Security Council Changes Sought

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30235, 13 September 1963, Page 13

Security Council Changes Sought

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) NEW YORK, September 11. The Soviet Union proposed today a new “gentlemen’s agreement” dividing the six non-permanent seats on the 11-nation United Nations Security Council among nations representing Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Latin America, the Associated Press reported.

The proposal was aimed at satisfying demands for the burgeoning African membership for more representation on main United Nations councils, A.P. said. The Africans have been seeking an amendment of the United Nations Charter to enlarge the council, but the Soviet Union has turned them down on the grounds that China must be given United Nations representation before revision of the Charter can be considered The Soviet Union's permanent United Nations representative. Mr Nikolai Fedorenko, outlined bis country’s views in a letter submitted to a committee on charter review. He said the Soviet Union would agree to the scrapping

of the gentlemen's agreement of 1946 on distribution of seats if the Soviet proposal were accepted. Under the Soviet proposal Latin America would lose one of the two non-permanent seats it has had in the past, and there would be no representation for a member of the Commonwealth. Mr Fedorenko said the Soviet Union would insist upon “recognition of the inalienable right” of the Communist countries to one of the non-permanent seats.

The five permanent members of’the Security Council are the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain. France and Nationalist China. The present non-permanent members are Brazil. Ghana, Morocco. Norway, the Philippines, and Venezuela.