S/PV.1187 Security Council

In accordance with the decision previously taken by the Security Council, and if 1 hear no objection, 1 shall invite the representatives of the Sudan, Guinea, Ghana, Belgium, the Congo (Brazzaville), Algeria, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, the United Arab Republic, Burundi, Kenya, the Central African

Before yesterday’s meeting rose, the President was SO good as to gsant us the time we needed in order to hold consultations aimed at agreement on those parts of the draft resolution presented by the Ivory Coast and Morocco [S/6123/Rev,l] i/ that had given rise to differences of opinion bothamongthe countries which bad lodged this complaint with the Council and among certain members of the Security Councilitself. 3. Sinoe the last meeting, very considerable efforts have been made on both sides; unfortunately, however, they have not been as successful as we had hoped, You will recall that the objections raised by my delegation yesterday, on behalf of the African countries which 1 represent here, were especially concerned with operative paragraphs 3 and 6 of the draft resolution. We had said that this draft was a result of concessions made on both sides; that we would willingly refrain from reverting to every‘detail in the text; and that we would confine ourselves to explaining the reasons for our objections in regard to paragraphs 3 and 6. 4. First. with reference to paragraph 3, we and our Xfrican brothers on the Security Council were of the same opinion; it was mainly a matter of wording, which was in any event changed with no great difficulty; 1 think the decision Will be announced from a more authorized quarter, that is, by a member of the Security Council. 5. But in regard ta paragraph 6 which is our main diffioulty, we had said yesterday that in our view it did not, in its existing form, completely meet our requirements for the simple reason that we had noted throughout this debate, which has been proceeding since 9 December [1170th meeting] that a11 the speakers had recognized the competence of the Crganization of African Unity to seek a solution for the serious conflict in the Congo. It seems to us that paragraph 6, as it is now worded, reveals something of a tendency to cast doubt on the competence of the Organization of African Unity. It is because we wish to be COllSiStent in maintaining the position we adopted at the outset of our work; namely, that this very COmpleX African problem should corne within the competence of the OAU, with the Security Council’s blessing, that we think the present wording would Y For the text of the draft resolution, see the record of the 1186e meeting of the Council, para. 9. 7. We tried-to some extent with sucoess-to press certain terms of the resolution of the OAU on our brothers in the Security Council. Unfortunately, neither we nor OU~ African brothers on the Security Council have been able to secure the adoption of the text which 1 shall read out in a few moments. 8. Obviously, we must pay the greatest attention to the attitudes of the members of the Council. In preparing our draft resolutions, therefore, we have been concerned t,o make the greatest possible number of concessions, while not losing sight of the decisions adopted by the Organization of African Unity. 9. Operative paragraph 10 of the resolution adopted by the Council of Mini&ers of the Organization of African Unity, on 18 December, read as follows: “Calls upon the Security Council: “(a) TO condemn the foreign military interventions which have compromised the efforts being made by the OAU to secure national reconciliation in the Congo; v(b) TO recommend an African solution to the Congo problem: lf(ct) TO recommend to a11 the POWerS concerned that they co-operate with the OAU in Order to facilitate the solution of the Congolese problem”. 10. That is the kind of resolution we should bave presented to the Security Council had we been in a position to obtain the agreement of a majoritY of its members. That was not the case, and we had to take this fact into account in supporting the draft resolution distributed in revised form yesterday, but not the paragraphs I mentioned yesterday and todaY* 2/ Resolution ECM/&sJj (IV) adopted by the WJnCil of Mnist’%s of &e Organization of African Unity at its fourth ewaordinw Session* 12. Al1 members of the Security Council have recognized that the Organization of African Unity is both competent and pre-eminently qualified to seek, and to help in finding, a peaceful solution to the Congolese problem; a11 we have to do now is to request that Organization to inform the Security Council of the measures it takes and of the results it achieves. That is why we suggested-and we now again suggestan amendment to operative paragraph 6. 1 shall now read that amendment [S/6128], the text of whichwould replace paragraph 6 of the existing draft resolution: “Requests the Organization of African Unity, in accordance with Article 54 of the United Nations Charter, to keep the Security Council fullyinformed of any action it may take under the present resolution. ” We regard this language as fully in keeping not only with the provisions of the Chartér but also with the pxeoccupations which a11 of us share here. 13. It had seemed to us that this amendment could have met with agreement with the members of the Security Council. Unfortunately, our two African brothers on the Security Council were compelled to tel1 us, during our negotiations, that they had been unahle to persuade a11 members of the Security Council to accept that suggestion. That is why, in accordance with Article 38 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Council, 1 venture to make this proposa1 now. 14. We most sincerely hope that this amendment Will he acceptable to a11 members of the Security Council. For should it unfortunately prove otherwise, it would he extremely diîficult, if not impossible, for the delegations which 1 have the honour to represent here to lend their support to the draft resolution at psesent before the Council. 15. In fact, if this draft resolution were such as might indicate any tendency to cast doubt in one way or another on the competence or ability of the Organization of African Unity, through the appropriate bodies established by it, to seek a peaceful solution basecl on reconciliation in the Congo, not only could we no longer lend our support to thisdraft resolution: we should also be forced to speak out against it and. since we have no vote here, to stateour point of view. 17. MI’. USHER (Ivory Coast) (translated from Prench): As we explained yesterday, this draft resolution was the result of an extremely laborious compromise between divergent views expressedboth within and outside the Council. My Moroccan colleague and 1 merely acted as co-ordinators in the interest of securing a draft resolution which, while not fully adopting the views of any one party, was nevertheless acceptable to all. We spoke with the eighteen African States that had brought the matter before the Security Council and then, having reached our present stage, when we are about to take a decision on a problem of concern to a11 Africans, we had to communicate our draft resolution to the remaining seventeen African States which had not spoken here. We also, after hearing the comments of a11 these States, had to negotiate with members of the Security Council. The draft resolution now before you is the result of a11 these negotiations. 17. M. USKER (Côte-dTvoire): explique que ce projet de r&olution &ait le r&ultat d’un compromis extrêmement laborieux entre diverses tendances dlopinions qui se sont manifestées au Conseil et a l’extérieur rôle que mon collbgue du Maroc et moi-même avions joué n’avait arriver @ouser entiérement les vues d’une partie, soit tout de même acceptable par tous. Nous avons parlé aux 18 Etats africains qui ont présenté la question au Conseil de &curité au moment oil nous allions prendre une décision au sujet d’un probleme qui intéresse tous les Africains, nous avons d& également communiquer projet de r&olution qui n’ont pas pris la parole i?i cette table; lorsque nous avons été en possession des observations des uns et des autres, nous avons do également négocier avec des membres du Conseil de securité. Le résultat de toutes ces négociations, c’est le projet de résolution qui vous est actuellement soumis. 18. What my Moroccan colleague and I are much concerned about is the fact that each paragraph of this draft resolution has taken into account the comment% the amendments and even the draftresolutions which our colleagues from the eighteen African States were good enough to submit to us. For example, the first preambular paragraph-ttNotingith concern the aggravation of the situation in the Ï%mocratic Republic of the Congo”-is taken from a draft resolution submitted to our working group by the eighteen African States. 18. Ce qui nous inquiste beaucoup,, mon collègue du Maroc et moi-même, c’est que ce projet de ré- solution a tenu compte, dans chacun de ses paragraphes, des observations, des amendementsetmême des projets 18 Etats africains ont bien voulu nous soumettre. Je prends le premier considérant, oà il est dit: llNotant avec inquiétude l’aggravation de la situation dG=blique est tiré d’un projet de résolution que les 18 Etats africains ont présenté & notre groupe de travail. 19. The text of the second preambular paragraph -“Deploring the recent events in that countryl’-- had been amended by our friends to read as follows: “Deploring the recent events at Stanleyville.f’ After some negotiation. we arrived at a formula acceptable to ail. 19. Le texte du deuxiéme considérant: IlDéplorant les récents événements qui se sont produits dans ce pays”, avait été amendé par nos camarades pour se lire de la façon suivante: *‘Dkplorant les ?%Cents événements qui se sont produits à Stanleyville”. Apr&s une négociation, nous sommes arrivés à une formule acceptable pour tous. 20. With regard to the third preambular paragraph-“Convinced that the solution of the Congolese problem depends on national reconciliation and the restoration of public order”-our friends submitted an amendment making public order dependent upon national reconciliation, During the discussions, we agreed to reverse the order of the expressions, so that instead of public order andnational reconciliation the text would read, national reconciliation and public order. 20. Le troisieme considérant: solution du probl??me congolais dEpend de la réconciliation nationale et de la restauration de l’ordre public H, avait fait l’objet d’un amendement tendant B subordonner Ilordre public à la réconciliation nationale. Au dJaccord pour intervertir qu’au lieu de lire nationale”, on lirait <‘réconciliation nationale et ordre public ‘I . 21. Le quatrieme considérant: “Rappelant les résolutions pertinentes de l’Assemblée gén6rale et du Conseil de sécuritéll, est tiré du projet de résolution que nos collegues nous avaient soumis. 21. The fourth preambular paragraph-“Recalling the pertinent resolutions of the General Assemhly and the Security Council”-is a paragraph drawnfrom the draft resolution which our colleagnes suhmitted to LIS, 22. “Réaffirmant 22. The fifth preambular paragraph reads: “Reaffirminq the sovereignty and territorial integrity Of 23. Our colleagues asked that the sixth preambular paragraph be worded as follows: “Taking into consideration the provisions of the resolution of the Organization of African Unity dated 10 September 1964, in particular paragraph 1 relating tc the mercenaries”. After negotiation, we agreed to delete the word It P ravisions” and to retain the wording of the paragraph as it appears in the draft resolution, 24. The seventh preambular paragraph reads as follows: “Convinced that the Organization of African Unity should be able, in the context of Article 52 of the Charter of the United Nations, to help find a peaceful solution to a11 the problems and disputes affecting peace and security in the continent of Africa.” Members of the Council Will recsll that thisparagraph was originally drafted to read as follows: “Convinceù that the Organization of African Unity, if requested, should be nble, in the context of Article 52, to help ,., If. Our colleagues asked that the words “if requested” be deleted nnd that, in the French text, the word “ml’ be substituted for the word “devrait”. We agreed to this. 25. The eighth preambular paragraph reads: “Having in mind the efforts of the Organization of African Unity to help the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the other political factions in the Congo to find a peaceful solution to their dispute”. The words ‘land the other political factions” were added at the request of our colleagues. 26, 1 now corne to operative paragraph 1, reading: “Requests a11 States to refrain or desist from intervening in the domestic affairs of the Congo.” Our initial wording of this paragraph was: “Requests a11 States to refrain from intervening in the domestic affairs of the Congo “. At the request of our colleagues, we added the words “or desist”, 27. Operative paragraph 2 reads: “Appeals for a cesse-fire in the Congo in acccrdance with the resolution of the Organization of African Unity dated 10 September 1964”. As the Council Will recall, this paragraph was originally longer and read as follows: “Appeals îor an immediste cesse-fire and requests the Organization of African Unity and the Secretary- General of the [Jnited Nations, acting in concert, to take the necessary steps without delay to ensure observance of the cesse-fire and report to the Security Council as soon as possible”. 29. We were a11 in agreement on that part of operative paragraph 4 which reads: “Encourages the Organization of African Unitv to Dursue its efforts ” - etc. Our colleagues introduced an amendment designed to recall once again that the other factions should also be taken into account. It was our view, however, that the wording adopted by the Council of Mini&ers of the OAU should be retained and that is why we were unable to accept the addition called for by our colleagues. to :. . “, 30. Operative paragraph 5 which reads: “Requests a11 States to assist the Organization of African Unity in the attainment of this objective”, gave rise to no discussion. 31. Finally, operative paragraph 6 reads: “Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations to follow the implementation of the present resolution, to follow the situation in the Congo, and to report to the Security Council at the appropriate time. If This paragraph seems now, at the last minute, to have encountered the violent objections we have heard here. My colleagues have said that, if their amendment on this point were not adopted, they would oppose the draft resolution as a whole. Now we have just shown you how careful we have been to take their views into account, from the first preambular paragraph to the last operative paragraph. 32. 1 would add that what 1 find disturbing about this criticism is that in paragraph 6 a11 we have done is to adhere to the terms of the working text submitted to us bv our colleapues, which read as follows: “Requesti the Secret&y-General to keep the situation in the Congo under constant review and report to the Council-as appropriate.*u Those were our colleagues’ words, which we took into account; why then this last-minute objection? We merely added to the paragraph the following: “to follow the implementation of the present resolution, -. , “, 33. As we said yescerday, we feel that no one could have any objection to operative paragraph 1 of the draft resolution: “Requests a11 States to refrain or 3/ The speaker read the quotation in English. 34. Once this draft resolution has been adopted, the Council has the right to ask the Secretary-General ta report to it-to tel1 it whether the cesse-fire in force, whether foreign intervention has ceased, and whether the mercenaries hsve been lyithdrawn. That is perfectly natural, and 1 really see no reason why anyone should fear a report from the Secretary- Gener,al on this subject. 35. As for asking the Secretary-General to keep himdelf informed, to follow the situation in the Congo and to report to the Security Council, I would say that the Secretary-General has the responsibility following any situation, anywhere in the world, if it is such as might disturb the peace. In actual Eact, experience and custom have shown that, if the Secretary-General is to make a report, he must be invited to do SO. 36. The situation in the Congo is extremely serious. We desire an end to this state of things. But if the situation continued, there would be no reason for the Security Council to wash its hands of it-it must not surrender its prerogatives to other organi’zations, even regional ones, however respectable they may be. When the Panama Canal problem came up, we were against the idea that the Council should hand over its responsibilities entirely to the Organisation of American States. The delegation of the Ivory Coast is among those which asked the Council to keep the problem on its agenda. Our policy is consistent and we adhere to our position. We ask the Council to respect a11 the rights of the Organization of African Unity. The OAU has helped the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to achieve national reconciliation. Let that Organization pursue its objective and inform us of the methods, ways and means to be used in order to attain that objective. 37. The draft resolutiori which we submit to fhe Council does not deprive the Organization of African Unity of any of its rights; a11 we are asklng is that wa be kept informed, that the Security Council be vigilant and follow the matter, that the Secretary- General act in this sense, and that he keep us informed. 38. We are not asking the Secretary-General implement the resolution. We intervened yesterday in order to correct a word in the English text which seemed to us rather strong and which provided for the Secretary-General Yo watch over the implementation” of the resolution instead of the wording the corresponding French text which merely said: “to follow the im;Jlementation of the resolutiontt; that is to say, we are asking the Secretary-General to keep us informed of the situation and of the actloI1 39. Accordingly, we think that the Security Council should rise above a11 these disagreements which my Moroccan colleague and 1 have tried to patch up and in regard to which our efforts seem, to our great regret, to be on the verge of collapse: fox the Congo is far more important than these disagreements. It is the Congo which counts; and the Council must keep in mind solely the interests of the Congo and of the Congolese, not the particular interests of each one of us. 40. We believe that the Security Council, if it has this objective and the interests of the Congolese people in view, must adopt our draft resolution, since, as we said in our main statement, it would be catastrophic if matters ended without any resol.ution being adopted.

We have just heard a particularly comprehensive statement of reasons by my colleague the representative of the Ivory Coast. 42. 1 say aa statement of xeasons” advisedly, because the Council has to be informed how preparation of this draft xesolution became possible through the very close co-operation between the Africanmembers of the Security Council and those African delegations which took part in the discussion within the Council. 43. After yestexday’s meeting, the African members -commonly known as the eighteen-took counsel together and informed us of their last objections, which bore solely on operative paragraphs 3 and 6. Their spokesman, the representative of Guinea, conveyed their final suggestions to us, saying that if we took them into account the group would have no further objection to the draft resolution as a whole and that the eighteen would even be prepared to support it. I 44. Their suggestion with respect to paragraph 3 has to do with a question of grammar. They asked us to replace the word “should” by the word tlmusttl. We have had no difficulty in meeting this suggestion, and bave informed them of our agxeement to this change. 45. In SO far as paragraph 6 is concerned, we were confronted with a question of pxinciple affecting both the Security Council and the Organization of African Unity. Al1 resolutions hitherto adopted by the Security Council have included a final paragraph-which has 46. 1 wish, on this occasion, to state that Morocco, which had sent a particularly large contingent to serve under the United Nations flag and has made enormous sacrifices in men and equipment, to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of the Congo, finally decided to withdraw its troops from the Congo as soon as it realized that the task entrusted to the United Nations had corne under an influence which did not conform with the international Organization’s mission in the Congo, We have maintained this position and have not changed. 46. A cette Maroc, ticulii3rement nisation des Nations énormes l’indépendance a finalement dés l’instant aux Nations pas conforme tionale au Congo. Nous avons maintenu cette position et nous n’avons pas chang& 47. If we are now asking, in a draft resolution, that the Security Council should invite the Secretary- General to follow the development of the situation and report to it, this is merely with a view to enforcing a right of the Security Council-the right to inquire about a situation which has been the subject of debate and which affects international peace and security. There is no intention on our part of seeking, through the wording of paragraph 6, to facilitate a return of the United Nations to the Congo, We are, 1 repeat, not at a11 in favour of such a development. These explanations should, 1 think, give a11 the necessary reassurance to those who see in thisprovision some desire, on the part of the authors of the draft resolution or of the Security Council, to secure the United Nations intervention in a matter which, in our opinion, cornes within the competence of the Organization of African Unity. 1 say forthrightly that it cornes within the competence of the OAU; and this we have demonstrated in a11 the paragraphs of the draft resolution, which we drafted in agreement and in close collaboration with the group of eighteen. 47. Si nous demandons, projet de résolution, le Secrétaire situation pour faire prévaloir de sécurité tion qui a fait l’objet d’un debat et qui affecte la paix et la sécurité dans notre esprit, graphe Congo. Je le rép&te, nous ne sommes pas du tout partisans d’une telle intervention, sions doivent donner tous les apaisements à ceux qui voient dans cette disposition conque, de la part des auteurs ou du Conseil de sécurité, l’organisation selon nous, relève de la compétence de l’Unité compétence tous les paragraphes nous laboration 48. There is, however, another question to which 1 would draw your attention, Has the Security Council the right, and does it in fact wish, to delegate some of its prerogatives to a regional organization? There, 1 think. lies the prohlem. We consider that the Organization of African Unity must be able, by its own means, to meet its responsibilities, and that it is not necessary that the Security Council delegate some of its prerogatives to it, 1 also helieve-and this is 48. Il y a cependant un autre problème je voudrais sécurité de dél&uer d’une organisation le probEme. l’unité africaine faire nécessaire 49. I must remind you that at the time of the Cqban orisis, when the question was examined in th’e United Nations, Morocco opposed the idea that the Organization of American States should be regarded as the only competent body to settle the matter. We thought that the United Nations-in this case, the Security Council and the General Assembly-should retain its prerogatives and not relinquish them in favour of any other organization. 50. That is the issue. When we are asked to request the Organisation of African Unity, in accordance with Article 54 of the Charter, to keep the Security Council fully informed on the development of the situation, we do not regard this as a request which the Security Council must make to the OAU, just as we do not consider that the OAU has to render accounts to the Council. The OAU is a regional organization accomplishing its tank within the framework of the Charter it has established for itself. In our opinion, the Security Council cari address itself only to organs established by the United Nations Charter, and in this case, to the Secretary-General, for information on a situation which has been examined by the Council. If it is desired to request the OAU to assume responsibility, or if it is desired to make it responsible, for a task outside its terms of reference, we Africans might conceivably be prepared to follow such a course; but 1 wonder whether a11 members of the Security Council, without exception. \irould be prepared to relinquish their rights and p’erogatives, as conferred upon them by the Unit& Nations Charter, in favour of the Organization of African Unity. pour 51. In this respect, we greatly need theunderstanding of our African colleagues; we need their common sense, their sense of equity. They must realize that a question of principle arises here, and that this question of principle must not constitute the major obstacle sufficing to defeat a resolution which. in our opinion, invests the OAU with a11 the authority and importance necessary for the settlement of a prohlem like that of the Congo, If you examine the various parngraphs of our draft resolution, you Will see that in nearly a11 of them we refer to the Organization of African Unity, or to its resolutions, or to resolutions which are pertinent to a solution of the Congolese problem. principe tance celui paragraphes terez nous nous reférons Caine, sont pertinentes 52. We have made considerable efforts with a view to serving Africa, the Congo and the Organization of African Unity. Our main concern has ùeen to reproduce in a text a11 the ideas and suggestions submitted to us Isy the group of eighteen, despite the many difficulties which that involved if the text was to be a Security Council resolution. We could not lay before the Council a draft resolution concerned solely with imposing an African point of vieW, not mCeSSarilY compatible with the point of view of certain others. We have tried, through a particularly sustained effort, to reconcile the various arguments d$veloped before 52, servir nisation a été de reproduire et toutes les suggestions qui nous ont et.6 présent&s par le groupe des Dix-Huit, malgr6 les difficult&s nombreuses que cela comportait du moment que la r&olution devait Btre une r&.olution rité. un projet répondant au seul souci d’imposer un point de vue africain qui n’est pas nécessairement compatible avec le point de vue de certains. Nous avons 53. 1 must say that my delegation did not expect to see-and it regrets it-an amendment officially submitted to the Council, when from the outset we usecl every resource of discussion and negotiation, and tried to deal with every argument, SO as to avoid finding ourselves in open conllict either with certain memhers of the Security Council or with the African countries which lodged the complaint with the Council, and this on questions of principle or on political questions. We tried by a11 possible and conceivable means to achieve a settlement of this Congolese crisis in a strictly African framework, by strictly African formulae and solutions, 54, The purpose of the proposed amendment to operative paragraph 6 of OUF draft resolution is, put shortly, to deprive the Security Council oî some of its prerogatives for the benefit of the Organization of African Unity. This poses a problem for a11 members of the Council. It would be reasonable that everyone should take cognizance of this situation stemming from a matter of principle, and we would desire that there should be no attempt to press an amendment which, as we know a priori, may not be acceptable to a11 members of the Council. 55. Furthermore, my delegation was a little surprised to hear the representative of Guinea say, on behalf of the eighteen, that if its amendment were not adopted they would oppose the resolution as a whole and would, in their explanations to the Council, act accordingly. Let those countries realize,if they intend to oppose this draft resolution, that the latter is to a very large extent the work of the group of eighteen. And if they reject it because a matter of principle is raised by an amendment, this Will mean, in effect, that they have thrown overboard everything they have SO far done to solve this problem of the Congo which has already been SO long debated in the Security Council. 56. 1 must say to a11 my colleagues and to a11 my African brothers that, since a matter bas been laid before the Security Council, it would be really catastrophic for Africa, for the OAU and for the Congo itself if the Council were to terminate its debate without being able to take a decision consistent with the maint0nanCe of peace and tranquillity in that region of the world. ment pour le Congo lui-meme final à son débat sans pouvoir conforme la tra.nquillit& \ i

1 must apologize for taking the floor again, and I cari assure the Council that I shall not waste its time. I WOUld alS0 assure the Council that 1 do not intend to enter into a debate with the African representatives who bave just spoken, since we are essentially in agreement on this draft which, as they have pointed out, was drawn up in close consultation with us and que je n’abuserai surer tions africains lement, comme 59. With respect to what the Moroccanrepresentative bas said about a certain tendency to deprive the Security Council of some of its responsibilities and prerogatives, we feel it is essential for us to state, here, that such is very far from our intentions. In reality, the amendment which 1 have submitted does not justify such an opinion, What, in fact, have we done? We have repeated, practically word for Word, the provisions of the United Nations Charter governing the relations which should exist between regional organizations and the United Nations. In this connexion, it is necessary to re-sead paragraph 3 of Article 52 of the Charter. That Article states: “The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacifie settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies either on the initiative of the states concerned or by reference Erom the Security Council. ” 60. If the Security Council requests the Organization of African Unity to do a certain number of things, that in no way signifies that the Council relinquishes any of its responsibilities or prerogatives. It simply means that the Security Council is acting in accordance with the United Nations Charter; and we ask for no more. We proposed this amendment in the spirit, and in accordance with the letter, of Article 54 of the Charter. Consequently, we do not see how we could be accused of wishing to deprive the Council of its responsibilities or prerogatives. 61. Regret has been expressed here that we found it necessary to introduce a draft amendment; but we did SO because, unfortunately, such a step became unavoidable once the draft resolution had been circulated. As you know, when 1 spoke here yesterday, a revised draft resolution was being circulated and the delegations which 1 represent had not had time to consult each other with regard to this text. We are convinced that, if this revised draft resolution had not been circulated, it would have been possible for these delegations, and for our African friends who had negotiated with us, to reach agreement on a final 62. 1 do not wish to trespass on the Council’s time, and 1 hope that it Will not he necessary for me to take the floor again. 63. Mx. USHER (Ivory Coast) (translated from Prench): 1 feel that 1 must correct what our friend, the representative of Guinea, has said here concerning this document. He has implied that 1 omitted to say certain things; but he knows the circumstances in which this document was brought to my attention. 64. According to the procedure which we had adopted for the preparation of this draft resolution, the representatives of three States selected by the eighteen were to meet with the two African members of the Security Council to draw up a draft resolution. These three representatives, among whom was our friend the representative of Guinea, came with the working documents of the so-called group of eighteen. We prepared a first draft on which a11 five of us were agreed. The next day, these three representatives -who, we axe sure, have the confidence of the eighteen-came back to discuss this document with us and reopened the matter entirely. This happened on two occasions. It was then that the Ivory Coast delegation threatened to submit the draft resolution. A meeting of the eighteen Immediately took place and the three representatives came to tel1 me that, in that event, they had instructions from the eighteen to submit a draft resolution also. 1 asked them what this draft sesolution was, and it was then that they gave me this document. This, then, is the document which would have been submitted because 1 threatened to submit a draft resolution. 65. As a result, on the basis of the document which 1 threatened to submit and the document which they also threatened to submit, we drew up a compromise text. 1 therefore do not understand the statement which our colleague from Guinea has just made. I have omitted absolutely nothing. It is not for me to go into a11 the details of the procedure we followed in connexion with this draft resolution; but 1 am still unable to unclerstand the amendment which has just been submitted. G6. SO far as the regional agencies are concerned, the Council is perfectly familiar with the procedure which is usually applied, and knows that these regional agencies have the right to consider a situationarising in their region. That is what the Organization of African Unity has done, without needing the blessing of the Security Council. However, the OAU, after taking up this regional problem came before the Security Council in second instance. 6’7. At this point the Security Council has the right to issue directives, because. in my experienee, what the Council bas always done SO far, at the first in- 68. We still do not understand the amendment which our colleagues have submitted, ancl we shall continue to reject it. They must assume their responsibilities. As African members of the Security Council, my colleague and 1 have already assumed ours. We submit to you a draft resolution which, we well know, is the outcome of arduous but co-operative effort; yet everything is called in question at the last moment. We have assumed our responsibility; they have only to assume theirs; but we still believe that the Security Council should adopt our draft resolution. If they succeed, by one manœuvre or another, in getting the Council to reject it, our conscience qill be clear; each of us Will have assumed his responsibilities. 68. dement, nos collègues leurs au Conseil et moi, pris tons conscients, d’un travail au dernier sabilité, continuons adopter manoeuvre nous nous aura pris sa responsabilit8.

1 have no further speakers on my list for this afternaon, and in view of the fact that an amendment to the draft resolution which we are considering bas just been submitted in writing by the representative of Guinea on behalf of the eighteen countries, 1 believe that it is appropriate to give the members of the Security Council further time in order to exchange their views on this delicate question. Consequently, if there is no objection, we Will adjourn this meeting and meet again tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. 69. pas et, étant donné que le représentant nom de 18 pays, a présent8 de r8solution qu’il le temps necessaire cette voyez lever demain b 10 h 30. It was SO decided, II en est ainsi d&cid& The meeting rose at 4.55 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED United Nations publications may distributors throughout the world. Write to: United Nations, Sales COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS Les publications des Nations Unies sont agences dépositaires du monde entier. ou adressez-vous à: Nations Unies, Section COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas casas distribuidoros en todas partes dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, Seccion Printed in U.N. Price: US, 0.35 (or equivalent in other currencies)