17

organizations presented its report in the following terms (Document A/C.l/;64) " The First Committee, at its forty-seventh meeting, decided to appoint a sub-committee, composed of the representatives of Colombia, Poland, Iran, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and entrusted it with the task of advising the Committee whether any organization other than the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Arab Higher Committee of Palestine represented a considerable element of the population of Palestine. " The sub-committee held two meetings, on 7 May and 9 May, under the chairmanship of Mr Hagglof, delegate of Sweden. In these two sessions the sub-committee examined the following requests sent in to the Secretariat of the United Nations before midnight on 8 May : Agudas Israel World Organization ; Political Action Committee for Palestine; Progressive Zionist District 95 of New York, Zionist Organization of America ; Hebrew Committee of National Liberation ; Committee for Freedom of North Africa ; Palestine Communist Party Central Committee ; Institute of Arab American Affairs; Young Egypt Party; League for Peace with Justice in Palestine ; Union for the Protection of the Human Person ; United Israel World Union, Inc. ; Church of God, Faith of David, Inc. ; Catholic Near East Welfare Association. " The sub-committee took note of the fact that the First Committee had already decided to grant a hearing to the two main organizations representative of the population of Palestine—i.e., the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Arab Higher Committee of Palestine. " The sub-committee found, after careful consideration : " (a) That some of the requests originated with organizations established outside Palestine and do not directly represent the population of that country; " (b) That the other requests emanate from organizations which, although established in Palestine, do not, in the opinion of the sub-committee, represent a sufficiently considerable element of the population of Palestine to justify the recommendation of a hearing before the First Committee. " In consequence, the sub-committee has decided unanimously to advise the First Committee not to grant a hearing to the organizations which have lodged applications; " It is the understanding of the sub-committee, however, that this decision does not exclude the possibility of all these organizations being heard by the committee of investigation once it has been established." The report of this sub-committee was adopted without discussion, and the sub-committee appointed to reconcile the various proposals for the terms of reference submitted its draft text for discussion, which was in the following terms (Document A/C.l/165) " Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations has been called into Special Session for the purpose of constituting and instructing a Special Committee to prepare for the consideration at the next Regular Session of the Assembly of the future government of Palestine, "The General Assembly resolves : "1. That the Special Committee shall have the widest powers to ascertain and record facts,