No. 68
Editorial Note
On April 17, the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly began discussion of Burma’s complaint to the United Nations. [Page 99] On April 22, the Committee adopted a Mexican draft resolution, with one Argentine-Chilean amendment and four Lebanese amendments, after accepting an Iranian proposal to give the Mexican resolution priority in voting. The Committee adopted the resolution as amended by 58 votes to none, with Burma and China abstaining. For the official record of the Committee discussions, see U.N. documents A/C.1/SR.605–612. The text of a statement made during the debate on April 21 by Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, United States Representative to the United Nations, may be found in Department of State Bulletin, May 4, 1953, page 664.
On April 23, the General Assembly adopted the resolution by 59 votes to none, with China abstaining. The resolution, 707 (VII), condemned the presence of “foreign forces” in Burma and their hostile acts against that country, declared that the foreign forces must be disarmed and either agree to internment or leave Burma’s territory forthwith, requested all states to respect Burma’s territorial integrity and independence, recommended that “the negotiations now in progress through the good offices of certain Member States should be pursued,” urged all states to assist Burma to facilitate the evacuation of the foreign forces by peaceful means and to refrain from giving them any assistance, and invited the Burmese Government to report on the situation at the next session of the General Assembly. For text of the resolution, see U.N. document A/2391; for the record of the meeting at which it was adopted, see U.N. document A/PV.428.