HUMAN RIGHTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 103, 3 May 1945, Page 9

HUMAN RIGHTS

SMUTS WANTS CHARTER

PROPOSAL MADE TO UNCIO

(By Teleflraph—• Press Association—Copyright.)

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1

Field-Marshal Smuts, addressing the plenary session of UNCIO, suggested that a declaration of human rights should be written into the charter of the new world organisation as a confession of faith and a testimony to the future.

Strongly defending the special authority given the big Powers under the proposals for a security organisation, Field-Marshal Smuts said that the Dumbarton Oaks plan, unlike the League of Nations Covenant, realistically recognised that war must be prevented at the start.

The resultant need was for vigorous enforcement of the action decided upon. The special position of the Great Powers called for special voting relations between them which was not necessary under the Covenant of the League.

Field-Marshal Smuts hailed the provision for the Security Council which, he said, would prove of the utmost importance, in controlling the forces, conditions, and techniques leading to social and economic unrest.

Field-Marshal Smuts expects to present his draft declarations of human rights to the conference this week, with the support of the United States.

Dr. H. V. Evatt, - the Australian Minister of External Affairs, blocked a proposal to the steering committee this morning which would have required a two-thirds majority vote for any amendments to the Dumbarton Oaks plan. Dr. Evatt argued that this would effectively prevent the small nations from making any amendment. With Mr. Molotov's support, the question was referred to the executive committee.

Dr. Evatt contended that only basic and fundamental alterations to the Dumbarton Oaks blueprint should require more than a simple majority. The executive committee was then instructed to draw up a revised motion, defining specifically which amendments should, require a simple majority and which a two-thirds majority. The steering committee is reported to have agreed to the following chairmanships of the commissions:—Security Council, Norway: General Assembly, South Africa; Drafting Principles | and Purposes, Belgium; International i Court, Venezuela. i The Associated Press says that New Zealand was appointed to the chairmanship of the General Assembly Committee on Trusteeship, and India to the Economic and Social Co-opera-tion Committee. DR. EVATT'S ATTITUDE Rec. 9 a.m. SAN FRANCISCO, May 1. The two-thirds majority for changes in the Dumbarton Oaks plan was proposed by the Americans. Dr. Evatt said later that this was the most important matter to come before the executive committee, far overshadowing the publicised disagreements on the rotation of the chairmanship and the. admission of Argentina and the two Russian Republics. He pointed out that Australia is particularly affected; since it is* keenly desirous of having its amendments accepted. INTERNATIONAL COURT SAN FRANCISCO, May 2. Members of the Chinese delegation said that China favours giving the International Court compulsory jurisdiction over any legal dispute between countries. 4lt is understood that several nations, including the United States, favour making it optional for any nation to take a dispute to the Court.