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1957: United Nations
During the year 1957 the United Nations dealt with a number of continuing political and security questions, took action on new matters, and saw the fruition of long-range planning in several fields. In the Middle East, the Suez Canal was cleared and put back into operation, and the United Nations Emergency Force took up positions along the Egypt-Israel armistice line and in the Sharm El Sheikh area to maintain calm following the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Elsewhere, sporadic incidents involving Israel and her Arab neighbors occurred, but were kept under control. The question of Algeria, Cyprus, and the dispute between Turkey and Syria were debated in the General Assembly. International disarmament and the control of atomic weapons emerged as a priority question in the United Nations in 1957, though no formula acceptable to all of the major Powers had been worked out by the end of the Assembly's twelfth session. A new and important phase in United Nations developments emerged with the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency and approval by the General Assembly on November 14 of the Agency's relationship agreement with the United Nations. The Assembly received a report from a special committee regarding the Hungarian uprising of 1956, condemned the Soviet action as having deprived Hungary of its liberty and independence, and named a Special Representative to seek compliance with Assembly resolutions on this question.
Among continuing matters before the Organization were the question of Kashmir, race discrimination in South Africa, the status of the League of Nations-mandated territory of South West Africa, and the progress of trust territories in Africa and the Pacific. In a United Nations-observed plebiscite, one of those territories, British Togoland, had voted to join the newly independent state of Ghana, and in 1957 became the first trust area to achieve independence under the United Nations trusteeship program. With the admission of Ghana and the Federation of Malaya to the United Nations, the Organization's Membership rose to eighty-two.
Still unresolved was the future of more than 930,000 Palestinian refugees, but it was hoped that European refugees of World War II might be permanently settled by the end of 1958. Efforts to locate and repatriate numbers of prisoners taken in World War II continued. The anti-slavery convention adopted in 1956 came into force on April 30, and by the end of the year it had been ratified by eleven governments. Technical assistance carried out by the United Nations and its specialized agencies reached a record level, and plans for a greatly increased program were approved.
Dag Hammarskjold was unanimously elected by the General Assembly to a second five-year term as Secretary-General, beginning on April 10, 1958.
POLITICAL QUESTIONS
Disarmament.
The search for agreement on the question of international disarmament continued throughout the year 1957. Between March 18 and September 6 the five-nation Sub-Committee of the General Assembly's Disarmament Commission held 71 meetings in London in an effort to work out an effective formula that would be acceptable to the major powers. Represented on the Sub-Committee were Canada, France, the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, and the United States. Throughout the talks the Western powers on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other remained divided on key issues of weapons limitation and control.
What appeared to be at the center of the disagreement were: (1) the U.S.S.R.'s demand for an immediate end to testing of fission and fusion weapons, to be followed by a general disarmament agreement, and (2) the contention of the Western powers that suspension of tests could not be carried out as an isolated measure but only as part of an over-all understanding. Such an agreement should include as general provisions, the Western powers felt, the end of production of fissionable materials for military use and the establishment of an effective system of inspection and controls.
Both the Soviet Union and the Western powers presented detailed disarmament programs during the course of the London talks. The U.S.S.R.'s overall plan had called for (1) a major reduction in arms and armed forces, (2) complete prohibition of atomic and hydrogen weapons, and (3) international control. As minimal initial measures, the Soviet Union proposed that the armed forces of the United States and the U.S.S.R. be cut to 1.7 million men each, and those of the United Kingdom and France to 650,000 men each, in successive stages. As a first step, the states concerned would agree to forego the use of nuclear and hydrogen weapons for a period of two to five years, and end test explosions for two to three years starting Jan. 1, 1958. The Soviet Union further proposed a reduction in the number of military bases in foreign territory, and a reduction of armed forces of the U.S.S.R., the United States, and France in Germany and in the territories of the countries participating in the North Atlantic and Warsaw Treaties.
The Western powers' program provided for partial disarmament measures as a first step, to be followed by progressive implementation of other measures under international inspection. The Western plan envisaged suspension of nuclear tests for an initial period of two years, subject to extension, provided that the Soviet Union would agree on establishing an effective air and ground inspection system, on stopping production of fissionable material for weapons purposes and reducing present stocks, on starting outer space missile control, and on reducing armed forces. The Western powers held that inclusive provision for all of these things would have to be made. They said an agreement that implementation should be carried out in acceptable stages would be enough to get the program under way, with suspension of test explosions coming first.
The Soviet Union declared these proposals to be unacceptable, and charged that the Western powers had 'linked the ripe and mature question' of ending test explosions 'to the solution of a number of other questions.'
When the General Assembly's twelfth session began on September 17, there was a prevailing feeling that disarmament was one of the most urgent questions confronting that body, and the Assembly's Political and Security Committee decided to take up disarmament and the effects of atomic radiation as the first two items on its agenda, in that order. Of ten resolutions proposed in the Committee, two were adopted and sent to the Assembly for final action. Both were approved in plenary session.
One of the resolutions adopted by the Assembly, on November 14, was an amended version of a proposal put forward by twenty-four nations on October 11. It recommended the resumption of negotiations by the Disarmament Sub-Committee on the basis of the Western six-point plan. States directly concerned were urged to effect an agreement which would provide for the following: (1) immediate suspension of nuclear tests, with prompt installation of effective international control; (2) cessation of production of fissionable materials for weapons purposes, and devotion of future production to non-weapons purposes under international control; (3) reduction of stocks of nuclear weapons through a program of transfer from weapons to non-weapons uses, under international supervision; (4) reduction of armed forces and armaments through safeguarded arrangements; (5) progressive establishment of open inspection, with ground and air components to guard against surprise attack; and (6) joint study of an inspection system designed to ensure that the sending of objects through outer space would be only for peaceful and scientific purposes. A further provision called for study by technical experts of possible disarmament inspection systems. This resolution was passed by a vote of 56 to 9, with 15 abstentions.
The second resolution, sponsored by Belgium, was adopted on the same day by a vote of 71 to 9, with one abstention. It called for a world-wide information program under United Nations auspices to make people aware of the necessity for reaching an agreement on disarmament.
Early in the debate the Soviet Union had served notice that it would not participate in any further work of the Disarmament Commission or its Sub-Committee as they were then constituted, and called for enlarging the Commission to include all eighty-two Members of the United Nations. A Soviet resolution calling for an 82-nation commission subsequently was voted down in the Political and Security Committee. The General Assembly on November 19 voted (60 to 9, with 11 abstentions) to enlarge the disarmament body by the addition of fourteen Member States. This resolution had been sponsored by Canada, India, Japan, Paraguay, Sweden, and Yugoslavia.
Albania had offered an amendment to the measure which would have enlarged the Commission further by the addition of seven other countries — Austria, Bulgaria, Ceylon, Finland, Indonesia, Romania, and Sudan. The Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Poland declared they would participate in the Commission if the Albanian amendment were accepted, but not otherwise. The Assembly rejected this amendment, however, and the Soviet Union again said it would not take part in the work of the new Commission, the majority of whose members, it alleged, were tied to 'aggressive military blocs.'
Named to serve on the Commission for one year starting Jan. 1, 1958, were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, India, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Tunisia, and Yugoslavia. Along with the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the six non-permanent members for 1958 (Canada, Colombia, Iraq, Japan, Panama, and Sweden) they constitute the new twenty-five-nation Disarmament Commission.
Two proposals for suspension of nuclear tests were voted down in the Political and Security Committee. One, sponsored by India, would have called for immediate ending of the tests, under the supervision of a scientific commission of experts charged with arrangements for inspection and control. The second, sponsored by Japan, would have called for provisional suspension of atomic test explosions.
A U.S.S.R. proposal that countries possessing nuclear weapons undertake not to use them for at least five years also was rejected in committee.
Suez and Palestine.
Following resolutions in the General Assembly in 1956 calling for the withdrawal of French, British, and Israeli troops from Egypt, and authorizing the establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force, the United Nations had before it in the early months of 1957 the tasks of clearing and reopening the Suez Canal and effecting compliance with resolutions calling for withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip behind the Israeli-Egyptian armistice line.
On Dec. 22, 1956, the last British and French forces were evacuated from Port Said, and six days later salvage work on the Canal was begun. Thirty-two salvage vessels under United Nations direction undertook removal of the hulks of sunken vessels and shattered bridges that blocked passage of traffic through the waterway. On April 8 — five weeks ahead of schedule — Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler, in charge of the clearance on behalf of the United Nations, announced that the last of 41 obstructions had been removed and that the Canal was ready for full navigation.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Emergency Force, under the command of Maj. Gen. E.L.M. Burns, had moved eastward into the Sinai peninsula in the wake of the retiring Israeli troops. On February 2 the General Assembly once more called on Israel to withdraw its armed forces behind the 1949 Palestine armistice lines 'without further delay.' UNEF units entered the Gaza Strip on March 7, and a few days later other units took over at Sharm el Sheikh on the Gulf of Aqaba. On March 8 Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold reported to the General Assembly that Israel had completed its withdrawal as called for by the resolution of February 2.
Until this date, UNEF had been concerned primarily with taking over positions evacuated by foreign troops, following the successive stages of their withdrawals from the Suez area, Sinai and the Gaza Strip. In the second stage of its operations, when all foreign troops had been pulled out, UNEF interposed itself between the armed forces of Egypt and Israel, on the Egyptian side of the armistice demarcation line and stationed units in the Sharm El Skeikh area dominating the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel did not agree to permit United Nations troops to take up positions on the Israeli side of the armistice line, although she had been called upon by the General Assembly to do so. During the early months of UNEF duties a few minor incidents occurred, but as the year progressed a general state of quiet was effected in the area.
UNEF's numerical strength reached the neighborhood of 6,000 officers and men early in the year, with personnel from these ten countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, India, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. Canada's contingent included air force personnel stationed at Naples and El Arish. Indonesia's contingent of 582 was recalled on September 12, and on December 5 Finland's 250-man company was withdrawn. Planned reorganization and readjustments in other supporting units, however, was expected to keep the strength of the United Nations Force in the neighborhood of 5,600 officers and men.
Problems of financing UNEF were reviewed in the twelfth session of the General Assembly, and on November 22 that body, by a vote of 51 to 11, with 19 abstentions, authorized the Secretary-General to expend up to $30,000,000 for the 14 months ending Dec. 31, 1957 and $25 million in 1958. The Assembly resolution assessed the member states for all costs above those met by voluntary contributions in accordance with the scale of assessments for the years 1957 and 1958.
The question of how Egypt would make compensation for and administer the nationalized Suez Canal had been of concern to many countries during the debate in the Assembly's eleventh session. On April 24 the Egyptian Government submitted to the United Nations for registration as an international instrument a declaration spelling out its arrangements for the Canal's operation. The document said that the waterway would be managed and operated by the autonomous Suez Canal Authority established by the Egyptian Government in 1956. It specified that claims relating to nationalization of the Canal would be 'referred to arbitration in accordance with established international practice,' unless the parties agreed otherwise. Egypt reaffirmed its intention to abide by the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which defined the status of the Canal, and by the United Nations Charter. It promised that Egypt would 'afford and maintain free and uninterrupted navigation for all nations, within the limits of and in accordance with the principles of' that convention. The declaration stipulated that tolls would be levied in accordance with the April 1936 agreement between the Egyptian Government and the Suez Canal Maritime Company. Egypt further agreed that differences of view over the interpretation of applicability of the Constantinople Convention would be referred to the International Court of Justice if not otherwise resolved.
The response to this declaration was varied. Some governments felt that the document did not fully meet the six basic principles for a Suez settlement endorsed by the Security Council on Oct. 13, 1956. The United States, which held this view, nevertheless urged that the system be given a trial, and that the Security Council meanwhile keep the matter on its agenda. France's view was that the declaration was not in accord with the Constantinople Convention. Colombia, on the other hand, along with some other nations, regarded it as an 'irrevocable commitment.'
On December 14, the General Assembly endorsed a recommendation of the Secretary-General that a 3 per cent surcharge be levied on Suez Canal tolls for the purpose of repaying countries which had advanced money to the United Nations for clearance operations. The Secretary-General was authorized to make the necessary arrangements, and Member States were urged to co-operate with the plan.
A number of complaints of armistice violations were made during the year. Jordan complained of Israeli troop concentrations near the frontier in January, and Israel denied the charges. In May, Syria declared that Israel's construction of a bridge near Lake Huleh was a threat to the peace, but the Acting Chief of Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization, Col. Byron Leary, held that the bridge was not essentially of military value. In July, fighting broke out between Israelis and Syrians near Lake Huleh, ending after nine hours as a result of appeals by United Nations officials. In August, Israel complained that a Haifa-bound Norwegian vessel had been harassed in its passage through the Suez Canal, and two weeks later charged that an Israeli fishing vessel had been captured by the Egyptians. In September, Jordan protested against an Israeli tree-planting project in the 'no-man's-land' at Jabal El Mukkaber, south of Jerusalem. Israel in turn charged Jordan with violations of fundamental provisions of the armistice agreement.
Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold undertook a visit to the Middle East area on November 29 to discuss problems related to strengthening the position of the Truce Supervision Organization. In the course of his trip he had talks with the governments of Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Just before the Secretary-General's visit, Jordanian authorities had refused permission for a regular fortnightly Israeli supply convoy to proceed to an Israeli hospital in the demilitarized Mount Scopus area, because the convoy included gasoline. Jordanian authorities held that the gasoline was to be used to operate a compressor for the building of fortifications in violation of the 1948 demilitarization agreement for the Mount Scopus area. Jordan also protested as partial, a prior ruling by the Acting Chief of the Truce Supervision Organization, Col. Byron Leary, that Israel had the right to supply gasoline to the Israeli hospital, and said that it could not continue co-operation with Colonel Leary. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in reply expressed his full confidence in the Acting Chief of the Truce Supervision Organization, and appealed to Jordan to continue its co-operation. He offered to undertake a personal exchange of views, a proposal that was welcomed by Jordan, and departed from New York to the Middle East on November 29 with the intention of discussing the Mount Scopus situation and other questions relating to the armistice with the governments concerned.
Following the Secretary-General's talks with Jordanian and Israeli officials in Amman and Jerusalem respectively, it was announced that the Mount Scopus convoy would be permitted to go through. Mr. Hammarskjold said he would assign a personal representative to negotiate with Israel and Jordan on full implementation of the 1948 Mount Scopus agreement, and subsequently he appointed Francisco Urrutia Holguín of Colombia to the post. Both Israel and Jordan assured the Secretary-General that they were willing, on a basis of reciprocity, to implement the 1948 Mount Scopus agreement, and would accept, on that basis, United Nations inspection of the area.
Palestine Refugees.
Meanwhile, the problem of caring for more than 930,000 Palestine refugees remained pressing. These displaced persons, scattered around the periphery of Israel's borders, continued to be a factor in the area's tensions. In addition to the 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip, there were 500,000 in Jordan, constituting one third of that country's total population, and the remainder were in Lebanon and Syria. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, providing relief and rehabilitation programs for the refugees, found itself in 1957 in a difficult financial position. The Agency's Director, Henry R. Labouisse, said that progress toward a solution was unlikely unless the refugees were given the choice between repatriation and compensation in accordance with earlier United Nations resolutions. In the meantime, he warned that if substantial new pledges and payments of government contributions were not made by June 1958, relief and rehabilitation services to the refugees would have to be cut down drastically.
When the problem came before the General Assembly's twelfth session, a resolution was adopted urging governments to increase their contributions — or to make contributions if they had not done so — to the Palestine Refugee Agency. The Assembly also asked the Secretary-General to make special efforts 'as a matter of urgent concern' to secure the additional financial aid needed to avoid a cut in the Agency's operations and to meet its budget needs.
Hungary.
Following a series of resolutions on the Soviet Union's intervention in Hungary in 1956, the General Assembly on Jan. 10, 1957, established a committee of five nations to investigate the Hungarian situation. Known as the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary, the body was authorized to maintain direct observation in Hungary and elsewhere, to take testimony, collect evidence, and receive information as appropriate to its duties. The Assembly called upon Hungarian and Soviet authorities to permit the Committee and its staff to enter Hungarian territory and to travel freely therein.
Hungarian and Soviet authorities made clear at an early date that they would not permit the Committee to enter Hungary to carry out its work there. They contended that the political and military events under review were an internal affair, and that the establishment of the Special Committee was illegal under the United Nations Charter. As a result, the Committee took evidence and testimony at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Geneva, Rome, and Vienna. One hundred eleven witnesses were heard, only three of whom testified in open hearings. Names and specific identification of all other witnesses were withheld in most cases, at their request. Persons questioned were from all walks of life, and none of them had left Hungary before the October 1956 uprising. On June 20, 1957, the Committee presented its report to the General Assembly.
Its unanimous findings were these: the revolt which began in October 1956 was a spontaneous national uprising and received no assistance from outside Hungary; the Soviet Union had intervened with its military forces twice, first to crush the popular uprising, and a second time to overthrow the legal and popularly supported Hungarian Government under Imre Nagy; the regime of Janos Kadar, installed by the Soviet Union, did not have the confidence or approval of the Hungarian people; the Kadar government and Soviet authorities had deported a number of Hungarians to the Soviet Union or elsewhere; Imre Nagy had been taken in charge by Soviet military personnel and transported to Romania, despite assurances to the contrary.
Following four days of debate which began on September 10, the General Assembly approved a resolution endorsing the work of the Special Committee on Hungary, condemning actions taken by the Soviet Union in depriving Hungary of its liberty and political independence, and requesting Prince Wan Waithayakon of Thailand, as a Special Representative, to do what he could to achieve compliance with various Assembly decisions in regard to the Hungarian question. The resolution had been sponsored by 37 governments. It received 60 affirmative votes and 10 negative, with 10 abstentions.
Prince Wan reported on December 9 that his efforts to discuss the objectives of Assembly resolutions on Hungary with representatives of the Soviet and Hungarian Governments had been fruitless. Specifically, he had endeavored to discuss humanitarian treatment in Hungary, return from the U.S.S.R. of deportees, withdrawal of Soviet troops in Hungary, and free elections in that country. He told the Assembly that both the Soviet and Hungarian Foreign Ministers had refused to participate in discussions on these matters. Prince Wan expressed the hope, however, that with relaxation of international tension there might be an opportunity for him 'to assist in establishing full international co-operation in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hungary.'
By mid-1957 more than 190,000 Hungarian refugees had sought sanctuary in Austria and Yugoslavia, and of this number nearly 150,000 had been resettled in thirty-nine countries. The United Nations, the League of Red Cross Societies, governments, and voluntary organizations had joined to organize and provide relief. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees acted as general planner and co-ordinator; the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration assisted with matters concerning resettlement and transportation; the League of Red Cross Societies assisted with care and maintenance; and non-governmental agencies and ad hoc groups from many nations provided direct personal services.
Turkish-Syrian Issue.
Syria complained to the United Nations on October 15 that its security was being threatened by the massing of Turkish troops near the border, and it requested the General Assembly to take up the question. On the recommendation of its General Committee, the Assembly agreed to debate without reference to committee an item entitled, 'Complaint about threats to the security of Syria and to international peace.'
Specifically, Syria charged that Turkey had built up a 'heavy, unprecedented and unwarranted concentration' of troops in close proximity to the Syrian border, presaging imminent attack; that Turkish aircraft had violated Syrian air space; that Turkish border forces had fired upon Syrian nationals; and that foreign influences had connived toward overthrowing the Syrian Government. The Soviet Union, in support of the Syrian complaint, alleged that the United States in co-operation with Turkish officials, had planned a military attack by Turkish forces upon Syria. Turkey, for its part, denied that it had any intention of invading Syria, that Turkish forces had used gunfire against Syrians, or that its planes had flown over Syrian territory, and declared that the concentration of its military forces was a precautionary measure. It said Turkish troop movements had been undertaken in the light of developments in Syria — including an unreasonable stockpiling of weapons and the construction of submarine bases — and a simultaneous Soviet Union campaign of intimidation against the Turkish Government. The United States denied the Soviet allegations made against it, and accused the U.S.S.R. of a buildup in Syria and threatening postures toward Turkey with the objective of undermining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Baghdad Pact.
King Saud of Saudi Arabia had offered to mediate the dispute between the two countries. Turkey accepted King Saud's offer. However, Syria claimed that the King's offer did not constitute true mediation, and that in any case the Assembly debate had precedence. Syria put forward a draft resolution which would have set up a United Nations commission of inquiry to investigate border conditions.
Seven countries — Canada, Denmark, Japan, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, and Spain — offered another resolution which would have had Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold undertake discussions with representatives of Turkey and Syria to help work out a solution.
Following an appeal by Indonesia on November 1, sponsors of the two resolutions agreed not to press their proposals to a formal vote, and it was left to Syria and Turkey to resolve their differences in a spirit of conciliation. The Assembly President, Sir Leslie Munro, evaluated the agreement as a 'satisfactory outcome' of the debate.
Kashmir.
At the request of Pakistan, the Security Council in January 1957 returned to the question of Jammu and Kashmir — officially known as the 'India-Pakistan Question' — for the first time since 1952. For the previous nine years the Himalayan state had remained physically divided, with India in control of the southern portion containing the capital city, Srinagar, and Pakistan in control of the northern portion and a strip along the western frontier. During this time Pakistan had been asking for a plebiscite, and India had been demanding withdrawal of Pakistan's armed forces from the northern and western areas. In requesting the January meeting of the Security Council, Pakistan declared that direct negotiations over the Kashmir issue had been fruitless, and claimed that India was taking steps, through a new constitution framed by the Assembly in Srinagar, to absorb the state completely.
In the debate that followed, Pakistan's spokesman in the Council, Malik Firoz Khan Noon, charged that India had ignored the wishes of the people of Kashmir in accepting the state's accession, and had refused to permit a plebiscite despite earlier commitments to do so.
India's spokesman, V. K. Krishna Menon, held that the Maharaja of Kashmir, as the supreme governmental authority of the state, had the right to negotiate an act of accession, that Pakistan maintained armed forces in Kashmir in violation of earlier United Nations resolutions, and that Kashmir now was an integral part of India. He recalled that it was India which originally had brought the matter to the United Nations, and voiced his country's dissatisfaction that the Council so far had not taken action on what India regarded as Pakistan's 'aggression.'
On January 24 the Security Council adopted a resolution which reminded the parties concerned of the principle embodied in earlier resolutions that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations. It declared that the convening of a constituent assembly and any action that had been or might be taken by that assembly regarding the future shape and affiliation of Kashmir would not constitute a disposition of the state in accordance with the above principle. The vote on the resolution was ten votes in favor, with the U.S.S.R. abstaining.
Another resolution adopted on February 20 by the same vote, requested the Security Council President, Gunnar Jarring of Sweden, to examine with the Governments of India and Pakistan any proposals which might contribute towards the settlement of the issue, and to report to the Council by April 15.
Mr. Jarring carried out his series of talks with Indian and Pakistani officials in March and April, and on April 29 he reported to the Security Council that he had found no way to break the deadlock and was unable to make any concrete proposals likely to contribute to a settlement, although both parties still desired a solution.
Subsequently, in August, both India and Pakistan complained to the Security Council of alleged violations of United Nations resolutions. Pakistan charged that India was settling non-Moslems in various areas of Kashmir with the intent of impeding a plebiscite. India replied that the charges were baseless, and two weeks later complained that Pakistan was building a dam in the Mirpur area of Kashmir to exploit the territory for Pakistan's benefit. Pakistan replied that the development was for the benefit of the Kashmiri people.
The Kashmir situation in its entirety was reviewed in a series of Security Council meetings in October and November, and on December 2 the Council called on Dr. Frank P. Graham, United Nations Representative for India and Pakistan, to make another effort to bring the parties into agreement. He was authorized to consult with the governments of the two countries and to make recommendations to them 'for further appropriate action with a view to making progress' toward implementation of 1948 and 1949 resolutions of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan. The vote on this resolution was 10 to 0, with the Soviet Union abstaining.
South Africa.
Race relations in the Union of South Africa continued to be a concern of the United Nations in 1957. The General Assembly again took up the questions of apartheid and treatment of people of Indian origin in South Africa, and appealed to the Union Government for steps toward ameliorating racial discrimination.
On the issue of apartheid, the Assembly at its eleventh session, on January 30, deplored the race discrimination resulting from the Union Government's policies, and regretted that South Africa had 'not yet observed its obligations under the Charter' and had 'pressed forward with discriminatory measures' which would make future observance of these obligations more difficult. It asked the South African Government to reconsider its position, revise its policies, and 'co-operate in a constructive approach . . . more particularly by its presence in the United Nations.'
South Africa had consistently maintained that discussion of this question in the United Nations was illegal under the Charter. In November 1956 that nation's spokesman had announced that because of 'continued United Nations interference' in South Africa's domestic affairs it henceforth would maintain only token representation at the Organization's Headquarters, and following that date South African delegates were absent from most meetings.
At its twelfth session, on November 26, the Assembly adopted another resolution deploring that South Africa had not responded to earlier invitations to change its racial policies. Sponsored by thirty countries, the resolution was approved by a vote of 59 to 6, with 14 abstentions. Opponents of the resolution — Australia, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Portugal — generally took the position that regardless of the merits or demerits of South African racial policies, the matter was one of domestic jurisdiction and not within the purview of the United Nations.
The year 1957 was the fifth one in which the Assembly had considered the apartheid question.
Twice during 1957 — at both its eleventh and twelfth sessions — the General Assembly called upon South Africa to negotiate with the governments of India and Pakistan in an effort to settle the question of its treatment of people of Indian origin. The question had been put on the agenda of the twelfth session at the request of India and Pakistan, which said they had received no response from South Africa to their efforts to undertake talks.
A third question involving the Union of South Africa was the status of the territory of South West Africa. Following the first World War, South Africa had undertaken administration of the territory as a Mandate from the League of Nations. After World War II, all other such mandated territories were placed under the United Nations Trusteeship System. South Africa, however, declined to enter into a trusteeship agreement for South West Africa, contending that it was under no obligation to do so. On February 26, at its eleventh session, the Assembly reiterated for the tenth time that the territory should be given trusteeship status, and requested the Secretary-General to 'explore ways and means for a satisfactory solution.'
By the time the twelfth session convened, no progress had been made with the South West African question. On October 25 the General Assembly decided on a new approach toward a settlement. It set up a good-offices committee to discuss with the Union Government 'a basis for agreement which would continue to accord to the territory . . . an international status.' The Assembly designated the United States and the United Kingdom to serve on the committee, and Brazil was appointed as a third member by the Assembly President. The committee was asked to report to the 1958 session of the Assembly on the results of its work.
Other Political and Security Questions.
Among a number of other questions considered by or brought to the attention of the United Nations were these:
West New Guinea: A resolution which would have invited the Netherlands and Indonesia to continue negotiations on the status of West New Guinea (West Irian) failed to pass in the General Assembly on November 29 for lack of a two-thirds majority. The dispute over West New Guinea, under Netherlands administration, dates from the time of Indonesian independence. Indonesia has claimed the area as an integral part of its territory.
Yemen: In a series of memoranda to the Secretary-General, the Government of Yemen protested that British armed forces based in Aden had committed 'acts of aggression' against Yemen, and the United Kingdom charged that Yemen was being supplied with Soviet bloc and Egyptian military assistance and attempting to undermine constitutional government in Aden and neighboring protectorates. No Security Council action was requested.
Oman: Eleven Arab governments on August 13 requested that the Security Council take up the question of fighting in Muscat and Oman, on the Arabian Peninsula. The United Kingdom had used armed units to help put down what it termed a 'rebellion' of the Imamate of Oman against the Sultan's rule, and the Arab governments accused Britain of 'armed aggression.' On August 21 the Security Council declined to place the matter on its agenda.
Korea: In June the United Nations Command in Korea announced that because of introduction of military equipment into North Korea by the Communists, United Nations forces would take steps to 'restore the relative balance of military strength.' In a report to the Secretary-General in August, the United Nations Command reviewed the circumstances of the decision. It declared that 'despite sincere efforts by the nations represented in the United Nations Command, the communist side has made it impossible to achieve the political settlement' contemplated in the armistice agreement. Recalling that certain provisions of the armistice agreement had been designed to maintain military equilibrium pending a political settlement, the report declared that these provisions had been violated by the building up of North Korean armaments, including new combat weapons and supplies, bringing in matériel through ports of entry other than those specified, and failing to notify the United Nations Command of such introductions. In a resolution adopted on November 29, the General Assembly called for continuing efforts toward the United Nations objective of establishing 'a unified, independent and democratic Korea under a representative form of government and the full restoration of international peace and security in the area.' It requested the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea to continue its work, and urged Communist authorities concerned to accept the established United Nations objectives in order to achieve a settlement.
Algeria: The question of the troubled situation in Algeria came before the General Assembly twice in 1957, once during the eleventh session and again during the twelfth session. In February the Assembly adopted a proposal which expressed the hope that 'in a spirit of co-operation, a peaceful, democratic and just solution' would be found for the Algerian situation, in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter.
When the question came before the Assembly's twelfth session, that body's Political and Security Committee was unable to recommend the adoption of a new draft resolution.
A seventeen-power draft proposal, with amendments by Canada, Ireland, and Norway, would have expressed regret that hope for a peaceful, democratic, and just solution, as expressed in the Assembly resolution of Feb. 15, 1957, had not yet been realized; noted that the Algerian situation continued to cause suffering and loss of life; recognized that the Algerian people were entitled to work out their own future in a democratic way; and called for effective discussions to resolve the existing situation and to reach a solution in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter. The amended resolution received 37 favorable votes and 37 negative, and therefore failed to pass.
Later, in plenary session of the Assembly, fifteen nations submitted another resolution which called on the parties to the dispute to enter into pourparlers (informal discussions) and to utilize other appropriate means for a solution in conformity with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. This resolution was adopted by 80 votes to none, with no abstentions.
Cyprus.
The question of Cyprus also came before the General Assembly twice in 1957. During its eleventh session, the Assembly expressed its earnest desire that a peaceful, democratic, and just solution be found, in accord with the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, and the hope that negotiations would be resumed and continued toward that end.
Placed on the agenda of the twelfth session at the request of Greece, the Cyprus question was discussed during the course of eight meetings of the Assembly's Political and Security Committee. A series of amendments offered by Canada, Denmark, Chile, Norway, and Spain to a proposal put forward by Greece produced a draft resolution that was adopted in committee on December 12 by 33 to 20, with 25 abstentions. It recommended that the Assembly reaffirm its resolution of the eleventh session, express its concern that more progress had not been made in regard to a solution, consider that the situation in Cyprus was still fraught with danger, urge a solution at the earliest possible time, and express earnest hope that further negotiations and discussions would be undertaken in a spirit of co-operation 'with a view to having the right of self-determination applied' in the case of the people of Cyprus. When this recommendation came before the plenary session on December 14, it received 31 votes to 23, with 24 abstentions, thus failing to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.
United Nations Membership.
Membership in the United Nations rose from eighty to eighty-two in 1957.
Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, achieved its independence on March 5, along with that portion of Togoland which had been administered by the United Kingdom as a trust territory. Two days later the Security Council made a unanimous recommendation that the new nation be admitted to United Nations membership, and on March 8 the General Assembly unanimously voted Ghana's admission as the eighty-first Member State.
The Federation of Malaya became the eighty-second Member on September 17, when the General Assembly unanimously approved a Security Council recommendation for admission. Malaya had become an independent state on August 31, under a constitution formulated by members of the Malayan Government, the Malay Rulers, and the British Government. A cabled request for United Nations membership was made immediately by the country's Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, and unanimous Security Council approval came only five days later.
The question of membership for the Republic of Korea and South Vietnam came before the General Assembly twice in 1957, once during the eleventh session and again during the twelfth session. Previously the admission of these countries had been blocked by the negative vote of the Soviet Union — a 'veto' — in the Security Council. In two resolutions adopted on February 28, the General Assembly found both countries qualified for membership and asked the Security Council to re-examine their applications. Earlier, a Soviet proposal for simultaneous admission of North and South Vietnam and North and South Korea was rejected. In September the Security Council voted 10 to one for admission of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, but again the negative ballot of the Soviet Union blocked passage of the recommendation. On October 25 the General Assembly once more noted with regret that admission of the two countries had been prevented by a single negative vote, and reaffirmed that they were 'fully qualified and should be admitted to membership.'
A proposal by the Soviet Union that the Mongolian People's Republic be recommended for membership was rejected in the Security Council, receiving two affirmative votes to five negative, with four abstentions.
The question of Chinese representation was raised by India, but the General Assembly voted not to place this issue on the agenda of the 1957 session.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Following nearly four years of effort and planning, the International Atomic Energy Agency became a reality on July 29, when the required number of ratification documents had been deposited in Washington. The first annual meeting of the Agency's General Conference convened in Vienna on October 1, and among its priority decisions it approved a draft agreement governing the Agency's relationship with the United Nations. On November 14, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved this relationship agreement.
The IAEA, under the aegis of the United Nations, is responsible for international activities concerned with the peaceful uses of atomic energy, without prejudice to the rights and responsibilities of the United Nations in this field under the Charter. The IAEA undertakes to conduct its activities in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter to promote peace and international co-operation, and in conformity with United Nations policies furthering the establishment of safeguarded worldwide disarmament. The agreement specifies that the Agency will keep the United Nations informed of its activities by annual reports to the General Assembly and, as appropriate, reports to the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. The UN Secretary-General will report, as appropriate, on the common activities of the United Nations and the Agency. Each organization is to make available to the other such information and special studies as may be requested. The United Nations-IAEA agreement provides that the Agency may propose items for consideration by the United Nations, and that the United Nations may propose items for consideration by the Agency. Agency and United Nations Secretariat staffs will maintain a close working relationship in accordance with arrangements to be agreed upon.
Trusteeship Developments.
Advances toward self-government continued in various trust territories. In joining with newly-independent Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast colony) on March 6, British-administered Togoland became the first of the territories to have its trusteeship status terminated and to achieve self-rule. British Togoland had been administered as a United Nations trust territory since 1946. In May 1956 in a plebiscite conducted under the observation of the United Nations a majority of the population voted for union with an independent Gold Coast, and the General Assembly subsequently set the date for ending the trusteeship.
Political developments in French-administered Togoland also were significant. In January, on the grounds that under a new statute Togoland had an 'autonomous' government, France formally asked that the territory's trusteeship status be terminated, but subsequently it decided not to press for this action. Petitioners from Togoland were divided as to the degree of autonomy exercised by the Togoland Government under the statute. On January 23 the General Assembly decided to send a commission to French Togoland to examine conditions under the new constitutional arrangements. Following a four-week visit to the area, the commission reported that there was 'little doubt that a trend of events has been set in motion which makes inevitable a further broadening of the degree of autonomy achieved by Togoland' toward full self-rule. The administering authority had announced plans for election of a Togoland legislative assembly in 1958, as a step in the progressive development of autonomy. Upon the request of the Togoland Government, the General Assembly, in a resolution of November 29, agreed to supervise the scheduled elections. It elected Max H. Dorsinville of Haiti as supervisory commissioner, and asked him to report to the Trusteeship Council on the organization, conduct, and results of the voting.
A visiting mission — one of a series which the Trusteeship Council sends out periodically — surveyed progress in three other African trust territories in 1957. It examined conditions in Tanganyika, Somaliland (scheduled for independence in 1960), and Ruanda-Urundi, and will report its findings to the Trusteeship Council in 1958. Constitutional plans for Tanganyika include direct elections in 1958 for all seats on the representative side of the Legislature.
The Trusteeship Council heard from the United States that problems arising from displacement of residents of the Pacific Islands Trust Territory had been resolved. People living on Bikini and Eniwetok had been removed from those islands to other atolls in 1946 and 1947 because of atomic tests. The United States reported that full financial settlements had been made with the displaced islanders. Former residents of Eniwetok had accepted $175,000 and rights to Ujelang Atoll in exchange for the administering authority's right to indefinite use of Eniwetok. Bikinians accepted $325,000, Kili Atoll, and miscellaneous rights in exchange for the administering authority's right to indefinite use of their former home island. The United States also notified the Council that residents of two other islands, Rongelap and Utirik, temporarily removed in 1954 after a number of them had suffered ill effects and property losses from an unexpected thermonuclear 'fall-out,' would soon be returned to their homes.
United Nations Technical Assistance.
Since 1950, the United Nations and seven specialized agencies have combined their efforts in an Expanded Program of Technical Assistance to Underdeveloped Countries. The Technical Assistance Board reported in 1957 that projects carried out during the previous year were the most extensive in the Program's history. Aid was provided in 103 countries and territories, and a total of $25.3 million was spent on direct field operations — about $4 million more than in 1955. The assistance included the services of 2,346 experts and the provision of 2,128 fellowships and study grants. Governmental contributions from seventy-seven countries for 1956 amounted to $28.8 million.
For the year 1957, more than eighty countries had made contributions equivalent to about $30.8 million. Work in progress included assistance to a project for economic integration of five Central American republics, and preparatory investigations of a plan to harness the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. Development of the resources of the lower Mekong River Basin, shared by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Viet Nam, would directly or indirectly benefit an estimated 17 million people. On November 15, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold announced the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler as chairman of a mission to study the projected development.
The specialized agencies with which the Technical Assistance Administration is working in the Expanded Program are the International Labor Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNESCO, the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, and the World Meteorological Organization.
The General Assembly on December 14 decided to establish a special projects fund to finance expansion of United Nations technical assistance and development activities. Prospective resources were estimated at about $100,000,000. The fund is to provide 'systematic and sustained assistance' in fields 'essential to the integrated technical, economic and social development of the less developed countries.' Fund operations are to be directed, for the time being, toward enlarging the scope of United Nations technical assistance programs so as to include special projects in basic fields of work, such as, for example, intensive surveys of water, mineral, and potential power resources. The Assembly decision called for establishment of training institutes in public administration, statistics and technology, and of agricultural and industrial research and productivity centers. It anticipated that when financial resources prove adequate to enter the field of capital development in less developed countries the General Assembly shall review the scope and future activities of the Fund.
African Economic Commission.
The establishment of an Economic Commission for Africa to help foster and co-ordinate economic development of that continent was recommended to the Economic and Social Council by the General Assembly on November 27. The Assembly asked that the Economic and Social Council 'give prompt and favorable consideration' to the proposal. Similar Economic Commissions are at work in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
War Prisoners.
The United Nations Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War continued its search for missing prisoners of World War II. Following its seventh session, held in Geneva early in September, the Commission reported to the Secretary-General that during the past six years more than 65,000 German, Japanese, and other prisoners had been repatriated, and that appreciable progress had been made in clarifying the fate of many listed as missing. Nevertheless, large numbers of prisoners and deportees remained to be found or accounted for, and the Commission appealed to governments and interested organizations to continue their efforts for repatriation.
Refugees.
In addition to caring for the more than 900,000 Palestine refugees and aiding refugees from Hungary, the United Nations in 1957 continued its efforts to find permanent homes for refugees of World War II. In 1954 the General Assembly extended the mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees for another four years, with the hope that the World War II refugees then in camps or in temporary homes might be relocated by 1958 on a permanent basis. The General Assembly also established a United Nations Refugee Fund to finance the four-year program. A target of $16 million was set for governmental contributions, and donations from private sources were encouraged. By the beginning of 1957 approximately $9.5 million had been contributed to the Fund. In October, United Nations Members pledged a little over $3.2 million in new contributions, but the High Commissioner estimated that an additional $4.8 million would be required to complete closure of the refugee camps in Europe.
Anti-Slavery Convention.
A United Nations-sponsored international agreement for the suppression of slavery in all its forms came into force on April 30. Officially known as the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, the treaty supplements and brings up to date a 1926 convention which primarily applies to easily recognizable types of chattel slavery and slave traffics. The new Convention, completed in September 1956 and subsequently signed by forty-three governments, deals with such aspects of slavery as debt bondage, serfdom, bride price, inheritance of wives, and abuses arising from the adoption of children. By the early part of December the following eleven signatories had ratified the Convention: Byelorussia, Cambodia, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Malaya, the Netherlands, Romania, Sudan, the U.S.S.R. and the United Kingdom.
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