Page:United Nations Security Council Meeting 3.pdf/3

24 responsible. You will see in the letter dated 26 January which I wrote on your behalf to members of the Council, that I raised this question, and suggested that it was your wish that the Council should discuss at the beginning of this meeting whether this item should be put on the agenda or not. It is apparent from the letter itself that item 5 should not have been put on the agenda, which was attached. It is for the draft to decide whether it should in fact go on the agenda.


 * May I take it that it is the wish of the Council that the application of Albania shall be treated as an item of the agenda?

(United States of America): You will recall that I referred briefly to this question the last time we met. In view of the position taken by the Executive Committee, and also by the Preparatory Commission, that new applications for membership would not be acted upon at the first part of the General Assembly session, I feel it would be best not to include this item at this session of the Council. The admission of new Members is a serious and important matter, requiring the most careful consideration of the Members of the United Nations. In the circumstances, it is apparent that the only reasonable and fair method of giving proper and adequate consideration to applications for new membership would be to defer all applications until some time prior to the next meeting of the General Assembly, when the Security Council would have had an opportunity to deal with the number of applications that have accrued at that time.


 * You move that?

(United States of America): That is the motion: that that item should not be included in the agenda of this meeting.

(Poland) (translated from French): I do not think we should be setting a bad example by postponing the question of the admission of Albania. The United Nations is concerned that all countries which qualify for membership should not be kept waiting too long, if they apply for admission. There is nothing to prevent us from considering the substance of the question, if not today, then at least at our next meeting.

(Brazil): I think this is not a particular question concerning Albania. The point is that it would be far better to have all applications for new membership studied during the intervals between Assemblies, and to have the Security Council meeting just before the Assembly report on them. This is a question of principle regarding all such new applications.