UN General Assembly
1962

206. Indonesia is one of the many Member States which have taken upon themselves the obligation to help sustain the costs of the United Nations peace-keeping operations. In the course of the previous session, Indonesia made it quite dear that it believes the idea of collective responsibility for peace-keeping operations of the United Nations should be upheld. However, my Government was not in favour of the Assembly's resolution [1731 (XVI)] to request the opinion of the International Court of Justice, since we entertained some doubts as to the usefulness of this step. Now that the Court's opinion [A/5161] is actually before the Assembly, we wonder whether an uncompromising attitude on the part of those who would like to see it enforced can help to bring about a desirable solution of this difficult issue. Should the Assembly be persuaded to pass a resolution supporting the opinion, would it then also be prepared to deprive several Member States of their right to vote? My delegation feels that such action would only create ill-feeling, without in fact taking us anywhere near our objective. We do not presume to offer the Assembly an answer to the problem. But, as we have an open mind and are fully aware of the urgency of the financial difficulties confronting our Organization, we will support any effort that seems to promise a just solution.