Adlai Stevenson, head of the United States delegation to the United Nations, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the reasons America voted in the UN against the Brazzaville resolution which called for peace negotiations between the Arab states and Israel.
Mr. Stevenson said that during the last session of the UN General Assembly “this resolution was introduced over the objection of the United States because we were committed at that time to the exploration of a project of which we have been the originator.” The project aimed at resolving the question of the Palestine Arab Refugees or making some progress toward the implementation of the UN resolution of 1948 by a special UN Commission headed by Joseph Johnson, Mr. Stevenson explained.
“We couldn’t ride two horses at the same time,” he said. “Our position had to be in favor of the proposal that we had advanced, and then when a proposal was advanced against our judgment and without consultation we, of course, had to vote against it.”
Rep. Leonard Farbstein, New York Democrat and a committee member, asked Mr. Stevenson why the United States couldn’t support both moves in the interest of peace since both were consistent with U.N. objectives. Mr. Stevenson replied: “Our conclusion was the reverse, that we could not possibly support both of them. We were trying to get votes for the Johnson resolution. We had to get Arab votes in possibly to pass it.”
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.
