United Nations — one of the latest ideas for marking the 40th anniversary of the United Nations is to have President Reagan wield the gavel over a special commemorative session of the U.N. Security Council in October.

Next to Reagan along the horseshoe shaped table of the 15nation council would sit such top world personalities as Soviet President Andrei Gromyko, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, French President Francois Mitterrand and Chinese President Li Xiannian.

And the 10 nonpermanent members would also be represented at the highest level, either by a president or prime minister. They are Australia, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), Denmark, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Soviet Ukraine.

It would be pure show, of course, with little chance of any serious business being transacted.

“But it would look nice,” said one diplomat whose country serves on the council. “Especially if all five of the big veto holding powers is represented at the high set level.”

The man who is working hard to bring about this commemorative session is Soviet Ambassador Oleg Troyanovsky, who is president of the Security Council for August.

Since he returned from consultations in Moscow two weeks ago, he has been busy talking about this to the council’s other 14 members and to U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.

Troyanovsky refused to disclose if Gromyko will come to New York for the fall U.N. session, but diplomatic sources said the ambassador is dropping hints that the former Soviet foreign minister would show up in his new capacity as head of state if the leaders of the other big powers also appear.

On the other hand, the sources said, it is almost certain that Soviet party leader Mikhail Gorbachev will not make an appearance at the United Nations this year.

Why would Reagan be in the chair of the Security Council commemorative rather than Gromyko? October is the month when, under the alphabetical calendar rotation, the presidency of the U.N. Security Council this year falls on the United States. Besides, the United States is the host country of the world organization.

October 24, 1945, is United Nations Day, the date when the U.N. Charter took effect. The 40th anniversary celebrations in the 159nation General Assembly will be brought to a climax on that date this year, a Thursday.

The ideas are to have this followed the next day with the special summit session of the Security Council.

As of now, some 50 heads of state have notified U.N. protocol they would attend the 40th anniversary assembly, but the leaders of the big five powers have not yet done so.

Among other contemplated 40th anniversary activities are efforts by Perez de Cuellar to have leaders from a dozen nonmember states address the fall session of the General Assembly along with the 159 U.N. members.

 

These are such European principalities and republics as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino, and such Pacific islands as Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu.

But among these nonmember states are also north and South Korea, Switzerland and the Vatican. The Holy See has already announced that its secretary of state, cardin: Agostino Casaroli would address the assembly.

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 16, 1985