Sweet, Rare Unanimity

Not since December 1948, when the entire General Assembly got together to deplore genocide, had the U.N. agreed on an important political issue. One day last week it did. Members from 60 nations, the U.S. and Russia included, raised their hands in unanimous approval of a Brazilian resolution that 1) bars a U.N. debate on Korea for the time being, 2) gives U.N. negotiators at Panmunjom freedom to negotiate an armistice "consistent with United Nations principles and objectives." Twenty-four hours before, Russia's Andrei Vishinsky had been supporting a completely contrary resolution, a Polish catch-all that, in effect, would have reopened the Korean issue and brought it before the Assembly for debate. For 90 minutes he had sneered and snorted at the U.S. for "quibbling" and "stalling." Overnight the Poles withdrew their proposal, and Vishinsky, making a 180DEG turn with bland imperturbability, praised the Brazilian substitute as "good and appropriate . . . in the present circumstances." Sweet, rare unanimity thereupon prevailed for the first time on any matter involving the Korean war. The Assembly's Political Committee was so awed by what happened that it pattered applause. Pleased but unawed, U.S. Delegate Ernest Gross reminded his fellow delegates: "It is easier to compose a resolution than to compose differences."

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