Commission recommendedfurther that the Economic and Social Council,at its first session, should make arrangementsfor the negotiation of agreements bringingspecialized agencies into relationship with theUnited Nations; it should establish a commit-tee to report on arrangements for consultationwith non-governmental organizations; and itshould confer with representatives of the Se-curity Council and the Trusteeship Council onmethods of co-operation in dealing with mattersof common concern to them. The PreparatoryCommission submitted to the General Assem-bly, for the guidance of the Economic and So-cial Council in its negotiations with specializedagencies, a number of observations and a listof items which it deemed appropriate for in-clusion in the agreements with the specializedagencies.1

The Preparatory Commission's recommenda-tions regarding the proposed Economic andEmployment Commission, the StatisticalCommission, the Temporary Transport and

Communications Commission and the FiscalCommission were considered by the SecondCommittee (Economic and Financial), whichunanimously approved them on January 22, 1946.

The Preparatory Commission's recommenda-tions concerning the Commission on HumanRights, the Temporary Social Commission, theCommission on Narcotic Drugs and the Demo-graphic Commission were referred to the ThirdCommittee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultur-al) of the General Assembly, which unani-mously approved them on January 22, 1946.

At the tenth meeting of the Third Commit-tee on February 9, 1946, the representative ofCuba proposed the establishment of a culturalcommission composed of cultural and educa-tional experts to advise the Economic and So-cial Council in its relations with the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization and to establish more effectiveliaison between the two organizations. Therepresentatives of Belgium, Ecuador, andPoland supported the Cuban proposal. Therepresentatives of China, France, the UnitedKingdom and the United States, however,opposed the proposal on the ground that thePreparatory Commission had agreed that nocommission under the Economic and SocialCouncil should be established where a spec-ialized agency existed. The establishment ofa commission such as that proposed by theCuban representative would prejudice the workof UNESCO. The Third Committee rejectedthe Cuban proposal by a vote of 21 to 13.

The provisional agenda, the ProvisionalRules of Procedure of the Economic and SocialCouncil and the recommendations regardingrelationships with the specialized agencieswere referred to a Joint Sub-Committee of theSecond and Third Committees, which approvedthem on January 24, 1946. Although nochanges were made in the Preparatory Com-mission's recommendations, certain views ex-pressed in the course of the discussion werenoted in the Sub-Committee's report to theGeneral Assembly:

1. The representatives had taken the generalview that the Economic and Social Councilshould be allowed the widest possible freedomto carry out its work.

2. The recommendation that the Economicand Social Council consider at its first session

1 For the full text of the observations, see Re-

port of the Preparatory Commission, pp. 40-48.


the advisability of setting up a co-ordinationcommission was approved with the understand-ing that it should not be regarded as a direc-tive, since the Council might not find it advis-able to set up the commission at this earlystage.

3. Doubt was expressed by some representa-tives as to whether the recommendation thatthe commissions should contain a majority ofhighly qualified governmental representativeswas desirable and whether it allowed theCouncil sufficient freedom. The PreparatoryCommission's recommendation was approvedon the understanding that it would not beregarded as binding and that no limitationshould be put on the Council in choosing themembers of the commissions.

4. In discussing the relationship with speci-alized agencies, the need for new forms ofinternational co-operation was emphasized,and the hope expressed that the Council wouldbe given the greatest liberty to consider andto propose any form of international machin-ery which it might consider the most effectivefor co-ordinating action on economic andsocial problems.

5. There was some divergence of opinion asto the desirability of centralization of the head-quarters of the United Nations and the special-ized agencies. While it seemed to be generallyaccepted that as many of the specialized agen-cies as possible should be located at the centralheadquarters, some representatives thoughtthat it might be necessary to have certainagencies located in places particularly suitedto their effective functioning.

The General Assembly unanimously ap-proved the reports of the Second and ThirdCommittees (which included the report of theJoint Sub-Committee) at its ninth plenarymeeting on January 29, 1946.

b. Calling of International Conferences bythe Economic and Social Council

Some discussion arose in the General As-sembly concerning Supplementary Rule T ofthe Provisional Rules of Procedure of theGeneral Assembly. Article 62, paragraph 4,of the United Nations Charter states that theEconomic and Social Council may, in accord-ance with the rules prescribed by the UnitedNations, call international conferences on mat-ters falling within its competence. Pending theadoption of definite rules for the calling ofinternational conferences by the Economic and

Social Council, Supplementary Rule T author-ized the Council to call international con-ferences in conformity with the spirit ofArticle 62 of the Charter on any matter withinthe competence of the Council, including thefollowing matters: international trade andemployment, and health.

The representative of Ecuador submittedan amendment to include "the equitable adjust-ment of prices in the international market" inthe enumeration of items on which the Eco-nomic and Social Council might call inter-national conferences. The amendment wasreferred to the Sixth Committee (Legal).Opposition to the amendment in the Commit-tee was based on the argument that the textof Supplementary Rule T did not precludediscussion of the adjustment of prices in theinternational market by the Economic andSocial Council. It was not necessary, therefore,to mention this point specifically. The repre-sentative of Ecuador insisted, however, thatthe subject was of such importance as todeserve specific mention. Some representativesthought it would be preferable to excludemention of any specific subject on which theEconomic and Social Council might call con-ferences, as the enumeration of examplesmight tend to restrict the Council. Otherrepresentatives mentioned that the Prepara-tory Commission had included mention ofinternational trade and employment and healthfor reasons of policy, as the Commission hadconsidered these problems to be so pressingthat it wanted to draw attention to them.

A motion by the representative of theUnited States to delete the last phrase ofSupplementary Rule T, "including the follow-ing matters: international trade, employmentand health," was rejected by the Sixth Com-mittee. The Committee then adopted by a voteof 25 to 12 the amendment proposed by therepresentative of Ecuador.

At the nineteenth plenary meeting on Janu-ary 29, 1946, the General Assembly adoptedby a vote of 38 to 1 the text of the resolutionproposed by the Sixth Committee as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:Supplementary Rule T shall be amended to

read as follows:

"Pending the adoption, under paragraph 4 ofArticle 62 of the Charter, of definitive rulesfor the calling of international conferences,the Economic and Social Council may, afterdue consultation with Members of the


United Nations, call international conferencesin conformity with the spirit of Article 62on any matter within the competence of theCouncil, including the following matters:international trade and employment; theequitable adjustment of prices on the inter-national market, and health."

c. Representation of Non-Governmental Bodieson the Economic and Social Council

At its second meeting on January 15, 1946,the General Committee of the General As-sembly considered a request of the WorldFederation of Trade Unions for participationin the work of the General Assembly and forfull participation, with the right to vote, inthe Economic and Social Council. While severalrepresentatives, including those of France andthe U.S.S.R., supported this request, it waspointed out that to grant the WFTU the rightto speak in the General Assembly and to votein the Economic and Social Council wouldgive it a standing equal to that of nationalgovernments. This was contrary to the Charterof the United Nations, which envisaged mem-bership only of sovereign States.

By a letter of January 17, 1946, the WFTUwithdrew its request for participation withright to vote, but maintained its request tobe heard in the General Assembly and forpermanent participation in a consultativecapacity in the work of the Economic andSocial Council. Requests to participate in thework of the Economic and Social Council werelikewise received from the International Co-operative Alliance, the International Federa-tion of Women and the American Federationof Labor. As regards the WFTU's request tospeak in the General Assembly, the represen-tatives of France and the U.S.S.R. supported aproposal of the Chairman of the General Com-mittee that the Assembly might create aspecial category of "official permanent guests,"and that the General Assembly might hearthe views of such "guests" as the WFTU. Inthe course of the deliberations of the GeneralCommittee, the Soviet delegation agreed notto press the WFTU's request for participa-tion in the General Assembly, if that organiza-tion were granted permanent consultativestatus in the Economic and Social Council.

Concerning arrangements for participationin the meetings of the Economic and SocialCouncil of the WFTU, the International Co-operative Alliance, the International Federa-tion of Women and the American Federation

of Labor, sharp differences of opinion arose.Some representatives, including those ofFrance, the U.S.S.R., and the Ukrainian S.S.R.,considered that the WFTU was a unique or-ganization representing 65,000,000 workersall over the world. Its advice would be valu-able to the Economic and Social Council onany question of international co-operation inthe economic or social field. The GeneralAssembly therefore should recommend to theEconomic and Social Council that the WFTUbe granted the right of permanent partici-pation in a consultative capacity in the Eco-nomic and Social Council, while no such rec-ommendation should be made regarding theother organizations which had applied. Op-position was directed particularly againstgranting equal consideration to the WFTUand the American Federation of Labor, thelatter being a national, and not an interna-tional, trade-union organization which hadrefused to join the WFTU.

The representatives of the United Kingdomand the United States opposed these views.They argued that if the WFTU were grantedthe right of permanent participation in thework of the Economic and Social Council itwould be placed in a far more favorable posi-tion than the governments which were notrepresented on the Economic and Social Coun-cil (the Council consisting of only eighteenmembers at any one time) and which, accord-ing to Article 69 of the Charter, were to beinvited to participate in the meetings of theCouncil only when matters of particular con-cern to them were being discussed. Similarlythe WFTU should participate in the workof the Council only on matters of particularconcern to the organization. Article 71 ofthe Charter provided for participation of in-ternational as well as national organizationsin the work of the Economic and Social Coun-cil. There was no reason to accord preferen-tial treatment to the WFTU or to exclude theother organizations which had applied.

The General Committee twice referred thewhole question to a Sub-Committee, but noagreement was reached on various proposalspresented. Several representatives, moreover,questioned the competence of the GeneralCommittee to make a decision on the sub-stance of the matter, which was a politicalquestion. The only issue the Committee wascompetent to decide, they argued, was whether


the requests of the WFTU and other organiza-tions should be placed on the agenda of theGeneral Assembly. At its eighth meeting onJanuary 29, 1946 the General Committee de-cided to refer the question to the GeneralAssembly, calling attention to the discussionwhich had taken place in the Committee.

At the 22nd plenary meeting on February2, 1946, the General Assembly decided to referthe matter to the First Committee (Politicaland Security). A sub-committee of the FirstCommittee which was to draft a resolutionfor presentation to the General Assembly wasunable to reach agreement. On February 11,it submitted four draft resolutions presentedrespectively by the representatives of Belgium,the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom and theUnited States to the full Committee. TheUnited Kingdom and United States resolutionswere not essentially different, recommendingthat the Economic and Social Council shouldarrange for collaboration for purposes of con-sultation in the first instance with the WFTU,the International Co-operative Alliance andother international non-governmental organ-izations, and secondly with the American Fed-eration of Labor and other national andregional organizations, in accordance withArticle 71 of the United Nations Charter. TheSoviet resolution provided that the GeneralAssembly recommend participation in an ad-visory capacity in the work of the Economicand Social Council by the WFTU only, whilethe Belgian proposal made mention both ofthe WFTU and the American Federation ofLabor.

On February 12, 1946, the First Committeeadopted the United States resolution. Afterprolonged debate, during which several amend-ments to the United States resolution werevoted down, the General Assembly at the33rd plenary meeting on February 14, 1946,adopted the resolution as follows:

In connection with the requests of the WorldFederation of Trade Unions, the AmericanFederation of Labor, the International Co-op-erative Alliance, and other non-governmentalorganizations, that their representatives shallbe allowed to take part in the work of theEconomic and Social Council, and in accord-ance with Article 71 of the Charter providingfor the carrying out by the Economic andSocial Council of appropriate consultationswith non-governmental organizations,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS:(a) that the Economic and Social Council

should, as soon as possible, adopt suitablearrangements enabling the World Federationof Trade Unions and the International Co-op-erative Alliance as well as other internationalnon-governmental organizations whose experi-ence the Economic and Social Council willfind necessary to use, to collaborate for pur-poses of consultation with the Economic andSocial Council;

(b) that the Economic and Social Councilshould likewise adopt as soon as possible suit-able arrangements enabling the AmericanFederation of Labor as well as other nationaland regional organizations whose experiencethe Economic and Social Council will find nec-essary to use, to collaborate for purposes ofconsultation with the Economic and SocialCouncil.

d. United Nations Relief and RehabilitationAdministration

At its eleventh plenary meeting on January17, 1946, the General Assembly referred to theSecond Committee (Economic and Financial) adraft resolution of the United Kingdom con-cerning the United Nations Relief and Rehabil-itation Administration. Taking into consid-eration the great need of war-devastated areasand the importance of expediting the work ofUNRRA, the General Assembly, according tothe United Kingdom resolution, was to urgeStates signatory to the UNRRA Agreementto make a further contribution of one per centof their national income to UNRRA's funds,as had been recommended by the Council ofUNRRA in August 1945. At the same timethe Assembly was to urge other peace-lovingStates who were not signatories to the UNRRAAgreement to join the organization.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. presentedan alternative draft according to which onlymembers of UNRRA which had not been occu-pied by enemy forces were to make the sug-gested contribution to the UNRRA funds.Furthermore, instead of urging "other peace-loving States" to join UNRRA, the Sovietdraft proposed to limit this recommendationto "Members of the United Nations who werenot signatories to the UNRRA Agreement,"so as to preclude the possibility of politicallyundesirable elements joining UNRRA. TheSoviet representative stated that his first pro-posal merely underlined an already acceptedprinciple, since UNRRA contributions had, infact, been received only from countries whichhad not been occupied by the enemy. It was


objected, however, that this proposal mightprevent the receipt of contemplated contribu-tions from such countries as France. As re-gards the second Soviet amendment, severalrepresentatives favored retention of the words"peace-loving States" in the original UnitedKingdom draft in order to enable such coun-tries as Portugal, Sweden or Switzerland tocontribute to the work of UNRRA. Otherspointed out that the Soviet text did not pre-vent peace-loving States who were not Mem-bers of the United Nations from applyingto the UNRRA Council for membership inUNRRA. A number of additional amendmentsdesigned to clarify the United Kingdom pro-posal were discussed in the Second Committee.

After consulting the representatives of theU.S.S.R. and the United Kingdom, the repre-sentative of the United States presented analternative resolution designed to reconcile thedifferent points of view. Instead of a directappeal by the General Assembly the resolutioncontemplated the establishment of a commit-tee to secure further contributions to thework of UNRRA. The resolution read asfollows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, impressed withthe imperative urgency that action to facili-tate the final stages of the work of UNRRAbe taken at the earliest possible date in viewof the understanding of the Council of UNRRAthat the work of that organization will becompleted in Europe by 31 December 1946,and in the Far East by March 1947:

1. ESTABLISHES A COMMITTEE,(a) to consult with States signatory to

the UNRRA Agreement which have notmade or arranged to make the further con-tributions to UNRRA recommended in Coun-cil resolution No. 80 of August 1945, andto urge upon them that they make suchcontributions with the least possible delay;

(b) to urge upon Members of the UnitedNations who are not signatories to theUNRRA Agreement to join that organiza-tion and thereby to make their contributionsto this great humanitarian task.

2. APPOINTS as members of this Committeethe representatives of the following countries:Canada, China, Dominican Republic, France,Greece, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Unionof Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom,United States of America, and instructs theCommittee to begin its work as soon as pos-sible.

3. INSTRUCTS the Secretary-General to seekto make arrangements with the Director-Gen-eral of UNRRA whereby the General Assembly

may be furnished with full reports on thework of UNRRA and on the progress made to-wards economic rehabilitation in the countriesbeing assisted by UNRRA.

The representatives of several South Amer-ican States declared that the economic dis-location resulting from the war made it im-possible for their countries to agree to afurther obligatory contribution to UNRRA.In answer it was emphasized that the UnitedStates resolution did not formally obligategovernments to make the contributions re-quested, but merely called on them to do thebest they could.

The Second Committee on January 29, 1946,adopted the United States resolution by ac-clamation. After many representatives hadpaid high tribute to the work of UNRRA theGeneral Assembly, at its 21st plenary meetingon February 1, 1946, unanimously adopted theresolution as quoted above.

The Committee on UNRRA, thus established,held its first meeting during the fourth ses-sion of the UNRRA Council at Atlantic Cityin March 1946. It engaged in consultationwith the Director-General and other officialsof UNRRA. It agreed upon plans to encour-age Members to contribute the full amountof their quota to the Administration at theearliest possible date and to inform Membersof the United Nations who were not Membersof UNRRA of the procedure whereby theymight become Members of UNRRA.

The UNRRA Council passed a resolutionwhich established the basis of working co-ordination with the Committee and with theSecretariat. Communications had been sentto the Members of the United Nations urgingthem to give full and prompt support to thework of UNRRA. The Committee was repre-sented at the fifth session of the UNRRACouncil, which met in Geneva in August 1946.

Pursuant to the General Assembly's reso-lution, the Director-General of UNRRA sub-mitted in September 1946 a report to be pre-sented to the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly.

e. Question of RefugeesOn January 23, 1946, the United Kingdom

delegation put forward a proposal concerningrefugees. On January 25 the Yugoslav dele-gation presented an alternative proposal. Bothtion. The United Kingdom proposal, after awere referred to the Third Committee (Social,Humanitarian and Cultural) for considera-


lengthy review of past efforts on the part ofthe League of Nations and the Inter-govern-mental Committee on Refugees to deal withthe refugee problem, concluded by stating thatthe present machinery for dealing with theproblem was no longer adequate. It was pro-posed, therefore, to refer the question to theEconomic and Social Council for thoroughexamination at the Council's first session.

The Yugoslav proposal urged that theAssembly should consider that the problem ofdisplaced persons had ceased to be an im-portant international question, as the defeat ofthe fascist countries permitted the return ofall displaced persons to their home countries.No permanent international machinery wasnecessary, therefore, to organize assistance tosuch persons. The problem of those displacedpersons who were still outside their own coun-tries should be dealt with through bilateralarrangements between the countries of originand the countries of residence of such refu-gees. Any displaced persons who did not reportfor repatriation within a period of four monthsshould not be entitled to assistance at the ex-pense of international organizations or of theirState of origin. The Spanish Republicanrefugees should form the only exception tothis. The General Assembly, further, shouldrecommend to Members of the United Nationsthat they make arrangements to facilitate theapprehension of war criminals.

In the course of the prolonged discussionwhich ensued both in the Third Committee andin the plenary meetings of the General Assem-bly a number of representatives includingthose of the Byelorussian S.S.R., Poland,the U.S.S.R., and the Ukrainian S.S.R., em-phasized that, in their view, all men of goodwill could return to their home countries asa result of the defeat of the Axis Powers.Quislings, war criminals, traitors, Fascistsand undemocratic elements who opposed thegovernments of their countries should not re-ceive any assistance from an international or-ganization. The solution of the refugee prob-lem was repatriation at the earliest possibledate, preferably through bilateral arrange-ments between the countries concerned. Assis-tance by an international organization to per-sons unwilling to return to their own countriesfor political reasons would tend to perpetuatethe problem instead of solving it. It was nec-essary to distinguish between genuine victims

of fascist aggression and other displaced per-sons who for one reason or another did notwish to be repatriated. The Polish representa-tive said that he thought Allied soldiers whohad contributed to the common victory and whoremained away from their countries shouldnot be regarded as refugees. The representa-tives of a number of Arab States registeredtheir opposition to political Zionism in thisconnection. Although expressing sympathy forJewish victims of fascism, they agreed thatthis problem should be in no way related tothe problem of Palestine. If Jews left Europeas a matter of personal preference this couldnot be regarded as a refugee question.

Another group of representatives which in-cluded those of Belgium, the Netherlands,Panama, South Africa, the United Kingdomand the United States, considered that it wasnecessary to place human considerations abovepolitical ones. In their view there was animportant group of political dissidents whowere neither Fascists nor war criminals ortraitors. Such persons should not be forcedto return to their home countries. The rightof asylum for political dissidents was part andparcel of those basic human rights embodiedin the Charter of the United Nations.

On February 1 and 4 respectively the repre-sentatives of the Netherlands and the U.S.S.R.presented alternative draft resolutions. Bothresolutions agreed that the problem should bereferred to the Economic and Social Council.Both agreed, furthermore, that refugees whodid not wish to return to their countries oforigin should not be compelled to do so. Whilethe Netherlands resolution stated that theresettlement of such refugees should be theresponsibility of an international organiza-tion, the Soviet resolution sought to makesuch resettlement contingent upon the consentof the country of origin of these refugees.The Netherlands resolution, moreover, recom-mended to the Economic and Social Councilthe establishment under the Council of an in-ternational body to examine the refugee prob-lem in all its aspects. The Soviet resolutionstressed that the main task of the United Na-tions concerning refugees was to give all pos-sible help for their early return to their na-tive countries. According to the Netherlandsresolution only persons liable to extradition inconformity with an international agreementbecause of their action or attitude during thelast war were to be refused refugee status.


The Soviet resolution, on the other hand,stated that:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS THAT:(a) Quislings, traitors and war criminals,

as persons dishonoured for collaboration withthe enemies of the United Nations in anyform, should not be regarded as refugees whoare entitled to get protection of the UnitedNations, and that quislings, traitors and warcriminals who are still hiding under the guiseof refugees, should be immediately returnedto their countries;

(b) Germans being transferred to Germanyfrom other States or who fled to other Statesfrom Allied troops, do not fall under the ac-tion of this decision; their situation may bedecided by allied forces of occupation in Ger-many, in agreement with the Governments ofthe respective countries.

In addition the U.S.S.R. resolution containedthe following provisions concerning refugeecamps:

No propaganda should be permitted in refu-gee camps against the interests of the Organ-ization of the United Nations or her Members,nor propaganda against returning to their na-tive countries.

The personnel of refugee camps should becomprised mainly of representatives of Statesconcerned, whose citizens are the refugees.

After further discussion the representativeof the United States introduced a compromiseresolution which proposed that the GeneralAssembly recommend to the Economic andSocial Council the establishment of a specialcommittee to make a thorough study of therefugee problem and to report to the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly. Persons who objected to returning totheir country of origin should not be compelledto do so, but every effort should be made toencourage repatriation. No action taken inaccordance with this resolution, however,should interfere in any way with the surrenderand punishment of war criminals, quislingsand traitors in conformity with internationalarrangements and agreements.

In the hope that a majority of the ThirdCommittee might support the United Statesresolution, the representatives of the Nether-lands and the United Kingdom agreed to with-draw their own draft proposals. The Sovietand the United States drafts were referred toa Sub-Committee, which on February 7 re-ported the following text, which was adoptedby the full Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,Recognizing that the problem of refugees anddisplaced persons of all categories is one ofimmediate urgency and recognizing the neces-sity of clearly distinguishing between genuinerefugees and displaced persons, on the onehand, and the war criminals, quislings andtraitors referred to in paragraph (d) below,on the other:

(a) DECIDES to refer this problem to theEconomic and Social Council for thorough ex-amination in all its aspects under item 10 ofthe agenda for the first session of the Counciland for report to the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly;

(b) RECOMMENDS to the Economic and So-cial Council that it establish a special Commit-tee for the purpose of carrying out promptlythe examination and preparation of the reportreferred to in paragraph (a);

(c) RECOMMENDS to the Economic and So-cial Council that it take into consideration inthis matter the following principles:

(i) This problem is international in scopeand nature;(ii) No refugees or displaced persons whohave finally and definitely, in complete free-dom and after receiving full knowledge ofthe facts, including adequate informationfrom the governments of their countries oforigin, expressed valid objections to return-ing to their countries and who do not comewithin the provisions of paragraph (d) be-low, shall be compelled to return to theircountry of origin. The future of such refu-gees or displaced persons shall become theconcern of whatever international body maybe recognized or established as a result ofthe report referred to in paragraphs (a)and (b) above, except in cases where thegovernment of the country where they areestablished has made arrangement with thisbody to assume the complete cost of theirmaintenance and the responsibility for theirprotection;(iii) The main task concerning displacedpersons is to encourage and assist in everypossible way their early return to thencountries of origin. Such assistance maytake the form of promoting the conclusionof bilateral arrangements for mutual assis-tance in the repatriation of such personshaving regard to the principles laid down inparagraph (c) (ii) above;1

(d) CONSIDERS that no action taken as aresult of this resolution shall be of such acharacter as to interfere in any way with thesurrender and punishment of war criminals,

1 In the resolution as originally reported by the

Sub-Committee, paragraph (c) (iii) preceded par-agraph (c) (ii). Upon the suggestion of the repre-sentative of the United Kingdom the Third Com-mittee reversed this order, so as to bring outmore clearly the fact that the principles con-tained in paragraph (c) (ii) took precedenceover those contained in paragraph (c) (iii).


quislings and traitors, in conformity with pres-ent and future international agreements;

(e) CONSIDERS that Germans being trans-ferred to Germany from other States or whofled to other States from Allied troops, donot fall under the action of this declarationinsofar as their situation may be decidedby Allied forces of occupation in Germany, inagreement with the governments of the re-spective countries.

The Soviet representative proposed theamendment of the above text to include theprovision contained in the original Sovietdraft that resettlement of refugees shouldnot take place without the consent of the coun-try of origin as well as the country of resettle-ment, and also the Soviet recommendationsquoted above concerning refugee camps. Thiswas rejected.

When the report of the Third Committeecame before the General Assembly at the29th plenary meeting on February 12, 1946,the representative of the U.S.S.R. reintroducedthe amendments previously rejected in theCommittee. After considerable debate allamendments were rejected and the GeneralAssembly at the 30th plenary meeting adoptedthe text as presented by the Third Committee.

f. World Shortage of CerealsOn February 11, 1946, the General Com-

mittee recommended that a draft resolutionconcerning the world shortage of cereals sub-mitted by the representatives of China, France,the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom and theUnited States be placed on the agenda of theGeneral Assembly, together with letters fromthe Director-General of UNRRA and theDirector-General of the Food and AgricultureOrganization addressed to the Secretary-Gen-eral of the United Nations. The draft reso-lution was discussed at the 32nd and 33rdplenary meetings of the General Assembly.The representatives of the sponsoring coun-tries, as well as many others, spoke in sup-port of the resolution, calling attention to thecritical food shortage throughout the worldwhich made concerted action on the part ofthe United Nations an immediate necessity.As a result of crop failures in India andSouth Africa, the food shortage, it was pointedout, was even worse than had been foreseenwhen the Food and Agriculture Organizationheld its first meeting in October 1945. Repre-sentatives of food-importing countries im-pressed their needs upon the General Assem-bly, while representatives of food-exporting

countries reviewed the measures they hadtaken or were about to take to alleviate thecritical situation.

The General Assembly by unanimous voteadopted the following resolution:

The damage caused by war and the disloca-tion of agricultural production resulting fromthe shortage and dislocation of labour, theremoval of draught animals, the shortage offertilizers and other circumstances connectedwith the war have caused a serious fall inworld production of wheat. In addition, alarge number of countries, including some ofthose which are normally the largest producersof grain, have suffered serious droughts andhave therefore reaped abnormally small crops.The supply of rice is also so short as tothreaten a famine in certain areas. There is,moreover, a serious risk of grain productionin the coming season being insufficient to pre-vent continuing hunger. For these reasonsthe world is faced with conditions which maycause widespread suffering and death andconsequently set back all plans for reconstruc-tion.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, therefore:1. URGES all Governments and peoples to

take immediate and drastic action, both direct-ly and through the international organiza-tions concerned, to conserve supplies, by secur-ing adequate collection of crops from the pro-ducers, by saving food and avoiding waste,and to ensure the maximum production ofgrain in the coming season;

2. NOTES that several of the United Nationshave recently announced measures to reservegrain supplies for direct human consumptionand to secure increased production;

3. URGES all Governments to publish as fullinformation as possible regarding their ownsupplies and requirements of cereals and thesteps they have taken or are prepared to taketo achieve the objectives of paragraph 1;

4. REQUESTS the international organizationsconcerned with food and agriculture to pub-lish full information in their possession onthe world food position and the future out-look, and to intensify efforts to obtain as fullinformation as possible on this subject, inorder to assist Governments in determiningtheir short term and long term agriculturalpolicy.

The Secretary-General subsequently com-municated with Member Governments drawingtheir attention to the resolution, urging themto publish full information on the food situ-ation and inviting them to supply the Secre-tariat with any relevant information, includingany indication of steps which had been takenor which might be taken to achieve the ob-jectives of the resolution. The replies re-ceived were transmitted to the United Nations


Food and Agriculture Organization for itsinformation.

Following the adoption of the resolutionby the General Assembly, the Food and Agri-culture Organization arranged a Special Meet-ing on Urgent Food Problems, which maderecommendations concerning the short-termand long-term international arrangements re-quired.

In addition to action reported by individualgovernments and action resulting from the in-ternational meeting arranged by the Food andAgriculture Organization, related action wastaken by the United Nations Relief and Re-habilitation Administration and the Emer-gency Economic Committee for Europe withreference to aspects of the cereals situationof special concern to them.

Representatives from the United NationsSecretariat attended these various meetingsand kept themselves closely informed on otherdevelopments relating to the subject of theresolution of the General Assembly.

g. Reconstruction of Devastated AreasUpon the recommendation of the General

Committee, the General Assembly at its 22ndplenary meeting on February 2, 1946, votedto place on its agenda and to discuss imme-diately a draft resolution submitted by therepresentative of Poland on the reconstruc-tion of countries devasted by war.

The Polish representative stated that theproblem of reconstructing war devastatedareas was an unprecedented one whichreached far beyond the possibilities of theafflicted nations and had become a problem ofworld economy. The economies of devastatedcountries must be reconstructed so that suchcountries could resume normal consumptionof the goods produced in excess by countrieswhose productive capacity had expanded as aresult of the war and who had not suffered anymaterial destruction. Continued economic in-equality between nations would result in poli-tical tension and would undermine the foun-dations of world peace. It was the purpose ofthe Polish resolution to call attention to thisserious problem, which, it was proposed,should be examined by the Second Committee(Economic and Financial) of the GeneralAssembly and by the Economic and SocialCouncil.

The representative of the United States, al-though supporting the Polish resolution, re-

marked that, desirable as international dis-cussion and study in the field of reconstructionmight be, concrete action could be taken onlyby individual nations themselves. By sup-porting the Polish resolution, the UnitedStates representative emphasized, the UnitedStates did not assume any direct or indirectcommitment with regard to assistance to wardevastated areas in any particular case.

A United States amendment to the Polishresolution providing that the Second Commit-tee examine this problem at the second partof the first session of the General Assemblyrather than at the first part of the first sessionwas accepted by the General Assembly, whichunanimously adopted the amended resolutionas follows:

CONSIDERING :That the war of aggression waged on the

territories of many Members of the UnitedNations resulted in the destruction of vastareas of these countries on an unprecedentedscale;

That these peace-loving nations, whichsuffered such an extensive damage, representnearly one-half of the total population of theworld;

That the vast areas representing a big con-suming power are virtually eliminated fromthe normal flow of world trade, so that thewhole world economy must be seriouslyaffected;

That the great scale of destruction resultedin most cases in a dangerous lowering in thestandard of living and in the health of thepopulation, in a substantial loss of productivecapacity and sometimes in the complete de-struction of the normal economic activitiesof the respective countries;

That in order to make good the destructionand so to restore the shaken world economyvast amounts of new capital goods must be in-vested in the destroyed areas;

That in most cases it would be impossibleto deal with the work of reconstruction withthe necessary speed and efficiency if the affec-ted countries were limited in this respect totheir internal resources and possibilities alone;

That only a full-scale and whole-hearted co-operation of all the United Nations can bringabout the right solution of this grave problem;

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY :1. RECOGNIZES the problem of full recon-

struction of the countries belonging to Mem-bers of the United Nations which sufferedsubstantial war damage as a grave and urgentmatter which should be given very high prior-ity among postwar problems;

2. DECIDES to discuss generally this matterunder paragraph 17 of its agenda and to trans-mit it, at the second part of the first session


of the General Assembly, for a close examin-ation by the Second Committee, which shallpresent to the General Assembly a report re-sulting from this examination;

3. ASKS the Economic and Social Councilto place this subject on the agenda of its firstmeeting, as an urgent matter in the economicand social field, according to paragraph 10 ofthe provisional agenda of the first meetingof the Council, as proposed by the PreparatoryCommission.

h. Organization of an International PressConference

The delegation of the Philippine Common-wealth submitted a draft resolution proposingthat an international press conference becalled immediately to ensure the establish-ment, operation and movement of a free pressthroughout the world. The draft resolution,despatched by wire on January 4, 1946, didnot reach the Executive-Secretary of the Pre-paratory Commission until January 5, 1946.The Preparatory Commission, therefore, hadnot included this proposal in the provision-al agenda of the General Assembly, on theground that the proposal had not been filedin time, according to the Provisional Rules ofProcedure, which required agenda items tobe submitted six days in advance of the open-ing of the General Assembly.

At the second plenary meeting of the Gen-eral Assembly on January 11, 1946, the Phil-ippine representative protested against theexclusion of this item from the agenda. Thematter was referred to the General Committee,which, after some discussion, decided that thePhilippine proposal should be dealt with atthe second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly and not at the first part of thefirst session. The Committee considered thatthe work of the first part of the first sessionshould be confined largely to organizationaltasks and that substantive matters shouldbe reserved for later action. On the under-standing that the matter would be taken upat the second part of the first session of theAssembly, the Philippine representative agreednot to press his proposal. Upon the recom-mendation of the General Committee the Gen-eral Assembly, therefore, on February 9,1946, adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTS theSecretary-General to place the question of theorganization of an international press confer-ence upon the agenda of the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly.

i. Declaration on Fundamental Human Rightsand on the Rights and Duties of NationsThe representative of Cuba submitted a

proposal that the General Assembly shoulddiscuss human rights and the rights and dutiesof nations. The General Committee, however,recommended that the Cuban proposal shouldnot be included on the Assembly's agenda, asin the view of the Committee it was not neces-sary to make specific provision for such dis-cussion. The subject of human rights, theCommittee considered, came properly withinthe general debate and touched particularly onsubjects in connection with the Economic andSocial Council. As to the rights and dutiesof nations, the Committee felt that the UnitedNations Charter itself made an attempt toclarify and define the rights of nations, andthis subject also would thus come under thegeneral debate.

The Cuban representative, however, thoughtthat if the principles embodied in the UnitedNations Charter were to become a reality itwas necessary for the General Assembly toadopt a declaration on fundamental humanrights and on the rights and duties of nations.Such a declaration would show the commonman all over the world that the United Nationshad not forgotten the promises made at SanFrancisco to establish human rights and topromote human welfare.

At the seventh plenary meeting on January14, 1946, the General Assembly, in accordancewith the General Committee's recommendation,voted not to include the Cuban proposal inits agenda.

j. Declaration on the Participation of Womenin the Work of the United NationsThe women representatives, alternates and

advisers to the first part of the first session ofthe General Assembly met and drafted anopen letter addressed to the women of theworld. This letter read in part as follows:

This first Assembly of the United Nationsmarks the second attempt of the peoples of theworld to live peacefully in a democratic worldcommunity. This new chance for peace waswon through the joint efforts of men andwomen working for common ideals of humanfreedom at a time when need for united effortbroke down barriers of race, creed and sex.In view of the variety of tasks which womenperformed so notably and valiantly during thewar, we are gratified that seventeen womendelegates and advisers, representing eleven


Member States, are taking part at the begin-ning of this new phase of international effort.We hope their participation in the work of theUnited Nations may grow and may increasein insight and in skill. To this end we callon the Governments of the world to encouragewomen everywhere to take a more active partin national and international affairs, and onwomen who are conscious of their opportuni-ties to come forward and share in the work ofpeace and reconstruction as they did in warand resistance.

Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, on behalf of thewomen members of the General Assembly,presented this letter to the 29th plenary meet-ing of the General Assembly on February 12,1946. At the same meeting the Frenchdelegation, at the suggestion of MadameLefaucheux, presented the following declara-tion regarding the participation of women inthe conferences of the United Nations:

Considering that it is necessary to recognizethe role played by women during the war andtheir participation in the resistance organiza-tions in the armed forces and in order to asso-ciate more directly all the women of the worldwith the work of the Organization of theUnited Nations and with the maintenance ofpeace and social progress;

Considering that it is necessary to apply thetext and the spirit of Article 55, paragraph(c) of the Charter; precisely that the aim ofthe Economic and Social Council is in partic-ular to promote universal and effective respectof the rights of men and of fundamental free-dom for all without distinction of race, sex,language or religion;

The French delegation thinks that a muchlarger place should be accorded to women inthe different delegations of the United Na-tions at its next conference.

Several representatives emphasized the im-portance of the creation of a committee onthe status of women to function under theCommission of Human Rights of the Economicand Social Council.

No vote was taken on the abovementioneddeclarations, but several representatives andthe President of the General Assemblyexpressed their hope that these statementswould receive wide publicity and seriousconsideration.

k. Columbus Lighthouse MemorialAt the 26th plenary meeting of the General

Assembly, the representative of Chile, on be-half of the delegations of Brazil, Chile, Colom-bia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic,

Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama,presented a declaration stating that the Pan-American Union by resolution of August 25,1945, had accepted the offer of the DominicanGovernment to undertake the construction ofa monumental lighthouse on the coast of thecapital of the Dominican Republic in honorof the memory of Christopher Columbus. TheGeneral Assembly expressed its keen sym-pathy with the impending start of the con-struction of the Lighthouse Memorial, whichit was felt would symbolize the spirit of inter-national peace and co-operation of the Ameri-can Republics, and unanimously approved thedeclaration.

4. TRUSTEESHIP AND NON-SELF-GOVERNINGTERRITORIES

a. Non-Self-Governing PeoplesThe General Assembly, at its sixteenth plen-

ary meeting on January 19, 1946, referredChapter IV—the Trusteeship System—ofthe Preparatory Commission's Report to theFourth Committee (Trusteeship) for consid-eration and report.

During the general debate in its plenarymeetings, the General Assembly had expresseda unanimous desire to set up the TrusteeshipCouncil at the earliest possible date. Therepresentative of the United Kingdom statedthat his Government had already prepareddraft Trusteeship Agreements for the mandatedterritories of Tanganyika, the Cameroons andTogoland, and the representative of Belgiumthat his Government had drafted a TrusteeshipAgreement for the mandated territory ofRuanda-Urundi. The Australian and NewZaland representatives declared that theirGovernments were willing to place their man-dated territories under the International Trus-teeship System.

The French representative stated thatFrance intended to continue to administer itsmandated territories of Togoland and theCameroons according to the spirit of the man-date, and that it would study arrangementsfor placing them under trusteeship on the un-derstanding that this would not entail anydiminution of the rights of the inhabitants andthat the agreements would be submitted tothe representative organs of the populations.The South African representative explainedthe special position of the mandated territoryof South West Africa, and stated his Govern-ment's intention of consulting the people of


the territory on the form which their futuregovernment should take.

The Fourth Committee held twelve meetings.The first nine meetings were devoted to a gen-eral debate on the draft resolution submittedby the Preparatory Commission for adoptionby the General Assembly. All representativespointed out that their Governments intendedto act in full accordance with the letter andspirit of the Charter as regards non-self-governing peoples.

The French representative presented theposition of his Government with respect toits mandated territories. There had been es-tablished local freely elected assemblies inTogoland and the Cameroons and these terri-tories designated delegates to the FrenchAssembly.

The representative of New Zealand statedthat he would ask for a clarification of theposition of France regarding acceptance ofthe Trusteeship System. He emphasized thatmandated territories did not belong to man-datory powers and the latter had no right toattach such mandates to their sovereign terri-tory. The New Zealand representative askedwhether the native population would be in-cluded in any plebiscite if the question aroseof attaching a mandate to the sovereign terri-tory of the mandatory power. He felt thatterritories ready for self-government shouldbe placed under trusteeship and the support ofthe whole of the United Nations secured for achange in their status.

The Syrian representative drew attentionto Chapters XI and XII of the Charter, whichimposed an obligation to promote the nativecultures of the peoples of the Non-Self-Gov-erning Territories and their self-government.If Togoland and the Cameroons were to beassimilated into metropolitan France, theywould lose their cultural heritages.

The French representative asserted thathis Government would abide by the provisionsof the Charter.

The representative of the Union of SouthAfrica referred to the advanced stage of self-government enjoyed by South West Africaand the resolution of the Legislature of SouthWest Africa calling for amalgamation intothe Union. He stated that no attempt to drawup an agreement would be made until thefreely expressed will of both the Europeanand native population was ascertained, atwhich time the decision of the Union would

be submitted to the General Assembly forjudgment.

The Netherlands representative felt that,for the effective functioning of the Trustee-ship System, there should be consultation andco-operation between the Trusteeship Counciland the Administering Authorities, with noattempt to impose the Trusteeship Council up-on the Administering Authorities as a judicialorgan. He further stated that all groups inthe populations of Trust Territories should bebrought into closer co-operation with the work-ing of the Trusteeship System and should beconsulted continuously. The representative ofAustralia stated that the paramount objectiveof the Trusteeship System was to promote thepolitical, economic, social and educational ad-vancement of the inhabitants of Trust Terri-tories; the rights and duties of mandatoryStates in this respect were those laid down inthe mandates themselves. Chapter XI of theCharter and the Preparatory Commission'sReport on Trusteeship should be consideredseparately, he felt, as Chapter XI was alreadyin effect and did not depend upon the estab-lishment of the Trusteeship System.

After commenting on the successful opera-tion of the mandates system in Ruanda-Urundi,the Belgian representative expressed hope forthe establishment of the Trusteeship Councilat an early date, as his Government desired toresume the submission of reports on its ad-ministration of that territory.

All delegations were of the opinion that thefirst session of the General Assembly shouldadopt a resolution concerning not only Chap-ter XII (International Trusteeship System)and Chapter XIII (The Trusteeship Council)of the Charter, as recommended by the Pre-paratory Commission, but also Chapter XI(Declaration Regarding Non-Self-GoverningTerritories). At the fifth meeting of theFourth Committee on January 24, the UnitedStates representative presented an amend-ment to the Preparatory Commission's draftresolution to this effect. The amendmentstressed the responsibilities of the Administer-ing Powers toward the peoples of Trust Terri-tories. The representative of China, in sup-port of the United States amendment, saidthat the essence of both the mandates systemand the Trusteeship System was that the titleof a territory under trust belonged to itspeople. He stressed the significance of Chap-ters XI, XII and XIII of the Charter.


A question was raised by the representa-tives of the Philippines and Syria concerningthe definition of the term "States directlyconcerned" with the drawing up of Trustee-ship Agreements and the administration ofTrust Territories. The Iraq delegation ex-pressed the belief that "States directly con-cerned" were the mandatory powers in thecase of mandated territories; States whichsubmitted their colonies to the TrusteeshipSystem; and States which were concerned byvirtue of neighborship or cultural, linguistic,economic, social and continued historical tieswith territories to be placed under trustee-ship. The representative of South Africathought the decision could best be taken bythe Trusteeship Council in individual cases.The representative of Australia argued thatany Member of the United Nations couldadvance its claim to be a "State directlyconcerned."

At the fifth meeting of the Fourth Commit-tee, it was agreed to fix January 28 as the timelimit for submission of additional amendments.At the eighth meeting on January 28 amend-ments to the draft resolution for the GeneralAssembly were presented by Australia, Belgium,Canada, China, India, Iraq and the Nether-lands. In view of the multiplicity of amend-ments before the Committee, the Chairmanappointed a Sub-Committee to draft a completeproposal, after consideration of all questionsand amendments in connection with Section 1of Chapter IV of the Preparatory Commis-sion's Report, for final action by the Commit-tee. The Sub-Committee, in addition to theChairman (Uruguay) and the Rapporteur(Czechoslovakia), was composed of Australia,Belgium, Canada, China, France, New Zealand,the Netherlands, Syria, the U.S.S.R., the Unionof South Africa, the United Kingdom, theUnited States and Yugoslavia.

In view of the limited time available, theamendments presented by the Belgian, Cana-dian and Iraqi delegations were withdrawnwithout prejudice to their future considera-tion. The Iraqi amendment outlined certainconsiderations for determining "States direct-ly concerned" in the negotiation of TrusteeshipAgreements and the procedure to be followedfor the negotiation of such Agreements; theBelgian and Canadian amendments dealt withthe latter point.

The Sub-Committee decided that the Nether-lands amendment, which dealt with the smooth

working of the Trusteeship System, could bediscussed more properly when the TrusteeshipCouncil was brought into being.

The suggestion of the Australian delegation—that Chapter XI of the Charter was inde-pendent from the setting up of the Trustee-ship Council and therefore was already infull force—was adopted.

In conformity with the Chinese proposal,the Sub-Committee included in its resolutiona request that the Secretary-General includein his annual report a summary of the in-formation submitted by the Members of theUnited Nations as required by Article 73 (e)of the Charter.

The resolution as presented by the Sub-Committee was in substance the same as thatproposed by the Preparatory Commission, withthe changes suggested by the United Statesamendment as well as the Australian andChinese amendments.

The Fourth Committee, at its tenth meetingon February 8, unanimously adopted the draftresolution prepared by its Sub-Committee.

The report of the Fourth Committee waspresented to the General Assembly at its 27thplenary meeting on February 9. Several dele-gations indicated their approval of the resolu-tion. China expressed the hope that the mini-mum number of Trusteeship Agreements re-quired for the setting up of the TrusteeshipCouncil would be submitted to the GeneralAssembly before the second part of its firstsession. Egypt took exception to the postpone-ment of the definition of the term "Statesdirectly concerned." Peru maintained that allStates were directly concerned in the political,economic, social and humanitarian aspects ofthe trusteeship question.

The comprehensive resolution proposed bythe Fourth Committee on non-self-governingpeoples and adopted unanimously by the Gen-eral Assembly was as follows:

The United Nations, meeting in its firstGeneral Assembly, is keenly aware of theproblems and political aspirations of thepeoples who have not yet attained a full mea-sure of self-government and who are not direct-ly represented here.

Chapters XI, XII, and XIII of the Charterrecognize the problems of the non-self-govern-ing peoples as of vital concern to the peace andgeneral welfare of the world community.

By Chapter XI, all the Members of theUnited Nations which have or assume respon-sibilities for the administration of territories


whose peoples have not yet attained a fullmeasure of self-government recognize theprinciple that the interests of the inhabitantsof these territories are paramount. Theyaccept, as a sacred trust, the obligation topromote to the utmost the well-being of theinhabitants of these territories. To that endthey accept certain specific obligations, includ-ing the obligation to develop self-governmentand to assist the inhabitants in the progressivedevelopment of their free political institutions.

By Chapters XII and XIII, the Charter pro-vides for the establishment of an internationaltrusteeship system, the basic objectives ofwhich are, among others, to promote thepolitical, economic, social and educationaladvancement of the inhabitants of trustterritories, and to promote their progressivedevelopment toward self-government or inde-pendence.

The General Assembly regrets that the Trus-teeship Council cannot be brought into beingat this first part of the first session, not be-cause of any lack of desire to do so but because,before the Trusteeship Council can be estab-lished, trusteeship agreements must be con-cluded.

The General Assembly holds the view thatany delay in putting into effect the system ofinternational trusteeship prevents the imple-mentation of the principles of the TrusteeshipSystem, as declared in the Charter, anddeprives the populations of such territoriesas may be brought under the TrusteeshipSystem of the opportunity of enjoying theadvantages arising from the implementationof these principles.

With a view to expediting the conclusionof these agreements and the establishment ofthe Trusteeship Council, the Preparatory Com-mission recommended that the General Assem-bly should call on those Members of the UnitedNations which are now administering terri-tories held under mandate to undertake prac-tical steps, in concert with the other Statesdirectly concerned, for the implementation ofArticle 79 of the Charter.

Without waiting for the recommendation ofthe Preparatory Commission to be consideredby the General Assembly, the Members of theUnited Nations administering territories heldunder mandate took the initiative in makingdeclarations in regard to these territories.

THEREFOREWITH RESPECT TO CHAPTER XI OF THE CHAR-

TER, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:1. DRAWS ATTENTION TO the fact that the

obligations accepted under Chapter XI of theCharter by all Members of the United Nationsare in no way contingent upon the conclusionof trusteeship agreements or upon the bring-ing into being of the Trusteeship Council andare, therefore, already in full force.

2. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to in-clude in his annual report on the work of theOrganization, as provided for in Article 98of the Charter, a statement summarizing suchinformation as may have been transmitted tohim by Members of the United Nations underArticle 73 (e) of the Charter relating to eco-nomic, social and educational conditions in theterritories for which they are responsibleother than those to which Chapters XII andXIII apply.

WITH RESPECT TO CHAPTERS XII AND XIII OFTHE CHARTER, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

3. WELCOMES the declarations, made bycertain States administering territories nowheld under mandate, of an intention to nego-tiate trusteeship agreements in respect ofsome of those territories and, in respect ofTransjordan, to establish its independence.

4. INVITES the States administering terri-tories now held under mandate to undertakepractical steps, in concert with the other Statesdirectly concerned, for the implementation ofArticle 79 of the Charter (which provides forthe conclusion of agreements on the terms oftrusteeship for each territory to be placedunder the Trusteeship System), in order tosubmit these agreements for approval, prefer-ably not later than during the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly.

IN CONCLUSION, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:5. EXPECTS that the realization of the objec-

tives of Chapters XI, XII and XIII will makepossible the attainment of the political, eco-nomic, social and educational aspirations ofnon-self-governing peoples.

b. Provisional Rules of Procedure for theTrusteeship Council

The Provisional Rules of Procedure for theTrusteeship Council prepared by the Prepara-tory Commission (Section 2 of Chapter IV ofthe Preparatory Commission's Report) werereferred to the Fourth Committee of theGeneral Assembly for consideration. On themotion of the Chairman, the Committee unani-mously approved these Rules of Procedure atits tenth meeting on February 4.

Upon the suggestion of the Fourth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 27th plen-ary meeting on February 9, 1946, adopted thefollowing resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY REQUESTS theSecretary-General to transmit the "ProvisionalRules of Procedure of the Trusteeship Coun-cil" (Section 2 of Chapter IB of the Prepara-tory Commission's Report) to the TrusteeshipCouncil as soon as it is constituted.


5. ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY MATTERSa. Terms of Appointment of the Secretary-

GeneralThe Preparatory Commission made a num-

ber of suggestions concerning the terms ofappointment of the Secretary-General,1 andrecommended that the General Assemblyshould decide what the salary of the Secretary-General should be. Upon the recommendationof the Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary) the General Assembly at its 21stplenary meeting on February 1, 1946, unani-mously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES that, inview of the heavy responsibilities which restupon the Secretary-General in fulfilling hisobligations under the Charter:

1. The terms of the appointment of theSecretary-General shall be such as to enablea man of eminence and high attainment toaccept and maintain the position.

2. The Secretary-General shall receive asalary of an amount sufficient to bring him ina net sum of $20,000 (US), together withrepresentation allowance of $20,000 (US),per annum. In addition, he shall be providedwith a furnished residence, the repairs andmaintenance of which, excluding provision ofhousehold staff, shall be borne by the Organi-zation.

3. The first Secretary-General shall be ap-pointed for five years, the appointment beingopen at the end of that period for a furtherfive year term.

4. The following observations contained inparagraphs 18-21 of Section 2, Chapter VIIIof the Preparatory Commission's Report benoted and approved:

(a) There being no stipulation on thesubject in the Charter, the General Assemblyand the Security Council are free to modifythe term of office of future Secretaries-General in the light of experience.

(6) Because a Secretary-General is a con-fidant of many governments, it is desirablethat no Member should offer him, at anyrate immediately on retirement, any govern-mental position in which his confidentialinformation might be a source of embarrass-ment to other Members, and on his part aSecretary-General should refrain from ac-cepting any such position.

(c) From the provisions of Articles 18and 27 of the Charter, it is clear that, forthe nomination of the Secretary-General bythe Security Council, an affirmative vote ofseven members, including the concurringvotes of the permanent Members, is re-quired; and that for his appointment by theGeneral Assembly, a simple majority of themembers of that body present and votingis sufficient, unless the General Assembly

itself decides that a two-thirds majority iscalled for. The same rules apply to a re-newal of appointment as to an originalappointment; this should be made clearwhen the original appointment is made.

(d) It would be desirable for the SecurityCouncil to proffer one candidate only for theconsideration of the General Assembly, andfor debate on the nomination in the GeneralAssembly to be avoided. Both nominationand appointment should be discussed atprivate meetings, and a vote in either theSecurity Council or the General Assembly,if taken, should be by secret ballot.

b. Appointment of Temporary StaffThe General Assembly at its third plenary

meeting on January 12, 1946, referred thequestion of the appointment of a temporarystaff to the Fifth Committee. The Committeeon January 26, unanimously adopted the fol-lowing resolution submitted by the representa-tive of the United States:

Recognizing the ability and faithful serviceof the temporary staff under the ExecutiveSecretary and the need for the staff membersto be informed soon of their status in theSecretariat; and recognizing also the desira-bility of leaving to the Secretary-General fullfreedom to select the permanent staff whichwill assist him to carry out his responsibilities:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AUTHORIZES theSecretary-General to continue, pursuant torule M of its provisional rules of procedure,the employment of the members of the staffof the Executive Secretary under the presentterms and regulations until April 1, 1946, oruntil such prior date as the Secretary-Gen-eral may enter into employment arrange-ments with such members in accordance withthe provisional staff regulations and otherconditions of employment in the Secretariatestablished by the General Assembly.

The General Assembly adopted this resolu-tion at its 21st plenary meeting on February1, 1946.

c. Organization of the SecretariatOn the recommendation of the Fifth Com-

mittee the General Assembly at its 31st plen-ary meeting on February 13, adopted a seriesof 34 resolutions, including two annexes, onthe following subjects pertaining to the organi-zation of the Secretariat of the UnitedNations:

I. Administrative Organization of the Sec-retariat (Resolutions 1-4)

II. Information (Resolution 5)1 See Chapter VIII, Section 1, Paragraphs 5-7,

and Section 2, Paragraphs 18-21, of the Prepara-tory Commission's Report.


ANNEX I. Recommendations of the Techni-cal Advisory Committee on Informationconcerning the Policies, Functions andOrganization of the Department of PublicInformationIII. Recruitment and Promotion (Resolu-

tions 6-9)IV. Rights and Obligations of the Staff

(Resolutions 10-11)ANNEX II. Provisional Staff RegulationsV. Taxation (Resolutions 12-14)VI. Classification, Salaries and Allowances

(Resolutions 15-23)VII. Duration and Termination of Appoint-

ments (Resolutions 24-27)VIII. Retirement and Compensation (Reso-

lutions 28-33)IX. Transmittal of Section 2 of Chapter

VIII of the Report of the Preparatory Com-mission (Resolution 34)

The resolutions were based mainly uponthe recommendations of the Preparatory Com-mission, including those of its Technical Advis-ory Committee on Information and its Advis-ory Group of Experts.1

(1). Administrative Organization of theSecretariat

The resolution adopted by the GeneralAssembly was based closely on the recom-mendations of the Preparatory Commission.The General Assembly resolved that theSecretariat should be composed of eight de-partments, each headed by an Assistant Secre-tary-General, as outlined in the PreparatoryCommission's Report, and instructed the Secre-tary-General to follow, broadly speaking, thesuggestions of the Preparatory Commissionin determining in detail the structure andfunctions of the departments. Following isthe text of the resolution:

I. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THESECRETARIAT

The administrative organization of theSecretariat should be so designed as to enablethe work of the Secretariat to be conductedwith the greatest possible efficiency.

THEREFORE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RE-SOLVES THAT:

1. The Secretary-General shall take im-mediate steps to establish an administrativeorganization which will permit of the effectivedischarge of his administrative and generalresponsibilities under the Charter and theefficient performance of those functions andservices required to meet the needs of theseveral organs of the United Nations.

2. The principal units of the Secretariatshould be:

(a) Department of Security Council Affairs.(b) Department of Economic Affairs.(c) Department of Social affairs.

(d) Department for Trusteeship and Infor-mation from Non-Self-Governing Terri-tories.

(e) Department of Public Information.(f) Legal Department.(g) Conference and General Services.(h) Administrative and Financial Services.3. The Secretary-General is authorized to

appoint Assistant Secretaries-General andsuch other officials and employees as are re-quired and to prescribe their responsibilitiesand duties. Assistant Secretaries-General shallhave responsibility for and supervision ofDepartments and Services. There shall alwaysbe one Assistant Secretary-General designatedby the Secretary-General to deputize for himwhen he is absent or unable to perform hisfunctions. The Secretary-General shall takewhatever steps may be required to ensure thenecessary co-ordination between the Depart-ments of Economic Affairs and of SocialAffairs, and the maintenance of appropriateadministrative relationships between thoseDepartments and the Economic and SocialCouncil, on the one hand, and between thoseDepartments and the specialized agencies onthe other.

4. At the outset, the Departments andServices should, broadly speaking, conformto the description given in paragraphs 22-40of Section 2, Chapter VIII of the Report of thePreparatory Commission, but the Secretary-General shall make such changes in the initialstructure as may be required to the end thatthe most effective distribution of responsi-bilities and functions among the units of theSecretariat may be achieved.

(2). InformationThe Technical Advisory Committee on Infor-

mation of the Preparatory Commission sub-mitted a report to the General Assemblycontaining the general principles on whichthe Department of Public Information of theUnited Nations Secretariat should be basedand a broad outline of the Department's organ-ization and functioning.

The report was referred to the Fifth Com-mittee. On February 1, 1946, the representa-tive of the Netherlands proposed the followingresolution, which was adopted by the GeneralAssembly:

II. INFORMATIONThe United Nations cannot achieve its pur-

poses unless the peoples of the world are fullyinformed of its aims and activities.

The recommendations of the TechnicalAdvisory Committee on Information submittedby the Preparatory Commission to the GeneralAssembly constitute a sound foundation forthe public information policy and activitiesof the United Nations.

1 See Chapter VIII of the Preparatory Commis-sion's Report.


THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:5. APPROVES the recommendations of the

Technical Advisory Committee on Informationcontained in Annex I and transmits them tothe Secretary-General for his information andconsideration.

ANNEX IRECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TECHNICAL ADVIS-ORY COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION CONCERNINGTHE POLICIES, FUNCTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONOF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

The United Nations cannot achieve the pur-poses for which it has been created unless thepeoples of the world are fully informed of itsaims and activities.

THEREFOREThe Technical Advisory Committee on Infor-

mation makes the following recommendations:1. A Department of Public Information

should be established under an AssistantSecretary-General.

2. The activities of the Department ofPublic Information should be so organizedand directed as to promote to the greatestpossible extent an informed understanding ofthe work and purposes of the United Nationsamong the peoples of the world. To this endthe Department should primarily assist andrely upon the co-operation of the establishedgovernmental and non-governmental agenciesof information to provide the public with in-formation about the United Nations. TheDepartment of Public Information should notengage in "propaganda." It should on its owninitiative engage in positive informationalactivities that will supplement the services ofexisting agencies of information to the extentthat these are insufficient to realize the pur-pose set forth above.

3. The United Nations should establish asa general policy that the press and other exist-ing agencies of information be given thefullest possible direct access to the activitiesand official documentation of the Organization.The rules of procedure of the various organsof the United Nations should be applied withthis end in view.

4. Subject to the general authority of theprincipal organs of the United Nations, re-sponsibility for the formulation and executionof information policy should be vested in theSecretary-General and under him in the Assist-ant Secretary-General in charge of the Depart-ment of Public Information.

5. When negotiating an agreement with aspecialized agency the Economic and SocialCouncil should be requested to take into con-sideration the matter of co-ordinated infor-mation services and of a common informationpolicy, and to consult with the Secretary-Gen-eral concerning each individual agreement.

6. In order to ensure that peoples in allparts of the world receive as full information

as possible about the United Nations, the De-partment of Public Information should con-sider the establishment of branch offices atthe earliest practicable date.

7. The functions of the Department of Pub-lic Information appear to fall naturally intothe following categories: press, publications,radio, films, graphics and exhibitions, publicliaison and reference.

8. The Department should provide all theservices for the daily, weekly and periodicalpress, both at the headquarters of the UnitedNations and through its branch offices, thatmay be required to ensure that the press issupplied with full information about theactivities of the United Nations.

9. The Department should prepare and pub-lish pamphlets and other publications on theaims and activities of the United Nations,within the limits of the criteria set forth inrecommendation 2.

10. The Department should actively assistand encourage the use of radio broadcastingfor the dissemination of information about theUnited Nations. To this end it should, in thefirst instance, work in close co-operation withradio broadcasting organizations of the Mem-bers. The United Nations should also have itsown radio broadcasting station or stationswith the necessary wavelengths, both for com-munication with Members and with branchoffices, and for the origination of UnitedNations programmes. The station might alsobe used as a center for national broadcastingsystems which desire to co-operate in theinternational field. The scope of the radiobroadcasting activities of the United Nationsshould be determined after consultation withnational radio broadcasting organizations.

11. In addition to assisting the newsreeland photographic press agencies, the Depart-ment of Public Information should also pro-mote and where necessary participate in theproduction and non-commercial distributionof documentary films, film strips, posters andother graphic exhibits on the work of theUnited Nations.

12. The Department and its branch officesshould actively assist and encourage nationalinformation services, educational institutionsand other governmental and non-governmentalorganizations of all kinds interested in spread-ing information about the United Nations. Forthis and other purposes it should operate afully equipped reference service, brief or sup-ply lecturers, and make available its publica-tions, documentary films, film strips, postersand other exhibits for use by these agenciesand organizations.

13. The Department and its branch officesshould also be equipped to analyse trends ofopinion throughout the world about the activi-ties of the United Nations and the extent towhich an informed understanding of the workof the United Nations is being secured.

14. Consideration should be given to the set-ting up of an Advisory Committee to meet


periodically at the seat of the United Nationsto discuss and forward to the Secretary-Gen-eral observations regarding the informationpolicy and program of the United Nations.This Advisory Committee would be composedof experts appointed on the basis of broadgeographical representation, personal qualifi-cations and experience. They would be repre-sentative of the various media of informationof the Members, and would be in a position toreflect to the Secretary-General the needs anddesires of the general public of the Membersin the matter of public information about theaims and activities of the United Nations.

15. In order that the Advisory Committeemay be as widely representative as possibleand receive the maximum support from theinformation organizations of all Members,the Secretary-General might, in consultationwith the governments of the Members, com-municate with the representative officers ofthe leading organizations of the press, radio,film and other media and government informa-tion services of the Members on the establish-ment of such an Advisory Committee.

16. If it is found possible to set up anAdvisory Committee, then at a later stage con-sideration should be given to establishingsimilarly composed national or regional advis-ory committees working in touch with thebranches of the Department of Public Infor-mation.

In the course of the discussion in the Com-mittee it was pointed out that although it wasessential that the fullest information on theUnited Nations' activities be available to thepublic, care must be taken that such informa-tion should not develop into propaganda.Furthermore, the experience of national agen-cies had been that unless they were adminis-tered with great caution and prudence, theycould expand out of all proportion to their realresponsibilities and run into enormous expen-diture. To avoid such a development, it wouldbe advisable for the United Nations informa-tion service to operate wherever possiblethrough existing agencies instead of tryingto establish rival instruments of public infor-mation, and to guard against the setting upof too many branch offices. On the other hand,it was pointed out that in so far as the UnitedNations used existing agencies, it would haveno control over them. Branch offices were con-sidered to be very necessary and it was sug-gested that there should be at least one onevery continent. The Department itself wouldbe situated at the headquarters of the organi-zation, and would need to develop a close liaisonwith the Economic and Social Council so thatthe activities of the specialized agencies could

be brought into harmony with the work ofthe United Nations in the field of public infor-mation and overlapping avoided.

It was decided to transmit a summary ofthe Committee's discussion to the Secretary-General, together with the report of the Tech-nical Advisory Committee on Information, asit was felt that many useful points had beenemphasized.

(3). Recruitment and PromotionThe General Assembly adopted the recom-

mendations of the Preparatory Commission ascontained in Chapter VIII, Section 2D of thePreparatory Commission's Report, as follows:

III. RECRUITMENT AND PROMOTIONIn accordance with paragraph 3 of Article

101 of the Charter, appropriate methods ofrecruitment should be established in orderthat a staff may be assembled which is charac-terized by the highest standards of efficiency,competence and integrity, due regard beingalso paid to its recruitment on as wide ageographical basis as possible.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RE-SOLVES THAT:

6. An International Civil Service Commis-sion shall be established by the Secretary-Gen-eral, after consultation with the heads of thespecialized agencies brought into relationshipwith the United Nations, to advise on themethods of recruitment for the Secretariatand on the means by which common standardsof recruitment in the Secretariat and thespecialized agencies may be ensured.

7. In the selection of staff, the Secretary-General should follow in general the sugges-tions outlined in paragraphs 50-57 of Section2, Chapter VIII of the Report of the Pre-paratory Commission.

8. A balanced age distribution should beachieved from the outset, in order to maintainregular inflow, promotion and outflow of staff.

9. Every member of the staff shall be eligi-ble for such promotion within the UnitedNations as his or her services and abilitieswarrant, in accordance with paragraph 47,Section 2, Chapter VIII of the Report of thePreparatory Commission.

(4). Rights and Obligations of the Staff

The General Assembly adopted the pro-visional staff regulations submitted by thePreparatory Commission and transmitted theprovisional staff rules drafted by the Com-mission to the Secretary-General for his con-sideration. Following is the text of the reso-lution and the provisional staff regulations:


IV. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE STAFFThe degree in which the objects of the Char-

ter can be realized will be largely determinedby the manner in which the Secretariat per-forms its task. The Secretariat cannot success-fully perform its task unless it enjoys the con-fidence of all the Members of the UnitedNations.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:10. ADOPTS the provisional staff regulations,

embodying the fundamental rights and obliga-tions of the staff, as contained in Annex II,and transmits to the Secretary-General, forhis consideration, the draft provisional staffrules, as contained in Section 4 of ChapterVIII of the Report of the Preparatory Com-mission, together with the paper submittedby the Canadian delegation (documentA/C.5/10).

11. AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General toappoint a small advisory committee, possiblyincluding representatives of the staff, to draft,for submission to the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly, a statute foran administrative tribunal.

ANNEX II.PROVISIONAL STAFF REGULATIONS

1. DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THESECRETARIATRegulation 1

The Secretary-General and all members ofthe staff of the Organization are internationalcivil servants, and their responsibilities are notnational but exclusively international. Byaccepting appointment, they pledge themselvesto discharge their functions and to regulatetheir conduct with the interests of the UnitedNations only in view. In the performance oftheir duties they shall not seek nor receiveinstructions from any government or from anyother authority external to the Organization.All members of the staff are subject to theauthority of the Secretary-General, and areresponsible to him in the exercise of theirfunctions.

Regulation 2Upon accepting their appointment, all mem-

bers of the staff shall subscribe to the follow-ing oath or declaration:

"I solemnly swear (undertake, affirm,promise) to exercise in all loyalty, discretionand conscience the functions entrusted tome as a member of the international serviceof the United Nations, to discharge thosefunctions and regulate my conduct with theinterests of the United Nations only inview, and not to seek or accept instructionsin regard to the performance of my dutiesfrom any government or other authorityexternal to the Organization."

Regulation 3The oath or declaration shall be made orally

by the Secretary-General and Assistant Sec-

retaries-General at a public meeting of theGeneral Assembly, and by the other higherofficers in public before the Secretary-Generalor his authorized deputy.

Regulation 4The immunities and privileges attaching to

the United Nations by virtue of Article 105of the Charter are conferred in the interestsof the Organization. These privileges andimmunities furnish no excuse to the staff mem-bers who enjoy them for non-performance oftheir private obligations or failure to observelaws and police regulations. In any case wherethese privileges and immunities arise, the staffmember concerned shall immediately report tothe Secretary-General, with whom alone itrests to decide whether they shall be waived.

Regulation 5Members of the staff shall exercise the ut-

most discretion in regard to all matters ofofficial business. They shall not communicateto any person any unpublished informationknown to them by reason of their officialposition except in the course of their dutiesor by authorization of the Secretary-General.

Regulation 6Members of the staff shall avoid any action,

and in particular any kind of public pro-nouncement or activity which may adverselyreflect on their position as international civilservants. They are not expected to give uptheir national sentiments or their politicaland religious convictions; but they shall at alltimes bear in mind the reserve and tact incum-bent upon them by reason of their inter-national status.

Regulation 7No member of the staff shall accept, hold,

or engage in any office or occupation which inthe opinion of the Secretary-General is incom-patible with the proper discharge of his dutieswith the United Nations.

Regulation 8Any member of the staff who becomes a

candidate for a public office of a politicalcharacter shall resign from the Secretariat.

Regulation 9No member of the staff shall accept any

honor, decoration, favor, gift or fee from anyGovernment or from any other source externalto the Organization during the period of hisappointment, except for war services.

2. APPOINTMENT, PROBATION AND PROMOTION

Regulation 10Men and women are equally eligible for all

posts in the Secretariat.

Regulation 11So far as practicable, appointments to posts

in the Secretariat shall be made on a com-petitive basis.


Regulation 12Persons appointed to permanent posts in

the Secretariat shall serve such probationaryperiod as may be prescribed by the Secretary-General.

Regulation 13The Secretary-General shall provide facili-

ties to train members of the staff in subjectsrelating directly or indirectly to their duties.This training shall apply particularly to mem-bers on probation whose earlier educationalopportunities have been inadequate or whoselanguage qualifications are deficient.

Regulation 14With due regard to the maintenance of the

staff on as wide a geographical basis as pos-sible and without prejudice to the inflow offresh talent at the various levels, vacanciesshall be filled by promotion of persons alreadyin the service of the United Nations in prefer-ence to appointments from outside. This con-sideration shall also be applied, on a reciprocalbasis, to the specialized agencies brought intorelationship with the Organization.

Regulation 15The Secretary-General shall provide machin-

ery through which members of the staff mayparticipate in the discussion of questions relat-ing to appointment and promotion.

3. SALARIESRegulation 16

Pending the adoption of a permanent classi-fication plan, the salaries of the members ofthe staff other than Assistant Secretaries-Gen-eral and Directors shall be determined by theSecretary-General within a range betweenthe salary adopted by the General Assemblyfor the post of Director and the best salariesand wages paid for stenographic, clerical, andmanual work at the seat of the United Nations.

Regulation 17The whole time of members of the staff shall

be at the disposal of the Secretary-General.The Secretary-General shall establish a normalworking week.

5. LEAVERegulation 18

Members of the staff shall be allowed sickleave, maternity leave, special leave, annuallocal leave and home leave, as prescribed bythe Secretary-General.

6. DISCIPLINARY MEASURESRegulation 19

The Secretary-General may impose disciplin-ary measures on members of the staff whoseconduct or work is unsatisfactory. He maydischarge a member of the staff who persist-ently fails to give satisfactory service. Hemay summarily dismiss a member of the stafffor serious misconduct.

Regulation 20The normal age of retirement for members

of the staff shall be 60 years. In exceptionalcircumstances the Secretary-General may, inthe interest of the Organization, extend thisage limit to 65 years if it would be in theinterest of the United Nations to do so.

Regulation 21The Secretary-General may terminate the

appointment of a member of the staff if thenecessities of the service require the abolitionof the post or a reduction of the staff, or ifthe services of the individual concerned proveunsatisfactory.

Regulation 22If the Secretary-General terminates an ap-

pointment under regulation 21 he shall giveat least three months' notice and pay an in-demnity equivalent to at least three months'salary. The amount of the indemnity shall beincreased with length of service up to a maxi-mum of nine months' salary. These provisionsof notice and indemnity shall not apply toprobationers, to persons holding short-termcontracts, or to persons summarily dismissed.

Regulation 23The Secretary-General shall establish ad-

ministrative machinery for inquiry and appealin disciplinary and termination cases. Thismachinery shall provide for staff participation.

8. TRAVELLING EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCESRegulation 24

The travel expenses and travel allowancesof members of the staff in respect of author-ized journeys on the business of the UnitedNations shall be paid by the Organization sub-ject to such conditions as may be prescribedby the Secretary-General.

Regulation 25Subject to such conditions as may be pre-

scribed by the Secretary-General, the UnitedNations shall pay the removal costs and thetravel expenses and travel allowances of mem-bers of the staff, and, in appropriate cases,their wives and dependent children:

(a) upon appointment to the Secretariatand on subsequent change of official station;(b) at appropriate interval for a jour-ney to and from the place recognized asthe staff member's home at the time of theinitial appointment; and(c) upon termination of appointment.

9. STAFF PROVIDENT FUNDRegulation 26

Pending the establishment of a permanentstaff retirement scheme, a deduction shall bemade from the salaries of members of thestaff and paid into a staff provident fund towhich the United Nations shall make an addi-tional contribution.

7. TERMINATION OF APPOINTMENTS

4. HOURS OF WORK

Yearbook of the United Nations

10. SPECIAL INDEMNITIESRegulation 27

A member of the staff who is injured as theresult of an accident incurred in the courseof his duty or who is compelled to discontinuehis employment as a result of sickness directlyattributable to his work in the service of theUnited Nations shall receive reasonable com-pensation. Should the staff member die insuch circumstances, reasonable compensationshall be paid to his widow or such dependentsas the Secretary-General may determine.

11. GENERAL PROVISIONSRegulation 28

These regulations may be supplemented oramended by the General Assembly withoutprejudice to the acquired rights of membersof the staff.

Regulation 29The Secretary-General shall report annually

to the General Assembly such staff rules andamendments thereto as he may make to im-plement these regulations.

(5). TaxationThe question of the taxation of the salaries

of staff members of the United Nations wasconsidered by the Fifth Committee at its fourthmeeting on January 21, 1946. Three main ques-tions had to be settled: (a) whether the sala-ries of the staff of the United Nations shouldbe immune from income taxation by MemberGovernments; (b) whether some income taxshould be levied by the United Nations organi-zation; (c) how the net salaries of all staffmembers bearing similar responsibilities shouldbe equalized pending agreement on tax ex-emption.

The United States delegation had submitteda paper to the Advisory Group of Experts ap-pointed by the Preparatory Commission, rec-ommending that salaries of staff membersshould be exempt from national taxation. Untilsuch time as all Member Governments hadmade arrangements for tax exemption, allUnited Nations employees should contributeto a special fund. Any staff member subjectto national taxation would be reimbursed fromthis fund. The United States delegation con-sidered that governments of countries whereUnited Nations employees resided would bereluctant to offer such employees tax exemp-tion and that public opinion in any countrywhere income tax was generally applied wouldbe unsympathetic towards the existence of atax-free group. If United Nations officials weregranted tax exemption they would be embar-rassed in their relationships with other citi-

zens of the country in which the United Na-tions was located. For these reasons the UnitedStates delegation supported a staff contribu-tions scheme. As it had been agreed that theUnited States should be the seat of the UnitedNations the position taken by the United Statesdelegation was of particular significance in thediscussion on this question.

Taking into consideration the paper submit-ted by the United States delegation, the Ad-visory Group made the following recommend-ations :

(a) Salaries of the United Nations staffshould be exempt from national taxation.

(b) All personnel of the United Nationsshould be subject to a tax contributions schemelevied by the organization.

(c) Pending action of the national govern-ments to extend tax immunity, the UnitedStates plan for reimbursing staff memberssubject to national income tax out of the staffcontributions fund should be adopted.

(d) The budget contributions of MemberGovernments whose nationals were not exemptfrom income tax should be increased by anamount equivalent to the refund paid to theUnited Nations staff members who were na-tionals of that country.

The Fifth Committee of the General Assem-bly appointed a Sub-Committee to study theserecommendations. On January 24, 1946, theSub-Committee presented the following report:

The Committee believes there is no alterna-tive to the proposition that national tax ex-emption for United Nations salaries andallowance is indispensable to equity amongits Member nations and equality among itspersonnel.

It recommends that, pending this accom-plishment, the budget should carry a contin-gent appropriation to equalize tax payments.

It recommends that all of its files respect-ing staff contributions plans be referred to theSecretary-General for his information; andthat further consideration of the matter bepostponed pending his subsequent report andrecommendation.

There was general agreement on the firstrecommendation that salaries should be exemptfrom national taxation. Several representa-tives, however, opposed the recommendationthat tax refunds to staff members subject tonational income tax should be paid out of theUnited Nations budget. It was pointed outthat this would lead to inequality among Mem-ber Governments. Countries which taxed their


nationals would benefit at the expense of thosecountries granting tax exemption to UnitedNations employees. No part of the sums paidas contributions to the United Nations shouldgo into national treasuries. The proposed taxrefund system would deter States from grant-ing tax exemption. The representative of Bel-gium remarked that the main difficulty wasthe reluctance of the United States Govern-ment to exempt its nationals from taxation,and expressed his hope that the United StatesGovernment would make a concession on thispoint. The representative of Mexico, supportedby several other representatives, proposed theamendment of the second recommendation ofthe sub-committee as follows:

The Committee recommends that, pendingthis accomplishment, the budget of the Organ-ization should carry a contingent appropriationto refund tax payments and that an amountequivalent to such refunds to employees be-cause of income tax, be added to the budgetcontributions of the Members, whose nationalsin the service of the Organization were re-quired to pay income tax on their salaries andallowances received from the Organization.

The Committee adopted this amendment atits sixth meeting on January 25.

Several representatives, although favoringcomplete exemption from national taxation,supported the recommendation of the AdvisoryGroup of Experts that a staff contribution planbe adopted. The report of the Sub-Committee,it was said, left the question of a staff contri-bution plan completely unsettled. The repre-sentative of Australia, supported by the repre-sentative of Canada therefore, proposed thatthe Fifth Committee reject the report of theSub-Committee and adopt the recommendationsof the Advisory Group of Experts. The Aus-tralian proposal was rejected by the Commit-tee.

Although the Sub-Committee's report, asamended at the suggestion of the representa-tive of Mexico, had been adopted by the FifthCommittee, the question was reopened at thesixteenth meeting of the Committee on Febru-ary 11, when the final draft of the Committee'sreport to the General Assembly was under con-sideration. After some discussion, the Commit-tee adopted an amendment, proposed by therepresentative of the Netherlands, to deletethe Mexican amendment previously adoptedand to substitute the text as shown below. Theresolution as approved by the General Assem-bly therefore read as follows:

V. TAXATIONHaving regard particularly to the adminis-

trative and budgetary arrangements of theOrganization, the General Assembly concurs inthe conclusion reached by the Administrativeand Budgetary Committee that there is no al-ternative to the proposition that exemptionfrom national taxation for salaries and allow-ances paid by the Organization is indispen-sable to the achievement of equity among itsMembers and equality among its personnel.


12. Pending the necessary action being takenby Members to exempt from national taxationsalaries and allowances paid out of the budgetof the Organization, the Secretary-General isauthorized to reimburse staff members whoare required to pay taxation on salaries andwages received from the Organization.

13. In the case of any Member whose nation-als in the service of the Organization arerequired to pay taxation on salaries and al-lowances received from the Organization, theSecretary-General should explore with theMember concerned methods of ensuring assoon as possible the application of the prin-ciple of equity amongst all Members.

14. The records and documents of the Ad-ministrative and Budgetary Committee and ofthe Advisory Group of Experts respectingstaff contributions plans be referred to theSecretary-General for his information, and theSecretary-General be requested to submit rec-ommendations thereon to the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly.

(6). Classification, Salaries and AllowancesThe Preparatory Commission had recom-

mended that the General Assembly should de-cide what the salaries of Assistant-Secretaries-General and top-ranking Directors should be.This question was referred to the Sub-Com-mittee of the Fifth Committee which had con-sidered the salary of the Secretary-General.At its fourth meeting on January 22, 1946,the Fifth Committee received the Sub-Com-mittee's draft resolution recommending thatthe salaries of Assistant-Secretaries-Generaland top ranking Directors be $13,500 (US)and $11,000 (US) respectively.

In the course of the discussion in the Com-mittee several representatives expressed theview that the salaries proposed were toomodest. It was maintained that they did nottake sufficient account of the increased cost ofliving, and that they were, in fact, consider-ably less than the emoluments recommendedfor the judges of the Permanent Court andthose paid to corresponding officials of UNRRA


or the League of Nations. The endorsement ofsuch salaries for the principal higher officerswould automatically depress those to be offeredthe lower grades, with the result that theorganization might be unable to attract thehighly qualified personnel which it was essen-tial to secure.

In defence of the Sub-Committee's recom-mendations it was argued that to provide sal-aries high enough to counter a rise in cost ofliving which was world-wide would place theSecretariat in a privileged position, whichwould be undesirable from the point of viewof public opinion. The figures proposed seemedreasonable and just if it were rememberedthat they were net, supplemented by tax-freeallowances.

The representative of the United States ob-jected to the provision of net salaries, as heconsidered that the question whether thesesalaries should in fact be net was exclusivelywithin the jurisdiction of the taxing authorityof the country of which the officials werenationals.1

As regards classification of posts in the Sec-retariat other than those of Assistant Secre-taries-General and Directors, the GeneralAssembly adopted the recommendations of thePreparatory Commission.

On the question of children's education andinstallation allowances the Advisory Group ofExperts had submitted to the Fifth Committeea report which was discussed at some length.The General Assembly decided to instruct theSecretary-General to report to the second partof the first session of the General Assemblyconcerning a scheme for such allowances, andto transmit the Advisory Group's report to theSecretary-General for his consideration.

Following is the text of the resolutionsadopted by the General Assembly:

VI. CLASSIFICATIONS, SALARIES ANDALLOWANCES

The conditions of employment in the Secre-tariat should be such as will attract qualifiedcandidates from any part of the world.


15. An Assistant Secretary General shall re-ceive a net salary of $13,500 (US) togetherwith an allowance varying from $7,000 (US)to $11,500 (US) at the Secretary-General'sdiscretion.

16. A top-ranking Director2 shall receive anet salary of $11,000 (U.S.) together with anallowance varying from $3,000 (US) to $6,000(US) at the Secretary-General's discretion.

17. The allowances for Assistant Secretaries-General and top-ranking Directors are deemedto include all representation (including hospi-tality), housing, education and children's allow-ances for these posts but not such reimbursableallowances as travel, subsistence and removalcosts upon appointment, transfer or termina-tion of appointment with the Organization;official travel and home leave travel.

18. Subject to the budgetary provisionsvoted by the General Assembly, and except inthe case of posts of Secretary-General, Assist-ant Secretary-General and Director, the Secre-tary-General, after discussion with the Advi-sory Group of Experts which he is recommendedto appoint, is authorized to make a tentativeclassification of posts and to assign salaries tothese posts according to the general principlesset forth in paragraphs 41 to 45 and 71 ofSection 2 of Chapter VIII of the Report of thePreparatory Commission. The Secretary-Gen-eral is also authorized to employ members ofthe staff on short-term contracts pending theestablishment of a permanent classificationplan as outlines in resolution 19 below.

19. Subject to the budgetary provisionsvoted by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, after discussion with the AdvisoryGroup of Experts referred to in resolution 18,shall arrange:

(a) for the development of a classificationplan of all posts required by the Secretariat,based upon the duties, responsibilities andauthority of each post;(6) for the grouping of posts by maincategories and within categories by grades;(c) for the assignment of appropriatesalaries to each main category and gradestherein according to the salary standardswhich may be established by the GeneralAssembly;(d) for the assignment of each post in theSecretariat to its appropriate category andgrade on the basis of its duties, responsibili-ties and authority.The Secretary-General is authorized to em-

ploy temporary personnel on special limitedterm contracts outside of the permanent classi-fication plan when he finds it necessary.

20. In determining the salaries for the sev-eral grades and for the various categories ofposts, account should be taken of the specialfactors affecting service in the Secretariat,and, in particular, of the wide range of re-muneration for comparable work prevailing inthe government services of the Members ofthe United Nations; the more limited pros-pects of promotion to the highest posts in the

1 Concerning taxation of salaries see pp. 88, 89.2 The phrase "top-ranking Director" is intended

to cover only the senior grade in the classifiedservice and more specifically would apply topersons serving as deputy to an Assistant Secre-tary-General or as Director of a major "staffservice," i.e. Director of Personnel, Director ofBudget, Comptroller, et cetera.


Secretariat compared with the prospects ofpromotion in some of the national services;the cost of living at the seat of the UnitedNations—a factor which may be affected, inthe early years, by possible housing difficulties;and the additional expenses which a large pro-portion of the staff will incur by living awayfrom their own country, such expenses vary-ing with the number of dependents and otherfactors.

21. The General Assembly approves, in prin-ciple, the adoption of schemes to become effec-tive 1 January 1947:

(a) for the payment of children's allow-ances as a supplement to the salaries ofeligible members of the staff of the Organi-zation;(6) for the payment of an education grantto an eligible member of the staff whomay wish to send his child, or children, fromthe country to which he is assigned for dutyto that country recognized as his home atthe time of his appointment, provided suchcountry be not the country where he ispermanently assigned for duty.22. The Secretary-General shall submit to

the second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly a scheme for children's allow-ances and education grants, and the memo-randum of the Advisory Group of Experts onthese subjects (document A/C.5/19/Rev.l)shall be transmitted to the Secretary-Generalfor his consideration.

23. With regard to the installation of mem-bers of the staff at the interim site of theOrganization, the Secretary-General is author-ized to establish a scheme for installation al-lowances and the conditions under which suchallowances shall be granted.

(7). Duration and Term of AppointmentsThe following resolution adopted by the

General Assembly was based on the recom-mendations of the Preparatory Commission ascontained in Chapter VIII, Section 2-E, of thePreparatory Commission's Report:

VII. DURATION AND TERMINATION OFAPPOINTMENTS

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:24. Subject to the Secretary-General's full

latitude, as suggested in resolution 18, toemploy members of the staff on short-termcontracts pending the establishment of a per-manent classification plan, and subject to ap-propriate arrangements for the appointmentof temporary staff at all times, members of thestaff who have successfully passed the periodof probation shall be offered some reasonableassurance that they will be able to make theircareers in the Secretariat.

25. Members of the staff who have passedthe period of probation shall be given con-tracts for an indeterminate period which shall

be subject to review every five years on thebasis of reports by their superior officers.

26. Notwithstanding the provisions above,Assistant Secretaries-General, Directors andsuch other principal higher officers as the Sec-retary-General may determine, shall be ap-pointed under contracts not to exceed fiveyears, subject to the possibility of renewal.

27. Any contract shall be terminable by theSecretary-General under the conditions setforth in regulation 22 of the staff regulationsif the necessities of the service require theabolition of the post or a reduction of the staff,or if the services of the individual concernedproved satisfactory.

(8). Retirement and CompensationThe Advisory Group of Experts submitted

a report on this question which the FifthCommittee considered. After some discussionthe Committee decided that the GeneralAssembly should transmit this report to theSecretary-General for his consideration, andshould instruct the Secretary-General toestablish immediately a provident fund formembers of the staff as well as to reportto the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly on proposals for a perma-nent staff retirement scheme. On the recom-mendation of the Fifth Committee theGeneral Assembly, therefore, resolved as fol-lows:

VIII. RETIREMENT AND COMPENSATIONTHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT :28. The Secretary-General shall establish im-

mediately a provident fund for members of thestaff, giving consideration to the scheme out-lined in Part I of the suggestions of the Ad-visory Group of Experts on the establishmentof a staff retirement scheme and related ques-tions (document A/C.5/20).

29. The Secretary-General shall submit tothe second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly a report on the operation of theprovident fund, suggesting such changes inthe scheme as he may consider desirable.

30. The Secretary-General shall submit tothe second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly proposals for a permanent staffretirement scheme to become operative 1 Janu-ary 1947, taking due account of the suggestionsof the Advisory Group of Experts, the variouspoints raised during the general discussion ofthese suggestions in the Administrative andBudgetary Committee and other relevant con-siderations.

31. In establishing a permanent staff retire-ment scheme the Secretary-General shall giveconsideration to the desirability of adoptinga system for the provision of benefits to widowsand orphans of members of the staff, either


by a separate scheme or by the grant of a lumpsum benefit on the death of the member.

32. The Secretary-General appointed at thefirst session of the General Assembly shall beprovided with an annual retirement allowanceof one-half of his net salary (excluding allow-ances) on his retirement, provided that he hascompleted his term of service with the UnitedNations, as set out in Chapter VIII, section 2,paragraph 18 of the Report of the PreparatoryCommission.

33. (a) The Secretary-General shall submitto the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly proposals for permanentschemes for injury compensation and compas-sionate benefits.

(6) Pending the adoption of a permanentscheme, the Secretary-General is authorized toindemnify a member of the staff who is injuredas the result of an accident incurred in thecourse of his duties or to pay an indemnity tothe staff member's estate should he die in suchcircumstances.

(c) Pending the adoption of a permanentscheme, the Secretary-General is authorized toindemnify a member of the staff who is com-pelled to discontinue his employment as a re-sult of sickness directly attributable to hiswork in the service of the Organization or topay indemnity to the staff member's estateshould he die in such circumstances.

(9). Transmittal of the Preparatory Com-mission's Report to the Secretary-GeneralThe General Assembly adopted the following

resolution to transmit the section of the Pre-paratory Commission's Report concerning theOrganization of the Secretariat to the Secre-tary-General for his guidance:

COMMISSION

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:34. Section 2, Chapter VIII of the Report of

the Preparatory Commission be transmitted tothe Secretary-General for his guidance.

d. Budgetary and Financial ArrangementsOn the recommendation of the Fifth Com-

mittee the General Assembly at its 31st plen-

a series of fifteen resolutions, including oneannex, on the following subjects pertaining tothe budgetary and financial arrangements ofthe United Nations:

A. Permanent and Financial Arrangements(Resolutions 1-3)

B. Advisory Group of Experts (Resolution 4)

C. Provisional Financial Regulations (Reso-lution 5)Annex I. Provisional Financial Regulations

D. Travelling Expenses of Representatives(Resolution 6)

E. Recommendations of the Secretary-Gen-eral Concerning Budgetary and FinancialQuestions (Resolution 7)

F. Formulation of the Budget and Manage-ment of Funds (Resolution 8)

G. Provisional Budget (Resolutions 9-10)H. Working Capital Fund (Resolutions 11-

15)The Resolutions were based mainly upon

the recommendations of the Preparatory Com-mission and its advisory Group of Experts.1

(1). Permanent Budgetary and FinancialArrangements

The General Assembly resolved that the per-manent budgetary and financial arrangementsof the United Nations should be based on therecommendations of the Preparatory Commis-sion. To assist the General Assembly in theconsideration of such matters, the followingstanding committees were to be established:

(a) an Advisory Committee on Administra-tive and Budgetary Questions, to be appointedat the beginning of the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly.

(b) a Committee on Contributions, to beappointed during the first part of the first ses-sion of the General Assembly for the purposeof preparing a detailed scale of apportionmentof expenses of the United Nations for consid-eration at the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly.

Following is the text of the resolution asadopted by the General Assembly:

A.The permanent budgetary and financial ar-

rangements of the United Nations should beso designed as to promote efficient and econom-ical adminstration and command the confidenceof Members.


1. Arrangements be made on the basis ofthe general principles set out in Section 2 ofChapter IX of the Report of the PreparatoryCommission and of the Provisional FinancialRegulations, for budgetary procedures, thecollection and custody of funds, the controlof disbursements and the auditing of accounts.

1 See Chapter IX of the Report of the Prepara-tory Commission.

IX. TRANSMITTAL OF SECTION 2 OF CHAPTER

ary meeting on February 13, 1946, adopted

VIII OF THE REPORT OF THE PREPARATORY


2. To facilitate the consideration of admin-istrative and budgetary questions by the Gen-eral Assembly and its Administrative andBudgetary Committee, there be appointed atthe beginning of the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly, an AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions of nine members (instead of sevenas laid down in Rule 37 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure) with the following func-tions :

(a) to examine and report on the budgetsubmitted by the Secretary-General to theGeneral Assembly;

(b) to advise the General Assembly con-cerning any administrative and budgetarymatters referred to it;

(c) to examine on behalf of the GeneralAssembly the administrative budgets ofspecialized agencies and proposals for finan-cial arrangements with such agencies;

(d) to consider and report to the GeneralAssembly on the auditors' reports on theaccounts of the United Nations and of thespecialized agencies.The Committee shall deal with personnel

matters only in their budgetary aspects, andrepresentatives of the staff shall have theright to be heard by the Committee.

3. A standing expert Committee on Con-tributions of ten members (instead of sevenas laid down in Rule 40 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure) be appointed with in-structions to prepare a detailed scale of ap-portionment of expenses, based on the prin-ciples set out in paragraph 13 of section 2of Chapter IX of the Report of the Prepara-tory Commission for consideration at thesecond part of the first session.

(2). Advisory Group of ExpertsThe General Assembly adopted the follow-

ing resolution concerning the appointment ofan Advisory Group of Experts to assist theSecretary-General in elaborating administra-tive, budgetary and personnel plans:

B.With a view to the integration of the admin-

istrative and budgetary planning of the Or-ganization,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:4. RECOMMENDS that the Secretary-Gener-

al appoint at an early date a small advisorygroup of experts, as described in paragraphs23-26 of section 2 of Chapter IX of the Reportof the Preparatory Commission to performthe functions suggested by the PreparatoryCommission in paragraphs 23-26 of section 2of Chapter IX of its Report, including thosespecified in the provisional financial regula-tions.

(3). Provisional Financial RegulationsThe General Assembly adopted the follow-

ing resolution concerning financial regulationsrecommended by the Preparatory Commission:

C.Having made a general examination of the

draft provisional financial regulations sub-mitted by the Preparatory Commission,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:5. ADOPTS the Provisional Financial Regu-

lations, as amended, and reproduced in annexI to this report.

ANNEX IPROVISIONAL FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

I. THE FINANCIAL YEARRegulation 1

The financial year shall be the calendar year,1 January to 31 December.

II. THE PROVISIONAL BUDGET

Regulation 2The Secretary-General shall submit to the

first part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly a provisional budget for the financialyear 1946. The provisional budget as adoptedby the General Assembly shall remain in forcepending its substitution by the adoption of thefirst annual budget of the Organization by theGeneral Assembly during the second part ofthe first session.

Regulation 8Estimates of expenditure to be incurred

under the provisional budget shall be dividedinto two separate parts: the Secretariat andthe organs served by it; the InternationalCourt of Justice. The first part shall be divi-ded into general broad headings of expendi-ture, such as Salaries, Wages, Travelling Ex-penses, Incidental Expenses, Rent of Buildings,Office Equipment, Library and Contingencies,and shall be presented in a form to be deter-mined by the Secretary-General after consul-tation with the Advisory Group of Experts.

Regulation 4The provisional budget shall cover expendi-

tures for the calendar year 1946, the costs ofthe Preparatory Commission and the costs in-cidental to the convening of the first session ofthe General Assembly incurred prior to 31December 1945.

III. WORKING CAPITAL FUND

Regulation 5Expenditures under the provisional budget

shall be financed by a working capital fund,to consist of advances made by Members inaccordance with a scale of allocation deter-mined by the General Assembly.


Regulation 6After the General Assembly has adopted the

provisional budget, and established the totalof the working capital fund, the Secretary-General shall

(a) inform Members of their maximumcommitments in respect of the workingcapital fund;(6) request them to remit their advancesin amounts and at times as may be deter-mined;(c) call upon Members thereafter, fromtime to time, as funds are required, to remitoutstanding instalments of the advancesagreed upon.

Regulation 7All advances to the working capital fund

shall be calculated and paid in the currency ofthe State in which the United Nations is situ-ated.

IV. FIRST ANNUAL BUDGETRegulation 8

The Secretary-General shall submit the firstannual budget of the United Nations to theGeneral Assembly during the second part ofthe first session. He shall arrange for thisbudget to be examined beforehand by the Ad-visory Group of Experts.

Regulation 9Estimates of expenditure to be incurred

under the first annual budget should be divi-ded into separate parts and under broad head-ings of general expenditure as indicated inregulation 3. The exact form of estimatesshall be determined by the Secretary-Generalafter consultation with the Advisory Groupof Experts.

Regulation 10The budget shall be accompanied by:(a) a summary of the estimated expendi-ture under the separate parts divided intothe appropriate general headings;(b) a statement of total income; and(c) a statement showing the amount tobe contributed by each Member in accord-ance with the approved scale of contribu-tions.


budget and the total amount voted has beenapportioned among Members on the scaleagreed upon, the Secretary-General shall trans-mit all relevant documents to Members andrequest them to remit their contributions assoon as possible.

V. CURRENCY OF THE CONTRIBUTIONRegulation 12

The contributions of Members shall beassessed and paid in the currency of the Statein which the United Nations has its head-quarters.

VI. APPROPRIATION OF FUNDSRegulation 13

The adoption of the budget by the GeneralAssembly shall constitute an authorization tothe Secretary-General to incur expendituresfor the purposes for which credits have beenvoted up to the amounts so voted. The Secre-tary-General shall allot in writing the appro-priations voted by the General Assembly tothe various headings of expenditures prior tothe incurring of obligations, commitments orexpenditures therefore. He shall keep a recordof such allotments and all liabilities incurredshowing at all times the amount availableunder each heading.

VII. INTERNATIONAL CONTROL

Regulation 14The Secretary-General shall:(a) establish detailed financial rules andbudgetary procedure in order to ensure ef-fective financial administration and the ex-ercise of economy;(6) cause an accurate record to be keptof all capital acquisitions and all suppliespurchased and used;(c) render to the auditors with the accountsa statement as at 31 December 1946, show-ing the supplies in hand and the assets andliabilities of the Organization;(d) cause all payments to be made on thedocuments which ensure that the services orcommodities have been received and thatpayment has not previously been made;(e) designate the officials who may incurliabilities and make payments on behalf ofthe Organization;(f) maintain an internal financial controlwhich shall provide for an effective currentexamination or review of financial transac-tions in order to ascertain:

(i) the regularity of the receipt, disposaland custody of all funds and other finan-cial resources of the Organization;(ii) the conformity of all expenditurewith the estimates voted by the GeneralAssembly; and(iii) any uneconomic use of the resourcesof the Organization.

Regulation 15Where in the discretion of the Secretary-

General it seems desirable, tenders for sup-plies shall be invited by advertisement.

VIII. THE ACCOUNTS

Regulation 16The accounts of the Organization shall be

kept in the currency of the State in which theUnited Nations has its headquarters.

Regulation 17There shall be established one cash control

record to which shall be credited all cash


receipts accruing to the benefit of the Organ-ization. The cash control record shall be divi-ded into such subsidiary receipts classifica-tions as may be deemed necessary.

Regulation 18Cash shall be deposited in one or more bank

accounts as required; branch accounts, orspecial funds which involve a separation ofcash assets, shall be established as charges tothe cash control record under appropriateregulations as to objects, purposes and limita-tions of such accounts and funds.

Regulation 19The accounts shall consist of:(a) budget accounts showing within theappropriations:

(i) the original allotments;(ii) the allotments after modification byany transfers;(iii) the actual obligations or expendi-tures incurred; and(iv) the unobligated balance of allot-ments.

(6) cash account showing all cash receiptsand actual disbursements made;(c) a working capital fund account;(d) property records showing:

(i) capital acquisitions;(ii) equipment and supplies purchasedand on hand; and

(c) a record which will provide a state-ment of assets and liabilities at 31 Decem-ber 1946.

IX. APPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS

Regulation 20Auditors, who shall be persons not in the

service of the United Nations, shall be ap-pointed in a manner to be determined by theGeneral Assembly during the second part ofits first session. The auditors shall be ap-pointed for the purpose of auditing the ac-counts for the period ending 31 December1946.

Regulation 21The Secretary-General shall, in consultation

with the Advisory Group of Experts designatethe bank or banks in which the funds of theOrganization shall be kept.

XI. TRANSFERS UNDER THE BUDGET DURINGTHE FINANCIAL YEAR 1946

Regulation 22Transfers by the Secretary-General within

the budget shall be permitted during the finan-cial year 1946 and shall be effected only underhis written authority.

(4). Travelling Expenses of Representativesto the General Assembly

The General Assembly adopted the follow-ing resolution in accordance with the recom-mendations of the Preparatory Commission:

D.The opportunities of Members to partici-

pate in the activities of the United Nationsshould be equalized as far as possible.


6. The actual travelling expenses of repre-sentatives or their alternates to and frommeetings of the General Assembly shall beborne by the United Nations budget providedthat the number of persons whose expenseswill be so paid is limited to five in all per Mem-ber. The maximum travelling allowances shallbe restricted to the equivalent of first-classaccommodation by recognized public transportvia an approved route from the capital cityof a Member to the place where the GeneralAssembly is meeting, and shall not include thepayment of subsistence, except where this isincluded as an integral part of the regularposted schedule for first-class accommodationfor recognized public transport. Actual travel-ling expenses to and from the meetings ofthe General Assembly of representatives ortheir alternates shall be reimbursed to eachMember by means of an adjustment in theMember's annual contribution.

(5). Recommendations of the Secretary-General concerning Budgetary and

Financial QuestionsThe General Assembly adopted the follow-

ing resolution suggesting that the Secretary-General recommend to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly anyaction required in regard to such adminis-trative and budgetary questions as the formof the budget, provision of working capital,etc.

E.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:7. The Secretary-General, after consulta-

tion with the Advisory Group referred toabove, should be prepared to recommend tothe General Assembly during the second partof the first session necessary action on admin-istrative and budgetary questions, includingthe following:

(a) the form of the budget;(b) procedure for the examination of thebudget by the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions,and for submission of the Committee's re-port to the General Assembly;(c) machinery for the control of expendi-ture;

X. CUSTODY OF FUNDS


(d) means of meeting extraordinary ex-penditure;(e) provision of working capital;(f) character and scope of special funds;and(g) scope and method of audit of accountsand the procedure for the submission ofthe auditor's report to the Advisory Com-mittee and the General Assembly.

(6). Formulation of the Budget andManagement of Funds

The General Assembly decided to transmitthe Preparatory Commission's recommenda-tions concerning these matters to theSecretary-General for his information andconsideration. Following is the text of theresolution:

F.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY:8. Notes the observations made in para-

graphs 5, 10 and 11 of section 2 of ChapterIX of the Report of the Preparatory Commis-sion dealing with the formulation, presenta-tion and execution of the budget, the collectionand management of funds and the currencyof account, and transmits them to the Secre-tary-General for his information and consid-eration.

(7). Provisional Budget for 1946The Executive Secretary of the Preparatory

Commission in conjunction with the AdvisoryGroup of Experts drafted the provisionalbudget of the United Nations for 1946. Atthe twelfth meeting of the Fifth Committeethe Chairman of the Advisory Group explainedthat the figures presented, which totalled$24,975,000, constituted the minimum require-ments. He also pointed out that the greatestcare had been taken to allow the Secretary-General as full latitude as possible by per-mitting him to transfer credits within themajor classifications of the budget.

In the course of the debate which ensuedseveral representatives, including those of theByelorussian S.S.R., China, Cuba, France, theUkrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., and Yugo-slavia, considered that the budget was undulyhigh. It was true that the budget was smallin comparison with war expenditures, butmany countries had been rendered poor as aresult of the war. To these the contributionsto the proposed budget would add a tre-mendous burden, particularly if these contri-butions would have to be paid in dollar ex-change. The budget of the League of Nationshad been only $8,000,000. The voting ofcredits larger than were strictly necessary

tended to encourage extravagance. A reduc-tion of the proposed figures was deemed notonly desirable but practicable. The proposedstaff of the Secretariat of up to 2,470 wasmuch too large. Economies could be effectedin travel expenses, allowances, etc., and aproposed appropriation of $3,000,000 for un-foreseen expenditures could well be reduced.As the Secretary-General was authorized tomake transfers from one item to another, itwas not necessary for the total amounts appro-priated to be so large.

The representatives of Belgium, Czecho-slovakia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,Poland, and the United States, among others,favored the adoption of the budget as pre-sented. In defence of the Advisory Group'srecommendations it was pointed out that thetotal budget constituted only a small fractionof wartime expenditures, being roughly equiv-alent to one hour's war expenditure of theUnited States Government. Approval of thebudget would be an act of faith in the Secre-tary-General as well as in the United Nations.The success of the United Nations should notbe jeopardized through a lack of funds. Tovote a small budget which might subsequentlyhave to be increased would be very undesirable.On the other hand, the money appropriatedmight not all be spent. The present budgetwas provisional and provided no precedentwhatever for the future. A comparison withthe budget of the League of Nations was notconclusive, as the Charter of the United Na-tions was of much wider scope than thecovenant of the League of Nations and theUnited Nations was carrying on many activi-ties not carried on by the League. The Leaguehad had no Security Council permanently insession, no Economic and Social Council withas wide and varied responsibilities, no trustee-ship system as elaborate as that of the UnitedNations.

Several representatives agreed to vote forthe budget drawn up by the Advisory Groupof Experts, on the understanding that the Sec-retary-General would exercise the greatestpossible economy.

In view of the discussion which took placein the Fifth Committee, the Advisory Groupof Experts at the fourteenth meeting of theCommittee on February 5 presented a revisedbudget. An appropriation of $200,000 fortax refunds to which several representa-tives had objected was eliminated. The appro-


priation for the United Nations Secretariatwas reduced by more than $1,000,000 and theappropriation for the General Assembly andthe Councils was reduced by $1,000,000. Afurther reduction of $1,000,000 in the appro-priation for unforeseen expenditures proposedby the representative of the U.S.S.R., and of$82,750 in the appropriation for expenses ofthe International Court of Justice, which theCommittee subsequently agreed to, broughtthe budget down to a total of $21,500,000.

The resolution adopted by the General As-sembly therefore read as follows:

G.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:9. An amount of $21,500,000 is hereby ap-propriated for the following purposes:

$ (US)Section I For expenses of the

General Assembly andthe Councils . . . . . . . 1,500,000

Section II For expenses of theSecretariat . . . . . . . . 16,510,750

Section III For expenses of theInternational Court ofJustice . . . . . . . . . . . . 617,250

Section IV For unforeseen ex-penses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000,000

Section V For the expenses ofthe Preparatory Com-mission and the costof convening the Gen-eral Assembly for thefirst part of the firstsession . . . . . . . . . . . . 872,000

10. The above amounts are to be availablefor the payment of obligations incurred priorto 1 January 1947. The Secretary-General maytransfer by written order credits among orwithin the above listed classifications.

(8). The Working Capital FundThe Secretary-General was instructed to

submit the first annual budget of the UnitedNations to the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly. At the same timethe Committee on Contributions which wasset up at the first part of the first session ofthe General Assembly1 was to submit a de-tailed scale for the apportionment of expensesof the United Nations, taking into considera-tion the recommendations of the PreparatoryCommission.

To cover the expenses of the organizationduring the first year as provided in the pro-visional budget, a Working Capital Fund wasto be established to which the Member Gov-ernments would make advances. The Prepara-

tory Commission had recommended that thescale adopted for contributions to the Foodand Agriculture Organization be used as thebasis for a scale of contributions to the Work-ing Capital Fund. This scale, which was tobe purely provisional, would be superseded bythe scale of contributions to be submitted bythe Committee on Contributions during thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly.

The Fifth Committee, to which this questionwas referred, appointed a Sub-Committee oftwelve members at its meeting of January 28,1946, to decide whether the scale for the firstor the second financial year of FAO shouldbe used in determining advances to the Work-ing Capital Fund, and what assessmentsshould be made for advances by countrieswhich were Members of the United Nationsbut not of FAO. After considerable discussionthe Sub-Committee agreed that the averagebetween the first and the second year scalesof FAO should be adopted as the scale forthe Working Capital Fund. On this basisthe Advisory Committee of Experts drew upthe detailed scale of contributions shownbelow.

Following is the text of the resolution whichthe General Assembly adopted on the recom-mendation of the Fifth Committee:

H.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:11. A working capital fund is established

at the amount of $25,000,000 (US).12. Members shall make advances to the

working capital fund in accordance with theattached provisional scale which is merely amatter of convenience and in no sense a pre-cedent for the assessment of contributions.

13. These advances shall be readjusted atthe time of the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly in accordance withthe scale to be adopted by the General Assem-bly for contributions of Members to the firstannual budget.

14. Except for any readjustments whichmay result from a revision of the scale re-ferred to in paragraph 3, advances to theworking capital fund shall not be offset againstcontributions of Members to the first annualbudget.

15. The General Assembly at the secondpart of its first session (September 1946) shalldetermine the amount at which the workingcapital fund should be maintained and themethod and timing of consequential set-offsagainst contributions or other adjustments.

1 pp. 58, 69


PROVISIONAL SCALE OF ADVANCES TO WORKINGCAPITAL FUND

Proposed Amount ofscale advances

adjusted (US dollars)Argentina ...... ...... 2.983 745,750Australia ...... ...... 2.875 718,750Belgium ...... ...... ...... 1.329 332,250Bolivia ...... ...... ...... 0.256 64,000Brazil ...... ...... ...... 2.983 745,750Byelorussian S.S.R. ...... 0.738 184,500Canada ...... ...... ...... 4.362 1,090,500Chile ...... ...... ...... 0.994 248,500China ...... ...... ...... 6.400 1,600,000Colombia ...... ...... ...... 0.610 152,500Costa Rica ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Cuba ...... ...... ...... 0.610 152,500Czechoslovakia ...... ...... 1.447 361,750Denmark ...... ...... 0.640 160,000Dominican Republic ...... 0.049 12,250Ecuador ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Egypt ...... ...... ...... 1.497 374,250El Salvador ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Ethiopia ...... ...... ...... 0.256 64,000France ...... ...... ...... 5.602 1,400,000Greece ...... ...... ...... 0.394 98,500Guatemala ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Haiti ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Honduras ...... ...... 0.049 12,250India ...... ...... ...... 4.391 1,097,750Iran ...... ...... ...... 0.610 152,500Iraq ...... ...... ...... 0.384 96,000Lebanon ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Liberia ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Luxembourg ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Mexico ...... ...... ...... 1.615 403,750Netherlands ...... ...... 1.428 357,000New Zealand ...... ...... 0.994 248,500Nicaragua ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Norway ...... ...... ...... 0.640 160,000Panama ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Paraguay ...... ...... ...... 0.049 12,250Peru ...... ...... ...... 0.610 152,500Philippines ...... ...... 0.256 64,000Poland ...... ...... ...... 1.231 307,750Saudi Arabia ...... ...... 0.295 73,750Syria ...... ...... ...... 0.197 49,250South Africa ...... ...... 1.989 497,250Turkey ...... ...... ...... 1.497 374,250Ukrainian S.S.R. ...... 1.231 307,750U.S.S.R. ...... ...... ...... 6.892 1,723,000United Kingdom ...... ...... 14.768 3,692,750United States ...... ...... 24.614 6,153,500Uruguay ...... ...... ...... 0.502 125,500Venezuela...... ...... ...... 0.502 125,500Yugoslavia ...... ...... 0.738 184,600

100.000 25,000,000

e. Applications from Nationals of Non-Mem-ber States for Permanent Employment withthe SecretariatUpon the proposal of the General Commit-

tee, the General Assembly, at its 26th plenarymeeting on February 9, 1946, adopted a reso-lution concerning applications from nationalsof non-Member States for employment withthe United Nations Secretariat, the Execu-tive Secretary of the Preparatory Commissionhaving pointed out that in the absence of rules

to the contrary the Secretary-General wouldenjoy full discretion concerning the employ-ment of nationals of any country or of state-less persons. The text of the resolution wasas follows:

The General Assembly instructs the Secre-tary-General :

1. To receive and file such applications foremployment with the Secretariat as may bereceived from nationals of non-member States.

2. To inform the governments of non-mem-ber States making enquiry with regard toapplication for employment that such appli-cations will be received and filed, but that em-ployment can only take place in accordancewith the regulations of the Secretariat.

6. LEGAL MATTERS

a. Emoluments of the Judges of the Interna-tional Court of JusticeThe Preparatory Commission had recom-

mended that the General Assembly fix theemoluments of the judges of the InternationalCourt of Justice early in the first session ofthe Assembly. On January 30, 1946, a JointSub-Committee of the Fifth (Administrativeand Budgetary) and Sixth (Legal) Commit-tees was formed at the suggestion of theSixth Committee to consider this matter. TheChairman of the Joint Sub-Committee pre-sented the following report to the Sixth Com-mittee on February 5, 1946:

(1) The Preparatory Commission had re-commended that the value of the emolumentsof the judges of the International Court ofJustice should be not less than that of thejudges of the Permanent Court of Interna-tional Justice during the period 1936 to 1939.The Sub-Committee recommended that thosesalaries be increased by twenty per cent toallow for the higher cost of living in TheHague since 1939.

(2) The allowances would remain the sameas the allowances paid to the President andVice-President of the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice.

(3) The allowances for judges ad hocshould be increased by twenty per cent, from100 to 120 florins per diem.

On the basis of the Joint Sub-Committee'sreport the Sixth Committee recommended andthe General Assembly, at its 23rd plenarymeeting on February 6, 1946, adopted thefollowing resolution:


THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:the emoluments of the judges of the Inter-

national Court of Justice shall be fixed ac-cording to the following scale:

Netherlandflorins

President:Annual salary ...... ...... ...... 54,000Special allowance ...... ...... ...... 15,000

Vice-President:Annual salary ...... ...... ...... 64,000Allowance of 100 florins for everyday on which he acts as President,up to a maximum of...... ...... ...... 10,000

Members:Annual salary 54,000

Judges referred to in Article 31 of theStatute:

Allowance of 120 florins for each dayon which they exercise their func-tions, plus a daily subsistence allow-ance of 60 florins.

b. Pensions of the Judges and Staff of theInternational Court of JusticeThe Joint Sub-Committee considering emo-

luments of the judges of the InternationalCourt of Justice proposed a resolution direct-ing the Secretary-General to develop, in con-sultation with the Registrar of the Interna-tional Court, a pension plan for the judges andRegistrar of the Court. On February 5, 1946,the Sixth Committee, at the suggestion of therepresentative of Iraq, adopted an amend-ment to the Joint Sub-Committee's draft reso-lution to include not only the judges and theRegistrar, but also the staff of the Interna-tional Court in any pension scheme to be setup. The resolution as submitted by the SixthCommittee and adopted by the General Assem-bly at its 23rd plenary meeting on February6, 1946, read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY is desirous of as-suring that adequate and reasonable pensionsbe assured to the judges and the Registrar andthe staff of the International Court of Justiceand therefore directs the Secretary-General, inconsultation with the Registrar of the Court,to develop a pension plan for judges andRegistrar and staff for submission to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly.

c. Steps Necessary for Convening the Inter-national Court of JusticeThe Preparatory Commission deemed it de-

sirable that the International Court of Jus-tice should meet as soon as possible after the

election of its members and that the use ofpremises in the Peace Palace at The Hague,the seat of the Court in accordance withArticle 22 of the Statute of the Court, shouldbe secured for the Court as soon as possible.The Preparatory Commission had instructedits Executive-Secretary to take the necessarysteps to summon a first meeting of the Courtat The Hague as soon as convenient andto make any arrangements necessary to ensurethat premises would be available for the firstmeeting of the Court.

Pursuant to the recommendations of thePreparatory Commission, the General Assem-bly, on the basis of a report approved by theSixth Committee, adopted at its 28th plenarymeeting on February 10 the following resolu-tion concerning the necessary steps for theconvening of the International Court of Jus-tice:

It is desirable that the InternationalCourt of Justice should meet as soon as pos-sible after the election of its members by theGeneral Assembly and the Security Council.

In correspondence with the Secretary ofthe Board of Directors of the Carnegie Foun-dation, the Executive Secretary has ascer-tained that the Board is willing to meet repre-sentatives of the United Nations at The Hagueto begin preliminary negotiations in order tofix the conditions on which the premises inthe Peace Palace at The Hague, which are re-quired by the International Court of Justice,can be placed at the disposal of the Court.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN-STRUCTS THE SECRETARY-GENERAL:

(1) To take the necessary steps to summona first meeting of the Court at The Hague assoon as can be conveniently arranged afterthe election of the members;

(2) To appoint a Secretary and such othertemporary officers as may be required to assistthe Court and to act for so long as the Courtdesires during the period preceding the ap-pointment of its Registrar and its officers;

(3) To conduct preliminary negotiationswith the Board of Directors of the CarnegieFoundation, at The Hague or other convenientplace, in order to fix the conditions on whichthe premises in the Peace Palace at The Hague,which are required by the International Courtof Justice, can be placed at its disposal, theconditions being embodied in an agreementsubject to the approval of the General Assem-bly.

d. Privileges and Immunities of the UnitedNationsUnder Article 104 of the Charter, the

United Nations is to enjoy in the territory of


each of its Members such legal capacity as maybe necessary for the exercise of its functionsand fulfilment of its purposes. Under Article105 the General Assembly may make recom-mendations to the Member Governments con-cerning conventions on the privileges andimmunities of representatives of Membersand of officials of the United Nations.

Upon the recommendation of the Sixth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 31st plen-ary meeting on February 13, 1946, adoptedsix resolutions concerning the following sub-jects relating to the privileges and immuni-ties of the United Nations:

A. General Convention on Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations

B. Draft Convention between the UnitedNations and the United States of America

C. Privileges and Immunities of the Inter-national Court of Justice

D. Co-ordination of the Privileges and Im-munities of the United Nations and Spe-cialized Agencies

E. Insurance against Third Party Risks ofMotor-Cars

F. Pension Rights of Officials of MemberGovernments Transferred or Seconded forService with the United Nations

(1) General Convention on Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations

The Preparatory Commission had submitteda draft general convention on privileges andimmunities to be granted to the United Na-tions by all Member Governments. The Pre-paratory Commission's recommendations werereferred to a Sub-Committee of the Sixth Com-mittee, which on February 7, 1946, presentedto the full Committee the following draftconvention closely based on the recommenda-tions of the Preparatory Commission:

A.

THE GENERAL CONVENTION ON PRIVILEGES AND

TEXT OF THE CONVENTION.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY approves the an-

nexed convention on the privileges and immu-nities of the United Nations and proposes itfor accession by each Member of the UnitedNations.

CONVENTION ON THE PRIVILEGES ANDIMMUNITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS

WHEREAS Article 104 of the Charter of theUnited Nations provides that the Organizationshall enjoy in the territory of each of its

Members such legal capacity as may be neces-sary for the exercise of its functions and thefulfilment of its purposes and

WHEREAS Article 105 of the Charter of theUnited Nations provides that the Organiza-tion shall enjoy in the territory of each of itsMembers such privileges and immunities asare necessary for the fulfilment of its purposesand that representatives of the Members ofthe United Nations and officials of the Organ-ization shall similarly enjoy such privilegesand immunities as are necessary for the inde-pendent exercise of their functions in connec-tion with the Organization:

CONSEQUENTLY the General Assembly bya resolution adopted on 13 February 1946 ap-proved the following convention and proposesit for accession by each Member of the UnitedNations.

ARTICLE IJuridical Personality

Section 1. The United Nations shall pos-sess juridical personality. It shall have thecapacity:

(a) to contract;(b) to acquire and dispose of immovableand movable property;(c) institute legal proceedings.

ARTICLE IIProperty, Funds and Assets

Section 2. The United Nations, its pro-perty and assets wherever located and bywhomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity fromevery form of legal process except insofaras in any particular case it has expresslywaived its immunity. It is, however, under-stood that no waiver of immunity shall ex-tend to any measure of execution.

Section 3. The premises of the United Na-tions shall be inviolable. The property andassets of the United Nations, wherever locatedand by whomsoever held, shall be immunefrom search, requisition, confiscation, expro-priation and any other form of interference,whether by executive, administrative, judicialor legislative action.

Section 4. The archives of the United Na-tions, and in general all documents belongingto it or held by it, shall be inviolable whereverlocated.

Section 5. Without being restricted byfinancial controls, regulations or moratoria ofany kind,

(a) The United Nations may hold funds,gold or currency of any kind and operateaccounts in any currency;(6) The United Nations shall be free totransfer its funds, gold or currency fromone country to another or within any coun-try and to convert any currency held by itinto any other currency.

RESOLUTION RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF

IMMUNITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS, AND


Section 6. In exercising its rights undersection 5 above, the United Nations shall paydue regard to any representations made by theGovernment of any Member insofar as it isconsidered that effect can be given to suchrepresentations without detriment to the in-terests of the United Nations.

Section 1. The United Nations, its assets,income and other property shall be:

(a) exempt from all direct taxes; it isunderstood, however, that the United Na-tions will not claim exemption from taxeswhich are, in fact, no more than chargesfor public utility services;(5) exempt from customs duties and pro-hibitions and restrictions on imports andexports in respect of articles imported or ex-ported by the United Nations for its officialuse. It is understood, however, that articlesimported under such exemption will not besold in the country into which they wereimported except under conditions agreedwith the Government of that country;(c) exempt from customs duties and pro-hibitions and restrictions on imports andexports in respect of its publications.Section 8. While the United Nations will

not, as a general rule, claim exemption fromexcise duties and from taxes on the sale ofmovable and immovable property which formpart of the price to be paid, nevertheless, whenthe United Nations is making important pur-chases for official use of property on whichsuch duties and taxes have been charged orare chargeable, Members will, whenever pos-sible, make appropriate administrative ar-rangements for the remission or return of theamount of duty or tax.

ARTICLE IIIFacilities in respect of Communications

Section 9. The United Nations shall enjoyin the territory of each Member for its officialcommunications treatment not less favorablethan that accorded by the Government of thatMember to any other Government, includingits diplomatic mission, in the matter of pri-orities, rates and taxes on mails, cables, tele-grams, radiograms, telephotos, telephone andother communications; and press rates forinformation to the press and radio. No censor-ship shall be applied to the official correspon-dence and other official communications of theUnited Nations.

Section 10. The United Nations shall havethe right to use codes and to dispatch andreceive its correspondence by courier or inbags, which shall have the same immunitiesand privileges as diplomatic couriers and bags.

ARTICLE IVThe Representatives of Members

Section 11. Representatives of Membersto the principal and subsidiary organs "of the

United Nations and to conferences convenedby the United Nations, shall, while exercisingtheir functions and during their journey toand from the place of meeting, enjoy thefollowing privileges and immunities:

(a) immunity from personal arrest or de-tention and from seizure of their personalbaggage, and, in respect of words spoken orwritten and all acts done by them in theircapacity as representatives, immunity fromlegal process of every kind;(6) inviolability for all papers and docu-ments;(c) the right to use codes and to receivepapers or correspondence by courier or insealed bags;(d) exemption in respect of themselves andtheir spouses from immigration restrictions,aliens registration or national service obli-gations in the State they are visiting orthrough which they are passing in theexercise of their functions;(e) the same facilities in respect of cur-rency or exchange restrictions as are ac-corded to representatives of foreign govern-ments on temporary official missions;(f) the same immunities and facilities inrespect of their personal baggage as areaccorded to diplomatic envoys, and also;(00 such other privileges, immunities andfacilities, not inconsistent with the fore-going, as diplomatic envoys enjoy, exceptthat they shall have no right to claim exemp-tion from customs duties on goods imported(otherwise than as part of their personalbaggage) or from excise duties or salestaxes.Section 12. In order to secure for the

representatives of Members to the principaland subsidiary organs of the United Nationsand to conferences convened by the UnitedNations, complete freedom of speech and inde-pendence in the discharge of their duties, theimmunity from legal process in respect ofwords spoken or written and all acts done bythem in discharging their duties shall continueto be accorded, notwithstanding that the per-sons concerned are no longer the representa-tives of Members.

Section 13. Where the incidence of anyform of taxation depends upon residence,periods during which the representatives ofMembers to the principal and subsidiaryorgans of the United Nations and to con-ferences convened by the United Nations arepresent in a State for the discharge of theirduties shall not be considered as periods ofresidence.

Section 14. Privileges and immunities areaccorded to the representatives of Membersnot for the personal benefit of the individualsthemselves, but in order to safeguard the inde-pendent exercise of their functions in con-nection with the United Nations. Consequently


a Member not only has the right but is undera duty to waive the immunity of its represen-tative in any case where in the opinion of theMember the immunity would impede the courseof justice, and it can be waived without preju-dice to the purpose for which the immunity isaccorded.

Section 15. The provisions of sections 11,12 and 13 are not applicable as between arepresentative and the authorities of theState of which he is a national or of whichhe is or has been the representative.

Section 16. In this article the expression"representatives" shall be deemed to includeall delegates, deputy delegates, advisers, tech-nical experts and secretaries of delegations.

ARTICLE VOfficials

Section 17. The Secretary-General willspecify the categories of officials to which theprovisions of this article and article VII shallapply. He shall submit these categories to theGeneral Assembly. Thereafter these categor-ies shall be communicated to the Governmentsof all Members. The names of the officials in-cluded in these categories shall from time totime be made known to the Governments ofMembers.

Section 18. Officials of the United Nationsshall:

(a) be immune from legal process in re-spect of words spoken or written and all actsperformed by them in their official capacity;(6) be exempt from taxation on the salariesand emoluments paid to them by the UnitedNations;(c) be immune from national service ob-ligations;(d) be immune, together with their spou-ses and relatives dependent on them, fromimmigration restrictions and alien registra-tion;(e) be accorded the same privileges inrespect of exchange facilities as are accor-ded to the officials of comparable ranksforming part of diplomatic missions to thegovernment concerned;(f) be given, together with their spousesand relatives dependent on them, the samerepatriation facilities in time of inter-national crisis as diplomatic envoys;(g) have the right to import free of dutytheir furniture and effects at the time of firsttaking up their post in the country in ques-tion.Section 19. In addition to the immunities

and privileges specified in section 18, the Sec-retary-General and all Assistant Secretaries-General shall be accorded in respect of them-selves, their spouses and minor children, theprivileges and immunities, exemptions andfacilities accorded to diplomatic envoys, inaccordance with international law.

Section 20. Privileges and immunities aregranted to officials in the interests of theUnited Nations and not for the personalbenefit of the individuals themselves. TheSecretary-General shall have the right and theduty to waive immunity of any official in anycase where, in his opinion, the immunity wouldimpede the course of justice and can be waivedwithout prejudice to the interests of theUnited Nations. In the case of the Secretary-General, the Security Council shall have theright to waive immunity.

Section 21. The United Nations shall co-operate at all times with the appropriateauthorities of Members to facilitate the properadministration of justice, secure the observ-ance of police regulations, and prevent theoccurrence of any abuse in connection with theprivileges, immunities and facilities mentionedin this article.

ARTICLE VIExperts on Missions for the United Nations

Section 22. Experts (other than officialscoming within the scope of article V) perform-ing missions for the United Nations shall beaccorded such privileges and immunities as arenecessary for the independent exercise oftheir functions during the period of theirmissions, including the time spent on journeysin connection with their missions. In particularthey shall be accorded:

(a) immunity from personal arrest ordetention and from seizure of their personalbaggage;(b) in respect of words spoken or writtenand acts done by them in the course of theperformance of their mission, immunityfrom legal proccess of every kind. Thisimmunity from legal process shall continueto be accorded notwithstanding that thepersons concerned are no longer employedon missions for the United Nations;(c) inviolability for all papers and docu-ments;(d) for the purpose of their communica-tions with the United Nations, the right touse codes and to receive papers or correspon-dence by courier or in sealed bags;(e) the same facilities in respect of cur-rency or exchange restrictions as are accor-ded to representatives of foreign govern-ments on temporary official missions;(f) the same immunities and facilitiesin respect of their personal baggage as areaccorded to diplomatic envoys.

Section 23. Privileges and immunities aregranted to experts in the interests of theUnited Nations and not for the personal benefitof the individuals themselves. The Secretary-General shall have the right and the duty towaive the immunity of any expert in any casewhere, in his opinion, the immunity wouldimpede the course of justice and it can be


waived without prejudice to the interests ofthe United Nations.

ARTICLE VIIUnited Nations Laissez-Passer

Section 24. The United Nations may issueUnited Nations laissez-passer to its officials.These laissez-passer shall be recognized andaccepted as valid travel documents, by theauthorities of Members, taking into accountthe provisions of section 25.

Section 25. Applications for visas (whererequired) from the holders of United Nationslaissez-passer, when accompanied by a certifi-cate that they are travelling on the business ofthe United Nations, shall be dealt with asspeedily as possible. In addition, such personsshall be granted facilities for speedy travel.

Section 26. Similar facilities to thosespecified in section 25 shall be accorded toexperts and other persons who, though not theholders of United Nations laissez-passer, havea certificate that they are travelling on thebusiness of the United Nations.

Section 27. The Secretary-General, Assist-ant Secretaries-General and Directors travel-ling on United Nations laissez-passer on thebusiness of the United Nations shall be grantedthe same facilities as are accorded to diplo-matic envoys.

Section 28. The provisions of this articlemay be applied to the comparable officials ofspecialized agencies if the agreements forrelationship made under Article 63 of theCharter so provide.

ARTICLE VIIISettlement of Disputes

Section 29. The United Nations shall makeprovisions for appropriate modes of settlementof:

(a) disputes arising out of contracts orother disputes of a private law character,to which the United Nations is a party;(6) disputes involving any official of theUnited Nations who by reason of his officialposition enjoys immunity, if immunity hasnot been waived by the Secretary-General.Section 30. All differences arising out of

the interpretation or application of the presentconvention shall be referred to the Inter-national Court of Justice, unless in any caseit is agreed by the parties to have recourse toanother mode of settlement. If a differencearises between the United Nations on theone hand and a Member on the other hand,a request shall be made for an advisory opinionon any legal question involved in accordancewith Article 96 of the Charter and Article 65of the Statute of the Court. The opinion givenby the Court shall be accepted as decisive bythe parties.

FINAL ARTICLESection 31. This convention is submitted

to every Member of the United Nations foraccession.

Section 32. Accession shall be effected bydeposit of an instrument with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and theconvention shall come into force as regardseach Member on the date of deposit of eachinstrument of accession.

Section 33. The Secretary-General shallinform all Members of the United Nations ofthe deposit of each accession.

Section 34. It is understood that, whenan instrument of accession is deposited on be-half of any Member, the Member will be in aposition under its own law to give effect tothe terms of this convention.

Section 35. This convention shall continuein force as between the United Nations andevery Member which has deposited an instru-ment of accession for so long as that Memberremains a Member of the United Nations, oruntil a revised general convention has beenapproved by the General Assembly and thatMember has become a party to this revisedconvention.

Section 36. The Secretary-General mayconclude with any Member or Members supple-mentary agreements adjusting the provisionsof this convention so far as that Member orthose Members are concerned. These supple-mentary agreements shall in each case besubject to the approval of the General Assem-bly.

Although the Sixth Committee unanimouslyadopted the Sub-Committee's proposals, therepresentatives of the United States and Aus-tralia reserved the position of their Govern-ments in regard to exemption from taxationof their nationals in the employ of the UnitedNations, while the representatives of Argen-tina, the Byelorussian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., theUkrainian S.S.R. and the United States re-served their position regarding immunity ofUnited Nations officials from national serviceobligations.1

(2). Draft Convention between the UnitedNations and the United States of AmericaThe Interim Committee on Headquarters

revised and submitted to the first part of thefirst session of the General Assembly a draftconvention between the United Nations andthe host State which had been prepared bythe Juridical Sub-Committee of Committee 8

1 See Article V, Section 18, a and b, of the draftconvention as quoted above.


of the Preparatory Commission. On the basisof this draft the Sub-Committee of the SixthCommittee on privileges and immunities pre-pared a draft treaty between the UnitedNations and the United States to serve as abasis of negotiations between the Secretary-General and the United States Government.The Sixth Committee approved this drafttreaty on February 7, 1946. A special com-mittee to assist the Secretary-General in thesenegotiations was to be established. Upon therecommendation of the General Committeethe Sixth Committee decided that representa-tives of the countries as listed in the resolu-tion should serve as members of thiscommittee. Following is the text of the reso-lution and the draft convention adopted bythe General Assembly:

B.RESOLUTION RELATING TO NEGOTIATIONS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONCERNING THEARRANGEMENTS REQUIRED AS A RESULT OF THEESTABLISHMENT OF THE SEAT OF THE UNITEDNATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,AND TEXT OF A DRAFT CONVENTION TO BETRANSMITTED AS A BASIS OF DISCUSSION FORTHESE NEGOTIATIONS.

1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY authorizes theSecretary-General (with the assistance of acommittee composed of persons appointed bythe Governments of Australia, Belgium,Bolivia, China, Cuba, Egypt, France, Poland,United Kingdom, Union of Soviet SocialistRepublics) to negotiate with the competentauthorities of the United States of Americathe arrangements required as a result of theestablishment of the seat of the UnitedNations in the United States of America.

2. The following draft convention is trans-mitted by the General Assembly to the Secre-tary-General for use in these negotiations asa basis of discussion.

3. The Secretary-General shall report tothe General Assembly the results of thesenegotiations.

4. Any agreement apart from purely tem-porary agreements with the competent author-ities of the United States resulting from thesenegotiations shall be subject to approval bythe General Assembly before being signed onbehalf of the United Nations.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONSAND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA(This draft has been prepared on the as-

sumption that there will be no private personsliving within the zone containing the seatof the United Nations.)

THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE GOVERN-MENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

Desiring to conclude a convention for thepurpose of carrying out the resolution adoptedby the General Assembly... . . . . . . to establishthe seat of the United Nations i n . . . . . . . . . . .and to regulate questions arising as a resultthereof:

Have appointed as their plenipotentiariesfor this purpose:

The United N a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Secretary-General

The Government of theUnited States of Amer i ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

who have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE IDefinitions

Section 1. In this convention:(a) the expression "zone" means the areareferred to in section 2, including any ad-ditions to it;(6) the expression "law of the UnitedStates of America" includes federal, state,and local laws, however designated;(c) the expression "Government of theUnited States of America" includes a Stateor a competent state authority whereverthe context so requires;(d) the expression "courts of the UnitedStates of America" includes federal andstate courts;(e) the expression "United Nations" meansthe International Organization establishedby the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE IIThe United Nations Zone

Section 2. The seat of the United Nationsshall be the area situated.. . . . . . . and markedpink on the map which forms Annex I. Addi-tions may be made later to this area in accord-ance with the provisions of section 8.

Section 3. The Government of the UnitedStates of America undertakes, on the entryinto force of this convention, to cause to bevested in the United Nations possession im-mediately and full ownership as soon as possi-ble of all land in the zone as shown in Annex Iand of all buildings situated thereon at thetime of transfer.

Section 4. The Government of the UnitedStates of America shall be responsible forexpropriating and compensating so far asnecessary and as soon as possible all interestsin land and buildings conveyed to the UnitedNations.

Section 5. Having regard to section 4, theUnited Nations shall pay to the United Statesof America a fair price for any land andbuildings conveyed to the United Nations.The amount so payable shall be credited to theUnited States of America in the accounts of

WITH THE COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF THE


the United Nations and shall be set off, duringsuch period as may be fixed, against contri-butions due from the United States ofAmerica. In default of agreement, this priceand this period shall be determined by anexpert selected by the President of the Inter-national Court of Justice.

Section 6. The United Nations shall haveexclusive rights over the subsoil of land con-veyed to it, and in particular the right tomake constructions underground and to obtaintherefrom supplies of water. It shall not, how-ever, have the right to exploit minerals.

Section 7. The United Nations may estab-lish in the zone any type of installation whichit deems necessary for the purpose of its work,and in particular may establish its own radiotelegraph sending and receiving stations, in-cluding broadcasting, teletype, and telephotoservices. The United Nations shall makearrangements with the International Tele-communications Union with regard to wave-lengths and other similar matters.

Section 8. The Government of the UnitedStates of America shall, at the request of theSecretary-General acting in pursuance of aresolution of the General Assembly, cause tobe vested in the United Nations possessionimmediately and full ownership as soon aspossible over such further land as may berequired for the purpose of constructing anairport, railway station, or radio telegraphicstation or for such other purposes as may berequired by the United Nations. The pro-visions of sections 4, 5 and 6 shall apply toland so conveyed.

Section 9. In the event of the land con-veyed in accordance with section 8 not beingcontiguous to the remainder of the zone, theGovernment of the United States of Americashall guarantee unimpeded communication andtransit between parts of the zone.

ARTICLE IIILaw and Authority in the Zone

Section 10. The zone, including the airspace above it and the subsoil below it, shallbe inviolable.

Section 11. Save as otherwise provided inthis convention, the zone shall be under thecontrol and authority of the United Nations.

Section 12. Without prejudice to the gen-erality of Section 11, the Government of theUnited States of America renounces jurisdic-tion over any matters relating to entry intothe zone and to the conditions under whichpersons may remain or reside there, and overany matters relating to the construction orremoval of buildings in the zone.

Section 13. Officers or officials of anyauthority in the territory of the United Statesof America, whether administrative, judicial,

military or police, shall not enter the zone toperform any official duties therein except withthe permission of and under conditions agreedby the Secretary-General. The service of legalprocess, including the seizure of private prop-erty, shall take place within the zone underconditions approved by the Secretary-General.

Section 14. Without prejudice to the provi-sions which are contained in Annex II and sub-sequently in the General Convention referredto in section 32, and which relate to the im-munities of officials of the United Nations andof the representatives of Members, the UnitedNations shall not permit the zone to becomea refuge either for persons who are avoidingarrest under the law of the United States ofAmerica or are required by the Governmentof the United States of America for extra-dition to another country, or for persons whoare endeavoring to avoid service of legalprocess.

Section 15. Subject to section 16, the lawof the United States of America shall applywithin the zone, and in particular the ordinarycivil and criminal law.

Section 16. The United Nations may enactregulations making provisions of an adminis-trative character for the zone. Any such regu-lation shall prevail over any provisions in thelaw of the United States of America which areinconsistent with it. It is agreed that withinthe zone the protection afforded by the Con-stitution of the United States to personalliberty and to the basic human freedoms ofexpression and worship shall not be lessened,and no form of racial discrimination shall bepermitted.

Section 17. The courts of the United Statesof America shall, without prejudice to anyprovisions of Annex II and subsequently ofthe General Convention referred to in section32, have jurisdiction over acts done and trans-actions taking place in the zone, in the samemanner as they have over similar acts andtransactions taking place outside the zone.

Section 18. The courts of the UnitedStates of America, when dealing with casesarising out of or relating to acts done ortransactions taking place in the zone, shalltake cognizance of the regulations enacted bythe United Nations under section 16, thoughthey shall not be obliged to inflict penaltiesfor infraction of such regulations unless theGovernment of the United States of Americahas agreed to these regulations before the in-fraction was committed.

ARTICLE IVCommunications and Transit to and from

the ZoneSection 19. The Government of the United

States of America shall guarantee at all timesadequate means of communication to andfrom the zone through the territory of the


United States of America, for the passage ofpersons, the transmission of postal correspon-dence and telegrams, and the transport ofgoods required for use and consumption in thezone.

Section 20. Representatives of Members,irrespective of the relations existing betweentheir Government and the Government of theUnited States of America, officials both of theUnited Nations and of the specialized agencies,and the families of these representatives andofficials, shall at all times enjoy the right ofunimpeded and safe transit through the terri-tory of the United States of America to andfrom the zone.

Section 21. The accredited representativesof news agencies, whether press, radio, orfilms, and of non-governmental organizationsrecognized by the United Nations for the pur-pose of consultation, shall also enjoy the rightsreferred to in section 20.

Section 22. Immigration and other regu-lations in force in the United States of Ameri-ca, regarding the entry and residence offoreigners, shall not be applied in such a man-ner as to interfere with the rights referred toin sections 20 and 21. Visas required by thepersons referred to in those sections shall begranted without charge, without delay andwithout requirement of personal attendancefor the issue of the visa.

Section 23. The Government of the UnitedStates of America shall give or cause to begiven facilities for the issue of visas to, andfor the use of the available means of trans-port by, persons coming from abroad (otherthan those referred to in sections 20 and 21)who desire to visit the zone. The Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Govern-ment of the United States of America shall,at the request of either of them, enter intodiscussion with regard to the application ofthis section.

Section 24. The provisions of this articleshall not prevent the Government of theUnited States of America from taking pre-cautions in the interests of national security,provided that such precautions shall not havethe effect of interfering with the rights re-ferred to in sections 19, 20 and 21.

ARTICLE VIPolice Protection of the Zone

Section 26. The Government of the UnitedStates of America shall cause to be providedon the boundaries of the zone such police pro-tection for the zone as is required, and shallbe responsible for ensuring that the tranquilityof the zone is not disturbed by the unauthor-ized entry of bodies of persons from outside orby disturbances in its immediate vicinity.

Section 27. If so requested by the Secre-tary-General, the Government of the UnitedStates of America shall cause to be provideda sufficient number of police to perform dutiesinside the zone for the preservation of lawand order therein, and for the removal of per-sons who have committed or are suspected ofhaving committed or of being about to commitoffences, including infractions to the adminis-trative regulations of the United Nations.

ARTICLE VIIPublic Services for and the Amenities

of the ZoneSection 28. The Government of the United

States of America will exercise all the powerswhich it possesses to ensure that the zoneshall be supplied on equitable terms with thenecessary public services (including electricity,water, gas, post, telephone, telegraph, drain-age, collection of refuse) and that these servi-ces shall not be interrupted. In case of anyinterruption or threatened interruption of anyof these services, the Government of theUnited States of America will consider theneeds of the zone as being of equal importancewith the essential services of the United StatesGovernment itself. Consequently, in that eventit will take all those steps which it would takein case of interruption or threatened interrup-tion of these services to the essential Depart-ments of the United States Government toensure that the work of the United Nationsis not prejudiced.

Section 29. The Government of the UnitedStates of America shall be responsible forensuring that the amenities of the zone arenot prejudiced and the purposes for which thezone is required are not obstructed by anyuse made of the land in its vicinity.

ARTICLE VResident Representatives to the

United Nations

Section 25. Persons accredited to theUnited Nations by Members as resident repre-sentatives and their staffs, whether residinginside or outside the zone, shall be recognizedby the Government of the United States ofAmerica as entitled on its territory to thesame privileges and immunities as that Gov-ernment accords to the diplomatic envoys ac-credited to it. and the staffs of these envoys.

ARTICLE VIIIMatters Relating to the Operation of

this ConventionSection 30. The Secretary-General and the

Government of the United States of Americashall settle by agreement the channel or chan-nels through which shall be conducted cor-respondence relating to the application of theprovisions of this convention and to otherquestions affecting the zone. If the Secretary-General so requests, the Government of theUnited States of America shall appoint a


special representative for the purpose ofliaison with the Secretary-General.

Section 31. In so far as the fulfillment ofthis convention requires co-operation and ac-tion by any state or other non-federal author-ity of the United States of America, the Gov-ernment of the United States will concludewith that state or authority such agreementsas are necessary for this purpose. The con-clusion of these agreements, together with theenactment of any necessary legislation by theUnited States and by the state, shall be com-pleted before the notice is given which isrequired under section 35 to be given by theGovernment of the United States of Americabefore this convention enters into force.

ARTICLE IXRelation between this Convention and the

General ConventionSection 32. Until the Government of the

United States of America becomes a party tothe General Convention relating to the privi-leges and immunities of the United Nations,the provisions of Annex II shall apply betweenthe United Nations and the Government ofthe United States of America. Thereafter,those provisions shall be replaced by the pro-visions of the General Convention, which shallcontinue in force so long as the present Con-vention remains in operation.

Section 33. The provisions of this Conven-tion shall be complementary to the provisionsof the General Convention and, until the Gov-ernment of the United States of America be-comes a party to the General Convention, tothe provisions of Annex II.

Section 34. In so far as any provision ofthis Convention and any provision of the Gen-eral Convention (or of Annex II as the casemay be) relate to the same subject matter,the two provisions shall, wherever possible,be treated as complementary, so that both pro-visions shall be applicable and neither shallnarrow the effect of the other; but in any caseof absolute conflict, the provisions of this Con-vention shall prevail.

ARTICLE XFinal Provisions

Section 35. This Convention, having al-ready been approved by a resolution of theGeneral Assembly, shall enter into force assoon as the Government of the United Statesof America notifies the Secretary-General thatit has all the powers necessary to fulfil theprovisions of the Convention. The Governmentof the United States of America shall takeevery possible step to enable it to give thisnotification as soon as possible, and in anycase not later t han . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 36. This Convention shall remainin force so long as the seat of the United

Nations is maintained in the territory of theUnited States of America.

Section 37. The seat of the United Nationsshall only be removed from the territory ofthe United States of America if the UnitedNations should so decide.

Section 38. If the seat of the UnitedNations is removed from the territory of theUnited States of America, the Government ofthe United States of America shall pay to theUnited Nations an equitable sum for the landin the zone and for all buildings and installa-tions thereon. An expert nominated by thePresident of the International Court of Justiceshall decide, in default of agreement betweenthe parties, what sum is equitable, havingregard to

(a) the then value to the United Statesof America of the land, buildings, and in-stallations; and(6) the cost incurred by the United Nationsin acquiring the land and in erecting thebuildings and installations.Section 39. Any difference between the

United Nations and the Government of theUnited States of America concerning theinterpretation or application of this Conven-tion or of any supplementary agreement oragreements which is not settled by negotiationshall be referred to the arbitration of anumpire appointed for the purpose by the Presi-dent of the International Court of Justice.

Section 40. Either party may ask the Gen-eral Assembly to request of the InternationalCourt of Justice an advisory opinion on anylegal question arising in the course of the pro-ceedings referred to in section 39. Pending thereceipt of the opinion of the Court, an interimdecision of the umpire shall be observed byboth parties. Thereafter the umpire shall ren-der a final decision, having regard to theopinion of the Court.

IN WITNESS THEREOF THE ABOVE-MENTIONEDPLENIPOTENTIARIES HAVE SIGNED THIS CONVEN-TION:

DONE T H I S . . . . . . D A Y O F . . . . . . . . . . A T . . . . . . .IN DUPLICATE.

ANNEX IMAP

(Not reproduced here)

ANNEX II(This Annex was identical with the Articles

in Section A reproduced on pp. 100-104 exceptfor slight modification to make the Conventionapplicable specifically to the United States).

(3). Privileges and Immunities of theInternational Court of Justice

In accordance with the recommendations ofthe Preparatory Commission the Sixth Com-mittee of the General Assembly decided that


the members of the Court should be consultedbefore any detailed proposals concerning theprivileges and immunities of the Court wereadopted. In accordance with the Commission'srecommendations the General Assembly adoptedthe following resolution:

C.RESOLUTION ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMU-

NITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUS-TICE.

1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, with a view toensuring that the International Court of Jus-tice shall enjoy the privileges, immunities andfacilities necessary for the exercise of its func-tions and the fulfilment of its purposes, in thecountry of its seat and elsewhere, invites themembers of the Court at their first session toconsider this question and to inform the Secre-tary-General of their recommendations.

2. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY decides that thequestion of the privileges and immunities ofthe Court shall be considered as soon as pos-sible after the receipt of the recommendationsof the Court.

3. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY recommendsthat, until further action has been taken, therules which have been applied to the PermanentCourt of International Justice should be ob-served by Members in relation to the Interna-tional Court of Justice.

(4). Co-ordination of the Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations and the

Specialized AgenciesBased on the recommendation of the Pre-

paratory Commission, the General Assemblyadopted the following resolution concerningco-ordination of the privileges and immunitiesof the United Nations and the specialized agen-cies:

D.RESOLUTION ON THE CO-ORDINATION OF THE

PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE UNITEDNATIONS AND THE SPECIALIZED AGENCIES.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY considers that thereare many advantages in the unification as faras possible of the privileges and immunities en-joyed by the United Nations and the variousspecialized agencies.

While recognizing that not all specializedagencies require all the privileges and immuni-ties which may be needed by others, and thatcertain of these may, by reason of their par-ticular functions, require privileges of a spe-cial nature which are not required by theUnited Nations itself, the General Assemblyconsiders that the privileges and immunities

of the United Nations should be regarded, asa general rule, as a maximum within whichthe various specialized agencies should enjoysuch privileges and immunities as the appropri-ate fulfilment of their respective functionsmay require, and that no privileges and im-munities which are not really necessary shouldbe asked for.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN-STRUCTS THE SECRETARY-GENERAL to open ne-gotiations with a view to the re-consideration,in the light both of the General Conventionadopted by the United Nations and of the con-siderations above, of the provisions underwhich the specialized agencies at present en-joy privileges and immunities.

(5). Insurance against Third Party Risksof Motor Cars of the Organization

and Members of the Staff

As a matter of practical convenience theGeneral Assembly adopted the following reso-lution concerning insurance of United Nationsmotor cars:

E.RESOLUTION RELATING TO THE INSURANCE

AGAINST THIRD PARTY RISKS OF MOTOR-CARS OFTHE ORGANIZATION AND OF THE MEMBERS OFTHE STAFF.

It has been found that a frequent source ofdifficulty is road accidents in which motor-cars,owned or driven by persons possessing im-munity from legal process, are involved.

It is the intention of the United Nations toprevent the occurrence of any abuse in connec-tion with privileges and facilities granted toit under Articles 104 and 105 of the Charterand the general convention on privileges andimmunities, which determines the details ofthe application of these articles.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN-STRUCTS THE SECRETARY-GENERAL to ensurethat the drivers of all official motor-cars of theUnited Nations and all members of the staff,who own or drive motor-cars, shall be properlyinsured against third party risks.

(6). Pension Rights of Officials and MembersTransferred or Seconded for Service with

the United NationsTo encourage the employment as United Na-

tions staff members of officials of MemberGovernments, the General Assembly adoptedthe following resolution:


F.RESOLUTION RELATING TO ARRANGEMENTS TO

BE MADE SO THAT OFFICIALS OF MEMBERS WHOARE TRANSFERRED OR SECONDED FOR SERVICEWITH THE UNITED NATIONS SHOULD NOT LOSETHEIR ACCRUED PENSION BY REASON OF SUCHTRANSFER OR SECONDMENT.

In order to facilitate the engagement, asmembers of the staff of the United Nations, ofpersons who have accrued pension rights asofficials, either of the central government ofMembers, or of subordinate governmental orother administrative authorities within theterritory of Members, it is desirable thatarrangements should be made to secure thataccrued pension rights are not lost when suchpersons accept posts on the staff of the UnitedNations, by way either of transfer or of sec-ondment.

THEREFORE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYRECOMMENDS THAT:

after such discussion with the Secretary-General as may be necessary to settle detailsthe governments of Members adopt such legis-lative or administrative measures as may berequired to preserve such pension rights.

e. Registration of Treaties and InternationalAgreementsArticle 102 of the Charter provides that

"every treaty and every international agree-ment entered into by any Member of theUnited Nations after the present Charter comesinto force shall as soon as possible be regis-tered with the Secretariat and published by it."

The Preparatory Commission had recom-mended that the General Assembly instruct theSecretary-General to submit to the second partof its first session a report on the implemen-tation of Article 102, and invite the govern-ments of States not Members of the UnitedNations to send treaties and agreements forfiling, registration and publication by the Sec-retariat.

This matter was discussed by the SixthCommittee (Legal). The representative ofPanama proposed an amendment to the draftresolution to exclude Spain from the provisionsof the resolution. This amendment was in-cluded in the preamble to the resolution. At thesuggestion of the representative of the UnitedKingdom the resolution was further amendedso as to direct the Secretary-General to pub-lish treaties and agreements received fromnon-Member States instead of requiring theSecretary General to invite non-Member Statesto transmit them.

The resolution as adopted by the GeneralAssembly at its 28th plenary meeting on Feb-ruary 10, 1946, therefore read as follows:

The Executive Secretary sent a circular let-ter to the Members of the United Nations on8 November 1945 informing them that fromthe date of the entry into force of the Chartertreaties and international agreements wouldbe received and filed on a provisional basisuntil the adoption of detailed regulations pre-scribing the procedure to be followed in theregistration and publication of treaties andinternational agreements under the provisionsof Article 102 of the Charter. The ExecutiveSecretary also invited the Governments ofMembers to transmit to the Secretariat forfiling and publication treaties and interna-tional agreements not included in the treatyseries of the league of Nations and enteredinto in recent years before the date of theentry into force of the Charter.

It is desirable, as a matter of practical con-venience, that arrangements should be madefor the publication of any treaties or interna-tional agreements which non-member Statesmay voluntarily transmit and which have notbeen included in the treaty series of the Leagueof Nations. These arrangements should not,however, extend to treaties or internationalagreements transmitted by any non-memberState such as Spain, the Government of whichhas been founded with the support of the Axispowers and does not, in view of its origin, itsnature, its record and its close association withthe aggressor States, possess qualifications nec-essary to justify membership in the UnitedNations under the provisions of the Charter.

THEREFORE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN-STRUCTS THE SECRETARY-GENERAL:

1. To submit to the General Assembly pro-posals for detailed regulations and other mea-sures designed to give effect to the provisionsof Article 102 of the Charter;

2. To invite the governments of Members ofthe United Nations to transmit to the Secre-tary-General for filing and publication, treatiesand international agreements entered into inrecent years, but before the date of entry intoforce of the Charter, which had not been in-cluded in the League of Nations treaty series,and to transmit for registration and publica-tion treaties and international agreements en-tered into after the date of entry into forceof the Charter.

3. To receive, from the governments of non-member States, treaties and internationalagreements entered into both before and afterthe date of entry into force of the Charter,which have not been included in the Leagueof Nations treaty series and which they mayvoluntarily transmit for filing and publication;and to dispose of them in accordance with theforegoing provisions, and subject to such de-tailed regulations and other measures as mayhereafter be adopted.


(7). Transfer of Functions, Activities andAssets of the League of Nations

a. Resolutions of the General AssemblyThe Preparatory Commission had submitted

a draft resolution on the transfer of certainfunctions, activities and assets of the Leagueof Nations which was referred to the ad hocLeague of Nations Committee of the GeneralAssembly. On the recommendation of this Com-mittee the Assembly at its 29th plenary meet-ing on February 12, 1946, adopted the follow-ing resolution, closely based on the PreparatoryCommission's draft:

*

IFUNCTIONS AND POWERS BELONGING TO THELEAGUE OF NATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL

AGREEMENTSUnder various treaties and international

conventions, agreements and other instru-ments, the League of Nations and its organsexercise, or may be requested to exercise,numerous functions or powers for the con-tinuance of which, after the dissolution of theLeague, it is, or may be, desirable that theUnited Nations should provide.

Certain Members of the United Nations,which are parties to some of these instru-ments and are Members of the League ofNations, have informed the General Assem-bly that, at the forthcoming session of theAssembly of the League, they intend to movea resolution whereby the Members of theLeague would, so far as this is necessary,assent and give effect to the steps contem-plated below.

THEREFORE:1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY reserves the

right to decide, after due examination, not toassume any particular function or power, andto determine which organ of the United Na-tions or which specialized agency brought intorelationship with the United Nations shouldexercise each particular function or powerassumed.

2. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY records thatthose Members of the United Nations whichare parties to the instruments referred toabove assent by this resolution to the stepscontemplated below and express their resolveto use their good offices to secure the co-operation of the other parties to the instru-ments so far as this may be necessary.

3. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY declares thatthe United Nations is willing in principle,and subject to the provisions of this resolutionand of the Charter of the United Nations, toassume the exercise of certain functions andpowers previously entrusted to the League ofNations, and adopts the following decisions,set forth in A, B, and C below.

A. Functions pertaining to a SecretariatUnder certain of the instruments referred

to at the beginning of this resolution, theLeague of Nations has, for the general con-venience of the parties, undertaken to act ascustodian of the original signed texts of theinstruments, and to perform certain functions,pertaining to a secretariat, which do not affectthe operation of the instruments and do notrelate to the substantive rights and obligationsof the parties. These functions include: Thereceipt of additional signatures and of instru-ments of ratification, accession and denuncia-tion; receipt of notice of extension of the in-struments to colonies or possessions of a partyor to protectorates or territories for whichit holds a mandate; notification of such actsto other parties and other interested States;the issue of certified copies; and the circula-tion of information or documents which theparties have undertaken to communicate toeach other. Any interruption in the perform-ance of these functions would be contrary tothe interests of all the parties. It would beconvenient for the United Nations to havethe custody of those instruments which areconnected with activities of the League ofNations and which the United Nations islikely to continue.

THEREFORE:THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY declares that the

United Nations is willing to accept the custodyof the instruments and to charge the Secre-tariat of the United Nations with the task ofperforming for the parties the functions, per-taining to a secretariat, formerly entrustedto the League of Nations.

B. Functions and Powers of a Technical andNon-Political Character

Among the instruments referred to at thebeginning of this resolution are some of atechnical and non-political character whichcontain provisions, relating to the substanceof the instruments, whose due execution isdependent on the exercise, by the League ofNations or particular organs of the League,of functions or powers conferred by the instru-ments. Certain of these instruments are in-timately connected with activities which theUnited Nations will or may continue.

It is necessary, however, to examine care-fully which of the organs of the UnitedNations or which of the specialized agenciesbrought into relationship with the UnitedNations should, in the future, exercise thefunctions and powers in question, in so faras they are maintained.

THEREFORE :THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY is willing, subject

to these reservations, to take the necessarymeasures to ensure the continued exercise ofthese functions and powers, and refers thematter to the Economic and Social Council.


C. Functions and Powers under Treaties,International Conventions, Agreements and

Other Instruments Having aPolitical Character

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY will itself examine,or will submit to the appropriate organ of theUnited Nations, any request from the partiesthat the United Nations should assume theexercise of functions or powers entrusted tothe League of Nations by treaties, interna-tional conventions, agreements and other in-struments having a political character.

IINON-POLITICAL FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES OF

MENTIONED IN SECTION I1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY requests the

Economic and Social Council to survey thefunctions and activities of a non-politicalcharacter which have hitherto been performedby the League of Nations in order to determinewhich of them should, with such modificationsas are desirable, be assumed by organs of theUnited Nations or be entrusted to specializedagencies which have been brought into rela-tionship with the United Nations. Pending theadoption of the measures decided upon as theresult of this examination, the Council should,on or before the dissolution of the League,assume and continue provisionally the workhitherto done by the following League depart-ments: the Economic, Financial and TransitDepartment, particularly the research andstatistical work; the Health Section, particu-larly the epidemiological service; the OpiumSection and the secretariats of the PermanentCentral Opium Board and Supervisory Body.

2. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY requests theSecretary-General to make provision for takingover and maintaining in operation the Libraryand Archives and for completing the Leagueof Nations treaty series.

3. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY considers thatit would also be desirable for the Secretary-General to engage for the work referred toin paragraphs 1 and 2 above, on appropriateterms, such members of the experienced per-sonnel by whom it is at present being per-formed as the Secretary-General may select.

IIITRANSFER OF THE ASSETS OF THE LEAGUE OF

NATIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONSTHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, having considered

the report of the Committee set up by thePreparatory Commission to discuss and estab-lish with the Supervisory Commission of theLeague of Nations a common plan for thetransfer of the assets of the League ofNations, approves of both the report of theCommittee set up by the Preparatory Com-mission and of the common plan submittedby it (document A/18 and Corr. 1, Add. 1and 2.)

APPOINTMENT OF A NEGOTIATING COMMITTEETHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY approves of the

setting up of a small negotiating committee toassist the Secretary-General in negotiatingfurther agreements in connection with thetransfer of certain assets in Geneva, and inconnection with the premises in the PeacePalace in The Hague. This committee shallconsist of one representative designated bythe delegations, if they so desire, of each ofthe same eight Members as previously consti-tuted the Committee created by the Prepara-tory Commission: Chile, China, France, Po-land, Union of South Africa, Union of SovietSocialist Republics, United Kingdom andUnited States of America.

b. The Common PlanThe common plan approved by the General

Assembly in the third resolution above wasagreed upon between a Committee appointedby the Preparatory Commission of the UnitedNations and the Supervisory Commission ofthe League of Nations. The text of the com-mon plan was as follows:

1. The League of Nations agrees to transferto the United Nations, and the United Na-tions agrees to receive on or about 1 August1946, the precise date to be determined bythe administrative authorities of the two Or-ganizations, all material assets of the Leagueof Nations shown in column I of the attachedSchedule at the valuation shown in column II.1

The League of Nations agrees that theshares in the total credit thus established shallbe distributed between States entitled toparticipate, in accordance with percentagesto be laid down by the League at its nextAssembly.

The United Nations agrees:(a) that the shares, thus established, ofsuch of these States as are Members of theUnited Nations shall be credited to themrespectively in the books of the United Na-tions: and(b) that the General Assembly shall de-cide on the purposes to which these creditsshall be applied and on the dates on whichthey shall be so applied; and further thatthese credits shall in any event, begin tobe available not later than 31 December1948.The United Nations further agrees:(a) that the International Labour Organi-sation may use the Assembly Hall, together

1 The Schedule is not published here. The

assets in column I included the following items:Secretariat building, Assembly Hall, librarybuilding, 203,446 square meters of real estate,furniture, fittings, typewriters, office supplies,books, archives, etc. The total value as shownin column II was 47,631,518.61 Swiss francs.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS OTHER THAN THOSE


with the necessary committee rooms, officeaccommodation and other facilities con-nected therewith at times and on financialterms to be agreed from time to timebetween the United Nations and the Inter-national Labour Organisation;(b) that the International Labour Organi-sation may use the library under the sameconditions as other official users thereof.2. The League of Nations shall take steps to

discharge all its obligations as soon as prac-ticable.

3. The League of Nations shall take steps tosettle the question of contributions of Mem-ber States in arrears.

4. The League of Nations shall take steps toseparate the interests of the InternationalLabour Organisation in the assets of theLeague before transfer to the United Nations.It is understood that the International LabourOrganisation building at Geneva will be trans-ferred to that Organisation.

5. Any ex-officials of the League of Nationssubsequently engaged by the United Nationsshall enter service under conditions of em-ployment established by the United Nations,and it will be for the League of Nations totake the necessary steps to make this possible.

6. It is understood that the League of Na-tions shall make arrangements, independentlyof the United Nations, with regard to thecontinued administration of the Staff PensionFund and with regard to the pensions of theJudges of the Permanent Court of Interna-tional Justice.

7. When the League has discharged all itsobligations and made the necessary disposi-tions concerning the Working Capital Fundand regarding outstanding contributions, theremaining liquid assets shall be credited ordistributed to Members of the League undera scheme to be determined by it.

8. Both the United Nations and the Leagueof Nations shall authorize competent authori-ties to make any necessary agreements withthe Swiss Authorities on all matters con-nected with the transfer of assets of theLeague of Nations to the United Nations.

c. Work of the Negotiating CommitteeThe negotiating committee set up by the

General Assembly in the fourth resolutionquoted above completed by March 5, 1946, itswork of negotiating a preliminary agreementwith the Directors of the Carnegie Founda-tion for the use of the premises in the PeacePalace at The Hague. In accordance with theresolution passed by the General Assembly atits 28th plenary meeting on February 10, 1946,the conditions set out in this agreement wereto be embodied in an agreement subject to theapproval of the General Assembly.

On April 4 the committee held the first ofa series of meetings with representatives ofthe Swiss Federal Council at Berne. As aresult of these discussions an interim arrange-ment was concluded regarding the immuni-ties and privileges of the United Nations inSwitzerland.

The committee then proceeded to Geneva,where a draft agreement on the Ariana site(headquarters of the League of Nations) wasprepared pending the adoption by the Leagueof Nations Assembly of the common planapproved by the General Assembly of theUnited Nations on February 12, 1946. Thecommon plan was approved by the LeagueAssembly on April 18, 1946, and on the follow-ing day the final texts of the Agreement onthe Ariana site and of the Interim Arrange-ment on privileges and immunities of theUnited Nations in Switzerland were approvedby the Committee and by the Swiss delegation.

The Agreement and the Interim Arrange-ment were signed on behalf of the UnitedNations by the Secretary-General, and on be-half of the Swiss Government by the Chiefof the Swiss Federal Department. Both ofthese arrangements were temporary; per-manent arrangements were to be made at alater date.

d. Transfer of Certain Functions and Assets

After appropriate consultations with theLeague authorities, the Secretary-Generalapproved the following arrangements for thetransfer of the buildings, library and archivesof the League of Nations in accordance withthe common plan.

The date of transfer of the buildings wasto be July 31, 1946. Until this date, the main-tenance costs were to be borne by the Leagueof Nations; after that date the United Na-tions was to assume full charge and, for itsguidance, the Secretary-General of the Leagueof Nations had prepared a budget of the costsinvolved.

An inventory of the contents of the build-ings drawn up before the London negotiationswas being checked; the total value of thesecontents at the date of transfer was to beagreed upon between the two Secretaries-General.

The League of Nations had offered hospital-ity to the United Nations in the buildingsuntil July 31, and after that date the United


Nations was to offer such hospitality (light-ing, heating, office space, cleaning, local tele-phone charges and office supplies) as theLeague might require. All other costs wereto be borne by the respective administrationsby arrangement.

It was decided that the Library of theLeague of Nations, which was playing anincreasingly important role in view of thedestruction of many of the European libraries,should continue to function in Geneva untilthe whole question could be considered inconnection with the permanent headquartersof the United Nations.

Those archives directly relating to func-tions of the League of Nations which hadbeen, or would be, taken over by the UnitedNations were to be transferred at the sametime as the functions concerned. With regardto the remainder of the archives, the Secre-tary-General proposed that a joint committeeof the League of Nations and the United Na-tions Secretariat should be appointed to studythis problem after the second half of thefirst session of the General Assembly.

It was found impracticable for the UnitedNations to assume all transferable functionsof the League of Nations en bloc and at thesame time that the physical assets were trans-ferred. The interested departments of theSecretariat were making arrangements forthe transfer of the various functions fallingwithin their respective competency. The actualtransfer operation was to be centralizedthrough the Secretary-General and the officein Geneva, which would maintain the neces-sary liaison with the Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations.1

The General Assembly, at its 29th plenarymeeting on February 12, 1946, resolved thatit would be desirable for the Secretary-Gen-eral to engage for the work hitherto done bythe Economic, Financial and Transit Depart-ments, the Health Section, the Opium Sectionand the Permanent Central Opium Board andDrug Supervisory Body of the League of Na-tions, such members of the experienced Leaguepersonnel as he might select. In agreementwith the Secretary-General of the League, thenegotiating committee undertook the taskof interviewing members of the League Secre-tariat desirous of employment with the UnitedNations. The transfer of selected staff wasto be effected either simultaneously with thetransfer of the particular functions on which

the staff were employed, or, in the case ofthose members not concerned with a trans-ferable function, after July 31, 1946. Arrange-ments were made that certain members re-quired urgently for work with the UnitedNations should be seconded, pending the trans-fer of the service to which they belonged; insuch cases, the salary paid by the League ofNations during the period of secondment wasto be reimbursed by the United Nations.

8. HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED NATIONSa. Resolution of the General Assembly

On the basis of the recommendations ofthe Preparatory Commission and its InterimCommittee, the ad hoc Permanent Head-quarters Committee recommended and theGeneral Assembly, at its 33rd plenary meet-ing on February 14, 1946, adopted the follow-ing resolutions on the question of the head-quarters of the United Nations:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:I. PERMANENT HEADQUARTERS

(a) The permanent headquarters of theUnited Nations shall be established in West-chester (New York) and/or Fairfield (Conn.)counties, i.e. near to New York City.

(b) A Headquarters Commission shall pro-ceed as soon as possible to the region men-tioned in (a) above, with a view to carryingout an exhaustive study thereof and makingrecommendations to the General Assembly atthe second part of its first session regardingthe exact location to be selected within theaforementioned general region.

(c) The Headquarters Commission shalldraw up plans based on the assumption thatthe United Nations will acquire approxi-mately :

(i) 2 square miles(ii) 5 square miles

(iii) 10 square miles(iv) 20 square miles(v) 40 square miles

with details in each case of the approximatecost of acquiring the land and buildings withinthese areas.

(d) The Headquarters Commission shallascertain what measures the federal, stateand county authorities in the United States ofAmerica are prepared to take in order to con-trol development in the territory adjacent tothe zone.

(e) On the basis of the information thusprovided, the General Assembly at the second

1 For the transfer to the United Nations of cer-tain non-political functions and activities of theLeague, see p. 110 ff.


part of its first session shall make a final de-cision as to:

(i) The exact area required;(ii) The exact location of the permanent

headquarters within the aforemen-tioned Westchester-Fairfield region.

(f) This resolution does not imply anyfinancial commitments of the United Nations(other than the expenses of the HeadquartersCommission) and does not impose any finan-cial obligations on its Members, and the Gen-eral Assembly remains free to decide thesequestions at the second part of its first sessionaccording to Article 17, paragraphs 1 and 2,and Article 18, paragraph 2, of the Charter.

II. INTERIM HEADQUARTERSThe interim headquarters of the United

Nations shall be located in New York City.

III. HEADQUARTERS COMMISSION(a) A Headquarters Commission composed

of representatives of Australia, Uruguay,China, France, Iraq, Netherlands, UnitedKingdom, Union of Soviet Socialist Republicsand Yugoslavia shall be set up to carry outthe tasks entrusted to it under the first partof this resolution regarding the permanentheadquarters.

(6) The Headquarters Commission may beassisted by experts including planning engi-neers, lawyers, real estate experts, financialadvisers and other appropriate experts who,at the request of the Secretary-General, shallbe designated by the Government of the UnitedStates of America.

(c) The Secretary-General shall consultwith the Headquarters Commission or the ex-perts assisting it, as he may deem necessaryor appropriate, on problems which may arisein connection with the temporary installationof the various organs of the United Nationsin the United States of America, the materialarrangements for the holding of the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly in September 1946, and the housing ofthe delegates, secretariat and other personnelwho may be required to reside for longer orshorter periods near the temporary head-quarters of the Organization.

(d) The Secretary-General is authorized topay the expenses of the members of and tocompensate the experts attached to the Head-quarters Commission on such basis and insuch form as may appear to him most appro-priate.

(e) The Headquarters Commission shallsubmit its final report on all matters referredto it to the General Assembly at the secondpart of its first session.

(f) The General Assembly, during thecourse of the second part of its first session,shall give consideration to the appointment of

a Planning Commission of experts as recom-mended, in Chapter X, section 3, in the Reportof the Preparatory Commission.

6. The Interim HeadquartersThe General Assembly having decided that

the interim headquarters should be located inNew York City, the Secretary-General sentrepresentatives to that city at the end ofFebruary to find places for the meetings ofthe Security Council (beginning March 21),of the nuclear Commissions of the Economicand Social Council (April-May), of the Eco-nomic and Social Council itself (May-June)and to house several hundred members of theSecretariat coming from London.

The representatives of the Secretary-Gen-eral were of the opinion that Hunter Collegewas the best available site to meet the prob-lems at hand. On February 25 they requested,on behalf of the Secretary-General, the use ofthree buildings in Hunter College until May15, and the Mayor of New York City grantedthe request. The lease was signed on March 6.The Hunter College gymnasium was convertedinto a council chamber where the SecurityCouncil and the Economic and Social Councilmet.

On April 11 the Mayor of New York Cityoffered to make available the City Buildingat Flushing Meadow for the use of the GeneralAssembly, with suitable alterations and addi-tions, if the Secretariat would move to theSperry Plant at Lake Success. The Mayorannounced that the City was ready to expend$1,200,000 on the Flushing Meadow site.

On the same day the Secretary-General in-formed the Mayor that the United Nations(1) had selected the Sperry Plant as the sitefor the Secretariat and Councils, (2) wouldlike to have the use of the City Building forthe General Assembly, (3) would like an ex-tension of the lease of Hunter College fromMay 15 to August 15, 1946.

On April 15 the Secretary-General sent aletter to the War Assets Administration(owner of the Sperry Plant) offering to leasecertain parts of the Sperry Plant for a periodof three years from July 1, 1946, with anoption to renew for two further years. Thetotal space leased by the United Nations wasapproximately 572,000 square feet. The Secre-tariat and the Councils were moved to theSperry Plant on August 15. Meanwhile theCity Building at Flushing Meadow was beingaltered for the General Assembly, which was


to meet on October 23. New York City contri-buted $1,010,000 for the alterations to theCity Building and $900,000 for the roads andgrounds.

c. The Work of the Headquarters CommissionThe Headquarters Commission held its first

meeting on May 7, 1946. Its first task was toadvise the Secretary-General on: (1) housingproblems concerning the interim site; (2)conversion of the Sperry Plant. A report tothe Secretary-General was submitted after atwo weeks' study which included eight plenarymeetings of the Commission, some specialconsultations, visits to the site and meetingswith various people who could advise theCommission on the matters under considera-tion.

The Commission then began to plan its maintask, an exhaustive study of the Westchester-Fairfield area, directed toward the exact loca-tion for the permanent headquarters for rec-ommendation to the General Assembly. Itappointed a number of committees to facilitateits work.

The Headquarters Commission had been in-structed to draw up plans based on theassumption that the United Nations wouldrequire a site of approximately either two,five, ten, twenty or forty square miles for itsheadquarters. It was assumed that this siteshould be within one and a half hours travel-ing time from midtown Manhattan; that itshould have easy access to adequate railwaysand roads; and that it should be close enoughto other communities, including New YorkCity, to utilize facilities not available at thesite.

The Commission instituted a study of theactual requirements of the United Nationsand translated them into terms of space, bothfor the official buildings and for a possiblecommunity area. A medium building heightof six stories, including a basement, wasadopted to give future planners maximumfreedom in choosing between horizontal andvertical type of architectural planning.

All requirements for the official buildingsarea were estimated for 7,000 permanent rep-resentatives and international personnel. Re-quirements for a community building area,containing dwellings for permanent and tran-sient personnel and community facilities toserve them, were estimated for about 50,000people. In the event that nearby towns couldsupply the needed service personnel, thisfigure could be reduced to about 27,000. Spacecalculations were made on the basis of bothassumptions. In converting these populationfigures into land requirements, a density fac-tor of twenty persons per net acre, about13,000 people per square mile, was taken.

The Commission first considered 25 potentialsites and then selected fifteen for closer study—three of each size. Advantages and dis-advantages were carefully weighed. Finallyone site in each group was judged to be thebest for its size. The final selections were allin Westchester County.

While the terms of reference establishingthe Headquarters Commission restricted theCommission's choice to the Westchester-Fair-field area, it was recognized that it was withinthe competence of the General Assembly tochoose any locality.

D. SECOND PART OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly began on October 23, 1946,and concluded on December 15. The openingmeeting was devoted to speeches by the Presi-dent of the General Assembly, the Acting Mayorof New York City and the President of theUnited States. During the 54 days of its session,the General Assembly held 35 plenary meetingsand its committees and sub-committees 357meetings.

1. Organizational Matters

a. Adoption of the Agenda and Distribution ofAgenda Items among the Committees of theGeneral Assembly

In accordance with Rule 33 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure, the General Committee ofthe General Assembly at its nineteenth andtwentieth meetings, held on October 24 and 25,1946, considered the provisional agenda of thesecond part of the first session of the Assembly.


At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the Assembly adopted the draft agendasubmitted by the General Committee.

At the same time the General Assembly con-sidered the General Committee's recommenda-tions for the allocation of agenda items amongthe various committees of the Assembly. Therepresentative of Australia considered that im-mediate and automatic referral of agenda itemsto committees was not desirable and that theGeneral Assembly in plenary session should firstexpress its views on important issues. He there-fore introduced the following resolution:

In order to maintain the prestige of the Gen-eral Assembly as a world forum for the publicdiscussion of matters within the scope of theCharter and in order to facilitate the work ofthe session,

The General Assembly resolves to set downfor discussion in plenary meeting before re-ferring to a committee of the General Assemblythose items on the provisional agenda for thepresent session in respect of which a generalpolicy directive is desirable, and requests theGeneral Committee to recommend what itemson the agenda should be so set down.

The President of the Assembly pointed outthat Rule 109 of the Provisional Rules of Pro-cedure provided that items should be referredto committee before a decision thereon wastaken by the Assembly. Adoption of the Aus-tralian proposal would duplicate discussion inplenary session and in committee, and it mightthus be weeks before the committees could starton their work. In response to an appeal by theUnited Kingdom representative, the Australianrepresentative withdrew his proposal. The Gen-eral Assembly then approved the General Com-mittee's recommendations concerning the dis-tribution of agenda items to committees.

b. Appointment of Committees

(1). Main Committees

The Chairman of the Second Committee (Eco-nomic and Financial), Waclaw Konderski (Po-land), and the Chairman of the Third Commit-tee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), PeterFraser (New Zealand), were unable to attendthe second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly. To fill the vacancies in theseoffices the Second Committee at its tenth meet-ing on November 7, 1946, unanimously electedOscar Lange (Poland) as Chairman, and theThird Committee at its twelfth meeting on Octo-ber 24, 1946, unanimously elected Sir Carl Ber-endsen (New Zealand).

(2). Standing Committees

i. Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Matters

In accordance with the General Assembly'sresolution of February 13, 1946, an AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and BudgetaryMatters of nine members was to be appointedduring the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly. At its 46th plenary meetingon October 31 the General Assembly referredthe question of the election of the members ofthe Advisory Committee to the Fifth Commit-tee (Administrative and Budgetary).

The Fifth Committee after some discussiondecided to recommend the election of the mem-bers of the Advisory Committee not by coun-tries but on the basis of their personal qualifi-cations. Accordingly twenty names suggested byfifteen delegations were presented to the FifthCommittee at its 23rd meeting on November 12,1946.

Before the Fifth Committee proceeded to avote the representative of France proposed thatthe membership of the Advisory Committee beincreased from nine to ten. The proposal waswithdrawn after the Chairman of the FifthCommittee had pointed out that a recommenda-tion to change the number of members of theAdvisory Committee would unduly delay theelection, as it would require approval by theGeneral Assembly as a whole. A second Frenchproposal, that members of the Advisory Com-mittee should not be allowed to accept any re-munerative employment with the United Na-tions or with a specialized agency during theirterm of office or for one or two years thereafter,was defeated by a vote of 17 to 13.

By secret ballot the Committee then selectedthe nine members to serve on the Advisory Com-mittee and by further ballots chose three mem-bers to serve for a term of three years, andanother three members to serve for a term oftwo years. The Fifth Committee further de-cided to recommend to the General Assemblythat the Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Questions should be formed atonce (although it would not formally begin toexercise its functions until January 1, 1947, thestart of the financial year) so that during thecurrent session of the Assembly it might giveassistance and advice both to the Assembly andto the Secretary-General on all matters pertain-ing to administrative and budgetary questions.

At its 49th plenary meeting on November 19the General Assembly unanimously adopted the


resolution proposed by the Committee as fol-lows :

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1. DECLARES the following persons to be

elected as members of the Advisory Committeeon Administrative and Budgetary Questions un-der the terms of reference laid down in Rule 40of the Provisional Rules of Procedure.

Mr. Thanassis Aghnides (Greece)Mr. André Ganem (France)Mr. C. L. Hsia (China)Mr. Valentin I. Kabushko (Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics)Mr. S. K. Kirpalani (India)Mr. Olyntho Machado (Brazil)Mr. G. Martinez-Cabanas (Mexico)Sir William Matthews (United Kingdom)Mr. Donald Stone (United Stales)2. DECLARES:

Mr. 0. MachadoSir William MatthewsMr. Donald C. Stone

to be elected for a three-year term.

3. DECLARES:Mr. Thanassis AghnidesMr. C. L. HsiaMr. Valentin I. Kabushko

to be elected for a two-year term.

ii. Committee on ContributionsBy a resolution of February 13, 1946, the

General Assembly appointed a Committee onContributions of ten members, four membersto serve for a three-year term and three mem-bers each to serve for two-year and one-yearterms respectively. At its 49th plenary meetingon November 19, 1946, the General Assemblyreferred to the Fifth Committee the questionof the election of three members of the Com-mittee on Contributions to take the place of thethree members elected for a one-year term,namely :

Paul Appleby — United StatesChi Chao-ting — ChinaPavle Lukin — Czechoslovakia

The delegations of the United States, Chinaand Czechoslovakia indicated that the above-mentioned representatives would be unable tocontinue their services, and that in the case ofthe re-election of the countries thus repre-sented, the representatives should be replacedas follows:

James E. Webb — United StatesK. V. Dzung — ChinaJan Papanek — Czechoslovakia

At the 31st meeting of the Fifth Committeeon November 27 the representative of Mexicosuggested that the three members of the Com-mittee of Contributions whose term of office

had expired should be re-elected. Certain mem-bers opposed this suggestion on the ground thatsuch a system tended to render appointmentspermanent. The members of the Committee onContributions should be elected on the basisof rotation, with due regard to equitable geo-graphic distribution. By secret ballot the FifthCommittee selected Mr. Webb (United States),Mr. Dzung (China) and Mr. Papanek (Czecho-slovakia) as members of the Committee on Con-tributions.

As regards the term of office of the membersof the Committee on Contributions, the FifthCommittee decided to recommend that it shoulddate from January 1, 1947, and not from Febru-ary 13, 1947, and that Rule 42 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure should be amended accord-ingly.

At its 50th plenary meeting on December 7,1946, the General Assembly unanimously adopt-ed the resolution drafted by the Committee asfollows :

1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES toamend Rule 42 of the Provisional Rules ofProcedure for the General Assembly to readas follows:

"Rule 42"The members of the Committee on Contribu-tions, no two of whom shall be nationals ofthe same State, shall be selected on the basisof broad geographical representation, per-sonal qualifications and experience, and shallserve for a period of three years correspond-ing to three financial years, as defined in theRegulations for the Financial Administrationof the United Nations. Members shall retireby rotation and shall be eligible for re-elec-tion. The General Assembly shall elect themembers of the Committee on Contributionsat the regular session at which the term ofoffice of members expires, or, in case ofvacancies, at the next session."2. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECLARES the fol-

lowing persons to be elected for a three-yearterm as members of the Committee on Contri-butions under the terms of reference laid downin Rule 42 (as amended) of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure for the General Assembly.

K.V. Dzung (China)Jan Papanek (Czechoslovakia)James E. Webb (United States)

c. Election of Members of Councils(1). Election of Non-Permanent Members of

the Security CouncilOf the six non-permanent members of the

Security Council (Australia, Brazil, Egypt,the first part of the first session of the GeneralMexico, Netherlands, Poland) elected during


Assembly, Egypt, Mexico and the Netherlandswere to serve for a one-year term. To take theplace of these three countries on the SecurityCouncil upon the expiration of their term ofoffice, the General Assembly at its 32nd plenarymeeting on November 19, 1946, elected Belgium,Colombia and Syria on the first ballot.

(2). Election of Members of the Economicand Social Council

The General Assembly during the second partof its first session had to elect six members ofthe Economic and Social Council for three-yearterms to take the place of the six memberselected for one-year terms during the first partof the first session of the General Assembly,namely: Colombia, Greece, Lebanon, UkrainianS.S.R., United States and Yugoslavia.

At its 48th plenary meeting on November 19,1946, the General Assembly on the first ballotelected New Zealand, the United States andVenezuela to membership in the Economic andSocial Council. Lebanon was elected on thesecond ballot. Two further ballots were taken,but no country obtained the absolute majorityrequired for election. Further balloting waspostponed until the 50th plenary meeting of theGeneral Assembly on December 7, 1946. On thesixth ballot the Byelorussian S.S.R. was elected.The choice for the last seat on the Council re-mained between the Netherlands and Turkey.Two further ballots proved inconclusive. Inview of the deadlock further balloting was post-poned.

At the 59th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on December 12, 1946, the representa-tive of Belgium announced that his country,which had been elected to the Economic andSocial Council during the first part of the firstsession of the General Assembly for a three-year term, was ready to give up its place on theEconomic and Social Council on the conditionthat the General Assembly accept this solutionand elect both the Netherlands and Turkey tothe Council.

The representative of Yugoslavia, supportedby the representative of Argentina and theU.S.S.R., pointed out that Belgium was free towithdraw from the Economic and Social Coun-cil, but that it was not possible to make the elec-tion of the Netherlands and Turkey a conditionof withdrawal. In filling the vacancy left by theresignation of Belgium the General Assemblywould have to proceed in accordance with itsRules of Procedure, which forbade nominations.The Belgian proposal in effect contained a nomi-

nation and was, therefore, contrary to the Rulesof Procedure, which could not be changed ex-cept in accordance with Rule 117.

Other representatives, including those ofChina, Greece and the United States, supportedthe contention of the Belgian representativethat the Belgian offer could be either acceptedor rejected as a whole. If the proposal werenot accepted, the Belgian representative stated,Belgium would not withdraw from the Eco-nomic and Social Council. The election to fillthe vacancy created by Belgium's withdrawalwould have to proceed in accordance with therules of procedure, but acceptance of the Bel-gian proposal would constitute a "gentlemen'sagreement" binding upon the Assembly. Severalrepresentatives considered, moreover, that theGeneral Assembly was master of its own pro-cedure and could construct its own rules whenconfronted with unique situations.

The representative of the Netherlands an-nounced that in case of acceptance of the Bel-gian proposal his Government would be willingto succeed Belgium and to remain a member ofthe Economic and Social Council for the unex-pired term of office of that country, namely,two years instead of three, thus enabling theGeneral Assembly to elect Turkey for the regu-lar three-year term.

By a vote of 34 to 4, with 9 abstentions, theGeneral Assembly accepted the Belgian pro-posal. Accordingly, the Netherlands delegationwithdrew its candidature and Turkey was elect-ed for a three-year term. By a separate vote theNetherlands was elected to fill the vacancy cre-ated by the withdrawal of Belgium from theEconomic and Social Council.

(3). Election of Members of theTrusteeship Council

Following approval by the General Assembly,on December 13, 1946, of the eight trusteeshipagreements, the General Assembly, in accord-ance with Article 86 of the Charter, had to electtwo members of the Trusteeship Council.

At the 63rd plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on December 14,1946, the representa-tive of the U.S.S.R. announced that he consid-ered the Trusteeship Agreements approved bythe Assembly to be in contradiction to the termsof the Charter. They could not, therefore, in hisGovernment's view, be used as a basis for theestablishment of the Trusteeship Council, andthe U.S.S.R. delegation could not participate inthe election of members of the Trusteeship


Council. The representatives of the Byelorus-sian S.S.R., the Ukrainian S.S.R. and Yugo-slavia made similar declarations.

By 36 and 34 votes respectively, the Assemblyelected Mexico and Iraq as members of theTrusteeship Council. By 40 votes without oppo-sition the General Assembly then approved thefollowing resolution proposed by the FourthCommittee (Trusteeship):

The General Assembly approved, on 13 De-cember 1946, in accordance with Article 85 ofthe Charter, the terms of the TrusteeshipAgreements for New Guinea, Ruanda-Urundi,Cameroons under French administration andTogoland under French administration, West-ern Samoa, Tanganyika, Cameroons underBritish administration and Togoland underBritish administration.

In these agreements, Australia, Belgium,France, New Zealand and the United Kingdomhave been designated as Administering Au-thorities.

The conditions necessary for the constitutionof the Trusteeship Council can thus be fulfilled.

In accordance with Article 86 a, Australia,Belgium, France, New Zealand, and the UnitedKingdom will be members of the TrusteeshipCouncil.

By application of Article 86 b, China theUnited States of America and the Union ofSoviet Socialist Republics, being such of theMembers mentioned by name in Article 23 ofthe Charter as are not administering TrustTerritories, will also be members of the Trus-teeship Council.

In accordance with Article 86 c it is neces-sary, in order to ensure that the total number ofmembers of the Trusteeship Council is equallydivided between those Members of the UnitedNations which administer Trust Territories andthose which do not, that two members shouldbe elected by the General Assembly.

THEREFORE,THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1. ELECTS Mexico and Iraq as members ofthe Trusteeship Council for a term of threeyears;2. DIRECTS the Secretary-General to con-voke the first session of the Trusteeship Coun-cil not later than 15 March 1947, and to drawup and communicate to each member of theCouncil the provisional agenda for that ses-sion at least thirty days in advance of the dateof the session.

(4). Proposed Increase in the Membership ofthe Economic and Social Council

On November 2, 1946, the Argentine delega-tion submitted a request that the following pro-posal be included in the agenda of the GeneralAssembly:

"That the number of members of the Eco-nomic and Social Council stipulated in Article61, paragraph 1, be increased to twenty-four."

At the 24th meeting of the General Commit-tee on November 5, 1946, several members ex-pressed opposition to the inclusion, at such alate date, of an item involving an amendment tothe Charter as it did not give Member Govern-ments sufficient time for consideration. A sug-gestion by the representative of the UnitedKingdom that the proposal be submitted to thenext regular session of the General Assemblywas accepted by the Argentine delegation. By avote of 11 to 2, therefore, the General Commit-tee decided to include a statement in its reportto the General Assembly, to the effect that therepresentative of Argentina had decided to sub-mit his proposal for inclusion in the agendaof the second regular session of the GeneralAssembly.(5) Terms of Office of Members of the Councils

By a resolution of February 13, 1948, theGeneral Assembly had decided that members ofCouncils elected in January 1946 should holdoffice for twelve months and that the Secretary-General should report to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly whatchanges in the Rules of Procedure might benecessary to implement the Assembly's decision.

This resolution was understood at the timeto be limited to the single case of memberselected in January 1946 for a term of one year.Accordingly the Secretary General in his reportto the second part of the first session of theAssembly submitted amendments to the Rulesof Procedure to give effect to this decision. Ifthese amendments had been adopted, the termsof office of members of Councils would have beenas follows:

(a) Members of Councils, elected in January1946 for one year would hold office from January1946 to January 1947.

(b) Members of Councils elected in January1946 for two years would hold office from Janu-ary 1946 to September 1947.

(c) Members of the Economic and SocialCouncils elected in January 1946 for three yearswould hold office from January 1946 to Septem-ber 1948.

(d) Members of the Security Council electedat the second part of the first session would holdoffice from January 1947 to September 1948.

(e) Members of the Economic and SocialCouncil elected at the second part of the firstsession would hold office from January 1947 toSeptember 1949.

(f) Members of the Security Council electedat the second session would hold office fromSeptember 1947 to September 1949.

(g) Members of the Economic and SocialCouncil elected at the second session would holdoffice from September 1947 to September 1950.


The Sixth Committee (Legal), to which thequestion was referred, considered that it wasdesirable to regularize the terms of office of allmembers of Councils and that the principlesadopted for members elected for a one-yearterm applied equally to members elected fortwo-year or three-year terms. The Committeetherefore adopted a proposal of the representa-tive of the United States that the term of officeof any member of a Council should begin onJanuary 1 following his election by the GeneralAssembly and should end on December 31 fol-

lowing the election of a member for the nextterm at the regular session of the GeneralAssembly.

Several representatives considered that pro-vision should be made to continue members ofCouncils in office in case the General Assemblyfailed to elect new members before January 1.Although recognizing that the terms of officeof some members might expire before their suc-cessors had been elected if it were found im-possible at any time to hold a regular session ofthe General Assembly, the Sixth Committee inits report to the General Assembly took theview that this difficulty arose directly from theCharter itself, and could not be rectified by anymodification of the rules of procedure.

At its 47th plenary meeting on November 9,1946, the General Assembly unanimously ap-proved the report of the Sixth Committee andadopted the resolution drafted by the Commit-tee as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,1. APPROVES the report on the terms of

office of Members elected to Councils presentedby the Sixth Committee;

RESOLVES to replace Rule 87 of the amendedprovisional rules of procedure for the GeneralAssembly and Rule J of the supplementaryprovisional rules of procedure for the firstsession of the General Assembly by the follow-ing Rules:

Rule 87The term of office of Members shall begin on

1 January following their election by the Gen-eral Assembly, and shall end on 31 Decemberfollowing the election of their successors.

Supplementary Rule JMembers of Councils elected for one, two and

three years during the first part of the firstregular session of the General Assembly shallhold office until 31 December 1946, 1947 and1948 respectively. Their successors shall beelected during the second part of the first regu-lar session and during the second and thirdregular sessions of the General Assembly re-

spectively, and shall take and continue in officein accordance with Rule 87.

d. Procedural Matters(1). Installation of Assistant Secretaries-General

In accordance with the provisional staff regu-lations adopted by the General Assembly onFebruary 13, 1946, Assistant Secretaries-Gen-eral are required to take the oath of office at apublic meeting of the General Assembly.

At the 35th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on October 24, 1946, the Secretary-General, Mr. Trygve Lie, presented the eightAssistant Secretaries-General whom he had ap-pointed between the first and the second parts ofthe first session of the General Assembly:

Department of Security Council Affairs: Ar-kady A. Sobolev (U.S.S.R.)

Department of Economic Affairs: DavidOwen (United Kingdom)

Department of Social Affairs: Henri Laugier(France)

Department of Trusteeship and Informationfrom Non-Self-Governing Territories:Victor Chi-Tsai Hoo (China)

Department of Public Information: Benja-min Cohen (Chile)

Legal Department: Ivan Kerno (Czechoslo-vakia)

Department of Conference and General Serv-ices: Adrian Pelt (Netherlands)

Department of Administrative and FinancialServices: John B. Hutson (United States)1

(2). Date of the Regular Session of theGeneral Assembly

Rule 1 of the Provisional Rules of Procedureadopted by the General Assembly during thefirst part of its first session provided that "theGeneral Assembly shall meet every year in regu-lar session commencing on the first Tuesdayafter September 2." The Secretary-General sub-mitted a proposal to the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly to change thedate of the Assembly's regular session fromthe first Tuesday after September 2 to thefirst Tuesday after October 2. The Secre-tary-General felt that this change would be inthe interest of the efficiency of the whole or-ganization. It would make it possible for themembers of the Secretariat to take vacationsduring July and August, which for climaticreasons was very important. At the same timeit would allow sufficient time to prepare ade-quately for the Assembly session.

1 Mr. Hutson later resigned and was succeededby Mr. Byron Price (United States) in March1947.


The General Assembly referred the proposalto the Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary) with instructions to consult theSixth Committee (Legal) on the legal aspectsof the question. In the Fifth Committee severalmembers opposed the proposal on the groundthat the General Assembly sessions, if held inOctober, would conflict with meetings of thenational parliaments of certain States. Leadingstatesmen might thus be unable to attend theAssembly sessions. Moreover, in some countriesthe fiscal year started on January 1. If the Gen-eral Assembly sessions, were held too close tothe end of the year, these countries could nottake the Assembly's decisions into considera-tion in drawing up their budgets.

The question was referred to a Joint Sub-Committee of the Fifth and Sixth Committees,which, as a compromise, suggested that theregular sessions of the General Assembly shouldcommence on the third Tuesday in September.A French proposal that the General Assemblyshould convene on the Tuesday between Sep-tember 12 and 18 was not accepted by the FifthCommittee, which approved the Sub-Commit-tee's report by 34 votes to 6 at its 32nd meetingon November 29. At its 31st meeting on Decem-ber 6 the Sixth Committee approved the reportof the Sub-Committee by 22 votes to 2. TheGeneral Assembly at its 50th plenary meetingon December 7, 1947, unanimously adopted thefollowing resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES that Rule1 of the Provisional Rules of procedure shall beamended to read:

"The General Assembly shall meet every yearin regular session commencing on the thirdTuesday in September."

(3). Proposal to Hold the Next Session of theGeneral Assembly in Europe.

The representative of the Ukrainian S.S.R.submitted a proposal that the second session ofthe General Assembly be held in Europe. At its26th meeting on November 19, 1946, the Gen-eral Committee of the General Assembly unani-mously recommended inclusion of the proposalin the agenda of the second part of the first ses-sion of the General Assembly.

At the 67th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly the representative of the UkrainianS.S.R. stated that the permanent headquartersof the United Nations would not be ready intime for the second session of the GeneralAssembly. The temporary facilities at LakeSuccess and Flushing Meadow, N. Y., he con-

sidered, were very inconvenient and represen-tatives spent too much time traveling back andforth between the two sites. Moreover, the con-tinent of Europe, which had a particular inter-est in the organization, had not yet seen itfunctioning on its own territory. In view ofthese considerations and in view of the factthat the former League of Nations buildings inGeneva were readily available, the Ukrainianrepresentative urged strongly that the secondsession of the General Assembly be held inEurope. He submitted the following draft reso-lution :

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. RESOLVES to convene the second regularsession of the General Assembly of the UnitedNations in Europe.

2. AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General to de-termine the place in Europe where the secondsession of the General Assembly shall be con-vened.

The Secretary-General urged that, for ad-ministrative and technical reasons, the secondsession of the General Assembly should be heldat the temporary headquarters of the UnitedNations in the United States. To transport alarge staff from the United States to Europewould entail considerable additional expense.

After some discussion the General Assemblyby a vote of 35 to 14, with 4 abstentions, re-jected the Ukrainian draft resolution.

(4). Measures to Economize the Timeof the General Assembly

The Canadian Government requested that anitem, "Measures to Economize the Time of theGeneral Assembly," be included in the agendaof the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly. The large number of inter-national conferences which were being held, theCanadian Government considered, made it diffi-cult for States to provide adequate representa-tion at each conference. Moreover, unduly pro-tracted conferences tended to diminish the pres-tige of the organizations which were responsiblefor calling them. The General Assembly, in par-ticular, could not be successful in carrying outits important tasks if delegations did not includeMinisters responsible for the formulation andcarrying out of policy. The chances of theseMinisters being able to be present during thewhole period of the sessions of the GeneralAssembly would be greater if the sessions were


not unduly prolonged. The Canadian Govern-ment therefore submitted a number of proposalsdesigned to expedite the work of the GeneralAssembly.

The General Committee, at its 25th meetingon November 6, 1946, created a sub-committeecomposed of Belgium, China, France, Panama,Syria, the Ukrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., theUnited Kingdom and Canada (in an advisorycapacity), to consider the question of measuresto economize the time of the General Assemblywhich had been referred to the General Com-mittee by the General Assembly. In the interestof better geographical distribution China wasadded to the Sub-Committee at the 26th meet-ing of the General Committee on November 19in place of Uruguay.

The delegations of Canada and Norway andthe Secretary-General submitted memoranda tothe Sub-Committee suggesting means for im-proving the procedure of the General Assembly.After some discussion the Sub-Committee de-cided that the question before it was importantand complicated and that it deserved a detailedstudy such as the Sub-Committee would be un-able to make during the current session of theGeneral Assembly. The Committee thereforesuggested that the Secretary-General undertakesuch a study before the next session.

Some representatives thought that, in addi-tion, a committee consisting of fifteen membersshould be constituted to consider between thefirst and second regular sessions the whole ques-tion of measures to economize the time of theGeneral Assembly, together with the recom-mendations of the Secretary-General, and toreport thereon to the second session of theGeneral Assembly. The representative of theU.S.S.R., on the other hand, was of the opinionthat the constitution of a committee was un-necessary and that the Secretary-General couldappropriately submit his recommendations di-rectly to the General Assembly at the openingof the second session.

The General Committee at its 27th meetingon December 13 approved the Sub-Committee'srecommendations and decided to recommend tothe General Assembly the adoption of the resolu-tion drafted by the Sub-Committee. At its 67thplenary meeting on December 15, 1946, theGeneral Assembly unanimously approved all butthe last paragraph of the resolution. The lastparagraph, which was voted on separately, wasadopted by a vote of 34 to 5, with 6 absten-tions. Following is the text of the resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,RECOGNIZING that the agenda of future

sessions will likely entail a heavy volume ofwork and that the experience acquired duringthe first session reveals that decisions could bereached more experitiously through improve-ments in the Rules of Procedure and internalorganization;

TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the various pro-posals that have been submitted on measures toeconomize the time of the General Assemblyand of the discussions pertaining thereto;

INVITES Members of the General Assemblyto forward to the Secretary-General any sug-gestions they may wish to make regardingmeasures to economize the time of the GeneralAssembly and proposed changes in the provi-sional rules of procedure;

DIRECTS the Secretary-General to make astudy of measures to economize the time of theGeneral Assembly, and of the Provisional Rulesof Procedure, taking into account:

1. The memoranda submitted by the delega-tion of Canada;2. Suggestions received from Members pur-suant to the above invitation;3. The views expressed in the Sub-Committeeof the General Committee during its consid-eration of this question;4. The experience acquired and the prece-dents established during the first session;

and to prepare a report for circulation threemonths before the opening of the Second Ses-sion;

APPOINTS a Committee on Procedures andOrganization consisting of fifteen Membersto be designated by the Governments of

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Cuba,Denmark, France, Greece, Haiti, Peru, Ukrain-ian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of SovietSocialist Republics, United Kingdom, UnitedStates of America, Yugoslavia,

which shall meet one week before the open-ing of the second regular session for the pur-pose of considering the report of the Secretary-General and of studying the provisional rulesof procedure and internal organization of theGeneral Assembly and to present a reportthereon to the General Assembly at the begin-ning of the second regular session.

2. POLITICAL AND SECURITY MATTERSa. Admission of Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden

to Membership in the United NationsThe General Assembly at its 46th plenary

meeting on October 31, 1946, referred to theFirst Committee (Political and Security) theSpecial Report by the Security Council to theGeneral Assembly on the Admission of NewMembers. At its twelfth meeting on Novem-ber 2, 1946, the First Committee unanimously

The General Assembly 123agreed to recommend to the General Assemblythe admission to the United Nations of Afghan-istan, Iceland and Sweden.

At the next meeting of the First Committeeon November 5 the Rapporteur presented thefollowing draft resolution:

The General Assembly has taken note of therecommendations of the Security Council on theadmission of Afghanistan, the Republic of Ice-land and Sweden to membership in the UnitedNations and of the report submitted by theFirst Committee which unanimously approvedthe recommendations of the Security Council;

THEREFORETHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECIDES:

That Afghanistan, the Republic of Icelandand Sweden be admitted to membership in theUnited Nations.

The representative of Argentina submittedan amendment to the resolution drafted by theRapporteur as follows:

The General Assembly has taken note of theapplications for membership submitted to theOrganization of the United Nations by Afghan-istan, the Republic of Iceland and Sweden andof the recommendations of the Security Coun-cil. . .

The purpose of this amendment, the Argen-tine representative explained, was merely toclarify the text by indicating precisely the stepsfollowed in approving applications for admis-sion to membership in the United Nations. Thevote on the amendment was 19 in favor to 14against, with 16 abstentions. The Chairman ofthe First Committee ruled that the Argentineamendment was not adopted. He stated that theamendment was not a mere drafting change butthat it represented a major modification of themethod of admitting new Members by implyingthat the General Assembly could take note ofapplications and not only of the recommenda-tions of the Security Council. The view wasexpressed that it was an attempt to modifyArticle 4 of the Charter. A two-thirds majorityvote in the Committee was therefore required.Even if it were held that only a simple major-ity vote was required, 26 votes would benecessary for adoption of the amendment.

The Chairman's ruling was debated at length.The members who opposed the Chairman's rul-ing pointed out that the Committees of the Gen-eral Assembly, according to the rules of pro-cedure, took their decisions by a simple majorityvote and not by a two-thirds majority and thatabstentions were not to be counted in determin-

ing majorities. When a vote was taken on theChairman's ruling it was rejected by 4 votes infavor to 46 against, with 1 abstention. Therepresentative of the U.S.S.R. protested thedecision and announced that his Governmentwould not consider itself bound by it.

At its fourteenth meeting on November 6,1946, the First Committee rejected by 33 votesto 11 a Czechoslovakian proposal to revise thetext of the draft resolution further for the sakeof clarification and voted 10 in favor to 35against, not to reconsider the decision on theArgentine amendment. The Committee thenadopted the Rapporteur's draft as amended bythe Argentine delegation, by 47 votes to 3, with1 abstention.

At its 47th plenary meeting on November 9,1946, the General Assembly accepted a Danishdrafting change designed to meet the objectionsof certain delegations to the resolution submit-ted by the First Committee. The Assembly thenunanimously adopted the resolution as follows:

The General Assembly has taken note of theapplications for membership submitted to theOrganization of the United Nations, in accord-ance with the provisions of Article 4 of theCharter and rules 113 and 114 of the rules ofprocedure, by Afghanistan, the Republic of Ice-land and Sweden;

Of the recommendations of the SecurityCouncil on the admission of Afghanistan, theRepublic of Iceland and Sweden to membershipin the United Nations;

And of the report submitted by the FirstCommittee which unanimously approved therecommendations of the Security Council.

THEREFORETHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECIDES :

That Afghanistan, the Republic of Icelandand Sweden be admitted to membership in theUnited Nations.

At the 48th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on November 19, 1946, Afghanistan,Iceland and Sweden were officially welcomed asMembers of the United Nations and the repre-sentatives of these countries took their seats inthe General Assembly.

b. Admission of Siam to Membership in theUnited Nations

On December 12, 1946, the Security Councilunanimously recommended to the General As-sembly that Siam be admitted to membership inthe United Nations. Upon the recommendationof the General Committee, the General Assem-bly at its 67th plenary meeting on December 15,


1946, unanimously adopted the following resolu-tion:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYHaving taken note of the application for

membership submitted to the Organization ofthe United Nations by Siam,

And of the recommendations of the SecurityCouncil on the admission of Siam to member-ship in the United Nations;

DECIDES, THEREFORE:That Siam be admitted to membership in the

United Nations.

On April 28, 1947, when the first special ses-sion of the General Assembly convened, Siamwas formally admitted to membership in theUnited Nations.

c. Question of the Re-examination by the SecurityCouncil of Certain Applications for Admissionto Membership in the United NationsWhile recommending to the General Assem-

bly that Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden beadmitted to membership in the United Nations,the Security Council did not make recommenda-tions concerning the applications for member-ship which had been submitted by the People'sRepublic of Albania, the Mongolian People'sRepublic, the Hashemite Kingdom of Trans-jordan, Ireland and Portugal.

During the First Committee's considerationof the Security Council's report a number ofrepresentatives expressed the view that not onlyhad the General Assembly the right to act onthe Security Council's recommendation for theadmission of Afghanistan, Iceland, and Sweden,but that it was within the General Assembly'scompetence to review the Security Council'sentire proceedings regarding membership ap-plications. In rejecting five of the eight applica-tions submitted, the Security Council, theserepresentatives considered, had based its de-cision on criteria not contained in the Charter.The aim of the United Nations was universality.The Security Council had exceeded its authorityin setting up requirements for admission tomembership other than those contained in Arti-cle 4 of the Charter: the peace-loving characterof a State and its willingness and ability to ful-fil the obligations of the Charter. Three similarproposals were submitted to the First Commit-tee by the representatives of Egypt, Panamaand the Philippine Republic recommending thatthe General Assembly return to the SecurityCouncil the applications of Albania, Mongolia,Trans-Jordan, Ireland and Portugal, and thatthe Security Council be asked to reconsider

these applications on the sole basis of the rele-vant Charter provisions.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. and sev-eral other representatives opposed these propos-als on the ground that the question before theCommittee was the admission of three new Mem-bers to the United Nations and not the proceed-ings of the Security Council. The Security Coun-cil, these representatives considered, was en-tirely competent to decide whether to recommendthe admission of a new Member, and the Coun-cil's proceedings were not subject to reviewby the General Assembly. Every organ of theUnited Nations had the right to interpret theCharter in its own way and one organ could notquestion the interpretation given by another.The determining element in accepting or reject-ing membership applications, the U.S.S.R.representative argued, was the applicant's con-tribution to the cause of the United Nations intheir fight against fascism. Albania and Mon-golia had made considerable contributions to theUnited Nations cause and therefore had beenunjustly treated by not being admitted to theUnited Nations. Portugal had maintained closerelations with the Franco regime during thewar and Ireland, to say the least, had donenothing to assist the United Nations during thewar. Moreover, neither of these two coun-tries maintained diplomatic relations with theU.S.S.R., and should not be admitted to mem-bership in the United Nations. As to Trans-jordan, there was no proof whether it was reallyindependent.

On the recommendation of the Chairman, theFirst Committee at its fourteenth meeting onNovember 6 appointed a Sub-Committee to drawup a resolution on the basis of the three draftresolutions submitted by the representativesfor Panama, Egypt and the Philippine Repub-lic. The Sub-Committee drafted a text whichwas acceptable to the representatives of thethree countries mentioned. The operative partof the resolution stated:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDSThat the Security Council reconsider, in ac-

cordance with Article 4 of the Charter, applica-tions for membership in the United Nations ofthe People's Republic of Albania, the MongolianPeople's Republic, the Hashemite Kingdom ofTransjordan, Ireland and Portugal.

At the seventeenth meeting of the First Com-mittee on November 11, 1946, the representa-tive of Czechoslovakia introduced an amend-ment which the representative of the Ukrainian


S.S.R. had introduced in the Sub-Committee,but which the Sub-Committee had not consideredas being within its terms of reference. Theamendment was to the effect that the SecurityCouncil should reconsider the applications formembership "strictly on their respective merits,especially in regard to their conduct in thecourse of the second World War."

Several representatives urged that no men-tion should be made of the role played by variouscountries during the war. The importance ofthis factor would diminish, it was pointed out,with the lapse of time. It was hoped eventuallyto admit even the ex-enemy States to theUnited Nations. The representative of Panamasubmitted a compromise text stating that ". . .the Security Council should take into consid-eration, among other factors, the attitude ofthe candidate States during the Second WorldWar." This text was rejected by a vote of 35to 11.

After accepting several drafting changes theFirst Committee adopted the resolution pre-sented by the sub-committee by 42 votes with-out opposition and with 7 abstentions. At its49th plenary meeting on November 19, 1946,the General Assembly adopted the text of theresolution as follows:

Applications for membership in the UnitedNations were submitted by the People's Repub-lic of Albania, the Mongolian People's Republic,the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, Ire-land and Portugal;

The Security Council, which examined theseapplications, has not made any recommenda-tions;

Since membership in the United Nations isopen to all peace-loving States which accept theobligations contained in the Charter and whichin the judgment of the Organization are ableand willing to carry out these obligations, asstated in Article 4;

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOM-MENDS that the Security Council re-examinethe applications for membership in the UnitedNations of the above-mentioned States on theirrespective merits as measured by the yardstickof the Charter, in accordance with Article 4.

d. Rules Governing the Admission of NewMembers to the United NationsConsidering that the existing rules for the

admission of new Members to the United Na-tions were not satisfactory, the representativeof Australia on November 2, 1946, submittedthe following draft resolution to the FirstCommittee:

The General Assembly, recognizing that theadmission of new Members to the United Na-tions is a corporate act of the whole Organiza-tion, requests the Security Council to appoint acommittee to confer with a committee on pro-cedures of the General Assembly with a view topreparing rules governing the admission of newMembers which will be acceptable both to theGeneral Assembly and to the Security Council.

In the preparation of such rules regardshould be paid to the following principles:

(a) The admission of new Members is a cor-porate act.(b) The General Assembly has primary andfinal responsibility in the process of admis-sion.(c) The Security Council, not having beengiven any general power covering all matterswithin the scope of the Charter, its recom-mendation for the admission of an applicantto membership should be based solely on thejudgment of the Council that the applicantState is able and willing to carry out its obli-gations under those sections of the Charterwhich come within the competence of theSecurity Council.

At the seventeenth meeting of the First Com-mittee on November 11, 1946, the Australianrepresentative explained that in his view appli-cations for admission to membership should besubmitted first to the General Assembly, be-cause the Assembly could take into account allfactors and act on behalf of the organization asa whole. The Security Council was to decideconcerning the ability of the applicant to ful-fil the conditions of the Charter with regard tosecurity. After receiving the Security Council'sreport the General Assembly would decide toaccept or reject the Security Council's recom-mendations.

Many representatives were willing to acceptthe proposal to establish a committee to studythe procedure for the admission of new Mem-bers, but most of them disagreed with theprinciples expressed in the Australian reso-lution. Others opposed the Australian proposalaltogether, considering it an effort to underminethe position of the Security Council. In the viewof these representatives, no new rules werenecessary and the establishment of a mixedcommittee to decide on the procedure for theadmission of new Members was contrary tothe Charter, which provided that the GeneralAssembly and the Security Council were eachto work out their own rules of procedure.

In view of the criticism of the principles con-tained in the Australian resolution, the Aus-tralian representative at the eighteenth meeting


of the First Committee on November 12, 1946,agreed to omit all but the first paragraph of theresolution and to amend that paragraph to readas follows:

The General Assembly requests the SecurityCouncil to appoint a Committee to confer witha Committee on procedures of the General As-sembly, with a view to preparing rules govern-ing the admission of new Members which willbe acceptable both to the General Assembly andto the Security Council.

This text was adopted by the First Commit-tee by 29 votes to 9, with 7 absentions. At its49th plenary meeting on November 19, 1946,the General Assembly adopted the resolution by32 votes to 9, with 1 abstention.

On November 29, 1946, the Security Councilappointed Brazil, China (Chairman) and Polandto serve on its Committee on Procedure for theAdmission of New Members. The Committeewas to "listen to the proposals which the Com-mittee appointed by the General Assembly mayhave to make and to report those proposals backto the Council for further instructions."

The General Assembly's Committee on Pro-cedure, composed of representatives of Aus-tralia, Cuba, India (Chairman), Norway andthe U.S.S.R., held its first meeting on May 26,1947.

The General Assembly's and the SecurityCouncil's Committees held a series of four con-ferences between May 28 and June 11. Discus-sion at these conferences was based on draftrules submitted by the representative ofAustralia. According to the rules proposedby the Australian representative the initi-ative for the admission of new memberswould be transferred from the SecurityCouncil to the General Assembly. The SecurityCouncil would examine the ability of an appli-cant State to carry out those obligations whichwere within the jurisdiction of the Council. Ifthe Security Council did not recommend the ad-mission of an applicant, it would have to referits negative recommendation to the GeneralAssembly.

The General Assembly Committee then heldseveral meetings and drafted its proposals, whichit submitted on June 30, 1947, to the SecurityCouncil with an explanatory letter.

e. Annual Report of the Security CouncilIn accordance with Article 24, paragraph 3,

of the Charter, the Security Council submittedits Annual Report to the General Assembly; at

its 46th plenary meeting on October 31, 1946,the Assembly referred the report to the FirstCommittee. On the recommendation of the FirstCommittee the General Assembly at its 45thplenary meeting on December 11, 1946, unani-mously adopted the following resolution, whichwas submitted by the representative of theNetherlands :

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAVING received anddiscussed the report of the Security Council,

RESOLVES to pass to the next item on theagenda.

f. Relations of Members of the United Nationswith SpainThe delegations of Belgium, Czechoslovakia,

Denmark, Norway and Venezuela requested thatthe question of relations between Spain and theUnited Nations be placed on the agenda of thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly. On the recommendation of the Gen-eral Committee the General Assembly at its 46thplenary meeting on October 31, 1946, referredthe item to the First Committee (Political andSecurity).

By a letter of November 4, 1946, addressedto the President of the General Assembly, theSecretary-General, pursuant to Article 12, para-graph 2, of the Charter, notified the GeneralAssembly that the Security Council had droppedthe Spanish question from the list of items ofwhich it was seized. The General Assembly tooknote of the Secretary-General's communicationat its 47th plenary meeting on November 9,1946.

At the 35th meeting of the First Committeeon December 2, 1946, the representative ofPoland stated that while the United Nationsorganization had emerged as a result of thejoint efforts of the United Nations in theirstruggle against the Axis Powers, there still ex-isted in Spain a surviving partner of the Axis.The Franco regime had become a rallying pointfor those who had seen their aims defeated bythe United Nations. The Spanish question wasa painful thorn in the living flesh of the UnitedNations. The organization as well as worldpeace and security would be menaced unlessdefinite and final action was taken. Moral con-demnation of Fascism was not sufficient. Therewas no truth in the argument that positive ac-tion against the Franco regime would actuallystrengthen it. On the contrary, what strength-ened Franco was the conviction that the UnitedNations did not intend to act, or was incapableof doing so.


The representative of Poland therefore intro-duced two draft resolutions. The first resolutionstressed that the Franco government should bebarred from membership and participation inany of the organizations and agencies estab-lished by, or brought into relationship with theUnited Nations. The second resolution recalledthe General Assembly's resolution of February9, 1946. It further cited the findings of the Se-curity Council's Sub-Committee which had in-vestigated the Spanish question in May andJune, 1946. The resolution concluded by statingthat since that time the situation in Spain haddeteriorated and had continued increasingly todisturb international relations. Therefore theGeneral Assembly should recommend that eachMember of the United Nations terminateforthwith diplomatic relations with the Francoregime.

A considerable number of representatives,including those of Belgium, the ByelorussianS.S.R., Chile, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, France,Guatemala, Mexico, Norway, Panama, theU.S.S.R., Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia,expressed views similar to those of the Polishrepresentative and favored a break in diplo-matic relations with the Franco regime. Al-though opposing intervention in the internalaffairs of other States, the representatives ofseveral Latin American countries stressed thefact that in their view collective action onthe part of the United Nations and thebreaking off of diplomatic relations in par-ticular could not be considered interventionin the domestic affairs of Spain. Some repre-sentatives thought that the General Assemblyshould go a step further and recommend thateach Member of the United Nations terminatenot only diplomatic relations with the Francogovernment, but economic relations as well. Therepresentative of the Byelorussian S.S.R. sub-mitted an amendment to the Polish resolutionto this effect.

While one group of representatives thus fa-vored definite action on the part of the UnitedNations against the Franco regime, many wereopposed to such a course on the ground that anysuch step as the collective breaking off of diplo-matic relations with the Franco Governmentwould constitute interference in the internalaffairs of Spain in violation of Article 2, para-graph 7, of the Charter. Spain, they considered,had not taken any aggressive action against anyMember of the United Nations. The Francoregime was not a direct threat to the peace, and

there was therefore no basis for action on thepart of the United Nations. The overthrow ofthe Franco regime and its replacement by ademocratic government could not be achievedby imposing external pressure. Breaking offdiplomatic relations or imposing economic sanc-tions would result only in making worse thesituation of the Spanish people and in creatingin Spain a political and economic chaos conduciveto civil war. Removal of foreign diplomatic rep-resentatives from Spain, moreover, would resultin shutting off channels of information and ofhumanitarian intervention, while the imposi-tion of economic sanctions would dislocate sup-plies and drastically interfere with world trade,thus retarding the recovery of the war-torncountries of Europe. The Spanish people wouldultimately work out their own salvation, andexternal political or economic pressure couldbe of no help to them.

Representatives who expressed themselves infavor of a policy of non-intervention includedthose of Argentina, Canada, China, Costa Rica,Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicara-gua, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippine Republic,Sweden, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates. At the 35th meeting of the First Com-mittee on December 2, 1946, the United Statesrepresentative submitted a resolution designed,in his view, to bring about a change of regimein Spain without civil strife and without for-eign intervention. The resolution recom-mended that Spain be excluded from member-ship in the United Nations or any interna-tional agency related to it. The resolution thenwent on to state that

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,recognizing that it is for the Spanish peopleto settle the form of their government; placeson record its profound conviction that in theinterest of Spain and of world co-operation thepeople of Spain should give proof to the worldthat they have a government which derivesits authority from the consent of the gov-erned; and that to achieve that end GeneralFranco should surrender the powers of gov-ernment to a provisional government broadlyrepresentative of the Spanish people, com-mitted to respect, freedom of speech, religion,and assembly and to the prompt holding of anelection in which the Spanish people, freefrom force and intimidation and regardlessof party, may express their will,And invites the Spanish people to establishthe eligibility of Spain for admission to theUnited Nations.


A number of other proposals were submittedto the First Committee in the form of amend-ments either to the Polish or to the UnitedStates resolution. The representative of Colom-bia considered that it was not possible to re-move Franco from office without his consent orwithout bringing about civil strife. He there-fore submitted a resolution in which the Assem-bly expressed the hope that a change mightbe brought about in the existing social andpolitical system of Spain through co-operationbetween the Spanish people and their presentgovernment. It also recommended to the LatinAmerican Republics that they should offer theirgood offices to the Government of Spain, shouldthe latter think them useful, in order to achievethe change in the social and political conditionsof Spain necessary to enable it to become aMember of the United Nations. If such a courseproduced no results, the General Assembly atits second session could consider adopting theresolution submitted by the representative ofPoland calling for a collective break in diplo-matic relations with the Franco regime as wellas the proposal of the Byelorussian S.S.R. foreconomic sanctions.

The representative of Norway expressed con-cern as to whether a resolution calling for abreak in diplomatic relations with the Francoregime would be effectively implemented sincerecommendations of the General Assembly werenot legally binding upon Members of theUnited Nations. It was important, he urged,that a recommendation to break off relations beadopted by the greatest possible majority andthat this majority put it into effect. Hetherefore submitted an amendment to thePolish resolution proposing that Member Statesshould notify the Secretary-General by January5, 1947, if they were prepared to break off diplo-matic relations with the Franco regime. If two-thirds of the Member States signified their will-ingness to sever relations, the Secretary-Gen-eral should request these States to do so as ofFebruary 1, 1947. If less than two-thirds of theMember States declared themselves ready tobreak off diplomatic relations, the Secretary-General should inform the Member States thatthey were free to break off or not to break offrelations with the Franco regime.

The representative of Yugoslavia favoredadoption of the United States resolution, withthe addition of a paragraph recommending toall Members of the United Nations that theysever diplomatic relations with the governmentof General Franco. The representative of Bel-

gium proposed to add to the United States reso-lution a recommendation to the effect that ifwithin a reasonable time the political conditionscited in the United States resolution had notbeen realized, the Security Council consideradequate measures to be taken in order toremedy the situation. In the meantime the Gen-eral Assembly should recommend to all Mem-bers of the United Nations that they recallimmediately from Madrid, by way of warning,their ambassadors and ministers plenipotenti-ary accredited there.

The delegations of Chile, Guatemala, Mexico,Panama and Venezuela submitted a joint amend-ment to the United States resolution to omit thelast two paragraphs of that resolution as quotedabove and to replace them by the following text:THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYinasmuch as the United Nations, by the actionthey took in San Francisco, in Potsdam, in Lon-don, and more recently in Lake Success, have infact collectively refused to maintain relationswith the Franco regime, does hereby recom-mend that the Members of the United Nationstake individually the same attitude they havetaken collectively and refuse to maintain diplo-matic relations with the present Spanish re-gime.

The Assembly further recommends that theStates Members of the Organization report tothe Secretary-General and to the next Assemblywhat action they have taken in accordance withthis recommendation.

The First Committee discussed the variousproposals at length at the 35th, 36th, 38th and39th meetings. At its 39th meeting on Decem-ber 4, 1946, the Committee accepted by 38 votesin favor, with 2 abstentions, a Cuban proposalto appoint a sub-committee of 11 members todraft a resolution based on the proposals andamendments submitted to the Committee whichmight be unanimously acceptable.

The Committee approved by 28 votes to 8,with 9 abstentions, the composition of the Sub-committee as follows, including the authors ofresolutions or amendments to resolutions andthe permanent members of the Security Coun-cil: Belgium, the Byelorussian S.S.R., Chile,China, Colombia, Cuba, France, Guatemala,Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama,Poland, the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, theUnited States, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

At its 43rd meeting on December 9, 1946, theFirst Committee considered the Sub-Commit-tees's report. The Sub-Committee had used theresolution submitted by the representative ofthe United States as a basis for discussion. Thepreamble of the resolution adopted by the Sub-Committee included paragraphs from both the


United States and the Polish resolutions and anamendment submitted by the representative ofBelgium. The Sub-Committee further approvedthe first recommendation contained in theUnited States resolution, that the Franco gov-ernment be debarred from membership in anyinternational agency set up by, or brought intorelationship with the United Nations. In placeof the second recommendation of the UnitedStates resolution as quoted above, however, theSub-Committee adopted the amendment sub-mitted jointly by the delegations of Mexico,Venezuela, Guatemala, Panama and Chile rec-ommending that the Members of the UnitedNations refuse to maintain diplomatic relationswith the present Spanish regime.

In the First Committee the representative ofthe United States reintroduced, as an amend-ment to the Sub-Committee's text, the text ofhis recommendation which had been rejected bythe Sub-Committee. The United States text wasrejected by a vote of 22 in favor, 22 opposed,with 6 abstentions. The text adopted by theSub-Committee was likewise rejected by a voteof 20 in favor and 20 opposed, with 10 absten-tions.

As the Committee had rejected the two alter-native texts before it, the representative ofBelgium reintroduced his proposal that theSecurity Council should consider measures tobe taken if a change in regime was not broughtabout in Spain within a reasonable time, andthat in the meantime all Members of the UnitedNations should recall their ambassadors andministers plenipotentiary. This proposal wasadopted by a vote of 27 to 7, with 16 absten-tions. The entire resolution was then adoptedby 23 votes to 4, with 20 abstentions.

The report and draft resolution adopted bythe First Committee were discussed at the 57th,58th and 59th plenary meetings of the GeneralAssembly. After many of the representativeshad reiterated their points of view as previouslyexpressed in the First Committee, the GeneralAssembly at its 59th plenary meeting on Decem-ber 12, 1946, adopted the resolution proposed bythe First Committee as follows:

The peoples of the United Nations, at SanFrancisco, Potsdam and London condemned theFranco regime in Spain and decided that aslong as that regime remains, Spain may not beadmitted to the United Nations.

The General Assembly, in its resolution of9 February 1946, recommended that the Mem-bers of the United Nations should act in accord-ance with the letter and the spirit of the declara-tions of San Francisco and Potsdam.

The peoples of the United Nations assure theSpanish people of their enduring sympathy andof the cordial welcome awaiting them whencircumstances enable them to be admitted tothe United Nations.

The General Assembly recalls that in Mayand June 1946, the Security Council conductedan investigation of the possible further actionto be taken by the United Nations. The Sub-Committee of the Security Council charged withthe investigation found unanimously:

"(a) In origin, nature, structure and generalconduct, the Franco regime is a Fascist re-gime patterned on, and established largelyas a result of aid from Hitler's Nazi Germanyand Mussolini's Fascist Italy.(b) During the long struggle of the UnitedNations against Hitler and Mussolini, Franco,despite continued Allied protests, gave verysubstantial aid to the enemy Powers. First,for example, from 1941 to 1945, the BlueInfantry Division, the Spanish Legion ofVolunteers and the Salvador Air Squadronfought against Soviet Russia on the Easternfront. Second, in the summer of 1940, Spainseized Tangier in breach of internationalstatute, and as a result of Spain maintaininga large army in Spanish Morocco largenumbers of Allied troops were immobilizedin North Africa.(c) Incontrovertible documentary evidenceestablishes that Franco was a guilty partywith Hitler and Mussolini in the conspiracyto wage war against those countries whicheventually in the course of the world warbecame banded together as the United Na-tions. It was part of the conspiracy thatFranco's full belligerency should be post-poned until a time to be mutually agreedupon."

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYCONVINCED that the Franco Fascist Gov-

ernment of Spain, which was imposed by forceupon the Spanish people with the aid of theAxis Powers and which gave material assist-ance to the Axis Powers in the war, does notrepresent the Spanish people, and by its con-tinued control of Spain is making impossiblethe participation of the Spanish people withthe peoples of the United Nations in interna-tional affairs;

RECOMMENDS that the Franco Governmentof Spain be debarred from membershipin international agencies established by orbrought into relationship with the United Na-tions, and from participation in conferences orother activities which may be arranged by theUnited Nations or by these agencies, until anew and acceptable government is formed inSpain.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYFURTHER DESIRING to secure the partici-

pation of all peace-loving peoples, including thepeople of Spain, in the community of nations,


RECOMMENDS that, if within a reasonabletime, there is not established a governmentwhich derives its authority from the consent ofthe governed, committed to respect freedom ofspeech, religion and assembly and to the promptholding of an election in which Spanish people,free from force and intimidation and regardlessof party, may express their will, the SecurityCouncil consider the adequate measures to betaken in order to remedy the situation;

RECOMMENDS that all Members of the UnitedNations immediately recall from Madrid theirambassadors and ministers plenipotentiary ac-credited there.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FURTHER RECOM-MENDS that the States Members of the Organ-ization report to the Secretary-General and tothe next session of the Assembly what actionthey have taken in accordance with this recom-mendation.

(1). Action by Member GovernmentsOn December 20, 1946, the Secretary-General

sent a circular telegram to Member Govern-ments requesting that he be informed, as soonas possible, of action taken by them in accord-ance with the above resolution. Fifty-five replieswere received which revealed the following:

(a) Three States had recalled ambassadorsor ministers following the adoption of the Gen-eral Assembly's resolution: the Netherlands,the United Kingdom and El Salvador.

(b) Nineteen States had no ambassador orminister plenipotentiary accredited to Spain atthe time of the adoption of the resolution:Brazil, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France,Greece, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Peru,Sweden, Turkey, the United States and Uru-guay.

(c) Thirty States had no diplomatic relationswith the Franco Government at the time of theadoption of the resolution: Afghanistan, Aus-tralia, Bolivia, the Byelorussian S.S.R., Canada,China, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Guatemala,Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq,Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand,Panama, Philippine Republic, Poland, SaudiArabia, Siam, Syria, the Union of South Africa,the Ukrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., Venezuelaand Yugoslavia.

(d) One State declared that it would adhereto the General Assembly resolution and had soadvised its representative in Madrid: Liberia.

(e) One State replied that proper considera-tion would be given to the resolution and thatthe Secretary-General would be informed indue course: Dominican Republic.

(f) One State simply acknowledged receiptof the communication: Argentina.

(2) Resolution in Aid of the Spanish PeopleSubmitted by the Representative of France

The representative of France submitted thefollowing resolution to the Sub-Committeecharged with the task of drawing up a gen-erally acceptable resolution on the relations ofMembers of the United Nations with Spain:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOGNIZES1. That the majority of the Spanish people

are in a situation of hardship because they areseriously deprived of food necessary to theirexistence.

2. That the Franco Regime exports consid-erable quantities of foodstuffs which are essen-tial for the feeding of the impoverished Spanishpeople.

3. That the Franco Regime uses foreign ex-change obtained from such exports to rein-force the political organization that has beenrepeatedly condemned by the United Nations.

THEREFORETHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDSThat the Members of the United Nations

should forthwith put an end to all imports fromSpain of foodstuffs and their products until theUnited Nations is assured that these productsare no longer an immediate necessity for thefood requirements of the Spanish people.

The Sub-Committee adopted the French pro-posal by 11 votes to 5, with 2 abstentions. Atthe 43rd meeting of the First Committee therepresentative of France stated that the im-poverished condition of the Spanish people wasknown and that in his view a gesture sayingthat the United Nations would not allow Francoto export the people's necessities would begreatly appreciated. The representative of theUnited Kingdom opposed the French resolutionon the ground that the measures proposed con-stituted partial economic sanctions, that suchmeasures would interrupt channels of trade andwould deprive Great Britain, for example, ofits only source of fresh fruits and other prod-ucts, thus lowering the food standards of theBritish people.

The First Committee rejected the Frenchproposal by a vote of 32 to 10, with 4 absten-tions.

g. Voting Procedure in the Security CouncilTwo items dealing with the voting procedure

in the Security Council were submitted to thesecond part of the first session of the General


Assembly. The delegation of Australia re-quested the inclusion of the following item inthe agenda:

The application of Article 27 of the Charter(dealing with the method of voting in the Secu-rity Council) in the proceedings of the SecurityCouncil during 1946, and including the exer-cise and the purported exercise of the right ofveto upon Security Council decisions conferredby Article 27 and the circumstances connectedtherewith.

The representative of Cuba submitted a pro-posal for "the calling of a general conferenceof the Members of the United Nations in accord-ance with Article 109 of the Charter in order tomodify Article 27 of the Charter in order toeliminate the so-called veto privilege." He sub-mitted a second proposal for the calling of ageneral conference of the Members of theUnited Nations for the purpose of reviewingthe Charter.

At the twentieth meeting of the General Com-mittee on October 25, 1946, the representativeof the U.S.S.R. moved that the Committeerecommend that these items be not includedin the agenda of the General Assembly. Heconsidered that the principle of unanimityamong the great powers constituted one of themost solid foundations of the United Nationsand should not be subject to discussion or re-vision. The representative of the U.S.S.R. with-drew his motion after several members hadexpressed the view that the General Committeewas not competent to decide on the merits ofthe question, and that the three items in ques-tion could not be excluded from the agenda.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, decided that theitem submitted by the representative of Aus-tralia and the two Cuban proposals be consid-ered together and that they be referred to theFirst Committee. A proposal by the representa-tive of Cuba to refer the matter jointly to theFirst and Sixth Committees was defeated by avote of 14 to 11.

Five draft resolutions were submitted to theFirst Committee. The representative of Aus-tralia submitted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,MINDFUL of the Purposes and Principles of

the Charter of the United Nations and havingtaken notice of the manner in which the powerof veto conferred by Article 27 (3) of the Char-ter has been employed in the proceedings of theSecurity Council in relation to matters outsideChapter VII of the Charter

CONSIDERS that in some instances the useand the threatened use of such power of vetohave not been in keeping either with the gen-eral purposes and principles of the Charter orwith the understanding of the United NationsConference on International Organization heldat San Francisco, and therefore

EARNESTLY REQUESTS that the permanentmembers of the Security Council shall refrainfrom exercising this power of veto except incases under Chapter VII of the Charter.

The representative of Cuba combined his twoproposals for the calling of a general conferenceto eliminate the veto and the calling of a gen-eral conference to review the Charter. Accord-ingly he proposed that the General Assemblyresolve (1) to convene a general conference forthe purpose of reviewing the Charter, the con-ference to be held immediately after the con-clusion of the Assembly, and (2) to appoint aspecial committee composed of all those Mem-bers of the United Nations which should sug-gest alterations in the Charter before February1, 1947, this committee to carry out all of thenecessary preparatory studies in connectionwith the general conference.

The representative of the Philippines sub-mitted a resolution to amend Article 27, para-graph 3, of the Charter in such a way as torequire the affirmative vote of three instead ofall five permanent members of the SecurityCouncil for decisions on any matter of sub-stance.

According to a fourth resolution, submittedby the representative of Peru, the GeneralAssembly was to recommend the great powers"to make a more restricted use of the unanimityrule laid down in Article 27, paragraph 3, of theCharter, limiting it to cases in which they areable to state publicly in what way the solutionproposed for an international problem affectstheir security." In addition the General As-sembly was to recommend the great powers "tosupport juridical or pacific solutions based onconcepts of international justice and moralityand on the protection and defense of humanrights advocated in the San Francisco Charteras a means of securing peace."

Finally, the Argentine delegation proposedthat the General Assembly recommend to theSecurity Council that it should include in itsrules of procedure a comprehensive definitionof what are procedural matters, and an enu-meration of such matters. By an affirmative voteof any seven members, the Council was to decidewhether a case not foreseen in such an enumera-tion was procedural or not. Members of the


Security Council were to abstain from voting,moreover, if they were parties to a dispute whichthe Council tried to settle by peaceful means,and such an abstention would in no manner altera decision by the voting members.

The First Committee discussed these pro-posals at its 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and23rd meetings on November 14, 15, 16, and18, 1946. Some members opposed the rule ofunanimity on grounds of principle. The so-called veto, they considered, had been acceptedby the small powers at San Francisco onlybecause they were told that the great powerswould not accept the Charter otherwise. It wascontrary to the principle of the sovereignequality of all nations. The veto, far from pro-moting the unanimity of the great powers, wasundermining it, for any power which knew thatit could not suffer legal defeat was unlikely tocompromise and go half-way to meet the op-posing view. Experience had shown that thefrequent exercise of the veto had hampered thework of the Security Council. The Charter,therefore, should be amended, and the vetoeliminated altogether.

A large number of representatives criticizedthe way in which the veto power had been exer-cised in the Security Council, but consideredany attempt to amend the Charter prematureand ill-advised. The veto, certain of these repre-sentatives charged, had been made an instru-ment of national policy. It had not been exer-cised in exceptional cases only in the interestsof the United Nations as a whole, as had beenanticipated. The great powers had not lived upto the principles of the "Statement by the Dele-gations of the Four Sponsoring Governmentson voting Procedure in the Security Council"issued by the delegations of China, the U.S.S.R.,the United Kingdom and the United States dur-ing the San Francisco Conference.1 Though notin favor of amending the Charter, many repre-sentatives submitted suggestions designed tolimit the use of the veto and to improve theSecurity Council's procedure.

Of the five permanent members of the Secur-ity Council, the delegations of China, France,the United Kingdom and the United Statesmaintained that the rule of unanimity was es-sential to the functioning of the United Nations.In accepting the veto the framers of the Charterhad taken into account the existing politicalrealities. The purpose of the veto was to obviatea divorce between the decisions of the Council

and the enforcement of these decisions. Whatdifficulties the Security Council had encoun-tered arose not from the voting procedure, butfrom differences of opinion on world problems.Nevertheless, the representatives of China,France, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates expressed the hope that agreementamong the great powers themselves would makeit possible to modify and limit the use of theveto so as to promote the efficient conduct ofthe proceedings of the Security Council.

The suggested modifications in the applica-tion of the rule of unanimity brought forwardby the representatives of China, France, theUnited Kingdom and the United States as wellas by others, included the following:

(1) The permanent members of the SecurityCouncil should be requested to refrain fromexercising the power of veto except in casesunder Chapter VII of the Charter.

(2) The Security Council should be asked toreconsider its own rules of procedure. In par-ticular, the Council should agree upon as com-plete a list as possible of types of decisionswhich were procedural and to which the vetotherefore did not apply.

(3) The permanent members should be askedto reconsider their Statement on Voting Pro-cedure made at San Francisco and to agreeamong themselves to extend its scope in thelight of the experience of the last ten months.

(4) The veto should be made optional. Anegative vote or an abstention by a permanentmember should not automatically constitute aveto. This could be accomplished in three possi-ble ways:

(a) a permanent member which wished torefrain from supporting a proposal should begiven the right to state, before a vote wastaken, whether it wished its negative voteor abstention to constitute a veto or not;(b) the minority vote of a permanent mem-ber or its abstention should be considered asa veto only upon its express demand;(c) the minority vote of a permanent mem-ber should be characterized as a veto unlessit made a statement to the contrary.(5) Abstention by a permanent member

should not generally be regarded as a veto.(6) The absence of a permanent member

should not constitute a veto.(7) If, in a given instance, a permanent mem-

ber felt compelled to exercise the right of veto

1 See pp. 23 ff.


it should state the grounds on which it basedits conclusion that the interests of the organi-zation as a whole required the exercise of theveto.

(8) A permanent member should not veto aproposal on the ground that it did not go farenough.

(9) States parties to a dispute should be en-couraged to settle their differences by negotia-tion or other means before submitting thedispute to the Security Council.

(10) The Security Council, and the GreatPowers in particular, should seek solutions toimportant questions by a procedure of concilia-tion, thus avoiding frequent recourse to a vote.Every effort should be made to reach agree-ment without the necessity of a vote.

The representative of the U.S.S.R., support-ed by several other representatives, opposedany modification of the rule of unanimity. Theproposals advanced in the Committee, he con-sidered, represented an attempt to abrogate theCharter. Without unanimity of the great pow-ers peace could not be maintained. The smallpowers attacking the veto were trying to under-mine that unanimity. The accusations of certaindelegations alleging the wilful or unjust use ofthe unanimity rule lacked foundation. Suchcriticism was aimed at destroying the basicprinciples of the Charter. No delegation wasobliged to vote contrary to its convictions. Theprinciple of unanimity was realistic, functionaland conducive to world peace, and it fulfilledthe aims of a true international organization.

At its 23rd meeting on November 18, 1946,the First Committee by a vote of 38 to 6, with5 abstentions, accepted a French proposal toadjourn discussion of the voting procedure inthe Security Council for several days so as togive the five great powers a chance to consultwith each other with a view to agreeing on astatement concerning the application of Article27 which would be satisfactory to the othermembers of the General Assembly. The Com-mittee resumed consideration of the veto ques-tion at its 33rd meeting on December 1, 1946,after discussions among the five great powershad failed to result in agreement.

The representative of Australia submitted aredraft of his resolution which he consideredexpressed the views of the First Committee.The first two paragraphs of the resolution re-mained the same as quoted above. The proposalthat the General Assembly recommend to thepermanent members of the Security Council

that they should refrain from exercising theveto power except in cases under Chapter VII(enforcement action) was omitted. Instead, theAustralian representative proposed that theGeneral Assembly should request the permanentmembers of the Security Council "to make everye f fo r t . . . to ensure that the use of the specialvoting privilege ... does not hinder or obstructthe Security Council in carrying out its solemnobligations in respect to the peaceful settlementof disputes." The General Assembly shouldrecommend to the Security Council the earlyadoption of practices and procedures to assistin reducing the difficulties in the application ofArticle 27. In developing such procedures andpractices the Security Council should take intoconsideration the views expressed by Membersof the United Nations during the second partof the first session of the General Assembly.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. submittedthe following resolution:

1. Whereas the United Nations organizationis still at the initial stage of its activity, TheGeneral Assembly Deems it Essential forall states Members of the United Nationsto seek further strengthening of the UnitedNations organization and improvement ofthe work of its bodies in every way, inaccordance with the lofty principles and pur-poses of its Charter which have been recog-nized by all peace-loving nations.

2. Attaching particular importance to thejoining of effort on the part of nations, largeand small, in the development of friendly rela-tions between them and in the establishment ofa stable peace and security, The GeneralAssembly Calls Upon The United Nationsto extend international co-operation on theabove basis while avoiding excessive regie-mentation and formalism in the activityof their bodies and contributing to the develop-ment of practical achievements in the field ofpolitical, economic and cultural co-operationbetween nations.

3. At the same time The General AssemblyExpresses the Confidence that in the futurethe Security Council shall duly take intoaccount the experience of its work duringthe preceding period with a view to secureconditions which would be as favourable aspossible to the adoption of agreed decisions.

After further discussion the First Committeevoted 33 to 8 to establish a sub-committee offourteen members to reconcile the draft resolu-tions submitted by the delegations of Argen-tina, Australia, Cuba, Peru, the PhilippineRepublic and the U.S.S.R.


In the Sub-Committee the representative ofthe Philippine Republic withdrew his proposalin favor of the Cuban resolution. As the repre-sentatives of Cuba, Peru and Argentina feltthat their proposals dealt with points of a spe-cial character, it was agreed, at their request,to return them to the plenary Committee. Therepresentative of Peru subsequently withdrewhis resolution.

Consequently it remained for the Sub-Com-mittee to reconcile the draft resolutions of Aus-tralia and the U.S.S.R. The representatives ofChina, France, India, Poland and Venezuelasubmitted alternative texts in an effort to recon-cile the opposing points of view. The representa-tive of Australia incorporated certain elementsof the Chinese and Venezuelan texts in the firstand third paragraphs of his resolution. Therepresentatives of the U.S.S.R., France, Po-land and India agreed to withdraw theirproposals in favor of the Chinese text, whichincluded certain parts of the U.S.S.R., Aus-tralian and Polish texts.

As the Sub-Committee was unable to recon-cile all of the resolutions referred to it, theFirst Committee at its 42nd meeting on Decem-ber 8, 1946, proceeded to vote on the resolutionsof Cuba, Argentina, Australia and China. TheChinese resolution was rejected by 24 votes to13, with 5 abstentions. The Argentine andCuban proposals were likewise rejected. TheAustralian resolution, which was voted uponparagraph by paragraph, was adopted with theexception of the second paragraph, which statedthat the General Assembly considered that theuse of the veto power in the Security Councilhad not been in keeping either with the generalpurposes and principles of the Charter or withthe understanding of the United Nations Con-ference on International Organization. The rep-resentatives of France, the United Kingdomand the United States had previously statedthat they could not support any resolution whichincluded any criticism of the past work of theSecurity Council.

The representatives of the United Kingdomand the United States announced their supportof the resolution as adopted by the First Com-mittee. The representative of China consideredthat the most important consideration was toadopt a resolution which all the members of theSecurity Council could accept, because only theSecurity Council could implement the resolu-tion, and that as several delegations hadobjected to the Australian resolution it would

not achieve the purpose it was intended toaccomplish.

At its 60th plenary meeting on December 13,1946, the General Assembly by a vote of 36 to 6,with 9 abstentions, approved the resolution asadopted by the First Committee. Of the fivepermanent members of the Security Council theUnited Kingdom and the United States voted infavor of the resolution, China and, France ab-stained, and the U.S.S.R. voted in the negative.The text of the resolution was as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYMINDFUL of the purposes and principles of

the Charter of the United Nations, and havingtaken notice of the divergencies which havearisen in regard to the application and inter-pretation of Article 27 of the Charter;

EARNESTLY REQUESTS the permanent mem-bers of the Security Council to make everyeffort, in consultation with one another andwith fellow members of the Security Council,to ensure that the use of the special votingprivilege of its permanent members does notimpede the Security Council in reaching de-cisions promptly;

RECOMMENDS to the Security Council theearly adoption of practices and procedures, con-sistent with the Charter, to assist in reducingthe difficulties in the application of Article 27and to ensure the prompt and effective exerciseby the Security Council of its functions; and

FURTHER RECOMMENDS that, in developingsuch practices and procedures, the SecurityCouncil take into consideration the viewsexpressed by Members of the United Nationsduring the second part of the first session ofthe General Assembly.

The Secretary-General, on January 2, 1947,transmitted the above resolution to the Presi-dent of the Security Council.

h. Information on Armed Forces to be suppliedby Members of the United Nations

By a letter of October 3, 1946, the representa-tive of the U.S.S.R. requested that the questionof the presence of troops of the United Nationsin non-enemy territories be included in theagenda of the second part of the first session ofthe General Assembly. The Assembly referredthe matter to the First Committee (Politicaland Security), which discussed it at its 25th,26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th meetings onNovember 21, 22, 25, 26, 27 and 28 respectively.

At the 25th meeting of the First Committeeon November 21, 1946, the representative of theU.S.S.R. stated that during the war the main-tenance of Allied troops on the territory of


friendly States was both necessary and inevita-ble to help in freeing peoples from the fascistyoke or to protect them from enemy invasion.Although the war was over, however, Alliedtroops in some instances remained in friendlycountries in a position to interfere in their in-ternal affairs, thus arousing uneasiness in thecountries concerned.

In August 1946, the representative of theU.S.S.R. pointed out, he had suggested in theSecurity Council that all Member States submitinformation on their armed forces and air andnaval bases located on the territory of non-enemy States. The Security Council had failedto include this proposal in its agenda. More re-cently, in the General Assembly, the UnitedStates had proposed widening the project toinclude information on Allied troops in formerenemy States as well. The representative of theU.S.S.R. was ready to accept this proposal.Hence he submitted the following draft resolu-tion to the First Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS tothe Security Council to take a decision to theeffect that States Members of the UnitedNations should submit the following informa-tion to the Secretary-General and to theSecurity Council within a month:

1. At what points in the territory of Mem-bers of the United Nations or other Stateswith the exception of former enemy terri-tories and in what number, there are armedforces of other Members of the UnitedNations.2. At what points in the former enemy Statesand in what number, there are armed forcesof the Allied Powers and other Members ofthe United Nations.3. At what points in the abovementioned ter-ritories there are air and naval bases andwhat is the size of their garrisons belongingto the armed forces of States Members of theUnited Nations.4. The information to be provided underparagraphs 1, 2, and 3 should refer to thesituation as it existed on 1 November 1946.

Adoption of this resolution, the U.S.S.R. rep-resentative considered, would enable the UnitedNations to obtain complete information onarmed forces abroad. Such information was es-sential to the Security Council and the MilitaryStaff Committee, which were studying the ques-tion of armed forces to be made available to theSecurity Council in implementation of Article43 of the Charter.

The representative of the United Statesconsidered that the reports called for in the

U.S.S.R. resolution should be extended to coverall troops in active service throughout the world.The representatives of China and France sup-ported the U.S.S.R. proposal, as well as the sug-gestion of the United States representative.

The representative of the United Kingdomconsidered that the question of the presence oftroops of the United Nations in non-enemy andex-enemy territories was closely linked with thequestion of a general regulation and reductionof armaments, which latter question had like-wise been included in the agenda of the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly at the request of the U.S.S.R. The UnitedKingdom representative therefore proposedthat these two questions be considered together.

This proposal encountered the opposition ofa number of representatives, including those ofFrance and the U.S.S.R. The representative ofFrance remarked that the problem of generaldisarmament should not deter the Committeefrom affirming first its intention to study thequestion of troops abroad, a problem distinct initself and a first step in the solution of the dis-armament problem. In the view of the repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R., combining the prob-lem of a troop census with the question ofgeneral disarmament would prejudice the solu-tion of both.

At the 27th meeting of the First Committeeon November 25, 1946, the representative of theUnited Kingdom withdrew his proposal for acombined discussion of general disarmamentand information on armed forces. Instead, hesubmitted the following proposals as an amend-ment to the U.S.S.R. resolution:

(1) The preamble of the U.S.S.R. resolutionwas to be reworded so as to indicate that theGeneral Assembly considered the submission ofinformation on armed forces as one aspect ofthe larger problem of the regulation and reduc-tion of armaments, such information being ofassistance in the implementation of Article 43of the Charter.

(2) The information to be submitted in ac-cordance with the U.S.S.R. resolution was toinclude not only armed forces but also "militarytype formations."

(3) In addition to the information called forin the U.S.S.R. resolution all States Membersof the United Nations were to submit informa-tion as to the total number of their uniformedpersonnel on the active list, wherever stationed,


at home as well as abroad, including militarytype formations.

(4) All information was to be submitted byJanuary 1, 1947, and should be immediatelysubjected to an effective United Nations systemof verification on the spot by a committee to beestablished by the Security Council before Janu-ary 1, 1947.

The representative of the United Kingdomexpressed the view that information on troopsabroad as called for in the U.S.S.R. resolutionwas entirely inadequate to enable the MilitaryStaff Committee to implement Article 43, andhe therefore questioned the U.S.S.R. delega-tion's purpose in requesting this information.The U.S.S.R. resolution, the United Kingdomrepresentative stated, would bring returns fromonly three countries, whereas Article 43 pro-vided that all Members of the United Nationswere to make agreements with the SecurityCouncil. Hence it would be necessary to obtaininformation from all 54 Member States. More-over, the troops maintained abroad by the gov-ernments concerned were to be withdrawnshortly, and information as to their numberswould be of little value to the Military StaffCommittee in making agreements under Article43. For these reasons the representative of theUnited Kingdom had proposed that all Membersof the United Nations submit information as tothe total of their uniformed personnel stationedat home as well as abroad.

Concerning his proposal for an immediateon-the-spot verification of the information to besubmitted, the United Kingdom representativestated that such verification was necessary notonly to give the peoples of the world confidencein the information submitted, but also to recon-cile the figures furnished by Member Govern-ments so as to put them on a comparable basis.

The representative of the United States sup-ported the United Kingdom amendment to theU.S.S.R. resolution, with the exception of theproposed verification scheme, which he fearedwould cause delay. He therefore submitted thefollowing text as a substitute for the UnitedKingdom proposal.

This information [on air and naval bases inforeign territories and on armed forces at homeand abroad] should be descriptive of the situa-tion existing on 15 December 1947 and shouldbe supplied to the Secretary-General by 1 Janu-ary 1947.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. consideredthat if troops remained in friendly States this

was a serious matter and the reasons for itshould be explained. Otherwise the uneasinessreflected in world public opinion might damagemorally the States involved and might also im-pair the moral authority of the United Nations.The Government of the U.S.S.R. was preparedto provide full information on its troops at homewhen the wider problem of the reduction ofarmaments was examined. He reiterated hisview, however, that the question of troopsabroad should not be combined with the questionof general disarmament. If the U.S.S.R. pro-posal for a census of troops abroad were broad-ened to include information on forces on hometerritory, the U.S.S.R. representative asserted,it would be necessary to obtain at the same timefull information on all types of armaments, in-cluding jet-propelled weapons, atomic arms andcertain war materials. Information on armedforces at home without full information onarmaments would be useless in considering theproblem of general disarmament. The repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R. therefore submittedthe following additional proposal.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY deems it necessarythat all States Members of the United Nationsshould submit information regarding armedforces and armaments in their own territory,this information to be submitted when theSecurity Council will consider the proposals forgeneral reduction of armaments.

The representative of the United Kingdomstated that his Government was not preparedto give information on atomic bombs, jet-pro-pelled aircraft and other armaments except asa part of a combined collective security agree-ment when his Government was convinced thatsuch an agreement was a reality and not asham.

Two further proposals were submitted to theFirst Committee. The representative of Argen-tina submitted a draft resolution the operativepart of which read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES,1. To RECOMMEND to the Security Council

to begin the study of a system for the regula-tion and general reduction of armaments;

2. To RECOMMEND to the Security Councilto begin as soon as possible the study ofthe agreements referred to in Article 43 of theUnited Nations Charter, with a view to deter-mining the number, type, and location of thearmed forces which will have to be made avail-able to it by Member States;


3. To RECOMMEND to the Security Council,for the purposes stated in the two precedingparagraphs and with a view to maintaining in-ternational peace and security, to invite allMember States to furnish information regard-ing the number and type of armed forces attheir disposal within their respective frontiersand outside them.

The representative of Egypt submitted thefollowing amendment to the U.S.S.R. resolu-tion:THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERSthat according to the letter and spirit of theCharter of the United Nations and to the prin-ciple of sovereign equality no State Membercan station its armed forces on the territory ofanother Member except in the cases specified inthe Charter.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS,THEREFORE, to States Members having sucharmed forces stationed on the territory ofother Members to withdraw them withoutdelay.

At its 29th meeting on November 27, 1946,the First Committee, voting paragraph by para-graph, adopted the proposed text submitted bythe United Kingdom delegation as an amend-ment to the U.S.S.R. resolution, with the excep-tion of the recommendation that information onarmed forces submitted by Member States beverified by a committee to be established by theSecurity Council before January 1, 1947. Inplace of this latter recommendation the Com-mittee adopted the text proposed by the repre-sentative of the United States. The resolutionas a whole, which the First Committee adoptedby a vote of 34 to 7, with 4 abstentions, there-fore read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYCONSIDERING that the items on its Agenda

regarding "The presence of troops of theUnited Nations on non-enemy territories" and"The proposal on the general reduction of arma-ments" are concerned with two aspects of thesame question, namely, the reduction and regu-lation of armaments;

RECOMMENDS, as a first step in a study ofthis question and to assist in the implementa-tion of Article 43;

That all Members of the United Nations fur-nish the following information to the Secretary-General for communication to the SecurityCouncil and to other Members of the UnitedNations, and for publication:

1. At what points in the territory of Mem-bers of the United Nations or other States,with the exception of former enemy terri-tories, and in what number, there are armedforces of other Members of the United Na-tions, including military type organizations.

2. At what points in the former enemy Statesand in what number, there are armed forcesof the Allied Powers and other Members ofthe United Nations, including military typeorganizations.3. At what points in the abovementionedterritories there are air and naval bases, andwhat is the size of their garrisons, belongingto the armed forces of States Members of theUnited Nations.4. What is the total number of their uni-formed personnel on the active list, whereverstationed, at home as well as abroad, includ-ing military type organizations.This information should be descriptive of the

situation existing on 15 December 1946 andshould be supplied to the Secretary-General by1 January 1947.

Before the Committee had proceeded to voteon the United Kingdom recommendation as con-tained in paragraph 4 above, the representa-tive of the U.S.S.R. had asked that this recom-mendation be amended to require MemberStates to submit at the same time informationon their armaments. The Committee decidedby 24 votes to 18, with 10 abstentions, not tovote on this amendment. The representative ofthe U.S.S.R. then asked for a vote on his previ-ous proposal that Member States submit infor-mation on their armed forces and armamentsin their own territory, this information to besubmitted when the Security Council consid-ered proposals for the general reduction ofarmaments.

The representative of the United Kingdomobjected to a vote on this proposal on theground that the Committee had not discussedits substance. The representative of the U.S.S.R.pointed out that the amendment had been sub-mitted to the Committee two days previouslyand that the Committee had had ample time toconsider it. The First Committee by a vote of24 to 18, with 10 abstentions, decided not tovote on the U.S.S.R. proposal.

The representative of the United Kingdomlikewise objected to a vote on the proposal sub-mitted by the representative of Egypt, on theground that it was not correctly an amendmentbut a new proposal, as it bore no relation toagreements to be concluded under Article 43 ofthe Charter. By 29 votes to 13, with 9 absten-tions, the First Committee decided not to voteon the Egyptian proposal.

As the United Kingdom text as amended bythe United States had been adopted by the FirstCommittee, no vote was taken on the Argentineproposal.


The representatives of the U.S.S.R., Egyptand Argentina resubmitted their respectiveproposals to the First Committee when theCommittee discussed the question of the generalregulation and reduction of armaments. ASub-Committee appointed by the First Com-mittee to draft a commonly acceptable resolu-tion on the question of general disarmamenttook these proposals into consideration inpreparing its text.

When the General Assembly considered thereport of the First Committee at its 52nd ple-nary meeting on December 8, 1946, the repre-sentative of the United Kingdom reintroducedin a somewhat revised form his proposal fora verification of the information to be submittedin accordance with the resolution adopted bythe First Committee.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. stated thatthe First Committee's decision to include forcesin home territory in the troop census originallyproposed by the U.S.S.R. delegation was un-acceptable. He therefore moved that the relevantparagraph of the resolution adopted by the FirstCommittee be deleted. This proposal was sup-ported by the representative of France, who con-sidered that the submission of information ontroops in non-enemy and ex-enemy territorieswould be useful in promoting the progressiveand balanced reduction of these forces. It wastherefore desirable to exclude the question oftroops in home territory from the resolutionand to consider it in connection with the ques-tion of general disarmament.

After further discussion at the 53rd plenarymeeting of the General Assembly on December10, 1946, the representative of the U.S.S.R. atthe 54th plenary meeting asked the representa-tives of the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates whether they would be willing to reporton their armed forces and armaments at homeas well as abroad, the First Committee havingpreviously decided not to vote on this proposal.The representative of the United Kingdomstated that, accepting the challenge of the rep-resentative of the U.S.S.R., his Government wasprepared to give such a report if the U.S.S.R.would agree to the immediate establishment ofinternational machinery of control and inspec-tion operating not through national but throughinternational agencies without "veto."

The representative of the U.S.S.R. in turnaccepted this latter proposal on condition thatinformation on armaments as well as troops besubject to verification. Accepting this further

suggestion, the representative of the UnitedKingdom submitted the following amendmentto the resolution adopted by the First Com-mittee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS1. The immediate establishment of an inter-

national supervisory commission operatingwithin the framework of the Security Council,but in its operations not subject to the vetoof any Power on the Security Council, whichshall be entitled by agents of any nationalityacting on its behalf, to verify and confirm onthe spot in the territory of any Member State,any or all of the information submitted in ac-cordance with any request of the General As-sembly or of the Security Council as to armedforces or armaments.

2. When the said supervisory commissionhas been established, the Member States shallbe required to submit full particulars of theirarmaments of different categories as well as oftheir forces under each of the paragraphs oneto four above.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. statedthat he accepted the amendment proposed bythe United Kingdom in principle, but that thewording was not entirely satisfactory. He there-fore suggested that the above text be referredfor redrafting to the Sub-Committee of theFirst Committee on Disarmament. The repre-sentatives of China and France stated that theyhad not had sufficient time to study the newUnited Kingdom proposal. They therefore fa-vored referring the matter to the Sub-Commit-tee on Disarmament. The representative of theUnited States opposed any modification of theresolution adopted by the First Committee. HisGovernment was not prepared to submit infor-mation on armaments except as a part of a pro-gram of general disarmament.

The President of the General Assembly cau-tioned Members not to act too hastily. If theAssembly should adopt the resolution of theFirst Committee, the U.S.S.R. proposal for sub-mission of information on armaments as wellas armed forces and the United Kingdom amend-ment as quoted above, it would mean that beforeJanuary 1, 1947, all governments would haveto send to the Security Council all the informa-tion on their armed forces and armaments. Itwould also mean, the President stated, thatbefore January 15, 1947, the system of inter-national control and verification would have tobe established.

In view of the fact that the representatives ofthe U.S.S.R. and the United Kingdom did not


agree on the text of the United Kingdom amend-ment, the General Assembly decided to referthe matter to the Sub-Committee of the FirstCommittee on Disarmament.

After long discussion the Sub-Committeeconcluded that there was no practical possibilityof arriving at a balanced text incorporating theamendments submitted by the U.S.S.R. and theUnited Kingdom. Moreover, the Sub-Commit-tee found that in dealing with the problem ofdisarmament it had at the same time dealtwith the presence of troops on foreign terri-tory. In the circumstances the Sub-Committeeconsidered it logical to propose that theresolution adopted by the First Committee bedropped and that instead the following reso-lution be adopted:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYDESIROUS of implementing, as soon as pos-

sible, the resolution of 14 December 1946 on thePrinciples governing the Regulation and Reduc-tion of Armaments;1

CALLS UPON the Security Council to de-termine, as soon as possible, the informationwhich the States Members should be called uponto furnish, in order to give effect to this resolu-tion.

The First Committee considered the reportof the Sub-Committee at its 44th meeting onDecember 13, 1946. The representative of theU.S.S.R. objected that the First Committee wasnot competent to examine the new proposal andto drop the resolution previously adopted by theFirst Committee. The latter resolution there-fore remained before the General Assembly toadopt or reject. A resolution to this effect sub-mitted by the representative of Czechoslovakiawas rejected by 26 votes to 6, with 7 absten-tions. By 29 votes to 4, with 6 abstentions, theFirst Committee then voted to recommend tothe General Assembly the adoption of the newresolution in place of the resolution previouslyadopted by the First Committee.

The General Assembly at its 63rd plenarymeeting on December 14, 1946, adopted the sub-stitute resolution as quoted by 36 votes to 6,with 4 abstentions.

i. Principles Governing the General Regulationand Reduction of ArmamentsBy a letter of October 29, 1946, the delegation

of the U.S.S.R. submitted a "Proposal Concern-ing the General Reduction of Armaments" forinclusion in the agenda of the General Assem-bly. At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the Assembly referred the matter to theFirst Committee.

On November 26, 1946, the U.S.S.R. delega-tion submitted a supplementary proposal con-cerning the establishment of a system of inter-national control and inspection. The U.S.S.R.delegation subsequently submitted the follow-ing resolution combining the abovementionedproposals:

1. With a view to strengthening peace andinternational security in conformity with theaims and principles of the United Nations, theGeneral Assembly recognizes the necessity of ageneral reduction of armaments.

2. The implementing of the decision con-cerning the reduction of armaments should in-clude as the primary object the prohibition toproduce and use atomic energy for militarypurposes.

3. To ensure the adoption of measures for thereduction of armaments and prohibition of theuse of atomic energy for military purposes,there shall be established within the frameworkof the Security Council, which has the primaryresponsibility for international peace and se-curity, international control operating on thebasis of a special provision which should pro-vide for the establishment of special organs ofinspection for which purpose there shall beformed:

(a) A Commission for the control of the exe-cution of the decision regarding the reductionof armaments;(b) A Commission for the control of the exe-cution of the decision regarding the prohibi-tion of the use of atomic energy for militarypurposes.4. The General Assembly deems it necessary

that all States Members of the United NationsOrganization should submit information re-garding all their armed forces and armaments,this information to be submitted when theSecurity Council will consider the proposals forgeneral reduction of armaments.

5. The General Assembly recommends thatthe Security Council should ensure the effectiveimplementing of the principles laid down inParagraphs 1, 2, and 3 above.

6. The General Assembly appeals to the Gov-ernments of all the States to give to the SecurityCouncil all the assistance necessary to enable itto discharge its responsibilities arising out ofthis task, the achievement of which lies withinthe scope of its mission to establish an enduring-peace and maintain international security. Thistask is also in the interest of the peoples whowould be released from the heavy economic bur-den caused by the excessive expenditure onarmaments which do not correspond to peacefulpost-war conditions.

The First Committee discussed the questionof a general regulation and reduction of arma-ments at its 30th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 38th and44th meetings held on November 28, 29, 30 andDecember 2, 4 and 13 respectively. Commenting

1 See pp. 142, 143.


on the U.S.S.R. delegation's proposal, the Sovietrepresentative stressed the necessity for takingserious measures to put an end to the armamentrace. Not only armed personnel, but militarytechnique and technical means of war must beconsidered in the problem of disarmament. TheSoviet delegation attached particular impor-tance in this connection to the problem ofatomic energy. The conclusion of a conventionprohibiting both the production and use ofatomic weapons was the first step the UnitedNations must take if a program of general dis-armament was to be successful. The U.S.S.R.resolution therefore included a specific recom-mendation to this effect.

Many representatives commended theU.S.S.R. delegation for taking the initiative insubmitting a proposal for the general reductionof armaments, and expressed agreement withthe aims of the U.S.S.R. resolution. A numberof representatives, however, felt that the word-ing of the U.S.S.R. resolution was too vagueand that it was desirable to formulate moreprecisely the principles which would have toguide a general program of disarmament.Among the specific points raised by these repre-sentatives were the following:

(1) No general reduction of armaments couldbe undertaken without a corresponding develop-ment of a system of collective security whichwould afford all nations security from aggres-sion. Those countries particularly which hadfallen easy prey to nazi aggression in 1940, dueto their military unpreparedness, insisted onan adequate degree of collective defense as acorollary to any program of general disarma-ment. To promote such a system of collectivesecurity the General Assembly should recom-mend that the Security Council expedite theconclusion of agreements with Member nationsconcerning the use of their armed forces onbehalf of the United Nations in accordance withArticle 43 of the Charter.

(2) No general reduction of armaments couldbe put into effect without an adequate systemof international control and inspection to pro-tect complying States against the hazards ofviolation or evasion. An international controlcommission should be established by a treatyor convention accepted by virtually all States,this international control commission to haveaccess to the territory of all Member States andto enjoy full freedom to verify on the spot in-formation submitted by Member Governmentson the state of their armed forces and arma-ments.

(3) An international agency of control andinspection, although operating within the gen-eral framework of the Security Council, mustbe free in its operations from the application ofthe rule of unanimity. No power must have theright to veto the activities of an internationaldisarmament body.

(4) Any program of general disarmament tobe undertaken in the future must not interferewith or duplicate the work already undertakenby the United Nations Atomic Energy Com-mission. The most practical way to implementthe U.S.S.R. delegation's proposal for atomicenergy control was to urge the expeditious ful-fillment of the Atomic Energy Commission'stask.

(5) An effective system of safeguards andcontrols in the field of atomic energy mustaccompany any convention prohibiting the pro-duction and use of atomic weapons in the sameway that safeguards must be applied in thefield of conventional armaments.

Contrary to the view of the U.S.S.R. delega-tion, which considered the prohibition of atomicweapons as the problem of foremost importanceto be solved first, most representatives felt thatthe various aspects of disarmament were inter-related and that the problems of general dis-armament, atomic energy control, collectivesecurity and the development of adequate con-trol measures must be studied simultaneously.

Embodying certain of the points outlinedabove, the delegations of Australia and Canadaeach submitted amendments to the U.S.S.R.proposal. Accepting in substance most of thesuggestions of the Australian delegation, therepresentative of Canada submitted a revisedtext of his own amendment which read asfollows:

1. With a view to strengthening internationalpeace and security, in conformity with the Pur-poses and Principles of the United Nations, theGeneral Assembly recognizes the necessity ofan early and general regulation and reduction ofarmaments.

2. The General Assembly recommends to theSecurity Council that, as the first step towardsa general regulation and reduction of arma-ments, the Security Council, without furtherdelay, proceed to negotiate with Members ofthe United Nations under Article 43 of theCharter the special agreements making avail-able to the Security Council on its call the armedforces and other assistance and facilities neces-sary for the purpose of maintaining interna-tional peace and security.

3. In order that atomic weapons and all othermajor weapons adaptable to mass destruction


shall be eliminated from national armaments atthe earliest possible date, the General Assemblyurges the expeditious fulfilment by the AtomicEnergy Commission of its task under the termsof reference set forth in Section 5 of the Gen-eral Assembly Resolution of 24 January 1946,by which the Commission is required to proceedwith the utmost despatch and to make the fol-lowing specific proposals:

"(a) for extending between all nations theexchange of basic scientific information forpeaceful ends;"(b) for control of atomic energy to the ex-tent necessary to ensure its use only forpeaceful purposes;"(c) for the elimination from national arma-ments of atomic weapons and all other majorweapons adaptable to mass destruction;"(d) for effective safeguards by way of in-spection and other means to protect comply-ing states against the hazards of violationand evasions."4. The General Assembly considers that,

since the activities in the domain of atomicenergy leading to peaceful and destructive endsare so intimately inter-related as to be almostinseparable, the control of atomic energy toensure its use only for peaceful purposes, theelimination of atomic weapons from nationalarmaments, and the provision of effective safe-guards to protect complying states against thehazards of violations and evasions must beaccomplished through a single internationalinstrument or treaty designed to carry out theserelated purposes concurrently.

5. The General Assembly recommends a sys-tem for the general regulation and reduction ofarmaments based on a treaty or convention ac-cepted by virtually all states and providing foreffective international safeguards by way ofinspection and other means to protect comply-ing states against the hazards of violations andevasions. It further recommends that there beset up, under the treaty or convention, a Per-manent International Commission of Controlwith power to make such investigations, includ-ing the appointment of permanent inspectorsand special commissions of enquiry, as it maydeem necessary to detect a breach or threatenedbreach of the treaty or convention and of sub-sequent supplementary agreements on the regu-lation and reduction of armaments.

6. To the end that an international treaty orconvention on disarmament may be concludedas soon as possible, the General Assemblyrecommends to the Security Council that, withthe assistance of the Military Staff Committee,it submit plans at the earliest practicable dateto the Members of the United Nations for theestablishment of a system for the regulation ofarmaments as is provided for in Article 26 ofthe Charter,

7. The General Assembly, being confidentthat the attainment of these objectives wouldcontribute greatly to the establishment of en-during peace and the maintenance of interna-tional security, and being convinced that it

would make possible a rise in the standards ofliving of all the peoples of the United Nationsby lightening the heavy economic burden im-posed on them by excessive expenditures fornational armaments which do not correspond topeaceful postwar conditions, calls upon the gov-ernments of all states to render every possibleassistance to the Security Council, the MilitaryStaff Committee and the Atomic Energy Com-mission to enable them to attain speedily theobjectives set forth in this Resolution.

At the 31st meeting of the Security Councilon November 29, 1946, the representative ofthe U.S.S.R. indicated that the Australian andCanadian amendments were not acceptable tothe U.S.S.R. delegation. In answer to a questionby the representative of the United Kingdomconcerning the application of the veto to thework of the control commissions to be estab-lished in accordance with the U.S.S.R. resolu-tion, the Soviet representative stated that thecontrol system contemplated by the U.S.S.R.delegation was to be established within theframework of the Security Council. As a conse-quence "the conclusion must be drawn that thissystem would be subject to all the Charterprovisions affecting the consideration by theSecurity Council of the questions within itscompetence." In answer to further questioningthe U.S.S.R. representative stated that if re-nunciation of the "veto" were regarded as abasis for acceptance of the proposal for reduc-tion of armaments, unanimity would hardly bepossible. The representatives of the UnitedKingdom and the United States, on the otherhand, stressed the fact that they would notaccept any system of disarmament which wouldnot eliminate the veto from the operation of aninternational system of control and inspection.

After further discussion the representativeof France submitted a number of recommenda-tions as amendments to the U.S.S.R. resolution.At the 34th meeting of the First Committee therepresentative of the United States submittedthe following draft resolution:

1. With a view to strengthening internationalpeace and security in conformity with the pur-poses and principles of the United Nations, theGeneral Assembly recognizes the necessity ofan early general regulation and reduction ofarmaments. Accordingly, the General Assemblyrecommends that the Security Council giveprompt consideration to working out the prac-tical measures, according to their priority,which are essential to provide for the generalregulation and reduction of armaments pur-suant to international treaties and agreementsand to assure that such regulation and reduc-tion will be generally observed by all partici-


pants and not unilaterally by only some of theparticipants.

2. The General Assembly recognizes that es-sential to the general regulation and reductionof armaments is the early establishment of in-ternational control of atomic energy and othermodern technological discoveries to ensure theiruse only for peaceful purposes. Accordingly, inorder to ensure that the general regulation andreduction of armaments are directed towardsthe major weapons of modern warfare and notmerely towards the minor weapons the GeneralAssembly recommends that the Security Coun-cil give first consideration to the report whichthe Atomic Energy Commission will make tothe Security Council before 31 December 1946,and facilitate the progress of the work of thatCommission.

3. The General Assembly further recognizesthat essential to the general regulation andreduction of armaments is the provision ofpractical and effective safeguards by way ofinspection and other means to protect complyingstates against the hazards of violations andevasions. Accordingly, the General Assemblyrecommends to the Security Council that it giveprompt consideration to the working out of pro-posals to provide such practical and effectivesafeguards in connection with the control ofatomic energy and other limitation or regula-tion of armaments.

4. The General Assembly calls upon the Gov-ernments of all States to render every possibleassistance to the Security Council and theAtomic Energy Commission in order to promotethe establishment of international peace andcollective security with the least diversion forarmaments of the world's human and economicresources.

At the 38th meeting of the First Committeethe representative of the U.S.S.R. announcedhis willingness to accept the United States reso-lution as a basis of discussion and submitted anumber of amendments to that resolution whichwould render it acceptable to the U.S.S.R. dele-gation. On the subject of the "veto" in relationto arms control, which appeared to be the majorobstacle to agreement among the membersof the Committee, the representative of theU.S.S.R. stated that "the rule of unanimity inthe Security Council has nothing to do with thework of the control commissions. Therefore, itis incorrect to say that a permanent memberwith its 'veto' could prevent the implementationof a control system."

In view of this statement modifying theSoviet delegation's position as previously ex-pressed, the Committee felt that a sub-commit-tee would be able to reach agreement on a com-monly acceptable draft. The First Committeetherefore decided to establish a Sub-Committee

of twenty members, consisting of Argentina.Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China,Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, India,Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland,Syria, the Ukrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., theUnited Kingdom and the United States.

When the First Committee had discussed thequestion of the presence of armed forces ofMembers of the United Nations in foreign ter-ritories and the question of information to besubmitted by Member Governments on theirarmed forces and armaments, the representa-tives of the U.S.S.R., Argentina and Egypt hadintroduced proposals which the First Commit-tee had not voted on. The representatives ofthe U.S.S.R. and Argentina therefore resub-mitted their proposals in identical form to theFirst Committee in connection with the discus-sion of general disarmament. The Egyptianrepresentative submitted a draft resolutionsimilar to his original proposal.

These proposals were referred to the Sub-Committee, together with the proposals on thegeneral regulation and reduction of armamentssubmitted by the representatives of Australia,Canada, France, the U.S.S.R. and the UnitedStates. The Sub-Committee adopted the UnitedStates resolution as the basis of its work. Inaddition to the proposals just mentioned, theSub-Committee considered further amendmentssubmitted by the delegations of India, theUnited Kingdom, and Canada. After a fulldiscussion a drafting group consisting of theChairman and the Rapporteur of the Sub-Com-mittee and the representatives of Canada,China, Egypt, France, the U.S.S.R., the UnitedKingdom and the United States, was appointed.The draft proposal submitted by this groupwas, with some additions and changes, adoptedby the Sub-Committee on December 12, 1946.

At its 44th meeting on December 13, 1946,the First Committee, after making some furtherdrafting changes, unanimously and by acclama-tion adopted the resolution recommended by theSub-Committee. Likewise by unanimous vote,the General Assembly at its 63rd plenary meet-ing on December 14, 1946, adopted the resolu-tion, which read as follows:

1. In pursuance of Article 11 of the Charterand with a view to strengthening internationalpeace and security in conformity with the Pur-poses and Principles of the United Nations,


THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,RECOGNIZES the necessity of an early gen-

eral regulation and reduction of armaments andarmed forces.

2. ACCORDINGLY,THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECOMMENDS that the Security Council giveprompt consideration to formulating thepractical measures, according to their priority,which are essential to provide for the generalregulation and reduction of armaments andarmed forces and to assure that such regulationand reduction of armaments and armed forceswill be generally observed by all participantsand not unilaterally by only some of the partici-pants. The plans formulated by the SecurityCouncil shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the Members of the United Nationsfor consideration at a special session of theGeneral Assembly. The treaties or conventionsapproved by the General Assembly shall besubmitted to the signatory States for ratifi-cation in accordance with Article 26 of theCharter.

3. As an essential step towards the urgentobjective of prohibiting and eliminating fromnational armaments atomic and all other majorweapons adaptable now and in the future tomass destruction, and the early establishmentof international control of atomic energy andother modern scientific discoveries and techni-cal developments to ensure their use only forpeaceful purposes,THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

URGES the expeditious fulfilment by theAtomic Energy Commission of its terms ofreference as set forth in Section 5 of the Gen-eral Assembly Resolution of 24 January 1946.

4. In order to ensure that the general prohibi-tion, regulation and reduction of armaments aredirected towards the major weapons of modernwarfare and not merely towards the minorweapons,THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECOMMENDS that the Security Council ex-pedite consideration of the reports which theAtomic Energy Commission will make to theSecurity Council and that it facilitate the workof that Commission, and also that the SecurityCouncil expedite consideration of a draft con-vention or conventions for the creation of aninternational system of control and inspection,these conventions to include the prohibition ofatomic and all other major weapons adaptablenow and in the future to mass destruction andthe control of atomic energy to the extentnecessary to ensure its use only for peacefulpurposes.

5. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,FURTHER RECOGNIZES that essential to the

general regulation and reduction of arma-ments and armed forces is the provision of prac-tical and effective safeguards by way of inspec-tion and other means to protect complyingStates against the hazards of violations andevasions.

Accordingly,THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECOMMENDS to the Security Council thatit give prompt consideration to the working outof proposals to provide such practical and effec-tive safeguards in connection with the controlof atomic energy and the general regulation andreduction of armaments.

6. To ensure the adoption of measures for theearly general regulation and reduction of arma-ments and armed forces, for the prohibition ofthe use of atomic energy for military purposesand the elimination from national armamentsof atomic and all other major weapons adaptablenow or in the future to mass destruction, andfor the control of atomic energy to the extentnecessary to ensure its use only for peacefulpurposes,

THERE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED,within the framework of the Security Coun-

cil, which bears the primary responsibility forthe maintenance of international peace andsecurity, an international system, as mentionedin paragraph 4, operating through special or-gans, which organs shall derive their powersand status from the convention or conventionsunder which they are established.

7. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,regarding the problem of security as closely

connected with that of disarmament,

RECOMMENDS the Security Council to ac-celerate as much as possible the placing at itsdisposal of the armed forces mentioned in Arti-cle 43 of the Charter;

RECOMMENDS the Members to undertakethe progressive and balanced withdrawal, tak-ing account of the needs of occupation, of theirarmed forces stationed in ex-enemy territories,and the withdrawal without delay of theirarmed forces stationed in the territories ofMembers without their consent freely andpublicly expressed in treaties or agreementsconsistent with the Charter and not contradict-ing international agreements.

FURTHER RECOMMENDS a corresponding re-duction of national armed forces, and ageneral progressive and balanced reductionof national armed forces.

8. Nothing herein contained shall alter orlimit the resolution of the General Assemblypassed on 24 January 1946, creating the AtomicEnergy Commission.

9. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CALLS upon all Members of the United Na-

tions to render every possible assistance to theSecurity Council and the Atomic Energy Com-mission in order to promote the establishmentand maintenance of international peace andcollective security with the least diversion forarmaments of the world's human and economicresources.


j. Treatment of Indians in the Union of SouthAfricaBy a letter of June 22, 1946, the Government

of India requested that the question of thetreatment of Indians in the Union of SouthAfrica be included in the provisional agendafor the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly.

At the nineteenth meeting of the GeneralCommittee on October 24, 1946, the representa-tive of the Union of South Africa maintainedthat the question concerned not Indian nation-als, but Indians nationals of the Union of SouthAfrica. Therefore the question, according toArticle 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter, wasessentially within the domestic jurisdiction ofthe Union of South Africa and should be re-moved from the agenda.

The General Committee failed to support therequest of the representative of the Union ofSouth Africa. The representative of the UnitedKingdom moved that the General Committeerecommend that the question be referred tothe Sixth Committee (Legal). The representa-tives of the U.S.S.R., India, and the UkrainianS.S.R. considered the question to be primarilypolitical and thought that it should be referredto the First Committee (Political and Security).The representative of the United States pro-posed that the question be referred both to theFirst and Sixth Committees. This proposal wasamended by the representative of the U.S.S.R.to the effect that the matter be discussed by ajoint meeting of the First and Sixth Committee.The proposals were referred to the GeneralAssembly, which at its 46th plenary meeting onOctober 31, 1946, decided that the questionshould be considered jointly by the First andSixth Committees.

The Joint First and Sixth Committee heldsix meetings on November 21, 25, 26, 27, 28and 30, 1946, at which it discussed the questionof the treatment of the Indians in South Africa.

Presenting his Government's case, the repre-sentative of India stated that the first Indianshad come to the British colony of Natal asindentured laborers in 1860 in response to anappeal by the European settlers and by virtueof an agreement between the Government ofIndia and the British Government which pro-vided that Indians emigrating to South Africawere not to be subjected to any special lawsdifferent from those in force for Europeans.Although the Natal Government had continuedto encourage the immigration of indentured

Indian laborers, increasing agitation againstfree Indian settlers had led to the enactment ofdiscriminatory measures from 1855 on. WhenMr. Gandhi was in South Africa he organizeda campaign of passive resistance in 1907, andagain in 1913, against various restrictivemeasures. This resulted in the Smuts-Gandhiagreement and the enactment of an IndianRelief Bill, which remedied the Indians'grievances and stopped immigration.

After the First World War, anti-Asiatic agi-tation reappeared. The Smuts-Gandhi agree-ment was then abandoned by the Union ofSouth Africa and an agreement known as theCapetown Agreement was concluded betweenthe Government of South Africa and the Gov-ernment of India, which was renewed in 1932.This agreement had not been abrogated.Nevertheless, anti-Indian agitation continuedand reached a climax in 1943 when the pro-vince of Natal passed the "Pegging Act,"which imposed statutory restrictions in respectof the right of Asiatics to acquire land. In1946 the Union Government passed the AsiaticLand Tenure and Indian Representation Act,the result of which was the complete segrega-tion of Indians as regards both trade andresidence.

Passage of this bill, the Indian Governmentconsidered, constituted a unilateral repudiationof the Capetown Agreement. It constituted aviolation of the provisions of the United Na-tions Charter in regard to human rights andfreedoms. Finally, the Indian Government con-tended that a situation had arisen which waslikely to impair friendly relations between Indiaand South Africa, for the Indian Government,in response to the measures adopted by theUnion Government, had given notice of thetermination of the trade agreement between thetwo countries and had recalled its High Com-missioner from South Africa. In accordancewith Articles 10 and 14 of the Charter theIndian Government was therefore submittingthis situation for consideration by the GeneralAssembly.

On November 20, 1946, the representativefor India submitted the following resolution tothe Joint First and Sixth Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, having taken noteof the application made by the Governmentof India regarding the treatment of Indians inthe Union of South Africa and having consid-ered the matter,


Is OF THE OPINION THAT:(a) the Union Government's discriminatorytreatment of Asiatics in general and Indiansin particular on the grounds of their raceconstitutes a denial of human rights andfundamental freedom and is contrary to theCharter,(b) the Union Government's policy in gen-eral and the enactment of the Asiatic LandTenure and Indian Representation Act of1946, in particular, have impaired friendlyrelations between the two Member States,and unless a satisfactory settlement is arrivedat immediately, these relations are likely tobe further impaired.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE, CON-SIDERS that the Union Government shouldrevise their general policy and their legisla-tive and administrative measures affectingAsiatics in South Africa, so as to bringthem into conformity with the principles andpurposes of the Charter and requests the UnionGovernment to report at the next session of theGeneral Assembly the action taken by them inthis behalf.

In reply to the arguments presented by theIndian delegation, the Government of the Unionof South Africa submitted that the Govern-ments of Natal and of South Africa had enteredinto agreements with the Government of Indiafor the immigration of Indian laborers on theunderstanding that the Indians would be re-patriated at the end of their term of indenture.Although Indians, for a time, were allotted landin South Africa in lieu of the agreed freepassage home to India, the principle of ultimaterepatriation had never been abandoned. Butwhile the responsible Governments of SouthAfrica had insisted on the temporary characterof the Indians' stay in South Africa, the Britishand the Indian Governments had pressed SouthAfrica to grant citizen rights to the Indians.

The Smuts-Gandhi Agreement and the Act ofParliament of 1914 were hailed by the Indiansas a triumph for their cause of permanentdomicile. In the subsequent years the Indiansnourished and entered many of the urban avo-cations. The urban Indian influx and the grow-ing commercial success of Indian traders hadcaused the deepest misgivings among the Euro-peans, who saw their whole future menaced byan alien civilization: hence certain restrictivemeasures enacted by the South African Govern-ment after the First World War.

The Capetown Agreement of 1927 was anattempt to obviate the necessity for such meas-ures. In that agreement the Government ofIndia formally recognized the right of South

Africa "to use all just and legitimate meansfor the maintenance of Western standards oflife." The object of the agreement was two-fold: (1) The Indian population in SouthAfrica was to be reduced through a scheme ofassisted emigration to India, to which end theIndian Government pledged its co-operation;(2) the "irreducible minimum" of Indians whowould remain in South Africa and who wouldas far as practicable be assimilated to Westernstandards of life were to benefit by the applica-tion of "uplift" measures on the part of theSouth African Government.

But while, as a result of the Capetown Agree-ment, Indians in South Africa made great ad-vances in education, social legislation, etc., theIndian Government, through adverse publicityand intimidation of prospective emigrants, theSouth African Government charged, broughtabout the failure of the assisted emigrationscheme, with the result that the Indian popula-tion of South Africa increased rather thandecreased.

As a result of the failure of repatriation, theUnion Government was faced with the problemof adjusting race relations in Natal. The in-creasing penetration of European residentialareas in the city of Durban during the wararoused the fears of the white inhabitants.Finally, the pressure of public opinion compelledthe Government to pass the "Pegging Act"(1943), and still later the Asiatic Land Tenureand Indian Representation Act (1946).

The latter Act prevented Indians from ac-quiring land in certain areas reserved for whiteoccupation, and vice versa. There was no dis-crimination, the representative of South Africastated, as the law applied equally to Europeansand Indians. The Act, which was condemnedby the Government of India as discriminatory,actually should be welcomed, for it formallyrecognized the South African Indian populationfor the first time as members of the SouthAfrican community by giving the Indians twoseats in the Provincial Council of Natal.

The representative of South Africa main-tained that in the domain of its domestic affairsa State was not subject to control or interfer-ence and its actions could not be called intoquestion by any other States. The Acts whichhad caused the Indian Government to break offtrade relations with South Africa and to appealto the United Nations were matters within thedomestic jurisdiction of the Union. The Charter


did not permit a State to impair friendly rela-tions with another State or to endanger themaintenance of peace and security because itdisapproved of the manner in which the domes-tice affairs of any other State were conducted.

The South African representative furthermaintained that the Capetown Agreement of1927 and the Joint Communique of 1932 werenot instruments giving rise to treaty obliga-tions.

Finally, the South African delegation con-tended that the Union Government had notviolated any fundamental human rights withinthe terms of the Charter of the United Nations.Up to the present, the South African represen-tative stated, there did not exist any interna-tionally recognized formulation of such rights,and the Charter itself did not define them.Member States, therefore, did not have anyspecific obligations under the Charter. More-over, political rights and freedoms, in the viewof the South African representative, were notfundamental. Such an argument was tanta-mount to saying that the most progressive racesshould be retarded by the less progressive ifthe latter were in the majority. Equality infundamental rights and freedom could be as-sured in a multi-racial State only by a measureof discrimination in respect of non-fundamentalrights.

In view of the fact that the present casewould form a precedent for the future, therepresentative of South Africa submitted aresolution proposing that the Joint First andSixth Committee recommend to the General As-sembly that an advisory opinion be sought fromthe International Court of Justice upon thequestion whether the matter before the Assem-bly was, under Article 2, paragraph 7, of theCharter essentially within the domestic juris-diction of the Union of South Africa.

Many representatives opposed the SouthAfrican proposal on the ground that the politi-cal aspects of the question far outweighed itslegal aspects. The Assembly, these representa-tives considered, was fully competent to con-sider the matter. Contrary to the contention ofthe South African representative in regard tothe Capetown Agreement, it was maintainedthat any solemn agreement between Statesconstituted a treaty. As to the question offundamental human rights and freedoms, itwas agreed that by adopting the Charter, Mem-ber States had made a certain renunciation oftheir sovereignty. The Charter imposed upon

each Member an obligation to refrain frompolicies based upon race discrimination. Totreat the Indian question as a legal matterwould weaken the prestige of the United Na-tions, one of whose noblest tasks it was to pro-mote respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms.

Representatives who supported the proposalof the South African delegation stressed theimportance of the preliminary legal question ofthe General Assembly's competence. As one ofthe parties had denied the Assembly's com-petence, it was important to obtain a properdetermination of the facts, an authoritativeexposition of the law and a judicial applicationof the law to the facts so determined. More-over, it was desirable to follow a course whichwas agreeable to the Government of SouthAfrica. At the same time such a course couldonly be of benefit to the Indians, if the Courtdecided that the question was one of interna-tional jurisdiction.

The representatives of France and Mexicosupported the contentions of the Indian delega-tion. They jointly submitted a draft resolutionas an amendment to the resolution of the repre-sentative of India, embodying the same pointof view, but phrased in more conciliatorylanguage.

The representatives of Sweden and theUnited Kingdom submitted different draft reso-lutions with a view to referring the questionto the International Court of Justice. Theseresolutions were later withdrawn in favor ofthe following text submitted jointly by thedelegations of Sweden, the United Kingdomand the United States:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAVING taken note of the application made

by the Government of India regarding the treat-ment of Indians in the Union of South Africaand having considered the matter, is of opinionthat, since the jurisdiction of the GeneralAssembly to deal with the matter is denied andsince the questions involved are consequently ofa legal as well as of a factual nature, a deci-sion based on authoritatively declared juridicalfoundations is the one most likely to promoterealization of those purposes of the Charter tothe fulfillment of which all Members of theUnited Nations are pledged as well as to securea lasting and mutually acceptable solution ofthe complaints which have been made.

THE ASSEMBLY THEREFORE RESOLVES THATThe International Court of Justice is re-

quested to give an advisory opinion on thequestion whether the matters referred to in the


Indian application are, under Article 2, para-graph 7 of the Charter, essentially within thedomestic jurisdiction of the Union.

The Polish delegation submitted an amend-ment to the joint resolution of Sweden, theUnited Kingdom and the United States con-taining the following points: (1) the authorityof the General Assembly to deal with the matterwas undeniable; (2) the treatment of Indiansin the Union of South Africa impaired friendlyrelations between two Member States of theUnited Nations; (3) the legislation now in forcein the Union should be abolished or amended,so as to remove discrimination; (4) the twoGovernments should report to the second ses-sion of the General Assembly on the measurestaken to this end.

The following further draft resolution wassubmitted by the delegation of Colombia:

1. WHEREAS the following proposal wasunanimously approved by the General As-sembly at its session of 19 November 1946:

"The General Assembly of the United Nationsdeclares that it is in the higher interests ofHumanity to put an immediate end to re-ligious and so-called racial persecutions anddiscrimination, and calls on the Governmentsand responsible authorities to conform bothto the letter and to the spirit of the Charterof the United Nations, and to take the mostprompt and energetic steps to that end."2. WHEREAS the Indian delegation to this

Assembly has requested the Assembly to takeaction with a view to the modification of thelaws of the Union of South Africa whichestablish racial discrimination against theIndians.

RESOLVES1. To request the International Court of

Justice to give an advisory opinion on thefollowing legal questions:

(a) Whether the Members of the UnitedNations, in accordance with the Preambleand Article 1, paragraph 3 of the Charter,are under obligation to amend immediatelytheir internal legislation when it establishesracial discrimination incompatible with thetext of the Charter.(b) Whether the Members of the United Na-tions are entitled in the future to enactinternal legislation embodying racial dis-crimination.(c) Whether laws of racial discriminationconstitute, or may be alleged by States toconstitute matters of internal jurisdiction onwhich the General Assembly is debarred frommaking recommendations to the State orStates concerned, to the Security Council orto the Economic and Social Council.2. To request the Members of the United Na-

tions to inform the Secretary-General before31 March 1947 of such of their internal lawsas may establish racial discrimination, and tofurnish him with the text of such laws. Thisinformation and the respective laws shall bepublished and made known by the Secretary-General to all Members of the Organization.

At the fifth meeting of the Joint First andSixth Committee on November 28, 1946, therepresentative of China proposed the establish-ment of a small sub-committee, including therepresentatives of India and the Union ofSouth Africa, to study the various proposalsbefore the Committee and to submit a draftresolution suggesting a basis for resumptionof negotiations by the two parties concernedfor a satisfactory settlement of the case. Therepresentative of Columbia submitted a similarproposal as an amendment to the Chinese reso-lution.

The representative of India opposed the ap-pointment of a sub-committee as he did notthink that there was any sound basis for acontinuation of negotiations. Moreover, boththe representatives of India and South Africarefused to sit on a sub-committee, but insistedon a vote in the plenary Committee on theprinciples involved. The Chinese and Colombiandelegations therefore withdrew their proposals.

At the sixth meeting of the Joint First andSixth Committee on November 30, 1946, therepresentative of India stated that his delega-tion was satisfied that it had obtained a fulldiscussion of the vital issues at stake. So asnot to seem vindicative and in order to facilitatethe voting, the Indian representative withdrewhis resolution in favor of the more conciliatorytext submitted jointly by the representativesof France and Mexico. The representative ofSouth Africa withdrew his resolution in favorof the joint resolution of Sweden, the UnitedKingdom and the United States. A vote wasthen taken on the French-Mexican text, whichthe Committee adopted by 24 votes to 19, with6 abstentions.

At the 50th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on December 7, 1946, the representa-tive of South Africa stated that the vote in theCommittee had been indecisive. The resolutionhad been adopted by only 24 votes, less thanan absolute majority of all of the Membersof the United Nations. Moreover, under thevoting procedure, the Committee had not reallydealt with the South African suggestion to referthe matter to the International Court of Justice.


To condemn a Member State of the UnitedNations on very grave charges by such a votewould be monstrous and a course which theGeneral Assembly could not countenance. Heurged that in all justice and fairness the Gen-eral Assembly was bound to pass its own judg-ment on the matter. Therefore the representa-tive of South Africa resubmitted the text ofthe resolution of Sweden, the United Kingdomand the United States with a slight draftingchange, as an amendment to the resolutionadopted by the Joint First and Sixth Com-mittee.

During the lengthy discussion which ensuedat the 50th, 51st and 52nd plenary meetings ofthe General Assembly, many of the representa-tives restated their points of view as previouslyexpressed in Committee.

Before the Assembly proceeded to a vote thequestion of whether a two-thirds majority wasrequired was debated. In favor of a two-thirdsmajority vote the representative of SouthAfrica, supported by a number of other delega-tions, maintained that all speakers had stressedthe importance of the matter, and that it hadbeen contended that the question impairedfriendly relations between India and SouthAfrica. It was therefore a question affectingthe maintenance of peace and security in thesense of Article 18 of the Charter. Other repre-sentatives, including the representative ofIndia, expressed the view that the enumerationin Article 18, paragraph 3, of categories ofquestions requiring a two-thirds majority wasexhaustive and should be added to only in veryexceptional cases. A decision to refer the matterto the Court would be a question of procedure,and the operative part of the resolution adoptedby the Joint First and Sixth Committee merelycalled on the two Governments concerned toreport to the next session of the General Assem-bly. By a vote of 29 to 24, with 1 abstention, theAssembly decided that a two-thirds majoritywas required.

The General Assembly then rejected theSouth African amendment to the resolution ofthe Joint First and Sixth Committee by a voteof 31 to 21, with 2 abstentions. By 32 votes to15, with 7 abstentions, the General Assemblyadopted the resolution recommended by theJoint First and Sixth Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAVING taken note of the application made

by the Government of India regarding thetreatment of Indians in the Union of SouthAfrica, and having considered the matter:

1. STATES that, because of that treatment,friendly relations between the two MemberStates have been impaired, and unless a satis-factory settlement is reached, these relationsare likely to be further impaired;

of Indians in the Union should be in con-formity with the international obligationsunder the agreements concluded between thetwo Governments, and the relevant provisionsof the Charter;

3. THEREFORE REQUESTS the two Govern-ments to report at the next session of theGeneral Assembly the measures adopted tothis effect.

The Secretary-General transmitted the aboveresolution to the Governments of India and theUnion of South Africa in a letter dated January21, 1947. In his reply, dated April 24, 1947, theMinister of External Affairs of India expressedhis desire to act in full accordance with theterms and spirit of the resolution, and offeredto the Government of the Union of South Africahis co-operation in any steps to implement it.On April 30, 1947, the Secretary-General trans-mitted this information to the representative ofthe Union of South Africa and requested to beinformed of any steps being considered by hisGovernment under the Assembly resolution.

During the months of May and June, theGovernments of India and the Union of SouthAfrica sent to the Secretary-General, for hisinformation, copies of correspondence ex-changed between them on the subject of im-plementing the Assembly's resolution on thetreatment of Indians in the Union of SouthAfrica.

3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL MATTERSa. Activities of the Economic and Social Council

(1) Report of the Economic and Social CouncilThe General Assembly at its 46th plenary

meeting on October 31, 1946, referred to theJoint Second and Third Committee the reportof the Economic and Social Council, which theCouncil had submitted to the General Assemblyin accordance with Article 15, paragraph 2, ofthe Charter and Rule 12 of the Provisional Rulesof Procedure. Most of the questions dealt within the report were covered by other items onthe General Assembly's agenda.

In the course of the general discussion on thereport a number of representatives expressedappreciation of the progress made in the organi-zation of the Council, as well as of the effort

2. Is OF THE OPINION that the treatment


which the Council had made towards the solu-tion of various important economic and socialproblems.

Certain representatives, on the other hand,expressed apprehension concerning the risingcost of projects which the Economic and SocialCouncil might embark upon and recommendedthat wherever possible the Council should re-quest financial reports before making decisions.Some representatives felt that the Council hadfailed to make substantial progress and deploreda tendency to use the Council as a forum forpolitical questions. The view was further ex-pressed that the Council had paid too muchattention to long-term problems at the expenseof urgent immediate tasks. A number of Latin-American representatives considered that rep-resentatives of Latin-American countries hadbeen elected to fewer posts on the commissionsof the Economic and Social Council than theirvoting strength in the General Assembly wouldseem to have entitled them to. The GeneralAssembly should therefore recommend to theCouncil that it strive for a better geographicaldistribution.

At the first meeting of the Joint Second andThird Committee the New Zealand representa-tive submitted a draft resolution noting withsatisfaction the work accomplished by the Coun-cil and drawing its attention to the remarksmade in the Joint Second and Third Committeeand during the general debate in the GeneralAssembly.

Certain delegations expressed the opinionthat there was no need for such a general reso-lution, since most questions considered by theEconomic and Social Council had been referredto the General Assembly and were being dealtwith in separate resolutions. The Joint Com-mittee, however, at its third meeting on Novem-ber 23, 1946, adopted the resolution submittedby the representative of New Zealand.

At its 66th plenary meeting on December 15,1946, the General Assembly adopted the resolu-tion recommended by the Joint Second and ThirdCommittee by 43 votes, with no opposition and3 abstentions. The resolution read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAVING CONSIDERED the report of the Eco-

nomic and Social Council submitted to itunder Article 15, paragraph 2, of the Charter,and rule 12 of the provisional rules of procedureof the General Assembly;

NOTES with satisfaction that the Economicand Social Council has made substantial progresstoward its organization for the effective fulfil-ment of its functions and responsibilities;

NOTES also with satisfaction, the effortswhich the Economic and Social Council is mak-ing to solve the many difficult economic andsocial problems with which the world is con-fronted as a consequence of the recent worldwar;

DRAWS the attention of the Economic andSocial Council to the remarks made in the JointSecond and Third Committee and during thegeneral debate in the General Assembly.

(2) Request of the World Federation of TradeUnions for a closer connection with the Economic

and Social CouncilIn connection with the general discussion on

the report of the Economic and Social Council,the question of the consultative status of theWorld Federation of Trade Unions with respectto the Council was raised.

In a letter from the WFTU dated November12, 1946, which was sponsored by the delegationof France and circulated among the membersof the Joint Second and Third Committee, theWFTU expressed its desire to establish closerrelations with the Economic and Social Council.On the basis of the Economic and Social Coun-cil's decision of June 21, 1946, the letter stated,co-operation between the WFTU and the Coun-cil could be achieved only by indirect contacts,with the prior approval of the Council's Stand-ing Committee on Arrangements for Consulta-tion with Non-Governmental Organizations.The WFTU, however, whose membership wasgreater than that of any other non-govern-mental organization and whose essential pur-pose was the improvement of social and eco-nomic conditions, the letter stated further, wasclosely bound up with all the fields of the Coun-cil's activities. Its proposals, therefore, shouldbe exempted from preliminary screening. Hencethe WFTU requested (1) the right to submitto the Council questions for insertion in theprovisional agenda, and (2) the right to presentwritten and verbal statements to the Council onall matters of concern to the WFTU.

Supporting the request of the WFTU, therepresentative of the U.S.S.R. submitted thefollowing draft resolution:

HAVING CONSIDERED the application of theWorld Federation of Trade Unions to estab-lish close connection with the Economic andSocial Council and taking into consideration theEconomic and Social Council's resolution of 21June 1946, that "most close consultative con-nection should be established with the WorldFederation of Trade Unions,"

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS thatthe Economic and Social Council grant to theWorld Federation of Trade Unions:


1. The right to submit for consideration bythe Economic and Social Council questionsintended for inclusion in the provisionalagenda in accordance with the procedureapplicable at the present time to specializedagencies;2. the right to submit to the Council writtenand oral communications on all matters ofinterest to the Federation.The representative of the U.S.S.R. subse-

quently accepted certain drafting changes pro-posed by the representative of Belgium.

A number of delegations opposed the U.S.S.R.resolution on the ground that the arrangementswhich the Economic and Social Council hadmade for consultation with the WFTU wereentirely adequate. According to Article 71 ofthe Charter, moreover, it was the duty of theEconomic and Social Council to arrange forconsultation with non-governmental organiza-tions. Therefore it was not appropriate that theGeneral Assembly should give instructions tothe Council regarding arrangements which theCouncil had already established after carefulconsideration of all the factors involved.

As to the specific requests of the WFTU, itwas contended that to give the WFTU the rightto submit items for inclusion in the Council'sagenda would place the WFTU in the sameposition as the specialized agencies. This wascontrary to Articles 70 and 71 of the Charter,which required the Economic and Social Coun-cil to make a distinction between specializedagencies and non-governmental organizations.To grant the WFTU the right to submit writtenand verbal statements to the Council wouldplace the WFTU in a position superior to thatof specialized agencies and governments notrepresented on the Council, which was contraryto the principles of the Charter. Finally, it wasmaintained that if the WFTU were given theright to deal directly with the Economic andSocial Council, the same right would have to beexended to all non-governmental organizationsin category (a)1, with the result that the Coun-cil would no longer have control of its ownagenda and its work might be hampered bynumerous conflicting items submitted by differ-ent organizations.

In support of the U.S.S.R. resolution it wasmaintained that the request of the WFTU wasin full accord with Article 71 of the Charter,for "consultation" in the sense of this Articlenot only did not exclude participation at meet-ings, but on the contrary presupposed suchparticipation.

A number of delegations supported the pro-

posal that the WFTU be granted the right tosubmit items for inclusion in the Council's pro-visional agenda, but considered that the recom-mendation that the WFTU be given the right toparticipate in the Council's meetings went toofar.

At its third meeting on November 23, 1946,the Joint Second and Third Committee adoptedthe preamble and the first part of the U.S.S.R.resolution by 22 votes to 15, with 2 abstentions.The second part, containing the recommenda-tion that the WFTU be granted the right topresent written and verbal statements to theEconomic and Social Council on all matters ofconcern to the WFTU, was rejected by 24 votesto 14, with 3 abstentions.

When the General Assembly considered thereport of the Joint Second and Third Committeeat its 66th plenary meeting on December 15,1946, the representative of the U.S.S.R. statedthat he considered the Committee's decisionwrong, as it restricted the justified rights ofsuch an authoritative international organiza-tion of workers as the WFTU. Participation bythe WFTU in the tasks of the Economic andSocial Council would only facilitate the workof the Council and thereby assist in betteringthe work of the organization as a whole. Therepresentative of the U.S.S.R. therefore resub-mitted his proposal, previously rejected by theJoint Second and Third Committee, as anamendment to the resolution as adopted by theCommittee.

The General Assembly defeated the U.S.S.R.amendment by 28 votes to 15, with 10 absten-tions, and adopted the following resolutionrecommended by the Joint Second and ThirdCommittee by 25 votes to 22, with 6 abstentions.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYHAVING CONSIDERED the request of the

World Federation of Trade Unions, dated 12November 1946, for the establishment of acloser connection with the Economic and SocialCouncil and taking into account the decision ofthe Council of 21 June 1946 "that most closeconsultative connection should be establishedwith the World Federation of Trade Unions,"

RECOMMENDS to the Economic and SocialCouncil that it give to the World Federation ofTrade Unions the right to submit to the Eco-nomic and Social Council questions for insertionin the provisional agenda, in accordance withthe procedure now applicable to specializedagencies.

1 i.e., "organizations which have a basic interestin most of the activities of the Economic andSocial Council, and are closely linked with theeconomic or social life of the areas which theyrepresent."


(3) Consultative Arrangements withNon-Governmental Organizations

After the Joint Second and Third Committeehad voted in favor of the proposal that theGeneral Assembly recommend to the Economicand Social Council that it give to the WFTUthe right to submit to the Council questions forinsertion in the provisional agenda, the repre-sentative of the United States declared that theprinciple of the equality of treatment of non-governmental organizations in the same cate-gory had to be adhered to. He therefore sub-mitted a draft resolution to the effect that theGeneral Assembly recommend to the Economicand Social Council that it grant to all non-governmental organizations in category (a) allthe rights which had been granted to theWFTU.

In opposing this resolution several repre-sentatives remarked that the United Statesrepresentative was contradicting himself, ashe had previously, on grounds of principle, op-posed the WFTU's request for closer collabora-tion with the Economic and Social Council.Methods of consultation with each organization,it was contended, had to be examined in eachcase according to its individual merits. Therecould be no general approach as envisaged inthe United States resolution. Non-governmentalorganizations in category (a) included somenational organizations, and it was not desirableto extend to such organizations the same privi-leges as were granted to such internationalorganizations as the WFTU.

Other representatives considered that theCommittee's decision to grant the WFTU theright to submit agenda items had been wrong.Although it was just in principle that similarrights should be accorded to organizations witha similar status, these representatives opposedthe United States resolution because in theirview it would extend the effect of a wrong de-cision already made.

At its fourth meeting on November 26, 1946,the Joint Second and Third Committee adoptedthe resolution submitted by the representativeof the United States by 19 votes to 13, with 11abstentions.

The representative of Greece considered thatthe resolution adopted by the Committee placednon-governmental organizations on the samefooting as specialized agencies. The Commit-tee's recommendation therefore went beyondthe powers conferred upon the Economic andSocial Council by Article 71 of the Charter.

Hence the representative of Greece submitteda draft resolution requesting an advisory opin-ion on the matter from the Sixth Committee(Legal). He withdrew his proposal after theChairman of the Committee and several repre-sentatives had expressed the view that the reso-lution was out of order in view of the Commit-tee's previous vote.

The General Assembly adopted the resolutionrecommended by the Joint Second and ThirdCommittee at its 66th plenary meeting on De-cember 15, 1846, by 33 votes to 11, with 8abstentions. The text of the resolution was asfollows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYHAVING CONSIDERED the report of the Eco-

nomic and Social Council concerning arrange-ments for consultation with non-governmentalorganizations.

TAKES NOTE of the action of the Coun-cil to place certain non-governmental organi-zations in category (a);

EXPRESSES agreement with the generalprinciple that all non-governmental organiza-tions in category (a) should receive equaltreatment in respect of consultative arrange-ments with the Council.

The delegation of Argentina submitted thefollowing proposal to the Joint Second andThird Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITEDNATIONS, AT THE SECOND PART OF ITS FIRSTSESSION, RESOLVES

That the Economic and Social Council, onrequest, extend the benefit of the arrangementsfor consultation with non-governmental organi-zations to the labor federations of the AmericanRepublics, corporate bodies representing theworking classes of the said countries, in order,with their co-operation, to supplement the studyof the regional problems affecting the Americanpeoples and that they may duly participate inthe work of the Council, in accordance withArticle 71 of the Charter.

In submitting this resolution, the representa-tive of Argentina stated, it was the purpose ofhis delegation to make it possible for the tradeunions of Argentina to be heard by the Councilon matters which concerned them.

Several representatives objected that directconsultation with essentially national organiza-tions was not justified in this case, as mostlabor organizations of the American Republicsbelonged to the WFTU, which represented theinterests of labor in relation with the Economicand Social Council. Other representatives con-sidered that the Economic and Social Council


had the needed authority to consult with anyinternational or national organization it wished.The Argentine resolution, therefore, was anunnecessary repetition of existing provisions.

By a vote of 27 to 9, with 2 abstentions, theJoint Second and Third Committee rejected theresolution submitted by the Argentine dele-gation.

b. Relations with Specialized Agencies(1) Approval of Agreements with SpecializedAgencies and Relations with Specialized Agencies

In accordance with Article 63 of the Charter,the Economic and Social Council, during itssecond session, concluded agreements betweenthe United Nations and the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO), the United Na-tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Or-ganization (UNESCO), and the Food and Agri-culture Organization of the United Nations(FAO). During its third session the Councilconcluded an agreement between the UnitedNations and the International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO). These agreements weresubmitted to the General Assembly for its ap-proval at the second part of the first session.

The general question of relations between theUnited Nations and the specialized agencies wasincluded in the agenda of the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly at therequest of the delegation of France.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred these twoitems to the Joint Second and Third Committee.As the Committee considered that the approvalof agreements with specialized agencies and thequestion of relations with these agencies wereclosely interrelated it decided to discuss theitems jointly.

The representative of France submitted adraft resolution recommending that the Gen-eral Assembly approve the proposed agreementswith ILO, UNESCO, FAO and ICAO. With aview to co-ordinating the activities of the spe-cialized agencies with those of the UnitedNations, the resolution further instructed theEconomic and Social Council to report to theGeneral Assembly within the space of threeyears on the progress of collaboration betweenthe United Nations and the specialized agencies.

In the general discussion the need for co-ordination of the policies and activities of thespecialized agencies and the Economic andSocial Council was stressed. Some representa-tives expressed apprehension at the mounting

cost involved in the establishment of new spe-cialized agencies and were of the opinion thatno further specialized agencies should be estab-lished. More effective co-ordination would bepossible if the Economic and Social Councilentrusted certain tasks to its own commissionsinstead of adding to the growing number ofspecialized agencies. On the other hand, theview was expressed that the Economic andSocial Council should limit itself to the taskof co-ordinating the work of the specializedagencies and should not deal directly with sub-stantive matters.

As to the agreements submitted for approvalby the General Assembly, the representative ofthe U.S.S.R. was of the opinion that certainarticles contained in the agreements were con-trary to the provisions of the Charter, in par-ticular those permitting specialized agencies toparticipate in the work not only of the Economicand Social Council but also of the TrusteeshipCouncil, and the provisions concerning bud-getary and financial arrangements. The U.S.S.R.representative therefore proposed to add to theFrench resolution a recommendation to theeffect that the Economic and Social Counciltogether with the specialized agencies con-cerned should re-examine the agreements be-tween the United Nations and the specializedagencies with a view to bringing them intocomplete accord with the Charter.

In opposition to the the U.S.S.R. amendmentit was stated that the Joint Second and ThirdCommittee was not competent to make anychanges in the draft agreements negotiated bythe Economic and Social Council with the spe-cialized agencies. Acceptance of the U.S.S.R.amendment would be tantamount to non-rati-fication of the agreements and would necessitatetheir renegotiation. The Committee could notat the same time approve the agreements andadopt an amendment which implied that theseagreements were not in accord with the Charterof the United Nations.

By a vote of 21 to 3, with 6 abstentions, theJoint Second and Third Committee at its eighthmeeting on December 3, 1946, rejected theamendment submitted by the representative ofthe U.S.S.R.

Several representatives expressed the viewthat the agreement with ICAO should not beapproved, because Franco Spain was a Memberof PICAO (Provisional International Civil


Aviation Organization) and might become aMember of ICAO by ratifying the InternationalCivil Aviation Convention. The representativeof Poland therefore proposed to amend the reso-lution submitted by the French representative,to the effect that the General Assembly approvethe draft agreement "... with the exception ofthe agreement with the International CivilAviation Organization. In case Franco Spain isnot a Member of the International Civil Avia-tion Organization, the agreement with that Or-ganization is considered approved."

Several representatives who favored the ex-clusion of Spain from all specialized agenciespointed out that the First (Political and Se-curity) Committee of the General Assembly wasdealing with the question of the relations of theUnited Nations with Spain; hence it was notnecessary for the Joint Second and Third Com-mittee to act separately. The representative ofChile therefore submitted an amendment to theFrench resolution recommending that the Gen-eral Assembly approve the agreement withICAO, "provided that . . . that Organizationcomplies with the decision of the General As-sembly regarding Franco Spain." The represen-tative of Belgium submitted a similar amend-ment.

The representatives of Belgium and Polandsubsequently withdrew their amendments infavor of the Chilean text, whereupon the repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R, submitted the textproposed by the representative of Poland as hisown amendment. The Committee rejected thislatter amendment by 20 votes to 6, with 4 ab-stentions, and adopted the one submitted by therepresentative for Chile by 24 votes, with 7abstentions.

As indicated, the resolution submitted by therepresentative of France contained a recom-mendation that the Economic and Social Coun-cil should report to the General Assembly withinthe space of three years concerning the progressof collaboration between the Council and thespecialized agencies. The representative ofChina suggested that no time limit should beset for such a report. The General Assemblyshould be free to review the relations of theUnited Nations with the specialized agenciesat any time it considered desirable. The repre-sentative of Australia proposed that the Eco-nomic and Social Council should render an

annual report to the General Assembly. By 10votes to 5, with 8 abstentions, the Committeerejected the Chinese proposal. The Australianproposal was likewise lost, the vote being 10to 10.

At its 10th meeting on December 8, 1845,the Joint Second and Third Committee voted toadopt, with some drafting changes, the resolu-tion submitted by the representative of Franceand amended by the Committee. The GeneralAssembly adopted the resolution presented bythe Committee at its 85th plenary meeting onDecember 14, 1946, by 44 votes, without opposi-tion and with 5 abstentions. The text of theresolution was as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,WHEREAS agreements entered into by the

Economic and Social Council with certain spe-cialized agencies are now before the GeneralAssembly for approval:

RESOLVES to approve the agreements withthe International Labour Organization, theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific, andCultural Organization, the Food and Agri-culture Organization of the United Nations,and the International Civil Aviation Organiza-tion, provided that in the case of the agreementwith the International Civil Aviation Organi-zation, that Organization complies with anydecision of the General Assembly regardingFranco Spain.

FURTHERMORE, considering it essential thatthe policies and activities of the specializedagencies and of the organs of the UnitedNations should be co-ordinated:

REQUESTS the Economic and Social Coun-cil to follow carefully the progress of such col-laboration;

INSTRUCTS the Economic and Social Councilto report on this question to the General As-sembly within the space of three years, so as tokeep the General Assembly informed and inorder that the Council and the General As-sembly may, if necessary, and after consulta-tion with the said agencies, formulate suitableproposals for improving such collaboration.

In accordance with instructions of the Gen-eral Assembly the relevant articles in the draftagreements with the specialized agencies onrelations between the specialized agencies andthe International Court of Justice were referredto the Sixth Committee (Legal) for examina-tion and for report to the Joint Second andThird Committee.

By a resolution of October 17, 1946, the Eco-nomic and Social Council had recommended thatall four specialized agencies — ILO, FAO,


UNESCO and ICAO — be granted general au-thorization to ask advisory opinions from theInternational Court of Justice.1

In the discussion which ensued at the 27thand 28th meetings of the Sixth Committee heldon December 3 and 4, 1946, respectively, a num-ber of representatives expressed the opinionthat it was neither necessary nor desirable togrant a general authorization to the specializedagencies to seek advisory opinions from theInternational Court of Justice. The specializedagencies could apply for authorization, in eachcase, to the Economic and Social Council or tothe General Assembly. The specialized agencies,it was maintained, should not be placed on thesame footing as the Economic and Social Coun-cil. The privilege of asking for advisory opin-ions from the Court should be granted only inspecial cases, in order to maintain the prestigeof the Court and to avoid overburdening it withwork.

In favor of granting a general authorizationto the specialized agencies it was maintained thatit would make for an unwieldly and time-wast-ing procedure if the specialized agencies wererequired to submit their requests for advisoryopinions through the Economic and Social Coun-cil or the General Assembly. Frequent requestsfor advisory opinions would facilitate the crea-tion of an international jurisprudence whichwould serve as the basis for the codificationof international law. On the other hand, theauthorization granted to the specialized agen-cies would be limited to matters within theircompetence, so that there was no real danger ofoverburdening the Court with work.

The representative of India submitted a reso-lution to the effect that the Sixth Committeewas not in favor of authorizing the specializedagencies to request advisory opinions from theInternational Court. The Committee rejectedthis resolution by 26 votes to 7, with 4 absten-tions.

The representative of Saudi Arabia consid-ered that the General Assembly could grantauthorization only by a unilateral act and notby an agreement. The relevant articles shouldtherefore be omitted from the agreements withthe specialized agencies. An amendment to thiseffect submitted by the Saudi Arabian repre-sentative was rejected by the Sixth Committeeby 24 votes to 14, with 2 abstentions.

The representative of Mexico, supported bythe representatives of Chile and the U.S.S.R.,proposed granting specialized agencies the rightto ask advisory opinions from the Court subject

to the approval of the Economic and SocialCouncil, in accordance with the clause containedin the draft agreement with UNESCO. Therepresentative of France, supported by the rep-resentative of Belgium, submitted a resolutionstating that the Committee favored grantingthe specialized agencies the general authoriza-tion proposed by the Economic and Social Coun-cil, it being understood that the General Assem-bly might at any time revoke this authorization.

Voting separately on the agreements withILO, FAO, UNESCO and ICAO, the SixthCommittee in each case rejected the proposalof the representative of Mexico and adopted theFranco-Belgian proposal. By letter of Decem-ber 5, 1946, the Sixth Committee notified theJoint Second and Third Committee of its de-cision.(2) Budgetary and Financial Relationships with

Specialized AgenciesThe Norwegian delegation to the third ses-

sion of the Economic and Social Council hadsubmitted an item on the subject of a consoli-dated budget and common fiscal services for theUnited Nations and the specialized agencies,but had later withdrawn it from the agendabecause of the lack of adequate time for fulldiscussion. As several other delegations hadexpressed their interest in the subject, the Sec-retary-General submitted a memorandum to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly on the possible development of com-mon fiscal services or of a consolidated budgetfor the United Nations and the specializedagencies.

The General Assembly referred the questionto the Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary) for consideration. While the ma-jority of representatives were in agreement asto the necessity of close budgetary and financialrelationships between the United Nations andthe specialized agencies, it was the general feel-ing of the Committee that further study was1 The draft agreement with ILO contained a generalauthorization. FAO had refused to accept a morerestricted clause than that contained in the agree-ment with ILO and had approved the draft agree-ment with the United Nations, subject to furtherdiscussion of this question. The draft agreementwith UNESCO required that agency to notify theEconomic and Social Council of its intention to askan advisory opinion of the International Court ofJustice. If the Economic and Social Council did notapprove the request, UNESCO could appeal to theGeneral Assembly. UNESCO was willing to acceptsuch a clause. The Assembly of ICAO was notscheduled to meet until April 1947 and no actionhad therefore been taken by ICAO on the draftagreement which PICAO had negotiated with theEconomic and Social Council.


necessary before the Committee could decidewhat form such relationships should take. Somerepresentatives expressed hope that a consoli-dated budget might be established at a futuredate. Others opposed the establishment of aconsolidated budget on the ground that theGeneral Assembly under the Charter had noauthority to approve such a budget.

At the 29th meeting of the Fifth Committeeon November 21, 1946, the Committee's Rap-porteur submitted a draft resolution which theCommittee adopted with some drafting changes,At its 65th plenary meeting on December14, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the following resolution proposed bythe Fifth Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CONSIDERING paragraph 3 of Article 17 of

the Charter of the United Nations providingthat:

"The Assembly shall consider and approveany financial and budgetary arrangementswith specialized agencies referred to in Arti-cle 57 and shall examine the administrativebudget of such specialized agencies with aview to making recommendations to the agen-cies concerned.";CONSIDERING the views expressed by the

various delegations at the twenty-seventh meet-ing of the Fifth Committee that a system ofclose budgetary and financial relationships be-tween the United Nations and the specializedagencies is desirable for giving effect to theprovisions of the Charter;

REQUESTS the Secretary-General, in con-sultation with the Advisory Committee on Ad-ministrative and Budgetary Questions,

1. To continue exploratory discussions withthe specialized agencies and to report andmake recommendations to the next regularsession of the General Assembly;2. To append, if possible, to the United Na-tions budget for 1948, in the form of informa-tive annexes, the budgets or proposed budgetsof the specialized agencies for 1948 with aview to presenting to the General Assemblya comprehensive estimate of expenditures ofthe United Nations and specialized agencies;3. To explore possible arrangements by whichthe budgets of the several specialized agenciesmight be presented to the General Assemblyfor approval;4. To develop, at the earliest possible date inaccordance with the budgetary and financialprovisions of the agreements with the spe-cialized agencies, arrangements for commonfiscal controls and common budgetary, admin-istrative and financial practices.

c. Report of the Committee on UNRRABy a resolution of February 1, 1946, the Gen-

eral Assembly had established a Committee on

UNRRA. In accordance with the Assembly'sresolution the Committee submitted a report onits activities to the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly.

The Second Committee (Economic and Finan-cial), to which this report was referred, unani-mously adopted a resolution submitted by therepresentative of the United Kingdom at its26th meeting on December 5, 1946. Likewise byunanimous vote, the General Assembly at its55th plenary meeting on December 11, 1946,adopted the following resolution recommendedby the Second Committee:

The General Assembly, at its twenty-first ple-nary meeting on 1 February 1946, established aCommittee to encourage support of UNRRAduring the final stages of its work.

The General Assembly has now received areport on the work of the Committee and hasnoted with satisfaction the extent to whichMember Governments have supported the activ-ities of UNRRA and have thus contributed sosubstantially to the relief and rehabilitation ofthose countries which had been devastated bythe war.

The General Assembly has learned from thereport of the Committee that, although expectedcontributions have been realized in a very largemeasure, a small proportion has not yet beenmade available, and that the Chairman of theCommittee has been requested to draw the at-tention of the Governments concerned to thedesirability of completing their contributionsin order that UNRRA might receive the fullamount required for the completion of its ac-tivities.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,WARMLY THANKS the Chairman and mem-bers of the Committee on UNRRA for theirefforts in fulfilment of the task entrustedto them;

URGES Member Governments concerned toconsider sympathetically the communicationfrom the Chairman of the Committee onUNRRA and to make available the balanceof their expected contributions, in order thatUNRRA may have at its disposal for the com-pletion of its task the full amount recom-mended by the UNRRA Council.

d. Relief Needs after the Termination of UNRRA

In its resolution of February 1, 1946, estab-lishing a Committee on UNRRA, the GeneralAssembly instructed the Secretary-General tomake arrangements with the Director-Generalof UNRRA whereby the General Assemblymight be furnished with full reports on thework of UNRRA. In accordance with this reso-


lution the Director-General of UNRRA sub-mitted an extensive report to the second partof the first session of the General Assembly onthe progress made towards economic rehabilita-tion in the countries being assisted by UNRRA.

The General Assembly also received a recom-mendation from the Economic and Social Coun-cil on the question of relief needs in 1947 afterthe termination of UNRRA's activities. At itsfifth session the Council of UNRRA had adopteda resolution recommending to the General As-sembly of the United Nations the establishmentor designation of an agency to review the needsin 1947 for urgent imports of basic essentialsof life for the various receiving countries ofUNRRA and to make recommendations regard-ing financial assistance that might be requiredto meet such needs. By a resolution of October3, 1946, the Economic and Social Council en-dorsed the recommendation of the Council ofUNRRA and recommended that the GeneralAssembly take appropriate action as soon aspossible.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the ques-tion of post-UNRRA relief to the Second Com-mittee (Economic and Financial) for considera-tion. The Second Committee discussed the ques-tion at its 12th, 16th, 17th and 18th meetingsheld on November 11, 14, 16 and 19 respec-tively, and again at its 26th, 27th, 28th and 29thmeetings on December 5, 6, 7 and 9 respectively.

The Director-General of UNRRA, who wasinvited to participate in the Committee's dis-cussions, told the Committee that the countriesreceiving UNRRA aid would be faced with aconsiderable deficit of foodstuffs after the ter-mination of UNRRA's work in 1947. He urgedthat the United Nations adopt definite plans toremedy these deficits and continue to provideassistance on an international basis. To thisend he proposed the establishment of a UnitedNations Emergency Food Fund of at least$400,000,000 to which the Members of theUnited Nations would be called upon to con-tribute in money or in goods. This fund wouldoperate until after the 1947 harvest, at whichtime the General Assembly could determinewhether further action would be necessary.

The delegation of Denmark submitted a draftresolution embodying the proposal of the Direc-tor-General of UNRRA for the establishment ofa United Nations Emergency Food Board.

The majority of the representatives who par-ticipated in the discussion stressed the fact thatcountries which hitherto had received UNRRA

aid would need further assistance in 1947 toprovide for imports of food and other basiccommodities; that existing agencies such as theFood and Agriculture Organization, the Inter-national Bank for Reconstruction and Develop-ment and the International Monetary Fundcould deal only with long-range problems; andthat the immediate needs therefore would haveto be met through some other form of inter-national action. Hence most representativesfavored continued relief, after the terminationof UNRRA, through an international agencysuch as that recommended by the Director-General of UNRRA and the Danish delegation.

The representatives of the United States andthe United Kingdom, however, the two largestpotential contributors to any international re-lief agency which the General Assembly mightset up, opposed the establishment of such anagency. The representative of the United Statesconsidered that the world economic situationhad improved considerably and that certainnations which had received UNRRA aid werenow able to export their own products. HisGovernment was aware, the United States rep-resentative stated, that some countries stillneeded relief, but it was opposed to the estab-lishment of an international organization tohandle the residual problem. Moreover, UNRRAresources would in the main be exhausted bythe end of February. The most critical periodwould be the late winter and early spring. Itwas imperative, therefore, to move quickly andthe United States Government favored simplerand more direct methods of relief than the es-tablishment of an international agency. Hence,the United States representative submitted adraft resolution to the Second Committee pro-viding for relief to be furnished by Membersof the United Nations on a bilateral and volun-tary basis. Specifically the resolution:

(1) directed the Secretary-General to trans-mit to all Members of the United Nations andinternational organizations concerned informa-tion on the needs for urgent imports of basiccommodities in 1947 and on the financial as-sistance which might be required to meet suchneeds;

(2) called upon Members of the United Na-tions to assist in the furnishing of relief duringthe ensuing year and to develop their reliefprograms with the greatest possible speed;

(3) invited contributing governments to co-ordinate their respective programs by informalconsultation so as to achieve the maximumresults from their efforts.


The representative of the United Kingdomsupported the resolution of the United Statesrepresentative. He suggested that Members ofthe United Nations which were receiving orcontributing relief, should use the Secretariatof the United Nations as a clearing house forinformation and the co-ordination of relief.

As a compromise, certain delegations sug-gested that contributions of money or in kindshould be made by Members of the United Na-tions on a voluntary basis, with a UnitedNations committee, however, handling the taskof collection and distribution. The representa-tive of Brazil submitted a draft resolution whichrecommended the establishment of such aninternational pool of voluntary contributions.This pool was to be created and administeredby a special committee consisting of representa-tives of the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations, of UNRRA, of the Sub-Commission onDevastated Areas of the Economic and SocialCouncil, of FAO, of the International Emer-gency Food Council and of the InternationalBank for Reconstruction. This special committee,moreover, was (a) to survey essential food re-quirements of the devastated areas in 1947, theirneed for imports, and the prospective food sup-ply position in the exporting areas; (b) to de-termine what proportion of those needs couldbe met with available exchange resources orexpected foreign exchange receipts; (c) to con-sult with the governments of the countries re-quiring assistance and of potential supplyingcountries concerning the extension of creditfacilities to the needy countries, either on a longor a short-term basis; and (d) to study thepossibility of employing the sum in arrears dueto UNRRA by Member countries, for the cov-erage of part of the needs of the devastatedareas in 1947.

At its 18th meeting on November 19, 1946,the Second Committee (Economic and Finan-cial) appointed a sub-committee of nineteenmembers to prepare a single draft resolution.After thorough discussion in three meetingsthe Sub-Committee was unable to reach anyagreement on the basic issue as to whetherrelief was to be provided on a bilateral andvoluntary basis, as proposed in the UnitedStates resolution, or whether relief was to beprovided through an international agency asproposed in the resolution submitted by therepresentative of Denmark.

In his report to the Second Committee theChairman of the Sub-Committee stated that theoverwhelming majority of the Sub-Committee

had preferred the principle of action by an in-ternational agency. According to ordinary par-liamentary practice, the Sub-Committee wouldhave proceeded to vote on a draft proposal toimplement the principle of international action.The representative of the United States and theUnited Kingdom, however, had explicitly statedbefore the Sub-Committee that they could notbow to the majority in this case and that theywould not adhere to any decision of the Com-mittee which did not meet their point of view.Even if contributions were to be on a voluntarybasis, the representatives of the United Statesand the United Kingdom had informed the Sub-Committee that they would not give their con-tributions in conformity with principles estab-lished by an international agency. They wishedto be free to judge on their own when and whererelief was needed, and were convinced that theneeds which would exist in 1947 could best bemet through bilateral action, which would bemore direct and immediate than action throughan international agency. The representative ofthe U.S.S.R., on the other hand, informed theSub-Committee that his Government was notprepared to make a contribution except to aninternational organization.

Although favoring international action, themajority of the Sub-Committee felt that itwould not serve any useful purpose to vote forthe establishment of an international agencywhich would not receive the support of the twolargest contributing countries. The Sub-Com-mittee therefore did not take a vote on the pro-posals before it, and decided by majority voteto refer the matter back to the Second Commit-tee with the request that the Chairman of theSub-Committee give a factual report.

At the 26th meeting of the Second Committeeon December 5, 1946, the United States resolu-tion was resubmitted in revised form as a reso-lution sponsored jointly by the representativesof the United States, the United Kingdom andBrazil. In addition to the recommendations con-tained in the original United States resolution,the revised resolution (1) recommended that allMembers of the United Nations keep the Secre-tary-General informed concerning their plansfor assisting in meeting relief needs in 1947and the progress of their relief activities; (2)directed the Secretary-General to make avail-able to all Members of the United Nations theinformation thus received, together with infor-mation concerning existing relief needs, inorder that this information might be used bythe Members of the United Nations to facilitate


the co-ordination of their respective relief pro-grams; (3) directed the Secretary-General tofacilitate informal consultation among govern-ments concerning their relief plans and to fur-nish such technical assistance as governmentsmight request.

The Director-General of UNRRA submitteda revised proposal to the Second Committee,which he hoped might be accepted by all mem-bers of the Committee. The resolution proposedthat the General Assembly establish a UnitedNations Emergency Food Board whose func-tions would include:

(a) A review of the needs in 1947 for finan-cing urgent imports of the basic essentials oflife, particularly food, after the termination ofUNRRA programs to the extent that they can-not be otherwise met;

(b) The making of recommendations as tothe financial assistance that might be requiredto meet such needs as are found to exist as aresult of foreign exchange difficulties whichcannot be dealt with by existing agencies;

(c) The making of recommendations to gov-ernments as to allocations of resources whichthey make available for relief purposes on thebasis of need and free from political considera-tions; and

(d) The making of periodic reports at suchtime and in such form as the Economic andSocial Council may provide.

If the Committee should fail to accept thisrevised proposal, the Director-General of UN-RRA urged that at least the following amend-ments to the resolution sponsored jointly bythe representatives of the United States, theUnited Kingdom and Brazil should be adopted:(1) The resolution should state that reliefshould be furnished "when and where needed,"and that it should be free from political consid-erations; (2) provision should be made for for-mal, rather than informal consultation fromtime to time among governments concerningtheir relief plans.

The representatives of the United States andthe United Kingdom opposed the revised resolu-tion of the Director-General of UNRRA. Theywere, however, willing to accept the aboveamendments and submitted a draft of the jointresolution revised accordingly.

In view of the opposition of the United Statesand the United Kingdom to the establishment ofan international agency, the representative ofDenmark withdrew his resolution.

After further discussion at the 26th, 27th and28th meetings of the Second Committee on De-

cember 5, 6, and 7 respectively, the representa-tive of Canada submitted a compromise proposalas an amendment to the United States-UnitedKingdom-Brazil resolution. He proposed that aspecial technical committee be appointed, com-posed of eight experts in the fields of financeand foreign trade to be designated in their per-sonal capacities by the Governments of Brazil,Canada, China, France, Poland, the U.S.S.R.the United Kingdom, and the United States.This committee would study minimum importrequirements of countries which were sufferingfrom considerable deficits in foodstuffs andother basic commodities, it would survey theavailable means of each country to finance suchimports, and would report concerning the finan-cial assistance which might be required. Thereport of the special technical committee wasto be submitted to the Secretary-General forsubmission to Member Governments not laterthan January 15, 1947.

The representatives of the United States andthe United Kingdom were willing to accept theCanadian proposal. The representative of Den-mark and several other representatives whohad supported the principle of internationalaction urged support of the Canadian com-promise for the sake of unanimity, althoughthis compromise fell short of their aims.

At its 29th meeting on December 9,1946, theSecond Committee decided to increase the mem-bership of the proposed special technical com-mittee to ten, adding Argentina and Denmarkto the list of members. The Committee thenunanimously adopted the joint resolution of theUnited States, the United Kingdom and Brazilas amended by the representative of Canada.

As a means of helping to meet relief needsduring 1947, the representative of Norway pro-posed that the General Assembly direct theSecretary-General of the United Nations to con-sider ways and means of collecting and utilizingcontributions by individuals and organizationsall over the world equivalent to the value of oneday's work. This proposal, submitted in the formof an amendment to the joint resolution of theUnited States, the United Kingdom and Brazil,was adopted by the Second Committee at its29th meeting on December 9, 1946, by 33 voteswith 4 abstentions.

At its 56th plenary meeting on December11, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the resolution recommended by theSecond Committee, which read as follows:


THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYTAKING NOTE of the UNRRA Council reso-

lution (No. 100) of 16 August 1946, andof the related resolution adopted by the Eco-nomic and Social Council of 3 October 1946;

RECOGNIZING that certain countries will needfinancial assistance in 1947 to provide forimports of food and other basic essentials oflife;

TAKING NOTE that this need for assistancemay not, in all cases, be entirely met by inter-national institutions and other public and priv-ate agencies available for this purpose;

RECOGNIZING that, in some countries, ifsuch assistance is not provided, there will behunger, privation and suffering during the win-ter, spring and early summer of next year;

TAKING NOTE of the urgent necessity ofmeeting this residual relief need promptly andof the expressed willingness of Members of theUnited Nations to do their part in attainingthis end;

RECOGNIZING the desirability of meetingthis need without wasteful duplication of effort;

CONSIDERING that one of the purposes ofthe United Nations is to be a centre for har-monizing the actions of nations in the attain-ment of their common ends, including inter-national co-operation in solving internationalproblems of an economic and humanitariancharacter;

REAFFIRMING the principle that at no timeshould relief supplies be used as a politicalweapon, and that no discrimination should bemade in the distribution of relief supplies be-cause of race, creed, or political belief:

1. ESTABLISHES: a Special Technical Com-mittee whose functions shall be:

(a) To study the minimum import require-ments of the basic essentials of life, particu-larly food and supplies for agricultural pro-duction of countries which the Committeebelieves might require assistance in the pre-vention of suffering or of economic retro-gression which threatens the supply of thesebasic essentials;(b) To survey the means available to eachcountry concerned to finance such imports;(c) To report concerning the amount of fi-nancial assistance which it believes may berequired in the light of (a) and (b) above.2. DECIDES that the Committee shall con-

sist of ten experts in the field of finance andforeign trade to be designated by the Govern-ments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China,Denmark, France, Poland, Union of SovietSocialist Republics, United Kingdom, andUnited States of America to serve in their indi-vidual capacities and not as representatives ofthe Governments by which they are designated;and urges each Government to select a personof outstanding competence to serve on the Com-mittee.

3. DIRECTS the Secretary-General to trans-mit to the Committee the information called forin the third paragraph of the above-mentionedresolution of the Economic and Social Council.

4. DIRECTS the Committee to submit its re-port to the Secretary-General for submission toMember Governments as soon as possible, butin any event not later than 15 January 1947.

5. CALLS UPON all Members of the UnitedNations to assist in the furnishing of reliefwhen needed and where needed during the en-suing year, by developing their respective pro-grammes with the greatest possible speed and,in appropriate cases, by extending special creditfacilities to the needy countries.

6. RECOMMENDS that all Members of theUnited Nations keep the Secretary-General in-formed concerning their plans for assisting inmeeting relief needs in 1947, and concerning theprogress of their relief activities in this respect.

7. DIRECTS the Secretary-General:(a) To make available to all Members of theUnited Nations the information received pur-suant to paragraph 6 above, in order that thisinformation, together with that transmittedpursuant to paragraph 4 above, may be usedby the Members of the United Nations tofacilitate the co-ordination, without wastefulduplication of effort, of their respective reliefprogrammes and activities;(b) To facilitate informal consultation amongGovernments concerning their relief plansand programmes; and to arrange for suchconsultation among Governments whenever,in his opinion, the purpose of this resolutionwould be promoted thereby;(c) To furnish, within the limitations ofavailable staff and funds, such technical as-sistance in respect of the 1947 relief pro-gramme as Governments may request.8. (a) DIRECTS the Secretary-General toconsider the ways and means of collectingand utilizing contributions, from persons,organizations and peoples all over the world,equivalent to the earnings of one day's work,for the purpose of helping to meet relief needsduring 1947; and to report on the results ofsuch consideration to Member Governmentsand to the Economic and Social Council at theearliest possible date;(b) REQUESTS the Economic and SocialCouncil to study the report made by the Sec-retary-General and to take whatever actionit may deem appropriate in regard to thismatter.9. DIRECTS the Secretary-General to report

at each session of the Economic and SocialCouncil on the activities being carried out un-der this resolution.

Acting immediately upon the Assembly's in-structions, the Secretary-General convened theSpecial Technical Committee referred to in theabove mentioned resolution.


The experts designated as members of thecommittee were as follows: Argentina, Dr. JoséEduardo Picerno; Brazil, Eurico Penteado;Canada, Robert B. Bryce; China, Cheng Pao-nan; Denmark, Henrik Kauffmann; France,René Hoffherr (Albert Dollinger, alternate);Poland, Edward Iwaszkiewicz; the U.S.S.R.,Nikolai I. Feonov; the United Kingdom, J.Hubert Penson; and the United States, DallasW. Dort.

During the course of the sessions certainchanges took place in the personnel of the Com-mittee and the following additional expertsparticipated in the work; Argentina, SalvadorGraziadio; Brazil, Roberto de Oliveira Campos;Canada, Miss H. Dorothy Burwash, J. RichardMurray; Denmark, Jorgen Gelting; Poland,Stanislaw Raczkowski, J. Drewnowski; theU.S.S.R., Alexandre P. Morozov, ValentineKobushko, Ivan Kamenev; and the UnitedStates, Harold B. Cleveland, Peter Strauss.

The Committee was convened to study theminimum import requirements of the basicessentials of life and the means available toeach country concerned to finance such importsand to report upon the amount of financialassistance which it believed might be required.It reported unanimously on January 23, 1947,that relief assistance was required for 1947 inthe following amounts:

Austria $143,500,000Greece 84,300,000Hungary 40,200,000Italy 106,900,000Poland 139,900,000Yugoslavia 68,200,000

$583,000,000It reported further that it was unable to form

any conclusions as to the relief needs of China,Korea, and Albania because of the insufficientdata available, but that this should not precludegovernments from continuing to study this mat-ter with a view to determining what reliefneeds, if any, remained to be met. The Commit-tee had been unable to review the needs of theByelorussian S.S.R. and the Ukrainian S.S.R.because no replies were received from thesetwo countries to the request of the Committeefor information.

The conclusions and the findings of the Com-mittee were transmitted by the Secretary-Gen-eral, during the last week of January 1947, toall Members of the United Nations.

The Assembly resolution quoted above recom-mended that all Members of the United Nationskeep the Secretary-General informed concern-

ing their plans for assisting in meeting reliefneeds in 1947. It directed the Secretary-Generalto make available to all Members the informa-tion thus received and to facilitate informal con-sultation among governments.

Accordingly, the Secretary-General arrangedseveral meetings between representatives ofsome eighteen countries between Januaryand May 1947; at these meetings informalstatements of the plans contemplated bygovernments were presented and problemsof co-ordination discussed. On May 24 theSecretary-General addressed a formal com-munication to all Members of the UnitedNations requesting information concerningtheir plans for assisting in meeting reliefneeds in 1947.

From the information available up to June15, 1947, the Secretary-General stated in hisannual report to the General Assembly, it wasevident that plans designed to meet somewhatover one-half of the total financial assistanceestimated by the Committee as required to meetthe minimum import requirements for the basicessentials of life were receiving the considera-tion of Member Governments. The amounts re-ported likely to become available to individualcountries indicated that the relief needs of theseveral countries, according to the TechnicalCommittee's estimates of their needs, wouldbe met in varying degrees, but that some amongthem seemed unlikely to receive any significantpart of the assistance needed.

e. Transfer to the United Nations of AdvisorySocial Welfare Functions of UNRRA

By a resolution of October 1, 1946, the Eco-nomic and Social Council requested the Secre-tary-General of the United Nations to consultwith the Director-General of UNRRA and tomake studies and formulate recommendationswith a view to the assumption by the UnitedNations of certain important advisory func-tions in the field of social welfare carried onby UNRRA.

In accordance with this resolution the Secre-tary-General arranged for joint consultationsbetween representatives of UNRRA and theUnited Nations Secretariat, in an effort to ob-tain a clear idea of the extent and cost of thefunctions performed by UNRRA. On the basisof information obtained as a result of theseconsultations, the Secretary-General formu-lated his recommendations and submitted themto the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly.


The Secretary-General estimated that themost important advisory functions carried onby UNRRA could be continued with a person-nel totaling 51 advisers and administrative as-sistants. The expenses of this personnel wouldtotal $509,689. In addition, the Secretary-Gen-eral suggested that the General Assembly mightwish to continue UNRRA's programs as regards(1) training fellowships for social welfare spe-cialists, (2) the furnishing of material fordemonstration and technical training in the fieldof rehabilitation of physically handicapped per-sons, and (3) distribution of literature on socialwelfare questions. The Secretary-General esti-mated the total expense of these programs (in-cluding expenses for advisory functions) at$894,239.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the Secre-tary-General's report to the Third Committee(Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), which inturn requested a Sub-Committee to study andreport on this question. At its 41st meeting onDecember 7, 1946, the Third Committee con-sidered the draft resolution submitted by theSub-Committee, which recommended that theGeneral Assembly :

(1) authorize the Secretary-General to makeprovision for the continuance of certain of theurgent and important advisory functions car-ried on by UNRRA;

(2) authorize the Secretary-General to in-clude in the budget of the United Nations for1947 the necessary funds for the continuanceof these functions;

(3) request the Secretary-General to reportto the Social Commission of the Economic andSocial Council on the measures he would takein compliance with the General Assembly's reso-lution, and request the Commission during itsfirst session to formulate recommendations con-cerning the continued action required to carryon the essential activities of UNRRA in the fieldof social welfare.

This draft resolution had not been unani-mously agreed to by the Sub-Committee. As aresult of consultations between them, the repre-sentatives of the United States and Yugoslaviapresented several amendments to the Sub-Com-mittee's text which were acceptable to both ofthem. At its 44th meeting on December 9, 1948,the Third Committee unanimously adopted thedraft resolution as amended by the representa-tives of the United States and Yugoslavia.

In its report to the Third Committee the Sub-Committee recommended that the Secretary-

General be authorized to implement the deci-sions of the General Assembly before the meet-ing of the Social Commission, since the work ofUNRRA would cease as of January 1, 1947.Considerable elasticity in the application of theprogram was recommended, so that it could beadapted to the requests which might be pre-sented by Member Governments in accordancewith their needs.

There was considerable discussion in the Sub-Committee as to the total figure and its distribu-tion among the various items of the budgetaryestimates submitted by the Secretary-General.Some representatives believed that the figureswere too high and some that they were too lowand that their distribution was subject to doubt.The Sub-Committee, however, did not feel com-petent to vote on the estimates, believing thatthe General Assembly could act on financial mat-ters only on the advice of the Fifth Committee(Administrative and Budgetary). The findingsand recommendations of the Sub-Committeewere endorsed by the Third Committee.

The Secretary-General submitted revisedbudgetary estimates totaling $370,188 to theFifth Committee. The Fifth Committee at its43rd meeting on December 12, 1946, approvedthis sum by 26 votes without opposition as asupplement to the budget estimates for 1947.

At its 65th plenary meeting on December14, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the following resolution submitted bythe Third Committee:

WHEREAS Article 86 of the Charter ofUnited Nations provides:

1. The Economic and Social Council shall per-form such functions as fall within its com-petence in connection with the carrying outof the recommendations of the General As-sembly;2. It may, with the approval of the GeneralAssembly, perform services at the request ofMembers of the United Nations and at therequest of specialized agencies;3. It shall perform such other functions asare specified elsewhere in the present Charteror as may be assigned to it by the GeneralAssembly;WHEREAS the Economic and Social Council,

on 1 October 1943, recommended the trans-fer to the United Nations of certain urgent andimportant advisory functions in the field of so-cial welfare carried on by UNRRA, special con-sideration being given to the needs of children;

WHEREAS the General Assembly, after ex-amining the report and the recommendationspresented by the Secretary-General in documentA/132, recognizes the necessity of transferring


to the United Nations the urgent and importantadvisory functions in the field of social welfarecarried on by UNRRA.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFOREA. AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General:1. In consultation with the Economic and So-cial Council, to make provision, with the co-operation of the specialized agencies whereappropriate, for the continuance of the urgentand important advisory functions in the fieldof social welfare carried on by UNRRA; andfor this purpose;2. To include in the budget of the UnitedNations for 1947 the funds necessary for theassumption of the following functions, all ofwhich are necessary for the accomplishmentof an effective programme:

(a) For a requisite number of social wel-fare experts to provide, on the request ofGovernments which show the need forthem, such advisory services, and to putinto practice, over an appropriate period,new technical methods in any branch ofsocial welfare;

(b) For enabling a requisite number ofsuitably qualified social welfare officials toobserve, and familiarize themselves withthe experience of other countries adminis-tering social welfare programmes;

(c) For providing advice, demonstrationand instruction in connection with the man-ufacture of prosthetic appliances and thevocational training of physically handi-capped persons and for furnishing thenecessary demonstration equipment andtools;(d) For the furnishing to the Membercountries which have been devastated dur-ing the war technical publications helpfulin the training of social welfare workers.

The furnishing of the experts shall be under-taken by the Secretary-General in agreementwith the Governments concerned, and the selec-tion of grant-holders shall be made by theSecretary-General on the basis of proposalsreceived from Governments. The amount ofservice to be furnished to the various Govern-ments shall be decided by the Secretary-General,and shall be reviewed by the Social Commissionat its next session. The kind of service men-tioned under (a), (b), (c) and (d) to be ren-dered to each country shall be decided by theGovernment concerned.

B. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to re-port to the Social Commission on the measureswhich he takes in compliance with the terms ofthe present resolution, and requests the Com-mission during its first session to formulaterecommendations concerning the continued ac-tion required to carry on the essential advisoryactivities of UNRRA in the field of socialwelfare.

f. Establishment of an International Children'sEmergency Fund

At its third session, on September 30, 1946,the Economic and Social Council had adopted aresolution, drafted by the Standing Committeeof UNRRA in consultation with representativesof the Secretary-General of the United Nationsand with the Acting President of the Economicand Social Council, recommending that the Gen-eral Assembly arrange for the creation of an In-ternational Children's Emergency Fund sub-ject to the Economic and Social Council; andthat the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions, in consultation with the Director-Generalof UNRRA, the President of the Economic andSocial Council and the Standing Committee ofUNRRA prepare a draft resolution to establishthe necessary international machinery for thispurpose.

In compliance with this recommendation theSecretary-General, on October 30, 1946, trans-mitted a draft resolution to the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly. TheGeneral Assembly referred the question to itsThird Committee (Social, Humanitarian andCultural), which in turn, on November 20,1946,instructed a Sub-Committee to examine theSecretary-General's recommendations and topresent a report.

The Sub-Committee took note of the situationfacing Europe and parts of Asia during thenext few years insofar as it affected the re-habilitation of children. Although the Sub-Committee stressed that in its view the primeresponsibility for the rehabilitation of childrenrested with national governments, it concludedthat many governments would not be able tomeet all the existing needs as regards adequatefood supplies for children, the rehabilitationand manning of children's institutions and thetraining of personnel. Although voluntary reliefefforts were generous and widespread, the Sub-Committee considered that such efforts touchedonly the fringe of the problem. Hence the neces-sity for an International Children's EmergencyFund. The Sub-Committee worked out detailedrecommendations for the operation of the Fundand drew up a resolution based in the main onthe Secretary-Generals' draft resolution.

At its 44th meeting on December 7, 1946, theThird Committee voted to add Argentina andthe Byelorussian S.S.R. to the list of membersof the Executive Board of the Fund recom-mended by the Sub-Committee. Switzerland hadlikewise been suggested for membership of the


Board, but certain delegations opposed thisrecommendation on the ground that Switzerlandwas not a Member of the United Nations. It wasdecided to leave the question of Switzerland'srepresentation for later consideration, as theEconomic and Social Council could add newmembers to the Board on the latter's recom-mendation.

The Third Committee then unanimouslyadopted the report and the resolution of theSub-Committee. Likewise by unanimous vote,the General Assembly, at its 56th plenary meet-ing on December 11, 1946, adopted the resolu-tion recommended by the Third Committee,which read as follows:

I. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAVING considered the resolution adopted

by the Economic and Social Council at its thirdsession recommending the creation of an Inter-national Children's Emergency Fund to be util-ized for the benefit of children and adolescentsof countries which were the victims of aggres-sion, and recognizing the desirability of estab-lishing such a Fund in accordance with Article65 of the Charter of the United Nations;

DECIDES THEREFORE:1. There is hereby created an International

Children's Emergency Fund to be utilized andadministered, to the extent of its availableresources:

(a) For the benefit of children and adoles-cents of countries which were victims ofaggression and in order to assist in theirrehabilitation;(b) For the benefit of children and adoles-cents of countries at present receiving as-sistance from the United Nations Relief andRehabilitation Administration;(c) For child health purposes generally, giv-ing high priority to the children of countriesvictims of aggression.2. (a) The Fund shall consist of any assetsmade available by UNRRA or any voluntarycontributions made available by Govern-ments, voluntary agencies, individual or othersources. It shall be authorized to receivefunds, contributions or other assistance fromany of the foregoing sources; to make expen-ditures and to finance or arrange for theprovision of supplies, material, services andtechnical assistance for the furtherance ofthe foregoing purposes; to facilitate and co-ordinate activities relating thereto; and gen-erally to acquire, hold or transfer property,and to take any other legal action necessaryor useful in the performance of its objectsand purposes;(b) The Fund, in agreement with the Gov-ernments concerned, shall take such measuresas are deemed appropriate to ensure theproper utilization and distribution of suppliesor other assistance which it provides. Supplies

or other assistance shall be made availableto Governments upon approval by the Fundof the plans of operation drawn up by theGovernments concerned. Provision shall bemade for:

(i) The submission to the Fund of suchreports on the use of supplies and otherassistance as the Fund may from time totime require;(ii) Equitable and efficient dispensation ordistribution of all supplies or other as-sistance, on the basis of need, withoutdiscrimination because of race, creed, na-tionality status or political belief;

(c) The Fund shall not engage in activity inany country except in consultation with, andwith the consent of, the Government con-cerned;(d) The Fund shall appeal to all voluntaryrelief agencies to continue and intensify theiractivities and shall take the necessary meas-ures in order to co-operate with these agen-cies.3. (a) The Fund shall be administered byan Executive Director under policies, includ-ing the determination of programmes andallocation of funds, established by an Execu-tive Board in accordance with such principlesas may be laid down by the Economic andSocial Council and its Social Commission;(b) The Secretary-General of the UnitedNations shall appoint the Executive Director,in consultation with the Executive Board;(c) The Executive Board shall be composedof representatives of the following Govern-ments :

ArgentinaAustraliaBrazilByelorussian S.S.R.CanadaChinaColombiaCzechoslovakiaDenmarkEcuadorFranceGreeceIraq

NetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPeruPolandSwedenUkrainian S.S.R.Union of South AfricaUnited KingdomU.S.S.R.United States

of AmericaYugoslavia

The Economic and Social Council, on therecommendation of the Executive Board, maydesignate other Governments as members ofthe Board. Membership may be changed bythe General Assembly, on the recommenda-tion of the Economic and Social Council, atany time after the first three years of theFund's existence. The Board may, as occa-sions arise, invite representatives of spe-cialized agencies for consultation on matterswithin their competence;(d) The Board may designate from amongits members such committees as it deems ad-visable in the interest of effective adminis-tration.

The Board shall elect its own Chairman


and its Vice-Chairman, and shall meet when-ever convened by the Chairman, or upon therequest of any three of its members. The firstmeeting of the Board shall be convened bythe Secretary-General of the United Nations,at the earliest date feasible after the adoptionof this resolution. Each member of the Boardshall have one vote. A majority of the Boardshall constitute a quorum and it shall voteby a majority of the members present andvoting. Subject to the foregoing, the Boardmay establish its own rules of procedure.4. (a) Staff and facilities required for theadministration of the Fund shall be providedto the Board by the Secretary-General. TheFund may also utilize such staff, equipmentand records as may be made available by theUnited Nations Relief and RehabilitationAdministration during the period of itsexistence;(b) The United Nations shall make no chargeto the Fund on account of staff and facilities,so long as these can be provided from theestablished services of the Secretariat andwithin the limits of the United Nations bud-get. If additional funds are necessary, moneyfor such purposes shall be provided by theFund;(c) To the maximum extent feasible, theutilization of the staff and technical assist-ance of specialized agencies, in particular theWorld Health Organization or its InterimCommission, shall be requested, with a viewto reducing to a minimum the separate per-sonnel requirements of the Fund.5. The Secretary-General shall not pay from

the funds received to finance the United Nationsbudget any claims arising from the operationof the Fund, but the Executive Board is author-ized to pay from the Fund claims arising fromits operation.

6. The Secretary-General shall submit to theGeneral Assembly an annual audit of the ac-counts of the Fund.

7. The Executive Board shall make periodicreports of its operations at such times and insuch form as the Economic and Social Councilshall provide.

8. A report shall be submitted to the fourthsession of the Economic and Social Council con-taining a recommended programme and esti-mate of expenses incurred and to be incurredfor the Fund for 1947 which shall be subject tothe approval of the Council.

9. The activities of the Fund shall be re-viewed by the General Assembly at its secondsession upon the basis of a special report fromthe Economic and Social Council.

II. The effective operation of the Fund isdependent upon the financial resources whichare put at its disposal.

THEREFORETHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY EXPRESSES the

the earnest hope that Governments, voluntaryagencies and private individuals will give theFund their generous support.

g. Refugees and Displaced PersonsBy a resolution of October 3, 1946, the Eco-

nomic and Social Council approved the draftConstitution of the International Refugee Or-ganization for transmission to the second partof the first session of the General Assembly andsubmitted a draft resolution for adoption bythe Assembly. The Economic and Social Councilfurther transmitted to the General Assembly adraft Agreement on Interim Measures to beTaken in Respect of Refugees and DisplacedPersons and the report of the ad hoc Committeeon Finances of the IRO.

The General Assembly referred the draftConstitution of IRO, the draft resolution of theEconomic and Social Council and the draftAgreement on Interim Measures to the ThirdCommittee, with the exception of those sec-tions of the Constitution dealing with finances,the provisional budget of the Organizationand scales of contribution (Article 10 andAnnex II).

(1) Constitution of the InternationalRefugee Organization

At its 15th meeting on November 4, 1946, theThird Committee agreed to hold a general de-bate on the draft Constitution of IRO. Duringthis debate, which continued at the 16th, 17th,18th and 19th meetings of the Third Committee,held on November 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 respectively,a large number of representatives expressedtheir views. As was the case in the previousdiscussions which took place in the GeneralAssembly and the Economic and Social Councilon the question of refugees, the main differenceof opinion was between the countries of originof the majority of refugees and displacedpersons (the Byelorussian S.S.R., Poland, theUkrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia)on the one hand, and the countries administer-ing refugee and displaced persons' camps in theoccupied zones of Germany and Austria (theUnited States, the United Kingdom and France)and countries interested in the resettlement ofrefugees on the other hand.

The countries of origin maintained that theonly practical solution of the refugee problemwas repatriation. The Constitution of IROshould provide only for the repatriation ofrefugees and displaced persons and should notmake any provision for resettlement of refugeesoutside their countries of origin. At least theresettlement functions of the Organizationshould be strictly limited. Persons who refused


to return to their countries of origin for politi-cal reasons should not be the concern of IRO.Moreover, effective provision should be madein the Constitution to ensure that fascist col-laborators, war criminals, members of militaryformations and persons who had left their coun-tries after the war should not receive any aidfrom IRO.

Further, the countries of origin charged thatactive propaganda was being carried on in thedisplaced persons' camps against repatriationby elements which were hostile to the U.S.S.R.and to the governments of the other countriesof origin. The Constitution of IRO should makeeffective provision for the suppression of suchpropaganda. Persons who had compromisedthemselves by collaboration with fascist au-thorities should be removed from the campadministration. The administration of thecamps should be designated under the controlof the United Nations in agreement with thegovernments of the countries of origin. Pro-vision should be made, moreover, for a moreeffective screening of war criminals and collab-orators, and each country of origin should befurnished with lists of displaced persons nation-als of that country.

Finally, the countries of origin desired alarger representatition on the various organsof IRO — the Executive Committee, the Execu-tive Commission or the Staff — than was pro-vided for in the draft Constitution.

Some 50 amendments to the draft Constitu-tion of IRQ were submitted by the countries oforigin, with the object of bringing the Consti-tution into line with their views.

Again, as in previous discussions, a consid-erable number of representatives, includingnotably those of the United Kingdom and theUnited States, opposed the recommendationsof the countries of origin on the ground thatrepatriation should in no case be compulsory,that there were persons other than war crimi-nals or collaborators who for valid reasons wereunwilling to return to their countries of origin,and that such persons were properly the con-cern of IRO. Resettlement in the case of suchpersons provided the only solution to the refu-gee problem. As to propaganda in the displacedpersons camps, the governments responsible forthe administration of these camps denied thecharges of the countries of origin. They main-tained that the right of free speech should bemaintained and considered that adequate facili-ties had been granted representatives of thecountries of origin to present their govern-

ment's point of view to all persons in the camps.Regarding war criminals, it was contended

that the draft Constitution of IRO made ade-quate provision to ensure that such personsshould not receive any aid.

The draft Constitution as a whole, it wasmaintained, had been the result of lengthy dis-cussion in the Economic and Social Council andhad been approved by the majority of that body.The General Assembly, therefore, should notundo the work so far accomplished and shouldapprove the Constitution of IRO without majorchanges.

At its twentieth meeting on November 12,1946, the Third Committee decided to discussthe draft Constitution article by article in ple-nary meeting. Before the Committee proceededto this detailed discussion, the representativeof Australia submitted a proposal recommend-ing the establishment of a commission of theEconomic and Social Council to handle the refu-gee problem instead of a specialized agency, asthe establishment of such an agency would in-crease the financial burden which Member Gov-ernments would have to bear. In opposition tothis proposal several representatives pointedout that expenses would depend on the type ofwork performed and not on the type of organi-zation. A commission, if it were to fulfil all thetasks of IRO, would involve the same cost. More-over, the creation of a commission of the Eco-nomic and Social Council would require a re-vision of the budget of the United Nations andwould entail many other complicated problems.In view of these considerations the Third Com-mittee rejected the Australian proposal.

A total of 65 amendments to the draft Consti-tution of IRO had been submitted by variousdelegations. The Third Committee devoted sev-enteen meetings to a detailed consideration ofthese amendments. It rejected 32 of them,adopted eighteen without change and adoptedfour in a modified form. Four amendments werewithdrawn. At its 41st meeting on December4, 1946, the Committee formally approved thosearticles of the Constitution to which no amend-ments had been proposed. At its 46th meetingon December 9, 1946, the Third Committee ap-proved certain modifications in the preamble tothe Constitution necessitated by changes whichthe Fifth Committee had adopted in the Arti-cles which had been referred to it for considera-tion. The Committee then approved the draftConstitution as a whole (with the exception ofAnnex II) by a vote of 18 to 5, with 5 absten-tions. The representatives of the U.S.S.R., Po-


land, the Byelorussian S.S.R., the UkrainianS.S.R. and Yugoslavia voted in the negative. Asthe amendments suggested by the countries oforigin had for the most part been rejected bythe Committee, they felt that the Constitutionwas just as satisfactory as when it had beenadopted by the Economic and Social Council andthey informed the Committee that they couldnot therefore support it.

(2) Financial Provisions of theConstitution of IRO

The General Assembly referred those sec-tions of the draft Constitution of IRO (Article10 and Annex II) dealing with the finances ofthe Organization, the provisional budget andthe scales of contributions to the Fifth Com-mittee (Administrative and Budgetary). TheFifth Committee discussed the financial pro-visions of the Constitution at its 34th, 35th,36th, 37th, 38th, 39th and 45th meetings heldon December 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 13.

Thirteen amendments to Article 10 andAnnex II had been submitted by various delega-tions. An amendment to Article 10 presentedby the Byelorussian S.S.R. concerning thefinancing of the Organization was discussed atlength. The amendment proposed:

(1) that the cost of the repatriation of refu-gees should be charged to Germany and Japanas the persons involved were in their presentsituation as a result of the action of the Germanand Japanese Governments;

(2) that all provision for large-scale resettle-ment be deleted from the provisional budget ofIRO, as such resettlement was contrary to themain purpose of IRO, which was repatriation.The countries receiving refugees, it was sug-gested, should pay for the expense of transporta-tion and installation, as they benefited from theadditional manpower they would obtain.

Concerning the first proposal, a number ofrepresentatives suggested that it was not prac-tical to make Germany and Japan pay for thecost of repatriation. Arrangements for repatria-tions had already been made and the Germanand Japanese economies could not assume fur-ther burdens. Whatever contribution theymight be able to make in supplying foodstuffs,etc., had already been taken into considerationin calculating the cost of the care and repatria-tion of refugees. At its 36th meeting on Decem-ber 5, 1946, the Committee by a vote of 16 to 12,the remaining members of the Committee ab-staining, decided in principle that expensesconnected with repatriation should be chargedto Germany and Japan. After further debate,

the Committee at its 37th meeting on December7 adopted by a vote of 28 to 6 the follow-ing wording suggested by the Chairman of theCommittee:

. . . And that the expenses of repatriation tothe extent practicable should be charged to Ger-many and Japan for persons displaced by thosePowers from countries occupied by them.

The Committee adopted by 20 votes to 10the suggestion of the representative of theUnited States that this wording be insertedin the preamble to the Constitution.

The second proposal of the representative ofthe Byelorussian S.S.R., that no provision bemade in the budget for large-scale resettlement,was rejected by the Fifth Committee at its 36thmeeting on December 5 by a vote of 18to 2. After considerable discussion, the Com-mittee at its 38th meeting on December 7accepted by a vote of 16 to 11, with 10 absten-tions, a French amendment to the effect thatcontributions to the budget for large-scale re-settlement should be voluntary and not com-pulsory. The Committee had previously rejecteda Yugoslav proposal that — as regards the op-erational budget of IRO — the assessment ofthe paying capacity of countries devastated bywar should be left to their governments.

Despite the opposition of certain countries,the Committee adopted an amendment proposedby the representative of the United States thatcountries which did not fulfil their financialcontributions should lose their right to vote inthe General Council of the Organization.

Having adopted several other amendmentsand having rejected still further proposals, theFifth Committee at its 38th meeting on Decem-ber 7 adopted Article 10 of the Constitu-tion as a whole by a vote of 12 to 6, with 14abstentions.

All amendments proposed to Annex II — theprovisional budget and scales of contributions—were rejected by the Committee. The adminis-trative budget was approved in the amount of$4,800,000. The Committee discussed its author-ity to act upon the operational budget of IRO.It was explained that IRO did not yet exist asa specialized agency and that the provisions ofArticle 17 of the Charter were not yet in effectwith regard to it. The matter had come to theGeneral Assembly by report of the Economicand Social Council, acting under Article 62.The Committee, therefore, examined the opera-tional budget with a view to recommending itsadoption by such States as would later becomeMembers of IRO.


The representative of the U.S.S.R. proposedthat the item of the operational budget forexpenses of repatriation ($16,460,000) shouldbe eliminated in view of the principle adoptedby the Committee that such expenses should becharged to Germany and Japan. The view of thedelegation of the United States that all possibleexpenditures which could be charged to theGerman and Japanese economies under thishead had already been charged and that the$16,460,000 represented only costs which mustbe paid in hard currencies, prevailed by 14 votesto 7. The Committee approved the entirety ofthe operational budget (with the exception ofexpenses for large-scale resettlement) in theamount of $151,060,500.

That part of the operational budget whichwas assigned to the cost of large-scale resettle-ment activities was approved in the amount of$5,000,000. Several delegations believed thatthis item should be eliminated from the budgetin view of the adoption of the amendment toArticle 10 proposed by the French delegation,that contributions to the budget for large-scaleresettlement should be on a voluntary basis. TheCommittee, however, decided that the item of$5,000,000 for large-scale resettlement shouldbe left as a part of the budget to indicate to theDirector-General of IRO the direction in whichhe should proceed and the amount of the sub-scriptions to be sought during the first financialyear. It was agreed that special reference shouldbe made in Annex II to paragraph 4 of Article10 of the Constitution, which included theFrench amendment.

The scales of contribution for the adminis-trative and operational budgets (other thanlarge-scale resettlement) were referred to theSub-Committee on Contributions of the FifthCommittee, which reported on these items tothe Fifth Committee at its 45th meeting onDecember 13. During the debate severaldelegations questioned the equity of the pro-portions which had been assigned to their coun-tries. However, a motion of the delegation ofNorway to refer the scale of contributions forthe provisional operational budget (other thanlarge-scale resettlement) back to the Sub-Com-mittee on Contributions for further study wasrejected by 13 votes to 6. The scale proposed inthe report of the Sub-Committee for the pro-visional administrative budget of the Organiza-tion was accepted by the Fifth Committee by19 votes to 0. The scale proposed for the pro-visional operational budget (other than large-

scale resettlement) was adopted by 9 votes to 7.The report of the Sub-Committee as a whole wasadopted by 13 votes to 6.

At its 45th meeting on December 13 theFifth Committee approved the following draftresolution for adoption by the General As-sembly:

NOTING the discussions and decisions in theFifth Committee concerning the financial pro-visions of the draft Constitution of the Inter-national Refugee Organization, as well as thebudget of the International Refugee Organiza-tion and scales of contributions thereto:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS Article 10and Annex II of the said draft Constitution, asset forth in Annexes I and II of the report ofthe Fifth Committee for incorporation in thedraft Constitution and recommendation to Gov-ernments.

The General Assembly adopted the resolutionrecommended by the Fifth Committee at its67th plenary meeting on December 15, 1946, by30 votes in favor and 5 against, with 18 ab-stentions.

(3) Agreement on Interim Measures to be takenin respect of Refugees and Displaced Persons

Having approved the draft Constitution ofthe International Refugee Organization, theThird Committee considered the draft Agree-ment on Interim Measures submitted by theEconomic and Social Council. This draft Agree-ment contemplated the establishment of a pre-paratory commission to take all necessary meas-ures for the purpose of bringing IRO intoeffective operation as soon as possible, and toprovide for an orderly transfer to IRO of thefunctions and assets of existing organizationsdealing with refugees and displaced persons.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. consideredthat the Agreement on Interim Measures wasnot satisfactory and suggested that it be re-ferred to the Economic and Social Council forfurther study. He expressed the view that thefunctions assigned to the proposed PreparatoryCommission could be effectively carried out bythe Secretariat of the United Nations. The rep-resentatives of Yugoslavia and Poland objectedto that part of the Interim Agreement whichauthorized the Preparatory Commission of IROto take over any of the functions, activities,assets and personnel of existing organizationsdealing with refugees and displaced persons,provided that the Commission was satisfied thatthis was essential in order to accomplish the


orderly transfer to IRO of such functions andactivities. This provision, the representativesof Poland and Yugoslavia maintained, conferredupon the Preparatory Commission of IRO allof the powers which would subsequently be en-trusted to IRO. On the other hand, the Pre-paratory Commission would not be bound bythe provisions of the Constitution of IRO, ifthe latter were not yet in force. This wouldcreate a dangerous situation and the provisionalorganization might tend to become permanent.The representative for Yugoslavia thereforeproposed that this part of the Agreement onInterim Measures be omitted. The Committeerejected this proposal and approved the Agree-ment as a whole by a vote of 22 to 3, with 9abstentions.

(4) Resolution Concerning the InternationalRefugee Organization

After the Third Committee had approved thedraft Constitution of IRO and the Agreementon Interim Measures, it proceeded to considerthe draft resolution submitted by the Economicand Social Council approving the two instru-ments and urging Members of the United Na-tions to sign them.

The representative of Lebanon submitted anamendment to the draft resolution to the effectthat the General Assembly should urge theMembers of the United Nations to receive intotheir territory, so far as practicable, non-re-patriable persons who were the concern of IRO.Member States, the representative of Lebanonconsidered, should do their part in absorbingrefugees; the General Assembly should exertits moral pressure in order that the possibilitiesof resettlement should be studied without delay.

Several representatives opposed the amend-ment on the ground that the essential role ofIRO was repatriation and not resettlement, andthat the Lebanese amendment was contrary tothe Constitution of IRO. With a drafting changeproposed by the representative of France, theCommittee adopted the Lebanese amendmentand then adopted the amended resolution by avote of 22 to 7, with 3 abstentions.

At its 67th plenary meeting on December 15,1946, the General Assembly considered thereport of the Third Committee (Social, Humani-tarian and Cultural) on the Constitution ofIRO, on the Agreement on Interim Measuresand the draft resolution recommended by theThird Committee. The representative of theUnited Kingdom proposed an amendment to thedraft Constitution of IRO which would permit

IRO to establish its headquarters in Geneva,instead of Paris as provided, if the GeneralCouncil of the Organization should so decide.The General Assembly adopted this amendmentby 18 votes to 11. By 35 votes to 5, with 18abstentions, the General Assembly then adoptedthe resolution, which read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,NOTING that action has been taken pursuant

to the resolution concerning refugees and dis-placed persons adopted by the General Assemblyon 12 February 1946, as follows:

(a) The establishment by the Economic andSocial Council of a Special Committee onRefugees and Displaced Persons under a reso-lution of the Council of 16 February 1946;(b) The making of a report by the SpecialCommittee to the second session of theCouncil;(c) The adoption of a draft Constitution foran International Refugee Organization andthe creation of a Committee on the Financesof the International Refugee Organizationby the Council under a resolution of theCouncil of 21 June 1946;(d) The circulation to Members of theUnited Nations for their comments of thedraft Constitution and the report of the Com-mittee on the Finances of the InternationalRefugee Organization;(e) The final approval by the Council of theConstitution, and of a provisional budget forthe first financial year, the adoption by theCouncil of an Arrangement for a PreparatoryCommission, and the transmittal of boththese instruments to the General Assembly,under resolution of the Council of 3 October1946;HAVING CONSIDERED the Constitution of the

International Refugee Organization and theArrangement for a Preparatory Commission asapproved by the Economic and Social Council;

CONSIDERING that every effort should bemade to provide for the early establishment ofthe International Refugee Organization and theprovision of measures during the interim pe-riod designed to facilitate such establishment;

THEREFORE,(a) APPROVES the Constitution of the In-ternational Refugee Organization and theArrangement for a Preparatory Commissionas annexed hereto;1

(b) REQUESTS the Secretary-General toopen these two instruments for signatureand, in the case of the Constitution, to openit for signature either with or without reser-vation as to subsequent acceptance;(c) URGES Members of the United Nationsto sign these two instruments and, whereconstitutional procedures permit, to sign the

1 For text of the Constitution and the Agreementon Interim Measures, see Part Two, The Special-ized Agencies.


Constitution without reservation as to sub-sequent acceptance;(d) AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General tomake such staff available to the PreparatoryCommission as may be deemed necessary anddesirable;(e) URGES Members of the United Nationsto give the most favourable consideration toreceiving each into its territory at the earliestpossible time, so far as may be practicablefor permanent resettlement, its fair share ofthe non-repatriable persons who are the con-cern of the International Refugee Organiza-tion and this in conformity with the princi-ples of the Organization.

(5) Proposed Establishment of a Commission toInvestigate Conditions in Refugee and

Displaced Persons' CampsAt the 43rd meeting of the Third Committee

on December 6, 1946, the representative of theU.S.S.R. stated that in the course of the dis-cussions which had taken place in the ThirdCommittee concerning IRO, the U.S.S.R. dele-gation had brought to the attention of the Com-mittee incidents which testified to the existencein refugee and displaced persons' camps of per-sons who had no right to receive assistance,who carried on anti-Soviet propaganda andwho impeded the work of repatriation. Theseassertions had usually been denied by the au-thorities administering the camps. To put anend to mutual disagreement and reproaches andto reveal the true situation as it existed in thecamps, the representative of the U.S.S.R. pro-posed the establishment of a commission ofseven to nine members, including the U.S.S.R.,Poland and Yugoslavia as the countries mostdirectly concerned, to investigate the situationon the spot and to report to the fourth sessionof the Economic and Social Council.

The representative of the United States op-posed this proposal. Re-examination of theU.S.S.R. charges, he stated, had failed to sub-stantiate them. The proposed commission wouldmerely provide a further vehicle for repetitionof the same charges. The representative of theUnited Kingdom likewise denied the charges ofthe U.S.S.R. representative and expressed theopinion that the establishment of an investigat-ing commission was unnecessary. Although de-nying U.S.S.R. charges as regards Frenchadministration of refugee camps, the represen-tative of France favored the establishment ofan investigating commission. A general studyof the conditions of repatriation, he considered,could assist the Preparatory Commission andlater the IRO in their task.

The Third Committee by a vote of 21 to 9,with 9 abstentions, rejected the proposal of therepresentative of the U.S.S.R.(6) Arrangements and Measures to be taken byMembers of the United Nations in connection withDisplaced Persons, Refugees, Prisoners of Warand Persons of Similar Status, pending the estab-

lishment of IROAt the 46th meeting of the Third Committee

the representative of Yugoslavia submitted adraft resolution to the effect that the GeneralAssembly recommend to all Governments con-cerned :

(1) to dissolve at the earliest possible dateall military and para-military organizationswhich were hostile to the government of a Mem-ber of the United Nations and which impededthe repatriation of bona fide refugees;

(2) to segregate from camps or other placesof temporary location of refugees and displacedpersons all persons who had recourse to violenceand other forms of coercion or who exertedmoral pressure on refugees with the aim of pre-venting them from expressing their desire tobe repatriated and with a view to making itmore difficult for the representatives of thecountries of origin to establish proper relation-ships with nationals of their countries;

(3) to effect a careful screening of all warcriminals, quislings and traitors, who shouldbe handed over to the authorities of the coun-tries against which they committed theircrimes.

Finally, the Yugoslav proposal envisaged theestablishment of closer co-operation betweenthe countries of origin and the countries re-sponsible for the administration of the camps,by means of bilateral ad hoc commissionsworking in the field.

The representatives of the United Kingdomand the United States declared that the Yugo-slav proposal was based on the assumption thatthe accusations made against the military au-thorities responsible for the administration ofthe camps were justified, whereas the Govern-ments of the two countries had formally deniedsuch accusations. Hence they opposed the Yugo-slav resolution. Other representatives opposingthe resolution stated that the disbandment ofmilitary units and the punishment of traitorswere the tasks of the military occupation au-thorities in Austria and Germany rather thanof the United Nations.

The representative of France supported theYugoslav resolution except for the proposedestablishment of bilateral commissions. TheYugoslav proposal, he considered, was perfectlyjustified, inasmuch as it had been said in the


course of the debate on IRO that the screeningof traitors and war criminals was not the taskof IRO. It was reasonable, therefore, to proposea resolution which called upon national govern-ments to deal with the matter.

The representative of France proposed a num-ber of amendments to the Yugoslav resolutionand proposed omission of the recommendationfor the establishment of bilateral commissions.The Yugoslav representative accepted theseamendments with the exception of the latterproposal. Voting paragraph by paragraph, theThird Committee adopted the Yugoslav resolu-tion with the exception of the paragraph pro-posing the establishment of bilateral commis-sions.

At the 47th meeting of the Third Committeeon December 10, the representative of Yugo-slavia accepted a number of drafting changessuggested by various delegations. The Com-mittee then unanimously adopted the revisedYugoslav resolution as a whole, with sixmembers of the Committee abstaining.

At its 67th plenary meeting on December 16,the General Assembly adopted the resolutionrecommended by the Third Committee, whichread as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,WHEREASThe resolution of the General Assembly of

12 February 1946 stipulates as the main taskthe early return of displaced persons to theirhomes,

The Constitution of the International Refu-gee Organization re-affirms this principle ap-plying it to all persons coming under the careof the Organization,

The resolution of the General Assembly of13 February 1946 on war criminals, quislingsand traitors recommends the arrest and hand-ing over of such persons to countries wherethey have committeed their crimes,

The Special Committee on Refugees and Dis-placed Persons in its report found that "thepresence of war criminals, quislings and trai-tors among refugees and displaced persons intheir countries of present sojourn representsan obstacle to the free and unhampered exerciseon the part of those persons of their right ofoption between returning and not returning totheir countries of origin in full knowledge andappreciation of all relevant facts,"

The removal of any impediment to an earlyreturn of refugees and displaced persons totheir homes and families and the handing overfor trial of war criminals, quislings and trai-tors is not only desirable, but is an urgent task

and obligation requiring close co-operation ofall authorities concerned:

RECOMMENDS to all Governments con-cerned that they take urgent and adequatemeasures to effect a careful screening of all dis-placed persons, refugees, prisoners of war andpersons of similar status, with a view to identi-fying all war criminals, quislings and traitors;and, in such screening, give high priority to allpersons or groups of persons who use duressor incite other persons to the use of duresstowards refugees, displaced persons, prisonersof war and persons of similar status, with theaim:

(a) Of preventing them from expressing thedesire to return to their country of national-ity or former habitual residence; or(b) Of raising obstacles in any form to writ-ten or oral contact with duly accredited rep-resentatives of the Government of the coun-try of their nationality or former habitualresidence.

h. World Shortage of Cereals and Other Food-stuffsBy a letter of December 5, 1946, the Director-

General of the Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion of the United Nations transmitted to theSecretary-General of the United Nations theReport of the Special Meeting on Urgent FoodProblems, and a World Food Appraisal for1946-47 issued September 2, 1946, by FAO.These documents, together with the Report ofCommittee II of Commission C of the FAOConference, issued September 12, 1946, weretransmitted to the second part of the first ses-sion of the General Assembly by the Secretary-General. At the same time the Secretary-Gen-eral submitted a report of his own concerningthe measures which had been taken by the vari-ous organs of the United Nations and the spe-cialized agencies to implement the resolutionadopted by the General Assembly on February14, 1946, calling upon Members to help alleviatethe world shortage of cereals by conservingsupplies and ensuring maximum production inthe coming season.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 21, 1946, decided to referthis question to the Second Committee (Eco-nomic and Financial) for consideration. TheSecond Committee considered the question atits 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 24th and25th meetings held on November 5, 6, 8, 13, 13,14 and December 2 and 3 respectively. TheCommittee studied the documents which hadbeen provided by the FAO and which had beensubmitted by the Secretary-General. It also


heard statements from the Counsellor of FAOand from the Secretary-General of the Inter-national Emergency Food Council. The Com-mittee agreed on the seriousness of the foodsituation in 1946-47 and on the necessity ofurging governments and international organi-zations concerned to take immediate measuresto alleviate the situation.

The representative of Canada suggested thatit was unnecessary for the Second Committeeto undertake a detailed discussion of the worldfood situation, in view of the fact that theproblems of short-term distribution were un-der detailed examination by the InternationalEmergency Food Council and that the long-term problems were being examined at themeeting of the FAO currently taking place inWashington, and in the Preparatory Commis-sion of the Conference on Trade and Employ-ment. Accordingly the representative of Canadasubmitted a draft resolution:

(1) urging the governments and interna-tional agencies concerned to adopt or retainmeasures necessary for reducing the deficit inbreadgrains, rice, fats, and other foodstuffsand for facilitating the equitable distributionof the available supplies;

(2) re-emphasizing the need for govern-ments and international agencies to continueand expand the publication of the fullest possi-ble information concerning supplies and re-quirements of such foodstuffs in order thataction might be guided by these facts.

A number of delegations stressed certain as-pects of the world food situation of particularconcern to them. The representatives of severalSouth American countries drew attention tothe problems faced by agricultural producingcountries, the primary problem being a lack ofagricultural machinery. The representative ofBrazil submitted an amendment to the Cana-dian draft resolution to the effect that the Gen-eral Assembly recommend to the industrializedcountries that they take measures towards im-proving the supply and distribution of farmmachinery, agricultural implements and trans-portation equipment, so as to enable the agrar-ian countries to increase their production andexport of foodstuffs. The representative ofArgentina submitted a draft resolution con-taining a similar recommendation and stress-ing the contributions which industrialized andagricultural countries respectively would haveto make in supplying the countries of the worldwith machinery, commodities and foodstuffs.

The representative of Saudi Arabia stressedthe problem of transportation and distributionand urged as an immediate emergency policy:

(1) the conscription of all transportationavailable, including military transportation, un-der the authority of a special internationalagency;

(2) the equitable international distributionamongst needy countries of the various cereals,with due regard to the peculiar local patternsof consumption and with full regard to theneeds of non-agricultural importing countries.

The representative of Guatemala submittedan amendment to the Canadian resolution urg-ing "governments and international agenciesconcerned to implement bilateral or multilateralinternational arrangements necessary for theco-ordination of production, sale and distribu-tion of cereals, both for meeting immediateneeds and for long-term plans."

Several representatives stressed the problemof an equitable distribution of existing suppliesas being of foremost importance, while others—particularly representatives of countries devas-tated by war — drew attention to the difficultiesinvolved in financing necessary food imports.

The representative of the United Kingdomsubmitted an amendment to the Canadian reso-lution embodying several of the recommenda-tions submitted by other delegations. TheUnited Kingdom representative proposed to addthe following recommendations to the Canadianresolution:

(a) Industrial countries to take all appropri-ate measures for increasing the supply of agri-cultural machinery, spare parts, implementsand fertilizers, and their export to countriesin need of them, so that all agricultural coun-tries may be enabled to increase food produc-tion, and especially bread-grains, rice and oilsand fats, to the maximum extent.

(b) Countries which are largely agriculturalto take all possible steps to increase output offoodstuffs, to secure maximum recovery fromproducers (by increasing distribution of incen-tive goods and by improving administrationmeasures), and to improve, wherever necessary,transportation facilities for cereals and otherfoodstuffs.

(c) Consumer countries to carry out as faras practicable appropriate measures to regulateconsumption including the maintenance of highextraction rates, the dilution of flour, restric-tions on usage of bread-grains for beveragesand other non-essential purposes, and the re-striction of the feeding of bread-grains to ani-mals.

The representative of Egypt proposed thatMembers of the United Nations should furnishFAO with periodic reports on the measures


taken to implement the recommendations of theGeneral Assembly as proposed in the Canadianresolution and the United Kingdom amendment,and that FAO should furnish reports thereon tothe Economic and Social Council.

The delegation of the U.S.S.R. submitted adraft resolution the operative part of whichread as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYCALLS UPON the Governments and peoples

of the countries Members of the UnitedNations:

1. To continue their efforts to increase theproduction of grain (food) as well as the othermeasures provided for in the General Assem-bly's resolution of February 14, 1946. The Gen-eral Assembly recommends that measures betaken to prevent a reduction of areas undergrain (food) cultivation.

2. To take the necessary steps towards econ-omy in the consumption of food in countries hav-ing a surplus of grain and other foodstuffs, andalso towards an increase of exports to countriessuffering from a shortage of these products.

The export of grain and other foodstuffs tothe needy countries should not be used to pro-cure political or other advantages accruing tothe exporting countries.

3. To take steps against unwarranted priceincreases of grain and other foodstuffs in orderto protect the interests of urban consumers. Asonly monopolies and middlemen benefit fromarbitrary price increases, such measures shouldnot affect the interests of small and mediumpeasants and farmers.

4. In the case of highly industrialized coun-tries to devote the maximum attention to thesupply to needy countries of agricultural ma-chinery, implements and fertilizers, the increaseof transport facilities for the movement of grainand foodstuffs, and the creation in these coun-tries of at least small factories and workshopsfor the manufacture of the most essential agri-cultural machines, implements and spare parts.

After discussing at some length the variousproposals which had been submitted, the SecondCommittee appointed a Sub-Committee of nine-teen members to draft a unanimously acceptableresolution. The Sub-Committee held ten meet-ings and submitted a draft resolution which theSecond Committee considered at its 24th meet-ing on December 2, 1946.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. stated thatthe Sub-Committee's draft resolution includedmany points contained in the original draftresolution submitted by the U.S.S.R. delegation.Other suggestions of the representative of theU.S.S.R., however, had been rejected by thesub-committee. The U.S.S.R. representativetherefore submitted four amendments to the

Sub-Committee's draft resolution. Two of thesethe Second Committee adopted in modified form,after having referred one of them to the Sub-Committee for redrafting.

The Second Committee at its 23rd meeting onDecember 5, 1946, unanimously adopted theresolution drafted by the Sub-Committee. Like-wise by unanimous vote, the General Assemblyadopted the resolution at its 55th plenary meet-ing on December 11, 1946. The text of the reso-lution was as follows:

At its thirty-third plenary meeting, on 14February 1946, the General Assembly adopteda resolution urging action, both directly byGovernments and through the internationalorganizations concerned, to alleviate the antici-pated serious shortage of bread grains and rice.

The General Assembly has learned with satis-faction of the extent to which the position in1946 was improved, particularly with respectto bread grains, by the common effort of theUnited Nations, thus saving millions of livesduring the critical months before the 1946harvest.

The General Assembly recognizes, however,that the food situation is still unsatisfactory.A number of countries have not yet overcomethe devastating results of the enemy occupa-tion to which they were subjected, and areobliged on this account to continue emergencyimports of grains, fats and other foodstuffs. Asevere shortage of these foodstuffs exists inmany European countries, even in some of thosewhich before the war were themselves export-ters. In a number of countries of Asia theshortage of cereals and other foodstuffs has ledto undernourishment and even famine, resultingin heavy loss of human lives, as in the case ofIndia and China. There is also a widespreadshortage of livestock.

The General Assembly notes, moreover, thatin 1945 and 1946 some countries of Europe andAsia were affected by drought and bad harvest,resulting in still further deterioration of theirfood situation. Some countries which were notunder enemy occupation have even introducedbread rationing for the first time, for instancethe United Kingdom. In addition, some coun-tries of Latin America are experiencing foodshortages and are obliged to import grain.

The General Assembly has learned with con-cern that expected supplies of bread grains,rice, fats and oils, dairy products, meat andsugar appear to be substantially inadequate tomeet minimum requirements for human con-sumption in 1947. Many countries, especiallythose which have suffered from enemy occupa-tion and those which do not produce sufficientfoodstuffs to meet their own requirements,need agricultural supplies such as machinery,implements, fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.

In addition, international payment difficultieson the part of certain importing countries, aswell as transport and other difficulties, threaten


to prevent the utilization of such food suppliesas may be available.

At the same time, there is a tendency in somecountries to reduce the areas under cultivationof cereals and other foodstuffs, which maycause unwarranted price increases and stillfurther aggravate the food situation. Inflation-ary prices, and other price factors, in manycases constitute another obstacle to the produc-tion and distribution of food supplies to thosein need.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,URGES the Governments and international

agencies concerned to adopt or continue meas-ures designed to overcome the deficit during1947 in bread grains, rice, fats and oils, dairyproducts, meat and sugar and to achieve theequitable allocation and prompt distribution ofthe available supplies free from political con-siderations; and, in particular,

RECOMMENDS:1. Food producing countries to take all prac-

ticable steps(a) to increase the output and collection offoodstuffs to the maximum extent;(b) to prevent reduction and encourage anincrease of areas under grain cultivation;(c) to improve transportation facilities forcereals and other foodstuffs;(d) to increase exports to countries suffer-ing from a shortage of foodstuffs;(e) to continue and strengthen internationalmachinery with a view to utilizing exportablefood supplies with due consideration for theurgency of the food requirements in theneedy countries;(f) to take measures against any unwar-ranted increases in the price of grain andother foodstuffs especially such as would bedetrimental to the interests of consumers andwould mainly favour speculative interestswithout resulting in any real advantages tothe farming population;2. countries which are largely industrial and

which produce transportation equipment, agri-cultural implements, machinery, spare partsand supplies for the construction of workshopsfor manufacturing and repairing the essentialcategories of such materials, or which producefertilizers, pesticides, seeds, and animal feedingstuffs, to take all appropriate and practicablemeasures for expanding production, increasingexport, and facilitating transportation of suchsupplies to countries in urgent need of them,and for facilitating the construction in thesecountries of small factories and workshops forthe manufacture and repair of the most essen-tial agricultural machines, implements andspare parts, for increasing food production;

3. all countries to carry out as far as prac-ticable appropriate and necessary measures toregulate consumption, including the mainte-nance of high extraction rates, the dilution offlour, restrictions on usage of bread grains, forbeverages and other non-essential purposes, and

restrictions on the feeding of bread grains toanimals;

4. governments and international agenciesconcerned to continue and expand publicationof the fullest possible information on suppliesand requirements of foodstuffs and materialsmentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 above and onaction taken to carry out the recommendationscontained in this resolution, in order that futureaction may be guided by full knowledge of therelevant facts;

6. that attention continue to be given to theneed for measures necessary to enable import-ing countries to overcome international pay-ment difficulties, in order that the above recom-mendations may be rendered effective in im-proving the food situation.

i. Economic Reconstruction of Devastated AreasThe Economic and Social Council at its third

session considered the preliminary report ofthe Temporary Sub-Commission on EconomicReconstruction of Devastated Areas of the Eco-nomic and Employment Commission, and re-quested the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations to transmit to the General Assemblyfor consideration the report together with therelevant resolution of the Council of October3, 1946.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred this ques-tion to the Second Committee (Economic andFinancial) for consideration. The Second Com-mittee considered the matter at its 20th, 21st,22nd, 23rd and 27th meetings held on November20, 25, 27 and 30 and December 6 respectively.

During the discussion in the Second Commit-tee several delegations stressed the view thatthe economic reconstruction of the devastatedareas was not only a moral obligation of theUnited Nations but also an essential factor inthe restoration of world economy and of inter-national trade.

The representatives of Yugoslavia and Greecedeclared that the financial aspect of the prob-lem of economic reconstruction of devastatedareas was of the greatest importance. The rep-resentative of Greece submitted a draft resolu-tion which stressed the importance of makingadequate provision for meeting the needs ofdevastated areas for long-term and short-termloans on favorable conditions, special attentionto be given to the needs of countries havinglimited foreign exchange resources. The resolu-tion urged that the International Bank forReconstruction and Development should comeinto full and effective operation at the earliest


possible date, so that it might be able, early in1947, to make the fullest possible contributiontowards the needs of economic reconstruction.The representative of Yugoslavia submittedcertain amendments to this draft resolution.

The representative of Brazil called the Com-mittee's attention to the problems faced bythe raw material producing countries and sug-gested that the economic difficulties which thesecountries faced as a result of the war shouldbe considered along with the needs of devas-tated countries. The industrial rehabilitationof devastated countries, the Brazilian represen-tative considered, was closely related to theproblems of the supply of raw materials. Hetherefore submitted a proposal to the effectthat the General Assembly recommend to theEconomic and Social Council that the latterundertake through its appropriate subsidiaryorgans a study of the resources, supply positionand transport conditions of raw material pro-ducing countries with a view to enabling themto render fuller co-operation in the reconstruc-tion work. Several representatives of LatinAmerican countries expressed views similar tothose of the Brazilian representative. The rep-resentative of Mexico submitted certain amend-ments to the Brazilian draft resolution.

The representative of Norway submitted adraft resolution recommending that the Gen-eral Assembly approve the resolutions concern-ing the reconstruction of devastated areasadopted by the Economic and Social Council andthat the Assembly, moreover, recommend thatthe Economic and Social Council, at its nextsession, give favorable consideration to theestablishment of an economic commission forEurope.

The representative of the Philippine Republiccalled attention to the problems of the devas-tated areas of Asia and the Far East. Therepresentative for China submitted an amend-ment to the Norwegian draft resolution pro-posing that the General Assembly recommendto the Economic and Social Council at its nextsession that it give careful consideration to theestablishment of an economic commission forAsia as well as of an economic commission forEurope.

Several representatives expressed the viewthat this additional proposal of the Chineserepresentative might delay the establishmentof an economic commission for Europe. TheGeneral Assembly, these representatives con-sidered, should make a positive recommendation

concerning the establishment of an economiccommission for Europe so that the Economicand Social Council would not postpone the crea-tion of this commission until the next sessionof the General Assembly.

At its 23rd meeting on November 30, 1946,the Second Committee referred to a Sub-Com-mittee the various proposals which had beensubmitted. The draft resolution which the Sub-Committee drafted was unanimously adoptedby the Second Committee at its 27th meetingon December 6, 1946.

The General Assembly at its 55th plenarymeeting unanimously adopted the resolutionrecommended by the Second Committee, whichread as follows :

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,TAKING NOTE of the Preliminary Report

of the Temporary Sub-Commission on EconomicReconstruction of Devastated Areas and of therelevant resolution of the Economic and SocialCouncil of 3 October 1946;

RECOGNIZING the urgent need for inter-national co-operation in the reconstruction ofdevastated areas:

1. APPROVES the general resolution of theEconomic and Social Council, the resolutionon the Survey of the Economic Reconstruc-tion of Devastated Areas in Asia and the FarEast, and the resolution for continuing thework of the Sub-Commission on DevastatedAreas in Europe;2. URGES the Members of the United Na-tions, the Economic and Social Council, andthe specialized agencies and inter-govern-mental organizations concerned, to take allpossible steps, within their respective fieldsof activity, which may lead to the early solu-tion of the problems of economic reconstruc-tion of devastated areas;3. DIRECTS the Secretary-General to trans-mit to the International Bank for Reconstruc-tion and Development the opinion of theGeneral Assembly that, if the economic re-construction of devastated areas is not tobe unduly delayed, the International Bankshould come into full effective operation atthe earliest possible date so that, in accord-ance with the special functions laid down forthe Bank in its articles of Agreement, it maybe able, early in 1947, to make the fullest pos-sible contribution toward the needs of eco-nomic reconstruction;4. RECOMMENDS that the Economic andSocial Council and its Commissions considerundertaking as soon as possible, in co-opera-tion with the specialized agencies concerned,a general survey of raw material resourcesneeded for the economic reconstruction ofdevastated areas, with a view to recommend-ing the adoption of the necessary measures


to increase and promote production and tofacilitate transportation of those materialsfrom the producing areas to the devastatedareas;5. FURTHER RECOMMENDS that, in order togive effective aid to the countries devastatedby war, the Economic and Social Council atits next session, give prompt and favorableconsideration to the establishment of anEconomic Commission for Europe and anEconomic Commission for Asia and the FarEast.

j. Calling of an International Conference onFreedom of InformationDuring the first part of the first session of

the General Assembly, the delegation of thePhilippine Republic presented a draft resolu-tion concerning the calling of an internationalpress conference. On the recommendation ofthe General Committee, the General Assemblydecided to place this question on the agenda ofthe second part of its first session.

On October 31, 1946, at its 46th plenary meet-ing, the General Assembly referred this ques-tion to the Third Committee (Social, Humani-tarian and Cultural).

The delegation of the Philippine Republicsubmitted a new draft resolution, which camebefore the Third Committee on November 20,1946.

The representative of the Philippine Repub-lic emphasized that free interchange of infor-mation and unlimited opportunities for the peo-ples of the world to learn more about each otherwere the surest way of dispelling suspicion andpromoting international understanding. Hisdelegation had proposed the new resolutionbecause it believed that the radio and motionpictures, in their purely informational aspects,must be considered together with the press; ittherefore proposed an International Informa-tion Conference dealing not only with the pressbut likewise with other information media.

During the discussion reference was made tothe importance of co-operation with the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization in planning the conference.

The representative of the United States ofAmerica supported the Philippine proposal andwelcomed the fact that the conference woulddiscuss all information media, including radioand films.

The representative of the United Kingdomalso welcomed the suggestion that the confer-ence should cover all media. He agreed that theEconomic and Social Council should be given

the task of convening the conference, and con-sidered that it should be held independently ofany meeting of the General Assembly. He sug-gested that the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization, certainnon-governmental organizations and press pub-lishers, as well as relevant trade unions, shouldbe represented.

With regard to the agenda of the conference,he submitted the following for consideration aspractical objectives :

(a) To promote the widest and freest possi-ble exchange of incoming and outgoing news,without government censorship in times ofpeace.

(b) To extend to bona fide press, film andradio correspondents, without discrimination,all reasonable facilities to travel and reside inthe respective territories of the signatory gov-ernments, with complete freedom to carry ontheir activities and with equal access to allsources of news.

(c) To extend, within the respective terri-tories of the signatory government, and withoutdiscrimination, the freest and widest possibleopportunities for the distribution of news bybona fide news services.

(d) To extend access to available communica-tion facilities to bona fide correspondents andnews agencies without discrimination as tonationality.

The Chilean representative wished to add afifth point to those submitted by the UnitedKingdom representative, namely, that an ob-jective of the conference should be to preventdiscrimination in the press against any coun-tries or regions of the world.

Other representatives supported the resolu-tion, the points most frequently emphasizedbeing that in recent history the world had seenonly too clearly that media of publicity wereoften used to disseminate, not true news butpropaganda; that professional journalists, aswell as editors and owners of the press, shouldbe present at the conference; that all mediashould be represented; and that it was impor-tant to find a solution of the problem of pre-senting true news as well as of obtaining truenews.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. consideredthat, under the present conditions, it was notdesirable to widen the scope of the conferenceto include questions relating to radio and thefilms, since special conferences might be neces-sary to consider those specific problems. Therepresentative of India felt that the mattercould be more appropriately discussed and de-cided in the General Assembly.


By 41 votes to 0, the Third Committee de-cided to recommend to the General Assemblythe adoption of the resolution (with minordrafting changes) as submitted by the repre-sentative of the Philippine Republic.

On December 5, 1946, the Third Committeediscussed its draft report to the Assembly onthe question of the proposed conference onfreedom of information. The representative ofFrance pointed out that the technical servicesof the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization could be of great as-sistance in the preparatory work for the pro-posed conference. He suggested an amendmentto instruct the Economic and Social Council toundertake the convocation of the conference"with the co-operation of the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-tion." The amendment was defeated by 17 votesto 8. The Third Committee then unanimouslyadopted the report.

In accordance with rule 112 of the Provi-sional Rules of Procedure of the General As-sembly, the Chairman of the Third Committeereferred to the Fifth Committee, on November21, 1946, the recommendation of the ThirdCommittee that an international conference onfreedom of information should be held during1947, at such place as might be determined bythe Economic and Social Council.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary) examined estimates prepared bythe Secretary-General regarding the cost ofsuch a conference (1) if held at the headquar-ters of the United Nations, (2) if held atGeneva and (3) if held elsewhere. The Com-mittee approved without dissent the inclusionof $28,000 in the estimates for 1947 to coverthe costs of such a conference if held at head-quarters. The Committee noted that, shouldanother location be selected by the Economicand Social Council, the additional cost would,if necessary, be covered by the utilization ofsuch provision for unforeseen expenses as mightbe made by the General Assembly under theWorking Capital Fund.

At its 65th plenary meeting on December14, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the following resolution recommendedby the Third Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,WHEREASFreedom of information is a fundamental

human right and is the touchstone of all thefreedoms to which the United Nations is con-secrated;

Freedom of information implies the right togather, transmit and publish news anywhereand everywhere without fetters. As such it isan essential factor in any serious effort to pro-mote the peace and progress of the world;

Freedom of information requires as an indis-pensable element the willingness and capacityto employ its privileges without abuse. It re-quires as a basic discipline the moral obligationto seek the facts without prejudice and to spreadknowledge without malicious intent;

Understanding and co-operation among na-tions are impossible without an alert and soundworld opinion, which, in turn, is wholly depend-ent upon freedom of information;

RESOLVES THEREFORE, in the spirit of para-graphs 3 and 4 of Article 1 of the Charter,to authorize the holding of a conference of allMembers of the United Nations on freedom ofinformation;

INSTRUCTS the Economic and Social Coun-cil to undertake, pursuant to Article 60 andArticle 62, paragraph 4, of the Charter, the con-vocation of such a conference in accordance withthe following guiding principles:

(a) the purpose of the Conference shall beto formulate its views concerning the rights,obligations and practices which should beincluded in the concept of the freedom ofinformation;(b) delegations to the Conference shall in-clude in each instance persons actually en-gaged or experienced in press, radio, motionpictures and other media for the dissemina-tion of information;(c) the Conference shall be held before theend of 1947, at such place as may be deter-mined by the Economic and Social Council, inorder to enable the Council to submit a reporton the deliberations and recommendations ofthe Conference to the following regular ses-sion of the General Assembly.

k. Draft Declarations on the Rights and Duties ofStates and on Fundamental Human Rights andFreedomsDuring the San Francisco Conference the

representatives of Panama, Mexico and Cubahad proposed that the Conference should adopta Declaration of the Rights and Duties ofNations and a Declaration of the EssentialRights of Man. The Conference did not find itpossible to deal with the subject, however.

At the first part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly the General Committee votednot to include in the agenda a proposal by therepresentative of Cuba that the Assembly dis-cuss the matter of a Declaration on Funda-mental Human Rights and the Rights andDuties of Nations1.

See p. 77.1


The delegation of Panama had submitted aDraft Declaration on the Rights and Duties ofStates and a Draft Declaration on FundamentalHuman Rights and Freedoms and had requestedthat the agenda of the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly include con-sideration of these Draft Declarations.

(1) Draft Declaration on the Rights andDuties of States

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred to theFirst Committee the Draft Declaration on theRights and Duties of States.

During the discussion which took place atthe 40th and 41st meeting of the First Commit-tee on December 5 and 6, 1946, the representa-tive of Panama was commended for his ex-cellent work. The Committee felt, however, thatthe question could not be thoroughly examinedduring the current session of the General As-sembly. It therefore adopted unanimously aproposal submitted jointly by the representa-tives of El Salvador, Panama, Poland and theUnited States that consideration of the DraftDeclaration on the Rights and Duties of Statesbe postponed until the second session of theGeneral Assembly and that in the meantime theDraft Declaration be submitted to the MemberGovernments for their comments and observa-tions, to national and international bodies con-cerned with international law and to the Com-mittee on the Codification of International Lawestablished during the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly.

On the recommendation of the First Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 55th plenarymeeting on December 11 unanimously adoptedthe following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:1. To request the Secretary-General to trans-

mit immediately to all Member States of theUnited Nations and to national and interna-tional bodies concerned with international law,the text of the draft Declaration of the Rightsand Duties of States presented by Panama,with the request that they submit their com-ments and observations to the Secretary-Gen-eral before 1 June 1947;

2. To refer the said Declaration to the Com-mittee established by the General Assemblyduring the present session to study the methodsof codification of international law and to re-quest the Secretary-General to transmit to thisCommittee the comments and observations asthey are received from the Governments andinstitutions referred to in the preceding para-graph;

3. To request this Committee to reportthereon to the second regular session of theGeneral Assembly;

4. To include this matter in the agenda ofthe second regular session of the GeneralAssembly.

(2) Draft Declaration on FundamentalHuman Rights and Freedoms

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred the DraftDeclaration on Fundamental Human Rights andFreedoms simultaneously to the First (Politicaland Security) and Third (Social, Humanitarianand Cultural) Committees.

At the 33rd meeting of the Third Commit-tee on November 26 the representative ofthe United States submitted a resolution recom-mending that the Draft Declaration be referredto the Economic and Social Council for submis-sion to the Commission on Human Rights. ThisCommission, one of whose tasks it was to draftan international bill of human rights, was thelogical body, the United States representativeand several others considered, to study the draftsubmitted by the representative of Panama.The representative of Panama, on the otherhand, considered that the Committees of theGeneral Assembly alone were competent tostudy the question. A joint sub-committee ofthe First and Third Committee should be es-tablished to examine the Panamanian draft.By 27 votes to 10 the Third Committee adoptedthe United States proposal.

At the 41st meeting of the First Committeethe representative of Panama stated that theThird Committee had acted rather hastily inreferring the matter to the Commission onHuman Rights without a time limit and withoutinstructions. He asked that the First Committeeadopt a resolution similar to the one adoptedconcerning the Draft Declaration on the Rightsand Duties of States. The First Committee de-cided, however, in favor of upholding the de-cision of the Third Committee. In order to meetthe objection of the representative of Panamaconcerning a time limit on the work of the Com-mission of Human Rights, the First Committeeadded a paragraph to the resolution as adoptedby the Third Committee, expressing the hopethat the question would be referred back to theGeneral Assembly for inclusion in the agendaof its second session. The Third Committee ap-proved this amendment at its 45th meeting onDecember 9.


On the recommendation of the First andThird Committees the General Assembly, there-fore, at its 55th plenary meeting on December11 adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,WHEREASThe Economic and Social Council has estab-

lished a Commission on Human Rights and hasresolved that the work of the Commission shallbe directed towards submitting proposals,recommendations and reports to the Councilconcerning an international bill of rights.

RESOLVES THEREFORE to refer the draftDeclaration on Fundamental Human Rights andFreedoms to the Economic and Social Councilfor reference to the Commission on HumanRights for consideration by the Commission inits preparation of an international bill ofrights; and

EXPRESSES the hope that the question willbe referred back to it in order that it may beincluded in the agenda of the second regularsession of the General Assembly.l. Persecution and Discrimination

By a letter of November 2, 1946, addressedto the President of the General Assembly, therepresentative of Egypt submitted a draft reso-lution on persecution and discrimination to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly. The resolution stated that it ap-peared from various governmental and unoffi-cial investigations carried out in several Statesof Central Europe, among both Members andnon-Members of the United Nations, that citi-zens belonging to religious minorities contin-ued, in spite of the victory of the democracies,to be the object of persecution and of discrimi-nation which rendered very difficult life in theirnative countries, where they had an absoluteright to be on an equal footing with all othercitizens. Such persecution and discrimination,the resolution stated further, constituted a totaldisregard of the most elementary humanitarianprinciples and was contrary to the purposes ofthe United Nations. The General Assemblytherefore should call on the governments andresponsible authorities of the areas concernedto put an end to such persecution and dis-crimination.

The General Committee of the General As-sembly considered this proposal at its 25thmeeting on November 6, 1946. A number ofrepresentatives objected to the reference madeto certain countries of Central Europe. TheGeneral Committee therefore decided by a voteof 3 to 3, with 3 abstentions, not to recommendthe Egyptian proposal for inclusion in theagenda of the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly.

At the 47th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on November 9, 1946, the Egyptianrepresentative submitted a revised text of hisresolution dealing with the problem of persecu-tion and discrimination in general terms with-out any reference to the countries of CentralEurope. In its revised form the resolution metwith no objection from any delegation.

At its 48th plenary meeting on November 19,1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the resolution without first referringit to a Committee. The text of the resolutionwas as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECLARES that it isin the higher interests of humanity to put animmediate end to religious and so-called racialpersecution and discrimination, and calls onthe Governments and responsible authoritiesto conform both to the letter and to the spiritof the Charter of the United Nations, and totake the most prompt and energetic steps tothat end.

m. Political Rights of WomenOn October 30, 1946, the delegation of Den-

mark submitted a draft resolution concerningthe political rights of women to the second partof the first session of the General Assembly.On the recommendation of its General Commit-tee, the General Assembly, at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31 decided to place thisdraft resolution on its agenda and to refer it tothe Third Committee (Social, Humanitarianand Cultural).

The resolution, which made reference in itspreamble to the provisions of the United Na-tions Charter concerning equal rights of menand women, contained the two following recom-mendations :

(1) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY . . . recom-mends

that all Member States which have not al-ready done so, adopt measures necessary tofulfil the purposes and ends of the Charter inthis respect by granting women the same politi-cal rights as men and invites the Secretary-General to communicate this recommendationto all Governments of Member States.

(2) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY recommendsthat the Security Council and the GeneralAssembly in dealing with applications for mem-bership give consideration to the political rightsof women in the applicant State.

During the discussion which took place in theThird Committee at its 22nd and 23rd meetings,held on November 13 and 15 respectively, a con-siderable number of representatives spoke in


support of the resolution. Some representativesconsidered that women ought to be grantedequal social and civil rights as well as equalpolitical rights, and that a recommendation tothis effect should be included in the resolution.Other representatives stressed the need for aneffective implementation of the resolution andsuggested that the General Assembly might re-fer the matter to the Economic and Social Coun-cil with a view to such implementation.

Concerning the second part of the resolutionthe representative of Denmark stated that theFirst Committee, after a protracted debate, hadconcluded its consideration of the question ofthe admission of new Members. In the circum-stances, it was felt that a debate on the secondpart of the Danish proposal might lead to dupli-cation of that discussion; therefore, in orderto expedite the business of the General Assem-bly, the delegation of Denmark, with the con-sent of the Third Committee, withdrew thatpart of the resolution.

The Third Committee then adopted the reso-lution proposed by the Danish delegation by41 votes to 0. At its 55th plenary meeting onDecember 11, 1946, the General Assemblyunanimously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,WHEREASIn the Preamble of the Charter the peoples

of the United Nations have reaffirmed faith inthe equal rights of men and women, and inArticle 1 it is stated that the purposes of theUnited Nations are, among others, to achieveinternational co-operation in promoting andencouraging respect for human rights and forfundamental freedoms for all without distinc-tion as to sex, and to be a centre for harmoniz-ing the actions of nations in the attainmentof these common ends,

WHEREASCertain Member States have not yet granted

to women political rights equal to those grantedto men,

THEREFORE :(a) RECOMMENDS that all Member Stateswhich have not already done so, adopt meas-ures necessary to fulfil the purposes andaims of the Charter in this respect by grant-ing to women the same political rights asto men;(b) INVITES the Secretary-General to com-municate this recommendation to the Govern-ments of all Member States.

n. National Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesDuring its second session in June 1946 the

Economic and Social Council was requested by

the Belgian Government to present to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly a proposal concerning co-operationbetween National Red Cross Societies.

At its third session the Economic and SocialCouncil adopted on September 21, 1946, aresolution recommending that the General As-sembly call the attention of Members to thisquestion. This item was placed on the agendaof the General Assembly and was referred tothe Third Committee by the General Assemblyat its 46th plenary meeting on October 31, 1946.

The Third Committee considered the questionat its 14th and 15th meetings on November 3and 4, respectively. Three proposals were putforward:

(1) an amendment by the representative ofthe United Kingdom proposing that the RedCross and Red Crescent Societies be broughtinto relation with the United Nations throughthe World Health Organization;

(2) a draft resolution submitted by the rep-resentative of France proposing that modifica-tions and additions to the International Con-ventions of Geneva and The Hague be made,especially in regard to wounded and prisonersof war, and the protection of civilians;

(3) an amendment by the representative ofTurkey proposing that the Red Crescent Socie-ties be mentioned at the same time as the RedCross Societies.

Several representatives expressed the viewthat the French and the United Kingdomamendments might complicate a simple resolu-tion, which, it was urged, ought to be adoptedunanimously as a tribute to the Red Cross andRed Crescent Societies for the work they hadperformed during the war. The two amend-ments were therefore withdrawn. The repre-sentative of France indicated that his draftresolution would be submitted to the Economicand Social Council at its next session.

The insertion of the term "Red Crescent"was approved by the Committee.

On the recommendation of the Third Commit-tee, the General Assembly at its 49th plenarymeeting on November 19, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY draws the attentionof the Members of the United Nations to thefact that the following purposes are of specialconcern, namely:

(a) that the said Members should encourageand promote the establishment and co-opera-tion of duly authorized voluntary NationalRed Cross and Red Crescent Societies;


(b) that at all times the independent volun-tary nature of the National Red Cross andRed Crescent Societies be respected in allcircumstances, provided they are recognizedby their Governments and carry on theirwork according to the principles of theGeneva and The Hague Conventions and inthe humanitarian spirit of the Red Cross andRed Crescent;(c) that the necessary steps be taken to en-sure that in all circumstances contact may bemaintained between the National Red Crossand Red Crescent Societies of all countries,so as to enable them to carry out their hu-manitarian task.

o. Establishment of the World Health Organiza-tionOn September 17, 1946, in the course of its

third session, the Economic and Social Counciladopted a resolution recommending that theGeneral Assembly take the necessary measuresfor the establishment of the World HealthOrganization.

This matter was placed on the agenda of theGeneral Assembly and was referred to theThird Committee (Social, Humanitarian andCultural), which, after discussing the questionat its 33rd meeting on November 26, 1946,unanimously approved the resolution of the Eco-nomic and Social Council and recommended thatgovernments be urged to ratify their signaturesat the earliest possible date.

With regard to the question of the budget ofthe Interim Commission of the World HealthOrganization, the Committee had to decidewhether, in its opinion, funds to be allotted bythe United Nations for the purpose of financingthe activities of the Interim Commission shouldbe in the form of a loan or a grant. The repre-sentative of China proposed that the funds tobe allotted should be in the form of a grant.The representative of the Ukrainian S.S.R.stated that the World Health Organizationshould draw its funds from the contributionsnormally made by the governments representedin the Organization. If the principle of makinggrants to specialized agencies were adopted aregrettable precedent would be established inthat all Members of the United Nations wouldbe forced to contribute to the financing of aspecialized agency. The representative of theUkrainian S.S.R. therefore proposed that fundsallotted by the United Nations should be in theform of a loan.

In the interests of unanimity the Chinese pro-posal was withdrawn in favor of the Ukrainianproposal.

The matter was referred to the Fifth Com-mittee (Administrative and Budgetary) forfurther detailed consideration and report. TheFifth Committee considered that the questionwas indissolubly bound up with decisions relat-ing to the Working Capital Fund, and relating,in particular, to decisions of the Fifth Commit-tee concerning interim financing of specializedagencies by the United Nations. It thereforereferred this item to the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions.

The Advisory Committee reported its findingsto the Fifth Committee in its fourth report,dated December 10, 1946. This report containedthe following recommendations concerningloans to specialized agencies:

The Secretary-General proposes that heshould be enabled to use the funds to make,under adequate safeguards, temporary repay-able advances for financing certain specializedagencies while the agencies concerned are intheir initial formative period and are in needof time to collect contributions under their ownbudgets. A question of policy is involved, inas-much as the Members of the United Nations arenot, in all cases, members of the specializedagencies. Subject to acceptance by the FifthCommittee of the proposed policy, the AdvisoryCommittee believes that the proposal should bemade more flexible, but that at the same time,the safeguards should be more carefully de-fined. It recommends, therefore, that advancesto agencies should be made only after carefulexamination of the need, and of the proposedfinancial resources of the agency concerned.The prior concurrence of the Advisory Com-mittee would be required for advances aggre-gating more than $2,000,000 (United States)or in excess of $1,000,000 (United States) forany one agency.

The Fifth Committee adopted the report atits 44th meeting on December 13, 1946. Takingnote of the resolution of the Third Committee,the Fifth Committee assured the Members ofthe General Assembly that the necessary fundsfor the implementation of the resolution wouldbe made available.

On the recommendation of the Third Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 65th plenarymeeting on December 14, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,TAKES NOTE of the resolution adopted by

the Economic and Social Council at its thirdsession on 17 September 1946, regarding theestablishment of the World Health Organiza-tion:


1. RECOMMENDS all Members of the UnitedNations to accept the Constitution of theWorld Health Organization at the earliestpossible date;2. INSTRUCTS the Secretary-General totake the necessary steps, as contemplated bythe Final Act of the International HealthConference, to effect the transfer to the In-terim Commission of the World Health Or-ganization of the functions and activities ofthe League of Nations Health Organizationwhich have been assumed by the UnitedNations;3. RECOMMENDS all Members of the UnitedNations, and in particular those Membersparties to the Rome Agreement of 1907 con-stituting the Office international d'hygiènepublique, to accept, at the earliest possibledate, the Protocol of the International HealthConference concerning the Office interna-tional d'hygiène publique;4. APPROVES, in response to the applica-tion of the Interim Commission, a loan bythe United Nations of a maximum sum of$300,000 (U.S.) for the purpose of financingthe activities of the Interim Commissionfrom the commencement of its work to theend of the financial year 1946, and approvesthe inclusion in the budget of the UnitedNations for the financial year 1947 of a maxi-mum sum of $1,000,000 (U.S.) as a furtherloan for the purpose of financing the activi-ties of the Interim Commission or the WorldHealth Organization during that year;6, AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General totransmit any recommendations made by theGeneral Assembly in pursuance of para-graphs 1 and 3 above to all States which,whether Members of the United Nations ornot, sent representatives or observers to theInternational Health Conference.

In pursuance of the above resolution, a cir-cular letter, dated January 27, 1947, was sentby the Secretary-General to the States Membersand non-Members of the United Nations whichhad previously sent representatives or observersto the International Health Conference. In con-formity with the recommendations of theGeneral Assembly's resolution the governmentswere requested to accept the Constitution ofthe World Health Organization at the earliestpossible date as well as the Protocol concerningthe Office international d'hygiène publique. Upto June 30, 1947, the Constitution had beenaccepted by fourteen States1.

p. Housing and Town PlanningBy a letter of October 26, 1946, addressed to

the President of the General Assembly, the dele-gation of France requested that the question ofhousing and town planning be included in the

agenda of the second part of the first session ofthe General Assembly and it submitted a draftresolution.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred the ques-tion to the Joint Second and Third Committee,which considered the matter at its 9th and 11thmeetings on December 4 and 10 respectively.The French resolution proposed that the Gen-eral Assembly:

(1) summon a preparatory conference oftechnical experts on housing and town planningto study the organization and unification ofinternational exchanges of information relatingin particular to demographic statistics, townplanning principles, building techniques, andthe economic, financial, legal and legislative as-pects of town planning questions;

(2) establish, under the auspices of the Eco-nomic and Social Council, an International In-formation and Research Office on housing andtown planning questions.

The representative of the United Kingdomagreed with the aims and principles of theFrench resolution, but expressed his oppositionto any excessive increase in the number ofinternational agencies. The Economic and So-cial Council and its commissions, he stated, hadalready been charged with a study of the hous-ing problem; hence it was not necessary toestablish any new international machinery. Therepresentative of the United Kingdom thereforesubmitted a revised draft resolution which tookinto account the existing machinery of theUnited Nations. The representative of Franceaccepted the revised text submitted by the rep-resentative of the United Kingdom.

The representative of the United States pre-sented an amendment to the French-UnitedKingdom proposal, which also included certainchanges suggested by the delegations of Chileand Venezuela. The resolution as amended wasadopted unanimously by the Committee.

On the recommendation of the Joint Secondand Third Committee the General Assembly atits 65th plenary meeting on December 14, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CONSIDERING the magnitude and gravity

of housing problems in various parts of theworld, and the advisability of providing forexchange of views and constant liaison betweenthe technical experts of the various nations;

1 For further information on the World HealthOrganization see Part Two, The Specialized

Agencies.


CONSIDERING the recommendations alreadymade by the special meeting on emergency hous-ing problems convened by the Emergency Eco-nomic Committee for Europe, and also of therecommendations of the Housing Sub-Commit-tee of the Emergency Economic Committee forEurope:

DECIDES to recommend to the Economic andSocial Council that it instruct the appropriateCommissions to expedite their study of housingproblems, with special reference to the organi-zation and unification of international ex-changes of information relating, in particular,to town planning principles, building techniquesand the climatic, economic and financial, legaland legislative aspects of housing and townplanning questions; and to consider the de-sirability of holding an international conferenceof experts to advise on the need for establishingan international mechanism to collate such in-formation, lay down guiding principles for newtechnical research on materials, methods of useand prefabrication, and to define standardscapable of general application.

q. Provision of Expert Advice by the UnitedNations to Member StatesBy a letter of December 2, 1946, addressed

to the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions, the Lebanese delegation requested theinclusion of the following item in the agendaof the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly:

The creation by the United Nations of Advi-sory Boards of the proper disinterestedness andexcellence in economic, social, health, adminis-trative, educational and cultural matters, forthe purpose of enabling the Members of theUnited Nations to draw upon such Boards forexpert advice in connection with their owninternal development.

In the course of the discussion which tookplace at the 25th meeting of the General Com-mittee on November 6, 1946, certain membersof the Committee opposed inclusion of this itemin the agenda on the ground that the Economicand Social Council was the proper organ to dealwith this matter and that the creation of newbodies would involve additional expense. TheGeneral Committee voted 11 to 2 to recommendto the General Assembly that the item be in-cluded in the agenda. The General Assembly atits 47th plenary meeting on November 9agreed to include the item in its agenda andreferred it to the Joint Second and Third Com-mittee.

The Joint Committee considered the matterat its 11th and 12th meetings, held on December6 and 10 respectively. The representative of

Lebanon stated that certain countries whichwere politically independent did not possesssufficient technical and economic means fortheir development without outside help. Suchhelp, the Lebanese representative stressed,should be furnished through collective interna-tional action. Otherwise the less developed coun-tries might have to resort to bilateral agree-ments to obtain assistance from more advancedcountries, and this might endanger the eco-nomic independence of the former. The draftresolution submitted by the representative ofLebanon therefore recommended that the Gen-eral Assembly refer to the Economic and SocialCouncil for study and recommendation to thenext session of the General Assembly the pro-posal for the creation of advisory boards ofexperts in the economic, financial, statistical,administrative, health, educational and otherfields, whose function it would be to render ex-pert advice and guidance to Member nationswhich desired their assistance.

The representatives of Australia, Canada, theU.S.S.R. and others, while expressing sympathywith the objectives of the Lebanese resolution,drew attention to the risk of overloading theEconomic and Social Council with work in theearly stages of its development, and to the factthat several specialized agencies were, by theirconstitutions, authorized to supply advice of thekind desired within their special fields. Theysuggested that consideration of the questionbe postponed.

The delegation of China proposed a numberof amendments, and in particular the deletionof the second part of the draft Lebanese resolu-tion, which contained a number of "considera-tions" which the Economic and Social Councilshould take into account in studying the matter.These amendments were accepted by the Leb-anese representative.

The representative of the United States pro-posed to include in the resolution a reference tothe co-operation of the specialized agencies withrespect to the supplying of expert advice. Inaddition, he pointed out that individual coun-tries constituted one of the possible sources ofsuch assistance and he suggested, therefore,that the Economic and Social Council shouldseek the co-operation of Member Governmentsas well as of specialized agencies in supplyingexpert advice.

The representative of France pointed out,however, that the aim of the Lebanese draftresolution was to substitute the expert advice


of international organizations such as theUnited Nations and the specialized agencies forbilateral arrangements which often resulted inthe undue economic dependence of one nationupon another.

The representative of Lebanon accepted theamendment of the United States concerning theco-operation of the specialized agencies. He de-clared that he was not, however, in favor ofthe recommendation concerning Member Gov-ernments. That amendment was rejected by theJoint Second and Third Committee.

The Committee, after considering several fur-ther amendments, adopted the revised Lebaneseresolution by 26 votes to 0, with 4 abstentions.

On the recommendation of the Joint Secondand Third Committee, the General Assemblyat its 65th plenary meeting on December 14,1946, unanimously adopted the following reso-lution :

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CONSIDERING that the Members of the United

Nations are not yet all equally developed:CONSIDERING that some Member Nations

may need expert advice in the various fields ofeconomic, social and cultural development;

RECOGNIZING the responsibility of the UnitedNations under the Charter for assisting insuch development;

RECOGNIZING the importance of such de-velopment for the peace and prosperity of theworld;

RECOGNIZING the responsibility of the spe-cialized agencies in their respective fields;

DECIDES to refer to the Economic and So-cial Council for study the question of providingeffective ways and means for furnishing, in co-operation with the specialized agencies, expertadvice in the economic, social and cultural fieldsto Member nations who desire this assistance.

r. Translation of the ClassicsBy a letter of November 2, 1946, the repre-

sentative of Lebanon requested the inclusion ofthe following item in the agenda of the sec-ond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly:

To initiate studies and make recommenda-tions on the question of the translation and pub-lication of the great classics of human thoughtin the various languages of the United Nations.

At the 24th meeting of the General Commit-tee of the General Assembly certain membersof the Committee opposed the inclusion of thisitem in the agenda of the General Assembly onthe ground that the time of the Assembly was

very limited and that the proposal should bemore appropriately referred to UNESCO. TheGeneral Committee voted 10 to 2 to recommendto the General Assembly that the item be in-cluded in the agenda. At its 47th plenary meet-ing the General Assembly agreed to this recom-mendation and referred the question to theThird Committee (Social, Humanitarian andCultural).

The Third Committee at its 42nd meeting onDecember 5, 1946, considered a draft resolutionsubmitted by the representative of Lebanon.The resolution proposed that the question of thetranslation of the classics be referred to theEconomic and Social Council for study in con-sultation with UNESCO and for recommenda-tion to the next session of the General Assembly.

Commenting upon his proposal, the represen-tative of Lebanon stated that the soundest foun-dation of peace would be the sharing of certainfundamental concepts of all peoples. It was withthe purpose of extending to all peoples the bene-fits of human culture that the Lebanese delega-tion submitted the proposal for a translation ofthe classics under the auspices of the UnitedNations. The Lebanese representative expressedthe view that UNESCO was not a sufficientlyuniversal organ to undertake the task. The en-tire collection of classics should be publishedunder the auspices of the United Nations.

Other representatives insisted that UNESCOwas the proper organization to deal with thisquestion. The representative of the UnitedStates submitted an amendment, further modi-fied at the suggestion of the representative forIndia, proposing that the General Assemblyrefer the question to the Economic and SocialCouncil, which would transmit it to UNESCOfor further consideration and suitable action.The Third Committee unanimously adopted thisamendment and then unanimously adopted therevised resolution as a whole.

At the 45th meeting of the Third Committeeon December 9 the representative of SaudiArabia proposed that the works to be trans-lated should be selected in such a way as topromote international good will and that thedefinition of classics should not be restricted toany period. Several representatives opposed thissuggestion, considering that any given workeither was a classic or was not, and that itshould be judged on its literary merits solely.The Committee agreed to mention the views ofthe Saudi Arabian representative in its reportto the General Assembly.


On the recommendation of the Third Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 65th plenarymeeting on December 14, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the resolution, which read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,RECOGNIZING that the translation of the

world's classics into the languages of the Mem-bers of the United Nations will promote under-standing and peace among nations by the crea-tion of a community of culture in which thepeoples of all nations may participate:

1. DECIDES to refer this question to theEconomic and Social Council for reference tothe United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization for suitableaction;2. RECOMMENDS to the Economic and So-cial Council and to the United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Cultural Organizationthe following principles to be considered intheir study of this question:

(a) that the translation of the classics isa project of international concern and ofgreat significance for the promotion of in-national cultural co-operation;(b) that certain nations do not have suf-ficient facilities and resources for the au-thentic translation of numerous classicsinto their languages;(c) that such translation is greatly con-ducive to their cultural development;(d) that the definition of classics shouldnot be limited by reference to any particu-lar culture but should include products ofall nations or cultures which are deemedby the highest authorities to have universalsignificance and permanent value.

s. World University AllianceBy a letter of November 2, 1946, addressed to

the Secretary-General of the United Nationsthe Lebanese delegation requested that the fol-lowing item be included in the agenda of thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly :

To initiate studies and make recommenda-tions concerning the possibility of the creationof a World University Alliance through whichthe universities, scholars, and students of theUnited Nations could collaborate with theUnited Nations, offering the results of theirresearch and study as their benevolent contri-bution towards the achievement of the purposesand principles of the Charter.

At the 25th meeting of the General Commit-tee certain representatives opposed the inclu-sion of this item in the agenda of the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly. In accordance with a suggestion of the rep-resentative of France, the representative of

Lebanon withdrew his proposal, reserving theright to resubmit it to the next session of theGeneral Assembly.

4. TRUSTEESHIP AND NON-SELF-GOVERNINGTERRITORIES

a. Trusteeship Agreements

(1) Approval by the General AssemblyIn its resolution on non-self-governing peo-

ples of February 9, 1946, the General Assemblyinvited States administering territories underLeague of Nations Mandate to undertake prac-tical steps for the implementation of Article 79of the Charter by submitting TrusteeshipAgreements for the approval of the GeneralAssembly, preferably not later than during thesecond part of its first session.

In pursuance of this resolution, draft Trus-teeship Agreements for eight of the mandatedterritories were submitted to the second partof the first session of the General Assembly forapproval. The Agreements were communicatedby the Government of Australia for NewGuinea, by the Government of Belgium forRuanda-Urundi, by the Government of Francefor the Cameroons under French Mandate andTogoland under French Mandate, by the Gov-ernment of New Zealand for Western Samoa,and by the Government of the United Kingdomfor Tanganyika, the Cameroons under BritishMandate and Togoland under British Mandate.The General Assembly referred these proposedTrusteeship Agreements to its Fourth Com-mittee (Trusteeship) for consideration.

In the course of an extensive general dis-cussion which took place at the 14th, 15th,16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th meetings of theFourth Committee held on November 4, 5, 7,8, 11, 13 and 14 respectively, the various repre-sentatives expressed their views as to the gen-eral principles which should govern the opera-tion of the trusteeship system.

A considerable number of representatives ex-pressed the view that the eight TrusteeshipAgreements submitted by the AdministeringAuthorities were susceptible of improvement ina number of ways. On the other hand, theserepresentatives were of the opinion that theAgreements contained no violation of the funda-mental principles of the Charter. Consideringthe early establishment of the TrusteeshipCouncil to be the most urgent consideration,these representatives urged approval of theproposed Agreements despite certain imperfec-tions.


The representative of the United States re-marked that in accordance with Article 79 ofthe Charter, Trusteeship Agreements must beapproved by the "States directly concerned."The phrase "States directly concerned," theUnited States representative maintained,should be interpreted to mean only the Stateadministering the Trust Territory. Any otherinterpretation would cause difficulties and de-lays in the establishment of the TrusteeshipCouncil. The representative of the United Statessuggested the following practical procedure:

(1) that a sub-committee should be estab-lished to consider the draft Trusteeship Agree-ments and to negotiate on behalf of the FourthCommittee with the governments which hadsubmitted the Agreements;

(2) that States interested should be permit-ted to submit to the sub-committee and to themandatory powers involved suggestions re-garding the proposed Agreements;

(3) that after hearing such suggestions andafter consultation with the sub-committee themandatory powers involved suggestions re-sub-committee as to the acceptability of thesesuggestions;

(4) that the Agreements thus modifiedshould be considered by the Fourth Committeeand referred to the General Assembly with theCommittee's recommendations.

The United States Government would be will-ing to accept the Trusteeship Agreements asthey would be approved under this procedure,he said, provided that other nations were readyto do the same and would not insist on the rightto veto any Agreement by claiming to be a"State directly concerned."

The representative of the U.S.S.R. criticizedthe mandatory powers for procrastinating insubmitting Trusteeship Agreements, and moreparticularly criticized these powers for notsubmitting Trusteeship Agreements for allformer League of Nations mandates. TheCharter, the U.S.S.R. representative main-tained, imposed a definite obligation on theAdministering Authorities to place all formermandates under trusteeship.

The Trusteeship Agreements which had beensubmitted, the U.S.S.R. representative stated,had been drawn up in violation of Article 79 ofthe Charter, as they had not been concluded inconcert with the powers "directly concerned."He disagreed with the view of the representa-tive of the United States that this term shouldinclude only the Administering Authority.

The representative of China submitted adraft resolution to the effect that the GeneralAssembly anticipated that those States whichhad not yet submitted draft Trusteeship Agree-ments in respect of territories hitherto heldunder mandate would take such steps as werenecessary under Article 79 of the Charter, tothe end that all such territories might be soonbrought within the Trusteeship System. TheFourth Committee failed to adopt this proposal.

Another proposal not adopted by the FourthCommittee was one submitted by the repre-sentative of India to the effect that the Com-mittee recommend that the AdministeringAuthority for Trust Territories falling underChapter XII of the Charter should as a rulebe "the Organization itself" as indicated inArticle 81 of the Charter.

Following the general discussion, the FourthCommittee at its 20th meeting on November14 appointed a Sub-Committee of seven-teen members to examine the eight proposedAgreements and make recommendations to theCommittee on them. The Sub-Committee held26 meetings. In the course of its deliberationsit considered 229 proposed modifications of thetexts of these Agreements. All members of theFourth Committee not represented on the Sub-Committee were given the opportunity to pro-pose modifications.

The governments concerned accepted for in-corporation in the texts of their Agreementscertain of the modifications either recommendedto them by a majority vote of the Sub-Commit-tee, or in some cases without a vote. In othercases the delegations concerned notified theSub-Committee of the inability of their Gov-ernments to accept the recommended changes.In some cases, following discussion and decla-rations made by representatives of govern-ments administering mandated territories,proposed modifications were withdrawn. Someof the delegations whose proposed modifica-tions did not receive the majority support ofthe Sub-Committee, subsequently brought thembefore the Fourth Committee as a whole.

The Sub-Committee, following its article byarticle examination of the eight proposedAgreements, decided at its 25th meeting torecommend to the Fourth Committee approvalof the Agreements with the exception of thepreambles. The vote in each case was 12 for,3 against and 2 abstentions, except in the caseof the proposed Agreement for New Guinea,approval of which was recommended by a voteof 11 to 3, with 3 abstentions.


The preambles to the Trusteeship Agree-ments involved the question of "States directlyconcerned," on which the Sub-Committee failedto reach agreement in the course of its pro-longed discussions. At the 24th meeting of theSub-Committee on December 5 the Chair-man of the Sub-Committee, on his own responsi-bility, had requested the representatives of theU.S.S.R. and the United States to undertakeconsultations in an effort to reach a solutionacceptable to the Sub-Committee on the problemof "States directly concerned." At the 27thmeeting of the Sub-Committee on December 9,the two representatives reported that theseconsultations had not succeeded.

At its 27th meeting the Sub-Committee re-jected by a vote of 4 to 10, with 3 abstentions,a proposal of the delegation of the U.S.S.R. toset up a drafting sub-committee to find a gen-eral definition of "States directly concerned."A proposal of the delegation of the UnitedStates was approved by a vote of 13 to 3, with1 abstention, to the effect that the followingrecommendation on the subject of "States di-rectly concerned" be included in the report ofthe Rapporteur of the Fourth Committee:

Approval of any terms of Trusteeship by thissession of the General Assembly should be onthe following understanding with respect to"States directly concerned":

All Members of the United Nations have hadan opportunity to present their views with ref-erence to the terms of Trusteeship now pro-posed to the General Assembly for approval.There has, however, been no specification by theGeneral Assembly of "States directly con-cerned" in relation to the proposed Trust Terri-tories. Accordingly, the General Assembly inapproving the terms of Trusteeship does notprejudge the Question of what States are orare not "directly concerned" within the mean-ing of Article 79. It recognizes that no State haswaived or prejudiced its right hereafter toclaim to be such a "State directly concerned"in relation to approval of subsequently proposedTrusteeship Agreements and any alteration oramendment of those now approved, and that theprocedure to be followed in the future withreference to such matters may be subject tolater determination.

The Sub-Committee then considered pream-bles for the eight Agreements, which omittedmention of Article 79. At its 28th meeting theSub-Committee approved the preambles of theeight agreements by a vote of 13 to 2, with 2abstentions.

The Fourth Committee considered the reportof the Sub-Committee at its 21st, 22nd, 23rd.24th, 26th and 27th meetings held on December

8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. A number of proposed modi-fications of the Trusteeship Agreements whichhad been rejected by the Sub-Committee weresubmitted to the Fourth Committee by therespective delegations.

A new article, proposed by the delegation ofthe U.S.S.R. to apply to all of the Agreements,provided that:

The present Agreement shall enter into forceupon its approval by the General Assembly ofthe United Nations and shall remain in forcefor a period of . . . years and thereafter shall bereviewed and modified according to the degreeof attainment of the purposes set forth in Arti-cle 76 of the Charter of the United Nations.

This proposal was adopted by a vote of 20 to14, with 1 abstention. Following adoption ofthis proposal, the Fourth Committee rejecteda U.S.S.R. suggestion that the period in theproposal be fixed at five years. Upon the proposalof the Chinese delegation the Fourth Commit-tee, by a vote of 20 to 7, with 8 abstentions, thendecided that the period should be fixed at tenyears, which coincided with the period proposedby the representative of India.

A new clause for all of the Agreements pro-posed by the delegation of India provided that:

The Administering Authority shall adminis-ter the trust territory on behalf of and solelyfor the benefit of and in the interest of itspeople, and on the termination of the Trustee-ship, all the powers of the Authority shall ceaseand it shall surrender the territory, togetherwith all public property then existing, whethermovable or immovable, to the people, whoseright to sovereignty and independence shall al-ways be recognized.

This proposal was approved by a vote of 19 to16, with 2 abstentions.

A third modification adopted by the FourthCommittee was proposed by the U.S.S.R. dele-gation. It provided that the mandatory powershould not be authorized to administer anyTrust Territory "as an integral part" of anyother territory under its control. The FourthCommittee adopted this modification by a voteof 16 to 15, with 3 abstentions.

The Fourth Committee rejected two similarproposals submitted by the delegations of theU.S.S.R. and of India to which these delegationsand a number of other representatives attachedparticular importance. It was proposed that themandatory power should not be permitted toestablish military bases, to construct fortifica-tions and to maintain armed forces in TrustTerritories except on the basis of obligations to


the Security Council as defined in the Charterand subject to the approval of the SecurityCouncil. The U.S.S.R. proposal was rejected bya vote of 18 to 14, with 6 abstentions, and theIndian proposal by a vote of 18 to 16, with 4abstentions.

At the 26th meeting of the Fourth Committeethe delegations of Australia, Belgium, France,New Zealand and the United Kingdom explainedto the Committee why the modifications recom-mended by the Fourth Committee as mentionedabove were not acceptable to their Governments.

In view of the fact that the Mandatory Pow-ers did not accept the modifications recom-mended by the Fourth Committee, the repre-sentatives of the U.S.S.R. and of India ex-pressed the view that it would be pointless tovote on the texts of the Trusteeship Agree-ments which did not contain these modifications.The Committee should not voice approval ofAgreements the modifications of which had notbeen accepted by the mandatory powers.

The Chairman of the Fourth Committee ex-plained that if the Committee voted in favorof certain modifications of the TrusteeshipAgreements, these would constitute recommen-dations to the mandatory power submitting theAgreement. If the mandatory power refusedto accept the amendment recommended to it, theCommittee would have to decide when it votedon the Agreements as a whole whether it con-sidered the amendment of such importance thatit should recommend to the General Assemblythe rejection of the Agreement unless it con-tained the amendment in question. The manda-tory power could not be compelled to accept anyparticular amendment.

At its 26th meeting on December 11, 1946,the Fourth Committee, by separate votes, ap-proved the eight Trusteeship Agreements. Thevote in each case was 35 to 8. The Fourth Com-mittee further approved the Sub-Committee'srecommendations concerning the preambles tothe Agreements and the question of "Statesdirectly concerned."

At its 61st and 62nd plenary meetings onDecember 13, 1946, the General Assembly con-sidered the report of the Fourth Committee.The representative of the U.S.S.R. expressedthe view that the draft Trusteeship Agreementssubmitted for approval by the General Assem-bly violated the fundamental provisions of theCharter regarding the Trusteeship System. TheU.S.S.R. representative therefore submitted thefollowing resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS thatthe draft Trusteeship Agreements submittedfor its consideration . . . have been draftedcontrary to the fundamental requirements ofthe United Nations Charter regarding theTrusteeship System, that is:

(1) The proposed Trusteeship Agreements. . . cannot be considered as TrusteeshipAgreements as Article 79 of the Charter pro-vides that the terms of Trusteeship shall beagreed upon by the States directly concernedwhereas so far it has not been determinedwhich countries are directly concerned.(2) The draft Agreements include the pro-vision whereby the Territories in Trust shallbe administered as an integral part of thoseStates which are Administering Authorities,which in fact amounts to annexation of theterritories in trust by the said States, whereasArticle 76 of the Charter provides that theTrusteeship System shall promote the pro-gressive development of the Trust Territoriestowards self-government.(3) The proposed draft Agreements provideas one of the terms the establishment in TrustTerritories of military, naval and air baseswithout the Security Council's consent, whichis contrary to Article 83 of the Charter whichrequires the consent of the Security Councilfor the establishment of military, naval andair bases in Trust Territories.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THEREFORE RE-

SOLVES(1) To reject the draft Agreements for the. . . territories under Mandate as being in-consistent with the Charter,(2) To recommend to the Governments ofthe United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Aus-tralia, and New Zealand to submit for theconsideration of the General Assembly newdraft Trusteeship Agreements . . . drawn upin conformity with the Charter.The General Assembly rejected this resolu-

tion by a vote of 34 to 6, with 11 abstentions.Voting separately on each Agreement, the

General Assembly then approved the eightTrusteeship Agreements by the following votes:

New Guinea: 41 to 6, with 5 abstentions;Ruanda-Urundi: 41 to 6, with 5 abstentions;French Cameroons and French Togoland: 41

to 5, with 6 abstentions;Western Samoa: 41 to 6, with 5 abstentions;Tanganyika: 41 to 6, with 5 abstentions;British Cameroons and British Togoland: 41

to 6, with 5 abstentions.Accordingly, the General Assembly at its

62nd plenary meeting on December 13, 1946,adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES sepa-rately the following eight Trusteeship Agree-ments :

1. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forNew Guinea submitted by the Government ofAustralia.


2. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forRuanda-Urundi submitted by the Governmentof Belgium.3. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forthe Cameroons under French Mandate sub-mitted by the Government of France.4. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forTogoland under French Mandate submittedby the Government of France.5. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forWestern Samoa submitted by the Govern-ment of New Zealand.6. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forTanganyika submitted by the Government ofthe United Kingdom.7. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forthe Cameroons under British Mandate sub-mitted by the Government of the UnitedKingdom.8. The proposed Trusteeship Agreement forTogoland under British Mandate submittedby the Government of the United Kingdom.

(2) Text of Trusteeship AgreementsFollowing is the text of the Trusteeship

Agreements as approved by the General As-sembly :

1. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE TERRITORYOF TOGOLAND UNDER BRITISH ADMINISTRATION

WHEREAS the territory known as Togolandunder British Mandate and hereinafter referredto as the Territory has been administered inaccordance with Article 22 of the Covenant ofthe League of Nations under a Mandate con-ferred on His Britannic Majesty; and

WHEREAS Article 75 of the United NationsCharter, signed at San Francisco on 26 June1945, provides for the establishment of an inter-national trusteeship system for the administra-tion and supervision of such territories as maybe placed thereunder by subsequent individualagreements; and

WHEREAS under Article 77 of the saidCharter the international trusteeship systemmay be applied to territories now held underMandate; and

WHEREAS His Majesty has indicated hisdesire to place the Territory under the saidinternational trusteeship system; and

WHEREAS in accordance with Articles 75and 77 of the said Charter, the placing of aterritory under the international trusteeshipsystem is to be effected by means of a Trustee-ship Agreement;

Now THEREFORE the General Assembly ofthe United Nations hereby resolves to ap-prove the following terms of trusteeship forthe Territory.

Article 1The Territory to which this Agreement ap-

plies comprises that part of Togoland lying tothe west of the boundary defined by the Franco-British Declaration of 10 July 1919, as delimitedand modified by the Protocol of 21 October

1929, executed by the Commissioners appointedin the execution of Article 2 (1) of the saidDeclaration.

Article 2His Majesty is hereby designated as Admin-

istering Authority for the Territory, the re-sponsibility for the administration of whichwill be undertaken by His Majesty's Govern-ment in the United Kingdom of Great Britainand Northern Ireland.

Article 3The Administering Authority undertakes to

administer the Territory in such a manner asto achieve the basic objectives of the inter-national trusteeship system laid down in Arti-cle 76 of the United Nations Charter. TheAdministering Authority further undertakesto collaborate fully with the General Assemblyof the United Nations and the TrusteeshipCouncil in the discharge of all their functionsas defined in Article 87 of the United NationsCharter, and to facilitate any periodic visitsto the Territory which they may deem neces-sary, at times to be agreed upon with the Ad-ministering Authority.

Article 4The Administering Authority shall be re-

sponsible (a) for the peace, order, good govern-ment and defence of the Territory and (b) forensuring that it shall play its part in the main-tenance of international peace and security.

Article 5For the above-mentioned purposes and for

all purposes of this Agreement as may be neces-sary, the Administering Authority:

(a) shall have full powers of legislation, ad-ministration and jurisdiction in the Terri-tory, and shall administer it in accordancewith his own laws as an integral part of histerritory with such modification as may berequired by local conditions and subject tothe provisions of the United Nations Charterand of this Agreement;(b) shall be entitled to constitute the Terri-tory into a customs, fiscal or administrativeunion or federation with adjacent territoriesunder his sovereignty or control, and to es-tablish common services between such terri-tories and the Territory where such measuresare not inconsistent with the basic objectivesof the international trusteeship system andwith the terms of this Agreement;(c) and shall be entitled to establish naval,military and air bases, to erect fortifications,to station and employ his own forces in theTerritory and to take all such other measuresas are in his opinion necessary for the defenceof the Territory and for ensuring that itplays its part in the maintenance of interna-tional peace and security. To this end theAdministering Authority may make use ofvolunteer forces, facilities and assistancefrom the Territory in carrying out the obli-gations towards the Security Council under-


taken in this regard by the AdministeringAuthority, as well as for local defence andthe maintenance of law and order within theTerritory.

Article 6The Administering Authority shall promote

the development of free political institutionssuited to the Territory. To this end, the Admin-istering Authority shall assure to the in-habitants of the Territory a progressivelyincreasing share in the administrative and otherservices of the Territory; shall develop the par-ticipation of the inhabitants of the Territoryin advisory and legislative bodies and in thegovernment of the Territory, both central andlocal, as may be appropriate to the particularcircumstances of the Territory and its peoples;and shall take all other appropriate measureswith a view to the political advancement of theinhabitants of the Territory in accordance withArticle 76 (b) of the United Nations Charter.In considering the measures to be taken underthis article the Administering Authority shall,in the interests of the inhabitants, have specialregard to the provisions of Article 5 (a) of thisAgreement.


apply in the Territory the provisions of any in-ternational conventions and recommendationsalready existing or hereafter drawn up by theUnited Nations or by the specialized agenciesreferred to in Article 57 of the Charter, whichmay be appropriate to the particular circum-stance of the Territory and which would con-duce to the achievement of the basic objectivesof the international trusteeship system.

Article 8In framing laws relating to the holding or

transfer of land and natural resources, the Ad-ministering Authority shall take into considera-tion native laws and customs, and shall respectthe rights and safeguard the interests, bothpresent and future, of the native population.No native land or natural resources may betransferred, except between natives, save withthe previous consent of the competent publicauthority. No real rights over native land ornatural resources in favour of non-natives maybe created, except with the same consent.

Article 9Subject to the provisions of Article 10 of this

Agreement, the Administering Authority shalltake all necessary steps to ensure equal treat-ment in social, economic, industrial and com-mercial matters for all Members of the UnitedNations and their nationals and to this end:

(a) shall ensure the same rights to all na-tionals of Members of the United Nations asto his own nationals in respect of entry intoand residence in the Territory, freedom oftransit and navigation, including freedom oftransit and navigation by air, acquisition ofproperty both movable and immovable, theprotection of person and property, and theexercise of professions and trades;

(b) shall not discriminate on grounds of na-tionality against nationals of any Member ofthe United Nations in matters relating to thegrant of concessions for the development ofthe natural resources of the Territory, andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly;(c) shall ensure equal treatment in the ad-ministration of justice to the nationals of allMembers of the United Nations.The rights conferred by this Article on na-

tionals of Members of the United Nations applyequally to companies and associations controlledby such nationals and organized in accordancewith the law of any Member of the UnitedNations.

Article 10Measures taken to give effect to Article 9 of

this Agreement shall be subject always to theoverriding duty of the Administering Author-ity in accordance with Article 76 of the UnitedNations Charter to promote the political, eco-nomic, social and educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of the Territory, to carry outthe other basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system, and to maintain peace, orderand good government. The Administering Au-thority shall in particular be free:

(a) to organize essential public services andworks on such terms and conditions as hethinks just;(b) to create monopolies of a purely fiscalcharacter in order to provide the Territorywith the fiscal resources which seem bestsuited to local requirements, or otherwise toserve the interests of the inhabitants of theTerritory;(c) where the interests of the economic ad-vancement of the inhabitants of the Territorymay require it, to establish or permit to beestablished, for specific purposes, othermonopolies or undertakings having in theman element of monopoly, under conditions ofproper public control; provided that, in theselection of agencies to carry out the purposesof this paragraph, other than agencies con-trolled by the Government or those in whichthe Government participates, the Administer-ing Authority shall not discriminate ongrounds of nationality against Members ofthe United Nations or their nationals.

Article 11Nothing in this Agreement shall entitle any

Member of the United Nations to claim foritself or for its nationals, companies and asso-ciations the benefits of Article 9 of this Agree-ment in any respect in which it does not give tothe inhabitants, companies and associations ofthe Territory equality of treatment with thenationals, companies and associations of theState which it treats most favourably.

Article 12The Administering Authority shall, as may

be appropriate to the circumstances of the Ter-ritory, continue and extend a general system of


elementary education designed to abolish illit-eracy and to facilitate the vocational and cul-tural advancement of the population, child andadult, and shall similarly provide such facilitiesas may prove desirable and practicable in theinterests of the inhabitants for qualified stu-dents to receive secondary and higher educa-tion, including professional training.

Article 13The Administering Authority shall ensure in

the Territory complete freedom of conscienceand, so far as is consistent with the require-ments of public order and morality, freedom ofreligious teaching and the free exercise of allforms of worship. Subject to the provisions ofArticle 8 of this Agreement and the local law,missionaries who are nationals of Members ofthe United Nations shall be free to enter theTerritory and to travel and reside therein, toacquire and possess property, to erect religiousbuildings and to open schools and hospitals inthe Territory. The provisions of this Articleshall not, however, affect the right and duty ofthe Administering Authority to exercise suchcontrol as he may consider necessary for themaintenance of peace, order and good govern-ment and for the educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of the Territory and to take allmeasures required for such control.

Article 14Subject only to the requirements of public

order, the Administering Authority shall guar-antee to the inhabitants of the Territory free-dom of speech, of the press, of assembly, and ofpetition.

Article 15The Administering Authority may arrange

for the co-operation of the Territory, in anyregional advisory commission, regional techni-cal organization or other voluntary associationof states, any specialized international bodies,public or private, or other forms of interna-tional activity not inconsistent with the UnitedNations Charter.

Article 16The Administering Authority shall make to

the General Assembly of the United Nations anannual report on the basis of a questionnairedrawn up by the Trusteeship Council in accord-ance with Article 88 of the United NationsCharter. Such reports shall include informationconcerning the measures taken to give effect tosuggestions and recommendations of the Gen-eral Assembly and the Trusteeship Council. TheAdministering Authority shall designate anaccredited representative to be present at thesessions of the Trusteeship Council at whichthe reports of the Administering Authoritywith regard to the Territory are considered.

Article 17Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the

right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose, at any future date, the amendment of thisAgreement for the purpose of designating the

whole or part of the Territory as a strategicarea or for any other purpose not inconsistentwith the basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system.

Article 18The terms of this Agreement shall not be

altered or amended except as provided in Article79 and Articles 83 or 85, as the case may be, ofthe United Nations Charter.

Article 19If any dispute whatever should arise between

the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations relating to the inter-pretation or application of the provisions of thisAgreement, such dispute, if it cannot be settledby negotiation or other means, shall be submit-ted to the International Court of Justice pro-vided for in Chapter XIV of the United NationsCharter.

II. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE TERRI-

ADMINISTRATION

WHEREAS the territory known as the Cam-eroons under British Mandate and hereinafterreferred to as the Territory has been adminis-tered in accordance with Article 22 of theCovenant of the League of Nations under aMandate conferred on His Britannic Majesty;and

WHEREAS Article 75 of the United NationsCharter, signed at San Francisco on 26 June1945, provides for the establishment of an in-ternational trusteeship system for the adminis-tration and supervision of such territories asmay be placed thereunder by subsequent indi-vidual agreements; and


WHEREAS His Majesty has indicated hisdesire to place the Territory under the said in-ternational trusteeship system; and


Now, THEREFORE, the General Assembly ofthe United Nations hereby resolves to approvethe following terms of trusteeship for theTerritory.


plies comprises that part of the Cameroons lyingto the west of the boundary defined by theFranco-British Declaration of 10 July 1919,and more exactly defined in the Declarationmade by the Governor of the Colony and Pro-tectorate of Nigeria and the Governor of theCameroons under French Mandate which wasconfirmed by the exchange of Notes betweenHis Majesty's Government in the United King-dom and the French Government of 9 January

TORY OF THE CAMEROONS UNDER BRITISH


1931. This line may, however, be slightly modi-fied by mutual agreement between His Majesty'sGovernment in the United Kingdom and theGovernment of the French Republic where anexamination of the localities shows that it isdesirable in the interests of the inhabitants.


istering Authority for the Territory, the re-sponsibility for the administration of whichwill be undertaken by His Majesty's Govern-ment in the United Kingdom of Great Britainand Northern Ireland.


administer the Territory in such a manner asto achieve the basic objectives of the interna-tional trusteeship system laid down in Article76 of the United Nations Charter. The Admin-istering Authority further undertakes to col-laborate fully with the General Assembly of theUnited Nations and the Trusteeship Council inthe discharge of all their functions as definedin Article 87 of the United Nations Charter,and to facilitate any periodic visits to the Ter-ritory which they may deem necessary, at timesto be agreed upon with the AdministeringAuthority.


sponsible (a) for the peace, order, good gov-ernment and defence of the Territory and (b)for ensuring that it shall play its part in themaintenance of international peace and security.

Article 5For the above-mentioned purposes and for all

purposes of this Agreement, as may be neces-sary, the Administering Authority:

(a) shall have full powers of legislation, ad-ministration and jurisdiction in the Territoryand shall administer it in accordance with hisown laws as an integral part of his territorywith such modification as may be required bylocal conditions and subject to the provisionsof the United Nations Charter and of thisAgreement;(b) shall be entitled to constitute the Terri-tory into a customs, fiscal or administrativeunion or federation with adjacent territoriesunder his sovereignty or control, and to estab-lish common services between such territoriesand the Territory where such measures arenot inconsistent with the basic objectives ofthe international trusteeship system and withthe terms of this Agreement;(c) and shall be entitled to establish naval,military and air bases, to erect fortifications,to station and employ his own forces in theTerritory and to take all such other measuresas are in his opinion necessary for the defenceof the Territory and for ensuring that it playsits part in the maintenance of internationalpeace and security. To this end the Adminis-tering Authority may make use of volunteer

forces, facilities and assistance from the Ter-ritory in carrying out the obligations towardsthe Security Council undertaken in this re-gard by the Administering Authority, aswell as for local defence and the maintenanceof law and order within the Territory.


the development of free political institutionssuited to the Territory. To this end the Admin-istering Authority shall assure to the in-habitants of the Territory a progressivelyincreasing share in the administrative and otherservices of the Territory; shall develop theparticipation of the inhabitants of the Territoryin advisory and legislative bodies and in thegovernment of the Territory, both central andlocal, as may be appropriate to the particularcircumstances of the Territory and its peoples;and shall take all other appropriate measureswith a view to the political advancement of theinhabitants of the Territory in accordance withArticle 76 (b) of the United Nations Charter.In considering the measures to be taken underthis Article the Administering Authority shall,in the interests of the inhabitants, have specialregard to the provisions of Article 5 (a) ofthis Agreement.


apply in the Territory the provisions of any in-ternational conventions and recommendationsalready existing or hereafter drawn up by theUnited Nations or by the specialized agenciesreferred to in Article 57 of the Charter, whichmay be appropriate to the particular circum-stances of the Territory and which would con-duce to the achievement of the basic objectivesof the international trusteeship system.


transfer of land and natural resources, the Ad-ministering Authority shall take into considera-tion native laws and customs, and shall respectthe rights and safeguard the interests, bothpresent and future, of the native population.No native land or natural resources may betransferred except between natives, save withthe previous consent of the competent publicauthority. No real rights over native land ornatural resources in favour of non-natives maybe created except with the same consent.


Agreement, the Administering Authority shalltake all necessary steps to ensure equal treat-ment in social, economic, industrial and com-mercial matters for all Members of the UnitedNations and their nationals and to this end:

(a) shall ensure the same rights to all na-tionals of Members of the United Nations asto his own nationals in respect of entry intoand residence in the Territory, freedom oftransit and navigation, including freedom oftransit and navigation by air, acquisition of


property both movable and immovable, theprotection of persons and property, and theexercise of professions and trades;(b) shall not discriminate on grounds of na-tionality against nationals of any Member ofthe United Nations in matters relating to thegrant of concessions for the development ofthe natural resources of the Territory, andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly;(c) shall ensure equal treatment in the ad-ministration of justice to the nationals of allMembers of the United Nations.

The rights conferred by this Article on na-tionals of Members of the United Nations applyequally to companies and associations controlledby such nationals and organized in accordancewith the law of any Member of the UnitedNations.


this Agreement shall be subject always to theoverriding duty of the Administering Authorityin accordance with Article 76 of the UnitedNations Charter to promote the political, eco-nomic, social and educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of the Territory, to carry outthe other basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system, and to maintain peace, orderand good government. The Administering Au-thority shall in particular be free:

(a) to organize essential public services andworks on such terms and conditions as hethinks just;(b) to create monopolies of a purely fiscalcharacter in order to provide the Territorywith the fiscal resources which seem bestsuited to local requirements, or otherwise toserve the interests of the inhabitants of theTerritory;(c) where the interests of the economic ad-vancement of the inhabitants of the Territorymay require it, to establish or permit tobe established, for specific purposes, othermonopolies or undertakings having in theman element of monopoly, under conditions ofproper public control; provided that, in theselection of agencies to carry out the purposesof this paragraph, other than agencies con-trolled by the Government or those in whichthe Government participates, the Administer-ing Authority shall not discriminate ongrounds of nationality against Members ofthe United Nations or their nationals.


Member of the United Nations to claim foritself or for its nationals, companies and asso-ciations, the benefits of Article 9 of this Agree-ment in any respect in which it does not give tothe inhabitants, companies and associations ofthe Territory equality of treatment with thenationals, companies and associations of theState which it treats most favourably.


be appropriate to the circumstances of the Ter-ritory continue and extend a general system ofelementary education designed to abolish illit-eracy and to facilitate the vocational and cul-tural advancement of the population, child andadult, and shall similarly provide such facilitiesas may prove desirable and practicable in theinterests of the inhabitants for qualified stu-dents to receive secondary and higher education,including professional training.


the Territory complete freedom of conscienceand, so far as is consistent with the require-ments of public order and morality, freedom ofreligious teaching and the free exercise of allforms of worship. Subject to the provisions ofArticle 8 of this Agreement and the local law,missionaries who are nationals of Members ofthe United Nations shall be free to enter theTerritory and to travel and reside therein, toacquire and possess property, to erect religiousbuildings and to open schools and hospitals inthe Territory. The provisions of this Articleshall not, however, affect the right and dutyof the Administering Authority to exercise suchcontrol as he may consider necessary for themaintenance of peace, order and good govern-ment and for the educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of the Territory, and to take allmeasures required for such control.


order, the Administering Authority shall guar-antee to the inhabitants of the Territory free-dom of speech, of the press, of assembly, andof petition.


for the co-operation of the Territory in any re-gional advisory commission, regional technicalorganization, or other voluntary association ofstates, any specialized international bodies, pub-lic or private, or other forms of internationalactivity not inconsistent with the United Na-tions Charter.


the General Assembly of the United Nations anannual report on the basis of a questionnairedrawn up by the Trusteeship Council in accord-ance with Article 88 of the United NationsCharter. Such reports shall include informationconcerning the measures taken to give effect tosuggestions and recommendations of the Gen-eral Assembly and the Trusteeship Council. TheAdministering Authority shall designate an ac-credited representative to be present at thesessions of the Trusteeship Council at whichthe reports of the Administering Authoritywith regard to the Territory are considered.



right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose, at any future date, the amendment of thisAgreement for the purpose of designating thewhole or part of the Territory as a strategicarea or for any other purpose not inconsistentwith the basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system.


altered or amended except as provided in Article79 and Article 83 or 85, as the case may be, ofthe United Nations Charter.


the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations relating to the inter-pretation or application of the provisions of thisAgreement, such dispute, if it cannot be settledby negotiation or other means, shall be sub-mitted to the International Court of Justiceprovided for in Chapter XIV of the UnitedNations Charter.

III. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE

WHEREAS the territory known as Tangan-yika has been administered in accordance withArticle 22 of the Covenant of the League ofNations under a Mandate conferred on HisBritannic Majesty; and

WHEREAS Article 75 of the United NationsCharter, signed at San Francisco on 26 June1945, provides for the establishment of an in-ternational trusteeship system for the adminis-tration and supervision of such territories asmay be placed thereunder by subsequent indi-vidual agreements; and


WHEREAS His Majesty has indicated hisdesire to place Tanganyika under the said inter-national trusteeship system; and


Now, THEREFORE, the General Assemblyof the United Nations hereby resolves to ap-prove the following terms of trusteeship forTanganyika.


plies comprises that part of East Africa lyingwithin the boundaries defined by Article 1 ofthe British Mandate for East Africa, and by theAnglo-Belgian Treaty of 22 November 1934,regarding the boundary between Tanganyikaand Ruanda-Urundi.


istering Authority for Tanganyika, the respon-sibility for the administration of which will beundertaken by His Majesty's Government in theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and NorthernIreland.


administer Tanganyika in such a manner as toachieve the basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system laid down in Article 76 ofthe United Nations Charter. The AdministeringAuthority further undertakes to collaboratefully with the General Assembly of the UnitedNations and the Trusteeship Council in the dis-charge of all their functions as defined in Article87 of the United Nations Charter, and to facili-tate any periodic visits to Tanganyika whichthey may deem necessary, at times to be agreedupon with the Administering Authority.

Article 4The Administering Authority shall be respon-

sible (a) for the peace, order, good governmentand defence of Tanganyika, and (b) for ensur-ing that it shall play its part in the maintenanceof international peace and security.

Article 5For the above-mentioned purposes and for all

purposes of this Agreement, as may be neces-sary, the Administering Authority:

(a) shall have full powers of legislation, ad-ministration, and jurisdiction in Tanganyika,subject to the provisions of the United Na-tions Charter and of this Agreement;(b) shall be entitled to constitute Tangan-yika into a customs, fiscal or administrativeunion or federation with adjacent territoriesunder his sovereignty or control, and to estab-lish common services between such territoriesand Tanganyika where such measures arenot inconsistent with the basic objectives ofthe international trusteeship system andwith the terms of this Agreement;(c) and shall be entitled to establish naval,military and air bases, to erect fortifications,to station and employ his own forces in Tan-ganyika and to take all such other measuresas are in his opinion necessary for the defenceof Tanganyika and for ensuring that the ter-ritory plays its part in the maintenance ofinternational peace and security. To this endthe Administering Authority may make useof volunteer forces, facilities and assistancefrom Tanganyika in carrying out the obliga-tions towards the Security Council under-taken in this regard by the AdministeringAuthority, as well as for local defence and themaintenance of law and order within Tan-ganyika.


the development of free political institutions

TERRITORY OF TANGANYIKA


suited to Tanganyika. To this end, the Admin-istering Authority shall assure to the inhabi-tants of Tanganyika a progressively increasingshare in the administrative and other servicesof the Territory; shall develop the participationof the inhabitants of Tanganyika in advisoryand legislative bodies and in the government ofthe Territory, both central and local, as may beappropriate to the particular circumstances ofthe Territory and its peoples; and shall take allother appropriate measures with a view to thepolitical advancement of the inhabitants of Tan-ganyika in accordance with Article 76 (b) ofthe United Nations Charter.


apply in Tanganyika the provisions of any inter-national conventions and recommendations al-ready existing or hereafter drawn up by theUnited Nations or by the specialized agenciesreferred to in Article 57 of the Charter, whichmay be appropriate to the particular circum-stances of the Territory and which would con-duce to the achievement of the basic objectivesof the international trusteeship system.


transfer of land and natural resources, the Ad-ministering Authority shall take into considera-tion native laws and customs, and shall respectthe rights and safeguard the interests, bothpresent and future, of the native population. Nonative land or natural resources may be trans-ferred, except between natives, save with theprevious consent of the competent public au-thority. No real rights over native land ornatural resources in favour of non-natives maybe created except with the same consent.


agreement, the Administering Authority shalltake all necessary steps to ensure equal treat-ment in social, economic, industrial and com-mercial matters for all Members of the UnitedNations and their nationals and to this end:

(a) shall ensure the same rights to all na-tionals of Members of the United Nations asto his own nationals in respect of entry intoand residence in Tanganyika, freedom oftransit and navigation, including freedom oftransit and navigation by air, acquisition ofproperty both movable and immovable, theprotection of person and property, and theexercise of professions and trades;(b) shall not discriminate on grounds ofnationality against nationals of any Memberof the United Nations in matters relating tothe grant of concessions for the developmentof the natural resources of Tanganyika andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly;(c) shall ensure equal treatment in the ad-ministration of justice to the nationals of allMembers of the United Nations

The rights conferred by this Article on na-tionals of Members of the United Nations applyequally to companies and associations controlledby such nationals and organized in accordancewith the law of any Member of the UnitedNations.


this Agreement shall be subject always to theoverriding duty of the Administering Author-ity in accordance with Article 76 of the UnitedNations Charter to promote the political, eco-nomic, social and educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of Tanganyika, to carry out theother basic objectives of the international trus-teeship system, and to maintain peace, orderand good government. The Administering Au-thority shall in particular be free:

(a) to organize essential public services andworks on such terms and conditions as hethinks just;(b) to create monopolies of a purely fiscalcharacter in order to provide Tanganyikawith the fiscal resources which seem bestsuited to local requirements, or otherwise toserve the interests of the inhabitants of Tan-ganyika;(c) where the interests of the economic ad-vancement of the inhabitants of Tanganyikamay require it, to establish, or permit to beestablished, for specific purposes, othermonopolies or undertakings having in theman element of monopoly, under conditions ofproper public control; provided that, in theselection of agencies to carry out the purposesof this paragraph, other agencies controlledby the Government or those in which the Gov-ernment participates, the Administering Au-thority shall not discriminate on grounds ofnationality against Members of the UnitedNations or their nationals.


Member of the United Nations to claim for it-self or for its nationals, companies and associa-tions the benefits of Article 9 of this Agreementin any respect in which it does not give to the in-habitants, companies and associations of Tan-ganyika equality of treatment with the nation-als, companies and associations of the Statewhich it treats most favourably.


be appropriate to the circumstances of Tangan-yika, continue and extend a general system ofelementary education designed to abolish illi-teracy and to facilitate the vocational and cul-tural advancement of the population, child andadult, and shall similarly provide such facilitiesas may prove desirable and practicable in theinterests of the inhabitants for qualified stu-dents to receive secondary and higher education,including professional training.



Tanganyika complete freedom of conscienceand, so far as is consistent with the require-ment of public order and morality, freedom ofreligious teaching and the free exercise of allforms of worship. Subject to the provisions ofArticle 8 of this Agreement and the local law,missionaries who are nationals of Members ofthe United Nations shall be free to enter Tan-ganyika and to travel and reside therein, toacquire and possess property, to erect religiousbuildings and to open schools and hospitals inthe Territory. The provisions of this Articleshall not, however, affect the right and duty ofthe Administering Authority to exercise suchcontrols as he may consider necessary for themaintenance of peace, order and good govern-ment and for the educational advancement ofthe inhabitants of Tanganyika, and to take allmeasures required for such control.

Article 14Subject only to the requirement of public

order, the Administering Authority shall guar-antee to the inhabitants of Tanganyika freedomof speech, of the press, of assembly, and ofpetition.


for the co-operation of Tanganyika in any re-gional advisory commission, regional technicalorganization or other voluntary association ofstates, any specialized international bodies, pub-lic or private, or other forms of internationalactivity not inconsistent with the United Na-tions Charter.


the General Assembly of the United Nations anannual report on the basis of a questionnairedrawn up by the Trusteeship Council in accord-ance with Article 88 of the United NationsCharter. Such reports shall include informationconcerning the measures taken to give effect tosuggestions and recommendations of the Gen-eral Assembly and the Trusteeship Council. TheAdministering Authority shall designate anaccredited representative to be present at thesessions of the Trusteeship Council at whichthe reports of the Administering Authoritywith regard to Tanganyika are considered.


right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose, at any future date, the amendment of thisAgreement for the purpose of designating thewhole or part of Tanganyika as a strategicarea or for any other purpose not inconsistentwith the basic objectives of the internationaltrusteeship system.


altered or amended except as provided in Arti-

cle 79 and Article 83 or 85, as the case may beof the United Nations Charter.


the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations relating to the inter-pretation or application of the provisions of thisAgreement, such dispute, if it cannot be settledby negotiation or other means, shall be sub-mitted to the International Court of Justiceprovided for in Chapter XIV of the UnitedNations Charter.

IV. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOB THETERRITORY OF NEW GUINEA

The Territory of New Guinea has been ad-ministered in accordance with Article 22 of theCovenant of the League of Nations and in pur-suance of a mandate conferred upon His Bri-tannic Majesty and exercised on His behalf bythe Government of the Commonwealth of Aus-tralia.

The Charter of the United Nations, signedat San Francisco on 26 June 1945, provides byArticle 75 for the establishment of an inter-national trusteeship system for the administra-tion and supervision of such territories as maybe placed thereunder by subsequent individualagreements.

The Government of Australia now undertakesto place the Territory of New Guinea under thetrusteeship system, on the terms set forth in thepresent Trusteeship Agreement.

Therefore the General Assembly of theUnited Nations, acting in pursuance of Article85 of the Charter, approves the following termsof trusteeship for the Territory of New Guinea,in substitution for the terms of the Mandateunder which the Territory has been adminis-tered.

Article 1The Territory to which this Trusteeship

Agreement applies (hereinafter called the Ter-ritory) consists of that portion of the island ofNew Guinea and the groups of islands adminis-tered therewith under the Mandate dated 17December 1920, conferred upon His BritannicMajesty and exercised by the Government ofAustralia.

Article 2The Government of Australia (hereinafter

called the Administering Authority) is herebydesignated as the sole authority which will ex-ercise the administration of the Territory.


administer the Territory in accordance withthe provisions of the Charter and in such a man-ner as to achieve in the Territory the basicobjectives of the international trusteeship sys-tem, which are set forth in Article 76 of theCharter.

Article 4The Administering Authority will be respon-

sible for the peace, order, good government anddefence of the Territory and for this purpose


will have the same powers of legislation, admin-istration and jurisdiction in and over the Ter-ritory as if it were an integral part of Australia,and will be entitled to apply to the Territory,subject to such modifications as it deems desir-able, such laws of the Commonwealth of Aus-tralia as it deems appropriate to the needs andconditions of the Territory.

Article 5It is agreed that the Administering Author-

ity, in the exercise of its powers under Article4, will be at liberty to bring the Territory intoa customs, fiscal or administrative union or fed-eration with other dependent territories underits jurisdiction or control, and to establish com-mon services between the Territory and any orall of these territories, if in its opinion it wouldbe in the interests of the Territory and notinconsistent with the basic objectives of thetrusteeship system to do so.

Article 6The Administering Authority further under-

takes to apply in the Territory the provisions ofsuch international agreements and such recom-mendations of the specialized agencies referredto in Article 57 of the Charter as are, in theopinion of the Administering Authority, suitedto the needs and conditions of the Territory andconducive to the achievement of the basic ob-jectives of the trusteeship system.

Article 7The Administering Authority may take all

measures in the Territory which it considersdesirable to provide for the defence of the Ter-ritory and for maintenance of internationalpeace and security.

Article 8The Administering Authority undertakes

that in the discharge of its obligations underArticle 3 of this Agreement:

1. It will co-operate with the TrusteeshipCouncil in the discharge of all the Council'sfunctions under Articles 87 and 88 of the Char-ter.

2. It will, in accordance with its establishedpolicy:

(a) take into consideration the customs andusages of the inhabitants of New Guinea andrespect the rights and safeguard the inter-ests, both present and future, of the indigen-ous inhabitants of the Territory; and in par-ticular ensure that no rights over native landin favour of any person not an indigenousinhabitant of New Guinea may be created ortransferred except with the consent of thecompetent public authority;(b) promote, as may be appropriate to thecircumstances of the Territory, the educa-tional and cultural advancement of the in-habitants;(c) assure to the inhabitants of the Terri-tory, as may be appropriate to the particularcircumstances of the Territory and its peo-ples, a progressively increasing share in theadministrative and other services of theTerritory;

(d) guarantee to the inhabitants of the Ter-ritory, subject only to the requirements ofpublic order, freedom of speech, of the press,of assembly and of petition, freedom of con-science and worship and freedom of religiousteaching.

V. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE TERRITORYOF TOGOLAND UNDER FRENCH ADMINISTRATION

WHEREAS the territory known as Togolandlying to the east of the line agreed upon in theDeclaration signed on 10 July 1919 has beenunder French administration in accordancewith the mandate defined under the terms ofthe instrument of 20 July 1922; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 9 ofthat instrument, this part of Togoland has sincethen been "administered in accordance with thelaws of the Mandatory as an integral part ofhis territory and subject to the provisions" ofthe mandate, and it is of importance, in theinterests of the population of Togoland, to pur-sue the administrative and political develop-ment of the territories in question in such away as to promote the political, economic andsocial advancement of the inhabitants in ac-cordance with Article 76 of the Charter of theUnited Nations; and

WHEREAS France has indicated her desireto place under Trusteeship in accordance withArticles 75 and 77 of the said Charter that partof Togoland which is at present administeredby her; and

WHEREAS Article 85 of the said Charterprovides that the terms of the trusteeship agree-ments are to be submitted for approval by theGeneral Assembly;

Now, THEREFORE, the General Assemblyof the United Nations approves the followingterms of trusteeship for the said Territory.

Article 1The Territory to which the present Trustee-

ship Agreement applies comprises that part ofTogoland lying to the east of the boundarydefined by the Franco-British Declaration of10 July 1919.

Article 2The French Government, in its capacity of

Administering Authority for this Territory un-der the terms of Article 81 of the Charter of theUnited Nations, undertakes to exercise the du-ties of trusteeship as defined in the said Char-ter, to promote the basic objectives of thetrusteeship system laid down in Article 76, andto collaborate fully with the General Assemblyand the Trusteeship Council in the dischargeof their functions as defined in Articles 87and 88.

Accordingly the French Government under-takes;

1. To make to the General Assembly of theUnited Nations the annual report providedfor in Article 88 of the Charter, on the basisof the questionnaire drawn up by the Trus-teeship Council in accordance with the saidArticle, and to attach to that report such


memoranda as may be required by the Gen-eral Assembly or the Trusteeship Council.

To include in that report information re-lating to the measures taken to give effectto the suggestions and recommendations ofthe General Assembly or of the TrusteeshipCouncil.

To appoint a representative and, wherenecessary, qualified experts to attend themeetings of the Trusteeship Council or ofthe General Assembly at which the said re-ports and memoranda will be examined.2. To appoint a representative and, wherenecessary, qualified experts to participate,in consultation with the General Assembly orthe Trusteeship Council, in the examinationof petitions received by those bodies.3. To facilitate such periodic visits to theTerritory as the General Assembly or theTrusteeship Council may decide to arrange,to decide jointly with these bodies the dateson which such visits shall take place, and alsoto agree with them on all questions concernedwith organizations and accomplishment ofthese visits.4. To render general assistance to the Gen-eral Assembly or to the Trusteeship Councilin the application of these arrangements, andof such other arrangements as those bodiesmay make in accordance with the terms of thepresent Agreement.

Article 3The Administering Authority shall be respon-

sible for the peace, order and good governmentof the Territory.

It shall also be responsible for the defenceof the said Territory and for ensuring that itshall play its part in the maintenance of inter-national peace and security.

Article 4For the above-mentioned purposes and in

order to fulfill its obligations under the Charterand the present Agreement, the AdministeringAuthority,

A. Shall:1. Have full powers of legislation, adminis-tration and jurisdiction in the Territory andshall administer it in accordance with Frenchlaw as an integral part of French territory,subject to the provisions of the Charter andof this Agreement;2. Be entitled, in order to ensure better ad-ministration, with the consent of the terri-torial representative Assembly, to constitutethis Territory into a customs, fiscal or admin-istrative union or federation with adjacentterritories under its sovereignty or controland to establish common services betweensuch territories and the Trust Territory, pro-vided that such measures should promote theobjectives of the international trusteeshipsystem;B. May:1. Establish on the Territory military, navalor air bases, station national forces, and raisevolunteer contingents therein.

2. Within the limits laid down in the Chartertake all measures of organization and defenceappropriate for ensuring:

(a) the participation of the Territory inthe maintenance of international peace andsecurity;(b) the respect for obligations concerningthe assistance and facilities to be given bythe Administering Authority to the Secu-rity Council;(c) the respect for internal law and order;(d) the defence of the Territory withinthe framework of the special agreementsfor the maintenance of international peaceand security.

Article 5The Administering Authority shall take

measures to ensure to the local inhabitants ashare in the administration of the Territory bythe development of representative democraticbodies, and in due course to arrange appropriateconsultations to enable the inhabitants freelyto express an opinion on their political regimeand ensure the attainment of the objectivesprescribed in Article 76 (b) of the Charter.


maintain the application to the Territory ofthe international agreements and conventionswhich are at present in force there, and to applytherein any conventions and recommendationsmade by the United Nations or the specializedagencies referred to in Article 57 of the Char-ter, the application of which would be in theinterests of the population and consistent withthe basic objectives of the trusteeship systemand the terms of the present Agreement.


transfer of land, the Administering Authorityshall, in order to promote the economic andsocial progress of the native population, takeinto consideration local laws and customs.

No land belonging to a native or to a groupof natives may be transferred except betweennatives, save with the previous consent of thecompetent public authority, who shall respectthe rights and safeguard the interests, bothpresent and future, of the native population. Noreal rights over native land in favour of non-natives may be created except with the sameconsent.

Article 8Subject to the provisions of the following

Article, the Administering Authority shall takeall necessary steps to ensure equal treatmentin social, economic, industrial and commercialmatters for all States Members of the UnitedNations and their nationals, and to this end:

1. Shall grant to all nationals of Members ofthe United Nations freedom of transit andnavigation, including freedom of transit andnavigation by air, and the protection of per-son and property, subject to the requirementsof public order, and on condition of compli-ance with the local law;


2. Shall ensure the same rights to all nation-als of Members of the United Nations as toits own nationals in respect of entry into andresidence in the Territory, acquisition ofproperty, both movable and immovable, andthe exercise of professions and trades;3. Shall not discriminate on grounds of na-tionality against nationals of any Member ofthe United Nations in matters relating to thegrant of concessions for the development ofthe natural resources of the Territory, andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly;4. Shall ensure equal treatment in the admin-istration of justice to the nationals of allMembers of the United Nations.The rights conferred by this Article on

nationals of States Members of the UnitedNations apply equally to companies and associa-tions controlled by such nationals and formedin accordance with the law of any Member ofthe United Nations.

Nevertheless, pursuant to Article 76 of theCharter, such equal treatment shall be withoutprejudice to the attainment of the trusteeshipobjectives as prescribed in the said Article 76and particularly in paragraph (b) of thatArticle.

Should special advantages of any kind begranted by a Power enjoying the equality oftreatment referred to above to another Power,or to a territory whether self-governing or notthe same advantages shall automatically applyreciprocally to the Trust Territory and to itsinhabitants, especially in the economic and com-mercial field.

Article 9Measures taken to give effect to the preceding

Article of this Agreement shall be subject al-ways to the overriding duty of the Administer-ing Authority in accordance with Article 76 ofthe Charter, to promote the political, economic,social and educational advancement of the in-habitants of the Territory, to carry out theother basic objectives of the international trus-teeship system and to maintain peace, order andgood government. The Administering Author-ity shall in particular be free, with the consentof the territorial representative Assembly:

1. To organize essential public services andworks on such terms and such conditions asit thinks just.2. To create monopolies of a purely fiscalcharacter in the interest of the Territory andin order to provide the Territory with thefiscal resources which seem best suited tolocal requirements;3. To establish or to permit to be establishedunder conditions of proper public control, inconformity with Article 76, paragraph (d)of the Charter, such public enterprises orjoint undertakings as appear to the Adminis-tering Authority to be in the interest of theeconomic advancement of the inhabitants ofthe Territory.


the Territory complete freedom of thought andthe free exercise of all forms of worship and ofreligious teaching which are consistent withpublic order and morality. Missionaries whoare nationals of States Members of the UnitedNations shall be free to enter the Territory andto reside therein, to acquire and possess prop-erty, to erect religious buildings and to openschools and hospitals throughout the Territory.

The Provisions of this Article shall not, how-ever, affect the right and duty of the Adminis-tering Authority to exercise such control asmay be necessary for the maintenance of publicorder and morality and for the educational ad-vancement of the inhabitants of the Territory.

The Administering Authority shall continueto develop elementary, secondary and technicaleducation for the benefit of both children andadults. To the full extent compatible with theinterests of the population, it shall afford toqualified students the opportunity of receivinghigher general or professional education.

The Administering Authority shall guaran-tee to the inhabitants of the Territory freedomof speech, of the press, of assembly and of peti-tion, subject only to the requirements of publicorder.


right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose at any future date the designation of thewhole or part of the Territory thus placed underits trusteeship as a strategic area in accordancewith Articles 82 and 83 of the Charter.

Article 12The terms of the present Trusteeship Agree-

ment shall not be altered or amended except asprovided in Articles 79, 82, 83 and 85, as thecase may be, of the Charter.


the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations, relating to the inter-pretation or the application of the provisions ofthe present Trusteeship Agreement, such dis-pute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation orother means, shall be submitted to the Interna-tional Court of Justice provided for in ChapterXIV of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 14The Administering Authority may enter, on

behalf of the Territory, any consultative re-gional commission, technical organ or voluntaryassociation of States which may be constituted.It may also collaborate, on behalf of the Terri-tory, with international public or private insti-tutions or participate in any form of interna-tional co-operation in accordance with the spiritof the Charter.

Article 15The present Agreement shall enter into force

as soon as it has received the approval of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations.


VI. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE

UNDER FRENCH ADMINISTRATIONWHEREAS the territory known as the Cam-

eroons lying to the east of the line agreed uponin the Declaration signed on 10 July 1919 hasbeen under French administration in accord-ance with the mandate defined under the termsof the instrument of 20 July 1922; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 9 ofthat instrument, this part of the Cameroons hassince then been "administered in accordancewith the laws of the Mandatory as an integralpart of his territory and subject to the pro-visions" of the mandate, and it is of importance,in the interests of the population of the Cam-eroons, to pursue the administrative and politi-cal development of the territories in question,in such a way as to promote the political, eco-nomic and social advancement of the inhabitantsin accordance with Article 76 of the Charter ofthe United Nations; and

WHEREAS France has indicated her desireto place under trusteeship in accordance withArticles 75 and 77 of the said Charter that partof the Cameroons which is at present adminis-tered by her; and

WHEREAS Article 85 of the said Charterprovides that the terms of trusteeship are to besubmitted for approval by the General As-sembly;

Now, THEREFORE, the General Assemblyof the United Nations approves the followingterms of trusteeship for the said Territory.

Article 1The Territory to which the present Trustee-

ship Agreement applies comprises that part ofthe Cameroons lying to the east of the boundarydefined by the Franco-British Declaration of10 July 1919.

Article 2The French Government in its capacity of

Administering Authority for this Territoryunder the terms of Article 81 of the Charterof the United Nations, undertakes to exercisetherein the duties of trusteeship as defined inthe said Charter, to promote the basic objectivesof the trusteeship system laid down in Article76 and to collaborate fully with the GeneralAssembly and the Trusteeship Council in thedischarge of their functions as defined in Arti-cles 87 and 88.

Accordingly the French Government under-takes:

1. To make to the General Assembly of theUnited Nations the annual report providedfor in Article 88 of the Charter, on the basisof the questionnaire drawn up by the Trus-teeship Council in accordance with the saidArticle, and to attach to that report suchmemoranda as may be required by the Gen-eral Assembly or the Trusteeship Council.

To include in that report information re-lating to the measures taken to give effect tothe suggestions and recommendations of theGeneral Assembly or of the TrusteeshipCouncil.

To appoint a representative and, wherenecessary, qualified experts to attend themeetings of the Trusteeship Council or ofthe General Assembly at which the said re-ports and memoranda will be examined.2. To appoint a representative and, wherenecessary, qualified experts to participate, inconsultation with the General Assembly orthe Trusteeship Council, in the examinationof petitions received by those bodies.3. To facilitate such periodic visits to theTerritory as the General Assembly or theTrusteeship Council may decide to arrange,to decide jointly with these bodies the dateson which such visits shall take place, andalso to agree jointly with them on all ques-tions concerned with the organization andaccomplishment of these visits.4. To render general assistance to the Gen-eral Assembly or the Trusteeship Council inthe application of these arrangements, and ofsuch other arrangements as these bodies maytake in accordance with the terms of thepresent Agreement.


sponsible for the peace, order and good govern-ment of the Territory.

It shall also be responsible for the defenceof the said Territory and ensure that it shallplay its part in the maintenance of interna-tional peace and security.

Article 4For the above-mentioned purposes and in

order to fulfil its obligations under the Charterand the present Agreement, the AdministeringAuthority:

A. SHALL1. Have full powers of legislation, adminis-tration and jurisdiction in the Territory andshall administer it in accordance with Frenchlaw as an integral part of the French terri-tory, subject to the provisions of the Charterand of this Agreement.2. Be entitled, in order to ensure better ad-ministration, with the consent of the terri-torial representative Assembly, to constitutethis Territory into a customs, fiscal or admin-istrative union or federation with adjacentterritories under its sovereignty or controland to establish common services betweensuch territories and the Trust Territory, pro-vided that such measures should promote theobjectives of the international trusteeshipsystem.B. MAY1. Establish on the Territory military, navalor air bases, station national forces and raisevolunteer contingents therein.

TERRITORY OF THE CAMEROONS


2. Within the limits laid down in the Chartertake all measures of organization and defenceappropriate for ensuring:

(a) the participation of the Territory inthe maintenance of international peace andsecurity,(b) the respect for obligations concerningthe assistance and facilities to be given bythe Administering Authority to the Secu-rity Council,(c) the respect for internal law and order,(d) the defence of the Territory withinthe framework of the special agreementsfor the maintenance of international peaceand security.

Article 5The Administering Authority shall take

measures to ensure to the local inhabitants ashare in the administration of the Territory bythe development of representative democraticbodies, and in due course, to arrange appro-priate consultations to enable the inhabitantsfreely to express an opinion on their politicalregime and ensure the attainment of the ob-jectives prescribed in Article 76 (b) of theCharter.


maintain the application to the Territory, ofthe international agreements and conventionswhich are at present in force there, and toapply therein any conventions and recommenda-tions made by the United Nations or the spe-cialized agencies referred to in Article 57 ofthe Charter, the application of which would bein the interests of the population and consistentwith the basic objectives of the trusteeshipsystem and the terms of the present Agreement.


transfer of land, the Administering Authorityshall, in order to promote the economic and so-cial progress of the native population, takeinto consideration local laws and customs.

No land belonging to a native or to a groupof natives may be transferred, except betweennatives, save with the previous consent of thecompetent public authority, who shall respectthe rights and safeguard the interests, bothpresent and future, of the natives. No realrights over native land in favour of non-nativesmay be created except with the same consent.


Article, the Administering Authority shall takeall necessary steps to ensure equal treatment insocial, economic, industrial and commercial mat-ters for all States Members of the UnitedNations and their nationals and to this end:

1. Shall grant to all nationals of Members ofthe United Nations freedom of transit andnavigation, including freedom of transit andnavigation by air, and the protection of per-son and property, subject to the requirements

of public order, and on condition of com-pliance with the local law.2. Shall ensure the same rights to all nation-als of Members of the United Nations as tohis own nationals in respect of entry into andresidence in the Territory, acquisition ofproperty, both movable and immovable, andthe exercise of professions and trades.3. Shall not discriminate on grounds of na-tionality against nationals of any Memberof the United Nations in matters relating tothe grant of concessions for the developmentof the natural resources of the Territory, andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly.4. Shall ensure equal treatment in the ad-ministration of justice to the nationals of allMembers of the United Nations.The rights conferred by this Article on the

nationals of Members of the United Nationsapply equally to companies and associations con-trolled by such nationals and formed in accord-ance with the law of any Member of the UnitedNations.

Nevertheless, pursuant to Article 76 of theCharter, such equal treatment shall be withoutprejudice to the attainment of the trusteeshipobjectives as prescribed in the said Article 76and particularly in paragraph (b) of thatArticle.

Should special advantages of any kind begranted by a Power enjoying the equality oftreatment referred to above to another Power,or to a territory whether self-governing or not,the same advantages shall automatically applyreciprocally to the Trust Territory and to itsinhabitants, especially in the economic and com-mercial field.

Article 9Measures taken to give effect to the preceding

article of this Agreement shall be subject tothe overriding duty of the Administering Au-thority, in accordance with Article 76 of theCharter, to promote the political, economic, so-cial and educational advancement of the inhabi-tants of the Territory, to carry out the otherbasic objectives of the international trusteeshipsystem and to maintain peace, order and goodgovernment. The Administering Authorityshall in particular be free, with the consentof the territorial representative Assembly:

1. To organize essential public services andworks on such terms and such conditions asit thinks just.2. To create monopolies of a purely fiscalcharacter in the interest of the Territory andin order to provide the Territory with thefiscal resources which seem best suited tolocal requirements.3. To establish or to permit to be establishedunder conditions of proper public control, inconformity with Article 76, paragraph (d)of the Charter, such public enterprises orjoint undertakings as appear to the Adminis-tering Authority to be in the interest of theeconomic advancement of the inhabitants ofthe Territory.



the Territory complete freedom of thought andthe free exercise of all forms of worship and ofreligious teaching which are consistent withpublic order and morality. Missionaries who arenationals of States Members of the UnitedNations shall be free to enter the Territoryand to reside therein, to acquire and possessproperty, to erect religious buildings and toopen schools and hospitals throughout the Ter-ritory.

The provisions of this Article shall not, how-ever, affect the right and duty of the Adminis-tering Authority to exercise such control asmay be necessary for the maintenance of publicorder and morality, and for the educational ad-vancement of the inhabitants of the Territory.

The Administering Authority shall continueto develop elementary, secondary and technicaleducation for the benefit of both children andadults. To the full extent compatible with theinterests of the population it shall afford toqualified students the opportunity of receivinghigher general or professional education.

The Administering Authority shall guaranteeto the inhabitants of the Territory freedom ofspeech, of the press, of assembly and of petition,subject only to the requirements of public order.


right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose at any future date the designation of thewhole or part of the Territory thus placed underits trusteeship as a strategic area in accordancewith Articles 82 and 83 of the Charter.


ment shall not be altered or amended except asprovided in Articles 79, 82, 83 and 85, as thecase may be, of the Charter.


the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations, relating to the inter-pretation or the application of the provisions ofthe present Trusteeship Agreement, such dis-pute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation orother means, shall be submitted to the Inter-national Court of Justice provided for by Chap-ter XIV of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 14The Administering Authority may enter, on

behalf of the Territory, any consultative re-gional commission, technical organ or voluntaryassociation of States which may be constituted.It may also collaborate, on behalf of the Terri-tory, with international public or private insti-tutions or participate in any form of interna-tional co-operation in accordance with the spiritof the Charter.

Article 15The present Agreement shall enter into force

as soon as it has received the approval of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations.

VII. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE

WHEREAS the territory known as Ruanda-Urundi has been administered in accordancewith Article 22 of the Covenant of the Leagueof Nations under a Mandate conferred uponBelgium;

WHEREAS Article 75 of the United NationsCharter signed at San Francisco on 26 June1945 provides for the establishment of an inter-national trusteeship system for the administra-tion and supervision of such territories as maybe placed thereunder by subsequent individualagreements;

WHEREAS under Article 77 of the saidCharter the international trusteeship systemmay be applied to territories now held undermandate;

WHEREAS the Belgian Government has in-dicated its desire to place Ruanda-Urundi underthe international trusteeship system; and

WHEREAS under Articles 75 and 77 of theCharter the placing of a territory under theinternational trusteeship system is to be ef-fected by means of a trusteeship agreement;

Now, THEREFORE, the General Assemblyof the United Nations hereby resolves to ap-prove the following items of trusteeship forRuanda-Urundi.

Article 1The present Trusteeship Agreement shall ap-

ply to the whole of the territory of Ruanda-Urundi as at present administered by Belgiumand as defined by Article 1 of the Belgian Man-date and by the Treaty concluded in London on22 November 1934 by Belgium and the UnitedKingdom.

Article 2By the present Agreement, the Belgian Gov-

ernment is designated as Administering Au-thority for Ruanda-Urundi in accordance withArticle 75 of the Charter. The said Governmentshall assume responsibility for the administra-tion of the said Territory.


administer Ruanda-Urundi in such a manner asto achieve the basic objectives of the inter-national trusteeship system laid down in Article76 of the United Nations Charter. The Admin-istering Authority further undertakes to col-laborate fully with the General Assembly of theUnited Nations and with the Trusteeship Coun-cil in the discharge of all their functions asdefined in Article 87 of the United NationsCharter.

It likewise undertakes to facilitate suchperiodic visits to the Trust Territory as theGeneral Assembly or the Trusteeship Councilmay decide to arrange, to decide jointly withthese organs the dates on which such visitsshall take place and also to agree jointly withthem on all questions concerned with the organi-zation and accomplishment of these visits.

TERRITORY OF RUANDA-URUNDI


Article 4The Administering Authority shall ensure

the maintenance of peace and order as well asthe good government and defence of the Terri-tory. The said Authority shall ensure that theTerritory shall play its part in the maintenanceof international peace and security.

Article 5For the above-mentioned purposes, and in

order to fulfil the obligations arising underthe Charter and the present Agreement, theAdministering Authority:

1. Shall have full powers of legislation, ad-ministration and jurisdiction in the territoryof Ruanda-Urundi and shall administer it inaccordance with Belgian law as an integralpart of Belgian territory, subject to the pro-visions of the Charter and of this Agreement.2. Shall be entitled to constitute Ruanda-Urundi into a customs, fiscal or administra-tive union or federation with adjacent terri-tories under its sovereignty and to establishcommon services between such territories andRuanda-Urundi, provided that such measuresare not inconsistent with the objectives ofthe international trusteeship system and withthe provisions of this Agreement.3. May establish on the Trust Territory mili-tary bases, including air bases, erect fortifi-cations, station its own armed forces andraise volunteer contingents therein.The Administering Authority may likewise,

within the limits laid down by the Charter, takeall measures of organization and defence appro-priate for ensuring:

The participation of the Territory in themaintenance of international peace and se-curity.

The respect for obligations concerning theassistance and facilities to be given by theAdministering Authority to the SecurityCouncil.

The respect for internal law and order.The defence of the Territory within the

framework of special agreements for themaintenance of international peace and se-curity.


the development of free political institutionssuited to Ruanda-Urundi. To this end the Ad-ministering Authority shall ensure to theinhabitants of Ruanda-Urundi an increasingshare in the administration and services, bothcentral and local, of the Territory; it shallfurther such participation of the inhabitantsin the representative organs of the populationas may be appropriate to the particular condi-tions of the Territory.

In short, the Administering Authority shalltake all measures conducive to the politicaladvancement of the population of Ruanda-Urundi in accordance with Article 76 (b) ofthe Charter of the United Nations.


apply to Ruanda-Urundi the provisions of allpresent or future international conventionswhich may be appropriate to the particular con-ditions of the Territory and which would beconducive to the achievement of the basic ob-jectives of the international trusteeship system.

Article 8In framing laws relating to the ownership of

land and the rights over natural resources, andto their transfer, the Administering Authorityshall take into consideration native laws andcustoms and shall respect the rights and safe-guard the interests, both present and future, ofthe native population. No native land or native-owned natural resources may be transferred,except between natives, save with the previousconsent of the competent public authority. Noreal rights over native land or native-ownedresources of the sub-soil, in favour of non-natives, may be created except with the sameconsent.


article, the Administering Authority shall takeall necessary steps to ensure equal treatment insocial, economic, industrial and commercial mat-ters for all States Members of the United Na-tions and their nationals and to this end:

1. Shall ensure to all nationals of Membersof the United Nations the same rights as areenjoyed by its own nationals in respect ofentry into and residence in Ruanda-Urundi,freedom of transit and navigation, includingfreedom of transit and navigation by air, theacquisition of property, both movable andimmovable, the protection of person and prop-erty, and the exercise of professions andtrades.2. Shall not discriminate on grounds of na-tionality against nationals of any Memberof the United Nations in matters relating tothe grant of concessions for the developmentof natural resources of the Territory andshall not grant concessions having the char-acter of a general monopoly.3. Shall ensure equal treatment in the ad-ministration of justice to the nationals ofall Members of the United Nations.The rights conferred by this article on the

nationals of States Members of the UnitedNations apply equally to companies or associa-tions controlled by such nationals and formedin accordance with the law of any Member ofthe United Nations.

Article 10Measures taken to give effect to the pro-

visions of the preceding article shall be subjectalways to the overriding duty of the UnitedNations and of the Administering Authority topromote the political, economic, social and cul-tural advancement of the inhabitants of theTerritory, and to pursue the other objectives


of the trusteeship system as laid down in Arti-cle 76 of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Administering Authority shall, in par-ticular, be free:

1. To organize essential public services andworks on such terms and such conditions asit thinks just;2. To create, in the interests of Ruanda-Urundi, monopolies of a purely fiscal char-acter in order to provide the Territory withthe resources which seem best suited to localrequirements;3. Where the interests or the economic ad-vancement of the inhabitants of the Terri-tory may require it, to establish or permitto be established, for specific purposes, othermonopolies or undertakings having in theman element of monopoly, under conditions ofproper public control provided that, in theselection of agencies to carry out the purposesof this paragraph, other than agencies con-trolled by the Government or those in whichthe Government participates, the Adminis-tering Authority shall not discriminate ongrounds of nationality against Members ofthe United Nations or their nationals.


Member of the United Nations to claim for it-self or for its nationals, companies or associa-tions the benefits of Article 9 of this Agreementin any respect in which it does not give to theinhabitants, companies and associations ofRuanda-Urundi equality of treatment with thenationals, companies and associations of theState which it treats most favourably.

Article 12The Administering Authority shall develop

the system of elementary education in the TrustTerritory in order to reduce the number of illit-erates, to train the inhabitants in manual skill,and to improve the education of the population.The Administering Authority shall, so far aspossible, provide the necessary facilities toenable qualified students to receive higher edu-cation, more especially professional education.


throughout the Trust Territory complete free-dom of conscience, freedom of religious teach-ing and the free exercise of all forms of worshipwhich are consistent with public order andmorality; all missionaries who are nationals ofany State Member of the United Nations shallbe free to enter, travel and reside in the TrustTerritory, to acquire and possess property, toerect religious buildings and to open schoolsand hospitals therein. The provisions of thepresent article shall not, however, affect theduty of the Administering Authority to exer-cise such control as may be necessary for themaintenance of public order and good govern-ment and also the quality and progress of edu-cation.


order, the Administering Authority shall guar-antee to the inhabitants of the Trust Territoryfreedom of speech, of the press, of assembly,and of petition.

Article 15The Administering Authority may, on behalf

of the Trust Territory, accept membership inany advisory regional commission (regionalauthority), technical organization, or other vol-untary association of States. It may co-operatewith specialized agencies, whether public orprivate, and participate in other forms of inter-national co-operation not inconsistent with theCharter.


the General Assembly of the United Nations anannual report on the basis of the questionnairedrawn up by the Trusteeship Council in accord-ance with Article 88 of the Charter of theUnited Nations.

Such reports shall include information re-garding the measures taken in order to giveeffect to the suggestions and recommendationsof the General Assembly and of the TrusteeshipCouncil.

The Administering Authority shall appointan accredited representative to attend the meet-ings of the Trusteeship Council at which thereports of the Administering Authority forRuanda-Urundi will be examined.


right of the Administering Authority to pro-pose at any future date the designation of thewhole or part of the Territory as a strategicarea in accordance with Articles 82 and 83 ofthe Charter.


ment may not be altered or amended except asprovided in Articles 79, 83 or 85 of the Charter.


the Administering Authority and another Mem-ber of the United Nations relating to the inter-pretation or the application of the provisions ofthe present Trusteeship Agreement, such dis-pute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation orother means, shall be submitted to the Inter-national Court of Justice provided for by Chap-ter XIV of the Charter of the United Nations.

VIII. TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE

WHEREAS the territory of Western Samoahas been administered in accordance with Arti-cle 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nationsand pursuant to a mandate conferred upon HisBritannic Majesty to be exercised on his behalfby the Government of New Zealand;

TERRITORY OF WESTERN SAMOA


AND WHEREAS the Charter of the UnitedNations signed at San Francisco on 26 June1945, provides for the establishment of an inter-national trusteeship system for the administra-tion and supervision of such territories as maybe the subject of trusteeship agreements;

AND WHEREAS under the said Charter theinternational trusteeship system may be appliedto territories now held under mandate;

AND WHEREAS the Government of NewZealand have indicated their willingness thatthe said international trusteeship system beapplied to Western Samoa;

AND WHEREAS the said Charter providesfurther that the terms of trusteeship are to beapproved by the United Nations;

Now, THEREFORE, the General Assemblyof the United Nations hereby resolves to ap-prove the following terms of trusteeship forWestern Samoa, in substitution for the termsof the aforesaid mandate.


plies is the territory known as Western Samoacomprising the islands of Upola, Savai'i,Manono, and Apolima, together with all otherislands and rocks adjacent thereto.

Article 2The Government of New Zealand are hereby

designated as the Administering Authority forWestern Samoa.

Article 8The Administering Authority shall have full

powers of administration, legislation and juris-diction over the territory, subject to the pro-visions of this Agreement, and of the Charterof the United Nations, and may apply to theTerritory, subject to any modifications whichthe Administering Authority may consider de-sirable, such of the laws of New Zealand as mayseem appropriate to local conditions and re-quirements.


administer Western Samoa in such a manner asto achieve in that Territory the basic objectivesof the international trusteeship system, as ex-pressed in Article 76 of the Charter of theUnited Nations, namely:

"(a) to further international peace and se-curity;"(b) to promote the political, economic, so-cial and educational advancement of the in-habitants of the trust territories, and theirprogressive development towards self-gov-ernment or independence as may be appro-priate to the particular circumstances of eachterritory and its peoples and the freely ex-pressed wishes of the peoples concerned, andas may be provided by the terms of eachtrusteeship agreement;"(c) to encourage respect for human rightsand for fundamental freedoms for all without

distinction as to race, sex, language or re-ligion, and to encourage recognition of theinter-dependence of the peoples of the world;and"(d) to ensure equal treatment in social,economic, and commercial matters for allMembers of the United Nations and theirnationals, and also equal treatment for thelatter in the administration of justice, with-out prejudice to the attainment of the fore-going objectives and subject to the provisionsof Article 80."


the development of free political institutionssuited to Western Samoa. To this end and asmay be appropriate to the particular circum-stances of the Territory and its peoples, theAdministering Authority shall assure to theinhabitants of Western Samoa a progressivelyincreasing share in the administrative and otherservices of the Territory, shall develop the par-ticipation of the inhabitants of Western Samoain advisory and legislative bodies and in thegovernment of the Territory, and shall take allother appropriate measures with a view to thepolitical advancement of the inhabitants ofWestern Samoa in accordance with Article 76(b) of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 6In pursuance of its undertakings to promote

the social advancement of the inhabitants of theTrust Territory, and without in any way limit-ing its obligations thereunder, the Adminis-tering Authority shall:

1. Prohibit all forma of slavery and slave-trading;2. Prohibit all forms of forced or compulsorylabour, except for essential public works andservices as specifically authorized by the localadministration and then only in times ofpublic emergency, with adequate remunera-tion and adequate protection of the welfareof the workers;3. Control the traffic in arms and ammunition;4. Control, in the interest of the inhabitants,the manufacture, importation and distribu-tion of intoxicating spirits and beverages;and5. Control the production, importation, man-ufacture, and distribution of opium and nar-cotic drugs.


apply in Western Samoa the provisions of anyinternational conventions and recommendationsas drawn up by the United Nations or its spe-cialized agencies which are, in the opinion ofthe Administering Authority, appropriate tothe needs and conditions of the Trust Territory,and conducive to the achievement of thebasic objectives of the international trusteeshipsystem.


Article 8In framing the laws to be applied in Western

Samoa, the Administering Authority shall takeinto consideration Samoan customs and usagesand shall respect the rights and safeguard theinterests, both present and future, of theSamoan population.

In particular, the laws relating to the holdingor transfer of land shall ensure that no nativeland may be transferred save with the priorconsent of the competent public authority andthat no right over native land in favour of anyperson not a Samoan may be created exceptwith the same consent.


the Territory freedom of conscience and thefree exercise of all forms of worship, and shallallow missionaries, nationals of any State Mem-ber of the United Nations, to enter into, traveland reside in the Territory for the purpose ofprosecuting their calling. The provisions of thisArticle shall not, however, affect the right andduty of the Administering Authority to exercisesuch control as it may consider necessary forthe maintenance of peace, order and good gov-ernment.


that the Trust Territory of Western Samoashall play its part, in accordance with the Char-ter of the United Nations, in the maintenanceof international peace and security. To this endthe Administering Authority shall be entitled:

1. To establish naval, military and air basesand to erect fortifications in the Trust Ter-ritory.2. To station and employ armed forces in theTerritory.3. To make use of volunteer forces, facilitiesand assistance from the Trust Territory incarrying out the obligations toward the Se-curity Council undertaken in this regard bythe Administering Authority, as well as forlocal defence and the maintenance of law andorder within the Trust Territory.4. To take all such other measures in accord-ance with the Purposes and Principles of theCharter of the United Nations are in theopinion of the Administering Authoritynecessary to the maintenance of internationalpeace and security and the defence of West-ern Samoa.


be appropriate to the circumstances of the TrustTerritory, continue and extend a general systemof education, including post-primary educationand professional training.


order, the Administering Authority shall guar-antee to the inhabitants of the Trust Territory,freedom of speech, of the press, of assemblyand of petition.


for the co-operation of Western Samoa in anyregional advisory commission, regional techni-cal organization or other voluntary associationof states, any specialized international bodies,public or private, or other forms of interna-tional activity not inconsistent with the Charterof the United Nations.


the General Assembly of the United Nations anannual report on the basis of a questionnairedrawn up by the Trusteeship Council in accord-ance with the Charter of the United Nationsand shall otherwise collaborate fully with theTrusteeship Council in the discharge of all theCouncil's functions in accordance with Articles87 and 88 of the Charter. The AdministeringAuthority shall arrange to be represented at thesessions of the Trusteeship Council at whichthe reports of the Administering Authoritywith regard to Western Samoa are considered.


altered or amended except as provided in Article79 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 16If any dispute should arise between the Ad-

ministering Authority and another Member ofthe United Nations, relating to the interpreta-tion or application of the provisions of thisAgreement, such dispute, if it cannot be settledby negotiation or similar means, shall be sub-mitted to the International Court of Justice.

b. Establishment of the Trusteeship CouncilHaving approved the eight Trusteeship

Agreements submitted by the mandatory pow-ers concerned, the General Assembly proceededto elect Mexico and Iraq as members of theTrusteeship Council and adopted a resolutionproposed by the Fourth Committee on the es-tablishment of the Trusteeship Council.1

c. Future Status of South West AfricaThe delegation of the Union of South Africa

submitted a proposal to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly callingfor approval by the General Assembly of theannexation of South West Africa by the Unionof South Africa.

The General Assembly referred the questionto the Fourth Committee (Trusteeship), whichdiscussed it at its 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19thand 20th meetings, held on November 4, 6, 7,8, 13 and 14 respectively. In the course of thediscussion the representative of the Union ofSouth Africa stated that, due to the physical

1 See p. 119 ff.


contiguity of South West Africa and the Unionof South Africa and the former's ethnologickinship with the rest of South Africa, the UnionGovernment was legitimately concerned in se-curing the annexation of that territory, whichhad been awarded to the Union Government asa League of Nations Mandate after the FirstWorld War. South West Africa, the South Afri-can representative stated, was by now so thor-oughly integrated with the Union that itsformal incorporation was mainly required toremove doubts and to attract capital and enter-prise needed for further development of theterritory.

The European population of South West Af-rica, through the medium of the South WestAfrica Legislative Assembly, had unanimouslyexpressed its wish to be included in the Union.The South African representative asserted thatthe wishes of the natives had been ascertainedin an equally democratic but rather differentform, with due regard to their differing tribalorganizations and customs. The task of explain-ing the purpose of the consultation to the na-tives had been entrusted to the most experi-enced officials — native commissioners who hadlong resided among the natives and who under-stood fully the native mind. The result of thisconsultation, according to the South Africanrepresentative, was as follows:

208,850 in favor of annexation;33,520 opposed to annexation;56,790 could not be consulted.

The South African representative expressedconfidence that the United Nations would recog-nize that to give effect to the wishes of thepopulation of South West Africa would be thelogical application of the democratic principlesof national self-determination.

The majority of the representatives in theFourth Committee were opposed to the SouthAfrican proposal for the annexation of SouthWest Africa by the Union Government. Theopinion was expressed that such annexation wasnot likely to be in the interests of the nativepopulation in view of the discriminatory policiesin force in the Union, which severely restrictedthe natives' political and economic rights.Moreover, annexation, it was maintained, wascontrary to the aims of the Trusteeship Sys-tem. Approval of annexation on the part of theUnited Nations would be a step backward.

Most representatives expressed doubt thatthe natives of South West Africa had fully un-

derstood the nature and extent of the consulta-tion conducted by the Union Government, orthat the advantages of the trusteeship systemhad been clearly explained to them. In suchcircumstances, it was maintained, it was notpossible for the natives to express their choicefreely. The only appropriate action, therefore,which the United Nations could recommend wasthat the Union Government should place SouthWest Africa under the United Nations trustee-ship system.

After a general discussion in the Fourth Com-mittee, the question was referred to a Sub-committee of nineteen members for detailedconsideration. The representative of the U.S.-S.R. submitted the following resolution:

WHEREAS the United Nations Charter inArticles 77 and 79 provides that the TrusteeshipSystem shall apply to territories now underMandate;

WHEREAS, the possibility of incorporationof territories held under Mandate by Manda-tory Powers is not provided for by the Charterbut, on the contrary, is inconsistent with itsprinciples which provide for the progressivedevelopment of peoples in Trust Territories to-wards self-government or independence;

WHEREAS, the lack of political autonomyof South West Africa does not give any guar-antee for the expression of the actual will ofthe inhabitants of the territory and that, there-fore, the possibility of recognizing the consulta-tions with the peoples of South West Africa, ofwhich the Government of the Union of SouthAfrica informs the General Assembly in itsstatement, is excluded;

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,REJECTS the proposal of the Union of SouthAfrica regarding the incorporation of theterritory of South West Africa, andRECOMMENDS the Government of the Unionof South Africa to submit for considera-tion by the General Assembly in accord-ance with Articles 77 and 79 of the Chartera draft Trusteeship Agreement for the terri-tory of South West Africa.The delegation of the United States submit-

ted a resolution rejecting the South Africanproposal for annexation of South West Africa.This resolution was subsequently withdrawn infavor of a draft resolution sponsored jointly bythe delegations of the United States and Den-mark, which read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAVING CONSIDERED the statements of the

delegation of the Union of South Africaregarding the question of incorporating theMandated Territory of South West Africa intothe Union;


NOTING with satisfaction that the Unionof South Africa, by presenting this matter tothe United Nations, recognizes the interest andconcern of the United Nations in the matter ofthe future status of territories now held underMandate;

RECALLING that the Charter of the UnitedNations provides in Articles 77 and 79 that theTrusteeship System shall apply to territoriesnow under Mandate as may be subsequentlyagreed;

REFERRING to the resolution of the Gen-eral Assembly of 9 February 1946 with respectto the placing of Mandated Territories underTrusteeship, and inviting the Union of SouthAfrica to give further consideration to thisinvitation;

HOPEFUL that agreement between the UnitedNations and the Union of South Africa mayhereafter be reached regarding the futurestatus of the mandated territory of South WestAfrica;

ASSURED by the Delegation of the Unionof South Africa that, pending such agreement,the Union Government will continue to admin-ister the territory as heretofore in the spirit ofthe principles laid down in the Mandate;

CONSIDERS that the data before this Gen-eral Assembly do not justify action of the Gen-eral Assembly approving the incorporation intothe Union of South Africa of the MandatedTerritory of South West Africa.

The representative of Cuba submitted a draftresolution which contained a part of the pre-amble of the United States resolution and thenfollowed in the main the text of the U.S.S.R.resolution.

The representative of India submitted a draftresolution which recommended that the man-dated territory of South West Africa be placedunder the International Trusteeship System andthat the mandatory power concerned be re-quested, in accordance with Article 79 of theCharter, to prepare and submit forthwith aTrusteeship Agreement to the United Nations.

The Indian and Cuban resolutions were sub-sequently withdrawn in favor of the followingresolution sponsored jointly by the delegationsof India and Cuba:


delegations of the Union of South Africa re-garding the question of incorporating theMandated Territory of South West Africa intothe Union;

NOTING with satisfaction that the Union ofSouth Africa, by presenting this matter to theUnited Nations, recognizes the interest andconcern of the United Nations in the matter ofthe future status of territories now held underMandate;

WHEREAS it is the intention of the Charterthat the Trusteeship System shall apply to ter-ritories now under Mandate;

WHEREAS, the possibility of the incorpora-tion of territories held under Mandate byMandatory Powers is not provided for by theCharter, but, on the contrary, is inconsistentwith its principles which provide for the pro-gressive development of peoples in trust terri-tories towards self-government or independ-ence;

WHEREAS, the African inhabitants of SouthWest Africa have not yet secured politicalautonomy, and further, are unable at the pres-ent stage of their political and educational de-velopment to express their considered opinionson such an important question as the incorpora-tion of their territory;

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,REJECTS any solution involving the incor-

poration of the territory of South West Africain the Union of South Africa; and

RECOMMENDS that the Mandated Territoryof South West Africa be placed under theinternational Trusteeship System and that theGovernment of the Union of South Africa berequested to submit for the consideration ofthe General Assembly a Trusteeship Agreementfor the aforesaid territory.

When a vote was taken on the three textswhich were thus before the Sub-Committee, theU.S.S.R. resolution was rejected by 12 votes to2, with 5 abstentions. The Indian-Cuban resolu-tion was rejected by 6 votes to 11, with 2 absten-tions. The Danish-United States resolution wasthen accepted by 12 votes to 6, with 1 absten-tion.

When the Fourth Committee considered thereport of the Sub-Committee the Indian delega-tion reintroduced the Indian-Cuban draft reso-lution to take the place of the Danish-UnitedStates text adopted by the Sub-Committee. Therepresentative of the U.S.S.R. likewise reintro-duced his resolution. The Fourth Committee bya vote of 17 to 15, with 4 abstentions, adoptedthe Indian-Cuban text instead of the textaccepted by the Sub-Committee.

The United States and Danish delegationsthereupon reintroduced their draft resolution,which had been accepted by the Sub-Committeebut rejected by the Fourth Committee, for con-sideration by the General Assembly in plenarymeeting.

At the 64th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on December 14, 1946, however, itwas announced that the delegations of theUnited States, Denmark and India had enteredinto negotiations and that as a result of thesenegotiations they had agreed to submit a joint


compromise text in the form of an amendmentto the resolution submitted by the Fourth Com-mittee. This new resolution was adopted by theGeneral Assembly by a vote of 37 to 0, with 9abstentions. The text of the resolution was asfollows:


delegation of the Union of South Africa re-garding the question of incorporating the man-dated territory of South West Africa in theUnion;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that the Unionof South Africa, by presenting this matterto the United Nations, recognizes the inter-est and concern of the United Nations in thematter of the future status of territories nowheld under mandate;

RECALLING that the Charter of the UnitedNations provides in Articles 77 and 79 that thetrusteeship system shall apply to territoriesnow under mandate as may be subsequentlyagreed;

REFERRING to the resolution of the GeneralAssembly of 9 February 1946, inviting the plac-ing of mandated territories under trusteeship;

DESIRING that agreement between the UnitedNations and the Union of South Africa mayhereafter be reached regarding the futurestatus of the mandated territory of SouthWest Africa;

ASSURED BY the delegation of the Union ofSouth Africa that, pending such agreement,the Union Government will continue to admin-ister the territory as heretofore in the spirit ofthe principles laid down in the mandate;

CONSIDERING that the African inhabitantsof South West Africa have not yet securedpolitical autonomy or reached a stage of politi-cal development enabling them to express aconsidered opinion which the Assembly couldrecognize on such an important question asincorporation of their territory:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,Is UNABLE To ACCEDE to the incorporation

of the territory of South West Africa in theUnion of South Africa; and

RECOMMENDS that the mandated territory ofSouth West Africa be placed under the inter-national trusteeship system and invites theGovernment of the Union of South Africato propose for the consideration of the GeneralAssembly a trusteeship agreement for theaforesaid territory.

"The Government of the Union of SouthAfrica was formally notified of this decisionby the General Assembly in a letter from theSecretary-General dated January 22, 1947."

d. Submission of Information under Article 73(e) of the Charter

In its resolution on non-self-governing peo-ples of February 9, 1946, the General Assemblydrew attention to the fact that the obligationsof Chapter XI of the Charter were already infull force. It requested the Secretary-General toinclude in his annual report a statement sum-marizing any information transmitted to himby Members of the United Nations under Arti-cle 73 (e) of the Charter.

By a letter of June 29, 1946, the Secretary-General drew the attention of the Members tothe resolution and asked for their considerationof certain preliminary problems arising fromit. In particular the letter invited the Membersto give their opinion on the following matters:

1. The factors to be taken into account indetermining which were the Non-Self-Govern-ing Territories referred to in Chapter XI ofthe Charter;

2. An enumeration of the Non-Self-Govern-ing Territories subject to their jurisdiction;

3. A general indication of the form in whichthey might desire to supply information or theform in which they thought information mightbe most usefully transmitted by the Membersdirectly concerned.

On the basis of replies received from Mem-ber Governments the Secretary-General sub-mitted a report on the question of informationon Non-Self-Governing Territories to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly.

The General Assembly referred the questionto the Fourth Committee, which in turn re-ferred it to a Sub-Committee of nineteen mem-bers for detailed consideration.

A number of problems were discussed in con-nection with the Sub-Committee's task of pre-paring a draft resolution for adoption by theFourth Committee and the General Assembly.These included the following:

(1) The resolution drafted by the Sub-Com-mittee enumerated the territories in respect ofwhich the governments responsible for theiradministration had submitted information orhad indicated their intention of doing so. EightMembers of the United Nations had transmit-ted such information or declared their intentionof doing so; the territories thus covered num-bered 75.


(2) While enumerating these territories, theCommittee, after discussion, agreed not to at-tempt a formal definition of Non-Self-Govern-ing Territories.

(3) The Sub-Committee's resolution stressedthe "value of the association of Non-Self-Gov-erning Territories in the work of the spe-cialized agencies."

(4) The Sub-Committee agreed that Mem-ber States should be invited to submit by June30 of each year the most recent informationavailable, but fixed no definite period of timewhich such information was to cover.

(5) Concerning the nature of information tobe transmitted, certain representatives consid-ered that this information should include only"statistical and other information of a techni-cal nature relating to the economic, social andeducational conditions" in the Trust Territoriesin accordance with Article 73 (e). Other repre-sentatives considered that information on thepolitical advancement of non-self-governingpeoples should likewise be submitted. The Sub-Committee generally agreed that although thesubmission of information on political progresswas not mandatory under Article 73 (e), it wasof great importance and much to be desired.

The paragraphs of the draft resolution con-cerning the procedure to be followed in the useof the information submitted evoked consid-erable difference of opinion. The delegations ofDenmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdomand the United States jointly submitted the fol-lowing draft proposal:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,1. INVITES the Members transmitting in-

formation to send to the Secretary-General by30 June of each year the most recent informa-tion which is at their disposal.

2. RECOMMENDS that the information trans-mitted in the course of 1947 by Members ofthe United Nations under Article 73 (e) ofthe Charter should be summarized, analyzedand classified by the Secretary-General and in-cluded in his report to the second session of theGeneral Assembly, in order that in the light ofthe experience gained the General Assemblymay be able to decide whether any other pro-cedure may be desirable for dealing with suchinformation in future years.

3. RECOMMENDS that the Secretary-Generalcommunicate to the specialized agencies theinformation transmitted, with a view to makingall relevant data available to their expert anddeliberative bodies.

4. RECOMMENDS that the Secretary-Generalconsult the specialized agencies with a viewto formulating proposals for consideration bythe General Assembly at its second session to

ensure that the advice, expert knowledge andexperience of the specialized agencies are usedto the best advantage.

The Chinese representative, supported byseveral other members of the Sub-Committee,expressed the view that the Trusteeship Councilwas the natural and logical authority to receiveand examine information transmitted underChapter XI. The Chinese representative there-fore proposed that the General Assembly recom-mend that the Trusteeship Council, upon itsestablishment, be invited to receive and exam-ine the Secretary-General's summary and theinformation on which this summary was based,with a view to aiding the General Assembly inits consideration of the information transmit-ted under Chapter XI of the Charter.

To this proposal it was objected that theduties of the Trusteeship Council were outlinedin Chapters XII and XIII of the Charter andthat therefore the Council was not constitu-tionally qualified to exercise functions con-cerned with information transmitted underChapter XI of the Charter. In answer to thisobjection it was stated that Chapters XI, XIIand XIII as a whole had been conceived as partsof general principles of trusteeship and thatthe Trusteeship Council, as one of the principalorgans of the United Nations, should be en-trusted with a special mandate by the GeneralAssembly to examine the information trans-mitted under Chapter XI.

A third draft proposal, submitted by the rep-resentative of Cuba, called for the establishmentof an ad hoc committee to examine, prior to thesecond session of the General Assembly, theinformation submitted by Member Govern-ments. In favor of the Cuban proposal it wasmaintained that the collection and analysis ofinformation submitted under Article 73 (e)might involve political considerations such asshould not be entrusted to the Secretariat, butrather to a special body created by the GeneralAssembly.

The Sub-Committee rejected the Chinese andCuban proposals, the former by a vote of 10 to9, and the latter by a vote of 10 to 8, with 1abstention. The joint proposal of the represen-tatives of Denmark, the Netherlands, the UnitedKingdom and the United States was thenadopted by a vote of 10 to 4, with 5 abstentions.

When the Fourth Committee considered thereport of the Sub-Committee the question ofthe procedure to be followed in the use of in-formation submitted in accordance with Article73 (e) was again discussed at some length. The


representative of Cuba reintroduced his pro-posal for the establishment of an ad hoc com-mittee to examine the information, as anamendment to the resolution adopted by theSub-Committee.

By 21 votes to 12, with 4 abstentions, theFourth Committee adopted the Cuban amend-ment. The resolution as a whole was thenadopted by 23 votes to 12, with 3 abstentions.The representative of France, who consideredthat the establishment of an ad hoc committeewas contrary to the provisions of Article 73 (e)of the Charter, reserved his position as towhether the French Government could under-take to send a representative to the ad hocCommittee.

The Fourth Committee recommended that theGeneral Assembly elect the eight members ofthe ad hoc Committee provided for in the reso-lution.

At its 64th plenary meeting on December 14,1946, the General Assembly, voting paragraphby paragraph, adopted the resolution recom-mended by the Fourth Committee. The resolu-tion as a whole was then adopted by a vote of27 to 7, with 13 abstentions.

At its 65th plenary meeting on December 14,1946, the General Assembly proceeded to theelection of the members of the ad hoc Commit-tee. On the first ballot Brazil, China, Egypt,India, the Philippine Republic and the U.S.S.R.were elected. By a second ballot Cuba was chosena member of the Committee. A third ballot re-sulted in an indecisive vote between Uruguayand Norway. A further ballot at the 66th ple-nary meeting of the General Assembly on De-cember 15, 1946, resulted in the election ofUruguay.

Following is the text of the resolution adoptedby the General Assembly:

The General Assembly notes that informationapproved a resolution on Non-Self-GoverningPeoples. By this Resolution the Secretary-Gen-eral was requested to include in his annual re-port on the work of the Organization a state-ment summarizing such information as mayhave been transmitted to him by Members ofthe United Nations under Article 73 e of theCharter relating to economic, social and educa-tional conditions in the territories for whichthey are responsible, other than those in whichChapters XII and XIII apply.

The General Assembly on 9 February 1946,has been transmitted by the Governments ofAustralia concerning conditions in Papua;France concerning conditions in French WestAfrica, French Equatorial Africa, French,Somaliland, Madagascar and Dependencies,

French Establishments in Oceania, Indo-China,French Establishments in India, New Caledoniaand Dependencies, Saint Pierre et Miquelon,Morocco, Tunisia, the New Hebrides underAnglo-French Condominium, Martinique, Gua-deloupe and Dependencies, French Guiana, andReunion (without prejudice to the future statusof these territories); New Zealand concerningconditions in the Cook Islands (without preju-dice to any interpretation of the expression"Non-Self-Governing Territories" in view ofthe fact that the Cook Islands are an integralpart of New Zealand); the United Kingdomconcerning conditions in Barbados, Bermuda,British Guiana, British Honduras1, Fiji, Gam-bia, Gibraltar, Leeward Islands, Mauritius, St.Lucia, and Zanzibar Protectorate; and theUnited States concerning conditions in Alaska,American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Panama CanalZone,2 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The General Assembly also notes that thefollowing Governments have declared their in-tention of transmitting information; Belgiumon the Belgian Congo; Denmark on Greenland;the Netherlands on the Netherlands Indies,Surinam and Curacao; New Zealand on theTokelau Islands; and the United Kingdom onAden (Colony and Protectorate), Bahamas,Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Brit-ish Somaliland Protectorate, Brunei, Cyprus,Dominica, Falkland Islands,3 Gold Coast (Colonyand Protectorate), Grenada, Hong Kong,Jamaica, Kenya (Colony and Protectorate),Malayan Union, Malta, Nigeria, North Borneo,Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, St. Helena andDependencies, St. Vincent, Sarawak, Seychelles,Sierra Leone, Singapore, Swaziland, Trinidadand Tobago, Uganda Protectorate, and the HighCommission Territories of the Western Pacific(Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, BritishSolomon Islands Protectorate, Pitcairn Is-lands).

The value of the association of Non-Self-Governing Territories in the work of the spe-cialized agencies as a means of attaining theobjectives of Chapter XI of the Charter hasbeen stressed.

The procedures to be followed by the Organi-zation in connection with the information trans-mitted by Members regarding Non-Self-Gov-erning Peoples have been carefully examined.

1The Guatemalan representative made a reser-

vation to the effect that the Guatemalan Govern-ment did not recognize British sovereignty overthis territory.

2 The Panamanian delegation issued a declara-

tion maintaining that the inclusion of the PanamaCanal Zone among the Non-Self-Governing terri-tories mentioned in Article 73 (e) of the Charterwas an error, as its sovereignty had never beentransferred to the United States.

3 In regard to the Falkland Islands the delega-

tion of Argentina made a reservation to the effectthat the Argentine Government did not recognizeBritish sovereignty in the Falkland Islands. Thedelegation of the United Kingdom made a parallelreservation, not recognizing Argentine sovereigntyin these islands.


THEREFORE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,1. INVITES the Members transmitting infor-mation to send to the Secretary-Generalby 30 June of each year the most recentinformation which is at their disposal;2. RECOMMENDS that the information trans-mitted in the course of 1947 by Membersof the United Nations under Article 73 eof the Charter should be summarized, ana-lysed and classified by the Secretary-Generaland included in his report to the secondsession of the General Assembly, in orderthat in the light of the experience gained, theGeneral Assembly may be able to decidewhether any other procedure may be desir-able for dealing with such information infuture years.3. RECOMMENDS that the Secretary-Generalcommunicate to the specialized agenciesthe information transmitted, with a view tomaking all relevant data available to theirexpert and deliberative bodies;4. INVITES the Secretary-General to convene,some weeks before the opening of the secondsession of the General Assembly, an adhoc Committee composed in equal num-bers of representatives of the Members trans-mitting information under Article 73 e ofthe Charter and of representatives of Mem-bers elected, by the General Assembly at thissession, on the basis of an equitable geo-graphical distribution;5. INVITES the Secretary-General to requestthe Food and Agriculture Organization,the International Labour Organization, theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization, and the World HealthOrganization and the International TradeOrganization, when constituted, to send rep-resentatives in an advisory capacity to themeetings of the ad hoc Committee;6. INVITES the ad hoc Committee to examinethe Secretary-General's summary and analy-sis of the information transmitted underArticle 73 e of the Charter with a viewto aiding the General Assembly in its con-sideration of this information, and with aview to making recommendations to the Gen-eral Assembly regarding the procedures tobe followed in the future and the means ofensuring that the advice, expert knowledgeand experience of the specialized agenciesare used to the best advantage.

e. Regional Conferences of Representatives ofNon-Self-Governing TerritoriesBy a letter of November 1, 1946, the repre-

sentative of the Philippine Republic submittedfor inclusion in the agenda of the second partof the first session of the General Assemblya proposal for the holding of a conference ofNon-Self-Governing peoples to which ChapterXI of the Charter applied. A draft resolutionsubmitted by the Philippine representativeread in part as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,1. RESOLVES to authorize the holding of a

conference of non-self-governing peoples towhich Chapter XI of the Charter applies.

2. REQUESTS the Economic and Social Coun-cil to convoke said conference, in accordancewith the following guiding principles:

(a) The conference shall be purely informa-tive in character and the discussions shall beconducted with a view to enabling the Eco-nomic and Social Council to formulate properrecommendations, and the General Assemblyto take appropriate action, to effectively in-sure the fulfillment of the obligations as-sumed by the metropolitan powers in thedeclaration regarding non-self-governing ter-ritories embodied in Chapter XI of theCharter.(b) Delegates shall be elected by the repre-sentative organs of each territory entitledto participate in the conference; in the ab-sence of any representative organ, delegatesshall be selected In such manner as to ensureproper representation as far as may be per-mitted by the particular circumstances of theterritory concerned.(c) The conference shall be held in such placeas may be determined by the Economic andSocial Council and at such time as wouldenable said Council to submit its report onthe proceedings of the conference, togetherwith its recommendations, before the openingof the next regular session of the GeneralAssembly.

3. URGES the Economic and Social Councilto initiate studies and to formulate recommen-dations to the end that the conference may be-come a permanent body, enlarging the scopeof its functions, and defining its relations withother specialized international organizations.

At the 25th meeting of the General Commit-tee of the General Assembly the representativesof the U.S.S.R., the Ukrainian S.S.R. and Chinaspoke in support of the Philippine proposal. Therepresentatives of France and the United King-dom opposed the inclusion of the proposal inthe agenda of the second part of the first ses-sion of the General Assembly on the groundthat the calling of a conference of non-self-governing peoples by the Economic and SocialCouncil was contrary to the United NationsCharter, which authorized the Economic andSocial Council to call only inter-governmentalconferences. The representatives of the UnitedStates expressed the view that the General Com-mittee was not competent to discuss the meritsof the question and that it should be includedin the agenda. By a vote of 8 to 2, with 1 absten-tion, the General Committee recommended in-clusion of the proposal in the agenda and recom-mended that it be referred simultaneously to


the Fourth (Trusteeship) and Sixth (Legal)Committees.

The General Assembly at its 47th plenarymeeting on November 9, 1946, adopted the Gen-eral Committee's recommendation.

The Fourth Committee referred the questionto a Sub-Committee of nineteen members, butconsideration in the Sub-Committee was de-ferred until the Sixth Committee had had timeto express its views on the legal questionsinvolved.

In view of the legal objections which thePhilippine proposal had encountered in thecourse of the discussion in the General Com-mittee, the representative of the Philippine Re-public submitted a revised resolution at the25th meeting of the Sixth Committee on Novem-ber 30, 1946. This read as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CONSIDERING that the resolution on non-self-

governing peoples adopted during the firstpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly draws attention to the fact that the obliga-tions accepted by Members of the UnitedNations under Chapter XI are already in fullforce;

RECOGNIZING the importance of the dec-laration contained in Chapter XI of the Charterespecially as it concerns the peace and securityof the world, and the political, economic, social,and educational advancement of the peoples ofnon-self-governing territories as well as theirjust treatment and protection against abuses;and

NOTICING the development of the Carib-bean Commission under the auspices of certainMembers of the United Nations with responsi-bilities for the administration of non-self-gov-erning territories in this region, which hastaken the initiative in establishing in the Carib-bean area regional representative conferenceswherein opportunity has been afforded to thepeoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories toconsult together in matters of common concern;

RECOMMENDS to all Members having or as-suming responsibilities for the administrationof Non-Self-Governing Territories that thepromising steps now being made on a regionalbasis, particularly in connection with the hold-ing of regional representative conferences, suchas in the Caribbean area, be adopted and de-veloped in other areas in order to give effect tothe provisions and the spirit of Chapter XI ofthe Charter to the end that the traditions,wishes and aspirations of non-self-governingpeoples may be given expression.

The Philippine representative expressed theview that his revised draft resolution shouldmeet any objection that his proposal was notentirely in accord with the Charter. Instead of

calling for a world conference of non-self-gov-erning peoples to be convened by the Economicand Social Council with a view to creating apermanent institution, the revised resolutioncalled for the convening of regional conferencesof non-self-governing peoples by the Adminis-tering Authorities concerned. No State couldhonestly claim, the Philippine representativeasserted, that a recommendation by the Gen-eral Assembly to an Administering Authorityaimed at carrying out the provisions of ChapterXI of the Charter would be an intrusion onits sovereignty.

The representative of France objected thatthe second Philippine proposal was not reallya revision but was an entirely new proposaland that it was therefore not properly beforethe Committee, but that it should be referredto the General Assembly for instructions. Aftera lengthy procedural discussion as to whetherthe Philippine representative was at liberty towithdraw his original proposal and whether therevised proposal was properly before the Com-mittee, the Sixth Committee voted 24 to 14that the revised proposal was before it for con-sideration. By a vote of 27 to 12 the SixthCommittee then decided that there was no legalobjection to the revised Philippine proposal.

In the course of the deliberations of the Sub-Committee of the Fourth Committee, amend-ments to the Philippine proposal were submit-ted by the delegations of Belgium, Cuba, Egypt,France, the Netherlands, the U.S.S.R. and theUnited Kingdom. All of these amendmentsfailed to secure adoption and, but for a slightdrafting change, the Sub-Committee adoptedthe resolution as submitted by the Philippinerepresentative and as quoted above.

When the matter came before the FourthCommittee the representative of the U.S.S.R.resubmitted his rejected amendment, which, assubsequently modified by the representative ofthe Ukrainian S.S.R., was to the effect that thelast two paragraphs of the Philippine resolu-tion be omitted and that instead the GeneralAssembly recommend that the Economic andSocial Council, together with the Administra-tive Authorities concerned, organize the convo-cation of regional conferences of representa-tives of Non-Self-Governing Territories inorder to give the peoples of Non-Self-Govern-ing Territories the opportunity of expressingtheir wishes and aspirations. The Fourth Com-mittee adopted the U.S.S.R. amendment by avote of 18 to 15, with 2 abstentions.


The representative of France stated thatfrom the beginning of the discussions theFrench delegation had reserved the position ofits Government, pointing out the irregularcharacter of the circumstances in which theproposal had been introduced and discussed,and stressing that the suggested provisionswere not in conformity with the Charter. TheFrench representative declared that the FrenchGovernment did not consider itself committedby the resolution and that it would be unableto apply stipulations contrary to the provisionsof the Charter. The representative of the UnitedKingdom requested that note should be takenof the fact that the resolution which had beenadopted could in no way affect the sovereignrights of States which were the basis of theUnited Nations. The representatives of Aus-tralia, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands,New Zealand, the Union of South Africa andthe United States made statements to the sameeffect. The representative of Canada statedthat he had voted against the resolution becausehe considered it was not entirely in accordancewith the Charter.

When the Fourth Committee's recommenda-tions came before the General Assembly forconsideration at its 64th plenary meeting onDecember 14, 1946, the representative of theUnited States appealed to the Members of theAssembly to reject the Fourth Committee's de-cision. The procedure which the resolutionwould establish, the United States representa-tive stated, would clearly violate the basic pro-visions of the Charter. Non-Self-GoverningTerritories which were not Trust Territorieswere not under the jurisdiction of the UnitedNations. Chapter XI depended on the voluntaryaction of the States concerned for its implemen-tation. The United Nations had no authority tointervene in such territories. Such authorityremained with the national governments con-cerned. The General Assembly could not con-stitutionally send the Economic and SocialCouncil on a political mission into the nationalterritory of a Member State in order to ascer-tain the aspirations of the peoples and to con-vene political conferences amongst the inhabi-tants. Once it was admitted that conferencesmight be convened over the heads of govern-ments, there was no reason why in similar cir-cumstances conferences of all kinds of racialor political minorities should not be called.

The representative of the United Kingdomand France expressed similar views. The rep-

resentative of India, on the other hand, pointedout that the resolution called for the conveningof conferences by the Economic and SocialCouncil "together with the Member States con-cerned." Therefore no conference could be calledwithout the agreement of the AdministeringPower. It would be a grave mistake, the Indianrepresentative asserted, to oppose the resolu-tion, for the aspirations and wishes of peoplesof Non-Self-Governing Territories had to begiven a means of expression.

In an effort at compromise the representativeof China introduced an amendment to the effectthat the Economic and Social Council "invitethe Administering Authorities" to organizeregional conferences, rather than that the Coun-cil should organize such conferences "togetherwith the Administering Authorities concerned."

Likewise in an effort at compromise, the rep-resentative of Cuba reintroduced the amend-ment which he had previously introduced in theSub-Committee, which provided that the Gen-eral Assembly recommend to the AdministeringAuthorities concerned the convening of regionalconferences of representatives of non-self-gov-erning peoples. The Economic and Social Coun-cil would thus have no part in the calling ofthese conferences.

The Cuban amendment was opposed by cer-tain representatives on the ground that if theGeneral Assembly merely called on States toinvite conferences of non-self-governing peo-ples, this might cause indefinite delay. The Gen-eral Assembly, however, adopted the Cubanamendment by a vote of 23 to 14, with 7 absten-tions. The resolution as a whole was thenadopted by 31 votes to 1, with 1 abstention.

Following is the text of the resolution asadopted by the General Assembly:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,CONSIDERING that the resolution on Non-

Self-Governing Peoples adopted during the firstpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly draws attention to the fact that the obliga-tions accepted by Members of the United Na-tions under Chapter XI are already in fullforce;

RECOGNIZING the importance of the dec-laration contained in Chapter XI of the Charterespecially as it concerns the peace and securityof the world, and the political, economic, socialand educational advancement of the peoples ofNon-Self-Governing Territories as well as theirjust treatment and protection against abuses;

RECOMMENDS all Members having or as-suming responsibilities for the administrationof Non-Self-Governing Territories to convene


conferences of representatives of Non-Self-Governing Peoples chosen or preferably electedin such a way that the representation of thepeople will be ensured to the extent that theparticular conditions of the territory concernedpermit, in order that effect may be given to theletter and spirit of Chapter XI of the Charterand that the wishes and aspirations of the Non-Self-Governing Peoples may be expressed.

5. ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY MATTERSa. Budgets of the United Nations for the Finan-

cial years 1946 and 1947 and Working Cap-ital FundThe General Assembly at it 46th plenary

meeting on October 31, 1946, instructed theFifth Committee (Administrative and Budget-ary) to consider the first and second annualbudgets of the organization. The Secretary-General had submitted preliminary budget esti-mates totaling $19,627,964 for the year 1946and $23,790,008 for 1947.

In the course of a general discussion on thebudget estimates which extended from the 18thmeeting through the 26th meeting of the FifthCommittee, held between November 1 and 16,a considerable number of representatives em-phasized the need for economy. In particular,it was suggested that the staff of the UnitedNations Secretariat might be reduced, or atleast not further enlarged. The representativeof the U.S.S.R. proposed in this connection thatthe staff of the Secretariat should be reducedby 30 or 40 per cent.

The representative of the United Statesstated that in case of an unduly large budgetthe Members would either be so heavily as-sessed that membership would become burden-some or even impossible for certain govern-ments, or one or two nations would have to payso large a share of the organization's expensesthat the maintenance of universal and equalauthority might be jeopardized. He said that hetherefore shared the anxiety expressed by otherrepresentatives about the mounting cost of theorganization and urged the greatest possibleeconomy. He objected to the assessment ofnearly 50 per cent of the expenses on the UnitedStates Government, as recommended by theCommittee on Contributions.1

The Secretary-General, in explaining the es-timates he had submitted, stressed the fact thatthe estimates represented the minimum re-quirements for adequately carrying on the workof the organization. He stated that the increasein expenditure for personnel for 1947 resulted

chiefly from the fact that the 1947 figures cov-ered a full year of employment, whereas in 1946about one half of the total personnel would beemployed during the latter part of the year only.

Supporting the Secretary-General's proposalsseveral representatives urged that the questionof economy should not be made an obstacle tothe work of the United Nations. The primaryconsideration should be whether the funda-mental objectives of the organization would beachieved. The budget was a translation intofigures of the program entrusted by the Gen-eral Assembly to the Secretary-General, so thatthe program itself would have to be revised ifa reduction of the budget was to be achieved.

After the general principles to be followed inthe examination of the first and second annualbudgets had been determined by the full Com-mittee, it was decided to refer the task of de-tailed examination to the Advisory Committeeon Administrative and Budgetary Questionswhich had been elected at the 49th plenarymeeting of the General Assembly.2 Althoughthe regular terms of office of the members ofthe Advisory Committee were not to begin untilJanuary 1, 1947, the Fifth Committee requestedthat the Advisory Committee furnish informa-tion and advice on the first and second annualbudgets during the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly.

Besides examining the preliminary budgetestimates for 1946 and 1947, the Fifth Com-mittee, as well as the Advisory Committee, con-sidered a series of supplementary estimatessubmitted by the Secretary-General to cover thecost of approved programs. The preliminaryestimates and supplementary estimates for1947 totalled $30,052,028.

On the recommendation of the AdvisoryCommittee, the Fifth Committee at its 44thmeeting on December 13, 1946, approved a totalbudget of $19,390,000 for the year 1946 and atotal budget of $27,740,000 for the year 1947.As will be noted, the amount approved for the1947 budget constituted a reduction of morethan $2,300,000 in the total proposed by theSecretary-General for expenditure during1947.

The Fifth Committee also considered the pro-posals of the Secretary-General relating to theWorking Capital Fund in 1947. The Secretary-General had recommended that the Working

1 See p. 217 ff.2 See pp. 116, 117.


Capital Fund be maintained at $25,000,000,and that, in view of the fact that the 1947budget contained no provision for unforeseenor extraordinary expenditures, he should beauthorized to draw on the Working CapitalFund for such contingencies.

After a preliminary discussion the FifthCommittee referred the question to the Advi-sory Committee on Administrative and Budg-tary Questions. The members of the AdvisoryCommittee were for the most part in favorof maintaining the Working Capital Fund at$25,000,000, as suggested by the Secretary-General, and were opposed to any reduction be-low $20,000,000.

When the Fifth Committee considered thereport of the Advisory Committee at its 44thmeeting on December 13, 1946, the representa-tive of the U.S.S.R. stated that the United Na-tions had not had an approved budget when ithad been decided during the first part of thefirst session to establish a Working CapitalFund of $25,000,000. With the 1946 and 1947budgets approved, there was no need for sucha large Working Capital Fund, as most of theorganization's expenses could be met from theregular contributions received by the MemberGovernments. A reserve of one or two months'normal expenditure would be sufficient. Hetherefore suggested that the Working CapitalFund be reduced to $3,000,000.

The representative of Norway agreed withthe views expressed by the representative ofthe U.S.S.R., but considered that $3,000,000might nevertheless prove inadequate. He sug-gested that the Working Capital Fund be fixedat $10,000,000. Similarly the United Statesrepresentative expressed the view that a budgetwhich required a reserve of an amount almostequal to its total must be considered defective.Unforeseen contingencies should not reach ahundred per cent margin. He recommended aWorking Capital Fund of $15,000,000. The rep-resentative of France recommended a Work-ing Capital Fund of $20,000,000.

On the other hand the representatives ofChina, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom,among others, considered that it would bedangerous to reduce the Working Capital Fund,because various Member Governments mighthave difficulty in paying their contributions.The organization should not run the risk ofbeing short of funds pending the receipt ofcontributions by Member Governments.

The Fifth Committee rejected by a vote of22 to 16 the proposal that the Working CapitalFund be maintained at $25,000,000. By 20 votesto 18 the Committee decided that the Fundshould be maintained at $20,000,000 for theyear 1947. The Fifth Committee also decidedby 24 votes to 14 that the amount which theSecretary-General should be authorized todraw from the Working Capital Fund to meetunforeseen expenses in 1947 should be $2,000,-000. It further decided, by a vote of 24 to 6, thatthe amount which the Secretary-General shouldbe authorized to draw to meet combined unfore-seen and extraordinary expenses should be$3,000,000.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 63rd plen-ary meeting on December 14, 1946, approvedthe following resolution concerning the 1946and 1947 budgets and concerning the WorkingCapital Fund:

(1.) APPROPRIATION RESOLUTIONFinancial Year 1946

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THATFor the financial year 1946:

1. An amount of $19,390,000 (U.S.) is herebyappropriated for the following purposes:Appro- Purpose ofpriation Appropriation AmountSection Parti Dollars (U.S.)

I For expenses of travel ofrepresentatives to theGeneral Assembly andtravel of members ofCommittees and Commis-sions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885,800

II For expenses of Person-nel Services . . . . . . . . . . . 6,492,979

III For expenses of CommonServices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,238,610

IV For expenses of establish-ment of Headquartersand initial recruitment ofstaff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,143,121

V For unforeseen expenses 250,000VI For expenses of the Pre-

paratory Commission andthe cost of the first partof the first session of theGeneral Assembly to 31January 1946 . . . . . . . . . . 902,282

Total, Part I . . . . . . . . . $18,912,792Part II

VII For expenses of the Inter-national Court of Justice 320,097

VIII For expenses of the Reg-istry and Common Serv-ices of the InternationalCourt of Justice 157,111

Total, Part II $ 477,208

Total, Parts I and I I . . . . $19,390,000


2. Amounts not exceeding the above are tobe available for the payment of obligations in-curred prior to 1 January 1947. The Secretary-General may, by written order, transfer creditsbetween Sections within Part I and betweenSections within Part II. The Secretary-Generalshall report to the 1947 session of the GeneralAssembly all such transfers together with thecircumstances relating thereto.

(2.) Appropriation Resolution,Financial Year 1947

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:For the financial year 1947:

1. An amount of $27,740,000 (U.S.) is herebyappropriated for the following purposes:

Appro-priationSection

II

III

IV

VI

VII

VIII

Purpose ofAppropriation

Part IAmount

Dollars (U.S.)For expenses of travel ofrepresentatives to theG e n e r a l Assembly andtravel of members of Com-mittees and Commissions 1,090,500For expenses of Person-nel Services . . . . . . . . . . . 13,999,223For expenses of contribu-tions to the Staff Provi-dent Fund, ProvisionalStaff Retirement Scheme,and related benefits . . . . 2,301,179For expenses of CommonServices .............................. 5,966,500For expenses of establish-ment of Headquartersand initial recruitment ofstaff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,074,000For expenses of AdvisorySocial Welfare Functions 670,186

Total, Part I . . . . . . . . . $27,101,588

Part IIFor expenses of the In-ternational Court of Jus-tice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387,894For expenses of the Reg-istry and Common Serv-ices of the InternationalCourt of Just ice . . . . . . . . 250,518

Total, Part I I . . . . . . . $ 638,412

Total, Parts I and II . . . $27,740,000

2. Amounts not exceeding the above are tobe available for the payment of obligations in-curred during the period 1 January 1947 to 31December 1947.

3. The Secretary-General shall make pri-mary allotment of the appropriations votedby objects of expenditure; transfers betweenthe primary allotments within Sections shall bepermissible only on the written authority ofthe Secretary-General.

(3.) Working Capital Fund, andProvision of Working Capital

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:The working capital fund shall be maintained

for the financial year 1947 at the amount of$20,000,000 (U.S.).

Members shall make advances to the workingcapital fund in accordance with the scaleadopted by the General Assembly for contribu-tion of Members to the second annual budget.

There shall be set off against this new alloca-tion of advances, the amounts paid as advancesto the working capital fund by Members in ac-cordance with the provisional scale adopted bythe General Assembly at the first part of thefirst session; provided, however, that shouldthe advances paid by any Member under theprovisional scale exceed the advance due underthe scale adopted for contributions to the sec-ond annual budget, the excess shall be offsetagainst the contributions due from that Mem-ber under the first annual budget and shouldan excess still remain, against the contribu-tions due from that Member under the secondannual budget.

The Secretary-General is authorized:(a) To advance from the working capital

fund such sums as may be necessary to financethe 1946 and 1947 annual budgets, includingsupplementary appropriations, pending receiptof contributions; sums so advanced shall be re-imbursed as soon as receipts from contribu-tions are available for the purpose.

(b) To advance such sums in 1947 as may benecessary to meet unforeseen or extraordinaryexpenses, provided that the prior concurrenceof the Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Questions is obtained for anyadvances beyond a total of $2,000,000 (U.S.) tomeet unforeseen expenses and for advances be-yond a total of $3,000,000 (U.S.) to meet com-bined unforeseen and extraordinary expenses.

Of these amounts the Secretary-General shallmake available to the President of the Interna-tional Court, at his request, such sums as maybe necessary to meet the expenses occasionedby holding sessions of the Court away fromThe Hague, under Article 22 of the Statute ofthe Court; provided that the concurrence ofthe Secretary-General shall be required for theadvance of sums in excess of a total of $70,000(U.S.). The Secretary-General shall report tothe next convened General Assembly all ad-vances made under this clause and the circum-stances relating thereto and shall make provi-sion in the estimates for reimbursement of theworking capital fund, except when such ad-vances are recoverable from some other source;

(c) To advance loans to certain specializedagencies, repayable within two years, for thepurpose of financing their initial operations, upto such amounts as may seem necessary andappropriate having regard to the proposedfinancial resources of the agency concerned;


provided that the concurrence of the AdvisoryCommittee shall be required for loans aggre-gating more than $2,000,000 (U.S.) or in ex-cess of $1,000,000 (U.S.) for any one agency;

(d) To advance sums not exceeding $675,000(U.S.) from the working capital fund to estab-lish a staff housing fund for the purpose offinancing advance rental payments, guaranteedeposits, and working capital requirements forhousing the staff of the Secretariat. Such ad-vances shall be reimbursed to the working capi-tal fund following recovery of the rental ad-vances, guarantee deposits and working capitaladvances;

(e) To advance sums not exceeding $300,-000 (U.S.) from the working capital fund toestablish a revolving fund for the purchase ofmotor vehicles for re-sale to staff members toassist them in carrying out their duties. Nonew obligations shall be incurred from thisfund after 31 March 1947, after which date thefund should be liquidated as outstanding loansare repaid, the advances to the fund being thenreimbursed to the working capital fund;

(f) To advance sums not exceeding $50,000(U.S.) from the working capital fund to estab-lish a revolving fund to finance loans to staffmembers for purchase of furniture and house-hold goods. Such advances shall be reimbursedto the working capital fund at such times asthe revolving fund is reduced or terminated;

(g) To advance sums not exceeding $100,000(U.S.) from the working capital fund to estab-lish a revolving fund to finance other self-liquidating purchases and activities; providedthat the concurrence of the Advisory Commit-tee on Administrative and Budgetary Ques-tions shall be required for advances in excessof a total of $50,000 (U.S.).b. Scale of Contributions to the United Nations

for the Financial Years 1946 and 1947 and tothe Working Capital FundThe General Assembly, at its 31st plenary

meeting on February 13, 1946, appointed aCommittee on Contributions, with instructionsto prepare a detailed scale of apportionment ofexpenses for consideration by the General As-sembly at the second part of the first session.1

The Committee on Contributions met forthree sessions, the first two for approximatelyone week and the third for more than threeweeks. The first session began on June 18, 1946,the second on July 22 and the third on Septem-ber 9, 1946.

The first session of the Committee was spenton a general discussion and preliminary explo-ration of the issues involved. During the inter-val between the first and second sessions of theCommittee, a sub-committee, with the assist-ance of technical consultants, examined in greatdetail all available data on estimates of national

income, population, and per capita income. Atthe second session, the Committee examinedthis material and also information bearing onwar damage and temporary dislocation of na-tional economies resulting from the war. At thethird and final session the Committee reviewedall the material available and prepared its re-port for submission to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly.

In its report the Committee stated that itsfinal recommendations depended essentially onits judgment, arrived at from consideration ofall available economic data bearing on capacityto pay. Having taken into consideration relativenational incomes, temporary dislocations of na-tional economies and increases in capacity topay arising out of the war, availability of for-eign exchange and relative per capital nationalincomes, the Committee felt that the scale ofcontributions which it had drawn up providedan appropriate estimate of the Members' ca-pacity to pay for the years 1946, 1947 and 1948.The Committee had confined its work to makingan estimate of relative capacity to pay, leavingthe question of ceiling provisions and other fac-tors which raised political issues to be dis-cussed by the General Assembly, if it so desired.

Following is the scale of contributions as rec-ommended by the Committee on Contributions:

Relative ApportionmentsCountry Based on Capacity to PayArgentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.50Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.80Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,20Bolivia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.20Byelorussian S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.20Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.40China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.75Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.33Costa Rica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02Cuba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.25Czechoslovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.05Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.70Dominican Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.70El Salvador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.03Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15Guatemala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Haiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02Honduras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.75Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.40Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05Liberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02Luxembourg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04

1 See pp. 58, 59.


Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.54Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.40New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45Nicaragua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45Panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Paraguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.17Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.25Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.10Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07Syria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.10South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.02Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.90Ukrainian S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.80U.S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.50United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.89Uruguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.24Yugoslavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.30

100.00

In the general discussion which had takenplace in the Fifth Committee of the GeneralAssembly on budgetary matters, the represent-ative of the United States had opposed the rec-ommendation of the Committee on Contribu-tions as regards the share of 49.89 per cent tobe paid by the United States Government.When the Fifth Committee considered the re-port of the Committee on Contributions theUnited States representative reiterated his op-position to this assessment, which in his Gov-ernment's view threatened to impair the sov-ereign equality of nations. He declared that aceiling of 25 per cent should be set on all con-tributions, and that, as an emergency measureonly, his Government would be willing to payup to 33 per cent of the budget for 1947. TheUnited States representative further recom-mended that when the Fifth Committee decidedupon the 1947 allocation, the decision should beconfined to a single year and should not extendto the financial year 1948 as would be the casein accordance with rule 43 of the ProvisionalRules of Procedure of the General Assembly.The Fifth Committee should instruct the Com-mittee on Contributions or the Advisory Com-mittee on Administration and BudgetaryQuestions to re-examine the whole question ofassessments and report to the second regularsession of the General Assembly in 1947.

Concerning the question of ceilings on con-tributions the representative of Mexico, whohad acted as Chairman of the Committee onContributions, explained that the Committeehad felt that any ceiling should not be such as topermanently obscure the relationship betweenthe contribution of a nation and its capacity to

pay. After the scale which the Committee onContributions had submitted to the GeneralAssembly had been fixed, it had been apparentthat a ceiling would violate this principle.

The representative of Canada expressed theview that placing a ceiling on contributionswould create difficulties for States other thanthe United States, since no government couldbe expected to agree to a contribution higher ona per capita basis than the per capita contribu-tion of the United States. If a ceiling were tobe placed on the percentage of the budget tobe contributed by the United States, and thatceiling were to be substantially below the pres-ent percentage, it would be necessary to extenda ceiling to all Member States whose per capitacontribution would otherwise exceed that of theUnited States taxpayer.

The representative of the United Kingdomstated that if the economic criteria laid downin the terms of reference of the Committee onContributions were to be considered valid, itwould be illogical to reduce the United Statescontribution. The United States had the high-est national and per capita income of any coun-try in the world. There was no problem for theUnited States of securing foreign currency asthe budget was drawn up in United States dol-lars and most of the money would be spent inthe United States. A change in the UnitedStates contribution could be only arbitrary, forit could not be decided at what point the sov-ereign equality of nations was being infringed.The representative of the United Kingdom con-sidered it dangerous to depart from the prin-ciple of capacity to pay.

A number of countries which had been devas-tated by war stated that their assessments weretoo high. Pre-war figures concerning nationalincome having been the only statistics avail-able, it was felt that the reduction in nationalincome as a result of war devastation had notbeen taken sufficiently into consideration. Cer-tain countries in the Sterling area suggestedthat they should be permitted to pay in Sterlinginstead of in United States dollars.

At its 24th meeting on November 13, 1946,the Fifth Committee agreed to a suggestion ofthe representative of Mexico that a sub-com-mittee be appointed to consider the report ofthe Committee on Contributions in the light ofthe previous discussion. At the 25th meetingof the Fifth Committee on November 15, 1946,it was agreed that Canada, China, Egypt,


France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, theU.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, the UnitedStates and Uruguay should compose the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee presented to the FifthCommittee a revised scale which reduced theUnited States contribution from 49.89 per centto 39.89 per cent and which increased the per-centages to be paid by other countries accord-ingly. The Sub-Committee also recommendedthat the question of contributions be reviewedin 1947, as proposed by the representative ofthe United States. By 33 votes to 0, the FifthCommittee at its 44th meeting on December 13,1946, adopted the Sub-Committee's recommen-dations.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 63rd plenarymeeting on December 14, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.52Nicaragua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.52Panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05Paraguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.21Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.30Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.15Syria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.12Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.93Ukrainian S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.88U.S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.62United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.98United States of America . . . . 39.89Uruguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.18Venezue la . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.28Yugoslavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.34Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —Iceland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ——Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ——

0.500.040.500.050.040.200.290.950.081.120.120.910.846.34

11.4839.890.180.270.330.050.042.35

100.00 100.00

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:1. That the scales of assessment for (a) the

1946 budget and (b) the 1947 budget and theWorking Capital Fund shall be as follows:

1947Budget

andWorkingCapital

1946 FundAppor- Appor-

tionment tionmentCountry Per Cent Per CentArgentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.94 1.85Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00 1.97Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.42 1.35Bolivia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08 0.08Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.94 1.85Byelorussian S.S.R. . . . . . . . . . 0.23 0.22Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.35 3.20Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.47 0.45China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.30 6.00Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.39 0.37.Costa Rica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04Cuba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.30 0.29Czechoslovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.95 0.90Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.81 0.79Dominican Republic . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.81 0.79El Salvador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08 0.08France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.30 6.00Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.17 0.17Guatemala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05Haiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04Honduras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.09 3.95Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.47 0.45Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.17 0.17Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.06 0.06Liberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04Luxembourg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.66 0.63Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.47 1.40

2. That, notwithstanding the provisions ofrule 43 of the provisional rules of procedure,the scale of assessments for the apportionmentof expenses of the United Nations shall be re-viewed by the Committee on Contributions in1947 and a report submitted for the consider-ation of the General Assembly at the session tobe held in September 1947.

3. That as it may be more convenient for theUnited Nations to adopt a unit basis of assess-ment in lieu of the percentage basis, the Com-mittee on Contributions is directed to give con-sideration to the relative merits of each method.

4. That new Members be required to con-tribute to the annual budget of the year inwhich they are first admitted, at least 33 1/3per cent of their percentage of assessment de-termined for the following year, applied to thebudget for the year of their admission.

5. That, having regard to the admission ofthe three new Members in 1946, the advancesto the working capital fund be readjusted onthe basis of the scale to be adopted for the con-tributions of Members to the annual budget for1947.

c. Housing Allowances and Cost of LivingAllowances for Staff of the United NationsIn the course of discussions of the Fifth

Committee relating to the second annual budgetof the United Nations, the representative ofYugoslavia proposed that special attention begiven by the Fifth Committee and by the Gen-eral Assembly to the difficulties of the staff ofthe United Nations in meeting the cost of living(especially the cost of accommodation) in NewYork. At the 44th meeting of the Fifth Com-mittee on December 13, 1946, the representa-tive of Yugoslavia submitted a proposal for thepayment of housing allowances and cost of liv-ing allowances to members of the Secretariat.


In addition to being charged against certainitems already appropriated by the GeneralAssembly, the allowances were to be financed,according to the Yugoslav proposal, through:

(1) the saving resulting from the reorgani-zation of the Secretariat;(2) the saving resulting from the reductionof the present staff;(3) the saving resulting from the elimina-tion of certain sections or divisions of theSecretariat whose work had been or would betaken over by various specialized agencies.

Moreover, the Secretary-General was to be au-thorized to pay a bonus to staff members if atthe end of six months or more a sufficient sav-ing was made by means of a reorganization ofthe Secretariat.

At its 45th meeting the Fifth Committee re-jected by 21 votes to 6 a motion by the repre-sentative of Yugoslavia that his proposal shouldbe sent to the Secretary-General with the Com-mittee's endorsement of its principles. TheCommittee decided by 23 votes to 0 that theproposal should be referred to the AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions, and unanimously agreed to send italso to the Secretary-General.

At its 66th plenary meeting on December 15,1946, the General Assembly took note of theFifth Committee's report on this matter.

d. Travelling Expenses of Members of Com-missions of the Economic and Social CouncilAt the first part of its first session the Gen-

eral Assembly adopted a resolution to the effectthat the United Nations should pay the travel-ling expenses of representatives attending theGeneral Assembly. Moreover, persons servingas members of commissions or sub-commissionsof the Economic and Social Council in theirpersonal capacities as experts are paid bothcost of transportation and subsistence allow-ances by the United Nations. No provision wasmade, however, for the payment of eithertransportation costs or subsistence allowancesto persons attending meetings of the Councilor commissions as representatives of govern-ments.

Considering this arrangement unsatisfac-tory, the Economic and Social Council at itsthird session adopted a resolution on October 3,1946, recommending that the General Assemblyadopt a resolution providing for payment by theUnited Nations of actual travel expenses and

daily subsistence allowances to members ofcommissions and sub-commissions of the Eco-nomic and Social Council.

The Secretary-General of the United Nationstransmitted this resolution to the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly, to-gether with a memorandum of his own concern-ing the budgetary implications of the Economicand Social Council's proposal. The Secretary-General suggested that if travel and subsistenceallowances were paid to members of commis-sions and sub-commissions of the Economicand Social Council, the General Assembly mightwish to consider establishing the same termsfor members of the commissions or committeesof the other two Councils.

The General Assembly referred the matter tothe Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary), which considered it at its 24th and26th meetings held on November 13 and 16 re-spectively. The Delegation of the United Statesstated that the payment of travel expenses andsubsistence allowances was defended as a meansof equalizing the financial burden on nationslocated at varying distances from the seat ofthe United Nations and in order to ensure theeffective participation of the members in thework of the commissions and sub-commissions.This reasoning, according to the United Statesdelegation, was valid insofar as it affected ac-tual transportation expenses, but did not applyto subsistence expenses during sessions, asthese expenses were the same for all members.Accordingly, the United States delegation sub-mitted, as a substitute for the resolution of theEconomic and Social Council, a resolution tothe effect that reimbursement by the UnitedNations to Member Governments should berestricted to actual transportation expenses.

The Fifth Committee adopted the substituteresolution submitted by the representative ofthe United States.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee, the General Assembly at its 49th plen-ary meeting on November 19, 1946, unani-mously adopted the resolution, which read asfollows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:The actual travelling expenses of members of

Commissions and Sub-Commissions of the Eco-nomic and Social Council to and from meetingsof the Commissions or Sub-Commissions andactual expenses for travel on business of theCommissions or Sub-Commissions shall be


borne by the budget of the United Nations. Themaximum travelling allowances to and frommeetings of each Commission or Sub-Commis-sion shall be restricted to the equivalent of first-class accommodation by recognized publictransport via an approved route from the cap-ital city of the Member State to the place wherethe Commission or Sub-Commission is meeting,and shall not include the payment of subsistenceexcept where this is included as an integral partof the regular posted schedule for first-class ac-commodation for recognized public transport.Actual travelling expenses shall be reimbursedto each Member by means of an adjustment inthe Member's annual contribution.

e. Appointment of External AuditorsIn its resolution on budgetary and financial

arrangements of February 13, 1946, the Gen-eral Assembly had resolved that "the Secretary-General . . . shall be prepared to recommend tothe General Assembly during the second part ofits first session necessary action on . . . thescope and method of audit of accounts and theprocedure for the submission of the auditor'sreport to the Advisory Committee and to theGeneral Assembly."

In accordance with this resolution, the Secre-tary-General submitted a report and a draftresolution to the second part of the first sessionof the General Assembly on the question of theappointment of external auditors. At its 46thplenary meeting on October 81, 1946, the Gen-eral Assembly referred the matter to the FifthCommittee (Administrative and Budgetary).

The Secretary-General's proposals were dis-cussed by the Fifth Committee at its 27th meet-ing on November 18, 1946. Alternative propos-als with respect to the length of the term ofoffice of the auditors and the employment ofcommercial auditing firms were introduced bythe delegation of the United States. The Secre-tary-General accepted the United States pro-posals with some modifications and the Secre-tariat presented a new document combining theSecretary-General's suggestions and those ofthe delegation of the United States. Certain re-visions in form suggested by the delegation ofthe U.S.S.R. at a later meeting were acceptedand the resolution as a whole was unanimouslyadopted at the 30th meeting of the Fifth Com-mittee on November 25,1946.

On the basis of the plan adopted, the Com-mittee proceeded, at its 30th meeting, to theselection by secret ballot of the members of theBoard of Auditors. In this connection severaldelegations expressed dissatisfaction with the

selection of the heads of auditing systems ofcertain countries, as provided in the resolution,without knowledge of the personal qualifica-tions of the appointees. The delegation of Nor-way reserved its position on the proposed plan,suggesting that the matter should be reviewedat the next session of the General Assembly.It was the sense of the Committee, however,that the question of personal qualifications wastaken care of by the fact that the Committeewas choosing the chief audit official of thecountries selected.

On the first ballot Canada received 36 votes,Sweden 29, the Ukrainian S.S.R. 18 and theUnited States 6. On the succeeding ballot, theUkrainian S.S.R. was chosen by 31 votes as thethird representative on the Board. As indi-cated in the resolution, the term of office forthe first country, Canada, was to continue untilJune 30, 1950; for Sweden until June 30, 1949;and for the Ukrainian S.S.R. until June 30,1948.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Commit-tee, the General Assembly unanimously adoptedthe following resolution at its 50th plenarymeeting on December 7, 1947:

THE GENERAL, ASSEMBLY RESOLVES,(a) That the Auditor-General (or other title)

of the UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICand the Auditor General (or other title) ofSWEDEN and the Auditor-General (or othertitle) of CANADA be appointed as external Audi-tors of the accounts of the United Nations andof the International Court of Justice, and ofsuch specialized agencies as may be designatedby the appropriate authority. Should the neces-sity arise, an Auditor may designate a repre-sentative to sit on the Board in his absence;

(b) That the term of office of each Auditorshall continue until 30 June 1948, 30 June 1949and 30 June 1950 in the order in which theyare named above;

(c) That in 1947, and every year thereafter,the General Assembly at its regular sessionshall appoint an Auditor to take office from 1July of the following year and to serve for aperiod of three years;

(d) That the Auditors in office shall consti-tute the Board of Auditors, which shall elect itsown Chairman and. adopt its own rules of pro-cedure;

(e) That the Board, subject to the budgetaryprovision made by the General Assembly forthe cost of audit, and after consultation withthe Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions relative to the scope ofthe audit, may conduct the audit under the pro-visions of this resolution in such manner as itthinks fit and may engage commercial publicauditors of international repute;


(f) That if any member of the Board ceasesto hold the national office described in para-graph (a) of this resolution he shall cease tobe a member of the Board, on which he shall besucceeded by his successor in the national officedescribed;

(g) That the Board of Auditors shall submitits report, together with the certified accountsand such other statements as it thinks neces-sary, to the General Assembly to be availableto the Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Questions not later than 1 Junefollowing the end of the financial year to whichthe accounts relate. The Advisory Committeeshall forward to the General Assembly its com-ments, if any, on the audit report;

(h) That the audit should be carried out bythe Board of Auditors having full regard to thefollowing requirements of the General Assem-bly:

(i) The Auditors should satisfy themselves:(1) That the accounts, including the balancesheet, represent a correct record of duly au-thorized financial transactions of the finan-cial year;(2) That money has not been expended orobligated other than for the purpose or pur-poses for which the appropriations voted bythe General Assembly were intended to pro-vide, except insofar as the Secretary-Generalhas authorized transfers within the budget,and that the expenditure conforms to theauthority which governs it;(3) That transfers from the Working CapitalFund or other funds have received the neces-sary authority.(ii) The Auditors, after satisfying them-

selves that the vouchers have been examinedand certified as correct by the accounting or-ganization, may, in their discretion and havingregard to the character of the examinationwithin the department, in any particular caseadmit the sums so certified without further ex-amination, provided however, that, if the Gen-eral Assembly or the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions on be-half of the General Assembly, requests that anyaccounts be examined in greater detail, theAuditors shall take action accordingly.

(iii) The Auditors shall examine such storeor stock accounts as are maintained by the or-ganization the financial accounts of which theyare auditing.

(iv) The Auditors shall have free access atall convenient times to the books of account andall information relevant to the accounts of theorganization concerned. Requests for officialfiles which may deal with matters of policyshould only be made through the Assistant Sec-retary-General for Administrative and Finan-cial Services.

(v) The Auditors should not criticize purelyadministrative matters, but it is within theirdiscretion to comment upon the financial con-sequences of administrative action. Audit ex-amination should not be undertaken before ac-

counting effect has been given to transactions,nor should accounts and vouchers be examineduntil they have been duly rendered available bythe department concerned.

(vi) Objections to any items which may ariseduring audit should be communicated immedi-ately to the accounting department concerned.As a general rule, criticism should not be madein the Auditors' report without first affordingthe accounting department an opportunity ofexplanation.

(vii) Documentary or other information ob-tained from a department should not be pub-lished by the Auditors without reference hav-ing been made to the duly authorized official ofthe organization or agency concerned.

(viii) The Auditors certifying the accountsshall prepare a joint report of each accountcertified, in which they should mention:

(1) The extent and character of their exam-ination or any important changes therein;(2) Matters affecting the completeness or ac-curacy of the accounts, such as:

(a) Information necessary to the correctinterpretation of the account;(b) Any amounts which ought to havebeen received but which have not beenbrought to account;(c) Expenditure not properly vouched;

(3) Other matters which should be broughtto the notice of the General Assembly, suchas:

(a) Cases of fraud or presumptive fraud;(b) Wasteful or improper expenditure ofUnited Nations' money or stores (notwith-standing that the accounting for the trans-actions may be correct);(c) Expenditure likely to commit theUnited Nations to further outlay on alarge scale;(d) Any defect in the general system ordetailed regulations governing the controlof receipts and expenditure, or of stores;(e) Expenditure not in accordance withthe intention of the General Assembly, af-ter making allowance for duly authorizedtransfers within the budget;(f) Expenditure in excess of appropria-tions, as amended by duly authorizedtransfers within the budget;(g) Expenditure not in conformity withthe authority which governs it.

(4) The accuracy or otherwise of the storesrecords as determined by stock-taking andexamination of the records.In addition, the reports may contain refer-ence to:(5) Transactions accounted for in a previousyear concerning which further informationhas been obtained, or transactions in a lateryear concerning which it seems desirablethat the General Assembly should have earlyknowledge.(ix) The Auditors, or such of their officers as

they may delegate should jointly certify eachaccount in the following terms:


"The above accounts have been examined inaccordance with our directions. We have ob-tained all the information and explanations thatwe have required, and we certify, as the resultof the audit, that, in our opinion, the above ac-count is correct";adding, should it be necessary, "subject to theobservations in our report."

(x) The Auditors shall have no power to dis-allow items in the accounts, but shall recom-mend to the Secretary-General for appropriateaction such disallowances as the Board is pre-pared to recommend to the General Assemblybased on its audit of the accounts and records.The Board shall bring to the attention of theGeneral Assembly any cases where its recom-mendations for disallowance have not beenacted upon by the Secretary-General.

f. Simultaneous InterpretationThe General Assembly during the first part

of it first session had recommended that theSecretary-General make a thorough inquiryinto the question of the installation of tele-phonic systems of interpretation and, if pos-sible, arrange for the establishment of such asystem for the second part of the first session.

In accordance with this resolution the Secre-tary-General arranged for studies of varioussystems of simultaneous interpretation to bemade, especially of the system used at the warcrimes trials in Nürnberg. On the basis ofthese studies one large and one small commit-tee room at Lake Success were equipped for si-multaneous interpretation.

During the second part of its first session theGeneral Assembly referred the question of si-multaneous interpretation to the Fifth Com-mittee (Administrative and Budgetary). TheSecretary-General submitted a report to theFifth Committee of the General Assembly onthe studies and experiments which had beenconducted, and subsequently submitted his rec-ommendations to the Committee.

The Secretary-General considered that, al-though simultaneous interpretation was veryuseful, it was not a panacea solving all inter-pretation problems. During general debate itwas obvious that simultaneous interpretationwas adequate and permitted a great economy oftime. However, when the deliberations enteredthe phase of drafting and precise decisions, thesuccessive interpretation method would nor-mally appear preferable. Thus the Secretary-General concluded that in the interest of effi-cient conduct of affairs both systems should beavailable.

Specifically the Secretary-General recom-mended that one more large conference room,one additional small committee room and theEconomic and Social Council Chamber at LakeSuccess be equipped for simultaneous interpre-tation. The Secretary-General suggested fur-ther that it would be most desirable also to pur-chase one mobile (wireless) simultaneous in-terpretation unit consisting of about 2,500 sets,for the purpose of servicing meetings heldaway from headquarters. If required, this unitcould also be used to save time during the gen-eral debate in plenary sessions of the Assembly.

The question was discussed at length at the31st meeting of the Fifth Committee on No-vember 27, 1946. The representatives of Den-mark, France, Norway, the U.S.S.R. and Chinawere in general agreement that the systemshould be continued but should not replace en-tirely the system of successive interpretation.It was pointed out that, while the major advan-tage of the simultaneous interpretation systemwas the time saved for committees and Coun-cils, under certain circumstances, when draft-ing problems or debate necessitated, successiveinterpretation was preferable.

There was a difference of opinion among thedelegations concerning the extent to which thesimultaneous system should be developed. Therepresentative of the U.S.S.R. suggested thatonly one more committee room be equippeduntil a more thorough study of the cost couldbe made. The representative of the UnitedKingdom believed that the delegations wouldwant the system installed in most of the com-mittee rooms prior to the next session of theGeneral Assembly.

The representative of the United Kingdomsuggested that special attention be given to theSecretary-General's note on the wireless inter-pretation system. Since it appeared that suchwireless equipment might be available beforethe next session of the Assembly, he believed itwiser not to take any final decision concerningwired installations.

The following resolution proposed by theRapporteur of the Fifth Committee was adoptedunanimously by the Committee at its 33rdmeeting on December 2, 1943, and by the Gen-eral Assembly at its 50th plenary meeting onDecember 7, 1946:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYHAVING CONSIDERED the report of the Secre-

tary-General and the observations made by


several representatives in the Fifth Commit-tee:

1. TAKES no decision, for the time being,on the simultaneous interpretation system butrecommends the continuation of the presentpractices until the next session of the GeneralAssembly, when a final decision should betaken.

2. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to equipbefore the next session a second conferenceroom and a second committee room with si-multaneous interpretation apparatus.

3. REFERS the proposal for equipment of asecond conference room and of a second com-mittee room for consideration to the AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions, which should also examine the ad-visability from a budgetary point of view ofinstalling a wireless system of simultaneousinterpretation in preference to the presentequipment.

q. Tax EqualizationIn its resolution concerning administrative

and budgetary matters of February 13, 1946,the General Assembly had adopted the follow-ing principles concerning tax equalization:

(1) Emoluments of staff members of theUnited Nations should be immune from in-come taxation by Member Governments.(2) Members of the staff subject to nationaltaxation should be reimbursed by the organi-zation.(3) Consideration of a staff contributionsscheme should be postponed pending furtherstudy.In accordance with the General Assembly's

resolution the Secretary-General submitted areport on the question of tax equalization to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly, reporting on the action taken by thevarious Member Governments with a view toexempting their nationals who were membersof the United Nations Secretariat from tax-ation and the administrative measures takenby the Secretariat to reimburse staff memberssubject to taxation.

The Secretary-General submitted a draftresolution the first part of which recommendedthat the General Assembly urge all Membersto take early action to exempt from taxationsalaries and allowances paid out of the budgetof the United Nations. The second part of thedraft resolution concerned a staff contributionsscheme and recommended that the General As-sembly appoint a committee to consider whethera staff contributions plan should be established

for the United Nations and the specializedagencies and, if so, to outline the principles ofsuch a plan. This Committee should report tothe General Assembly before the end of the sec-ond part of its first session.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred the Sec-retary-General's report to the Fifth Commit-tee (Administrative and Budgetary) for con-sideration. The Fifth Committee considered thematter at its 22nd, 23rd and 33rd meetings onNovember 8 and 12 and December 2, 1946,respectively.

After review of the decisions and recommen-dations made by the General Assembly at thefirst part of its first session and extensive dis-cussion of the principles involved in immunityfrom taxation, the Fifth Committee votedunanimously to recommend the adoption by theGeneral Assembly of the first part of the Sec-retary-General's draft resolution urging thatMembers take early action to exempt from tax-ation salaries and allowances paid out of thebudget of the United Nations.

A draft resolution submitted by the delega-tion of the U.S.S.R. provided:

(a) that all Members who had not alreadytotally exempted from tax salaries and allow-ances paid out of the Organization's budgetshould be invited to take immediate steps in thematter;

(b) that refunds to members of the UnitedNations Secretariat of national taxes paid bythem as from 1 January 1947 should cease; and

(c) that the Secretary-General should seekagreement with the Governments which, by 1January 1947, had accorded the desired tax ex-emption, for repayment to the United Nationsof tax refunds made by the Organization totheir nationals.

The Committee decided to reject the Sovietproposal for the cessation of tax refunds asfrom January 1, 1947. In the light of this deci-sion the delegation of the U.S.S.R. did not in-sist on a vote on the third recommendation ofthe above draft resolution concerning the re-covery of tax refunds.

The second part of the Secretary-General'sdraft resolution concerning the appointment ofa committee to study a staff contributions planwas debated at length. The representative ofthe United Kingdom submitted an amendmentto the effect that the committee to be estab-lished should report to the second session of theGeneral Assembly and not to the second part of


the first session, thus providing more time forstudy. The Fifth Committee adopted thisamendment, but subsequently rejected the reso-lution in its revised form by 20 votes to 17.

A proposal made by the Chairman that theentire question of a staff contributions plan beexamined by the Advisory Committee on Ad-ministrative and Budgetary Questions, whichshould, if it thought advisable, request theSecretary-General to submit new proposals tothe next session of the General Assembly wasaccepted by 20 votes to 5, with 13 abstentions.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Commit-tee the General Assembly at its 50th plenarymeeting on December 7, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT:1. In order to achieve full application of the

principle of equity among Members and equal-ity among personnel of the United Nations,Members which have not yet completelyexempted from taxation salaries and allowancespaid out of the budget of the Organization arerequested to take early action in the matter.

2. The question of a staff contributions planin lieu of national taxation is referred to theAdvisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions, which may request theSecretary-General to submit new proposals tothe next regular session of the General Assem-bly.

h. Privileges and Immunities of the Staff ofthe Secretariat of the United NationsIn accordance with Section 17 of Article V

of the Convention on the Privileges and Im-munities of the United Nations the Secretary-General had to make recommendations as to thecategories of officials to which the provisions ofArticles V and VII should apply. The Secre-tary-General submitted a report to the secondpart of the first session of the General Assemblyrecommending that the provisions of ArticlesV and VII should apply to all members of thestaff of the United Nations with the exceptionof those who were recruited locally and wereassigned to hourly rates. The Secretary-Gen-eral submitted a draft resolution for adoptionby the General Assembly.

The matter was referred to a Joint Sub-Com-mittee of the Fifth and Sixth Committees. Withminor changes the Sub-Committee adopted theresolution submitted by the Secretary-General.The Fifth Committee at its 32nd meeting onNovember 29, 1946, and the Sixth Committeeat its 31st meeting on December 6, 1946, unani-

mously adopted the report of the Joint Sub-Committee.

On the recommendation of the Fifth andSixth Committees the General Assembly at its50th plenary meeting on December 7, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolution.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYHAVING CONSIDERED the proposal of the

Secretary-General that, in accordance with Sec-tion 17 of Article V of the Convention on thePrivileges and Immunities of the United Na-tions, the categories of officials to which theprovisions of Articles V and VII shall applyshould include all members of the staff of theUnited Nations with the exception of those whoare recruited locally and are assigned to hourlyrates;

APPROVES the granting of the privilegesand immunities referred to in Articles V andVII of the Convention on the Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations, adopted bythe General Assembly on 13 February 1945, toall members of the staff of the United Nationswith the exception of those who are recruitedlocally and are assigned to hourly rates.

i. Provisional Scheme for Staff Retirement andInsurance Funds and Related BenefitsIn its resolution of February 13, 1946, con-

cerning the organization of the Secretariat, theGeneral Assembly instructed the Secretary-General to prepare schemes for staff retire-ment, for widows' and orphans' benefits andstaff childrens' allowances and education grantsand to report thereon to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly.

In order to prepare suitable schemes the Sec-retary-General arranged for the appointmentof an expert Working Party consisting of:

D. Norman Chester, Chairman(United Kingdom)

E. Schoenbaum ....................(Czechoslovakia)N. E. Sheppard..................................(Canada)Rainard B. Robbins, Consulting Actuary to

the Working Party.

The Working Party submitted detailed rec-ommendations to the Secretary-General, whosubmitted a report thereon to the second partof the first session of the General Assembly to-gether with his own recommendations for ascheme for staff retirement and related ben-efits (children's allowances and medical care formembers of the staff).

At its 46th plenary session on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the Sec-retary-General's report to the Fifth Committee


(Administrative and Budgetary), which con-sidered it at its 33rd, 34th, 42nd and 43rd meet-ing on December 2, 3, and 12.

After considering the general principles in-volved in the proposed scheme the Fifth Com-mittee referred the proposals to a Joint Sub-Committee of the Fifth and Sixth Committees.The Joint Sub-Committee examined in detailthe administrative and legal aspects of theplan and made its recommendations to theFifth Committee on December 10, 1946.

The Fifth Committee considered the reportof the Joint Sub-Committee at its 42nd meet-ing on December 12, 1946. While the majorityof representatives considered it desirable thatthe proposed staff retirement scheme be ex-tended to the specialized agencies as soon aspracticable, a number considered that the pro-posed plan should apply to the United Nationsonly and that no provision should be made forits extension to the specialized agencies. Anamendment to this effect submitted by the rep-resentative of the U.S.S.R. was rejected by theFifth Committee by a vote of 24 to 5. By a voteof 20 to 9 the Committee rejected a Soviet pro-posal that approval of the report of the JointSub-Committee be deferred to the next sessionof the General Assembly.

The Fifth Committee by a vote of 28 to 0decided to recommend the adoption of the pro-posed pension scheme to take effect as from thedate proposed (January 27, 1947) but only oncondition that the scheme should be regardedas provisional during its first year and shouldbe open to complete review in the light of ex-perience. A number of representatives ex-pressed the view that the contributions fromthe United Nations and from the contributorswere high in relation to the benefits proposedand considered that this point, in particular,should be thoroughly examined on the reviewof the scheme. The Committee noted that thedraft regulations for the scheme as revised bythe Joint Sub-Committee had made it quiteclear (Section 37) that any amendments whichmight be made to the scheme at the next sessionof the General Assembly would apply to all theparticipants in the scheme, even though theywere participants before the amendments weremade. The Committee further noted that on therecommendation of the Sub-Committee it wasproposed to draw this point to the particularattention of the members of the staff beforethey were admitted to the scheme.

The Sixth Committee (Legal), which wascharged with the examination of the legal as-pects of the question, informed the Fifth Com-mittee that in view of the purely provisionalcharacter of the proposed scheme the SixthCommittee did not consider it necessary to raiseany legal objections. Certain delegations madesome reservations with respect to the extensionof the scheme to the specialized agencies.

At its 43rd meeting on December 11, 1946,the Fifth Committee chose three members andthree alternate members of the Staff BenefitCommittee in accordance with the regulationsadopted by the Committee.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 66th plenarymeeting on December 15, 1946, adopted thefollowing resolutions:

(1) Provisional Staff Retirement Scheme andProvident Fund

In order to have conditions of employmentwhich will attract qualified candidates from anypart of the world, a staff retirement scheme,which should be provisional in character for aninitial period of operation, must be provided onan adequate basis, with provision for an equi-table transition from the Staff Provident Fundestablished pursuant to the resolution of theGeneral Assembly of 13 February 1946 on theorganization of the Secretariat.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,ADOPTS the United Nations Joint Staff

Pension Scheme Provisional Regulations as setforth in Annex I;

RESOLVES that the Staff Provident Fundbe continued in operation so long as there arestaff members covered by the Provident Fundwho are not admitted to the Pension Schemeunder the above regulations; provided, how-ever, that no new members shall be admittedto the Provident Fund after the said regula-tions come into force;

REQUESTS that, if it has not already doneso, each Member Government take steps, in ac-cordance with the recommendation adopted bythe General Assembly at its thirty-first plenarymeeting on 13 February 1946 to preserve theexisting pension rights of persons acceptingposts as members of the staff of the Secretariat,pending the conclusion of an agreement withthe United Nations under section 12 of theabove-mentioned regulations;

RESOLVES that the Secretary-General shall,as soon as practicable, approach Member Gov-ernments individually with a view to the nego-tiation of agreements under this section 12.

(2) Appointment by the General Assembly ofcertain Members of the Staff Benefit Committee

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, having adopted the


United Nations Joint Staff Pension SchemeProvisional Regulations,

DECLARES the persons shown below to beelected for three years as members of theUnited Nations Staff Benefit Committee estab-lished under section 20 of the said regulations:

MEMBER:Mr. R. L e b e a u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Belgium)Mr. P. M. Chernyshov. . . . . . . . . . . (U.S.S.R.)Mr. A. J. Altmeyer. . . . . . . . . . (United States)

ALTERNATES :Mr. S. K. K i r p a l a n i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (India)Mr. G. Peissel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (France)Mr. Diego Mejia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Colombia)(3) Regulations for payment of Children's

Allowances and Education GrantsTHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS as addi-

tions to the Provisional Staff Regulations,with effect from 1 January 1947, the provisionsrelating to children's allowances and educationgrants set out in Annex II.(4) Medical Care for Members of the Staff

RECOGNIZING the necessity for assuringto members of the staff adequate and promptmedical care,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AUTHORIZES theSecretary-General:

1. To enter into arrangements with theHealth Insurance Plan of Greater New Yorkand the Associated Hospital Service for theapplication of the Plan and the Service on asuitable basis to members of the staff;

2. To pay out of the general budget of theUnited Nations on behalf of each staff memberbelonging to the Plan and the Service that partof the cost of his membership which exceedsone per cent of his salary or wages in the caseof a staff member earning $5,000 (U.S.) orless per annum, and two per cent of his salaryor wages in the case of a staff member earningmore than $5,000 (U.S.);

RESOLVES that the Secretary-General shallreport to the next regular session of the Gen-eral Assembly on the advisability of continuingthe above arrangements as a means of assuringadequate and prompt medical care for membersof the staff.

ANNEX IUNITED NATIONS JOINT STAFF PENSION SCHEME

PROVISIONAL REGULATIONSSection 1

Definitions"Member organization" means a specialized

agency brought into relationship with theUnited Nations in accordance with the provi-sions of Articles 57 and. 63 of the Charterwhich has been admitted to the United Nations'Joint Staff Pension Scheme under section 28of these regulations.

"Age of retirement" means the end of themonth in which the participant reaches the ageof sixty years or such later age as may be de-

termined in the staff regulations applying tothe participant concerned for the terminationof appointment by retirement.

"Pensionable remuneration" means the basicremuneration determined by the participant'sterms of employment to be pensionable, butexcluding all special grants and allowances suchas children's allowances, education grants, ex-pense allowances, cost-of-living allowances,payments for over-time, fees, honoraria andpayments for any expenses incurred in theservice of the United Nations or of a memberorganization. If part or the whole of the basicpensionable remuneration is paid in kind, thevalue of such payments, if not stated in theterms of employment, shall be determined bythe Joint Benefit Committee.

"Final average remuneration" means theaverage pensionable remuneration of the par-ticipant during the last sixty months of con-tributory service before the termination of em-ployment, provided that where the participanthas less than sixty months of contributory serv-ice the final average remuneration shall meanthe average pensionable remuneration duringthe actual period of contributory service.

"Contributory service" means the number ofcomplete months for which contributions havebeen paid on the pensionable remuneration orcounted for this purpose under sections 3, 18and 19.

Section 2Participation

Every regular full-time employee of theUnited Nations, including the Registrar andstaff of the International Court of Justice, andof each member organization, under sixty yearsof age at the time he enters such employment,will be subject to these regulations, providedthat his appointment is made without limit oftime or that his appointment is for a fixedperiod and his participation is provided forin the letter of appointment.

Section 3Reckoning of Temporary Service

When a person who has been in the employ-ment of the United Nations or of a memberorganization in a non-pensionable capacity ac-cepts an appointment which brings him withinthe scope of these regulations, his period ofservice before he became subject to the regula-tions may be treated as contributory service,provided he pays into the Pension Fund a sumequal to the contributions which he would havepaid had he been subject to these regulationsthroughout this period and provided that thisperiod of service is continuous with his serviceafter the commencement of the appointmentwhich brings him within the scope of these reg-ulations. For the purposes of this section in-tervals of not more than thirty days in theperiod of service shall be considered as notbreaking the continuity of service but shall notbe included in the period of contributoryservice.


BENEFITSSection 4

Retirement BenefitsWhenever a participant retires on reaching

the age of retirement, or such later age asmay have been approved in his case by thecompetent authority in accordance with thestaff regulations applying to him, he will beentitled during the remainder of his life to aretirement benefit, payable on a monthly basis,equal to one-sixtieth of his final average re-muneration multiplied by one-twelfth of hiscontributory service at the date of his retire-ment.

A participant may elect to receive part of hisretirement benefit in the form of a lump sumequal to not more than one-third of the actu-arial value of his benefit.

Section 5Disability Benefits

Whenever the employment of a participantceases before he has reached the age of retire-ment because of his inability to perform satis-factorily his duties as a staff member of theUnited Nations or of a member organizationdue to physical or mental impairment, and sub-ject to section 8, he shall be entitled, while suchdisability continues, to disability benefit cal-culated in the same manner as the retirementbenefit, provided that this disability benefitshall not be smaller than one-third of the finalaverage remuneration or than the retirementbenefit that he would have been entitled to atthe age of retirement (on the assumption thathis final average remuneration remained un-changed), whichever is the less.

Section 6Commencement of Disability Benefit

The Joint Benefit Committee shall determine,in accordance with the procedure described inthe administrative rules made under theseregulations, when a participant qualifies fordisability benefit, provided that the paymentof disability benefit shall not begin before theparticipant has exhausted his right to anylarger payment under the staff regulations ap-plying to him.

Until the recipient of a disability benefitreaches the age of retirement, the Joint BenefitCommittee may from time to time requireevidence of the continuance of disability andreview the participant's eligibility to disabilitybenefit in the light of such evidence.

Section 7Death Benefits

Subject to section 8, the following death bene-fits shall be payable under these regulations:

(a) If a married male participant dies, hiswidow shall be entitled to a widow benefitamounting to half of the benefit which wouldhave been paid to the participant had hequalified for a disability benefit at the timeof his death. This benefit shall cease on thewidow's re-marriage.

(b) If a married man who is a recipient ofa retirement or disability benefit dies, hiswidow, provided she was his wife at the timeof the cessation of his service with the UnitedNations or member organization, shall be en-titled to a widow benefit half as large as thebenefit being paid to the deceased at the timeof his death. This benefit shall cease uponthe widow's re-marriage.(c) Upon ceasing to be entitled to a widowbenefit under (a) and (b) by reason of re-marriage the widow shall be entitled to alump sum payment equal to twice the annualamount of her widow pension.(d) Upon the death of a participant wholeaves no widow, there may be paid, at thediscretion of the Joint Benefit Committee,for such period as they may determine, adependent's benefit to one dependent, thebenefit to be not greater than that payableto a widow under (a) above.(e) If a recipient of a retirement or a dis-ability benefit dies, not being a man leavinga widow entitled to a benefit under (b) above,there may be paid, at the discretion of theJoint Benefit Committee, for such period asthey may determine, a dependent's benefit toone dependent, the benefit to be not greaterthan that payable to a widow under (b)above.

Section 8Initial Medical Examination

The Joint Benefit Committee may requireany employee, before admission to the full bene-fits under these regulations, to undergo a med-ical examination as prescribed by them.

If the results of this medical examination arenot to the satisfaction of the Joint BenefitCommittee, the participant concerned shall notbe entitled to the benefits under sections 5 and7 until he has completed five years' employmentwith the United Nations or a member organiza-tion or with two or more of these bodies.

Section 9Withdrawal Benefits

Where a participant ceases to be employed bythe United Nations or by a member organiza-tion prior to reaching the age of retirement forreasons other than disability, death or sum-mary dismissal for serious misconduct as pro-vided for in the staff regulations applying tohim, he shall be entitled to the following with-drawal benefits:

(a) If the participant has completed less thanfive years of contributory service, he shall bepaid a sum equal to his own contributions tothe Pension Fund with the addition of simpleinterest at the rate of two per cent perannum.(b) If the participant has completed five ormore years of contributory service, he shallcontinue, for a period equal to one month foreach full year of contributory service, to beeligible for the disability or death benefitbased on his contributory service at the date


he ceased to be employed by the United Na-tions or by a member organization. At theend of that period, he shall be entitled to alump sum payment equal to the actuarialequivalent, at the date service ceased, of thebenefit that would have been payable to himif he had reached the age of retirement atthe date his service ceased.

A lump sum shall not be payable if duringthis period the participant had become en-titled to the payment of a disability benefit,or his widow or dependent to a widow ordependent's benefit.(c) At the request of a participant the JointBenefit Committee may pay the lump sum dueunder (b) at a date earlier than that pre-scribed, but the participant shall cease to beeligible for death or disability benefit on thedate that such payment is made.(d) A participant who has reached the age offifty-five years, has ten or more years of con-tributory service, and retires before the ageof sixty, may elect to be paid, instead ofthe withdrawal benefit provided for in para-graph (b), a retirement benefit equal to theactuarial equivalent, at the date his serviceceased of the benefit that would have beenpayable to him if he had reached the age ofretirement at the date his service ceased.Where a participant leaves the service by

reason of disability or dies without becomingentitled to disability or death benefits undersections 5 and 7, as a result of a decision of theJoint Benefit Committee under section 8, he,or his estate, shall be paid a sum equal to hisown contributions to the Pension Fund withthe addition of simple interest at the rate oftwo per cent per annum.

Section 10Summary Dismissal for Serious Misconduct

If the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions or the competent authority of the memberorganization concerned so recommends, theJoint Benefit Committee shall, to the extent sorecommended and notwithstanding the pro-visions of section 9, pay a participant sum-marily dismissed for serious misconduct underthe staff regulations applying to him, or thewidow or dependent of such a participant, anamount equal to either the whole or any partof the benefits he would have been entitled tohad he ceased to be employed for reasons otherthan summary dismissal for serious miscon-duct.

Section 11Re-employment

If a person to whom a withdrawal benefit haspreviously been paid under section 9 becomes aparticipant on a new appointment the followingprovision shall apply: upon payment into thePension Fund of the lump sum in respect ofwithdrawal benefit received under section 9(a), (b) or (c) or of the amounts receivedunder section 9 (d), together with compoundinterest at 2½% per annum, his contributory

service will be deemed to include the period ofcontributory service to his credit at the timeof his withdrawal.

Section 12Preservation of Pension Rights

In order to secure continuity of pension andstaff benefit rights the Secretary-General ofthe United Nations may conclude with anyMember Government an agreement adjustingthe provisions of these regulations so far as theparticipants covered by the agreements are con-cerned. These agreements shall in each case besubject to the approval of the General As-sembly.

PENSION FUNDSection 13

Establishment of the Pension FundA Pension Fund shall be established to meet

the liabilities resulting from these regulations.The Pension Fund shall be the property of theUnited Nations, shall be administered sepa-rately from the other assets of the United Na-tions, and shall be used solely for the purposesprovided for in these regulations.

Section 14Payments into the Pension Fund

The Pension Fund shall be maintained by:(a) The contributions of the participants;(b) The payments of the United Nations andof the member organizations;(c) The income earned by investment;(d) Any other income appropriate to thepurposes of the Fund.

Section 15Contributions of Participants

Subject to section 19, seven per cent of thepensionable remuneration of each participantshall be deducted from his remuneration andpaid each month to the Pension Fund.

During any period of sick leave on full orhalf pay, participants shall continue to con-tribute to the Pension Fund by deduction fromsuch payments on the basis of their full pen-sionable remuneration.

During any period of authorized leave with-out pay (including sick leave without pay), aparticipant may continue to contribute to thePension Fund by paying his own contributionand the contribution that would normally bepayable under section 16 or 19 of these regula-tions by the United Nations or the member or-ganization by which he is employed. Such con-tributions must be made on the basis of his fullpensionable remuneration. In cases approvedby the Secretary-General in the case of theUnited Nations' staff and by the competentauthority in the case of the staff of memberorganizations, the United Nations or the mem-ber organization may continue to pay the con-tribution otherwise due under section 16 or 19of these regulations notwithstanding that theparticipant is not in receipt of pensionable re-muneration, and in such cases the participantwill pay only his own contribution.

230 The General Assembly

Section 16Payments by the United Nations and each

Member OrganizationThe United Nations and each member organ-

ization shall pay to the Pension Fund in respectof the participants employed by them:

(a) Each month a contribution of an amountequal to fourteen per cent of the totalmonthly pensionable remuneration of theseparticipants;(b) Each month such additional contribu-tions as are necessary to maintain the Fundin a position to meet the obligations in re-spect of participants to whom the provisionsof Sections 3, 18 and 19 apply;(c) Any amount necessary under section 11to bring a participant's payments up to thethen actuarial value of the added contribu-tory service.

Section 17Deficiency Payments

If at any time an actuarial valuation showsthat the assets of the Pension Fund may notbe sufficient to meet the liabilities under theregulations, there shall be paid into the Fundby the United Nations and each member organ-ization the sum necessary to make good the defi-ciency. The United Nations and each memberorganization shall contribute to this sum anamount proportionate to the total contributionswhich each paid under section 16 during thethree years previous to the date chosen for theactuarial valuation through which it was re-vealed that the assets of the Fund might notbe sufficient to meet the liabilities.

Section 18Service in Unhealthy Areas

Whenever a participant is employed for morethan three months in an area classified bythe Joint Benefit Committee as being speciallydetrimental to health, his actual contributoryservice during the whole of the period he is em-ployed there shall be doubled for any purposein which contributory service is used in theseregulations as a basis for the calculation ofbenefits.

Section 19Special Provisions for Persons Entering theEmployment of the United Nations or of aMember Organization after the Age of Forty

The Secretary-General in respect of UnitedNations' employees and the competent author-ity in respect of employees of member organi-zations may decide that any person eligible forparticipation in the Fund who enters the serv-ice of the United Nations or of a member or-ganization after the age of forty, may, for thepurpose of calculating the number of years ofcontributory service to be used as a basis ofbenefits, have his actual number of months ofsuch service multiplied by the figure stated inthe second column of the following table. Theparticipant concerned must, however, agree topay, in lieu of the contribution provided for in

4041424344454647484950 and any year

up to the yearpreceding ageof retirement

1.001.051.111.181.251.331.431.541.671.82

2.00

section 15, the contribution as stated in thethird column corresponding to the multiplierabove. No such person, however, shall beauthorized to choose an age stated in column(1) higher than his actual age on the date ofhis appointment.

%7.007.357.778.268.759.31

10.0110.7811.6912.74

14.00

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PENSION FUND

Section 20United Nations Staff Benefit Committee

The United Nations Staff Benefit Committeeshall consist of three members elected for threeyears by the General Assembly, three membersappointed by the Secretary-General and threemembers, who must be participants, elected forthree years by the participants by secret bal-lot. Where questions directly affecting partici-pants employed in the Registry of the Interna-tional Court of Justice are under considera-tion, a member appointed by the Registrar shallbe entitled to attend the meetings of the StaffBenefit Committee. The Assembly and the par-ticipants shall respectively elect for three yearsthree alternate members.

The members of the United Nations StaffBenefit Committee and their alternates may bere-elected.

Section 21Agency Staff Benefit Committees

Each member organization shall have a StaffBenefit Committee, which shall include repre-sentatives of the body of the member organiza-tion corresponding to the General Assemblyof the United Nations, of the chief executiveofficer and of the participants of the organiza-tion, selected in accordance with the procedureadopted by the competent body of that organi-zation.

Section 22Joint Benefit Committee

The Joint Benefit Committee shall consist ofthree members appointed by the Staff BenefitCommittee of the United Nations and threemembers appointed by each of the Staff Bene-fit Committees of the member organizations.

ChosenAge

Months of con-tributory

service to countfor each monthof actual con-

tributory service

Percentage con-tribution to bededucted fromparticipant'spensionable

remuneration


Section 23Secretary of the Joint Benefit Committee

Upon the recommendation of the Joint Bene-fit Committee, the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations shall appoint a secretary andother officer or officers to act in the absence ofthe secretary. Subject to the administrativerules and the decision of the Joint Benefit Com-mittee, the payment of all benefits under theseregulations must be certified by the secretaryor the officer authorized to act in his absence.

Section 24Power of Delegation

Subject to section 23, the Joint Benefit Com-mittee may delegate to the Staff Benefit Com-mittees of the United Nations and of each mem-ber organization some or all of its discretionarypowers relating to the grant of a benefit underthese regulations in respect of the applicationof these powers to the participants and bene-ficiaries of the bodies concerned.

Section 25Investment of Assets of the Fund

Subject to the complete separation to bemaintained between the Fund's assets andother assets of the United Nations as providedin section 13, the investment of the assets ofthe Fund shall be decided upon by the Secre-tary-General, after consultation with an In-vestments Committee, and after having heardany observations or suggestions by the JointBenefit Committee concerning the investmentspolicy and the general administration of theFund's assets. The Investments Committeeshall consist of three members appointed bythe Secretary-General after consultation withthe Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions, subject to the subsequentapproval of the General Assembly.

Section 26Staff

Subject to section 23, the Secretary-Generalshall provide the staff required by the JointBenefit Committee as well as the staff necessaryfor the keeping of the accounts and records ofthe Fund and the payment of benefits.

Section 27Administrative Expenses

Expenses incurred in the administration ofthese regulations by the Joint Benefit Com-mittee and by the Staff Benefit Committee ofthe United Nations shall be met out of thegeneral budget of the United Nations.

Expenses incurred in the administration ofthese regulations by the Staff Benefit Commit-tee of a member organization, including travel-ling expenses and allowances of representativesattending meetings of the Joint Benefit Com-mittee shall be met out of the general budgetof that organization.

Section 28Admission of Specialized Agencies

Subject to its acceptance of these regulations,any specialized agency which has entered intorelationship with the United Nations underArticles 57 and 63 of the Charter shall be en-titled to become a member organization of theUnited Nations Joint Staff Pension Scheme,provided that agreement has been reached withthe Secretary-General of the United Nationsas to any payments necessary to be made bythe specialized agency to the Pension Fund inrespect of the new obligations incurred bythe Fund through its admission, and as toother transitional arrangements that may benecessary, including the extent to which theseregulations are to be applied to existing em-ployees of the specialized agency.

GENERAL PROVISIONSSection 29

Actuarial EquivalentsEquivalents shall be calculated on such as-

sumptions concerning rate of interest, mortal-ity, invalidity and other data as may be adoptedby the Joint Benefit Committee after havingreceived advice from a qualified actuary oractuaries. These assumptions may be subjectto change from time to time by the Committee.

Section 30Currency

Contributions and benefits shall be calcu-lated in the currency in which the pensionableremuneration is fixed fay the terms of employ-ment.

Payments of benefits may be made in the cur-rency selected from time to time by the recip-ient at the rate of exchange prevailing at thedate of payment.

Section 31Actuarial Valuations

The Joint Benefit Committee shall have anactuarial valuation, of the Pension Fund madenot later than one year after the appointed dateby a qualified actuary or actuaries and there-after at least every three years. The actuarialreport shall state the assumptions on which thecalculations are based, shall describe the meth-od of valuation used, shall state the results ofthe investigations; and the recommendations,if any, for any appropriate action. The reportshall be presented to the Joint Benefit Com-mittee and to the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations and to the competent authorityof each member organization.

Upon the receipt of the actuarial report, theJoint Benefit Committee shall make proposalsto the General Assembly and to member organi-zations as to any action to be taken as a resultthereof. Copies of the actuarial report and ofany such proposals shall be forwarded to theAdvisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions.


Section 32Non-assignability of Rights

A participant or a beneficiary may not assignhis rights under these regulations to anotherperson.

Section 33Debts owing to the Fund

Any payment due from a participant to thePension Fund and unpaid at the date of hisbecoming entitled to any benefit under theseregulations, shall be a first charge upon and bedeductible from the benefit.

Section 34Documentary Evidence

Every participant and every beneficiary un-der these regulations shall furnish all necessarydocumentary evidence regarding himself andhis wife and dependents in accordance with theadministrative rules.

Section 35Annual Report

The Joint Benefit Committee will presentannually to the General Assembly of the UnitedNations and to the member organizations areport, including a balance-sheet, on the opera-tion of these regulations. The Secretary-Gen-eral will inform each member organization ofany action taken by the General Assembly uponthe report.

Section 36Administrative Rules

The Joint Benefit Committee shall make ad-ministrative rules necessary for the carryingout of these regulations. These administrativerules shall be reported by the Secretary-Gen-eral to the General Assembly and by the JointBenefit Committee to the member organiza-tions.

Section 37Amendments

These regulations may be amended by theGeneral Assembly and the regulations soamended shall take effect in regard to the par-ticipants in the scheme, including those whowere participants before the regulations wereamended, as from the date specified by theGeneral Assembly, without prejudice to anybenefits to which a participant, or a widow ordependent of a participant, may have becomeentitled under these regulations, as a resultof retirement, disability, death or withdrawal,before the amended regulations took effect.

Section 38Appointed Date

These regulations, including the followingtransitional provisions, shall come into forceon 27 January 1947.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THEUNITED NATIONS

Section ATransfer of Balances

The credit of a participant in the Staff Prov-ident Fund shall be transferred to the PensionFund on the date on which he becomes a parti-cipant in the Pension Fund.

Section BUnited Nations Payment

The United Nations shall pay into the Pen-sion Fund a sum equal to seventy-five per centof the amounts transferred under Section A.

Section CTransfer of Contributory Service

For the purpose of these regulations, theperiod in respect of which a participant con-tributed to the Staff Provident Fund shall becounted as contributory service.

Section DFormer Members of the Provident Fund who

Fail to Pass the Medical ExaminationIf a participant in the Pension Fund, who, as

a result of a decision of the Joint Benefit Com-mittee under section 8, is not entitled, during aperiod of five years, to disability and death ben-efits under sections 5 and 7, ceases during thatperiod to be employed by the United Nations orby a member organization for any reason, in-cluding disability or death, other than sum-mary dismissal for serious misconduct as de-fined in the staff regulations applying to him,and if that participant was a member of theProvident Fund at the date of his joining thePension Fund, he (or his estate), shall be paid,in lieu of the sum otherwise due under section9, an amount equivalent to that which wouldhave been paid had he remained a member ofthe Provident Fund.

Section EAdministration of the Fund

Until such time as a member organizationis admitted to the United Nations Joint StaffPension Scheme under section 28, the UnitedNations Staff Benefit Committee shall exercisethe powers and perform the functions of theJoint Benefit Committee, and for the time be-ing, the Secretary of the United Nations StaffBenefit Committee, appointed on the recom-mendation of the Committee by the Secretary-General, shall exercise the powers and performthe functions of the Secretary of the JointBenefit Committee.

Section FElection of Members of the Staff

Benefit CommitteeNotwithstanding the provisions of section

20, the first election of the three members ofthe United Nations Staff Benefit Committee,and their alternates, elected by the participants,shall be for a one-year term, and the secondelection shall be for a two-year term.


ANNEX IIADDITIONAL PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS TO BEADDED TO THE PROVISIONAL STAFF REGULATIONSAS APPROVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT THE

FIRST PART OF THE FIRST SESSION

XII. Children's Allowances andEducation Grants

Regulation SOAs from 1 January 1947, every full-time

member of the staff with the exception of thosespecifically excluded by resolution of the Gen-eral Assembly and of those recruited for aperiod of service not expected to exceed ninetydays, shall be entitled to a children's allowanceof $144 (U.S.) per annum in respect of eachchild under the age of sixteen years, or, if thechild is in full-time attendance at a school or aUniversity (or similar educational institution)under the age of eighteen or twenty-two yearsrespectively. A full-time member of the staffexcluded on account of the temporary natureof his employment shall begin to be entitled toa children's allowance after he has completedninety days service. If both parents are mem-bers of the staff of the United Nations only oneallowance will be paid in respect of each of theirchildren.

Regulation 81The allowance shall continue to be payable in

respect of his children to a full-time memberof the staff who becomes entitled under theUnited Nations Joint Staff Pension SchemeProvisional Regulations to a retirement or adisability benefit and to a widow if in receiptof a widow benefit.

Regulation 32Upon the death of a person who receives a

children's allowance under these regulationsand following the death of the other parent,there shall be paid to the legal guardian of eachchild an allowance of $288 (U.S.) per annum.

Regulation 33Each full-time member of the staff, with the

exception of those specifically excluded by aresolution of the General Assembly, entitled toreceive a children's allowance under Regula-tion 30, who is employed by the United Nationsin a country other than his own country as isspecified in his letter of appointment shall beentitled to the following education grant:

(a) the sum of $144 (U.S.) per annum foreach child, in respect of whom a children'sallowance is payable, in full-time attendanceat a school or a University in his home coun-try, provided that where a child attendedsuch an educational institution for a periodof less than two-thirds of any one scholasticyear, the allowance shall be reduced to suchproportion of $144 (U.S.) as the period soattended bears to a full scholastic year;(b) once in each scholastic year the travel-ling expenses of the outward and return jour-ney of such a child by a route approved bythe Secretary-General.

If both parents are members of the staff ofthe United Nations only one grant will be paidin respect of each of their children.

Regulation 84The Secretary-General may decide in each

case whether allowances or grants under Regu-lations 30 and 33 shall extend to adopted chil-dren or stepchildren.

j. Administrative TribunalBy resolution of February 13, 1946, the Gen-

eral Assembly authorized the Secretary-Gen-eral to appoint a small advisory committeepossibly including representatives of the staffto draft for submission to the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly astatute for an administrative tribunal

In pursuance of this resolution the Secretary-General set up an Advisory Committee com-posed as follows:

Th. Aghnides (Greece)—ChairmanManley O. Hudson (United States)Joseph Nisot (Belgium)Ladislav Radimsky (Czechoslovakia)Jean HerbertM. Pérez GuerreroMarc Schreiber Members of theIsobel Wallace SecretariatDavid M. Levitan

The Committee met at Lake Success fromSeptember 16 to 26, 1946, and submitted areport to the Secretary-General, together witha draft statute of a United Nations administra-tive tribunal which would be competent to ad-judicate upon appeals alleging non-observanceof contracts of employment, including per-tinent staff regulations, made by officials of theSecretariat of the United Nations, but whichwould not deal with matters of internal admin-istration of the Secretariat.

The Secretary-General transmitted this re-port of the second part of the first session ofthe General Assembly, which referred it to theFifth Committee (Administrative and Budget-ary). The Fifth Committee considered the mat-ter at its 25th and 26th meetings on November15 and 16.

The representative of the United States con-sidered that it was difficult to differentiate be-tween disputes involving alleged non-observ-ance of legal rights and disputes arising fromnormal difference in judgment on problems ofinternal administration of the Secretariat. Theestablishment of an administrative tribunal


such as that proposed by the advisory commit-tee would dangerously undermine the author-ity of the Secretary-General and the sover-eignty of the General Assembly. Moreover, asthe draft statute provided, inter alia, that thetribunal might order the payment to the ap-plicant of compensation for injury sustained,such compensation to be paid by the UnitedNations, the General Assembly's authority overbudgetary matters might be impinged upon.

The representative of the United States con-sidered that the staff of the Secretariat wouldbe protected adequately if it had recourse to acouncil established within the Secretariat forthe purpose of arbitrating disputes. The UnitedStates representative therefore submitted thefollowing draft resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:(a) that the appropriate medium for arbi-

trating such differences as may arise betweenthe staff and the administration of the Secre-tariat is an administrative council composed ofrepresentatives of the staff and the administra-tion;

(b) that the Secretary-General take the nec-essary steps at the appropriate time to createfacilities within the Secretariat for the settle-ment of such differences as may arise betweenthe staff and the administration.

A number of other representatives expressedthe view that there was no need for an ad-ministrative tribunal and that the Secretary-General should have final authority in all mat-ters affecting personnel.

The representatives of the United Kingdomand France, among others, supported the pro-posed establishment of an administrative tribu-nal on the ground that an impartial body wasneeded as a check on the sovereignty of theorganization.

After considerable discussion the Fifth Com-mittee at its 26th meeting on November 16,1946, accepted a proposal of the representativeof the United Kingdom to postpone a decisionon the question of the establishment of an ad-ministrative tribunal until the next session ofthe General Assembly,k. Organization and Administration of the

SecretariatThe Secretary-General submitted reports to

the second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly on the organization and work ofthe Secretariat and on the selection and train-ing of staff. The General Assembly at its 46thplenary meeting on October 31, 1946, referredthese reports to the Fifth Committee.

At its 20th meeting the Fifth Committee,without discussion, noted the Secretary-Gen-eral's report on the organization and work ofthe Secretariat.

Problems relating to the selection and train-ing of staff were discussed at some length atthe 20th meeting of the Fifth Committee andwere reintroduced at the 42nd meeting by adiscussion of a proposed resolution submittedby Venezuela. This resolution reaffirmed theprovisions of Articles 100 and 101 of the UnitedNations Charter regarding the selection ofstaff, and reasserted the responsibility of theSecretary-General in carrying out these provi-sions. The Committee voted against presentinga resolution on this subject to the General As-sembly, the majority taking the view that sucha resolution was not necessary, though express-ing general approval of the contents of theresolution under discussion. In a discussion ofthe basic criteria of selection of staff emphasiswas laid upon the necessity of continuing toimprove the geographical distribution of theSecretariat staff, while at the same time achiev-ing the highest standards of efficiency, compe-tence and integrity.

At its 66th plenary meeting on December 15,1946, the General Assembly took note of theFifth Committee's report concerning the abovequestions.

l. Provisional Financial Regulations of theUnited Nations

The Secretary-General of the United Nationssubmitted a report on the provisional financialregulations of the organization to the secondpart of the first session of the GeneralAssembly.

In his report the Secretary-General statedthat the provisional financial regulationsadopted during the first part of the first sessionof the General Assembly had proved satis-factory from the point of view of initialoperations. In general, however, the presentregulations were designed to apply to thefinancial year 1946 and therefore, the Secre-tary-General suggested, they should be re-en-acted with appropriate changes in order tomake them applicable to the financial year 1947and succeeding years. Moreover, some addi-tional rules were necessary to meet the needsof the financial administration. The Secretary-General therefore submitted a list of suggestedamendments to the existing regulations.


The Secretary-General's report pointed outthat notwithstanding these amendments andadditions, it was still desired to regard the reg-ulations as provisional until further experiencehad been gained, and in the light of that experi-ence, draft proposals for permanent financialregulations would be submitted for the con-sideration of the General Assembly at itssecond session in September 1947.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the ques-tion of financial regulations to the Fifth Com-mittee (Administrative and Budgetary), whichconsidered the amendments suggested by theSecretary-General, as well as a number ofamendments proposed by the representative ofFrance at its 29th, 30th, and 33rd meetings onNovember 21, 25 and December 2, 1946, re-spectively. After discussing certain of the regu-lations in detail, the Committee unanimouslyadopted the revised provisional financial regu-lations as a whole, which were to cover theperiod from the date of their approval by theGeneral Assembly up to the end of 1947.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Commit-tee the General Assembly at its 55th plenarymeeting on December 11, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:That the following provisional financial regu-

lations be adopted and that the Secretary-Gen-eral be instructed to submit draft financialregulations to the Advisory Committee on Ad-ministrative and Budgetary Questions for con-sideration and final adoption by the GeneralAssembly at its regular annual session in 1947.

PROVISIONAL FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

These provisional financial regulations are tocover the period from the date of their approvalby the General Assembly to the end of theyear 1947.

THE FINANCIAL YEAR

Regulation 1The financial year shall be the calendar year,

1 January to 31 December.

THE BUDGETRegulation 2

The Secretary-General shall submit to theregular annual session of the General Assemblya budget for the following financial year.

Regulation 3The budget shall be examined, before pre-

sentation to the General Assembly, by the Ad-visory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions, which shall submit a

report on the budget to all Members at leastfour weeks prior to the opening of the regularannual session of the General Assembly.

Regulation 4The budget shall be divided into parts, sec-

tions and chapters, and shall be accompaniedby:

(a) A detailed statement of the estimated ex-penditure provided for under each chapter;(b) A statement showing the amount to becontributed by each Member in accordancewith the approved scale of contributions;(c) A statement of the estimated additionalincome under appropriate headings.

Regulation 5The budget and the report of the Advisory

Committee shall be submitted to the GeneralAssembly and referred to the competent Com-mittee for consideration and report to theAssembly.

The General Assembly shall vote the budgetby the majority required under the provisionsof Article 18, paragraph 2, of the Charter of theUnited Nations.

PROVISION OF FUNDSRegulation 6

The budgetary requirements shall be financedfrom contributions from Members, in amountsto be determined by the General Assembly.Pending the receipt of such contributions thebudget may be financed from the WorkingCapital Fund.

Regulation 7The General Assembly shall determine the

amount of the Working Capital Fund and anysub-divisions thereof.


budget, and determined the amount of theWorking Capital Fund and its subdivisions, theSecretary-General shall:

(a) Transmit all relevant documents toMembers;(b) Inform Members of their commitmentsin respect of annual contributions and ofadvances to the Working Capital Fund;(c) Request them to remit their contribu-tions and advances to the Working CapitalFund.

Regulation 9Annual contributions and advances to the

Working Capital Fund shall be assessed andpaid in the currency of the State in which theUnited Nations has its headquarters.

APPROPRIATION OF FUNDSRegulation 10

The adoption of the budget by the GeneralAssembly shall constitute an authorization tothe Secretary-General to incur obligations andexpenditures for the purposes, and during theperiod, for which credits have been voted and


up to the amounts so voted. The Secretary-General shall cause an allotment in writing tobe made from the appropriations approved bythe General Assembly to the various headingsof expenditures prior to the incurring of obli-gations, commitments or expenditures there-for. He shall cause a record to be kept of suchallotments and all obligations incurred showingat all times the amount available under eachheading.

INTERNAL CONTROL

Regulation 11The Secretary-General shall:(a) Establish detailed financial rules and

procedures in order to ensure effective financialadministration and the exercise of economy;

(b) Cause an accurate record to be kept ofall capital acquisitions and all supplies pur-chased and used;

(c) Render to the Auditors with the accountsa statement as at 31 December of the financialyear concerned, showing the supplies in handand the assets and liabilities of the Organiza-tion;

(d) Cause all payments to be made on thebasis of supporting vouchers and other docu-ments which ensure that the services or com-modities have been received and that paymenthas not previously been made;

(e) Designate the officials who may incurobligations and make payments on behalf ofthe Organization;

(f) Maintain an internal financial controlwhich shall provide for an effective currentexamination or review of financial transactionsin order:

(i) To ensure the regularity of the receipt,disposal and custody of all funds and otherfinancial resources of the Organization;(ii) To ensure the conformity of all expen-ditures with the estimates voted by the Gen-eral Assembly;(iii) To obviate any uneconomic use of theresources of the Organization.

Regulation 12Tenders for equipment, supplies and other

requirements shall be invited by advertisement,except where the Secretary-General deemsthat, in the interest of the United Nations, adeparture from the rule is desirable.

THE ACCOUNTS

Regulation 13The accounts of the Organization shall be

kept in the currency of the State in which theUnited Nations has its headquarters.

Regulation 14There shall be established one cash control

record in which shall be recorded all cash re-ceipts accruing to the benefit of the Organiza-tion. The cash control record shall be dividedinto such subsidiary receipts classifications asmay be deemed necessary.

Regulation 15Cash shall be deposited in one or more bank

accounts as required; branch accounts, or spe-cial funds which involve a separation of cashassets, shall be established as charges to thecash control record under appropriate regula-tions as to objects, purposes and limitations ofsuch accounts and funds.

Regulation 16The accounts shall consist of:(a) Budget accounts showing within the ap-

propriations :(i) The original allotments;(ii) The allotments after modification byany transfers, carried out in accordancewith the provisions of regulation 19;(iii) The obligations incurred;(iv) The unobligated balances of allotments;(b) A cash account showing all cash receipts

and actual disbursements made;(c) Separate accounts for the Working Capi-

tal Fund and any other fund which may beestablished;

(d) Property records showing:(i) Capital acquisitions;(ii) Equipment and supplies purchased, used,and on hand.(e) Such records as will provide for a state-

ment of assets and liabilities at 31 Decemberof each financial year.

Regulation 17Auditors, who shall be persons not in the

service of the United Nations, shall be ap-pointed in a manner to be determined by theGeneral Assembly. The Auditors shall be ap-pointed for periods to be determined by theGeneral Assembly.

CUSTODY OF FUNDSRegulation 18

The Secretary-General shall designate thebank or banks in which the funds of the Or-ganization shall be kept.

TRANSFERS UNDER THE BUDGET DURINGTHE FINANCIAL YEAR

Regulation 19Transfers by the Secretary-General within

the budget may be made only to the extent per-mitted by the terms of the budget resolutionadopted by the General Assembly.

AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONSRegulation 20

The balance of appropriations remaining un-obligated at 31 December of the financial yearto which they relate shall be surrendered byconsequential adjustment made in the budgetnext presented.

Regulation 21Payments for outstanding obligations as at

31 December shall be made between 1 January

APPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS


and the last day of February and charged tothe accounts of the previous financial year. At1 March the unliquidated balance of such obli-gations shall be carried forward to the accountsof the then current financial year.

Regulation 22Appropriations shall remain available, to the

extent that obligations are incurred underthem, for a period not exceeding three yearsfrom the first day of the financial year to whichthey relate. Any part of the appropriationremaining unexpended shall be surrendered, byadjustment in the budget next presented.

TRUST AND OTHER SPECIAL FUNDSRegulation 23

Appropriate separate accounts shall be main-tained for trust or other special funds for thepurpose of accounting for unclaimed monies,monies received and held in suspense and forprojects where the transactions involve a cycleof operations. The purpose and limits of eachtrust or other special fund established shall beclearly defined by the appropriate authority.

INVESTMENTSRegulation 24

The Secretary-General may make short-terminvestments of monies which are not needed forimmediate requirements and will inform theAdvisory Committee periodically of the invest-ments which he has made.

COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS INVOLVINGUNITED NATIONS EXPENDITURES

Regulation 25No resolution involving expenditure from

United Nations funds shall be approved by aCouncil unless the Council has before it a re-port from the Secretary-General on the finan-cial implications of the proposals, together withan estimate of the costs involved in the specificproposal.

6. LEGAL MATTERSa. Administration of the International Court of

JusticeAt its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,

1946, the General Assembly referred certainquestions relating to the administration of theInternational Court of Justice to the Fifth (Ad-ministrative and Budgetary) and Sixth (Le-gal) Committees for joint consideration. TheFifth and Sixth Committees established aJoint Sub-Committee to consider these ques-tions.(I.) Currency in which the Emoluments of theJudges and the Registrar of the International

Court of Justice should be fixed.

During the first part of its first session theGeneral Assembly decided that the salaries ofthe judges of the International Court of Jus-

tice should be fixed in the Netherlands florins.1

By letter of April 13, 1946, the President ofthe Court informed the Secretary-General thatthe Court had suggested that the salaries ofthe judges, as fixed in florins, should be con-verted into United States dollars at the rate ofthe day on which the judges were appointed,i.e. February 6, 1946. The salaries of the Regis-trar and other officials of the Court should befixed in United States dollars.

The Secretary-General submitted the ques-tion to the General Assembly for its considera-tion. At its second meeting on November 9,1946, the Joint Sub-Committee of the Fifthand Sixth Committees examined the Court'srequest.

The Joint Sub-Committee was advised by thePresident of the International Court of Justicethat since the writing of his letter of April 13,1946, the Government of the Netherlands hadestablished most satisfactory arrangements forthe transfer and exchange of funds by the mem-bers and Registrar of the Court. Accordinglythe President requested that he be permittedto withdraw the request contained in his letter.

In view of this request the Sub-Committeerecommended that no further action be takenin this matter.

(2.) Salary of the Registrar of theInternational Court of Justice

Article 32 (6) of the Statute of the Inter-national Court of Justice provides that thesalary of the Registrar should be fixed by theGeneral Assembly on the proposal of the Court.

At its session held on April 11, 1946, theCourt adopted the recommendation that thesalary of the Registrar should be assimilatedto that of a Director of the Secretariat of theUnited Nations and that his salary should befixed at 25,000 florins per annum, augmentedby the sum of 10,000 per annum, in view of thedepreciation of the Dutch florins since 1940and in view of the rise in the cost of living. Thetotal emoluments of the Registrar would thusbe 35,000 florins.

At its fifth meeting on November 14, 1946,the Joint Sub-Committee of the Fifth and SixthCommittees unanimously resolved that the an-nual salary of the Registrar be assimilated tothat of a Top-Ranking Director of the UnitedNations Secretariat, and be fixed accordingly

1 See pp. $8, 89.


at 29,150 Netherlands florins. The Joint Sub-Committee recommended further that the dif-ference (5,850 florins) between the salary rec-ommended by the Court (35,000 florins) andthe salary approved by the Sub-Committee(29,150 florins) be paid to the Registrar asa non-pensionable allowance.

(3.) Conditions under which the Members ofthe International Court of Justice andthe Registrar should have their Travel

Expenses refunded

Article 32 (7) of the Statute of the Interna-tional Court of Justice provides that the Gen-eral Assembly shall fix the conditions underwhich the members of the Court and the Reg-istrar shall have their travel expenses refunded.Accordingly the Secretary-General submittedto the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly a draft resolution which hadbeen drawn up after consultation between theRegistrar of the Court and the Secretary-General.

At its 6th and 7th meetings on November 15and 16 the Joint Sub-Committee of the Fifthand Sixth Committees considered the proposedresolution and made a number of changes. TheSub-Committee unanimously recommended theadoption of the amended resolution.

The Fifth Committee at its 30th meeting onNovember 25 and the Sixth Committee at its29th meeting on December 5, 1946, unani-mously adopted the report of the Joint Sub-Committee concerning the above three ques-tions.

On the recommendation of the Fifth andSixth Committees the General Assembly at its55th plenary meeting on December 11, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,RESOLVES that the decision taken at the

first part of the first session fixing the emolu-ments of the Judges in Netherlands florins re-main unchanged;

DIRECTS that the annual salary of the Reg-istrar of the International Court of Justiceshall be assimilated to that of a top-rankingdirector of the Secretariat of the United Na-tions and shall accordingly be fixed at 29,150Netherlands florins; and that the differencebetween the salary recommended by the Court(35,000 florins) and the salary approved by theGeneral Assembly shall be paid to the Registraras a non-pensionable allowance;

ADOPTS the Travel and the Subsistence Regu-lations of the International Court of Justice, asamended and reproduced in Annex I.

ANNEX ITRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE REGULATIONS OF

Travel Expenses1. The United Nations shall pay, subject to

the conditions of these regulations, the travelexpenses of the members and of the Registrarof the International Court of Justice, neces-sarily incurred on duly authorized officialjourneys.

The following shall be deemed to be dulyauthorized official journeys:

(a) Where the person concerned takes upresidence at the seat of the Court,

(i) A journey from his home, at the timeof appointment, to the seat of the Court,in connection with the transfer of his resi-dence;(ii) A return journey every second cal-endar year after the year of appointmentfrom the seat of the Court to his home atthe time of appointment;(iii) A journey upon termination of ap-pointment from the seat of the Court to hishome at the time of appointment, or to anyother place provided that the cost of thejourney is not greater than the cost of ajourney to his home at the time of appoint-ment.

The above provisions apply also to memberswho take up residence in compliance with Ar-ticle 23 of the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice.

Where the wife and/or dependent childrenof a member of the Court or of the Registrarreside with him at the seat of the Court, theUnited Nations shall reimburse the travel ex-penses for journeys as above.

(b) Where a member of the Court does notreside at the seat of the Court, one returnjourney for himself and one near relativeeach year from his permanent residence tothe seat of the Court, provided such journeyis necessarily undertaken on official businessat the decision of the Court or at the requestof the President.(c) When a session of the Court is held at aplace other than the seat of the Court, thejourney necessarily performed in attendingthe session.(d) Other journeys on official business, un-dertaken with the authority of the President.2. Travel expenses shall comprise actual

transportation costs by ordinary first classtransport on railroads, airlines, steamboat, andother usual means of conveyance, and shall in-clude expenses normally incidental to trans-portation, e.g., taxicab fares from station, etc.

The cost of transportation of baggage in ex-cess of weight or size carried free by trans-portation companies will not be allowable as anexpense unless the excess is necessarily carriedfor official business reasons.

3. All travel will be by the most direct route,provided that travel by other routes may be

THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE


allowed under written authority of the Presi-dent when the official necessity therefore issatisfactorily established, but in other casesthe travel expenses and subsistence allowancepayable shall not exceed the amounts whichwould have been payable had the journey beenby the most direct route.

Subsistence Allowances4. A per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence

expenses shall be paid to members of the Courtand to the Registrar while in official travelstatus under Regulation 1 (a) (i), 1 (a) (iii),1 (c) or 1 (d) above. The per diem will be re-garded as covering all charges for meals, lodg-ing, fees and gratuities, and other personalexpenses.

5. The rates of subsistence allowance shallbe for each period of twenty-four hours afterthe time of departure:

(a) For the President $25 (U.S.), or theequivalent thereof in other currency;(b) For other members of the Court $20(U.S.), or the equivalent thereof in othercurrency;(c) For the Registrar $15 (U.S.), or theequivalent thereof in other currency, pro-vided that where he accompanies a memberof the Court he shall receive $20 (U.S.), orthe equivalent thereof in other currency.Where the traveller receives either full sub-

sistence (i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner) oraccommodation (but not both), the cost ofwhich is payable by the United Nations, therates of allowance shall be reduced to $12(U.S.), or the equivalent thereof in other cur-rency. Where the traveller receives both fullsubsistence and accommodation, the cost ofwhich is payable by the United Nations (e.g.where the cost of a passage includes both), heshall be paid a daily allowance of $3 (U.S.), orthe equivalent thereof in other currency.

6. (a) Where a member of the Court or theRegistrar, undertaking an official journey, isaccompanied by his wife and/or dependentchildren, under Regulation 1 (a) (i) or 1(a) (iii), a subsistence allowance of one-halfof the appropriate rate payable to the mem-ber of the Court or to the Registrar in re-spect of that journey will be payable in re-spect of each dependent;(b) Where dependents are travelling unac-companied on an authorized journey underRegulation 1 (a) (i) or 1 (a) (iii), the fullrate of subsistence allowance will be payablein respect of one adult and one-half of thatrate to each other dependent.

Application and Duration ofSubsistence Allowances

1. Subsistence allowances shall be payablewhile the traveller is in travel status, i.e., whileperforming temporary duty at a place to and

from which it is impracticable for him to traveldaily from his home or from the seat of theCourt, provided that no allowance shall be pay-able in respect of periods of leave or absencetaken during periods of temporary duty.

Submission and Payment of Accounts8. A detailed expense account must be ren-

dered in support of each claim for reimburse-ment of travel expenses or subsistence allow-ance as soon as possible after completion of thetrip. The claims should show every item of ex-pense except where such expenses are to becovered by a subsistence allowance, and everyadvance drawn from any United Nationssource, and must, as far as possible, be sup-ported by receipts showing the service to whichthe payment is related. All expenses must beshown in the actual currency in which theywere made and must be certified as having beennecessarily and solely incurred in the dischargeof the official business of the Court.

Effective Date9. These regulations shall become effective as

of 1 January 1947. Journeys completed beforethat date shall be dealt with under the TravelRegulations of the Permanent Court of Inter-national Justice.

b. Pensions of the Judges and the Staff of theInternational Court of Justice

By resolution of February 6, 1946, the Gen-eral Assembly had instructed the Secretary-General in consultation with the Registrar ofthe Court to develop a pension plan for thejudges, Registrar and staff of the InternationalCourt of Justice for submission to the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly.

The question was referred to the WorkingParty established by the Secretary-General toconsider the question of a permanent staff re-tirement scheme. At the request of the Secre-tary-General, the Registrar of the Court onJune 13, 1946, submitted a memorandum ex-pressing his views on the subject. The WorkingParty submitted its recommendations in a let-ter, dated August 20, 1946, addressed to theAssistant Secretary-General for Administra-tive and Financial Services.

So far as the staff members of the Interna-tional Court were concerned the Working Partyincluded these in the general scheme for aUnited Nations Pension Fund. Concerning theRegistrar, the Working Party concluded thathis position was similar to that of an AssistantSecretary-Genera: of the United Nations and


the Working Party's recommendations concern-ing Assistant Secretaries-General should there-fore apply to the Registrar of the Court.

In the case of the judges of the Court, how-ever, the Working Party pointed out that theirterm of office was so limited that no normalpension plan could cover them. The WorkingParty therefore submitted detailed recommen-dations for a pension scheme for the judges.

On the basis of the Registrar's views as ex-pressed in his memorandum of June 13, 1946and on the basis of the Working Party's rec-ommendations, the Secretary-General submit-ted a Proposed Pension Plan for Members ofthe International Court of Justice to the secondpart of the first session of the General Assem-bly.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the ques-tion to the Fifth and Sixth Committees forjoint consideration. A Joint Sub-Committeeestablished by the Fifth and Sixth Committeesconsidered the report of the Secretary-Generalon November 11 and 13. After making certainchanges in the proposed plan the Joint Sub-Committee unanimously recommended adoptionof the plan in its amended form.

The Fifth Committee at its 30th meeting andthe Sixth Committee at its 29th meeting on De-cember 5, 1946, unanimously adopted the re-port of the Joint Sub-Committee.

On the recommendation of the Fifth andSixth Committees the General Assembly at its55th plenary meeting on December 11, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS the pro-posed pension plan for members of the Inter-national Court of Justice, as amended andreproduced in Annex I.

ANNEX IPENSION SCHEME REGULATIONS FOR MEMBERS

1. The members of the Court who haveceased to hold office shall be entitled to retiringpensions provided that the members concerned:

(a) Have not resigned;(b) Have not been required to relinquishtheir appointment for reasons other than thestate of their health;(c) Have completed at least five years ofservice.2. Notwithstanding the provisions of regula-

tions 1 (c) above and 6 below, members electedat the first part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly for a period of three years only,shall, on retirement after completion of thatperiod of service, and provided they are not

subsequently re-elected, be entitled to the samepension as though five years' service had beencompleted.

3. Except as provided in regulation 2, amember who retires before the completion offive years' service shall not be entitled to apension, provided that the Court may, by aspecial decision based on the fact that themember concerned is in a precarious state ofhealth and has insufficient means, grant himfinancial assistance not exceeding the pensionto which he would have been entitled had hecompleted five years' service.

4. If a member resigns after having com-pleted at least five years of service, the Courtmay, by special decision, grant him such pen-sion as seems equitable, but not exceeding anamount calculated as in regulation 6.

5. The payment of a pension shall not beginuntil the member concerned has reached theage of sixty. In an exceptional case, however,the pension may, by a decision of the Court, bemade payable in whole or in part to the personentitled thereto before he reaches that age.

6. Subject to the provisions above, a membershall be entitled to the payment of a pensionequivalent to one three hundred and sixtieth ofhis salary in respect of each complete monthpassed in the service of the Court, the amountbeing calculated:

(a) For members who have held the office ofPresident, on their annual salary and specialannual allowance;(b) For members who have held the officeof Vice-President, on their annual salary andspecial allowances;(c) For other members, on their annual sal-ary;

averaged in each case over the whole period ofservice.

If a person entitled to a pension is re-electedto office, the pension shall cease to be payableduring his new term of office. At the end of thisperiod, however, the amount of the pensionshall be redetermined as provided for above, onthe basis of the total period during which hedischarged his duties.

7. No pension payable under these regula-tions shall exceed one-third of the annual sal-ary, excluding any allowances.

8. Pensions shall be calculated in terms of thecurrency in which the salary of the memberconcerned is fixed by the General Assembly.

9. Upon the death of a member, his widowmay be granted, by decision of the Court, awidow's pension of not less than one-twelfth ofthe annual salary (excluding allowances) of themember, but amounting to not more than one-half of the pension which would have been pay-able to the member had he qualified for it atthe time of his death. This pension shall ceaseon the widow's re-marriage.

10. Upon the death of a former member whowas in receipt of a retirement pension underthese regulations, his widow, provided she washis wife at the time of his retirement from the

OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE


Court, may be granted, by decision of the Court,a widow's pension of not less than one-twelfthof the annual salary (excluding allowances) ofthe former member, but not more than one-halfof that being paid to the deceased at the time ofhis death; or where a partial pension is beingpaid under regulation 5 above, a widow's pen-sion of one-half of such larger amount as themember would have been entitled to had hispension commenced at the age of sixty. Thispension shall cease on the widow's re-marriage.

11. Upon the death of a member or a formermember while in receipt of a pension grantedunder these regulations, who leaves no widoweligible for a pension under regulation 9 or 10above, there may be paid, by a decision of theCourt, for such period as it may determine, adependent's pension to each dependent child ofthe deceased, provided that the total amount ofpensions so payable shall not exceed the amountwhich would have been payable to the widowunder regulation 9 or 10 above. No paymentshall be made to a child over the age of twenty-one, or after the date of marriage, whichever isearlier.

12. All pensions provided for above shall beregarded as expenses of the Court, within themeaning of Article 33 of the Statute of theCourt.

c. Privileges and Immunities of Members ofthe International Court of JusticeBy resolution of February 13, 1946, the Gen-

eral Assembly invited the members of the In-ternational Court of Justice to consider at theirfirst session the question of the privileges, im-munities and facilities which the members ofthe Court should enjoy and to inform the Secre-tary-General of their recommendations.

With a view to giving effect to the GeneralAssembly's resolution, negotiations took placebetween representatives of the NetherlandsForeign Ministry and representatives of theCourt. These negotiations led to an agreementon the general principles that should governthe matter.

On the basis of this agreement the Courtsubmitted detailed recommendations to theSecretary-General of the United Nations, whichthe latter transmitted to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the ques-tion to the Sixth Committee (Legal). A Sub-Committee of the Sixth Committee as well asthe Sixth Committee itself examined theCourt's recommendations in detail. The Presi-dent of the Court (J. G. Guerrero) and the Reg-istrar (E. Hambro) took part in the discus-sions.

Following the discussion in the Sub-Com-mittee, a draft resolution was prepared by theSub-Committee's Rapporteur. At the 22ndmeeting of the Sixth Committee on November22, 1946, various delegations submitted amend-ments to the Rapporteur's draft resolution.After consulting with the delegations concern-ed, the Rapporteur submitted a revised textat the 23rd meeting of the Sixth Committeeon November 28, 1946, which the Committeeadopted unanimously.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 55th plenarymeeting on December 11, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

By a resolution adopted on 13 February 1946,the General Assembly, with a view to insuringthat the International Court of Justice shouldenjoy the privileges, immunities and facilitiesnecessary for the exercise of its functions andthe fulfilment of its purposes, in the country ofits seat and elsewhere, invited the Court at itsfirst session to consider this question and toinform the Secretary-General of its recommen-dations.

The Court has accordingly examined theproblem in its various aspects during its firstsession, held at The Hague from 3 April to 6May 1946, and has transmitted to the GeneralAssembly its conclusions.

The General Assembly considered the recom-mendations of the Court during the second partof its first session, and the report of itsSixth Committee:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1. APPROVES the agreements concluded be-

tween the International Court of Justice andthe Netherlands Government, as recorded inthe exchange of letters between the Presidentof the Court and the Minister for Foreign Af-fairs of the Netherlands (Annex).

2. RECOMMENDS that if a judge, for thepurpose of holding himself permanently at thedisposal of the Court, resides in some countryother than his own, he should be accorded dip-lomatic privileges and immunities during theperiod of his residence there.

3. RECOMMENDS that judges should be ac-corded every facility for leaving the countrywhere they may happen to be, for entering thecountry where the Court is sitting, and againfor leaving it. On journeys in connection withthe exercise of their functions, they should, inall countries through which they may have topass, enjoy all the privileges, immunities andfacilities granted by these countries to diplo-matic envoys.

This provision should also apply to the Reg-istrar and to any officer of the Court acting asRegistrar.


4. RECOMMENDS THAT(a) Officials of the Court should enjoy in anycountry where they may be on the business ofthe Court, or in any country through whichthey may pass on such business, such privi-leges, immunities and facilities for residenceand travel as may be necessary for the inde-pendent exercise of their functions.

The Registrar and any officer of theCourt, acting as Registrar, should, while onthe business of the Court, be accorded diplo-matic privileges and immunities.(b) Inasmuch as these privileges and immu-nities are granted to officials of the Court inthe interests of the International Court ofJustice, and not for the personal benefit ofthe individuals themselves, the Registrar ofthe Court, with the President's approval,should have the right and the duty to waivethe immunity in any case where, in his opin-ion, the immunity would impede the courseof justice, and can be waived without pre-judice to the interests of the Court. In thecase of the Registrar, the Court should havethe right to waive immunity.

5. RECOMMENDS THAT:(a) (i) The agents, counsel and advocates

before the Court should be accorded, dur-ing the period of their missions, includingthe time spent on journeys in connectionwith their missions, the privileges and im-munities provided for in article IV, sec-tions 11, 12 and 13 of the Convention onthe privileges and immunities of theUnited Nations under the conditions ofArticle IV, section 15, of that Convention,(ii) Assessors of the Court should be ac-corded, during the period of their missions,including the time spent on journeys inconnection with their missions, the privi-leges and immunities provided for in ar-ticle VI, section 22, of the Convention onthe privileges and immunities of theUnited Nations.(iii) Witnesses, experts and persons per-forming missions by order of the Courtshould be accorded, during the period oftheir missions, including the time spent onjourneys in connection with their missions,the privileges and immunities provided forin article VI, section 22, of the Conventionon the privileges and immunities of theUnited Nations.

(b) Inasmuch as the privileges and immuni-ties referred to above under (a) are grantedin the interests of the good administrationof justice and not for the personal benefit ofthe individuals themselves, the appropriateauthority should have the right and the dutyto waive the immunity in any case where, inits opinion, the immunity would impede, andcan be waived without prejudice to the courseof justice.For this purpose, the competent authority in

the case of agents, counsel and advocates repre-

senting a State will be the State concerned. Inother cases (including those of assessors of theCourt, persons performing missions by order ofthe Court and the witnesses or experts), thecompetent authority will be the InternationalCourt of Justice or, when the Court is not sit-ting, the President of the Court.

6. RECOMMENDS THAT:(a) The authorities of Members should rec-ognize and accept United Nations laissez-passer, issued by the International Court ofJustice to the members of the Court, theRegistrar and the officials of the Court, asvalid travel documents, taking into accountthe provisions of sub-paragraph (b).(b) Applications for visas (where required)from the judges of the Court and the Regis-trar should be dealt with as speedily as pos-sible. All other holders of laissez-passershould receive the same facilities when theapplications for visas are accompanied by acertificate that they are travelling on thebusiness of the Court. In addition, all hold-ers of laissez-passer should be granted fa-cilities for speedy travel.(c) Similar facilities to those specified insubparagraph (b) should be accorded to ex-perts and other persons who, though not theholders of United Nations laissez-passer de-livered by the International Court of Justice,have a certificate that they are travelling onthe business of the Court.

ANNEXEXCHANGE OF LETTERS BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTOF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ANDTHE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THENETHERLANDS

1. Letter from the President of the Interna-tional Court of Justice to the Minister forForeign Affairs of the Netherlands.

The Hague, 26 June 1946Monsieur le Ministre,

As Your Excellency is aware, the General As-sembly of the United Nations, on 19th January1946, instructed its Sixth Committee to con-sider the question of the privileges, immunitiesand facilities to be granted to the United Na-tions. In accordance with these instructions,the Sixth Committee prepared a number ofdraft resolutions. One of these relates to theadoption of a General Convention containing anArticle V, in which the privileges, immunities,exemptions and facilities to be enjoyed as ageneral rule by the officials of the Organizationare set out.

As regards the International Court of Jus-tice, the Sixth Committee devoted to it a specialresolution. After considering the question ofthe privileges and immunities to be accorded tomembers of the Court, to the Registrar and theCourt's staff, and to the agents, counsel andadvocates of the parties, the resolution recom-mended that, to ensure that the Court shall


enjoy the privileges, immunities and facilitiesnecessary for the exercise of its functions andthe fulfilment of its purpose, in the country ofits seat and elsewhere, the Court shall makerecommendations, to be forwarded to the Secre-tary-General.

The Assembly's reason for dealing separatelywith the case of the International Court of Jus-tice and for asking it to formulate proposalswas that the Court's Statute, which is annexedto, and forms an integral part of, the Charter,provides in Article 19, that, when engaged onthe business of the Court the members of theCourt shall enjoy diplomatic privileges; whileArticle 42 lays down that the agents, counseland advocates of the parties before the Courtshall enjoy the privileges and immunities nec-essary to the independent exercise of theirduties. Another reason was, doubtless, that theCourt is an organism whose members with theirsmall staff, perform duties of a special char-acter and whose requirements are consequentlydifferent from those of the other organs of theUnited Nations.

In any case, as regards Netherlands terri-tory, negotiations have taken place betweenrepresentatives of the Netherlands ForeignMinistry and representatives of the Court,with a view to giving effect in the most satis-factory way possible to the above-mentionedAssembly resolution. In accordance with the ex-cellent relations that have always existed be-tween international judicial bodies and theGovernment of the Netherlands, these conver-sations led to an agreement on the general prin-ciples that should govern the matter.

These principles are set out in the Appendixto the present note. In communicating this doc-ument to Your Excellency, I have the honourto ask you to confirm that its content is in ac-cordance with the agreement reached.

I would add the following: In the report inwhich the Court forwards its recommendationson privileges and immunities, the Secretary-General is requested to ask the General Assem-bly to declare the agreement reached betweenthe Netherlands Government and the Court tobe satisfactory. Special mention is made of thetraditional liberality of the Netherlands in thismatter.

On the other hand, I trust that you will agreewith me that the questions of precedence, for-merly dealt with in paragraph IV of the Gen-eral Principles annexed to the letters exchangedon 22 May 1928, between the President ofthe Permanent Court of International Justiceand the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Af-fairs, remains outside the present agreement.I should be grateful if you would confirm youragreement on this point.

I have etc.(signed) J. G. Guerrero

President of the InternationalCourt of Justice

APPENDIX1. As concerns the privileges, immunities, fa-

cilities and prerogatives, within the territoryof the Netherlands, of members and staff ofthe International Court of Justice, of otherthan Dutch nationality:

(a) The members of the Court will, in a gen-eral way, be accorded the same treatment asheads of diplomatic missions accredited toHer Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands.As regards the privileges, immunities and fa-cilities above-mentioned, this provision ap-plies also to the Registrar of the Court and tothe Deputy Registrar when acting for theRegistrar.(b) The Deputy Registrar of the Court will,in a general way, be accorded the same treat-ment as counsellors attached to diplomaticmissions at The Hague.The higher officials of the Court—first secre-taries and secretaries—will, in a generalway, be accorded the same treatment as sec-retaries attached to diplomatic missions atThe Hague.(c) The other officials of the Court will betreated as officials of comparable rank at-tached to diplomatic missions at The Hague.2. Members of the Court, the Registrar and

higher officials of the Court who are of theNetherlands nationality, are not answerable tothe local jurisdiction for acts performed bythem in their official capacity and within thelimits of their duties.

Netherlands nationals of whatever rank areexempt from direct taxation on the salaries al-lotted to them from the Court's budget.

3. The wives and unmarried children of mem-bers of the Court, the Registrar and the higherofficials of the Court, when of non-Netherlandsnationality shall receive the same treatment asthe head of the family if they live with him andare without profession. The household of thefamily (governesses, private secretaries, serv-ants, etc.) occupy the same position as is ac-corded in each case to the domestic staff of dip-lomatic persons of comparable rank.

4. Privileges and immunities are granted inthe interests of the administration of interna-tional justice and not in the personal interest ofthe beneficiary.

As concerns officials of the Registry, the Reg-istrar, with the President's approval, may with-draw their immunities, with due regard to theprinciple laid down in the previous paragraph.In the case of the Registrar, this duty shall restwith the Court.

5. The assessors of the Court and the agents,counsel and advocates of the parties, shall beaccorded such privileges, immunities and fa-cilities for residence and travel as may be re-quired for the independent exercise of theirfunctions.

Witnesses and experts shall be accorded theimmunities and facilities necessary for the ful-filment of their mission.


2. Letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairsof the Netherlands to the President of theInternational Court of Justice

The Hague, 26 June 1946

Monsieur le President,I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of

Your Excellency's letter of 26th June, in whichyou draw my attention to the resolution of theSixth Committee of the United Nations Gen-eral Assembly, concerning privileges and im-munities to be granted to the InternationalCourt of Justice.

I was much pleased to note that Your Ex-cellency was good enough to mention that theconversations that took place between represen-tatives of the Court and representatives of myMinistry were marked by a continuance of theexcellent relations that prevail by traditionbetween international judicial organizationsand Her Majesty's Government, and I hastento assure Your Excellency that Her Majesty'sGovernment also has a happy recollection of therelations that existed between it and the Per-manent Court of International Justice.

In accordance with Your Excellency's re-quest, I wish to confirm that the Appendix at-tached to your above-mentioned letter fullycorresponds to the agreement reached duringthe conversations and exactly reproduces theNetherlands Government's views on the sub-ject.

I note with much satisfaction that in the re-port in which the Court forwards its recom-mendations concerning privileges and immuni-ties—requesting the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations to beg the General Assembly todeclare the agreement reached between theNetherlands Government and the Court en-tirely satisfactory—special mention is made ofthe liberal traditions of the Netherlands in thismatter.

With reference to the last paragraph of YourExcellency's letter above-mentioned, I beg toconfirm that it is understood that the questionof precedence formerly dealt with in paragraphIV of the General Principles attached to theletters exchanged between the President ofthe Permanent Court of International Justiceand the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Af-fairs, dated 22 May 1928, remains outside thepresent agreement.

I have, etc.(signed) J. H. van Royen

Minister for Foreign Affairs

d. Agreement Concerning the Premises of thePeace Palace at The HagueBy resolution of February 10, 1946, the Gen-

eral Assembly had instructed the Secretary-General to conduct preliminary negotiationswith the Board of Directors of the CarnegieFoundation in order to fix the conditions onwhich the premises in the Peace Palace at The

Hague, which were required by the Interna-tional Court of Justice, could be placed at theCourt's disposal. The General Assembly ap-proved the establishment of a small negotiatingcommittee to assist the Secretary-General innegotiations with the Carnegie Foundation.

Two agreements were concluded with theCarnegie Foundation. The first provided thatthe premises in the Peace Palace were to berented to the International Court of Justice asfrom April 1, 1946, at a rent of 48,000 florinsper year on certain conditions laid down in de-tail in the agreement. The second agreementconcerned the repayment of two loans whichhad been granted by the Netherlands Govern-ment to the Carnegie Foundation to meet theexpenses of alterations to the Peace Palace. Itwas agreed that the United Nations should takeover the liability for the refunding of these twoloans, making certain yearly payments to theCarnegie Foundation until such time as theloans were completely paid off.

The Secretary-General and the negotiatingcommittee submitted to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly a jointreport on their negotiations with the CarnegieFoundation.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the mat-ter to the Fifth and Sixth Committees for jointconsideration. A Joint Sub-Committee estab-lished by the Fifth and Sixth Committeesconsidered the joint report of the Secretary-General and the negotiating committee andrecommended to the Fifth and Sixth Committeethe approval of both agreements.

The representatives of Chile and of theU.S.S.R. joined in the Sub-Committee's recom-mendation insofar as it applied to the firstagreement relating to the use of the Peace Pal-ace, but reserved their position concerning thesecond agreement, relating to the repayment ofthe loans.

The Fifth Committee at its 32nd meetingheld on November 29, 1946, considered thereport of the Joint Sub-Committee. The repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R., supported by the rep-representative of the Ukrainian S.S.R., main-tained that the second agreement should not beapproved because such approval amounted to anassumption of liabilities in connection with thewinding up of the assets and liabilities of theLeague of Nations.


On the other hand, the representatives ofChina, Norway, the Netherlands and the Unionof South Africa maintained that the agreementfor repayment of loans was part of the usecharge for the premises of the Peace Palace.These representatives maintained that it wasimpossible to separate the rental charges andthe repayment of loans, both of which were partof the same agreement. The Fifth Committeedecided by 29 votes to 9 to consider the twoagreements as a whole and not as two partsand approved both agreements by a vote of 35to 6.

The Sixth Committee considered the reportof the Joint Sub-Committee at its 20th and30th meetings, held on December 5 and 6, 1946.The representatives of the U.S.S.R. and ofChile reiterated, on behalf of their respectivedelegations, the objections which they hadraised in respect of the second agreement. Inthis they were supported by the representativeof Yugoslavia. At the request of the Soviet rep-representative the Committee voted separatelyon each of the two agreements. The first agree-ment, relating to the use of the Peace Palace,was approved unanimously. The second, con-cerning the repayment of loans, was approvedby 26 votes to 4, with 1 abstention.

On the recommendation of the Fifth andSixth Committees, the General Assembly at its55th plenary meeting on December 11, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYAPPROVES the agreement between the

United Nations and the Carnegie Foundationconcerning the use of the Peace Palace at TheHague and concerning the repayment of loansas set forth in Annexes A and B.

ANNEX AAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS ANDTHE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION CONCERNING THEUSE OF THE PREMISES OF THE PEACE PALACE AT

THE HAGUE

Article IThe Carnegie Foundation shall allow the In-

ternational Court of Justice, for so long as thesaid Court shall be sitting at The Hague, theuse of the Peace Palace as from 1 April 1946,subject to the following conditions.

Article IIThe annual contribution payable by the In-

ternational Court of Justice in respect of theuse of the Peace Palace, is hereby fixed at48,000 Netherlands florins.

Article IIIThe said contribution shall be payable in

quarterly instalments, each of one quarter ofthe total sum, on 1 July, 1 October, 1 Januaryand 1 April. The first payment shall be madeon 1 July 1946,

Article IVThe Court shall have the permanent and ex-

clusive use of the following rooms:Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 27, 28, 38, 200, 201, 202,

203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 213,214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223,224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 301,302, 303 and 306, as well as the room known asthe "Refectory" and the adjacent premises ap-pertaining thereto.

Whilst the Court and its Chambers are insession, the Court shall have the use of theGreat Court Room (No. 2) with the ante-cham-ber (No. 3) as well as of rooms Nos. 1 and 25.On days on which the Court is not meeting inpublic, the said premises may be used by otherinstitutions.

The Court shall be entitled to the joint use ofall the other premises of the Palace necessaryfor its work, in accordance with agreements tobe concluded in each particular case with theFoundation.

Members of the Court and its officials shallenjoy on the same footing as the other membersand officials of the other institutions occupyingthe Peace Palace:

(1) The entrances and exits, vestibules, cor-ridors and stairways;(2) The cloak-rooms and lavatories adjacentto the premises occupied;(3) The lifts and similar parts of the Palaceintended for general use.

Article VThe existing Library shall be kept carefully

up-to-date and supplied with additions as nec-essary. The Foundation will give favourableconsideration to any suggestion on this subjectfrom the Court or its members.

The Secretary-General expresses the hopethat the Foundation will assign adequate fundsfor bringing and keeping the library at thePeace Palace up-to-date.

Members and officials of the Court may con-sult books in the Library at all times providedthey comply with the regulations in force;apart from the hours during which the Libraryis open to the public, they shall have accessthereto from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on everyworking day during or immediately beforemeetings of the Court or its Chambers.

Article VIFurniture and other objects bought by the

League of Nations on behalf of the PermanentCourt of International Justice, and now in-tended for the use of the International Court ofJustice, shall be the property of the United Na-tions and shall, where necessary, be replaced atthe expense of the United Nations.


Should any pieces of furniture belonging tothe Foundation and installed in premises ofwhich the Court has the permanent or tempo-rary use become unusable, they shall be re-placed at the Foundation's expense.

Article VIIThe costs of rental and maintenance of tele-

phones connecting the premises of which theCourt has the permanent or temporary use,both with one another and with the town, aswell as the costs of using the telephone ex-change which is not directly connected withthe town, shall be borne by the Foundation.

In the absence of an agreement to the con-trary in each particular case, the said exchangeshall be in operation until 6 p.m. and, whilstthe Court or its Chambers are in session, until7 p.m.

It is understood that the expenses referredto above are entirely covered by the UnitedNations contribution referred to in Article IIabove.

Article VIIIThe United Nations assumes no responsibil-

ity for the maintenance of the building and thegrounds appertaining thereto.

The heating, lighting and cleaning of thoseparts of the building of which the Court hasthe permanent or temporary use shall be de-frayed by the Foundation. The temperature ofthe premises used as offices or conference roomsshall not be below 18° Centigrade. The clean-ing shall be carried out in such conditions andat such hours that the occupants are not dis-turbed in their work.

The Foundation shall bear the costs arisingout of the municipal water supply used by mem-bers or officials of the Court.

It is understood that the sum referred to inArticle II above constitutes full and completepayment of the charges herein referred to.

Article IXThe service personnel hired by the Founda-

tion shall be at the Court's disposal under thesame conditions as it is at the disposal of anyother institution established in the Peace Pal-ace.

It is agreed that the working hours of atleast one member of this personnel shall be de-termined with due regard, so far as possible, tothe service requirements of the InternationalCourt of Justice.

The Court shall be free to engage at its owncost and for its own exclusive service officialsbelonging to the category of service personnel.Such officials shall in no way be under the au-thority of any other institution.

It is agreed that the expenses in respect ofadditional service personnel engaged as a re-sult of the establishment of the InternationalCourt of Justice at the Peace Palace are fullycovered by the contribution referred to in Ar-ticle II above.

Article XThe officials of the Foundation shall hand

without delay to the chief registry clerk of theCourt or his deputy any postal or telegraphiccommunication delivered to the Peace Palaceand addressed to the Court or to one of itsmembers or officials.

Article XIWhile the Court or its Chambers are in ses-

sion, paying or other visitors not connectedwith one of the institutions established at thePalace may not, without agreement to the con-trary in each particular case, enter the PeacePalace except between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Theymay not enter rooms which they have been for-bidden to enter by the competent officials ofthe Court.

Article XIIAny payment which may be required and

levied by the Netherlands authorities, whethergovernmental or municipal, put of funds paidto the Foundation by the United Nations or onthe occasion of the payment of such funds, orin respect of the Peace Palace or the groundsappertaining thereto, shall be defrayed by theFoundation.

Article XIIIThe present agreement is concluded for a pe-

riod of three years and shall be automaticallyrenewable for further periods of one year un-less prior notice of termination is given by oneof the Parties within three months precedingthe expiration of each period.

In cases of differences of opinion regardingthe possible modification of Article II, the Par-ties shall have recourse to arbitration.

Article XIVIt is expressly understood that the question

of the establishment of the International Courtof Justice at the Peace Palace exclusively con-cerns the United Nations and the CarnegieFoundation, and is consequently outside thejurisdiction of any other organization; theFoundation declares its readiness to accept allthe responsibilities arising out of this prin-ciple.

Article XVThe present agreement shall enter into force

immediately upon its approval by the GeneralAssembly of the United Nations.

ANNEX BAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONSAND THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION CONCERNING

THE REPAYMENT OF LOANSTo enable the Carnegie Foundation to refund

to the Netherlands Government the balances ofthe loans contracted by it in 1927 and 1932 forthe purpose of making certain alterations to thepremises of the Permanent Court of Interna-tional Justice, which are now to be used by theInternational Court of Justice, the United Na-tions shall pay to the Carnegie Foundation thefollowing sums:


1. On 1 July 1946, and thereafter every sixmonths, a sum of 5,000 Netherlands florinsuntil the total amount of 125,000 florins hasbeen refunded;2. On 1 July 1946, and thereafter every sixmonths, a sum of 5,000 Netherlands florins,until the total amount of 170,000 florins hasbeen refunded, followed by a final instalmentof 1,249.26 florins, payable on 1 July 1963.This obligation shall cease if the Carnegie

Foundation gives the International Court ofJustice notice of termination, in accordancewith Article XIII, paragraph 1 of the Agree-ment concerning the use of the Peace Palace.

The present agreement shall come into forceon the date of its approval by the General As-sembly of the United Nations.

e. Application of Articles 11 and 12 of theStatute of the International Court of JusticeDuring the election of the members of the

International Court of Justice differences ofopinion had arisen as to the proper procedureto be followed by the General Assembly (andthe Security Council) under the Statute of theCourt.1 These differences had led to a sugges-tion that the Court itself should be asked to givean advisory opinion as to the requirements ofArticles 11 and 12. The General Assembly, how-ever, had decided to refer the question to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly for consideration by the Sixth Com-mittee (Legal).

Accordingly, the General Assembly at its46th plenary meeting on October 31, 1946, re-ferred the matter to the Sixth Committee. Therepresentative of the United States submittedan interpretation of Articles 11 and 12 and rec-ommended that the Sixth Committee adopt thisinterpretation. A number of representativesexpressed their willingness to accept the UnitedStates interpretation if the Committee wouldagree to it unanimously, in which case theywould not insist that the matter be referred tothe International Court of Justice for an advis-ory opinion. Other representatives consideredthat it would be preferable in any case to askthe Court for an advisory opinion.

At its 17th meeting on November 11, 1946,the Sixth Committee unanimously adopted theUnited States interpretation and drafted a ruleof procedure for adoption by the General As-sembly. The Committee recommended that theGeneral Assembly should adopt this rule pro-visionally and subject to the concurrence of theSecurity Council. At the present stage, theCommittee recommended, no action should be

taken to request an advisory opinion on thematter from the International Court of Justice.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Com-mittee the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYAPPROVES the report on the application of

Articles 11 and 12 of the Statute of the Inter-national Court of Justice presented by the SixthCommittee.

RESOLVES to adopt provisionally and sub-ject to the concurrence of the Security Councilthe following rule of procedure:

Rule 99AAny meeting of the General Assembly held in

pursuance of the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice for the purpose of the electionof members of the Court shall continue until asmany candidates as are required for all theseats to be filled have obtained in one or moreballots an absolute majority of votes.

TRANSMITS the foregoing rule to the Se-curity Council for its consideration.

By a letter of June 10, 1947, the President ofthe Security Council requested the Secretary-General to transmit to the General Assembly,at its next session, a resolution concerning theapplication of Articles 11 and 12 of the Statuteof the Court adopted by the Security Council atits 130th meeting on June 4, 1947.

f. Conditions on which Switzerland may becomea Party to the Statute of the InternationalCourt of JusticeBy a letter of October 26, 1946, from the

Head of the Swiss Federal Political Depart-ment, the Swiss Federal Council expressed adesire to be informed of the conditions onwhich Switzerland could become a party to theStatute of the International Court of Justice.According to Article 93, paragraph 2, of theUnited Nations Charter the conditions must bedetermined by the General Assembly upon therecommendation of the Security Council.

At its 80th meeting on November 15, 1946,the Security Council adopted the recommenda-tions of its Committee of Experts concerningthis matter.

At its 50th plenary meeting on December 7,1946, the General Assembly referred the Se-curity Council's report to the Sixth Committee

1 See p. 62.


(Legal). At its 32nd meeting on December 9,1946, the Sixth Committee decided to recom-mend to the General Assembly the adoption ofthe Security Council's recommendations andalso submitted a draft resolution for adoptionby the General Assembly.

At it 56th plenary meeting on December 11,1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the resolution recommended by theSixth Committee, which read as follows:

The Chief of the Swiss Federal Political De-partment, in a letter forwarded to the Secre-tary-General of the United Nations on 26 Oc-tober 1946, by the Swiss Consul-General inNew York, expressed the desire of the SwissFederal Council to ascertain the conditions onwhich Switzerland could, in pursuance of Ar-ticle 93, paragraph 2, of the Charter, becomea party to the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice.

Article 93, paragraph 2, of the Charter pro-vides that a State which is not a Member of theUnited Nations may become a party to theStatute of the Court on conditions to be deter-mined in each case by the General Assemblyupon the recommendation of the Security Coun-cil.

The Security Council considered and adoptedat its eightieth meeting, held on 15 November1946, a report and recommendation on this mat-ter from its Committee of Experts.1

The General Assembly has considered andadopted, on the recommendation of its SixthCommittee, the report and recommendation ofthe Security Council.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THEREFORE DETER-MINES, in pursuance of Article 93, paragraph2, of the Charter, and upon the recommenda-tion of the Security Council, the conditionson which Switzerland may become a party tothe Statute of the International Court ofJustice, as follows:

Switzerland will become a party to the Stat-ute of the Court on the date of the depositwith the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations of an instrument, signed on behalfof the Government of Switzerland and rati-fied as may be required by Swiss constitu-tional law, containing:

(a) Acceptance of the provisions of theStatute of the International Court of Jus-tice;(b) Acceptance of all the obligations of aMember of the United Nations and underArticle 94 of the Charter;(c) An undertaking to contribute to theexpenses of the Court such equitableamount as the General Assembly shall as-sess from time to time after consultationwith the Swiss Government.

g. Authorization of the Economic and SocialCouncil to request Advisory Opinions of theInternational Court of JusticeOn October 21, 1946, during its third session,

the Economic and Social Council had adopted aresolution recommending that in accordancewith Article 96, paragraph 2, of the Charterthe General Assembly authorize the Council torequest the International Court of Justice togive an advisory opinion on any legal questionarising within the scope of its activities.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred the Eco-nomic and Social Council's resolution to theSixth Committee (Legal), which considered itat its 20th meeting on November 18, 1946.

The representative of Saudi Arabia ex-pressed the view that the principal function ofthe Court was to dispense international justicerather than to give advisory opinions. The Gen-eral Assembly should be careful not to overbur-den the Court with requests for advisory opin-ions. The General Assembly, therefore, shouldnot, the representative of Saudi Arabia consid-ered, give blanket authorization to request ad-visory opinions to the Economic and SocialCouncil or any other body, but authorizationshould be granted for each individual case.

A number of representatives pointed out thaton the other hand the Court itself could refuseto give an advisory opinion and that under theCharter the Economic and Social Council (orany other organ) could ask for advisory opin-ions only on matters arising within the scopeof its activities.

By 34 votes to 0, the Sixth Committeeadopted a resolution authorizing the Economicand Social Council to request advisory opinionsfrom the International Court of Justice. TheGeneral Assembly at its 55th plenary meetingon December 11, 1946, unanimously adoptedthe resolution, which read as follows:

The General Assembly, under Article 96,paragraph 2, of the Charter, is empowered toauthorize other organs of the United Nationsand specialized agencies to request advisoryopinions of the International Court of Justiceon legal questions arising within the scope oftheir activities.

The Economic and Social Council, as oneof the principal organs of the United Nationsand by virtue of the functions and powers con-ferred upon it under Chapter X of the Charterof the United Nations, has wide responsibilities


in diverse fields of economic and social co-opera-tion, in the fulfilment of which it may need torequest advisory opinions of the InternationalCourt of Justice.

In addition, by virtue of the terms of Ar-ticle 63 of the Charter, the function of co-ordi-nating the activities of specialized agenciesbrought into relationship with the United Na-tions has been conferred upon the Economic andSocial Council. To enable the Council ade-quately to discharge its co-ordinating respon-sibility, it should be authorized to request ad-visory opinions on all legal questions within itsscope, including legal questions concerning mu-tual relationships of the United Nations andthe specialized agencies.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THEREFORE AUTHO-RIZES the Economic and Social Council torequest advisory opinions of the InternationalCourt of Justice on legal questions arisingwithin the scope of the activities of theCouncil.

h. Accessions to the Convention on the Privi-leges and Immunities of the United NationsDuring the first part of its first session the

General Assembly had adopted a Convention onthe Privileges and Immunities of the UnitedNations. The Secretary-General submitted areport to the second part of the first session ofthe General Assembly on the state of acces-sions to the Convention, which the General As-sembly referred to the sixth Committee(Legal).

The question was discussed by a Sub-Com-mittee of the Sixth Committee, which throughits Rapporteur submitted a draft resolutionwhich the Sixth Committee adopted unani-mously.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Commit-tee the General Assembly unanimously adoptedthe resolution, which read as follows:

The General Assembly, on 13 February 1946,approved the Convention on the Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations and proposedit for accession by all Members.

During the second part of its first session,the General Assembly considered a report bythe Secretary-General on the state of accessionsto this Convention.

It is essential for the efficient exercise of thefunctions of the Organization and the fulfil-ment of its purposes that the provisions of theConvention be brought into force in all Mem-ber States. So long as the Convention is notfully in effect there is danger of confusion, ofa lack of co-ordination between the rules ap-plied in various States, and the probability ofjudicial decisions and administrative acts ad-versely affecting the position of the United Na-tions in the country of the headquarters andelsewhere.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,INVITES Members of the United Nations to

accede at as early a date as possible to the Con-vention on the Privileges and Immunities ofthe United Nations:

RECOMMENDS that Members, pending theiraccession to the Convention, should follow,so far as possible, the provisions of theConvention in their relations with the UnitedNations, its officials, the representatives of itsMembers and experts on missions for the Or-ganization.

i. Interim Arrangement on the Privileges andImmunities of the United Nations concludedwith the Swiss Federal Council and Agree-ment Concerning the Ariana Site

The Secretary-General had submitted to thesecond part of the first session of the GeneralAssembly a report on the negotiations with theSwiss Federal authorities in connection withthe transfer to the United Nations of the Gen-eva buildings and certain other assets of theLeague of Nations.

The Secretary-General's report contained theInterim Arrangement on Privileges and Im-munities of the United Nations in Switzerlandand the Agreement Concerning the Ariana Sitewhich were drawn up in April 1946 by theUnited Nations Negotiating Committee onLeague of Nations Assets and the Swiss Fed-eral Council, and which entered into force onthe date of their signature by the Secretary-General, i.e. July 1, 1946.

The report also contained a review of laterdiscussions between the Secretary-General andthe Swiss Federal authorities and the text oftwo letters dated October 22, 1946, from theHead of the Swiss Political Department, thefirst dealing with a point of interpretationconcerning the Interim Arrangement on Priv-ileges and Immunities and the second dealingwith the question of radio facilities for theUnited Nations in Switzerland.

The General Assembly, at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred the Sec-retary-General's report to the Sixth Commit-tee (Legal). The report was given detailed con-sideration by a Sub-Committee of the SixthCommittee.

The Sub-Committee was of the opinion thatthe Interim Arrangement on Privileges andImmunities and the Agreement on the ArianaSite were entirely satisfactory, and that an ex-pression of the General Assembly's apprecia-tion of the results obtained should be conveyed


to the Secretary-General and to the Negotiat-ing Committee on League of Nations Assets, aswell as to the Swiss Federal authorities. TheSub-Committee further considered that it couldrecommend approval of the interpretation ofthe Interim Arrangement contained in the let-ter from the Head of the Federal Political De-partment referred to above.

The Sub-Committee did not feel it necessaryto discuss the matter of radio facilities for theUnited Nations in Switzerland at this stage, inthe hope that assurances concerning the trans-fer to the United Nations of wave-lengths pre-viously registered for the use of Radio-Nationsmight shortly be received from the Swiss Fed-eral authorities, as requested by the Secretary-General. Once the assurances had been received,the matter of radio facilities would fall en-tirely within the competence of the Fifth Com-mittee (Administrative and Budgetary).

At its 23rd meeting on November 28, 1946,the Sixth Committee unanimously approvedthe report of the Sub-Committee.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Commit-tee the General Assembly at its 65th plenarymeeting on December 14, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,HAS TAKEN NOTE with satisfaction of the

report by the Secretary-General on the negoti-ations with the Swiss Federal Council;

CONSIDERS that the documents set out inthat report, including the letter of 22 October1946 from the Head of the Swiss Federal Po-litical Department relating to the use of theUnited Nations buildings in Geneva, constitutea satisfactory basis for the activities of theUnited Nations in Switzerland;

APPROVES THEREFORE the arrangements con-cluded with the Swiss Federal Council.j. Arrangements required as a result of the

Establishment of the Permanent Headquar-ters of the United Nations in the UnitedStates of AmericaBy resolution of February 13, 1946, the Gen-

eral Assembly had entrusted the Secretary-General with the task of negotiating with thecompetent authorities of the United States ofAmerica the arrangements required as a resultof the establishment of the permanent head-quarters of the United Nations in the UnitedStates.

The resolution of February 13, 1946, alsoprovided that in these negotiations the Secre-tary-General should be assisted by a commit-tee of ten members.

The General Assembly referred to the SixthCommittee a joint report by the Secretary-Gen-eral and the Negotiating Committee on thenegotiations that had taken place with theauthorities of the United States of America.The negotiations had resulted in a draft agree-ment making the necessary arrangements forthe immunities, privileges and facilities re-quired by the United Nations.

In its report to the General Assembly theSixth Committee stated that these negotiationshad been based on the assumption that the per-manent headquarters of the United Nationswould be located in a rural area. The decisionof the General Assembly, however, that the per-manent headquarters should be located in theCity of New York would necessitate some modi-fication of the draft agreement in order to adaptit to the circumstances of an urban site. Fur-ther negotiations would therefore be necessary,and the agreement could not be submitted forthe approval of the General Assembly until itssecond session.

The Sixth Committee therefore recom-mended and the General Assembly at its 65thplenary meeting on December 14, 1946, adoptedthe following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TAKES NOTE of thejoint report by the Secretary-General and theNegotiating Committee on the negotiationswith the authorities of the United States ofAmerica concerning the arrangements re-quired as a result of the establishment of theseat of the United Nations in the UnitedStates of America:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, having decidedthat the permanent headquarters of theUnited Nations shall be located in the City ofNew York, recognizes that any agreement withthe United States relating to the permanentheadquarters will need to be adapted to the cir-cumstances of this site.

RESOLVES, THEREFORE:1. That the Secretary-General be authorized

to negotiate and conclude with the appropriateauthorities of the United States of America anagreement concerning the arrangements re-quired as a result of the establishment of thepermanent headquarters of the United Nationsin the City of New York;

2. That in negotiating this agreement theSecretary-General shall be guided by the pro-visions of the draft agreement set forth in doc-ument A/67;

3. That the agreement referred to in para-graph 1 shall not come into force until ap-proved by the General Assembly;


4. That, pending the coming into force of theagreement referred to in paragraph 1, the Sec-retary-General be authorized to negotiate andconclude arrangements with the appropriateauthorities of the United States of America todetermine on a provisional basis the privileges,immunities and facilities needed in connectionwith the permanent headquarters of the UnitedNations. In negotiating these arrangements,the Secretary-General shall be guided by theprovisions of the draft agreement set forth indocument A/67;

5. That the Government of the United Statesof America be requested to take the necessarysteps as soon as possible to put into effect theConvention on the Privileges and Immunitiesof the United Nations, and to give effect tosuch arrangements as may be reached in ac-cordance with paragraph 4 of this resolution.

In February 1947 negotiations took place be-tween officials of the United Nations and repre-sentatives of the United States Federal author-ities and of the City and State of New Yorkwhich resulted in agreement on most of theprovisions of the arrangements.

An exchange of views took place later on asmall number of remaining points. On June 26,1947, the text of an agreement between theUnited Nations and the United States wassigned by the Secretary-General and the Sec-retary of State of the United States. This agree-ment was to be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approvalduring the second regular session.

k. Official Seal and Emblem of theUnited NationsThe Secretary-General of the United Nations

submitted a report to the second part of thefirst session of the General Assembly on theofficial seal and emblem of the United Nations.

The General Assembly referred the report tothe Sixth Committee (Legal), which consideredit at its 21st and 25th meeting on November 20and 30, 1946. The Secretary-General's reportstated that the symbol which at present ap-peared on the Charter of the United Nations,as well as on badges, passes, letterheads, etc.,of the United Nations was a modification ofthe design created by members of the Presen-tation Branch of the United States Office ofStrategic Services in April 1945 in response toa request for a button design for the San Fran-cisco Conference.

The Secretary-General urged that it was de-sirable for the General Assembly to adopt thisor any other design of its choice as the officialseal and emblem of the United Nations. He

further recommended that the General Assem-bly take appropriate measures for the legal pro-tection of whatever emblem it might chooseagainst use by unauthorized private persons orsocieties. The Secretary-General therefore sub-mitted a draft resolution recommending appro-priate national legislative action by the govern-ments of all the Member States.

The Sixth Committee after due considerationrecommended that the General Assembly adopt,with slight modifications, the seal and emblemof the United Nations presently in use, the de-sign of which was described as follows:

A map of the world representing an azi-muthal equidistant projection centered on theNorth Pole, inscribed in a wreath consistingof crossed conventionalized branches of theolive tree; in gold on a field of smoke blue withall water areas in white.

The projection of the map extends to 60°south latitude and includes five concentric cir-cles.

On the basis of the Secretary-General's rec-ommendations, the Sixth Committee furtheradopted a resolution concerning the legal pro-tection of the seal and emblem of the UnitedNations.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 50th plenarymeeting on December 7, 1946, unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1. RECOGNIZES that it is desirable to ap-

prove a distinctive emblem of the United Na-tions and to authorize its use for the officialseal of the Organization;

RESOLVES THEREFORE that the design re-produced below shall be the emblem and dis-tinctive sign of the United Nations and shallbe used for the official seal of the Organization.

2. CONSIDERS that it is necessary to pro-tect the name of the Organization and its dis-tinctive emblem and official seal;

RECOMMENDS THEREFORE:(a) that Members of the United Nationsshould take such legislative or other appro-priate measures as are necessary to preventthe use, without authorization by the Sec-retary-General of the United Nations, and inparticular for commercial purposes by meansof trade marks or commercial labels, of theemblem, the official seal and the name of theUnited Nations, and of abbreviations of thatname through the use of its initial letters;(b) that the prohibition should take effect assoon as practicable but in any event not laterthan the expiration of two years from theadoption of this resolution by the General As-sembly;


(c) that each Member of the United Nations,pending the putting into effect within its ter-ritory of any such prohibition, should use itsbest endeavours to prevent any use, withoutauthorization by the Secretary-General ofthe United Nations, of the emblem, name, orinitials of the United Nations, and in par-ticular for commercial purposes by meansof trade marks or commercial labels.

OFFICIAL SEAL AND EMBLEM OF THEUNITED NATIONS

l. Registration and Publication of Treaties andInternational Agreements

By a resolution of February 10, 1946, theGeneral Assembly had instructed the Secretary-General "to submit to the General Assemblyproposals for detailed regulations and othermeasures designed to give effect to the pro-visions of Article 102 of the Charter."1 Ac-cordingly the Secretary-General submitted tothe second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly draft regulations for theregistration, filing and publication of treatiesand international agreements. These draftregulations were referred to the Sixth Commit-tee (Legal) for consideration.

The Sixth Committee referred these draftregulations to a Sub-Committee and delega-tions not represented on this Sub-Committeewere invited to submit in writing any amend-ments they wished to propose to the regula-tions. Proposed amendments were receivedand considered by the Sub-Committee, fromthe delegations of Argentina, France, Poland,Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugo-slavia.

At its 33rd meeting on December 13, 1946,the Sixth Committee considered and unani-mously adopted the report of the Sub-Commit-tee and the revised regulations which the latterhad submitted.

Acting upon the recommendation of theSixth Committee the General Assembly at its65th plenary meeting on December 14, 1946,unanimously adopted the following resolutionand regulations:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYCONSIDERING it desirable to establish rules

for the application of Article 102 of theCharter of the United Nations which providesas follows:

"1. Every treaty and every internationalagreement entered into by any Member of

the United Nations after the present Chartercomes into force shall as soon as possible beregistered with the Secretariat and publishedby it."2. No party to any such treaty or interna-tional agreement which has not been regis-tered in accordance with the provisions ofparagraph 1 of this Article may invoke thattreaty or agreement before any organ of theUnited Nations."RECOGNIZING, in making provision there-

for, the importance of orderly registration andpublication of such treaties and internationalagreements and the maintenance of preciserecords;

ADOPTS accordingly, having given consid-eration to the proposals of the Secretary-Gen-eral submitted pursuant to the resolution of theGeneral Assembly of 10 February 1946, thefollowing regulations:

PART ONEREGISTRATION

Article 11. Every treaty or international agreement,

whatever its form and descriptive name enteredinto by one or more Members of the UnitedNations after 24 October 1945, the date of thecoming into force of the Charter, shall as soonas possible be registered with the Secretariat inaccordance with these regulations.

2. Registration shall not take place until thetreaty or international agreement has come intoforce between two or more of the partiesthereto.

3. Such registration may be effected by anyparty or in accordance with Article 4 of theseregulations.

4. The Secretariat shall record the treatiesand international agreements so registered ina Register established for that purpose.

Article 21. When a treaty or international agreement

has been registered with the Secretariat, acertified statement regarding any subsequentaction which effects a change in the partiesthereto, or the terms, scope or applicationthereof, shall also be registered with the Secre-tariat.

2. The Secretariat shall record the certifiedstatement so registered in the Register estab-lished under article 1 of these regulations.

Article 31. Registration by a party, in accordance with

article 1 of these regulations, relieves all otherparties of the obligation to register.

2. Registration effected in accordance witharticle 4 of these regulations relieves all par-ties of the obligation to register.

Article 41. Every treaty or international agreement

subject to article 1 of these regulations shallbe registered ex officio by the United Nationsin the following cases:

1 See p. 109.


(a) Where the United Nations is a party tothe treaty or agreement;(b) Where the United Nations has been au-thorized by the treaty or agreement to effectregistration.2. A treaty or international agreement sub-

ject to article 1 of these regulations may beregistered with the Secretariat by a specializedagency in the following cases:

(a) Where the constituent instrument of thespecialized agency provides for such regis-tration;(b) Where the treaty or agreement has beenregistered with the specialized agency pursu-ant to the terms of its constituent instru-ment;(c) Where the specialized agency has beenauthorized by the treaty or agreement toeffect registration.

Article 51. A party or specialized agency, registering

a treaty or international agreement under ar-ticle 1 or 4 of these regulations, shall certifythat the text is a true and complete copy thereofand includes all reservations made by partiesthereto.

2. The certified copy shall reproduce the textin all the languages in which the treaty oragreement was concluded and shall be accom-panied by two additional copies and by a state-ment setting forth, in respect of each party:

(a) The date on which the treaty or agree-ment has come into force;(b) The method whereby it has come intoforce (for example: by signature, by ratifi-cation or acceptance, by accession, etc.).

Article 6The date of receipt by the Secretariat of the

United Nations of the treaty or internationalagreement registered shall be deemed to be thedate of registration, provided that the date ofregistration of a treaty or agreement regis-tered ex officio by the United Nations shall bethe date on which the treaty or agreement firstcame into force between two or more of theparties thereto.

Article 7A certificate of registration signed by the

Secretary-General or his representative shallbe issued to the registering party or agency andalso to all signatories and parties to the treatyor international agreement registered.

Article 8I. The Register shall be kept in the five official

languages of the United Nations. The Registershall comprise in respect of each treaty or in-ternational agreement a record of:

(a) The serial number given in the order ofregistration;(b) The title given to the instrument by theparties;(c) The names of the parties between whomit was concluded;

(d) The dates of signature, ratification oracceptance, exchange of ratifications, acces-session, and entry into force;(e) The duration;(f) The language or languages in which itwas drawn up;(g) The name of the party or specializedagency which registers the instrument andthe date of such registration;(h) Particulars of publication in the treatyseries of the United Nations.2. Such information shall also be included in

the Register in regard to the statements regis-tered under article 2 of these regulations.

3. The texts registered shall be marked nevarietur by the Secretary-General or his rep-resentative, and shall remain in the custody ofthe Secretariat.

Article 9The Secretary-General, or his representative,

shall issue certified extracts from the Registerat the request of any Member of the UnitedNations or any party to the treaty or interna-tional agreement concerned. In other cases hemay issue such extracts at his discretion.

PART TwoFILING AND RECORDING

Article 10The Secretariat shall file and record treaties

and international agreements, other than thosesubject to registration under article 1 of theseregulations, if they fall in the following cate-gories :

(a) Treaties or international agreements en-tered into by the United Nations or by oneor more of the specialized agencies;(b) Treaties or international agreementstransmitted by a Member of the United Na-tions which were entered into before the com-ing into force of the Charter, but which werenot included in the treaty series of theLeague of Nations;(c) Treaties or international agreementstransmitted by a party not a Member of theUnited Nations which were entered into be-fore or after the coming into force of theCharter which were not included in thetreaty series of the League of Nations, pro-vided, however, that this paragraph shall beapplied with full regard to the provisions ofthe resolution of the General Assembly of 10February 1946 set forth in the Annex tothese regulations.1

Article 11The provisions of articles 2, 5, and 8 of these

regulations shall apply, mutatis mutandis, toall treaties and international agreements filedand recorded under article 10 of these regula-tions.

1 The Annex consisted of the resolution of theGeneral Assembly reproduced on p. 109.


PART THREEPUBLICATIONArticle 12

1. The Secretariat shall publish as soon aspossible in a single series every treaty or in-ternational agreement which is registered, orfiled and recorded, in the original language orlanguages followed by a translation in Eng-lish and in French. The certified statements re-ferred to in article 2 of these regulations shallbe published in the same manner.

2. The Secretariat shall, when publishing atreaty or agreement under paragraph 1 of thisarticle, include the following information: theserial number in order of registration or re-cording; the date of registration or recording;the name of the party or specialized agencywhich registered it or transmitted it for filing,and in respect of each party the date on whichit has come into force and the method wherebyit has come into force.

Article 13The Secretariat shall publish every month a

statement of the treaties and internationalagreements registered, or filed and recorded,during the preceding month, giving the datesand numbers of registration and recording.

Article 14The Secretariat shall send to all Members of

the United Nations the series referred to inarticle 12 and the monthly statement referredto in Article 13 of these regulations.

In accordance with the above regulationsadopted by the General Assembly 48 treatiesand agreements were received for registrationup to May 31, 1947 and 28 for filing andrecording. As of June 30, 1947, the first volumeof treaties was in process of publication.

m. Affirmation of the Principles of Interna-tional Law Recognized by the Charter ofthe Nürnberg Tribunal

In a draft resolution submitted to theSixth Committee in the course of its consid-eration of the question of the progressivedevelopment of international law and itscodification, the representative of the UnitedStates proposed that the General Assemblyreaffirm the principles of international lawrecognized by the Charter of the NürnbergTribunal and the Judgment of the Tribunaland that the General Assembly should directthe Committee on the Codification of Inter-national Law (which it was proposed toestablish) to treat as a matter of primaryimportance the formulation of the principlesof the Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal andof the Tribunal's judgment in the context of

a general codification of offences against thepeace and security of mankind or in an inter-national code.

On the recommendation of its Sub-Commit-tee which was considering the progressivedevelopment of international law the SixthCommittee at its 32nd meeting on December9, 1946, adopted a resolution based in themain on the draft resolution submitted bythe representative of the United States.

At its 55th plenary meeting on December11, 1946, the General Assembly unanimouslyadopted the resolution, which read as fol-lows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,RECOGNIZES the obligation laid upon it by

Article 13, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph a,of the Charter, to initiate studies and makerecommendations for the purpose of encour-aging the progressive development of inter-national law and its codification;

TAKES NOTE of the Agreement for theestablishment of an International MilitaryTribunal for the prosecution and punishmentof the major war criminals of the EuropeanAxis signed in London on 8 August 1945, andof the Charter annexed thereto, and of thefact that similar principles have been adoptedin the Charter of the International MilitaryTribunal for the trial of the major war crim-inals in the Far East, proclaimed at Tokyoon 19 January 1946.

THEREFORE,AFFIRMS the principles of international law

recognized by the Charter of the NürnbergTribunal and the judgment of the Tribunal;

DIRECTS the Committee on the codificationof international law established by the reso-lution of the General Assembly of 11 December1946, to treat as a matter of primary impor-tance plans for the formulation, in the contextof a general codification of offences against thepeace and security of mankind, or of an Inter-national Criminal Code, of the principlesrecognized in the Charter of the NürnbergTribunal and in the judgment of the Tribunal.n. The Crime of Genocide

The General Assembly at its 47th plenarymeeting on November 9, 1946, referred to theSixth Committee a draft resolution submittedby the representatives of Cuba, India andPanama, drawing the attention of the Eco-nomic and Social Council to the crime ofgenocide and inviting the Council to studythe problem and to report on the possibilityof declaring genocide an "internationalcrime".

The Sixth Committee discussed the ques-tion at its 22nd, 23rd and 24th meetings on


November 22, 28 and 29 respectively. Therepresentative of Cuba stated that at theNürnberg trials it had not been possible topunish certain cases of genocide becausethey had been committed before the begin-ning of the war. Fearing that such crimesmight remain unpunished in the future owingto the principle of non crimen sine lege,the representative of Cuba urged that geno-cide be declared an international crime.

The representative of the United Kingdomexpressed the view that the General Assemblyshould not merely recommend to the Eco-nomic and Social Council that it study thematter, but should clearly state at once thataggressive war and genocide constitutedpunishable crimes. International law shouldlimit the omnipotence of certain States overtheir citizens and in certain cases protectthe citizens against their own government. Therepresentative of the United Kingdom there-fore submitted an amendment to the draftresolution before the Committee to the effectthat the General Assembly "declares thatgenocide is an international crime for whichthe principal authors, accomplices andStates concerned will be held responsible."

The representative of France stated thatFrench law did not recognize criminal re-sponsibility on the part of States. He there-fore wished to amend the United Kingdomtext to read as follows: "The General Assem-bly . . . declares that genocide is an inter-national crime for which the principal au-thors and accomplices, whether statesmenor private individuals, should be punished."

The representative of India proposed thata recommendation should be added to theUnited Kingdom text to the effect that:

The General Assembly requests Membersto call upon their Governments to ensure thatnational laws treat the crime of genocide onan equal footing with piracy, traffic in wom-en, children and slaves, and other crimeswhich have always been recognized as violat-ing the dignity of human beings.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. pro-posed that the Economic and Social Councilbe asked to undertake preparatory studieswith a view to drafting an international con-vention against attacks on particular racialgroups.

The representative of Saudi Arabia urgedthe desirability of agreeing to a protocol ongenocide similar to the protocols dealing with

narcotics and piracy. He submitted to theSixth Committee a draft protocol to serve asa basis of consideration. Such a protocol, theSaudi-Arabian representative stated, shouldcontain:

(1) a definition of genocide;(2) an enumeration of all the acts that

fall within the definition;(3) provisions for assuring the prevention

and repression of genocide.

The representative of Poland submitted aproposal for the punishment of those respon-sible for the propagation and disseminationof hatred against national, racial, or relig-ious groups as a step preparatory to thecrime of genocide. The representative ofChile submitted an amendment combiningseveral of the amendments submitted byother representatives.

At its 24th meeting on November 29, 1946,the Sixth Committee decided to entrust a Sub-Committee with the task of drafting a unani-mously acceptable resolution on the basis ofvarious proposals submitted. The report anddraft resolution submitted accordingly bythe Sub-Committee were unanimously adoptedby the Sixth Committee at its 32nd meetingon December 9, 1946.

On the recommendation of the Sixth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 55thplenary meeting on December 11, 1946, unani-mously adopted the following resolution:

Genocide is a denial of the right of ex-istence of entire human groups, as homicideis the denial of the right to live of individualhuman beings; such denial of the right ofexistence shocks the conscience of mankind,results in great losses to humanity in theform of cultural and other contributions rep-resented by these human groups, and is con-trary to moral law and to the spirit and aimsof the United Nations.

Many instances of such crimes of genocidehave occurred when racial, religious, politicaland other groups have been destroyed, en-tirely or in part.

The punishment of the crime of genocideis a matter of international concern.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,AFFIRMS that genocide is a crime under

international law which the civilized worldcondemns, and for the commission of whichprincipals and accomplices—whether privateindividuals, public officials or statesmen, andwhether the crime is committed on religious,racial, political or any other grounds—arepunishable;


INVITES the Member States to enact thenecessary legislation for the prevention andpunishment of this crime;

RECOMMENDS that international co-opera-tion be organized between States with aview to facilitating the speedy preventionand punishment of the crime of genocide,and, to this end,

REQUESTS the Economic and Social Councilto undertake the necessary studies with aview to drawing up a draft convention on thecrime of genocide to the submitted to thenext regular session of the General Assembly.o. Progressive Development of International

Law and its Codification(1.) Resolution of the General AssemblyUnder Article 13, paragraph la, of the

Charter of the United Nations the GeneralAssembly is to "initiate studies and makerecommendations for the purpose of encour-aging the progressive development of interna-tional law and its codification." An itemrelating to the implementation by the GeneralAssembly of its obligations under this articlewas placed on the agenda of the second part ofthe first session of the General Assembly. TheSecretariat prepared a memorandum survey-ing previous efforts in the field of codificationof international law under the League of Na-tions and under the Inter-American Systemand giving the history of Article 13, para-graph 1, sub-paragraph (a) of the Charter.

The matter was referred to the Sixth Com-mittee (Legal) of the General Assembly, whichat its 21st meeting on November 20, 1946, re-ferred it to a Sub-Committee. The Sub-Commit-tee regarded it as desirable that a committeebe established to prepare a report on the meth-ods which might suitably be adopted by theGeneral Assembly in implementation of its ob-ligations under Article 13, paragraph 1 a, of theCharter. The Sub-Committee was agreed thata considered and comprehensive report on thesemethods should be available to the General As-sembly before it formulated any definite planfor the progressive development of interna-tional law and its codification. The Sub-Committee was further agreed that a studyof existing projects and of the methodsfollowed by official and unofficial bodies en-gaged in promoting the development andformulation of public and private internation-al law was necessary to the work of theproposed committee and that it might behelpful to such a committee to have thewritten comments of any Member of the

United Nations which cared to submit them.The Sub-Committee recommended that the

General Assembly establish a committee ofgovernment representatives of fourteen mem-bers to study the most appropriate methodof procedure. It considered that a committeeof fourteen was not so large as to impairits efficiency, nor so small as to preventthe principal legal systems of the world frombeing represented. The Sub-Committee recom-mended that the General Assembly appoint themembers of the committee on the codificationof international law on the recommendation ofthe President of the Assembly.

When the Sixth Committee considered theSub-Committee's report at its 31st meeting onDecember 6, 1946, the question of the numberof members of which the proposed committeewas to be composed aroused some discussion.Several representatives advocated a largermembership. Finally a membership of sixteenwas approved. Several members stressed thatthe text of the draft resolution approved by theSub-Committee implied that the governmentsshould appoint experts in international law astheir representatives on the proposed commit-tee. Subject to the amendment as to the numberof the membership, the Sixth Committeeunanimously adopted the report and draftresolutions submitted by its Sub-Committee.

At the 55th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly on December 11, 1946, the Presidentof the Assembly recommended that the follow-ing countries be included in the Committee onInternational Law: Argentina, Australia,China, Colombia, Egypt, France, India, theNetherlands, Panama, Poland, Sweden, theU.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, the UnitedStates, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. The Presi-dent then proposed that the membership be in-creased to seventeen by the addition of Brazilto the list. The General Assembly unanimouslyapproved the list of seventeen members sug-gested by the President and then unanimouslyadopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYRECOGNIZES the obligation laid upon it by

Article 13, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph a, ofthe Charter to initiate studies and make recom-mendations for the purpose of encouraging theprogressive development of international lawand its codification;

REALIZES THE NEED for a careful andthorough study of what has already been ac-complished in this field as well as of the projectsand activities of official and unofficial bodies


engaged in efforts to promote the progressivedevelopment and formulation of public and pri-vate international law, and the need for a re-port on the methods whereby the General As-sembly may most effectively discharge its obli-gations under the above mentioned provision:

THEREFORE,RESOLVES to establish a Committee of sev-

enteen Members of the United Nations to beappointed by the General Assembly on the re-commendation of the President, each of theseMembers to have one representative on theCommittee;

DIRECTS the Committee to study:(a) The methods by which the General As-sembly should encourage the progressive de-velopment of international law and its even-tual codification;(b) Methods of securing the co-operation ofthe several organs of the United Nations tothis end;(c) Methods of enlisting the assistance ofsuch national or international bodies asmight aid in the attainment of this objec-tive;

and to report to the General Assembly at itsnext regular session.

REQUESTS the Secretary-General to pro-vide such assistance as the Committee may re-quire for its work.(2.) Work of the Committee on the ProgressiveDevelopment of International Law and Its

CodificationThe Committee on the Progressive Develop-

ment of International Law and its Codificationmet for its first session at Lake Success, NewYork, from May 12 to June 17, 1947. It con-sisted of the following members:

MEMBER COUNTRIESArgentina

RepresentativeAustralia

Representativelater replaced by

BrazilRepresentative

ChinaRepresentative

ColombiaRepresentativelater replaced by

EgyptRepresentative

FranceRepresentative

Alternate

PanamaRepresentative

PolandRepresentative

AlternateSweden

RepresentativeAlternate

U.S.S.R.Representative

United KingdomRepresentative

Alternates

IndiaRepresentative

NetherlandsRepresentative

Enrique Ferrer Vieyra

W. A. WynesA. H. Body

Gilberto Amado

Shuhsi Hsü

Antonio RochaR. S. Guerreiro

Wabid Rafaat

Henri D. de VabresMichel Leroy Beaulieu

Sir Dalip Singh

J. G. de Beus

Roberto de la Guardia

Alexander RudzinskiAlexander Bramson

Erik SjöborgB. Q. S. Petrén

Vladimir Koretsky

J. L. BrierlyM. E. Bathurst

Richard BestUnited States of America

Representative P. C. JessupVenezuela

Representative Carlos Eduardo StolkAlternate Perez Perozo

YugoslaviaRepresentative Milan BartosOfficers of the Committee were: Sir Dalip

Singh (India), Chairman; Professor VladimirKoretsky (U.S.S.R.) and Dr. Antonio Rocha(Colombia), who was later replaced by Profes-sor Yepes, Vice-Chairmen; Professor J. L.Brierly (U.K.), Rapporteur.

Several representatives 011 the Committeesubmitted memoranda or written statementscontaining suggestions for the methods to befollowed in the task of development and codifi-cation of international law (Argentina, Brazil,China, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden,the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom and theUnited States).

The Committee after a thorough discussionmade a number of recommendations to theGeneral Assembly.

(a) Establishment of an International Law Com-mission (ILC)

The Committee agreed that effect couldbest be given to the provisions of Article 13,paragraph 1 a, of the Charter by the estab-lishment of a commission, composed ofpersons of recognized competence in inter-national law, for the purpose of carrying outthe progressive development of internationallaw and its eventual codification. They dis-cussed the question whether it would bedesirable to establish separate commissionsfor public, for private and for penal inter-national law, but decided unanimously torecommend to the General Assembly the es-tablishment of a single commission to be calledthe International Law Commission (ILC).The Committee decided by a majority that theCommission should consist of fifteen members.


Two main methods for the selection of themembers of the International Law Commis-sion were suggested: one that the judges ofthe International Court of Justice should beinvited to make the appointments; the otherwas a plan based, with some slight modifica-tions, on the method prescribed for the elec-tion of the judges of the Court. A largemajority of the Committee preferred the sec-ond of these methods, and the Committeetherefore recommended the following pro-cedure :

(a) The government of each State Memberof the United Nations should nominate, ascandidates for membership of the ILC, notmore than two of its own nationals, and notmore than eight persons of other nationali-ties. In making their nominations, the Gov-ernments are recommended to consult theirhighest courts of justice, their legal facultiesand schools of law, their national academiesand national sections of international acad-emies devoted to the study of law and, wheresuch exist, the national groups in the Perma-nent Court of Arbitration.

(b) The Secretary-General of the UnitedNations should submit this panel of candi-dates to the Security Council and the GeneralAssembly, which would elect fifteen personsfollowing the principle laid down in Article 3and the procedure contained in Articles 8-12of the Statute of the International Court ofJustice. The Committee desires to recommendthat special emphasis be laid on the provi-sions of Article 9 of the Statute.

(c) In the event of a casual vacancy occur-ring in the membership of the Commission,a majority of the Committee thought that theCommission itself might nominate a certainnumber of persons from among those whosenames were on the panel of candidates, andthat the Security Council might choose fromamong the persons so nominated a memberof the Commission to hold office until the nextGeneral Assembly, when the vacancy couldbe filled by the same procedure as that fol-lowed in the election of the original fifteenmembers.

(d) All the members of the Committee wereagreed that the members of the InternationalLaw Commission should receive a salary pro-portionate to the dignity and importance oftheir office, but there was some difference ofopinion on the question whether they shouldbe required to render full-time service. By amajority of nine votes to five the Committeethought that this would be both desirableand necessary. It was agreed that the Com-mission should have its headquarters at theseat of the United Nations, though it mightdecide from time to time to hold its sessionsat other places; and that the Secretary-Gen-eral should be requested to make available

to it the services of the Division for the De-velopment and Codification of InternationalLaw of the Secretariat. The budget of theCommission should include items for thesalaries of members, for the expenses ofmeetings, travel, etc.

The Committee hoped that the ILC mightbe a permanent body, but they also felt thatit might be desirable, in the first instance, toestablish it on a provisional basis. They rec-ommended, therefore, that its members beelected for a term of three years, but thatthey be eligible for re-election if the com-mission was continued in being after thisexperimental period.

The various recommendations on the taskof the International Law Commission werefor the most part the result of majority de-cisions. The Committee distinguished betweenthe two parts of the task of the proposedILC: (a) the development of internationallaw, by which was understood the draftingof conventions on subjects which had not yetbeen regulated by international law or inregard to which the law had not yet beendeveloped or formulated in the practice ofStates; and (b) codification involving themore precise formulation and systematizationof the law in areas where there had been ex-tensive State practice, precedent and doctrine.The Committee recognized that the termsemployed were not mutually exclusive, as, forexample, in cases where the formulation andsystematization of the existing law might leadto the conclusion that some new rule shouldbe suggested for adoption by States in orderto fill gaps or make necessary corrections.The Committee decided that the ILC shouldpresent all of its drafts to the General Assem-bly in the form of multipartite conventions.It also decided that with regard to developmentof international law the governments shouldbe consulted both at the initial and at thefinal stage of the procedure before a draftconvention be put before the General As-sembly. However, with regard to codificationthe governments should only be requested tosubmit any comments after the ILC consid-ered a draft to be in satisfactory form.

In recommending different procedures tobe followed by the ILC with regard to the twoparts of its task the Committee also had inmind that the field of international law wasso vast that the members of the ILC couldnot be experts on all subjects and thereforeit recommended that for the development of


international law Rapporteurs and sub-com-mittee members might be appointed fromoutside the ILC membership. However, for thetask of codification this was not considerednecessary as there would already be a vastdocumentation on any subjects which theILC would undertake, so that its memberscould easily form their opinion. Both withregard to development of international lawand its codification the ILC should be autho-rized to consult scientific institutions, and ifnecessary individual experts, and also in bothcases the drafts which the Commission con-sidered to be in satisfactory form should begiven the widest possible publicity and thegovernments should be requested to submitany comments within a reasonable time.

For the field of development of internation-al law the Committee decided to recommendthat the ILC should be authorized to considerprojects and draft conventions recommendedby governments, other United Nations organs,specialized agencies and those official bodiesestablished by intergovernmental agreementto further the progressive development ofinternational law and its codification, trans-mitted to it through the Secretary-Generaland for these projects it recommended a pro-cedure distinguishing between projects notyet formulated and projects already formu-lated as draft conventions.

With regard to codification of internationallaw the Committee decided to recommend tothe General Assembly that it adopt a reso-lution instructing the ILC to survey thewhole field of customary international lawtogether with any relevant treaties with a viewto selecting topics for codification, having inmind previous governmental and non-govern-mental projects; that if the ILC found thatto take over a particular topic was desirableor necessary, it should present its recommen-dations to the General Assembly in the form ofdraft articles of multipartite conventions;and that, if the General Assembly should re-quest the ILC to prepare a draft conventionon any subject or to explore the necessity ordesirability of preparing such a draft con-vention, the ILC should give precedence tocomplying with such request. The Committeedecided on a procedure for codification andagreed that after its various stages one ormore sets of draft articles of multipartiteconventions with an explanatory report shouldbe submitted to the General Assembly with

recommendations which might be either: (a)that no further action be taken in view ofthe fact that the report has already beenpublished, or (b) that the General Assemblyshould adopt all or part of the report byresolution, or (c) that the General Assemblyshould recommend the draft to States for theconclusion of a convention, or (d) that theGeneral Assembly should convoke a specialconference to consider the conclusion of theconvention.

The Committee then considered a numberof suggested means of encouraging the pro-gressive development of international lawby improvements in the technique of multi-partite instruments.

Another matter considered by the Commit-tee was the utility and importance of en-couraging the ratification of and accession tomultipartite conventions already concluded.

The Committee recommended that the ILCconsider ways and means of making theevidence of customary international law morereadily available by the compilation of di-gests of State practice, and by the collectionand publication of the decisions of nationaland international courts on international lawquestions.(b) Co-operation of the ILC with United Na-

tions Organs

The Committee was also asked by the Gen-eral Assembly to study methods of securingthe co-operation of the several organs of theUnited Nations in the task of the progressivedevelopment of international law and itseventual codification. On this point the Com-mittee recommended:

(a) That the ILC should be authorized, ifneed be, to consult with any of the organsof the United Nations on any draft or projectthe subject matter of which is relevant tothe functions of the particular organ.

(b) That in projects referred to it by acompetent organ of the United Nations theILC should be authorized, if it thinks it de-sirable, to make interim reports to the con-cerned prior to submitting its final report tothe General Assembly. This resolution wascarried by a majority in the Committee. Aminority of the members dissented from iton the ground that, in their view, it wouldnot be in accordance with the provisions ofthe Charter for any organ of the United Na-tions, other than the General Assembly, torefer a project to the ILC.

(c) That all ILC documents which arecirculated to governments should also becirculated to the organs of the United Na-


tions for their information, and that suchorgans should be free to supply any data ormake any suggestions to the Commission.

(c) Co-operation of the ILC with National orInternational Bodies

The Committee was also asked to studymethods of enlisting the assistance of suchnational or international bodies as might aidit in the attainment of its objective of encour-aging the progressive development of inter-national law and its eventual codification. Onthis point the Committee recommended:

(a) That the ILC should be authorized toconsult any national or international organi-zation, official or non-official, on any matterentrusted to it, if and when it believes thatsuch a procedure might aid it in the attain-ment of its objectives. A minority of themembers of the Committee were of the opin-ion that such consultation should be limitedto organizations included in the list referredto in the sub-paragraph following.

(b) That for the purpose of the distribu-tion of ILC documents the Secretary-General,after consultation with the ILC, should drawup a list of national and international organi-zations dealing with questions of interna-tional law. In drawing up this list the Secre-tary-General would take into account thenecessity of having the national organiza-tions of all the members of the United Na-tions represented on the list.

(c) That, in the consultations referred toin sub-paragraph (a) and in the compila-tion of the list referred to in sub-paragraph(b) of this paragraph, the Commission and theSecretary-General should take into account theresolutions of the General Assembly and of theEconomic and Social Council concerning re-lations with Franco Spain, and that organiza-tions which collaborated with the Nazis andFascists should be excluded both from consul-tation and from the list.

(d) By a majority, the Committee decidedto refer specially to the necessity and impor-tance of frequent consultation between theILC and the organs of the Pan-AmericanUnion whose task is the codification of inter-national law in the Inter-American System,without, however, disregarding the claims ofother systems of law. Three members of theminority dissenting from this resolution de-sire it to be recorded that in their opinionthis resolution, by singling out the Pan-American Union for special mention, createsfor that Union a privileged position, andthereby violates the principle of equalitybetween nations and between systems of law.They are of the opinion that the resolutionmight be taken to imply that the work ofStates, other than those represented in thePan-American Union, is of less importancefor the ILC, and that the ILC need not main-

tain equally close contact with such otherStates.1

(d) Incorporation of the Principles of theNürnberg Charter into International PenalLaw

The Committee noted that the GeneralAssembly had requested it to propose plansfor the formulation of the Nürnberg prin-ciples. It decided not to undertake the actualformulation of those principles, which wouldclearly be a task demanding careful and pro-longed study. The Committee therefore con-cluded that it was not called upon to discussthe substantive provisions of the Nürnbergprinciples, and that such a discussion wouldbe better entrusted to the ILC.

The Committee recommended that the ILCshould be invited to prepare:

(a) a draft convention incorporating theprinciples of international law recognized bythe Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal andsanctioned by the judgment of that Tribunal,and

(b) a detailed draft plan of general codifi-cation of offences against the peace and se-curity of mankind in such a manner that theplan should clearly indicate the place to beaccorded to the principles mentioned in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.

The Committee further recorded its opinionthat this task would not preclude the ILCfrom drafting in due course a code of inter-national penal law.

The Committee also decided by a majorityto draw the attention of the General Assem-bly to the fact that the implementation ofthe principles of the Nürnberg Tribunal andits Judgment, as well as the punishment ofother international crimes which might berecognized as such by international multi-partite conventions, might render desirablethe existence of an international judicialauthority to exercise jurisdiction over suchcrimes.

The representatives of Egypt, Poland, theUnited Kingdom, the U.S.S.R. and Yugo-slavia asked that their dissent from this de-cision be recorded. In their opinion the

1 As it was felt that the ILC should not doanything which might detract from the workbeing done in the field of the development andcodification of private international law by theHague Conference on Private International Law,the Committee recommended that the ILC whendealing with questions in the field of privateinternational law should consider the appropri-ateness of consultation with the NetherlandsGovernment.


question of establishing an internationalcourt fell outside the terms of reference fromthe General Assembly to the Committee.

(e) Draft Declaration on the Rights and Dutiesof States

By a resolution of December 11, 1946, theGeneral Assembly instructed the Secretary-General of the United Nations to transmit toall Member States of the United Nations, andto national and international bodies concernedwith international law, the text of a DraftDeclaration on the Rights and Duties ofStates presented by Panama with the re-quest that they should submit their commentsand observations to the Secretary-General be-fore June 1, 1947. The resolution also refer-red, the Declaration to the Sixth Committee,and requested the Secretary-General totransmit to it the comments and observationsas they were received.

The Committee, noting that a very limitednumber of comments and observations fromthe Member States and national and interna-tional non-governmental bodies had been re-ceived, and considering that the majority ofthese comments and observations recom-mended postponement of the study of thesubstance of this question, recommended thatthe General Assembly entrust further studiesconcerning this subject to the ILC and thatthe ILC should take the Draft Declarationpresented by Panama as one of the bases ofits study.

(f) The Crime of GenocideThe Committee had before it, under cover

of a letter from the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, the text of the draft conven-tion for the prevention and punishment ofthe crime of genocide, drawn up by the Sec-retariat with the assistance of experts in thefield of international and criminal law.

In a letter to the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, the Committee pointed outthat it fully realized the urgency, which wasexpressed in the recommendations containedin the resolution of the General Assembly ofDecember 11, 1946,1 of organizing co-opera-tion between States with a view to facilitat-ing the speedy prevention and punishment ofthe crime of genocide.

The Committee noted, however, that thetext prepared by the Secretariat of the UnitedNations, owing to lack of time, had not yetbeen referred to the Member Governments

for their comments, as was contemplated inthe Resolution of the Economic and SocialCouncil; it regretted that, in the absence ofinformation as to the views of the govern-ments, it felt unable at present to expressany opinion on the matter.

7. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS, ACTIVITIES ANDASSETS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

a. Transfer to the United Nations of CertainNon-Political Functions and Activities of theLeague of Nations

By resolution of February 12, 1946, theGeneral Assembly had requested the Economicand Social Council "to survey the functionsand activities of a non-political characterwhich have hitherto been performed by theLeague of Nations, in order to determinewhich of them should, with such modifica-tions as are desirable, be assumed by theorgans of the United Nations or be entrustedto specialized agencies brought into relation-ship with the United Nations." The Councilwas further instructed to assume provision-ally the technical activities of certain depart-ments of the League of Nations Secretariat.2

By resolution of February 16, 1946, theEconomic and Social Council requested theSecretary-General to undertake the surveycalled for by the General Assembly and totake the steps necessary for the provisionalassumption and continuance of the workhitherto done by certain departments of theLeague of Nations Secretariat.

In a report to the Economic and SocialCouncil dated September 26, 1946, the Secre-tary-General stated that once the commis-sions of the Economic and Social Council andthe Secretariat of the United Nations and thespecialized agencies were fully organized, itwas probable that the economic and socialactivities of the League would have beenabsorbed insofar as this was appropriate. Thisprocess would not be complete for some time,however. In the meantime the conveyance, onAugust 1, 1946, of the assets of the Leagueof Nations to the United Nations3 had madeit possible for the United Nations Secretariatto assume provisionally and to the extentcalled for the work previously performed by

1 See pp. 254-256.2 See p. 110.3 See pp.111, 112.


the various branches of the League of Na-tions Secretariat dealing with non-politicalactivities. Moreover, a number of commis-sions of the Economic and Social Council hadalready made proposals to the Council con-cerning the assumption of the functions for-merly fulfilled by the League organs in theirrespective fields and the Council had adoptedresolutions on these proposals. In his reportthe Secretary-General submitted a detailedsurvey of these proposals.

The Secretary-General recommended thatwhere it had not yet been done the commis-sions of the Economic and Social Council andthe specialized agencies should study andreport on the conditions under which thefunctions of the League of Nations might beassumed, insofar as it was desirable and didnot involve any overlapping of activities.

On October 2, 1946, the Economic andSocial Council took note of the Secretary-General's report and transmitted it to thesecond part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly for consideration. The Secre-tary-General submitted a draft resolution tothe General Assembly to the effect that theGeneral Assembly should (1) authorize andrequest the Secretary-General to assume andcontinue the non-political functions and ac-tivities of the League of Nations Secretariat;(2) authorize and request the Economic andSocial Council to assume and continue thenon-political functions and activities of theLeague of Nations previously performed bythe various committees and commissions ofthe League, in each case this authorizationto exclude (a) functions and activities exer-cised pursuant to international agreements,and (b) functions and activities entrusted tospecialized agencies.

At its 46th plenary meeting on October 31,1946, the General Assembly referred thequestion of the transfer of certain non-politi-cal functions and activities of the League ofNations to the Joint Second and Third Com-mittee with instructions to consult with theSixth Committee on any legal questions in-volved.

In the course of the discussion which tookplace at the ninth meeting of the Joint Sec-ond and Third Committee on December 4,1946, the representative of the U.S.S.R. ex-pressed the view that the draft resolutionsubmitted by the Secretary-General was toovague, as it did not define the non-political

functions and activities of the League ofNations which were to be assumed by theSecretary-General, by the Economic and So-cial Council and by the specialized agenciesrespectively. The General Assembly, the rep-resentative of the U.S.S.R. considered, hadinstructed the Economic and Social Councilto make a study of the functions to be as-sumed by the United Nations. The Council,however, had merely transmitted the Secre-tary-General's report to the General Assem-bly without any recommendations of its own.The representative of the U.S.S.R. thereforeproposed that the whole question be referredback to the Economic and Social Council forfurther study.

The Joint Second and Third Committee re-jected the U.S.S.R. proposal. The Committeethen adopted the resolution as submitted bythe Secretary-General and referred it to theSixth Committee for its opinion.

During the discussion which took place atthe 31st and 32nd meetings of the SixthCommittee on December 6 and 9 the repre-sentative of the U.S.S.R. reiterated his ob-jections. His proposal that the whole matterbe referred back to the Economic and SocialCouncil for further study was supported bythe representatives of France, India andYugoslavia. By a vote of 19 to 4, with 6abstentions, the Sixth Committee, however,adopted the following resolution proposed bythe representative of the United Kingdom:

The Sixth Committee advises the JointSecond and Third Committee that the resolu-tion proposed by the Secretary-General doesnot present any legal difficulty and that it isentirely proper from a legal point of view.

On the recommendation of the Joint Secondand Third Committee, the General Assemblyat its 65th plenary meeting on December 14,1946, unanimously adopted the followingresolution:

In accordance with the resolution adoptedby the General Assembly on 12 February 1946and the resolution adopted by the Economicand Social Council on 16 February 1946, theSecretary-General submitted to the Economicand Social Council, at its third session, a re-port dated 26 September 1946 concerning theprovisional assumption and continuation ofcertain non-political functions and activitiesof the League of Nations, other than thoseexercised pursuant to international agree-ments.


The Economic and Social Council took noteof the Secretary-General's report on 2 Oc-tober 1946 and has transmitted it to theGeneral Assembly.

The General Assembly recognizes that it isdesirable for the United Nations to assumeand continue the non-political functions andactivities of the League of Nations which aredescribed in the report of the Secretary-General dated 26 September 1946.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE,AUTHORIZES AND REQUESTS the Secretary-

General to assume and continue the non-politi-cal functions and activities of the League ofNations previously performed by the Leagueof Nations Secretariat, with the exception of:

(a) those functions and activities exer-cised pursuant to international agree-ments;(b) those functions and activities en-trusted to specialized agencies which havebeen, or are to be, brought into relationshipwith the United Nations, under Articles 57and 63 of the Charter.The Secretary-General shall exercise the

functions and activities authorized by thisparagraph, subject to such policies as may beestablished by the Economic and Social Coun-cil.

AUTHORIZES AND REQUESTS the Economicand Social Council to assume and continue thenon-political functions and activities of theLeague of Nations previously performed bythe various committees and commissions ofthe League with the exception of:

(a) those functions and activities exer-cised pursuant to international agree-ments;(b) those functions and activities en-trusted to specialized agencies, which havebeen, or are to be, brought into relationshipwith the United Nations, under Articles 57and 63 of the Charter.This resolution shall not affect any decision

of the General Assembly with respect tofunctions and activities exercised by theLeague of Nations pursuant to internationalagreements.

b. Transfer to the United Nations of Powersexercised by the League of Nations underthe International Agreements and Conventionsand Protocols on Narcotic Drugs

The Economic and Social Council submittedto the second part of the first session of theGeneral Assembly a report on the transfer tothe United Nations of powers exercised bythe League of Nations under the interna-tional agreements and conventions and pro-tocols on narcotic drugs. This report con-tained:

(1) a resolution adopted by the Economicand Social Council recommending that theGeneral Assembly approve the assumption bythe United Nations of the functions andpowers exercised, by the League of Nationsin respect to narcotic drugs;

(2) a draft resolution recommended bythe Economic and. Social Council for adoptionby the General Assembly;

(3) a draft protocol to be signed by theMembers of the United Nations who wereparties to the six agreements, conventionsand protocols dated between 1912 and 1936by which international control of narcoticdrugs was provided for, this protocol toeffect, as between the signatories, the neces-sary alterations in the earlier instruments.The draft protocol contained an annexshowing the necessary amendments to bemade in these instruments.

The draft protocol, which had been origi-nally drawn up by the Secretariat, had beenrevised by a Drafting Committee appointed bythe Economic and Social Council. The Eco-nomic and Social Council invited the Secre-tariat to scrutinize the work of the DraftingCommittee and to suggest further alterations,if necessary. The Secretariat accordingly ex-amined the draft protocol and its annex andin a memorandum to the General Assemblythe Secretary-General suggested a certainnumber of modifications and corrections.

The General Assembly referred the Eco-nomic and Social Council's report and theSecretary-General's memorandum to theThird Committee (Social, Humanitarian andCultural), which examined these documentsat its 14th meeting on November 2, 1946. TheChairman of the Committee, as well as sev-eral of the members, addressed an urgentappeal to the Members of the United Nationsto sign the protocol in question during thecurrent session of the Assembly, in order toavoid any interruption of the internationalcontrol of narcotics. In this connection it waspointed out that the Secretary-General, act-ing on the instructions of Economic andSocial Council, had asked those Members ofthe United Nations which were parties tothe agreements, conventions and protocols onnarcotic drugs, to give their representativesto the present session of the General Assem-bly full powers to sign the protocol.

The Third Committee unanimously adoptedthe draft protocol and annex with the


amendments suggested by the Secretariatand likewise adopted the draft resolutionrecommended by the Economic and SocialCouncil. The relevant documents were thenreferred to the Sixth Committee, which at its18th and 19th meetings on November 12 and14 examined the legal questions involved indetail and submitted to the Third Committeea report which the latter decided to includein its report to the General Assembly.

At its 49th plenary meeting on November19,1946, the General Assembly, on the recom-mendation of the Third Committee, unani-mously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,DESIROUS of continuing and developing the

international control of narcotic drugs,APPROVES the Protocol which accompanies

this resolution;URGES that it shall be signed without de-

lay by all the States who are Parties to theAgreements, Conventions and Protocols men-tioned in the Annex;

RECOMMENDS that, pending the entry intoforce of the aforesaid Protocol, effect begiven to its provisions by the Parties to anyof these Agreements, Conventions and Pro-tocols,

INSTRUCTS the Secretary-General to per-form the functions conferred upon him by theProtocol, signed on 11 December 1946, amend-ing the international Agreements, Conven-tions and Protocols relating to narcotic drugswhich were concluded in the years 1912, 1925,1931 and 1936;

DIRECTS the Economic and Social Coun-cil and the Secretary-General in view of theGeneral Assembly's resolution on the rela-tions of Members of the United Nations withSpain, adopted on 9 February 1946, to sus-pend all action under this Protocol and theabovementioned Agreements, Conventionsand Protocols with respect to the FrancoGovernment in Spain so long as this Govern-ment is in power.

PROTOCOL AMENDING THE AGREEMENTS, CON-VENTIONS AND PROTOCOLS ON NARCOTIC DRUGSCONCLUDED AT THE HAGUE ON 23 JANUARY 1912,AT GENEVA ON 11 FEBRUARY 1925, AND 19 FEB-RUARY 1925, AND 13 JULY 1931, AT BANGKOK ON27 NOVEMBER 1931, AND AT GENEVA ON 26 JUNE

1936The States Parties to the present Protocol,

considering that under the internationalAgreements, Conventions and Protocols re-lating to narcotic drugs which were con-cluded on 23 January 1912, 11 February1925, 19 February 1925, 13 July 1931, 27November 1931 and 26 June 1936, the League

of Nations was invested with certain dutiesand functions for whose continued perform-ance it is necessary to make provision in con-sequence of the dissolution of the League,and considering that it is expedient that theseduties and functions should be performedhenceforth by the United Nations and theWorld Health Organization or its InterimCommission, have agreed upon the followingprovisions:

Article IThe States Parties to the present Protocol

undertake that as between themselves theywill, each in respect of the instrument towhich it is a party, and in accordance withthe provisions of the present Protocol, attri-bute full legal force and effect to, and dulyapply the amendments to those instrumentswhich are set forth in the Annex to thepresent Protocol.

Article II1. It is agreed that, during the period pre-

ceding the entry into force of the Protocolin respect of the International Conventionrelating to Dangerous Drugs of 19 February1925, and in respect of the InternationalConvention for limiting the Manufacture andregulating the Distribution of NarcoticDrugs of 13 July 1931, the Permanent CentralBoard and the Supervisory Body as at presentconstituted shall continue to perform theirfunctions. Vacancies in the membership of thePermanent Central Board may during thisperiod be filled by the Economic and SocialCouncil.

2. The Secretary-General of the UnitedNations is authorized to perform at once theduties hitherto discharged by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations in connec-tion with the Agreements, Conventions andProtocols mentioned in the Annex to the pres-ent Protocol.

3. States which are Parties to any of theinstruments which are to be amended by thepresent Protocol are invited to apply theamended texts of those instruments so soonas the amendments are in force, even if theyhave not yet been able to become Parties tothe present Protocol.

4. Should the amendments to the Conven-tion relating to Dangerous Drugs of 19 Febru-ary 1925, or the amendments to the Conven-tion for limiting the Manufacture and regu-lating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs of13 July 1931, come into force before theWorld Health Organization is in a position toassume its functions under these Conven-tions, the functions conferred on that Organ-ization by the amendments shall, provision-ally, be performed by its Interim Commission.

Article IIIThe functions conferred upon the Nether-

lands Government under articles 21 and 25of the International Opium Convention signed


at The Hague on 23 January 1912, and en-trusted to the Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations with the consent of theNetherlands Government, by a resolution ofthe League of Nations Assembly dated 15December 1920, shall henceforward be exer-cised by the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.

Article IVAs soon as possible after this Protocol has

been opened for signature the Secretary-Gen-eral shall prepare texts of the Agreements,Conventions and Protocols revised in accord-ance with the present Protocol and shall sendcopies for their information to the Govern-ment of every Member of the United Nationsand every non-member State to which thisProtocol has been communicated by the Sec-retary-General.

Article VThe present Protocol shall be open for sig-

nature or acceptance by any of the StatesParties to the Agreements, Conventions andProtocols on narcotic drugs of 23 January1912, 11 February 1925, 19 February 1925, 13July 1931, 27 November 1931 and 26 June 1936to which the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations has communicated a copy of the pres-ent Protocol.

Article VIStates may become Parties to the present

Protocol by(a) Signature without reservation as to

approval,(b) Signature subject to approval followed

by acceptance or(c) Acceptance.Acceptance shall be effected by the deposit

of a formal instrument with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article VII1. The present Protocol shall come into

force in respect of each Party on the dateupon which it has been signed on behalf ofthat Party without reservation as to approval,or upon which an instrument of acceptancehas been deposited.

2. The amendments set forth in the Annexto the present Protocol shall come into forcein respect of each Agreement, Convention andProtocol when a majority of the Parties there-to have become Parties to the present Pro-tocol.

Article VIIIIn accordance with Article 102 of the Char-

ter of the United Nations, the Secretary-Gen-eral of the United Nations will register andpublish the amendments made in each instru-ment by the present Protocol on the dates ofthe entry into force of these amendments.

Article IXThe present Protocol, of which the Chinese,

English, French, Russian and Spanish texts

are equally authentic, shall be deposited inthe archives of the United Nations Secreta-riat. The Agreements, Conventions and Pro-tocols to be amended in accordance with theAnnex being in the English and French lan-guages only, the English and French texts ofthe Annex shall equally be the authentic textsand the Chinese, Russian and Spanish textswill be translations. A certified copy of theProtocol, including the Annex, shall be sentby the Secretary-General to each of the StatesParties to the Agreements, Conventions andProtocols on narcotic drugs of 23 January1912, 11 February 1925, 19 February 1925, 13July 1931, 27 November 1931 and 26 June1936, as well as to all Members of the UnitedNations and non-member States mentioned inarticle IV.

IN FAITH WHEREOF the undersigned, dulyauthorized, have signed the present Protocolon behalf of their respective Governments onthe dates appearing opposite their respectivesignatures.

DONE at Lake Success, New York, this elev-enth day of December one thousand nine hun-dred and forty-six.

ANNEX1. AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE MANUFAC-

TURE OF, INTERNAL TRADE IN, AND USE OF PRE-PARED OPIUM, WITH PROTOCOL AND FINAL ACT,SIGNED AT GENEVA ON 11 FEBRUARY 1925

In articles 10, 13, 14 and 15 of the Agree-ment "the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations" shall be substituted for "the Secre-tary-General of the League of Nations" and"the Secretariat of the United Nations" shallbe substituted for "the Secretariat of theLeague of Nations".

In articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol, "theEconomic and Social Council of the UnitedNations" shall be substituted for "the Councilof the League of Nations".

2. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION RELATING TODANGEROUS DRUGS, WITH PROTOCOL, SIGNED ATGENEVA ON 19 FEBRUARY 1925

For article 8 the following article shall besubstituted:

"In the event of the World Health Organ-ization, on the advice of an expert commit-tee appointed by it, finding that any prep-aration containing any of the narcoticdrugs referred to in the present chaptercannot give rise to the drug habit on ac-count of the medicaments with which thesaid drugs are compounded and which inpractice preclude the recovery of the saiddrugs, the World Health Organization shallcommunicate this finding to the Economicand Social Council of the United Nations.The Council will communicate the findingto the Contracting Parties, and thereuponthe provisions of the present Convention


will not be applicable to the preparationconcerned."For article 10, the following article shall

be substituted:"In the event of the World Health Organi-zation, on the advice of an expert committeeappointed by it, finding that any narcoticdrug to which the present Convention doesnot apply is liable to similar abuse and pro-ductive of similar ill-effects as the sub-stances to which this chapter of the Con-vention applies, the World Health Organi-zation shall inform the Economic and SocialCouncil accordingly and recommend thatthe provisions of the present Conventionshall be applied to such drugs."The Economic and Social Council shallcommunicate the said recommendation tothe Contracting Parties. Any ContractingParty which is prepared to accept the rec-ommendation shall notify the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who will in-form the other Contracting Parties."The provisions of the present Conventionshall thereupon apply to the substance inquestion as between the Contracting Par-ties who have accepted the recommendationreferred to above."In the third paragraph of article 19 "the

Economic and Social Council of the UnitedNations" shall be substituted for "the Coun-cil of the League of Nations."

The fourth paragraph of article 19 shall bedeleted.

In articles 20, 24, 27, 30, 32 and 38 (para-graph 1) "the Economic and Social Council ofthe United Nations" shall be substituted for"the Council of the League of Nations" and"the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions" shall be substituted for "the Secretary-General of the League of Nations" whereverthese words occur.

In article 32 "the International Court ofJustice" shall be substituted for "the Perma-nent Court of International Justice."

Article 34 shall read as follows:"The present Convention is subject to rati-fication. As from 1 January 1947 the instru-ments of ratification shall be depositedwith the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations, who shall notify their receipt toall the Members of the United Nations, andthe non-member States to which the Secre-tary-General has communicated a copy ofthe Convention."Article 35 shall read as follows:"After the 30th day of September 1925 thepresent Convention may be acceded to byany State represented at the Conference atwhich this Convention was drawn up andwhich has not signed the Convention, byany Member of the United Nations, or byany non-member State mentioned in article34.

"Accessions shall be effected by an instru-ment communicated to the Secretary-Gen-eral of the United Nations to be depositedin the archives of the Secretariat of theUnited Nations. The Secretary-Generalshall at once notify such deposit to all theMembers of the United Nations signatoriesof the Convention and to the signatory non-member States mentioned in article 34 aswell as to the adherent States."Article 37 shall read as follows:"A special record shall be kept by the Sec-retary-General of the United Nations show-ing which States have signed, ratified, ac-ceded to or denounced the present Conven-tion. This record shall be open to the Con-tracting Parties and shall be publishedfrom time to time as may be directed."The second paragraph of article 38 shallread as follows:"The Secretary-General of the United Na-tions shall notify the receipt of any suchdenunciations to all the Members of theUnited Nations and to the States mentionedin article 34."

3. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR LIMITINGTHE MANUFACTURE AND REGULATING THE DIS-TRIBUTION OF NARCOTIC DRUGS WITH PROTOCOLOF SIGNATURE, SIGNED AT GENEVA ON 13 JULY

1931In article 5, paragraph 1, the words "to all

the Members of the League of Nations and tothe non-member States mentioned in article27" shall be replaced by the words "to all theMembers of the United Nations and to thenon-member States mentioned in article 28."

For the first sub-paragraph of paragraph 6of article 5, the following sub-paragraph shallbe substituted:

"The estimates will be examined by a Su-pervisory Body consisting of four members.The World Health Organization shall ap-point two members and the Commission onNarcotic Drugs of the Economic and SocialCouncil and the Permanent Central Boardshall each appoint one member."The Secretariat of the Supervisory Bodyshall be provided by the Secretary-Generalof the United Nations who will ensure closecollaboration with the Permanent CentralBoard."In article 5, paragraph 7, the words "De-

cember 15th in each year" shall be substitutedfor the words "November 1st in each year,"and the words "through the intermediary ofthe Secretary-General of the United Nationsto all the Members of the United Nations andnon-member States referred to in article 28"shall be substituted for the words "throughthe intermediary of the Secretary-General, toall the members of the League of Nations andnon-member States referred to in article 27."


For paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of article 11,the following paragraphs shall be substi-tuted :

"2. Any High Contracting Party permittingtrade in or manufacture for trade of anysuch product to be commenced shall im-mediately send a notification to that effectto the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions, who shall advise the other High Con-tracting Parties and the World HealthOrganization."3. The World Health Organization, actingon the advice of an expert committee ap-pointed by it, will thereupon decide whetherthe product in question is capable of pro-ducing addiction (and is in consequenceassimilable to the drugs mentioned in sub-group (a) of Group I), or whether it is con-vertible into such a drug (and is in conse-quence assimilable to the drugs mentionedin sub-group (b) of Group I or in Group II)."4. In the event of the World Health Or-ganization, on the advice of the expert com-mittee appointed by it, deciding that theproduct is not itself a drug capable of pro-ducing addiction, but is convertible intosuch a drug, the question whether the drugin question shall fall under sub-group (b)of Group I or under Group II shall be re-ferred for decision to a body of three ex-perts competent to deal with the scientificand technical aspects of the matter, ofwhom one member shall be selected by theGovernment concerned, one by the Commis-sion on Narcotic Drugs of the Economicand Social Council, and the third by thetwo members so selected."5. Any decision arrived at in accordancewith the two preceding paragraphs shallbe notified to the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, who will communicate it toall States Members of the United Nationsand the non-member States mentioned inarticle 28."In paragraphs 6 and 7 of article 11, "the

Secretary-General of the United Nations"shall be substituted for "the Secretary-Gen-eral."

In articles 14, 20, 21, 23, 26, 81, 32, and 33,"the Secretary-General of the United Na-tions" shall be substituted for "the Secretary-General of the League of Nations."

In article 21 for the words "by the AdvisoryCommittee on Traffic in Opium and otherDangerous Drugs" shall be substituted thewords "by the Commission on Narcotic Drugsof the Economic and Social Council."

For the second paragraph of article 25, thefollowing paragraph shall be substituted:

"In case there is no such agreement in forcebetween the Parties, the dispute shall bereferred to arbitration or judicial settle-ment. In the absence of agreement on thechoice of another tribunal, the disputeshall, at the request of any one of the Par-

ties, be referred, to the International Courtof Justice, if all the Parties to the disputeare Parties to the Statute, and, if any of theParties to the dispute is not a Party to theStatute, to an arbitral tribunal constitutedin accordance with the Hague Conventionof 18 October 1907, for the Pacific Settle-ment of International Disputes."For the last paragraph of article 26 the fol-

lowing paragraph shall be substituted:"The Secretary-General shall communicateto all Members of the United Nations ornon-member States mentioned in article 28all declarations and notices received invirtue of the present article."Article 28 shall read as follows:"The present Convention is subject to rati-fication. As from 1 January 1947, the instru-ments of ratification shall be deposited withthe Secretary-General of the United Na-tions, who shall notify their receipt to allthe Members of the United Nations and tothe non-member States to which the Secre-tary-General has communicated a copy ofthe Convention."Article 29 shall read as follows:"The present Convention may be accededto on behalf of any Member of the UnitedNations or any non-member State men-tioned in article 28. The instruments of ac-cession shall be deposited with the Secre-tary-General of the United Nations, whoshall notify their receipt to all the Mem-bers of the United Nations and to the non-member States mentioned in article 28."In the first paragraph of article 32, the last

sentence shall read as follows:"Each denunciation shall operate only asregards the High Contracting Party onwhose behalf it has been deposited."The second paragraph of article 32 shall

read as follows:"The Secretary-General shall notify all theMembers of the United Nations and non-member States mentioned in article 28 ofany denunciation received."In the third paragraph of article 32, the

words "High Contracting Parties" shall re-place the words "Members of the League andnon-member States bound by the present Con-vention."

In article 33, the words "High ContractingParty" and "High Contracting Parties" shallreplace the words "'Member of the League ofNations or non-member State bound by thisConvention" and "Members of the League ofNations or non-member States bound by thisConvention."4. AGREEMENT FOR THE CONTROL OF OPIUMSMOKING IN THE FAR EAST, WITH FINAL ACT,SIGNED AT BANGKOK ON 27 NOVEMBER 1931

In articles V and VII "the Secretary-Gen-eral of the United Nations" shall be substi-


tuted for "the Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations."

5. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE SUP-PRESSION OF ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN DANGEROUSDRUGS SIGNED AT GENEVA ON 26 JUNE 1936

In articles 16, 18, 21, 23 and 24, "the Secre-tary-General of the United Nations" shall besubstituted for "the Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations."

For article 17, second paragraph, the fol-lowing paragraph shall be substituted:

"In case there is no such agreement be-tween the Parties the dispute shall be re-ferred to arbitration or judicial settlement.In the absence of agreement on the choiceof another tribunal, the dispute shall, at therequest of any one of the Parties, be re-ferred to the International Court of Justice,if all the Parties to the dispute are Partiesto the Statute, and, if any of the Partiesto the dispute is not a Party to the Statute,to an arbitral tribunal constituted in ac-cordance with the Hague Convention of 18October 1907, for the Pacific Settlement ofInternational Disputes."Paragraph 4 of article 18 shall read as

follows:"The Secretary-General shall communicateto all the Members of the United Nationsand to the non-member States mentioned inarticle 20 all declarations and notices re-ceived in virtue of this article."Article 20 shall read as follows:"The present Convention is subject to rati-fication. As from 1 January 1947, the instru-ments of ratification shall be depositedwith the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations, who shall notify their receipt toall the Members of the United Nations, andthe non-member States to which the Secre-tary-General has communicated a copy ofthe Convention."Paragraph 1 of article 21 shall read as

follows:"The present Convention shall be open toaccession on behalf of any Member of theUnited Nations or non-member state men-tioned in article 20."In paragraph 1 of article 24, the words

"High Contracting Party" shall be substi-tuted for the words "Member of the Leagueor non-member State."

The second paragraph of article 24 shallread as follows:

"The Secretary-General shall notify all theMembers of the United Nations and non-member States mentioned in article 20 ofany denunciations received."In paragraph 3 of article 24 the words "High

Contracting Parties" shall replace the words"Members of the League or non-member Statesbound by the present Convention."

Article 25 shall read as follows:"Request for the revision of the presentConvention may be made at any time byany High Contracting Party by means of anotice addressed to the Secretary-Generalof the United Nations. Such notice shall becommunicated by the Secretary-General tothe other High Contracting Parties and, ifendorsed by not less than one-third of them,the High Contracting Parties agree to meetfor the purpose of revising the Conven-tion."

c. Utilization by UNESCO of the PropertyRights of the League of Nations in the Inter-national Institute of Intellectual Cooperation

By resolution of April 17, 1946, the 21stand last Assembly of the League of Nationshad transferred its property rights in the Inter-tional Institute of Intellectual Cooperation,to the United Nations.

With a view to transferring to UNESCOthe functions and activities of the Interna-tional Institute of Intellectual Cooperation,the Economic and Social Council, by resolu-tion of October 3, 1946, recommended that theSecretary-General report to the next sessionof the General Assembly on the conditionsunder which it would be appropriate to utilizethe assets of the League of Nations in theInstitute. The Secretary-General accordinglymade a study of the assets of the Institute andsubmitted a report and a draft resolution tothe second part of the first session of the Gen-eral Assembly.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary), to which the matter was re-ferred, considered the Secretary-General's re-port at its 24th meeting on November 13,1946, and unanimously adopted the draft reso-lution proposed by the Secretary-General.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 49th plen-ary meeting on November 19, 1946, unani-mously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,1. RECOMMENDS that as soon as possible

after UNESCO has been definitely estab-lished, it shall take over, in accordance withArticle XI, paragraph 2, of its Charter, suchof the functions and activities of the Interna-tional Institute of Intellectual Co-operationas may be performed within the scope of theprogram adopted at the UNESCO GeneralConference, as set forth in the draft agree-ment between the United Nations and


UNESCO, under the terms of Article 63 ofthe United Nations Charter;

2. FURTHER RECOMMENDS that an agreementbe concluded between UNESCO and the In-stitute before 81 December 1946, in order tofacilitate the assumption, by UNESCO of thefunctions and activities referred to in para-graph 1 of the present resolution;

3. INVITES the Secretary-General, in orderto ensure, under the auspices of UNESCO,the continuity of the work performed by theInternational Institute of Intellectual Co-op-eration, to authorize UNESCO to utilize theassets of the Institute transferred by theLeague of Nations to the United Nations.

d. Transfer of the Assets of the League ofNations

The "Common Plan" for the transfer of as-sets of the League of Nations to the UnitedNations approved by the General Assemblyof the United Nations on February 12, 1946,and by the Assembly of the League of Na-tions on April 18, 1946, had provided, inter aliafor the transfer to the United Nations of thebuildings and properties of the League ofNations in Geneva.

In a report to the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly the Secre-tary-General stated that the detailed arrange-ments for the transfer of the ownership ofthe assets in question, apart from the finan-cial conditions mentioned in the CommonPlan, were embodied in an "Agreement Con-cerning the Execution of the Transfer to theUnited Nations of Certain Assets of theLeague of Nations" signed on July 19, 1946,by Sean Lester, Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations, and Wlodzimierz Moderow,representative of the Secretary-General ofthe United Nations in Geneva. A "ProtocolConcerning the Execution of Various Opera-tions in the Transfer to the United Nationsof Certain Assets of the League" was signedon August 1, 1946. The United Nations wasregistered in the Geneva land register onAugust 1, 1946, as the owner of the propertiesconcerned. The legal transfer of all of theproperties of the League of Nations in Genevathus took place on August 1, 1946.

The remaining task, according to the Secre-tary-General's report, was to establish a finalvaluation of the assets, in accordance withthe terms of the Common Plan. The Secretary-General recommended that he be authorizedby the General Assembly to prepare a definite

schedule in consultation with the AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions and the League authorities, andthat the schedule so prepared should be con-sidered as final.

The General Assembly at its 46th plenarymeeting on October 31, 1946, referred thequestion of the transfer of the assets of theLeague of Nations to the Fifth Committee. Atits 34th meeting on December 3, 1946, theFifth Committee by 34 votes to 0 approvedthe conclusions of the report presented by theSecretary-General, together with the Agree-ment and the Protocol mentioned above.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee the General Assembly at its 50th plen-ary meeting on December 7, 1946, unani-mously adopted the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES THAT,1. The Agreement concerning the execution

of the transfer to the United Nations of cer-tain assets of the League of Nations and theProtocol concerning the execution of variousoperations in the transfer to the United Na-tions of certain assets of the League of Na-tions, arrived at in accordance with the pro-visions of the Common Plan with respect tothe transfer of certain assets of the Leagueof Nations, are approved as they appear inAnnexes I and II of this resolution.

2. The Secretary-General is authorized toprepare a definite schedule for establishing afinal valuation of these assets, in accordancewith the terms of the Common Plan, in con-sultation with the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions andthe League authorities; and therefore thatsuch a schedule agreed upon by the AdvisoryCommittee, the League authorities and theSecretary-General shall be considered asfinal.

ANNEX IAGREEMENT CONCERNING THE EXECUTION OFTHE TRANSFER TO THE UNITED NATIONS OF CER-TAIN ASSETS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS,

SIGNED ON 19 JULY 1946Whereas the General Assembly of the

United Nations, by a resolution adopted on12 February 1946, and the Assembly of theLeague of Nations, by a resolution adoptedon 18 April, 1946, respectively approved theCommon Plan for the transfer to the UnitedNations of certain assets of the League of Na-tions, on the financial conditions mentionedin the aforesaid Plan.

The League of Nations, represented by Mr.Sean Lester, Secretary-General, and the


United Nations represented by M. Wlodzi-mierz Moderow, Director, representative ofthe Secretary-General of the United Nationsat Geneva, have concluded the present Agree-ment for the purpose of determining the de-tails of the transfer of the ownership of theassets in question, apart from the financialconditions mentioned in the Common Plan.

Article 1The transfer of rights in respect of immov-

able property shall relate to the followingitems:

1. All transferable rights which, in virtueof the Agreement concluded on 26 March1929 between the Swiss Confederation andthe League of Nations, the latter possessesover the Ariana site and the buildings erectedby it on that site;

2. The rights possessed by the League ofNations in respect of the Sécheron property,as defined in the Agreement of 26 March1929, referred to in paragraph 1 above;

3. The full ownership enjoyed by theLeague of Nations in properties situated inGeneva and at Pregny, with an area of 203,446square metres, consisting of various plots ofland with four villas and their outbuildings;

4. The following rights:(a) The servitudes constituted in favour ofthe League of Nations in the Bill of Saledated 14 June 1938, by which the LatvianGovernment acquired a property situated inthe Commune of Geneva (Petit-Saconnexdistrict), and the right of pre-emption re-served to the League of Nations;(b) The servitudes constituted in favourof the League of Nations in the Bill of Saledated 7 March 1940, concluded between theSociété immobilière de la Place des Nationsand the League of Nations, and the rightof purchase reserved to the League of Na-tions.

Article 2The transfer of rights in respect of mov-

able property shall relate to the followingitems:

(a) The fittings, furniture, office equipmentand books, and the stock of supplies whichare in the aforementioned premises andwhich are the property of the League ofNations;(b) The books and collections of the Li-brary;(c) The fittings, furniture, office equipmentand books, and the stock of supplies for theuse of the Permanent Court of Interna-tional Justice which are the property ofthe League of Nations;(d) The fittings, furniture, office equip-ment and books and the stock of supplieswhich are or were in the branch offices ofthe League of Nations and which have re-mained the property of the League of Na-tions;

(e) Any fittings, furniture, office equip-ment, books and stock of supplies whichwould become the property of the League ofNations in consequence of the dissolutionof organizations or institutes subsidiarythereto;(f) The stocks of supplies held by sup-pliers, which are the property of the Leagueof Nations;(g) The archives of the League of Na-tions and of the Permanent Court of Inter-national Justice;(h) All other corporeal property belong-ing to the League of Nations.

Article 3It is understood that gifts presented to the

League of Nations by Governments, publicbodies or private individuals, whether theyhave become part of the buildings or whetherthey have retained the character of movableproperty, shall be transferred to the UnitedNations on the same terms as those on whichthe said gifts were presented.

Article 4It is recalled that, in accordance with the

terms of the Common Plan:(a) The International Labour Organiza-tion may use the Assembly Hall togetherwith the necessary committee rooms, officeaccommodation and other facilities con-nected therewith at times and on financialterms to be agreed from time to time be-tween the United Nations and the Interna-tional Labour Organization; and(b) The International Labour Organiza-tion may use the Library under the sameconditions as other official users thereof.

Article 5The United Nations shall assume the fol-

lowing obligations which the League of Na-tions has undertaken to transfer to the ac-quirers of certain of its immovable property,namely:

(a) As provided in the Act of 2 July 1940,by which the Republic and Canton of Ge-neva sold to the League of Nations thelanded property situated in the Commune ofGeneva, Petit-Saconnex district (plot 7033,sheet 4, with an area of 19 acres and 91metres), the buyer, in the event of re-sale,shall undertake not to exercise his right tobuild on the said plot otherwise than inconformity with the legal provisions rele-vant in the matter;(b) As provided in Article 3 of the Agree-ment of 20 February 1941, between the Ser-vices industriels de Genève and the Leagueof Nations, obligations in respect of under-ground mains shall be transferred to theacquirer of the land;


(c) As provided in Article 6 of the Ar-rangement of 18 July 1942, between theSwiss Postal and Telegraph Services andthe League of Nations, obligations in re-spect of underground mains shall be trans-ferred to the acquirer of the land.

Article 6The movable objects transferred shall be

listed in an inventory drawn up by the Leagueof Nations and verified jointly by the UnitedNations at the time of the transfer.

Article 7The transfers provided for in the present

Agreement shall take place on 1 August 1946.

Article 81. In conformity with item 8 of the report

by the Committee of the United Nations ac-companying the Common Plan (United Na-tions document A/18, 28 January 1946), theUnited Nations shall, during the liquidationof the League of Nations, allow the latter touse without any charge the premises and thefurniture and equipment with which they areprovided, together with the supplies neces-sary for the continuation of its activities untilthe date of the transfer of the said activitiesto the United Nations or of their termination.

2. Subsequently, for the work of liquida-tion of the League of Nations, until the com-pletion of that liquidation, the United Na-tions shall grant, free of charge, the use ofthe premises and the furniture and equip-ment with which they are provided and avail-able supplies in reasonable quantities.

Article 9A protocol shall be drawn up between the

League of Nations and the United Nations inorder, if need be, to supplement the presentAgreement and to settle any practical ques-tions arising out of the transfer.

Article 10The present Agreement shall enter into

force on the date on which it shall have beensigned by the Secretary-General of theLeague of Nations and the Secretary-Generalof the United Nations, or by their represen-tatives.

DONE AND SIGNED AT GENEVA ON 19 JULY1946, in four copies, two in French and two inEnglish, the texts in both languages beingequally authentic, of which two texts, oneFrench and one English, were handed to therepresentatives of the League of Nations andthe two remaining texts to the representativesof the United Nations.

For the League of Nations :(signed) Sean Lester

For the United Nations(signed) W. Moderow

ANNEX IIPROTOCOL CONCERNING THE EXECUTION OF VARI-OUS OPERATIONS IN THE TRANSFER TO THEUNITED NATIONS OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF THE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS, SIGNED 1 AUGUST 1946Mr. Sean Lester, Secretary-General of the

League of Nations, and Mr. WlodzimierzModerow, Director, Representative of theSecretary-General of the United Nations inGeneva:

NOTE that, in application of the CommonPlan, approved by a resolution of the GeneralAssembly of the United Nations, dated 12February 1946, and by a resolution of theAssembly of the League of Nations, dated 18April 1946, and of a subsequent Agreementdated 19 July 1946, concerning the executionof the transfer to the United Nations of cer-tain assets of the League of Nations, the fol-lowing operations were effected on 1 August1946:

1. The transfer of rights in respect of theLeague of Nations buildings and other im-movable property was effected on 1 August1946, and the necessary entries having beenmade this day in the Land Register of theRepublic and Canton of Geneva.

2. The transfer of the ownership and pos-session of the movable property was alsoeèected on 1 August 1946.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Agree-ment of 19 July 1946, the movable objectstransferred have been listed in an inventorydrawn up by the League of Nations which isin course of being verified by the United Na-tions. A Protocol will be drawn up placing onrecord the completion of this operation.

3. A final valuation of the assets will bemade in accordance with the terms of theCommon Plan. It will be the subject of a spe-cial protocol.

(signed) Sean LesterW. Moderow

Geneva, 1 August 1946.The Common Plan provided that the valua-

tion of the assets transferred should be basedon the original cost to the League of Nations,the credit so established to be apportionedin accordance with percentages to be estab-lished by the League. The shares thus estab-lished of States Members of the United Na-tions were to be credited to them in the ac-counts of the United Nations, those of non-Member States to be dealt with by the League.

In accordance with the terms of the aboveresolution adopted by the General Assemblythe valuation of the League assets trans-ferred was established in consultation withthe Advisory Committee on Administrative


and Budgetary Questions and the Leagueauthorities at 46,194,569.29 Swiss francs,which, converted at the rate of exchange ef-fective on the date of transfer (August 1,1946), represented $10,809,529.21. This sumwas entered in the accounts as of December31, 1946, as credit due to Member States, butas of June 30, 1947, no information had beenreceived from the League of Nations as to itsapportionment.

Assets which had been acquired by theLeague of Nations by gift, or purchased fromendowment funds were transferred to theUnited Nations without charge. These in-cluded furnishings at the Palais des Nationsand books in the library, as well as the librarybuilding itself, which cost $1,312,545.39; alsothe assets of the International Institute ofIntellectual Cooperation, which were not shownin the League's accounts nor in the accountsof the Institute, but which are shown inthe United Nations accounts at the nominalvalue of $1. The League of Nations furthertransferred or agreed to transfer to the UnitedNations the assets of certain trust funds heldfor specific purposes, with a total value ofapproximately $527,000.

8. HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED NATIONSThe General Assembly during the first

part of its first session had decided to locatethe permanent headquarters of the UnitedNations in the Westchester-Fairfield regionnear New York City and to establish a Head-quarters Commission of nine members tomake an exhaustive study of the area and torecommend possible sites of from two to 40square miles for consideration at the secondpart of the first session of the General As-sembly.1

Having completed its studies, the Head-quarters Commission submitted a detailed re-port to the General Assembly. The Commis-sion had chosen five alternative sites in theWestchester-Fairfield area, one each of two,five, ten, twenty and 40 square miles and hadexamined them in detail. The two and fivesquare mile sites recommended were locatedin the White Plains-Harrison area. The tensquare mile site was located east of Peeks-kill in the Yorktown-Cortlandt region. Thetwenty and 40 square mile sites were locatedin the Somers-Yorktown area. The Commis-sion had collected all possible informationwhich might facilitate a decision by the Gen-

eral Assembly as to the exact location of theUnited Nations headquarters, but had notmade any recommendations of its own con-cerning the site of the headquarters.

The agenda of the second part of the firstsession of the General Assembly included anitem concerning the "Report of the Headquar-ters Commission and appointment of a Plan-ning Commission of Experts." At the 24thmeeting of the General Committee of the Gen-eral Assembly, on November 5, 1946, the rep-resentative of the United States announcedthat, due to the difficulty of finding a suitablesite for the headquarters of the United Na-tions, the United States delegation felt com-pelled to abandon its previous position of neu-trality in the matter. The United States repre-sentative therefore proposed to amend theabove agenda item to include "considerationof possible alternative sites for permanentheadquarters in the New York area and in theSan Francisco Bay area which may be avail-able without cost or at reasonable cost." Anoffer received from New York City of FlushingMeadow Park and a three square mile siteoffered by San Francisco in the CrystalSprings area should be taken into considera-tion, the United States representative urged.

The representative of the Ukrainian S.S.R.proposed to amend the agenda item furtherto include "consideration of the possibility offixing the temporary or permanent headquar-ters of the organization in Europe." The rep-resentatives of the United States and Chinaobjected that this amendment would reversethe decision taken in London to locate theheadquarters of the United Nations in theUnited States. The representative of the UnitedKingdom raised the same objection in regardto the United States proposal, as the GeneralAssembly in London had voted against locatingthe headquarters of the United Nations on theWest Coast of the United States and had chosenthe Westchester-Fairfield region.

The General Committee by a vote of 7 to 2,with 3 abstentions, rejected the Ukrainianamendment. The United States amendmentwas adopted by a vote of 8 to 3, with 1 ab-stention.

When the General Assembly considered theproposed modification of the agenda item atits 47th plenary meeting on November 9, 1946,

1 See pp. 113, 114.


the representative of the United Kingdommoved an amendment to authorize the Head-quarters Committee to consider sites in theUnited States other than New York or SanFrancisco. This amendment was adopted by avote of 28 to 15, with 2 abstentions. Theamended United States proposal was adoptedby 33 votes to 2, with 1 abstention.

At the 16th meeting of the HeadquartersCommitee on November 11, 1946, a number ofmembers urged that speed was essential in thechoice of a site for the permanent headquar-ters and urged that consideration of addi-tional sites in the United States be limitedand that the Committee should not examine alarge number of new offers. After discussionthe Committee agreed to limit consideration tothe four following areas: New York, SanFrancisco, Boston and Philadelphia.

At its 17th meeting on November 14, 1946,the Committee by a vote of 39 to 2, with 2abstentions, then adopted a proposal of therepresentative of the United States to estab-lish a sub-commitee consisting of the Chair-man, the Vice-Chairman, the Rapporteur ofthe Headquarters Committee and the rep-resentatives of Australia, Belgium, Bolivia,China, Cuba, Egypt, France, Iraq, the Neth-erlands, Poland, the U.S.S.R., the UnitedKingdom, the United States, Uruguay andYugoslavia. This sub-committee was to con-sider the relative merits of alternative sitesin the four areas mentioned which might beavailable without cost or at reasonable costand was to report to the Headquarters Com-mittee in ample time for debate by the Com-mittee and report to the General Assembly.

The Sub-Committee visited three sites inthe New York area (the White Plains-Harri-son area, Mohansic Park and Flushing Mea-dow Park), two sites in the San FranciscoBay area (the Presidio, a federal militaryreservation and the Crystal Springs area),three sites in the Boston area (the Blue Hillssite, the Framingham site and the North Shoresite) and the Belmont-Roxborough area inPhiladelphia. On the basis of the data it hadgathered on each of these sites the Sub-Com-mittee recommended to the Headquarters Com-mittee the following sites: in the first instancethe site of Belmont-Roxborough in Philadelphiaand the site of the Presidio in San Francisco,these two sites being regarded by the Sub-Com-mittee as of equal merit; in the second instancethe White Plains-Harrison site near New York.

The Headquarters Committee discussed theSub-Committee's report at its 18th to 24thmeetings, held from December 4 to December9. A large number of representatives ex-pressed themselves in favor of the Presidiosite in San Francisco. These included notablythe States members of the Arab League, anumber of Central and South American Statesand certain States of the Far East and thePacific area. The representatives of Cuba,New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and theUnited Kingdom, among others, favored thePhiladelphia site. Among the countries ex-pressing themselves in favor of New YorkCity were Czechoslovakia, Norway, theU.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia.

Many European countries opposed a site inthe San Francisco area because of the dis-tance from most of the capitals of the world.At the 20th meeting of the HeadquartersCommittee on December 5, 1946, the repre-sentative of the United States announced thatthe President of the United States intended toput the Presidio site at the disposal of theUnited Nations free of charge, subject to theratification of Congress. This statement wasinterpreted by some representatives to implyUnited States support for the San Franciscosite.

The representative of the U.S.S.R. statedthat under no condition would the U.S.S.R.delegation go to San Francisco. Although theU.S.S.R. delegation favored New York, it waswilling to accept Philadelphia as a compro-mise. The United States in turn should, heurged, withdraw the San Francisco offer.

To clarify his position, the representativeof the United States stated that the offer ofthe Presidio site had been made in responseto inquiries from the Headquarters Commit-tee and was not intended to influence theviews of the Committee members. His Gov-ernment, the representative of the UnitedStates announced, was in favor of a site onthe Atlantic coast, for it considered that theHeadquarters of the United Nations shouldnot be too far removed from Europe.

After further discussion the representativeof the United States, at the 23rd meeting ofthe Headquarters Committee on December 9,1946, proposed that the Committee recom-mend to the General Assembly that the per-manent headquarters of the United Nations


be located on the eastern seaboard of theUnited States and that the choice betweenthe various possible sites proposed in thePhiladelphia, Boston and New York areas bepostponed until the next session of the Gen-eral Assembly. Meanwhile a thorough inves-tigation should be made of any new siteswhich might be proposed in those areas.

A number of representatives maintainedthat if a final decision was to be postponed,San Francisco should not be excluded fromfurther consideration. Other representativesopposed further delay as being detrimental tothe prestige of the United Nations.

At the 24th meeting of the HeadquartersCommittee on December 9, 1946, the repre-sentative of the United States submitted hisproposal for postponement of a decision inrevised form. According to this resolution,which was offered as an amendment to the re-port of the Sub-Committee, (1) considerationof the question of which site in the UnitedStates should be the permanent headquartersof the United Nations would be postponedto the next session of the General Assembly;(2) the Secretary-General was to suggest thebest site available (without cost or at reason-able cost) in the New York and Boston areas,these sites to be considered together withthe Presidio site in San Francisco and theBelmont-Roxborough site in Philadelphia;(3) the Secretary-General was to distributehis report concerning the various proposedsites to the Members of the United Nationson or before July 1, 1947.

At the 25th meeting of the HeadquartersCommittee on December 11, 1946, the repre-sentative of the United States announced anoffer of a gift from John D. Rockefeller, Jr.,to be used for the purchase of a headquarterssite in Manhattan. Mr. Rockefeller was readyto give $8,500,000 if the United Nations ac-cepted an offer for the sale of property inManhattan between First Avenue and Frank-lin D. Roosevelt Drive and between 42d and48th streets. Certain conditions were enumer-ated, notably that the gift was to be made atthe time of the closing of the purchase of theproperty. Several of the conditions would re-quire the City of New York to give to theUnited Nations streets included in the pros-pective site, certain other parcels of land,bulkheads, piers, etc. Another condition wasthat the gift should not be taxed. The UnitedNations would have to make a decision re-

garding the acceptance or rejection of theoffer within 30 days from December 10, 1946.The representative of the United States pro-posed that the Headquarters Committeeshould appoint a small sub-committee whichwould study the offer, inspect the site andreport on the following day.

A number of representatives consideredthat the United States proposal to postponea decision should be voted on first, and thatno new offers should be considered at such alate stage in the proceedings of the GeneralAssembly. Other representatives consideredthat Mr. Rockefeller's offer had modified thesituation considerably and that the Commit-tee could not arrive at a satisfactory decisionwithout studying that offer. The representa-tive of the U.S.S.R., in supporting the UnitedStates proposal for the appointment of a sub-committee, suggested that the sub-committeeconsist of the nine members of the Headquar-ters Commission and the representative ofthe United States. By a vote of 39 to 7 theHeadquarters Committee adopted the pro-posal for the establishment of a sub-com-mittee.

At the 26th meeting of the HeadquartersCommittee on December 12, 1946, the Sub-Committee reported that it had visited theproposed site and had questioned severalofficials of the City of New York concerningthe possibilities of the site. The Sub-Commit-tee had reached the conclusion that the sitewould be excellent for the construction of avertical type of urban headquarters.

The representative of the United States an-nounced that he was withdrawing his pro-posal for a postponement of a decision on aheadquarters site and instead submitted twoother draft resolutions. The first of theseprovided for acceptance by the United Na-tions of the offer of Mr. Rockefeller's gift of$8,000,000 for the acquisition of the East Riversite. The second resolution requested the Sec-retary-General to prepare the plans and finan-cial estimates for the construction of thebuildings and other facilities of the proposedpermanent headquarters of the United Na-tions.

The representative of Egypt introduced asubstitute proposal to defer a decision untilthe next session of the General Assembly. TheHeadquarters Committee rejected the Egyp-tian proposal by 36 votes to 6, with 5 absten-tions. The United States resolution involving


acceptance of Mr. Rockefeller's gift was thenadopted by a vote of 33 to 7, with 6 absten-tions. The second United States resolution re-questing the Secretary-General to prepareplans for the future headquarters was adop-ted unanimously after the Committee hadaccepted some amendments.

At the 65th plenary meeting of the GeneralAssembly the Chairman of the HeadquartersCommittee appealed for a unanimous vote onthe choice of the Manhattan site for the head-quarters of the United Nations. The GeneralAssembly, by a vote of 46 to 7, adopted thefollowing resolutions:

I. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,TAKES NOTE, with a feeling of sincere grati-

tude, of the offer made by Mr. John D. Rocke-feller, Jr., in a letter dated 10 December 1946,to give to the United Nations the sum of$8,500,000 (U.S.), on certain terms and condi-tions, to make possible the acquisition by theUnited Nations of a tract of land in New Yorkcity in the area bounded by First Avenue,East 48th Street, the East River and East42nd Street;

NOTES also the assurance given by the Cityof New York to fulfill the terms and con-ditions applicable to it on which the aforesaidoffer has been made, and the assurances givenby the representative of the United States ofAmerica with respect to certain other termsand conditions of the aforesaid gift;

RESOLVES, THEREFORE :1. That the offer of Mr. John D. Rocke-

feller, Jr., hereinabove mentioned, be ac-cepted subject to the terms and conditionstherein stated;

2. That the permanent headquarters of theUnited Nations shall be established in NewYork City in the area bounded by FirstAvenue, East 48th Street, the East River andEast 42nd Street;

3. That the Secretary-General be author-ized to take all steps necessary to acquire theland hereinabove described together with allappurtenant rights, and to receive the afore-said gift of $8,500,000 (U.S.), and to applythe said gift to the acquisition of the land asprovided in the terms of the offer;

4. That the Secretary-General be author-ized to lease the structures now on the siteuntil the work of demolition is undertaken,or to undertake demolition, as appears moreappropriate;

5. That nothing in this resolution shall bedeemed to restrict the authority of the Sec-retary-General to take any action which hemay otherwise be authorized to take;

6. That Part I of the resolution adopted atthe thirty-third plenary meeting of the Gen-eral Assembly on 14 February 1946 relating

to the permanent headquarters of the UnitedNations, is hereby repealed.

II. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:1. That the Secretary-General is hereby

requested to prepare recommendations withrespect to the matters set forth below per-taining to the establishment of the perma-nent headquarters. He is further requested toprepare a report on these matters to be dis-tributed to the Members of the United Nationson or before 1 July 1947 for consideration atthe next regular session of the GeneralAssembly:

(a) General plans and requirements forofficial buildings and other necessary fa-cilities;(b) Arrangements for accommodations,housing developments and related facili-ties, on or off the site, for personnel of theSecretariat, specialized agencies and na-tional delegations and their staffs, and forthe families of such personnel;(c) Approximate costs of construction anddevelopment;(d) Financial and other arrangements;(e) Any other matters pertaining to thedevelopment of the site which the Secre-tary-General feels the General Assemblyshould consider at its next regular session.

2. In carrying out the responsibilities setforth in paragraph 1 of this resolution, theSecretary-General shall be assisted by:

(a) An advisory committee consisting ofrepresentatives of the following Members:

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China,Colombia, France, Greece, India, Norway,Poland, Syria, Union of Soviet SocialistRepublics, United Kingdom, United Statesof America and Yugoslavia.

(b) Consultants and experts who, at therequest of the Secretary-General, shall bedesignated by the Government of theUnited States of America, or by Govern-ments of other Member States, or local au-thorities.

Early in January 1947, with the approvalof the Headquarters Advisory Committee au-thorized by the General Assembly, a Head-quarters Planning Office was establishedunder a Director of Planning, with an inter-national administrative and technical staff.On January 21, 1947, Wallace K. Harrisonwas appointed Director of Planning. Asspecial advisers, the following ten eminentarchitects and engineers were chosen, fromnominations made by Member Governments,to serve on a Board of Design Consultants:


N. D. Bassov (U.S.S.R.)Gaston Brunfault (Belgium)Ernest Cornier (Canada)Charles E. LeCorbusier (France)Liang Ssu-Cheng (China)Sven Markelius (Sweden)Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil)Howard Robertson (United Kingdom)Garnett Soilleux (Australia)Julio Vilamajo (Uruguay)

Arrangements were made with the City ofNew York authorities and a general under-standing was reached as to the developmentswhich the City and the United Nations wouldcarry out both inside and around the site.The City of New York agreed to meet theconditions of the Rockefeller gift by trans-ferring to the United Nations certain prop-erty, streets and rights for use and occupancyof the waterfront on the East River. Inaddition, the City acquired certain portionsof property within the site by condemnationprocess for transfer to the United Nations.As of June 30, 1947, the City was acquiringthe necessary property to widen 39th and40th Streets, First Avenue and 47th Streetso as to provide easier access to the UnitedNations site. Certain zoning regulations wereadopted for the control of the height ofbuildings in the area.

The United Nations on its part compliedwith all of the conditions of the Rockefeller giftand agreed to pay the cost of reconstructionof Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and ap-proaches, if required. A sum of $125,000 waspaid to the City of New York for the planningof this reconstruction. The United Nations,furthermore, agreed to pay all costs of re-locating residential tenants living in apart-ment buildings located in the site, to de-molish all structures within the site accord-ing to a schedule which would permit theCity to carry out its program concordantlyand to plan the construction of buildings andgarages in accordance with the generalstructural safety and fire prevention stand-ards agreeable to the City.

As of June 30 plans were completed forthe demolition of properties on the site andwork was to begin on July 8, 1947. It wasexpected that most of the site would becleared by early autumn.

In accordance with the General Assembly'sresolution the Secretary-General preparedfor submission to Member Governments a de-tailed report on all of the various aspects ofplanning for the new headquarters. Allbuilding plans were subject to approval bythe General Assembly at its second regularsession scheduled to convene on September16, 1947.

E. FIRST SPECIAL SESSION

1. CALLING OF THE SESSIONOn April 2, 1947, the head of the United

Kingdom delegation to the United Nations, SirAlexander Cadogan, sent a letter to the ActingSecretary-General of the United Nations, Dr.Victor Hoo, requesting on behalf of the Gov-ernment of the United Kingdom that the ques-tion of Palestine be placed on the agenda ofthe next regular session of the General Assem-bly. The letter also asked that a special sessionbe called to constitute and instruct a specialcommittee to prepare for the consideration ofthe question.

The letter stated:

I have received the following message frommy Government: —

"His Majesty's Government in the UnitedKingdom request the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations to place the question of Pales-

tine on the agenda of the General Assemblyat its next regular Annual Session. They willsubmit to the Assembly an account of theiradministration of the League of Nations Man-date and will ask the Assembly to make recom-mendations, under Article 10 of the Charter,concerning the future government of Palestine.

In making this request, His Majesty's Gov-ernment draw the attention of the Secretary-General to the desirability of an early settle-ment in Palestine and to the risk that theGeneral Assembly might not be able to decideupon its recommendations at its next regularannual session unless some preliminary studyof the question had previously been made underthe auspices of the United Nations. They there-fore request the Secretary-General to summon,as soon as possible, a special session of theGeneral Assembly for the purpose of consti-tuting and instructing a special committee toprepare for the consideration, at the regularsession of the Assembly, of the question re-ferred to in the preceding paragraph."


A telegram was immediately sent by theActing Secretary-General to the other Membersof the United Nations informing them of thisrequest, and asking them to notify him if theyconcurred in the summoning of a special sessionof the General Assembly. The telegram statedthat if within 30 days a majority of Membershad concurred, the special session would beconvoked in accordance with the rules of pro-cedure.

Forty Members replied. All with the excep-tion of Ethiopia agreed to the holding of thespecial session.

As a majority of Members had concurred inthe request of the United Kingdom by April 13,the Secretary-General summoned the specialsession to meet at Flushing Meadow, New Yorkon April 28. At the same time the Secretary-General communicated to Members the provi-sional agenda for the session.

2. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSIONThe General Assembly convened at Flushing

Meadow on April 28. The session was openedby the Chairman of the Belgian delegation,F. van Langenhove.

At the opening meeting of the session—the68th meeting of the General Assembly—Os-waldo Aranha, the chairman of the Braziliandelegation was elected President by 45 out of50 votes. The Chairmen of the Canadian, Chi-lean, Saudi Arabian, Swedish and U.S.S.R.delegations each received one vote. There werefour abstentions.

On the suggestion of the President, it wasagreed to follow the usual procedure of electinga General Committee and referring to it theconsideration of the agenda.

As the General Committee consists of thePresident, the seven Vice-Presidents and theChairmen of the six committees, the Assemblyat its 68th plenary meeting proceeded to electits seven Vice-Presidents. Chief representa-tives of the following countries were elected:China, Ecuador, France, India, the U.S.S.R., theUnited Kingdom and the United States.

To complete the composition of the GeneralCommitte, the six Main Committees met andelected the following Chairmen:

First Committee... Lester B. Pearson(Canada)

Second Committee. .Jan Papanek(Czechoslovakia)

Third Committee... Mahmoud Hassan Pasha(Egypt)

Fourth Committee. .Herman G. Ericksson(Sweden)

Fifth Committee... Jozef Winiewicz(Poland)

Sixth Committee... Tiburcio Carias Jr.(Honduras)

These elections were reported to the 69thplenary meeting of the General Assembly onApril 28, which requested the General Com-mittee to consider the provisional agenda andthe supplementary list and report to the Gen-eral Assembly. The General Committee wasalso asked to consider communications fromorganizations which had written expressingtheir views on the busines of the special session.

The following nine Members were elected tothe Credentials Committee on the proposal ofthe Acting President at the opening meeting:Argentina, Australia, Denmark, Lebanon, Peru,the Ukrainian S.S.R., the U.S.S.R., the UnitedStates and Yugoslavia.

The Committee reported to the 69th plenarymeeting on April 28 that 22 delegations hadfully satisfied the requirements and that pro-visional credentials had been received for theother countries represented.

The Committee reported again to the 79thplenary meeting on May 15 that 33 delegationshad submitted credentials since the committee'sfirst meeting and that these had been in order.All delegations had therefore received fullpowers.

3. AGENDA OF THE SESSIONa. Items Proposed

Apart from organizational and proceduralmatters, the only item on the provisionalagenda was one providing for "constituting andinstructing a special committee to prepare forthe consideration of the question of Palestineat the second regular session," the item sub-mitted by the Government of the United King-dom.

Certain other Members had, however, re-quested the inclusion of an additional item—"The termination of the mandate over Palestineand the declaration of its independence." Thishad been requested by Egypt and Iraq on April21 and by Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia onApril 22. In accordance with the rules of pro-cedure the item was placed on the Supplemen-tary List of Additional Agenda Items, and wasreferred for consideration to the GeneralCommittee along with the item suggested bythe United Kingdom.


b. Consideration of AgendaThe General Committee considered the pro-

visional agenda and the supplementary list atits 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st meetings on April29 and 30.

The Egyptian representative urged that theadditional item proposed by the Arab Statesfor inclusion on the agenda should be consid-ered at the same time as the item proposed bythe United Kingdom as the two were closelyconnected, and the Arab proposal was more con-crete and went further.

The Chairman ruled, however, that underthe rules of procedure the provisional agendahad to be considered first and then any addi-tional agenda items, which could be placed onthe agenda only by a two-thirds majority ofthe General Assembly.

At its 28th meeting the General Committeerecommended that the item "Constituting andinstructing a special committee to prepare forthe consideration of the question of Palestineat the second regular session" should be placedon the agenda of the General Assembly andreferred to the First Committee.

At its 29th meeting on April 29 the GeneralCommittee began consideration of the supple-mentary list containing the item proposedseverally by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Ara-bia and Syria: "The termination of the man-date over Palestine and the declaration of itsindependence." The representatives of Iraq,Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria were invitedto take part in the discussion of the item in ac-cordance with Rule 34 of the Provisional Rulesof Procedure. This rule provides that "a Mem-ber of the General Assembly which is not amember of the General Committee and whichhas requested the inclusion of an additionalitem on the agenda, shall be entitled to attendany meeting of the General Committee at whichits request is discussed, and may participate,without vote, in the discussion of that item."

In urging that the additional item they hadproposed be placed on the agenda, the repre-sentatives of the five Arab States stressed thefollowing points:

(1) The real question at issue was the rec-ognition of the independence of Palestine,which, it was claimed, had already been ex-pressly recognized in the Covenant of theLeague of Nations and in statements and dec-larations by the Allied powers. The BalfourDeclaration and the League Mandate for Pales-tine had violated the principles of the Covenant

and had resulted in the imposition of one peopleon another without the latter's consent. Neitherthe Declaration nor the Mandate had ever beenrecognized by the Arabs. The other mandatedterritories which had formed part of the Otto-man Empire had already been granted inde-pendence and there was no sound reason tomake a distinction between them and Palestine.

(2) The problem was not one of fact-findingbut of establishing principles. The situation inPalestine had arisen because of the principlesin the Palestine Mandate and the Balfour Dec-laration, which were based on expediency, powerpolitics, local interests and local pressure. Thesewere inconsistent with the Covenant of theLeague of Nations and the Charter of theUnited Nations. The Charter provided thatwhere other obligations were inconsistent withthe Charter, the obligations under the Chartershould prevail.

(3) All that was necessary in Palestine wasto apply the principles of the Charter and de-clare an independent Palestine along demo-cratic lines with equal rights for all citizens.This did not need a committee. Such a com-mittee could only retard the settlement of asituation which, due to the activities of politicalZionism, was daily getting more tense through-out the Arab world.

(4) The only appropriate way of bringingthe question of Palestine before the UnitedNations was (a) to notify the General Assem-bly that the territory was qualified for inde-pendence; (b) to submit to the General Assem-bly a draft trusteeship agreement for the terri-tory; or (c) to relinquish the mandate. Theitem proposed by the Arab States was in ac-cordance with the Charter, since it providedthat the discussion on the question should bedirected towards the termination of the man-date.

(5) The whole question should be discussedsince (a) the matter was urgent, (b) the com-mittee should be adequately instructed, (c) itwould in fact be impossible to avoid the ques-tion. Moreover, representatives had not comefrom all over the world just to appoint a com-mittee.

(6) If there was no agreement on principlesit would be of no use to appoint a committee,since the committee would have to work in thelight of principles. If principles were acceptedit might not be necessary to appoint a com-mittee, but in any case the principles should beestablished first.

(7) Independence was the only just solution.It was, moreover, a question on which the twoparties most directly concerned—the Jews andthe Arabs—were formally in agreement.

(8) To discuss the independence of Palestinewould not be prejudging the solution of the


problem, since it had already been envisaged inthe Covenant of the League of Nations. Not todiscuss independence would be prejudging thequestion to a much greater extent.

(9) To discuss independence did not meanthat it would have to be granted immediatelyor by any fixed date.

(10) To discuss the independence of Pales-tine need not prejudice the interests of theJews, since their case could be heard. In anycase the Jewish question was a completely sep-arate one from the Palestine problem.

Against the inclusion of this item on theagenda it was urged:

(i) To exclude this item from the agendawould not preclude independence as an ultimateissue for the solution of the Palestine problem.Independence was recognized as the objectiveof all the Class "A" Mandates.

(ii) The question was complicated andneeded careful, impartial and objective study.The matters of substance involved could bestbe discussed at the next session of the GeneralAssembly after the committee's report had beenreceived.

(iii) The committee should consider all thematerial and all evidence from all sources. Itsterms of reference should take into accountevery aspect of the problem. It would be pre-judging the issue to discuss only one possiblesolution as suggested in the Arab proposal—there were, for example, different ideas on theform of independence for Palestine.

(iv) The matter was urgent and a full debateon the substance of the question at the specialsession would entail long discussions and delaythe setting up of the special committee so thatit might not be able to consider the questionadequately by the time the next session of theGeneral Assembly convened.

(v) The discussion of the Arab proposalwould not create a good atmosphere in Pales-tine, conducive to the objective studies whichthe committee would have to make. If a generaldebate on the substance of the question washeld at the special session, the presentation ofindividual views would lead only to the confu-sion of the issue.

(vi) The United Kingdom proposal was prac-tical—it involved the setting up of a committeeand agreeing on its terms of reference. If thespecial session did this it would be justified.Whatever was essential in the Arab item wouldautomatically be considered in the formulationof the committee's terms of reference.

(vii) In view of the importance and the dif-ficulty of the question, it was necessary to ar-rive at a solution that would obtain worldsupport. That support could be obtained only

if the question had been thoroughly studiedand considered in an atmosphere free from po-litical pressure.

(viii) Many of the delegations to the specialsession which had come prepared to considerthe procedural question of setting up a com-mittee and determining its terms of referencewere not briefed to discuss the substance of thequestion.

(ix) The question of substance should not beconsidered until the views of the Jews as wellas of the Arabs were heard.

It was suggested, that since certain delega-tions had requested to debate on the substanceof the question at the special session, it shouldbe granted since a refusal might be misunder-stood. The decision could be taken at the nextsession of the Assembly, but a preliminary dis-cussion would facilitate the work of the specialcommittee.

The special committee, it was pointed out,however, would have to take into considerationthe termination of the mandate when consid-ering the future government of Palestine. TheIndian representative suggested to the ArabStates that since everyone agreed that inde-pendence should be the objective of any settle-ment of the Palestine question, they should notpress their proposition to a vote.

The Egyptian representative stated that hewas prepared not to insist on a vote at thattime, though, in reply to a question from theChairman, he stated that he had no authorityto withdraw the proposal. Iraq, Lebanon,Saudi Arabia and Transjordan also stated thatthey would not withdraw their proposals. TheChairman then ruled that since the proposalhad not been formally withdrawn, it wouldhave to be voted on. The result of the votingon the Arab proposal was 1 in favor, 8 againstand 5 abstentions.

The report of the General Committee recom-mending that the item submitted by the UnitedKingdom be placed; on the agenda of the Gen-eral Assembly and referred to the First Com-mittee (Political and Security) but not recom-mending the inclusion of the item submittedby the Governments of Egypt, Iraq, Syria,Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, was considered bythe General Assembly at its 70th and 71stmeetings on May 1, 1947.

The recommendation to place on the agendathe item proposed by the United Kingdom call-ing for the constitution of a special committeeand to refer the question to the First Com-mittee was adopted, although it was suggested


by certain representatives (1) that the inclu-sion of both items be considered together;(2) that the setting up of a special committeewas unnecessary, since the facts were alreadyavailable; (3) that the question could be solvedby the termination of the mandate and thegranting of independence to Palestine; (4)that the question should be referred not onlyto the First Committee, but also to the otherMain Committees, since it involved questionswithin their terms of reference; and (5) thatthe question should be dealt with in plenarysession and not be referred to any committee.The Chairman in stressing the broad characterof the First Committee pointed out that anagenda item must, under the rules of procedure,be referred to a committee unless the GeneralAssembly decided otherwise.

The General Assembly then considered thereport of the General Committee referring tothe non-inclusion in the agenda of the itemsuggested by the Arab States, "the terminationof the Mandate over Palestine and the declara-tion of its independence." Against the reportof the General Committee and in favor of in-cluding in the agenda the item proposed by thefive Arab States it was urged that (1) the Gen-eral Committee was a procedural committeeand had made a political decision, thereby ex-ceeding its powers; (2) one of the reasonsgiven for the refusal to admit this item on theagenda was the lack of information, but suffi-cient information was available to debate thequestion and in any case information would berequired in order to instruct the special com-mittee; (3) another reason given for the re-fusal of the item was the possible repercussionsof a general debate on the state of affairs inPalestine, but the General Assembly should notbe influenced by lawlessness; (4) it was pos-sible to include both items in the agenda, andsince it had been agreed that independence wasan objective of all Category "A" Mandates itcould be used as a guide post for the specialcommittee; (5) to reject the item might givethe false impression that the General Assemblydid not attach much importance to the inde-pendence of Palestine.

Against the inclusion of the item in theagenda it was contended that the questionshould be closely examined and all points ofview heard, and that the Assembly would bebetter qualified to consider the substance of thequestion after the special committee had com-pleted its study.

To secure unanimity a compromise was sug-gested by the representatives of El Salvadorand Colombia, supported by the representativesof Cuba, Haiti and Iran. This was to the effectthat, since it had been agreed that the specialcommittee to be appointed would have to haveas one of its terms of reference the study ofthe termination of the mandate and the inde-pendence of Palestine, and since some of theArab representatives had stated that they didnot wish the Assembly to make an immediatepronouncement on the independence of Pales-tine and the termination of the Mandate andothers had accepted the idea of the establish-ment of a committee, therefore these two pro-posals could be linked by introducing a phraseto the effect that the special committee whichwas to prepare a report on the question ofPalestine would have to study the termina-tion of the Mandate over Palestine and thedeclaration of its independence.

The President ruled that the suggestioncould not be voted on since there was no formalproposal in writing. He stated, however, thatas soon as the agenda was adopted there wouldbe full freedom of debate, without any restric-tion whatever, on the whole problem of Pales-tine, including the question of independenceand the termination of the mandate. This inter-pretation was questioned by the Indian andAustralian representatives, who submittedthat, if the question of the independence ofPalestine and the termination of the mandatewere not placed on the agenda and were after-wards raised again, it would be ruled outof order, since the General Assembly wouldthen be able only to consider the question ofconstituting and instructing the special com-mittee. The United States representative statedthat if the question of the independence ofPalestine and the termination of the mandatewere not placed on the agenda that would leaveon the agenda only the question of constitutingand instructing the special committee, but thatthe question of independence for Palestinewould have to be considered by the First Com-mittee when considering the terms of refer-ence for the special committee.

When the question of including the item ofthe supplementary list "The termination of theMandate over Palestine and the declaration ofits independence" in the agenda of the GeneralAssembly was put to the vote, 15 Membersvoted in favor of including the item, 24 againstand 10 abstained.


4. POSITION OF THE UNITED KINGDOMIn the General Committee's discussions on

the agenda, certain representatives asked foran explanation of a recent statement made by aUnited Kingdom Government spokesman in theHouse of Lords. They stated that it impliedthat the United Kingdom was not prepared tosay if it would accept the Assembly's recom-mendations.

The United Kingdom representative in replyquoted the statement made in the House ofLords, which said "I cannot imagine His Ma-jesty's Government carrying out a policy ofwhich it does not approve," and drew a distinc-tion between it and the non-acceptance by theUnited Kingdom of a recommendation of theAssembly. He pointed out that any recom-mendation made by the Assembly might haveto be enforced, and questioned whether, if thiswere a decision which the United Kingdomcould not reconcile with its conscience, it would"single-handed be expected to expend blood andtreasure in carrying it out." He said that hehoped to make a statement explaining his Gov-ernment's position.

In reply to a suggestion made in the FirstCommittee by the representative of the JewishAgency for Palestine—that the account of themandate promised by the United KingdomGovernment should be rendered not to the nextsession of the General Assembly but to thespecial committee—the United Kingdom repre-sentative on May 8 stated that his Governmentwould be entirely at the disposal of the specialcommittee if it were set up and would give it allpossible information, including an account ofthe administration of the Mandate.

In reply to a question by the Lebanese rep-resentative at the First Committee's 52nd meet-ing on May 9, the United Kingdom representa-tive stated that the United Kingdom had triedfor years to solve the problem of Palestine, but,having failed, had brought it to the UnitedNations. If the United Nations could find a justsolution which would be accepted by both par-ties, "it could hardly be expected that we shouldnot welcome such a solution." The UnitedKingdom should not, however, have the soleresponsibility for enforcing a solution not ac-cepted by both parties and which "we couldnot reconcile with our conscience." The ques-tion of the acceptance of any recommendationby the Assembly should also be addressed toother interested parties and to all the Membersof the United Nations.

5. COMMUNICATIONS FROM NON-GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONS

At its 69th meeting on April 28, the GeneralAssembly decided to refer to the General Com-mittee communications from organizationswhich had written to the Secretary-Generalasking for the opportunity of expressing theirviews concerning the items of business forwhich the special session had been called. Itwas agreed that these communications, andsimilar ones received from other agencies,should also be referred to the General Com-mittee. The General Committee was to recom-mend to the plenary meeting a procedure fordealing with the communications.

The General Committee voted at its 31stmeeting on April 30, by 11 votes to 0, with 3abstentions, to defer consideration of the com-munications until it had presented its reporton the agenda to the plenary meeting, thoughsome representatives expressed the view thatrepresentatives of the Jewish people should beheard before the agenda was decided.

The General Committee considered the ques-tion of communications from non-govern-mental organizations at its 32nd and 33rdmeetings on May 2.

The requests before the Committee were:

(1) From the Jewish Agency for Palestine,requesting authorization for the Agency to at-tend the meetings of the special session andparticipate in the discussions.

(2) From the Zionist Organization of Amer-ica, requesting that its proposal for the solutionof the Palestine question be brought before thespecial session.

(3) From the Hebrew Committee of Na-tional Liberation in Washington, requestingthat the Hebrew National Delegation begranted a seat in the special session.

(4) From the Political Action Committee forPalestine, requesting the opportunity to testifybefore the special session.

a. Jewish Agency for PalestineThe Polish representative proposed that the

General Committee recommend to the GeneralAssembly the following resolution:

The General Assembly, resolved to give care-ful consideration to the point of view of theJewish people on the Palestine question, de-cides to invite the representatives of the Jew-ish Agency for Palestine to appear before theGeneral Assembly for consultation.

In submitting this draft resolution the Polishrepresentative emphasized (1) the connectionbetween the Jewish population of Palestine and


the Palestine problem; (2) the particular in-terest of Poland, from which country many ofthe Palestine Jews had come, in the question;and (3) the special status of the Jewish Agencyfor Palestine, which had been named in theMandate as representing Jewish interests inPalestine.

Other representatives spoke in favor of hear-ing the Jewish Agency, but some representa-tives felt it would be preferable for non-govern-mental organizations to be heard by the specialcommittee, particularly since the question be-fore the General Assembly was the proceduralone of creating a committee.

The view was also expressed that only Statesshould be heard in the General Assembly asthe Charter had not provided for hearing non-governmental organizations there. To admitone organization, it was thought, would createa precedent, and the dignity of the General As-sembly might be lowered. Some representativesthought that this rule should also apply to thecommittees of the Assembly. Others felt thatsince the Charter did not forbid the hearing ofnon-governmental organizations by the GeneralAssembly in plenary session, it was permis-sible. The view was also expressed that theJewish Agency was in a special category, andthat it should be heard by the First Committee.

The Egyptian representative explained, inreply to various statements, that the ArabStates did not represent the Palestinian Arabpopulation.

The Czechoslovak representative suggestedan amendment to the Polish draft resolution toprovide that the General Assembly would invite"the representatives of the Jewish Agency forPalestine to appear before the plenary meetingof the General Assembly for the purpose ofstating their views on this question." Thisamendment was accepted by the Polish repre-sentative.

The United States representative suggestedthe following amendment to the Polish-Czecho-slovak proposal:

The General Committee, having consideredthe communications referred to it by the Presi-dent of the General Assembly from the JewishAgency and other organizations requestingthat they be permitted to express their views onthe Palestine problem, recommends to the Gen-eral Assembly that it refer these communica-tions to the First Committee for its decision.

In making this proposal the United Statesrepresentative pointed out that it was the func-

tion of the General Committee as a proceduralcommittee only to recommend to the Assemblythe procedure for dealing with the matter, notto decide on the substance of the question. Healso made the following points: that since theArab side of the case had been heard, the Jew-ish side should also be heard; that the JewishAgency was in a special category and shouldbe heard before the First Committee, but thatthis should not constitute a precedent for hear-ing other organizations; that the Agencyshould only make statements on the item onthe agenda, and that it should be rememberedthat it did not speak for all the Jews of theworld.

On the suggestion of the United Kingdomrepresentative, the United States representativeagreed to insert in the resolution "as well asany communications of a similar characterwhich may be submitted to this special session."

The Chairman ruled that the United Statesproposal was a separate resolution rather thanan amendment to the Polish-Czechoslovak reso-lution.

The Polish proposal, as amended by Czecho-slovakia, was therefore voted upon first. It wasrejected, securing 3 votes in favor, 8 againstand 3 abstentions.

The United States proposal, as amended bythe United Kingdom, was then approved by 11votes in favor, 0 against and 3 abstentions. Theproposal, as amended, read:

The General Committee, having consideredthe communications referred to it by the Presi-dent of the General Assembly from the JewishAgency and other organizations requesting thatthey be permitted to express their views on thePalestine problem,

Recommends to the General Assembly thatit refer these communications, as well as anycommunications of a similar character whichmay be submitted to this Special Session, tothe First Committee for its decisions.

The report of the General Committee wasconsidered by the General Assembly at its 72nd,73rd, 74th and 75th meetings on May 3 and 5.

The general view was expressed that bothsides of the case should be heard, althoughthere was some difference of opinion as towhether they should be heard in the plenarymeetings, in the First Committee or in the spe-cial committee. The fear was again expressedthat to discuss the substance of the Palestineproblem in the special session might prejudicechances of its solution. On the one hand it washeld that such a debate was necessary to in-struct the special committee, on the other that


the committee should be instructed by the factsof the case, not by the General Assembly. Theproposal of the General Committee was alsocriticized on the ground that it provided onlyfor the sending of communications to the FirstCommittee and did not stipulate that the or-ganizations should be heard.

The special position of the Jewish Agencyas a public body recognized in the Mandate forPalestine was also mentioned in the debate.

At the 73rd plenary meeting the Polish rep-resentative opposed the report of the GeneralCommittee on the ground that there were noprocedural differences between the GeneralAssembly and its committees and that the ar-guments to bar the Jewish Agency from theplenary meetings were not convincing. He re-introduced the Polish-Czechoslovak resolutionwhich had been defeated in the General Com-mittee.

Resolutions were presented to the 74thplenary meeting on May 5 by Uruguay, Chileand Argentina, and amendments to the reportof the General Committee by Yugoslavia andthe Byelorussian S.S.R. All five proposals sug-gested that the Jewish Agency for Palestineshould be invited to state its views before theFirst Committee. The Yugoslav amendmentsuggested that "other representatives of thepopulation of Palestine" should also be givena hearing before the First Committee. TheChilean and Argentine resolutions proposedthat other communications should be referredto the First Committee.

At this point a cable received from the ArabHigher Committee was read to the GeneralAssembly. The cable stating that the Committeerepresented the Arabs of Palestine and hadchosen a delegation, composed of Emile Ghory,Rajai Hussein, Henry Kattan, Wasef Kamal,Isa Nakleh and Rasem Khaldi, to represent theCommittee before the special session and tospeak on its behalf. The Committee requestedthat due recognition should be given to thedelegation.

A letter was also read from the delegationnominated by the Arab Higher Committee ap-plying for its representatives to attend theAssembly's deliberations and be heard on theproblem.

At the suggestion of the President, the fivedelegations which had made proposals to theplenary meeting produced a single draft reso-lution. This text, which was presented to the75th plenary meeting on May 5, was as follows:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:1. That the First Committee grant a hearing

to the Jewish Agency for Palestine on thequestion before the Committee;

2. To send to that same Committee for itsdecision those other communications of a simi-lar character from the Palestinian populationwhich have been received by this Special Ses-sion of the General Assembly or may later onbe submitted to it."

The Cuban representative, in supporting thistext, explained that he had withdrawn for thesake of unanimity a motion to the effect that allpetitions to be heard in the Assembly, comingfrom Arab and Jewish sources, should be re-ferred to the First Committee and that the FirstCommittee should be instructed to hear as manyrepresentatives of the parties involved aspossible.

The Polish-Czechoslovak proposal and thejoint resolution were opposed on the groundsthat: it was not true that the Palestinian Arabcase had been put before the Assembly, sincethe Arab States did not represent the Pales-tinian Arabs; it would be prejudging the issueto decide on the particular character of anagency which had been established by virtueof a mandate which was being contested; therewas no constitutional ground for the JewishAgency to be heard before the United Nationsand it had never been heard before the Leagueof Nations; it was unfair to differentiate be-tween the representatives of the Jews and ofthe Arabs of Palestine.

At the end of the 73rd plenary meeting onMay 3 the President had closed the list ofspeakers. At the 75th meeting on May 5 theLebanese representative protested against theclosing of the list of speakers on the groundthat since the list had been closed six new docu-ments had been presented to the Assembly. Onthe matter being put to the vote 12 represent-atives voted in favor of re-opening the debate,and 32 against.

The General Assembly then voted on thePolish-Czechoslovak proposal, which providedfor the hearing of the Jewish Agency for Pales-tine before the plenary meeting. The proposalwas defeated by 8 votes in favor and 39 against.

The General Assembly then adopted by 44votes in favor, 7 against and 3 abstentions, thejoint proposal of Chile, Uruguay, the Byelo-russian S.S.R., Yugoslavia and Argentina.

6. Consideration by the First CommitteeThe First Committee at its 46th meeting on

May 6 began its consideration of the question


of granting a hearing to non-governmental or-ganizations. At this meeting the Committeeelected the member of the Committee for Mex-ico as Vice-Chairman and the member of theCommittee for Denmark as Rapporteur.

Resolutions were proposed by the UnitedStates and by Argentina on the implementationof the General Assembly's resolution.

The United States resolution proposed thatarrangements should be made by the Chairmanbefore the Committee took final action on theitem on its agenda—the question of consti-tuting and instructing the special committee—"to give an opportunity to the Jewish Agencyfor Palestine, as well as to any other organiza-tion representative of a considerable elementof the population of Palestine" to appear be-fore the Committee and present its views onthe terms of reference of the special commit-tee. It further proposed that either (a) therecommendations of the United Kingdom asthe Mandatory should be taken into considera-tion by the Committee in determining whetheran organization claiming to represent consid-erable elements of the population of Palestineshould be heard, or (b) no organization shouldbe considered representative of a considerableelement of the population of Palestine unless astatement to that effect was received from thedelegation of the Mandatory. (Later the UnitedStates representative withdrew the first alter-native). Finally it proposed that no organiza-tion should be permitted to express its viewson the substance of the Palestine problem be-fore the Committee, but should reserve suchviews for a hearing before the special com-mittee.

The Argentine resolution proposed that theFirst Committee grant a hearing to the JewishAgency for Palestine, the representative of theArab population and the representative of theJewish population of Palestine. All hearings,the resolution proposed, would be about theappointment and instruction of the specialcommittee.

The Chairman read to the Committee a com-munication received from the Arab HigherCommittee withdrawing its request for a hear-ing in view of the discrimination shown by theAssembly in deciding in plenary session thatthe Jewish Agency for Palestine should be in-vited, whereas the request of the Arab HigherCommittee, which represented the majority ofthe population of Palestine, had been sent with

other requests to the First Committee fordecision.

In the Committee's discussions the opinionwas expressed that, notwithstanding the actionof the Arab Higher Committee in withdrawingits request for a hearing, the representatives ofthe Arab population of Palestine should beheard by the Committee. Some speakers feltthat the Committee's hearings should be re-stricted to representatives of the Jewish Agencyand the Arab Higher Committee. In reply toa question from the United States representa-tive, the representative of the United Kingdomstated that the Arab Higher Committee wasrepresentative of the Arab population ofPalestine.

c. Joint ResolutionThe United States representative proposed

a joint resolution combining the previousUnited States and Argentine proposals.

This read as follows:

THE FIRST COMMITTEE RESOLVES:1. To grant a hearing to:

(a) The Jewish Agency for Palestine(b) The Arab Higher Committee of Pal-

estine2. That arrangements be effected by the

Chairman, before this Committee takes finalaction with regard to the item on the agenda,to give an opportunity to the Jewish Agency forPalestine, the Arab Higher Committee as rep-resentative of the views of the Arab population,as well as to any other organization representa-tive of a considerable element of the populationof Palestine, to appear before this Committeeand present such views as such organization ororganizations may have to offer with regard towhat the terms of reference of the SpecialCommittee to be set up by this session of theAssembly should be.

3. That the recommendations of the Dele-gation of the Mandatory be taken into consid-eration by this Committee in determiningwhether an organization maintaining that itrepresents considerable elements of the popu-lation of Palestine should be allowed to appearbefore the Committee.

4. That no organization be permitted to ex-press its views with regard to the substanceof the Palestine problem before this Commit-tee; that any organization which desires toexpress views of this character should applyfor a hearing to the Special Committee whichit is the purpose of this session of the GeneralAssembly to establish.

The joint resolution was considered clause byclause. The first clause was adopted; certainchanges of wording were made in the secondclause.


On the proposal of the representative of Aus-tralia the Committee decided that a sub-com-mittee of five, and not the Mandatory, shouldadvise on whether any organization other thanthe Jewish Agency or the Arab Higher Commit-tee represented considerable elements of thepopulation of Palestine. The United States rep-resentative indicated that he would agree tothis, provided a suggestion made by the Bra-zilian representative that the sub-committeeshould include the Mandatory were adopted.The Chairman proposed that the sub-committeeshould consist of the members of the Committeefrom Colombia, Iran, Poland, Sweden and theUnited Kingdom. The Indian representative,however, maintained that to refer the questionto a sub-committee was only to defer it, andsponsored the original proposal, as amended.The proposal to appoint a sub-committee wascarried by 31 votes in favor and 4 against.

Several representatives spoke in favor ofeliminating the fourth paragraph of the jointresolution providing that no organizationshould be permitted to express its views on thesubstance of the Palestine problem. Two reasonswere advanced for this: (1) that the statementsof the organizations should not be restricted,and that they would be competent only to speakon the substance of the question and not on pro-cedural questions; (2) that the paragraph wasunnecessary since the draft resolution alreadyprovided that the organizations should speak onthe question of constituting the committee andthat it was the Chairman's function to rule aspeaker out of order.

An amendment proposed by France that "Noorganization shall be permitted to express viewsbefore the Committee which are not directlyrelated to the purpose and object of this com-mittee as defined in paragraph 2 above" wasaccepted by the United States representative,the Argentinian representative explaining thathe would have to vote for the deletion of theparagraph as he was in favor of free debate.

The French proposal was put to the vote andwas lost by 19 votes in favor to 22 against.The Chairman declared that the paragraph wastherefore deleted from the resolution.

The representatives of the Arab States ex-pressed appreciation of the attitude of delega-tions in expressing the wish to hear representa-tives of the Arabs of Palestine, but stated thatthey would abstain from voting since the de-cision by the General Assembly, which was asuperior body to the First Committee, had dis-criminated against the Arabs of Palestine.

The resolution was carried at the 47th meet-ing of the First Committee on May 6 by 40 votesin favor, 0 against and 7 abstentions.

The text of the resolution, as adopted, read:

THE FIRST COMMITTEE RESOLVES:1. To grant a hearing to the Jewish Agency

for Palestine and to the Arab Higher Commit-tee of Palestine.

2. That arrangements be effected by theChairman, before this Committee takes anyfinal decision with regard to the item on theagenda, to give an opportunity to the JewishAgency for Palestine, the Arab Higher Com-mittee as representative of the views of theArab population, as well as to any other organ-ization representative of a considerable elementof the population of Palestine, to appear beforethis Committee and present such views as suchorganization or organizations may have to offerwith regard to the constituting and instructingof the special committee which may be set upby this session of the Assembly.

3. That a sub-committee of five members,consisting of representatives of Colombia, Po-land, Iran, Sweden and the United Kingdom,shall be established to advise the Committeewhether any other organization represents aconsiderable element of the population of Pal-estine.

The Chairman then wrote to the Secretary ofthe Palestine-Arab delegation, transmitting thetext of the resolution and stating: "In view ofthis resolution, you may wish to reconsider thewithdrawal of the request of the Palestine-Arabdelegation to be heard with regard to the con-stituting and instructing of the special com-mittee referred to in the above resolution."

d. Arab Higher CommitteeAt the 48th meeting of the First Committee

on May 7 the Indian representative proposedthat, since the Arab Higher Committee wouldnot come before the First Committee until theCommittee's recommendation had been en-dorsed by the General Assembly, a plenarymeeting be called "to consider the followingresolution, that the First Committee grant ahearing to the Arab Higher Committee on thequestion before the Committee."

Certain representatives felt that such a pro-cedure was unnecessary since an invitation hadbeen extended to the Arab Higher Committee,the views of Members were clear, and such amove could have little meaning; others sup-ported the proposal on the ground that it wouldsecure the participation of the Arab HigherCommittee.

The resolution was adopted.


At its 76th plenary meeting on May 7 theGeneral Assembly considered the resolution pro-posed by the First Committee.

The President proposed that the General As-sembly adopt the following resolution:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY affirms that thedecision of the First Committee to grant ahearing to the Arab Higher Committee givesa correct interpretation of the Assembly'sintention.

The view was again expressed that to passsuch a resolution was illogical, and mightweaken the previous decisions of the Assemblyand of the First Committee.

The General Assembly voted, however, by 39votes in favor, 1 against and 11 abstentions toadopt the resolution.

e. Statements by the Jewish AgencyFollowing the decision of the General Assem-

bly on May 6 to grant a hearing to the JewishAgency for Palestine before the First Com-mittee, the President telegraphed the JewishAgency informing them of the Assembly's de-cision and requesting the names of their author-ized representatives.

A reply was received from the Jewish Agencyon May 8 accepting the invitation and nomi-nating as its authorized representatives DavidBen-Gurion, Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, MosheShertok, Hayim Greenberg, Mrs. Rose Halprin,Nahum Goldman and Dr. Emanuel Neumann.

The First Committee at its 50th meeting onMay 8 heard a statement by the representativeof the Agency, Dr. Silver.

Dr. Silver referred to the satisfaction of theJewish Agency that the problem of Palestinewould now be reviewed by an international body,as it had been aggravated by unilateral actionon the part of the Mandatory Power, withoutthe sanction or supervision of the internationalbody which had created the trust and defined itslimits and purposes. The administration of Pal-estine since the outbreak of the War had, saidDr. Silver, been conducted by the Mandatory asthough it were vested with the sovereignty ofthe territory, instead of being a trustee underthe Mandate.

Dr. Silver stressed the importance to the Jew-ish people of the question of Palestine, andpointed out that the Jewish Agency was recog-nized in the Mandate as a public body author-ized to speak for all the Jewish people on ques-tions affecting the Jewish National Home. TheJewish Agency was the only recognized public

body in the Mandate. The Mandate stated thatit was to advise and co-operate with the Admin-istration of Palestine on economic, social andother questions affecting the establishment ofthe Jewish National Home and the interests ofthe Jewish population in Palestine, and to assistin the development of the country. It was also toco-operate with the Administration in permit-ting close settlement by Jews on the land, andwas given a preferred status regarding the con-struction and operation of public works and thedevelopment of the natural resources of thecountry. The Jewish Agency therefore repre-sented the organized Jewish community in Pal-estine—the National Council of Palestine Jews—and the Jewish people of the world since itwas charged under the Mandate "to secure theco-operation of all Jews who are willing to assistin the establishment of the Jewish NationalHome."

Dr. Silver maintained that "the Jewish peo-ple" and "the Jewish National Home" were keyterms and should be so regarded by the com-mittee of inquiry. They were the basic conceptsof the Balfour Declaration and of the Mandateunder which Palestine was, or should be ad-ministered to-day. These international com-mitments, made a quarter of a century ago,recognized the historic rights and present needsof the Jewish people and could not now beerased. Moreover, the United Nations Charterproclaimed the principle of respect for obliga-tions arising from treaties and also stated inthe Chapter dealing with trusteeship (whichwas therefore particularly appropriate to man-dated territories) that nothing in that Chaptershould alter in any way the rights of States orpeoples or the terms of existing internationalinstruments to which Members of the UnitedNations might be parties.

The Jewish National Home was still in themaking. The right of the Jews to reconstitutetheir National Home in Palestine had neverbeen cancelled or questioned by any interna-tional community. The Mandatory, which hadbeen charged with safeguarding the oppor-tunity for the development of the NationalHome, had interfered with and circumscribedit. That opportunity should now be restored.

Dr. Silver quoted statements from Britishand American leaders recognizing that the Jew-ish National Home had not yet been establishedand looking forward to continued Jewish immi-gration into Palestine and the creation of aJewish State. He also quoted a resolution


adopted by the British Labour Party in 1945 infavor of allowing Jewish immigration into Pal-estine until the Jews became a majority there.

The international obligation to ensure thecontinuous development of the Jewish NationalHome should, said Dr. Silver, be kept in mindby the special committee.

Dr. Silver suggested that the Mandatoryshould give an account of its administration tothe committee of inquiry rather than to thenext session of the General Assembly, since thecommittee could not make helpful recommen-dations for the future government of Palestinewithout considering what was wrong with thepresent administration.

He also suggested that the committee shouldvisit Palestine to see the record of the Jewishpioneering achievements there despite verygreat handicaps. What had been built by theJews in Palestine had benefited not only thembut also the Arabs and other non-Jewish com-munities. Dr. Silver quoted a letter written byEmir Feisal at the Peace Conference followingthe First World War expressing sympathy to-wards the Zionist Movement and favoring thereturn of the Jews to Palestine. The conceptsof social justice and modern scientific methodbeing developed in Palestine would, Dr. Silvermaintained, serve as a stimulus to the progressof the entire Near East.

The Committee, he maintained, should alsoconsider the potentialities of the country which,if properly developed, would support a muchgreater population. More projects, whichwould lead to economic and social improvementin Palestine, as well as in all neighboring coun-tries, were awaiting development pending asatisfactory political solution.

The Committee, he maintained, should lookinto the fundamental causes of unrest and vio-lence in Palestine and he instanced: (1) thatshiploads of refugees were being driven fromthe shores of the Jewish National Home by aMandatory Government which had assumed, asits prime obligation, the facilitating of Jewishimmigration into the country; and (2) that theMandatory Government, which had assumedthe obligation of encouraging close settlementof the Jews on the land, was severely restrict-ing Jewish settlement to an area of less thansix per cent of the country, and was enforcingdiscriminatory racial laws although both theMandate and the Charter condemned this.

Dr. Silver expressed the hope that the com-mittee of inquiry would visit the Displaced

Persons Camps in Europe and see the miserythere, two years after V-E Day. Most of thedisplaced persons, he said, were desperatelyeager to go to the Jewish National Home. Heappealed for a relaxation of the restrictivemeasures on immigration into Palestine and areturn to the status before the White Paperpolicy of 1939 was imposed. This, he said,would not only help the displaced persons butwould relieve the present tensions in Palestineand enable the deliberations of the Committeeto be carried on in an atmosphere of modera-tion and good will.

In conclusion Dr. Silver affirmed the faith ofthe Jewish people in the ultimate triumph ofmoral principles and claimed that the Jewishpeople of Palestine should be admitted to mem-bership in the United Nations.

Supplementary statements on the terms ofreference of the special committee were madeby the representatives of the Jewish Agency,Moshe Shertok and David Ben-Gurion, at the52nd and 55th meetings of the First Commit-tee on May 9 and 12.

On May 9, Moshe Shertok stated that thecrisis in Palestine resulted from the fact thatthe present policy of the Mandatory Govern-ment conflicted with its obligations to the Jew-ish people, and that the crux of the matter wasthe problem of Jewish immigration into Pales-tine. He criticized the draft resolution thenbeing considered by the Committee on thegrounds that it prejudged the issue whichshould be investigated by the special commit-tee by mentioning only independence as the goaltowards which the future government of Pales-tine should aim, whereas the primary objectiveof the trust under which Palestine was admin-istered was the establishment of the JewishNational Home, and these two questions wereorganically connected. He therefore favored theinclusion of a phrase previously proposed bythe United States, to the effect that the Com-mittee should bear in mind "various other is-sues connected with the problem of Palestine."

He further criticized the paragraph in theworking paper prepared by the Sub-Committeeof the First Committee relating to the interestsof "all the inhabitants of Palestine" and thereligious interests there of Islam, Jewry andChristendom, on the ground that the interestsof Jewish people were also fundamentally rele-vant to the purpose of the inquiry, and sug-gested that a reference should be made to them


or that the paragraph should contain only areference to the religious interests of the threefaiths. He maintained that the Charter guaran-teed the existing rights of all peoples in terri-tories under mandate, pending their transfor-mation to trust territories, and that it wouldnot be proper to prejudge the issue by disre-garding the rights involved.

On May 12 Mr. Ben-Gurion stated that theMandatory Power had not been charged with asolution of the Palestine problem, but with car-rying out a settlement defined in the Mandate,the restoration of Palestine to the Jewishpeople. The failure of the Mandatory was thefailure to carry out this settlement. The WhitePaper of 1939 had violated the Mandate'sterms, and had been condemned by the Per-manent Mandates Commission, by politicalleaders in the United Kingdom and by theAnglo-American Committee of Inquiry. It wasresponsible for the present state of affairs inPalestine, and the first task of the specialcommittee should be to determine how to en-sure that the international obligations to theJewish population of Palestine were faith-fully fulfilled.

He stated, also, that in Palestine there wasa distinct Jewish nation, based on its historicalconnection with the country and its work of re-construction and rebuilding. The growth of thisnation could not be arrested, because (1) therewere large numbers of homeless Jews whoseonly hope was in their National Home; and (2)more than two-thirds of Palestine was wasteland said by the Arabs to be uncultivable butcultivated by the Jews because it was the onlyland they could call their own.

The Arabs were not being asked to receivethe Jewish immigrants. They came to Jewishtowns and villages, not to Arab towns andvillages.

The Jews had no conflict with the Arab peo-ple. They were rebuilding Palestine, and a Jew-ish-Arab partnership based on equality andmutual assistance would help the regeneration•of the whole Middle East. In conclusion Mr.Ben-Gurion suggested as a solution of the prob-lem a Jewish State and a Jewish-Arab alliance.

f. Statements by the Arab Higher CommitteeThe representative of the Arab Higher Com-

mittee, Henry Rattan, made a statement to the52nd meeting of the First Committee on May 9.

Mr. Kattan began by saying that the Arabpeople were deeply anxious to find a just and

lasting solution to the problem of Palestine be-cause it was the problem of their present lifeand future destiny. Their existence as a peoplewas threatened and they hoped for support intheir struggle for their national right of self-determination.

Mr. Kattan outlined conditions in Palestinebefore the First World War. Palestine had beenincluded in the Ottoman Empire as part ofSyria. It had an Arab character, had been in-habited for several centuries by Arabs; its cus-toms, traditions and culture were Arab as wellas its towns and villages. Small communities ofJews, Armenians and Kurds lived in Palestine,as in other Arab countries, in peace and secur-ity. The Jews in Palestine in 1914 representedabout six or seven per cent of the total popula-tion. They had their own schools, synagoguesand communal institutions, but they had no na-tional or political aims hostile to the Arabs, andmerged harmoniously with the Arab structure.

The Arabs at that time enjoyed rightsof citizenship equal to those enjoyed by theTurkish citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Theyrose to the highest executive, legislative and ad-ministrative positions. They wished, however,to establish a purely Arab state, independent ofthe Ottoman Empire. In this they were encour-aged by the Allied Governments since it fittedin with Allied plans for the War. The UnitedKingdom, in particular, made pledges for therecognition and establishment of Arab inde-pendence. The pledge of Sir Henry McMahon,United Kingdom High Commissioner in Egypt,to King Hussein of Hedjaz, then Sherif ofMecca, recognizing the independence of theArabs within the frontiers proposed by KingHussein excluded parts of Syria lying to thewest of the districts of Damascus, Horns, Hamaand Aleppo, but did not exclude the part ofSyria now known as Palestine.

The Balfour Declaration was issued in No-vember 1917, without the consent or the knowl-edge of the Arabs, in contradiction to theMcMahon Pledge of 1915. In reply to a requestfrom King Hussein for an explanation, theUnited Kingdom Government in the HogarthMessage pledged that Jewish settlement in Pal-estine would be allowed only in so far as wasconsistent with "the political and economicfreedom of the Arab population."

Other declarations followed. In February1918 the acting British agent in Jedda wrote tothe Sherif of Mecca reaffirming British pledgesregarding the liberation of the Arab peoples.


In June 1918 the British Government in theDeclaration to the Seven stated that it was theGovernment's policy that the future governmentof the regions occupied by Allied forces shouldbe based on the consent of the governed. InNovember 1918 an Anglo-French Declarationsaid that the aim of the two Governments in theliberated territories, including Syria and Meso-potamia, was the emancipation of the peoplesand the establishment of national governmentsand administrations, deriving their authorityfrom the initiative and free choice of the indi-genous populations. The two Governments didnot wish to impose on the populations of theseregions any particular institutions.

The special committee should therefore, saidMr. Kattan, investigate the pledges given to theArabs recognizing their independence, beforeand after the Balfour Declaration.

The Arabs, said Mr. Kattan, made a substan-tial contribution to the Allied victory. He quotedfrom the report of the British Military Com-mission of Inquiry of 1920, which stated thatthe Arabs fought under the impression thatthey were fighting for the liberation of theirfatherland and "that the British Governmentwould undertake the formation of an independ-ent Arab State comprising Palestine."

Apart from the breaking of pledges, the claimof the Arabs for the termination of theMandate and recognition of their independencerested on the claim that the country belongedto them and that they were entitled to inde-pendence as their natural right.

The pledges, however, nullified contradictoryassurances given to the Jews if the BalfourDeclaration meant more than a cultural home.They also showed that the administration of thecountry in a manner contrary to the wishes ofthe majority of the inhabitants was a glaringinjustice.

The Balfour Declaration and the policy itenunciated was the root cause of all the troublesin Palestine and the Middle East. It was madewithout the consent, or the knowledge of thepeople most directly affected, it was contraryto the principles of national self-determinationand democracy and the principles contained inthe Charter of the United Nations, and was in-consistent with the pledges given to the Arabsboth before and after it was issued. The specialcommittee should enquire into its legality, valid-ity and ethics.

Moreover, the principle laid down in Article22 of the Covenant of the League of Nationswas that the well-being and development of the

peoples inhabiting territories which had ceasedto be under the States which formerly governedthem was a sacred trust of civilization. In par-ticular it was stated that the existence as inde-pendent nations of certain communities de-tached from the Turkish Empire—i.e. the ArabNation—could be provisionally recognized sub-ject to administrative advice and assistance bya mandatory until they were able to stand alone.

Despite the pledges given by Great Britainand the Allied Governments, Wilson's FourteenPoints, Article 22 of the Covenant and the riotsand opposition of the people of Palestine, theMandate embodied the Balfour Declaration.

The special committee should consider the in-consistency of the Mandate with Article 22 ofthe Covenant of the League of Nations. TheMandate derived its authority from the Cove-nant and if inconsistent with the Covenant wasultra vires. There was no provision in the Cove-nant enabling the embodiment in the Mandateof provisions prejudicial to the interests of thepeople of the country.

The special committee should also considerthat the Mandate was intended to be provisionaland transitory. Other territories placed under"A" Mandates were now independent. In sup-port of his contention that there was no reasonfor differentiating between the Arabs of Pales-tine and of the other Arab countries, Mr. Kat-tan quoted a statement made by Mr. Bevin inthe House of Commons in 1947: "In otherStates in the Middle East, we also took on Man-dates and they have all led to self-government. Iwant to state that the cultural development ofthe Arabs and Jews in Palestine is of as high astandard as in any other Arab State." It wasnot a convincing argument to say that the Man-date should be continued since its cessationwould lead to bloodshed between Jews andArabs, because the whole history of the Man-date had been one of bloodshed and troubles.Moreover the power of the Mandatory could notlegally outlive the League of Nations, whichhad delegated that power to it. The Charter,while not interfering with existing rights, didnot confer validity on an agency or Mandatewhich had ceased to be valid.

The special committee should also considerthe conflict between the provisions of the Man-date obliging the Mandatory to facilitate Jew-ish immigration and the obligations undertakenby the United Kingdom Government under theCharter. If these obligations were to establishthe Jewish National Home and facilitate Jewish


immigration against the will of the original in-habitants of the country and the majority of thepopulation, they were in conflict with the Pur-poses and Principles of the Charter. They alsoconflicted with the resolution adopted by theGeneral Assembly in December 1946, which dis-approved of the resettlement of displaced per-sons where that was likely to disturb friendlyrelations with other countries or cause genuineapprehension to the indigenous population ofnon-self-governing territories.

The special committee should further con-sider the practical application of the Mandate.This, said Mr. Kattan, would show (1) that itwas not exercised within the scope and for thepurposes contemplated by Article 22 of theCovenant; (2) that it was not exercised for thebenefit of the original inhabitants of the coun-try; and (3) that its continuation was creatinga situation affecting peace and good order inPalestine and threatening peace and security inthe Middle East. It would also show how theArabs had lost civil and political rights they hadenjoyed prior to the Mandate, how immigrationfacilitated under the Mandate was threateningthe existence of the Arab Nation and had ledto the troubles in Palestine; how there were noself-governing institutions; how lives had beenlost in enforcing the Mandate and allowing Jew-ish immigration against the wishes of the in-habitants of Palestine; and how much moneyhad been spent on police posts and fortresses ascompared with schools and hospitals.

The problem was not an Arab-Jewish prob-lem. Arab opposition to Jewish immigrationwould be equally strong against any group at-tempting to force immigrants into the countryagainst the will of the Arabs. It was not eco-nomic. To argue that the Jews could colonizethe country better than the Arabs would justifyany aggression by more advanced against lessadvanced nations. It was not connected with therefugee problem, which was a humanitarianproblem in the solution of which all countriesshould share. In the view of the Arab popula-tion all immigration of Jews into Palestine wasillegal, and a recommendation should be madeto the Mandatory to stop all Jewish immigra-tion. Further the problem was not one of his-torical connection. History could not be put backtwenty centuries to give away a country on theground of a transitory historic association, orthe map of the whole world would have to beredrawn.

In conclusion Mr. Kattan stated his hope thatthe special committee and the General Assem-bly would see that the apparently complex prob-lem could be solved on the basis of the prin-ciples of the Charter only by recognizing theindependence of Palestine.

The representative of the Arab Higher Com-mittee, Emile Ghory, made some supplementaryobservations on the terms of reference of thespecial committee at the 55th meeting of theFirst Committee on May 12. He expressed theapprehension of the Arab Higher Committeeconcerning the inclusion of any terms of refer-ence contemplating a solution of the problemwhich might conflict with the right of Pales-tine to complete independence as one undividedwhole. The Arabs were entitled to their inde-pendence, which had been recognized by theCovenant of the League of Nations and ofwhich they had been unjustly and illegallydeprived as a consequence of the Mandate. Theywould refuse to consider any solution implyingthe loss or dimunition of their sovereignty overthe whole of the country.

He also emphasized that any attempt to solvethe question of refugees and displaced personsat the expense of the Arabs would meet withtheir resolute opposition and would prejudicethe chances of a successful inquiry and justsolution. To link the refugee problem with theproblem of Palestine would prejudge the in-quiry in favor of the Zionists and would makeit necessary for the Arabs to reconsider theirattitude to the inquiry. He stated that the con-tinued Jewish immigration was bound to preju-dice the issue and he urged that a recommenda-tion should be made to the United Kingdom Gov-ernment to put an immediate and complete stopto all immigration while the question was beingconsidered.

g. Questions Addressed to the Jewish Agencyand the Arab Higher CommitteeAt its 50th meeting on May 8, the First

Committee decided that oral questions might beaddressed to the representatives of the JewishAgency and Arab Higher Committee and thatthese might later be supplemented by writtenquestions. The replies might be made eitherorally or in writing.

Questions were addressed orally to the repre-sentative of the Jewish Agency at the FirstCommittee's 50th meeting on May 8, and oralreplies were given by the representatives of theAgency at the First Committee's 54th meetingon May 12.


Questions were addressed orally to the repre-sentatives of the Arab Higher Committee atthe First Committee's 52nd meeting on May 9and oral replies were given by the representa-tives of the Arab Higher Committee at theFirst Committee's 55th meeting on May 12.

The main points of the questions and answerswere as follows:

By the representative of Poland, to bothorganizations

Who represented the organization concerned,how many organizations ? How was the Execu-tive Committee established and organized andhow did it work?

Reply of the Jewish AgencyThe Zionist Organization had been recog-

nized as the Jewish Agency in the Mandate.The World Zionist Organization was at thattime 25 years old. Subsequently certain non-Zionist groups joined in forming an enlargedJewish Agency, but the Zionist Organizationremained the main driving force. The WorldZionist Organization had now local organiza-tions in more than 60 countries. The Organiza-tion contained political parties. Its Congresses,which met every two years after a general elec-tion in all countries, elected the Executive. Thepresent Executive was elected by the 360 repre-sentatives to the 22nd Zionist Congress in Baslelast December, which in turn was elected bynearly two million Zionist voters throughoutthe world. The Executive had headquarters inJerusalem and branches with resident membersin New York, London and Paris.

The Jewish Agency represented not only theJews in Palestine, but all the Jews throughoutthe world who were devoted to the idea of theJewish National Home. The Agency was notmerely an organ of national representation butan institution of nation-building, of immigra-tion, development and settlement. In Palestineit directed large-scale practical developmentwork, and in the war mobilized the Jewish wareffort in Palestine.

Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeThe Arab Higher Committee in Palestine

was represented by those of its members whowere resident in that country, where it hadits own organization and offices. The ArabHigher Committee was, itself, the executive.Its decisions were made by majority vote andwere executed through its own officials.

By the representative of India to theJewish Agency

What was the number of Jews from outsidein Palestine in 1900, in 1930 and in 1939 whenthe White Paper of 1939 was issued by theBritish Government?

Reply of the Jewish AgencyWith regard to all the questions bearing on

immigration, if it were granted that the Jewishpeople were in Palestine of right, then the im-plications of that premise would have to beaccepted—for example, they must be allowedto resettle in unlimited numbers provided theydid not worsen the lot of existing inhabitantswho were also there of right. If that basicpremise were not granted, there would be littleto discuss. If this historical right were admit-ted, it would not be a question of redrawing themap of the world since the position of theJewish people as a homeless people firmly at-tached to its birthplace was unique.

With regard to the question of the Indianrepresentative, the figures of the Jewish pop-ulation in Palestine were 50,000 in 1900,165,000 in 1930 and 475,000 in 1939. At presentit was about 630,000, and was greater than theArab population at the end of the First WorldWar. In one sense they were all immigrants:the return had started in the early 1880's andhad been practically continuous since then; butin another sense they were not "from outside"as they were all convinced of their right to re-turn. The Jews were not received by the Arabsbut settled in their own right and made a livingby their own efforts and not at the expense ofanyone else.

To the Arab Higher CommitteeWas it or was it not a fact that until 1900,

not more than 4,500 Jews had gone to Palestine,that until 1920 not more than about 45,000 hadgone, that by 1930 the numbers of immigrantshad risen to over 150,000 and that by 1939 thishad risen to about 600,000 when the WhitePaper restricting Jewish immigration was is-sued. Were these immigrants Arab speaking,Hebrew speaking or Yiddish speaking? WasYiddish a Hebrew language or a mixture ofPolish, Lithuanian, Roumanian, etc. and He-brew, with a Hebrew script? Were these immi-grants easily assimilable in Palestine ?

Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeThe number of Jews in Palestine had in-

creased as follows: for 1900: no official figures;in 1918: 56,000 Jews; in 1930: 165,000 Jews;in 1939: 445,000 Jews. Between 1920 and 1930,105,000 Jewish immigrants had entered Pales-tine; between 1931 and 1939, 218,000. Thesewere figures of registered immigrants. Since1939, not including illegal immigrants, over100,000 Jewish immigrants had entered thecountry.

Few of the immigrants spoke Hebrew. Theyspoke Yiddish, which was a jargon of Westernand Eastern languages, or the language oftheir country of origin.

They were not easily assimilable in Palestine.By the representative of India to theJewish Agency

What were the ages of the various communi-ties of National Jewry living in Europe who


would like to go back to the national home, howlong had they lived in Europe and were theyeasily assimilable in Palestine?Reply of Jewish Agency

European Jewry was old but age had notmade for security. Jews had lived in Spain fora millenium when in 1492 they were despoiledand expelled, only those who became Christiansbeing allowed to remain. Jews had lived inPoland since the eleventh or twelfth century,but in the seventeenth were the victims of mas-sacres. There had been pogroms under the Rus-sian Czars in the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies and in the last War nearly all PolishJewry, amounting to three million persons, waswiped out by the nazis. In Germany, Jews hadsettled in the fourth century, but most of themhad been destroyed in the fourteenth. By thetwentieth they had been largely assimilatedbefore their destruction by the Nazis. Anti-Semitism was still rife in Germany and otherparts of Europe.

The Jews were easily assimilable in the Jew-ish community in Palestine, which was the oneJewish community with a self-contained eco-nomic system and an independent cultural lifewhich was eager and able to receive them.


Since the Nazi Government in Europe hadbeen suppressed, was there any reason whyrefugees could not be resettled in their naturalGerman home where they spoke the languageof the country and were more easily assimil-able?Reply of the Jewish Agency

Most of the refugees came from countriesother than Germany and were refugees becausethey could not be resettled in Europe; in thetwo years they had waited no one had comeforward with an alternative to Palestine, butin any case they wanted to go to the only coun-try where they felt at home individually andcollectively.

By the representative of South Africa to theJewish Agency

In stating that the Committee of inquiryshould look into the condition of the homelessJews in Europe, did Dr. Silver mean that thecommittee should look into that situation as awhole or only in relation to the question of con-tinuing immigration into Palestine.Reply of the Jewish Agency

Only in Palestine could the problem of thedisplaced persons be permanently and construc-tively solved. The Committee should also studythe problem of various Jewish communities inEuropean, Arab and Oriental countries wholived under precarious sufferance or activepersecution.By the representative of Poland to theJewish Agency

Had there been any attempt at collaborationbetween the Jews and Arabs in Palestine?

Reply of the Jewish AgencyArabs and Jews had co-operated successfully

in municipal, commercial and labor affairs.Arabic was taught in all Jewish secondaryschools and in a large number of primaryschools. The Jewish Agency spread knowledgeof Arabic in Jewish settlements and promotedfriendly relations between them and their Arabneighbors. Considering their differences ofbackground, the native Arab and the immi-grant Jew mixed well. Practical co-operationwas today hampered by the political conflictover the country's future. The Jews came toPalestine not to fight the Arab world but tolive at peace with it, to integrate themselvesinto the modern structure of reviving Asia andto help to build a bridge between it and the restof the world. Their experience in developmentmight assist the social and economic progressof the Middle East and beyond. Their partner-ship with their neighbors could, however, bebased only upon equality of status and mutualrespect, and the Jews could not surrender theirclaim to develop their own civilization and beself-governing.

In replying to this question the spokesmanfor the Jewish Agency stated:

"At the head of the Arab Higher Committeeof Palestine stands a man who, apart fromother well-known aspects of his activity, wasdirectly involved during the war in the nazipolicy of the extermination of the EuropeanJews."Exception was taken to this statement by

the spokesman of the Arab Higher Committee,who, at the 55th meeting of the First Commit-tee on May 12 defended the position of theGrand Mufti on the ground that his attitude"represented a natural stand taken in self-defence" against the British policy of takingtheir country away from the Arabs and givingit to another people. He had been an enemy ofBritish policy as had General Smuts in SouthAfrica or George Washington in the UnitedStates.By the representative for Poland to theArab Higher Committee

Had there been any attempts at collabora-tion between the Jewish Agency and the ArabHigh Committee?Reply of the Arab Higher Committee

The Jewish Agency was a body created underthe Mandate to co-operate in the administrationof Palestine and on certain questions affectingthe establishment of a Jewish National Home.As the Arabs had not recognized the Mandateor the Balfour Declaration they could not co-operate with a body set up under the Mandatewhich aimed at the realization of Zionist aimsin Palestine.By the representative of India to theJewish Agency

Dr. Silver had instanced a conciliatory state-ment made by an Arab leader in 1919—wasthere any reason why the Arabs were resistingimmigration now?


Reply of the Jewish AgencyThe uncompromising opposition now voiced

by the Arabs to Jewish immigration did notinvalidate the broader conception expressed inthe Feisal-Weizmann agreement, which showedhow Jewish and Arab aspirations might beharmonized within a wider framework. SirHenry McMahon had stated that Palestine wasnot included in the promises made by him tothe Arabs and this had been understood at thetime by the late King Hussein. Transjordan,which was originally included in the BalfourDeclaration, was today an Arab State.


Why were public servants of the Governmentof the United Kingdom who were doing theirduty under extremely difficult circumstancesbeing "picked off today by violence" ?

Reply of the Jewish AgencyBecause the disastrous policy of the White

Paper of 1939 was still in force. The JewishAgency condemned this terrorism and was sup-ported in that attitude by the large majorityof the organized Jewish community.

By the representative of Guatemala to theArab Higher Committee

Did the Arabs take sides in the tense po-litical situation in Palestine?Reply of the Arab Higher Committee

Arabs and Jews in Palestine had prior to theBalfour Declaration merged harmoniously inthe Arab national structure of the country.This harmonious relationship had given wayto armed conflicts as a result of the BalfourDeclaration and the policy of the mandate con-nected with it, but could be restored when theZionists relinquished their political ambitionsin Palestine. This could be achieved by the es-tablishment of an independent state of Pales-tine which would not facilitate the realizationof political ambitions of an alien minorityagainst the majority of the inhabitants. Arabopposition to Jewish immigration was notbased on racial prejudices.

The Arabs were deeply concerned over thesituation in Palestine and the resulting stateof insecurity, lawlessness and damage to theeconomy of the country. The deterioration ofthe situation was due to lack of fairness and ofdetermination on the part of the authorities inPalestine to stem it, contrary to their attitudeduring the Arab revolt from 1937 to 1939. Therestraint shown by the Arabs could not be takento mean indifference or be taken as a gauge oftheir future attitude.

By the representative of India to bothorganizations

Did the representatives of the two organiza-tions recognize that there was a clear distinctionbetween a Jewish National Home and a JewishState? Did the representative of the JewishAgency recognize that the statement made by

a representative of the British Labour Partyreferred to a Jewish National Home and nota Jewish State and did the representative ofthe Arab Higher Committee realize that a na-tional Jewish home was not inconsistent withan independent and sovereign Arab PalestineState?

Reply of the Jewish AgencyThe distinction recognized by the Jewish

Agency between a Jewish State and a JewishNational Home was that the establishment ofthe Jewish National Home was a process theconsummation of which was the setting up ofa Jewish State. The remarks of Hugh Daltonshowed that this point had been understood bythose responsible for the 1944 statement onPalestine of the British Labour Party Execu-tive. Unlike other mandates in Category "A,"the Palestine Mandate contained no clause de-claring that the object of the Mandate was toprepare the country for independence. Its pri-mary purpose was the establishment of theJewish National Home. The ultimate goal mustbe independence, but if its purpose was to befulfilled and Jewish interests not sacrificed,then a Jewish State must come into being. AJewish National Home could not fulfill its pri-mary purpose of being open to Jews in need ofit if it remained under non-Jewish sovereignty.An Arab minority in a Jewish State would besecure, if for no other reason than that it wouldbe surrounded by Arab States, but a Jewishminority in an Arab State would have no se-curity. To provide for the independence ofPalestine without safeguarding the independ-ence of the Jews as a people would be to takethe problem out of its context and "load thedice heavily against the Jews."

Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeThe Arab Higher Committee was not pre-

pared to consider any solution based on theBalfour Declaration. The Arabs had expressedtheir opposition to this Declaration by all meansat their disposal — e.g. their protests, strikesand uprisings in Palestine during the last 29years.

A Jewish National Home was not inconsistentwith a sovereign Arab Palestinian State. UnitedKingdom statements of policy of 1922 and 1938and the interpretations of two Jewish writers— Mr. Sokoloff, the president of the ZionistOrganization, in his history of Zionism, writtenin 1918, and Professor Norman Bentwich in"The Mandate System," published in 1924 —repudiated the idea that the Jewish NationalHome implied a Jewish State.

By the representative of Yugoslavia to theArab Higher Committee

In the case of the formation of a sovereignState of Palestine what would be the relationsbetween the various national groups and be-tween the Arabs and Jews? Was there anyplan worked out for the constitutional organi-zation of the future sovereign State of Pales-tine?


Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeThe constitutional organization of an inde-

pendent and sovereign State of Palestinewould be based on democratic lines in accord-ance with the principles and purposes of theUnited Nations Charter and would be similarto constitutional organizations in democraticcountries.

By the representative of India to theArab Higher Committee

Was it or was it not a fact that by 1915 itwas well-known that the Dead Sea containedchemicals with a value of about $5,000,000,000,and that by now the value of its chemicals andminerals was understood to be about $3,000,-000,000,000? Was it a fact that many peoplefrom outside were interested in these figures ?

Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeA governmental commission of inquiry had

in 1925 estimated the value of the mineral de-posits of the Dead Sea at £240,000,000,000. Thepossibilities of the Dead Sea and the economicand political interests involved were outlinedin a speech by Viscount Templeton in the Houseof Lords on March 20, 1929. He had said thatthe importance of the Dead Sea and the interesttaken in it by a British group dated back to1916.

By the representative of Colombia to bothorganizations

What were the views of the two organiza-tions regarding the composition of the investi-gating committee?Reply of the Jewish Agency

So far as the composition of the specialcommittee was concerned the Jewish Agencywould not differentiate between big and smallpowers or suggest the exclusion of any govern-ment because it had a policy on Palestine. Par-ties directly concerned should be excluded —for example, the United Kingdom Government,and the Arab States — unless it were agreedthat the Committee should have one Arab andone Jewish member.

Reply of the Arab Higher CommitteeIn view of the statements made by repre-

sentatives that there was an absence of neu-trality, it was difficult to express any viewsconcerning the composition of the proposedcommittee.

h. Other OrganizationsAt its 47th meeting on May 6 the First Com-

mittee referred to Sub-Committee 5, consistingof representatives of Colombia, Poland, Iran,Sweden and the United Kingdom, the questionof whether organizations (other than the Jew-ish Agency for Palestine and the Arab HigherCommittee) from which requests for hearingshad been received represented a considerableelement of the population of Palestine.

Sub-Committee 5 under the chairmanship ofMr. Hagglof (Sweden) held two meetings onMay 7 and 9, and examined the requests fromthe following organizations: Agudas IsraelWorld Organization; Political Action Commit-tee for Palestine; Progressive Zionist District95 of New York, Zionist Organization of Amer-ica; Hebrew Committee of National Libera-tion; Committee for Freedom of North Africa;Palestine Communist Party Central Commit-tee; Institute of Arab American Affairs; YoungEgypt Party; League for Peace with Justice inPalestine; Union for the Protection of the Hu-man Person; United Israel World Union, Inc.;Church of God, Faith of David, Inc.; CatholicNear East Welfare Association.

The Sub-Committee found that some of therequests originated with organizations estab-lished outside Palestine and that the other re-quests came from organizations which, althoughestablished in Palestine, did not, in the opinionof the Sub-Committee, represent a sufficientlyconsiderable element of the population of thatcountry. The Sub-Committee therefore de-cided unanimously to advise the First Com-mittee not to grant a hearing to the organiza-tions which had lodged applications, it beingwell understood, however, that this decision didnot exclude the possibility of all these organiza-tions being heard by the committee of investi-gation once it had been established. This re-port was adopted by the First Committee with-out discussion at its 52nd meeting on May 9.

A telegram was received by the Chairman ofthe First Committee and the Secretary-Generalon May 12 from the Agudas Israel World Or-ganization protesting that the failure to heartheir representatives was "undeserved discrimi-nation against religious Jewish people contraryto the Charter of the United Nations."

6. CONSTITUTING AND INSTRUCTING THESPECIAL COMMITTEE

a. Preliminary DiscussionThe General Assembly at its 70th plenary

meeting on May 1 referred to the First Com-mittee the question of constituting and instruct-ing a special committee, to prepare for the con-sideration of Palestine at the Assembly's nextregular session.

The First Committee began a general discus-sion of this item at its 48th meeting on May 7.Two draft resolutions were presented to theCommittee, one by the United States and oneby Argentina.


The United States resolution provided for theestablishment of a committee of inquiry con-sisting of representatives of Canada, Czecho-slovakia, Iran, Netherlands, Peru, Sweden andUruguay. The committee should be instructed

to assemble, analyze, and collate all perti-nent data on the question; to receive testi-mony from interested Governments and fromsuch non-governmental organizations andindividuals as the committee in its discre-tion may deem appropriate; to study thevarious issues which are involved and to sub-mit to the next regular session of the Gen-eral Assembly such proposals for the solutionof the problem of Palestine as it may deter-mine to be useful for the effective considera-tion of the problem by the General Assembly.The draft resolution also provided that the

committee should sit wherever it thought de-sirable, should receive on request informationfrom the Mandatory and other Members, andshould have the necessary facilities, travel andsubsistence expenses and finances.

The Argentine draft resolution stated thatit was advisable that the committee be a smallone, "provided that proportional geographicalrepresentation is ensured to the States Mem-bers according to their distribution throughoutthe five continents"; that the powers of thecommittee should be defined so that it mighthave all the authority which only the GeneralAssembly could confer; that in view of theirresponsibility the five countries permanentlyrepresented on the Security Council should notbe excluded; and that likewise the special inter-est of the five Arab States and of the Jews inPalestine should be considered. The investigat-ing committee should consist of eleven members—China, France, U.S.S.R,., United Kingdom,United States, one State chosen by lot fromEgypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syriaand five other States, chosen by lot as follows:

one from the American Continent other thanthe United States;one from the Pacific: Australia, New Zea-land, the Philippine Republic,one from the African Continent: Ethiopia,Liberia, the Union of South Africa, providedEgypt was not chosen by lot to represent theArab States;one from Asia: Afghanistan, India, Iran,Siam and Turkey, if Egypt was chosen bylot to represent the Arab States.The draft resolution provided that the com-

mittee should have "the widest powers both torecord facts and to make recommendations." Itwas to hear the United Kingdom as the Man-datory and also one representative of the Arabs

resident in Palestine, one representative of theJews resident in Palestine and one representa-tive of the Jewish Agency.

A resolution was presented by El Salvador tothe 50th meeting of the First Committee onMay 8. It provided that the special committeeshould propose to the General Assembly thesolution or solutions it thought "most conveni-ent to ensure to Palestine the destiny which itdeserves, in accordance with the aspirations ofits People." The special committee was to con-sider the interests of the different groups inPalestine, including the Arabs and Jews, theinterests of the Christian world in Palestine andof the Christian population there. The specialcommittee was to bear in mind that the ultimatepurpose of any plan for the future of Palestineshould be "the freedom and independence ofthis nation at the most appropriate time."

In the general discussion the opinion was ex-pressed that the special committee should havewide powers, that it should go where it thoughtnecessary, hear all parties and take note of allpossible solutions in making its recommenda-tions.

As regards the composition of the specialcommittee, two different views were expressed:(1) that the committee should be composed of"neutral" countries, and should not include thepermanent members of the Security Council,and (2) that it should include the permanentmembers of the Security Council.

In favor of the first alternative it was urgedthat the special interests of the Great Powersmeant that they would not be impartial and thattheir inclusion in the committee might resultin political discussions which would delay itswork, that the committee must not only be im-partial but must also give the impression ofbeing impartial. It was also felt that the UnitedKingdom as the Mandatory was an interestedparty and should not therefore sit on the com-mittee, and that either all or none of the per-manent members of the Security Council shouldbe included.

On the other hand it was urged that the per-manent members should be included because oftheir special responsibilities and that recom-mendations agreed to by them from the startwould be more easily accepted and enforced.

The United States, United Kingdom andChina stated that they were against the inclu-sion on the committee of the permanent mem-bers of the Security Council, but that if askedto serve they would do so.


The Polish representative suggested that thecommittee should be composed of eleven mem-bers as follows: the five permanent members ofthe Security Council, two representatives of theLatin American countries, one Arab country,one representative from Africa or Asia, onefrom Western Europe, and one from EasternEurope. This was supported by the delegate forthe U.S.S.R., who felt that the same factorstaken into account when the Security Councilwas constituted should be taken into account inthe constitution of the committee.

In the course of the debate it was decided toconsider successively (1) the terms of refer-ence, (2) the composition and (3) the adminis-trative organization of the special committee.b. Terms of Reference

At the conclusion of its 51st meeting on May8, the First Committee appointed a Sub-Com-mittee (Sub-Committee 6, consisting of repre-sentatives of Argentina, China, Australia,Czechoslovakia, Egypt, El Salvador, France,the U.S.S.R. and the United States) to combineinto one text the proposals of Argentina, theUnited States and El Salvador.

The Sub-Committee held two meetings onMay 8 and 9 and produced a working paper inthe form of a draft resolution as follows:

Whereas the General Assembly of the UnitedNations has been called into special session forthe purpose of constituting and instructing aspecial committee to prepare for the considera-tion at the next regular session of the As-sembly of the future government of Palestine,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:1. that the special committee shall have thewidest powers to ascertain and record facts;2. that it shall receive testimony, by whatevermeans it considers appropriate in each case,from the mandatory power, from representa-tives of the population of Palestine, and fromsuch other Governments, non-governmentalorganizations and individuals, as it may wishto consult;3. that the committee shall bear in mind theprinciple that independence for the popula-tion of Palestine should be the ultimate pur-pose of any plan for the future of thatcountry;4. that it shall prepare a report to the Gen-eral Assembly and shall submit such propos-als as it may consider appropriate for thesolution of the problem of Palestine;5. that its report shall be communicated tothe Secretary-General, if possible by 15 Au-gust 1947, but in any event not later than1 September 1947, in order that it may be cir-culated to the Member States of the UnitedNations in time for consideration by thesecond regular session of the General As-sembly;

6. that the special committee shall give mostcareful consideration to the interests of allthe inhabitants of Palestine and also to thereligious interests in Palestine of Islam,Jewry and Christendom.

The U.S.S.R. representative at the First Com-mittee's 52nd meeting on May 9, presented anamendment to the Sub-Committee's draft reso-lution. This provided that the special committeeshould (1) study in detail the situation in Pales-tine "by carrying out investigation on the spot,"(2) should assemble, analyze and collate all datarelating to the question, receive verbal andwritten testimony from interested govern-ments, and from non-governmental organiza-tions and individuals "whom the committeewill deem appropriate to grant a hearing," and"should study various other issues connectedwith the problem of Palestine"; (3) submitproposals on the solution of the problem of Pal-estine "including a proposal on the question ofestablishing without delay the independentState of Palestine."

In explaining his amendment, the U.S.S.R..representative said that it originally had beensubmitted to the Sub-Committee as an amend-ment to the United States resolution, and thathis delegation had no objection in principle tothe Sub-Committee's draft, but that it might bemade more concrete by the insertion of the firstparagraph of the Soviet proposal and by a ref-erence to independence as a possible solution ofthe problem.

The Indian representative presented a reso-lution amalgamating the Sub-Committee's draftand the amendments proposed by the U.S.S.R.and on May 10, the Philippine, Iraq and Polishrepresentatives presented further proposals.

The Philippine proposal was based on theworking paper prepared by the Sub-Committee,the U.S.S.R. and Indian proposals and certainsuggestions made by the Jewish Agency forPalestine and the Arab Higher Committee. Itsuggested the insertion in the preamble of areference to the fact that the special sessionhad been called "at the request of the Govern-ment of the United Kingdom." It provided that"the special committee shall have the widestpowers to ascertain and record facts, and to in-vestigate all questions and issues relevant tothe problem of Palestine"; and that it shouldconduct investigations on the spot and receivewritten or oral testimony from the mandatorypower, from representatives of the populationof Palestine, and from such other governments,


nun-governmental organizations and individ-uals "as it may deem proper to grant a hear-ing." The texts concerning the independenceof Palestine and the consideration of religiousinterests were left as in the working paper.

A new provision was included urging thatthe special committee should "consider whatmeasures need to be taken to insure peace, jus-tice and harmony among the people of Palestinepreparatory to its emergence as an independentand democratic State."

The proposal presented by Iraq provided (1)that the special committee should "have thewidest powers to ascertain and collect factsrelevant to the future government of Pales-tine"; (2) that it should "examine the develop-ment of the situation in Palestine, in the lightof the purposes and principles of the Charter,with a view to assessing rights and claims";(3) that it should receive testimony from gov-ernments, non-governmental agencies and indi-viduals "it deems fit to consult"; (4) that thecommittee "shall be guided by" the principlethat the independence of Palestine was the pri-mary purpose of any plan for its future govern-ment; and (5) that "the committee shall con-sider in its study on the future government ofPalestine, the bearing of the situation in Pales-tine on international co-operation, peace andsecurity in the Middle East."

The Polish amendment proposed that the com-mittee should have the widest powers to ascer-tain and record facts and "study in detail thesituation in Palestine by carrying out an inves-tigation on the spot and elsewhere wherevernecessary, including the displaced persons campsand Cyprus." Its proposals to the General As-sembly on the solution of the problem were toinclude "a proposal on the question of estab-lishing by the United Nations the independent,democratic state of Palestine." It was to giveconsideration not only to religious interests inPalestine, but also "to the rights of the Araband the Jewish people in Palestine." Other dele-gates also suggested changes of wording to theworking paper.

In the Committee's discussions certain differ-ences of opinion were expressed on (1) whetherthe terms of reference should be broad and gen-eral or whether they should be defined; (2)whether the question of the displaced persons inEurope should be linked with the problem ofPalestine or whether they constituted a sepa-rate problem; (3) whether "independence"should be mentioned as the primary purpose forthe future government of Palestine, since the

term was capable of differing interpretations orwhether independence was the only issue; (4)whether the committee should be mainly a fact-finding committee or whether its terms of ref-erence should indicate concrete ends.

At the conclusion of its 53rd meeting on May10, the Committee voted 32 in favor and 11against to charge Sub-Committee 6, enlarged toinclude representatives of Iraq, the Philippines,India and Colombia, with drafting, if possible,a unanimous text on the terms of reference ofthe special committee, or, if agreement shouldprove impossible, with proposing alternativetexts.

The Sub-Committee met on May 10 anddrafted a text, which was submitted to the FirstCommittee at its 54th meeting on May 12. Al-ternative texts were submitted on the para-graphs referring to the future of Palestine, andthe interests of the inhabitants of Palestineand the religious interests in Palestine of Islam,Judaism and Christianity. The text submittedby the Sub-Committee was as follows:

WHEREAS the General Assembly of theUnited Nations has been called into special ses-sion in pursuance of the request of the Govern-ment of the United Kingdom for the purpose ofconstituting and instructing a special commit-tee to prepare for the consideration at the nextregular session of the Assembly of the futuregovernment of Palestine,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES that:1. A special committee be created for theabove-mentioned purpose consisting of therepresentatives of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. The special committee shall have the wid-est powers to ascertain and record facts, andto investigate all questions and issues rele-vant to the problem of Palestine.3. The special committee shall determine itsown procedure.4. The special committee shall conduct inves-tigations in Palestine, receive and examinewritten or oral testimony, whichever it mayconsider appropriate in each case, from themandatory Power, from representatives ofthe population of Palestine, from Govern-ments and from such organizations and indi-viduals as it may deem necessary.5A. The special committee shall bear in mind-the principle that independence for the popu-lation of Palestine should be the purpose ofany plan for the future of that country.1

5B. The special committee shall be guided bythe principle that the independence for the

1 Where The Sub-Committee was unable to reachunanimity, alternative texts are included.


people of Palestine should be the purpose ofany plan for the future of that country.5C. The special committee shall bear in mindthe principle that independence for the popu-lation of Palestine should be the ultimatepurpose of any plan for the future of thatcountry.5D. The special committee shall be guided byfuture of that country,the principle that the independence of Pales-tine should be the purpose of any plan for the6A. The special committee shall give mostcareful consideration to the interests of allthe inhabitants of Palestine and also to thereligious interests in Palestine of Islam,Judaism and Christianity.6B. The special committee shall give mostcareful consideration to the religious inter-ests in Palestine of Islam, Judaism andChristianity.

(The majority of the members of the Sub-Committee were in favor of omission ofboth texts of Paragraph 6).

7. The special committee shall prepare a re-port to the General Assembly and shall sub-mit such proposals as it may consider appro-priate for the solution of the problem ofPalestine.

(The Representative of the Union of SovietSocialist Republics and the Representativeof India proposed the addition to the aboveof the following words):

"including a proposal on the question of es-tablishing without delay the independentdemocratic state of Palestine"8. The special committee's report shall becommunicated to the Secretary-General ifpossible by 15 August 1947, but in any eventnot later than 1 September 1947, in orderthat it may be circulated to the MemberStates of the United Nations in time for con-sideration by the second regular session ofthe General Assembly.

The draft resolution was criticized by certainrepresentatives on the one hand because it con-tained no definite recommendation on the reali-zation of independence for Palestine as soon aspossible, and no recommendation that the com-mittee should act in accordance with the termsof the Charter and that the terms of the debatehad linked the question with the displaced per-sons camps, thereby prejudicing the issue. Onthe other hand, it was criticized on the groundthat it did not mention specifically the displacedpersons camps or provide adequately for themain purpose of seeing how the immigration ofthe Jews and the freedom of the Arabs fromforeign interests could be reconciled.

The Polish representative suggested that thespecial committee should consider the following

questions: how the terms of the Mandate hadnot been fulfilled; how the immigration of theJews and the national aspirations of the Arabs(e.g. freedom from the protectorate of greatpowers and subservience to foreign oil inter-ests) could be reconciled; the way and timewhen a free democratic State in Palestine, guar-anteeing equal political, national, cultural andlinguistic rights to both nations could be intro-duced. The committee should also investigatealternative solutions, such as the formation ofa separate Arab and a separate Jewish State inPalestine; it should examine the credentials ofvarious political groups, especially the politicalrole of former nazi collaborators; and the posi-tion of Jews in displaced persons camps, recom-mending the transfer to Palestine as soon aspossible of those who wanted to go; that itshould examine the possibility of economic ac-tivity by the United Nations and specializedagencies and particular States to raise thestandard of living of the non-Jewish population;that it should examine the protection of reli-gious interests in the various Holy Places.

The Syrian representative in criticizing thesuggested terms of reference of the special com-mittee outlined the maximum Arab concessions,as put forward at conferences between theUnited Kingdom Government and the States ofthe Arab League from September 9 to October2, 1946, and from January 23 to February 14,1947.

These concessions included:Creation of a provisional executive council

to be composed of Arabs and Jews, and presidedover by the British representative;

summoning by free election in which all citi-zens of Palestine, without discrimination as tonationality, creed, or faith, would participate,of a constituent assembly to promulgate an or-ganic, democratic constitution guaranteeing:

the unity of the State with the elected leg-islature;

the sanctity of the Holy Places with free-dom of access and worship;

religious courts for matters of personalstatus;

rights of citizenship;the right to employ the Hebrew language

as a second official language in areas wherespeakers of that language form an absolutemajority;

communal parliamentary representation inproportion to the number of citizens;

further immigration to be prohibited untilthe independent Government of Palestineprovides otherwise;

supervision by the United Nations overthe status of the Holy places and shrines;


after the election and convocation of parlia-ment, the elected head of the State to assumepower under the constitution, thereupon ter-minating the Mandate, and declaring Palestinea completely independent State.

It had been contemplated, the Syrian repre-sentative said, that these steps would take amaximum of two years.

The representative of Iraq and Lebanon as-sociated themselves with the statement of theSyrian representative, and with his criticismsof the terms of reference of the special com-mittee.

At its 55th meeting on May 12, the FirstCommittee began a clause-by-clause considera-tion of the text proposed by Sub-Committee 6.

The Chilean representative introduced anamendment to the Preamble to refer to "thequestion of Palestine" instead of to "the futuregovernment of Palestine," on the ground thatthe problem of Palestine was wider in scopethan the mere taking of a decision on its futuregovernment.

The amendment was carried by 36 votes infavor, 10 against and 6 abstentions.

At the suggestion of the United Kingdomrepresentative it was therefore decided to omit"in pursuance of the request of the Governmentof the United Kingdom" because the UnitedKingdom request had referred to the "futuregovernment of Palestine."'

A Polish amendment to Paragraph 2, provid-ing that the special committee should investi-gate on the spot "and elsewhere, wherevernecessary, including the displaced personscamps" was defeated by 10 votes in favor, 33against and 6 abstentions.

Paragraph 3 was adopted unanimously.An amendment to paragraph 4 was intro-

duced by Panama and Guatemala to insert"wherever it may deem convenient" after "thespecial committee shall conduct its investiga-tion in Palestine," on the grounds that the com-mittee would require to take testimony fromthe Mandatory, and see for itself what propor-tion of the Jews in the displaced persons campswanted to go to Palestine.

This amendment, as altered in accordancewith a suggestion by the Australian represent-ative to read "wherever it may deem useful,"was adopted by 36 votes in favor, 8 against and4 abstentions. The paragraph as amended wasadopted by 43 votes in favor, 8 against and 1abstention.

The United States representative proposedanother alternative to paragraph 5: "The spe-

cial committee, in studying the future govern-ance of Palestine, shall give full considerationto guarantees of the rights necessary to thepeace and independence of its peoples," on theground that this avoided prejudgment of thequestion and made it clear that the special com-mittee's business was to study and report uponthe subject.

Certain representatives declared that theycould not understand the paragraph and that itwould be difficult for the special committee tointerpret. The U.S.S.R. representative sug-gested an amendment to the new paragraph:

The special committee in studying the prob-lem of Palestine shall give full consideration toguarantees of the rights of its people necessaryto the peace and independence of that country-

A proposal of the French representative todelete paragraph 5 on the ground that it didnot add anything to the special committee's in-structions and would be difficult to apply wasadopted by a vote of 29 in favor, 10 against,with 14 abstentions.

The Australian representative proposed thedeletion of paragraph 6 since it also addednothing to the instructions of the special com-mittee, which would have to take into accountreligious interests as well as other interests andwould also have to consider the interests of thepopulation of Palestine, and since it was logical,if paragraph 5 was omitted, to omit paragraph6. The proposal was negatived, with 19 votes infavor, 25 against and 7 abstentions.

Paragraph 6B of the Sub-Committee's pro-posed text was then adopted by 27 votes infavor, 9 against and 18 abstentions.

The U.S.S.R. and Indian representatives pro-posed to add to paragraph 7 that the specialcommittee's recommendations should include"a proposal on the question of establishingwithout delay the independent democratic Stateof Palestine" on the ground that if religiousinterests were specified political interestsshould also be specifically mentioned.

The proposal was lost by 15 votes in favor,26 against, and 12 abstentions.

A Polish amendment to insert "including aproposal on the establishing by the United Na-tions of the independent democratic State ofPalestine," was lost by 10 votes in favor, 25against and 18 abstentions.

The original paragraph proposed by the Sub-Committee was adopted by 44 votes in favorand 7 against.

Paragraph 8, after slight amendments, wasadopted by 45 votes in favor, with 6 abstentions.


c. Composition of the CommitteeThe First Committee at its 56th meeting on

May 13 resumed consideration of the discussionof the composition of the special committee onthe basis of the draft resolutions proposed byArgentina and the United States on May 7.

The Argentine representative withdrew hisdraft resolution, on the ground that the spokes-man for the Jewish Agency had opposed theinclusion of the United Kingdom, as an inter-ested party, on the special committee, and thatall five permanent members of the SecurityCouncil should be included or none of them.

New proposals were submitted by the repre-sentatives of Poland, the U.S.S.R., Australiaand Venezuela. An amendment to the UnitedStates draft resolution was submitted by therepresentative of Chile.

The Polish proposal was that the special com-mittee should be composed of eleven members,as follows: the five permanent members of theSecurity Council, two countries from LatinAmerica, one country from the Arab States,one country from Africa, one country fromAsia, one country from Eastern Europe.

The U.S.S.R. proposal was that the specialcommittee should consist of those MemberStates which were on the Security Council. TheU.S.S.R. proposed as an alternative that theCommittee should include the permanent mem-bers of the Security Council, one State repre-senting Western Europe, one State representingEastern Europe, two States representing LatinAmerica, one Arab State, one State represent-ing the Far East and Africa.

The Australian proposal was that the specialcommittee should consist of eleven members,not including the permanent members of theSecurity Council.

A Venezuelan proposal urged insertion of asentence providing that the countries electedto the special committee "shall elect persons ofhigh moral character and of recognized compe-tence in international law and international af-fairs with the understanding that these personsshall act impartially and conscientiously, bear-ing in mind the purposes and principles of theCharter of the United Nations."

Objections were raised by certain representa-tives that if this paragraph were formally in-cluded in the resolution it might be taken toindicate a doubt as to whether countries wouldname competent and impartial representatives,and the Chairman suggested that a paragraphbe inserted in the report associating the Com-

mittee with the views expressed by the Vene-zuelan representative. The Venezuelan delegatetherefore withdrew his proposal. The referenceto "competence in international law" was notincluded in the report as certain representativesconsidered this qualification too specialized.

The Chilean amendment proposed to add tothe list of States mentioned in the United Statesdraft resolution: Guatemala and Yugoslavia.

The debate in the Committee centered on (1)whether the permanent members should be in-cluded or not, (2) what was an equitable geo-graphical representation.

Certain representatives urged the importanceof aiding the special committee's work by es-tablishing it by a substantial majority. In aneffort to achieve a compromise on the questionof the inclusion of the permanent members ofthe Security Council, the Norwegian represen-tative suggested the appointment of a commis-sion containing representatives of the perma-nent members, and from the commission aworking committee to be composed of memberswith no direct interest in Palestine should bechosen. The working committee should reportto the commission on September 1, and thecommission's report should be made to the reg-ular session of the Assembly. The Chairmanpointed out, however, that the First Committeewas bound by the terms of reference it hadalready adopted, which provided for completionof the report to the General Assembly by Sep-tember 1. The Norwegian representative with-drew the proposal as it had not received thesupport of the committee.

The Committee voted on the proposals asfollows:

The two U.S.S.R. proposals each received 6votes in favor, 26 against, and 21 abstentions,and were therefore lost;

The Polish proposal received 7 votes in favor,26 against, and 20 abstentions, and was there-fore lost;

The Australian proposal received 13 votes infavor, 11 against and 29 abstentions, and wasaccepted. It provided that the special commit-tee should consist of eleven Members, exclud-ing the permanent members of the SecurityCouncil.

The Committee then elected by 35 votes infavor, 4 against and 13 abstentions the Statesproposed in the United States draft resolutionand the Chilean amendment. It was decided thatthe two remaining members of the committee


should be elected on a geographical basis torepresent the South Pacific and Asia. Aus-tralia was elected from the South Pacific, re-ceiving 21 votes against 20 received by thePhilippines. India was elected from Asia, re-ceiving 34 votes against 7 received by Siam.

The composition of the special committee asa whole, consisting of representatives of Aus-tralia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala,India, Iran, the Netherlands, Peru, Sweden,Uruguay and Yugoslavia, was approved by 39votes in favor, 3 against with 10 abstentions.

d. Administrative OrganizationThe Committee then considered the adminis-

trative organization of the special committeeon the basis of three final paragraphs of thedraft resolutions submitted by the UnitedStates on May 7. These read:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYRequests the Secretary-General to enter into

suitable arrangements with the proper authori-ties of any State in whose territory the com-mittee may wish to sit or to travel, to providenecessary facilities, and to assign appropriatestaff to the committee.

Authorizes the Secretary-General to reim-burse travel and subsistence expenses of a rep-resentative and an alternate representativefrom each Government represented on the com-mittee on such basis and in such form as hemay determine most appropriate in the cir-cumstances.

Authorizes the Secretary-General to advancefrom the Working Capital Fund such funds asmay be required to finance the expenses of thecommittee without regard to existing limita-tions on such advances.

The last paragraph was withdrawn as un-necessary since funds were already providedfor from the Working Capital Fund. The othertwo paragraphs were adopted without objec-tion.

e. Final ResolutionThe resolution adopted by the First Commit-

tee was as follows:The First Committee recommends to the Gen-

eral Assembly the adoption of the followingresolution:

WHEREAS the General Assembly of theUnited Nations has been called into specialsession for the purpose of constituting and in-structing a Special Committee to prepare forthe consideration at the next regular sessionof the Assembly a report on the question ofPalestine,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES that:1. A Special Committee be created for theabove-mentioned purpose consisting of therepresentatives of Australia, Canada, Czecho-slovakia, Guatemala, India, Iran, Nether-lands, Peru, Sweden, Uruguay and Yugo-slavia;2. The Special. Committee shall have thewidest powers to ascertain and record facts,and to investigate all questions and issuesrelevant to the problem of Palestine:3. The Special Committee shall determine itsown procedure;4. The Special Committee shall conduct in-vestigations in Palestine and wherever it maydeem useful, receive and examine writtenor oral testimony, whichever it may considerappropriate in each case, from the mandatoryPower, from representatives of the popula-tion of Palestine, from Governments and fromsuch organizations and individuals as it maydeem necessary;5. The Special Committee shall give most-careful consideration to the religious inter-ests in Palestine of Islam, Judaism andChristianity;6. The Special Committee shall prepare a re-port to the General Assembly and shall sub-mit such proposals as it may consider appro-priate for the solution of the problem ofPalestine;7. The Special Committee's report shall becommunicated to the Secretary-General notlater than 1 September 1947, in order thatit may be circulated to the Members of theUnited Nations in time for consideration bythe second regular session of the GeneralAssembly;THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY8. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to enterinto suitable arrangements with the properauthorities of any State in whose territorythe Special Committee may wish to sit or totravel, to provide necessary facilities, and toassign appropriate staff to the Special Com-mittee;9. AUTHORIZES the Secretary-General to re-imburse travel and subsistence expenses ofa representative and an alternate representa-tive from each Government represented onthe Special Committee on such basis and insuch form as he may determine most appro-priate in the circumstances.In the course of the discussion the Iranian

representative had suggested that the repre-sentatives of the governments which wereelected to the special committee should makea statement to the effect that their governmentwould give them no instructions and wide dis-cretionary powers so that they could investigateaccording to their conscience and in conformitywith the purpose and principles of the Charter.After the resolution had been adopted the Iran-ian representative made a statement on behalf


of his Government to the effect that it wouldgive complete freedom to its representative onthe special committee.f. Reservations

The representative of Lebanon requested thatthe following statement be inserted in theReport:.... I have to say a word in explanation of myvoting. I shall abstain from voting because I donot want to commit myself in any way regard-ing this document. This non-committal and ab-stention, far from meaning unconcern, actuallysignifies the deepest concern. The ground ofthis concern is the fact that not only has anymention of independence for Palestine beenseverely suppressed from the terms of reference,but also the basis on which this extraordinarysession of the General Assembly was convenedin the first place has insensibly shifted, duringthe last two weeks, from preparing for advisingthe United Kingdom Government on the futuregovernment of Palestine to preparing for theconsideration of the so-called problem of Pales-tine in general, a phrase which by its verygenerality may mean anything and, therefore,is really unacceptable.

If for no other reason than this essential,and I might also add dangerous, indefinitenesswhich permeates this entire document, I for mypart am wholly unable to subscribe to it one wayor the other. Therefore, I respectfully reservethe position of my Government regarding everyfuture occasion.

The representative of Syria made a statementreserving the position of his Government anddeclaring his intention of voting against theresolution as adopted by the committee, on theground that a definite proposal for the inde-pendence of Palestine was deleted by a greatmajority of the committee and that anotherproposal that a solution should be based on theprovisions of the Charter of the United Nationsand the Covenant of the League of Nations hadbeen overlooked.

The representative of Iraq associated himselfwith the statement by the Syrian representativeand the representative of Egypt with that of theLebanese representative. The representative ofSaudi Arabia endorsed both statements.g. Final Plenary Meetings

The Report of the First Committee was con-sidered by the General Assembly at its 77th,78th and 79th plenary meetings on May 14and 15.

The Arab States protested against the sug-gested terms of reference of the special com-mittee on the grounds that they contained nomention of the independence of Palestine, orthe principles of the Charter; that the "futuregovernment" of Palestine had been replaced by

the vague term "problem" of Palestine; thatthe clause relating to the consideration of theinterests of all the inhabitants of Palestine hadbeen omitted; that the mandate to the specialcommittee to conduct investigations whereverit deemed useful had been expressly intendedto enable the committee to visit the displacedpersons camps and bring about a connection be-tween the two problems; that the proposedterms of reference would not make for peacein the Middle East. They reserved the attitudeof their Governments on the question.

The Egyptian representative made a state-ment for the record, saying that he would haveto vote against the First Committee's report,and reserving the attitude of his Government,for the following reasons:

1. The decisions of the First Committee werenot in line with the legal and political remedieshis delegation believed necessary for a just andlasting solution of the Palestine problem.

2. The reference to the independence of Pal-estine had been removed, and the First Commit-tee was not within its rights in deleting thereference to "the future government of Pales-tine" and substituting for it a reference to "thequestion of Palestine."

Various representatives pointed out that thespecial committee would be bound to take ac-count of the statements and declarations madein the discussions in addition to its terms ofreference. No decision of substance had beentaken, and the terms of reference were not in-tended to prejudge the issue.

The U.S.S.R. representative, emphasizingthat the discussion of the acute political prob-lem of Palestine had placed on the United Na-tions the responsibility for a solution, thoughtthat the special committee should study thefactual situation in Palestine, which would showthat the Mandate had not justified itself. Hestated that the task of the committee was toreconcile the lawful interests of Arabs and Jewsin Palestine, if possible by the creation of asingle Arab-Jewish State with equal rights forArabs and Jews, and, if not, by two separateStates, one Arab and one Jewish.

The Polish representative submitted againthe Polish proposal that the special committeeshould have eleven members, including the per-manent members of the Security Council.

The Assembly voted first on paragraph 1 ofthe resolution giving the membership of thespecial committee. This was carried by 40 votesin favor, with 13 abstentions and none against.


The Preamble and the rest of the resolutionwas then voted on and carried by 45 votes infavor, and 7 against.

The resolution as a whole was then adoptedby 45 votes in favor and 7 against.

7. APPEAL FOR PEACE IN PALESTINECertain representatives, including the Indian

representative on April 30 and the New Zealandrepresentative on May 3, appealed for peace inPalestine while the question was being consid-ered by the Special Committee.

At the General Assembly's 78th session onMay 14 the Norwegian representatives movedthe following resolution:

The General Assembly calls upon all Govern-ments and peoples to refrain, pending action bythe General Assembly on the report of the spe-cial committee on Palestine, from the threat oruse of force or any other action which mightcreate an atmosphere prejudicial to an earlysettlement of the question of Palestine.

This was endorsed by other representatives,and, on the suggestion of El Salvador, the Nor-wegian representative agreed to insert after"calls upon all Governments and peoples" "andparticularly upon the inhabitants of Palestine."The resolution was adopted by the GeneralAssembly, with no votes against.

8. OTHER QUESTIONSa. Welcome to Siam

At the 68th meeting of the General Assemblyon April 28, Siam was formally welcomed as amember to the General Assembly. The GeneralAssembly at its previous plenary meeting onDecember 15, 1946, had voted to admit Siam tothe United Nations, and its instrument of ad-herence to the Charter had been presented onthe following day.

The Indian, Chinese, and Danish representa-tives made speeches, referring to the ties oftheir countries with Siam and welcoming itsadmission to the United Nations. The repre-sentative of Siam in his speech referred to thelove of peace, freedom and tolerance, democraticregime and tradition of international co-opera-tion of his country.

6. Address by President of MexicoAt its 72nd meeting on May 3, the General

Assembly was addressed by Miguel Aleman, thePresident of the Republic of Mexico. PresidentAleman stated that only the fulfillment of obli-gations within a program of international co-operation would bring durable peace. He ex-pressed the hope that the peace treaties wouldsoon be completed. International co-operation

must be "founded on a scrupulous observanceof the rights of States." It was the obligationof the United Nations to strengthen the foun-dations of a universal community through thespread of education, the development of inter-national trade on a basis satisfactory to all na-tions and the raising of the standard of living.The obstacles encountered showed that thestructure of the new world must be built oncomplete knowledge of the problems involved,and on a full agreement concerning measuresfor their solution. President Aleman stressedthe value of regional arrangements, and the con-tribution in this field of the American Republics.

9. SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PALESTINEThe Special Committee on Palestine held its

first meeting on May 26, 1947, at Lake Success,New York.

The membership of the Committee was asfollows:Australia — John D. L. HoodCanada — I. C. RandCzechoslovakia—Karel LisickyGuatemala —Jorge García GranadosIndia — Sir Abdur RahmanIran — Nasrollah. EntezamNetherlands — N. S. BlomPeru — Alberto UlloaSweden — Emil SandstromUruguay —Enrique Rodríguez FabregatYugoslavia —Vladimir Simic

On May 29 the Secretary-General sent a circu-lar letter to Members of the United Nationstransmitting a copy of a letter from the Perma-nent Representative of the United Kingdom tothe United Nations. The United Kingdom letterasked that Member States should do all in theirpower to discourage illegal immigration intoPalestine while the issue remained sub judice.The Secretary-General expressed the hope thatconsideration would be given to the letter in thelight of the resolution adopted by the GeneralAssembly.

At its second meeting on June 2 the Com-mittee elected Chief Justice Emil Sandstrom,of Sweden, as Chairman, and Dr. Alberto Ulloa,of Peru, as Vice-Chairman.

It approved unanimously a letter to be sent tothose organizations which had applied to beheard before the Special Session of the GeneralAssembly inviting them to submit written state-ments to the Committee on or before June 6.(On June 6 the Committee decided against thehearing of any organization during the Com-mittee's work in New York). On June 3 theCommittee approved an official communique


containing a notification of its arrival in Pales-tine and announcing the holding of hearings.The communique requested that organizationsand individuals who wished to do so shouldsubmit written statements as soon as possibleand that those qualified persons who wished tobe heard orally should apply in writing for ahearing. The Committee later decided thatJuly 5 should be the deadline for the receipt ofwritten statements and requests for oral hear-ings.

At its second and third meeting on June 2and 3 the Special Committee adopted provisionalrules for procedure, including a provision forthe appointment of liaison officers to the Com-mittee by the Mandatory Power, the ArabHigher Committee and the Jewish Agency forPalestine.

The Government of Palestine appointed D. C.MacGillivray as liaison officer and H. C. Doddsto assist on administrative matters.

The Jewish Agency appointed Aubrey S.Eban and David Horowitz as liaison officers.The Arab Higher Committee, however, in re-ply to the communication from the Secretary-General of the United Nations informing themthat they had the right to appoint a liaison offi-cer, cabled as follows:

Arab Higher Committee Palestine desireconvey to United Nations that after thoroughlystudying the deliberations and circumstancesunder which the Palestine fact finding commit-tee was formed and the discussion leading toterms of reference, they resolved that PalestineArabs should abstain from collaboration anddesist from appearing before said committee forfollowing main reasons. Firstly, United Nationsrefusal adopt natural course of inserting ter-mination mandate and declaration independencein agenda Special United Nations Session andin terms of reference. Secondly, failure detachJewish world refugees from Palestine problem.Thirdly, replacing interests Palestine inhabi-tants by insertion world religious interests al-though these are not subject of contention. Fur-thermore Palestine Arabs natural rights areself-evident and cannot continue to be subjectto investigation but deserve to be recognizedon the basis of principles of United NationsCharter.

The first group of members of the SpecialCommittee left for Palestine on June 10.

Following the program on which it had de-cided, the Committee first heard representativesof the Government of Palestine and of the Jew-ish Agency (the Arab Higher Committee havingdecided to abstain from collaboration) and thenproceeded to tour the country.

ANNEX I.DELEGATIONS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY1

A. FIRST PART OF THE FIRST SESSION

ArgentinaRepresentatives

Lucio

Alternates

AustraliaRepresentatives

Alternates

BelgiumRepresentatives

Alternates

Manuel Moreno QuintanaFelipe A. Espil

Pablo Santos MunozAdolfo ScilingoRicardo J. Siri

N. J. 0. MakinJ. A. Beasley

Lt.-Col. W. R. HodgsonAlan Watt

K. H. BaileyE. R. WalkerPaul HasluckA. H. Tange

P. H. SpaakCh. de Visscher

H. A. RolinF. van Langenhove

G. KaeckenbeeckP. Orts

M. BourquinF. Dehousse

BoliviaRepresentatives Carlos Salamanca

Eduardo del PortilloAlternates and Advisers

Juan Peñaranda MinchinCarlos Romero

BrazilRepresentatives L. M. de Souza Dantas

J. J. Moniz de AragãoC. de Freitas-Valle

V. Leitão da Cunha

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist RepublicRepresentatives Kuzma V. Kiselev

Mrs. Evdokia I. UralovaAleksey F. Kulikov

Frol P. ShmigovVassily P. Smoliar

1 The Charter of the United Nations provides

that no Member may have more than five repre-sentatives in the General Assembly. Replacementsfor those delegates who served only a short timeaccount for the fact that in some instances morethan five delegates for a Member State are listedin this Annex.


CanadaRepresentatives

Alternates

ChileRepresentatives

AlternateChina

Representatives

Alternates

ColombiaRepresentatives

Costa RicaRepresentative

CubaRepresentatives

L. S. St. LaurentJ. G. Gardiner

Paul MartinVincent Massey

H. H. WrongJ. E. Read

L. D. WilgressPierre Dupuy

Gordon GraydonS. H. Knowles

Manuel BianchiGermán VergaraEnrique Gajardo

Gonzalo MonttLeón Subercaseauz

Wang Shih-chiehV. K. Wellington Koo

Foo Ping-sheungTsien Tai

P. C. ChangVictor Chi-tsai Hoo

Wunsz KingLone Liang

Darío EchandíaCarlos Lleras RestrepoEduardo Zuleta Angel

Fernando Soto Harrison

EcuadorRepresentatives:

Guillermo BeltGuillermo de Blanck

Ernesto DihigoGuy Pérez CisnerosLuis Marino Perez

Deputy Representative and AdviserFelipe Pazos

CzechoslovakiaRepresentatives Jan Masaryk

Hubert RipkaJosef Soltesz

Jan BelehrádekIvo Duchácek

Alternates Jan LichnerIvan Kerno

Charles LisickyJaromir Spacek

Ladislav RadimskyDenmark

Representatives Gustav RasmussenHartvig FrischPer Federspiel

Ole Bjorn KraftHermod Lannung

Alternates Count Eduard ReventlowIb Norlund

William BorbergDominican Republic

Representatives Temístocles MessinaAndrés Pastoriza

Francisco A. GonzalvoFederico C. Alvarez

Miss Minerva Bernardino

EgyptRepresentatives

Humberto AlbornozHomero Viteri Lafronte

Antonio Parra VelascoAlberto Puig-Arosemena

Alternates

Abdel Hamid Badawi PashaAbdel Fattah Amr Pasha

Mamdouh RiazAhmed Saroit BeyMohammed Awad

El SalvadorRepresentatives

AlternateEthiopia

Representatives

FranceRepresentatives

Alternates

GreeceRepresentatives

J. Gustavo GuerreroRodolfo Barón Castro

Samuel Jorge Dawson

Aklilou Abte-WoldBlatta Ephrem T. Medhen

Tafarra WorqZaudie G. Heywot

Georges BidaultMarius Moutet

Francois BillouxJoseph Paul-Boncour

René MassigliRené Cassin

Léon JouhauxMrs. P. LefaucheuxGaston Monnerville

John SofianopoulosConstantine Rendis

Thanassis AghnidesKyriakos Varvaressos

Demetrius CaclamanosGeorge Exintaris

Alternates Jerome PintosDimitri Lambros

Dimitri TsaoussisDimitri Arghyropoulos

John SiropoulosGuatemala

Representatives Enrique Muñoz-MeanyGeneral Miguel Ydígoras-Fuentes

Jorge Luis ArriolaHaiti

Representative Léon LaleauHonduras

Representative Tiburcio Carias, Jr.India

Representatives Sir Ramaswami MudaliarSir Samuel RunganadhanSir V. T. Krishnamachari

IranRepresentatives Hassan Taqizadeh

Mostafa AdlBagher Kazemi

Nasrollah EntezamAli Soheiny

Alternates Jalal AbdohFazlollah Nabil

Abolhassan HakimiColonel Assadollah Bayendor


IraqRepresentative

Alternatives

LebanonRepresentatives

Alternates

LiberiaRepresentatives

LuxembourgRepresentatives

MexicoRepresentatives

Ali Jawdat al-AyubiShaker el-Wadi

Nedim el-Pachachi

Hamid Bey FrangiéRiad Bey El-SolhYessef Bey SalemCamille Chamoun

Victor KhouriNadim Dimechkié

Gabriel L. DennisBaron R. A. de Lynden

Wilmot A. David

Joseph BechAndré Clasen

Albert WehrerAlphonse Als

Jean-Pierre Kremer

Alfonso de Rosenzweig DíazRoberto Córdova

Luis Padilla NervoFederico Jiménez O'FarrilGustavo Martínez Cabañas

NetherlandsRepresentatives W. Schermerhorn

E. N. van KleffensJ. H. van Roijen

Jonkheer E. F. M. J. Michiels van VerduynenP. S. Gerbrandy

A. PeltAlternates A. Th. Lamping

Baron F. M. van AsbeckJ. Tinbergen

Chevalier J. B. de van der SchuerenMrs. H. Verwey

New ZealandRepresentatives

NicaraguaRepresentative

NorwayRepresentatives

Alternates

PanamaRepresentatives

Peter FraserR. M. Campbell

A. D. MclntoshJ. V. Wilson

Miss Jean R. McKenzie

Eduardo Aviles Ramirez

Trygve LieErik Andreas Colban

Carl J. HambroTerje Wold

Jacob S. Worm-MüllerJ. Strand Johansen

Finn MoeFinn Dahl

Konrad NordahlMrs. Frieda Dalen

H. C. Berg

Roberto JiménezDemetrio A. Porras

ParaguayRepresentative

PeruRepresentatives

Alternates

General Andrés Aguilera

Alberto UlloaRicardo Rivera Schreiber

Hector BozaAlberto Area Parró

Gonzalo N. de AramburuJorge Vásquez

Fernando BerckemeyerLuis Alvarado

Philippine CommonwealthRepresentatives Pedro López

Tomás L. CabiliManuel V. Gallego

PolandRepresentatives Wincenty Rzymowski

Wladyslaw KiernikWaclaw Barcikowski

Jan StanczykZygmunt Modzelewski

Henryk StrasburgerAlternates Stanislaw Osiecki

Waclaw KonderskiJerzy Michalowski

Jozef WiniewiczWlodzimierz Moderow

Saudi ArabiaRepresentatives

H. R. H. the Amir Faisal ibn Abdul AzizSheikh Hafiz Wahba

SyriaRepresentatives Faris el-Khouri

Najeeb Al-ArmanaziNazen Al-Koudsi

F. Zeineddine

Hasan SakaSaffet Arikan

Emin Ali SipahiSevket Fuad Keçeci

Cevat AcikalinNizamettin AyasliNedim Veysel Ilkin

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist RepublicRepresentatives Dmitro Z. Manuilsky

Mikola P. BajanMikola I. Petrovsky

Olexa D. VoinaVasil A. Tarasenko

TurkeyRepresentatives

Alternates

Union of South AfricaRepresentatives G. Heaton Nicholls

H. T. AndrewsL. Egeland

Alternates A. H. H. MertschR. Jones

D. B. SoleUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics

Representatives Andrei Y. VyshinskyAndrei A. Gromyko

Feodor T. GousevAnatolii I. Lavrentiev

Vasilii V. Kuznetsov


United KingdomRepresentatives

Alternates

United StatesRepresentatives

Alternates

UruguayRepresentatives

C. R. AttleeErnest Bevin

P. J. Noel-BakerMiss Ellen Wilkinson

Sir Hartley ShawcrossGlenvil Hall

Hector McNeilA. Henderson

A. Creech-JonesMajor Kenneth Younger

James F. ByrnesEdward R. Stettinius, Jr.

Tom ConnallyArthur H. Vandenberg

Mrs. Franklin D. RooseveltSol Bloom

Charles A. EatonFrank Walker

John Foster DullesJohn G. Townsend, Jr.

Roberto E. MacEachenAntonio Gustavo Fusco

Hector Payssé ReyesBenjamin Fernandez y Medina

Advisers and AlternatesEduardo D. de Arteaga

Gustavo A. Rey AlvarezJulio A. Lacarte Muró

VenezuelaRepresentatives

YugoslaviaRepresentatives

Alternates

Roberto Picon LaresCarlos Eduardo Stolk

Eduardo Arroyo Lameda

Edvard KardeljSava Kosanovic'

Stanoje Simic'Ljubo Leontic'

Stoyan Gavrilovic'Ales Bebler

Milovan Zoricic'Andrija Stampar

Vladimir RybárVladimir Dedijer

B. SECOND PART OF FIRST SESSION

AfghanistanRepresentatives

ArgentinaRepresentative

Alternates

AustraliaRepresentatives

A. Hosayn AzizSaid Tadjeddin

José ArceEnrique V. Corominas

Rodolfo Munoz

N. J. 0. MakinD. B. Copland

K. H. BaileyA. S. Watt

Paul Hasluck

Alternates C. V. KellwayMajor-General J. A. Chapman

W. D. ForsythJ. Brack

A. WynesBelgium

Representatives

Alternates

Paul-Henri SpaakFernand van Langenhove

Pierre RyckmansGeorges Kaeckenbeeck

Victor LarockWalter Loridan

Joseph NisotRoland Lebeau

G. Daufresne de la ChevalerieBolivia

Representatives

AlternateBrazil

Representatives

Alternates

Adolfo Costa du RelsErnesto SanjinesHumberto Palza

Raul Diez de Medina

P. Leão VellosoCarlos Martins

João Carlos MunizAntonio Camillo de Oliveira

Gilberto AmadoHenrique de Souza Gomes

Enrico PenteadoEdgar de Mello

Olyntho MachadoByelorussian S.S.R.

Representatives

CanadaRepresentatives

Alternates

ChileRepresentatives

AlternateChina

Representatives

Alternates

Kuzma V. KiselevAlexey G. Bondar

Frol P. ShmigovVyatcheslav I. Formashev

Grygory G. Novitsky

Louis S. St. LaurentPaul Martin

W. McL. RobertsonJohn Bracken

M. J. ColdwellJ. T. Haig

H. L. KeenleysideM. W. Mackenzie

George J. McllraithL. D. Wilgress

Félix Nieto del RíoGerman Vergara Donoso

Enrique GajardoJuan Pradenas

Mrs. Amanda LabarcaHugo Miranda

V. K. Wellington KooQuo Tai-chi

Liu Shih-shunP. C. Chang

Liu ChiehC. J. Pao

Shao-Hwa TanY. T. Tu

C. L. Hsia


ColombiaRepresentatives

Alternates

Costa RicaRepresentatives

Alfonso LopezRoberto Urdaneta Arbeláez

Jorge Soto del CorralEduardo Zuleta Angel

Eliseo ArangoEmilio A. Toro

Jesus Maria Yepes

Francisco de Paula GutiérrezRicardo Fournier

Fernando MadrigalArturo Morales

CubaRepresentatives

CzechoslovakiaRepresentatives

Alternates

DenmarkRepresentatives

Alternates

Dominican RepublicRepresentatives

Alternates

EcuadorRepresentatives

Guillermo BeltErnesto Dihigo

Guy Perez CisnerosFrancisco Aguirre

Jan MasarykVladimir dementis

Juraj SlavikJan PapanekJoseph Hanc

Ivan HorvathKarel Lisicky

Jaromir SpacekLadislav Radimsky

Jaroslav Halbhuber

Gustav RasmussenHartvig FrischPer Federspiel

Ole B. KraftHermod LannungHenrik Kauffman

Ib NoerlundGeorg Cohn

William BorbergMrs. Bodil Begtrup

Emilio Garcia GodoyJesus Maria Troncoso

Roberto DespadrelTemistocles Messina

Miss Minerva BernavdinoTulio M. CesteroAndres PastorizaJoaquin Balaguer

Ricardo Perez AlfonsecaCarlos Sanchez y Sanchez

Francisco IllescasHomero Viteri Lafronte

Neftalí PonceManuel Navarro

EgyptRepresentatives

Mohamed Hussein Haekel PashaAbdel Razak A. El-Sanhoury Pasha

Mahmoud Hassan PashaAlternates Helmy Bahgat Badawi Bey

Mahmoud Bey FawziMohamed Amin Rostem Bey

Abdel-Hakim El-Rifai Bey

El SalvadorRepresentatives

EthiopiaRepresentatives

Alternates

FranceRepresentatives

Alternates

GreeceRepresentatives

Alternates

GuatemalaRepresentative

Alternates

HaitiRepresentatives

HondurasRepresentative

AlternateIceland

Representatives

Jose Antonio QuirosHector David Castro

Ernesto A. NuñezCarlos Leiva

Blatta Ephrem T. MedhenAto Araya Abebe

Ato Getahoun TesemmaAto Seifou Yennessou

Alexandre ParodiLéon Jouhaux

Paul-Emile NaggiarCouve de Murville

Hervé AlphandMaurice Dejean

Jacques Fouques-DuparcMrs. P. Lefaucheux

Jacques Rueff

Constantine TsaldarisStefane Stephanopoulos

Thanassis AghnidesVassili Dendramis

Panayotis PipinelisCimon Diamantopoulos

Constantine SakellaropoulosNicolas G. Lely

Alexandre ArgyropoulosAlexandre Kyrou

Eugenio Silva PenaJorge Garcia Granados

Jose Luis MendozaMario Monteforte Toledo

Joseph CharlesEmile Saint-Lot

Hérard Roy

Tiburcio Carias, Jr.Jorge Fidel Duron

Thor ThorsFinnur Jonsson

Bjarni BenediktssonOlafur Johannesson

IndiaRepresentatives

Alternates

Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi PanditM. C. Chagla

Rajah Sir Maharaj SinghFrank Anthony

Nawab Ali Yawar JungK. P. S. Menon

R. M. DeshmukhV. K. Krishna Menon

P. N. SapruIran

Representatives

Alternate

Ahmad GhavamNasrollah Entezam

Ghassam GhaniFazollah Nabil


IraqRepresentatives

Alternates


Alternates

LiberiaRepresentatives

LuxembourgRepresentatives

MexicoRepresentatives

NetherlandsRepresentatives

Alternates

New ZealandRepresentatives

Alternates

Nicaragua

NorwayRepresentatives

Ali Jawdat al-AyubiAbdulla Bakr

Abdulmajid MahmudMumtaz El-Umari

Ahmed Izzat MohamadAwni Khalidy

Baqir El-Hasani

Camille ChamounCharles Malik

Victor KhouryG. Hakim

Edouard GhorraRamiz Shamma

C. Abayomi CassellFrederick A. Price

H. Lafayette Harmon

Joseph BechHugues Le Gallais

Albert CalmesPierre Elvinger

Francisco Catillo NájeraLuis Padilla Nervo

Fernando Casas AlemanRafael de la Colina

Gustavo Martinez Cabañas

Baron C. G. W. H. vanBoetzelaer van Oosterhout

E. N. van KleffensJ. H. van Roijen

M. P. L. SteenbergheJ. A. W. Burger

Father L. J. C. BeaufortW. C. Beucker Andreae

N. S. BlomMiss G. H. van der Molen

E. M. J. S. Sassen

Sir C. A. BerendsenDavid WilsonJ. V. Wilson

Mrs. A. F. R. MclntoshT. O. W. BrebnerC. G. R. McKay

G. R. Laking

Mariano Argüello-VargasGuillermo Sevilla-Sacasa

Octavio Salinas

PanamaRepresentatives

Alternates

Alternates

Ricardo J. AlfaroRoberto Jiménez

Jorge E. BoydOctavio Mendez Pereira

Germán Gil GuardiaHernan Porras

Arthuro de la Guardia

Cesar R. AcostaParaguay

RepresentativeAlternates

Colonel Manuel Gonzales RiquelmeCaptain Juan Paez

PeruRepresentatives

Alternates

Alberto UlloaJuan Bautista de Lavalle

Hector BozaAlberto Area Parró

Raul PorrasPhilippine Republic

Representatives General Carlos P. RomuloMariano J. CuencoPedro C. HernaezRaul T. Leuterio

Lorenzo SumulongAlternates Leonides S. Virata

Major Salvador P. LopezColonel Amado N. Bautista

Judge José D. InglesPoland

Representatives

Alternates

Halvard M. LangeWilhelm Munthe Morgenstierne

Carl J. HambroTerje Wold

Finn MoeJacob S. Worm-Müller

J. Strand JohansenMrs. Aase Lionaes

Frede CastbergOle Colbjoernsen

Wincenty RzymowskiOscar LangeHilary MincJozef Putek

Jozef WiniewiczJozef Olszewski

Ludwik GrosfeldWaclaw Konderski

Janusz ZoltowskiIgnacy Zlotowski

Saudi ArabiaRepresentatives H.R.H. Amir Faisal al Saud

Hafiz WahbaAsad al-Faqih

Alternates Abdul Monim Raid BeyIbrahim Sulaiman

Ali A. AlirezaAhmed A. Jabar

SwedenRepresentatives

SyriaRepresentatives

AlternateTurkey

Representatives

Ukrainian S.S.R.Representatives

Oesten UndenAxel Gjoeres

Herman Eriksson

Faris el-KhouriCosti K. Zurayk

Rafik Asha

Huseyin Ragip BaydurMuzaffer Goker

Dmitro Z. ManuilskyA. M. Baranovsky

A. D. VoinaL. I. Medved


Union of South AfricaRepresentatives Field-Marshal J. C. Smuts

G. Heaton NichollsD. D. Forsyth

H. T. AndrewsD. G. Shepstone

Alternates C. L. SteynT. H. EustaceJ. R. Jordaan

D. B. SoleSeymour Jacklin

Abdol Hosayn Aziz

U.S.S.R.Representatives

Alternates

United KingdomRepresentatives

Alternates

United StatesRepresentatives

Alternates

Viacheslav M. MolotovAndrei Y. Vyshinski

Fedor T. GousevAndrei A. GromykoNikolai V. Novikov

Kirill V. NovikovVladimir S. Geraschenko

Boris E. SteinAlexandr A. LavrischevAmazasp A. Arutiunian

Ernest BevinPhilip Noel-Baker

Sir Hartley ShawcrossHector McNeil

Sir Alexander CadoganIvor Thomas

A. G. BottomleyFlight Lieut. F. Beswick

Percy WellsKenneth Younger

Warren R. AustinTom Connally

Arthur H. VandenbergMrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Sol BloomCharles A. Eaton

Helen Gahagan DouglasJohn Foster DullesAdlai E. Stevenson

UruguayRepresentatives

Alternate

Juan Carlos BlancoRoberto E. MacEachen

Jose A. MoraJuan Carlos Arrosa

César Montero de BustamenteRoberto Fontaina

VenezuelaRepresentatives


Alternates

Carlos Eduardo StolkEduardo Arroyo Lameda

Pedro Zuloaga

Stanoje Simic'Save Kosanovic'

Ljubo Leontic'Vlado Popovic'

Abes BeblerDimitrije VlahovDusan Petrovic'

Milan BartosStane Krasovec

Leo Mattes

C. FIRST SPECIAL SESSIONAfghanistan

RepresentativeArgentina

Representatives Jose ArceRodolfo Munoz

Alternate Jose Eduardo PicernoAustralia

Representatives Lt.-Col. W. R. HodgsonJ. D. L. Hood

BelgiumRepresentative Fernand van Langenhove

Alternate Joseph NisotBolivia

Representative Humberto PalzaAlternate Antonio Mogro Moreno

BrazilRepresentatives Oswaldo Aranha

João Carlos MunizAlternate Henrique de Souza Gomez

Byelorussian S.S.R.Representative Leonid I. Kaminsky

CanadaRepresentative L. B. Pearson

ChileRepresentative Hernan Santa Cruz

Alternate Joaquin LarrainChina

Representative Quo Tai-chiAlternate C. L. Hsia

ColombiaRepresentatives Alfonso Lopez

Alberto Gonzalez FernandezEmilio Toro

Edmundo de Holte CastelloCosta Rica

RepresentativeFrancisco de Paula Gutiérrez

CubaRepresentative Guillermo Belt

Alternate Carlos BlancoCzechoslovakia

Representative Jan PapanekAlternate Ladislav Radimsky

DenmarkRepresentatives Henrik de Kauffman

William BorbergDominican Republic

Representative Max Henriquez-UrenaAlternates Joaquin E. Salazar

Horacio ViciosoEcuador

Representative Neftali PonceAlternate Clemente Duran-Ballen

EgyptRepresentatives Mahmoud Hassan Pasha

Mahmoud Bey FawziEl Salvador

Representative Hector David CastroEthiopia

Representatives Ras Imru Haile SelassieAto Getahoun Tesemma


FranceRepresentative

AlternateGreece

Representatives

GuatemalaRepresentative

HaitiRepresentative

HondurasRepresentative

IcelandRepresentative

India.Representative

IranRepresentative

Alternate

Iraq

Alternates


AlternateLiberia

Representative

LuxembourgRepresentative

MexicoRepresentative

Alternate

NetherlandsRepresentatives

JAlternate

New ZealandRepresentative

Alternate

NicaraguaRepresentative

Alternate

NorwayRepresentative

PanamaRepresentative

ParaguayRepresentative

PeruRepresentatives

Alexandre ParodiClaude de Boisanger

Vassili DendramisChristos Diamantopoulos

John Kalergis

Jorge Garcia Granados

Mauclair Zephirin

Tiburcio Carias, Jr.

Thor Thors

M. Asaf Ali

Nasrollah EntezamAbolghassem Panahy

Fadhil JamaliAli Jawdat

Burhan Udin BashayanHashim El Hilli

Charles MalikVictor Khoury

Ramiz Shamma

Frederick A. Price

Hugues Le Gallais

Luis Padilla NervoRaul Noriega

J. H. van KoijenW. M. Snouck Hurgronje

Maria Z. N. Witteveen

Sir Carl August BerendsenJohn Stanhope Reid

Guillermo Sevilla-SacasaJuan José Martinez-Lacayo

Finn Moe

Mario de Diego

Cesar R. Acosta

Juan Bautista de LavalleCarlos Holguin de LavalleJose E. Bustamente Corzo

Philippine RepublicRepresentative General Carlos P. Romulo

Alternates Leonides S. VirataMajor Salvador P. Lopez

PolandRepresentatives

Alternate

Oscar LangeJosef Winiewicz

Alfred Fiderkiewicz

Saudi ArabiaRepresentative H. R. H. Amir Faisal al-Saud

Alternate Assad Al-Faqih

SiamRepresentative

Alternate

SwedenRepresentative

Alternate

SyriaRepresentatives

TurkeyRepresentative

Alternate

Prince Wan WaithayakonNai Thanat Khoman

Herman G. ErikssonGunnar Hagglof

Faris el-KhouriNaim Antaki

Farid ZeineddineCosti K. Zurayk

Rafik Asha

Huseyin Ragip BaydurSevki Alhan

Ukrainian S.S.R.Representative

Ivan Aleksandrovich Tolkhunov

Union of South AfricaRepresentative Harry T. Andrews

Alternates Robert WebsterWilliam Dirkse Van Schalkwyk

Henry Martin MoolmanU.S.S.R.

Representatives

United KingdomRepresentative

Alternate

Andrei A. GromykoSemen K. Tsarapkin

Alexei N. Krasilnikov

Sir Alexander CadoganJ. M. Martin

United States of AmericaRepresentative Warren R. Austin

Alternate Herschel V. Johnson

UruguayRepresentative Enrique Rodriguez Fabregat

Alternate Roberto Fontaina

VenezuelaRepresentative

Alternate


Carlos Eduardo StolkPedro Zuloaga

Sava Kosanovic'Vladimir Velebit

Milan BartosJoza Brilej

Erih Kos


ANNEX II. OFFICERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FIRST REGULAR SESSION1

President of the General AssemblyPaul-Henri Spaak (Belgium)

Vice-Presidents of the General AssemblyChina United KingdomFrance United StatesUnion of South Africa VenezuelaU.S.S.R.

Credentials CommitteeByelorussian S.S.R. ParaguayChina PhilippinesDenmark (Chairman) Saudi ArabiaFrance TurkeyHaiti

General CommitteePresident of the General AssemblyVice-Presidents of the General AssemblyChairmen of the Main Committees

First Committee (Political and Security)Chairman Dmitro Z. Manuilsky (Ukraine)Vice-Chairman Joseph Bech (Luxembourg)Rapporteur H. V. Lafronte (Ecuador)

Second Committee (Economic and Financial)Chairmen

Waclaw Konderski (Poland)—first partOscar Lange (Poland)—second part

Vice-ChairmenPedro Lopez (Philippines)-first part

Pedro Hernáez (Philippines)-second partRapporteurs

Eduardo del Portillo (Bolivia)—first partErnesto Sanjinés (Bolivia)-second part

Third Committee (Social, Humanitarianand Cultural)

ChairmenPeter Fraser (New Zealand)—first part

Sir Carl Berendsen (New Zealand)—second partVice-Chairmen

Fernando Soto Harrison (Costa Rica)—first part

Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez (Costa Rica)-second part

RapporteursMrs. Frieda Dalen (Norway)—first part

Mrs. Aase Lionaes (Norway)—second part

Fourth Committee (Trusteeship)

Chairman Roberto E. MacEachen (Uruguay)Vice-Chairman

Blatta Ephrem Tewelde Medhen (Ethiopia)Rapporteurs

Ivan Kerno (Czechoslovakia)—first partKarel Lisicky' (Czechoslovakia)-second part

Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary)

Chairman Faris el-Khoury (Syria)Vice-Chairman Ales Bebler (Yugoslavia)Rapporteur Thanassis Aghnides (Greece)

ChairmenSixth Committee (Legal)

Roberto Jiménez (Panama)Per Federspiel (Denmark)Vice-Chairman

RapporteursW. E. Beckett (United Kingdom)-first part

K. H. Bailey (Australia) —second part

Committee on ContributionsTo Serve for a Term of Three Years:

Gustavo Martínez-Cabanas (Mexico)Seymour Jacklin (South Africa)Nicolai V. Orlov (U.S.S.R.)J. P. Brigden (Australia)

To Serve for a Term of Two Years:M. Baumont (France)Sir Cecil Kisch (United Kingdom)Nedim el-Pachachi (Iraq)

To Serve for a Term of One Year:Paul H. Appleby (United States)Chi Chao-ting (China)Pavle Lukin (Yugoslavia)

League of Nations CommitteeChairman Erik Andreas Colban (Norway)Vice-Chairman Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Arabia)Rapporteur

H. T. Andrews (Union of South Africa)Permanent Headquarters Committee

Chairman Eduardo Zuleta Angel (Colombia)Vice-Chairman L. D. Wilgress (Canada)Rapporteur Nasrollah Entezam (Iran)

Committee on Negotiations with theLeague of Nations

Y. Dao (China)H. Elting, Jr. (United States)Sir William Matthews (United Kingdom)Alvaroz Munoz (Chile)George Peissel (France)D. B. Sole (Union of South Africa)W. Moderow (Chairman) (Poland)

Headquarters CommissionNicolai D. Bassov (U.S.S.R.)Charles Le Corbusier (France)Kien-Wen Yu (China)Sir Angus Fletcher (Chairman)

(United Kingdom)Stoyan Gavrilovic' (Yugoslavia)Alternate: Alexander Franic'Paul Hasluck (Australia)Alternate: J. C. MooreAwni Khalidy (Iraq)San De Ranitz (Netherlands)Juan Felipe Yriax (Uruguay)

1 Except where otherwise indicated the sameofficers served during the first and second parts ofthe first session of the General Assembly.

A. FIRST AND SECOND PARTS OF THE


Committee on Negotiations withthe United States

K. H. Bailey (Chairman)1

G. BeltJ. Cahen-SalvadorMahmoud Bey FawziShushi HsüJ. NisotA. RudzinskiC. SalamancaV. F. TepliakovH. McKinnon Wood 2

(Australia)(Cuba)

(France)(Egypt)(China)

(Belgium)(Poland)(Bolivia)

(U.S.S.R.)(United Kingdom)

Committee on UNRRA

Sol Bloom (Chairman)T. O. W. BrebnerMme LeFaucheuxA. P. MorozovP. Noel-BakerAake OrdingCheng PaonanLudwig RajchmanJ. M. TronconsoA. Verdelis

(United States)(New Zealand)

(France)(U.S.S.R.)

(United Kingdom)(Norway)

(China)(Poland)

(Dominican Republic)(Greece)

1 Mr. Body acted for Australia after the depar-ture of Mr. Bailey.

2 Mr. Wood was elected Chairman of the Com-mittee after the departure of Mr. Bailey.

B. FIRST SPECIAL, SESSION OF THEGENERAL ASSEMBLY

President of the General AssemblyOswaldo Aranha (Brazil)

Vice-Presidents of the General AssemblyChina U.S.S.R.Ecuador United KingdomFrance United StatesIndia

Credentials CommitteeUkrainian S.S.R.U.S.S.R.United StatesYugoslavia

ArgentinaAustraliaDenmarkLebanonPeru

General CommitteePresident of the General AssemblyVice-Presidents of the General AssemblyChairmen of the Main Committees

First Committee (Political and Security)Chairman Lester B. Pearson (Canada)Vice-Chairman Luis Padilla Nervo (Mexico)Rapporteur Henrik de Kauffman (Denmark)

Second Committee (Economic and Financial)Chairman Jan Papanek (Czechoslovakia)

Third Committee (Social, Humanitarianand Cultural)

Chairman Mahmoud Hassan Pasha (Egypt)

Fourth Committee (Trusteeship)Chairman Herman G. Eriksson (Sweden)

Fifth Committee (Administrative andBudgetary)

Chairman Jozef Winiewicz (Poland)

Sixth Committee (Legal)Chairman Tiburcio Carias, Jr. (Honduras)

ANNEX III

PROVISIONAL RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THEGENERAL ASSEMBLY

(As amended during the first and second partsof the first session)

I—SESSIONS

Rule 1The General Assembly shall meet every year

in regular session commencing on the thirdTuesday in September.

RulesThe General Assembly may fix a date for a

special session.Rule 3

Special sessions of the General Assemblyshall also be held within fifteen days of the,receipt by the Secretary-General of a requestfor such a session either from the SecurityCouncil or from a majority of the Membersof the United Nations.

Rule 4Any Member of the United Nations may

request the Secretary-General to summon a

special session. The Secretary-General shallthereupon inform the other Members of theUnited Nations of the request and inquirewhether they concur in it. If within thirty daysof the date of the communication a majorityof the Members concur in the request, a specialsession of the General Assembly shall be sum-moned in accordance with the provisions ofRule 3.

Rule 5Sessions shall be held at the headquarters

of the United Nations unless convened else-where in pursuance, of a decision of the GeneralAssembly at a previous session or at the re-quest of a majority of the Members of theUnited Nations.

Rule 6The General Assembly may decide at any

session to adjourn temporarily and resume itsmeetings at a later date.


Rule 7The Secretary-General shall notify the Mem-

bers of the United Nations at least sixty daysin advance of the opening of a regular session.

Ride 8The Secretary-General shall notify the Mem-

bers of the United Nations at least fourteendays in advance of the opening of a specialsession convoked at the request of the Secur-ity Council, and at least ten days in the caseof a request by a majority of the Members.

Rule 9Copies of the notice summoning each session

shall be addressed to all other organs andcommissions of the United Nations and to thespecialized agencies referred to in Article 57,paragraph 2, of the Charter.

II-AGENDA

Rule 10The provisional agenda for a regular session

shall be drawn up by the Secretary-General.Rule 11

The provisional agenda for a regular sessionshall be communicated to the Members of theUnited Nations at least sixty days before theopening of the session. The provisional agendaof a special session, summoned at the requestof the Security Council, shall be communicatedat least fourteen days before the openingof the session. The provisional agenda of aspecial session, summoned at the request ofa majority of the Members, shall be communi-cated at least ten days before the opening ofthe session.

Rule 12The provisional agenda of a regular session

shall include:(a) report of the Secretary-General on thework of the Organization;(b) reports fromthe Security Council,the Economic and Social Council,the Trusteeship Council,the International Court of Justice,the subsidiary organs of the General As-

sembly,specialized agencies (where such reports

are called for under agreements enteredinto);

(c) all items whose inclusion has beenordered by the General Assembly at a pre-vious session;(d) all items proposed by the other organsof the United Nations;

(e) all items proposed by any Member ofthe United Nations;(f) all items pertaining to the budget forthe next financial year and the report onthe accounts for the last financial year; and(g) all items which the Secretary-Generaldeems it necessary to put before the GeneralAssembly.

Rule 13Any Member of the United Nations may, at

least twenty-five days before the date fixed forthe opening of a regular session, request theinclusion of additional items in the agenda.These items shall be placed on a supplementarylist, which shall be communicated to the Mem-bers of the United Nations at least fifteendays before the date fixed for the opening ofthe session. The General Assembly shall decidewhether items on the supplementary list shallbe included in the agenda of the session.

Rule 14The provisional agenda, together with the

supplementary list, shall be submitted to theGeneral Assembly for approval as soon aspossible after the opening of the session.

Rule 15During any regular session of the General

Assembly items may be revised, and may beadded to or deleted from the agenda by amajority of the Members present and voting.Consideration of additional items shall, unlessthe General Assembly, by a two-thirds major-ity of the Members present and voting, decidesotherwise, be postponed until four days afterthey have been placed on the agenda, anduntil a committee has reported upon them.

Rule 16No proposal for a modification of the alloca-

tion of expenses for the time being in forceshall be inserted in the agenda unless it hasbeen communicated to the Members of theUnited Nations at least ninety days beforethe date fixed for the opening of the session.

Rule 17When a special session is called, the agenda

for the session shall be confined to the itemscommunicated by the Secretary-General to theMembers of the United Nations, unless theGeneral Assembly, by a two-thirds majorityof the Members present and voting, decides toinclude additional items.

Rule 18Any Member of the United Nations may,

at least four days before the date fixed for the


opening of a special session, request the in-clusion of additional items in the agenda. Suchitems shall be placed on a supplementary listwhich shall be communicated to the Membersof the United Nations as soon as possible.

III—DELEGATIONS

Rule 19The delegation of a Member shall consist

of not more than five representatives and fivealternate representatives, and as many ad-visers, technical advisers, experts and personsof similar status as may be required by thedelegation.

Rule 20The credentials of representatives, and the

names of members of a delegation shall besubmitted to the Secretary-General if possiblenot less than one week before the date fixedfor the opening of the session. The credentialsshall be issued either by the Head of the Stateor by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Rule 21An alternate representative may act as a

representative upon designation by the Chair-man of the delegation.

Rule 22Upon designation by the Chairman of the

delegation, advisers, technical advisers, expertsor persons of similar status may act as mem-bers of committees. Persons of this status shallnot, however unless designated as alternaterepresentatives, be eligible for appointment asChairmen, Vice-Chairmen or Rapporteurs ofcommittees or for seats in the General As-sembly.

IV—CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE

Rule 23A Credentials Committee shall be elected at

the beginning of each session. It shall consistof nine members, who shall be appointed bythe General Assembly on the proposal of thePresident. The Committee shall elect its ownofficers. It shall examine the credentials ofrepresentatives and report without delay.

Rule 24Any representative to whose admission a

member has made objection shall be seatedprovisionally with the same rights as otherrepresentatives, until the Credentials Com-mittee has reported and the General Assemblyhas given its decision.

V—PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS

Rule 25At the opening of each session of the Gen-

eral Assembly the Chairman of that delegationfrom which the President of the previoussession was elected shall preside until theGeneral Assembly has elected a President forthe session.

Rule 26The General Assembly shall elect a President

and seven Vice-Presidents, who shall holdoffice until the close of the session at whichthey are elected. The Vice-Presidents shall beelected on the basis of ensuring the representa-tive character of the General Committee.

Rule 27If the President finds it necessary to be

absent during a meeting or any part thereof,he shall appoint one of the Vice-Presidents totake his place.

Rule 28If the President is unable to perform his

functions, a new President shall be electedfor the unexpired term.

Rule 29A Vice-President acting as President shall

have the same powers and duties as the Presi-dent.

Rule 30The President, or Vice-President acting as

President, shall not vote but shall appointanother member of his delegation to vote inhis place.

Rule 81In addition to exercising the powers which

are conferred upon him elsewhere by theseRules, the President shall declare the openingand closing of each plenary meeting of thesession, shall direct the discussions in plenarymeeting, and at such meetings ensure observ-ance of these Rules, accord the right to speak,put questions and announce decisions. He shallrule on points of order, and subject to theseRules, shall have complete control of the pro-ceedings at any meeting.

VI—GENERAL COMMITTEE

Rule 82The General Committee shall consist of four-

teen members, no two of whom shall be nation-als of the same State, and shall be so consti-tuted as to ensure its representative character.It shall comprise the President of the General


Assembly, who shall preside, seven Vice-Presi-dents, who shall be elected on the basis ofensuring the representative character of theCommittee, and the chairmen of the six MainCommittees, who shall be nominated andelected by the Committees on the basis ofequitable geographical distribution, experienceand personal competence.

Rule 33The General Committee shall at the begin-

ning of each session consider the provisionalagenda, together with the supplementary list,and shall make a report thereon to the GeneralAssembly. It shall consider applications forthe inclusion of additional items in the agendaand shall report thereon to the General Assem-bly. It shall assist the President and the Gen-eral Assembly in drawing up the agenda foreach plenary meeting, in determining the pri-ority of its items, and in the co-ordination ofthe proceedings of all committees of the Gen-eral Assembly. Finally, it shall assist thePresident in the general conduct of the workof the General Assembly which falls withinthe competence of the President. It shall not,however, decide any political question.

Rule 34A Member of the General Assembly which

has no representative on the General Commit-tee, and which has requested the inclusion ofan additional item in the agenda, shall beentitled to attend any meeting of the GeneralCommittee at which its request is discussed,and may participate, without vote, in the dis-cussion of that item.

Rule 35Proposals to refer any portion of the report

of the Secretary-General to one of the MainCommittees without debate shall be decidedupon by the General Assembly without pre-vious reference to the General Committee.

Rule 36The General Committee may revise the

resolutions adopted by the General Assembly,changing their form but not their substance.Any such changes shall be reported to theGeneral Assembly for its consideration.

VII—ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARYQUESTIONS

Rule 37The General Assembly shall establish regu-

lations for the financial administration of theUnited Nations.

Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions


Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions (hereinafter called the"Advisory Committee"), with a membershipof nine, including at least two financial expertsof recognized standing.

Rule 39The members of the Advisory Committee, no

two of whom shall be nationals of the sameState, shall be selected on the basis of broadgeographical representation, personal qualifi-cations and experience, and shall serve forthree years corresponding to three financialyears, as defined in the regulations for thefinancial administration of the United Nations.Members shall retire by rotation and shall beeligible for re-election. The two financial ex-perts shall not retire simultaneously. The Gen-eral Assembly shall elect the members of theAdvisory Committee at the regular session atwhich the term of members expires, or, in caseof vacancies, at the next session.

Rule 40The Advisory Committee shall be responsible

for expert examination of the budget of theUnited Nations, and shall assist the Adminis-trative and Budgetary Committee of the Gen-eral Assembly. At the commencement of eachregular session it shall submit to the GeneralAssembly a detailed report on the budget forthe next financial year and on the accounts ofthe last financial year. It shall also examineon behalf of the General Assembly the admin-istrative budgets of specialized agencies andproposals for financial and budgetary arrange-ments with such agencies. It shall performsuch other duties as may be assigned to itunder the regulations for the financial admin-istration of the United Nations.

Committee on ContributionsRule 41

The General Assembly shall appoint an ex-pert Committee on Contributions, consisting often members.

Rule 42The members of the Committee on Contri-

butions, no two of whom shall be nationals ofthe same State, shall be selected on the basisof broad geographical representation, per-sonal qualifications and experience, and shall


serve for a period of three years correspondingto three financial years, as defined in the regu-lations for the financial administration of theUnited Nations. Members shall retire by rota-tion and shall be eligible for re-election. TheGeneral Assembly shall elect the members ofthe Committee on Contributions at the regularsession at which the term of office of membersexpires, or, in case of vacancies, at the nextsession.

Rule 43The Committee on Contributions shall advise

the General Assembly concerning the appor-tionment under Article 17, paragraph 2, ofthe Charter of the expenses of the Organiza-tion among Members, broadly according tocapacity to pay. The scale of payments whenonce fixed by the General Assembly shall notbe subject to a general revision for at leastthree years, unless it is clear that there havebeen substantial changes in relative capacitiesto pay. It should also advise the General As-sembly on the contributions to be paid by newMembers; on appeals by Members for a changeof assessment; and on the action to be takenwith regard to the application of Article 19of the Charter, which deals with Memberswho are in arrears in the payment of theirfinancial contributions to the Organization.

VIII—SECRETARIAT

Rule 44When the Security Council has submitted its

recommendation on the appointment of theSecretary-General, the General Assembly shallconsider the recommendation and vote uponit by secret ballot in private meeting.

Rule 45The Secretary-General shall act in that capa-

city in all meetings of the General Assembly,its committees and subsidiary organs. He mayappoint a member of the staff to act in hisplace at meetings of the General Assembly.

Rule 46The Secretary-General shall provide and

direct the staff required by the General Assem-bly and any committees or subsidiary organswhich it may establish.

Rule 47The Secretary-General shall make an annual

report, and such supplementary reports as arerequired, to the General Assembly on the workof the Organization. He shall communicate theannual report to the Members of the United

Nations at least forty-five days before openingof the session.

Rule 48The Secretary-General, with the consent of

the Security Council, shall notify the GeneralAssembly at each session of any matters rela-tive to the maintenance of international peaceand security which are being dealt with by theSecurity Council, and shall similarly notifythe General Assembly, or the Members of theUnited Nations if the General Assembly is notin session, immediately the Security Councilceases to deal with such matters.

Rule 49The Secretary-General may at any time,

upon invitation of the President, make to theGeneral Assembly either oral or written state-ments concerning any question which is beingconsidered by the General Assembly.

Rule 50The Secretariat, acting under the authority

of the Secretary-General, shall receive, print,translate and distribute documents, reportsand resolutions of the General Assembly, itscommittees and organs; interpret speechesmade at the meetings; draft, print and circu-late the summary records of the session; havethe custody and proper preservation of thedocuments in the archives of the GeneralAssembly; publish the reports of the meetings;distribute all documents of the General Assem-bly to the Members of the United Nations,and, generally, perform all other work whichthe General Assembly may require.

Rule 51The General Assembly shall establish regu-

lations concerning the staff of the Secretariat.

IX—LANGUAGES

Rule 52Chinese, English, French, Russian and Span-

ish shall be the official languages of the Gen-eral Assembly. English and French shall bethe working languages.

Rule 53Speeches made in either of the working lan-

guages shall be interpreted into the otherworking language.

Rule 54Speeches made in any of the other three

official languages shall be interpreted intoboth working languages.

Rule 55Any representative may make a speech in a

language other than the official languages. In


this case, he shall himself provide for interpre-tation into one of the working languages.Interpretation into the other working languageby an interpreter of the Secretariat may bebased on the interpretation given in the firstworking language.

Rule 56Verbatim records shall be drawn up in the

working languages. A translation of the wholeor part of any verbatim record into any ofthe other official languages shall be furnishedif requested by any delegation.

Rule 57Summary records shall be drawn up as soon

as possible in the official languages.Rule 58

The Journal of the General Assembly shallbe issued in the working languages.

Rule 59All resolutions and other important docu-

ments shall be made available in the officiallanguages. Upon the request of any represent-ative, any other document shall be made avail-able in any or all of the official languages.

Rule 60Documents of the General Assembly shall, if

the General Assembly so decides, be publishedin any languages other than the official lan-guages.

X—RECORDS

Rule 61Verbatim records of all plenary meetings

shall be drawn up by the Secretariat and sub-mitted to the General Assembly after approvalby the President. Verbatim records shall alsobe made of the proceedings of the Main Com-mittees established by the General Assembly.Other committees or sub-committees may de-cide upon the form of their records.

Rule 62Resolutions adopted by the General Assem-

bly shall be communicated by the Secretary-General to the Members of the United Nationswithin fifteen days after the termination ofthe session.

XI—PUBLICITY OF MEETINGS

Rule 63The meetings of the General Assembly and

its Main Committees shall be held in publicunless the body concerned decides that excep-tional circumstances require that the meetingbe held in private. Meetings of other commit-tees and subsidiary organs shall also be held

in public unless the body concerned decidesotherwise.

Rule 64All decisions of the General Assembly taken

at a private meeting shall be announced atany early public meeting of the General As-sembly. At the close of each private meetingof the Main Committees, other committeesand sub-committees, the Chairman may issuea communique through the Secretary-General.

Rule 65A majority of the Members of the General

Assembly shall constitute a quorum.

Rule 66No representative may address the General

Assembly without having previously obtainedthe permission of the President. The Presidentshall call upon speakers in the order in whichthey signify their desire to speak. The Presi-dent may call a speaker to order if his remarksare not relevant to the subject under discus-sion.

Rule 67The Chairman and the Rapporteur of a com-

mittee may be accorded precedence for thepurpose of explaining the conclusion arrivedat by their committee.

Rule 68During the discussion of any matter, a rep-

resentative may rise to a point of order andthe point of order shall be immediately decidedby the President in accordance with the Rulesof Procedure. A representative may appealagainst the ruling of the President. The appealshall immediately be put to the vote, and thePresident's ruling shall stand unless overruledby a majority of the members present andvoting.

Rule 69During the discussion of any matter, a rep-

resentative may move the adjournment of thedebate. Any such motion shall have priority inthe debate. In addition to the proposer of themotion, two representatives may speak infavour of, and two against, the motion.

Rule 70The General Assembly may limit the time

allowed to each speaker.

Rule 71A representative may at any time move the

closure of the debate whether or not any otherrepresentative has signified his wish to speak.

XII—CONDUCT OF BUSINESS


If application is made for permission to speakagainst the closure it may be accorded to notmore than two speakers.

Rule 72The President shall take the sense of the

General Assembly on a motion for closure. Ifthe General Assembly is in favour of the clo-sure the President shall declare the closure ofthe debate.

Rule 73Resolutions, amendments and substantive

motions shall be introduced in writing andhanded to the Secretary-General, who shallcirculate copies to the delegations. As a generalrule, no proposal shall be discussed or put tothe vote at any meeting of the General Assem-bly unless copies of it have been circulated toall delegations not later than the day precedingthe meeting. The President may, however, per-mit the discussion and consideration of amend-ments, or of motions as to procedure, withoutprevious circulation of copies.

Rule 74Parts of a proposal may be voted on sepa-

rately if a representative requests that the pro-posal be divided.

Rule 75If two or more amendments are moved to a

proposal, the General Assembly shall first voteon the amendment furthest removed in sub-stance from the original proposal and then onthe amendment next furthest removed, and soon, until all the amendments have been put tothe vote.

Rule 76When an amendment revises, adds to or

deletes from a proposal, the amendment shallbe voted on first, and if it is adopted, theamended proposal shall then be voted on.

XIII—VOTINGRule 77

Each Member of the General Assembly shallhave one vote.

Rule 78Decisions of the General Assembly on im-

portant questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the Members present andvoting. These questions shall include recom-mendations with respect to the maintenanceof international peace and security, the elec-tion of the non-permanent members of theSecurity Council, the election of members ofthe Economic and Social Council, the electionof members of the Trusteeship Council in

accordance with paragraph 1, c, of Article 86of the Charter, the admission of new Membersto the United Nations, the suspension of therights and privileges of membership, the ex-pulsion of Members, questions relating to theoperation of the trusteeship system, and bud-getary questions.

Rule 79Decisions of the General Assembly on ques-

tions other than those provided for in Rule78, including the determination of additionalcategories of questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, shall be made by a majority ofthe Members present and voting.

Rule 80The General Assembly shall normally vote

by show of hands or by standing, but anyrepresentative in plenary or committee meet-ings of the General Assembly may request aroll-call which shall then be taken in the Eng-lish alphabetical order of the names of theMembers.

Rule 81The vote of each Member participating in

any roll-call shall be inserted in the record.

Rule 82In addition to the provisions for the use of

a secret ballot set forth elsewhere in theseRules, all elections and all decisions relatingto tenure of office shall be taken by secretballot. There shall be no nominations.

Rule 83If, when only one person or Member is to be

elected, no candidate obtains in the first ballotthe majority required in Rule 78 or 79 a secondballot shall be taken, confined to the two candi-dates obtaining the largest number of votes.If in the second ballot the votes are equallydivided, and a majority is required, the Presi-dent shall decide between the candidates bydrawing lots. When a two-thirds majority isrequired, the balloting shall be continued untilone candidate secures two-thirds of the votescast.

Rule 84When two or more elective places are to be

filled at one time under the same conditions,those candidates obtaining in the first ballotthe majority required in Rule 78 or 79 shallbe elected. If the number of candidates obtain-ing such majority is less than the number ofpersons or members to be elected, there shallbe additional ballots to fill the remaining


places, the voting being restricted to the can-didates obtaining the greatest number of votesin the previous ballot, the number of candidatesbeing not more than twice as many as theplaces remaining to be filled.

Rule 85If a vote is equally divided on matters other

than elections, a second vote shall be taken atthe next meeting; this meeting shall be heldwithin forty-eight hours of the first vote, andit shall be expressly mentioned in the agendathat a second vote will be taken on the matterin question. If this vote also results in equality,the proposal shall be regarded as rejected.

XIV—ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF COUNCILS

General ProvisionsRule 86

The General Assembly shall elect the mem-bers of Councils by secret ballot.

Rule 87The term of office of members shall begin

on January 1, following their election by theGeneral Assembly, and shall end on 31 Decem-ber following the election of their successors.

Rule 88Should a member cease to belong to a Coun-

cil before his term of office expires, a by-elec-tion shall be held separately at the next sessionof the General Assembly to elect a member forthe unexpired term.

Rule 89When one seat is to be filled, the General

Assembly shall follow the procedure set forthin Rule 83.

Rule 90When two or more seats are to be filled, the

General Assembly shall follow the procedureset forth in Rule 84.

The Security CouncilRule 91

The General Assembly shall each year, inthe course of its regular session, elect threenon-permanent members of the Security Coun-cil for a term of two years.

Rule 92In the election of non-permanent members

of the Security Council, due regard shall bespecially paid, in the first instance to the con-tribution of Members of the United Nationsto the maintenance of international peace andsecurity and to the other purposes of the

Organization, and also to equitable geographi-cal distribution.

Rule 93A retiring member of the Security Council

shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.

The Economic and Social CouncilRule 94

The General Assembly shall each year, inthe course of its regular session, elect sixmembers of the Economic and Social Councilfor a term of three years.

Rule 95A retiring member of the Economic and

Social Council shall be eligible for immediatere-election.

The Trusteeship CouncilRule 96

When a trusteeship agreement has beenapproved and a Member of the United Nationshas become an administering authority of atrust territory in accordance with Article 83or 85 of the Charter, the General Assemblyshall determine, in accordance with Article 86,whether a Member which is not an administer-ing authority of a trust territory shall beelected to the Trusteeship Council. If it isdetermined that an additional member of theTrusteeship Council is required, the GeneralAssembly shall elect a member at the sessionin which the trusteeship agreement is ap-proved.

Rule 97At each session the General Assembly shall,

in accordance with Article 86 of the Charter,elect members to fill any vacancies.

Rule 98A non-administering member of the Trus-

teeship Council shall be elected for a term ofthree years and shall be eligible for immediatere-election.

XV—ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Rule 99The election of the members of the Interna-

tional Court of Justice shall take place inaccordance with the Statute of the Court.


Any meeting of the General Assembly heldin pursuance of the Statute of the Interna-tional Court of Justice for the purpose of theelection of members of the Court shall con-tinue until as many candidates as are requiredfor all the seats to be filled have obtained inone or more ballots an absolute majority ofvotes.

XVI—COMMITTEES

Rule 100The General Assembly may set up such com-

mittees and subsidiary organs as it deemsnecessary for the performance of its functions.

Rule 101The Main Committees of the General Assem-

bly are:(1) Political and Security Committee (in-

cluding the regulation of arma-ments);

(2) Economic and Financial Committee;(3) Social, Humanitarian and Cultural

Committee;(4) Trusteeship Committee;(6) Administrative and Budgetary Com-

mittee; and(6) Legal Committee.

Rule 102Each delegation may designate one member

for each Main Committee, and for any othercommittee that may be constituted upon whichall Members have the right to be represented.It may also assign to these committees advis-ers, technical advisers, experts or persons ofsimilar status.

Rule 103Items relating to the same category of sub-

jects shall be referred to the committee or com-mittees dealing with that category of subjects.Committees shall not introduce new items ontheir own initiative.

Rule 104Each committee shall elect its own Chair-

man, Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur. Theseofficers shall be elected on the basis of equit-able geographical distribution, experience andpersonal competence.

Rule 105Each committee may set up sub-committees,

which shall elect their own officers.Rule 106

The Secretary-General or a member of theSecretariat designated by him may make to

any committee or sub-committee any oral orwritten statement which the Secretary-Generalconsiders desirable.

Rule 107The procedure set forth in Rules 65 to 76

shall apply to proceedings of committees ofthe General Assembly.

Rule 108Decisions in the committees of the General

Assembly shall be taken by a majority of themembers present and voting.

Rule 109Unless the General Assembly itself decides

otherwise, it shall not make a final decisionupon items on the agenda until it has receivedthe report of a committee on these items.

Rule 110Discussion of a report of a Main Committee

in a plenary meeting of the General Assemblyshall take place if at least one-third of themembers of the Committee consider such adiscussion to be necessary.

Rule 111Decisions involving expenditure shall be

subject to the regulations for the financialadministration of the United Nations.

Rule 112No resolution involving expenditure shall

be voted by the General Assembly until theAdministrative and Budgetary Committee ofthe General Assembly has had an opportunityof stating the effect of the proposal upon thebudget of the United Nations.

UNITED NATIONS

Rule 113Any State which desires to become a Mem-

ber of the United Nations shall submit anapplication to the Secretary-General. Thisapplication shall be accompanied by a declara-tion of its readiness to accept the obligationscontained in the Charter.

Rule 114If the applicant State so requests, the Sec-

retary-General shall inform the General As-sembly, or the Members of the United Nations

1 Adopted provisionally by the General Assem-bly subject to the concurrence of the SecurityCouncil.

Rule 99a1

XVII—ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS TO THE


if the General Assembly is not in session, ofthe application.

Rule 115

If the Security Council recommends theapplicant State for membership, the GeneralAssembly shall consider whether the appli-cant is a peace-loving State and is able andwilling to carry out the obligations containedin the Charter, and shall decide, by a two-thirds majority of the Members present andvoting, upon its application for membership.

Rule 116

The Secretary-General shall inform theapplicant State of the decision of the GeneralAssembly. If the application is approved, mem-bership will become effective on the date onwhich the applicant State presents to theSecretary-General an instrument of adherence.

XVIII—AMENDMENTS

Rule 117These Rules of Procedure may be amended

by a decision of the General Assembly takenby a majority of the Members present andvoting, after a committee has reported on theproposed amendment.

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Pending the adoption, under paragraph 4of Article 62 of the Charter, of definite Rulesfor the calling of international conferences,the Economic and Social Council may, afterdue consultation with Members of the United

formity with the spirit of Article 62 on anymatter within the competence of the Council,including the following matters: internationaltrade and employment; the equitable adjust-ment of prices on the international market,and health.

SUPPLEMENTARY RULE OF PROCEDURE ON THE

Nations, call international conferences in con-

CALLING OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES BY