IO Files
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Deputy United States Representative at the United Nations (Gross)
US/S/1863
Subject: Italian Membership Question in the Security Council
| Participants: | Amb. Antonio Quevedo, Delegation of Ecuador |
| Amb. Ernest Gross, U.S. Delegation |
Following the Security Council dinner last night, Amb. Quevedo raised with me the Italian Membership problem with which he expects to be faced in December while he is in the chair. He is clearly under great pressures from his Latin American colleagues to do what he can to assist Italian aspirations for admission to the United Nations. He asked what our attitude would be if, as President of the Security Council, he should rule that a Soviet vote against the Italian application did not constitute a “legal veto” in the event the Soviet Representative should rest his negative vote on grounds which the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion had declared improper.
Quevedo recalled that in the Fourth Committee the Soviet Representative had explained his negative attitude on the basis of “discrimination against other States” which were also applicants for membership.
Quevedo expressed the fear that if he should make such a ruling, the Soviet Union “might walk out of the Security Council” or even leave the United Nations. I expressed grave doubts that any such consequence would follow, but added that the question he raised deserved careful consideration and that we were now considering the matter and I did not think it fair or wise to express even a preliminary reaction at this time.
Quevedo then asked what I thought the situation would be if he did not make such a ruling, but left it to the Council to decide whether [Page 401] the Soviet negative vote was or was not a veto under the circumstances envisaged. I pointed out this would unquestionably lead the Council at once into a double veto problem and would undoubtedly precipitate a suggestion that the question be sent to the International Court of Justice.
We agreed to resume discussion of the foregoing suggestions, which I repeated were matters to which we wanted to give careful attention and that we were not now prepared to discuss them.
Quevedo concluded the discussion by saying that he was afraid that if he did not make such a ruling or if the Security Council did not pass upon the question of the legal effect of the Soviet negative vote, the General Assembly itself might vote to admit Italy to membership on the basis that Security Council action constituted a compliance with Article 4, despite the Soviet negative vote. Quevedo thought there would be strong sentiment in the Assembly for such action, the best counter to which probably would be General Assembly reference of the matter to the International Court of Justice.