S/PV.985 Security Council

I have asked to speak in order to make some brief comments on the statement just made by the representative of the United Kingdom, His contention seems to be that a vote should be taken immediately and that the application of Kuwait should be accepted for various reasons. One of them is that the League of Arab States decided to admit Kuwait to its membership, As the members of the Security Council are aware, the Government of Iraq made very strong reservations regarding the decision of the Arab League to admit Kuwait, These reservations are a matter of record and I do not want to air them in the Council. 20. But I must say that I was somewhaf surprised to hear the sudden concern of the representative of the United Kingdom to the effect that decisions of the Arab League should be respected by the Security Council and, presumably, by other organs of the United Nations. If he wants to be consistent, I would suggest that he instruct his delegation in the Special Political Committee te respect another decision of the Arab League concerning Oman, Of course, he will not do that. He supports this decision because it con- Arab States should learn and that they forget at their own peril. I do not want to say any more on this question, I think that what I have been trying to say has been understood perfectly well by ali members of the Council. 21. The representative of the United Kingdom stil] maintains the claim that the agreement concluded on 19 June 1961 as well as the agreement concluded on 23 January 18992/ were agreements between two sovereign States. I wish he had answered some of the points which I made in my speech this morning in which I think I showed very categorically that at no time, neither in 1899 nor in 1961, was Kuwaita sovereign State entitled to conclude international agreements with another sovereign State. 22, I would like to ask the representative of the United Kingdom, through you, Mr, President, to inform us when Kuwait became a sovereign State, Was it in 1899, when the British Resident in the Persian Gulf decided to conclude an agreement with the Sheikh? Was it in 1961? When did that "sovereignty" of Kuwait become a reality? I have tried to show, in my speech this morning, that at no time was Kuwait a sovereign and separate entity, and I still have to hear from the representative of the United Kingdom, or from others, when this "sovereignty" of Kuwait was created, Did it come out of thin air, out of nothing? 28, Of course, the main point in this whole debate is the nature of Anglo-Kuwait relations, It is our con= tention~and I think that contention has not been refuted—that these are not relations between two equal and sovereign States. The treaty signed—or rather the exchange of notes of 19 June 1961—does not constitute an agreement between equals, I have tried to show, in my speech this morning, that the undertakings accepted by the Government of the United Kingdom under the agreement of 19 June 1961 were of such a sweeping character, so limitless, as to create a very legitimate sense of suspicion and misgiving in us all. How is it that the United Kingdom, this great Power which has always known how to pursue its interests—and very legitimately so; I think every Power should pursue its own interests and we cannot blame the United Kingdom for doing that at all—how is it that this great Power surrendered so completely to the Sheikh of Kuwait? Could the representative of the United Kingdom inform us how it is that they have this implicit, complete and unquestioning faith in the Sheikh of Kuwait, and how it is that they are ready at his beck and call to render him any type of assistance at any time? No limitation is put on the type and extent of the assistance. I would like the representative of the United Kingdom to inform us whether they have a similar agreement with any other sovereign State, whether they have given such 2/ ©, U, Aitchison (compiler), A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads relating to India and Neighbouring Countries (Delhi, Manager of Publications, 1933), vol. XI, p. 262. 24, Now, this is not a serious agreement, Really, you cannot possibly consider this agreement as an agreement which creates a relationship between equal and independent States. 25. For 111 these reasons, I think that the suggestion you made this morning, Mr. President, was an eminently wise suggestion, although as far as we are concerned we believe the Council should reject outright and without hesitation the application of Kuwait for membership because, as I said, Kuwait is not a State in any sense of the word and certainly not in the sense of Article 4 of the Charter, But you have rightly said the matter needs, perhaps, further consideration, and I think the proposal which you made is an eminently reasonable one, a very wise proposal, and I feel somewhat sorry that our Arab colleagues: do not take your advice and remove this problem from the Council so that the matter will not be a matter of difference of opinion between the Arab States, The Arab States have never differed on major issues in this Organization, and it was our hope that they would not differ in this case. But unfortunately, your advice was not heeded, and therefore, if the draft resolution is put to the vote, I would ask that the Council turn it down, 26, The PRESIDENT (translatedfrom Russian): Since no one else wishes to speak, I should like to say a few words, as the representative of the UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, in connexion with the comments made by previous speakers, 27. The United Kingdom representative, referring to my proposal that discussion and settlement of this question should be postponed, made certain criticisms of our position and our arguments, He said that our reasons for refusing to recognize the independence of Kuwait were not convincing and added that, by the exchange of notes which took place between the repre~ sentatives of the United Kingdom and Kuwait, the whole matter was handed over to the ruler of Kuwait and not to the representatives of the United Kingdom, 28. I consider that the views just expressed by the representative of Iraq deserve serious attention, for I do not think that there has yetbeen a case in history where a great colonial Power such as the United Kingdom has given "carte blanche" to the ruler of a small territory and has acted entirely according to his request, however and whenever he wished, Naturally, this fact alone gives rise to serious doubts concerning the actual terms of, that agreement; I shall not dwell any further on that point because it is clear to everyone that it is not the ruler cf Kuwait but the Government of the United Kingdom which will determine when the United Kingdom troops are to come, and that it will find a way to persuade the 30. However, this is a matter for the representatives of the Arab countries, and I assume that I do not need to go into a detailed exposition of the stand taken by those countries. I do not think that we can interfere in any way in the internal affairs of the Arab League and of the Arab countries in general. But as the United Kingdom representative is surprised at our concern regarding differences within the Arab League, I should like to answer him. 31, Our concern in this matter is understandable, for the Soviet Union, throughout the history of its development and of the Soviet people's struggle for the freedom and independence of the colonial peoples, has always been concerned not to divide, but to strengthen the unity of, all the former colonial peoples which are fighting for their complete emancipation. 32, The policy of the United Kingdom has always followed the slogan "Divide and rule". But the policy of the Soviet Union has always been and always will be a policy of uniting all the anti~colonialist forces in the struggle against colonialism, 33. That is why we are very anxious to see that the united front of the anti-colonialist forces in the Near and Middle East is strengthened, for we are finaly convinced that the struggle for complete liberation from colonial domination is far from being ended and is going to continue, particularly in the Near and Middie East, where oil interests make it certain that the struggle will go on for a long time. 34, That is why we have shown our concern, in the interests of the whole world, and of the strengthening of peace and the anti-colonialist front in the Near and Middle East, We are anxious not to weaken that anticolonialist front, but to strengthen it. There is no contradiction either with our general policy of combating colonialism or with specific objectives which involve the interests of various countries, including those of the Near and Middle East, 35, As regards the United Kingdom representative's remark to the effect that the statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, which I quoted, concerning oil imperialism was not the best source for determining and assessing the policy of the United Kingdom, I would reply that the Government and people of Iraq has some little experience of the struggle for liberation from British colonial domination, and that experience ought to be taken into and blood struggle for liberation. 387. We feel that we must listen to representatives who have actual experience of the struggle against British imperialism. There is nothing surprising in that; it is a natural and, I think, quite legitimate thing to do for all those who favour, not only in words but in deeds, the liquidation of the colonial system and its after-effects. 38, That is what I wish to say concerning the position taken by the United Kingdom representative in his comments on our proposal to postpone the question. Once again, I regret that our friends from the United Arab Republic were not convinced by our comments and our proposals on that matter and that they are still insisting on the discussion and settlement of this question of Kuwait, 39. In expressing that regret, I should like at the same time to dispel any illusions, on the part either of the representative of the United Arab Republic or of the other members of the Council, that there is any chance of an affirmative decision on this question at this meeting of the Council, I do not want anyone to be under that illusion. I wish to state clearly that the USSR delegation will not be able to support the proposal of the United Arab Republic, and that, bearing in mind all the facts which have emerged at this meeting of the Council, it wilii be obliged to vote against that proposal. 40. Therefore, it seems to me that it would be more sensible to avoid taking the matter to anegative decision and, in the interests of strengthening the anticolonialist front in its struggle in the Near and Middle East, to postpone consideration of this question and endeavour to find a reasonable solution of it, bearing in mind the interests of all the Arab peopies which are fighting for their liberation and for the satisfaction of their requirements, 41, Hense I must again insist on the formal proposal which I introduced, namely, that consideration of this question should be postponed under rule 33 (5) of the Security Council's provisional rules of procedure, 42. Those are the additional comments I considered it necessary to make, 43, If no one else wishes fo speak, as PRESIDENT, TI shall put to the vote the motion of the Soviet Union that discussion on this question should be postponed. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Against: None, Abstaining: Ceylon, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Liberia, Turkey, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, A vote was taken by a show of hands, In favour: Ceylon, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Liberia, Turkey, United Arab Republic, United King~ dom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Against: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, The result of the vote was 10 in favour and 1 against, The draft resolution was not adopted, one of the negative votes being that of a permanent member of the Council, 45, Mr, LOUTFI (United Arab Republic) (translated from French): J should like to thank those Members of the Council who have voted in favour of the United Arab Republic draft resolution, which recommended the admission of Kuwait to the United Nations and reflected the opinion, and hence the interests, of the Arab countries. 46, I can only express my regret at the attitude adopted by the Soviet Union representative towards the draft resolution which I had the honour of sub-~ mitting. This attitude prevents Kuwait from being admitted to the United Nations, where its brother Arab countries are already represented, I hope that the Soviet Union, with which we maintain friendly relations, wil! change its position, 47, Reference has been made to differences among the Arab countries and our position has been criticized. I prefer not to speak of this here; any remarks on that subject would be out of place. 48, Mr. PLIMPTON (United States of America): On behalf of the United States, I should like to record our keen disappointment in the fact that the Soviet Union has found it expedient to veta—against the wishes of every other member of the Security Council—the admission of another well-qualified applicant to membership of the United Nations, Kuwait has been recognized by some sixty-two States. It has been admitted to membership of the League of Arab States and of other international organizations, The representative of the United Arab Republic stated with eloquence and force the case for Kuwait's admission, which he sponsored, It is clear that Kuwait should be a member of the United Nations, 49, The representatives of Kuwait may take heart from the knowledge that other States whose member= ship has been vetoed by the Soviet Union in the past have seen this injustice corrected. Kuwait has encountered a temporary delay in its admission, and this we deeply regret, but we believe that the day is not far off when we shall return here to vote again on Kuwait's application, with different and happier results, 50, Sir Patrick DEAN (United Kingdom): My delegation must express its profound regret at the unol. We have, regrettably, come to expect this sort of attitude from the Soviet delegation. it is not so long ago that another country, Mauritania, was, for entirely extraneous reasons, excluded for almost a year from membership of our Organization as a result of a similar veto. 52, Now that the Soviet delegation has vetoed this draft resolution, I am bound toe state unequivocally the attitude of my Government to these tactics, The United Nations, as we and the vast majority of delegations here see it, was not meant to be a club in which we competed to admit our friends and to blackball candidates supported by our opponents. This seems to be how the Soviet Union regards this Organi-~ zation, But the rest of us will not be deterred, We shall go on working to make the United Nations a truly world-wide Organization in which all can meet and learn to resolve their differences by peaceful means. We shall, therefore, continue to welcome new members here, and we shall continue to protest vigorously when they are debarred for no better reason than that the Soviet Union sees themas proven reason than that the Soviet Union sees them as pawns in the cold war.

Mr. President, you will understand that I will not join in the chorus of regrets that we have heard regarding the rejection of the application of Kuwait for membership in the United Nations, I think the Council did right to reject this application, and I wish to extend to the Soviet Union, on behalf of the Government and people of Iraq, our thanks for the attitude it has taken on this question, Kuwait is not an independent State; it is a British colony—and we shall always oppose the admission of colonies as members of the United Nations, 54, The representative of the United Kingdom said something about how wrong it is to use a veto to prevent the admission of those who do not agree with one. May I remind him that for years the United Kingdom, together with some of the other members of the Security Council, prevented the admission of the People's Republic of Mongolia to the United Nations. And, while we are speaking about vetoes, the Arab people will always remember the veto by which the United Kingdom, in 1956, opposed the action that the Security Council wished to take to stop the aggression of Israel, the United Kingdom and France against Egypt. 56. Speaking of justice, the United Kingdom's attitude in a question such as the restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China—the lawful rights of 650 million people—clearly shows how the United Kingdom views justice in such cases, When the United Kingdom representative sheds croco-: dile tears concerning the protection of a country like Kuwait, which is completely dependent on the United Kingdom, we do not see serious or honest grounds for such regrets. 57, With regard to the Soviet Union's position on the substance of the question, it has been set out in detail during the discussion, and we are profoundly convinced that it will be understood by all the peoples which are striving for the genuine liquidation of colonial domination and for a just settlement of all the questions causing friction between particular nations and States, 58, That is what I wished to add to what has already been said during the discussion of this question, 59, If no one else wishes to speak, as PRESIDENT, I would remind the Council that, under rule 60 of its provisional rules of procedure, if the Security Coune cil does not recommend the applicant State for mem~ bership, it shall submit a special report to the General Assembly with a complete record of the discussion, In accordance with that rule, the Secre~ tariat wili prepare a draft report from the Security Council to the General Assembly, and that report will be circulated to the members of the Council. 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