18111957 Text of the speech made by Mr. Nunez-Portuondo (Cuba) in the Security Council Meeting No. 803 held on 18 November 1957
Text of the speech made by Mr. Nunez-Portuondo (Cuba) in the Security Council Meeting No. 803 held on 18 November 1957
At this stage of the debate, my delegation wishes once again to restate its position on the question of Jammu and Kashmir and to clarify some matters raised in recent statements by the Indian representative.
In the first place, I should like to say that it could not reasonably be deduced from my statement of 29 October 1957 [798th meeting] that my delegation had made a proposal. When the Indian representative said in his statement of 11 November 1957, "Supposing the proposition of the representative of Cuba was accepted" [800th meeting para 13], when he spoke of attempts in Balkanize India, and so on, he was taking issue with opinions my delegation had never expressed.
In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, when we speak of the self-determination of these peoples, we are not expressing an abstract concept of political law, we are merely using these words in their literal sense, which is very clear in Spanish. We refer to the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, taking into account what was previously accepted by the Governments of India and Pakistan, to decide freely, through an impartially held plebiscite, on their accession to one of the two countries. In political law we would call it a restricted right of self-determination, and that is literally, at least in Spanish, the right to decide freely between accession to India or to Pakistan. This seems very simple to us, and we have by no means forgotten the peculiar manner in which the States of India and Pakistan were established and the regulations which the British Crown and Parliament laid down in order to bring them into being.
When my delegation spoke of a plebiscite, which is something very different from an election, we used the words used by the Prime Minister of India in his telegram of 8 November 1947 to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in which he said the following:
"It will thus be seen that our proposals, which we have repeatedly stated are (1) that the Government of Pakistan should publicly undertake to do its utmost to compel the raiders to withdraw from Kashmir; (2) that the Government of India should repeat its declaration that it will withdraw its troops from Kashmir soil as soon as the raiders have withdrawn and law and order are restored; (3) that the Governments of India and Pakistan should make a joint request to the United Nations to undertake a plebiscite in Kashmir at the earliest possible date."
This telegram was obviously sent after the arrangements made by the British Crown and Parliament. Since the Cuban delegation has always been in agreement with these principles of the distinguished Prime Minister of India, our statements have been confined solely to trying to make this plebiscite possible, for it would be the final step in resolving a serious problem dividing two great peoples, whose Governments are very distinguished Members of the United Nations.
For the foregoing reasons, my delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution submitted to the Council by Australia, Colombia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.
142. Text of the Speech made by Mr. Walker (Australia) in the Security Council Meeting No. 803 held on 18 November 1957
Since the members of the Council indicated their general views on this question, we have had the opportunity of hearing further statements from the representatives of India and Pakistan. It seems timely, therefore, for the Council to consider what further steps might now profitably be taken. As an expression of our concern over this situation and of our desire to assist the Council in its consideration of it, the Australian delegation has joined with the delegations of Colombia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States in co-sponsoring the joint draft resolution contained in document S/3911. which was introduced this afternoon by the representative of the United States and supported by the representative of the United Kingdom. In view of the very clear explanations given by Mr. Wadsworth and Sir Pierson Dixon, I would wish only to offer, on behalf of the Australian delegation, some brief observations on this draft resolution now before us.
The preambular paragraphs of this draft resolution include several points which seem to us of special importance. First, the Council desires to place on record its appreciation of the assignment performed so ably by Mr Jarring, the representative of Sweden, whose report is the occasion for our meetings at this time. Secondly, the Council records its appreciation of the statements of the parties that they are desirous of co-operating with the United Nations in finding a peaceful solution to this problem. Thirdly, it notes that the Governments of India and Pakistan recognize and accept the commitments undertaken by them in the two resolutions adopted by the Commission for India and Pakistan on 13 August 1948 and 5 January 1949. It is on the basis of these two resolutions that the Council's efforts of the past nine years have been guided.
The concluding parts of the preamble express our common concern over the lack of progress and stress the importance of the demilitarisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir as one of the steps towards a settlement. I think this preamble flows very naturally from the views expressed around. this table.
Now as regards the operative paragraphs, I recognize that neither of the parties will be satisfied. It is natural enough that, after expending such efforts and skill in placing their respective cases before the Council, the parties may feel some disappointment over the operative paragraphs as we have drafted them. But we have to use our own judgement as to what we consider practicable and constructive action by the Council in all the circumstances.
I do not see that either party should object to our operative paragraph 1, though I suppose that each may feel that it has special application to the other. This is, however, solemn. appeal by the Council addressed to both Pakistan and India to assist in creating and maintaining an atmosphere favour to the promotion of further negotiations.
Paragraph 2 touches on the delicate question of the pro gressive implementation of the Commission's resolutions, which both parties have accepted as the framework within which a practical solution of the problem might be found. The Council may recall that on 20 October, I stated that:
" It is a valid concern of the Council to resolve any doubts that may exist whether part I of the resolution of 13 August 1948 remains unimplemented in any respect at this time." [798th meeting, para, 10].
This finds expression both in the first and second operative paragraphs of the draft resolution. We believe that the prospects of progress being made along the lines of the two resolutions adopted by the Commission for India and Pakistan will undoubtedly be improved, if the Council and the two particles can be assured that part I of the 1948 resolution has been fully implemented. Indeed it seems all too clear that without such an assurance there would not be much hope of proceeding rapidly with the implementation of part II, which is the next logical step. As I said in my previous statement, the Australian delegation shares the view.
".. that within the framework of the Commission's resolutions and of the Security Council's own discussions and resolutions on the subject, a further investigation should now be made on whether some progress can be attempted on the problem of demilitarisation in Kashmir." [Ibid., para, 11].
These are the immediate objects of the draft resolution. To help the parties towards them, the Council requests the United Nations Representative for India and Pakistan, Dr. Frank P. Graham, once more to place himself at the service of the Council and calls upon the parties to cooperate with him. Dr. Graham is asked to report to the Council on his efforts as soon as possible. He has been left discretion and flexibility because we have great confidence in his experience and his intimate knowledge of the issues
I would hope that the parties will accept this draft resolution in the spirit in which it is proposed, that is, in the hope and belief that some forward steps on this matter can and should be taken at this time.
143. Text of the Speech made by Mr. Araujo (Colombia) in the Security Council Meeting No. 803 held on 18 November 1957
My delegation has listened with particular attention and, of course, with deep respect, to the important statements made in support of their respective views by the spokesmen for India and Pakistan. We have given the same consideration to the statements of the other members of the Security Council, and we support the constructive, the really positive suggestion put forward by the representatives of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France and Australia in order to advance this matter and bring it to a successful conclusion. This explains my delegation's support for the joint draft resolution which it has co-sponsored together with the representatives of Australia, the United States of America, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom.
The draft resolution before us in no way, not even by a single line, changes the final goal which the Security Council has sought since 1948, with the express consent of the parties concerned, namely, that a solution to this problem should be found by means of a free and impartial plebiscite in which the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir would determine their legal status. The fulfilment of this fundamental premise will constitute what we might call the birth certificate of a new life for these two provinces, and the incidents that have occurred have done nothing to invalidate all the proposals and resolutions adopted by the Security Council, which also reflect the position always held by the Colombian delegation in this matter.
Now we are entrusting to the skill, the intelligence, the authority and the recognized experience of Mr. Graham the task of approaching the two disputing Governments in order to diminish the areas of disagreement and to bring closer the goal I referred to previously. It is necessary, of course and this is a basic prerequisite of the proposal which we are co-sponsoring -that the two parties should cooperate sincerely and in a real spirit of understanding with Mr. Graham. My delegation trusts that the resentment and differences. to which our proposal may at times have given rise will disappear without leaving any trace of bitterness.
So far, we have heard no other proposal which would serve peace and the settlement we have in mind so well. Therefore, until some other proposal within the framework, the limitations, and the approach laid down by the Security Council is presented to us, we must hope that the Council will give this proposal its unanimous support.