S/PV.327 Security Council

'J;'heprovisional agenda has been distributed. Unless there are objections, shall consider i~ adopted. Mr. ARCE (Argentina) (translated trom Spanisk): .With what is the third item cdncemed? Ras anything serious happened in Spain? The only thing 1 know-.becâuse 1 read it in. the papers-is that the Duke of Alba has gone·to Scotland to)ook over bis property there •.. butthat is not very important. 'l'bis letter quotes the following passage from the resolution of the General Assembly of 17 N0- vember 1947. 1 • ' "The General Assembly "Expresses its confidence that the Security Council will exercise its responsibilities under the Charter as soon as it considers that the situation in regard to Spain so requires." As is well known, this request was made to the Security Council by the General Assembly, and it should be considered by the Security Council. 1 agreed to put it on the agenda today in order to consult the Council, and to find out .if the«Jounc~ thinks that there is anything in Spain which would require the consideration or involve the responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter. For my part, 1 consider that nothing of the sort is involved. 1 simply wish the Council to take ilote of the letter referred to it long ago, so , that before the forthcoming session of the General Assèïnbly, we shall not have such an item left unconsidered. 1 do not believe that there is anythirig more to do than to take note of this letter of the &ecretary-General, which com· municates to the Security Council a decision of the General Assembly. That is why 1 agreed to put this item on the agenda: to liqujdate aIl the matters on which the Security Council is asked ta. act hefore the next session of the General Assembly, which will take place in September. \ Espagne saisi cialistes tout 'Nations question cours sommes l'Assemblée générale de ment Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicE.) (translated fTom Russian): Our assessment of the importance of events in Spain is determined Dy our own view ,of the situation there. Some think the situation is normal, while othe:rSc6riSiderthâfif iS not: ",., -,- .-. _.. You know that the situation in Spain has been discussed more thanonce in the United NatioBS and in the SecuÏity Councll. The General Assembly took, appropriate decisions on this ques· 'tion, particularly at its last session, and we now havç before us the latest General Assembly l'eso· lutiollof 17 November 1947, ip. which the Assembly "expresSes its confidence that the Security Oouncilwill exercÎSe its respoiîsibilities ÛDder the Charter as soon as it considers that the situation in regard to Spain so requires." situatioD.e~ -.......- In the opinion of the USSR delegation, we cannot simply take note of a General Assembly resolution, particularly as that resolution ex- . pressed the Assembly's confidence that the Se- C'lrity Council would discuss the question as saon as it.conside;red it necessary. The Council shouid discuss the Spanish situation to decide whether to adopt any decisions on the substance of the question, and if so, what decisions. The Council, therefore, should include tl$ question on its agenda, and then discuss its substance. If the Council is not prepared to discuss this question now, it could ~o so at our next regular meeting.

The question now isthat of the ,adoption of the provisional agenda. 18 there any objection toitS adoption as it .stands? Mr. ARCE (Argentina)' (translated trom Spanish): 1 object to item 3 of the provisional agenda and request a vote on this question. What the General Assembly has asked of the Councîl'is that it should examine the question of Spain, if and when it consiçiers it necessary to do so. Obviously that would he done just the same without this decision of the Assembly, , because the' Security Countil does not need to be reminded'of its duties to perform the functions conferred upon it by the Charter. These duties spring mainly from the protection of international peace and security which now, everywhere in theworld 'but in Spain, can very weIl beconsidered to be in danger. As a matter of 'fact, aIl' that has been .said until now with regard to Spain, refert; to its internal regime. On this point 1 presume our eminent colleague, therepresentative of the USSR,.will vote as 1 shall, that is,to have the item removed from the agenda for the reason that it is a matter of intetnal concern to Spain, ' as was, in bis opinion, the recee~ change of Government in O;z;echoslovakia. For these reasons 1 object ta the inclusion of item 3 011 ;:h,; :agenda and request a vote on this question. What we are now di':icussing is the inclusion of the third item of the provisional agenda. Mr. JESSUP (United States of America): It seems to me to be clear that no action by the Security Council is r~quired on this matter. Perhaps we have a1ready given more time ta it than could be ('')nsidered really necessary in the cïrcum<1tances, in vicw of the fact that there is no action which the Security Council is caIled upon to take in connexion with the statement embodied in the resolution of the General Assembly. We have already taken note of the matter, in the sense that the letter has been distributed and we have had sOple discussion of it. My own view would be that there is reaIly no necessity lor the Security Couneil tù do anything further in regard to the matter. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): The tenus of the resolution adopted by the General A~sembly during its last session in December em to me to caIl for no particular action in the circumstances in which we find ourselves at this moment. In that resolution, the General Assembly: cCExpresses its confidence that the Security Council will exercise its responsibilities under the Charter as saon as it considers that the Situation in regard to Spain so reqœres." 1 should have thought it would have been unnecessary for the General Assembly to express sl.,ch a hope or wish, but it did so and there it is. It seems tome that tllere is nothing more to be done uruess the attention of the Security Council is drawn ta some particular new fact necessitating and justifying. acdon or intervention on the' pàrt of the CouncÏ1. 1 have not heard anything-of the kindat aIl. 1 should have thought, '·' It remains true, 1 am sure, that the COlmcil .'...,_ço.ü. n.c.il put t.he matter o.n. the agen.da, invoking certain facts and adducing certain evidence, ..there was nothing more for the Councilto do. 1 therefor~, that until a member of the Security .•.•.........'.'.vill .......••.e.x.erc.is.e.l.'ts....r.es...p. OUSl.'.'..bill'fi.'es un.d.e.r.. th.e. C.h.a.r-' • . ter, in.the manner in which. the General Assemblye."l\:pressedthe hope that' it would '. do. ,... Howev!'r, sofat asl know, there is no cause now for theSecurity Council to embarx upon. a dis- Cussion of the situation in Sp, .~. J have not heard ofanycomplaint that theSpanish situation hastaken •on anynew forro or compkxion 'wIrlch threatens in any warthepeaceof the wodtt,and,unles''; and untilthat shouldhappen, Ishould think that the SecUrity Council need c.loP.othing abcutit.. ! MT.~Nt1ILSKY (Ukrainian'Soviet Soch,;Îi·:tl ]iëpublïc)·{trpnslated. from·Russian): The SecurityQpundlwas empowered by the General ,.,..<."As.~émbl,yto disCJ.lss~e .questionand tQt~ke The United Kingdom representative pleaded that there were no new factors to warrant the consideration of relations with the Franco regime and Government. But this is a moot point, and one open to further debate, as there may be others holding an entirely different view-the view that what is happening in Spain conflicts with the Declaration on Human Rights, which has just been passed by the Comlnission on .Human Rights, for submission to the Economic and Social Couneil. There can, therefore, be varying views on this matter. How, then, can this question be taken off the agenda? It is aIso said that, strictly .speaking, there is no threat to international pea.::e and security here--that Spain does not at present constitute a threat to peace and security. Th::..t is also a moot point. There may be different views on that qu~stion-theview of the United Kingdom and the United States representatives, and also the view that Spain does constitute a threat to !Jeace and security. The Argentine representative has pleaded that it is a domestic question. But it would follow, then, that not àn1} the General Assembly, but the San Francisco United Nations Conference on International Organization, which drew up the Charter, had.aIso i.:qterIered in the domestic affairs of Spain, for it is weIl known that it took unanimous action condemning the Franco . . regnne,. We do not regard this as an interference in domestic affairs. It was merely a condemnatiC!n of a regime which had supported the Axis countries in their.struggle against the Allied· armies and against our joint efforts. How'can one. say, .therefore, that this is a domestic question? In actual fact; it was that Conference, and not the General Assembly, whichdrew up the Charter. Furthermore, we have a number of other resolutions: the resolution of Fehruary 1946,s'that of 12 December1946/ and, finally, that ofJ947. How, then, can we by~pass àll these resolutions .. and say that t.lris is a domestiè: matter? • See United Nations. Conference on Internation~l Orgaliization,Documents, Volume 6, document No. 1179, page 245. ._. . • See ReSolutions adoptedby the G~ner(zl.Assembly duringthe first part cf itsfirst session,resolution 32 (1), page ,39. "Ibid., during the second part of its fir&~ session, reso· luti0Il 39 (I), pages 63.61'. .

The representative of Argentina has made a motion ta the effect that tbis item should not be included in the agenda. Since this item lS not included in the agenda, it is not necessary ta vote for its deletion. Therefore, if 1 were ta put the matter ta the vote, 1 would mere1y ask the Security Council whether it accepts the inclusion of t1ùs item in the agenda. As long as it is not in the agenda, it has not been adopted. For t1ùs reason, 1 shall put ta the vote the question whether the Security Council agrees ta have item 3 in the provisional agenda mcluded in its agenda. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): Is there any reason for departing from our normal practice of simply putting the agenda ta the vote? 1 have heard of no motion ta alter the agenda. Certain representatives here doubt whether the agenda should, in its present forro, be adopted, but the usual practice is ta put the approval of the agenda ta the vote. 1 do not ktlOW of any other motion.

1 wish ta ca:Il attention ta the factsthat item 2 of the provisiorial agenda has already been adopted, and that only item 3 · remains to be discussed. Mr. ARCE (Argentina) (translated {rom Spanish): The members of the Council have heard the extraordinary l'tatement by a man rightly renowned for biS intelligence: the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He averred that we were 'granted certain powersby the General.Aasembly. 1 was not aware of the fact that the General Ass~mbly was in a position ta· gri'lnt powers ta the Security Council; until now 1 have always believed that both the Secuiity Council.and the General Assembly itself derived their powers from the Charter. 1 say that because it seéms ta ·me that such a: IeF.~~}inn(\vatkJD should not go ·without C(J"I~>ent. It is said that the matter of Spain needs di,;·. cussion. Well, there are many controversial matters, many national policies which are controversial; but we do not concern ourselves with those matters, because they do not constitute a threat to the peace or security of the worId, and because they are matters falling within the domestic jurisdiction of the countries concerned. It is quite true that no less a body than the San Francisco Conference unanimously adopted a resolution concerning the internal situation of Spain. But since that time much water has flown under the bridge-many resolutions unanimously adopted in San Francisco have remained without implementation, and many Charter principles have not been carried out in a number of countries, sorne of which had important political representation in San Franciscu. They all voted unanimously there, but now--one need onIy read the newspapers to know it-they are completeIy divided and, three years after San Fr.wcisco, have .reached a situation exactly opposite ta unanimity. As regards my own position, it has been said that 1 have tried to study the charges and denunciations of the threats to the peace and security in a certain coun:try, in Czechosiovakia, ta be exact. As amatter of fact, 1 stand. now, and shall always stand, for the right of the people of Czechoslovakia ta adopt the'-government it thinks best--unless it were proved that, in a given case, there had been undue intervention from the outside and that the situation might endanger the peaceand security of the worId. 1 reitera ~e what 1 repeatedly stated in the past, althoùgh l did not have the good fortune of being understood and was considered, contrary to my thinking and attitude towards the situation in. Czechoslovakia, to be .hostile to the Government of that country. 1 have the greatest respect fqr all nations and 1 feel that all of ,.." have the right to choose whatever govel ,...".1t theythink fit as long as they do not endanger the peace andsectirity of the worId; while these things are safe, there i'l nothing for the United There has been some mention of "footbaUn ; it is quite true that the situation in Spain has been dealt with in that manner, because one fine day the San Francisco Conference threw the ball ta the General Assembly, the Assembly passed it on ta the Security Council, the latter returned it ta the Assembly-and, in the latter case, it certainly was not at the instance of some one who would have claimed that the Spanish case did not falll!-nder the jurisdiction of the Charter, because, if 1 remember correctly, it was the representative of Poland who proposed that the question should be e..1{c1uded from the agenda of the Security Council and transmitted to the General Assembly; and now we are asked once more ta pick up the football, probably in order to throw it, in turn, to the next session of tl!e General Assembly. But 1 feel that the l'ight way ta deal with this football, which has already been thrown about too much, is ta leave it where it· is; let us file the question and not concern ourselves with it. any more. 1 agree entirely withthe President's remarks, as well.~ with the opinion of the representative of the United Kingdom; 1 do not propose the exclusion of any item from our agenda, but asked for a vote on item 3, which 1 oppose and against which 1shall vote. General. McNAUGHTON (Canada): 1 should like to say a few words to express the point of view of, my delegation on this item which has been s~ggested for inclusion in our agenda. The resolution on'Spain, which was adopted by the General Assembly and which is contained in document S/622, expressed confidence that the SecurityCouncil "will exercise its responsibilities -under the Charter as soonasit-consider~that the situation in 'regard to Spain so requires." ln our view, the' Security Council's responsi.;. bility under the ,Charter in this case would. nor arise unless the Council were ta deternline that the situàtion was likely to endangerinternational peace' and secllfÎty. This situation, in om: opinion,doesnot now exist in 1)0 far as Spain is concerned, and l therefore believe that there is no present occasion for the matter to engage the attention of,this Council. Moreover, should th~ situation in Spain' at any time developin such a way~,aSotorequire theat"'~ntion of the Securi~T Courieil, it remains open for any member of l.~'f. Security Council, orany Member ofthe UniwJ Nations, for that matter, acting in accord?û',"~. with' the procedure given in the Charter, to bfÎ11g the matter before us. .the PRESIDENT: .' We,shall D.OW vote on the .qllestiOn"as te{ wheth,er this iteIll should be in- . c1ude<i in our agenda. 151. Preliminary report by the Committee of Experts to the Security Council on the respective functions of the Se.. curity Council and the Trusteeship Council with regard to the trustee.. ship s.ystem as applied to strategie oreas

1 should like to acquaint the members of the Seeurity Couneil with what happened at the meeting of the Joint Sub- Cc.mmittee of the Seeurity Couneil and the Trusteeship Couneil. We eould not reaeh any agreement at the first meeting we held. The members representing the Trusteeship Couneil wished to have time to consult the Trusteeship Council on the recommendations made by the C'ommittee of Experts concerning the question of the Pacifie Islands, the Questionnaire, and the other matters whieh concern the strategie areas under the trusteeship system. We did not, therefore, reach any decision or any agreement. 1 explained to the members representing the Trusteeship Council that the trend in the Seeurity Council was that the majority was agreeable, to the report of the Committee of Experts. The members representing the Trusteeship Council wish tu have an opportunity to obtain the views of the Trusteeship Council on the' matter, so that they may be in agreement with the·Security Council with regard to the matters concerning the application of Articles 83 and 88 of the Charter. It is for the SecUrity. Couneil to deeide whether we shaIl have further meetings on the subjeet or whether we prefer to proceed and make our final deeision. The members. representing the. Trusteeship Council wished us to delay our. final deeision until they had had a meeting of the Trusteeship Couneil to discuss this matter. 1 promised them 1 would' submit their request to the Security Couneil. Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated tram Russian) : .l think that the inclusion of tbis item on the agenda today was untimely, as we have no document on the re;5ults of the talks between two sub-committees-'the sub-committee cf the Security Couneil and the sub-committee of the Trusteeship Council. We do not know what the 3c;"!idiscussion between these two sub-committees has brought forth. Furthermore,'ta thebest of my knowledge, they have not even eompleted their talks. This-question is still under discussion. 1 think that tbis question îs not ready to be discussed here today. The sub-committee of the Security Council should inform the.Council of Mr. DE LA TOURNELLE (France) (translated trom French): 1 am entirely in agreement with what the President has just said. He has informed us that the two sub-committees, that of the Security Couneil and that of the Trusteeship Couneil, had held oruy one meeting, and that as a result, the sub-committee of the Trusteeship Council announced that it wishcd to consult that Council. It would, to say the least, be discourteous on our part to wis,h ta continue this discussion before the committees have been able , to meet again to compare views. , " The PRESIDENT: 1 believe that there is nothing further on the agenda today and that we may adjoum the meeting without fixing a date for another meetingon this matter until the Tr.usteeship Council informs us what its final arrangements will he with the Security Council. We shall he informed of the decision. The Trusteeship Council will have a plenary meeting to discuss this question, and th€ subconimittee will meet with us again to acquaint us with the attitude of the Trusteeship Council on this matter. Our points of view were different and we could not reach an agreement, because the representatives of the Trusteeship Council had nl) authority to make a final agreement on the views which were expressed by us i~ the Security Council. We shall wait until the Trusteeship Council reaches a final conclusion at a subsequent meeting. 1 do not, therefore, think it would befair ,to fix a date for a meeting to disCllSS this subject until we know what the resultsof the meeting of the Joint Sub-Committee are. If there is no objection, we shall adjoum now and the nextmeeting will be held on Thursday, 1 July 1948, at2.30p.m. The mlfeting rose àt Il.55 a.m. AUSTRALlA-AUSTRALIE H. A. Goddard Pty. Ltd. 255a George Street SYDNEY, N. S. W. FINLAND-FINLANDE Akateeminen Kirjakauppa 2, Keskuskatu HELSINKI BELGIUM-BELG/QUE Agence et Messageries de la Presse, S. /!.. 14-22 r~e du Persil BRUXELLES FRANCE Editions A. 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