543. Editorial Note
During the 566th meeting of the General Assembly (First Emergency Special Session), which began at 10:30 a.m. on November 7, the delegates considered a report by the Secretary-General, circulated the previous day, which described the nature of the peacekeeping force to be established. According to the report, the force should be temporary, the length of its assignment being determined by the current needs of the situation; it should not influence the military or political balance in the area; and it could function only with the consent of the countries contributing troops and the countries on whose territory it was stationed. While a cease-fire was being established, the force would, with the consent of the Egyptian Government, enter Egyptian territory to help maintain the quiet during and after the withdrawal of non-Egyptian forces, and to secure compliance with other terms of the cease-fire resolution. (U.N. doc. A/3302)
While considering this report, Danish Representative Karl I. Eskelund tabled a draft resolution, in the name of the Governments of Argentina, Burma, Ceylon, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Sweden (U.N. doc. A/3308), which fully endorsed Hammarskjöld’s report and declared it to be the will of the General Assembly to follow up and implement the proposals and suggestions made in the report. Shortly thereafter, Ceylonese Representative R.S.S. Gunewardene tabled an Afro-Asian or Nineteen-Power draft resolution, co-sponsored by the Governments of Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, and Yemen. (U.N. doc. A/3309) That draft resolution recalled and reaffirmed previous General Assembly resolutions relating to the Middle East crisis, once again called upon Israel to withdraw immediately all [Page 1054] of its forces behind the Israeli-Egyptian armistice line, once again called upon the United Kingdom and France immediately to withdraw all their forces from Egyptian territory, and urged the Secretary-General to communicate the resolution to the parties concerned and to report on compliance with it. (U.N. doc. A/PV.566)
Discussion of these two draft resolutions continued at the 567th plenary meeting of the General Assembly, which convened at 3 p.m. that same day. After several changes were made in the text of the Seven-Power draft, it was adopted as Resolution 1001 (ES–I) by a vote of 64 in favor, 0 opposed, and 12 abstentions. The resolution as adopted provided for the establishment of an Advisory Committee composed of one representative from each of the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Ceylon, Colombia, India, Norway, and Pakistan, and chaired by the Secretary-General. The committee would “undertake the development of those aspects of the planning for the Force and its operation not already dealt with by the General Assembly and which do not fall within the area of the direct responsibility of the Chief of the Command”. The Nineteen-Power draft was then adopted as Resolution 1002 (ES–I) by a vote of 65 in favor, 1 (Israel) opposed, and 10 abstentions. The United States voted in favor of both of these resolutions. (U.N. doc. A/PV.567) For text of Ambassador Lodge’s remarks in the General Assembly on November 7, see Department of State Bulletin, November 19, 1956, pages 791–792.