OCR Text |
Show UNITED NATIONS UN Korean Action Is Collective Security Move for World Peace What the League of Nations was "'Si United Nations has done: undertaken collect ive sjcuyy ?o P For the first time in history there is "fl -in Korea, and it is under the aegis of the United Mtions The United States is acting in Korea as a member o v Nations and because of United Nations action, dimaUcallyjtaKen i ! Mi within 18 hours after Secretary-General Secretary-General Trygve Lie first made his before-dawn calls to delegates and secretariat personnel to get on the job that Sunday, June 25. The American Association for the United Nations points to the temptation on the part of some to speak of the Korean conflict in terms of a United States rather than a United Nations action. It is an effort on the part of the UN to stop a clear-cut case of aggression by the North Korean government on the Republic of Korea. It is an effort which has received the support sup-port of more than 40 nations of the world. It is an effort under the United Nations blue and white flag and under a commander appointed through the UN. The UN Security Council asked the U. S. to appoint a chief of the forces fighting under the UN flag. Gen. Douglas MacArthur has been appointed. The Council also asked for periodic reports from the U. S. As a U. S. soldier, he is responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, President Presi-dent Truman, at the same time that as commander for UN forces, he is responsible to the UN Security Council too. Ambassador Warren R. Austin, Aus-tin, Chief United States delegate dele-gate to the United Nations who introduced the historie resolution resolu-tion calling for United Nations poliee action in Korea. Assembly in which there is no veto could have been called into special session and member nations na-tions could have taken steps toward collective international action much as has been done. The United Nations Na-tions Charter provides for collective action inArticle 51, which makes possible individual or collective self-defense against armed attack. Ambassador Warren R. Austin, Aus-tin, chief U.S. delegate to the UN, has indicated that the efforts ef-forts for international action "may well have been a turning point In man's struggle for means to unite bis strength against aggressors, to rally effective ef-fective defense for the principles of peace." The independence of Korea has been a United Nations matter since September 17, 1947. Korea, formerly former-ly a part of the Japanese Empire, was surrendered to the Allies at the end of World War II, that area north of the 38th parallel to Russian troops and that, south of the 38th parallel, to the troops of the U. S. After the Korean elections, the UN General Assembly renewed re-newed its Commission in Korea to try to bring about unification, unifica-tion, observe withdrawal of troops and be available for consultation con-sultation as the Koreans needed it in solidifying their government. govern-ment. The Commission was not successful in its efforts, and was not able to go north of the 38th parallel to make observations. observa-tions. It was able, however, to report removal of U. S. occupation occupa-tion forces from Southern Korea Ko-rea on June 29, 1949, and it was renewed, with stronger powers by the General Assembly in October 1949. The Commission was therefore on the scene and operating as it could in the turmoil tur-moil and uncertainties of a neophyte neo-phyte nation divided by two ideologies when the attack came. It verified the fact that North Korea had committed an act of aggression. UN Problem Since '47 There followed the setting up of a commission, of U. S. and Russian representatives, to look into the matter and make recommendations, recommenda-tions, in consultation with Korean representatives, for forming a Korean Ko-rean government. The commission, after several attempts, was deadlocked dead-locked on all major issues of the problem. In August of 1947, the U.S. proposed that the Korean situation sit-uation be referred to the four signers sign-ers of the agreement reached at Moscow (China had subsequently endorsed this agreement). China and Great Britain agreed; Russia objected, so the U. S. submitted the Korean problem to the United Nations Na-tions General Assembly in September Septem-ber 1947. United Effort Within 18 hours after Ambassador Gross (Ernest Gross, deputy U. S. representative to UN) called Trygve Lie in the middle of the night to request a meeting of the Security Council, the United Nations Na-tions had acted. It was this resolution resolu-tion (of the UN) which enabled President Truman to make his historic his-toric decisions. "The events that have followed have been the most inspiring 1 have witnessed in my career as the Representative of the United States at the United Nations. If proof ever were needed of the vitality vi-tality of the United Nations, this situation has provided it. If proof ever were needed of the strength of United States support for United Nations principles, this situation has provided that also. There was prolonged discussion in the Assembly of the question, and one proposal after another was submitted on the matter of holding elections and withdrawing troops from both the Southern and Northern North-ern sections. Basically, Russia wanted Korean representatives to sit in on the Assembly discussions. The United States maintained that consultations should take place in Korea itself as only an election, observed ob-served by a UN commission, could prove who the elected representatives representa-tives of Korea would be. Finally, the U. S. argued that elections should be held before discussion of withdrawal of troops was undertaken under-taken as the Soviet had suggested. The U. S. view was upheld by a majority. Russia then refused to participate in the work of the UN Commission established to facilitate facili-tate the elections and withdrawal of occupation troops. After months of preparation, the UN commission supervised an elec- "But perhaps most significant signifi-cant of all has been the manner in which the vast majority of the member nations have rallied ral-lied to the call of the Security Council for assistance to the Republic Re-public of Korea. The Organization Organiza-tion of American States, speaking speak-ing for 21 nations, adopted by acclamation a resolution endorsing en-dorsing the action of the Security Se-curity Council. Many of the Latin-American states have buttressed but-tressed this collective expression expres-sion of their solidarity with individual in-dividual messages of support. "India and Pakistan, the largest free nations in Asia, have endorsed the action taken by the United Nations. Na-tions. Moving evidence of the particular par-ticular concern of the smaller nations na-tions for the success of United Nations Na-tions action against aggression has come from 'ihailand. Unable to contribute armed forces, Thailand has expressed its willingness to provide foodstuffs, such as rice. tion in South Korea on May 10, 1948. Meanwhile, a Democratic People's Republic of Korea had been set up in Northern Korea and was recognized by the Soviet Union Un-ion in October 1943. The Government Govern-ment of the Republic of Korea (South) was recognized by the UN General Assembly as the only legitimate legit-imate government of Korea. This government was recognized by the United States in January 1U49, as well as by France, Great Britain, the Philippines and others, and applied ap-plied for membership in the UN. It ! was rejected because while the vote 1 in the Security Council was 9 to 2 in ' favor, the veto of Russia a perma- i r.ent member obtained. j "The nations which have announced an-nounced their support for the action ac-tion now under way in Korea under un-der the aegis of the United Nations, have forcefully expressed their conviction con-viction that this issue is not between be-tween two power blocs, but between be-tween an aggressor and the United Nations. This magnificent collective collec-tive response is the world's best hope that peace will be restored and maintained." Unification Unsuccessful Here it might be well to point out that even if Russia had been attending at-tending the Council meetings after the invasion of South Korea, the veto would not necessarily have paralyzed UN action. The General 1 |