Consideration of draft progress report – UNCCP 348th meeting (New York) – Summary Record

UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHTH MEETING (CLOSED)

Held at Headquarters, New York,
on Wednesday, 11 October 1961, at 4:00 p.m.

CONTENTS

Adoption of the agenda

Consideration of Secretariat draft of nineteenth progress report

Other business

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

The Agenda was adopted.

CONSIDERATION OF SECRETARIAT DRAFT OF NINETEENTH PROGRESS REPORT

The Chairman noted that the draft before the Commission was a second draft prepared by the Secretariat. It incorporated a number of suggestions agreed upon informally among the delegations. The most important changes were the new abbreviated paragraph 7 concerning the mission of the Special Representative and the deletion of the original paragraph 10.

A discussion of the draft Progress Report took place. Various drafting and substantive amendments were considered and adopted as the draft was approved paragraph by paragraph.

Mr. MOE (Director of Liaison of UNRWA at Headquarters) was invited to comment on paragraphs relevant to the mission of Dr. Johnson.

It was confirmed that the section on Identification and Valuation should mention the preliminary report received from Mr. Jarvis but leave quite open for future consideration whether that report should be published and made available to delegations.

It was also agreed that the letter to the Permanent Observer of the Arab League approved at the 347th meeting should not be transmitted but redrafted and reconsidered in the light of the Commission's decision not to publish the Interim Report.

The Commission completed consideration of the nineteenth Progress Report and approved it with the understanding that minor additional drafting changes would be cleared orally with delegations and that the Commission would not meet again on the subject.

OTHER BUSINESS

A draft letter from Mr. Cordier to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic concerning consultation of Dr. Johnson with that Government was approved for transmission as soon as the Republic was admitted to the United Nations.

The Principal Secretary drew attention to a cablegram from the Legal Counsel of UNRWA in Beirut announcing that the authorities of the UAR had just given their concurrence to the “blocked accounts” release operation. This would necessitate a minor drafting change in the progress report.

It was so agreed.

The Principal Secretary drew attention to a request from Dr. Johnson for instructions on how to deal with the Palestine Arab Delegation named by the Arab Higher Committee.

It was requested that the Secretariat prepare and circulate a note on the problems involved.

The meeting rose at 5.30 p.m.