General Assembly

The third special session of the General Assembly, summoned by the Secretary-General to consider “the grave situation in Tunisia obtaining since 19 July 1961,” was held from August 21 through 25, 1961. In his opening statement to the Assembly the Tunisian delegate, Mongi Slim, outlined events leading up to the crisis of July 19 when as a normal exercise of its sovereignty the Tunisian government decided to prohibit formally flights over its territory by any French aircraft and announced that aircraft which violated this prohibition would be shot down. Shortly after the notification of this prohibition, French aircraft began to fly over the Bizerta region, and, disregarding the warning shots directed against them, launched an assault, in which paratroopers and warships later joined. Furthermore, Tunisia had complied with the interim resolution adopted by the Security Council on July 22 calling for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of all armed forces to their original positions, whereas France, in open defiance of the Security Council and of the Tunisian government, had availed itself of the Tunisian compliance by extending its perimeter of occupation and by strengthening its military potential. Mr. Slim called preposterous the French argument that its actions were in self-defense, stating that the peaceful demonstrations of the Tunisian people on Tunisian territory could not possibly have prejudiced the political independence and territorial integrity of France. Thus, since all of Tunisia's attempts to enter into negotiations with a view to the peaceful settlement of the armed conflict and the evacuation of the French base at Bizerta had been in vain, Tunisia's only course of action, other than to submit to brutal force, was to appeal to the United Nations. In closing, Mr. Slim emphasized that the problem before the Assembly had a two-fold aspect: 1) the right of Tunisia to call for the swift withdrawal of all French troops from her soil, which touched upon the Organization's responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security; and 2) the refusal of France to comply with the interim resolution of the Security Council. Thus, the question before the Assembly involved not only a conflict between France and Tunisia, but one between France and the UN as well.