First emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly

The first emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly was an extraordinary meeting of members, which lasted from 1 to 10 November 1956 and whose object was the solution to the Suez crisis. The Assembly approved the formation of the United Nations Emergency Force to position an international presence in the Canal Zone. The emergency meeting was convened after the Security has been no decision as to the unstable situation on the channel. With the convening of the resolution 377 of the UN General Assembly was employed with the skills of conflict resolution in this case was transferred by the Security Council to the General Assembly. On the fourth meeting day, the Canadian representative Lester B. Pearson introduced the concept of a police force of the United Nations. The formation of the United Nations Emergency Force ( the first peacekeeping force of the United Nations ) was adopted unanimously by the General Assembly with 57 approvals; 19 States had abstained from the vote.

Background

The crisis developed from the years of mutual attacks between Israel and Egypt. Egypt was contrary to the disability of the Israeli ship traffic through the Suez Canal to the British - Egyptian Treaty of 1936 and turned in 1955 to Czechoslovakia to buy weapons. In July 1956, the United States had the financial support for the construction of the Aswan High Dam set, after Egypt nationalized the universal Compagnie du canal maritime de Suez. In September, the Security Council agreed that " the situation [ was ] by the unilateral actions of the Egyptian government to bring about an end to the international operation of the Suez Canal " and the " measures against Egypt by some forces, particularly France and the United Kingdom, which pose a threat to international peace and security and serious violations of the Charter of the United Nations " to deliberate.

In October, the Security Council Resolution 118 (1956) adopted, with the required respect for the sovereignty of Egypt and the desire for the operation of the Suez Canal in isolation from the policy of a single country was found. However, Israel invaded shortly afterwards in Egypt. One of introduced from the United States draft resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from Egypt after the 1949 Armistice Line; this design was rejected by the veto powers of France and the United Kingdom, whose troops escorted the armed forces of Israel in the invasion. By Resolution 119 (1956), the Security Council on October 31, known to his failure in the maintenance of peace and security and applied the 1950 adopted resolution 377, which held an emergency meeting of the General Assembly was convened.

Emergency meeting

On the first day of the emergency session, the General Assembly adopted a U.S. draft resolution, which called on Israel to immediately withdraw from Egypt behind the armistice lines of 1949. The decision was adopted with 64 approvals, five votes against by the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Australia and New Zealand and six abstentions. Canada, which had abstained, justified his position by the lack of a role for the United Nations, which would have given the ceasefire only a temporary character.

At the time discussed the Canadian Foreign Minister Lester B. Pearson with the Secretary General of the United Nations with regard to his idea of a police force of the United Nations. On November 4, Canada brought the draft in the General Assembly and the resolution was adopted unanimously with 57 approvals; among the 19 countries that abstained, were, among others Egypt, France, the United Kingdom, several East European countries and the Soviet Union. On the same day the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, ELM Burns, destined to lead the new force as a commander. He was authorized participants from the nations that observers to UNTSO seconded to select and recruit from other Member States of the United Nations, with the exception of the permanent members of the Security Council.

On November 6, introduced the Secretary-General to the General Assembly a preliminary report, in the design and mandate of the peacekeeping force and the guidelines were presented for installation. This report was unanimously adopted without further supplements the next day with 64 votes, with 12 States abstained, including Egypt, Israel, South Africa, the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. Both France and the United Kingdom supported the resolution, as these international forces providing for the Suez Canal - both States had reaffirmed this intention the whole time. The Soviet Union abstained from the vote because she was of the opinion that the plan of the Charter of the United Nations violated, the United Nations did not prevent to prevent further aggression against Egypt but. It was set up to implement the measure, a committee, consisting of delegates of Brazil, Canada, Sri Lanka, Colombia, India, Norway and Pakistan and the Secretary General of the board.

The emergency meeting of the General Assembly ended on 10 November 1956 with the Decision establishing the peacekeeping force was set up, whose aim was to keep the two sides from each other.

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