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In the discussion on Article 39 (*) the New Zealand delegation submitted to the Commission a written statement( 2 ) setting out the view of the New Zealand Government that the Security Council should be associated with the control of the armed forces of ex-enemy States and should determine the level of their numbers and equipment. While sympathy with the principle underlying the proposal was expressed by several delegations it was evident that none was prepared to support actively an amendment based upon it. Moreover, in the time available adequate consideration of its implications was not possible. The New Zealand delegation, therefore, did not submit a formal amendment, but requested the attachment of the statement to the records, reserving the right to raise the question in Plenary Conference. Drafting amendments were unanimously adopted for the following articles : 40, para. 1 (b) ; 41, para. 1 (b) ; 47 ; 49 ; 50 ; and 51. Two new Articles 46a and 62a were unanimously adopted. Article 46a forbids the employment of ex-Fascist officers and N.C.O.s by the Italian armed forces unless specially cleared by the appropriate Italian authority. Article 62a was designed to allow Italy to continue her present minesweeping forces, the size of which might be affected by the restriction on the naval forces, beyond the date of the coming into force of the treaty. The main submission of all three service representatives of the Italian delegation was that all ranks of the Italian Armed Forces felt strongly that the draft treaty gave inadequate recognition of Italy's three years of loyal co-belligerent service. After such service they held that the treatment of the Italian Fleet (in Article 48 of the treaty) practically .as war booty was particularly obnoxious. The South African delegation felt the force of the Italian argument sufficiently strongly to sponsor several amendments designed to reduce the severity of the arms limitation articles of the draft treaty. All, however, were rejected or withdrawn, as were Greek and Yugoslav amendments—the latter sponsored at the request of Albania —designed to restrict still further the size of the Italian armed forces. The New Zealand delegation took the view that numbers, organization, and equipment permitted under the treaty were reasonably adequate to meet the needs of local defence and internal security, and voted accordingly. New Zealand proposed an amendment to Article 43, para. 4, designed to limit the application of the prohibition of construction in Sicily of service installations and fortifications to permanent works only and thus allow temporary work for purposes of local defence and internal security. This seemed reasonable, since in all other reference in the treaty prohibition had related only to the construction of permanent
1 ) " Each of the military, naval, and air clauses of the present treaty will remain in force until modified in whole or in part by agreement between the Allied and Associated Powers and Italy or, after Italy becomes a member of the United Nations, by agreement between the Security Council and Italy." ( 2 ) Text of statement is attached as Appendix 3.
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