Hammarskjold Advocates “clarification” of Legal Aspects on Suez

In spite of Israel’s insistence that the Security Council or the General Assembly must intervene against Egypt’s anti-Israel blockade of the Suez Canal, it appeared today that Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold still feels the “appropriate authority” for settlement of that issue is the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

This view developed today as Mr. Hammaskjold filed with the Assembly, which is to convene September 15, one of the year’s most important statements on overall United Nations policy and principles. The document is the introduction to his annual report to the Assembly. While the Secretary General’s yearly report is filed earlier, the introduction is customarily held back until just before the Assembly convenes, so as to include all latest developments.

In the part of the introduction dealing with the Suez issue, the UN chief, after recalling that “attention has again repeatedly been drawn to questions raised by present policies” regarding the Suez Canal, declares: “The issue has important legal aspects which may be considered as meriting further clarification, but it is also part of the general Palestine problem. “

In his own statements, at news conferences, Mr. Hammarskjold has repeatedly hinted at the desirability of shifting of the Israeli complaints against the Suez blockade to the World Court. However, it is known that he did not project that “solution” to United Arab Republic President Gamal Abdel Nasser, when he met the latter in Cairo two months ago, in his futile effort to shift Nasser’s position regarding the Canal blockade against Israel.

REPORTS TO U.N. ASSEMBLY ON VARIOUS ARAB-ISRAELI PROBLEMS

The introduction to this year’s report touches on a number of other facets of the overall Middle East and Arab-Israeli problems, including the controversial Hammarskjold program for integration of the Arab refugees in the general economy of the Middle East, as well as continuation of the United Nations Emergency Force “at its present strength. “

The UN chief reports there has been “little or no progress” in regard to Middle East matters of “direct concern” to the United Nations, including among such matters the refugee problem, UNEF, and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.

In another section of his introduction, Mr. Hammarskjold hints at a new approach toward the Security Council’s activities. He proposes that the Council reshuffle its work so as to hold “regular meetings in executive session. ” Until now, the Council has met only to consider specific complaints by member states. Except in very rare cases, Council meetings have always been held in public.

The proposed change is seen here as one that Israel would certainly oppose. Observers here believe there would be very strenuous opposition also among other member states to transformation of the Council into a body discussing all aspects of the international situation, without restriction to specific complaints, and in secret sessions.