S/PV.407 Security Council

Before the Council beg.ins to consider the agenda, I wish to express to the representative of Canada the thanks of my colleagues and myself for his services as President during the month of January. General McNaughton presided over our deliberations with his usual courtesy and fairness, for which we are pro~ foundly grateful. General McNAUGHTON (Canaoa): I should like to express my most sincere appreciation for the kind and courteous words which the President has used in connexion with my Presidency last month. 2. Adoption of the agenda No 10 QUATRE CE~ SEPTIEME SEANCE Tmue de Lake Sttccess, New-York, le 1!wrdi 8 fevrier 1949, a 15 helwes. President: M. T. F, TS(AN"G (Chine), Presents: Les repl'esentants des pays suivants: Argentine, Cam,da, Cbinc, Cuba, Egypte, France, Norvege, Republique socialiste sovie- ~ique cl'Ukraine, Union des Republiqucs sociajstes sQviHiql\es, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis d'Amerique. 1. Ordre du jour provisoire (Sj Agenda 407) 1. Adoption de l'ordre du JOLlr. 2. Lettre, en date du 14 janvier 1949, adressee nu President dl! Conseil de securite par le 5ecn~taire gener<ll et transmcttant le te...."<te de la resolution adoptee par l'Assemblee generale a sa cent soixante-troisieme seance, le 19 novemhre 1948, sur I'interdiction de l'arme atomique et la rMuetion d'Ltn tiers des arme~ ments et des forces armees des rnembres permanents du Conseil de securite (5/1216). Le PRESIDEN"T (traduit de l'anglais): Avant que le Conseil aborde l'examen de l'ordre clu iour je voudrais remercier le representant du Can~da, au nom de roes collegnes et en man nom proprC, pour les services qu'il a rendus en sa qualite ,de President au COUTS, ~u ,mois d,e janvier. Le general McNaughton a preSIde nos debats avec sa courtoisie et son equite hahituelles, t:I 1'0.15 lui en SQmmes profond6mcnt l'econnaissants. Leg-eneral McNAUGHTON (Canada) Uraduit de l'anglais): r<"pprecie vivemcnt les aimables paroles que le President vient 'de pronon~er a propos de mon nctivite en qualite de Presldent pendant le mois demier. 2. Adoption de l'ordre du jour

The Security Council has before it for consideration resolution 192 (Ill) of the General Assembly, transmitted to it in document 5/1216. If no member wishes to speak, I would suggest tIJat tIJe Security Council should transmit this resolution to the Commission for Conventional Armaments. Mr. MAUl< (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated from Rlt~sian):. In view of the importance of the ques\J.on raised by the General Assembly resolution concerning the prohibition of the atomic weapon and the reduction of armaments, which has been referred to the Security Council, and considerin~ also that the resolution in question is couched 1n very general and vague terms, the delegation of the USSR has been instructed by its Government to submit the following draft resolution [S/1246/Rev.1] for the Security Council's consideration. I shall now read the text of the draft resolution which the delegation of the USSR is submitting to the Security Council: "Having studied the General Assembly resolu- tion of 19 November 1948 on the prohibition of the atomic weapon and reduction by one-third of the armaments and armed forces of the perman- ent members of the Sec'Jrity Council, and the discussion of this question at the third session of the General Assembly; "Notes, firstly, the increasing activity develop- ing among the aggressive circles of certain Powers, and their policy of unleashing a new war, which is accompanied by an unjustified in- crease in armaments of all kinds, a gross infla~ tion of military budgets and an ever-growing burden of taxation and other material hardships upon wide sections of the people in these States; "Notes also the constant and ever-increasing propaganda of a new war, which is being en- couraged by ruling sections in certain countries, despite the fact that such propaganda was justly censured in a General Assembly .resolution [110 (1I)] as early as 1947 and is a direct weapon in the hands of the warmongers of all kinds who seek to promote fear, uncertainty and war hysteria among the people and in interna- tional public circles; "Notes furthermore the recent establishw!':nt of a number of groups of States, led by the S8 cent soixallte lroisieme seanee, le 19 novembre 1948, 8ur l'interdic- lion de l'arme atomique et la reduc- lion d'un tiers des armements et des forces armees des membres perma- nents du CODBeil de sceuritk (S/ 1216) Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'angla,is) : Le Conseil de securite a devant lui la resolution 192 (Ill) de l'AssembJee generale qui lui est transmise dans le document S/1216, Si personne ne demande la parole, je propose au Conseil de transmettre cette resolution a la Commission des armements de type classique. M. MALIK (Union des Republiques socia1istes sovilhiques) (traduit du russe): Etant dOIU1e l'importance que presente la question de la reduc- tion des armements et de l'interdiction de I'arme atomique dont traite la resolution de l'AssembJee generale qui est soumise a l'examen du Conseil de securite: etant donne, d'autre part,. que cette resolution est redigee en tenncs tres generaux et ne comporte pas d'indications preeises, la dele- gation de l'URSS est chargee par son Gouver- nement de soumettre au Conseil de securite le projet de resolution suivant [S/1246L dont je vais donner lecture. "Ayant pris connaissance de la resolution de l'Assemblee generale du 19 novemhre 1948 rela- tive i l'interdiction de l'arme atomique et a la reduction d'un tiers des armements et des forces armees des membres permanents du Conseil de s&urite, ainsi que des debats de la troisieme session de l'Assemblee generale i ce sujet j "Note, en premier lieu, l'activite croissante des milieux agressifs de certaines Puissances, qui menent une politique tendant a fomenter une nouvelle guerre, laquelle s'accompagne d'un accroissement injustifie des armements de tot:te espece, d'un gonflement a l'extreme des budgets de guerre et d'un accroissement continu du far- deau des impMs ainsi que d'autres charges mate- rieHes pour les grandes masses de la population de ces Etats j "Note egalement la propagande incessante et toujours plus intense en faveur d'une nouvelle guerre, propagande encouragee par les milieux dirigeants de certains pays, en depit du fait que pareille propagande a cre a just!': titre condamnee des l'annee 1947, par la resolution de l'Assem- blee generale [110 1I] et qu'eile constitue une arme dire<::te entre les mains de.s bellicistes de tous genres, qui visent a provoquer la peur, l'in- certitude et l'hysterie guerriere parml la popu~ lation et dans les milieux publics internationaux; "Note, en meme temps, la constitution au cours de ces derniers temps 'de tonte une serie de grou- "Notes, secondly, that up to the present time nothing has been done to implement the General Assembly's decision of 24 Janu<lry 1946 [1 (I)] on the establishment of a commission to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of <ltomic energy and the decision of 14 December 1946 [41 (1)] on the principles governing the general regulation and reduction of armaments, thereby impairing the authority of the United Nations; "Notes also that both the Atomic Energy Com- mission and the Commission for Conventional Armaments have failed to fulfil the t<J.sk;; laid upon them, mainly becal1se the governments of certain great Powers have hitherto not ;;triven for the adoption of decisions which would be acceptable to all peace-loving Powers and would not infringe the national sovereignty of any of those Powers; "Notes, thirdly, that the General Assembly de- cision of 19 November 1948 [192 (H!)] on the prohibition of the atomic weapon and the reduc- tion by one-third of the armaments and armed forces of the permanent members of the Security Council recommends the Security Council to pur~ sue the study of the regulation and redllction of conventional armaments, bl1t disregards the deci- sion a<lopted by the General Assembly in 1946 on the necessity for prohibiting the atomic weapon, and the decision on the implementation of measures for a speedy reduction of arma- ments an<l armed forces adopted by the General Assembly at that time; "Notes moreover, that the General Assembly resolution of 19 November 1948 points out the need for formulating proposals for the receipt, checking and publication of information on the numbers of the armed forces and the volume of armaments of the Members of the United Nations, but passes over in silence the highly important question of furnishing information on atomic weapons to the Security Coundl; which is wholly inadmissible, particll1arly in view of the fact that the atomic weapon is an instrument, not of defence, but of aggression; "Declares in addition that any contjnuanc~ of the study of the regulation and reduction of armaments, and preparation of proposals for the collection of information on armed forces, mllst be subordinated to the t<:l.sk of elaborating and implementing concrete measures for the general regulation and reduction of clfl11aments and ~he prohibition of atomic weapons and other major types of weapons for mass destruction; b~t~ ~ans t~u~es les parties du globe, des bases mlhtatres aenennes et navales, mesures qui ne sont en aucune maniere compatibles avec les inte- rets de la defensc desdits pays; "Collsta.t!:, en second lieu, qu'a l'heure actl1elIe rie~ n'a He .entrcpris en vue de mettre en appli- catl?n I,: Resolution de l'Assemblee generale du 24 Ja~vler 1946 [1 (l)] sur la "creation d'une commIssion chargee d'etudier les problemes sou- leves par la decotlverte de l'energie atomique" et la decision du 14 decembre 1946 [41 (I)] Sllr les "prindpes l'egissant la reglementation et la reduction generales des armements", ce qui parte rn~j udice al'autorite de l'Organisation des Nations Unies; "Constale en meme temps que ni la Commission de l'energie atomique ni la Commission des arme- ments de type dassique ne se sont acquittecs des ti~he~ qui leur ont He assignees, ce qui s'explique pnnclpalement par le fait que les gouvcmements de cerlaines grandes Puissances ne se sont pas jusqu'ici efforces de prendre des decisions qui soient acceptables pour tmltes les Puissances paci- fiques et ne portent pas atteinte a la souverainete nationale de l'une ou de l'atltre de ces Puissances; "Constate, en troisieme lieu, que la decision de l'AssembJee generale du 19 novembre 1948 [192 (III)] sur "l'interdiction de I'arme ato- mique et la reduction d'un tiers des armemcnts et des forces armees des membres permanents du Conseil de securite" contient une recomman- dation invitant le Conseil de seCllrite i poursl1ivrc I'etude de la reglementation et de la reduction des armements cle type c1assique, mais qu'elle laisse de dM la decision prise par l'Assemblee generale en 1946 quant a la necessite de I'inter~ diction de l'arme atomique de meme qu'une autr('; decision prise al'epoque par l'Assemblee generale relative aux mesures propres a realiser dans le delai le plus brei la reduction de;; arme.ments et des forces arrnees; "Cons/ate en outre qtle la decision de l'Assem- blee generale du 19 novembre 1948 attire l'atten- tion sur la necessite absolue de formuler des propositions concernant la reception, la verifi- cation et la publication d'informations SU1' les effectifs des forces annees et l'importance des armements des Etats Membres de l'Organisation des Nations Unies mais passe sous silence une question aussi importante que la communicati?n all Conseil de securite de renseignements au stllet de l'arme atomique, ce qui est absolument i~ad­ missible elant donne surtout que l'amle atomlque est line arme d'agression et non une arme de defense; "Canstate, en meme temps, que la continuation de I'etude de la question de la reglementation et de la reduction des armements et l'elaboration de propositions relatives au ras~embl~ment. de renseignements sur 1es forces armees dOlvent etre subordonnees a la tache qui consiste a elaborer et a mettre en cenvre des meSlires concl"etes tendant a la reduction generale et ala reglementation des armements et 11. l'interdiction de l'arme atomique et d'autres annes fondamentales de destruction massive; "Acting in accordance with its responsibiiLties for the m~lintcnance of international peace and security and with the powers conferred on it by Article 26 of the Oarter, anu guided by the General Assembly's resolution of 19 November 194B and those of 24, January and 14 December 1946. "1. To instruct the Commission for Conven- tional Armaments, as a flrst step, to prepare a phm, to he submitted to the Security Council by 1 June 1949, for the reduction by one-third of the armaments and armed forces of the five per- manent members of the Secl1rity COllndlno later than 1 March 1950; "2, To instruct the Atomic Energy Commis- sion to stlhmit to the Security Council by 1 June 1949 both the draft of a convention on the pro- hibition of atomic weapons and the'draft of a convention for the control of atomic energy, with the underst,mding that both conventions shall be concluded and come into force simt:ltaneously; "Both of these conventions shall be based on a due consideration for the lawful interests of all States Members of the United NfltioliS and of the States upholding the high principles of the Unite.d Nations, but sh<lll not be based on the interests of any group of States pursuing their own narrow concerns j "3. The Commission for Conventional Arma- ments and the Atomic Energy Commissioll shall be guided 111 their work by the principle that the prohibition of atomic weapons and tlle establish- me"t of control over atomic energy must be an integl'<l.l pal·t of the g,eneral plan for the reduc- tion by one-third of the armti1nents of the per- manent members of the Security Council, and mllst be considered a first important step in that field; "4. To consider as essential the establishment within the framcwork of the SecuriLy Council of an international control body to supervise and control the implementation of the measures for the reduction of armaments and armed forces and the prohibition of atomic weapons: "5. To consider it as essential that the per- manent members of the Security Council stlbrnit fuil data on their armed forces a.nd armaments of all types, incltlditlg' atomic weapons, no later than 31 1'1arch 1949." Those arc the proposals of the Soviet Union on that question, The PRESrDENT: The Security Council now has before it both the General Assembly resolution of 19 November 1948 [192 (IJI)] transmitted "Ag-issant cOnformement a la responsabllite qui lui inc:ombe de maintenir la paix et la secu- rite il1ternationa1es et aux pOllvoirs qui lul sont conferes par !'Artide 26 de la Chal'te de l'Ol'ga- nisatior:. des Nations Unies et se guidant egale- ment sur la. deci.sion prise par ['AssembleI'. gene- rale le 19 novembre 1948 et Sur les decisions pl'ises par l'AssembleI'. genel'ale 1es 24 janvier et 14 decembre 1946, "1. D(: charge:.' la Commission des <lrmements du type classique d'etablir, a titre de premiere mestlre, un 1)];1\1 tendant a reduirc d'un tiers pour le 1er maTS 1950, les alillements et les forces al'mees des cinq Eta!.::; membres permanents du Conseil de securite. Le plan susmentionne devra etl'e pl'esente :.ln Conseil de se.curite au plus tard le 1er jttin 1949. "2, De cha~ger la Commission de l'energie atollliqttl; de presenter au Conseil de securite, pour le 1er jnin 1949, et un projet de convention tendant a interdire I'amle atomique et un projet de comention relatif au controle de l'energie atomiqlle, en partant de ce que les del1x. conven- tions dcvront hrc collc1ues et mises en vigueur siml1ltanel11ent. "Les de-nx convcntions devl'ont avoir ponf base la necessite de tenir compte des inten~ts 16gitimes de tous 1es Et:<lts Mcmbres de l'Organisation des Nations Unies et des Etats qLti ilppl1icnt les prin- cires elcves de l'Organisation, et ne pas s'inspirer des intere-ts d'llll groupement que1collque d'Etats qui [Joursuit ses intcrets etroits. "3. Que la Conunis3ion des armements de type classiqtle et la Commission de l'energic atomique ul;vronl s'inspirer dans leurs travaux de l'idee que l'interdidion de l'a-rme atomiqu~ et l'etablis- sement d'tlll controle de l'energie atomique doi- vent etre pal,tie integrante d'un plan general tenc1ant a reduirc d'nn tiers les armements des membres permanents i ce titre de premiere ll1esure importante dans Cl'. domaine. ' "4. De reconnaitre lanecessite ahsolue de creer, clans le cadre du ConseiJ de_ securite, un organe international de contr61e pOltr 'Surveiller et con- traler l'application des mcsures pour la reduction des armements et des forces annees et pour l'in- terdiction de l'arnle atomiqtte. "5. De recommitre comme indispensnble que 1es membres permanenb du COl1seil de seetlrite pn~sentent all plus tard ie 31 mars 1949 des don- nees completes sur le::J.rs forces armees et leurs <irmements de taus genres, y compris I'arme atorriique. Telles sont les propositions que la delegation de l'URSS a I'honneu!' de presenter a propos de cl;~te question, Le PRESIDENT (tradltit de l'anglais) : Le Consei1 de secmite a maintenant dc.vant 1ui la resolution 192 (HI) de l'Assembh~e generale en date'dn Mr. AUSTIN (United States of America): The agenda which we have adopted contains an item re[ening to the !cUe: from the Sccrctnrv.Gcncrnl [S/1216 J, which contains a coPy of tile resolu- tion of the General Assembly of 19 November 1948. That is what is before us, ar.cl the ques- tion is whether we shall transmit that resolution to be ComI:lission £Or Conventional Armaments. There is no other qtlestion before us. It is difficult to uetermine: whether or not all that Was said by the representative of the USSR comprises part of II resolutioll. This fact provides a very good illustration of the need for a ,ule with respect to the submission and mimeog-raph- ing of a resolution ')efore it is cons:dered. This certainly furnishes a signal example of the necessity for having copies of a resolutiOlt pre~ pared so that members of the Security CotlUcil may at least have nn opportunity to read the reso~ luticm at a meeting. to say nothing of having' an opportunity to study it oventight. If my unc\erstanding is correct, the resolution presented by the re?resentative 0"£ the USSR is a sl1ccotasl1 oJ all the diffe~cnt beu:ls, [leas and othe.r ingredients that have come to us from time to time throughout the history of the United Nations. At different times, in the Security Council and in the General- Assembly, we have heard these variom proposition!' from the dele- gatlon of be DSSJ... I may be in errOr when I speak of what is codained in this resolution, because I have no text before me al1d therefore cannot be certain of what I SlY; all I Call depend upon is my hear- ing: of the resolution as it was read. However, I Lstencd attentively and, as nearly as I could foLow the resolution, it contains something about "proptl.g-anda of a new war" and "war- mongers", which an'. old, old ideas that have becn argued <md, in some instances, rejected by a very large note; something about atomic energy and the duties of the Atomic Energy Commission; s01:lething dealing with what the great Powers have failed to do, what action they h;J.ve failed to take, in tlle direction of peace; and the claim that the present item of business in the Security CO'Jncil by-passes prohibition of the atomic 'weapon. \Vell, it was by-passed by a vote of 43 to 6, with onc absten:ion, in tbe General Assembly at Paris1. There is no such thing as aton'ic we~pOll prohibition in the Assembly reso- lution before 1.15.. In other words, it is apparent that there ;s some effort here to revive that old issue thnt was (lefeated by a vote of 43 to 6, with Z abstentio~. • See offici[!l Records of the thiui sessio!, Dj Iile Gen-eral Assembly, Part I, 163rd plenary rneetlTIg. M. AUSTIN (Etats-Ullis d'Ameriqm:) (tradl.:<t de l'angJais): L'ord~e un jot:!' que nC:\lS venous d';;Idopter contient un point ayant tr:lit :i !:l rP.We dl1 Secretaire general [5/1216] dans hquelle est reproduit le texte de la resolution de l'Asse1l1hlee generaJe en date du 19 llove:nbre 1948. C'est le point que nClUS devo::ls examiner, et ee qu'il s'ag~t de savoir, e'est si !lOUS tnl.nsmettrons cette reso~ 11.1tiOll a la Commis3ion des armements de type classique. Nous n'avons aueune autre question it etudicr. Il est difficile ele juger si tout ee C]l:e vient de nous clire le representant de l'URSS pent rentrer dans le cadre d'unc resoluti:m. Ce cas montre c1-airement qu'il nous faut e'ablil" un feglemel1t re-Iatif a la presentation et ;\ la reproduction des pDjets de resolution avant leur examen. Cet exemple pWl1ve cl'une fac;Oll cdatante qu'iJ e,t indispensable de preparer de." copies des projets de resolution, de fa~on que les mcrnbres d:1 Conseil de securite puissent au mains les lire a'J califS de la seance; ce semit encore miel.\.'{, evi~ demment, s'ils pouvaient les <.voir la vtille d'u~ seance. Si je cumprends bien, le projet de. l'eiiohttio:l pl~sente par le representant de I'URSS est une macedoine des propositions qui nous ont ete pre- Se:ltees au cours de l'histoire de l'Organisatia.1 des Nations Unies, et que nOl:s avons dejiL enten- dees, soit at Conseil de securite, soit it l'Asscm- hlee generale. Je puis :nc tromper en pa:-Iant dll contenU de ce projet de resolution, car je n'en ai pas le tex~e SCllS les yeux, et je ne puis done etre certain de ce C]ue j'avance; je dais !1"en tenir, a, ce q~~ j'ai entendll lorsql.1e ce proJe! nons a ete lu, Jat ecoute eette lecture avec attention et, pour autant que j'aie pu suivre le texte, celui-ci melltion:1e qnelqt1e dosc a p~opos de "la propagande en fp.veur d'll:1e nOllve:le g11crre:" et de "bellicistes"; ce sont la de tl'es vieil1es idees qui ont ett: deja discutees et en c.ertaines occasions, rejetces par de tres f01t~S majorites. 11 parle aussi de.l'~nergie at?miquc et des tkhesde la Comm1ss1011 ,de l'inergie ;ltoll'1iql1e, de ee que les grmdes PlllS- ganc<cs n'od pas fait, des meSllres qu'elles aum\cnt dn prendre pom assurer 1<. paix. et l1'Ol~t ps prises. Enn.l1, i1 pretend que cc pomt de I ordre du jonr dll Conseil ue seeurite ne tient pas compte de l'interdiction de l'energie atomique. Eh bim, c'est pal' t".ll vote de 43 voix contre 6, avcc une <tJstention, que ['Assemblee generale qui s,'est tenue :J. Paris1 n'cn a pas tenll comptr,. La reso- lution de l'Assem1.Me gel1erale que nOllS avcns sous les yeux nt :ait aucune 'allusion a l'inter- cJ:ction de l'energie atomique. En d'autres termes, i1 est evide!l~ que l'on ~~it un c.ffor~ IJo.t1~ r;ss:1s~ c:ter une Vlellle propOSition, qUi a e.te leJetee pal 43 voi:x contre 6, ;).vec noe abstentLOn. 'Voir l~s Docum,nf~ of/icids de la Iroisicme sesJion d~ I'AssclIIUh generale, 'Premie~e partie, ~63eme seance Of course, the concern of all the world is peace. The hearts of people all over the world are filled with an earnest desire that this great Organ- ization shall advance in its efforts to establish means of protection and security against the use of force, eithcr in the form of ag-gressive action or in other forms that threaten the peace of the world. Now here we are, having more than a year ago separated consideration of the control of atomic energy from consideration of the control of con- ventional armaments, and we have macle progress, I think we have made excellent progress, because the consideration of the control of coll\'entional armaments has been thorongh and hrls brought to its fin8.l formulation the lmited judgment of forty-three rvIember States that we sl~olllcl go for- ward, as stated in this reso1tltion of the General Assembly, through the instrumentality of the Security Council-that body having the same membership as the Commission for Conventional Armaments-and take a tonc:rete, dear and simple first step. It is good propaganda, by the way~a great deal better propaganda than this collection, this grab-bag of old issl1es being thrown together here in the face of the Secnrity Conncil when it has such a clear and simple mandate as that found in the General Assembly resolution. - What is it that the Security Council is asked to do? Accordi~g to the resoll1tion, the General Assembly "Recommends the Security Council to pursue the study of the regulation and rednction of con- ventional armaments and armed forces throuR,h the agency of the Commission for Conventional Armaments in order to obtain concrete results as soon as possible.. ," Pausing there for a moment, let us consider what the author of that reso]ution-especially that part of the resolution-thought it lDeant to the peace of the world, I am (]l1oting from docu- ment AjC.ljSR 197 of 15 November 1948 in which Senator Rolin of Belgium-who,:::Is w~ all know, was the person who presented the Belgian amend,ment, which this resolution is-is reported as saymg: "In the opinion of the delegations which llad supported the Belgian amendment, the Commis- sion for Conventional Armaments shotlld hegin work immediately. What were, in fact, those 'concrete results' which depended on an 'improve- ment of the international atmosphere'? It was a C'est evidemment la paix qui est ie souci clu monde tout entier. Dans le 11loncle entier, on desire arc1emment que notre grande Organisation fasse des efforts en vue dc treer un systeme de protection et de securite contre l'emploi de la force, que ce demier revete ]a fonne d'agression all toute atltre forme pOllV<lnt mcnacer la paix du monde, Il y a deja pIns d'nn an que [lOllS avons decide de separer la question dLl c:ontr6lc de I'energie atomiqtte de celle dn cantrole des armements de type c1assique, et nous avons fait des progres depuis. Je crois pOlivoir dire que nous avons realise de grnnds progrcs, mr I'etude du contr6lc des .ar1l1emcnts du type classiqne a ete tres detail- lee et a abouti aune decision commune, prise !Jar Cjuarante-trois Etats membres, <lUX 1crll1es de laqnelle n011S devons a11er de l'avant, et prendre, par I'intermediaire elt1 Conseil de securite - dont la composition est la memc qne celle de la Com- mission des armements de type classique - une premiere mesnre concrete, nette et simple. Tont cela, soit dit en passcU1t, prodllit d'excellents effets, des dIets de beaucotlfJ superieurs a ceux que produit ce ra111assis de vieillcs propositions que I'on jette maintenant totltes ensemble a la face dll Conseil de Ilecnrite, alors que la resolution de l'Assemblec generale a donne a cc demier lm mandat net et simple. Qu'est-ce que le Conseil ele secllrite est invite a faire? Auxtermes de cette resolution, I'Assem- blee generale: "Recommande au Conseil de securite de pour- suivre I'etude ele la reglementation et de la reduc- tion des armements de type c1assique et des forces armees par l'inte~m6diaire de la Commission des armements de type dassique, afin d'obtenir, des que possible, des resultats concrf'ts." Arretons-nolls la un instant, et exn.mlnol1s quelle etait, dans I'esprit de l'auteur de cette resolution - et je pense, en particulier, a la p<l.rtie de la resohltion dont je viens de dOllnel' lecture - la signification de ce texte pour la paix dU11londe, D'apres le document AjCljSR197, en date du 15 nOl'embre 1948, le senateur Ro!in, representant de la Belgique, qui, comme 110115 le savons tons, a soumis I'amendement beige qui a servi de base a cette re-solution, a dit: "Dans I'esprit de's delegations qni ont approuve l'amendement beige, la Commission des arme- ments de type tlassi.qtle doit se mettre imlnediate- ment an travail. En effet, que sont ces "reStlltats concrets" qni sont subordonnes it I'''amelioration ide l'atmosphere intcrnationale"? 11 s'agit de I'ob- Now this resolntian [192 (Ill)] tells us simply the step that should be taken first to get what Senator Rolin characterhed as "a basis for fur- ther progress . . 'J namely, the gathering of correct and verified information..." The reso- lut:on provides as follows. I am reading from the next l)aragrapb after the O:le that began with "Recommend.s: "Trust.s th~t the Commission for Conventional ArmamentsJ i:"l carrying Ol1t its plan of work, wJ! dewtei:s first attention to for;nulating proposals for the receipt, checking and publication, by an intern8.tiol1<ll organ of control within the frame- work of the Sewrity Council, of full informa- tion to be supplied by Member States with regard to their effectives and their conventional arma~ ments." A simple proposition, is it not? Has :he dis- tir.gtlished representative of the USSR ever offered to tell tlS ahout-and allow us to \'erify- the effectives and the co:wentional annaments of his great country? I can say that the United States :1ZlS offeree! that, and still offers it. In supporting this Assembly resolution, it does so in full hor:esty and with the expectaticn of carryi:lg it 011t fully, for its part, if the resoltltion has t:le good fortune to be implemellted by the Security Council. First let us ascertain what the facts are, let us llllllt'lBtaml till:: sl1bject mattcr. How can we go ahead with be redtlction of sometlling of whic11 we do not know the dimensions? How can we m.'1.ke any rational internatior:al reiLuction if we do 110t have a view of the intern~tional scene and of the n:1ative: strength of <1rm:llnents and effectives? Senator Rolin went into the past a little in sup- port of his resolt:tiOllJ saying in effect that he had had p'feviotts experience of attempts at the reduction of armaments and armed forces and, had found that this was an indispensable requisite for rn<i.king a wise plan for the reduction and regulation of armaments. I am not undertaklng to atgt1e the merits of this resohltiqn, for it has already been passed; QueUes pellvent eire, je VDUS le demanC:e, les intentiO:1S d'tm Etat qui essaie dJempecher IJapfJli_ cation d'une resolution qui nous pem:ettrait d:at- teindrc ce bl1t? Quels san: les buts qu'il poursl1it? Cet Etat des:rc-t-i1 reellement l'etablissell1ent de conditiC·lls favorables it la paix? 11 est it presumel' que, quels que soient les moyens enlployes. c'est un but precis que l'on poursuit en se 1ivrant ~ cette obstruction qui a pourresl11tat de retarder la reduction des armements. La resolution de IJAssemblee genemle [192 (fH)] :lOUS bdique sous une fOnlle si:nple guelles mesures doivent etre prises en premier lieu pourJ camme 1'.1 dit .1e senatem Ro1in, "et<lblir 1<:. base qui pcmlcttra de faire des pmgr~s l.Ilte.rietl1·s"; c:lle dcmande de "idSsembler des dOllllees pn~ei3es et contr6Jees". Le paragra}:hc de la resolution de l'Asscrnblee gener:a1e qui fait st1ite a (elui dont je viens de douncr lecture est reC:ige. e:l (es termes: "Bl1ut le V~JI queJ dans l'execution de son [Jlan de travailJ la Commission des al'll1e:ncnts de type classique se preoccl1pe de formuler tout ,l'ahorc1 des proposition:: pour la receptionJ Id verification et la public<:.tion par ltr. mganisme interna:ional de contr61e, dans le taCLre du Conscil de se.curite.J d'informations completes a foumir par les Etats Memhrc:s touchant lellrs ef~ectiij et letlN arln~mcnts de type classicpe." Ce texte n'est-il pas a'Jsolnmmt clair? Le dis~ tingl1e representan~ de l'URSS a-t-il jamais pro- pose de foumir des renseignements touchant les effectifs et les armements de type classique de son graml pays, et de nOtlS permettre de Y;'ri0~r ces l'enseignements? En revanche, je pellX (hre que 1es Etats-Unis IJont fait et reste?t ~i~P?Ses a le faire. l1s apportent en toute 'Stncerrte 1em <lppui i cette resolution de I'A~setnble.e gell~ra~c et s'appreter.tJ pour lelu part, a l'apphquer II1te- gralement si, par bonheur, e1le est mtse en ceuvre par le Conseil de securite. Tout d'abord, i1 faut etablir lIes faitsJ bien comprendre ce dont il s'agit. Comment pOllVOllS- 110US tenler de red!1ire quelque chose c10nt le~ dimensions ne IlOUS sont pas connues? Ccmmen: pouvons-nous, de f-w;on raisonnable, proceder ~ l1tle reduction des annements clans le l1londt SI ntlllS n'avons flas une vue claire de l<l situation internationale si DOUS ne connaissons pa~ la lmissa:lce en J'h0Il1111eS et en mab~riel des djver~ pays? Le senateur Rolin a tire de I'histoire recente quelques argt1nlCl;ts ~. l'apl?tli de sa l:esohttio,1l lorsqu'il a declare qu tl aV<llt une cet;tallle exp~· :-ience des essais precedemment tentes pour re~ duire les atlllements et le,c;. forces annees des divers pays, et 1u'il ~vajt ,col1s~ate queJ ROtT etablir un plan ra:lOnne. de ;ed.l1C~lnt:t e~ de regl~~ mentation des annements, 11 etalt mdlspensahe de possede7 des renseignements. Je n'essaie pas d~. d:~c~ter la ,w.lleur ~e cettc resolution. Elle a deja ete adoptee par lAssem~ "We are c:onvinced that we can best contribute to the maintenance of peace bv joining with other nations in making it absolutely clear in advance that any armed attack affecting oitr national secmity would be met with overwhelming force. "The proposed treaty would be a collective de- fence arrangement within the framework of the United Nations Charter, designed to strengthen the United Nations by providing for the orderly and co-ordinated fulfilment of the obligations of the participating nations under the Chatter." T could say more, but I am content to leave it there because I think that that is a clear-cut expression of the peacehtl objective of that regional arrangement and an affirmation of fidelity to the principles and to the Organization of the United Nations. The General Assembly has already considered that part of this USSR draft resolution which relates to rednction of armaments by one-third and to the prohibition of atomic: weapons, and has rejected it. It has passed upon the questions that are contained in the Assembly resolution be- fore us and has adopted them. It seems to liS that it is now up to the Union of Soviet Socialist RepLtblies to co-operate with the other members of the Commission for Conventional Armaments in all effort to take specific measures in this field, especially such measures as would bring about exact, verified knowledge and information r~­ garding arms and eft'ectives. It would also seem \ L'Asscmblee generate a deja examine la partie du projet de r~solution de l'URSS qui a trait it la reduction d'tm tiers des armements et it l'in- terdiction de I'arme atomique, et ['a rejetee. Elle a e::-;i1mine 1es propositions contenues dans la resollllion dont nous sommes saisis et les a adoptces. A l'henre actueJle, c'est it. l'Union .des Repuhliques socia1istes sovietiques, nous semble- t-il, qu'i1 appartient de cooperer avec les autres membres de la Commission des armements de type classique, afin d~aboutir a des mesures concretes permettant, notamment, ue rel\nir des renseignements precis et controles sur les effec_ tifs et 1es anl1f'.ffients des divers pays. De meme~ However, I am n:)t cornpl.aini:1g. The repre- sentative of the USSR can present it here if he wishes z.n(] i.f h<; t~ink!; that hot js a wise thing to do. That IS lllS Judgment, and I am not under- ~nldng to say ~hat it is unwise. What I am saying 1:::; tlw.t a special for1.lm for reduction of COnvcn- tional ~rmaments has bee~ ::re2ted. by tbe Security COllncll. It has been assIgned thiS special study. That is the plu.ce, if. this resolution proposed by the representatlve 0: t1~e USSR contains :-educ- tion of cOI:ventional armaments. The United State~ gave its support to this Bel- gian amendmellt. It may be reca:Jed that the United States had a differen: resolution [A/C.lIS.C.12/1] in the begicningJ but,observing the sitt:ation J the Uuited States g,o: bebind this resolution in Pa~is. Tt wJI faithfully ;lndertake to c,trry it out. I think that the pending questio':l whtther or not the resoltttion should be tnnsmitted to the Commission for Conventional A~m"me:1ts should be ccdded in the affirmative, Sir Alexander CADOGAN (Uuitt:u Kingdom) : 1 wish only to S1?}' that I fnlly endorse everything that bas just been sai,l by the representative of the United States. I have not wry llluch to add, but I should rather like t8 emphasize one or two points in particular on which M~. Austin touched in the com·se of his re:narks. In the first place, r wish to e::nphasize that the effective n.genda b~fore the Serurity Council contains only one :tem, which is the letter from the Secl·etary-General transmittng the resolution ,tdopted by the General Assembly on 19 ~O\'em­ ber 1948. That is the l'Jrst business before the Co:tncil und the first point on which the Council will have to reach a decision. 1 should hope that a large I;mjority of the Council would wish to tal(e action all that 1etterJ and the obvious action for them tu lake would bc to refer the General Assembl)' res-olution t,:> the Commission for Con- ventional Armaments, ill view of the paragraph 111 the General As:>emhly rt:sO:lltiOll already quoted by Mr. Aus:in, in which t:1e General A5sembly: "RecommcHds the Security Council to pursue the study or the regu:ation am: reduction of conventional arman-.ents ~n(l armed forces tbrol1gh the agency of the Conmission for Con- ventional Armaments..." I hope, therefore, that the Council will not find m:lc!J difficulty in t<llcing tbat nction-even today, if no very long discussion is required on the sub- ject, a1lL I do not guite see why there should be. I come now to the draft resolution submitted orally toda:' by tIle representative of the USSR .To~tefoj,5, je n~ vcux pas presenter de recri. llltn,ahons a ce sllJet. Le representant de I"JRSS peut prcscntc:r tlne teLc proposition i~i, s'il desire a~il" a!n.si. et, s'] .cstime q':1'il est sage de le faire. C est a .111 d en Jug-er, et Je ne pretends pas affir. mer qU'il scrait ~cu sage ele le bire. Je vel1:X: tout sm~plemer.t dire qu'ulI organisme competent pour traite~ de la question de la reduction des armements de type dassiquc Cl. ete cree par le Consei1 de Seettrite, orga:1isme qui a precisbnent pour mandat d'ewdier cette cuestion. C'est devant eel orgaJlis~Jle que la prcpos1tion de l'URSS de- vULt e~~·e p~es~l1tee, si e:Je porte sur la quesLon de la reductlor_ des armements de type classique. Les Etats-Unis ont accorde 1eur appu:' al'amen- cement de la Belgiql1e. 11 est utile de n.ppeler c;ue, i't l':Jrigine, les Etats-~Jnis d'Ameriql1e avaient presente un projet de resclution ~ifferen: [Ale.!/ S,C.12/1], mais t;ye, tellant compte de la situa- tion i1~ or.t a Paris donne leur appl1: ~1l texte beige. Ils s'cr.gagent a en executer fidelement les dispositions. J'eslillle gilt nOlls devons resoudre <)ar l'affir- mat:ve la qtlc~tion qui est anotre ordie du jom et qui est de savoir si nOllS devor.s transmettrc la resolution de l'As5ul1Jlc<: generale !J. 13 Ccrn- mission des annements cc type classiqne. Sir A1cl"ancer ::;...DOGAN (Rnyanme-tJni) (tra- iuii de J'(l1lghi.r): Je YOlldrW5 simplement dire que je sltis entierement d'accord avec tout ce que yiellt dc declarer le repre.~e:1t;lJlt de.:: Etnts-Unis. Je n'aurai que fort petl it ajouter, si ce n'est pour souligr.tT une DU detL"\ idees que M, Austin a 1lleJltionncc~ <.tu C01.lr~ de SOlI interve.ntion. Tout d'a1Jord, je desire souligner que l'o~dre du jour du Conseil de securite ne COlTIjlort:e reeIle- me:!t qu'lmc seu)e question; celle de l'exiUne:J. d~ la lettrc adressee rar le Secretalre genera: au Co:!sei1 d: securite, trc:nsnettant le texte de la resolution acoptte par l'Assemblee gelJ'hale le 19 novembre 1948. C'cst la la premiere question dOnt le C::l11sei1 est sods: et sur laquelle r doit se pronoIlcer. ]'espere que le Conscll voudril, a lln~ fortlt majorite, don:1er suite it cette lettre, et h suite eviC:ellte a lui donner est de rellvoyer it h Comrr.ission des arrncments de type c1assique la resolution cie l'Assemb[ee get'era:e, etat!t donne j'existwce, (h.ns la n~soltttion de l'Assemblee gene- rale cl'un paragraphe c.eji cite par l\f, Austin et pal· J lequel l'Assem bll~e gene-ra1e: "Recom11tand~ alA Conscil de secttl'ite cl/> flour- suivre l'etud~ de la reglementt'lticn et des forees ar.l1eeS pa.r l'intel'tr:ediaire de la Cornmi;sion des ar:nemellts £le type c1assiq~lc ..." ]'espere done que le Conseil pour~aJ sans trap de di:Iicultes. p:'endre une decision en ce ~ens - pellt-hre alljollrd'hui mel1le - a moins <]u'UJe disctBsicm prolongee ne s'avere necessaire, et .ie ne yois pas pourquoi il devrait en t'.tre alnsi. ]'e:1· arrive lnaintenant au projet de ~esoll1tion presente ori1lement aujourd'hui p.ar le represen- So far as I understood the text which the repre- sentative of the USSR read to the Council, it provides, among other things, for the formulation of a plan for the recluction of the armaments of the five permanent members of the Security Council by one-third. That was a plan which was submitted to the General Assembly at its Paris session hy the delegation of the USSR, and it was very decisively rejected. Lately there has been growing up, I am afraid, a practice of reviving defeated projects, of nttcmpting to discuss anel to vote on projects that obviotlsly do not have a majority in SLtpport of them. It seems to me that this is unsound in principle, and that it migl1t lead to grave con- fusion. Let us assume, for tl,e moment, that the USSR proposal were adopteu and the Com- mission for Conventional Armaments were con- fronted, on the ooe hand, with the plan outline,! in the General Assembly resolution, and, on the other, with the USSR plan. That, it seems to me, could only lead to protracted confLtsion in the debates in the Commission, and also, of course, to a considerable waste of time. However, as I have said, if it is insisted upon, the Council could discuss the text of t~e USSR draft resolution when it sees fit. What I would urge is that more time should not be wasted by, first, waiting for that text; secondly, studying it; and thirdly--ancl worse stm-studying it at length. The Council shot,ld go ahead with the item on its ;}gencla for today, and endeavour, if possible even today, to take a decision on it, that is to say, to pass to the Commission for Con- ventionaL Armaments the text of the General Assembly resolution adopted in Paris on 19 No- vember last. The PRESfDENT: It is evident that the tra:lS- lalions of the draft resolution submitted by the rep~'esentative of the USSR should be repro- duced and made available to us. I am informed that the translation and reproduction will take some time, so that the document will not actulllly reach us until tomorrow morning. Unless some member of the Security Council is ready to speak on the draft resolution itself, or on its relation (0 the item on the agenda, I would .<;uggest that we acljOtlrn and meet on Thursday afternoon. Mr. AUSTIN (Uniled St.1tes of America): I do not quite understand the parliamentary situa- Le texte dont le representant ell" L'URSS vient de donncr lecture at: Conseil, prevait, entre alltres chases, si jc comprends bien, l'eJabonation d'un plan de reduction d'un tiers des armements des cinq membres permanents du Conseil de securite. C'est l~ un plan qui a deja ete soulllis par la delegation de l'URSS a l'AssemhMe generale lors de sa session a Paris et qui a ete rejete a Ulle fort<: majorite. 11 semble que La pratique se soit recemmen.t repandue de res.snsc:iter des projets rejetes, de chercher a remettre en discussion et de me-ttre aux voix des projets (jLti, de toute evidence, ne peuvent recueillir une majorite. C'est la line pm- cedure vic.ieuse en prineipe et qui peut eventueIle- ment creel' une confusion fac11euse. Qu'arrivcrait- il, en effet, s.i la proposition de l'URSS 6.taitadop- tee et si la Commission des annernents de -type claBsique se trouvait saisie, d'Ltne part, du pl-an expose clans la resolution de l'Assemblee geoe- rail" et, d'rtutre part, du plan de I'URSS? Ce1a ne pourrait, me semble-t-it, qu'fmtra:i.ner une confusion prolongee clans [es dehtts de la Com- mi,<;siOll et une perte de temps considerable. Si toutcfois, comme je l'ai dit, on insiste sur Cl" point, le Conseil pourrait examiner le projet de resolutiOn de l'URSS quancl i1 le jllgera opportull. Mais je rtcommande instamment que l'on ne perde pas plus de temps, d'abord a attenclre la publi.- c..tion de Cl" dcrnier, ensuite a l'examiner, et enfin - Cl" qui est pire - it l'examiner longuement. Le Conseil doit poursuivre la discLlssion <le la question qui figure a son ordre dll JOUl' et s'cffor- ccr aujourd'hui mbne, si possible, de se pronDnccr a son sujet, c'est-a-dire de re~lVoyer a la Com- mission des armements de type c1assique le tcxte de la resoll..1Jtion adoptee par l'AssembJee generale a Paris le 19 novembre dcrnier. Le PRESIDENT (tradllit de l'anglais): I1 est evident que la traduction de Cl" projet de resolution devrait etre reproduite et mise it notre dispo:;ition. ]'apprel1ds que la tradllction et la reproduction prelldront un certain temps, et que le document ne nous pOlrvicndra que: demain matin. Pat' conse- quent, a maillS qu'un.. des membres du Cotlseil ne soit pret a prendre la parole sur le projet de l'esolution lui-tneme ou sur le rapport que pre- sente ce1ui~ci avec le point qui figure it. l'ordre du jour, je proposerai de lever la seance et de nous l-eunir a notlveau jeudi apres·midi. M. AUSTIN (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (tradw~t de l'anglais) : Je ne comprends pas tres. bien la The PRESIOENT: We have before us d letter from the Secretary-General transmitting to us a resolution of the General Assembly. Related to that resolution is a draft resolution submitted by one of the members of the Security Council. It appears to me that the Security Council should have a chance to consider the effect of this draft resolution on this item. Before we understand what the relations are between this draft resolu- tion and the General Assembly resolution. it seems to me wise not ta~e action. I am not say- ing anything beyond that, I want to say th~t members of the Security Cound should ha,'e a chance to appreciate t~ effect of that draft reso· lution on this communication from the Secretary- General before we decide what to do with this item or with this draft resolution. Mr. GUTJERREZ (Cuba) (tratlslated from Spanisll) : The Cuban delegation is not discussing the resolution of which the President has g,iven notice. However, as the President first asked whether any member of the Council wished to make any remarks in connexion with this subject, I am taking the liberty of drawing his attention to the fact that we are considering a General As!>embly resolution which cefinitely recommends that the Security Council should continue to study thc control and reduction of conventional arma· ments and armed forces through the Commission for Conventional Armaments, in order to obtain a concrete result as soon as possible. According to the rules of procedure, this is the only matter before the Council, because rule 31 states that resolutious, amendments and sub- stantive motions must be presented in writing before the)' can be considered. Consequently, the Cuuan delegalion considers that the correct ane parliamentary procedure in the present case is to refer t~e General Assembly resolution to the rele- vant Commission. If the USSR delegation so desires, it may present its draft resolution there, and, once it is duly translated, it may be con- sidered. For that Commission, and not this Council, is the appropriate place in which to dis- cuss it.

The Security Council is adjourned until Thursday, 10 February, at 3 p.m. The meeting "ou at 4,55 p.m. a\'~nt de proceder at: vote sur la question inscdte a llotr~ ordre du jour, il noes faut attendre que le projet de resolution depose par la deh~gation de I'URSS ait ete distribueE L~ PRi;SID£NT (t,.adll;t de l'ang/di.r): NOll,'> avons devant nons une lettre du Secretaire general nous transmeltant une resolution de l'Assemblee generale. D'aut:-e part, nous avons, lie a cette resolution, un projet de resolution qui est depose par I'un des rnembres du Conseil de securite. Il me ·semble que le Conseil doit pouvoir examiner les repercmsions pcssibles de ce projet de resolution sur la question qui figure a I'ordre du jour. I1 me semble qu'il serai,t plus sage de ne pas nous p:-ononcer avant de connaitre le rapport entre ce projet de resohtion et la resolution de l'Assemblee generale. Je n'ai den voulu dire de plus. Je veux simple-ment dire que les membres du Conseil de securite doivent pouvoir examiner les repercussions rlu pmjet de resolution dom iJ s'agit, sur la communication du Secretaire gene· ral, avant de prendre urre decision a l'egard de j'en ou de l'aurre de ces textes. M. Gum:RREz (Cuba) (traduil de J'espagnol): La delegation de Cuba r.e s'engage pas dans une discussion de la resolution dont a. parle le Presi· dent; cepel:dant, commc il a demande tout d'abtlrd si quelque membre du Conseil desirait bire des observations it ce sujet, je me p~rmets cl'attirer son attention sur le fait que nous sommes en train d'examiner uut. resolution de l'As3emblee generale qui contient une recommandation concrete demandant au Canseil de securite de poursuivre I'etude de la reglernentation t':t de la reduction des armements de type dassique et ties forces annees par :'intennediaire de la Commission des annements de type cla.ssique, afin cl'aboutir le plus rapidement possible aun resultat concret, D'apres le reglement, c'est Ut la. seule question dont le Conseil soit saisi, puisque, eonfOnnel:1ent it l'article .31 du reglement interieur, les Pfl'j~ts de resolutions, les .arnendements ou les proposi~ tions de fond ne peuvent etfe e:<amines que s'ils sont presentes par ecrit. La delegation de Cuba estime done que, en I'occurrence, it convient, pOUl'" se conformer au reglement, de trans.rnettre la resolution de I'Assembtee generale a la Commission en question. La delegation de I'URSS peut, si elle le desire, presenter son projet a cette COInmission qui pourra l'examiner apres traduction. C'est en dYet a cet organe, et nOn au Conseil, qu'il appartient d'examiner ce projet de resolution. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'cnglais) : La pro· chaine seance aura lieu le jeudi to fevrier, il. 15 heures. la seance est levee lJ 16 h. 55.