S/PV.67 Security Council

1 propose that we follow the procedure of our last meetings, namelY that we decide ta adopt point 2 of the agenda and defer point 3 for later consideration. Point 3, in the meantime, will remain on the provisional agenda as it is. Point 2 of the agenda was adopted. The Council has decided to invite the representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and of Greece ta participate in the discussion. 1 ask these representatives to take their seats at the table. (The 'representative of Greece and the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republictook their seats at the Council table,) 54. Discussion of the Ukrainian complaint against Greece (continued) Mr. VAN KLEFFENS (Netherlands): It îs perhaps not easy to recapture at once the atmosphere in which this debate was adjourned four days ago. AlI 1can do is ta state my views with regard ta the matter at -issue as it now lies before us. 1 think that the only point on which we are all agreed arounù this table is·that we pay tribute to the true gallantry which the,Greek nation has so consistently displayed during the war, and aIso to the bravery of the Australian, British, New Zealand and other Allied forces who helped them in the hour of their greatest need. laquelle hommage qui que Apart from that, however, there is no agreement. 1 am one of those who share the view of the representatives of Australia, Brazil, .the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and perhaps of some other members of this Council, that the Ukrainian representative has failed to substantiate his accusations. 1 shall not weary the Couneil by restating the arguments put forward by the representatives 1 have just named, arg'..lmpn.ts with which 1 am generally in agreement.' .We have heard many allegationS, but such evidence as was presented . was either wholly unauthenticated; or of an avowedly or palpably biased nature,or eIse re~ futed by Mr. Dendramis or Sir Alexander Cadogan, who has alre"ady given the appropriate an- !lwer to the specific question Mr. Gromyko asked the British and American representatives and myseH. In my view, the main point was expressed last Monday by Mr. Johnson when he said : "We are asked to believe that Greece, which is a vçry 'small war-torn and still haHstarved country, is seriously contemplating recourse to force which would involve a conflict with its northern neighbours, whose present standing armies are at least five times those of Greece." lement ce moi-même. point M. a-t-il petit demi à voisins sont portantes On attitude présenter pas pour que son aspect le plus étroit. That~ to me, seems conclusive. The fact that Greece wishes to present a claim to what it calls Northern Epirus, and is prepared to deal with it in an orderly peaceful way cannot be called evidence of aggressive designs; moreover it is the Peace Conference which has jurisdiction for hearing that claim, not the Security Council. 80 much for the case in its narrower aspect. de~ermined to do their best to discuss any good case as it should be dealt with under the Charter, whether the case is brought up by the Ukrainian Government or by any' other government. 1 hold the view that nobody has the right, if a vote threatens to go against him, to attribute sinister motives to people who have no sinister motives at all, and who ask fe:' nothing better than to have friendly relations with the Ukraine, on a bas.1s of mutual respect. There is another aspect to which l wish to draw your attention. Far be it from me to venture an opinion on what the people of the Ukraine should or should not be told. That is a matter for the Ukrainians themselves to decide. However, 1 think 1 ptay:be permitted to state that remarks such. as those 1 quoted from Mr. Manuilsky's statement are calculated to instil into the minds of bis compatriots that fateful "persecution complex" which has done so much in the past, and is doing 50 much today, to cast a cloud over the relations between the States of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other States. Since any informed person knows perfectlywell that there is no good ground for such mischievous statements, 1 suggest they are regrettable, and should have been withheld, in the general interest of keeping the international atmosphere free from qu~te unnecessary tension. 80 much for Mr. Manuilsky's presentation. In conclusion, 1 should like to say a few words about the influence on the United Nations in general, and on the Security Council in particular, of this case which ·has been presented by the Ukrainian Govemment and supported at very great length by the Government of the USSR. \ The'average citizen may not know all the facts, but 1 think he has an uncanny understanding of what is going on here. 1 think 1 have a pretty accurate picture of how the average citizen is beginning to see the role of the SecurityCouncil. Take the case now before us. The average citizen who has access to the Is it surprising that the average citizen draws his oWn conclusions? As far as the Security Council is concerned, 1 believe he reaches the conclusions that attempts are being made by some Members of the United Nations to. use this Council not as a body to help in settling disputes, as it was established, but merely as a means and a platform to promote their nationâl policies and j,deologies. It is my contention that the Security Council should take the greatest care to ensure that this view cannot be held with good reason. Mr. Gromyko may not .like the word "misuse", but thatis precisely what an increasing number of thoughtful people in many countries call the practices 1 have just mentioned. It belongs to the Council to defend itself against them. It is the Council's duty to do so, because as its prestige and dignity are weakened, so are aIso weakened the dignitj· and prestige of the· United Nations as a whole. It seems necessary to state this bluntly. With@ut making any specific proposal just now, 1 am asking myself whether it would not be an excellent and quite impartial thing, if henceforth aIl complaintssubmitted to the Security Council were placed, in the first instance, in the hands of a sub-committee of three members ofthe Council. A specialsub-committee of three ought to be established for each. special case, and its members chosen, in such a way as to ensure the greatest possible measure of impartiality. These sub-committees could then examine a case in a preliminary way, and publish a first report on the subject. .Should that report show the Council that there appears to . he a good case, then the matter could be taken up by the Council as a whole, and of course the Councilwould always have t4e final word. 1 think·· this .system would have advantages over' the system of appointing mdividual rapporteurs for each·case, which was in use in the League of Nations. In this way, there wotild he' some brake on the use of the Council· for purposes for which it has n'ct been: established and· should not be used. 1 would be happy' if thought were.·given ta this Ïdea, which no doubt can be improved upon. 1 know very well that there are two main objeètions. in the way of finding general acceptancç fora. proposal of this kind. 1 believe that both these objections are unfounded.· With a deep consciousness of our joint respônsibility for taking the right decisions,' in· arder that this Council .may .truly fulfil ifS important task in- TiJ.ere is also another consideration which to me seems much more important. It is this: it is possible to be too dogmatic and too rigorous with regard to promoting debate. We must be careful not ta carry our anxiety to ,facilitate the fullest debates so far, that as a result this Council becomes a place where States and governments are assailed or maligned for no good reason or purpose, with, as the only net result, the dismissal of the case after the assailing or maligning has taken place; in other words, when it is tao late. A general ruIe, wmch in itseif is good, may be abused; and it is natural, in national communities as weIl as in the community of nations, that, whilst scrupulously upholding good mIes-for theil' better protection-harmless safeguards are devised to prevent abuse. This· brings me to the second objection to the adoption of sorne preliminary screenmg of cases submitted to this Couneil. It may be said that every State has the right to bring cases here, and that, l'!uch being its right, aState is perfeetly justified in bringing here any case which in its own subjective appreciation it considers proper ta submit. That, no doubt, is perfect1y correct, but it does not follow that the Security Council should be defenseless if it feels it is being used for purposes other than those for which the Council has been established. I need not remind this Council that the notion of abuse of right is well known in pub~c as weIl as in private law, and also in international law. SO far as private law is concerned, I should like to quote, as one example among dozens, the Soviet Civil Code of 1923. This code states that "civil rights are safeguardedby law with the exception of cases in which they are exercised in contradiction with their social or economic purpose." Surely this is an admirable proV:..sion. As far as public law is concerned, redress .of abuse of power by the authorities has been developed in a remarkable manuel' in very many countries; among them France, with ber Conseild'Etat, should perhaps be given special mention.As far as international law is concerned, many judicial decisicins and arbitral awards may If then, as 1 am convinced, this case which has now been heard is to receive no further attention, there is but one thing which remains ta be said: The residue of what we have heard and which worries me is this series of clashes on the frontier between Albania ancl Sreece. 1 do not propose ta go at this time into the question of who are the guilty parties, but 1 wonder whether it would not be a good thing if the Security Council notified the Governments concerned through the intermediary of the Secretary-General that the Council, without going into the question of re· sponsibility, very earnestly' hopes they will do their utmost, in sa far as that should still be necesSary, ta put a stop to those regrettable incideEts, by giving appropriate instructions and by making sure that these instructions are rigidly enforced. Individual Powers maintaining diplomatic relaüons with these governments could do a very great deal by adding the weight of their influence ta that of the Security Council. 1 hope they will ilSe that influence in the interest of international peace and security.

The representative of the USSR has just submitted the text of a résolution he is proposing. r have given the resolution for translation and it will be distributed to the members of the Council in a few minutes. Ml'. HASLUCK (Australia): We have been talking, 1 think, for three or four days about the situation in Greece and her neighbouring countries. 1 wonder if any members of this Councii reallyfeel that we· have done much either·to maintain the peace of the world or to serve the The view of the Australian Government has been made quite plain. If l may recall the statement whlthl made under instructions sorne days ago, l said then that t..lte Council should never allow its machinery to be set in motion for frivolous or vexatious reasons. l also said that the Australian Government took the view that matters brought before the Council should be brought in good faith; and for l'casons which were then given, we did not believe that the present action had been submitted in good faith. Nothing that we have heard at this table since has caused my Government to alter its opinion. And because of the way in which the complaint was brought to our notice, and the way in which it was mingled with extraneous considerations, the Australian Government proposed sorne days ago that the Council should indicate its disapproval of such action by passing to the next item on the agenda. l now wish formallv to submit a resolution to that effect, reading simply: "That the Security Council pass to the next item on the agenda." The normal procedure, we admit, when the Council had heard the case presented, would he to proceed ta an investigation. It is weIl known that on previous occasions, the Australian Government has ..pressed for an investigation in order to deter,:mne the facts. But in the circumstances in which this case has been brought, we do not believe that either the interests of peace or the interests of thisCpuncil would be served by th~ usual form of inve~iga­ tion. We admit that it is a very serious responsibility for ,the Council to take the kind of decision which the Australian delegation is now proposing. We ac1rJJit that this Council has to ask itself whether or not the danger to international peace and security is. of such an immediate nature as to make urgent action imperative; for, if the danger to peace were of that character, then it is quite clear that the Security Council should not hesitate to take actin l1 mere1y because it was uncertain about proc.:.-"':'ure, or even because it was uncertain of its own working principles. But l ask whether the mernbers of this Council really be1ieve that the threat ta peace in Greece is of such an urgent character that we must at all costs, even at the cost of justice .and the long-term interests of this Council, proceed to take exceptional and immediate measures. As far as our delegation is concerned, we do not think so. We have heard a great deal from various quarters about the situation in the Balkans, but we have heard nothing at all which would warrant this Council to proceed to act in a hurried manner in disregard of other very important.considerations. l should like to speak pou~ préciser dallS ne puisse Conseil. prenant délégation moment, responsabilité. a menace si car, évident hésiter raison procédure serait devrait du menace tellement coûte, du exceptionnelles délégation Nous divers mais In the course of the debate of the last few days, 1 think it would be generaIl)' agreed that most, if not aIl aspects of the Ukrainian complaint have been disposed of, with the possible exception of certain incidents ou the frontiers of Greece. In the last statement which he made, even the Ukrainian representative narrowed clown bis observations ta a final request that this Council should take action in regard ta the incidents on the Albanian-Greek border. We feel that we ought ta justify the proposal not ta comply with that request. In the fust place, there are the general considerations which have already been mentioned, regarding the manuer in wlùch the complaint was brought. Then, 1 would further point out that the possibilities of action before this Council are extremely limited. We should remember that we have before us not a dispute but a situation; a-lld whereas Chapter VI offers various possibilities for dealing \Vith a dispute, it leaves it entirely to the wisdomand 1 would venture ta underline the ward wisdom-it leaves it entirely to the wisdom of this Council to devise the appropriate methods of adjustment in regard ta a. situè::tion. 1 would suggest that it is one of the few seeds of wisdom sown among the many confusions of Chapter VI, that we should not try ta turn situations into disputes. Rather, when a situation is brought ta our notice, our chief concern should he ta try ta resolve that situation, to try ta disperse the feeling that may be behind it, rather than ta try and accentuate it, or ta pluck out a dispute where previously none existed. In ·other words, our role is to try ta head off the dispute and not encourage its development. On general grounds therefore, we are against· any action which would tend ta turn a situation 4"lto a dispute, or ta single out a particular aspect of that situation and try to make a dispute out 'of it. Ta be more concrete, we feel that if we were ta isolate the Albanian-Greek border inci-' dents and make a major case of them, we would be doing something which is bath unnecessary and against the interests of the two nations most directly concerned. Further, it seems ta us that it would be extremely difficult for this Council to devise any method to adjust the situation, without in some measure passing judgment on the Govemments whose names have -been mentioned in the Ukrainian complaint. The Ukraine has charged Greece with aggression, in other words, with a breach of. the Charter. If has charged the United Kingdom with supporting that aggression, and has charged bath Greece and the United Kingdom of The Greek-Albanian frontier incidents do not seem ta us to be the most disturbing aspect of the situation in the Balkans, and. if undue and separate attention is given. to them, we fear that this action may well impede the broader considerations and the more far-reaching processes of adjustment which we hope will be undertaken by the varions nations concerned, in order to bring peace to that region. 1 would ask my colleagues on the Council to consider as a matter of political wisdom whether or not it would not be better, in the interests of all concerned at this presènt time, for the Security Council ta refrain from any further action or any further consideration of the Ukrainian themsel~es, of their own volition, seek by peacefuI means to settle any differences wmch may exist between them. Without going as far as to support aL! formaI proposaI ta that end, we would also Most warmly associate ourse1ves with the general suggestion made by the representative of the Netherlands that perhaps other friendly Governments which maintain relations with each of those two Governments might use their gocd offices ta persuade them, if persuasion be necessary, ta settle by peaceful negotiacions whatever differences exist between them. Already we lmow of the Greek Govemment's willingness ta submit those matters ta international settlement, and sa far, we on this Council have received no indication that the Albanian At the present tÎnle, the COlfficil is an organ which can most usefully serve the United Nations and the peoples of the world if it proceeds in a quasi-judicial way in its adjustment of particular situations or in its peaceful settlement of particulaI' disputes. It is unnecessary, in our view, and certainly far from the wish of the Australian Government, that any opposition between Powers should be accentuated by the way in which this Council conducts its business. We deplore any action which makes it necessary for members of this Council to talk on anything but the merits of a particular case put before them. That is the reason, perhaps stronger than any other, which makes us feel that the Council should now pacss on from this unfortunate case. It should forget that other matters bes;i.des Greek- Albanian relations have been mingled with it. We should start again, rather more calmly and .more judicia1ly, trying to discharge our responsibility to the peoples of the world for the sake of the peace of the world, and give the two nations most directly concerlled-with the friendlyoffices of other Members of the United Nations-a chance to settle their differences. Talking about them here much longer will do nothing to solve those ~fferences. It would not solve the problems in any way if we were to create new organizations to investigate theD1; it might even accentuate them. Therefore, on behalf of my Government, 1 have the honour to move the resolution that we pass on to the next item on the agenda.

We have receiverl. a resolution from' the represerttative of Australia. Ml'. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated [rom Russian): My resolution consists of two parts: the fust part is a statement concerning the existing situation in Greece, as well as the situation that has arisen in connexion with the aggressive policy of the present Greek Govenunent; the second part deals with the concrete proposaIs which are recommended for adoption to the Security Council in arder to dispel the situation that has arisen in Greece, resulting from the aggressive policy of the Greek Government. The too of the resolution 1 propose is as follows: "The Security Council established the fact: "That on the Greco-Albanian border there have recently been an increasing number of frontier incidents provoked by aggressive Greek monarchist elertlents, who are thus striving to bring about an armed conflict between Greece and Albania ,vith the purpose of detaching southern Albania for the benefit of Greece; "That the persecution of national minorities in Greece by the Greek Govemment, by provoking national strife, is bringing strain in the relations between Greece and her other neighbours; "That the unbridled propaganda of the aggressive Greek monarchist elements demanding the annexation of territories belonging to these neighbours, threatens ta complicate the situation in the Balkans, where for the first time, as the result of the victory won by the armed forces of the United Nations, the foundation has been laid for the democratic development of the Balkan çountries, and for their close collaboration in the cause of establishing a firm and lasting peace; "That in their policy of aggression, the listes soviétiques) sition première tant du partie l'adoption sécurité en du que ~ggTessive Greek monarchist elements are striving to exploit the results of the falsified plebiscite .held on 1 September under terroristic conditions, in which all the democratic parties of various trends were removed from politicallife. They are likewise exploiting the presence of British troops on Greek territory, who in spite of the repeated declarations by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Great Britain that these troops would be withdrawn after the elections of 31 March 1946, continue to remain even at the present time on the territory of Greece; "That all these circumstances create a situation envisaged by Article 34 of the Charter activit:;.t'~ of the Greek Government so long as the latter fails to carry out the recommendations proposed by the Security Council." 1 consider that the draft resolution 1have submitted fully corresponds to the seriousness of the situation that has arisen in the Balkans in connexion with the aggressive foreign policy of the present Greek. Government, and l have no doubt that if the resolution is adopted by the Security Couneil, it will provide a basis on which the situation may radicaUy change for the better in the interests of the maintenance of peace and security.

1 should like to inform the members of the COlfficil that 1 have received a letter from the World Federation of Trad.e Unions. The letter was dated 15 Septembt'x and signed by the Secretary-General of the World Federation of Trade Unions, Ml'. Louis Saillant. The letter submits a factual statement on the position of trade unions in Greece, which was touched upon during the discussion in thic; Council. This is a communication from a nongovernmental organization. However, in view of the importance of the organization and its connexion with the United Nations, 1 thought it might be useful to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the existen.ce of such a document. 1 have asked the secretary of the Polish delegation to prepare copies and translations to circulate among the members at the next session, as soon as the copies are ready. The members of the Couneil will remember that 1 have invited them to a party late this afternaon; for this reason, 1 should like to adjourn this meeting rather soon. Before doing so, however, 1 should like to ask whether any of the representatives here would like ta make short statements. At the same time, 1 would request those who want to make longer statements to wait until the next session. Proposals made in this Council, which 1 presume are made in all seriousness, should fulfil three conditions: (1) they should above aIl be made in carefully weighed terms; (2) they should not only be carefully weighed, they shmùd also be tactful; (3) they should conform to certain requirements which are necessary not only in politics, but also in private life. You can guess what 1 am referring to. When 1 heard the proposal of the Netherlands representative, 1 asked myself whether it fulfilled those three conditions. 1 do not think it did. It had not been carefully considered. 1 do not know whethel' Ml'. van Kleffens calculated the effect of bis proposal, whether he realized the political consequences which might ensue from its acceptance. It seems to me that every member of this COtmcil elected by the Assembly must be fully aware of the situation and the political consequences to which Ml'. van KlefIens' proposaI would lead. Its real effect would he to change the Charter, since it contemplates setting 'QP a small committee whose function would be that of a preliminary guillotine. This guillotine conunittee would be able to cut short the life of any question at the outset, so that it would never reach the Council table. The. delegates aclopted the Charter in their capacity of representatives of their countries. For instance, there is Article 35. If you want this ..o\rticle chànged, make such a proposaI openly; you will see how the vari()Us nations will . react. If you wish the United Nations to continue to represent aIl States, do not touch the text of the Charter, which was adopted at San Francisco only after many difficulties had been overcome. 1 know that rpany attempts h.ave been made to change it. This ~ yet anothel' proposaI to do so. par situation proposition par jouel'a Lorsqu'une pourra ne que l'Article posez comment voulez demeure Etats, a difficulté. faites une nouvelle proposition Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : May 1 make a point of order? (traduit motion Ml'. MANUILSKY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (translated [rom French): 1 am answering Ml'. van Kleffens and not taking part in the general discussion. 1have the right to reply tohim.. réponds la

1 will ask the Assistant Secretary-General for the exact ruIing on this sùbject.. demander sont Ml'. SOBOLEV (Assistant Secl'etary-General) : There is no ruling. M. (traduit Mr. MANUILSKY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (translated trom French): 1 have an alternative case to put before you. Everyone knows that in Indonesia, for instance, a country in which Mr. van Kleffens has displayed sorne inte:r:est, things are not going very welle One of the members of the United Nations might quite well get up and ask ... Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): Mr. President, you. have not ruled that 1 might not m~ a point of order?

May 1 interrupt the l'epresentative of the Ukraine for one moment? There has been sorne doubt about the particular procedure we are to follow. The representative of the United Kingdom asked whether he could interrupt the representative of the Ukraine on a point of order. 1 have asked the Assistant Secretary-General to go into the rules of procedure to see whether we have any rule as to whether a speaker can interrupt another speaker on a point of order. We have rule 30, which states that if a representative raises a point of order, the President shall inunediately state his ruling. Now, 1 would like to express an opinion, and at the same time request the representative of the United Kingdom to allow the representative of the Ukraine ta finish bis statement. Then the representative of the United Kingdom will be free to express bis views or doubts on the subject. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : May 1 say one word?

Yeso Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : The point l was going to make was that as far as 1 understood him, in the whole of what the representative of the Ukraine was saying, he was out of order. He was discussing a matter which, as 1 understood it, was a matter for the Council itself to decide regarding its own procedures in the future, and had nothîng whatever ·to do with the case which he brought before the Council, and for the discussion of which he was called to the Council table. 1 may have been wrong; however, that is why 1 insisted on rather rudely interrupting. Before it went too far, 1 felt that in case 1 was right, the representative of the Ukraine ought to be stopped frqm completing his remarks. Ml'. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated trom R,ussian): As Mr. Manuilsky has already been interrupted, 1would like to avail myself of the opportunity to say just afew words: 1 consider that to interrupt anyspeaker is to act not omy against the rules of procedure, but also against ordinary common The· PRESIDENT: According to the rules of -procedure, as 1 interpi'et them, any representative can raise a point of order at any time, and it is a matter for bis own judgment at what moment to do so. 1 have examined those other rules concerning the participation in discussions of Members of the United Nations who are not members of the Security· Council. 1 do not see any limitation·on participation in the discussion. It is again, 1 think, a matter of judgment wmch subject they consider wise' and desirable to mention in their speeches and which to avoid. 1· shaIl now ask the representative of the Ukraine to proceed. Mr. MANUILSKY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republie) (translated from French): 1 shaIl ask you to decide whether what 1 am saying is relevant or not. The Netherlands representarive' raised the question of the appointment of a sub-committee of three, whose task it would be io consider any request submitted to the Security Couneil .and decide whether it was admissible or not. 1 have objected to such a proposaI. 1 cannot understand why the representative of the United Kingdom does not recognize the right of the Ukrainiail representative, who was invited to the Council table to discuss· the Greek question, to oppose the proposaI made 1;>y the Netherlands representative. You are weIl awarethat the situation in Indonesia is irregular. Let us suppose that a Member of the United Nations brings upthe Indonesian. question. He will in the first place point out that a Peace Conference is at present being held in Paris and that aIl nations are anxious to havepeace.· Yet in Indonesia astate of wa:r continues. "1 request", he will say, "that the Indonesiail questien be considered." That will be. hisfirst argunient. Then. there isa second argument: Article l, paragraph 20f the UlÛted Nations Charter l'Arti;-]u mentions the rightof self-rletermination. We, Indonésie, l'état de guerre continue. Mi. DENDnAMIS (Greece) (translated tram French): 1 aIso had intended to speak, but 1 'Ytillbow to your wishes, and ask you to be good enough to placemy name ori. tomorcow's list, after the representative of the Ukraine. Ml'. VAN KLEFFENS (Netherlands): l only want to say that, in the course of my remarks this aftemoon, 1 suggested, without mafing any proposaI at all at this rime, that there shotlld be a commission of rapporteurs who, as thëir llame indicates, wotlld do no more than present theirreport. Rapporteurs never décide; the Council alone decides. Apparently, Mr. Manuilsky did not ùnderstarid that. M. PARODI (France) (translated /rom French): For the sake of order,as the opinion Ml'. van Kleffens expressed justnow constituted a suggestion and not a propl1sal, 1 shotlld .1ike it tobe made quite clear that our. next few meetings shotlld 'not be taken up bya discussion of the Security Council's procedure. 1. am most anxious to obtain thisassurance. Furthermore, at ,,j:~e stage we h.ave~ched in our discussions, 1 think we, are entitled to .ask the repres~B;:~ltiv~' of Greece and the . The PRESIDENT: 1 should now like to proceed to the adjournment of the meeting. This is the last d~y of my presidency, and 1 should like fust to express my thanks ta iU of my colleagues on the Security Council for their wonderful co-opexation in organizing and ordering the course oi our debates. 1 know that the st:bjects which were before us were subjects on which there were, and are, very profound diffaences of opinions. l, for my part, am not afraid of such differences of opinion being open1y, clearly, and even sharply expressed. r.bèlieve that is a normal part of democraf rocedure to which we are accustomed in parhaI1lents and other representative bodies. 1 would go even so far as to express the view that it is very desirable that we should have such open expressions of the opinion nf diffelent nRi"ions and governments in internaticnal relations. This giyes the peoples of the world, to whom we are all ultimatèly responsible for the maintenance of peace and international security, the opportunityoi watching us and of knowing what is going on in international rclations. For thisreason, 1 think we should welcome the fact that differences of opinïon between gov,ernment~._and nations are openly discussed inthjs Coùncil. With an the differences of opinion which do exist among us, as among other Members of the United Nations,thereis one common interest which binds us all.togethà: it is theinterest·in mainta;ning peace. 1t is .because of this common interest that this institution has been created rmd, by the very fact of adhering to tlte Charter of the United Nations, an governments wmch havesubscribed to the Charter have pledged themselves to put tàis int<:restthe interest in maintaining the peace':-above aU other interests. - . 1 do believeth:at our·Organization will continue tù .act with this par~ount inter~ in mind.' Theinterestin the maintenance ofpeace and internationalsecurity is not just an abstract principle. It was bornout of the experl- ; \ l l ! 1 enc~>ahd saèrifices of this war. Millions of people have paid with theî;l" lives inorder .to achieve .an international,prder,. based .·on·. peace and jUstice,in order to acqieve the. United Na,.- 'Ïons. ~ an Orgrmizatiàn,. we had t,.I wage a ~iHicult war ag<JJ:m1t t1:l(; f~;~cist Axis'. We h.ad ~(7 wage"Var aga.ùlst t~')se whobelievedin the priv;-, cipl~.Qf aggression, of~ master :race,of domina:- tiOll' hy 0liC single race. or one single nation. 1 think we will do well if we keep in mind.the fact that the unity of the United Nations has bcen 'formed(1u~g .th~ "War against· the Jascbt Axis. If the:idéaswmcIrguided aUof ul3d.uf4tg alli~ for the admirable way in which you have conducted these very intricate discussions. Your tenn of office has been one fraught with diffi.- culties, both in subject matter and in procedure. In overcoming them, you have shown the utmosi: respect for legal principles and great skill in the conduct of debate, thereby rendering the Security Couneil an immense service. 1 wish to thank you wannly, both in my own name and on behalf of my colleagues. . Sir Alexander ÜADOGAN (United Kingdom): 1 think it is customary, at any rate it is a very good custom, that on an occasion vf this kind one member of the Council speaks on behalf of bis colleagues. The representative {lf France has just done that admirably. . l 'could not have hoped to vie with him in formulating our feelings towards you and your presidency, but May l, on this occasion, especially as 1 have just suffered from an adverse ruling of yours, aIso pay tribute to YOUf impartiality? 1 have juct passed on ta the President a little note about another matter and 1 took that opportunity to write to him what 1 fdt about the way in which he has conducted affairs from the chair. Among the things 1 said WiiS that 1 thought that the able manner in which he had administered the post of presidency of the Security Couneil h.ad truly augmented the dignity and prestige of the Couneil.