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Documents on Canadian External Relations
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Volume #15 - 206. | |
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CHAPTER III UNITED NATIONS | |
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PART
2 GENERAL POLICY | |
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SECTION
E ISSUES BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS | |
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SUB-SECTION
IX TREATMENT OF INDIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA | |
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206. |
DEA/5600-40 |
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Secretary of State for External Affairs to Permanent Delegate to United Nations | |
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TELEGRAM 476 CONFIDENTIAL |
Ottawa,
May 15th, 1949 |
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Your No. 646 of May 14th †. Indians in South Africa. Following from Heeney. 1. The whole difficult problem has been reviewed here once more. After careful consideration of the draft contained in your telegram No. 646 and the reasons advanced in your telephone conversations with Holmes, I think in the circumstances you should not make any statement on the subject and that you should abstain from voting on the Indian resolution as a whole. 2. If the resolution is voted upon paragraph by paragraph, however, you should vote against (repeat against) the paragraph beginning, "is of the opinion that..." and abstain on all other paragraphs. 3. It is difficult to make a clear case on grounds of principle for either abstaining or voting against the Indian resolution, and we recognize that we may well be accused of inconsistency, whichever course we follow. But, on the whole, it seems to us that there are advantages in abstaining, and fewer disadvantages than in any other course. 4. Since your last telephone call, I have had a chance to consult the Minister, and he is satisfied that you should take the course outlined above. Message ends. | |
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