Editorial Note
The First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly resumed its consideration of the Greek question on October 24. At the outset (294th–298th Meetings, October 24–27), the Committee became involved in a discussion of the problem of alleged executions and certain death sentences in Greece of persons convicted of treason or subversion. The Soviet Delegation, supported by other Soviet bloc delegations, advanced a proposal asking for the suspension and repeal of certain death sentences. The debate gave rise to a number of other resolutions by South American delegations regarding death sentences and executions. Ultimately, the Committee decided that it was not competent in the matter proposed by the Soviet Delegation. The Committee [Page 452] did, however, adopt a resolution requesting General Assembly President Romulo to ascertain the views of the Greek Government concerning the suspension of death sentences passed by Greek military courts for political reasons. For the official record of these Committee deliberations, see GA (IV), First Committee, pages 90–115.
The First Committee continued its consideration of the Greek question from its 298th Meeting, October 27, to its 311th Meeting, November 4. On October 27 the Delegations of Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States introduced a joint resolution (U.N. doc. A/C.1/513) continuing the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans with somewhat broadened terms of reference. Although receiving wide support by other delegations in the Committee, the joint resolution was vigorously opposed by the Soviet Delegation and the delegations of the other Soviet bloc nations. On October 27 the Soviet Delegation introduced its own resolution (U.N. doc. A/C.1/518) which incorporated Soviet proposals made earlier in the year, including the dissolution of the United Nations Special Committee. The joint resolution of October 27 was adopted by the First Committee on November 4 by a vote of 38 to 6 with 2 abstentions. On the same day, the Soviet resolution was overwhelmingly defeated in paragraph-by-paragraph voting. At its 310th meeting on November 3, the First Committee adopted unanimously an amended version of a joint resolution introduced by the Australian, Chinese, United Kingdom, and United States delegations dealing with the repatriation of Greek children under the auspices of the International Red Cross. For the official record of this phase of the work of the First Committee, see ibid., pages 115–190. For the text of the report to the General Assembly on the First Committee’s consideration of the Greek question, including the texts of the resolutions mentioned above, see GA (IV), Plenary Meetings, Annex, pages 61–68. The joint resolution of October 27 and the Soviet resolution of October 27 were considered again by the General Assembly at its meetings on November 17 and 18; see the editorial note, page 456. For the text of the Soviet resolution as circulated on October 27 (U.N. doc. A/C.1/518), see Carlyle, Documents on International Affairs, 1949–50, pages 235–236. For the text of the statement made in favor of the joint Australian-Chinese-United Kingdom-United States resolution of October 27 (U.N. doc. A/C.1/513) at the First Committee’s 298th Meeting, October 27, see Department of State Bulletin, November 21, 1949, pages 779–783. For an authoritative account of the deliberations of the First Committee on the Greek question, see Howard, The Greek Question in the Fourth General Assembly, pages 5–22.