A/PV.128 General Assembly

I call upon the Rapporteur of the Ad H DC Committee' on the Palestinian Question. Mr. THoRs (Iceland): During the debate yesterday, at least three representatives-the representatives of Pakistan, Iraq and France-- and today, the representative of Lebanon, referred to the conciliation Sub-Committee that was set up by the Ad Hoc Committee. This conciliation Sub-Committee was composed of three members: the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Mr. Evatt; the representative of Siam and myself. The leadership and main responsibility rested in the hands of our energetic Chairman. Unfortunately, Mr. Evatt has now left for Australia. I cannot help stating that the observations regarding the absence of effective conciliation would have been more appropriate if they had been made before Mr. Evatt's departure. Every opportunity was given to raise .the matter in the Ad 1-1DC Committee. Let me now recall what statements Mr. Evatt made to the Ad Hoc Committee. On 19 November 1947, at the twenty-third meeting of the Ad H DC Committee, the representative, of Venezuela said: "This Committee set up three Sub-Committees, not two, and this third Sub-Committee was a sub-committee of conciliation. At the suggestion of my delegation it was constituted as a committee of one, the Chairman, who was given full powers to bring together the two important parties in the dispute. I respectfully submit to the Chair that it would be a good plan if the Chairman could inform us of his efforts on that behalf and the result, if any attained." The Chairman replied : "All I can say is that my colleagues, the Vice-Chainnan, the represen~ tative of Siam, and the Rapporteur, have not overlooked their duty. We made certain sugges~ tions that the parties should come together at a certain time, but the very nature of these negotiations makes it impossible to indicate the replies received and the suggestions that were made. This has been going on all the time, but frankly, judging by the response, it seems to me difficult to expect that matter to be carried to ally successful conclusion. At any rate, up to the present time everything has been done in that direction that could possibly be done. Certain correspondence was entered into in order to carry out the wish of the full Committee, but I think it would only tend to confuse the matter if I did more than indicate that we all felt that position qui pourrait ctre soumise par d'autres delt~gations et qui serait de nature a condlier les points de vue opposes. Le PRESIDENT ( traduit de l'anglais): Je donne la parole au Rapporteur de la Commission ad hoc chargee de la question palestinienne. M. THoRs (Islande) (trad'f,titd& l'anglais): Au cours du debat qui s'est derou1e mer, trois representants au moins, ceux du Pakistan, de l'Irak et de la France, comme aujourd'hui le representant du Liban, ant fait allusion a la Sous-Commission de conciliation creee par la Commission ad hoc. Cette Sous-Commission se composait de trois membres: le President de la Commission ad hoc, M. Evatt; le representant du Siam et moi-meme. La direction et la responsabilite assentielle incombaie:rit a notre actif President. Malheureusement, M. Evatt est maintenant parti pour l'Australie. Je ne puis m'emp€cher de dire que les observations concernant le dHaut d'efl'orts de conciliation veritable auraient eu plus de portee si on les avait formulees avant le depart de M. Evatt. On avait toute possibilite de soulever la question devant la Commission ad hoc. Permettez-moi de revenir sur les declarations que M. Evatt a faites devant la Commission ad hoc. Le 19 novembre 1947, a la vingt-troisieme seance de cette Commission, le representant du Venezuela a declare: "La Commission n'a pas er-cc deux Sous-Commissions, mais trois, et cette troisiemc Sous-Commission etait une Sous-Commission de conciliation. Sur la proposition de ma delegation, elle etait constituee d'une personne, le President, qui a re~u pleins pouvoirs pour reunir les deux importantes parties interessces it ce differend. Je fais respecteusement observer au President qu'il serait bon qu'iI nous informat des effOlts qu'il a faits en notre nom, et s'il y a lieu, des resultats qu'i! a obtenus," Le President a repondu: "Je puis seulement dire que mes collegues le Vice-President, le representant du Siam et le Rapporteur n'ont pas neglige leur devoir. Nous avons fait certaines propositions en vue de reunir les deux parties a une celtaine date, mais la nature meme de ces negociations ne permet d'indiquer ni les proposi~ tions faites ni les reponses re\:ues. Cet effort s'est poursuivi sans interruption, mais a franchement parier et si l'on en juge par les rcponses obtenues, il me semble difficile d'attendre d'heureux reaultats de cette methode. En tout cas, jusqu'a present, on a fait en ce sens tout ce qu'iletait possible de faire. Un echa:nge de correspondance a eu lieu pour repondre au desir exprime par la Commission ad hoc, mais je pense que .le risquerais d'augmenter la confusion si j'allais au ~ot be advanced, despite our attempts, our interviews, and our correspondence, until the Ad Hoc Committee, subordinate as it is to the General Assembly, had taken a decision." From these facts, the members will note that . all attempts to bring about conciliation seemed doomed in advance. Both parties were intransigent. Each party seemed confident that it would win its case either in the Committee or in the General Assembly. The conciliation Sub-Committee fallowed developments closely both in Sub-Oommittee 1 and in Sub-Committee 2. Unfortunately, the gulf between the two parties was too great then to be bridged by conciliation. The Arabs did not seem to be willing to permit large-scale immigration of Jews and to grant independence to a Jewish State in Palestine. The Jews would not accept anything less than reasonably free immigration and the prospect of independence. Between these definite contentions, no conciliation could be found during the consideration of the problem by the United Nations. The Arab Higher Committee was approached by UNSCOP on more than one occasion and was invited to assist in the work of UNSCOP, but it refused. In the Ad Hoc Oommittee on the Palestinian Question, the representative of the Arab Righer Committee stated that he was prepared to take part in the discussions only with respect to that item of the agenda dealing with the establishment of an independent unitary state, but not with respect to the UNSCOP reports; either the majority or the minority report. Again, in Sub-Committee 1 of the Ad Hoc Committee, the Arab Higher Committee was invited to assist the Sub-Committee on the question of boundaries, and again the reply was that it was prepared to assist only in connexion with the discussion of the establishment of an independent unitary state. It seems to me that the moment for conciliation might come once the United Nations has taken its firm decision, and both parties have to face hard facts, and not before. I venture to hope that the wisdom of the leaders of both sides will make it clear to them that it is better for them to live together as good neighbours than to risk being lost separately. It should be one of the main duties of the five nation commission, if elected, not only to administer Palestine during the transitional period, but to make every effort to achieve conciliation between the peoples of the Holy Land.

I call upon the representative of the United States. Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): Yesterday afternoon the debate on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee was closed. The motion to change completely the sense of the report was made by the representative of Colombia (document A/5i8). He was followed by the representative of France who made a suggestion that the decision of the General Assembly ,be deferred for twenty-four hours, and that we should adjourn the vote for a very brief period and I quote his words ". . . if the expressions of good will and agreement which we heard this morning prolVe to have any real substance, the delegations which wish to clarify them will have an opportunity to do so." The representative of France continued, saying: <lIt is quite possible--I have no illusions on the subject-that after postponing our decision for an interval which I suggest might be twentyfour hours ... we shall find ourselves faced with exactly the same situation as confronts us today. It is quite possible that we shall find tomorrow that the problem really stands as it appeared to other delegations which have spoken at our last few meetings, and that, as I pointed out just now, it remains for us to choose between a definite proposal and the complete absence of any decision." He concluded by saying: "That is the conclusion of my observations. The suggestion which I am putting forward does not appear to require that I present it in the fonn of a definite resolution, since it would simply be a short postponement, that is to say, a simple matter of Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais) : Je donne la parole au representant des Etats-Unis. M. JOHNSON (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (tTaduit de l~anglais): Hier apres-midi, le debat sur le rapport de la Commission ad hoc a ete clos. Le representant de la Colombie a propose de modifier entierement le sens de ce rapport (document A/518). Le representant de la France l'a. suivi en proposant de retarder de vingt-quatre heures la decision de l'AssembIee generale et d'ajourner le vote pour une periode tres breve, et - je cite ses propres paroles "... si les £01'- mules de banne volonte et d'accord que nous avons entendues ce matin parviennent a. se preciseI' ... de laisser aux delegations qui pourraient avoir a le faire le temps d'apporter ces precisions". Le representant de la France a poursuivi en ces tcrrnes: "Il est tres possible - je ne me fai!'. beaucoup d'illusions sur ma proposition - qu'en ajournant llotre decision pour un delai qui, dans mon esprit, pourrait etre de vingt-quatre heures ... nous n'ayons alors rien de plus que ce en presence de quoi nous nous trouvons aujourd'hui. 11 est tres possible que nous soyons amenes a. constater demain que la question se pose bien dans les termcs Oll cUe a pam se poser a d'autres delegations qui ont pris la parole au cours de nos dernicres seances, c'est-a-dire, ainsi que je l'indiquais il y a peu de temps, comme un choix entre une certaine proposition et l'abscnce complete de decision." Et notre collcguc a conclu en disant: "Tclle cst la conclusion des observations que je i'oulais vous presenter. La suggestion quc jc formule ne me parait pas nvoir besoin d'ctre presentec sous forme de resolution precise, puisqu'il s'agirait sirnplement d'un ajourncment de courte duree, I respectfully submit that the conditions outlined by the representative of France have not been fulfilled. Instead, we have heard a statement by the representative of Lebanon in which he resurrects the recommendations, almost in toto, of the minority report of UNSCOP; that report has been decisively rejected by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question. The representative of Lebanon made a perfectly legitimate proposal, but it is not before this General Assembly now. The purpose of the adjoumment was to allow an attempt at conciliation to be made. No conciliatory offer is now before us, and I reSpectfully submit that the General Assembly should proceed to the vote on the main proposition (document A/S16): the report of the Ad H QC Committee on the Palestinian Question to this General Assembly. The new proposal presented by the representative of Lebanon does not even contain a statement as to the attitude of the Arab Higher Committee. This is a question between the proposed Arab state of Palestine and the proposed Jewish state of Palestine. In a technical sense, Lebanon and the other Arab States have no more to'do with it than India, China, the United States or Australia. There is no mention of any conciliation attempt having been made on the part of the Arab Higher Committee, representing the Arab people of Palestine, or on the part of the Jewish Agency. This Palestine problem has been of concern to the world now for the past thirty years. It has been the subject of innumerable inquiries and commissions and all conceivable types of solution have been proposed. As you know, the Peel Commission, in 1937, recommended the paltition of Palestine. However, subsequent events prevented de~nitive action at that time. Since the conclUSIOn of the Second World War, renewed attempts have been made to solve the Palestine problem. The work of the Anglo-Amcrican Commission of Inquiry in 1946 was followed by conferences in London at which the so-caned Grady-Morrison proposals were evolved. There were further conferences in London last winter. Finally, in May of 194?, an inquiry ~as undertaken under the auspIces of the U11lted N atioIls. During all of these studies the various solutions of the Palestine problem had been given careful consideration. I know from my study of the report o~ the Un~ted Na~ionsSpecial Committee on Palestme that It made every effort La nouvelle proposition faite par le representant du Liban ne contient m&ne pas de declaration relative a l'attitude du Haut Comite arabe. La question que nous examinons concerne I'Etat arabe de Palestine que l'on se propose de creer. En principe, le Liban et les autres Etats arabes ne sont pas plus qualifies dans cette affaire que l'Inde, la Chine, les Etats-Unis ou l'Australie. Nous n'avons connaissance d'aucun effort de conciliation de la part du Haut Comite arabe qui represente le peuple arabe de Palestine, ni de la part de l'Agence juive. Depuis trente ans, cette question palestinienne est un sujet de graves preoccupations pour le monde. RIle a fait l'objet d'innombrables enquetes et commissions, et l'on a prtlpOSe tous les types possibles' de solution. Comme vous le savez, la Commission Peel, en 1937, a recommande le partage de la Palestine. La suite des evenements a neanmoins empeche toute action definitive a cette epoque. Depuis la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale, des tentatives renouve1ees ont etc faites pour resoudre la question palestinienne. Les travaux de la Commission anglo-americaine d'enquete de 1946 ont' ete suivis par ceux de plusieurs conferences tenues a Londrcs, au cours desquelles on a elabore ce que 1'0n appelle les propositions Grady-Morrison. D'autres conferences ant cte tenues a Londres I'hiver dernier. Finalement, en mai 1947, on a entrepris une enquete sous les auspices de l'Organisation des Nations Unies. Au cours de-toutes ces enquetes, on a examine avec la plus grande attention les diverses solutions de la question palestinienne. Je sais, apres avoir etudie son rapport, que la Commission speciale d'enquete sur la Palestine

I have two speakers on my list: the representatives of Iran and Syria. After calling upon them, I shall accept the suggestion of the representative of the United States-as this procedure was decided yesterday-and we shall proceed to vote on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question. I now call upon the representative of Iran. Mr. AnL (Iran) (translated from French): I think that all the delegations which are devoted to the principles of the United Nations Charter mwt appreciate the conciliatory spirit which moves the Arab world and which is manifested in the statement made by the representative of Lebanon. The proposal which he has made shows that the Arab world wishes at all costs to avoid a conflict which might have regrettable consequences, and that, to attain this extremely praiseworthy end, it is ready to abandon its position of intransigence and even to make concessions. Hence, in order to show that the General Assembly itself strongly supports this position which should lead us to peace, I think it would be best to allow the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question reasonable time to study the question again and prepare a solution acceptable to both parties. To this end, I have the honour to propose an adjournment of not more than a few weeks. During this time, the Ad Hoc Committee would prepare the plan for the future government of Palestine, and the General Assembly could be convened in special session to decide on the question.

I would ask the representative of Iran to submit Commission speciale d'enquete sur la Palestine. Le plan de la majol'ite, td que la Commission ad hoc chargee de la question palestinienne l'a modifie, se trouve maintenant soumis a votre examen. Au nom de ma delegation, je prie respectueusement le President de proceder immediatement au vote sur le rapport du Comite ad hoc charge de la question palestinienne. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de Fanglais): Deux orateurs sont inscrits: les representants de l'Iran et de la Syrie. Accedant a la proposition du representant des Etats,.Unis, selon la procedure que nous avons decide d'adopter hier, je mettrai aux voix, apres I'intervention de ccs deux orateurs, le rapport du Comite ad hoc charge de la question palestininenne. Je donne la parole au representant de l'Iran. M. AnL (Iran): Je pense que toutes les delegations qui sont attachees aux principes de la Charte des Nations Unies doivent appr6cier l'esprit de conciliation dont est anim6 le monde arabe et qui apparalt dans l'intervention du representant du Liban. La proposition qu'll a faite montre que le monde arabe veut a tout prix eviter un conflit qui pourrait avoir des consequences regrettables et que pour atteindre ce but extremement louable, II est pret a abandonner sa position in~ transigeante et meme afaire des concessions. Aussi, pour montrer que l'Assemblee generale elle-meme appuie fortement cette position qui doit nous mener a la paix, je crois que le mieux serait de donner un d6lai raisonnable pour permettre a la Commission ad hoc chargee de la question pakstinienne d'etudier a nouveau la question et de prcparer une solution acceptable pour les deux parties. _ Dans ce but, j'ai l'honneuf de proposer un ajournement qui ne serait pas superieur a quelques semaines. Pendant ce laps de temps, la Commission ad hoc preparerait le plan du futur gouvernement de la Palestine et l'AssembIee gencrale pourrait etre convoquee en session extraordinaire pour decider de la question. Le PRESIDENT: Monsieur le representant de l'Iran, je vous demande d'adresser par ecrit a Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): I have not participated in the discussion of this matter since the beginning of the debate in the General Assembly, and I do not intend to participate now, inasmuch as the debate is closed. I should simply like to refer to the question now before us, which has to do with yesterday's twenty-fourhour adjournment, proposed by the representative of France and adopted by the majority of the General Assembly. The representative of France made his proposal with a definite purpose: he, as well as most of the other representatives who have spoken on the subject, felt a great deal of anxiety concerning the adoption of the plan for the partition of Palestine which had been presented by the Ad Hoc Committee. You have heard not just one of those representatives, but many of them, say tha~ this plan is complicated; that it is very hard to implement; that it does not Serve the cause of peace, but would lead to bloodshed; that there are many difficulties in the plan; and that it would require a great deal 'of force to implement it. It is not the object of the United Nations to bring about a situation of this sort. For those reasons the representative of France said that it was our duty as peace-loving people not to create sources of disturbance, but to find solid solutions for problems existing in the world and, .in this particular case, to arrive at some peaceful adjustment of the present situation. That was the intention of the representative of France in asking for the adjournment, and the General Assembly acceded to his request on that basis. We feel that the delegations here present are in favour of finding some solution which would diminish the causes of disturbanc,e and the anxiety which will dominate the hearts of all of us if this resolution is adopted and attempts are made to implement it. I therefore think that it would be proper for every honest representative at this General Assembly to facilitate that task, rather than to obstruct it, frustrate it, and put obstacles in its path. All the representatives have said that it would certainly be preferable if some conciliatory approach could be found. It is necessary to deal with the question of conciliation. But was that question dealt with to any extent by the Ad Hoc Committee? When the Ad Hoc Committee met, it created three Sub-Committees. Sub- Committee 1 was created to clarify the partition plan, and Sub-Committee 2 was created to clarify the plan for a unitary state. Each Sub~Committeewas composed of members who sponsored, favoured, and advocated the plan which they were asked to clarify. No M. EL-J(HOURI (Syrie) (traudit de l'anglais): Je n'ai pris aucune part ala discussion de cette question depuis le debut des deliberations de l'Assemblee generale. II n'est pas dans mon intention de prendre part aujourd'hui acc debat, etant donne qu'iI est clos. Je voudrais simplement pader de la question qui nous occupe maintenant, et qui a trait a I'ajournement de vingt-quatre heures que nous a propose hier le representant de la France et que l'Assemblee generale a adopte ala majorite. Le representant de la France a fait sa proposition dans un but bien etabli: comme la plupart des autres representants qui ont pris la parole sur cette question, il eprouve de vives inquietudes au sujet de I'adoption du plan de partage de la Palestine qui a ete presente par la Commission ad hoc. Vous avez entendu non pas un, mais de nombreux representants nous dire que ce projet etait complique; que sa mise a. execution presentait de nombreuses difficultes; qu'il ne servait pas la cause de la piix, qu'il etait de nature a. provoquer des effusions de sang; qu'il se heurtait a des difficultes innombrables; et que si l'on voulait en assurer l'execution, il faudrait avoir recours a la force. Le but de I'Organisation des Nations Unies n'est pas de Creel' une telle situatiorL Pour ces raisons, le representant de la France a declare qu'il etait du devoir des nations pacifiques de ne pas susciter des foyers de conflit, mais de trouver des solutions viables aux problemes internationaux et, en particulier, d'arriver a I'ajustement pacifique de la situation actuelle. C'est dans ce but que le representant de la France a demande I'ajournement et que I'Assemblee generale a accede asa requete. Nous pensons que les representants id presents sont partisans d'une solution susceptible de diminuer les causes de desordre et d'apaiser les angoisses qui s'empareraient de nos cceurs si cette resolution etait adoptee et si I'on essayait de la mettre en application. Je pense que tous les representants qui sont animes de bonne foi se doivent de faciIiter cette tache, de ne pas la rendre plus difficile, de ne pas tenter de la faire echouer et de placer des obstacles sur notre route. Tous les representants ont declare qu'iIs preferaient, sans aucun doute, qu'une solution de conciliation soit trouvee. Ilin1porte de nous attacher a cette question de conciliation. La Commission ad hoc a-t-elle vraiment tente de le faire? Lorsqu'elle s'est reunie, la Commission ad hoc a cree trois Sous-Commissions. La Sous- Commission 1 fut creee pour mettre au point le plan de partage et la Sous-Commission 2 pour elaborer le plan relatif a l'ctabIissement d'un Etat federal. . Chaque Sous-Commission se composait de membres qui preconisaient, appuyaient et soutenaient le plan qu'iIs devaient mettre au point. The only measure taken which we know of was a letter sent by the Chairman of the Sub- Committee on conciliation, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Mr. Evatt, to His Royal Highness Prince Feisal, the head of the delegation of Saudi Arabia. It was dated 1 November and read as follows: "The Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question authorized myself as Chairman together with the Vice-Chainnan, Prince Subha Svasti and the Rapporteur, Mr. Thors, to initiate such actions as we thought fit, with a view to conciliating the parties or persons interested in the Palestinian problem and with a view of lessening the area of disagreement and increasing the area of agreement. We have consulted together"- that is, ~he Chairman and Prince Feisal-"from time to time and a certain amount of exploratory inquiries have been made to see if the above object can be further advanced. . "We are of the opinion that it might be advantageous if arrangements could be made as soon as possible for a discussion to take place between yourself and Mr. George Marshall on the subject matter now before the General ABsembly. We therefore communicate this suggestion formally to yourself and at the same time to Mr. George Marshall, expressing the hope that it will be possible to arrange for such conversations to take place. If, however, it is desired we should take part in any such discussions, we are entirely at your service." The Prince replied the next day in the following way: "It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 1 November 1947, and I wish to take this ·opportunity to express to tres importante et absolument necessaire; elle repond aux buts et aux prillcipes de llotre Organisation. Malheureusement rien n'a ete fait, aucune mesure n'a ete prise en vue d'arriver a une conciliation. Ce probleme a pour moi en ma qualite de chef de la delegation syrienne un grand interet. Personne n'a demande ad'autres representants, ou amoi-mcme, ou ades membres du Haut Comite arabe de Palestine de nous reunir et de tenter d'arriver a une entente. Ces demiers ont simplement et,e invites a participer aux seances ou l'on discutait des frontie.res des Etats que l'on se propose de Creel' en Palestine et du trace de ces frontieres, et a entendre l'expose de ce que d'autres avaient fait. I1 est certain qu'ils n'avaient pas a participer a. ces debats car ils n'avient pas ete habilites a prendre des de~ cisions, mais invites sirnplement ~n qualite d'observateurs. Personne ne les a invites a. discuter la question de la conciliation ou atenter de trouver un terrain d'entente. La seule mesure qui ait etc prise a notre connaissance consiste en l'envoi d'une lettre adressee par M. Evatt, President de la Sous-Commission de conciliation et President de la Commission ad hoc, a S.A.R. le prince Fay~a1, Chef de la delegation d'Arabie saoudite. Cctte lettre est datee du 1er novembre; en voici le texte: "La Commission ad hoc chargee de la question palestinienne a autorise le Prince Subha Svasti, Vice-President, M. Thors, Rapporteur, et moimeme en qualite de President, a prendre les mesures que nollS jugerions opportunes en vue de concilicr les parties ou les personnes interessees au probleme palestinien, d'attenuer les desaccords, de favoriser l'entente entre tous. Nous avons confere de temps a autre - entendez le President et, le Prince Fay~alet nous nous sommes livres a un certain nombre d'enquetes preliminaires pour 'voir s'il etait possible d'at~ teindre plus facilement l'objectif sus-mentionne. "Nous sommes d'avis qu'il conviendrait de faire en sorte que M. George Marshall et vousm6me puissiez discuter aussitot que possible du probleme dont est saisie l'Assemblce ~enerale. Par consequent, nous vous communiquons officiellement cette suggestion en meme temps que nous la communiquons a M. George Marshall, en exprimant l'espoir qu'il sera possible de prendre les dispositions pour que ces conversations aient lieu. Toutefois, au cas ou il vous plairait que nous prenions part acette discussion, nous serions enticrement 11. votre disposition." Le lendemain, le Prince faisait parvenir la rcponse suivante: "C'est avec le plus grand plaisir que j'accuse reception de votre lettrc en date du 1er novem· bre 1947. Je desire saisir cctte occasion pour vous .I think this matter should be very carefully considered by the General Assembly because it is a matter of tremendous importance which threatens and menaces the general peace. The General Assembly should adopt every means at its disposal to avoid possible bloodshed. • They say that peace will be endangered and bloodshed will result if this matter is left unsolved. We should not leave it unsolved, and we have the tim~ to arrive at a better solution than the one which has been proposed. They say that if a scheme is proposed, which is objectionable to the Jews, we cannot accept it. They say it is not a matter of international law or history, but rather a political matter. Well, Cette lettre resta sans reponse. Aucune disposition ne fut prise pour organiser de tels entretiens. Personne n'entra en contact avec les delegations les plus directement interessees au probleme; aucun preparatif ne fut fait pour trouver un terraineventuel d'entente. C'est pourquoi je soutiens que la Commission ad hoc a failli a ses devoirs en cette matiere, comme dIe a failli aux devoirs que lui assignait son mandat. Les questions dont a ete saisie la Commission ad hoc ant ete tres clairement defillies. Au nombre de celles-ci figurait celle relative au rapport de la Commission speciale d'enquete sur la Palestine. Ce rapport renferme deux plans: l'un preconisant le partage du pays et l'autre l'etablissement d'un Etat federal. La Commission ad hoc n'a examine que le plan de partage. Elle n'a pas nomme de sous-commission chargee de mettre au point le plan de federation. Elle a completement neglige cette question. n en resulte done que si l'Assemblee generale decide de renvoyer ala Commission ad hoc le rapport de celle-ci afin que celle-ci mene a terme sa tache de conciliation, mette au point le rapport de la minorite preconisant la creation d'un Etat federal et examine le projet que vient de soumettre le representant du Liban, l'Assemblee adopterait une attitude parfaitement normale et n'irait pas au dela de ses attributions, comme 1'a declare M. Johnson. Nous demandons a l'Assemblee generale d'agir ainsi. Le representant de la France a fait hier cette suggestion, mu, je n'en doute pas, par un sentiment de bonne foi et avec des intentions loyales. Je pense que l'Assemblee generaIe devrait accarder toute son attention a cette question qui pose un probleme d'une importance primordiale est susceptible de menacer et mettre en peril la paix mondiale. L'Assemblee generale se doit d'utiliser tous les moyens en son pouvoir pour prevenir d'eventuelles effusions de sang. On nous dit que si cette question etait laissee en suspens, la paix serait en danger et le sang . coulerait. Nous ne devons pas la laisser en suspens et nous disposons d'assez de temps pour trouver une solution plus satisfaisante que celle que Pan nous propose aujourd'hui. On nous dit que l'Assemblee ne pourrait adopter un projet qui ne satisfasse pas les Juifs. On nous dit aussi que ce n'est pas un probleme de droit interna- - They say that the Jews refuse to accept a minority position in Palestine. But they will not be a minority. If a unitary state or federal state or cantonal state were to be established, the Jews would not be a minority. The political parties in the future will not be established on a religious basis. A Jewish party or Moslem party or Christian party does not. exist in the world; nor are they contemplated in the plans of the United Nations. There will be social, political parties, a labour party, a democratic party, a republican party, any party of that kind, or a socialist party. All Arabs, Jews, Christians and Moslems will join those parties; and the Jews will join some party in which'they will be a majority with the help of others, and be governors of the country, as they are in the United States even though they are a minority in th~t country. You see to what extent their influence has extended here. In the United States they are one to thirty whereas in Palestine they are one to three. Living in this democratic country, they have. extended their influence into all circles. They have even extended it to the centre of the United Nations and intimidate speakers by hissing at them. This is the proof that they are influencing and dominating people here even though they are one to thirty in this country. . We should take account of that, and the United States and the people of the United States should be careful for the future which awaits them.

The representative of Iran made a proposal in which he asked for the adjournment of the debate. However at the same . , tIme, there were many other proposals with regard to the way in which our work should be accomplished in the future. I request that the proposal which is handwritten in Fr«nch be translated, and then submitted to the President for his careful consideration before he can rule on a matter so important. The situation is further confused because of certain matters which have priority in the debate. I now call upon the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. de l'Organisation des Nations U~~esdu, par leurs manifestations, ils s'efforcent d'intimider les orateurs.' Cela prouve que, bien que representant un trentieme de la population, iIs influencent et dOl1unent le pays. Nous devrions faire attention a cela; les Etats-Unis et le peuple des Etats-Unis devraient prendre garde a l'avenu' qui les attend. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Le representant de l'Iran a soumis une proposition demandant 1'ajournement des d6bats. Cependant il y a en meme temps plusieurs autres propositions sur la maniere dont nous dev.tj,ons,a ravenir, poursuivre nos travaux. ~"'--"'_~ Je demande que la proposition du representant de l'Iran, presentee en fran~ais sous forme manuscrite, soit traduite en anglais et soumise ala presidence pour examen approfondi avant que celle-ci statue sur une question de cette importance. La situation est encore plus confuse du fait que certaines questions ont priorite dans les debats. Je donne maintenant la parole au represen- . tant de l'Union des Republiques socialistes sovictiques. The stntcment'> made here by the representatives of Lebanon and Syria have not introduced .an:' new factor which could in any way change the situation; there is nothing new in their statements which would affect the position. They mentioned the establishment of a federal state. We referred to this as one of the possibilities at the outset of the debate on this question. The Arab representatives did not wish to discuss the matter. That is their business. They are free to behave as they deem necessary in the diRcussion of this question. To reopen the debate on this problem as propo~ed, for instance, by the representative of Iran, .-f,oi.lld meiiJ1, however, going back at least six months. Aft':"r t.r~ question was submitted to the General Assembly, all kinds of alternatives were studied and, after comprehensive and careful consideration of all the possible alternatives and proposals, the majority of the members of the Ad 11oc Committee came to the conclusion that .....;Pltte~tine would have to be divided into two sovereign, independent, democratic states-an Arab State and a Jewish State. This decision by the Committee is the result of a thorough, careful and profound study of tIns question. The delegation of the USSR considers that it would be wrong now to set the General Assembly back six months and to begin all over again. I say nothing of the fact that to adopt such a proposal would mean wrecking the settle~ ment of the Palestine problem. Certain manreuvres which are going on in the General \ Assembly are understandable, but they cannot be justified. They can confuse and complicate the issue, hut they cannot settle the problem of Palestine's future. Once having undertaken this task, the United Nations should settle the problem of Palestine's future. That is precisely why the delegation of the USSR considers that the Rien n'a change dcpuis notre seance d'hier. D'ailleurs, il etait clair d'avanee que rien ne pourrait changer en vingt-quatrc heures, et ced pour la simple raison que ceUe question a fait l'objet de pour-parlers et de discussions pendant vingt-cinq ans et que l'Organisation des Nations Unies eIle-meme s'en occupe depuis au moins six mois. Comment pouvait-on esperer resoudre cette question en vingt-quatre heures? a'est precisemcnt pour cela qu'aujourd'hui la situation est exactement la meme qu'il y a vingtwquatre heures. Les declarations qu'ont faites id les representants du Liban ct de la Syrie n'ont apporte ricn de nouveau, ni ricn qui puisse modifier la situation dans quelque mesure que ce soit; leurs declarations ne contiennent rien de nouveau, ni rien qui modifie la situation. Ils ont mentionne la creation d'un Etat federal. Mais nous l'avons envisage des le debut de l'examen de cette question comme I'une des solutions possibles. A cette cpoqnc, les representants arabes n'ont pas vouln en discuter. C'est leur affaire. IIs sont libres d'adopter a cet egard l'attitude qu'ils jugent utile. MaL'> si nous reprenions l'etude de cette .question conformement a la proposition du representant de l'Iran, par exemple, cela nous ramenerait en arriere d'au moins six mois. De· puis que celte question a etc sOllmbe a l'AssembICe generale, celle-ci a etudie toutes sorte~ de solutions. A la suite d'un examen complet et minutieux ele toutes ccs solutions et de toutes ces propositions, la majorite de la Commission ad hoc a conclu a la ncccssitc de partager la Palestine en deux Etats lihres, independants et democratiques, dont l'un scrait arahe et l'autre juif. Cette decision est le rcsultat d'un examen complet et minutieux de la question. La delegation de I'URSS estime qu'il serait crrone de faire revenir I'Asscmblee gcnerale au point ou elIe se trouvait il y a six mois et de lui faire tout recommencer. Ced d'autant plus qu'en acceptant cette proposition, nous compromettrions la solution de la question palestinienne. On peut comprendre certaines manreuvres qui se font a l'Assemblee ~cncrale, mais on ne saurait les justifier. Ccs manreuvres peuvent compliquer et emhrouillcr la question, mais eUes ne sanraient nous conduire a une solution de la question palestiniennc. L'Organisation des Nations Unies qui a entrepris I'examen de cette question, doit prendre une decision sllr l'avenir de la

I have received a draft resolution submitted by the delegation of Iran. This draft resolution reads as follows: ((The General Assembly, with the object of reaching a reasonable solution of the Palestinian Question which may give satisfaction both to the Arab and Jewish populations in Palestine; ((Decides to adjourn the discussion of this question until 15 January 1948; ((Invites the Ad Hoc Committee on the Pales- tinian Question to study this question anew, tak- ing into account the statements made by the representative of Lebanon during the meeting of today's date; . ((Invites the Committee to prepare a plan for the future government of Palestine; ((Recommends the Secretary-General to coIh- municate the report of the Ad Hoc Committee to the Member States before 31 January 1948." As you will notice, we have before us a new resolution which must not be considered as a motion for adjournment of the debate, as was the suggestion of the representative of France yesterday, but as a new draft resolution. How- ever, as President and in accordance with our rules of procedure, I cannot put this resolution to a vote until we shall have considered and voted on the resolutions previously presented to this General Assembly. As you know, the Chair must give priority to resolutions in a few cases only, and these cases are enumerated in our provisional rules of pro- cedure. The first case relates to a point of order,_ the second case relates to adjournment of the debate, and the third case relates to closure of the debate. We have two other cases to which priority must be given: amendments to proposals or resolutions and motions as to procedure. With all respect and with the most liberal and willing interpretation, the President cannot con- sider a resolution such as the one before the General Assembly as falling within one of these five categories. As that is my cdnviction, I shall put to a vote the resolution contained in docu- ment A/516, and then I shall put the proposal of Iran to a vote. I call upon the representative of Lebanon on a point of order. Mr. CHAMOUN (Lebanon) (translated from French): Just as we are about to vote, 1 notice that the twelve recommendations which served as a basis for the report now submitted to the Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): J'ai re<.<u un projet de resolution presente' par la delegation de l'Iran. En voici la teneur: ((L'Assemblee generale, afin d'apporter au probleme palestinien une solution equitable et susceptible de donner satisfaction tant a la population 'arabe qu'a la population juive de Palestine; ((Decide d'ajoumer la discussion de la question jusqu'au 15 janvier 1948; , ((Invite la Commission ad hoc chargee de la question palestinienn~ aproceder aune nouvelle etude de la question, en premmt en consid~ra- tion les declarations faites par le representant du Liban au cours de la seance de ce jour; "Invite la Commission a etablir un plan pour le futur gouvernement de la Palestine; "Invite le Secretaire general a communiquer le rapport de la Commission ad hoc aux Etats Membres avant le 31 janvier 1948." ' Comme vous pourrezle rem~rquer, Messieurs, nous sommes en presence d'un texte qui ne doit pas etre considere comme une motion d'ajourne- ment des debats, comme le suggerait hier le representant de la France, mais comme un nou- veau projet de resolution. Cependant, en tant que President et conformement a notre regIe- ment interieur, je ne pcux mettre cette resolution aux voix avant que nous n'ayons examine Ies projets de resolution presentes anterieurement a- I'Assemblee generale, et que nous n'ayons pris de decision aleur egard. Comme vous le savez, le President doit donner priorite a1'examen de certains projets de resolu- tions, seulement dans un petit nombre de c.as qui sont enumcres dans notre reglement interieur provisoire. Le premier cas a trait aux motions d'ordre, le second a l'ajournement des debats et le troisieme ala cUlture des debats. 11 y a deux autres cas dans lesquels il y a lieu d'accorder une priorite: l'examen des amende- ments aux propositions ou resolutions et les mo- tions de procedure. , En toute conscience et en donnant aces regles l'interpretation la plus liberale, le Presi- dent ne peut considerer qu'un projet de resolu- tion ,comme celui dont est saisie l'AssembIee generale rentre dans l'une des cinq categoriett~.... enumerees precedemment. Telie est ma' convic- tion, aussi vais-je mettre aux voix la resolution qui figure au document A/S16 et je ferai de meme ensuite pour la resolution presentee par la delegation de 1'lran. Je donne la parole au representant du Liban sur un motion d'ordre. M. CHAMOUN (Liban): Au moment ou nous alions passeI' au vote, je m'aper~ois que les douze recommandations qui ont servi de fondement au rapport en ce moment soumis a l'Assemblee ont •.-.. In these circumstances, I ask you to draw the logical conclusion, and to vote on the recom- mendations unanimously adopted before you vote on the report now before you~

The point raised, as I understand it, by the representative of Lebanon concerns the unanimous recommendations which are not included in the resolution recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question. I must inform the General Assembly that all those unanimous recommendations appear, not in the resolution but in the reports of Sub-Committees 1 and 2. There is no reason for us to consider those recommendations specifically now when we are to vote on the resolution of the Ad }foe Committee. That was a matter for the Ad Hoc Committee and not for the GeiIeral Assembly. We shall now proceed to vote by roll-call on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee (document A/516) . ·"";f·~~"ie was taken by roll-call. The result of the vote was as follows: In favour: Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, . Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panam::>, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of South Africa, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela. Against: Mghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen. Abstained: Argentina, Chile, Chil}.a, Colom- Dans ces conditions, je VOllS prie de tirer la conclusion qui s'impose en vue d'un vote sur les recommandations adoptees a l'unanimitre, avant que n'intervienne le vote sur le rapport que vous avez sous les yeux. , Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Si j'ai bien compris, la question posee par le representant du Liban a trait aux recominandations faites a l'unanimitc et qui ne figurent .pas dans le projet de resolution approuve par la pommission ad hoc chargee de la question paIestinienne. Je dois signaler a l'AssembIee generale que toutes ces recommandations unanimes figurent non dans le projet de resolution mais dans les rapports des Sous-Commissions 1 et 2. 11 n'y a aucune raison pour que nous etudions maintenant ces recommandations en particulier, alors que nous devons proceder au vote sur la resolution de la Commission ad hoc. C'est la une ques-· tion qui relevait de la competence de la Commission ad hoc et 110n pas de l'Assemblee gene- "rale. Je mets aux voix le rapport de la Commission ad hoc (document A/516), par appel nominal. Il est procede au vote par appelnominal. Le resultat du vote est le suivant: V otent pour: Australie, Belgique, Bolivie, Bre-. sil, Republique socialiste sovietique de BielonIssie, Canada, Costa-Rica, TcMcoslovaquie, D3Jlemark, Republique Dominicaine, Equateur, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Islande, Liberia, Luxembourg, Pays-Bas, Nouvelle-Zelande, Nicaragua, Norvege, Panama, Paraguay, Perou, Philippines, Pologne, Suede, Republique socialiste sovietique d'Ukraine, Union Sud-Mricaine, Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques, Etats-Unis d'Amerique, Uruguay, Venezuela. V otent contre: Mghanistan, Cuba, Egypte, Grece, Inde, Iran, Irak, Liban, Pakistan, Arabiesaoudite, Syrie, Turquie, Yemen. S'abstiennent: Argentine, Chili, Chine, Co-

I now call upon the repre~ sentative of the United Kingdom. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): Now that the General Assembly has adopted this resolution, I must point out that there will be a number of points of detail connected with the application of the plan that will closely affect my Government. I have therefore been instructed to express the hope that the United Nations Commission will communicate with His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in order that arrangements may be agreed upon for the arrival of the Commission in Palestine and for the co-ordination of its plans with those of the mandatory Power in respect of the withdrawal of British administration and British military forces.

I call upon the representative of Saudi Arabia. H. R. H. Amir FAISAL AL SAUD (Saudi Arabia) (translated from Arabic): We came to the General Assembly filled with hope that both the large and small nations would direct their efforts towards the elevation' of moral standards. Wc came here filled with hope that all nations would unanimously respect and uphold human rights and justice; and that this Organization would be an instrument for establishing international peace and security. At the same time, we had hoped that it would afford a sound basis for mutual understanding among all peoples. But alas! Today's resolution has dissipated our hopes. ' Vo{e have pledged ourselves before God and history to fulfil the Charter in good faith, thereby respecting human rights and repelling aggression. However, today's resolution has destroyed the Charter and all the covenants preceding it. We have felt, like many others, the pressure exerted on various representatives of this Organization by some of the big Powers in order that the vote should be in favour of partition. For these reasons, the Government of Saudi Arabia registers, on this historic occasion, the fact that it does not consider itself bound by the resolution adopted today by the General Assembly. Furthermore, it reServes to itself the full right to act freely in whatever way it deems' fit, in accordance with the principles of right and justice. My Government holds responsible those parties that hampered all means of cooperation and understanding. Le PRESIDENT (trad1eit de I'anglais): Je donne maintenant la parole au representant du Royaume-Uni. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (Royaume-Uni) (traduit de l'anglais): Maintenant que l'Assembleegenerale a adopte cette ,resolution, je dais faire remarquer que toute une serie de questions de detail ayant trait al'application du plan vont se poser, questions qui interessent directement mon Gouvememcnt. l'ai done re~u pour instructions d'exprimer l'espoir que la Commission des Nations Unies se mettra en rapport avec le Gouvemement clu Royaume-Uni afin que certaines dispositions soient prises pour l'arrivee de . la Commission en Palestine et la coordination des plans de celle-ci avec ceux de la Puis.~ance mandataire en ce qui eoncerne le retrait de l'ad. ministration et des forces militaircs britanniques. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de I'anglais) : Je donne la parole au representant de l'Arabe saoudite. S.A.R.l'Emir FAY9AL AL SAUD (Arabie saoudite) (traduit de l'arabe): Nous etions venus a l'Assemblee generale remplis de l'espoir que les grandes et les petites nations orienteraient leurs efforts vers l'€levation des qualites morales. Nous etions venus id remplis de l'espoir que toutes les nations seraient unanimes arespecter et amainl tenir les droits de l'homme et la justice, et que cette Organisation travaillerait a instm..rer la paix et la securite internationales. Nous avioni5 espere aussi qu'elle fournirait de solides assffies pour la comprehension mutuelle entre teus-Ies peuples. Mais belas, la resolution d'aujourd'hui a dissipe nos espoirs. Nous nous sonunes engages devant l'histoire a remplir loyalement les obligations que nous impose la Charte et, de ce fait, a respecter les droits de l'homme et a renoncer a l'agression. Mais, par la resolution d'aujourd'hui la Charte et tous les pactes qui l'ont precedee sont annihiles. Nous avons eu conscience, comme b\:.:ncnup d'autres delegations, de la pression que certaines· des grandes Puissances ont exercee sur differents reprcsentants au sein de cette Organisation pour que le resultat du vote soit favorable an partage. Pour ces raisons, le Gouvernement de l'Arabie saoudite, en cette occasion historique, declare formellement qu'il ne se considere pas comme lie par la resolution que l'Assemblee generale a adoptee aujourd'hui. Il se reserve en outre l'entiexe liberte d'agir comme il le jugera opportun, conformement aux principes du droit et de la justice. Mon Gouvcrnement tient pour responsables celles des parties qui ont entrave tous les efforts de cooperation et de comprehell~ sion. ' i "Empires rise and fall. History tells us of the empires of the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans, the Arabs, the Persians and the Spaniards. Today, most of the talk is about the Americans and the Russians. The holy Koran says: We shall sec the periods of rise and fall as between nations, and that cycle draws attention to the universal law. What endures on earth is that which is bencficicnt for God's creatures. "No man can today predict whether the proposal which these two great countries have sponsored and supported wi11 prove beneficient or the contrary in it~ actual working. "We much fear that the beneficence, if any, to which partition may lead will be small in comparison to the mischief which it might in~ augurate. It totally lacks legal validity. We en~ tertain no sense of grievance against those of our friends and fellow representatives who have been compelled, under heavy pressure, to change side.c; and to cast their votes in support of a proposal the justice and fairness of which do not commend themselves to them. Our feeling for them is one of sympathy that they should have been placed in a position of such embarrassment between their judgment and conscience, on the one side, and the pressure to which they and their Governments were being subjected, on the other. "Pakistan desires to wash its hands of all responsibility for the decision that has just now -... been taken. It will, therefore, take no part in the election of the United Nations Commission which will be set up to implement that decision." ......"", The PRI:;SIOENT: I call upon the representative of Iraq. Mr. JAMALI (Iraq): In San Francisco we had high hopes for the world. Today, those hopes arc shattered. We always thought that, after all, humanity was a bulwark of peace and a bulwark of jIL~tice. Today, that faith is destroyed. We did our best during the last few UIl nombre sufTisant de nos collc?;Ucs a notre conception de la justice, mais i1 ne leur a pas ete pennis de se prononccr ell faveur de la justice telle qu'ils l'avaient comprise. Si nos cccurs sont tristcs, notrc conscience est legcrc. Nous ne voudrions pas que ce fCit le contraire. "Lc:-; empires connaissent la gTandeur et la decadence. L'histoire nous pade des Empires de Babylonc ct de l'Egypte, des Grecs et des Romains, des Arabes, de la Perse et de l'Espagne. Aujourd'hui, on parle surtout des Arnericains et dC$ Russes. Scion le tcxtc sacrc elu Coran: Nous verrons les periodcs de grandeur et de decadence des nations, et leurs revolutions nous feront connaitre la loi universelle: cc qui sur terre est durable, e'e.8t ce qui est un bienfait pour les crcatures de Dieu. Personne ne sanrait predire aujourd'hui si la proposition alaqueUe ces dellx grands pays ant donne lcur patrona,ge et leur appui, aura, dans sa mise en ccuvre, des consequencc" bienfaisalltes ou nCfastcs. "Nolls craigllons fort que ks avantages du partage, si toutefolc; il en a, ne se revelent bien minces en companiison des maux qu'll pourra dcchainer. La decision qui vient d'etre prise est totaIemcllt dcpourvue de validite juridique. Nous n'avons nul grief a l'endroit de ceux de 1105 amis et collcgues qui ont etc contraints, sous une forte pression, de changer de parti et de donller lcurs voix a lInc proposition dont la justice et l'equite leur paraissent douteuscs. Nous n'avons pour eux que des sentiments de sympathie lorsque nous songeolls dans quelle situation cmbarrassante ils ont ctc places, ecoutant el'une part la voix de leur jugement et leur conscience, ct subissant, d'autrc part, avee leurs Gouvemements, la pre.c;sion que ron sait. "Le Pakistan tient a dcgager toute sa respon~abiJite dans la decision qui vient d'ctre prise. En consequence, it ne participera pas a l'election de la Commission de l'Organisation des Nations UDies qui sera instituee pour mettre en reuyre eette decision." Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Je donne la parole au representant de l'Irak. M. JAMAU (Irak) (traduit de l'anglats): A San-Francisco, nous avions con~u pour le monde de grandes e.~perances. Aujourd'hui, ces espcrances s'ecrolllent. NOlls avions toujours pensc qu'aprcs tout, l'lmmanite dcfendait la paix et d6fcndait la justice. Alljourd'hui, cetl:e confiancc We believe that the decision which we have now taken is a very serious one. It is one that undermint's peace; justice and democracy. In the name of my Government, I wish to state that it feels that this decision is anti-democratic, illegal, impractical and contrary to the Charter. It contradicts the spirit and letter of the Charter. Therefore, in the name of my Government, I wish to put on record that Iraq does not recognize the validity of this decision, will reservc freedom of action towards its implementation, and holds those who were influential in passing it against the free conscience of mankind responsiblc for the com,equences.

I call upon the representative of Syria. Amir ARSLAN (Syria) (translated from French): Even before the Assembly took this decision, I think that most of the delegations had suspected a dictatorial attitude. It is useless to speak about it at length, but as it is CtL'!- tomary to allow those condemned to death to speak freely to their executioners, we shall address ourselves to ours. Gentlemen, the Charter is dead. But it did not die a natural death; it was murdered, and you all know who is guilty. My country will never recognize such a decision. It will never agree to be responsible for it. Let the conscquencc.~ be on the heads of others, not on ours.

I now call upon the representative of Yemen. H. R. H. Prince Seif El ISLAM ABDULLAH (Yemen) (translated from Arabic): The Yemen delegation has stated previously that the partition plan is contrary to justice and to the Charter of the United Nations. Therefore, the Government of Yemen does not consider itself bound by such a decision for it is contrary to the letter and spirit of the Charter. The Government of Yemen will reserve its freedom of action towards the implementation of this decision. realisable et contraire a la Charte. EIle est contraire a la lettre et a l'esprit de la Charte. En consequence, au nom de mOll Gouvernement, jr: declare formellement que l'Irak ne reconnalt pas la validitc dc ccttc decision, qu'il reserve toute sa libertc d'action en ce qui eonceme son application, et qu'il tient pour rcsponsables de ses consequences, ceux qui ont use de leur influence pour la faire adopter contrairement au libre jugement de l'hl1manitc. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Je donne la parole au representant de la Syrie., L'Emir ARSLAN (Syrie): Avant lllcme que l'Assemblee ait pris cette decision, je crois que la plupart des delegations avaiellt devinc une attitude de dictature. 11 est inutile d'en parIer longllement, malo; comme it est d'usage de permettre aux condamncs it mort de parler librement it. lcurs boun-caux, nous alIons nous adresser aux notres. Messieurs, la Charte est morte. Mais dIe n'est pas 11l0rte d'une mort naturelle; clle a cte assassince et vous connaissez tous les coupabIes. Mon pays ne recoIDlaitra jamais unc parcille dec.ision. 11 n'acr.eptera jamais d'en etre responsable. Toutes les consequences qui peuvent rcsulter de la responsabiIitc encourue retomberont sur d'autre~ que sur les Syriens et nulle- _... ment sur ceUX-CI. . .... Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): le donne la parole au representant du Yemen. S.A.R. le Prince Seif El ISLAM ABDULLAH (Yemen) (traduit de l'arabe): La delr.gation du Yemen a deja. declare que le plan de partage est contraire a la justice et it. la Charte des Nations Unies. Par consequent, le Gouvernement du Yemen ne se considere pas comme lie par une teIle decision, qui est contraire a l'esprit et a la lettre de la Charte. Le Gouvernement du Yemen reserve toute sa liberte d'action quant a la mise en c:cuvre de cette decision.

The General Assembly will now consider a draft resolution submitted by the Rapporteur of the Fifth Committee. I call upon the representative of Sweden, acting for the Rapporteur of the Fifth Committee. -." .' Mr. HAGGLOF (Sweden).: I wish to move the adoption of the following draft resolution: "The General Assembly authorizes the Secretary-Ge.neral to draw from the Working Capital Flmd a sum not to exceed $2,000,000 for the purposes set forth in the last paragraph of the resolution on the future government of Palestine." This draft resolution is a consequence of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly.

As there is no objection to this draft resolution, it is adopted. 128. Final report of the Credentials Com~ mittee

I call upon the representative of Iran, who will present the report of the Credentials Committee. Mr. AOL (Iran) (translated from French): The Credentials Committee appointed during the second session of the General Assembly to report on the credentials of representatives, met for the second time on 26 November 1947 at 2 p.m. in Conference Room A in the General Assembly Building at Flushing Meadow. The Committee was composed of the representatives of Bolivia, Czechoslovakia, Honduras, Iran: New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Siam and the United Kingdom. The Committee examined the documents submitted to the Secretariat by twenty States Members since the Committee's first meeting. It also examined the documents submitted by the new Members of the United Nations, namely, Pakistan and Yemen. The Committee found that the credentials given to the representatives of the Governments of the following States Members fully satisfied con.~tituee. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): L'As- semblee gencrale doit examiner maintenant un projet de resolution prcsentc par le Rapporteur de la Cinquicme Commission. Je donne la parole au representant de la Suede qui rcmplit les fonctions du Rapporteur de la Cinquieme Oommission. M, HAGGLOF (Suede) (traduit de l'anglais): Je propose l'adoption du projet de resolution suivant: uL'AssembLee generale autorise le Secrctaire general aprclever sur le Fonds de roulement une gomme n'excedant pas deux millions de dollars aux fins cnoncccs dans le dernier paragraphe de la resolution relative au gouverncment futur de la Palestine." Ce projet de resolution dccoule de la resolu- tion que l'Assemblee gencntle vient d'adopter. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'angfais) : Ce projet de resolution ne souleve aucune objection, il est done adopte. La resolution est adoptee. 128. Rapport deflnitif de la Commission de verification des pouvoirs Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): le donne la parole au representant de I'Iran qui va presenter le rapport de la Commission de verification des pouvoirs. M. AnL (Iran): La Commission de verifica- tion des pouvoirs, nommee ala deuxieme session de l'Assemblce generale pour faire rapport sur les pouvoirs des representants, s'est reunie pour la seconde fois le 26 novembre 1947, a 14 heures, dans la salle de conferences A du b5.ti- ment de l'AssembIee gencrale, a Flushing Meadow. La Commission se composait des reprcsentants de la Bolivie, de la Tchecoslovaquie, du Hondu- ras, de 1'Iran, de la Nouvelle-Zclande, de la Norvege, de la Pologne, du Siam et du Royaume-Uni. La Commission a examine les documents sou- mis au Secretariat par vingt Etats Mcmbre'l depui~ la premiere reunion de la Commission. Elle a en outre examine les documents presentes par les notlveaux Membres des Nations Unies, l10mmement le Pakistan et le Yemen. La Oommission a constatc que les pouvoirs remis aux representants des Gouvernements des Etats Membres suivants: A~ghanjstan, Arabie

Aq there is no objection, I shall consider the report of the Credentials Committee adopted. The report of the Cr~dentials Committee was ado/lted. 129. Closing speeches The PRESlDEN1': I call upon the l'epresentative of Poland. Mr. LANCE (Poland): I do not think that we should close this session of the General Assembly without expressing our thanks to the President for the way in which he has carried out the very difficult task which we decided to place upon his shoulders. I also want to express my thanks to the Secretary-General and to all the members of the Secretariat, who did not stint their timewhether day or night-in helping us to conduct our work. I want to express my thanks to all my fellow repre..'iCT1tatives for the co-operation they have shown during this General Assembly. This General Assembly opened under what seemed to be rather bad auspices. However, I think it can claim credit for having perf9rmed a useful task and for a number of positive achievements. Our disagreements, I am surc, will be forgotten, but such positive achievements as we have agreed upon will go down in history. There was discord even at the last moment, even a few minutes ago. But I am sure that this discord, like others which were expressed at earlier stages of this session of General Assembly, will be dissolved by the course of history, and that we shall all find a way to carry out loyally, all the resolutions which we have adopted, in common agreement.

I now call upon the representative of the United States. Mr. AUSTIN (United States of America): President Aranha, you have brought great glory to the peace-loving and friendly Republic of Brazil, and you have added to the stature of your public character and increased your dignity and influence in the world by the manner in which you have taken this great ship of the La Commission prend note que tous les Gouvernernents des Etats lvIembl'cs repn1sentes a la dctlxieme session de l'Assemblce generale de'! Nations Unies ont soumis des pouvoirs qui satisfont pleincment aux dispositions de l'article sus-mentionne. Le PREsomNl' (traduit de l'ang1ais): Comme aucune objection n'est soulevee, je considere done que le rapport de la Commission de la verification des pouvoirs est adoptc. Le rapport de la Commission de verification des IJOuvoirs est adopte. 129. Discours de c1&ture Le })RiSlDENT (traduit de l'anglais): le donne la parole au represcntant de la Pologne. M. LANGE (Pologne) (traduit de l'anglais): Je ue pense pas que nous devions elore cette session de l'Assemhlee generale sallS exprimer au President nos remerciements pour la maniere dont il s'est acquittc dc la tache difficile dont noliS l'avions charge. Jc voudrais aussi exprimer mes remercicments au Secr~taire general et a tous les membres du Secretariat qui n'ont epargnc leur temps ni jour ni nuit pour nous aider dans nos travaux. Je voudrais egalement remercier tous leg representant.., mes collegues, pour l'esprit de coopera· tion dont ils ont fait preuve pendant cette session de I'Assemblee generale. L'Assemblee gen~rale avait semble s'ouvrir sous de facheux auspices. Toutefois, je crois qu'elle peut se vanter d'avoir accompli une tache utilc et d'avoir atteint un certain nombre de resultats positifs. Nos discordes s'oublieront, j'en suis sOr, mais ccs realisations positives sur lesquelles nollS nous sommes mis d'accord passeront dans l'histoire. Certains differends ont dure jusqu'au dernier moment, ils duraient encore il y a quelques minutes, mais .ie suis sOr que notre demier desar.cord, camme d'autres dont on nous a pade aux premieres seances de ceUe session de l'AssemblCe, ira simplement se perdre dans le cours de l'histoire, et que nollS trouverons taus le moyen d'executer loyalement toutes les resolutions Clue nous avow; adoptces d'un commun accord. Le PRf,SlDENT (traduit de l'ang1ais) : Je donne maintenant la parole au representant des Etats-Uuis. M. AUSTIN (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (traduit de l'ang1ais): Monsieur le President, vous ave.z apporte beaucoup de gloire a cettc pacifique et bienveillante Republique du Brcsil, rehausse votre renommee d'homme d'Etat et ajoutc a votre dignite ct avotre influence dam; le monde, par la maniere dont vous avez pilotc, a travers Mr. Secretary-General Lie, Mr. Executive Assistant Cordier, and all of you in the Secretariat, let me say on this occasion that, without bias or partisanship, our Secretary-General has nevertheless, with great energy and constant intelligent diligence, and with consideration for all our needs and our feelings, organized and performed the vast services necessary to make this General Assembly function. I am not going to speak at great length, but in order to keep the record straight, I wish to direct attention at this moment to some of the work that is required to make a General Assembly function. The work of the Documents Division provides an excellent example of the tireless manner in which the Secretariat has worked to make our labours faster, easier, and more effective. I am informed that this Division produced for us 68 million impressions of more than 6,000 documents. This is an increase of 50 per cent over the workload of last year's General Assembly, and yet this enormous task was performed without delay by a staff 25 per cent: smaller than last year. Our translators command our admiration and gratitude. The excellence of their work is recognized beyond the walls of this Assembly. One evening, a radio comedian was seeking to describe the hectic activity of one of his associates and he reached over here into the General Assembly to find an apt illustration. He said that his friend was as busy as an interpreter for Mr. Vyshinsky. The service provided here is impressive, but when we realize that at the same time the Secretariat has been servicing the Conference on International Trade at Havana, meetings in Geneva, a session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in the Philippines, and 1·other activities such as the General Assembly's Balkan Commission, and the Security Council's Committee of Good Offices in Indonesia, we can then appreciate how well the structure of agre~\bles et les plus chers. }e me garderais bien d'oublier, en une occasion si memorable, de signaIer le grand service que vous nous avez rendu ici eu mcnant rapidement a son tcnne cette remarquable session de l'Assemblee generaIe. En contribuant ainsi personncllement, du poste clevc que vous occupez en cc moment, au progres de la grande cause de la paix, vous nous avez fait parcoul'ir une longue etape sur la route qui mcne al'abolition de la guerre. Pour tous cea heureux succes, nous vous adressons nos remerciements. Que M. Lie, le Secrctaire general, que M. Cordier, le Directeur de son cabinet, et que tous les membres du Secretariat me pennettent de rappeler en cette occasion, que notre Secretaire general, cvitant le prejug6 ou I'esprit partisan mais avec beaucoup d'cnergie et un zcle intelligent et constant, prenant en consideration tous nos besoins et tous nos sentiments, a assure l'organisation et le fonctionnement des vastes services nccessaires al'activite de cette AssembIee generale. Je n'ai pas l'intention de garder longternps la parole mais, pour que le compte rendu soit complet, je voudrais maintenant attirer I'attention sur qucIques-unes des taches qui sont necessaires pour le fonctionnemcnt d'une AssembIee gcnerale. L'activite de la Division des documents offre un excellent exemple de la manicre dont le Secretariat a travailI6 sans re/ache a rendre nos travaux plus rapides et plus faclles et d'un meilleur rendement. J'apprends que cette Division a fait editcr pour nous 68 millions d'exeinplaires de plus de 6.000 documents. Cela represente un travail superieur de 50 pour 100 a ceIui de l'Assemblee generalc de l'an dernier et pourtant, cette tache enorme a etc accomplie sans retard par un personnel infcrieur en nombre de 25 pour 100 a ccIui de I'an dernier. Nos traducteurs ont droit a notre admiration et a. notre gratitude. L'excellence de leur travail est reconnue au dcla des murs de cette Assemblee. Un soir, un artiste de la radio cherchait adonner une idee de 1'activite frenetique de I'un de ses coIlcgucs, et c'est id, dans notre AssembI6e generale, qu'il est aIle chcrcher I'exemple approprie. Il a dit que son ami etait aussi actif qu'un interprcte de M. Vychinsky. Les services qui ont ete mis id ala disposition de l'Assemblce sont remarquables mais si nous pensons qu'en mcme temps, le Secretariat a prete son concours ala Conference du commerce international de La Havane, ~ des reunio1lll tenues a Gencve, aune session de la Commission economique pour l'Asie et I'ExtrSme-Orient qui siege aux Philippines, a d'autres travaux tels que ceux de la Commission de l'Assemblee generale pour les Balkans et la Commission des Let us talk about ourselves for a moment. This General Assembly has proved beyond question the vitality of the United Nations. If doubt existed in that regard, the debates which have taken place here should have removed that doubt. Some of the contents of those debates may be deplored, but its vigour cannot be criticized. Free men and free institutions can always survive the challenges that have been made here at this session. By accepting them, we increase our strength, our clarity of vision, and our determination to make the United Nations achieve those great goals: abolition of war and establishment of conditions of peace. The representatives here on this floor have performed well their most important function; the clarification for the peoples of the world of the differences that exist between us, between the nations that we represent. We did not create those diff~rences. If we had our way, we know that the great friendship that has grown up among us personally would prevent such differences from being created at all: They come down to us through years of history. They are venerable differences. But this General Assembly did reveal them in a clearer light than before. That old gentleman, democracy, for example, came under the klieg lights and had his countenance identified. Understanding of differences is a first step towards a solution. We understand now better than before. We have taken a more accurate measure of our task, and our actions here have shown that we are choosing remedies adapted to the realities. Time will determine the wisdom of the decisions we have taken. Who can say that we .have solved our problems by our decisions? We can say that we have taken long, firm strides toward the hilltop of collective security on which alone they can be solved. Such steps include, briefly recounted, inauguration of the headquarters agreement, the authorization of the Secretary-General to negotiate a loan from the United States for $65,000,000 for the headquarters, the approval of agreements establishing working relations with the WorId Health Organization, the ilnternational Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the International Postal Union and the International Telecommunications·Union. This brings our specialized agencies up to the number of nine, and, . remember, it is through these specialized agencies that we engage in the business of removing the causes of war. Parlons un peu de nous-memes. Cette session de l'Assemblee generale a indubitablement montre la vitalite de l'Organisation des Nations Unies. S'il existait des doutes a cet egard, les debats ,qui ont eu lieu ici doivent les avoir <lissipes. On peut deplorer la fonne de certains de ces debats, mais on ne peut leur reprocher d'avoir manque de vigueur. Les hommes libres et les institutions libres peuvent toujours survivre a des d6fis tels que ceux qui ant ete lances a cette' session. En les relevant, nous grandissons en force, en clairvoyance et nous affermissons notre resolution d'amener l'Organisation a atteindre son grand ideal: l'abolition de la guerre et l'etablissement des conditions de la paix. Les representants rassembles dans ceUe salle ont bien rempli leur fonction la plus importante: ils ont rendu plus claires aux peuples du monde entier les divergences qui existent entre nous, entre les nations que nous representons. Ces divergences, nous ne les avons pas creees. Si nous avions ete libres, nous le savons, la grande amitie qui s'est developpee entre nous personnellement aurait empeche co8, divergences de se produire. Elles nous ont ete Ieguees 'par des annees d'histoire. Ce sont des divergences vencrabIes. Mais cette session de l'AssembIee gcnerale les a fait appara:ltre sous un jour plus clair qu'auparavant. Prenons, par exemple, la democratie. Cette vieille dame s'est trouvee sous le feu de projecteurs et nous avonspu identifier son visage. Cbmprendre les divergences, c'est faire le premier pas vel'S une solution. Nous comprenons maintenant mieux qu'auparavant. Nous avoilS mesure avec plus de precision notre t§.che, et 108 mesures prises au cours de cette session prouvent que nous choisissons les remedes adaptes aux faits. L'avenir montrera si, en prenant ces decisions, nous avons fait preuve de sagesse. Qui peut dire que nos decisions ont resolu nos problemes? Ce que nous pouvons dire c'est que nous avons avance a grands pas et avec assurance' vers le sommet de ce mont de la securite collective, seul. lieu ou il soit possible de les resoudre. Rappelons brievement quelques-ulles des mesures prises: nous avons ratifie l'accord relatif au siege; autorise le Secretaire general a negocier avec les Etats-Unis en vue de ce siege, un emprunt de 65 millions de dollars; approuve les accords etablissant des relations effectives avec l'Organisation mondiale de la sante, la Banque internationale, le Fonds .monetaire international, rUnion postale universelle et l'Union internationale des telecommunications. Ced porte a neuf le nombre de nos institutions spccialisees, et je vous rappellerais que c'est par l'intermediaire de ces institutions specialisees que nous pours~ivons nos efforts pour eliminer les causes de guerre. Je voudrais specialement noter que 1'0rganisation des Nations Ullies a fait un grand pas After the experience of this afternoon, are we not beginning to believe more unanimously than we did before that this great International Court of Justice will help us to solve some of our problems, so that we may not break up with a feeling of emotion such as we have had expressed here by a few of the members? AB the host country saying farewell to you, our fellow-representatives, we wish to assure you of our appreciation for the honour which you have done us in accepting our invitation. In perfect good humour, we say to you that we shall always remember this General Assembly because some of you have criticized us most severely, both collectively and individually, and we say to you in parting: There is no ill-feeling on our part; in fact, we have to thank you for accomplishing something which we could not perhaps have accomplished alone. You probably do not realize how much you thereby consolidated the public opinion of the people of the United States of America in support of the principles and policies of the United Nations being carried out through the United States in the form of the Marshall Plan and other activities. I think of the storms through which we have ridden in the words of that mountain-boy song, only a line of which I remembered while one of these events was occurring. This line was: "Bend your head low and hear the wind blow." .We express the continuing friendship of the host delegation to all the representatives. We know that every Member State is determined to prevent war and promote peace, no matter what has been said here in this rather turbulent debate. This great objective binds us so firmly in the United Nations that our differences re· garding methods shall not separate us. Even such an emotional demonstration as we have witnessed here within the hour cannot separate us in the United Nations. We will see you in :Europe, and in the mean· time our Lady of Liberty down here in the harbour will hold aloft her torch, beckoning you back to our shores and giving you the welcome of a people who will be glad indeed to have you here again. Extreme~Orient les tlibunaux charges de juger lell crimes de guerre; ensuite le renvoi de certaines qUe,e;tioIlS a la Com internationale de Justice. Apres Ics incidents de cet apres-midi, ne commen!t0ns-nous pas a croire, plus unanime. ment qu'auparavant, que cctte grande Cour internationale de Justice pourra nous aider a. l'esoudre queIques-uns de nos problemes, si bien que nous n'aurons pas a nous separer avec des sClltimellts d'emotion analol{ues a ceux que certaillS mcrnbres ont cxprimes ici? En tant qu'hotes, nous voudrions, en disant adieu aux representants, nos coUegues, leur exprirner nos remerciements pour l·honneur. qu'ils nous ont fait en acceptant notre invitation. C'est avec bonne humeur que nous vous clisons que nollS nous souviendrons toujours de cette session de l'Assemblee g6nerale, parce que cer· tains d'entre vous nous y ant le plus severement critiques, tant collectivement qu'individuelle· ment; et nous vous disons au moment de nouS separer: nous ne gardons aueun rcssentiment, en fait nous vous devons de." remerciements pour avoir accompli queIque chose que nous n'aurions certainement pas pu accompIir sculs. Vaus ne vous rendez probablement pas compte a que! point vous avcz, de cc fait, encourage l'opinion publique aux Etats-Unis d'Amerique a defendre les principes et la politique de l'Or· ganisation des Nations Unies, appliques par les Etats-Unis sous la forme dn plan Marshall et autres activites. Les orages que nous avons traverses id me rappellent lcs paroles de cc chant de montaguards, dont un vcrs m'est revenu a l'esprit pendant l'un de ces incidents. 11 disait: "Courbez la tSte; ecoutez le souffle du vent." Nous ac;surons tous les representants de l'amitie indefectible de la delegation du pays qui les a rec;:us. Nous savons que tous lcs Etats Membres sont rr:solus a eviter la guerre et a encourager la paix, queUes que soient les paroles qui ant ete prononcees ici au cours de ces debats assez agite-c;. Cette grande cause nous lie si fcnnement au sein de l'Organisation des Nations Unies que nos divergences sur les methodes ne pourront nollS scparer. Mcme l'expression de sentiments comme ceux que nous avons vu se manifester id il y a moins d'une heure ne peuvent nous diviser a. l'interieur de l'Organisation. Now VOllS reverrons en Europe, et d'ici 13. notre statue de la Liberte, la-bas dans le port, tiendra bien haut sa torche, eomme pour vous rappeler vers nos rivages et vous assurer de la bienvenue d'un peuple qui sera sincerement heureux de VOllS revoir id. The applause was a tribute to an individual, but by extension it was also a tribute to his country, and perhaps by inference a tribute to all the countries congregated here to try to find a peaceful solution to the many problems with which the world is faced. This tribute which all the delegations are paying you, Mr. President, is a fraternal greeting to the Republic of Brazil and is also a guarantee that the fifty-seven sister nations here assembled will always stand together in the work of strengthening the United Nations Charter and world peace, maintaining international security and ensuring the tranquillity of future generations. Some days ago, President Aranha spoke of the need to replace the "cold war", which seemed to be a new form of discord among men, by a "cold peace" which could only be brought about by a closer understanding between individuals and peoples. The "cold war" separates men and separates hearts. It leads us from verbal disagreements to the clash of arms. "Cold peace'" is the fruit of intelligence placed at the service of mankind. "Cold peace" is the use of words to create mutual respect and cordiality among men, enabling us, whatever our position or work in life, and wherever we may be, to build and strengthen in our daily relationships, a real common ground for an anxious and distressed mankind, which aspires to live in peace and social tranquillity. We might do well to keep in mind the "cold peace" of which President Aranha spoke and try to give form to that policy of tireless persuasion which is unquestionably the way to build up proper relationships between nations~' From the four comers of the earth, representatives of the peoples came to New York bearing messages of cordiality and peace; and it is clear that although some seats are empty this afternoon, the spirit of those who occupied them remains and the delegations of all fiftyseven nations are here to reaffilm their will to work for world peace. I believe that we are standing in the path of history and on that path no one can go backward. Often those who do not believe that the world moves on, because they are unwilling to move on themselves, fail to recognize the march of the centuries. Others who wish to go fast do not think the world is going fast enough. But always, inexorably, whatever the moods and passions of men, whatever the dyke that holds back those passIons, the world continues its New~York les representants des peuples, porteurs de messages d'amour et de paix; en depit du vide creuse par le depart de quelques representants, toutefois encore presents en esprit panni nous, il est evident que ce soir, dans cette enceinte, toutes les delegations continuent a representer leg cinquante-sept pays qui rt1affinnent leur volonte de travailler pour la paix du rnonde. Je crais que nous voila face a l'histoire et que rien ne pouna nous faire rebrausser chemin. Il arrive souvent que ceux qui ne croient pas que le monde cheroine, parce qu'eux-memes ne veulent pas avancer, ne per~oivent pas la marche des siecles. A ceux qui desirent avancer plus rapidement, il semble aussi quelquefois que le monde ne marche pas a l'allure qu'ils desire· raient. Mais il n'en est pas moins indiscutable que, quels que soient le ton de la discussion et la In saluting you, Mr. President, as the one who has best interpreted the feelings of this Assembly, in saluting you on behalf of my people, my Government and my own feelings, you who have so finely interpreted the aspirations of thL,; historic Assembly, I voice the hope that future generations will be able to continue these discussions in peace, and that this century, already shaken by two terrible wars, will never again see bloodshed in any part of the world. I am confident that we shall find in our hands, our bodies, our feelings, and our love of right and justice, 'the essential elements to build a real and lasting peace; that this century will end in peace and that as wc near its conclusion, we shall be able to bequeath to future generations another and happier century, a century of respect and peace, democracy and right, progressive spirit and international happiness.

I call upon the Secretary- General. Mr. Lm (Secretary-General) : More than ten weeks of intensive work lie behind the representatives of the fifty-seven Member States as the second session of the General Assembly of the United Nations comes to a close. Not a single day has been wasted.' Meetings have been held morning, afternoon and evening. I am astonished at the amount of energy and strength which has been expended in going through the longest agenda which an international organization has ever had. Not everybody has been aware of the important fact that the United Nations, as Mr. Austin just mentioned, as it exists today, is in all respects much larger than any other international organization which has existed previously. The vast amount of work which the General Assembly has accomplished during these weeks has been made possible, to some degree, by a great improvement in our technical apparatus. Without the modernization which has been accomplished by introducing simultaneous interpretation, such a General Assembly as this might have lasted four or five months instead of ten weeks. Nevertheless, I had hoped that this Gen- Le PRESIDENT (tradttit de l'anglais) : Je donne la parole au Secretaire general. M. LIE (Secretaire general) (traduit del'anglais): La deuxicme session de l'Assemblce generale des Nations Unies se terrnine apres plus de dix semaines de travail intense, accompli par les representants des cinquante-sept Etats Membres. Pas un seul jour n'est rCJlte inutilise. Vous avez tenu des seances le matin,. l'aprcs-midi ct le soil'. Je suis etonne de la somme d'cnergie et de force qui S'C8t depensee dans l'examen de l'ordre du jour le plus charge que jamais organisation internationale ait eu a ettldier. Tout le monde n'est pas au courant de ce fait important, que vient de mentionner M. Austin, que l'Organisation des Nations Unies telle qu'elle existe aujourd'hui est, atous egards, beaucoup plus vaste que toute autre organisation intemationale ayant existc anterieurement. L'immense somme de travail que vous avez accompli au cours de ees semaine.q a ete rendu possible, dans une certaine rncsure, par tine grande amelioration de notre appareil technique. Sans la modernisation qui resulte de l'introduction de l'interpretation simultanee, une assemblce generale telle que celle-ci aurait pu durer quatre ou cinq mois au lieu de dix semailles. Ncanmoins j'avais espere que cette Assemblee A~ this session of the General Assembly ends, I want, first and foremost, as Secretary.General of the United Nations, who has been working daily with the President, to thank Mr. Oswaldo Aranha. I think wc all agree that he stands as a shining example to all of us who have worked with him. His finl1 and honest character and his consideration for all the members of the Secretariat will be remembered. For all of us who have come to know him, he will always remain a great son of Brazil and of all South America, and a genuine representative of the ideals of the United Nations. I should also like to thank all those who have expressed themselves in a friendly and considerate manner regarding the Secretariat and its work during the general debate in the plenary sessions, in the Fifth Committee during the discussions of the budget, and again here today. We have heard criticism, too; that is natural in a parliamentary organization. Still, the criticism has been constructive and positive. I assure you that during the coming year we will take to heart both those things for which we have been thanked and those things for which we have been criticized. The end of the second session of the General Assembly of the United Nations coincides with the first meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers which met earlier this week in London. It is fitting, particularly in view of the experience which we have had during this session of the General Assembly, once more to expres.., the earnest hope that the Foreign Ministers of the four Powers will achieve real progress toward the conclusion of the major peace treaties. It would be improper and useless to try to disguise the fact that the second session of the General Assembly has been dominated by the differences which exist between the East and the West-between the very Powers which originally took responsibility for bringing the United Nations into being. It cannot be repeated too often that the United Nations was founded on the assumption that the major powers would be in substantial agreement with one another. It is clear for all the world to see that our Organization can accomplish it~ tasks, as laid down by the Charter, only if the great Powers, and consequently the other nations included in our membership, can work together with a reasonable degree of hannony. Agreement on the peace treaties with Germany, Austria and later, Pour nous tous qui avons eu I'honneur de le connaitre, il dcmeurera un citoyen notable du Bresil et de toutc l'Amcriquc latine un representant authentiquc de Pidcal qui anime 1'0rganisation des Nations Unies. J'aimerais aussi remercier tous ceux qui se sont exprimes en tenncs amicaux et dclicats a I'cgard du Sccretariat et de son travail, au conrs dcs discussions generales en seance plcnicre, a la Cinquicme Commission pendant l'cxamcn du budget et ici, aujourd'hui encore. Nons avons, cgalement, cntendu des critiques; ceci est nature! dans unc organisatioIl parlemcntaire. Cependant, ccs critiques ont etc constructives et positives. Je peux vous assurer qu'au COUl'S de I'annee prochaine nous prendrons acreur aussi bien ce qui a merite vas remcrciements que ce qui a attire vos critiques. La fin de cette del1xit'me session de l'Assemblee generale des Nations Unies coincide avec les premieres seances du COIlseil des Ministres des affaires etrangeres qui ant eu lieu au debut de cette semaine a Londrcs. II convient, en tenant compte de ce que nous avons pu apprendre au CaUl's de cette session de l'Assemblee, d'exprimer une fois de plus notre cspoir sincere que les Ministres des affaires ctrangeres des quatre Pui&- sances pouITont realiser de reels progrcs en vue de la conclusion des grands traites de paix. Il serait inopportun et vain d'essayer de dis~ simuler le fait que cette deuxicme session de I'Assemblce generale a ete clomince par les divergences qui existent entre l'Est et l'Ouest - entre les Puissances memes qui, a I'origine, avaient assume la responsabilitc de cn~er l'Organisation des Nations Uni{'$. On ne saurait trop rcpcter que I'Organisation des Nations Unies a ete fondee sur la croyance que les grandes Puissances maintiendraient entre cUes une entente solide. Il apparalt clairement an monde entier que notre Organisation ne pent accomplir la tache qui lui est confice aux termcs de la Charte que si k., . grandes Puissances et, a leur suite, toutes les autrc-'l nations faisant partic de 1'0rganisation, peuvent coopcrer en maintenant entre clles une harmonie raisonnable. L'accord sur les traites de between the great Powers and fewer agreements on these issues than there were during the last session of the General Assembly held in 1946. Nevertheless, a vast amount of work has been accomplishcd. When I look at the record of votes on all the decisions made at this ses..'iion, I find that unanimity has been the rule, not the exception. It is a striking fact that the General Assembly continued to move closer to the ideal of unanimity than most national parliaments and legislatures despite much wider divergencies among the Members. The worst unresolved differences between the majority and the minority have arisen over the issues of the Interim Committee, the Special Committee on the Greek Question and the Temporary Commission for Korea. All these proposal'i have been adopted by large majorities, but in each case the minority ha.'i refused to accept the decision and has announced its intention of refusing to participate in carrying it out. On the other hand, the principal parties to these controversies have joined together in a serious effort to work out a plan for Palestine. The sharpest debate which ha'i taken place in this General Assembly concerned war propaganda; but this debate has resulted in the unanimow! adoption of recommendations directed toward better understanding and greater friendship among all the peoples of the United Nations. These resolutioris do more than condemn war propaganda and slanderous statements made about other Member nations. They are positive measures. They request the Members States to promote friendship among the nations in accordance with the principles of the Charter and by all available means of publicity and propaganda; to encourage the spreading of information exprt'ssing the universal de'iire for peace. Another important recommendation invites all Membcr State'i to encourage the teaching of the Charter, organiiation and activities of the United Nations to all school children. If the<;e resolutions are loyally carried out, they will contribute greatly to building what is, in the long run, the only £Inn foundation for lasting peace-an informed and effective public opinion. { regret that the General A'I.'icmbly's preoccl1~ pation with political and constitutional difference~ has rc-!>uIted in little attention being given to the great and pre<;sing economic problems that brewt most of the world at the pre~ent time. Ncvcrthele.ss, further progress has been made in setting in order the vast intcrlocking machinery of the United Nations that has been created to deal with these problems: its Economic and En revanche, lcs principales Puissances, parties aces controverses, se sont unies dans un effort serieux pour mettre sur pied un plan pour la Palestine. Les d6bats les plus vifs qui se sont deroul6; dans cette A'iSemblee ont eu lieu au sujet de la propagande en favcur de la gtlerre; mais ils ont trouvc lenr conclusion dans l'adoption unanime de recommandations visant a une meilleure cntente et a. une grande amitie parmi les peuples dcs Nations Unies. Ccs resolutions font plus que condamner la propagande en faveur de la guerre et les assertions calomnieuses a l'egard d'autres Etats Mcmbres. Ce 50nt des mc.<;ures concretes. Ellcs invitent les Etats Memhrcs a. etablir entre les nations des relations amicales fOl1dCe'i sur 'la Cllarte, par tous le'i moyens de publicite et de propagande disponibIes, ct aencourager la difIu- ~ion dcs informations qui exprimcl1t le dCsir universe! de paix. Une autre recmnmandation importante del11anJe ;t tous ks Etat<; Membres d'cncourager l'cnseigncmcnt a tollS ks ccoliers de la Charte, de la situation de l'Organisation et des formes d'activit6 des Nations Unics. Si ces resolutions sont appliquees de fa~on loyale, cUc.<; contribueront grandcmcnt a edifier cc quic est en definitive la senIc base solidc d'une paix durable: une opinion publique bien informec et active. le rcgl'ettc que lcs preoccupations de l'Assembler generale au sujet dc.~ divergences polltiqucs et cOllStitutionnelIcs aicllt eu pour effet dc n'accorder que peu d'attention aux graves et urgcnts problcmes ccollomiques qui se posent aujourd'hui ala plus grande partic du monde. NCaJU110illS, on a realise de nouveaux progres dam: la miNe l~n route du vaste et complexe luecaujsme de rOrg-anisation des Nations Unies The General A'lSembly has made progress in fulfIlling Charter obligations toward dependent peoples. The Trusteeship System has been strengthened. New provisions for reporting by the responsible Powers on the progress of all dependent peoples and for evaluation of these report'! have been adopted. The General Assembly has also acted in other fields to bring about a better implementation of the Charter and of its own recommendations. The Secretary-General has been requested to report on what Member States have done toward carrying out all recommendations on economic and social matters before the next session. Member States have been specifically requested to report on action in behalf of refugees, on education regarding the United Nations, ,md on other matters. Since the General Assembly, as a rule, does not have the power to enforce its decisions, the building up of such a system of responsibility through world opinion, by means of regular reporting, is new and important. It will increa'le the moral force behind the act'l of the General Assembly. Adoption of the plans for financing and building the permanent headquarters in Manhattan was another demonstration of unanimity by the General Assembly. The buildings will be constructed to last a century. This unanimous act of faith in the permanence of the United Nations may serve to create confidence in some places where confidence has been lacking. A further source of confidence may be found in the records of our debates, which show that all sides in the disputes over constitutional issues agreed on onc all-important point. They reaffirmed their snpport of the Charter and their dCf;ire to strengthen the Organization. I am sure that all of us-representatives and members of the Secretariat alike-are glad that we have reached the end of the session. But the work of the United Nations is only beginning and therefore our work in the cause of the United Nations is not ended, nor even interrupted. The work of the United Nations will go on everywhere: in the government offices anel parliaments to which many of the members of thi'l Assembly will now return; at Lake Success and Geneva and wherever else an organ of the United Nations is at work; it will affect the daily L'As.~emblee generale a realise des progres dans l'exccution des obligations inscrites dans la Chal'tc it l'egard des peuples non autonomes. Le Regime de tutelle a etc Clmcliorc. On a udopte de nCluvellcs dispositions pour les rapports que lCIl Puissances ehargees de l'administration cloivcnt presenter sllr ic: progrcs de tous les peuplcs non autonomcs et pour l'analyse de ces rapports. L'Asscmblce ~cI1cral~ a egalement agi dans d'autres dOlllClines aIin de realiser une meilk:ure application de la Charte et de ses propres recolllI11alldations. On a invite le Secretail'e general afaire rapport, avant la prochaine sc::~ion. sur cc que le.., Etats Mcmbres ont fait pour appliquer toutes les reeommandations dans les d(,)I11aines cconomique et social. Les Etat'l Mcmbres ant ctc invites de falt0n particuliere il rendre compte des mesures prises en ce qui COl1ccmc les reru~ies, l'cnscignel1lent traitant de l'Organisation des Nations Unics et les autres questions. Comme l'Assemblee n'a pas, en general, le potlvoir cl'imposer ses decisions, l'edification d'un td systeme de responsabilite devant l'opil1ion publique mondiale par ces rapports rcguliers est un fait nOllveau et important. Il accroitra la force morale qui Hnime les decisions de l'Assemblee gCllcrale. L'adoption des plans pour la construction du siege pcmlanent aManhattan et le financement de cette cOllst1'llction a ete une autre manifestation d'uIIanimitc dans l'A'l.'lemblee generale. Les edifices seront cOllstruits de fac;on a durer un sicclc. Cet acte de foi unanime dans la perennite de l'Organisation des Nations Unies peut servir it susciter la confiance en quclqucs endroits ou eUe a manque. On peut trouver une autre rairon d'espcrer dans le8 comptes rendus de nos (lCbats. lis montl'ent que dans les discussions sur des problcmes constitutionnels, les parties ont ete d'accol'd sur un point essentiel. Elles ant reaf. finnc l'appui qll'clles donnent a la Charte et lellr desir de renforcer I'Organisation. Je suis sur que nous tous, les representants aussi bien que les membres du Secretariat, nous sonunes heureux de nous trouver it la fin de cette scssion. Mais la tache de 1'0rganisation des Nations Unies ne fait que commencer et par consequent, notl'e travail pour la cause des Nations Unies n'est pas termine, ni meme interrompu. Le travail de l'Organisation des Natioll.'l Unies continuera partout: dans les ministeres et les padements ou nombre de representants vont maintenant retourner; a Lake Success, a Gcneve et partout ailleurs ou un orf(ane des Nntion::l Uni('s est au

I confess to all of you that I am really in one of the most difficult moments of my presidency. I cannot rule now and I cannot use my gavel. I have to use my heart, and to express what is in my heart would be possible only in my own language. Even in Portuguese, however, it will be difficult for me to express the deep gratitude I owe to all of you - to the representatives, to the audience, and especially to .Mr. Lange, Mr. Austin, Mr. Corominas and Mr. Trygve Lie for the tributes which I did not deserve but which I received this afternoon as a real personal consecration which will make my life, for myself and for my own people, so much mor~ worthy than it really is. I will not attempt to make a speech, but, in fulfilment of my duties, I will proceed to render an account of our work. The record of this General Assembly has surpassed by far that of previous sessions. The work has been strenuous and difficult. Forty-nine plenary meetings were held, four hundred and forty-seven Committee and Sub-Committee meetings took place, and ninety-four resolutions were adopted. No efforts were spared, whether by the delegations or by representatives individually. All was clone that could be done. We worked practically seven days a week and often far into the night. Our only pastime was work. A large share of the credit for the success of our task is due to the Secretariat. We are greatly indebted to Mr. Trygve Lie. He has demonstrated during his tenure of office, amidst the difficulties of all kinds that beset every new enterprise, not only foresight, a high sense of duty and a steadfast devotion to the cause of our Organization, but also a gift of statesmanship which has· gained our growing esteem and confidence. He has been a great servant of peace. A special tribute of appreciation is due Mr. Andrew Cordier for his able and unfailing assistance to me especially and to the General Assembly. We have felt at this session that the machinery at our disposal could not have worked better than it did. The simultaneous interpretation system, staffed by efficient and devoted personnel, was a really great improvement. generale en Europe. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): J'avoue que je me trouve reellement a1'un des moments les plus difJiciles de ma presidence. 11 n'est plus question maintenant de prendre une decision et de me seryir de mon marteau de President. C'est a mon ceeur que je dois faire appel et, pour exprimer ce que mon ceeur ressent, iI me. faudrait faire usage de ma propre langue; meme en portugais, pourtant, il me serait difficile d'expl'imer la profonde gratitude que j'eprouve envers vous tous, representants, auditoire et, d'une fa~on plus particuliere, envers M. Lange, M. Austin, M. Corominas et M. Trygve Lie, pour l'hommage qu'ils m'ont rendu cet apresmidi; cet hommage que .ie ne meritais pas est une consecration personnelle qui - a mes yeux et a ceux de mes compatriotes - donne a ma vie une valeur plus grande qu'elle n'a reellement. Je n'essaierai pas de faire un discours; mais, pour m'acquitter de mon devoir, je vais vous rendre compte de nos travaux. L'activite de cette session de l'Assemblee a depasse considerablemel1t celle des sessions precedentes. La tache etait lourde et difficile. Quarante-neuf seances plenieres, quatre cent quarante-sept seances de Commissions et de Sous-Commissions ont eu lieu; quatre-vingt-quatorze resolutions ont ete adoptees. Ni les delegations, ni les representants, a titre individuel, n'ont epargne leurs efforts. Tout ce qu'il etait possible de faire a! ete fait. Nous avons travaille on peut dire, pendant sept jours par semaine; souvent tard dans la nuit. Notre seule distraction etait le travail. Le merite du succes de nos travaux revient pour une grande part au Secretariat. Nous avons contracte une dette considerable envers M. Trygve Lie. Dans l'exercice de ses fonctions, au milieu des multiples difficultes qui assaillent toute nouvelle entreprise, il n,a pas seulement fait preuve de clairvoyance, d'un sentiment eIeve de son devoir, d'un devouement incessant a la cause de notre Organisation; il a egalement montre un talent d'homme d'Etat qui lui a gagne notre estime et notre confiance toujours croissantes. 11 a €te un grand serviteur de la paix. Un hommage special est dil a M. Andrew Cordier pour 1'aide competente et inlassable qu'it m'a personnellement accordee, et pour celle qu'il a apportee a 1'Assemblee generale. Nous avons eu le sentiment, au CaUl's de cette session, que l'appareil dont nous disposons ne pouvait fonctionner mieux qu'il ne 1'a fait. La traduction simultanee, gdce a un personnel capable et devoue, s'est revelee un perfectionne. ment considerable. The work of the General Assembly was facilitated by the masterly way in which the Chairmen and the Rapporteurs of the various Committees conducted their work. I am sorry that time will not allow me to call by name and to thank personally each and every onc of those whose co-operation will remain in my memory as pnrt of onc of the most gratifying periods of mv life. 'The material work, howev<:r absorbing and exhausting. wns far less so than the responsibilities undertaken. They put to the test all our re.~erves of discernment, patience, goodwill, conciliation and vision. This session of the General A'isembly, even more than the preceding one, had the merit of exposing world problems and of compelling their definition. It was featured by frankness, by explicitness, by a nece.",~ary and courageous approach to realities which were formerly kept under diplomatic wraps and shrouded in political conveniences. Such is the principal mission of the United Nations: to unveil truth and to face reality, so that its actions will be properly guided in the maintenance of peace and the security of peoples. Those who do not yet believe in the work of our Organization or who doubt the immediate and future results of the action of the General A<;sembly arc victims of self-deceit, for the United Nations and the principles embodied in its Charter admit of no denial. This Organization can only be a meeting ground for men of good will and nations of good faith. We have no room for those who refuse to believe, to hope and to understand. Civilization and culture owe nothing to indifference and scepticism. Peace can be maintained only by those who cling to good and never surrender to evil. . This session of the General Assembly has laid bare the struggles, the divergencies, the misgivings and rivalries that beset the world today. But these were not created by the United Nations. On the contrary, this Organization was created to scek a better solution for such con- :/lict<; and maladjustments in international life. They did not arise in our generation, nor will they be corrected within our lifespan. The nature of these facts is too complex to admit of facile or improvised solutions. It calls for a slow evolutionary process rather than abrupt decision. Foresight and patient labour alone can win back the ground lost in the past. The realization of these facts was one of the major achievements of this se.')sion of the General Assembly. Les travaux de I'Assemblce ont etc facilit61 par la fa~on magistrale dont les Presidents et Rapporteurs des diverses Commissions se sont acquittes de leur tache. ]e rcgrettc que le temps me manque pour citcr nommcment et remercier pcrsol1ncllcmcnt tous ceuX dont la cooperation marqucra dans man souvenir l'une des epoques les plus pleinement satisfaisantes de ma vie. La tache matcrielIe, si absorbante et cpuisante qu'eIle nit etc, ne peut se compareI' aux responsabilitcs que nOlls assnmiolls. EIles ant mis a. l'cpreuve toutes nos reserves de discernement, de patience, de bonne volonte, de conciliation et de clairvoyance. Cette session de l'Assemblee, plus encore que ceJlcs qui I'ont precCdce, a ell le mcrite de mettre en evidence les problcmes mondiaux et de nouS obligeI' a. ell dcfinir les termes; eUe a etc caractcrisr:(~ par la franchise, par la clartc de I'expression, par la ncccssitc d'ahorder avec courage les realitcs qui, auparavant, etaient enrobces de Images diplomatiqucs et voilees par des raisons d'opportunitc politique. C'est la la mission principale de 1'0rganisatioll que de devoiler la vcritc et de faire face a la realitc, afin de diriger son action de manicre a maintcnir la paix et la sccurite des peuples. Ccux qui ne croient pas encore au rOle de notre Organisation, ceux qui doutent des resultats, immcdiats et futurs, de l'aetivitc de l'A'isemblee, sont les victime.'i de lcurs propres illusions, car I'action des Nations Unie.q et la valeur des prindpes incorporcs clans la Chartc ne pcuvent etre niees, L'Organisation ne peut ctre que le point de rCl1contrc des hommes de bonne volonte et des nations de bonne foi. Nous n'avons pas de place pour ceux qui refuscnt de croire, d'esperer et de comprcndre. La civilisation et la culture ne doivent rien a I'indiffcrence et au scepticisme. La paix ne peut ctre maintenue que par ceux qui s'attachent au bicn et qui ne cedent jamais aux forces du mal. Cette session de l'Assemblee a revclC clairement les buts, les divergences, les incertitudes, les rivalites qui assaillent le monde it present. Mais, tOlltes ees difficultcs ne sont pas l'ceuvre des Nations Unics. Au contraire, l'Or~anisation a ete fondee pOllr rechercher le meiIleur moyen de rcmcdier aces descquilibrcs et a ccs conflits de la vie illternationale. JIs ne sont pas nes pendant la pCriode qui a ctc cellc de llotre generation, ils ne scront pas corrigcs non plus au cours de notre vie. Ccs problcmcs sent d'unc nature trap complexe pour se prcter a des solutions faciIes ou improvisces: ils rcclament une evolution lente plut6t qu'une decision brutalc. La clairvoyance et le travail patient peuvent seuls permettre de regagner le terrain perdu. La conllaissance de ces faits constitlle l'un des principaux rcsultats qui. aient ctc acquis au COUl'S de la presente seSSIOn. It is also beyond doubt that the notion of democracy itself, through our debates and these resolutions, acquired clearer and better defined aspects, capable of favouring a conciliatory con- (~eption half-way between the extremc..q in which contemporary political thought is struggling. 111e han OIl the USe of majorities as a weapon for thc oppression of minorities is the very foundation of democracy. I do not cxclude our submission to the nccessity of the concurrent votc.q of the fivc pemlancnt members of thc Security Council in special cases governed by the Chartcr. Bnt I believe that, just as we accept this rule, the pemlanent members must equally accept the majority decisions. It would he an indefensible contradiction to reject the decision of the majority and, at the same timc, to demand respect for the veto of the five permanent members. My feeling is that both systems arc necessary and that they should function together for the improvement of our Organi7.ation. Another aspect of our resolution which, in my opinion, was highly significant was the growing tendency of the General A'isembly to resort to thc International Court of Justice for clarification of the legal aspects of many doubts which still exist in our interpretation of the Charter and even in its application. . The validity of the resolution adopted on the Greek and Korean Questions may be challenged, and such challenges are worthy of our consideration. Although we believe in the sincerity of the objections, the significance of these resolutions must 110t be viewed in the light of these specific cases alone, but as a nonn which is applied today to Greece and Korea, and which tomorrow may likewise be applied to protect different regimes in other countries. The approval of the agreements with our specializcd agencies was a significant part of our work which I feel I should mention here. The execution of the Marshall Plan, a service offered to humanity by the American people and quite in keeping with Articles 55 and 56 of our Charter, may call for the collaboration of these agencies and of the United Nations itself, if such an arrangement be advisable, as everything appears to indicate. The establishment of the Headquarters Committee, at the opening session of which I had the honour to preside, is worthy of special mention. As President, it is my duty and my pleasure to extend congratulations to Ambassador Warren Austin and to Mr. Trygve Lie on the success of their efforts toward securing, under very satisfactory conditions, the loan which has made it possible for the Committee to begin its task of constructing our future headquarters. II est hors de doute egalement que la. notion de democratie elle~mCme a acquis, grace it nos Mbats et a. nos resolutions, des aspects plus c1airs et plus precis, favorables a\lne conception conci. liatoire, situec ami-chemin entre les extremes au milieu de.squcls se debat la pcnsee politique conternporaine. La suppression de I'utilisation des majorites comme UIle anne dcstince aopprimer les minorites est ala base rncrne Qe la democratic. Ceci n'exclut pas notre soumission a. la necessite du vote llnanime des cillq rnembrcs permancnts du ConReil de seeuritc dans les cas spcciaux preserits par la Charte; cependant, de mcme que nous acceptons cctte regIe, je crois n~cessairc que les mcmbres permanents acceptent lcs decisions de la majorite; il y aurait une contradiction insoutenable a. rcjetcr la decision de la majorite et a exiger en mcme temps le respect du veto des cinq membrcs permanent~. Mon scntiment est que Ies deux systemcs sont necrssaires et devraient fonctionner ensemble pour l'amelioration de notre Organisation. Un autre a"pect de nos resolutions revet, a mon avis, une haute importance: c'est la tendance qui s'est manifestce d'une maniere croissante dans cette A&c;emblee a recourir a la Cour internationale de Justice pour ecIaireir certaines questions juridiques, relatives a l'interprctation et mtllle a l'application de notre Charte et qui donnent encore lieu a bien des incertituclcs. La validite des resolutions adoptees pour les affaires grecquc et corccnne pourrait etre mise en doute, et des dontes de cc genre meritent d'ctre considcrcs. Bien que nous croyions a la sincerite dcs objections qui pcuvcut ctre presentees, l'importance dcsdites resolutions ne doit pas etre ellvisagee seu]cment en fmIction de ccs cas particulicrs; il s'agit cl'une regIe, appliqut:e aujourd'hui a la Grcce et a la Coree, qui, demain, pourrait ctrc appliquce aillcurs pour pro~ tcger des regimes diffcrellts. .. L'approbation des accords conclus avec les institutions specialisees represente cgalement une part importante de llotre travail, que je crois devoir mentionner ici. L'application du plan MarshaIlce service rendu al'humanitc par le peuple amcricain - est conforme aux dispositions des Articlcs 55 et 56 de la Charte et pOUTrait nccessiter la collaboration d'institutions specialisees et de l'Organisation des Nations Unics elle.meme, si un arrangement de cc genre est jugc opportun comme tout semble l'indiquer. La creation de la Commission du siege per· manent, dont j'ai eu fhonneur de presider la seance d'ouverture, est digne d'une mention spcdale. En ma qualite de president, j'ai le devoir et le plaisir de feJlciter S.E. Warren Austin et M. Trygve Lie pour le succes de leurs efforts dans 1'0btention, a des conditions tres satisfai· santes, du pret qui a permis acette Commission de commencer ses travaux en vue de la construction de notre siege futuro I fed sure that I speak for the General Assembly in extending to the Governments of India and of the Union of South Africa, headed by two great leaders of modem political thought, an appeal that they continue their efforts with a view to reaching an amicable agreement and settling their dispute through a round-table conference, and I trust that their goodwill and sound judgment will guide them toward a fair solution of the problem. The resolution on Spain adopted by the First Committee, was subsequently altered by the General Assembly, and the re..'\ffirmation of our previous dect.,ion failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote. By recommending that its principles be respected and observed, this Organization does not intend to stifle the spirit of nations, but rather to help them to conquer an evil from which no benefit can come to any people and from which destruction may come to all peoples. Although I have had no influence over our deliberation on Palestine either during this session of the General Assembly or during the special session, since my duty as President in both cases imposed a neutral attitude, now, as President of this memorable General As.~embly, I cannot but concur and expre.~ my confidence in this bold and historic experiment made by the United Nations. Time will not allow me to enter into further details of our work. You who participated in it are conscious of its value, but it is nece.'>."a,ry that the world, from which we have received our mandate to maintain peace, be made aware of our efforts and achievements. Among the outstanding gains of this General Ac;sembly was the growing influence of the opinion of the small States. The freedom and equal standing of nations, was one of the milestones of our progress during this session. Another notable feature was the concession., made by the great Powers to the small nations in favour of an ever greater extension of the Trusteeship System. The Council of Foreign Ministers is now meeting in London. 1Jay they be guided on the right path to peace, in order that we may adopt the decisions neccs,..ary for its maintenance and so fulfil the task entrusted to us by nearly all the peoples of the world. Our future cannot lie at the mercy of the misunderstanding of Govemments, however powerful. It is possible, in the dant a faciliter une analyse reflcchie et poussee de nos problbnes, avant qu'ils ne soient soumis en del'uiere instance al'Assemblee. Je sutc; convaincu que j'exprime le sentiment de l'A'l5cmblcc en adressant aux Gouvemements de I'Inde et de I'Union Sud~AIricaine, diriges l'un et I'autre par dellx grands chefs de la pensee politique moderne, un appel pour qu'lls poursuivent leurs efforts en vue de realiser un accord it l'amiable et de regler leur differend au moyen d'une conference paritaire; je suis persuade que leur bonne volonte et lem jugement le:; guideront .vers lIne solution equitable de ce probleme. La resolution adoptee par la Premiere Commission au sujet de l'Espagnc a ete, par la suite, modifice par l'AssemblCe; notre dcdqion anterieure n'a pas obtenu la majorite des deux tiers ncccssaire asa confirmation. L'Organisation n'a pas l'intcntion d't~touffcr l'esprit des nations lorsqu'elle recommande que ses principes soient re.spectes et observes; dIe cherche pIutot a It!' aider avaincre des maux dont personne ne tirera\t avantage et qui risqueraient au contraire de dechalncr sur tous les peuples des forces de destruction. Je n'ai exerce aucune influence sur les debats relatifs ala question palestinienne, que cc soit au cours de la presente session de l'Assemblce gene~ rule ou durant la session extraordinaire, car mon devoir de president m'imposait, dans l'un et I'autre cas, une attitude neutre. Toutefois, a l'issue de cette session memorable, je tiens a exprimer en ma qualite de President, en mcme temps que man accord, ma confiance dans cctte experience hurdie et d'importance historique qu'entreprennent les Nations Unies. Le temps ne me permet pas de proc<~der a un examen plus dtltailIc de nos travaux. Vou:; tous, qui y avez pris part, etes cOl1scient~ de leur valenr, maL., il est nccessaire que le monde, qui noms a confie le manelat de maintenir la paix, soit au courant de nos efforts et de nos succes. Parmi les principaux resultats acquiB par cette Assemblee, il faut compter l'influence croissante de l'opinion des petits Etats. I.e respect de la libcrte et de l'cgalitc des nations a 6tc, dans cette session, l'une des ctapcs de nos progres. Un autre trait a I1oter, ce sont les concessions dl."ll grandc.'t Puissances envers les petites nations, en favenr d'une extension de plus en plus grande du 5)'8- teme de la tutelle. Le Conscil des l.finistres des affairc.c; etrangcres siege en cc moment .1 I.ondres. }'uisse-t-il ctre guide dans le droit chemin qui UltllC vers la paix, afin que nOu.~ puissions adopter les de- I cisions ncccssaircs au maintien de celle-ci et nous acquittcr aillsi de la t~khe qui 110US a tte confiee par presque tous lcs peuplc.c; du monde. Notre avenir ne peut pas ctre a la merci des malen- But the United Nations will overcome the errors of any nation or any group of nations. I do not fear for its futurc, but rather for the future of those who will not understand it and accept its dictates and the supremacy of the Charter of San Francisco. Indeed, they run the risk of turning world opinion against themscIvi'.~ and they will go the way of fascism. All idea of force is today obsolete and negative. The old order, based on political power, is trying to survive, but there is no longer room for predominance through force. The United Nations stands for the new order, based on peaceful accord, on understanding, on free discussion, on free decision and on the common and equal responsibility of peoples. It is the organ of world public opinion. The world to which we all aspire can . only be constructed by the United Nations. Before I close this session, I should like to call your attention to the fact that this post-war period has not been marked by armed conflicts such as those which occurred in the period ~ol­ lowing the Peace of Versailles. Ours is a different era. We cannot, therefore, apply methods and procedures of bygone times to the problems of today. We have to live according to our times, with our minds turned to the future and not to the past. Our close contact with international political life leads to no forecast of a world war in the near future. The world seeks, however, new forms of political, economic and social integration in which the contest of ideas will supersede the clash of arms. The status quo is no longer possible. A new reality is arising in our days, to which we must impart the spirit of the United Nations, the only conception capable of ensuring peace, solidarity, dignity and equality for all peoples. Our action should not be post factum. Our task is one of foresight and of organized prevention to eliminate the factors capable of disturbing world order and to evolve policies which will bring that order within the grac;p of all peoples. It is our duty not only to do away with all causes of war by all the means at our disposal, but also to lay the economic, political and social bases for peace. This General Assembly has shown an enlightened understanding of this task, and for this reason the decisions of this General Assembly will go on record as a memorable contribution to~ ward the peaceful and constructive solution of world problems. The meeting rose at 7 p.m. La seance est levee a19 heures.