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322 I MF LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
the members of the Council to vote on a draft resolution, prepared in
advance, on this question.
The resolution stated:

The Security Council,
^ Noting tcommunication from the Secretary-General to the Security

Noting the statements made by the representatives of Iran and the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in their letters to the
Secretary-General of 9 March 1970 and 20 March 1970, respectively,
1. Endorses the report of the Secretary-General's Personal Representa­
tive, which has been circulated to the Security Council, under cover of a
note from the Secretary-General, on 30 April 1970.
2. Welcomes the conclusions and findings of the report, in particular that
“the overwhelming majority of the people of Bahrain wish to gain
recognition of their identity in a fully independent and sovereign State free
to decide for itself its relations with other States".1
The above resolution was adopted unanimously by all the 15
members of the Security Council. It is significant that all the
representatives who attended the debate indicated their wish to
speak after, rather than before, the vote.2

The Role of the Secretary-General in the Bahrain Question
The method employed by the Secretary-General in exercising his
good offices mission to ascertain the wishes of the people of
Bahrain regarding Iran’s claim to their country has been considered
as a unique departure from United Nations customary practice.
This view was not shared, of course, by the then Secretary-General,
U Thant, who was at pains to prove that the exercise of his good
offices mission in the Bahrain problem was customary in the United
Nations practice. The controversy on this issue may be explained
below.
In his announcement on 28 March 1970, the Secretary-General
stated, inter alia:
“In response to approaches made to him in letters he has received from
the Governments of Iran and the United Kingdom, he has agreed to
exercise his good offices in a matter pertaining to Bahrain. In agreeing to
this, the Secretary-General has had in mind that actions such as this by the
Secretary-General at the request of Member States, have become
customary in United Nations practice and have proved to be valuable
means of relieving and preventing tension by a quiet approach in certain
situations which could be prolonged or aggravated by premature disclosure
and public debate”.
The announcement added the assurance that “the plan agreed

U.N. Document SI RES/278 (11 May 1970)
2. See U.N. Document, S/PV. 1536 pp. 7-10.