Consultations among members of the Security Council were underway this afternoon on the extension of the United Nations Emergency Force’s mandate in Sinai. The current mandate of UNEF expires Oct. 24, According to sources here the extension of UNEF’s mandate for an additional 12-month period “is not going to be easy,” because the Soviet Union, a permanent member of the Security Council, is raising some objections about the new mandate.
The Russians reportedly object to extending the period of the mandate from six months to 12 months. They are also objecting to the increased cost of operating UNEF as requested by Secretary General Kurt Waldheim in his report on UNEF several days ago to the Security Council. The Security Council, however, is not likely to meet before Wednesday on UNEF since it is dealing presently with the issue of Spanish Sahara.
DELEGATES EXPLAIN VOTE ON ANTI-ZIONIST DRAFT
Meanwhile, during a debate today in the Third Committee in which delegates explained their votes on the resolution equating Zionism with racism, the Japanese representative who abstained during the vote said that the UN cannot sit in judgement on Zionism. She also said she hopes the resolution will not result in an upsurge of anti-Semitism. The representatives of Argentina and Thailand said had they not been absent when the vote occurred they would have abstained. Bolivia, which also was absent during the vote, declared that its ambassador would have voted against the resolution had he been present.
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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.