Don Jamieson, Canada’s Secretary of State for External Affairs, declared today that his country would oppose any action to suspend Israel from the General Assembly, a move about which “we hear threats from time to time.” He warned that “to purge this organization of ‘unpopular’ members could lead to the withdrawal of support by others.”
Addressing the Assembly’s 31st session, Jamieson said that “Canada supports the objective of universality of membership” in the UN. “To deprive members of their rights in the General Assembly on grounds not justified by the Charter makes a mockery of the Assembly. Our purpose is to debate the issues, not to stifle them,” he said.
He added that Canada believes that once a member is admitted to the UN it should remain a member. “We hold that it would be a dangerous precedent to recommend the expulsion of a member state of the UN unless this is the consensus of the whole membership. To purge this organization of ‘unpopular’ members could lead to the withdrawal of support by others and the paralysis of our activities. That is too high a price for us to pay.”
SUPPORTS ANTI-HOSTAGE CONVENTION
Jamieson added Canada’s voice to those of other nations that have expressed support for West Germany’s proposal that the General Assembly draft a covenant against the taking of hostages. “We must not forget that conventions against aerial hijacking already exist. If all states were to ratify them, we could be more confident that such hijacking would stop,” he said.
Referring to the Middle East conflict, Jamieson said that Canada looks for further negotiations which could lead eventually to peace on the basis of Security Council Resolution 242 and “which would take into account the legitimate concerns and interests of the Palestinian people.” He observed that a joint determination by the states concerned to achieve peace is more important than whether there are direct or indirect negotiations between the parties.
PLO PARTICIPATION IN DEBATE RULED OUT
Meanwhile, the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. In this year’s general debate, was ruled out today by the President of the Assembly, Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka.
The President told the Assembly today that after consultation “with those concerned,” an understanding had been reached that observers cannot take part in the debate. He said, however, that those with observer status will be allowed the right of reply.
The deadline for registering for participation in the debate is 6 p.m today. A UN spokesman said that the PLO has not requested officially to take part in the debate, but it was understood that the PLO declined to do so because it did not have the backing of the Arab states. This development followed participation in the debate which began two years ago when PLO head Yasir Arafat addressed the Assembly. The PLO also participated in the General Assembly debate last year.
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