UNANIMITY PRINCIPLE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 68, 18 September 1944, Page 4

UNANIMITY PRINCIPLE

HSTCH AT CONFERENCE

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Rec. 9 a.m. NEW YORK, Sept. 17. A Washington correspondent of the "New York Times" says it is learned from informed circles that the Soviet delegation at Dumbarton Oaks has received orders from Moscow to insist on unanimity rule in any decision by the council, of the world security organisation to use force to prevent aggression or punish an aggressor.

It is understood, according to a Russian interpretation, that the adoption of such a rule would mean that any Power in the council, even though it might be a party to the dispute concerned, could block action by the organisation. This differs importantly from the right of veto reserved by the "Big Four" Powers under the British and American proposals and would turn back the security organisation to the position of the old League of Nations which was inhibited from action against aggressors by the opposition of the aggressor states themselves. The choice left to the conference in consequence of the Moscow instructions is either to accept the Russian thesis, to introduce another, formula to be submitted to the Soviet, or to reserve the subject for the respective foreign officers or chiefs of state. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Chinese delegation, which replaces the Russian in the second ph.Vr? of the talks, is just as insistent on its proposal that nations which are parties to any dispute shall not have a voice m determining security action.