27

A.—2

A vote was taken on the question whether there should be mention of the Deputy Secretaries-General in the Charter. 15 States voted affirmatively, 13 (including New Zealand) negatively—i.e., the majority was less than the two-thirds required. The Steering Committee referred the matter back to Committee 1/2 for reconsideration on the ground that the vote should have been taken on a text of the proposed Charter. A motion by the U.S.S.R. providing in the Charter for five deputies, to be elected in the same manner as the Secretary-General, received 20 votes in favour and 19 (including New Zealand) against —i.e., the motion was again rejected, the majority being less than two-thirds. The original amendment of the sponsoring Powers in favour of four deputies was then put and received 22 in favour and 18 (including New Zealand) against —i.e., the motion was rejected, the majority being less than two-thirds. At the concluding meeting of the Committee an amendment was proposed to make the Article read as follows: — " There shall be a Secretariat comprising a Secretary-General, deputies, and such staff as may be required. The SecretaryGeneral shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization. The Secretary-General and his deputies shall be elected by the General Assembly, on recommendation of the Security Council." The motion received 12 votes in favour and 24 (including New Zealand) against. Therefore the Committee finally followed the Dumbarton Oaks text, in accordance with the policy advocated by the New Zealand and other delegates, rather than that of the sponsoring Powers' amendment. AMENDMENTS Regular Amendments to the Charter The Dumbarton Oaks proposals provide that: — " Amendments should come into force for all members of the Organization, when they have been adopted by a vote of twothirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by the members of the Organization having permanent membership on the Security Council and by a majority of the other members of the Organization." (Chapter XI.) The only change made by the Committee was to require ratification by two-thirds of the members, including all the permanent members of the Security Council. (Article 108 of Charter.) Special Conference to Review Charter It was around this point that the struggle for an easier process of amendment chiefly turned. The question of a special conference was introduced in the following proposal brought forward by the sponsoring Powers:— " A general conference of the members of the United Nations may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a three-fourths vote of the General Assembly with the concurrence of the Security Council voting in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI, Section C, paragraph 2, for the purpose of reviewing the Charter. Each member shall have one vote in the Conference. Any alterations of the Charter recommended by a two-thirds vote of the Conference shall take effect when ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by the members of the Organization having permanent membership on the Security Council and by a majority of the other members of the Organization." The words "three-fourths " in the first sentence were subsequently changed by agreement to " two-thirds."