14021964 Text of the Speech made by Mr. Liu Chich (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1091 held on 14 February 1964

 Text of the Speech made by Mr. Liu Chich (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1091 held on 14 February 1964

The Council is dealing with a question which has been on its books since the beginning of 1948. No other issue, I believe, has been the subject of so much debate in the Council with so little result. The passage of time has, if anything, only served to harden the positions of the disputing parties. On the one side, the council has been told that "the With equal Government and people of Pakistan are totally committed to the liberation of their Kashmiri brethren". force and finality, it has been maintained on the other side that "the question raised by Pakistan is purely a domestic matter, with which only India is concerned and in respect of which Pakistan has no right to intervene or interfere and which has been excluded under the Charter from the jurisdiction of the United Nations". The deadlock is thus complete.

It may be recalled that, when the Council was first seized of the Kashmir question sixteen years ago, it did not seek to impose a solution on the disputing parties. On the contrary, it took pains to ascertain the wishes of the parties in an effort to find common ground on which the structure of settlement might be built. It was on the basis of protracted consultations with the parties that the decisions of the Council were finally reached, and both parties solemnly pledged themselves to their implementation. This being so, it cannot be said that the Council's resolutions have now become obsolete and should be thrown overboard.

It is not the intention of my delegation to apportion blame or to determine where the responsibility lies. The fact remains that the dispute over Kashmir has persisted for some sixteen years and has once again manifested itself in communal riots and violence. Certainly, neither India nor Pakistan can allow the dispute to drag on as a festering sore at a time when the common security of the area is under constant threat of the dark forces of aggression which are ever ready to exploit the situation for their own ends.

My delegation refuses to believe that the positions taken by the representatives of India and Pakistan in the present debate are in fact as rigid and uncompromising as they appear. Indeed, they have both expressed their willingness to find a peaceful solution. This is a hopeful note. It is the clear duty of the Council, I submit, to explore the possibilities of bringing about a peaceful settlement.

I fully share the view that the precondition of a settlement is the creation of a climate of understanding between India and Pakistan. I believe that the historical ties existing between them should be strong enough to enable them to move ahead to restore inter-communal harmony and cooperation and to dispel the suspicion and mistrust which have so long poisoned their relations.

I believe that the train of thought embodied in the draft resolution that was considered by the Council in June 1962 is still useful. The Council therefore should once again urge the parties, possibly with the good offices of a third party, to enter into negotiations at the earliest possible date with a view to an ultimate settlement in accordance with the spirit of the United Nations and with due regard to the interests of all concerned. The sooner the question is settled, the better it will be for India and Pakistan, and indeed for Asia and the world.