32. REQUEST FOR AN ADVISORY OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE REGARDING THE OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBER STATES IN FINANCING UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS: Resolution 1731 (XVI), Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, December 20, 1961 50 The General Assembly, Recognizing its need for authoritative legal guidance as to obligations of Member States under the Charter of the United Nations in the matter of financing the United Nations operations in the Congo and in the Middle East, 1. Decides to submit the following question to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion: 55 50 51 57 58 Do the expenditures authorized in General Assembly resolutions 1583 (XV) and 1590 (XV) of 20 December 1960, 1595 (XV) of 3 April 1961,52 1619 (XV) of 21 April 1961 53 and 1633 (XVI) of 30 October 1961 relating to the United Nations operations in the Congo undertaken in pursuance of the Security Council resolutions of 14 July, 22 July and 9 August 1960 and 21 February 5 and 50 U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Sixteenth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/5100), pp. 54-55. This resolution, sponsored by the Representatives of Brazil, Cameroun, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Liberia, Pakistan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was adopted by a vote of 52 to 11, with 32 abstentions. 51 American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 628–630. 55 American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, p. 528. to Ibid., pp. 538-539. 57 Ibid., pp. 547-548. 58 Post, doc. 357. 00 59 67 63 68 06 24 November 1961, and General Assembly resolutions 1474 (ES-IV) of 20 September 1960 and 1599 (XV), 1600 (XV) and 1601 (XV) of 15 April 1961," and the expenditures authorized in General Assembly resolutions 1122 (XI) of 26 November 1956,02 1089 (XI) of 21 December 1956, 1090 (XI) of 27 February 1957, 1151 (XII) of 22 November 1957, 1204 (XII) of 13 December 1957, 1337 (XIII) of 13 December 1958, 1441 (XIV) of 5 December 1959 and 1575 (XV) of 20 December 1960, relating to the operations of the United Nations Emergency Force undertaken in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions 997 (ES-I) of 2 November 1956, 998 (ES-I) and 999 (ES-I) of 4 November 1956," 1000 (ES-I) of 5 November 1956," 1001 (ES-I) of 7 November 1956,73 1121 (XI) of 24 November 1956" and 1263 (XIII) of 14 November 1958, constitute 'expenses of the Organization' within the meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations?; " 70 75 2. Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with Article 65 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice," to transmit the present resolution to the Court accompanied by all documents likely to throw light upon the question. 33. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF UNITED NATIONS BONDS UP TO THE EQUIVALENT OF $200 MILLION: Resolution 1739 (XVI), Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, December 20, 1961 78 The General Assembly, Having taken note of the statement made by the Acting SecretaryGeneral at the 899th meeting of the Fifth Committee, on 11 December 1961, concerning the United Nations financial position and prospects,79 Post, doc. 405. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 593–594. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1956, pp. 697-698. 63 Ibid., pp. 702–703. Ibid., 1957, pp. 933–934. Ibid., pp. 1012–1013. *U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Twelfth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/3805), p. 40. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, pp. 936-937. Ibid., 1959, p. 1063. Ibid., 1960, pp. 491–492. "Ibid., 1956, pp. 657-658. Ibid., pp. 661-662. "Ibid., pp. 666–667. Ibid., pp. 674–675. "Ibid., p. 697. Ibid., 1958, p. 931. For the text of the U.N. Charter, see American Foreign Policy, 1950-1955: Basic Documents, pp. 134-161. "For the text of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, see A Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents, 1941-1949, pp. 140-152. U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Sixteenth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/5100), p. 60. This resolution, sponsored by the representatives of 9 members, was adopted by a vote of 58 (including the U.S.) to 13, with 24 abstentions. Ante, doc. 29. 748-787-65- -13 Bearing in mind the activities and programmes of work of the United Nations that have been approved by the General Assembly, Recognizing that the ability of the United Nations to discharge its responsibilities and to implement its programmes requires it to have adequate and assured financial resources, Considering that, under existing circumstances, extraordinary financial measures are required and that such measures should not be deemed a precedent for the future financing of the expenses of the United Nations, 1. Authorizes the Secretary-General to issue United Nations bonds in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the annex to the present resolution; 2. Further authorizes the Secretary-General, subject to such decisions as the General Assembly may hereafter adopt, to utilize the proceeds from the sale of such bonds for purposes normally related to the Working Capital Fund; 3. Decides to include annually in the regular budget of the United Nations, beginning with the budget for the financial year 1963, an amount sufficient to pay the interest charges on such bonds and the instalments of principal due on the bonds. ANNEX TERMS AND CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE ISSUE OF UNITED NATIONS BONDS 1. The aggregate principal amount of the United Nations bonds authorized under General Assembly resolution 1739 (XVI) of 20 December 1961 (hereinafter called the bonds) shall be limited to the equivalent of $US 200,000,000. 2. Bonds may be issued expressed in United States dollars (hereinafter called dollars) and in such other currencies as the Secretary-General shall determine. The principal of, and interest on, any bond shall be payable in the currency in which such bond is expressed. 3. In order to determine the dollar equivalent, for the purpose of paragraph 1 above, of any bond which has been issued expressed in a currency other than dollars, the principal amount of such bond shall be translated, as at the date on which such bond shall be sold or agreed to be sold, into dollars at such rates as the Secretary-General, after consultation with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, shall determine. 4. The bonds shall bear interest at the rate of 2 per cent per annum, payable annually, on the principal amount thereof outstanding and unpaid from time to time. 5. The principal amount of each bond shall be repayable in twenty-five annual instalments in accordance with the following table: At the end of the first year.... At the end of the thirteenth year. Per cent 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 At the end of the fourteenth year.. Per cent 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.2 4. 4 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.7 4. 8 4.9 5.1 100.0 6. The United Nations may at any time prepay at par all or part of the principal amount of the bonds remaining outstanding and unpaid. Partial prepayment shall be applied equally and ratably to all the bonds outstanding and shall be credited against annual instalments of repayments in inverse order of maturity. 7. The bonds shall be offered to States Members of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies and of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as to the official institutions of such members, and, if the Secretary-General, with the concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, shall so determine, to non-profit institutions or associations. 8. The bonds may be sold in whole or in part from time to time until 31 December 1962, provided, however, that the Secretary-General may, at any time on or before that date, enter agreements to sell bonds for delivery after that date and on or before 31 December 1963. 9. The Secretary-General shall, after consultation with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, from time to time issue such regulations, not inconsistent with the foregoing paragraphs, and take any and all such further action as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of the above resolution. D. Admission of New Members 34. UNITED STATES VIEWS ON THE QUESTION OF THE ADMISSION OF MAURITANIA AND MONGOLIA TO UNITED NATIONS MEMBERSHIP: Statement Made by the U.S. Representative (Yost) Before the U.N. General Assembly, April 19, 1961 1 1 The United States wishes to reaffirm its support for the admission of Mauritania to membership of the United Nations. We shall vote in favour of the draft resolution sponsored by eleven African States.2 We welcome the advent of this new country to the expanding family of independent nations. We welcome also the opportunity-the first U.N. doc. A/PV. 989, pp. 373-374. 'U.N. doc. A/L. 335; see also infra. we have had under the new United States Administration-to explain our attitude towards the application of Outer Mongolia. I should like first, however, to say that the United States continues to believe that the admission of one country to the United Nations must not be made conditional on the admission of another. In short, we are opposed both in principle and in practice to package deals. The International Court of Justice itself has held them to be incompatible with the letter and the spirit of the Charter. We believe that package deals are an affront to the dignity and sovereignty of independent nations. Last December the Soviet Union proposed this package deal. It was rejected by the Security Council and then revived here in the General Assembly in the form of amendment 1.5 This particular package deal should, we feel, be as offensive to those who oppose Mauritania's admission as to those who favour it. This is an attempt to do by indirection what cannot be done directly: to exploit the wide support for a genuinely qualified State by linking its admission to that of another applicant, whose qualifications are not yet clear. None of us will gain by submitting to pressure tactics of that kind. We believe that it is in the interest of all of us to oppose them. We believe that the Soviet amendments should be rejected. We have no doubt that the application of Mauritania will be overwhelmingly endorsed. But now a word about Outer Mongolia. The United States will be prepared to support and even to sponsor Outer Mongolia's admission when we have been able to determine whether in fact it has the attributes of an independent State and is able and willing to enter fully into relations with other States and to discharge its international obligations. The United States Government is beginning discussions with a number of other countries with regard to that question. We hope to be able to reach informed conclusions at an early date. To sum up: The United States favours the admission of Mauritania and will vote in favour of the draft resolution. We reject the proposition that Mauritania cannot be admitted unless Outer Mongolia is admitted first. Therefore, we shall vote against the Soviet amendments. If the Soviet amendments should be accepted-and we would regret that very much-we shall abstain from the vote on the draft resolution as amended. Advisory opinion of May 28, 1948 (U.N. doc. A/597). 4 See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 57–58. 5 U.N. doc. A/L. 336; see also infra. |