Office of the Historian

341. Editorial Note

During the 742d meeting of the Security Council, which convened at 5:30 p.m. on October 13, the British and French Representatives introduced the following draft resolution:

“The Security Council,

“Noting the declarations made before it and the accounts of the development of the exploratory conversations on the Suez question given by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, France and the United Kingdom;

“Agrees that any settlement of the Suez question should meet the following requirements:

  • “(1) there should be free and open transit through the Canal without discrimination, overt or covert—this covers both political and technical aspects;
  • “(2) the sovereignty of Egypt should be respected;
  • “(3) the operation of the Canal should be insulated from the politics of any country;
  • “(4) the manner of fixing tolls and charges should be decided by agreement between Egypt and the users;
  • “(5) a fair proportion of the dues should be allotted to development;
  • “(6) in case of disputes, unresolved affairs between the Suez Canal Company and the Egyptian Government should be settled by arbitration with suitable terms of reference and suitable provisions for the payment of sums found to be due;

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“Considers that the proposals of the Eighteen Powers correspond to the requirements set out above and are suitably designed to bring about a settlement of the Suez Canal question by peaceful means in conformity with justice;

“Notes that the Egyptian Government, while declaring its readiness in the exploratory conversations to accept the principle of organized collaboration between an Egyptian Authority and the users, has not yet formulated sufficiently precise proposals to meet the requirements set out above;

“Invites the Governments of Egypt, France and the United Kingdom to continue their interchanges and in this connexion invites the Egyptian Government to make known promptly its proposals for a system meeting the requirements set out above and providing guarantees to the users not less effective than those sought by the proposals of the Eighteen Powers;

“Considers that pending the conclusion of an agreement for the definitive settlement of the regime of the Suez Canal on the basis of the requirements set out above, the Suez Canal Users’ Association, which has been qualified to receive the dues payable by ships belonging to its members, and the competent Egyptian authorities, should co-operate to ensure the satisfactory operation of the Canal and free and open transit through the Canal in accordance with the 1888 Convention.” (U.N. doc. S/3671)

During the discussion which followed, Iranian Representative Abdoh proposed that certain changes be made in the second half of the draft resolution. The British and French Representatives accepted the Iranian proposals. The 742d meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m., without a vote being taken. (U.N. doc. S/PV.742)

The Security Council continued its consideration of the British-French draft resolution at its 743d meeting, which convened at 9:30 p.m. that same evening. During the course of debate, Yugoslav Representative Popovic tabled an alternate draft resolution, which retained the first part of the British-French draft, but altered considerably the second half of the draft resolution. After further discussion, the British-French draft resolution was put to the vote in two parts. The first part, containing the preambular paragraph and the first operative paragraph, was adopted unanimously (S/3675); the second part, containing the last four operative paragraphs of the draft resolution, received a vote of nine in favor and two (the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia) opposed. Because of the Soviet veto, the second part of the draft resolution was not adopted. Subsequently, the Yugoslav Representative stated that he would not press for a vote on his draft resolution. (U.N. doc. S/PV.743)

For text of Dulles’ closing statement at the 743d meeting, see Department of State Bulletin, October 22, 1956, pages 615–617; and United States Policy in the Middle East, September 1956–June 1957, pages 116–119.