Editorial Note
At its 407th Meeting, February 8, the Security Council considered General Assembly Resolution 192(III) (for text, see Foreign Relations, 1948, volume I, Part 1, page 503) which had been transmitted by the Secretary-General. Malik, the Soviet Representative, opened discussion by introducing a resolution, S/1246/Rev. 1, which called for the Commission for Conventional Armaments to prepare a plan for the reduction by one-third of the armaments and armed forces of the five permanent members of the Security Council; called for the Atomic Energy Commission to submit to the Security Council draft conventions on prohibition of atomic weapons and on international control of atomic energy; and required all permanent members of the Council to submit full data on their armed forces and armaments, including atomic weapons. For the text of the Soviet draft resolution, see United Nations, Official Records of the Security Council, Fourth Tear, No. 10, pages 2–4 (hereafter cited as SC, 4th yr., No. 10), or Department of State, Documents on Disarmament 1945–1959 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1960), volume I, pages 191–193.
Ambassador Austin immediately expressed the opposition of the United States to the Soviet resolution. He characterized the proposal as an attempt to revive a variety of proposals which had already been rejected by the General Assembly, and as largely irrelevant to General Assembly Resolution 192(III) which was the object of the Council’s consideration. He urged that Resolution 192(III) be transmitted to the Commission for Conventional Armaments for implementation. For the text of Austin’s remarks, see SC, 4th yr., No. 10, pages 5–9.