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United Nations Security Council Resolution 109

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UN Security Council
Resolution 109
Israel-Jordan border
DateDecember 14 1955
Meeting no.705
CodeS/3509 (Document)
SubjectAdmission of new members to the UN
Voting summary
  • 8 voted for
  • None voted against
  • 3 abstained
ResultAdopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members
Non-permanent members
← 108 Lists of resolutions 110 →

United Nations Security Council Resolution 109 was adopted on December 14, 1955. After being instructed by the General Assembly to consider the applications for membership of Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, and Spain, the Security Council recommended all 16 countries for admission to the United Nations.

The resolution was adopted by eight votes (France, Soviet Union, Great Britain, Brazil, Iran, New Zealand, Peru, and Turkey). Belgium, China and the United States abstained.[1]

Background

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The circumstances leading up to the adoption of Resolution 109 were described as a deadlock, resulting from the fact that certain UN applicants were supported by the Western Bloc and opposed by the Soviet Bloc, and vice versa.[2][3] In Particular, the Western bloc supported the admission of Italy, whereas the Eastern bloc supported the admission of Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.[4] The United States was the first to propose a resolution to the deadlock by considering the admission of potential member nations en bloc, or as a whole.[5] However, it was subsequently determined by the International Court of Justice that it was inadmissible to make member state admission dependent on extraneous requirements, including the simultaneous admission of other potential member states. As a result, the text of Resolution 109 ultimately read:

"...having considered separately the applications for membership of Albania, Jordan, Ireland, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Ceylon, Nepal, Libya, Cambodia, Laos and Spain, recommends to the General Assembly the admission of the above named countries to the United Nations."[4]

thereby complying with the I.C.J.'s determination while procedurally voting on membership at once.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Resolution 109: Admission of new Members to the UN". unscr.com. 14 December 1955.
  2. ^ Gross, Leo (Oct 1956). "Progress Towards Universality of Membership in the United Nations". The American Journal of International Law. 50 (4).
  3. ^ Pastorelli, Pietro. "ITALY'S ACCESSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION" (PDF). Ministry of European Affairs. Ministry of European Affairs. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b "PRACTICES RELATIVE TO RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGARDING THE ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS" (PDF). UN. United Nations.
  5. ^ U.N. Secretariat. "Memorandum on the historical background of the question of the admission of new Members : note / by the Secretary-General". UN Digital Library. United Nations. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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