Text of the Speech made by Lord Caradon (United Kingdom) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1237 held on 4 September 1965

Text of the Speech made by Lord Caradon (United Kingdom) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1237 held on 4 September 1965

My Government has been following with grave and growing concern the recent violent and dangerous developments in Kashmir. These developments are described in the Secretary General's report which is before us today.

We have noted the report made by General Nimmo, described in paragraph 6 of the Secretary-General's report, that the series of violations of the cease-fire line that began on 5 August "were to a considerable extent in subsequent days in the form of armed men, generally not in uniform, crossing the cease-fire line from the Pakistan side for the purpose of armed action on the Indian side".

We have also noted the Secretary-General's conclusion, set out in his telegrams dated 1 September 1962 to the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan, that, without any attempt to apportion blame, it may be said that acts of violence "now come from both sides of the line, involve an increasingly large number of armed men on each side, and take place in the air as well as on the ground". The Secretary General added that, most serious of all, "regular army troops from both countries are now engaging in military actions along and across the line".

The fact that after seventeen years the Kashmir question, in which the Security Council has been for so long involved, has given rise to such an explosive situation is a matter for special concern to this Council. The fact that two great nations should be engaged in such a conflict is a mother of anxiety to the whole world. Surely we all now have one overriding and imperative and most urgent first duty that is, to exert every effort and every influence and every pressure to bring the fighting to an end. dilate purpose and obligation. That is the obvious and mim

We have always believed that the Kashmir problem must be solved if there is to be peace and stability in the sub continent. That is still our view. But we also believe that the problem can be solved only by peaceful negotiation and not by force. We earnestly hope that the present situation can be resolved in a manner which makes resumption of such negotiations possible.

Whatever the individual views of members of the Council on the substance or the history of the Kashmir dispute, surely all of us must now concentrate all our endeavours on that one aim the aim of convincing both countries that continued fighting can bring only disastrous consequences to all directly concerned and to the whole sub-continent and also to the cause of international security.

We should in this Council act quickly. We should speak with one voice. We should make our call for an end to the conflict unanimous and unmistakable. In doing so we shall be speaking with the true voice of the United Nations.

We are sure that our purpose of stopping the fighting is in the interests of both India and Pakistan, and we trust that the two Governments will respect and heed an appeal which, it is not too much to say, carries with it the wishes and hopes of people through-out the world. We trust too that they will recognize that we act, and must act, in accordance with the needs of international peace and security, which under the Charter we are all charged to maintain.

We entirely endorse the actions which have already been taken by the Secretary-General, and we shall continue to give him every support. In particular, we are grateful to him for making out the steps required to restore the cease-fire. That he did in the most earnest and eloquent appeal which he addressed to the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India three days ago.

My Government immediately supported that appeal and made the following statement :

"The British Government have been following with close attention and considerable anxiety the development of the situation in Kashmir. They wholeheartedly support the appeal made by the United Nations Secretary General to both sides in the dispute to agree to an immediate cease-fire and to respect the cease-fire agreement which both entered into in 1949."

You, Mr. President, at once publicly expressed your country's full endorsement of the Secretary-General's appeal. Now is the time for the Security Council to take the lead in rallying support behind the Secretary-General's initiative.

My Government is ready now and will remain anxious to support any action this Council may now decide to take for the immediate purposes which the Secretary-General has declared.

It is with those considerations in mind, therefore, that my delegation approaches the draft resolution submitted by Bolivia, the Ivory Coast, Jordan, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Uruguay. It seems to me that the draft resolution contains the essential elements of the action which today, in immediate support of the steps taken by the Secretary-General, this Council is in duty bound to take. I hope that we shall all be able rapidly to agree to make the call for a cease-fire, as is proposed in the draft resolution.