Page:United Nations Security Council Meeting 3.pdf/6

27 contrary, did his suggestion imply, as the United States representative asked, that the particular case of Albania should be placed on the agenda for the next session? I abstained from voting because I was not sure of the exact meaning of the proposal.

(Egypt): The application has been put on the agenda of the Council, on the immediate agenda. That conveyed the idea that it should be discussed in the course of this week or next week. The proposal of the representative of China amounted to a distinction between the actual agenda and a kind of permanent agenda for the Council on which he was willing that this application should be registered. If a distinction is admitted between an actual and immediate agenda and a general agenda kept of questions for the Council according to the dates of their arrival, there will not be the least objection to the inscription of this application on the general agenda. But, as I have already mentioned, the problem is that of not knowing exactly the time which would be required in this part of the session to discuss this question. Supposing that there is a discussion of the general principles, which would be applicable to other countries, I think that this discussion would require some time. Unless we know something certain about the length of time which this point would take, we are really unable to vote for immediate discussion of this problem.

(China): Will you allow me to make an explanation? Perhaps in putting forward my views a little while ago I spoke a little too briefly.

I was impressed, on the one hand, by the question of principle. When a nation has applied for membership, that application is certainly admissible, and if it has been made in the proper manner, then it seems to me that it should go on the agenda. However, when and how to discuss it, and whether the qualifications of the particular applicant State meet or do not meet the requirements under the Charter are points for the Council to discuss. When is the Council to discuss them? That is entirely up to the Council to decide. Thus, the placing of an application on the agenda by no means binds the Council to discuss it today, tomorrow or next week.

On the other hand, I was very much impressed also by the practical point raised by the representative of the United States of America. In a matter of such importance, not with reference to any one particular applicant, but with reference to all applications, since this is the first case, the Council would want to consider the question from a more comprehensive viewpoint, perhaps studying, formulating and then eventually adopting some general procedure which would be applicable not to one case, but to all cases. It seems to me that that would be very desirable.

Therefore, in view of both aspects of the question, I suggest that we place the question on the agenda, leaving it entirely to the Security Council to decide when to discuss it. Personally,