Report of Rapporteur (Membership) to Committee I/2 on Meetings of the Special Subcommittee,

Docs. 550 and 582, May 24 and 25

May 22 and 23

The special Subcommittee appointed by Committee I/2 to discuss withdrawal, suspension, and expulsion met on May 22 and 23. The recommendations of the Subcommittee regarding withdrawal were reported to Committee I/2 on May 22 (Doc. 529, 1/2/33).

The Subcommittee agreed that Committee I/2 should consider the conditions of suspension, leaving the question on voting on suspension either by the Assembly or the Security Council to Commission II. There was consideration of the different conditions under which suspension and expulsion would be applied. It was pointed out that expulsion would not only deprive a country of its rights and privileges but also of its obligations to the Organization, whereas suspension would require a country to continue the acceptance of certain obligations. On the other hand, suspension would result in the temporary loss of the rights of membership, while expulsion would mean complete separation from the Organization, and the country which had been expelled would remain an exile from the Organization but would be in the same category as non-members under Chapter II. Some members pointed out that expulsion was incompatible with the idea of universality, but it was suggested by others that a state which has been expelled might be readmitted to the Organization after it had mended its ways.

At the suggestion of the Delegate of Belgium the Subcommittee considered a draft of a new paragraph (paragraph 4) on expulsion to replace the provision for expulsion in Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 3. The text reads as follows:

The Organization may expel from the Organization any member which persistently violates the principles contained in the Charter.

The discussion of this text crystallized the issue before the Subcommittee, namely, whether or not expulsion should be provided for in the Charter. As a result, a motion approving the omission of a provision for expulsion was carried by a vote of 6 to 5. The Subcommittee members reserved the right to speak to the recommendation in the full Committee. It is to be noted that should the full Committee decide to maintain the original Dumbarton Oaks provision, a two-thirds majority will be required.

The Subcommittee then discussed the draft of a paragraph (paragraph 3) on suspension to replace the provision for suspension in Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 3. The text reads as follows:

The Organization may at any time suspend from the exercise of the rights or privileges of membership any member of the Organization against which preventive or enforcement action shall have been taken by the Security Council, or which shall have violated the principles of the Charter in a grave or persistent fashion. The exercise of these rights and privileges may be restored in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapter -, paragraph

The Subcommittee approved this text by a vote of 8 to 2. It is clearly understood by the Subcommittee that only if Committee I/2 sustained the view of the majority of the Subcommittee on expulsion would the Subcommittee advise the Committee to change the draft

of paragraph 3 along these lines. If Committee I/2 accepts the view of the majority of the Subcommittee, Committee I/2 will then proceed to consider the recommended change of paragraph 3 of Section B, Chapter V.

Verbatim Minutes of First Meeting of Commission I, June 14

Doc. 1006, June 15

PRESIDENT (Mr. Rolin, Belgium, speaking in French; English version as delivered by interpreter follows): The meeting is opened.

The work of Commission I, Committee 1, is now undertaken. I wish first to present our Rapporteur, Judge Francisco A. Delgado of the Philippines; the Assistant Secretary-General and distinguished Delegate of the Lebanon, Dr. Charles Habib Malik; Mr. Malcolm Davis, the Executive Officer who has been a veteran of many conferences. Moreover, he is not the only veteran of conferences present here in San Francisco, and one might very well wonder if it is not because of this that we were assigned the Veterans Building as the seat of our work.

May I call attention to the fact that Commission I is apparently among the last to present its work. Our work, as you know, has to do with Chapter I. It is a chapter that deals with Preamble, Purposes, and Principles. If the Commission is now presenting its work with some delay, it is due to the great difficulties that have been encountered. The Preamble is not a part of the chapter that deals with precise paragraphs. It is rather the basis of the ideology of the International Organization being built. Its language is therefore abstract. Long debates have taken place in bringing about agreement on the language. I wish here to express a tribute to the Rapporteur of our Committee, whom I will soon call to appear before you, for the excellent contribution that he has made to the work on this Preamble. I shall now ask the Chairman of the first Committee and the Rapporteur of the first Committee to come and sit here. Our tribute is paid to the men of this Committee, the Chairman, and the Rapporteur, for their excellent contribution. Once you have become acquainted with the work of the Preamble, you will realize that it is one of the most interesting and most fruitful contributions that have been made to the world Charter. PRESIDENT (speaking in English): We are discussing today the Preamble; Chapter I, on Purposes; and Chapter II, on Principles. The first question which may arise is: Why did we want a Preamble, while purposes and principles were already determined in the Charter itself? The explanation lies in the initiative taken by Field Marshal Smuts, chief Delegate of the Union of South Africa. At one of our very first meetings, he called our attention to the fact that a document like the Charter-whatever efforts we might make to define the Organization -could only hope to succeed if it found support in the public opinion of mankind all over the world. Because of that, it was essential that it should not only be drafted in as precise terms as we could find, but that there should be great warmth and simplicity, at least in the first lines, so that we may hope to find an answer in the hearts of humanity. That is why that Preamble differs from the style usually adopted in international conventions. It is not only drafted in the name of the

peoples of the United Nations-which is already an indication that we are considering not so much the official states and governments as the human collectivities of the peoples who are forming the bulk of the states-but also the whole Preamble, as you will notice when you hear the reading, is drafted with special regard to the terrible experience which all our countries have been through all these last years. It has tried to express the hopes of mankind to be preserved forever from the repetition of such horrors.

I shall not dwell on the substance of the three parts which are before you. They are essentially concerned with two main problems: the problem of peace and the problem of the improvement of conditions of mankind by international cooperation.

With regard to peace, we felt the need to emphasize that our first object was to be strong to maintain peace, to maintain peace by our common effort and at all costs, at all costs with one exception-not at the cost of justice. There the difficulty lay. Many of our delegations have repeatedly in our debates warned of the dangers of a repetition of the so-called "appeasement policy". Too often in the last years governments had hoped to maintain peace by sacrificing the interests of weaker countries to the greed of stronger ones, and all this on the altar of peace, with the rather deceiving result that they succeeded only in feeding what Prime Minister Churchill called "the crocodile who grew stronger and stronger every year". An organization which includes the four sponsoring governments and France and which is based on the unity of their efforts should and will be able to assume such high purpose as the protection of the fundamental rights of all members. How far we succeeded in expressing satisfactorily such an essential fundamental idea in clear terms in the document remains to be seen. An amendment on the subject will be discussed at a later hour today.

The second problem is that of the improvement of conditions of mankind. Of course man is already interested, and he is the only one interested in the exercise of efforts with regard to peace. We are not state worshippers, and when we speak of the prevention of war we have, of course, in mind only what sufferings war is causing to humanity. But international cooperation should not limit itself to the preservation from fear. It must also contribute, as it has in the past contributed, to a great degree to the improvement of peaceful relations between states, and should contribute even more in the future toward giving to humanity that other freedom, freedom from want, as well as toward promoting respect for civilian and political rights, which are called the rights of men and citizens. You will also find this idea expressed in the text which will be submitted to you.

PRESIDENT (speaking in French; English version as delivered by interpreter follows): We have before us today certain amendments that have been discussed in the meetings of the Committee. However, they are being brought up in the meeting of the Commission for a brief debate and a definite decision. In accordance with the rules of the Steering Committee of April 27, the fourth of May was set as the final date for filing amendments to the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals. Consequently it is impossible for the President to accept amendments that constitute an entirely new matter with reference to the Charter, or that are of such a character that they are not assimilable or cannot be assimilated to this part of the Charter. They are being considered now from the point of view of improving the draft of the Charter. It

may be suggested that some of them can be left to the Coordination Committee, and delegations can send suggestions to the Coordination Committee. The announcement was also made that all matters in connection with these points should be presented to the appropriate officers by eight o'clock last night. We trust that all have found this suggestion acceptable because it would certainly facilitate proceedings. PRESIDENT (speaking in English): With regard to speeches, the suggestion was made that all delegates wishing to take the floor express their wish, and yesterday evening was the limit for doing so. However, I realize that some may wish to speak from the floor who have not expressed their intention so far. They may find that they wish to say something in connection with the remarks of some fellow delegate. It is not our intention to impair the exercise of this right in any way. However, we wish to conclude the business this morning. Our suggestion has been that a time-limit be observed in connection with speeches, let us say, ten minutes for the first speech, and if a second speech is necessary, five minutes. On procedural matters, it will be convenient to recognize two speakers in favor of a proposal and two speakers against the proposal. I do not wish to say that this is a rigid rule, but it certainly would be a convenient rule to observe. In reality, we have only two proposals, namely, two proposed amendments, to consider in the course of the meeting. I hope that all delegations will find this suggestion acceptable and I suggest to all of you that we recognize the speakers in connection with these proposals in the following way. First, one speaker in favor, then one opposed. Again, one in favor, and then one opposed. In this way the discussion will be more interesting and I realize that all of you wish to avoid having a long list of speakers using the valuable time of our Commission. Yet, we want to do our work thoroughly.

We are now going to consider the report of the first Committee. The report has been distributed. It is quite a lengthy report. Much time will be involved in a complete reading, and, furthermore, I think that the reading is not indispensable, inasmuch as you are familiar with its contents. In a few moments I shall call on the Rapporteur to speak briefly in connection with the three chapters that compose his report. Likewise, I shall ask him to speak on the paragraph to which amendments have been proposed. I believe that this is desirable before we enter into the debate on the amendments to that paragraph because it is very good for all of us to keep in mind the position adopted by the Committee by a majority vote in connection with that point.

I appeal for your cooperation and your sympathy. I appeal for your sympathy because you have shared with us in this work, and during the lengthy deliberations of Committee sessions a fellowship has grown among us which has facilitated the discussions. I hope that that same feeling and atmosphere will continue here in the debate in this large assembly. I appeal for your cooperation because of the experiences that we have had in dealing with these matters. We recognize that our Commission is holding a public session in which amendments are to be discussed. Perhaps conditions are not ideal for the deliberations of committee sessions, but I believe that here we can demonstrate, with your cooperation, your sympathy, and the clarity of your expressions that the method of democracy is the best.

I now call on Mr. Farid Zeineddine, the Rapporteur, to give us a few explanations on the three documents before you.