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Chairman of Committee 1. Dr D. Z. Manuilsky (Ukrainian S.S.R.). Chairman of Committee 2. Mr Oscar Lange (Poland). Chairman of Committee 3. Sir Carl Berendsen (New Zealand). Chairman of Committee 4. Dr R. E. MacEachen (Uruguay). Chairman of Committee 5. Mr Faris Al-Khoury (Syria). Chairman of Committee 6. Mr Roberto Jiminez (Panama). IV. FIRST COMMITTEE : POLITICAL AND SECURITY QUESTIONS Chairman : Dr D. Z. Manuilsky (Ukrainian S.S.R.) Vice-Chairman : Mr Joseph Bech (Luxembourg) Rapporteur: Dr H. V. Lafronte (Ecuador) New Zealand Representatives Sir Carl Berendsen Mr J. V. Wilson 1. Admission of New Members to the United Nations The discussion of this item turned round the following three points : (i) The Security Council's recommendation of the admission of Afghanistan, Iceland, and Sweden ; (ii) The Security Council's failure to recommend the admission of any of the five other applicants ; (iii) A proposal by Australia for the joint preparation by the Security Council and the General Assembly of rules for the admission of new members acceptable to both bodies. (i) Early in its first meeting the Committee decided by a unanimous vote to recommend to the Assembly to admit Afghanistan, Iceland, and Sweden as members of the United Nations. With the adoption of this resolution, the Chairman ruled that the whole item had been disposed of. He was strongly supported by Mr. Vyshinsky (Soviet Union), but, after equally strong opposition by Senator Connally (United States) and others, allowed discussion to continue on the other parts of the item. When on the second day of the Committee's work the Rapporteur submitted the draft of a report to the General Assembly on the decision already adopted by the Committee, an amendment, on the face of it quite unimportant, was moved by the delegate of the Argentine, which led to a curious test of strength at the very outset. The amendment was to the effect that the Assembly should take note, in the resolution, of the fact that candidatures had been presented by the three States concerned. This amendment was approved by 19 votes (including New Zealand) to 14, with 16 abstentions. The Chairman ruled that the amendment had been lost, first, because it had failed to obtain a two-thirds majority, which in his opinion was necessary for decisions on matters of substance ; secondly, because the