S/PV.1535 Security Council

In accordance with the decisions previously taken by the Council, and with the Council’s consent, I inyite the representatives of Algeria, Senegal. Pakistan, Yugoslavia, India aild Saudi Arabia to participate in the Council’s discussions without the right to vote. 2. Question concerning the situation in Southern Rhodesia: Letter dated 3 March 1970 from the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (519675); 2. Since there is not enough room at the table to seat all the representatives participating in the debate, in accordance with the practice followed by the Council in the past in similar cases, I shall request them to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber, on the understanding that they will be invited to take a place at the Council table when it is their turn to speak. Letter dated 6 March 1970 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the representatives of Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo (Democratic Republic of), Dahomey, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius , Morocco, the Niger, Nigeria, the People’s Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Republic, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Upper Volta and Zambia (S/9682). At the invitation of fhc Presidr,zt, Mr. N. Hurbi (Algeria), Mr. I. Boye (Senegal), Mr. S. A. Knrir~ (Pakistan), Mr. Z. Jazic’ (Y~go~slnvia), Mr. S. Serz (India) and Mr. J. Baroody (Saudi Alnbicr) took the places reserved .for them in the Council chamber.

The Council will now continue its consideration of the question on our agenda, but before calling on the first speaker on my list I should like to express my most sincere thanks to the representatives of Zambia, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Syria, Nepal, the United Kingdom and Finland for having responded to the appeal I made to them this morning. In a spirit of cordiality they made every efforl to find a satisfactory solution through the draft resolution contained in document S/9709/Rev.l the provisional text of which is now before the Council. I hope the majority of members of the Council will be able to support this draft resolution, so that the Council once again can take a clear decision in the light of the consensus that exists concerning the rejection of the alleged Republic of Southern Rhodesia which the illegal rkgime has tried to impose, ignoring the will of the Security Council and the General Assembly, and the wishes of the majority of the people of Zimbabwe. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. Question concerning the situation in Southern Rhodesia Letter dated 3 March 1970 from the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/9675); Letter dated 6 March 1970 addres’sed to the President of the Security Council by the representatives of Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo 5. As you have just pointed out, Sir, consultations have taken place this morning between the sponsors of the various draft resolutions that have been considered by the Council and I should now like to tell the Council about the results of those consultations which took place at your initiative and under your leadership this morning. 6. A provisional revised version of our draft resolution has been distributed to delegations. It is perhaps not available yet in all the working languages, but I understand that the Kemaining versions will be ready soon and will be distributed in the course of this meeting. The revisions that have been made are largely self-explanatory and I shall limit my comments to some brief remarks. 7. Many of the revisions are drafting and editing revisions. The first is in paragraph 2, from which the reference to Article 41 of the United Nations Charter has been deleted. 8. The next revision is in paragraph 4, to which the following words have been added: “in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and in conformity with General Assembly resolution I.514 (XV), and urges that Government to discharge fully its responsibility”. 9. In paragraph 6, the words “in contravention” have been changed to “in violation”, 10. A new paragraph 7 has been added. It reads: “Dcnrtrrr<ls the immediate withdrawal of South African police and armed personnel from the Territory of Southern Rhodesia;“. 1 I. In new paragraph 8, the words “where necessary” have l&en deleted and the following words have been added: “all provisions of which shall fully remain in force;“. That addition was regarded as necessary in order to remove any doubt about the continued validity of all the provisions of Council resolutions 232 (1966) and 253 (1968). 12. We have also added another new paragraph, which becomes paragraph 10 and it reads as follows: “Requests the Government of the United Kingdom, as the administering Power, to rescind or withdraw any existing agreements on the basis of which foreign consular, trade and other represen- 14. In paragraph I2 of the original text, which is now paragraph I4 of the revised text, we say that Member States are urged to increase moral and material assistance to the people of Southern Rhodesia. 15. Those are the revisions that have been made in the text of the draft resolution which was formally submitted to the Council yesterday and was informally circulated last week. 16. I realize, of course, that the revised draft falls far short of what many members, and particularly the African members of the Council, would consider desirable or even adequate, but I believe it represents what in the present circumstances is possible to attain, possible to agree upon, in the Council. The limits of what can be agreed upon were dramatically illustrated at yesterday’s meeting. I think everyone will agree now that it is in the interests of no one except the illegal rCgime and its supporters to leave the issue suspended, as it were, in the state of indecision which was the net result of yesterday’s meeting. 17. The draft resolution that is now before the Council, if promptly, and unanimously adopted, will reaffirm the condemnation by the international community of the illegal rtgime and it will also to some extent at least intensify the international pressure that is brought to bear on that rkgime. Therefore I would join in the appeal you, Mr. President, have just made to members of the Council to adopt this draft resolution promptly and unanimously.

As the list of speakers on this item is exhausted, I shall put to the vote the revised draft resolution submitted by the representative of Finland. First, however, I shall call in turn on those representatives who have indicated the wish to explain their votes before the vote.

In conformity with acustomary African attitude, I should like to express our thanks again to you, Mr. President, for allowing US to explain our vote before we proceed to take a decision on the draft which is now before us and which has been presented by Ambassador Jakobson of Finland. I am sure that all of us will agree that it is not necessary for us to make long statements at this stage, for the very simple reason that we have all had ample time in which to make our views known. In any case there is a second reason why my delegation will not make a long statement at this stage, and it is that we wish to pay tribute, if in a modest way, to the contribution made to our work by what I might call the invisible giants, who have made a remarkable contribution to the finding of solutions to a number of intricate prob- 20. My delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution sponsored by the representative of Finland, Mr. Jakobson. This position has been made relatively easy for us to reach, partly because of the informal consultations that have taken place and also because of your own initiative, Mr. President. There is no doubt that you have played an important part in reconciling various divergent views and positions. 26. I thinkthat what happened yesterday will go down in the history of the United Nations as a great occasion. First, those who stand for equality, justice, democracy and brotherhood, came out in the open, banded together and joined in support of that human cause. As everybody saw, those who do not believe in those virtues joined together in defence of iniquitous interests-1 am sorry to have to use the words “iniquitous interests”. Secondly, I think that for the first time in the history of the United Nations the Afro-Asians were able to beat the two big Powers-if I may so refer to them--the United States and the United Kingdom, at their own game. They have been organizing, intriguing, and so on, around this table, but I think that for the first time we were able to outwit them and I believe that it must have come as a surprise to them when they realized that we had the necessary votes to push our draft resolution through. I hope they will take that very seriously. It is, I think, a warning to the world that, as Mr. Nicol of Sierra Leone said yesterday, the gates of freedom are slowly but surely opening, giving way to the stormy tides of democracy, racial equality and racial justice. 21. Furthermore, we are going to support Mr. Jakobson*s draft resolution in the spirit of “give and take”. By that I mean that we are not entirely satisfied with the draft resolution that is now before the Council. We will support it because, as I have already stated, we have greatrespect and admiration for Mr. Jakobson, and indeed we are aware of the important role his country, FinEand, has been playing and no doubt still plays and will continue to play alongside other Scandinavian countries as a bridge between the races and between the nations. 22. Then, of course, as we all know, Mr. Jakobson has had the courtesy, as is usually the case with him, not only to consider but also to accept what I might call the minor amendments which have been put forward by the Afro-Asian delegations. 27. 1, hope that with those few words I have made my delegation’s position very clear. As I said earlier, in deference to Mr. Jakobson of Finland-a man whom we hold in high esteem-and to his country for the role it is playing in international affairs, my delegation is going to vote in favour of this draft resolution. However, I think it is important to stress that we are not entirely satisfied with this draft resolution as put forward by Mr. Jakobson, but as I said, we are going to support it in the spirit of give and take-a point which I have been emphasizing deliberately because I think it is time that the United States and the United Kingdom also adopted this attitude, this spirit. It is an important attitude, an important spirit. We must not always expect to take; we must learn not only to take but also to give. Sinke Mr. Jakobson’s draft resolution contains, as a very minimum, some basic elements that enable us to agree to support it, we are not going to place any obstacle in the way of the Council’s taking an early decision on it, but I thought that, before a decision was taken, my delegation’s position should be made perfectly clear so that there might be no misunderstanding. 23. It is not necessary for me to say at this stage that my delegation joined the delegations of Burundi, Nepal, Syria and Sierra Leone in sponsoring a draft resolution [S/9696 and Carr.1 and 21 which was absolutely in keeping with the demands and aspirations of the oppressed people of Zimbabwe. We wish only to take this opportunity of registering our bitter disappointment that the United States joined the United Kingdom in vetoing a decision which received the warm endorsement of the majority of the Council members. I have used the words “bitter disappointment” with respect to the United States because we did not expect the delegation of that country to use the veto; but, as we all know, it did resort to its first veto, and this for the purpose-may we be forgiven for saying this’?-of protecting the interests of the white minority rkgimes in southern Africa. As for Britain, we expected it to use the veto in any event and, as all of us will recall, it did so yesterday for the fourth time. 24. There is no doubt now that the white rkgimes of southern Africa have been assured that their interests will continue to be protected or to be defended by the double veto which we around this table witnessed yesterday. I am sure that the whole of Africa joins us here in expressing great disappointment with those who exercised their vetoes yesterday. The nullification of our popular draft resolution will be interpreted as a victory for the Asians, for the Africans, and indeed also for those who support us in our quest fdr peace, justice, brotherhood and equality. 28. I wish to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Jakobson for the trouble he has taken in finding what I think I might call the fair compromise which is now before the Council, I hope that my two brothers, Mr. Yost and Lord Caradon, will have no trouble in supporting this draft resolution; indeed I think it accords well with what they have been saying so far. The use of force is not mentioned, nor anything about the blockade of South Africa, so I am sure that his lordship, who is 30. I believe that we are all agreed on fundamentals. We all believe in “democracy and brotherhood”, in the words of the Minister of State of Zambia. My own nation is founded on the proposition that all men, everywhere, are born with equal rights. It flows from this that the United Slates is opposed to any form of racial discrimination anywhere and to any rtgime which uses racial discrimination as its basis. The United States has not condoned, is not condoning and will not condone any attempts by a minority and racist rbgime, either in Southern Rhodesia or elsewhere in southern Africa, to impose its will on the majority or to thwart the aspirations of that majority to exercise its civil, political and human rights without any restriction whatsoever. 31. It is for those reasons that the United States has steadfastly condemned and opposed the illegal declaration of independence proclaimed by the Smith rkgime. It is for those reasons that the United States has chosen not to recognize the so-called republic of Rhodesia and has closed its consulate. It is for these same reasons that the United States has steadfastly supported the imposition of mandatory economic sanctions against the Smith rCgime, has co-operated fully with the United Nations in their application and will continue to do SO. 32. President Nixon, in his report last month to Congress on foreign policy, reiterated United States policy toward southern Africa in a way which is pertinent to our present discussions here. He said: “Clearly there is rlo question of the United States condoning or acquiescing in the racial policies of the white-ruled rt5gimes. For moral as well as historical reasons, the United States stands firmly for the principles of racial equality and self-determination. “These problems must be solved. But there remains a real issue on how best to achieve their resolution. Though we abhor the racial policies of the white Ggimes, we cannot agree that progressive change in southern Africa is furthered by force. The history of the area shows all too starkly that violence and the counter-violence it inevitably provokes will only make more difficult the task of those on both sides working for progress on the racial question. “The United States warmly welcomes, therefore, the recent Lusaka Manifesto, a declaration by African leaders calling for a peaceful settlement of the 33. I have already expressed my regret over theunfortunate division of the Council yesterday. To a considerable extent that division no doubt arises from honest differences of perspective. It is natural and proper that the African Members of our Organization should feel deep frustration at the inability of our Organization, thus far, to bring about the compliance of a r&me, representing only 200,000 whites, and not even all of them, among 4.5 million blacks, with the legitimate demands and decisions of this Council. It is equally natural that they should seek further means to make our decisions prevail. 34. However, as we are all aware, the United Nations does not have unlimited powers. The Charter does not convey such powers upon it nor have Members been able to agree among themselves to give it in fact all the authority which the Charter conveys inprinciple. As long as this situation obtains, we who believe in and cherish this Organization, who place great hope in its future growth and reinforcement, must take great care not to place impossible burdens upon it, not to demand of it more than it can deliver. To do so will only emphasize its shortcomings, bring it into contempt and lessen that public confidence and support on which its future growth and reinforcement depend. 35. In the present instance it seems to us both improper and futile to call upon the United Kingdom to overthrow the Smith rkgime by force-improper because starting a war anywhere is hardly what the United Nations should recommend and starting a war in southern Africa would be a particularly risky business, futile because we all know perfectly well that the United Kingdom is not going to engage in any such hazardous entreprise. As to cutting off communications, we have also expressed our view, Even if it were possible, we should not want to cut off all the inhabitants of Rhodesia: blacks as well as whites, foreigners as well as nationals, from the free flow of information from outside. There might be nothing which would be more agreeable to the minority Ggime than to have our help in bringing down an iron curtain around its people. Certainly such an act would be totally ineffective in inducing the rCgime to change its oppressive policies. 36. Unpalatable as it may be to all of us, I think we have no alternative but to recognize the fact that the process of making the rule of law and the rights of the majority prevail in Rhodesia will not be a quick one. We must persist firmly and patiently in the course we are pursuing, in the strict and comprehensive application of the sanctions on which we have all agreed. In the long run, if they are persisted in, they are bound to have their effect. 43. Taking into account all these considerations, both “for” and “against”, and above all bearing in mind the fact that the delegations of the African countries find the draft resolution acceptable in the situation which has now arisen as a result of the rejection of their draft resolution through a double veto, the Soviet Union delegation feels that in the specific circumstances it can support the Finnish draft resolution and will vote for it. 38. Having in mind the broader considerations I mentioned a moment ago, particularly the capital importance of harmony among us for the effect that harmony must have on the minority regime, my delegation is prepared to support the draft resolution submitted by Finland. 44. We should like, however, to make one very important reservation concerning paragraph 16 of the draft resolution. The content,of this paragraph is similar to that ofparagraph 15 of resolution 253 (1968) adopted by the Security Council in May 1968. As the members of the Security Council and many delegations will recall, the Soviet delegation stated at the time-and it considers it necessary to repeat and emphasize this point in connexion with paragraph 16 of the Finnish draft resolution-that the wording allows a certain amount of simplification and inaccurate generalization concerning the substance of the Southern Rhodesian problem as a whole and its consequences for Zambia. The Soviet Union of ‘course understands the situation confronting the friendly State of Zambia, as a neighbour of Southern Rhodesia, and the problems which have arisen and are arising for it as a result of the formation and continued existence of the racist regime in Southern Rhodesia and of the Security Council’s decision concerning sanctions against that regime.

Mr. President, the Soviet U lion delegation already expressed its opinion yesterday ;bout the fact that the draft resolution submitted by the Afro-Asian countries was not adopted because of the double veto of two permanent members of the Security Council-the United Kingdom and the United States. We regret this, because we consider that the draft resolution provided the necessary basis for the adoption of measures which could have changed the course of events in Southern Rhodesia and promoted the liberation of the Zimbabwe people. 40. The Finnish draft resolution which is now under consideration is undoubtedly weaker than the Afro- Asian draft. It misses the point. It does not close the breach through which the racist regime in Southern Rhodesia is receiving all kinds of economic and military help and support: it does not provide for any specific action against South Africa and Portugal. Therein lies the weakness of this draft. 45. We consider, however, that the obligation to compensate for the harm which has been and probably will in the future be done to Zambia should lie not with all States indiscriminately, but with those countries which bear direct and indirect political and economic responsibility for the fact that a Fascist minority regime has emerged, come to power and remained in power for such a long time in Southern Rhodesia and is creating serious problems, fraught with important consequences, both for Zambia and for many other States in Africa. 4 1. The draft resolution reaffirms the primary responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom for enabling the people of Zimbabwe to exercise their right to self-determination and independence. That is the positive side of the draft, but it does not condemn the policy still being pursued by the country bearing the main responsibility for the situation which has arisen in Southern Rhodesia; nor does it condemn certain other countries which by their policies are not only 46. It is quite obvious from the trend of the discussion of this question in the Security Council that political 47. We in the Soviet Union are developing friendly economic relations with Zambia on a bilateral basis. We are providing it with bilateral assistance and shall of course continue to do so. We feel strongly, however, that the entire political and economic responsibility for the grave consequences to Zambia, and for the establishment and continued existence in Southern Rhodesia of the racist r&gime, lies fairly and squarely with those who by their policies helped to establish the rhgime and by their voting in the Security Council are clearly arranging matters in such a way as to ensure that the r8gitne will still exist later on and that the oppression of the 5 million Zimbabwe people by the racists will also continue in the future. They, and only they, must be made to compensate for the harm done to Zambia and any other African country. We are firmly convinced that Zambia is fully justified in presenting a full reckoning to these States and above all to the United Kingdom, as the State mainly responsible for all that is happening in Southern Rhodesia, and that they should fully compensate for the harm done to Zambia. 48. Because of all this and on the basis of the foregoing, the Soviet Union delegation cannot support paragraph 26 of the Finnish drcaft resolution or the provisions contained therein. The Soviet Union will therefore not consider itself bound by any consequences stemming from the provisions of that paragraph.

Mr. President, my delegation wishes to thank you for your leadership in the preliminary consideration of the draft resolution of the Finnish delegation. We congratulate Ambassador Jakobson and his colleagues for their work in introducing their draft. We shall vote for it, It is quite obviously a compromise draft, but my delegation believes that, if adopted and if vigorously implemented, it will go along way towards freeing the captive country ofzimbabwe from the oppression of the racist rCgime, and it will also ease the position of the great and progressive Republic of Zambia. 51. Paragraph 14, which urges Member States “to increase moral and material assistance to the people of Southern Rhodesia in their legitimate struggle to achieve freedom and independence”, is a call which we urge should be noted by all States, whether Members of the United Nations or not. It is necessary to give not only moral but also material assistance to all the people of Southern Rhodesia. 52. The representative of the United States has mentioned the undesirability of starting a war in Southern Rhodesia. My delegation contends that you cannot start a war with a State which does not exist; and we have agreed that Rhodesia does not exist. Punitive action, we maintain, can be taken against the rebel rCgime of Ian Smith. It has been taken in the past-and it is still being taken-by great Powers against other rebel rCgimes. 53. We regret the use of the veto by the United Kingdom and the United States against a draft resolution concerning African freedom. They have explained their technical reasons for doing so. We await, however, at some stage of this continuing matter of Zimbabwe and South Africa a resounding declaration and demonstration by them, in the spirit of their ancestors William Wilberforce and Abraham Lincoln, that economic considerations will not halt the march to freedom of peoples of African descent and that, where necessary, force must be used td liberate the millions in Africa shackled by the manacles of fascism and racism.

We are approaching the end of a debate which, politically speaking, has fully clarified the situation within the Council on the question of Southern Rhodesia. A clear majority has emerged in favour of a decision by the Council on the basis of the Afro-Asian draft resolution [S/9696 ntzd Corr.1 ntzd 21, in other words on dynamic measures aimed at achieving the freedom and independence of the Zimbabwe people. An even clearer minority-the United Kingdom and the United States-has recorded its opposition to such a solution in the most flagrant fashion by casting its veto against that solution. 5.5. I subscribe to the words of our eminent colleagues the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Zambin and the representative of Sierra Leone when they described the debate and the vote as, technically, a 56. My delegation has, in all conscience, given its support to the Afro-Asian draft resolution. We &ould like to assure the representatives of the African Countries of our firm resolve to continue supporting the struggle of the people of Zimbabwe for their independence. Our attitude in this regard has not changed. 62. I should also like to stress, for the benefit of the press and the public, that there is no bitterness or illfeeling in African circles. For, after all, our delegations suffered only a purely technical defeat; they gained an overwhelming political and moral victory. Our delegations have nothing to reproach themselves for; we did everything we could to accept compromises likely to lead to agreement among delegations, including that of the United Kingdom-that is, in order to find a formula in consonance with the requirements of the situation. If there was a defeat, I believe that it was actually the United Kingdom that suffered itand what a heavy defeat it was for the Labour Government. 57. We regret that the Afro-Asian draft resolution was not adopted. We regard the draft resolution submitted by Finland as a broadening of the inadequate common denominator that the United Kingdom had proposed to us. It cannot, however, offer us full satisfaction, for it does not meet all the requirements which we consider necessary for ajust solution to the problem of Southern Rhodesia and which we set forth to the Council in the course of the debate. 63. As far as Africa as a whole is concerned, this has been a historical phase which has enabled all the countries and Governments of Africa to note that the moment has come to shed all illusions about certain friendships, certain relations, and particularly the good intentions of the United Kingdom. The veto that was cast yesterday must not be regarded as a final obstacle. Indeed, the people of Zimbabwe will one day achieve independence, despite everything. 58. It is in that spirit that we, like a number of our colleagues around this table, decided to cast a positive vote on the draft resolution while still maintaining the position we took on the substance of the problem of Sou them Rhodesia.

Mr. President, I should first like to express the gratitude of my delegation and my Government for the role which you played during the stormy hours of the Security Council’s meeting yesterday. We admire your common sense and your impartiality. Furthermore, my delegation is happy to have had as its neighbour here the Foreign Minister of Zambia, Mr. Nkama, representing all his colleagues in the Organization of African Unity who had entrusted him with that task at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of that organization. I am sure that the Ministers could not have made a better choice. The Foreign Minister of Zambia has effectively represented the thought and aspirations of Africa. Thirdly, on behalf of my Government and my delegation, I should like to express our gratitude to the delegation of Finland for its efforts in presenting a draft resolution which, while not ideal, contains some aspects that have merit, For want of anything better, my delegation will vote in favour of that draft resolution. 64, In conclusion, I should stress that even if the Afro-Asian draft resolution had been submitted in another form, the United Kingdom would have found an escape hatch and would have stated that the proposed measures were not appropriate, were not realistic, were too extreme, did not show political maturity-the whole litany which the delegation of the United Kingdom has the habit of using. 6.5. We-and the countries of the African continent in particular-must realize what the attitude of the United Kingdom is. 66. Finally, I should like to appeal to the friends who have supported us throughout this struggle to join ranks with us despite the shortcomings of the text now before the Council. I would emphasize once again that the primary responsibility rests with the United Kingdom.

Yesterday, my delegation clearly set forth its position on the question of Rhodesia. I was very much impressed by the statement made by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Zambia, and I agree with his conclusions-that is to say, that yesterday the Security Council actually showed its feelings about the problem of Rhodesia. A technical point, for which 60. I would also express our pride in and gratitude to all the delegations which, during the debate-and particularly during yesterday’s meeting-joined together in this gigantic, this superhuman struggle waged by the Afro-Asian delegations to ensure their victory of the struggle for justice and the recognition of the most fundamental human rights. Those delega- 68. My delegation also believes that the result was sufficiently eloquent so that the African countries can well be satisfied as to what our feeling is about this very serious and acute problem of Southern Rhodesia. As my delegation stated yesterday: “ . . . a resolution which focuses on the problem of direct responsibility for Rhodesia without diminishing it or shunting it off on other countries since it would thus reflect the clamour of world public opinion would make it possible for the British Government to undertake all the measures necessary to enable it to settle the dispute.” 11534th meeting, pnra, 46.1 69. My delegation wishes very particularly to thank the representative of Finland for his efforts and for the contribution he has made to enable us at this time to conclude this debate. I should like to emphasize the phrase “at this time”, because, unfortunately, my delegation does not believe that the decision the Council probably or certainly will take will prove adequate to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Of course, I hope that I am mistaken. 70. In our opinion there are various problems raised by this draft resolution. With respect to the substance, it waters down the responsibility of the administering Power, emphasizing the responsibility of other States. It is not that we wish to exonerate anyone from blame if in point of fact he is to blame; but as far as the draft before us is concerned, I do not know whether it is because of an error in translation or for some other reason, but the fact is that operative paragraph 4, in the two Spanish versions that I have before me-both the provisional onedistributed yesterday and the one distributed today-refers to the “principal” responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. My delegation therefore wonders who bears the secondary responsibility, In our opinion, it is a responsibility, which, if not exclusive, is at least primary to the nth degree. Again, I say, perhaps this is an error. 71. That is not the most important point, however. In our opinion, the draft resolution condemns certain acts of the illegal Salisbury regime, but nowhere in that draft resolution do we see a condemnation of the regime itself, Perhaps, in effect, it can be said that indirectly and in some of the paragraphs such condemnation is implicit; but my delegation wonders why we must water down that responsibility, letting it be shared with others, instead of fixing responsibilities precisely where they belong. My delegation knows that our vote is not decisive at this time, and that therefore this is not necessary; but we would have preferred it if the authors had not merely transferred a preambular paragraph, diminished in scope, to the operative part of the draft resolution. The preambular paragraph to which I refer is the seventh preambular paragraph of the draft resolution vetoed yesterday [S/9696 and 73. In any event, I believe that the important thing that emerges from this debate is the reaffirmation made by the representative of the United Kingdom that it is prepared, with the means it believes would be the most adequate, to put an end to this situation. We hope that this will be so. We should have liked to see a draft resolution more in accord with the existing situation; consequently, my delegation, in accordance with what I stated yesterday, considers it its duty to abstain from voting on the text.

Mr. President, my delegation wishes to join its voice to those of all the delegations that have preceded me at this afternoon’s session in paying a tribute to your efforts in having brought the Council to some kind of an understanding-a qualified understanding. 75. I wish too to pay a tribute to and commend the efforts of the representative of Finland, Ambassador Jakobson, in bringing forward a draft resolution which will meet with a positive vote of the Council. 76. However before that vote is taken, I wish to make the position of the delegation of Syria clear and unequivocal. We shall vote for it primarily for the two following reasons: first, because the Council, in the face of the obduracy of the settler racist regime and the collusion of its allies among the colonial Powers, must at least issue a warning to the criminals that their crimes are being watched-and that is our understanding of the draft resolution; secondly, because the Council, in the most difficult circumstances, was able to reach a minimum-I repeat, a minimum-of what ought to have been adopted. 77. Therefore, it is with reluctance that we shall vote for the revised draft resolution submitted by the delegation of Finland; for, in fact, the stand of my delegation was embodied very clearly in draft resolution S/9696 and Corr.1 and 2, adopted by the majority of the Council yesterday and vetoed by the United States and United Kingdom delegations. 78. The vote on that draft resolution was, it can be said without undue exaggeration or romanticizing, a historic one, because it showed the whole world, and especially the two continents of Asia and Africa-where the toiling masses are the most suffering masses of the whole world, some of them still under the yoke of colonialism-who is for the liberation of “After a thorough and complete consideration of all these matters, the Conference, “Noting that the main parties concerned, South Africa and Portugal, have rejected the dialogue offered to them and the possibility of a peaceful solution to the explosive situation prevailing in southern Africa and in the other African territories under colonial and racial domination, “Recalling the provision in the Manifesto clearly stipulating that in case the peaceful approach tb the decolonization problems were to be rejected, there would be no other alternative but to increase the assistance granted to the liberation movements” ’ [S(9695]. 81. That is what the peoples of Africa have said; and that is what the peoples of Africa and Asia stand for: the liberation movements. In their brilliant interventions yesterday [1534th meeting] the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Zambia and the Ambassador of Burundi asked the United Kingdom and the United States together, in a direct manner and sometimes indirectly, whether they would refrain from the use of force if and when the Africans decide to take their rights by force from an illegal regime. Would they refrain then from the use of force? To that burning question we did not hear any answer. The answer to what we recommended in our draft resolution was cast in clear terms when they vetoed that draft resolution. 79. In the United States representative’s explanation of vote we heard him say that we all agreed on fundamentals. That is very nice indeed. It is very easy to agree on fundamentals, but what is the most difficult agreement is agreement on the measures to implement those fundamentals. As far as my delegtion is concerned, the representative of the United States has utterly failed in explaining the veto that he cast yesterday on our draft resolution, which to us embodied the hopes, objectives and aspirations of the masses of the peoples in Africa and Asia which constitute our constituency. If the United States, as Mr. Yost said, is really against racism, would he explain to us why his Government so far has not ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial T%Ximination and in fact any of the other covenants Concerning human rights formulated by the United Nations? Is this not a very clear contradiction between words and deeds? It is very easy to preach about strengthening the United Nations and to shed tears and speak suave words and sentences, but it is very difficult to implement those lofty principles by actual deeds,

The representative of Finland has asked for the floor on a point of clarification.

I only wish to make a technical correction, or rather a correction of style, to the text that has been distributed. I refer to the fourth preambular paragraph, sub-paragraph (c), In the course of this meeting it has been pointed out by several delegations that the phrase used at the end of that sub-paragraph, “thus helping it to sustain the effects of the measures decided upon by the Security Council”, could be misread to mean something that it does not mean and that it would be better to say: “thus diminishing the effects of the measures decided upon by the Security Council”. I,agree that this would be a better wording and I should like to make that correction, 84. At the same time I should like to point out that in my statement I said that the words “where necessary ” in paragraph 8 had been deleted, and now I find that they still appear in the provisional text that has been distributed. I only wish to say that they should be deleted. 80. If I heard the representative of the United States Correctly, I understood him to say that the use of force against the Smith regime would contradict the Lusaka Manifesto,’ but I wish here to draw the attention of ’ Manifesto on Southern Africa, For the text, see O~Jcinl Records of the Gene& Assembly, Twenty-fourth Session, Annexes, agenda item 106, document A/7754.

The list of speakers has now been exhausted and, as A vote was taken by a show of hands. 1n ~AVOUI.: Burundi, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Nepal, Nicaragua, Poland, Sierra Leone, Syria, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Zambia, Against: None. Abstaining; Spain. The draft resolution was adopted by 14 votes to none, with 1 abstention.2

I shall now call in turn on those representatives who have indicated a wish to explain their votes. 87. Lord CARADON (United Kingdom): There are several provisions in the resolutions for which we voted just now on which I should like to make a brief comment. 88. The views of my Government regarding General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) have often been explained before and I do not need to repeat what has been previously stated. Secondly, I was grateful for the change in wording which was agreed to this morning in regard to paragraph El-this to make it clear that the humanitarian exceptions in resolution 253 (1968) are to be fully respected. Thirdly, by the same token we note that resolution 253 (1968) dealt with air transport in detail, and we take it that the present resolution, therefore, refers to road and rail transport. Fourthly, I say again that our policy is not one of condoning, let alone assisting, violence and force. We still believe that every effort to make progress towards a settlement which is just to all the people of Rhodesia should to the utmost be pursued by peaceful methods. 89. As we close the debate which I started twelve days ago, 1 should like to say these things: first, I thank you, Mr, President, for bringjng us together and giving us a lead to agreement. Then I should like to join with others in congratulating the Ambassador of Finland on charting the course which has brought us through somewhat stormy weather safely to the port of comparative harmony. He has proved himself a master of conciliation and compromise and all of us have very good reason to be grateful to him. 90. If I may, 1 should like to express my personal appreciation to the African and Asian members of the Council for their readiness to negotiate in such good * See resolution 277 (1970).

My delegation in the course of its first intervention in this debate [153Ist meeting], stated that it would associate itself with all efforts undertaken here to condemn the proclamation of an alleged republic in Southern Rhodesia, to prevent recognition of that so-called republic and to contribute to the restoration of the lawful authority in the rebel colony. But we have always said that we could not give our support to any text that would compromise the usefulness of discussions. My delegation is devoted to the systematic search for solutions acceptable to most of the members because positive and practical results can be achieved on the basis of such general acceptance. It is through co-operation and not by confrontation, which is always unfortunate in votes, that constructive formulae can be found. Those are the reasons that led me to vote yesterday in favour of the two reque.sts for adjournment which were submitted and to abstain from voting on texts which were encountering very serious difficulties. 93. With respect to the resolution submitted by Finland which was adopted just a few minutes ago, I must congratulate Ambassador Jakobson for having taken the initiative of making a contribution of capital importance, a very well-formulated contribution which has made it possible for the Council to free itself from the unfortunate obstacles that it encountered yesterday. 94. The resolution that was adopted, however, does create serious reservations in our minds. The denunciation and condemnation of the policy of South Africa and Portugal, as they appear in the preamble and in the operative paragraphs of this text, will in the long run involve consequences similar to those involved in the measures recommended in paragraph 9 of the draft resolution on which we voted yesterday [S/9696 and Cow.1 and 21, a paragraph which recommended the extension to those two Member States of sanctions decided upon or recommended against the illegal rtginie in Rhodesia. These consequences would lead to insurmountable difficulties in practice and therefore we could not accept them. 9.5. On the other hand the references to resolution 1514 (XV), the affirmation-that the situation constitutes 99. In so doing, I should like to pay a tribute to the representative of Finland for the effort he has made in submitting a text which received almost unanimous approval. The President considers it an honour to pay this tribute to him and to extend to him congratulations on his efforts, congratulations which he richly deserves. , 96. Finally, the decision concerning the breach of trade and consular relations may today seem superflu- 100. I should also like to thank those representatives who sponsored the various draft resolutions for the spirit of conciliation that they have shown in helping us to reach a compromise solution. ous or in the case of recalcitrant States, unfortunately, it may even leave the door open to subsequent action in regard to Portugal and South Africa. Nevertheless, taking account of the views of the administering Power and in order to give Africa tangible proof of the fact that we are well aware of how shocking the idea is of maintaining a regime based on racial discrimination, we voted in favour of the resolution. We maintain the reservations that I have just conveyed to the Council, which firmly define the limits of what we can accept. This is the picture of the considerable effort that France has made to respond to the deep concerns put to US. 101. Finally, I wish to thank all the members of the Security Council who, in a spirit of co-operation and understanding of the difficulties with which we were confronted, also took part in our work thus making it possible for us to produce a resolution which, we are sure, will be of some benefit to the inhabitants of Southern Rhodesia. 97. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity of thanking you for the efforts you have made which have enabled us to come to this happy result. The meeting rose at 5.35 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Notionr publico)ionr may be obtained from bookslores and distributors throughout the world. Consulf your bookslore or write 101 Uniled Nations, Sales Sec)ion, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER Lf?S PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES 1s~ publications des Nations Uniss sonf en vente dons 11)s libroirier el (es agencer dhporihircs du monde antier’. Informez.vous rruprCs de volrs libroiria ou adresser-vour 61 Nolions Unier, Section des vender, New York ou Genivs. HAH IlOJIYYHTb Y13AAHMR OPrAHHSAlVlH OSbEAMHEHHblX HAIJMR COMO CONSEGIJIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NAClONES UNIDAS tar pubncacionsr de lar National Unidas asf6n sn venfa en librcriar y cosos dislribuidoror en )oda p&or da! mundo. Conrulfe (1 su Librero o dirljore o: Nociones Unidos, Secci6n de Venlos, Nucva York o Ginebro. Litho in Unjted Nutions, New York Price: $U.S. I.50 (or equivalent in other currencies)