Assembly 24.

1. The following comments are offered on the agenda item regarding
new members. This item will be raised in report by the Security
Council containing recommendation for admission of Afghanistan,
Sweden and Iceland and summary of Security Council proceedings.

The Soviet will probably attempt to limit discussion in Committee
No. 1 to acceptance of the Council's recommendation but it is
clearly open to the Assembly to discuss all parts of the report
including rejected applications, the grounds on which Russia
exercised veto [1], and procedures for admission of new members.

It would also be theoretically possible for the Assembly to pass a
resolution asking the Security Council to reconsider any or all of
the rejected applications.

2. The Australian line in Security Council has been previously
reported to you. [2] We submit that our Delegation would require
instructions on-
(a) Whether Australia will raise the general question of procedure
under Article 4 giving initiative to the Assembly and if so, how
our objective can be achieved. One method might be to request the
Security Council's Committee of Experts to meet the Assembly's
Standing Committee on Procedures to work out rules acceptable to
both organisations. We are still in a minority of one in the
Security Council regarding the procedure of admission and even if
we could induce the Assembly to accept a resolution asserting
Assembly initiative, that resolution alone would not change the
procedure.

(b) Whether we should support any move to ask the Council to
reconsider rejected applications and if so which applications.

(c) Whether we should use the occasion to criticize the Soviet
application of veto or reserve this example for use in general
veto debate.

(d) Whether we should vote to accept the recommendation for
Afghanistan, Sweden and Iceland.

3. Hitherto on instructions we have abstained from all votes and
reserved our position completely.

4. If it is intended to make an issue in the Assembly of the
Australian move on correct procedure for admission, the Mission
would appreciate early advice with a view to making soundings.