Hammarskjold Says Israel and Argentine Should Negotiate Agreement

Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold said today that it was up to the Governments of Israel and Argentina to negotiate an agreement on the form of “adequate reparations” due Argentina from Israel under the Security Council resolution in the Eichmann case.

The resolution did not spell out the form of these reparations and the United States, Britain, France, the Soviet Union and other members of the Council indicated their view that the resolution itself, plus the Israeli apology to Argentina, constituted “adequate reparations.” Argentina did not accept this and made it clear that it expected something further from Israel.

Mr. Hammarskjold apparently agreed with this position. He told his press conference today that “The resolution was introduced by the Argentine delegate, and, for that reason, his word carries special weight in interpretation. There is scope for differences of views. My own interpretation was not a substantive one but procedural–that, when an issue has been left in this way, ambiguous, it is for the two parties concerned, in the spirit indicated by their wish to have friendly relations, to thrash it out between themselves, that is to say, to negotiate the issue and agree on what one party considers to be appropriate reparation and the other party considers it reasonable to give.

“This phrase,” the Secretary General added, “handed it over to the Governments of Argentina and Israel. There is nothing in the United Nations which would indicate any specific solution to this problem–reparation for what was regarded as a kind of violation of national sovereignty. There are precedents in international law. But there is no precedent in United Nations law or in UN common law.”