U.N. Council Votes to Study Continued Anti-discrimination Program

The Co-ordination committee of the U.N. Social and Economic Council had moved today to assure continuation of activities to prevent discrimination and protect minorities following the discontinuation of the Council’s sub-commission on prevention of discrimination and protection of minorities.

It adopted a resolution jointly proposed by Uruguay and India directing the Secretary General to make an inquiry among member states on items dealing with these issues which should be placed on forthcoming Council agendas and to report in 1952 on the results of this inquiry, his own suggestion and those of the sub-commission on the measures to be taken by the Council to prevent discrimination and protect minorities.

The preamble to the resolution stressed that the Council was “conscious of the responsibilities entrusted to it” in this field, was “desirous of pursuing its efforts to abolish all forms of discrimination and protect minorities” and was “desirous of taking the necessary positive steps to continue the work of the sub-commission on the prevention of discrimination and protection of minorities after the discontinuance of the commission.”

The plenary Economic and Social Council voted to postpone action on a resolution for establishment of a Middle East Economic Commission after the Arab states declared that the situation had changed since this was first proposed in 1947 and that postponement was necessary.

Dr. M. Kahany, the Israeli observer, said his country favored such a commission but only on condition that all Middle East states participated on an equal footing and that the commission’s headquarters were set up in a country guaranteeing freedom of access to representatives from all states in the area. He referred to the economic war being waged against Israel by the Arab states and declared the Middle East situation called imperatively for a regional organ of the United Nations.