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tasks were to observe the compliance by the four Governments of Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia with the Assembly's recommendation that they should settle their disputes by peaceful means, and it was given the power to recommend that a special session of the General Assembly be convoked as a matter of urgency, if it thought that further consideration of the question was necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security. Poland and the U.S.S.R. both declined to take part in the activities of the Committee, on the grounds that its establishment was not in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter or of the sovereign equality of States, and - that it would not lead to the improvement of conditions in Greece. In speaking in support of the resolution during the debate in the First Committee of the Assembly the representative of New Zealand, Sir Carl Berendsen, stated that the fact that the Security Council had been unable to deal adequately with the Greek question made it necessary that the Assembly should assume responsibility and take positive steps to effect a resolution. He referred to the history of the Greek case in the Security Council and pointed out that the extent of the material already before the Assembly made it clear that that body could not consider the question at first hand and that it was therefore necessary that a subsidiary body should be established for the purpose. On 24 December it was announced that General Markos, the Greek guerilla leader, had proclaimed the establishment of a " Provisional Democratic Greek Government" in northern Greece. Subsequent information confirmed that this body did not in fact possess the qualifications of a Government at international law, but the special Balkans Committee resolved that it would be bound to consider the possibility that any act of association with the newly proclaimed Government might constitute a threat to the maintenance of international peace and security, and make it necessary to convoke a special session of the Assembly. In the event, no State has accorded recognition to Markos. The special Balkans Committee presented reports on 31 December, 1947, and 10 January, 1948, in which it remarked on the absence of Polish and Russian delegations, and referred to the fact that it did not have the co-operation of the Governments of Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, without which its work was naturally impeded. The findings of the Committee's Observation Group contained in the report were to the effect that while no definite conclusion could be reached on the question of whether Greek territory had been violated, the definite opinion had been confirmed that the guerillas