Text of the Speech made by Mr. Liu (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1237 held on 4 September 1965

Text of the Speech made by Mr. Liu (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1237 held on 4 September 1965

At this grave hour I really hesitate to take up any time of the Council by my intervention. After listening to the statement which the President gave at the beginning of the meeting, I should have thought that reasons for convening the Council this afternoon were unchallengeable, whether considered from the point of view of rule 1, rule 2 or rule 3 of the provisional rules of procedure.

But I wish to advance to another point. Even if we start from the premise that there is a relationship between these three rules, let us remember that the President of the Security Council is, at the same time, a member of the Council. In ordinary circumstances, if a member of the Council wants to request a meeting, he goes to the President, and then the President consults with the other members. But when the member happens to be the President himself, he has nobody to go to except himself.

May I say, Mr. President that the consultations that you had with other members of the Council were extensive, and that no President could have done more, even if the request had come from any other member of the Council. I want to submit that if a member of the Council happens to be the President, this does not abrogate his right as a member to initiate a meeting. It would be absurd to interpret our rules in any other light. The meeting of the Council has been convened in the name of the President and as a prerogative of the President, but it is the inherent right of a member to initiate a meeting.