Part II. Other matters considered by the Security Council

PROVISIONAl. RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE SECURITY COUNCIV7

JVorking languages of the Security Council

Resolution 263 (1969)
of 24· January 1969
The Security Council, Having considered the notes verbales of the Permanent Mission of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the United Nations (S/8967),~R and of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations (S/ 8968) ,28 Taking into account General Assembly resolution 2479 (XXIll) of 21 December 1968, which pointed out that the use of several languages by the United Nations could constitute an enrichment and a means of attaining the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations and that the General Assembly considers it desirable to include Russian and Spanish among the working languages of the Security Council, Decides to include Russian and Spanish among the working languages of the Security Council and, in this conncxion, to amend rules 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council, in accordance with the annex to the present resolution.
ANNEX
Re\'is<'<l h'xt of ru1<'s 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council
Rule 41
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish shall be the official languages of the Security Council, and English, French, Russian and Spanish the working languages.
Rule 42
Speeches made in one of the working languages shall be interpreted into the other working languages.
27 Resolutions or decisions on this question were also adopted in 1946, 1947 and 1950.
28 See Official Records of the Security Council, Twentyfourth Y car, Supplement for January, February and March 1969.

Rllle 43
Speeches made in the official languages shall be interpreted into the working languages.
Rllle 44
Any representative may make a speech in a language other than the official languages. In this case he shall himself provide for interpretation into one of the working languages. Interpretation into the other working languages by an interpreter of the Secretariat may be based on the interpretation given in the first working language.
Adopted at the 1463rd meet-
illg.29
Decision
At the 1463rd meeting, on 24 January 1969, the President made the following statement in connexion with the adoption of resolution 263 (1969) and of the annex attached to it containing a new wording of rules 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Council:
"The provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council deal with consecutive interpretation of statements into the working languages, and the revisions now made are the consequence of the decision to add Russian and Spanish to the working languages of the Council. The established practice of simultaneous interpretation of statements into all the official languages of the Security Council remains unchanged. In the li;;ht of subsequent experience of the practical effects of the decision to increase the number of its working languages, the Council may wish to consider at a bter stage whether any improvements in the practices of the Council could be made in order to enable it to carry out its tasks as effectively as po!;sible."
29 Adopted without vote.

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