BIG POWER VETO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26719, 13 March 1948, Page 7

BIG POWER VETO

LIMIT IN UNITED NATIONS AMERICA SUGGESTS ISSUES FOR USE N.Z.P.A.—Copyright t NEW YORK, Mar. 11. The United States to-day proposed drastic restrictions on the Big Power veto in the United Nations. An American spokesman said the proposal would exclude all the 22 issues on which Russia had used the veto. The proposal was laid before the Little Assembly to-day as the first move toward carrying out the declaration made by the Secretary of State, Mr George Marshall before the General Assembly last September when he said the United States was willing to limit the veto to questions of prime importance if the other Powers would agree. The proposal listed 31 categories of questions' which would be excluded from the veto, and it Would limit the veto almost exclusively to enforcement measures, economic or military. Among the issues proposed to be placed outside the veto is the admission of new members. The American spokesman said the United States hoped that the changes could be brought about without changing the charter, but he added: “We are not closing the door to possible amendments to the charter. The spokesman contended that there was no evidence that Russia would agree to any modification in the voting procedure, but he said the issue was so important that it was worth trying anyway. Russia is boycotting the Little Assembly.