61
an attempt to transform the Assembly into a permanent organ ; this was a violation of Article .20 of the Charter, which provided for regular sessions once a year. Further, the political intention behind the establishment of the Interim Committee was clearly to by-pass the Security Council, and thus to avoid the application of the principle of unanimity —an attempt clearly contrary to the provisions of the Charter. However, it was clear that the Committee had in fact not dealt with any of the main international questions. This was gratifying, for it showed that the attempt to wreck the Security Council was based on a complete lack of realism and was doomed to failure. An examination of the work the Committee had done showed it to have dealt with minor matters only. Its ineffectiveness and its cost were further arguments against its continuation. These arguments were repeated at length by the Slav delegations. Most speakers, however, considered that the Committee had made a sound, if unspectacular, beginning, and supported its continuation for another year. It was pointed out, moreover, that the usefulness of the Committee would be enhanced if all members of the United Nations were to participate in its work. There was some discussion as to whether the Interim Committee could properly be granted the right to seek advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice, as it had requested. Article 96 of the Charter provides that in addition to the General Assembly and the Security Council " other organs of the United Nations and specialized agencies" may seek advisory opinions, provided they have been so authorized by the General Assembly. Certain delegations considered that " other organs of the United Nations " could not be held to include subsidiary organs of the Assembly, while others argued that in the absence of further definition these words must be held to include both " principal " and " subsidiary " organs. A Ukrainian motion to delete the relevant paragraph was rejected by 14 votes in favour, 27 (N.Z.) against, with 9 abstentions. A motion to refer the question to the Sixth Committee for a legal opinion was also defeated. The draft resolution submitted by the Interim Committee, completed by the insertion of a provision for the continuance of the Committee until the opening of the next regular session, and with some minor amendments, was adopted by 44 votes (N.Z.) to 6, with 6 abstentions. As amended it read : " Re-establishment of the Interim Committee of the General Assembly ** The General Assembly, ** Having taken note of the report submitted to it by the Interim Committee on the advisability of establishing a Permanent Committee of the General Assembly,
Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.
By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.
Your session has expired.