mately sponsored by 37 countries, including all members of the Peacekeeping Committee. The resolution noted the report of the Peacekeeping Committee, requested it and its Working Group to renew efforts toward completing agreed guidelines on peacekeeping operations, appealed to members of the Peacekeeping Committee to show greater accommodation in this effort, and requested that attention also be devoted to considering specific questions related to practical implementation of peacekeeping operations.

The draft resolution was approved without a vote on December 5 and adopted by the Assembly in plenary session, also without a vote, on December 10.

STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

In 1969 the Soviet Union proposed an agenda item for the General Assembly on "Strengthening international security." In 1970 the Assembly adopted a declaration on this topic that touched on the full range of UN activity, including such issues as peaceful settlement of disputes, strengthening peacekeeping procedures, disarmament, colonialism, racial discrimination, selfdetermination, and closing the economic gap between developed and developing countries. Annually since 1971 the Assembly has had on its agenda an item entitled "Implementation of the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security."

As in previous years, the item was referred in 1975 to the First Committee where it was considered as the second item of business at six meetings between October 15 and 20. Forty-one states took part in the debate on this question.

On October 16 the German Democratic Republic introduced a draft resolution sponsored by nine states. The main operative paragraph of the draft reaffirmed the 1970 declaration and, inter alia, called upon all states "to seek promptly to convene a world disarmament conference" and suggested the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe as a model for regional security systems.

On October 17 Algeria introduced a draft resolution, eventually sponsored by 28 states, which substantially repeated the resolution on this subject adopted in 1974 while adding some new elements. In its most important operative paragraphs the draft (1) sought to have the UN Charter and the 1970 declaration form the basis of relations among states; (2) reaffirmed the right of all states to participate in the settlement of international problems on a basis of equality; (3) reaffirmed "that any measure or pressure directed against any state while exercising its sovereign right freely to dispose of its

natural resources constitutes a flagrant violation of the right of self-determination of peoples and of the principle of nonintervention, as set forth in the Charter, which, if pursued, could constitute a threat to international peace and security"; and (4) commended the "dismantling of foreign military bases, the creation of zones of peace and the encouragement of general and complete disarmament." The UN Secretary General was again requested to report to the next Assembly on the implementation of the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security.

After consultations among the sponsors of the two draft resolutions, a compromise draft was introduced by Algeria on October 20 on behalf of 37 states. The revised resolution consisted of the basic Algerian draft with a few additions from the G.D. R. draft, including a call for a world disarmament conference. The First Committee approved the resolution on October 20 by a vote of 87 to 1 (U.S.), with 16 abstentions. The General Assembly adopted the resolution on November 18 by a recorded vote of 109 to 0, with 19 abstentions (U.S.). (The United States later advised the UN Secretariat that it had intended to vote against the resolution.)

The United States based its opposition to the resolution principally upon the paragraph concerning measures or pressures against states' disposing of their natural resources, although it also had objections to other provisions in the resolution. In explaining the U.S. vote in the First Committee, Richard T. Whistler noted that such language "would inhibit states from making any attempt to influence actions of other states in connection with disposition of their natural resources even where permitted by international law." The United States could not accept the conclusion that completely legitimate actions of this nature would in any way constitute a "flagrant violation of the right of self-determination of peoples and the principle of nonintervention" or a "threat to international peace" as the resolution asserted.

EFFORTS TOWARD STRENGTHENING THE UNITED NATIONS

The General Assembly again had on its agenda for its 30th session two substantively related items: (1) Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations, and (2) Strengthening of the role of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, the development of cooperation among all nations, and the promotion of the rules of international law in relations between states. Both items were referred to the Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee, where they were considered together at 18 meetings between November 10 and December 5.

Background

Report of the Ad Hoc Committee

Under its agenda item "Need to consider suggestions regarding the review of the Charter of the United Nations," which had its origin in a 1969 Colombian initiative, the General Assembly in 1974 had established an ad hoc committee to consider suggestions of member states involving Charter amendment and also suggestions for more effective UN functioning that would not involve amendment.

The ad hoc committee,16/ including the five permanent members of the Security Council whose ratification is essential to bring any Charter amendment into effect, met from July 28 to August 22. The committee had before it two documents prepared by the Secretary General: (1) an analytical paper containing the written observations of 43 governments in response to Assembly resolutions on this subject in 1970, 1972, and 1974, as well as views expressed by 57 additional states during the Assembly's debates in 1972 and 1974; and (2) a paper on experience in the application of the Charter provisions with regard to the Secretariat, requested by the Assembly in 1974.

Thirty-five states took part in the committee's general debate, which occupied most of the meetings. The committee's report to the 30th General Assembly noted "a fundamental divergence of opinion on the necessity of carrying out a review of the Charter." It stated that no "formal textual proposals" were made and that the "general suggestions made in individual statements were not submitted to a wide discussion." The report therefore contained no conclusions or recommendations, but carried in an annex the texts of the statements made.

Strengthening the UN Role

The agenda item on strengthening the UN role had its origin in a 1972 Romanian initiative. In 1972, 1973, and 1974 the General Assembly had adopted by consensus resolutions requesting member states to submit their views, suggestions, and proposals. In 1974 the resolution also referred to the 30th Assembly for con

16/The 42 members were Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, German Democratic Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, Cierra Leone, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, U.S.S.R., United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, and Zambia.

sidération the Secretary General's report covering all views submitted by that time. Altogether 28 member states had replied in writing, some of them more than once. (An additional 20 states had expressed views during the Assembly's debate.) At the initiative of Australia, the Assembly had also adopted under this item in 1974 a resolution on "Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes," requesting an up-to-date report from the Secretary General on the machinery established under the Charter for the peaceful settlement of international disputes.

U.S. Position

The United States had participated in the consensuses by which the three resolutions on strengthening the UN role had been adopted and had submitted its views and suggestions pursuant to the Assembly's 1972 request on August 7, 1973. In this reply, the United States declared its readiness to cooperate with all member states in seeking ways to strengthen the role of the United Nations but reiterated its long-standing view that strengthening the United Nations depended more on the national will of its members than upon institutional reforms. The U.S. reply also noted certain specific areas of reform that in its view continued to merit attention and made certain concrete suggestions with respect thereto within the framework of the Charter as it now stands.

With respect to Charter review, the United States in a letter of May 23, 1975, reaffirmed its basic position that "the most urgent need of the international community is for member states to strengthen their resolve to bring national policies and actions more into line with their obligations under the Charter." Describing the Charter as the principal bond creating for its members a worldwide community of nations despite the existence of widely differing views and philosophies of government, the U.S. letter warned that "any serious effort to reconsider or revise the Charter must be looked at with great care lest the basis for the sometimes fragile ties among member states be weakened." The letter further stated that the United States saw no evidence of agreement now among the United Nations membership "on even the broad objectives of overall review" and reiterated the U.S. preference for a case-by-case approach to changes in the Charter. "Only when there is a reasonable prospect for the development of necessary agreement on the specific amendment concerned," the United States asserted, "should such efforts be pursued." In conclusion the U.S. letter stated:

"We believe that the United Nations overriding need at present is to function as a 'center for harmonizing the actions of nations' as stipulated

by the Charter itself. We believe that the rededication to this objective and the taking of practical steps to encourage respect for both assenting and dissenting views in the decisionmaking process is the most important contribution that could be made to move the United Nations toward the ideal of international cooperation that the Charter was designed to attain."

This view was subsequently reiterated by Robert B. Rosenstock, the U.S. Representative in the Ad Hoc Committee on the UN Charter. He denied that this view in any way reflected a belief that the United Nations was functioning perfectly or an effort to maintain the status quo, stressing the flexibility of the Charter as demonstrated by its evolution over the past 30 years. Rather, he said, "we continue to believe that the risks in any effort at comprehensive Charter review at this time far outweigh the chances of accomplishment." The U.S. Representative then referred to certain broad areas of UN operations where further study was warranted and to the various proposals for procedural and structural reform of the United Nations that were still before the United Nations for consideration in the appropriate bodies, declaring, "The United States remains prepared to cooperate fully in any efforts along these lines that the Assembly may decide to undertake." In conclusion, he pointed out that an analysis of the submissions of governments indicated that the majority of those responding did not favor Charter review.

At the 29th session of the General Assembly a number of delegates favored the establishment of an ad hoc committee whose main purpose . would be to ascertain whether there is a need to embark on a review. In the fulfillment of our mandate, we must take full account of the fact that most states members have neither responded nor supported the idea of Charter review. Furthermore, the statements made in this Committee since its inception on 28 July by no means suggest a ground swell of enthusiasm for review of the Charter.

"In our view there is a substantial risk to all if this matter is pressed when the time is so clearly not right."

30th General Assembly Consideration

The Sixth Committee had before it the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the UN Charter, reports of the Secretary General on the views of member states submitted under the Romanian item and on peaceful settlement, and a document submitted by Romania entitled "Romania's position on improvement and democratization of the