320/1–2452: Telegram
The Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly (Roosevelt) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 24—8:12 p. m.]
Delga 1180. Re membership. Fol is text joint draft res submitted by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, tabled Comite 1 Jan 24, and referred to in preceding tel:1
“The General Assembly,
Considering that the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion of 3 March, 1950, concerning the admission of new members, held that it was not the object of the request for an advisory opinion, contained in the resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 22 November 1949, to determine how the Security Council should apply the rules governing its voting procedure in regard to admissions or, in particular, that the court should examine whether the negative vote of a permanent member is effective to defeat a recommendation which has obtained seven or more votes, since, in the opinion of the court, the question, as it had been formulated, assumed in such a case the nonexistence of a recommendation; and that, in view of these circumstances, the court considered solely whether the General Assembly can make a decision to admit a state when the Security Council has transmitted no recommendation to it.
Considering that in the course of the debates on the item entitled “Admission of new members, including the right of candidate states to present proof of the conditions required under Article 4 of the Charter” during the 6th session of the Assembly, a number of delegations have repeatedly expressed doubt whether in this matter, which is governed by article 4 of the Charter (which speaks of a “recommendation” by the Security Council and of a “decision” by the General Assembly) the voting procedure which under article 27 applies to “decisions” of the Security Council is applicable.
Requests the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the following two questions:
- a.
- What are the rules or criteria to be followed in interpreting the result of votes in the Security Council on recommendations for the admission of new members?
- b.
- Can the negative vote of one of the permanent members nullify a recommendation for admission which has obtained seven or more votes?”2
- The official text (UN Doc. A/C.1/708) is in GA (VI), Annexes, agenda item 60.↩
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On January 25 the First Committee took favorable action on the Peruvian and Soviet draft resolutions, but delayed action on this item (until January 29). For the proceedings of January 25 in which are set forth the complicated parliamentary situation and the voting on the various amendments to the Peruvian and Soviet resolutions, see GA (VI), First Committee, pp. 255 ff.
Subsequently the Central American states prepared for submission to the next First Committee meeting on membership a joint draft resolution which: (1) requested the Security Council to report to the General Assembly at its Seventh Session on the status of applications for membership then pending; (2) directed that an item on admission of new members be included in the agenda of the Seventh Session of the General Assembly; and (3) referred the first joint draft resolution submitted, by the same states (text above) to the General Assembly at its Seventh Session for consideration under the membership item. For text of this second joint draft resolution proposed by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (UN Doc. A/C.1/716) (and submitted to the First Committee on January 29), see GA (VI), Annexes, fascicule for agenda item 60.
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