S/PV.812 Security Council

In accordance with the rules of procedure for the Security Council, and if there are no objections from the members of the Council, I shall invite the r('_present.fltives of the Sudan and Egypt as parties directly mncerned to take part in the discussion of this questiOl:. At the invitation 0/ lhe President, Mr. Lout{i, repre-- ...enlalive 0/ Egypt, and j\fr. Dsman, represcnla!i.ve of the Sudan, look places at tile Council l'J.bie.

Mr. Presidmt, Jet me first express my gratitude to you for inViting me to take a seat at the Council tahle in order that I might par- ticipate in the presenl'. rlehate, 3. At the outset, 1 wish to express my profound regret that we have been compelled to bring this grave situa- tion to the attention of the Security Council. We have always stretched the halld of friendllhip to our Egyptian brothers. We shall always remain grabful for whatever good deeds they have done for us. But let no O:le make a mistake. The Sudanese people have always fought for their freedQIU, for their rights, for their indcIJeudence. It will :lot bo out of place if I recall the noble role played by Egypt and by tl,e United President: M. A.. A. SOBOLEV (Union des Rr,puhliq1JeR ~o('.illl:st.p,s ~ovictiques). Presenh : Les repre..<>entants des pays suivants : Canada, Chine, Colombie, France, Irllk, Japan, Panamfl, Suede, Union de~ Republiques sDcialistes soviCtiques, ROY<lume-l'rli ne Gr:ltlde~BretaJ5t1e et d'Irlande du Nod, Etats-Unis d'Amerlque. Ordft du jour provisoire (SJAgendaJ812) 1. Adoption de I'ordre du jour. 2, Lettre, en date du 20 fevrier 1958, adressee au Seeretaire general par le representant du Soudan. Adoption de Pordre du jour Lettre, en date du 20 fevrier 1958. adressee an Secre- taire. general par le representant du Soudan (5i3963) 1. Le PRES /DENT (lraduil du russe): Conformement au reglement interieur du ConseL, et si aueun membre ne souleve d'objection, j'invite les representunls du Soudan et de l'Egyptc, parties directement intercssees a l'allaire qui nous QCCUPC, a prendre place a la table du Conseil. Sur l'invifafioTl du Presidenl, M. Lou/fr, J'epri,~enlanf de l'Egypfe, e{ M. Osman, represenlant du Soudan, prenncnl place a la lable rill CrJrlseil. 2. M. OSI\1AN (Soudan) [Iraduil de l'an!JlaisJ : Qll'il me soit permis Lout d'abord, Monsieur le Presiden~, de vous exprimer la gratitude que j'eprouve d'aVOlr ete invite a prendre place ala table du Const:i1 en vue du debat qui va s'ouvrir. 3. Je commencerai par dire combien je regrette que nous ayons ete contrainb d'altirer l'altention dn Conseil de 1\ecurite sur la g:rnve situation dont iJ s'agit. NOLls avolls i:oujours tendu la main de l'amitie it 1I0S frere.'> egyptiens, Nons lenr serons toujours reconnaissa~ts d eo bonnes actions qu'ils onL accomplies il notre endrOlt. II ne [aut pas cepcndant que ran. s'y trompe : le peuple soudanais a toujours lutte pour sa liberte, pour ses droits, pour son independance. 11 ne sera pas dCplace, ie pense, de rappeler id le noble rete de l'1~:gy~te et du 5. We have done everything in our power as n Govern- ment to avoid bringing this compldnt to the United l'\ations, \Vithin the shalt time at our disposal we have exhansted all our ?ossibilities of reaching a peaceful Slld equitable solution of lhis questioll. IL will be recalled that a series of notes and verbal messagr:s were exchanged bctweell the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign AOairs and my Government, the Hrst onc emanating from the Egyptian Government 011 29 JnmlDry 1958. This was received JJy the Sedan Govern- ment on 1 February. It referred to the Sudan Consti- tuency Order for the parliamentary elections Wllich are t[llcing place nOw and requz.sled that appropriate measures be taken by che Sudan Government to hand OVCT Lh~ following areas of the Su(ian to the Egyptian Government: (a) The north-eastem urea of the Sudan north of latitude 22 degrees N. comprising Halnih nnel the surrounding areas; (b) An undefined area nOl'lh of latitudc 22 degrees N., which apparently covers Sudanese territory extending north of the important t[JWIl of Wadi HaUa and including thf' villages of Sarra, Dcbcira ;:'\nd Par~5. 5. While tlle Egyptian memorandullJ requested the handing over of the above two areas, it indicated the willin~ness of the Egypt.ian (',ovcrnnwnt to hand over to ~hc Sudan a region near the north-eastern frontier which had previollsly been ceded to Egypt when the Sudan-Egypt~aJl lrontier was rccomtTltckd shortly aILer the conquest. 7. Before a reply cOllldbc prepared, tile Sudan Govern- mer.t l'eceived reports that a contbgent of the Egyptian Army was on its way to the I-Ialaib uri:tl and its ncigh- bmdJood, 8. Le :Ministre ptlr interim des affaires etrangeres du Soudan a eOllvoque l'ambassadeuT d'Egypte et lui a demande mee!> rapports ctaient ex.acts. L'ambassadeur a estime q-Je c~!a etait fort peu probable, et il a promis Cessayer (i'nhtfnir riP.S pl'1ic.is'ons cle son gOllvcTnJOmenl. Par la meme occasion, le Ministre a demandc a l'ambas- sadeur d'EgYrte de faire savoir a son gouvernement CJlle le Gouvernemeut sounanais espemit ql.lc le~ nou- 'velles relacives it cc mouvement de troupes etaier-t dr.nudes de fondemcnt et que, si elles eLaienL exac1.es, les rclutions amicales entre ies deux ?nys pourralent s'cn trollver sericlIsement aITectees. Le Ministre a ajoute que le Gouvetncment du Soudan se vo}'ait dans l'irn- pOssihilite de ceder, par simple echange de notes, un hrritoirc qui faisait parLi~ uu Soudan depuis un demi- 8. The AcUng i\Thdster for Foreign Affairs in tile Sndan snnllnone.d the Egyptian Anbassador and llsked bim if there WllS any tn:tl\ in these reports. The Ambassador th01lgllL';!lat the ncws was mO;jL tlulil,e[y and promised to try to obtain clarilleation from his Goverr.ment, Al tlle ~ame time, the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs asJ{ed the Egyptian Ambass~dol' lo convey to his Government the m~ssage that the Sudan Govern- ment hoped that the news regarding the movement of troops waS unlrl'.c and that, if iL was true, it would have a very serious effcct on the friendly relations betwe.en the two countries. llle Acting Minister added that it was impossible for the SudanE:Se Government to cede territory which had constituted part of the Sudan for the last half~centt.lry merely I)n ar. exeh'lOfle 5, ::VIOlJ gouvcrncmcnt a tout fait pour eviter de portel' eette plainte devant l'OrgBrusation des Nations Unies, Per.dunt le lap~ de. temps tres court dont nous dis- posions, nons avons epuise toules les possibiJites qui ~'or:raier_t El. nons ::lour trouvcr an problcme en question lllle solution equitable et ptlcifJque. On se sOLlviendrn qU'llne serie de notes et de communications orales ant ete echangecs entre le Ministere des affaires etran- geres d'Egypl.e et mon gouvernement; la ::lremirre de ces notes a cte envoyee par le Gouvernemcnt egyp- tien le 2tJ janvier 1958, et le. GO'lVel'l:ement du Sondan I'a re(,me le 1er fevrier. Cette note se rapportait:m decre t soudannis relntif aux circonscriptiom en vue des e;ec- 1.iona au Parlement qui ant lieu en r.e moment. et de- mundait que le Gouvernement du Soudan prenne les mesures appropriees pour remettre a l'Egypte les territoires soudanflis suivants : a) La partie nord-est d:! Soudan situee au nord du 22e degre de. llltitlldc JlGrd et eorupn,~JLallt Haleib et la zone avoisinante ; b) Due region r.on detennince, situce au nord dn 22e degre de lat:tude nord et qui, appan1llment, comprend le territoire soudanais situe au nord de la ville important0. d€ UU9,di Halfa et englobe les villages de Surra, Debeira et Faras. 6, Le. memoirc. egyptien c[lli demanciait qUfl ces deux regions soient remise!> it l'Egyptc indiquait par ailleurs que 11; GouveTnemcnL egypLien etRlt dispose a remettre ~ll Souuan une region situee pre50 de la fronLi~re UU nord-esi. et qui avait ate cedee a l'Egypte au moment JU la frontiere entre le Sondan et l'Egypte avait ell.' remanice, peu de temps apres la conquete, 7, Avant d'avoir pH elaborer une reponse, le Gouvcr- nement sondanais a revu des rapport.s ~elon lesquel:-; un contingent de troupes egyptiennes faisait route vers le seclenr d'Haleih et la region avoisinante. {L The reasor. why I say this is that = wish to make it quite clear that we llavC exhausted all mean~ hefoTe coming here to the Seclll'ity Council. 10. On 13 Fe.bruary, two days after tlIe meeLing re- fr.l'rp,rj to ::thove, ::t nolI' dRted 9 Febl'uary \vas delivered by the Egyptian Government simultaneou~ly to the Prime lHinisler of the Sudan and tile Ambassador of lhe Sudan in Cairo. In Lhis note it was alleged that, OB the occasion of the forthcoming plebiscite :01' the election of the President of the United Arab :Repllblic, Lhe Egyptian Government, in the exel'ciflc of its recog- nized rights and in pursuance of Egypt's sovereign powel'S, had decided to flITol'd to elecLors in these regions the opportunity of participating in the plehiscite. The Egyptian Amklssador asked for a reply 1:0 his second note. He also reiterated tlla: the Il~WS about the movement of troops was unfounded. Tile Sudan Prime :\Iinister and the other j\[jnisters present made the point th:J.t th8 present fl'tllltiers shown on tl~e map weTl:~ Llw.sc uL(:~]Jled by all, including Egypt, Those same frontiers were the basis on which the gcogmphical limits of the indepencent Sudan were defined. What is more important is the fact that the slime boulltlarie.~ have remained, OIl the whole, undisp\lted for nearly sixty years. 11. True. the Agrecnent of 19 Jalll;ary 1899 fixed the boundaries between the Sudan :.md Egypt at the 22nd parallel of latitude. Tllis was modified, by an 'Order from the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior dated 26 March 1899, to include the Island of Paras in the Sudan territory. This sanctior.ed an agreement made between the Commandant of Wadi Halfa in the Sudan ~md the representative of the Egypti.an GovernmenL This order deiincs the actual administrative ])uulldary in the Nile valley. Again, fl ministerial ennctmellt dated 25 July 1902 defines the administrative boundary between Kurusku and the Red Sea area. This modifi- cation was made for the administration of nomad Lribes on both sides of the bonndary [01' the [l1lrpose of sinplifying their Ji-ves and faciliLatng their move- ments. A ministerial enactment dated 21 November 1902 made a s:ight modification of ttlis. In October 1916 the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior infornwd the Sudan Government that the delimitation did not ~fTect tile administrative houndary already Hxed. 12. From this it wi]] be seen that, for prnctj.~al pur- l poses, the aduinistratve boundary is Llle really impor- tant one. The 22nd parallel north is taken as the general boundary, and such modifications as were made in this arbitrary line were made for the obvious reason of avoiding t:1e plating of portions of the same tribe unde, different administrations. The present bo:mdal'ies of the Sudan confirm this. With slight temllorary mouHh:aliulIs, they hflve remained the 3umc for over fifty-five years. 9. Si je rappelle tous ecs faits. c'est que je venx bien pnkiser que nom avails epuise touies les reS50UTces dont nom disposiou,~ ,IVUllt de [lOltS pre~cnter devant le COBseil de seclII'ik 10, Lt' 13 fl~vri{'r, soit deux jOUl'S aprb; In rencontl'e que j'a; mentionnee. le Gou\'ernemenl. l~yptiCll rai~ail tcnir all Premier \liuisl:oe dtl Soudall, eu meme temps qtt'a l'amLwssadclll' du, Sondan au Caire, une note en date du 9 fevricr. Ccttc note dedarait que, it l'occ<:lsion du plebiscite organise ram l'Clrclion (1[" Pre.~idenl de la Repnbliqllc Arallc UlIie, le GouvernClTIcnt cgyptien, clans ]'(';xercicc de i;es droits recannus et en verLu de la souvcrainetc de l'EbJ'pte, avait decide de donner aux electeurs des l'l\giUll:'\ l'li question la possibilite de participl'r Ell pJCbl.~ciLe. L'amJ)i1ssarleur d'Egypte demanda qu'il rut r~;polldn D. sa deuxii'me Hote, et it reuffirma aussi que ks nouvl'lles relaLives a 1111 mou· vcment de trollpes ('taiHlt drnll~es de tOllt fOl1demenL Le Premier \Iinistn: dll Sourlan t'l lcs (\lItres mbistrcs presents lircnt oLsQrver que IJS frollti('n~s acLllclles, ftgnrant Stir It's carte's, av;)ient ctr;. nr:r:efllecs pa: tOllS, et notamment par l'J!gypte, Ces frontier~s avaicl1t servi 8. detE·rminer les Iimi:es geographiques du SOlldall indepcrrdant. Cc qni ('.3t ping :mp0l'tanl cncore c'est que ces fl'ontieres n'on: pratiquement 11ftS fait l'objet de conteslations depuis pres de 60 ans. 11. 11 e.~l \TCli (Lue l'aGcord du 19 jallvicr 1899 faisait passeI' les trontieres entTc le SOlldan eL l'Egyple pur le 22e degre de latitude nord. ?\lais celle disposiLion fut modifiee pur tin nrrete. dn Ministerc de l'intcrieur :de l'Egypte, en date du 26 mars 1899, qtti pla~f\iL ['lIe de Faras en territoirc. sourlanais. CeHe decision conflr- mait un uccorc conclu entre le commandant de Ouadi Halfa, au SOlldan, et le reprcse11tant dl! Gouvernemcnt egypli~n. eel al'l'ctc fixe l'aeLnel1(' fJ.o:ltiCre admini.~­ trative duns la vallee etJ. Nil. Ell outre, LW arr~tc millls- tericl d1l 2:1 jllilleL 1902 defin:t la frontil~re adminis- trative entre Korosko et la region de la lUcr Rouge. CeLLe modification a eh~ apportec al1.1 lle simplilJer l'~)(Jmillistratton de::> tl'ibus nOJl1adcs dc part et d'auLre de la frontit:re eL pour facilitel' j'exislencc et les depla- r.emcnl:s dr. ces tribns. Un unet8 milliste.riel, en date du 2t.l novembre :902, H appor'Le une Iegerc. l11odiflcnLion a c['tt,~ decisio:l. En octohre UllO, le :'Iinisl~rc de l'in- tel'ieur egyptien liL savoir au Gottvernenent da Soudan que cette dClimitatiol1 n'affectait pas la frontiere administratiw deja dnblie, 12. On comprcndra donc qu'u Loutcs fms utiles cc soiL tu fwntieno administrative qui compte l'oellemellt. Le 22e parallele nord ~onstitue de mar,U~re goncrale la fronti~re, et les morlificatiom CJlIi ont de apporlt'-c!; a ccUe jignc de demarcation arbitl'aire l'onl ete pOUI' unte rnison evidenle, a savoir qu'il fallail eviter qllC des membres d'une meme lrihll relevent d'adminis- tral.ions difl'~rentes, ce gile confinm'. le traec actuel des fronlieres du ~Oli(]"'<ll. SOilS r~serve de l~gercs modi· fications tcmporaircs, ces frontieres sont demeurees les m&nes depuis plus de 55 ans. 14. Furthermore, all Egyptian election:; in th~. ?l\st, including the most recent plcbi3citc for the olftce of the President of the Egyptian Hepnblic conclucled in June 1956, have excluded those ~reas on the slrength of thel1' heing part and parcel of the Sudan, Also, elections held in tll(. Sllrlrm, indllding those fOI' ~elf­ government following the Anglo-El,rypLinn AgrecnenL of February 1953, wc:-c conducted under the supervision of all internntional cOlllmis~illll, 1t will be remembered that Ef.,rypt was a ncmber of that commission. The Sudan elcc"liolUi werr. eUl'rid out on th~ basis that the nrca~ in qlH~~tion wen' part aud pared of the Sudan and that the inllftbiLnnts thcreof were Suda'lese, par- ticipating in their normal elections foJ' tIle House of Repre.'~entfltivcs, The Princ Minister also "recalled that, 011 the day the SUUUll becAme tlldependent, it was olflde dear to the condomitlium Governments that the Sudan reserved ih Tights not to hc bound l.ly any treaty or agreement concluded on its behalf pial' to independence unless such treaties and agreements were confirmed by it, TillS was UH~ subjccL of a sLate- mcnt made by the Lhen Prime i\olinister on 1 January 1956, If the E.gyptian Government had had iOiny views on the matter, it could lmve put tllem forward either l)eiore independence or on receipt of the letter dated 3 January Hl56 from the ben Prime Minister of tIle SuduJl to President Gcuun} Abdcl Nasser of EgypL. 15. This is not a light subject; this is a gmvc subject, :md it could not easil~ be settled in the aiven timc- namely, before 21 F('.bruary, [l is clear that there is not sufficient time and that the time is not appropriate fol' the COllsideration of such a lar~e issue and for lhe reaching of a decision 011 i~, The Egyptian Govern- ment's point of view cannol be accepted, Ior obvicus reason.';; for - how ca:\ I put it? - it is like an ulti- matum .....Vllich no sclf~Tespccting Government could accept without que~tioll. Therefon, it is considered to be in the interest of good fliendly relaUons between be two countries to defer cOrlsideratioll of this problem until after the SudaneSe; clccllons, which will take place on 27 February and will probably continue for some ten dnys. tu. On 16 February-three days after the meeting referred to above - the Egyptian Ministpl' for ForeiglI Affairs cOl1ununicated to the Sudanese Ambassador in Cairo that the Egyptian Government had, in order to conduct the plcl.liscite, a.l,eady sent electiOn com- mittees and <) contingent of the Frontier Guard to the I area which it has claimed. It was also reported by tl:e Egyptian Government tilat its emissaries would be I, «[Le tcrritoire du Soudan] se compose des terri- toires qui formaient le Soudul1 anglo-egypticn au jour de I'entree en vigueur de la preseme Consti· tu~ion )l. 14. De pIllS, A,U cems d,;: ~O\\tc..~ ks elections qUi ont cu lieu en l~gyptc dans le ;lasso, y compris le demier plebiscite organise en juin 1956 pOllr dire le President de la TIepl:l.lliqllc cgyptiemle, on. a fait abstraction des regions en question parce que l'on a consiMrc qu'elles forment partie intcgl'llntc du Soudall. Des elecliulls ont egale:l1cnt eu li.eu au SO\ldan, nolammcnl celles qui ont conduit it l'autonomic apres l'accord anglo--egyp';ien de fcvrier 1953, Ellcs se sont dcrouIees sous la surveil- lance d'une commission intcrll:ltionale, et l'Egy~te, on se Jp raPI)clle. ffl.isait partie de eettc commission. 01' ces elections au Soudan ant ctc organisees en par- tant un prineipc quc- les regiom en question faisaiC'nt purtic intcgrantc du Soudnn et qne leurs Imbilants etnient soudaOllis et pouvaient participer a des eJec.- tions normales it la Chambre deg r{',pn\~f'.lItants. Le Premier Ministre a rappeIe· cgalei\lent que le jOllr Oll Ic Soudnn est devel1L1 indBpendant, il a etl! precise aux gouverllcmell ts du condominium que le Soudan se reservait le droit de n'etre lie par aucun traite au accord ~onchl cn SQn nom avant J'il!dependance, a moins que cc tmite ou cet accord n'ait etc r,onrtnn.e par hd. Tel a ete l'objet d'une declaration faite par le Premier ~finistre d'alors, le 1~r janvier 1958. Si le Gouvernement egypLien avait eu des obsen·atioll5 a faire :.\ GC sujet, il aurnit pu les faire connaitre avant l'indcpendance au :l la reception de la lettre, en date du 3 janvier 1956, adres~ec au president Gamal Ahdel N:lsscr d'Egypte par le Premier l\-linistre du Soudan, 15, C'cst hi llne grnve. une tres grave question. et il n'etait pa~ fncile rle la rcsoudro dans le d6lni indiqu6, c'est~a-dire uvant le 21 fBvrier. Ce delai etaH mani- f::steme-nt insumso.nt pour pe-rmettre d'ex.aminer u:J.e quesUon d'une lelIe envcrgure et de prendre une decision acc sujet. Pour des raisons evidentes, nOllS ne pouvons l1~ce]lter le point de vue du Gouvernement egyptien. Il s'ngi~, en quelque sorte, d'lln ultimatum devant lequel aucun gouvernement soucieux de sa dignite ne pourrait sans allcun doute !'>'iaclincr, Ann de maintenir de 110ns rnpporls cntre les deux. pays, H vaut mieux, nous semble-t-il, rcnvoyer l'exumen du probleme apres les electiolls 50uuanuises, qui commenceront le 27 fcvrier et qui durcront probablement line dizaine de jours. 16, Le 16 fcvder, lrois joufs apres la nmc[)nt:-e dont j'ni pnrlC, le Ministrc cl,;:~ uJrail"C~ etrnngere~ de l'Egypte 0. fail ~avoir fo. \'alTIbas~adcllr du Soudan au Caire que le GOllverncment eg}'ptien [lvait deja envoye, ell vue ell! plebiscite, des commissions electorales et un detli- cJlcmcn~ de gardcs-frontiercs can.'; ID region qu'il avait revendiqucc. Le Gouvernel1lcnt egypticn a egalement fait savoir que ses envoyes se trouvcraient a leur poste 18. SecundLy, the. plebiscite, whieh the Egypti~n Government has used as the reason for its second note, is Ilot the first plebiscite to bc tleld h Egypt siLc€. or before the Egyptian revobtion, and in each case lhe inhabitants of tlle area in question have not been Olsked to vote. IK neuxiemcmens, le plebiscite, qui a ete donne comme motif de la deuxieme note du Gouvernement egyptien, n'est pas le premier qui ait eu lieu en Egypte depuis ou <lYant la revolution egyptiermc et, dans chaque cas, lea hnbjl;nnts des rcgiom en C:ll~stion n'Ont. pas Ct~ invites a voter. 19, 'lrQisiememcnL, aiors que la premiere note egyp- tlenne exprime 1I1le objection a la participation des h"bital1ts de ces regions ;lUX cilections soudanaises, la deuticme exprime unc revendication: le Gouvernemcnt egyptien demande que [es citoyens soudallais de C'eS regions - qui ser3ient, s~lon hi, citoycns egyptiens, - votent lors da plebiscite egyptien. ]9. Thirdly, whereas the first Egyptian note js bnsed on an objectior. to the participation of the citizens of the arM :n the Sudanese elections, the second note is based on a demand that the Sudanese citizens of the ~rea - W:lO, bc Egypti~n Governl:lent dHim.~, 2re Egyptian citizens - should vote in an Egyptian plebiscite. 20. Fourthly, the tillle sLowed for tl:e Sudan Govern- ment to decide such an important issue did not exceed sixteen days - that is, from 1 February t.o 16 Pebruary. 20_ Quatriernement, le delai I!.~corde au GouvernetUmt soudanais pour decider d'une question si importa:J.te n'etait que de 15 jours - it savoir dn ler au 16 feyrier. 21. Cinquiemement, la deuxiellle note met le Gouver- nement somhmais devant nn fait acwmpli et ne Iui pc:met pas de recourir a des consullations ou des ncgocia:ions. 21. Fifthly, the second note confront::; tile Sudan Government \1,'ith a fait accompli, without giving that Government an opportunity for consttltation or nego~ tiation 22, Sixthly, the ..-erbal statement concerning the sending of electoral staff accompanied by frontier guards to the disputed area Cl'm firm~ the graye news that reached the Sudan Government earlier and which has been repeatedly denied by the Egyptian Ambassa- dor, in an effort to provide the right atmosphere for such a fait accompli. 22. Sixiemement, la declaration verbale relative ii. I'envoi dans les r~ions ell question de personnel charge d'y organiser le plehiscitc et accompagne de gardes- frontieres co:1firme la grave nouvelle dont le Guuver- nement soudanais avait eu connaissanc.e et qu'avait dementie a plusieurs reprises l'arr.bassadeur f-gyptien, afn de creer le climat appropl'ie pour ce fait accon:pli. 2.1. Septiememcnt, le GouvctnemGnt egyptien ne semble pas comprendre que les ministres soudanais soient occup6s pllr des taches lipcs atH< elcctions et se tl:'ouvent que[quefois loin de Khartoum, la capitalc. 11 a egalement refuse d'acceder a la demande du Gou- vernemellt soudanais de renvoyer la discussion d~ la question apres les elections, lesquellt:s, comlne jc l'ai deja dit, auront lien le 27 fevrier. 23, Seventhly, the Egyptian Government does not seem to appreciate the fact that the Sudan Ministen are engaged in duties connected with the eledions- son:etimes away from the capital, Khartoum. It has also refused to accede to the Sudan Government's request to rlefr.r disf:ussions on the subject until after the elections, which will take place, as I have already mentioned, on 27 February, 24. En raison des faits que je viens d'indiquer, le Con- seH des ministres soudanais a deride de prendre toutes les rnesures nccessaires pour sauvegarder la souverainete du Soudan sur son territoire et pour dCfendre son inde- pmdll.nce. NeanmDins, dans son desir sincere de laisser 12 parte ouvcrte enlre deux. pays voisins et amis, i1 a egalement pris les decisions sllivantes, empreintes de rrcoderation. 24. In view of t.he above-mentioned facts, the Sudan Council of Ministers has decided to mke all the neces- sary measures to safeguard the sovereignty of the Sudan over its territory and to defend its independence. However, 1JeClJu~e of its earnest desire to leave the door open hetween the two friendly, neighbouring countries, it has taken the following mild decisions. Idinis~er was able to give the message in question to the Egypl:ian lUinister of the Interior, who promised Lo con\'ey il: to President Nasser and obtain his reply. 2G. Stocondly, the Govf:rnmcnL should contact tIle [jpposition leaders --. this is all internnl matler-~ ,1nd eS_lllaLTl tll<: sltu:J.tion. This has. becll donc. 27. Thirdlv, the :-;alUC information slllJukllJc coovey~'.d to the LCUliuc of Arnb Slr.lcs, 81](1 la heads of lllis~{0J1S of Arnh countries nut! others represented in thc Suclnn. This IHIS u150 J)eell dLloe. Further ill[OI']I'f1tloll is to be. cOllycyed whellever ]lo~sibJe ill order to tell the people what the situ:ltion is. 28. III conclLlsion, the Gover/llncut ot the Sudan, while doing its IltmO!it to reach fin amicable and re2son~ <lblc l;o]\\Lioll, \las gr(~at hopes thnt wise COllllSil will prcvail so thut thc friendly relation" Gxisting hetween Llie h ..'o countries. - relations which tbe Sudan Govern- ment :mcl pp.ople vnlne very highly - will not be im- paired. 2~. What el~e oo\lld any Govcnmle:1L. do in the excep- liounl circulllstances and in the few days at its diposal ? But the Sudan Govel'nment has dOllE even more wi~hill thi:; limit of a few days. 30. The Sudan Government sent its Foreign Minister to Cairo to convey lo tbe President of the Republic the Sudan Government's rrquesl to defer discassion of Eeypt'~ claim lllltil ;lfter lhe S\ldal~ elections, which, <1S I have alrwdy slated, will lake place on 27 February. The l'oreign Minister we:1t to Cairu, accompanied by the Sudan AmbassauorLo Egypt, DJl the morLing of lS February. Immediately aIlcr their arrival, they held a mcetil;g Witll the f.gyptian Foreign ~,:Iil\i.~L('r. Some Egyptian millisters were also present, At this U1eding, LIre Sudan Foreign l\Iillistcl' cxplained Lhe Sl1dnn Government's 110int o[ view ami stressed its goed will towards lhe Egyptian Government. 31. At mid-clay on 18 Feb:'uary, the Foreign Minister lYlet with Pre.'lidcllt GumaL Abdel ~as"'cr i.\IHl explained to :lim the circumstances prevrriling in the SLldan 31 the present time. He emph£.sized t:hal: his Government was prepared lo start discussions 011 the subje~t imme- diately [lIter the SudaneM' elecLions. ::'Il~anwlJile, he suggested that the Sudan Government, as prod o[ its good intcntiO\l5 in the matler, w<JLLld furnish the Egyp- [;ian Government with a \vritten guarantee that the carrying out of the Sudanese elections in the disputed ;:lJ'\~n woulJ not be used as onc of the arg\lmcnh ill the proposed discussions t:1 prove ~he Sudan's right to these: areas. However, the Ef,ryptian Government rejected this proposnl. In fal,;l, it. insisted that elections should not be beld - not only in the areas claimed by Egy;:lt l'1I cause. En fait, le Premier l\Tinistre du Soudlln a essayc, mais ~allS sucees, de s.'entrc1enir par teJe'phollc avec le pl'e~ide!lt ~asser. Il a seulement pn faire par- venir le message en questiou au i\1iuistre de I'interieur egyptic:l, qd [) promis de le transmettre au presideul Nvsset· et d'en obtenir uue reponse. 20, Df2ll."iemelll.ellt, le gouvemcmenL se metlrait en contact river les chef, de l'npljOsitioll --- c'e~t la Ull~ afTairc illtcril'ure - pour leur cXIloser la situatlol!. Ccla a (ott fait. 27. Trui"ienernent, le.» mcmes renselgnemcnts :.eraiel1L lr<lllSmis a la Ligue des Etats [lrabes, aux chefs de mi.'sion des pays arabes et autres [Jays representes au SO\:dan, Cel", <I ete fait egfl!ement. To\\t~ infornultion compJementaire sera transmise aussitOt que possJJle alin que J'on soit teml au couranL de la ~itnai.if1n. 28. POllr concJnre, le GOl\verr.ement clu SOUdilll, ell fah;ant tout son possible pour trotlyer a l'amiahlc line solation raisonnnble ::1.1\ pfl1bleme, e~p(:l'C vivemwl que la sagesse prevaudra et que les relations arnicdes entre lel' dCl:x pays, relations anxqueIJes le Gauver- nen1cnL t't le peuIlle du SOUdl\ll attachellt .e ph~s 1,~2nd Illi;.:, ne .seront pas compromises. 29. Que pouv11il faire d'alltre Ull gOllverrJrmenl, dans des circonsLances anssi exccptionnell€s et dans un deJai aussi court? Cependant, durant Ies q,telque:- jours. don_ il di~posait, le Gouvcrncment du SuuJan a fail plus enCOl'C, 30. n a em'oye all ::::'airc son MillisLre des ai1ai~es etnugeres pOLlr qu'il fasse savoir nu Pl'e~ident de la HepllLlique cgyptienne que le Gouvernemclll soudanais denHtndait le ~eJlvoi de la discussion des rpveIHi'cations egyptienncs aprcs les elections soudanaises qui, eomme je I'ai deja dit, auronl lieu le 27 fcvrier. Le 1I1iltistre des alTaires ctrangeres, 11ecompagnc de r,Hnbassadeur dl! Soudan en Egypte, s'est rendu all Caire le 18 {evr:er all malin. De..". lem arrivec, ils ont eu lUl \'ntrctiw aver:: 1(' Ministre des aITaires etrangl'res d'Egypce, D'llutres ministres egypticns etaient presents. Au conrs de cette rcnuinll, le ivHnisb'e de~ all<lires eLrangcrcs dll So\\(lan a expJique la position de son gouvernement et souligne sa bonlle volonte a l'egard du GOllvernemCJ\t egyptien. 31. Le 18 fevrier it mid, le Ministre des affaires etrall- gel'es Un SOlldan a reneontre le president Gamal ALde] Nns~er et lui a expose},l situation t.elle qu'ellc se pre,~ente en cc moment au Soudan. IJ a souligne que le Gouver- nemcnt soudanai!'l etait dispJse it. Cnlaml'l' des discus- sions sur la qUlOstion aussit6t apres les eIeclions souda- naiscs. n 11 propose qn'en attendant le GOllVf',fI}(l.ITII'I'.I: 30udanais foul'nisst'. a\l GauvcrnClllenl cgypLlen, wmrr.c Pl'CllVC de ses bOll:CCS intclll.ions, une garantie ecrilc que, au cours des dicllssiolls cr.visagecs, le Soudan a'illv»qucwit pas eomJ:lC preuve qu'il a des droits Sllr eGS regions le fait que des elections souoanaises s'y soient dcroulees. Cependant, le (;Ol\v<'rnE'ill('llt cgyptic:l 11 rejete eeLte 7ropositicn. En fall, il a m~me insiste pour qu'aucune election u'ait lieu nail seulcmcnt 32. Two electiom. h,lve already teen held in the SUdan, am] about neither onc has the: Egyptian Govcrnmellt made any resen'aLion or lodged any complaint.. 33, I sincerely lwpe Ul:J.t I have explaioed satisfac- Lorily the point of view of my Governmen L, and I sin- cerely hope that the Council will adopL a measure which will calm L1le situatioll that exiiits between Egypl and the Sudan and pave the way for [1 pcaceful nlld friendly solutioll, 3-1. Lastly, I wish to resel'Vl' my delegation's right once again to participaLe ill this debaLe should it he necessary, 35, Mr. LOUTFl (Egypt) (1I'wn!{Ilcd trom French): I confess that it is with grcat regret that I address the Seellrity Council todny in order to siB-le my dele- gation's position on the eomplain-L lod~(:d yesterday by the S\I[]anc.se delegation. 36. Members of thc Coullcil arc aWlirc that Egypt and the Sudau, as neig]lbour countries, arc bounrl lly many tics of fricncbbip and hroLllcrhood, EgYrt, Wllich for long held sovereignty over the Sudan all(l was by virlue of that sovereignty R party to the condo- minillOl \lader Wl1ich the Sudan WflS till recently admi- uistered. adhered strictly 10 the principle of self-deter- minaLioll of [lcoples and puL it into practice in the agreemenL runcerning the Sudan concluded between Egypt and the United Kingdom 011 12 February 1953, Our aim was to give the SlIdnn whatever status it might wish to have in the futme. and we achieved that aim by recognizing thc Sudan [IS an inclependent ~ll1d sovereign State. 37, Since that agreement was comluued and Slld~~ Hese independance was proclaimed the Egyptian Govern- menl has had to setUe various outstanding questions with the Sudan; it bas always done so ill a spirit of friendship and conciliation, in accordante with tile principles and provisions of Lhe United Nations Charter. In this spirit a monetary 8greement was reccntly con- cluded with the Sudan. 38, For all these reHsons ·we can only deplorf'. the Sudanese Government'ii hasty decision to lay tllis question hefore the Security Cneltleil, after having rejected various suggestioDii made by Egypt with a view Lo settling this dispute in the spirit of tL1e United NaLions Cllartcr and of the friendly and good-neigh- bourly relations which have always prevailed between the two counLries, and before the other peaceful llleans refelTed Lo in the Charter -- particularly in Article 33 - n~nce dans SC$ ntfaires intericllt"t's, dont le Soudan n df'pnis 10llgtenl[1s la charge, et qui el1lpecherait les SOlldanai~ J'cxercer plcincmcnt lel1l's droits demo- crntilJl]C~, Celle revcndje~tion iraiL cgalemcnt a l'en- contre de la Constitution du Sondan tn portant attcintc a la suuverainete cl a l'ind6pendance dll Pl1)'S. 32. Des dcclioll5 ant deja (-'11 lit'lI pHr deu.'{ fois au SOndf1ll, et k GOllvememen't egyptien lI'a jamais fait la moilldre rescrve oi preserrle la moindrc plaintc. 3;1. Je vcux espcrer que rai hien mcnLre 18 position (!c mOll gouvernenl('lI L, et que le C(ln:icil adopterfl Hnc n1C'!illre qui jloUlTa s\lppdmer la tl:'n5ioll qui existe entre l'Egypte et le S01\dan et qui penncLtra de rr,'somlre le problclllr. de fa90n pacifiqne et 3micalc. 34. Ennl1. je dQsire re!iervcr le droit de ma dClegRtioli de reprendre In parole Jans cc debut si eela est ncees- saire, 35. M, LOUTFl (t:gypLe) : Tavouc que c'est avce heaucoup de regret quc je prends aujourd'hui la parole devant le ConSell de securite pour definir la position de lUa delCg<ltion a I'egard de la plainte qui a 6te deposee Iller pnr la delegation dll Soudal1, 30. En elIeL, les membres du Conseil n'ignorent pas que J'Egypte et le Soudall, pay~ Yoi!iins, SOl1t unis pnr de mulLiples Iien~ d'amitie et dc fraternite, L'J1gypte, qui a possedc pendant longtemps la souverainete sur le Soudan et qui, a ce titre, a parLicipe au condominium qui administmiL nagnere le SOLldan, n stl'icternenL <ldlH~n~ au principe du droiL des peuples a disJloser d'eux-memes et I'a mis en ceuvre en f[lLL dans l'accllrd qui a etc coalLL enLre l"Egyptc et le Royaume-Uni, ic 12 fevrier 1953. concernant: le SOlldatl. Nons avioJls pour objcctif d'assurer au Soudan le statui qu'il dl~f;irait avoir it I'avenir, cL nollS aVaIlS ponr cela r('connu i(' Soudan comme f:laL independant et souyernin. 37. Apre.s td accord cL la produlllfltion de I'indcpen- dilnce iioudmlfli::w, le Gouvernclllent egyptien a eu ir. rf.gkr nvec le SOllrlflll c('rtaines questions pendan'Les ; ill'a tOUjOUl'ii fail dan:; un espril d'<,l\1iLje et de concilia- Lion, confOl"lw\.mcnt anx principes ct rlU;'; dispositions ce la Charte de;; NaLioJl~ UrJics. Ccst rl~ns eet esprit. qu'ull nccora moncLaire avec le Sondal: a cte conclu recemment. 38, Pout' loutes Cl'S raisons, now; ne pouvons que deplorer qne le Gouverncment du Soudan ait decide hfltivement dc sournettre ccUe question au Conseil de securite, npres avoir repoussc plnsicurs suggestions qui ont de faiLcs par l'Egypte pour trollvcr Et ce difU.- rend une solution conforme a I'csprit de la Churte des Nations Unies et des relations amiculcs et de ban voisinagc qui ont toujourii existc entre les deux pays,. et aVf1nt d'<lvoir epnise lcs recours nux aUlrcs moyens. In the case of our :lTCa the expression" resort 1:0 regio- nal agencies or arrngemcnts" clearly includes the League of Arab SLates. Since, howeve:r, the Sudan has opted for this proccdlll'e my only course is to try to reply, albeit very hriefly, to wl~nt the Sudanese repre- sentative Iws jl\f~l. said. 39. Before going into the substnnr-e of the questiorl ] wish to dCfll with olle 01" I;wo matters relating to procedure anti 'ca the wordiug of the complaint sub- mitted by the Guvernment of the Sudan. I would mention, first, Ih:11; ill his lettfr the represcllLative of the Sudan refers to massed conccntrations of Egyptinn troops moving toward" the Sudanese fronLier. In this connexion I !nust point out that there are no Egyptian armed forces ill that area, \Ve have frontier guards, who are needed to maintain order and security. 40. On tIle contrary, wc have information that there are Sudanese armed forces in the area in dispute, and that they have even seized an Egyptian river boat. 41. Unfortunately, furthermore, the Slldanese letter uses the term "~ggression". Now according to the United Nations Chrlrter the word aggression, unless I am mistaken, Illenus nn firmed attack; that is far from true in this case. This aggression, which the letter describes as "impending", is difficult to conceive. I think that, where. there is any question of aggression, either it exists or it does not. 42. While Egypt is convinced that it is in the right in this disput~ and that we can prove, by argument and by dOctlmcnts, the valididy of our right to thlO disputed area, we have always preferred to deal with the Sudan with talcrance and good will and ill a cond- liatory spirit, because of our good-neighbourly and friendly relations. I do not thinlr, therefore, that there is much to be gained today by discussing, particularly in the Security Council, the legal question out of which the dispute seems to hove arisen between Egypt and the Sudan. There is really no point in referring here to the agreement relative to the administration of the Sudan concluded ilt Cairo between Egypt and Great Britain in 189g or to "the Egyptian ministerial decisions on the administration of the area which, incidentally, buttress the Egyptian case. 43. Yesterday the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs, on learning of the memorandnm communicated to the Secretary-General of the League of Arah States JJy the Sudanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, defined ;the Egyptian Government's position in the terms 1 39. Je voudrais, avant d'entrer dans le viI du sl.ljet, me pencher sur tine ou deux questions qui concernenl la procedure et la redaction de la plainte presentee par le Gouvernement du Soudan. .le ferai observer, taut d'abord, que, dans sa lettre, le representant du Soudan nous pade de concenl.raL!cns massivcs de troupes egyptiennes qui se dirigeraient vel'S la lrontiere soudanaise. Sur ee point, je voudrais affirmer qu'il n'existe pas de forces armees egyptiennes dans cette region. Nous avons des gurdes-frontieres neeessaires pour le IDnintien de l'ordre et de la securite. 40. Au contraire, iI nisulte de nos informations qu'll se trouve des forces armees soudanaises dans la region sur laquelle parte le difTerend et qui ont m~me saisi un bateau ill1viu\ egyptien. 41. En outre, la lettre du Soudan emploie t1Ialheureu~ semenL l~ tcrme "agression )), Or l'agression, dans le sens de l<l Charte des NaLions Unies, ~ignific, i moins que je ne me trompc, une agression armee, cc qui est loin d'Hrc le cas. Cett(' agression, qll'on a appelee ici (l imminente »), est diffici1e a concevoir. Je pense que, 10rsqll'H s'agit d'agression, il y a on il n')' a pasagre:;sion. -12. Bien que J'Egypte soit certainI'. qLI'elle a, dans ce dWcrcnc1, le droit de son cute et que nous puissions etnblir, pnr de8 arguments et des documents, le bicn- iontle de nos droits sur la region contestee, nous avons toujours prMere prendre line aUitude de tolerance et de bienveillance envers le Souc1an, et ce dans un esprit de conciliation, en raison de nos relations de bon vaisinagc et d'amitie. C'est pourquoi jc ne trouve pas qu'it soit tres utile aujourd'hui de discuter, surtout au Conseil de securite, la question de droit qui semble ~tre la base du ditTerend entre l'Itgypte et le Soudan. Tl est reellement superflu de pnrler id de l'eceord conclu, au Gaire en 1899, entre l':E:gypte et la Grande-Bretagne concernant l'administration uu Soudan, ni des decisions ministeriellcs cgyptiennes sur l'administrution de la region qui, notamment, appuient le hien-fonde de la these egyptiennc. 43. Hier, le Ministre des aITaires etrangcres d'Egypte, lorsqu'U l1. pris eonnaissance du memorandulII presente au Secretaire general de la Ligue des Etats arabes par le Ministre des affaires etrangeres du Soudan, a defini la position du Gouvernement egyptien dans les termes 45. For these reasons I am, to my great regret, forced to observe that thiR complaint lodged Rgainst Egypt in th<.' Security Council does not really carry anyweighL. It is doubtless the lmhappy outcome of Slldallcsc internal considerations connected, perhaps, with the elections soon to be hcld in the Sudan, a matter in which, as I see it, the Security Council i.~ enLirely without jurisdiction. I shall therefore not dwell on it. ·:l6. Despite the hasty submission of this complaint against Egypt, despite the ptopnganda lhat is being made out of this matter, the Egyptian Government, in a spiril of condliation, has taken a friendly and kindly attitude towRrds the Sudanese Government and has published today at Cairo the cDmmunique which is before you. and whiell I shall, with your permission, read in English: "To preserve the ties that bind together the Egyptian and Sudanese peoples, the Egyptian Government decided to postpone the settling of thp. frontier question till after tIte Sudanese elections. Negotiations aTe to begin for the settling of all undecided questions after th~ new Sudanese Govern- ment is chosen. "Egypt, which has demonstrated its solidarity with the Sudan for the sake of liberty and inde~ pendcnce, takes this step primarily in order to frus- tratc the designs of evil-wishers who have exploited opportunities to deteriorate the eternal relations between the two sister countries. Also, Egypt has not responded to the provocations whic.h h:lVe tried to create the impression of armed intervention or an invasion of Sudrmese territory, at the time when there are no Egyptian forces on the soutllcm border, apart from the normal frontier patroLs. " The Egyptian Government once again announces that the Egyptian armed force~ have not been built up to invade the Sudan but to help it stand up to the common enemy." 1 I do not think I need add anyUling to this communique. 47, In conclusion, I express my confidence that this dispute will be seWed between Egypt and the Sudan in the tradition of the friendship which has for centuries bound the two brother peoples together. I The speaker read the quotaUon III English. 45. C'est pour eeb qu':~ man grand regrd je ne p~ux que constater qlle ceLle plaintc preRentee conlre I'Egypte au COllseil de securite ne revet pas l'ecllement un carac- te.re serieux. Elle est malheurellSClllent illspiree, sans doute, par des considerations inf:eriellres soudanaises. Jiees pellt-tire HllX elections qlli vont se dcrouler bientOL au Soudan, (le CJui, vraiment, a mOll avis, 1I'est pus du tout de la compett'.nce dll Conseil de seeurite; c'est pOllrqlloi je nc m'y 6tcmlrni PQS. 40. Malgnl. cette plain1e hati\'cm~nt presentee contre I'EgypLe, malgre la propagande qui El mtoure ceUe question, le Gouv-.;tnement egyptien, dam un esprit de conciliation, a udoptc nne uttitllde amicale et biin- veillante envers le Gouvernemellt rin Soudan et a pllblie, aujonrd'lmi m~me, au Caire, le texte dn com- munique qui se trollve entre vos mains eL que je vais; me pennettre de vous lire en anglais : ~ Pour preserver les liens qui uniRsent les peuples egypLien et soudanais, le GOllvcmemCnt egyptien a decide de dHferer le reglemenl de la question de la fronW~re jusqu'au moment ou les elections soudanaises auront eu lieu. Des negociations doiv~llt R'ouvrir pour le reglement de tontes les questions en sllspens apres que le nO\lvean gouvernement sondanais allra ete choisi. (( l':~'eYpte, qui a manifeste sa solidarite avec le· Soudan all nom de la liberte et de I'independance,. prend cette mesure avant tout pom [aire echec aux dcsseins des esprits malveillants qui ont exploite· les possibilites d'cnvenimer les relations que les deux pays freres ont toujours entrctenues. De plus, l'Egypte' n'a pas reagi devant les provocations par lesquelles on a essayc de faire croire a lIne intel'Vention armee ou a une invasion rin tf'rritoire soudanais, alors qu'i! ne se trollve aLlcune force egyptienne a la frontiere mcridionale, a l'cxception des patrouillcs qui cir- culent normalemt'nt le long de la frontie.re. ~ T.e GOllvcmement cgyptien declare une fois encore que les forces armecs egypLiennes n'ont pas ete constituees pour envahir le SOlldan, mais pour l'aider it. resister it l'ennemi connnun 1. l) Sm cette communication, je crois qu'il ne me reste rien a ajonter. 47. Jc termine en exprimant ma confiance que cc difTerend sera resoll1, entre l'Egypte et le Soudan, dans le cadre des traditions d'llmitie qui unissent Jes. deux peuples freres depuis des siecles. ! TradUdion etabUe par le s",crtL~I·jaL. The meelinq was su,~pended III 3.55 p,rll. and /'Csllmed at·5 p.m. 50. Mr. WADSWOI'\TH (Unitccl Slates of America): I should like to make SOll1l' very brief observations on the statements we have heurd this afternoon, the :>lHLel11ent of ne Sudanese representative, who has pn~scnted his Go\'tTllnlent's complaint concerning "the gra"c sib,ation existing Oll the Sudan~Egyptian hmder ", and the statement which the representative of Egy[lt llas nm<lc in reply. L\Iy delegation feels thnt wc :;honlcl note 011(; or two "n.li~nt point!; here, 51. Wc wish to note in prllticular the statements of the repres\'.ntative" of Egypt <1l1d the Sndun indicating their willingness La sctt(~ this mntter rlflel' the elections of 27 February. 52. "\Vc nolI'. <11.'10 that the Se(Crctal'y-(~eneral's concern :md interest hanc already been communicated to the Government of Egypt and that Ill; has received a favourable reply frolll that Go\'ernment. 5~. We therefore wis.h to express till". sincere hope that tile parties to this dispute ,viII refrain frolll allY actions or statements which might aggravate conditions or prcjudicc prospeds for an amicable solution until such time as llley mntually agrel'. La reconvene in llCgO- tiation. M, :\'Iy delegation would also like to remind the Council that by OIU' action today ill adopting lh~ agenda, the Council is oflicially seized of this problem aml that in the evc.nt that the situatiOll should detcriorate- which we hope will l10t be tile case - Lhe Council can always metlt again on vr:-ry ~h01L noLice 55. Finally, my delegation hopes that peace and tran~ quillity will prevail in this area, and thnt following the elections, which aro:: to commence on 27 February, the parties will seek and achieve a peaceful solution of their dill'cl'cnccs. 56, Mr. MATSUDAIRA (Japan): 'My ddegation has listened with gl'eat attention to the statements made by the represcntatives of the Sudan and Egypt. It is II matter of regTct that the eHores to seek a pcacdlll settlement between the partirs h:lVe fnilecl and that the matter had to be brought to the attention of the Security COLIllCil at all. Thifi is especiaUy so since the dispute is one between Egypt and the Sudan. with both of whom Japan is hound by strong tiBS of fliendly .feelings. ':)7. My delegation has to confess that it lack~ suffi- ,eient knowledge of the dispute and its backgl'OllOd. It La 8(~aflCC est susp~ndue a hi h. M ; die csl reprise 1i 17 hellf'r.s, .50. AI. WADSWOHTH (l~tat5-Unis d'Arnerique) [lra- dui! de l'(jntllai.~l .If' v(llldmis foire quelquf'~ trl'S breves observations au sujet des dec!<lralions que nons avoilS entendues cet apl'€s-midi, la declaration du repn',- st'.ntallt du Soudall qui a expose la plainte de son gO\!- vemement au 5ujt"t de «la grave situation qui existe a la frontiere soudano-egyptiennc)) et la dechm1Lion que le represenLant de I'Egypte a faite en I'epcnse. ne I'avis de ma ddegation, il convic.ndrait que now; notions a eet cgal'll 'tin ou deux [Joint~ importants. 51. Nous Botons, en parliculier, que le~ representants de l'Egypte. et du Soudan ont declare que leurs pays etaient disposes a regler cette question apres les elec- tions du 27 f6vrier. 52. Nous notons aussi que le Secretaire general a deja fait part an Gouvernemelll c",tryptien de S-3S pr(~occtl­ paLions et de son inLeret touch:mt celle question, et qu'il a re~11 dc cc gouvernement une re.ponsi3 favor8ble, .53. Nous tenons, en conseqllence, a exprimer l'espoir ~iJl[;eIe que le", Etacs pmties a cc dillcrend s'ulJstien- dront de tOllS aetes ou de toutes declarations qni ris- queraiwt d'aggraver la situation OJ de compromettre les perspcctives d'ul1e solution amiable, jusqu'au mo- ment ou les dCt\.x parties sercnt d'accord lJoL!r reprcndre la ncgociation. :JJ. jIa delegation desire aUl';si r<lppel~.r au Con~eil qu~, {Jar l<l dlicil';io\\ qu'il a prise alijollrd'!lui en adop- tnut son ordre dll jDUI', il est omci~llement stllsi de la question, ~t que, dans l'evelltnalite oil la sitl1alion s'aggraverait, ce qui, je I'cspcre, ne se pl'oduira pas, le Conscil pourra t(Jl1j{)lIl'~ ~(' n:ullir a l\ouveau dans un delai trcs bref. 55. Enfm, ma d(l!egatioJl espere que la paix et la tnlll- quillite rcgnerollL dans la region et quc, apl'es les elecLions qui doivCllt commCllccr le 27 [evriel', les parties cherchcrOllt cl trouveront une solution pacifiquc dc kurs. dilIerends, 50. 111. :\II-\TSUDAIHA 0<1[1011) [lraduil de ['allglaisl: i\Ia delcigation a eGoute avec beaucDup d'attention le~ declarations des representants du Soudan et r:e l'l~gypte. fl est regreUable que les eJTorts deployes pour obtcnir un reg1cmenl IJucifiqnc dll dilW:rend aiellL CclIOLH~, et qne la qucstiOll ait dll. elre portee devant le Conseil de securite. NOlls le regrc~tons d'autant pins qu'il s'agit d'ulI difI6rend entre 1'2gyptc et le Soudan. deux pays auxqurJ" k Japon cst \lni par des. liens d'amitie tres etroUs. [;7. Ma delegation doit f1vouel' qu'ellc a line connais- sance insuffisante Ju difTerend et de son hisLQrique. 58, My delegation welcomes the statements made by the representatives of both Egypt and the Sudan that they would seek the peaceful solution of this dispute after the Sudanese elections. My delegation ho?es that neither part)' to this dispute will take any steps to aggravate the situation in the me~atilllt:, llmt the status quo will be maintained by both parties and th;1t the dispute will be solved peacefUlly, I understand thRt the Co'unci! remflins seized of the matter and tltat we could always discuss it if necessary.

The Security Coundl has met at short notice in response to a request of the representative of the Sudan lS/3963j. TIle reason for this request, a~ we have heard from that representalive, was the llnXlety of this G()vernmenL at certaIn actions of the Egyptian Government in regard to certair. ar~a;; along the 22nd parallel which have for many years been administered by the Sudan, I may say in parenthesis that, according to our infor- nwtion, Lht::;c area" have been adm:nistercd without interruption by the Sudan since the very early days of the condominium, in fact for more than half a cen- tury. So far as we know, the~e arrangements, over bat long period of time, have worked in an entirely satis- factory mallner ano withollt dispute or reservation l1itherto from the Egyptian side. Tt is the timing and manner in which this question has been raiSed ttat, as I understand it, has led the Government of the Sudan to come to the CounciL 60. This certainly would not be the moment for us in the Council to embark 011 an assessment of the substance of tlle probLen itself. So far as Her :Majesty's Government is concerned, we hold that t.he dispute wbch has now arisen is one which should be settled by thr. parties through peaceful means of their own choice in tile spirit of the Charter. In the meantime, it seems plain common sense that nothing should be (lone to disturb administrative arrangement.." which htlve existed for so long in the areas in question - which have cx:sted for su long largely, no doubt, because they worked so well. (H. We have }:,ecn glad co hear the representative of the Sul1all say today that his Government is prepared in due course to seek appropriate ways of nego- tiating a set.tJement of the dispule. We have also noted the speec:l mude today by the representative of Egypt. In particular, we have noted his assurance in the couse of his statement thnt the Egyptian Gov- ernment has now decided to postpor.e the settling of the frontier question lLntil afler the Sudanese e~ec­ tions, This seems to my delegation to met the essential point in the Sudanese :::omplaint to the CO.lnciL The CouncU will of course remain seized of the matter, 58. Mu delegotion o,<;t IlCurt'UM~ d'avoir entenl1u les represelltants ell'. I'Egypte et du Soudan declare]' cous deux que ]curs pays s'effol'ceraient de trouvcr une solution pacifiCjue de leu}" difrCrend apres les elections ~olldanaises, Ma delegation souhaite qu'aucnne des deux pm'lics u cc difTerend ne prenne des me~llre,~ C(l1i aggravc:'aient la situation dans l'inlervalle, que les deux parties mnintiennenlle sralll QIW et que le diITe~cnd re,"oive une solution pHcifique. Je comprends que le Conseil reste salsi de la question et qu'il pourra toujours en rl iscutel' s'il est necessaire. 59. Sir Pierson DIXON (Hoyaume-Uni) [lruduil de I'anglais] : Le Conscil de securite s'est rCllni sans tarder a la suite d'unt demallde pr6oenh~e par le represenlant du Soudall (S)39631. Commc le representant ott Sou- dan L'a expliquc, le motif de ccUe demande etaill'in- quietlld~ cprouvee par son gouvernement devant certains actes du Gouvernemeut egypLien tOllchant certaines regions situees le long du 22" parallele, qui' sont administrees depnis de nOmbreuses annees par le Soudan. .le puis diTe en passant que, d'apres nos renseigl~ements. ces regions ant ete adruinisirees par le Soudan san~ interruption depuis les tout premiers jours du condominium, c'est-a-dirc depuis plus d'un demi-siecle. A notre connaissallce, ces dispositions ont ete appliquces dllrnnt cette lougue periode d'une maniere entierement satisfaisante et. jusqu'a present, sans contestation ni reserve du cote egyptien, C'est le moment oil r.ette question a ete soulevee ainsi que la maniere dont eUe l'a tte qui, comme je crais le comprendre, ant amenc le Gouvernement du Soudan iJ. s'ad:resser au Conseil. 60. Ii ne sernit certainement pHS opportun que nous, au COllseil, nous entreprenions mair.tenant de forP.luler des appreciations sur le fond du probleme. Le GOllver- nement de Sa IVIa.ieste estime que le differend e.lt de cel.lx q::ri doivenL ~tl'e regles pHI" les parties, par les moyens paciliques de lem dlOix, dans l'esprit de. la Charte. Entre temps, il semble que le simple ban sens cl'<ige que I'on ne fasse rien qui puissc troubLer Jes clisposiCiulIs administratives q:1i sont appliquees dcpuis si longtemps dans les r~giolls en U\use et qui, sans aucun dOllte, n'ont pu rester en viglleur si long- temp que pal'ce qll'elles ant dOllne de bons resultats. 61. Nous avons eLe heureux d'enlendre le repre- sentant du SOl1rlan dire nlljourd'll.li que son gOllver- nemf'.nt ctait pret n l'eellercher en temps oppor-lun des moycns <lpproprh~s pour ncgocier UJ. reglement du difIerend. Nous avons aussi nole le discours pronDnce aujourd'hui pat" le representant de l'Egypte. Nous avons l1ote, ('.n parl;j~uLier, qu'il a donne l'assurance, au cours de sa decJaratioJ., que le GOllvernement egyptien avait maintenant dccicte de differer le regle- ment ue la (p.lestlon de la frontiere jusqu'apres les, elections soudanalses. De l'avis de ma delegation, ceUe decision semble repondre au point principal de la.

It is unfurtunate that two sister and neighbouring countries should have difficulties that could not be solvlld by sufficient mutual under- stauding and co-operation. My delegation would have pre[erred lhat the question should be negotiated by tIle two parties with the two needed essentials for any successful negotiation: time and patience. It is essential ..Iso that no measures shouh1 be taken which may change the situation in Lhe area in question, pending a peaceful and just solution. Any measures which may be taken by either party and which are foreign to the peaceful and friendl)' negotiations between the two pnrties would only tend to complicate the situation and endanger the peace and security in tlle region. It is indeed legitimate and riglll lo expect that while this question is undel' consideration and negotiotion both parties will refrain from doing anything which may change the .~lallls quo or interfere with the present legal or political right~ and responsibilities in the area. 63. In this respect we have listened to and noted the declaration of the Government of Egypt to the effect that that Government had decided to postpone the settling of the frontier question until after the Sudanese elections. 64. We have also listened to and noted the statement of the Sudanese representative in which he declared his Government's inlenlion and readiness to settle this question peacefully.

From the statements we have heard from the parties we gather that the frontier question is somewhat complex; that question, however, is not at preSEnt before the Council. The Sudanese Government's re- quest - that disclIssions on the frontier question should he postponed until after the elections due to hegin on 27 February and to continue, according te the Sudanese representative, till about 10 March - was accepted, as the EgypLian representative said, by his Government. That Government proposed postponing the settlement 01 the frontier question till aHer the Sudanese electiOns and stated that negotiations should be held aHer tIle Government thus elected had be.cn installed in office; tillS seems to be substantially what tile Sudan requested. 66. Thus Article 33 of t.he Charter applies; we have come back to the procedure. of negotiation. As we see it, all that is needed at this stage of the discussion is Ior the Council to take note of the statements made <lll the subject by the two parties. 62. M. KHALAF (Irak) [lraduil de i'anglais] : 11 est regrettable que deux pays freres et voisins aicnt des differends qui ne puissent etre regles por la compre- hension et la cooperation mutuelle,<;. Ma delegation aurait prefere que la question fit l'objet de migociations entre les deux parties et ql)C I'on cut recours aux deux elements essell.tiels de toute mlgociation fructueuse ; le temps et la palience. Il est essenticl aussi que ron ne prenne aucune mesure qui puisse modifier la situation dans la region en cause en attendant une solution pad· fJque et juste. Toute mesure qui pOllITuit ctre prise par l'une ou I'autre des parties et qui n'aLlrait rien a voir Rvec des negociations paciHques et nmicales entre les deux parties ne ferail qu'aggraver la situation et compromettre la paix et la securite dans la region. It est en fait legitime et juste d'attendre des deux parties que, tllDt que cette question "era a I'examen et fera l'objet de negociations, elles s'abstiennent de faire quai que ee soit qui puisse modifier le stalu quo ou porter atteinte a 1'etat aetuel des droits et obligations dans cette region aux points de vue juridique ou poJi· tiqc.e. 63. A cc sujet, nous avon,<; entendu et not~ la decla· ration du representant egyptien annon~ant que le Gouvernement egyptien avait decide de difTerer le reglement de la question de la frontiere jusqu'apres les elections soudanll.ises. {H·. Nous avons egalement entendu et note la decla- ration du representant soudanais nnnorly.,'1nt que le Gouvernement soucianais entendait rechercher un reglement pacifique de la queslion, 65. M. GEORGES-PICOT (France) : Apr~s avoir entendu les declarations des parties, nous recueillons l'impressjon que la question des frontieres est assez complexe ; cependant, cette question n'est pas actuel~ lemellt soumise au Conseil. En eITet, la requete presen- tee par le Gouvernemellt c1u Soudan - requete deman- danl que les discussions sur la question des fl'ontieres soient ajournee,<; jusqu'u une date posterieure aux elec- tions qui commeneeront le 27 fevrier et devront, d'apres le representant clu Soudan, durer jusqu'aux environs du 10 mars - a cte acceptce, comme I'a dedare le representant de l'Egypte, par son gouvernement. Ce demier a propose de reporter le reglement de la question des frontieres jusqu'apres les elections soudfwaises, indiqnant en meme temps que des negociations devraienl avoir lieu apres la constitution du gouvernemenl qui resLlltera des elections, ce qui, semble-t-il, correspond bien a la demande presentee par le Soudan. 66. Par consequent, nous nous trouvons dans le cadre de l'Article 33 de la Charte; nous revenons a [a proce- dure des negociations. A notre avis, il suUit. dans la phase aclueUe de la discussion, que le Conseil prenne note des declarations faites sur la question par les deux parties. 68. We have been informed t.oday by the represen- tative of the Sudan, and thit; information is also set forth ill lite letter wh:ch is the subject of oLtr discussion, that the Sudan Government has had some discussions "i,'ith the GoverruuefJl uf Egypt, but that up to the present time no satisfactory solution seemed possible. We have today heard the remarks of the representative of Egypt concernLug the attitude of his Government toward the negotiation o! the issues inVOlved. In our view there seems to be a comiderable basis [or hope that the two Governments directly concerned, Egypt and the Sudan, would hi:' ahle to pursue these questions further. If I understand the representative of Egypt correctly, it is the intention and desire o~ the Egyptian Government that negotiatons should be resumed shortly after the forLhcoming elections in the Sudan. 69, Of course, there is the problem of the interim period penc1ing resumed negotiations. I Hm f:l1re that members of the Council bve been gratifIed and reas~ sured by the assurances of peaceful intent which hav~ been expressed in the. Council today. It is our hope that, because the attention of the Coundl has been focused on the situation along the Egyptian-Sudanese border, this in itself will also have a reassuring effect and that calm and confidence will prevail on both sides of that border. 70, The PRESIDENT (lranslated /rom Rus.sian); Do allY other members of the Security Council wish to spenk? If not. I 5hould like to say a few words as representative of tile UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS. 71. Tile Soviet delegation has listened with great attention to the statements made by the representatives of the Sullan ~md Egypt. In our opinion it is important to note that both the Sudanese and the EgyptiaIl representatives have declared the clesire and readiness of their Governments to settle by friendly negotiation Lhe frontier dispute which has arisen betwee,n them. There is every po~sibility, therefore, of settlement of the diIIerences between the Sudan and Egypt by peaceful means through negotintion by the parties concerned, 72. The procedure of settling disputed questions by neans of r.egotiatior. is in full accordance with the pro~ ....isions of the United Nlitions Charter on the pacifi~ !;C:ttIement of disputes. We hope that, in keeping witll the statements they have made, the parties will not allow the conflict to spread and will settle their differ- ences ill complete accordance with the Charter. Such a settlement will be in the best interests of the Sudan and Egypt, and will also serve to strengthen peace and security in this; region. 73. Consequently, the Sovjet delegation considers that there is no need at the present time for any inter- 68. Le representant du Soudan a infOl'me aujoun.:'hui le Comeil - et ee renseignemenl est cgakmtllt dIJllwS dans la lettre qui fait l'objet de notre discussion - qt.e le Gouvernemcnt souc.anais avail dej~ eu certains echangf'~ de. Vll~~ avec le Gouvernerncnt egyptien mais que la posribiJite d'une solution satisfaisante n'eiait pas apparue jusqu'a present. NOllS avolls entendu aujourd'hui [es observations du representant de l'Egypte au sujet de l'attitude de !lon gOllvernement concernant ies negociations relatives aux questiolls en cause. A notre avis, il semble qu'il y ait de fortes raisons d'es- perer que les deux gouverrlCments directement intcres- ses, ceux de I'Egypte et du Soudan, puurrunl pOllrsuivre I'examon de ces questions. Si j'ai bien compris le repre- sentant de l'EgypLe, le GouvernmnenL egyptiell a I'intention et le desir de reprendre les llegociations peu apr~s les elections qui vonL 8:yoir lieu at.; Soudan. 69. Evidemmer,t, il reste le probleme de la periode intermediaire qui s'cwulera uvant la reprise des nego- ciations. Je suis certain que les membres du Conseil ont. ete Sl'.tisfaits d'entendre exprimer a\;jourd'hui devant le G:msei! des assurances d'intcntions pacifiques. et que ces 9.SSllr~lDceg, ont calme leurs inquietudes. NOllS esperons que, l'aUention du Conseil ayant ete attin~e sur ~a situation le long de la frontiere souc.ano- egyptienne, cc fait aura en lui-m~me un efiet rassurant et que le caltue et la confiance rcgneront des deux cotes de cette frontiere, 70. Le PRESIDENT (Iraduil du russe) : D'aut!es membres du ConsciJ desirent-ils prendre lp. p~role? Sinon j'aimerais presenter qllelques observations en ma qualite de representant de I'UNION DES REPU- BLIQUES SOCIALlSTES SOVn'TIQUES. 71. La delegation sovietique a ecoutc avec la plus grande attention les declarations des representants du Soudan et de ['Egypte. II convient de noter que ces deux repr~sentants UHt IaiL etat de la volonte de leurs gouvernements de regler le dif[erend de fronti~re a I'amiable, par voie de negociation. Ainsi, un reglernent paeifique du desaccord qlli divise le Soudan et l'Egypte peut fort biell intervenir par voie de negociations entre les parties interessees, 72, On s<'lit que la procedure consistarrt a regler des difierends par voie de negociations est parfaitement conI01me 31lX riis;positions de la Charte des Nations Unies relatives au r~glement paeifique des diffenmds. Nous esperons que, donnant suite a leurs declarations, les parties empecheront le cantHt de s'etendre et resou- druut leur d6saccord en pleine conformite de la Charte. Un tell'eglement sen;ira au mieux les interets du Soudan et de !'Egypte et permettra d'affermir la paixet la secu- rite dans celte region. 73. La delegation sovietique estime done qa'!i. l'heure actuelle le Conseil de securite n'a pa~ besoin d'intervenir" 75. j\olr. LOUTFI (Egypt) (lmnslalcd from French): I apologize to the Council for speaking again, b"t I wish to add a le'W words to my previous statemenl. I have already said that I have no intention of dis· cussing the quesLion of law which is the lOssential issue in the differences between Egypt and the Sudnn COII- cerning the dispn Led areas. I must, however, express the fullest reservations concerning that piut of tILe United KinE(dom reprMeutative's statement relating to Lhe legnl slatLls of the disputed terl·itory. 76. In conclusion. I reaffirm our confidence that this qnestion will be settled amicably between the Sudan flnd Egypt. 77. :lIIr. OSMAN (Sudan): 'My delegation is glad that the Security Council is seized of this question and thflt it will meet on short notice if circumstances so demand, although we sincerely hope that that will not be neces- sary. 78. As 1 have already stated, we for our part have done everything possible to facilitate settlement of this issue, and \ve shall continlle to do so. 79. TIle PRESIDENT (lranslaled from Russian): If no ether member of the Council wishes to speak, then 1 [llink that as President I illay sum up the opinions of the member8 of the Security Council as follows. 80. Thc Security Ciuncil has heard the statements of the representatives of the Sudan and Egypt and notes tlte Egyp [ian representative's as:,;l1T::mces that his Government has decided to postpone the settlement of the IronHer question until the elections in the Sudan arc over. 81. Of course, tlle question put forward by the Sudan remains before the CounciL With this we [:an end our meeting, bearing it in mind that the next meeting, should one prove neccssnry, will he convened, as usual, on consuJUltion between members of the Security Council and the parties concerned. The meeting rose at 5.45 p.m. 75. M. LOUTFI (Egypte) : le prie le Conseil de m'excuser de prendre la parole une deuxieme fois, mais je voudrais ajouter quelques mots it la declaration que j'ai faite. l'ai deja dit qu'il n'etait pas dans mon intention de discuter la question de droit qui, en fait, est I'essence meme du diITerend qui separe l'Egypte et le Soudan au sujet des regions contestees. le dois loutefois formuler les plus amples reserves quant a la partie de la declaration du representant du Roynume- Dni qui touchait le statut juridique de la region con- testee. 76, En conclusiop., je reafftrme une fois encore notre connance en le fait que ccUe question sera reglee ami- calement entre le Soudan et I·Egyptc. 77. :M. OSMAN (Soudan) [Iraduil de l'anglais] : Ma delegation est heurcusc que le Conseil de securite soit saisi de ceUe question, et eUe prend note du fait qu'j} se reunira a bref delai si [cs circonstances I'exigent, bien que nom esperions sincercment que cela ne sern pas necessaire. 78. Pour notre part, nous avons fait et nous conti- nuerons a faire tout notre possible, commc je l'ai deja declare, pour faciHter le reglement de cctte question. 79. Le PRESIDENT (ll'llduit du russe) : Si pel'Sonne ne elemande la parole, il ne me reste plus qu'a faire bri6vement le point en mll qualite de President. 80. Le Conseil de sl~cllrite a entendu les declarations des representants du Soudall et de l'Egypte ; il constllte que le representant de l'Egypte II donne I'assurance que son gouvcrnement a decitlc de difTerer le reglement de la question ell'. frontiere jmqu'all moment DU les elections soudan[lisf'~ anront eu lieu. 81. 11 va snns dire que le Conseil demeure saisi de la question presenlee par h, Soudan. Je crois que nom; pOllvans lever la seance; le COl1seil se reunira de nOIl- veau si besoin e:'it, apres les consultations d'usage entre les membres flu Conseil et Ics parties intcressees. La seance es/levee a 17 h. 45.