Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V, Part 2

Statement Made by the United States Representative at the United Nations (Austin) Before the Security Council on February 1948¹

February 1948

[Extracts]

The Security Council is now confronted with the complex problem of Palestine as presented to us in General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and the two reports from the Palestine Commission. The Security Council now has before it a number of important questions concerning Palestine for which it must endeavour to find an answer. The situation does not permit any further delay.

The problem has been before the United Nations as a matter of special concern since 2 April 1947. The United States, as a Member of the United Nations, has supported since that date those United Nations procedures which we considered best adapted to obtaining a broad and impartial expression of world opinion on the problem, which would result in a just and workable solution commending itself to the Mandatory Power and to the people of Palestine.

As a result of the recommendations of the General Assembly of 29 November 1947, Palestine is now before several of the principal bodies of the United Nations for various types of action under the Charter. The United States, as a Member of the United Nations and of those bodies, will continue to deal with the question of Palestine as a Member of the United Nations in conjunction with other Members. The United States policy will not be unilateral. It will conform to, and be in support of, United Nations action on Palestine.

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The resolution of the General Assembly makes three separate requests of the Security Council. The first is that the Security Council “take the necessary measures as provided for in the plan for its implementation”. To determine what these measures are, it is necessary to turn to the plan itself. It will be seen that these are: To give guidance to the Palestine Commission; to take such action as the Security Council may deem proper with respect to either the Jewish or the Arab State if by 1 April 1948 a provisional council of government cannot be selected for that State, or, if selected, cannot carry out its functions; to issue such instructions to the Commission as the Security Council may consider necessary; to receive and consider periodic progress reports, special reports and the final report of the Palestine Commission; to give sympathetic consideration to the application for membership in the United Nations made by either the Arab or the Jewish State when a certain stage in the plan has been achieved.

We believe it is clear that the Security Council can undertake the above-mentioned measures. It is further clear from the terms of the resolution of 29 November 1947 that the Palestine Commission is bound by whatever instructions the Security Council gives to it pursuant to the General Assembly’s requests.

We come now to the two following requests of the General Assembly as set forth in the resolution of 29 November. These invoke the wide peace-keeping powers of the Security Council under the Charter. The second request in the resolution asks the Security Council to consider Whether “… during the transitional period … the situation in Palestine constitutes a threat to the peace”.

The third request of the General Assembly asks that the Security Council “determine as a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, in accordance with Article 39 of the Charter, any attempt to alter by force the settlement envisaged by this resolution”.

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Although the Security Council is empowered to use, and would normally attempt to use measures short of armed force to maintain the peace, it is authorized under the Charter to use armed force if it considers other measures inadequate. A finding by the Security Council that a danger to peace exists places all Members of the United Nations, regardless of their views, under obligation to assist the Security Council in maintaining peace. If the Security Council should decide that it is necessary to use armed force to maintain international peace in connexion with Palestine, the United States would be ready to consult under the Charter with a view to such action as may be necessary to maintain international peace. Such consultation would be required in view of the fact that agreement has not yet been reached making armed forces available to the Security Council under the terms of Article 43 of the Charter.

The Security Council is authorized to take forceful measures with respect to Palestine to remove a threat to international peace. The Charter of the United Nations does not empower the Security Council to enforce a political settlement whether it is pursuant to a recommendation of the General Assembly or of the Security Council itself.

What this means is this: The Security Council, under the Charter, can take action to prevent aggression against Palestine from outside. The Security Council, by these same powers, can take action to prevent a threat to international peace and security from inside Palestine. But this action must be directed solely to the maintenance of international peace. The Security Council’s action, in other words, is directed to keeping the peace and not to enforcing partition.

The United States Government believes that the first of the three requests made by the General Assembly to the Security Council under its resolution of 29 November 1947 can properly be complied with by the Security Council. With respect to the second and third requests of the General Assembly’s resolution, the Security Council must act, if necessary, to preserve international peace and security or to curb and repel aggression as provided in the Charter.

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Although we do not wish to place specific resolutions before the Security Council at this early stage of the discussion, my Government believes we should have in mind the desirability of the following specific steps which the Security Council might take at once: (1) to accept the tasks which the General Assembly asked the Security Council to accept in its resolution of 29 November 1947 on Palestine, subject to the authority of the Security Council under the Charter; (2) to establish, a committee of the Security Council, comprising the five permanent Members, to look at once into the question of the possible threats to international peace arising in connexion with the Palestine situation and to consult with the Palestine Commission, the Mandatory Power and representatives of the principal communities of Palestine concerning the implementation of the General Assembly resolution; (3) to call upon all Governments and peoples, particularly in and around Palestine, to take all possible action to prevent or reduce the disorders now occurring in Palestine.

1. Reprinted from SC, 3rd yr., Nos. 16–35, pp. 264–269. The Security Council began consideration of the two reports of the Palestine Commission on February 24, inviting Chairman Lisicky and representatives of Egypt, Lebanon, and the Jewish Agency to participate. The President of the Council suggested that if an application to participate were received from the Arab Higher Committee, it should be given the same consideration (ibid., pp. 257, 258).