ARMS REDUCTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 February 1947, Page 6

ARMS REDUCTION

QUESTION REFERRED TO UNO COMMISSION ATOMIC WEAPONS EXCLUDED NEW YORK, February 12. The Security Council voted by 9 to 0 to establish a commission of 11 nations to study the reduction of all araments except those already being examined by the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. Russia and Poland abstained from voting. _This action was a victory for the United States over Russia, which had argued that the proposed commission should have jurisdiction over atomic as well as ordinary weapons. Possible Use of Veto. The vote came on paragraph three of a draft resolution outlining the whole machinery of arms reduction. A vote must still be taken on the resolution as a whole after the council acts on the final parargaph to-mor-row. Thus, it is still possible that Mr. Gromyko (Russia) will use the veto, but this is regarded as unlikely because of his abstention to-day. Mr. Gromyko said that although Russia strongly favoured the establishment of the commission and, indeed, had proposed it, she was opposed to the specific limitations sponsored by the United States. Under the resolution “a commission for conventional armaments” will be established immediately with 11 mem- 1 bers, including the Big Five. The commission will be required to submit to the council within three months proposals for a general reduction of armaments and armies and practical and effective safeguards to protect peace-loving nations against illegal armies. The resolution also provides that the Security Council shall begin considering atomic energy problems as soon as possible. Conventional Armaments. The third paragraph includes the controversial provision that matters within the jurisdiction of the Atomic Energy Commission, including major weapons of mass destruction, shall be excluded from the jurisdiction of the commission for conventional armaments. A dispute is expected to develop tomorrow on the remaining paragraph, which is based on a proposal by Sir Alexander Cadogan (Britain) for [speeding up the work of the United 'Nations Military Staff Committee, which is to determine the type and size of the armed forces that each of the United Nations should make available to the world organisation. Sir Alexander Cadogan to-day accused Russia of delaying the committee’s work and said the disarmament reso-i lution should include an instruction to the committee to make a statement of its .principles to the Security Coun- 1 cil by April 30. '