Problems for the Assembly
The Second Assembly of the United Nations, which opens on Tuesday in New York, ought to be an occasion of the first import- ance. It may possibly prove to be that, but in prospect it is overshadowed by other gatherings, like the Paris Conference or even the meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organisation at Geneva, which seem at the moment to touch the world's needs more closely. Theoretically, the United Nations Assembly should be the most notable international conclave of each year, attended as it is by the delegates from over fifty Governments and dealing as it can with any question of international interest in the world. From this month's meeting Mr. Bevin and M. Molotov will be absent, and Mr. Marshall, the United States Secretary of State, will be the dominating figure. Much routine business, such as the adoption of the budget and the admission of new members, will have to be carried through, and several-questions that are either inscribed on the agenda or will inevitably come up in the general discussion— notably Greece, Palestine, the use of the veto, and disarmament— promise to give rise to both lively and lengthy debates. One of the great failures of the League of Nations was in regard to the reduction of armaments, and so far the United Nations has given no sign of any better success. Russia has been the obstacle to agree- ment on disarmament generally, and on control of atomic energy in particular. She may find it more difficult to justify her action in an Assembly of fifty nations than in the more restricted debates of the Security Council and the Atomic Energy Commission.
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