First Special Session of the GA – Meeting record

Held in the General Assembly Hall at Flushing

Meadow,  New  York,  on  Monday,  28  April

1947, at 11 a.m.

Temporary President: Mr. F. VAN LANGENHOVE  (Belgium).

1. Opening of the session by the Chairman of the Belgian delegation

The Temporary President: (translated from French): I declare open the sixty-eighth plenary meeting of the General Assembly, summoned to its first special session at the request of the United Kingdom, in the conditions mentioned in document A/295. A majority of the Members concurred in this request within a time-limit of thirty days, as required by the terms of rule 4 of the provisional rules of procedure for the General Assembly.

The rules of the General Assembly provide that, at the opening of each session, the Chairman of that delegation from which the President of the previous session was elected shall preside until the General Assembly has elected a President for the new session. It is under this provision that I have the honour of welcoming the representatives of the United Nations gathered together in this hall, among whom I am happy to recognize so many familiar faces.

At the close of the second part of the first session of the General Assembly on 15 December last, its President said that certainly no one could deny the enthusiasm for work, the will to succeed and the conscientiousness which had been manifested throughout eight weeks by each and every representative of the United Nations. "The criticism which might be levelled against us", he said, "is that the session has lasted too long."

Yet scarcely four months have elapsed, and circumstances have brought us together again. True, the frequency and the duration of these meetings are not without danger. "Our young Organization", said Mr. Spaak, "should not be too ambitious." But events today are stronger than our wish to avoid overloading our Organization.

The phenomenon which can be observed in regard to the Assembly also appears in other organs of the United Nations.

The Security Council, of course, is required by statute to be in continuous session; but the number of its meetings has never been so great as during these last four months. The Economic and Social Council and its commissions, too, have sat practically without interruption during the first quarter of this year. And finally, the Trusteeship Council is completing a long session of nearly five weeks.

If the meetings are so numerous, it is not only because the United Nations is not yet entirely out of the organizational stage, but also because we are living in a world which is still suffering from the upheaval of a terrible war, and because peoples and Governments are turning more and more towards the United Nations in the hope of finding a solution to their gravest difficulties.

The question which led to the calling of this special session is a striking example. To the extent that this reflects some progress in the spirit of international co-operation, we can only rejoice. But the greater the number of appeals to our Organization, the more necessary it becomes that the Organization should improve its methods and do everything in its power to increases the efficiency of its work.

May this thought inspire us in our deliberations which are about to begin. That is the wish I make in declaring the opening of the first special session of the General Assembly.

2. Election of the Credentials Committee

The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT: (translated from French): We must now elect the Credentials Committee. Rule 23 of the provisional rules of procedure provides that this Committee shall consist of nine members, who shall be appointed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the President.

I propose the election of the representatives of the following Members to serve on the Committee: Argentina, Australia, Denmark, Lebanon, Peru, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics, United States of America and Yugoslavia.

If there are no objections, I declare the Committee duly elected. It will meet in Committee Room B at 2 p.m. to examine the credentials and draw up its report, which will be considered at the beginning of this afternoon's plenary meeting.

3. Election of the new President of the General Assembly

The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT: (translated from French): The next item on the agenda is the election of the President of the General Assembly, who will hold office until the end of this session, in accordance with rule 26 of the provisional rules of procedure. The election will take place in conformity with rule 82, which provides that there shall be no nominations, and that the election shall take place by secret ballot. Every representative has been given a voting-paper; on it, he is asked to write the name of the person he wishes to be elected President.

I appoint General Romulo, representative of the Philippine Republic, and Mr. Entezam, representative of Iran, as tellers, and invite them to take their places at the rostrum.

A vote was taken by secret ballot.

The  TEMPORARY PRESIDENT:  (translated from French): Here is the result of the vote: Number of persons voting: 50. Abstentions: 4.

Mr. Aranha (Brazil) received 45 votes.

The following representatives each received one vote: 1     Mr. Eriksson (Sweden)

H.R.H. Amir Faisal Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia)

Mr. Gromyko (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Mr. Pearson (Canada)

Mr. Santa Cruz (Chile).

In application of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, I declare Mr. Oswaldo Aranha elected President.

I warmly congratulate Mr. Aranha, and ask him to take the Chair.

Mr. Aranha took the Chair.

The PRESIDENT: My fellow representatives: 1 am grateful for the honour conferred upon my country and upon myself by my election to the presidency of this Assembly. It is hardly necessary to state that I shall earnestly endeavour to carry out the responsibilities arising out of your generosity and trust. In these functions, any decisions will be inspired by my duty towards you, by the adherence of Brazil to its traditions of historic impartiality and juridical culture, and last but not least, by my country's faithful support of the United Nations.

I am morally certain that, in holding true to the political traditions not only of my country, but of the Americas as well, I shall fulfil the high expectation of this Assembly and of the people who rely upon our decisions.

In this Assembly all of us have equal rights, but we also have equal duties. The problems which have brought us together at this time, although our sole purpose is to decide upon measures preparatory to their solution, have throughout the ages most decisively challenged the minds and the sentiments of individuals and of peoples. We have been and shall be called upon to decide questions which are not our individual responsibility, but the burden of all. Time has brought forth an hour of decision for our conscience.

The existence of an organization such as the United Nations, with the capacity for considering and endeavouring to solve the greatest human problems, is proof of the vision and the wisdom of those who have preceded us in the task of ensuring well-being, security and peace for the world. Therefore, we have, within ourselves, fellow representatives, in our capacity for understanding, in our goodwill, in our ability to overcome the complexities of our own problems and those of other peoples, the greatest possibilities ever offered to men for the solution by the exercise of reason, of difficulties which were complicated and aggravated in the past by the resort to force. Above all, it is within our power to make the United Nations the sum total of justice, security and peace, or through our lack of wisdom to allow it to be transformed into one more sword to be wielded blindly by force and instinct.

Mankind looks to us for a future of greater tranquillity and happiness. We have no warrant to postpone, or to allow confusion to cloud the issues of the task entrusted to us by our people, and by all peoples. The truth which we must always keep present in our minds and in our hearts is that if our Organization fails in its intent, there will be no nation, no home, no conscience at peace throughout the world in which we shall have to live.

I firmly believe in the United Nations, and in our determination to make it the guardian of our security and of the security of the world. I am confident that its founders did not labour in vain, and that our efforts will likewise be fruitful and worthy of the confidence of all men who believe in solidarity. The United Nations has made great progress in all the fields of its vast jurisdiction. Its agencies are in full operation. Subjects of the highest importance, which have to do with international peace and collective security, are being examined and acted upon.

In addition to this practical achievement, notable moral progress is in view. The well-being of peoples has been furthered to an extent heretofore unknown. The post-war period has been marked by generous help and constructive assistance which have brought comfort to the defeated and ennobled the mission of the victors.

The United Nations will assume the full measure of its responsibilities and functions only on the day when peace is concluded and all treaties are signed, when all peoples are liberated and there is elimination, by agreement among the victors, of the troubled conditions which are^ inevitable and grave after a war. We have reason to hope that the efforts of the Council of Foreign Ministers will virtually correspond to world expectations of the integration of the defeated peoples into international order. The future of the world will then become the responsibility of the United Nations.

The answer to the problem which we have before us is among those solutions which must be found before our Organization can exercise fully the functions for which it was created at San Francisco.

The entire world is present in this hall. It is not in vain that all our peoples have achieved this total association in so decisive a moment for all understanding and solidarity. All the great forces on earth are assembled here with all their responsibilities. But the great significance of this Assembly is its moral aspect. We are at the moment filled with hope and reason following an era of destruction and death. We are the expression of the highest and broadest aspirations of human solidarity and peace.

I am sure that we shall respond in this case, as we have in previous cases, to the confidence of our nations and to the expectation of all.

4   Ceremony  of  admission  of  Siam  to the United Nations

The PRESIDENT:  The next item on the agenda concerns the admission of Siam to the United Nations. I invite the representative of Siam to come to the platform.

H.R.H. Prince Wan Waithayakon, representative of Siam, came to the rostrum and acknowledged the President's welcome.

The PRESIDENT: In this connexion, I have received the following letter from the Secretary-General, and I shall ask Mr. Cordier to read it.

Mr. Cordier (Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General) :   The letter reads as follows:

"His Excellency Sr. Oswaldo Aranha, President of the General Assembly First Special Session "Sir:

"I have the honour to inform you that on 16 December 1946, pursuant to the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh plenary meeting admitting Siam to membership of the United Nations, the representative of Siam presented to me an instrument of adherence.

"According to rule 116 of the provisional rules of procedure of the General Assembly, Siam's membership in the United Nations became effective on that date.

"I have the honour to be …

(Signed) Trygve Lie

The PRESIDENT: My fellow representatives, I think that I speak in the name of the Assembly in voicing a cordial and unanimous welcome to the representative of Siam.

You will recall that, at the final plenary meeting of the second part of the first session of the General Assembly, a resolution 1 was unanimously adopted admitting Siam to membership of the United Nations. The following day, Siam signed and presented to the Secretary-General the instrument of adherence.2

Now that these formalities have been completed, not only do we welcome Siam as a new Member State, but we look forward eagerly to her participation in the work of this Assembly. She brings to this work a tradition of independence and a firm belief in the aims of the United Nations.   Siam, we know, is fully conscious of the heavy responsibility that membership entails, and we are sure she will contribute in full measure to our common task.

Today, when yet another Member joins our ranks, we are a step nearer our goal of building a world founded on understanding, identity of purpose and co-operation. It is only when all nations subscribe to the purposes and principles of the Charter that we can hope to achieve our aim of a lasting peace whereby we may promote better standards of life in greater freedom.

Mr. Asaf Ali (India). It is my proud privilege today to extend to the picturesque country of Siam, an old member of the cultural family of India, a very warm welcome to the new and much wider international family of nations. I heartily associate myself with the expression of welcome and the sentiments which you have offered to His Royal Highness, the representative of Siam, who has taken his seat in the United Nations today.

The United Nations Organization is the only hope of mankind today. If ever the world can be saved from the wreckage of the last war, which was partially due to the want of moral firmness and the material incapacity of the defunct League of Nations, this salvation can come only through the awakened conscience of humanity, which should reflect itself in a fully equipped United Nations. My country, which has crossed the horizons of ancient wisdom, has learned through untold sufferings undergone for centuries that the human race can be saved only by the organization of the human conscience against the excesses to which man falls prey through his evolutionary heritage. We in India want peace throughout the world, and we arc most anxious to throw our full weight into the scales for the peace and prosperity of the human race.

It is therefore a matter of congratulation that those who were not Members of the United Nations until yesterday should be welcomed into the comity of nations today. I sincerely hope, and earnestly pray, that this family shall grow to its fullest stature and moral strength by the addition of the remaining members of the human race scattered around the globe, and that the method of peaceful resolution of international conflicts shall reach its fullest maturity within the shortest period conceivable. This I hope and pray so that the world, distracted by miseries inflicted upon it by rival Powers, may see the dawn of real peace, and so that each individual and every nation may have the opportunity of advancing to the uttermost potentialities of his or its individuality.

I extend the warmest welcome to the representative of Siam on behalf of my country and my Government, and assure him that, as our near  neighbour,   Siam   shall  have  our   fullest support in all undertakings which may be designed to secure the aims to which I have given expression.

Mr. Quo Tai-chi (China):   On this happy occasion of Siam's formal entry into the United Nations and of her active participation for the first time in the work of the General Assembly,  I express the Chinese delegation's most cordial welcome to the newest Member of the United Nations.  I am particularly glad to do so as the Chinese representative, not only because of the traditional  good   neighbour  policy   of   China towards all her neighbours large or small, but also because of her strong and close cultural and economic ties with the Kingdom of Siam.

During the Second World War, Siam had a hard struggle against the Japanese aggressors. Her experiences during the occupation by the Axis aggressor were long and hard. Today, we all rejoice in the new role of the Kingdom of Siam as an independent, sovereign and free State taking her place in this family of nations.

It is our hope and expectation that, as fellow Members of the United Nations, China and Siam will live together on terms of friendship and peace, and that they will work together in fruitful co-operation as fellow Members of the United Nations in fulfilment of the principles and purposes of our Charter.

Mr. DE KAUFFAM (Denmark): The representatives of two great countries have just spoken to bid Siam welcome to our midst. I represent a small country, Denmark, but my country has for generations had special ties of friendship with Siam. It has been my honour to represent Denmark in Siam; and, during the dark days when both Denmark and Siam were occupied, close friendship and co-operation continued in Washington between my Siamese colleague and myself. I therefore wish to join in bidding Siam a welcome here today.

H.R.H. Prince WAN WAITHAYAKOAN (Siam): May I be permitted to express to you my sincere thanks for the very kind words with which you have welcomed the representative of Siam to this great Assembly? I also desire warmly to thank the representatives of India, China and Denmark for their friendly remarks.

The Siamese nation has long been known for its love of peace, freedom and tolerance. Buddhism has taught us to cherish peace, not as something negative in the sense of non-war, but as something positive in the sense of happy tranquillity. Buddhism also has taught us that human rights and duties apply to all mankind without distinction as to race, religion or sex. We Siamese call ourselves Thai or free people, but we know that in the exercise of our freedom we must respect the rights of others. Consequently, our spirit of tolerance has been known to foreign missionaries for many centuries.

With this background of national tradition^ Siam has developed a democratic regime at home, while in her foreign relations she has sought to promote understanding and friendship with all the Powers concerned. She disposed of extra-territoriality and recovered her full sovereign rights through friendly negotiations; she readily took part in international co-operation to further the progress and welfare of mankind. She was an active Member of the League of Nations.

The recent world war, however, found Siam in an unfortunate plight; but a Siamese resistance movement, both inside and outside the country, was organized to work in close cooperation with the Allies, and was about to go into military action when hostilities ended. The United States of America and Great Britain were thus aware of the real sentiment of the Siamese people, who are sincerely attached to the cause of world peace and international cooperation. Both of those countries, together with other Allied Powers, resumed normal friendly relations with Siam without delay. China, too, concluded a treaty of friendship with Siam. Moreover, an agreement for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Siam and the Soviet Union is being concluded.

The resumption of friendly relations with France was complicated by a border dispute. Siam called the attention of the Security Council to the situation, and in so doing accepted not only the obligations of peaceful settlement under the Charter but also any decision which might be taken by the Security Council. In conformity with the Charter, however, direct negotiations took place and happily resulted in an amicable settlement of the dispute. Siam thus gave concrete proof, not only of its faith in the United Nations, but also of its readiness to comply with the provisions of the Charter. The various Powers, great and small, sympathetically supported Siam's application for membership, so that it was admitted to the United Nations by a unanimous decision of the General Assembly during its last session.

The Siamese Government is deeply grateful for such support, and for that decision. It desires to assure the General Assembly that Siam, conscious of the privileges it enjoys as a Member of the United Nations, will contribute its utmost to the promotion of world peace and international co-operation in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter. On behalf of the Government and the people of my country I now pledge full support to the United Nations.

5.    Organization of the session

The PRESIDENT: In order to proceed with our business in a suitable manner, we must face and try to solve quickly a procedural difficulty which can be overcome and worked out without much debate. As you all know, our provisional rules of procedure do not provide for a special . procedure to be followed in a special session of the General Assembly. It is not for us at this moment to argue whether it is necessary or not to adopt special rules for a special occasion. We .have neither the time nor the desire to do so, for it would be extremely unwise to engage in a purely procedural discussion which would lead us nowhere. What is more, this session is too specific in character for us to yield to the temptation of setting up precedents for future occasions. What might prove right and proper at this particular meeting may well be wrong and dangerous for future special sessions. I hope that all of you will agree that, despite our sincere desire to facilitate the future work of this Assembly, it is our duty not to establish precedents which may be invoked on later occasions.

I have given a great deal of thought to this question, and it is my firm belief that we should adhere as strictly as possible to our established rules. Any other solution, however practical it may appear, would have to be preceded by a long debate which would only divert our attention from the problem before us. If we are determined to follow our provisional rules of procedure, as I hope we are, I would propose that we adopt the following course of action:

As a preliminary step, in pursuance of rules 32 and 33, we should establish a general committee. Its main task would be to examine the provisional agenda, together with the supplementary list of agenda items, and report to us for final approval. Without an agenda which has been formally approved, we cannot work. I propose that we should set up the general committee as speedily as possible. To do so, we must select the seven Vice-Presidents of this Assembly, while the six main committees must elect their own chairmen. If we all agree upon that procedure, I suggest that we should pass immediately to the selection of the seven Vice-Presidents and then adjourn this plenary meet-mg- During the afternoon, we shall have short meetings of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Committees, and they will elect their own chairmen. After that, we shall resume our work in plenary session and refer the agenda to the General Committee, which will then be able to hold its first meeting. This proposed procedure may seem a little too formal and cumbersome; however, I am sure that it will ultimately prove wise and save us a great deal of time, which may be used to our best advantage and more constructively in the discussion of the real question before us.

I submit these suggestions to you, in the hope of solving this difficulty with goodwill and dispatch.

If there is no objection, I shall consider my suggestions adopted.

6. Election of Vice-Presidents

The PRESIDENT: We shall now proceed to the election of the seven Vice-Presidents for this special session. In accordance with rule 32, they will also serve as members of the General Committee.

T should like to call to your attention rule 26, which requires that the Vice-Presidents be elected on the basis of ensuring the representative character of the General Committee.

In accordance with rule 82, there shall be no nominations, and the elections shall take place by secret ballot. Ballot forms have been distributed, and representatives are requested to write the names of the seven candidates whom they wish to elect as Vice-Presidents.

A ballot containing more than seven names shall be declared invalid.

At the invitation of the President, Mr. Entezam {Iran) and General Romulo {Philippine Republic) acted as tellers.

The PRESIDENT: Mr. Lopez, Chairman of the Colombian delegation, asks the President to explain that, although his name has been put forward as a candidate for the position of Vice-President, he cannot accept the position. He feels honoured by this suggestion, but he has to serve during the next month as President of the Security Council.

A vole was then taken by secret ballot on the basis of 55 Members voting, 55 valid votes, no invalid votes, 3 Members abstaining and a simple majority of 27 votes required.

The results of the voting were as follows:

The PRESIDENT: I declare elected as Vice-presidents of this Assembly the representatives of France the United States of America, the United Kingdom, China, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Ecuador and India.

1/ See Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during the second part of its first session, XIX, 101 (I), Page  198.

1Ibid., Ill, page 53.

The Assembly stands adjourned. We shall reconvene at 3 p.m.

The meeting rose at 1.30 p.m.