Australian Government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally

Australian Government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally

278 Department of External Affairs to Australian Delegation, United Nations

Cablegram UNY461 CANBERRA, 6 December 1946

MOST IMMEDIATE SECRET

Your UN.902. [1]

Your reports do not indicate attitude which will be adopted at Plenary by United Kingdom, New Zealand and other Members of British Commonwealth. We can see no real objection to French- Brazilian [2] proposal particularly if amended in ways suggested in UN.890. [3] It would be most unfortunate to offend Indians by voting against unamended text merely because of relatively minor objections. You could abstain but voting for that text should not embarrass South Africa. As there will be no time to report on views of other members of British Commonwealth you should use discretion and if possible act with them in way which would be acceptable to Indians.

1 Dispatched 4 December, it had reported a request by India that Australia not vote in plenary session against the French-Mexican draft resolution (see Document 268, note 2) on the treatment of Indians in South Africa.

2 This presumably should read 'French-Mexican'.

3 Dispatched 3 December, it had reported that the United States and Sweden would co-sponsor an amendment to the French-Mexican draft calling for an International Court of Justice opinion on the jurisdiction aspect of the issue, and that the Australian delegation proposed to vote for the amendment but, if the amendment failed, against the draft resolution.

[AA:A1838/2, 852/10/2, i]

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