21021957 Text of the Speech made by Mr. Romulo (Philippines) in the Security Council Meeting No. 774 held on 21 February 1957

21021957 Text of the Speech made by Mr. Romulo (Philippines) in the Security Council Meeting No. 774 held on 21 February 1957

For the purposes of the record, I wish to state that at the previous meeting the representative of India made this statement :

"The representative of the Philippines makes a fundamental error, which he could easily rectify if he read the resolutions of the Commission. He says that the resolution. places both parties on the same basis. That is exactly what it does not do." [773rd meeting, para. 68]

This is what I said :

"Moreover, if the letter addressed to the President of the United Nations Commission on 20 August 1948 by the Prime Minister of India is mentioned by the Colombian amendment in order to incorporate the clarifications of the Commission to the Government of India, it is believed. that a similar reference should be made to the clarifications of the Commission to the Government of Pakistan, so that the two Governments could be placed on an equal footing vis-a-vis the two resolutions of the United Nations Commission" [Ibid., para. 35.]

I emphasize the words: "could be placed on an equal footing". I did not make the statement attributed to me by the representative of India.

Speaking now on the draft resolution before us, my delegation cannot but deplore the fact that at the 773rd meeting the Soviet Union used its veto. That the Soviet delegation might disagree with other members of the Council should be expected, but in a matter where the common position seems to be that agreement between the parties to the dispute should be encouraged. It is believed that a member is under an obligation not to stand in the way of a consensus in the Council as to how agreement between the parties might be promoted. Since the lone vote of the Soviet Union has prevented the carrying out of the majority vote of the Council-and it was not a mechanical vote-it behoves us to make another try. It would seem that members of the Council have first to achieve unanimity. before they can expect to secure agreement between the parties.

My delegation is therefore in full agreement with the initiative shown by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in submitting another draft resolution. Understandably, the remaining members of the Council cannot yield to all the demands of the Soviet Union. If there is to be any modus vivendi, the Soviet Union must yield part of its position if the other members are also to yield part of their position. I am happy to note, after listening to the statement just made by the representative of the Soviet Union, that he does not object to the draft resolution now before us. It is in that spirit that my delegation announces its support of the draft resolution which is before us today [S/3792 and Corr. 1].

My delegation sincerely believes that the draft resolution should not give rise to serious controversy. After all, it is founded on previous resolutions of the Council. The least that we can do or should do is to show some respect for the decisions of the Council. It is recalled that the Soviet Union has never before, by its veto or by its vote, opposed those resolutions of the Council. It is plain that the draft resolution does not mention the Pakistan proposal for the use of a temporary United Nations force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. My delegation still believes that the proposal could reasonably be expected to achieve demilitarisation, that it is not only not contrary to the Charter but consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

My delegation will have the honour to vote for the present draft resolution in order to allow this Council to move forward to the liquidation of the Kashmir dispute. We have remained virtually at a standstill on this question and we are bound to suffer a great loss of prestige in world public opinion. The time to act is now. We cannot allow the Kashmir problem to fester like a sore; we must have action, and at a further step we have the duty to adopt this resolution unanimously.