14

examine the underlying causes of the present situation in the Balkans and to recommend measures to eliminate the causes of friction. Little attention was, however, paid to the proposal and it received support in the debate only from Norway and Denmark. Since there appeared to be a large majority of the Committee in favour of a Special Committee on the lines of the United States proposal, it was proposed by M. Spaak, of Belgium, that the Committee should vote first on those parts of the United States resolution requesting the four countries concerned to co-operate in reaching specific agreements for the settlement of their differences and establishing the Special Committee to observe their compliance with these recommendations, leaving the preamble containing the " guilt clause " for later consideration. The legality of this procedure was hotly contested by the Soviet Union and its associates, but the majority of the Committee upheld its right to determine its own procedure in as far as it did not contradict the Rules of Procedure. The procedure was admitted to be unusual but not illegal on that score. The Committee then voted on that part of the resolution (excluding the " guilt clause ") paragraph by paragraph, and in each case an average of thirty-four to forty countries (including New Zealand) voted in favour, with the Soviet Union and its five supporters voting against, and nine or ten countries abstaining. It was proposed that the Special Committee should consist of representatives of Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, and the five permanent members of the Security Council— China, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet group refused to participate in the election of the Committee, on the grounds that such a Committee would be an infringement of the national sovereignty of the four States concerned and that the procedure by which the Committee was being elected was illegal. The Soviet Union and Poland also announced their intention to boycott the Special Committee if elected. The proposal for membership was nevertheless approved, on the understanding that seats on the Special Committee would be kept open for these two countries should they decide to co-operate at any time. Returning to the guilt clause, the Committee eventually adopted an amendment, based on a French and a United Kingdom proposal, which read : " The General Assembly . . . Taking account of the report of the Commission of Investigation which found by a majority vote that Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia had given assistance and support to the guerrillas fighting against the Greek Government, calls upon Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia to do nothing which could furnish aid and assistance to the said guerrillas."