The refusal of the Soviet Union and other Communist countries, to support the United Nations Emergency Force is “a serious weakness” and is an example of lack of cooperation which “could be fatal to an existence of the United Nations,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Home, warned the UN General Assembly here today.
The UNEF accounts, paid for by special assessments leveled on all UN members in fixed proportions, has a deficit of more than $20,000,000 because the USSR and its satellites have consistently refused to contribute toward UNEF’s support since the force was established in 1956.
Lord Home voiced his warning when he addressed the Assembly here this morning and referred to UN “experiments in collective police action which, he said, have been “tentative and halting. ” “There is the United Nations force which polices the disputed frontier between the United Arab Republic and Israel,” Lord Home said. “The majority in the Assembly would, I believe, acclaim that experiment as having contributed to the stability of the area and to have reduced the danger of war.
“But–and it is a very large but–it is not supported by the Communist countries. The refusal of one or more countries to sustain and help to pay for collective action approved by a two-thirds majority is a most serious weakness. We shall realize that when we come to discuss the budget. It could be fatal to the existence of the United Nations,” the British statesman warned.
An item calling for a budget of about $20,000,000 for UNEF’s operation and maintenance for 1962 is on the Assembly agenda for discussion later during the current session.
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.
