Britise Expect to Retain Palestine Mandate Until Fate of All Mandates Will Be Decided

The British Government expects to renain the sale mandetory over Palestine until the new world international organization will decide the fate of all mandates entrusted by the League of Nations.

This was indicated in a statement made today by Lord Granborne, head of the british delegation on the international trusteeship committee and former Colonial Secretary, cutlining the British view on territorial trusteeships.

Presenting the British plan on trusteeships which will be submitted to the United Nations Conference, Lord Granborne told a press conference that the draft provides that “no revision of existing League of Nations mandates exercised by members of the United Nations shall be made without the agreement of the mandatory power concerned.”

Lord Cranborne presented the draft of a chapter for inclusion in the United Nations charter. The draft states that “the eight members of the Unites Nations which have responsibility for the administration of dependent territories inbebited by people who are not yet able to stand by themselves accept the general principle that it is the sacred trust of civilisation to promote to the utmost the well-being of the inhabitants of those territories. This objective implies, among other things, the development of self-government in forms appropriate to the verying circamstances of each territory.”

REFERS SPECIFICALLY TO CATEGORY WHICH INCLUDES PALESTINE

Mentioning specifically that it is desirable to establish a special machinery to ensure the application of territorial trusteeships to territories administered by members of the United Nations under, among other categories, Mandate a of the League of Nations, of which Palestine is the sole remaining mandated territory, the draft of the British charter says that in order to give practical effect to the principle stated above “the tutelage of such people should be made, or should remain, the responsibility of advanced nations which are best qualified to undertake this responsibility and which are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by then in behalf of the United Nations.

“The character of the trusteeship,” the draft continues, “must differ according to the stage of development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances. The details will be matters of subsequent agreement between the state entrusted with administration of territories and the United Nations. The state administering any territory to which the special machinery to ensure the application of the principle stated above may be applied, shall render annual reports to the Economic and Social Council of the international organization on the economic and social advancement of the territory.”

Lord Cranborne made it clear that the new international organization, just as the permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, will have no power to intervene in security matters of the mandated territory. In this respect it will, however, be empowered to deal with civil aspects of the administration, he said, pointing cat that this follows Article 22 of the Covenant of the league of Nations.

Explaining the draft, Lord Cranborne stated that “in having any trusteeship system the British Government thinks it desirable to avoid, so far as it is possible, the laying down of rigid or detailed plans of policy in the charter of the United Nations organizations. The reason for this,” he continued, ” is that times change and a policy which may have been considered enlightened and satisfactory in 1945 may prove in later years, with varying world circumstances, to be operating to the disadvantage of the territory or country as they become more capable of political self-expressions Any system drawn up should, therefore, be capable of easy amendment from time to time as circumstances require.

Lord Cranborne also explained that some revision of the existing mandates will be necessary and that the fact that a particular territory may not be placed under the specific trusteeship system of international machinery does not mean that the parent state will not be guided, or that it is absolved from being guided, by the general policy of trusteeship in its administration of the territory outside the system.

Meanwhile, Zicmist leaders, perturbed over the fact that each of the Arab delegations is entitled to have a representative on the committee dealing with the trusteeship system, today pressed upon the United States and other delegations their demend that no action prejudicial to Jewish rights under the Palestine Mandate be taken by this committee. It is understood that the Zionist leaders were assured by influential members of the body that everything possible will be done to safeguard Jewish interests in any machinery which may be established.