UN membership

This file relates to the possible UN membership of Bahrain. It contains correspondence concerning:

• Discussions of the timing of the withdrawal of the UK from Bahrain, both in terms of responsibility for its foreign affairs and defence
• Related question of UN membership for Qatar, or its possible participation in the proposed Union of Arab Emirates with Bahrain and the Trucial States
• Dispute between Iran and Bahrain, over the Iranian claim to sovereignty over the latter; HM Embassy in Tehran’s report on the Iranian reason for preferring Bahrain’s independence rather than membership of a federation; the possibility of Iran referring the dispute to the Security Council; and the possibility of Iran dropping the claim if some face-saving measure is conducted, such as referral of the case to the International Court of Justice, with the Foreign Office Legal Advisor P J Allott’s report on this
• Question of the admittance of microstates to the UN and how this pertains to potential Bahraini entry. It includes: HMG’s discussions with the US Government over the admittance of microstates; Allot’s comments on the admittance of Bahrain to the UN from a purely legal standpoint; and the cancellation of the planned meeting of the Admissions Committee of the UN on microstates
• Conversation between the Political Agent in Bahrain A D Parsons and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa over the future of Bahrain, possible membership of the Union of Arab Emirates and the UN, the future relationship of Bahrain with HMG
• Question of coexistence in Bahrain post-independence between HMG’s military and legal presence and the apparatus of the independent state of Bahrain, with the question of foreign representation there in particular being a worry to HMG. It includes comparisons with the cases of Malta, Singapore and Malaysia, with the Agreement on Mutual Defence and Assistance between the UK and Malta 1964 included for reference
• Enquiries from Bahrain as to the mechanism of voting at the UN, and the support needed on the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly
• Election of Bahrain to associate member status of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); and the investigation into the reasons for certain abstentions in these votes, for example by India
• Political Resident in the Persian Gulf R S Crawford’s report on the future of Bahrain; and the Ministry of Defence’s comments