S/PV.1327 Security Council

In accordance with the decision taken previously [1320th meeting], 1 shall, with the consent of the Council, invite the representative of Israelto take a seat at the Council table. At the invitation of the President, Mr. M. Comay (Israel) teck a place at the Council table.

The Security Council will now continue its consideration of the urgent matter inscribed on its agenda. The first speaker on my list this morning is the representatfve of Nigeria, Chief Adebo, to whom 1 now give the floor.

The African members of this Council had refrained from speaking earlier in this debate in the hope that it would be possible to agree quickly on a draft resolution and that they would then be able to combine their general observations on the substance of the case with their statement in recommendation of the draft resolution. Regrettably, that has not proved possible. In spite of a11 the energies SO far expended, we have not quite reached the point at which we could feel able to submit a draft which will take account both of the justiceof the case, 5. The Nigerian delegation is most unhappy that Israel has again acted in this way. In our intervention during the debate on a case in which Israel was the complainant and an Arab country was the defendant, on 20 October 1966, barely a month ago, we paid a compliment to Israel for not taking the law into its own hands and following instead the proper course of laying a complaint before the Security Council. We went on to say: “We hope that the Government of Israel Will stick to this wise policy of restraint, this policy of avoidance of reprisa1 action, in spite of any pressure that may be brought to bear upon it by impatient elements within Israel.” [ 1309th meeting, para, 86.1 6. We regret that the Government of Israel has felt itself unable to accept that humble advice. 7. The Nigerian delegation would also like to support the following comment by the representative of the Netherlands, which he made in his intervention in this debate on 18 November 1966. “This attack is a11 the more regrettable because it was directed against civilian elements and civilian settlements in a country which itself has adhered to its international obligations and which, for its part, has always disavowed and discouraged the acts of terrorist groups, for which it cannot therefore be held responsible.” [ 1323rd meeting, para, 10.1 8. It is the duty of the Security Council to deal out justice in accordance with the merits of the case, In this particular case, there would not appear to be any doubt as to where the merits lie. Thereis no doubt as to which Government is the guilty party. ThatGovernment is the Government of Israel and the Security Council must unequivocally condemn its action. We say this, not with pleasure, but in the discharge of our duty and responsibility as a member of this Council. 9. In our intervention on 20 October in the debate on the Israel complaint against another Arab country, we n . . . the readiness of the great Powers to deal with this problem outside of the cold war context and purely with the future happiness of the parties to the dispute in view” and secondly , Plus une autre condition n Ill that the parties themselves should manifesta disposition to settle for something consistent with the justice of their case, not as seen only by themselves but as adjudged by a commission whose composition would be approved by a11 the parties.” 11309th meeting, para, 89.1 10. We expressed appreciation of the fact that this was a long-term proposal, and we therefore went on to point out that in the meantime the Security Council must continue to insist upon adherence to the provisions of the relevant Armistice Agreements, including the provision in them that makes it the duty of a11 parties to prevent acts that would constitute a breach of the agreement. 10. d’une souligné, de securité respect6es tions gation constituant 11. Jordanie, examinant distraire étrangères moins que le Conseil, au lieu de se borner la partie lera a termes formulera mandations organismes cation de cette Convention. 11. While we agree with our colleague, the representative of Jordan, that in dealing with his country’s present complaint the Security Council must not allow itself to be diverted into wider or irrelevant fields, we are hoping that the decision of the Council, apart from roundly condemning the party that has proved to be the guilty party on this occasion, Will reiterate the obligation of the parties to continue to honour their commitments under the relevant Armistice Agreement, and, if possible, include some recommendation for improvement in the working of the organs created for the purpose of making that agreement effective, 12. In other words, the Council has a double duty, namely, to deal firmly with the question of right or wrong in respect of the particular complaint now before it and, equally importa.ntly, to initiate such action as would effectively provide against the recurrente of violent exchanges between the two parties concerned. The Nigerian delegation Will continue its co-operation with other members of the Council in the search for a Council decision on this bdsis. 12. tache équivoque dont il est saisi tante - prendre la rép&ition cause, rer permettre

My delegationwelcomes the decision of the Jordan Government to bring this matter to the Security Council. We also wish to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General for submitting bis prompt interim report [1320th meeting] and for the report embodied in document S/7593, both of which had proved useful and helpful. 13. délegation jordanien sécurité primer la diligence int6rimaire la cote utiles, 14. We cannot but regret that this Council has once again, fox the third time in three months, reconvened 14, doive se A.mis, 15. Whatever the justification may be, the Israel operation of 13 November 1966, which resulted in the loss of human life and destruction of property, was completely disproportionate to the cumulative total of the various acts of terrorism conducted against Israel. My delegation unreservedly and unequivocally condemns this unfortunate and deliberate action which resulted in loss of life, casualties and large-scale destruction of property. The Israel military operation cannot be justified by the incidents which preceded it, and in which the Government of Jordan had played no active role. 16. 1 wish to reiterate what 1 said on 2 August 1966, when this Council was considering the Syrian complaint against Israel: “The municipal law of civilized countries and the United Nations’ Charter a11 set their face against an aggrieved party’s taking the law into his own hands except in self-defence against actual or threatened mischief. One could thus cite numerous resolutions and instances where this sort of action has been condemned in SO many words by this Council.. . a11 signatories to the United Nations Charter are under obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. TO resort to armed invasion without recourse to the Security Council is to violate Article 2 of the Charter and to go against the very spirit and objectives of this Organizationtt [1294th meeting, para, 5.1 17. It is the view of my delegation that it is important to focus on the real sources of these eruptions, and to set up as a matter of urgency the necessary machinery with sufficient competence and capability to go to the root cause of the problem. 18. Council members Will recall the suggestion 1 made on 2 August that the time had corne for the United Nations to devise effective means of dealing with the unsatisfactory state of affairs which unhappily exists in this region. 1 went SO far as to suggest that, even though the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization had succeeded in keeping frontier disturbances in check, it did not have the competence 20. Unfortunately, the United Nations is afflicted with a creeping paralysis, and with the decrease in the effectiveness of the other organs of the body politic, this Organization seems to be making more frequent and more lusty uses of the tongue. The Security Council, in a spirit of self-complacency bordering on self-deception, seeks to conclude each and every one of its deliberations by merely formulating a resolution, thus meekly resigning itself to the role of a drafting committee. 21. 1 submit that, while this helplessness is highly reprehensible in the other organs of the United Nations, it is absolutely inexcusable and fraught with the most disastrous consequences when indulged inby the Security Council, the highest organ charged with responsibility for the peace and security of a11 nations, big and small. 22. Once again, violence has erupted in the Middle East, and once again the Security Council, true to its past performance, has been feverishly working away on the formulation of a document designed to produce maximum results with the least annoyance to the parties concerned. The supreme task and responsibility of the members of this Council has been forgotten, namely, the maintenance of international peace and security; and resolutions, which were designed as a summary or recapitulation of the methods which the Security Council intended to pursue in any given situation before it, have now become the end result of our activities here. Surely, the framers of the Charter never envisaged a Security Council whose highest achievement would be merely the passing of resolutians, however couched, and in whatever diplomatie language. 23. It thus behooves us, as members of the organ charged with the special responsibility of maintainmg peace and security among nations, to devise practical ways and means of ensuring peace in the Middle East and, particularly, between Jordan and Israel. 24. My delegation feels that among measures which should be taken to ensure peace in the area, regular and special meetings of military commanders from bath sides should be held in order to work out practical arrangements for the surveillance of thé border. This iS a practice whioh has been observed before between the Jordanian and Israel commanders, and which has proved in the past an effective preventive of the deterioration of the situation along the border lines. An example of this practice 1s glven in the report of 26. According to the New York Press, steps are already being taken by Israel to seal the border by erecting physical obstacles. My delegation welcomes these measures and notes that this will, of course, entai1 regular surveillance by patrols and observation posts. It is also the duty of the Security Council to cal1 upon the two parties to co-operate fully with the United Nations Truce SupervisionOrganization. There is ample evidence from reports supplied by the Secretariat that the effectiveness of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization has been greatly reduced because of this lack of co-operation on the part of the parties, 27. In my delegation’s submission, there should be full freedom of movement in the demilitarized zones, in no man’s land and across the armistice demarcation line for the United Nations military observers engaged in the investigation of incidents, There is no reason why the United Nations specialist personnel should not be made use of in the fields of tracking, surveying and interpretation, to mention only a few. TO avoid situations in which, as was recently the case, a tracker dog could not continue with its work across the demarcation line, for to do SO would mean its being handled by a new and unfamiliar master, it is imperative that greater use be made by both parties ‘of United Nations resources and expertise. As a matter of urgency, United Nations observation posts should be established in sensitive sectors along the demaroation line. 28. In view of the concern expressed bothbythe Jordanian and Israel representatives for the relaxation of tension between the two countries, allavenuesmust be explored in order to produce practical and constructive results.

1 shall be very brief, Once again the Security Council has hefore it a complaint arising out of the Arab- Israel conflict, and this time Jordan, which has been the victim of major aggression, has corne to seek justice, 30. My delegation does not intend to go into the details of the attack by Israel on 13 November 1966, because, in our opinion, the case is SO olear-eut that there is no room for any misunderstaading, 32. We cannot understand why this attack should have been directed against Jordan, when, as 1 recall, the representative of Israel had recognized, at an earlier meeting, that Jordan had taken measures to reduce tension in the region. Now that aggression has taken place, causing destruction and the loss of human life, what is the Council to do? As everyone realizes, we are once again playing-with disappointing slowness, considering the gravity of the situation, and in an atmosphere coloured by politics-the much-favoured and time-honoured game of trying to devise a wellbalanced resolution. It is clear what Will happen. We shall eventually take a decision to censor or congratulate, condemn or exonerate, and what then’? Will that remove the tension and bring the dead back to life? Shall we then, in a11 conscience, be entitled to think that we have done our duty? My delegation does not think SO, because, as 1 have had occasion to say before, there will unfortunately be a reactionperhaps sooner than expected. 33. At the 1323rd meeting on 18 November, the Israel representative told the Council that it should not lose sight of the over-a11 picture. And SO, we corne back to the heart of the problem, from which, in the view of my delegation, we must never stray if any constructive contribution is to be made. We continue to believe that we must face the problem squarely if we really wish to find a solution, for the only definite thing which cari be said of our resolutions, whîch are often the fruit of a sad, diffioult and painful travail, is that they always corne after the catastrophe. This seems to us very distressing and disturbing, and we should perhaps re-examine our methods, in order to preserve the prestige and dignity of this august Council. 34. We believe that the responsibility lies with the Council, because it is for the Council to create the right conditions SO that its work will be strictly in the interests of the peoples concerned. Since the inadequacy of United Nations efforts in the region has been demonstrated to us, my delegation considers that the Council’s first duty is to remedy that deficiency, which it has not yet done. Again, since the Palestine question and a11 the related issues are still before the Council, we believe that instead of waiting for catastrophes before meeting, as it has done in the past, and then becoming embroiled in impassioned political debates, the Council should meet, without waiting for some fresh complaint, to consider what measures should be taken to reduce the tension in the area, naturally with the participation of the parties concerned and of the representatives of United Nations organs in the area. 35. We believe that in this way, fruitful and dispassionate work could be done to determine measures 37, The PRESIDENT: At this stage of our deliberations 1 have no other speakers on my list. Certain delegations have, however, indicated a reservation of their right to speak further in our current consideration of the question. 1 have consulted with members of the Council informally, and, unless there is an objection, we Will recess very briefly for consultations; we shall resume our meeting this morning after these consultations have been concluded. The meeting was suspended at 12 noon and resumed at 1.10 p.m.

1 apologize to the members of the Council for having to speakasecond time in one meeting, but 1 trust that when they have heard me they Will agree that 1 am endeavouringto perform a service that will advance the cause which a11 of us hold SO dear to our hearts, namely, the elimination of the present tension on the Jordan-Israel border as part of a movement towards the restoration of peace in the Middle East. 39. A draft resolution [5/7598] has beensubmittedby Mali and Nigeria for the consideration of the Council. It is with pleasure that 1 introduce this draft resolution because when the United Kingdom representative addressed us briefly at our Iast meeting, he emphasizéd the urgency of coming to a decision on this matter. In doing SO he was echoing the sentiments that had been expressed by the representatives of Jordan and of the Soviet’ Union, When 1 intervened immediately afterwards, 1 spoke in terms which suggested thatwe were in fact a long way from a position in which we could submit to the Council any draft resolutionat all. Since those interventions were made yesterday, many further efforts have been made by different members of this Council, resulting in a greater meeting of minds this morning than was apparent yesterday. 40. After the general statements which were made by me and by my colleagues from Africa this morning, there was a recess in OUF proceedings which was used for the purpose of holding further consultations. As a result of a11 this, the representative of Mali and 1 have corne to the conclusion that the draft resolution which we now put before you is a draft that is very likely to command the general support of this Council, and i.t is upon that basis and in that spirit that 1 submit this draft resolution. 41. When my colleagues have examined the draft carefully, they will discover that it is not couched in terms which they themselves would have liked to have seen. This text does not correspond exactly to the wishcs of anybody round this table, as far as 1 bave been nble to ascertain those wishes, butwe think 42. 1 do not propose to discuss at any great length the provisions of this draft. The preambular paragraphs require no explanation at all. They do what every draft resolution presented to the Council generally does. They recall what needs to be recalled and describe the general situation in the area, providing the frame of reference within which the operative paragraphs have been drafted. 43. The operative paragraphs also, in my view, require very little explanation or justification from the co-sponsors of this draft, for the simple reason that they merely put in language which we hope Will be tolerable to a11 our colleagues the points of view that they have a11 SO clearly expressed in their interventions in this debate. For instance, we a11 were concerned with the loss of life and the damage that resulted from the action that is the subject of the Jordanian complaint. Every member of the Council who has spoken has also expressed in very clear terms his condemnation of that action. The terms in which we have put these matters are not the terms in which each representative has expressed himself, but if we had attempted to use those terms we should have had fifteen dirferent versions. 1 trust that the text we have used here Will be found acceptable by every one of our colleagues. 44. It has not only been necessary for this draft to condemn the action which is the subject of the Jordanian complaint; it has been necessary for it to go further and to say in very clear language that it hopes that this will be the last case of its kind to corne before the Security Council. We a11 know that, if this is to be the last of such cases, both parties to the dispute before us must generate in themselves and in their peoples the spirit that we a11 advocate not only in the Security Council but also in the General Assembly: the spirit of peaceful coexistence, If we hadattempted to include in this draft a specific provision in regard to peaceful coexistence, it would have necessitated further meetings of the Council, if only for the purpose of defining what peaceful coexistence is. 45. Nevertheless, on behalf of Mali and n-9’ own country, in putting this draft resolution to the Council for its unanimous approval, I wish to appeal to both parties to this dispute to accept it, if it is adopted, in the spirit in which we have put it forward. 46. We do not expect either of the parties to acclaim this text, but we expect them to aCCept it, if it is adopted by the Council, as an expression of the Council’s interest and genuine concern over the state of tension between Jordan and Israel andthe Council’s genuine concern that peace should be restored and

The Councll has before it a draft resolution submitted by the representatives of Mali and Nigeria. As President 1 have also noted that some delegations have indicated to the representatives of Mali and Nigeria their inability, for want of consultations with their Governments on the language of the text, to proceed today to vote on the draft, 49. 1 have consulted with members of the Council, and this confirms what the representative of Nigeria has said, namely, that some delegations are not prepared to vote today but desire consultations with their Governments. 50. 1 have also consulted members as to when, in the light of the urgency of this problem, the Council might appropriately proceed to the vote. The consensus among members is that the Council should adjourn now and meet again tomorrow, 25 November at 11.30 a.m. As there is no objection, it is SO decided. The meeting x-ose at 1.30 p.m. Litho in U.N. Price: $U.S. 0.50 (or equivalent