United Nations Security Council Resolution 39

United Nations Security Council Resolution 39 was adopted on 20 January 1948. The Council established a commission (made up of one member chosen by India, one chosen by Pakistan, and one chosen by the two existing members) to assist in the peaceful resolution of the situation in Kashmir.

UN Security Council Resolution 39
Map of Jammu and Kashmir
Date	January 20 1948
Meeting no.	230
Code	S/654 (Document)
Subject	The India–Pakistan question
Voting summary	9 voted for None voted against 2 abstained
Result	Adopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members	China  France Soviet Union United Kingdom United States
Non-permanent members	Argentina Belgium Canada Colombia  Syria Ukrainian SSR
← 38 Lists of resolutions 40 →

Resolution 39 passed with nine votes to none. The Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR abstained.^[1]

Functions of the commission

The commission established by Resolution 39 was dispatched to Kashmir to address the allegations made by India in a letter from 1 January and by Pakistan in a submission from 15 January.

Pakistan's allegations were wide-ranging, including that India was attempting to undo partition, committing a genocide against muslims in East Punjab, Delhi, and other areas, forcefully occupying Junagadh, had occupied Jammu and Kashmir through "fraud and violence", and had threatened Pakistan with direct military action.^[2]

Negotiations and aftermath

Resolution 39 was moved by Belgium as the President of the United Nations Security Council and headed by Philip Noel-Baker, the British Minister for Commonwealth Relations.^[a][3]

The British delegation sought to persuade India to accept an impartial administration in Kashmir under the United Nations (UN). The administration was to be led by a neutral chairman, and Kashmir was to be under a joint military occupation led by a neutral commander-in-chief, both appointed by the UN. These efforts were not supported by the United States.^[4][5][6] No move was made to create the commission until after the passage of Resolution 47.^[7] Eleven weeks passed before the commission was formed and dispatched to the Indian subcontinent.

Josef Korbel, a diplomat representing Czechoslovakia, criticized the United Nations' delay in forming the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan. He argued that the political and military situation in Kashmir had changed drastically between January and April 1948.^[8]

It was later discovered that Pakistan's failure to nominate a representative to the commission contributed to the delay.^[9]

See also

• United Nations Security Council Resolution 38
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 51
• List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1 to 100 (1946–1953)

Notes

1. Ankit, Britain and Kashmir (2013, p. 278) quotes Noel-Baker stating "The fact that Van Langenhove is largely guided by us is not known... and we take every precaution to ensure that it is not known."