The U.N. Committee on International Law adjourned its first session today, after refusing to act on a convention outlawing genocide.
In a 90-minute debate during which most of the 17 members admitted the urgency of the problem, the committee referred back to the U.N. secretariat a draft convention on genocide which the secretariat had prepared. The members declared that in the abaence of instructions from their governments, they could take no action. For once, the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union were in agreement, all three opposing immediate action.
Replying to a query by the J.T.A., most of the delegates expressed confusion as to the fate of the genocide draft. A spokesman for the secretariat said, however, that it would be circulated among the 55 member nations, but he expressed doubt that sufficient replies would be received in time for the Economic and Social Council to act on it at the Council’s meeting next month, which was the original intention.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
