CO537-1656 — Page 25

The Preamble.

6

III. THE CHANGES IN DETAIL.

16. A Preamble has been inserted which voices the aspirations of the signatories of the Charter. It was based on a draft prepared by Field- Marshal Smuts after discussions in the British Commonwealth conversations held last April in London. The new form given to the Preamble by the words We the peoples was the result of discussions in the Committee which considered the question at San Francisco,

22

Chapter I. Purposes and Principles.

17. Some important additions have been made to the Dumbarton Oaks text. The words justice and international law have been inserted in the first Purpose (Art. 1 (1)) and Justice in the third Principle (Art. 2 (3)). The United States and the United Kingdom had agreed with the Chinese Delegation during the second phase of the Dumbarton Oaks Con- ference that an addition should be made along these lines, many other states had tabled similar amendments, and the agreement of the Soviet Delegation and the other states represented was readily obtained at San Francisco.

18. Reference is made in the second and third Purposes to the fundamental rights of peoples and individuals in a manner which has been widely sup- ported in public discussion in this and other countries.

C

19. The obligation of Members to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state has been laid down in the fourth Principle (Art. 2 (4)). This obligation was inherent in the original text but has been made explicit. It should be noted that the United Nations do not guarantee the territorial integrity or political independence of all the Members, for the reasons given in Cmd. Paper 6571, Paras. 15 and 16.

**

20. A new Principle (Art. 2. (7)) has been added which exempts from the intervention of the United Nations matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state," while leaving the obligation on the Security Council to prevent threats or breaches of the peace caused by such matters. In the Dumbarton Oaks text this exemption was confined to the procedure for the Pacific Settlement of Disputes. The exemption

is wider than that in the Covenant of the League of Nations and was subjected to considerable criticism, but it received strong support from many delega- tions, in particular the Australian, and was eventually accepted by a large majority.

Chapter II. Membership.

21. This question, which was left open at Dumbarton Oaks, has now been satisfactorily completed. The wording allows Poland to become an original Member of the United Nations. The qualifications for Membership are defined with reference to international obligations (Art. 4). The right to suspend and expel members is retained (Arts. 5, 6). While suspension was generally accepted, there was great opposition to expulsion on the part of those who were concerned to emphasise the permanency of the Organisation. It was, however, eventually accepted. The question of withdrawal is not mentioned in the Charter, but there was recorded in the minutes of the Technical Committee the opinion that this right remained to each member if exceptional circumstances compelled it to withdraw or if the Organisation should have clearly failed to accomplish its purposes.

Chapter III. Organs.

៩

22. The Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council have been added to the principal organs of the United Nations. (Art. 7). Men and women are to be equally eligible to participate in the work of the Organisation. (Art. 8). It had been considered unnecessary at Dumbarton Oaks to insert a provision of this character since the principle is now generally recognised, but the discussions at San Francisco showed that many states wished to make explicit mention of it.

Chapter IV. The General Assembly.

23. The number of representatives of each Member of the United Nations in the General Assembly has been fixed as five. In the Covenant the number was three, but there was general agreement at San Francisco that an increase was desirable. At the same time it was felt necessary to limit the number so that the General Assembly should not be too large.

24. Articles 10, 13 and 14 extend the power of the General Assembly. to discuss and make recommendations concerning any matter which affects the peace of the world or the general welfare of nations. The duty of making recommendations for the purpose of assisting in the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms is specifically laid upon it. These para- graphs were the result of prolonged discussion and were accepted with much satisfaction by all states in their final shape. At the same time the special position of the Security Council as the sole body to initiate action as regards the maintenance of international peace and security is maintained (Art. 12. (1)). Special provision is made for the notification to the General Assembly of questions concerning the maintenance of international peace and security which are being dealt with by the Security Council, so that the power of the General Assembly to make recommendations on such questions may be clearly determined (Art. 12 (2)).

25. It will be noted that, in accordance with the principle that the General Assembly is the financial authority of the Organisation, the examination of the administrative budgets of specialised agencies is now a function of the Economic and Social Council (Art. 17). The right to vote in the General Assembly is taken away from Members who are two years in arrears with their financial contributions (Art. 19).

Chapter V. The Security Council.

26. Only a few changes have been made in this Chapter. France was placed on an equal footing with the Sponsoring Powers. Special qualifications have been laid down for election to a non-permanent seat on the Security Council. These should tend to ensure the more frequent election of those states which can make important contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security, including the Dominions, while at the same time the necessity is recognised of the various regions of the world being equitably represented (Art. 23 (1)). The United Kingdom Delegation had, throughout the discussions leading to the San Francisco Conference, continually urged that a provision of this kind should be inserted in the Charter.

27. It is also particularly satisfactory that Articles 24, 25 and 43, by which Members accept specific obligations to assist in the maintenance of inter- national peace and security should have been generally accepted without any substantial alteration. These obligations are much more specific than those under the Covenant of the League of Nations, and the readiness to accept them is indicative of a general disposition to recognise the paramount necessity of all states co-operating together to maintain the peace of the world.

44602

A 4

Page 25Page 26