10

Trusteeship Council At the second part of the first session of the General Assembly,, the Trusteeship Council was composed of— Administering members : Australia, Belgium, Trance, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Non-administering members: China, Iraq, Mexico, the Soviet Union, and the United States. On 2 April, 1947, the Security Council approved a trusteeship agreement submitted by the United States of America for the strategic trust territory of the Carolines, the Marshalls, and the Marianas, and this agreement was ratified by the United States Government on 8 July, 1947. The United States thereby became an administering member, and two more non-administering countries had therefore to be elected in order to preserve the balance in the Trusteeship Council, as required by the Charter. General Assembly ballots on 1 October and 20 October proved indecisive, as none of the four countries (the Philippines, Costa Rica, Norway, and Siam) which had received most votes at the first ballot secured the necessary two-thirds majority. On 13 November, however, the Philippines received 41 votes on the eighth ballot and was declared elected. Voting for the remaining seat was limited to Costa Rica and Norway, which had received the second and third highest number of votes on this ballot. When the next ballot also proved indecisive—Costa Rica 33, Norway 24 the representative of Norway announced that in a spirit of cooperation, and to conserve the time of the Assembly, his delegation would withdraw its candidature. In the following ballot, the tenth, Costa Rica obtained 46 votes and was declared elected. The Philippines and Costa Rica were accordingly added to the membership of the Trusteeship Council, and their representatives took their seats at the current meetings of the Council. Credentials Committee The General Assembly, in accordance with the provisional Rules of Procedure, appointed representatives of Chile, Chechoslovakia, Honduras, Iran, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Siam, and the United Kingdom to examine the credentials of representatives.