S/PV.89 Security Council

It is gratifying to mc, having been the first President of the Security Council, to be again privileged to occupy the Chair. I tfUdt our dcliberations will succeed in resolving many of the momentous questions submitted to us. Before introducing the items on the agenda, may I "Je permitted to express in your name a cordi~ '. welcome to the representatives of Belgium, Colombia and Syria, who take their seats <\& members of the Security Gouncil for the first time. Wc have appreciated the great contributions th~t each of these countries has made to the success of the United Nations. It is therefore with pleasure and satisfaction that we welcome their presence at the Security Council. Baron SILVERCRUYS (Belgium) (translated lrom French): Mr. President, I wish to thank you and the members of the Security Council for the words of welcome that you have just addressed to my country. I cannot let pass this oppo·{tunity of paying tribute to the contribution made to the United Nations' cause by the retiring members of the Security Council, and in particular by the Nethed:ulds, whose eminent representative has sought unceasingly to make fr.e principles whien are at tne basis of our institution prevail in the Cotmciil. Bdgill,-n is to be repx-esented here by Mr. van Langenhove. It is only temporaril}", therefore, that I have the honour of representing my country on the Security Council. I am the more keenly aware of this honour because the Security Council, under the terms of the Charter, is the organ upon which tests the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. In fulfilling the duties imposed upon it by this essential task, the Security Council acts not only on behalf of the States of which it is composed, but also on behalf of all the Members of the Unit~d Nations. The special duties allotted under this heading to each of the States represented here relate not only to the particular interests of the countries concerned, but above all to the collective interests of which the Council is the guardian. This predominance of the collective lllterestS of all, as conceived in the Charter, is the sine qua non of the success of the work for peace which we all undertook at San Francisco. It means that the election of a State to the Security Council involves a very heavy responsibility for that State. Belgium is fully conscious of that responsibility and will not shirk it. Cette predominance de I'interet collectif, tel que le con~oit la Charte, est la condition necessaire sans laquelle ne saurait etre assuree l'ceuvre de paix que nous nollS sommes tous engages a faire triompher a San-Francisco. C'est dire que I'Bection d'un Etat au Conseil de securite entraine pour lui une tIes lourde responsabilite. La Belgique en est plein1ement consciente. Elle ne se derobera pas a cette responsabilite. Mr. L6PEZ (Colombia) (translated from M. L6PEZ (Colombie) (traduit de 13espa- Spanish): I feel it a great honour to represent gnol): Monsieur le President, j'eprouve l'hon- 2. Di~ours de reception des nouveaux membres Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): n m'est agreable, apres avoir ete le premier President du Conseil de securite, d'etre a nouveau appel~ a diriger ses debats. Je pense que nous reussirons, au cours de nos deliberations, aresoudre nombre des importantes questions qui nous sont soumises. Avant de lire les points de l'ordre du jour, permettez-moi d'adresser, en votre nom, unc cordiale bienvenue aux representants de la Belgique, de la Colombie et de la Syrie qui vont sieger pour la premiere fois au Conseil de securite. Nous avons apprecie l'importance de la contribution apPol'tee par chacun de ces pays au sllcces de l'Organisation des Nations Unies. C'est done avec plaisir et satisfaction que nous saluons leur venue au Conseil de securite. . Le baron SIT.VERCRUYS (Belgique) : MOIUlieur le President, je tiens avous remercier, ainsi que les membres du Conseil, des paroles de bienvenue que vous venez d'adresser i mon pays. Je m'en voudrais de laisser passel' cette occasion de rendre hommage a la contribution apportee a la cause des Nations Unies par les membres sortants du Conseil de securite, et notamment par les Pays- Bas, dont l'eminent repr~entantn'a cesse de s'attacher a faire prevaloll' id les principes qui sont ala base d,e notre institution. La Belgique doit etre representee dans notre sein par M. van Langenhove,' Ce n'est done qu'a titre interimairt~ que j'ai l'honneur de la repre" senter moi-meme au Conseil de securite. Je ressens d'autant plus vivement cet honneur que le Conseil est l'organe sur lequel, selon la Charte, pese la responsabilite principale du maintien de la paix et de la securite internationales. En s'acquittant des fonctions que lui impose cette tiche essentie11e, le Conseil de securite agit, non pas seulement au nom des Etats quile composent, mais au nom detous les Membres des Nations Unies. Les devoirs speciaux dont se trouve investi, de ce chef, chacun des Etats qui siegent id n'existent pas en fonction seulement de son interet propre, mais surtout en fonction de l'in- . teret collectif dont il est le gardien. I thank you, Mr. President, for your words of welcome, and to the other members of the Council, I offer my whole-hearted. co-operation. Mr. EL-KH:oURY (Syria): I thank you heartily for the kind expressions with which you have welcomed us, as newcomers, to the Security Council. We are honoured to join the distinguished members of .:he Security Council around this table, and to participate with them in the handling of tile difficult and complicated problems awaiting solution. In London, last February, I had the good fortune, Mr. President, to appear before you during the last days of your first Presidency of the Security Council, pleading the case of the Syrian Government; and I am glad to state now, that not only were the Syrian Government a.."1d people gratified a.t the manner in which the ~rcurity Council, under your Presidency, dealt with their case, but the whole world approved of it, being assured that this efficient organ of the United. Nations was worthy of the confidence of the world. In the academies, it is customary, or rather traditional, that the first speech of an incoming member should enumerate the merits of his predecessor. I am not sure if it would be agree~ able to adopt this tradition; but, as this is the first time that such a replacement occurs in the Security Council, I refrain from initiating this tradition, lest it be thought that a desire for reciprocity lay behind it. For this reason, I shall limit myself in endorsing the elaborate expressions of farewell which the President of the last meeting of the Security Council eloquently voiced and venture to add, that it is rather hard for Syria to fill that vacant seat 'Which it is expected to fill, and to replace one of the dauntless retiring members; but Syria will do its best. It is with a great feeling of responsibility that Syria takes its seat in the Security Council and, with a sense of deep pride, my country recognizes the confidence that has been placed in it. The Charter embodies the principles of justice and fair dealing which lie at the basis of international life. During. our term of office in the Security Council, we shall remain loyal to these principles, and we shall be guided by them in our work. We will endeavour to discharge our responsibilities with full consciousness of the magnitude of our task. We look forward to successful co-operation with all the members of the Council, in contributing our share .to the cause of peace and the realization of the ideals of the Charter. Je remercie vivement Monsieur le President de ses paroles de bienvenue et offre aux autres membres du Conseil ma collaboration p1eine et entiere. M. EL-KHOURY (Syrie) (traduit de l'anglais): Je vous remercie de tout creur de nous avoir si aimablement souhaite la bienvenue au Conseil de securite. C'est un honneur pour nollS de prendre place a cette table avec les membres du Conseil de securite, et de travailler avec eux a resoudre l.es problerries difficiles et compliques qui attendent leur solution. A Londres, en fevrier dernier, j'ai eu l'avantage, Monsieur le President, de me presenter devant le Conseil de securite pour plaider la cause du Gouvernement syrien pendant les derniers jours de votre presidence~ et je suis heureux de declarer aujoul'd'hui que non seulement mon Gouvernement et notre peuple se sont rejouis de la fa~on dont le Conseil, sous votre presidence, a examine leur cas, mais que le monde entier y a applaudi, etant ainsi assure du bien-fonde de la confiance qu'il temoignait a cet organisme efficient des Nations Unies. Dans les discours academiques, l'b.abitude, ou plutot la tradition, veut que le rccipiendaire fasse l'eIoge de son predecesseur. Je ne Sall: s'il conviendrait de suivre ici la tradition, mais, comme c'est la premiere fois qu'un chan.gement survient dans la composition du Conseil de securite, je m'abstiendrai de creer un precedent de peur que l'on ne croie que jt desire beneficier un jour de la reciprocite. Aussi, me contenterai-je de prendre a mon compte les mots d'adieu eloquemment exprimes par le president a la derniere seance du Conseil de securite, et me hasarderai-je a ajouter qu'il sera assez difficile ala Syrie d'occuper ce siege vacant ou elle va remplacer l'un des brillants membres sortants; elle fera m~an­ moins de son mieux. C'est en appreciant pleinement ::ies responsabilites que la Syrie vientsleger au Conseil de securite, et c'est avec un profond orgueil qu'elle constate la confiance mise en elIe. La Charte concretise ces principes de justice et de bonne foi qui sont ala base de la vie internationale. Pendant la duree de Ilotre mandat au Conseil de securite, nous resterons fideles aces principes et nous nous guiderons sur eux. Nous nous efforcc,. rons de nous acquitter de notre tilche sans jamais perdre de vue la grandeur de notre mission. Nous envisageons de collaborer ut.ilement avec tous les membres du Conseil, en apportant notre contributionl la cause de la. paix et a la realisation des ideaux de la Charte. represent~tiveof anyone country or any group of countries, but I come here as the representative of the Organization as a whole. I should also like to take this opportunit.y to point out that the Latin-American countries do not form a bloc, in the old sense of' the word, when it was very usual to talk about power politics, balance of power and such things. If, on the other hand, one used the term "hloc" as referring to Latin-American countries in their spirit of following loyally the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. then Colombia, as such, will feel that it is h~ privilege to follow in the footsteps of our predecessor, the representative of Mexico, whose courage and ability I should like to praise very highly. 3. Adoption d.- I'ordre du iour 3. Adoption of the agenda

Has any representative any question to submit or any statement to make concerning the agenda? Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): QueIqu'un a-t-i! des questions aposer ou des declarations afaire a propos de l'adoption de l'ordre du jour? 4. Presentation of the credentials of the representative of Australia1 4. Presentation des lefties de «:reance :tu representant de I'Australie 1

Are there any questions or commellts regarding this particular item of the agenda? Le PRESIDENT (tradait de l'anglais): QueIqu'un a-t-il des questions a poser, ou des commentaires a faire, sur ce p<'int particu".:er de I'ordre du jour? 5. Lettre du President du ConseU des Ministres des Affaires etrangeres sur le Statut de Trieste 2 5. Letter from the.Chairman of the Coun- cil of Foreign Ministers concerning the Statute of Trieste2 M. JOHNSON (EtatsMUnis d'Amerique) (tra- Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): Owing to the fact that the Secretary of State of the United States was the Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers during its meeting in New York, it has fallen to me,. under instruc- tions from the Secretary of State, to bring this matter before the Council. The problem of Trieste was one of the most thorny and controversial questions discussed in the Council of Foreign Ministers. A just solution to this problem and the frontier between Italy and Yugoslavia is certainly the keystone of a peace settlement with Italy. d~it de l'anglais): Du fait que le Secretaire d'Etat des Etats-Unis se trouvait ctre le president du Conseil des Ministres des Affaires.etrangeres, Iors de sa reunion aNew·York,. c'est moi qui me trouve charge, par ce dernier, de presenter cette question au Conseil. Le probleme de Trieste a ete, de tous ceux que le ConseiI des Ministres des Affaires etrangeres a eu adiscuter, l'un des plus epineux et des plus controverses. A n'en pas douter, la solution equi- table de ct probleme et un trace satisfaisant de la frontiere itaIo-yougoslave constituent la clef ~e vofite de tout traite de paix avec l'Italie. Il n'est pas assez de dire qu'il est essentiel de resoudre le probleme de Trieste si l'on veut etablir dans' cette region un etat de paix ree1Ie et durable; ce probleme s'est revBli, de tous ceux Not only does this problem of Trieste consti- tute an essential element in a real and lasting peace in this area, but it has proved to be one of the most vexing of all the problems with which 1 Voir ProcAsouerbau% offici,ls da Conseil de sJcuriu, Deuximne ADn~ Supplmient No 1, Annexe 1. t Voir ProcdsMunbaru: offici,ls du Conseil de licurit/, Deuximne Annk, SupplEment No I, Annexe 2. I hope that the C01~ndl, and, in saying this, I believe I speak a!so for the repre.sc!'ltatives of the other three c01mtrie<; which were represented at th~, Coundl of :Fore.ign Ministers. will be able to reach a speedy solution of t.his question, and will find it possible to send the rcque.')ted approval to the Council of Foreign Ministers by 15 January, which is the date reque.sted by Mr. Byrnes. I havt:: distributed informally to members of the Council a simple draft resolution which the United States c"degation believes can acr..~\mpfuh the purpose v:e desire. If nu representative (In the Council objects to this resolution nor hag any other to offer, nor any other pocedl.lre to suggest, at an appropriate moment in our discwsion of this question, I shall be prepared to move this resolution for formal adoption. The PRESIDENT: As <he representative of AUSTRALIA, I wish to lnah..; cl. statement. The Australian delegation would like to draw attention to certah"'l iss'ues ,of great importance which are raised by the question now before the Security Council. The Council of Fordgn Min- isters has referred to the Security Council the various documents relating to the establishment of the Free Territory of Trieste; however, before the Security Council approves the principles con- tained in them, it should consider carefully the ) constitutional questions which are raised by these proposals. . The proposal that the Security Council should assure the integrity and independence of the Free Territory of Trieste, is accompanied by other responsibilities, which would mean, in ef- fect, that the Security Council would act as the supreme govemmg body of the Territory and wou1.d have the ultimate authority over the func- tioning of the Government which will be estab- lished by the permanent Statute. At the Paris Conference, when the subject of TIieste was under discussion, the Australian dele- gation expressed its doubt whether the Charter of the United Nations gave the Security Council power to accept the responsibilities which it was proposed to place upon it. The Australian dele- gation suggested that, in the first instance, the integrity and independence of Trieste should be given special protection in the form of an under- taking of the parties to the Italian Peace Treaty to refrain from the threat of force or the use of force against the Free Territory. During the discussion, the Australian delega- tion also pointed out that the assurance by the Security Council of the integrity and independ- ence of the Free Territory might prove to be an .illusory one, in as much as the extent of the pro- 'tection given by the Council would depend en- Je n'ai remis, officieusements aux membres du Conseil qu'un projet de resolution~ proJct qui, flUX yeux de ma delegation, permettrait d'at- teindre Ie.s fins recherchef',;S; si personne, id, ne s'oppose a cette resolution ou n'en a d'autres a proposer) ou encore si on ne nous suggere pas cl'autre procedure, je presenterai ma resolution sous une forme officiene, au moment voulu, au cours de la discussion de cette question. Le PRESIDENT (t'faduit de I'anglais): Je de- sire faire une declaration, en ma qualite de representant de l'AUSTRAIJE. La delegation de l'Australie desirera1,t attirer I'attention du Conseil su.r certaines questions de grande importance soulevees par le probleme maintenant DOSe devant nous. Le Conseil des Ministres d~ Affaires etrangeres a fait parvenir au Conseil de securite les divers documents rela~ tifs a la creation du Territorre libre de Trieste, toutefois, avant d'approuver les principes qui les inspirent~ le Conseil de securite devra examiner attentivement les problemes constitutionneIs que soulevent ces propositions. La proposition de faire garantir par le Conseil de securite l'integrite et l'independance du Terri- toire libre de Trieste, implique d'autres responsa- bilites. Le Conseil de securite deviendrait·en fait le gouvemement supreme du Territoire, et aurait I'autorite ultime sur le Gouvemement qu'etablira le Statut permanent. Lorsqu'a la Conference de Paris, on a discute le sort de Trieste, la delegation australienne s'est inquietee de savoir si, en vertu de la Charte des Nations Unies, le Conseil de securite avait le droit d'assumer les responsabilites qu'on voulait lui imposer. La delegation australienne a pro- pose que l'integrite et l'independance de Trieste eussent d'abord pour garantie une promesse des Puissances signataires du traite de paix avec l'Italie, qu.i s'engageraient a ne pas employer contre le Territoire libre la menace ou la force. Au cours de la discussion, la delegation aus- ualienne a egalement fait remarquer que la garantie donnee par le Conseil de securite de l'integrite et de l'independance du Territoire libre pourrait se reveler illusoire, car l'etendue de la garantie donnee par le Conseil serait en- The proposal made by the Australian delega- tion at the Paris Conference, regarding the best means of giving protection to the Free Territory of Trieste, was based on, and was entirely con- sistent with, this paragraph of the Charter. We now come t the question whether the Security Council has in fact been endowed with sufficient power to discharge itseII of the new duty which it is proposed to lay upon it. Chapter V of the Charter contains the general powers and functions of the Security Council, and it is further stated in Article 24, paragraph 2, that specific powers granted to the COlmcil for the discharge of its duty to maintain intemational peaCt~ and security are laid down in Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XIIo Chapters VIII and XII are not relevant to the present case. Turning to Chapters VI and VII, we find that neither of these chapters authorizes the Council to give any general guarantee of integrity and inde- pendence to a particular territory. It is only in the particular circumstances referred to in those chapters that the Council acquires and can ac- quire jurisdiction. Before the Council may act, there must be a dispute or a situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute or a threat to the peace, or a breach of peace. These powers of the Security Council, under the.9harter, operate independently of any peace treaties drawn up by the Council of For- eign Ministers, and they operate in respect of all territories, including Trieste. The proposals now before the Security Coun- cil, however, are to the effect that the Council Toutefois, et malgTe les objections, les argu- ments du Conseil des Ministres des Affuires etrangeres ont prevalu, et on demande mainte- nant au Conseil de securite de ratifier en bloc les documents qu'on lui soumet, et d'enteriner, comme question urgente, la conception des pou- voirs du Conseil de securite implicitement ex- primee clans ces documents. On se rappellera que, tant a Dwnbarton Oaks qu'a, San-Fr~l­ cisco, a ete discutee la possibilite d'introdui're dans la Charte des, Nations Unies une garantie generale relative a l'integrite territoriale; mais ainsi que les membres du Conseil de securite le savent, on a deliberement rejete cette proposi- tion. Au lieu de eela, la Conference de San- Francisco adopta un amendement qui. figure au paragraphe 4 de l'Article de la Charte, et qui dit: "Les Membres de l'Organisation s'abstien- nent dans leurs relations internationales, de re- courir ala menace ou al'emploi de la force, soit contre l'integrite territoriale ou l'independanee poHtique de tout Etat, soit de taute autre maniere inc.ompatible avec les buts des Nations Unies." La proposition faite ala Conference de Paris par la delegation australienne quant a la meilleure maniere d'accorder une protection efficace au Territoire libre de Trieste etait basee sur ce paragraphe de la Charte, et parfaitement conforme acelui-ci. Nous en anivons maintenant ala question de savoir si, en fait, le Conseil de securite a ete dote de l'autorite suffu r '1te pour s'acquitter de la nouvelle mission qu'on se propose de lui im- poser. Les fonctions et l'autorite du Conseil de securite sont definies d'une maniere generale au Chapitre V de la Charte, et il est indique plus loin, au paragraphe 2 de l'Article 24, que les pouvoirs specifiques accordes au Conseil pour lui permettre de s'acquitter de sa mission de maintenir la paix et la securite intemationales sont definis aux Chapitres VI, VII, VIII et XII. Les Chapitres VIII and XII ne s'appliquent pas au cas suivant. Quant aux Chapitres VI et VII, ni l'un ni l'autre n'autorise le Conseil a garantir d'une maniere generale l'integrite et l'indepen- dance d'un territoire determine. Le Conseil n'exerce et ne peut exercer de juridiction que dans les cas particuliers signales dans ces Cha- pitres. Il faut qu'il y ait differend, ou une situa- tion qui pourrait amener des difficultes inter- nationales ou donner naissance a un conflit, ou une menace ala paix ou une violation de la paix, pour que le Conseil puisse intervenir. D'apres la Charte, le Conseil de securite exerce cette auto- rite independamment de tout traite de paix redige par le Conseil des Ministres des Affaires etrangeres, et il les exerte a l'egard de taus les territoires, Trieste y compris. Mais les propositions que l'on soumet au Conseil de securite tendent a. lui faire accepter It might be claimed that because the Security Council has a primary responsibility under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, it enjoys 'm authority which is sufficiently wide to permit it to give a general assurance regarding the integrity and the inde- pendence of Trieste. In our view, this claim is not justifiable, There are other articles in the proposed permanent Statute of the Free Terri- tory under which the Security Council would appear to assume functions having no direct c( n~ nexion with the maintenance of international peace and security, for example, under Article 10 of the Statute. If there is a conflict between the Statute and the Constitution of the Free Territory, appeal can be ffiade to the Security Cotmcil by a decision of th~ Governor of the Territory. Further, under Articl~ 37, the Statute confers upon the Security Council power to amend the Statute itself on petition from the popular As- semblv. These are functions which relate to the ordimi.ry good government of the Territory, and not to the maintenance of peace and security. Another important question which will arise, should the Security Council approve the resolu- tion which has been suggested, concerns the obligations accepted not only by the Security Council as one of the principal organs of the United Nations, but by the Members of the United Nations. Which countries will be bound by the obligation to ensure the integrity and in- dependence of the Free Territory? Will that obligation bind countries which were non-per- manent members of the Council at the time the resolution was adopted, but find themselves no longer members at the time the obligation is implemented? Will it bind countries which are members of the Security Council when the obli- gation is carried out, but which are not members of the Council at the time the resolution accept- ing the obligations is adopted? Will it bind coun- tries which were neither members of the Council when the resolution was adopted, nor when the obligation is implemented? It would appear to be straining the provisions of the Charter too far, to assume that all these countries will be bound,' especially when the action which it is now proposed the Security Council should take, does not have the backing of the Genera! Assembly. In asking the Sectnity Council to approve the documents now before it, the Council of Foreign Ministers has presented it with a most difficult problem. The considera- t!on of this problem is made more difficult by the fact that after long months of negotiations in etrang~res lui a pose un probleme des plus diffi- ciles. Le fait qu'on se soit mis d'accord ell principe sur certains traites de pai."{, apres de longs mois de negociations au Conseil des Ministres des Af- L'Australie, en qualitcS de mcmbre cSlu du Conseil de securitcS, consciente du fait que ce Conseil represente tous les Membres de l'Assem- bleSe generale, estime qu'il est de son devoir d'at- tirer l'attention sur cette situation. Les pays qui ont persiste adonner leur appui au projet d'ac- cord, bien qu'on ait signale a leur attention les problemes qu'il suscite, doivent porter la res- ponsabilite de toutes les difficultes d'ordre poH- tique susceptibles de surgir de la situation ac- tuelle. Il nous est impossible de ne pas tenir compte de l'existence de ces problemes. Il nous faut reconnaitre que, si on ne les etudie pas des maintenant, ils se poseront a nouveau a une date ulterieure. Ce sont des problemes juridiques sur lesquels ou pourrait se baser plus tard pour soulever des objections d'ordre juridique. C(~ ne sont point la des faits nouveaux. L'Aus- tralife a deja attire l'attention sur ce point, et nous avons estimc necessaire d'expliquer a nouveau notre attitude, car, en raison des difficultes que nons avons exposees plus haut, nous ne voyons pas comment il nous serait possible de voter pour l'adoption, en bloc, des documents actuellement soumis a l'examen du Conseil de securite. Ce- pendant, nous ne desirons pas retarder les debats, ni donner l'impression de mettre obstacle a la concluf.lAon du traite de paix. Ayant ainsi ex- plique notre attitude, nous esperons qu'une dis- cussion de cette situation delicate par les divers membres du Conseil permettra peut-etre d'abou- tir ades propositions concretes qui constitueraient pour le Conseilla meilleure fa~on d'aborder les problemes auxquels il doit faire face. M. EL-KHOURY (Syrie) (traduit de !'an- g!ais): Lorsque j'ai re~u ce document hier soir, j'ai essaye de le lire avant de me rendre a cette reunion du Conseil de securite; mais le temps m'a manque, et je n'ai pu lire tout le document et en avoir la connaissance pleine et enticre. Neanmoins, j'ai pu arriver aceUe conclusion que ce texte place l'administration directe du Terri- toire Iibre de Trieste sous l'autorite du Conseil de securite. Parvenu ace point, je me suis arrete, me demandant si la Charte autorisait ou non cette decision, et quel Article de la Charte en posait le principe. J'ai, une fois de plus, reIu tous les Chapitres de la Charte, afin d'y trouver quelque Article qui autorisat le Conseil de secu- rite a prendre en mains l'administration directe d'lID Etat ou d'un territoire quelconque. Je n'ai pu trouver d'Article de ceUe nature; si ce n'est le Chapitre XII de la Charte, qui traite des regions strategiques placees sous le regime de tutelle. On peut ainsi expliquer la chose, mais il est evident, ainsi que notre President vient de le declarer, que cet Article du Chapitre XII ne s'applique pas al'affaire en cause. Dans les autres Chapitres V, VI, VII et VIII, These are not new matters. Australia has drawn attention to them before and we have felt it necessary to make our position clear again, because, in view of the difficulties outlined above, we do not see how we can vote for the approval in toto of the documents now before the Security Council. At the same time, we do not wish to delay proceedi'1gs, nor do we wish to appear as obstructing the conclusion of the peace settlement. Having made our position clear, we hope that discussion of this difficult situation by various members of the Council will perhaps result in concrete suggestions being put fo:.ward as to the best practicable approach which the Council can now make to the problems with which it is faced. Mr. EL-KHOURY (Syria): When I received this document last night, I tried to read it over before coming to this meeting of the Security Council, but the time was too short and I could not read through the whole document and have a thorough lIDderstanding of it. However, I was able to reach the conclusion that it puts the direct administration of the Free Territory of Trieste under the Security Council. I stopped at this point and asked myself whether or not the Charter allowed this and under what article of the Charter any such principle was laid down. ... I once again reviewed all the chapters of the Charter to find some article which might au- thorize the Security Council to take charge of the direct administration of any State or territory. I failed to fi..'1d such an article, with the excep- tion of Chapter XII of the Charter which con- cerns strategic areas which are put under the system of trusteeship. That can be taken or ex- plained in that way, but certainly, as our Presi- dent has just mentioned in his statement, that particular article nf Chapter XII does not apply to our present case. In the other Chapters V, VI, VII, and VIII, Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics) (translated from' Russian): I suggest that the proposals submitted by the Council of Foreign Ministers to the Security Council for its consideration and approval be approved in the fonn in which they were presented. . As regards the powers and rights of the Secu- rity Council, I consider it to be obvious that the right and power of the Security Council to assume responsibility for the fulfilment of the tasks specified in the documents submitted by the Council of Foreign Ministers are provided for by several of the terms of the United Nations' Charter, in particular by Article 24 of the Charter. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): Mr. President, no doubt you were yourself right to draw attention to possible difficulties that might arise in connexion with this question which is before us, and to express certain doubts on some of the aspects of the resolution which we are aske4 to adopt, and on which the repre- sentative of Syria also expressed certain doubts. I wish I could say something to dispel some of the doubts which were raised. In the first place, I think you, Mr. President, based yourself on the fact that you could find nothing in the Charter which specifically au- thorizes the Council to undertake such duties as we are now asked to accept. It may be that it should make us pause, and we might think twice about that, but I should think three or four times before putting my name to creating any kind of precedent which in future would debar the Council from accepting any responsi- bilities which were not specifically laid upon it in the Charter, because I think very difficult questions may often arise, in which it really will be necessary to turn to the Council for assistance. ~"eS des Affaires etrangeres feront la lumiere sur ce point et nous fourniront une explication avant que nous poussions plus avant l'etude de cette question. M. GaOMYKO (Union des Republiques socia- listes sovietiques) (traduit du russe): Je propose d'adopter telles quelles les propositions que le Conseil des Ministres a soumises a I'examen et a l'approbation du Conseil de securite. Quant a la competence et aux droits du Conseil de securite, il me semble evident qu'une sene de dispositions de la Charte des Nations Unies, et plus particulierement l'Article 24, pre- voient que le Conseil de securite a le droit et le pouvoir d'assumer la responsabilite d'accomplir lcs taches mentionnees dans les documents sou- mis par le Conseil des Ministres. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (Royaume-Uni) (traduit de l'anglais): Sans aucun doute, Monsieur le President, vous avez eu raison d'at- tirer l'attention sur les difficultes qui pourraient eventuellement surgir a propos de la question qui nous est soumise, et d'exprimer des doutes sur certains des aspects de la resolution que 1'0n nous demande d'adopter, et sur lesquels le repre- sentant de la Syrie a, lui aussi, exprime certains dontes. Je voudrais qu'il me soit permis de dire quelques mots pour dissiper que1ques-uns des doutes qui se sont fait jour. Tout d'abord, je crois, Monsieur le President, que vous ave;z fonde votre opinion sur le fait que vous ne pouviez trouver dans la Charte aucune disposition qui donnat avec precision au Conseil l'autorisation de se charger de missions de la nature de celles qu'on nous demande d'accepter. 11 se pe'Gt que cela retarde nos deliberations, et nous pourrions y reflechir a. deux fois; mais, pour ma part, je reflechirais trois ouquatre fois avant de donner mon adhesion a la creation de tout precedent susceptible, a l'avenir, d'interdire au· Conseil d'accepter des responsabilites quelcon- ques dont la Charte ne l'aurait pas charge de fa~on precise; je crois en efl'et qu'il pourra sou- vent s'elever des questions tres delicates, pOm' lesquelles il sera reellement necessaire de de- mander l'aide du Conseil. L'affaire actuelle---le reglement de la question de Trieste-est indubitablement la clef de voftte There is another point, Mr. President, that I think you raised, and that was: on which par- ticular States would in fact these duties de- volve? Would a State, non-permanent member of the Council, which happened to be a member when these duties were assumed, continue to bear those responsibilities after it had ceased to be a member? I cannot give an authoritative reply but, personally, I should have thought not. I shlJuld have thought that what we would have been doing today, if we accepted this resolution, would be to accept and agree that the Security Council, as an organ of the United Nations, has this responsibility in the future. The Security Council has already certain broad responsibilities and any State elected as a non-permanent member assumes those duties when it joins the Council, and, I suppose, it is divested of them when its term of office comes to an end. Should we lay on the Security Council any additional specific duties, it seems to me that the situation would be identical, and that the State elected to the Council would, during its term of office, share in those responsibilities; but at the end of its term of office, it would revert to its former status of a Member of the United Nations on behalf of whom the Security Council acts. I think that is the right answer. A further point was made by the representa- tive of Syria, who spoke of the difficulty he found in accepting that the Council should di- rectly administer a territory. I read those docu- I ments as carefully as I could and I should have thought that was not strictly quite a correct definition. I do not think that, under these docu- ments, the Council could be said to administer En disant qu'il lui paraissait difficile d'ad- mettre que le Conseil pilt directement~ adminis- trer un territoire, le representant de la Syrie a souleve une autre question. J'ai Iu avec le plus grand soin possible les documents dont nous dis- cutons, et il me semble que nollS ne !lommes pas tout afait d'accord sur le sens des termes. Je ne pense pas que l'on puisse dire d'apr~s ces docu- Therefore, I hope that if the representative of Syria accepts this explanation) the difficulties which he experiences on that score may be seen to disappear. The PRESIDENT: Does any other representa- tive of the Council wish to cpeak on this ques- tion? Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): I listened with the greatest interest and attention to the points which you brought out very clearly in your statement regarding the Australian posi- tion and also to the interesting points raised by the representative of Syria. I find it impJssible, personally, to agree with the interpretations which have been given. The Council of the United Nations is charged, as its highest res)?onsibility by the Charter, with the duty of watching over and maintaining interna- tional peace and security. Any spot on the sur- face of the earth where, for whatever reason, conflicts may break out and where men may be at each other's throats, is a spot of legitimate concern to the Security Council. This particular problem of Trieste, I think, has been rightly brought to the Security Council by the Council of Foreign Ministers. The Coun- cil of Foreign Ministers was charged with the responsibility of drawing up a final peace settle- ment with Italy. It was not possible to reach agreement on that instrument without settling the controversial question of Trieste, in some way. It was not possible to reach agreement on that draft treaty by leaving- Trieste in Italy. ,It was not possible to reach agreement on that draft treaty by assigning the Trieste Territory away from Italy to any other country. The only pos- sible solution was internationalization. Once that is admitted, for the sake of argu- ment, when you have an independent stretch of territory situated between two neighbours who both desire it, not in part but in whole, such an internationalized strip of territory must be guar- anteed. It seems to me far more in the spirit of the times and of the world Organization which we are trying to build up, that the Security Council, representing the United Nations, which we hope will soon represent the world, should be the body charged with the respons;,bility for guaranteeing that Territory, rather than the prin- cipal Powers who were engaged in the war, or any single Power arbitrarily chosen as a so-called trustee. The Security Council :snould not, in my view, be afraid of leaping to take such a responsibility. It is in the fulfilment of such a responsibility that the United Nations justifies its existence. I will not comment in detail on the question raised by the representative of Syria, because possih!~ etaut I'internationalisation. Une foisl ce point admis, supposons, a titre d'exemple, une bande de territoire independant, situee entre deux voisins qui la desirent tous deux, non point en pame, mais en totalite: une telle bande de territoire internationalise doit etre garantie. n me semble qu'll est plus conforme a l'esprit des temps presents et de I'Organisation mondiale que nous essayons d'edifier, que ce soit le Conseil de securite, qui represente les Nations Unies, lesquelles representeront bientot, nous l'esperons, le monde entier, que 1'0n charge de garantir l'integrite de ce territoire, plutot que les principales Puissances ayant pris part ala guerre, ou une "grande Puissance" arbitrairement choisie comme "mandataire", suivant l'expression adoptee. A mon sens, le Consell de securite ne doit pas avoir peur de prendre cette responsabilite. C'est en prenant de telles responsabilites que les Nations Unies justifient leur existence. Je ne m'etendrai pas sur la question posee par le representant de la Syrle, puisque Sir Alexander En consequence, si vous voulez bien me le permettre, je presenterai ofliciellement au Conseil le projet de resolution qui a deja ete distribue oflicieusement a ses membres, et dont je vais vons donner lecture: "Le Conseil de securite, ayant re~u et examine les Annexes .au projet de traite de paix avec l'Italie relatives a la creation et au gouvemement du Territoire libre de Trieste (y compris les dispositions concernant le port franc) donne son accord aux dites Annexes et accepte les responsabilites qui decoulent pour lui de ces Annexes, et charge le Secretaire general d'informer les Etats-Unis d'Amerique, la France, le Royaume-Uni et I'Union des Re- publiques socialistes sovietiques de cette deci- sion." J'espere que ce projet de resolution recueillera I'approbation du Conseil. Si je m'en rapporte aux paroles des representants de l'Union des Re- publiques socialistes sovietiques et du Royaume- Uni, Us acceptent les terme~ de la presente reso- lution. Je desirerais m'associer aux commentaires faits au sujet de ce point de notre ordre du jour par le representant de I'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques, et par celui du Royaume- Uni. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Le re- . presentant des Etats"Unis d'Amerique a presente .un projet de resolution dont les termes sont les suivants: "Le Conseil de securite ayant ~u et examine les Annexes au projet de traite de paix avec I'Italie relatif a la creation et au gouvemement du Territoire libre de Trieste (y compris les dispositions concernant le port franc) donne son accord aux dites Annexes et accepte les responsabilites qui decoulent pour lui de ces Annexes, et charge le Secretaire general d'informer les Etats-Unis d'Amerique, la France, le Royaume"Uni et l'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques de cette decision." Avant de d~clarer formellement que ce projet de resolution est mis aux voix devant le Conseil, je desire demander au representant de I'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques s'il estime que ce projet de resolution exprime les idees qu'il a lui"meme errJses. "The Security Council having received and examined the Annexes to the proposed Peace Treaty with Italy relating to the creation and govemment of the Free Territory of Trieste (including an arrangement for a Free Port), hereby records its approval of the.said An" nexes, and its acceptance of the responsibilities devolving upon it under the same, and directs the Secretary-General to notify the United States of America, France, the United King- dom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics of its action." Before actually indicating that this is the reso- lution before the Council, I should like to ask the representative of the Union of Soviet S~ cialist Republics if he accepts it as a resolution which would be in agreement with what he has suggested.

I would ask the representative of the United States of America if he wishes to add something to what the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has just said. Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): I thank the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the clarification which he has just made, which, I think, will be useful to the members of the Security Council, particularly, as he has pointed out, as there are documents attached which might require the Council's approval. I would invite your attention, however, to the fact that when I spoke of this subject, I listed the three papers which would require the Council's approval, but I did not refer to the others. 0

Then, the proposal before the Security Council is the one that has been proposed by the representative of the United States. Baron SILVERCRUYS (Belgium) (translated from French): The letter of 12 December 1946 from the Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers to the Secretary-General, and the important documents annexed thereto, were only obtained by the Belgian delegation on the afternoon of 3 January, when, at their own request, they were provided with a provisional text. Document S!224/Rev.1, which was distributed for restricted circulation on 23 December 1946, was only made available to the Belgian delegation on 4 January. This v('luminous document was at once sent to the BelL 1ll Government by air mail. It is doubtful whether it will even yet have been received. Most of the members of the Council have had time to study this document carefully; I have not had that opportunity. I wonder whether the Council is entitled to expect the Belgian delegation, thus unprepared, to pronounce judgment on the important texts now submitted to the Council for approval. If a decision must be taken immediately, I shall be obliged to abstain from voting, for the reasons I have just explained. Les autres documents ont ete souInis au Conseil de securite atitre d'information. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): J'aimerais demander au representant des Etats-Unis d'Amerique s'U desire ajouter quelque chose ace que vient de dire le representant de l'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques. M. JOHNSON (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (traduit de l'anglais) : Je remercie le representant de l'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques de l'eclaircissement qu'il vient d'apporter et qui, je pense, sera utile aux membres du Conseil de securite, d'autant plus, comme Ul'a souligne, que certains des documents joints pourraient necessiter l'approbation du Conseil. Cependant, j'aimerais attirer votre attention sur le fait que, lorsque j'ai parle cl' cette question, j'ai enumere les trois documents qui necessiteraient l'approbation du ConseU, mais n'ai pas cite les autres. Le PRESIDENT (traduit de l'anglais): Dans ce cas, la proposition souInise au Conseil de securite est celle du representant des Etats-Unis. Le baron SILVERCRUYS (Belgique): La lettre du 12 decembre 1946 du President du ConseU des Ministres des Affaires etrangeres au Secretaire general, et l'imp'ortante documentation annexee n'ont pu etre obtenues par la delegation belge que le 3 janvier dans l'apres-midi, date a laquelle un texte provisoire lui a ete remis a sa demande. Le document S/224/Rev.l, qui avait fait l'objet d'une distribution restreinte des le 23 decembre dernier, a ete accessible ala delegation belge le 4 janvier seulement. Ce volumineux document a immediatement ete transmis par courrier aerien au Gouvernement beIge. 11 est douteux que celui-ci l'ait re~u a l'heure actuelle. La piupart des membres du ConseU ont eu le temps de l'etudier et de l'approfondir; la meme faculte ne m'a pas ete devolue. Je me demande si le Comeil est fonde as'attendre acc que le representant de la Belgique se prononce aujourd'hui, en quelque sorte au pied leve, sur les textes importants actuellement sou- Inis a l'approbation du Conseil de securite. Si une decision immediate devait etre prise, je me trouverais dans la necessite de m'abstenir au vote, pour les raisons que j'ai fait valoir. They, themselves, inform us that they have established a Committee which will hold itself at the disposal of the Security Council for the purpose of furnishing us with all the necessary information; but we shall not have the opportunity to avail ourselves of this, on account of the pressure of time. I take it for granted, of course, that these documents have been very carefully prepared, and that we can confidently vote for their acceptance after some careful perusal. But, under the circumstances, I prefer to announce that I shall have to abstain from doing so, because I do not feel that I can give any intelligent or any formal opinion ahoUlt them in such a short time. Mr. LANGE (Poland): The Polish delegation is quite ready to vote for the resolution which was presented by the representative of the United States, which was endorsed by the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and, I understand, also by the representative of the United Kingdom. In doing so, I want to express what I consider to be the chief argument for accepting the three documents which are before us. At the Paris Conference, Poland advocated a. solution quite different from that which was finally accepted both at the Paris Conference and later by the Conference of Foreign Ministers. Instead of the internationalization of the Free Territory, we thought that it would have been a better course to accept the claims which were made by the People's Republic of Yugoslavia. However, we are today confronted by the fact that the Peace Conference, and later the Council of Foreign Ministers, decided differently, and in the interest of achieving a peace settlement, we are ready to submit to this decision. We do not have any legal qualms about the Secl1rity Council accepting the responsibilities it is asked to accept. I know that it may be somewhat difficult to point to a specific phrase in the Charter which would justify the taking over of the functions we are asked to assume. However, M. LANGE (Pologne) (traduit de l'anglais): La delegation de la Pologne est parfaitement disposee a voter la resolution presentee par le representant des Etats-Unis et a laquelle ont souscrit le representant de I'Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques et, si j'ai bien compris, le representant du Royaume-Uni. Au moment de voter cette resolution, .le desire exprimer ce que .le considere la raison principale d'accepter les trois documents qui nous sont soumis. A la Conference de Paris, la Pologne a preconise une solution entierement differente de celle qui a ete finalement acceptee, et ala Conference de Paris et, plus tard, par la Conference des Ministres des Affaires etrangeres. Plutot que d'internationaliser le Territoire libre, nous pensions qu'il aurait mieux valu prendre en consideration les revendications de la Republique populaire de Yougoslavie. Cependant, nous nous trouvons au.lourd'hui en presence d~une decision differente prise par la Conference de Paris, et ensuite par le Conseil des Ministres des Affaires etran~eres, et pour que 1'0n parvienne enfin a conclure un traite de paix, nous sommes prets, a nous soumettre acette decision. Nous n'avons aucun scrupule d'ordre juridique quant al'acceptation par le Conseil de securite des r~ponsabiliMs qu'on Iui demande d'accepter. .re sais qu'il peut 8tre assez difficile de trouver dans la Charte une phrase precise qui Justifierait l'acceptation des fonctions qu'on nous demande We have before us the result of very prolonged and very delicate negotiations which, fortunately, led to an agreement and to a positive result. Under the circumstances, the only reasonable course we can take, is to approve these results as they stand. Each of us may think that he may be able to present improving amendments, yet I think that, in this Council, like any other international conference, we have to get accustomed to accepting things about which each one has his little disagreements and different ideas, because that is the only practical way in which an international body like ours, or a Conference of Foreign Ministers, can reach results. It is because of this paramount practical consideration, that I appeal to the members of this Council to accept the resolution presented by the representative of the United States. Some of our colleagues have expressed some misgivings that they have received the documents rather late and have had no time to study them in detail. In this case, if the Council thinks that, as a matter of courtesy to them, they want t? postpone the final vote, we make no objections. Mr. PARODl (France) (translated from French): With regard to the discussion on the question of substance concerning the legal point that has just been raised, I wish to say that I For these reasons of substance, the French delegation supports the proposal presented by Mr. Johnson. There is yet another difficulty before us; namely, the short time our colleagues, particularly the representatives of Belgium and Colombia, have had for studying this complicated text and for receiving instructions from their Governments. In fact, we are in a rather special position, for we are aware that this text is the outcome of very prolonged discussion, that it has been drafted in very difficult circumstances and incorporates the settlement of a very delicate situation. I do not think that any Government would willingly take the responsibility of reopening a question which has been settled with such care and so much difficulty. Nevertheless, our colleagues are certainly justified in asking for a little more time to study the texts and, in view of the fact that both of them are attending the Security Council for the first time, we should be all the more considerate towards them. I think that we might quite well postpone our decision for a few days, asking these representatives, however, to do everything in their power to hasten the receipt of the necessary instructions from their respective Governments, so that the texts may be reconsidered by the Security Council and a decision taken on them, if possible by the end of the week. I therefore support Mr. Johnson's resolution. I would at the same time ask the Council to consider the possibility of postponing its decision until the end of the week, in order to give our colleagues time to recdve instructions. Je crois que nous pourrions sans dommage retarder notre decision de quelques jours, en leur demandant simplement de vouloir bien faire leur possible pour hater la remise des instructions qui leur sont necessaires afin que, si cela etait possible, les textes aient pu etre revus par le Conseil de securite, et une decision prise, d'ici la fin de la semaine. Je me prononce done en faveur de la resolution de M. Johnson et demande en meme temps au Conseil, de vouloir bien examiner si nous ne pourrions pas ajourner notre decision a la fin de la semaine, afin de permettre a nos collegues de recevoir des instructions. M. JOHNSON (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (traduit de l'anglais): Je comprends parfaitement les difficultes que rencontrent les nouveaux membres du Conseil, et les apprecie pleinement. l'estime que le moins que puisse faire le Conseil pour pallier ala situation dans laquelle ils se trouvent pour n'avoir participe aux debats du Conseil que depuis le debut de I'annee, est d'ajourner I'examen de ceUe proposition. J'accepterai avec plaisir la suggestion faite par le representant de la France, de reporter l'examen definitif de cette proposition a vendredi ou a samedi pro- Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): I fully understand the difficulties in Which the new members of the Council find themselves, and I sympathize with those difficulties. I think the least the Council can do, as a palliative to the situation in which they find themselves by having taken their seats on the Council only from the first of this year, is to postpone the consideration of this proposal. I would gladly accept the suggestion made by the representative c- Vrance that final consideration of this proposal be postponed until Friday or Saturday of this week, ~aise appuie le projet de resolution presente par M. JOhnsOll. Nous sommes en presence d'une autre difficuIte, a savoir, le court delai dont nos collegues, et notamment nos collegues de Belgique et de Colombie, ont dispose pour etudier un texte complique, et recevoir des instructions de leurs Gouvernements. A vrai dire, nollS sommes dans une situation assez particuliere, car nous savons que ce texte est le resultat de tres longues discussions, qu'il a ete etabli dans des conditions tres difficiles, et qu'il apporte le reglement d'une situation extremement delicate. Je ne pense pas qu'aucun Gouvernement prendrait volontiers la responsabilite de remettre en question toute une affaire aussi soigneusement et aussi difficilement reglee. Cependant, nos collegues sont certainement fondes a demander un peu plus de temps pour etudier les textes, et nous devons avoir encore plus d'egards en ce qui les concerne, puisqu'il'S en sont I'un et I'autre a leur .premiere reunion. Personally, as other speakers who have spoken before me, I hold no objection to postponing a decision, in order to give the new members more time to make a more thorough study of the documents before us. I would, however, point out that of all the Governments which are represented around this table, only Colombia and Syria were not members of the Paris Peace Conference. Therefore, I believe that the principles underlying the three documents-hclere us, which we are asked to approve, are well known to the Governments represented around this table. China was present at the Paris Conference, and personally, I had the honour to participate in the very prolonged debates and the sometimes heated discussions relating to the Trieste problem. At the Paris Peace Conference, China supported the solutions which were finally agreed upon by the Council of Foreign Ministers, because we realized that these solutions represented the maximum area of agreement and that they were the only feasible solutions in a most difficult international situation. China supported the idea that the Security Council should ensure the independence and integrity of the Free Territory of Trieste. We thought, and we still believe, that the Charter confers sufficiently broad powers on the Security Council for undertaking whi~h the United States representative has laid before us. China is ready to vote and is in full agreement with this resolution, but as I have said before, we think it is reasonable to postpone a final decision in order to give members a little more time for thorough study and for consulting their Governments. Mr. LOPEz (Colombia): J should like to voice my very warm appreciation of the attitude taken by the Polish and French representatives in this debate towards the delegations which have not had sufficient time to look into this matter more thoroughly. The proposal has also been supported by the United States and Chinese representatives. I think this is very eilcouraging and very stimulating, but I would like to explain that we do not believe we shall be able to suggest, as it has been proposed, any changes to this draft. I doubt very much whether, even if some improvements could be made, that they would be pertinent to the question. However, we wish to assure the Council that we do not intend giving any opinions when we have not had the time, or the necessary information, to give it our consideration, although it goes without saying that when we hear such a careful and well-thoughtout statement on the matter as that of the Australian representative, we certainly feel all the more constrained not to commit ourselves. prome~eur, mais je tiens a preciser que nous ne pensons pas que nous soyons en mesure de proposer que1que changement it ce projet, ainsi que cela a ete suggere. Je doute beaucoup, meme si nous pouvions proposer quelques ameliorations, qu'elles puissent avoir une grande portee pour la solution du probleme. Cependant nous tenons a assurer le Conseil que nous ne voulons pas emettre d'avis avant d'avoir eu le temps, ou les renseignements necessaires a notre examen, bien que nous DOUS sentions, cela va sans dire, encore plus genes de ne pas prendre position, maintenant que nous avons pu entendre la si parfaite et complete declaration faite sur la question par le representant de l'Australie. Nous n'avons pas tenu afaire connaitre notre decision, particulierement en ce qui concerne les pouvoirs et fonctions du Conseil de securite, bien que nous soyons, je dois le dire, favorables a un accroissement des pouvoirs du Conseil de securite et de ceux de I'AssembIee generale. Mais la question s'est presentee, et se presentera a nouveau a propos de problemes tres importants, pour lesque1s nous pourrons agir comme cette fois-ci, seIon I'hypothese que 1'0n peut discuter cette action et I'entreprendre en se fondant sur les principes de la Charte, et non sur une disposition determinee de cette Charte. J'estime excellent de creer ce precedent; c'est pourquoi j'aimerais ajouter que, lorsque nous avons communique aujourd'hui avec notre Gouvernement, nous avons ete autorises aagir anotre discretion. Nous ne nous sommes pas sentis cependant incites a nous engager par un vote sans avoir etudie la question plus a fond, mais nous sommes disposes a craire qu'il faut accepter cette recommandation. En ce qui nous concerne, je tiens a declarer une fois de plus que je suis tres sensible ala comprehension temoignee ici aregard des nouveaux membres et de leur situation, et je crois qu'il sera tres utile dans l'avenir d'agir de meme; comme je I'ai dit, cela creera une atmosphere favorable We are not concerned with indicating our decision, particularly with regard to the powers and functions of the Security Council, but I must say that we are in favour of enlarging the powers of the Security Council and of the Assembly as well. But the question has arisen, and it will no doubt arise again soon, on very important matters on which we can take such an action as this, under the assumption that it can be argued and based on the spirit of the Charter rather than on any definite provision of the Charter. I feel it is a very good thing that we should establish this precedent, and therefore I should like to add that, when we communicated with our Government, today, on this matter, we were given authority to act at our discretion. We did not feel prompted, however, to commit our vote without having studied the matter further, but we are prepared to believe that this recommendation should be accepted. So far as we are concerned, I want to say once more that I appreciate very much the spirit which has been shown here towards the position of the new members, and I believe that it will prove very helpful in the future to act likewise, and, as I say, thus contribute to the spirit of the work of the Council. I, for my part, will be pre-

This might be an appropriate moment for me to submit to the Council the suggestion that has been made that the vote and any further discussion upon this question might be deferred until a later day this week; it was suggested that possibly Friday might be a suitable day. Do I take it that this is agreed to by the members of the Council? If there are no objections, then it is adopted. Baron SILVERCRUYS (Belgium) (translated from French): I just wanted to say thank you, Mr. PresIdent. The PRESIDENT: I would have said that the Council might resume its deliberations tomorrow at 3 p.m. It has now been suggested that possibly Thursday might be a more convenient day than tomorrow. Would it meet with the wish of members of the Council if we were to resume on Thursday at 3 p.m.? I would suggest that we might then proceed with the next item on the agenda, the question of disarmament. Are there any objections to the suggestion that we should meet on Thursday? It is then adopted. The meeting rose at 5.55 p.m. La seance est levee a17 h. 55.