Creation of a Special Committee on Palestine, General Assembly Resolution 106

The problems facing the General Assembly in connection with the commission of inquiry centered on its composition, the scope of its investigation and the role of the Great Powers. While the United States wanted to exclude the Great Powers, the Soviet Union argued for their inclusion. The Soviet delegate, Andrei Gromyko, asked that the commission consider immediate independence for Palestine. On 15 May 1947, the Assembly resolved to create an 11-nation committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). The Resolution was adopted by 47 in favour, 7 against (Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey) and one abstention (Thailand).

WHEREAS the General Assembly of the United Nations has been called into special session for the purpose of constituting and instructing a Special Committee to prepare for the consideration at the next regular session of the Assembly a report on the question of Palestine,

1. A Special Committee be created for the above-mentioned purpose consisting of the representatives of Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, India, Guatemala, Iran, Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, Uruguay and Yugoslavia;

2. The Special Committee shall have the widest powers to ascertain and record facts, and to investigate all questions and issues relevant to the problem of Palestine;

4. The Special Committee shall conduct investigations in Palestine and wherever it may deem useful, receive and examine written or oral testimony, whichever it may consider appropriate in each case, from the mandatory Power, from representatives of the population of Palestine, from Governments and from such organisations and individuals as it may deem necessary;

5. The Special Committee shall give most careful consideration to the religious interests in Palestine of Islam, Judaism and Christianity;

6. The Special Committee shall prepare a report to the General Assembly and shall submit such proposals as it may consider appropriate for the solution of the problem of Palestine;

7. The Special Committee's report shall be communicated to the SecretaryGeneral not later than 1 September 1947, in order that it may be circulated to the Members of the United Nations in time for consideration by the Second Regular Session of the General Assembly;

8. Requeststhe Secretary-General to enter into suitable arrangements with the proper authorities of any State in whose territory the Special Committee may wish to sit or to travel, to provide necessary facilities, and to assign appropriate staff to the Special Committee;

9. Authorisesthe Secretary-General to reimburse travel and subsistence expenses of a representative and an alternate representative from each government represented on the Special Committee on such basis and in such form as he may determine most appropriate in the circumstances.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 106

(May 15, 1947)