The Special Political Committee of the General Assembly today decided to postpone until tomorrow its voting on the resolution dealing with the Arab refugee problem. The decision to postpone the voting for a day was taken after the representative of the Netherlands said that he must consult his government on the revised draft of the resolution which was introduced jointly by Indonesia and Pakistan.
The Netherlands’ motion was supported by the delegates of the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The delegates from Indonesia and Pakistan, while agreeing to the postponement until tomorrow of a vote on their resolution, stressed that the revised text included a formula for continuing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Arab refugees which, they believed, was acceptable to the Arab countries as well as to the donor countries.
Speaking on behalf of the United States delegation, M. Hancher told the Committee that the American delegation would support the revised text of the resolution. He said that it represented a “delicate compromise” which seems to be the maximum that could be achieved under the circumstances. He called for increased financial support by other governments to the UNRWA.
ISRAEL NOT CONSULTED ON COMPROMISE RESOLUTION, DELEGATE ANNOUNCES
Arthur Lourie, head of the Israel delegation, reserving his right to speak again at a later stage on the draft resolution, said that insofar as the United States delegate had stated that the resolution represented a compromise, he wished to state that it was a compromise on which the delegation of Israel was not consulted in advance and to which Israel was not a party. It is known that Israel opposes the revival of the Palestine Conciliation Commission which the resolution recommends.
The resolution as proposed now would provide for the reactivation of the Palestine Conciliation Commission, instructing it to make further efforts in the direction of securing the implementation of an 11-year-old UN resolution calling for repatriation of the Arab refugees or payment of compensation to them. The draft resolution also recommends the continuing of the UNRWA for a period of three years with a review at the end of two years.
The resolution calls attention to the “precarious financial position” of the UNRWA and urges governments to consider contributing or increasing their contributions. It directs the UNRWA to continue its relief program for the Arab refugees and, insofar as possible, expand its program of self-support and vocational training of the refugees.
JORDAN DECLARES SUPPORT FOR THE RESOLUTION; ARGENTINE LAUDS UNRWA
Musa Naser, of Jordan, expressed appreciation to the delegations of Indonesia and Pakistan for their “sincere efforts” in sponsoring the draft resolution. However, he said, this effort would not solve the problem. It would deal only temporarily with the immediate needs of the refugees, with the hope of an eventual settlement of the whole problem. Declaring his support for the resolution, in this light, he expressed thanks to all those who had supported the “legitimate rights” of the refugees.
Dr. Tettamanti, of Argentina, stressing the humanitarian aspects of the problem, said it was unfortunate that a final, definitive solution could not be found. Until the states directly involved changed their attitude, he said, there was nothing that the United Nations could do. UNRWA, he said, had won the respect of the entire international community. He paid tribute to the director of the agency.
United Nations assistance to the Palestine refugees, which was originally conceived as a provisional measure, must be continued, he declared. The problem, however, could not be solved until the states directly concerned assumed their obligations. He declared his support for the draft resolution.
C.S. Jha, of India, welcomed the extension of UNRWA and understood that the revised text was the result of compromise and conciliation. The problem was, he believed, basically a humanitarian one which required continued United Nations assistance. He hoped that when the matter was again reviewed in two years’ time, the Committee would be much nearer an overall solution of the problem.
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