§ 34. Mr. George Craddockasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under which Article or Articles of the United Nations Charter the present United Nations Emergency Force in Suez has been created.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe present United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East was not created under any specific Article or Articles of the Charter. It was set up as the result of resolutions passed by the General Assembly.
§ Mr. CraddockIn view of the fact that responsibility is now within the Commander's purview, and he is responsible to the General Assembly, does not the Minister think it is quite time that there was an overhaul of the Charter?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreAs the hon. Gentleman knows, arrangements are being made to have a review of the whole of the Charter; but it is not likely to be in the near future, I am afraid.
§ Viscount HinchingbrookeAs it is now proved to be a force without any legal backing whatever or any international standing, is it not appropriate that, if it fails in its tasks, it should be driven out of the area by some other superior force?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreNo, because, while it is not set up under any specific Article of the Charter, it is true also that no Article of the Charter prevents its being set up.
§ Mr. YoungerWas it not made clear by the Secretary-General in his Second Report on this force that he regarded it as having been set up in pursuance of the 1950 Resolution, "Uniting for Peace", which in turn was considered to be perfectly valid under the general powers and, indeed, obligations given to the General Assembly under Article 11?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThat is right.
§ Mr. PitmanWill the Minister, when he deals with these arrangements for the revision of the Charter, take in hand a proposal for giving the United Nations Force a supra-national authority and force to back that responsibility if it assumes it? It seems to me that that is the essence of the trouble.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreI cannot give any undertaking in that regard, but I will bear in mind what my hon. Friend has said.
§ 38. Mr. Finlayasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under what article of the United Nations Charter arrangements for the good order and military discipline of the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East are made; and whether all contingents thereof come under the sole command of Major-General Burns for the purposes of discipline.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe United Nations Emergency Force was set up by Resolutions passed by the General Assembly. No specific Article of the Charter applies either to the force in general or to its disciplinary arrangements.
With regard to the second part of the Question, I would refer the House to the reply given on 27th November by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal to my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Pitman).
The Secretary-General, in his report dated 21st November, on the provisional administrative arrangements for the force, stated that all personnel assigned to the force would be under the direct supervision of the Commander, that is 428 to say, of Major General Burns. I understand that regulations covering the question of discipline are still being worked out.
§ Mr. FinlayIs my hon. Friend aware of Press reports that certain contingents of the Emergency Force have been giving the Egyptians training in the use of weapons? Is my hon. Friend satisfied that there is an adequate system of discipline for these troops under General Burns?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThere has been no confirmation whatever of the report to which my hon. Friend refers. For the moment, the national contingents are under the discipline of their unit commanders and further administrative details regarding discipline are being worked out.
§ 40. Mrs. McLaughlinasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what section of the United Nations Charter permits the stationing of the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt only with the consent of the country concerned.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe United Nations Emergency Force was not set up under any specific Article of the United Nations Charter, but was established as the result of resolutions passed by the General Assembly. An Assembly resolution, as the House will be aware, has the force only of a recommendation. General Assembly Resolution 395 of 7th November recognised that, in accordance with generally recognised international law, the Assembly could not request that the Force be stationed or operate on the territory of a given country without the consent of the Government of that country. The consent of the Egyptian Government was therefore obtained for the United Nations Emergency Force to be stationed in Egypt.
A United Nations document, A/3375 of 20th November, a copy of which is in the Library of the House, sets out in detail how the agreement of the Government of Egypt to the presence of the United Nations Emergency Force on Egyptian territory was given.
§ Mrs. McLaughlinIs my hon. Friend aware that paragraph 9 of the Second Report of the Secretary-General on the 429 plan for the United Nations Emergency Force, dated 6th November, states that the force
would be limited in its operations to the extent that consent of the parties concerned is required under generally recognised international law"?On the basis of that extremely vague clause, the report goes on to say that the General Assemblycould not request the force to be stationed or operate on the territory of a given country without the consent of the Government of that country.Is this not a contradiction in terms? What sort of law is it which asks a householder whether he objects to the particular policeman who is sent to arrest the burglar?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe Egyptian Government agreed after it had been explained to them what the United Nations Force was intended to do. What the United Nations Force is intended to do is laid down in a number of United Nations reports and it will remain on Egyptian territory by agreement until those objectives have been achieved.
§ Mr. GowerDoes not the first part of my hon. Friend's reply illustrate the urgent need for revision of the Charter? Is it not a fact that, as at present constituted, a force operating under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly could feasibly be in conflict with a force under the Security Council?
§ Mr. PitmanIs there not a double misunderstanding over this? First, the so-called effective police force is there only by invitation and agreement of the Egyptians, and secondly, the personnel of the force are there only at the good pleasure of the Danes, the Indians and so on, to whom they continue to owe their allegiance. Will not the Government do something to put the United Nations Charter right so that we may have a new wing of the United Nations with a new organisation for the responsibility and powers involved, which will be adequate to a realistic position?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreI certainly hope that Her Majesty's Government will do something to put the Charter right, but I do not think that the difficulties which my hon. Friend foresees are very real ones. The agreement of the Egyptian Government was made on certain con- 430 siderations and the Egyptian Government are bound by those considerations which were entered into when they reached that agreement.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerThe Joint Under-Secretary talks about putting the Charter right and the Assembly being able only to make recommendations. Does not the Charter say that the Assembly shall make decisions by a two-thirds majority? Is there any point in stipulating a two-thirds majority unless it binds all members? Was not the State of Israel set up and accepted by everybody by a two-thirds majority?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreI think we are getting a long way from the original Question.