Editorial Note
In an unusual move after convening on September 19, the General Assembly decided not to refer the Secretary-General’s memorandum to an appropriate committee as was normal procedure but to discuss it in plenary meeting. This was done by the General Assembly at some length in meetings on November 17, 18, and 20; for the proceedings, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session, Plenary Meetings, volume I, pages 436 ff. (hereafter cited as GA (V), Plenary, volume I). On November 18 the United States made a statement in support of the memorandum and of a draft resolution that had been submitted by nine other states which commended [Page 396] the Secretary-General for his initiative in preparing the memorandum and presenting it to the General Assembly. The draft resolution also requested the appropriate organs of the United Nations to give consideration to those portions of the Secretary-General’s memorandum with which they were particularly concerned. (For text of the draft resolution, see GA (V), Annexes, volume II, fascicule 60, page 5.) After accepting a United Kingdom amendment and rejecting two Soviet amendments, the General Assembly adopted the joint resolution on November 20.