S/PV.1626 Security Council

The Security Council has before it this afternoon in document S/10.514 the report of its Committee on Council Meetings away from Headquarters, which was established on 11 January 1972, at the 1625th meeting. The Committee has been working intensively in the days since then and has presented a unanimous report to the Security Council. One aspect of the Committee’s efforts related to reducing the expenses entailed in meetir; away from Headquarters to a minimum, 2. In addition to a series of recommendations, contained in paragraph 29 of its report, the Committee has recommended in paragraph 30 a draft resolution which the Security Council may now wish to adopt without objection as representing the consensus of the views of its members. 3. If no member of the Security Council wishes to speak in the debate at this stage, may I take it that the draft resolution recommended in paragraph 30 of the Committee’s report is adopted without objection? There being no objection, I declare the draft resolution adopted unanimously. The draft resolution was adopted. l 4. Mr. KOSCIUSKO-MORIZET (France) (translation from French/: I should simply like to explain the French delegation’s position concerning the forthcoming meetings of the Security Council at Addis Ababa. We supported the draft resolution adopted unanimously by the Council; I should like, however, to say loud and clear what some people may have been thinking in private. 5. With regard to the principle of the Council’s meeting away from Headquarters, we have long since given the idea our full approval. It is in fact only a question of putting into practice one of the Articles of the Charter, or, rather, of reviving it, and there are many other Articles of the Charter that could very well be treated in the same way. 6. As for the idea that the Council should meet in Africa, there again we cannot but lend our full support to the proposal. The importance of the African continent, the role we have played in its decolonization, the friends we have there, the praiseworthy efforts of the Organization of African Unity to promote the unity and development of Africa: all these are just so many factors that make it desirable for the Security Council to hold meetings in Africa. It implies some sort of recognition, as the twentieth century draws to a close, of the presence of Africa on the international scene, and symbolic gestures should certainly not be overlooked. 7. We have, h vever, expressed certain reservations regarding the .diness of these meetings, Undoubtedfy, Mr. President, your presence at the head of the Security Council-and we cannot praise your activities in that respect too highly-and the presidency of the representative of the Sudan, who will become your successor, have made this a somewhat exceptional situation. 8. On the other hand, the question might be raised whether it is apropriate to deal with problems concerning a particular geographical area within that same area. We are, however, convinced that at Addis Ababa the calm and objective nature of our debates will be fully preserved. With you’ as President and with the representative of the Sudan as your successor, we feel fully reassured on that score. 1 See resolution 308 (1972). 10. There is also the question of political timeliness. We received the impression, from the contacts we had entered into, that some delegations, including African delegations, were not so much in favour of an immediate meeting in Africa and we know that the President of the Organization of African Unity, who is an authority in the field, had asked for the session to be postponed. 11. Perhaps even more important, there is the question of psychological timeliness. We all have the reputation of the United Nations and of the Security Council at heart. We all know that international public opinion has been disturbed, and rightly so, by a certain degree of ineffectiveness shown by the Organization and by some debates, which have clearly shown the United Nations to be to a certain extent powerless to take action, and we can rightly ask ourselves how this trip by the Security Council will be viewed by international public opinion. 12. I have now stated aloud the reservations that we formulated before we decided to support the draft resolution that you submitted to us, Mr. President. That having been said, our attitude will of course be one of full co-operation; we are ready to come to grips with the debates in the Security Council and give our full collaboration to its work. What is essential is that this exceptional series of meetings of the Security Council in Africa should be successful. But this, to some degree, condemns us to succeed and we hope very much that the meetings will prove fulIy justified by the positive nature of the resolution or resolutions that we shall adopt.

The delegation of Somalia shares the hopes expressed by the representative of France in his statement.

As my delegation has said on prior occasions, and as I said here at the beginning of our deliberations on this question [162&h meeting/, the United States agrees in principle to the holding of occasional meetings of the Security Council outside New York. We also agreed with the consensus resolution that we have adopted today, We had expressed reservations about meeting in any given area in order to bring pressure to bear on specific issues affecting that area, But the choice of Addis Ababa reduces the concern that we feel on this general point. We want to place it on record now that we reserve the right to resist the holding of any future meetings away from Headquarters that are not provided for in the budgetary process. 15. The present resolution was the result of efforts of the Security Council Committee on Council Meetings away from Headquarters, which strove to reduce the costs 16. While we recognize that the costs for the Security Council trip have been substantially reduced as a result of the Secretariat’s cutting back on some of the staff, to be very candid we would have preferred to see these costs reduced even further. There were original cost estimates floating around-estimates that will plague the United Nations as we come to solve its financial crisis-as high as $500,000. This series of meetings has been pictured in some quarters as a junket-some kind of a pleasure trip-at a time when the United Nations is suffering from a very severe financial handicap. 17. I am very pleased that the final estimates are less than one third of that super-high amount of $500,000 that has been floating around in the press, not just in this country but in other countries as well. In all candour, however, in spite of your tremendous effort, Mr. President, we feel that these costs could have been reduced even further. In saying that, I wish to reiterate the fact that our concern with the financial cost does not diminish our hopes for an effective and constructive series of meetings at Addis Ababa. The fact that we speak up on the costs cannot in logic be taken in any way to mean that my country and my delegation are opposed to meeting in that corner of the world. We simply reject that contention. Rather, in view of the strained financial situation of the United Nations at this particular time, we simply wish to ensure that the costs are reduced to a minimum while stih permitting the effective functioning of the Council. We now know that any meeting away from Headquarters is a very costly operation, even with the facilities that the host country has rather generously provided at no cost to the United Nations. 18. The trip is indeed one of great significance, since it will be the first time that the Council will have met in Africa, and we look forward to a forthright and interesting exchange of views as well as to the prospect of a clear understanding of the problems of Africa with which this Council is seized. 19. In closing I would strongly urge that each member of this Council take it upon himself to do what he can, once the Councilis meetings are under way, to assure that the costs are held to an absolute minimum. I would simply suggest that there is interaction between these meetings and the whole question of the financial solvency of the United Nations itself.

The Chinese delegation would like to make a few remarks 22. At present the struggle of the African countries and peoples in defence of their national independence and State sovereignty and the movements of the people in the non-independent regions of Africa for national independence and national liberation are vigorously surging forward. In the meantime, imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism are still carrying out frantic bloody suppression of the African peoples’ national liberation movements and subjecting the independent African countries to intensified aggression, subversion, control, interference and bullying. All this seriously affects the peace and security in the African continent and the world. 23. The sanctions against the racist rkgime in Southern *Rhodesia are being violated ever more seriously, In particular, some big Powers have shown brazen contempt for the resolutions on sanctions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council and have openly announced measures in viplation of the sanctions. The above acts have aroused the great indignation of the overwhelming majority of the countries and the peoples in Africa and the whole world. 24. The new fraud concocted by the British Government and the reactionary authorities in Southern Rhodesia has evoked the strong resistance of the Zimbabwe people, who have staged large-scale mass demonstrations. Their just action has, however, been subjected to ruthless and barbarous suppression by the Smith racist regime. 25. Supported by the colonialists and neo-colonialists, the racist regime in South Africa is stepping up the practice of its reactionary fascist racism and the barbarous policies of racial discrimination and apartheid, ruthlessly persecuting the Africans in South Africa and deliberately creating and provoking contradictions and conflicts among the different races and tribes in an attempt to attain their aim of divide and rule by using Africans to oppose Africans. With the support of certain big Powers, the Vorster r&ime is pursuing a policy of colonial expansion abroad. Up to now it is still illegally occupying Namibia and in collusion with the Portuguese colonialists and the racists of Southern Rhodesia is suppressing the national liberation movements in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Angola, posing a menace to the peace and the security of the independent countries in 27. Furthermore, thanks to the strong efforts of Mr. Farah, President of the Security Council, and the representatives of African and other countries, the Committee on Security Council Meetings away from Headquarters has overcome many difficulties and has finally submitted a report based on consensus reached through consultations. I should like to take this opportunity to express congratulations to Mr. Farah, and the Committee led by him. 28. The Chinese delegation maintains that the Security Council and the Secretariat should speedily complete the various preparations for the holding of meetings in Africa in accordance with the resolutions just adopted, so that the meetings can take place as scheduled.

The Committee set up by the Security Council to study the complex legal, political, financial and administrative problems connected with the holding of meetings in Africa has performed a most useful task in a very short time and, thanks to the co-operation of all its members and your able, efficient leadership, Mr. President, has presented us with a set of important recommendations, which we have just approved. We are gratified by the spirit of understanding and conciliation which made this work successful and which is traditional in the Committees of this Council and essential to their proper functioning. 30. The Committee had the benefit of the full and efficient co-operation of the various services of the Secretariat: the Office of Conference Services, the Office of Legal Affairs, the Office of General Services, the Office of the Controller and the Office of Public Information. My delegation wishes to thank whole-heartedly the distinguished Under-Secretaries-General who appeared before the Committee for the valuable help they gave us in the solution of a number of problems. I have already had the opportunity, at the previous meeting, to draw the attention of the Council to the necessity, at this time of budgetary difficulties, for the United Nations to maintain the costs of its meetings in Africa to the absolute minimum. That was our main concern from the beginning, as I clearly stated then, especially in the present political and financial situation of our Organization. 31. My delegation has appreciated the efforts of the various services of the Secretariat to contain as far as

The Security Council has adopted the recommendations of the Committee that has been charged with the question of holding Council meetings in Africa. Both at the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly and here in the Council, the Soviet delegation has actively supported the initiative of the African countries and their great organization, the Organization of African Unity, in requesting that meetings of the Security Council be held in the capital of an African State. This initiative of OAU, the recommendations of the General Assembly and the decisions of the Council will have great political and, I would even say, historical significance. In Africa the Council will be able to consider directly the burning problems of the struggle against colonialism, racial discrimination, apartheid and neo-colonialism on the African continent. All these problems are becoming ever more acute; they are threatening peace and security and creating obstacles to the normal advance of the countries of Africa along the road to progress and peace. The peoples of Africa and all progressive mankind are vitally interested in the solution of all these questions. 32. I should like once more to express our thanks to the delegations whose Governments were generous enough to invite the Council to meet in their capitals. My delegation highly appreciated the rapidity and efficiency with which the Governments of Ethiopia, Guinea, Senegal and Zambia examined the difficult problems raised by the Council’s meeting in Africa and were able to give us at short notice all the information necessary to enable us to come to a final conclusion of our deliberations. 33, Now we have taken a decision. A great deal has been done, particularly from the technical point of view, to make our meetings in Addis Ababa a success. This, however, cannot be fully achieved if we do not continue, in the spirit which animated our discussions in the Committee, to strive for a common and united position on the questions we are going to discuss in Africa. I hope, Mr. President, that the consultations and the exchange of views that will take place under your leadership during these remaining days before our departure will provide the grounds for the preparation of a draft document that will allow us to conclude our deliberations in Addis Ababa in a fruitful, positive manner, which will at the same time reflect a vigorous unanimity of purpose. 39. The Soviet delegation has studied the Committee’s report with care and considers that the recommendations contained therein are acceptable. We are ready to take an active part in the work of the Council in Africa at any time and in any place, in the capital of any African state. And, of course, we cannot fail to express our gratitude to the Governments of those four African States which have offered the use of their capitals for the Security Council meetings.

In what I am about to say my deIegation does not wish to appear to be replying to what has been said by the representatives of France and the United States or to be trying to allay the apprehensions and the doubts they have expressed. 40. However, having studied the report of the Committee and having received information from our representatives on that body, we cannot fail to draw attention to one question which arose in the course of the Committee’s work. That is the question of the dates of the Security Council meetings in Africa. We have learned, although we do not have the text of the telegram, that the current Chairman of OAU, the President of Mauritania, Mr. Ould Daddah, who, as is well known, headed the delegation of the Organization of African Unity at the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly and spoke here in the Council, requested the Council, when considering the question of the dates of the Council meetings in Africa, to take into account the need for OAU to prepare itself more thoroughly for those meetings. In view of this he gave it as his opinion that it would be convenient to hold the meetings during the period from 21 February to 10 April of this year. It seemed to us that this opinion of the leadership of the Organization of African Unity merited attention, especiahy in view of the fact that from 14 to 21 February, as is known, a Conference of Foreign Ministers of African Countries will be held in Addis Ababa and a number of those Ministers could, by remaining for a day or two longer 35. The Council has just adopted, without dissent, a resolution on the holding of meetings in Africa. My delegatian would not want to seem neglectful of the need for economy in all that the United Nations undertakes. I must S&Y in this regard, however, that what was uppermost in our minds when we considered the draft resolution that was submitted to the Council and when we agreed on it was not the need for economy but the need for the Council and for the United Nations as a whole to be more responsive to the problems of Africa. 36. The Council has conceded in its deliberations on Previous occasions that there exist such problemsproblems of colonialism and apartheid-in Africa, and that these problems present a situation that is a threat to the Peace. The representative of China has identified the various areas in which such a threat exists, and it becomes the plain responsibility of the Council to seek every means to remove this threat. My delegation maintains that by holding meetings in Africa the Council will be enabled to deal more effectively with the threat to the peace that arises from this situation. 41. At the present state in the Council’s work, now that the resolution containing the dates recommended by the Committee has been adopted, it will not, of course, occur to anyone to reconsider that resolution. However, in our country we are accustomed, when we are invited to someone’s home, to bear our host’s opinions in mind. And it seems to me that it would be useful in the present case to take note of the opinion of the leadership of the Organization of African Unity. I do not know what people do in other countries, but in our country it is not the accepted custom for a guest to dictate his conditions with regard to dates to the host who invites him to his home. 42. Without making any proposals, and stressing once again that the delegation of the Soviet Union is ready to take part in the work of Council meetings at any time, even tomorrow, and at any point in Africa, the Soviet delegation has considered it appropriate to draw attention to the opinion of the leadership of the Organization of African Unity, which is, in point of fact, inviting us as guests and is, therefore, our host. 48. For our part, ‘we believe that now, more than at any other time, the Security Council, by meeting in Africa, is assuming in the eyes of history a responsibility of manifest importance and significance. We are aware that at the stage we have reached right now the African population in Rhodesia is awakening and is demonstrating in violent terms its rejection of the well-known test of acceptability5 that has been agreed by the racist minority in Rhodesia and the United Kingdom Government. We are also aware that the same desire for independence is being expressed by the African population of Namibia, We know, too, that the Portuguese Government has recently been expanding its desperate schemes to divert attention abroad towards the pseudo-independence or autonomy to be granted to the Territories of Angola and Mozambique. 43, The delegation of the Soviet Union, for its part, will, of course, make every effort to ensure that the meetings of the Council in Africa are an important milestone in the solution of the problem of the eradication from Africa of colonialism and racism, of colonial domination and racist tyranny. Basing itself on the unswerving course of the Soviet Union and its peace-loving foreign policy in the matter of the liberation of all peoples from colonial domination and racist tyranny, and on the resolutions of the twenty-fourth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the delegation of the Soviet Union will do all in its power to ensure the success of the forthcoming Council meetings in Africa, in which the African peoples and the progressive forces of the world place considerable hope, 49. For all these reasons, it is obvious that now more than ever the Security Council should live up to some of its responsibilities concerning Africa and we are gratified to note that the Council itself, after lengthy but fruitful 44. In conclusion, I should like to touch on the matter of the so-called impotence of the United Nations. We would hope that circumstances in Africa will be more propitious, and that those forces which hitherto have opposedextremely actively, even to the extent of using the veto-the adoption of just resolutions on Africa which have been widely supported among Member States and have been directed against colonialism and racism, will be in a more constructive frame of mind in Africa and will not prevent the Council from taking the just and correct decisions which the peoples of Africa and their Governments expect from us.

Because we are affected by the decision that the Council has just taken following the request made by the Organization of African Unity in a resolution adopted at the eighth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at Addis Ababa3 and endorsed by the General Assembly,4 my delegation would like to express its satisfaction at seeing the efforts of all the various delegations, and particularly your own, Mr. President, crowned with success. 47. Although the relatively high cost of the forthcoming special meetings of the Council in an African capital has been touched upon in no uncertain terms by some delegations, we owe it to ourselves to mention the considerable efforts made by the African Governments that had extended the invitation to the Council-and particularly the Government of Ethiopia-to ensure that costs would be reduced to an acceptable minimum. 50. Reiterating its satisfaction, the delegation of Guinea undertakes to contribute positively to the complete success of the meetings.

My delegation is happy that the Security Council has decided to hold meetings in Africa. This shows the particular importance which the Council attaches to the problems of Africa. My delegation supported the proposal for that very reason. 52. I also wish to express the appreciation of my deIegation for the work which the Committee on Meetings away from Headquarters carried out under your able Chairmanship, Mr. President. 53. I should like to take this opportunity to express the gratitude of my delegation for the hospitable invitation extended by the Government of Ethiopia, as well as those extended by the Governments of Guinea, Zambia and Senegal. 54. I take note with satisfaction of the fact that the expenses for the meetings in Africa have been pared down to less than $150,000. In view of the financial difficulties which the United Nations now faces, this paing down of the cost is all the more welcome. 55. In view of the limited time available for our work in Addis Ababa, it is desirabIe that ample preparation should be made before we meet there in order to make the meetings really successful and fruitful.

I have one comment. Much has been said here about financial implications and a desire has been expressed for economy. Naturally, no one is opposed to economy with regard to the resources of the United Nations, but I think we should look around us a little more at the work of other United Nations bodies. Some organs of the United Nations hold sessions away from Headquarters and, judging from the experience of the past year, on each occasion they spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars. THUS, to speak in this case of financial economy and to insist on it creates a somewhat strange impression, 57. For the first time in its entire history, in the history of the United Nations, the Security Council has taken a decision at the request of the entire African continent, at the request of such an important organization as the Organization of African Unity, to hold meetings of the Security Council in Africa on the most pressing African problems, on the problems of the struggle against cola. nialism, racism and apartheid, the struggle for the freedom and independence of the African peoples and for their sovereignty. And here we are beginning to split hairs, to 59. I suggest that we should not put this forward as virtually the main reason preventing us from holding these meetings of the Security Council. That would be foolish and unconvincing. 60. In Russia we have a saying, “The game is worth the candle”. I think it can be applied to the present situation. I refer to the fact that for the first time the Security Council is going to meet outside United Nations Headquarters at the special request of an important international organization, the Organization of African Unity. This is the voice of the African people, it is the voice of more than 40 African States. It would be incomprehensible if the Security Council ignored this voice or if, after having heard it, began to calculate whether it would cost $144,000 or $149,000 when other United Nations bodies-which are, perhaps, of lesser political importance-spend several hundreds of thousands on their own meetings in the intervals between sessions of the General Assembly in order to hold visiting sessions at places away from United Nations Headquarters. 61. I stress the fact that this is the first visiting session, or series of meetings, of the Security Council away from Headquarters-and I would sincerely like it to be of historic significance. I do not include those meetings of the Security Council which took place, if my memory serves me right, in 1948 and 1951, in Paris, since General Assembly sessions were being held there; the Security Council therefore also duly moved with the General Assembly session to a place away from United Nations Headquarters. In the present case, the series of meetings of the Council in Africa will be unique: it will be the first in the history of the United Nations, the first in the history of the Security Council and on a matter as important as the one included in the Security Council agenda. 62. Therefore, we should not stop to calculate whether it will cost $144,000 or $149,000; it is in any case quite obvious that this is considerably lower than the sums disbursed by many other United Nations organs on travelling away from United Nations Headquarters for their meetings. We should strive to ensure that this first attempt by the Security Council to hold meetings away from Headquarters on a matter of such importance is crowned with success.

I am not quite sure that I have something new to say, but none the less it will probably be 64. As regards finances, we have always taken the view that the question under consideration is essentially ,an African matter, and whatever the African delegations wish, we shall follow them, if not blindly, at least with a great deal of sympathy. It is in that spirit that we have taken up this work and we look forward to very successful meetings in Addis Ababa. 65. The representative of France has referred to the psychological results of such a series of meetings. We are quite sue that all African delegations, and indeed all delegations, are well aware of the psychological impact of our meeting in Addis Ababa and I am equally certain that we shall all try to bring our labours there to a fruitful and useful conclusion. 71. I should like to remind members that the working group established by the Security Council Committee on Council Meetings away from Headquarters will meet immediately on the adjournment of this meeting. It is hoped that the Committee will not only address itself to trying to establish areas that could serve as a basis for drawing up a working document for our meetings in Africa but will also look into the question of some administrative aspects of the visit in so far as they relate to the chartered aircraft and the placing of representatives of the United Nations Correspondents’ Association on the aircraft. It is important that this particular aspect of the project should not be overlooked. 66. On money matters, again, we shall certainly try to economize as best we can but certainly we should not be inhibited by questions of money when the job to be done is worth while. 67. We are grateful to the Governments of Zambia, Senegal, Guinea and Ethiopia for their invitations, and if we have decided to adhere to our time-table, for reasons clearly explained in the report, it is simply because we have attached the greatest importance to this work. We hope that Foreign Ministers and others who intended to come to Addis Ababa will ‘none the less find it convenient to adhere to the time-table we have worked out. 68. Lastly-and I come now to the substantive point-the African problems we have faced over the years have not

In my capacity as representative of SOMALIA I should like to say that it is my delegation’s view that an Organization such as ours can grow in strength and stature only if it is alive and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Members it has been established to serve. In Africa there are many situations which constitute a threat to international peace and security and when one looks at those problems and examines them, one finds that the problem of peace is basically a matter of human rights; I think that all the situations of which the Security Council is seized affect the human rights of Africans. It is my delegation’s hope that when the Security Council meets in Africa it will address itself to remedying the many injustices and grievances which the African people suffer under both racism and colonialism. 70. Speaking now as PRESIDENT, I would say that the Council has now concluded its consideration of this item. The meeting rose at 4.35 pm. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences deposit&es du mondo entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraice ou adressez-vous B : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou Geneve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las public&ones de las Naciones Unidas eat&n en venta en librerias y cssas distribuidoras en todas partes de1 mundo. Consulte a su librero o dicijase a: Naciones Unidae, Section de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York price: %U.S. 1.00 (or equivalent in other currencies) 7%82011-February 1975 -P&Q