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IV. GENERAL DEBATE There was no general debate, since this session was merely the continuation of the third regular session, which had begun in Paris.. Dr Evatt (Australia) the President of the Assembly, made a brief opening statement in which he referred to the many notable achievements to the credit of the United Nations during its three years of existence. As illustrations he quoted the Palestine case, the problem of Iran, the Kashmir case, and the Balkan and Korean questions. The United Nations, said Dr Evatt, remained to-day the corner-stone of effective international action to maintain peace and security and to promote higher standards of welfare throughout the whole world. Every delegation was pledged to the view that the United Nations was the supreme international body and all other obligations which individual nations or groups of nations might accept must be subordinate to or in agreement with the United Nations Charter. V. FIRST COMMITTEE : POLITICAL AND SECURITY QUESTIONS Chairman : Mr F. Van Langenhove [Belgium) Vice-Chairman : Mr Costa Du Rels {Bolivia) Rapporteur : Mr S. Sarper (Turkey) New Zealand Representatives Sir Carl Berendsen Mr G. R. Laking Mr T. C. Larkin Agenda The First Committee had three items on its agenda which had been left over from the first part of the session : 1. Treatment of Indians in the Union of South Africa. 2. Question of the disposal of the former Italian colonies. v 3. Implementation of Assembly resolution on Franco Spain. During the session two other items were referred to the Committee : 1. The question of Indonesia. 2. The application of Israel for membership in the United Nations, These were subsequently allocated to the ad hoc Political Committee,, however.