GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS PLEDGED TO UNRWA FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1960-Continued (Showing the equivalent in U.S. dollars of pledges in cash, kind and services) Country United Arab Republic Egyptian Region Syrian Region United Kingdom Total *Special contributions for World Refugee Year. Pledge $340,000 85,000 5, 400, 000 224, 000 23, 000, 000 40, 000 $33, 627, 481 The United States pledge was $23,000,000 in cash and footstuffs for the fiscal period 1 July 1960 to 30 June 1961, payable on a matching basis not to exceed 70 per cent of contributions paid by all Governments. The Agency for its own accounting purposes allocated this pledge half to its 1960 fiscal year and half to its 1961 fiscal year, C. Activities Under the American (Eisenhower) Doctrine for the Middle East PROMOTING PEACE AND STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Fifth Report by the President (Eisenhower) to the Congress on Activities Under the American Doctrine for the Middle East, July 1, 1959 to June 30, 1960, Transmitted August 15, 1960 1 D. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) 211. OPERATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS EMERGENCY FORCE: Report of the U.N. Secretary-General (Hammarskjold), September 13, 1960 (Excerpts) 2 Introduction 1. This report, submitted in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 1125 (XI), paragraph 4, covers the functioning of the Force since 10 September 1959 when the last report on UNEF' was presented by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly. The new period covered has again been one of continuing quiet, and thus little more than a routine report is called for at this time. 1H. Doc. 448, 86th Cong.; the Department of State Bulletin, Sept. 19, 1960, pp. 448 449. 2 U.N. doc. A/4486. 'Of Feb. 2, 1957; text in American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1957, p. 896. 'Text ibid., 1959, pp. 1052-1059. 2. It is the chief characteristic of UNEF, whose functions have become largely routine, that its presence is a major factor in the maintenance of peace and quiet in the area, while its absence would, in the judgement of all concerned with it, be likely to result in a recurrence of dangerous border disturbances and violence. It also continues to be true that any substantial reduction in strength below its present level would make it impossible for the Force to carry out adequately its existing responsibilities. 3. Financing the Force is still a most serious problem, which is dealt with specifically in part B of this report." A. Organization and functioning of the Force I. EFFECTIVENESS AND ORGANIZATION 4. The Secretary-General informed the General Assembly on 3 December 1959 that the then Commander of the Force, Lieutenant-General E. L. M. Burns, had requested permission to hand over his command and to return to national service, having served as Commander of the Force since its inception on 5 November 1956, and having earlier served the United Nations from 9 August 1954, as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine. Paying tribute to the distinguished service rendered to the United Nations by General Burns, the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly for its approval the appointment, as the new Commander of UNEF, of Major General (now Lieutenant-General) P. S. Gyani of the Indian Army as successor to General Burns. The General Assembly, in its resolution 1442 (XIV), expressed its appreciation of the excellent leadership of General Burns and approved the appointment, on the existing terms, of General Gyani, who took over his duties as Commander on 28 December 1959. 5. In the period under review, such incidents as have occurred have been of a relatively minor nature although many of them, in the absence of a restraining influence, might easily have got out of hand and developed into threatening situations. 6. As a consequence of the formation of the United Nations Force in the Republic of the Congo (ONUC), the Swedish battalion with UNEF was sent to the Congo on 19 July 1960 on a temporary assignment for a period of one month. This move was completed within seventy-two hours after the request from the Secretary-General was received by the Commander of UNEF and within forty-eight hours after approval of the transfer had been received from the Government of Sweden. Subsequently, it was decided that this battalion, to the extent that its personnel would volunteer to do so (as most of them did), would remain in the Congo for the rest of its tenure and that a new battalion from Sweden would take its place in UNEF. The Swedish Government agreed to provide the new battalion by the end of September. This reduction in the strength of UNEF by one battalion was accepted by the Commander as an emergency measure only. Subsequently, it was agreed that approximately 100 members of the Swedish battalion who had not volunteered to serve in the Congo for the longer period agreed upon by the Swedish Government, would be organized into a self-contained company and would return to UNEF for the remaining period of their contract. They have returned. Thirteen UNEF officers were also deputed to ONUC for staff duties on loan for a period of one to two months. 7. To meet the temporary reduction indicated above, the deployment of the Force was adjusted as follows: the armistice demarcation line sectors vacated by the Swedish troops were taken over by one company of Danish/Norwegian battalion (DANOR) and one company of the Indian battalion 4 Kumaon. Guards and detachments were relieved by one company of the Brazilian battalion and 4a Not reprinted here. 5 See U.N. doc. A/4210/Add. 1. * Of Dec. 5, 1959; text in U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Fourteenth Session, Supplement No. 16 (A/4354), p. 62. T See post, doc. 237. detachments from the Yugoslav battalion. This involved substantial curtailment of leave and burdensome increases in the hours of duty details, with no troops available for relief or as reserves in emergencies. 8. The basic organization, stationing and functioning of the Force has otherwise remained the same except for a minor change in the organizational set-up of the logistics and procurement sections of the Force headquarters. There was no change in the actual strength, but the revised set-up ensured more rapid action and better administration with regard to procurement, stock-keeping and issue of material. 9. The over-all strength of the Force has been maintained at approximately 437 officers and 4,904 other ranks. The countries participating in the Force continue to be the same: Brazil, Canada, Denmark, India, Norway, Sweden and Yugoslavia. 10. The deployment and strength of the Force as established in 1959, was found to be still satisfactory. An additional post was established in the Yugoslav sector at the Taret Umm Basis hill on the Abu Aweigila-El Auja road. Owing to the increased activity of the armed forces of the parties closer to the border areas, patrolling by the Canadian reconnaissance squadron and the Yugoslav reconnaissance battalion had to be intensified. As a result of the experience over the year, it is confirmed that the present strength of the Force is the minimum possible compatible with the task of guarding and patrolling the Armistice Demarcation Line/International Frontier, protective duties in the camps, and the requirements of logistic support. 11. The strength, organization and function of the 115 Air Transport Unit (RCAF) remained unchanged during the year. The unit aircraft strength is three Dakotas and four Otters, but it has been decided to reduce the Otter strength by one aircraft. The squadron is based on El Arish airfield, which is jointly occupied and operated by UNEF and the United Arab Republic Air Force. Any difficulties that arise are resolved through the mutual consultation and co-operation of the UNEF and UAR Air Force commanding officers. The deteriorating condition of the two macadam runways used by UNEF at El Arish air station has caused some concern during the year and has necessitated a continuous patching programme. 12. The numerical strength of each national contingent as at 1 August 1960 was as follows: TOTAL 437 4,904 5, 341 Including personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force 115 Air Transport Unit stationed at El Arish (99, all ranks). Including administrative troops (255, all ranks). Including personnel of the Norwegian-manned UNEF hospital (119, all ranks). 4 The Swedish battalion, now serving with the United Nations Force in the Congo, will be replaced by a new Swedish battalion by the end of September 1960. 13. There has been no change in the policy of the contributing nations with regard to the period of duty with UNEF and, except for the logistic support units of the Canadian contingent, the procedure for rotation has been the same. It was decided that, with effect from March 1960, the change-over of the Canadian logistic personnel should be spread over the year, as this would ensure better continuity. Consequently, these personnel are not now rotated by complete units once a year but individually throughout the year. This will not affect the rotation of the Canadian reconnaissance squadron which will continue to be carried out once a year during February. 15. Since the inception of the Force, the various contingents have been rotated as follows: Canada, India: three times (yearly rotation) Brazil: six times (yearly basis, with half the contingent rotating each six months) Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Yugoslavia: seven times (half-yearly rotation) II. DEPLOYMENT AND DAILY ROUTINE 16. The deployment of UNEF continues to be along the western side of the Egypt-Israel armistice demarcation line (ADL) and the international frontier (IF), south of the Gaza Strip. These two lines total 273 kilometres in length. The Force also watches, mainly by air patrolling, the coastline of the Sinai Peninsula from the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to the Straits of Tiran, a further distance of 187 kilometres. A total of seventy platoons, varying in strength from eighteen to thirty-four all ranks, are available for patrol and guard duty on the ADL, IF and elsewhere. Of these, forty-five and one-half platoons are employed on the ADL and IF, ten platoons are employed on guard and protective duties, and the remaining fourteen and one-half platoons are held in reserve. In addition, four Otter aircraft are employed on air reconnaissance duties. The total number of officers and men actively employed on these duties, including personnel at company headquarters, is about 2,650. These troops are exclusive of administrative and ancillary troops held on the strength of the units. NOTE: Platoons/troops referred to above are exclusive of administrative and ancillary troops held on the strength of units. The total number of officers and men actively employed including personnel at company headquarters is about 2,650. 8 * See American Foreign Policy, 1950-1955: Basic Documents, pp. 698-707. 212. UNITED STATES VIEWS ON THE PROBLEM OF FINANCING THE UNITED NATIONS EMERGENCY FORCE FOR CALENDAR YEAR 1961: Statement Made by the U.S. Representative (Aiken) in Committee V of the U.N. General Assembly, December 16, 1960' MR. CHAIRMAN: Yesterday this Committee took wise and historic action in adopting a resolution for the financing of the military operation in the Congo for 1960.10 Today we consider the financing of the United Nations Emergency Force for 1961. Mr. Chairman, the paramount purpose of the United Nations, as stated in the Charter, is the maintenance of peace and security. This matter admits of no argument. I say this only because this basic concept of the very reason for our Organization's existence was challenged by implication and also directly-in certain quarters during our debate on the financing of the Congo. I wish to say quite plainly that the United States finds such a position not only erroneous but astonishing. We reject any such approach as clearly false and inadmissible. I would ask those who have come to think that the only reason for our Organization is to conduct programs of technical assistance to consider this: Without peace and security, what chance-indeed, what point-would technical cooperation programs have? Quite apart from the plain language and clear intent of the Charter, common sense dictates that "first things must come first." Mr. Chairman, even though all of us know the history of UNEF, it is worth recalling briefly, for I fear that human memory tends to be short once immediate danger is passed. The sweat of anxiety scarcely dries on our brow when we start thinking that the cause of our fear never existed. The world had real reason to fear in 1956 when peace hung in the balance and the General Assembly created UNEF without a dissenting vote. I repeat-without a dissenting vote. I suggest that this removal of fear is the highest tribute to the effectiveness of this Force in carrying out its mission. 11 The Secretary General says, in his Report on the Operations of the Force: 12 "It is the chief characteristic of UNEF, whose functions have become largely routine, that its presence is a major factor in the maintenance of peace and quiet in the area. . . ." The operations of the Force have now become routine because it has done and continues to do its job so well. A potentially explosive situation has been tranquilized. There have been no major border incidents in the past three years. 11 See U.N. General Assembly Res. 1125 (XI) of Feb. 2, 1957; text in American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1957, p. 896. Supra. |