UN condemnation of British actions in the "Buraimi Dispute"

United Nations General Assembly. The Buraimi Dispute. A Summary of Facts Regarding British Seizure of Territory in Southeastern Saudi Arabia After Terminating Arbitration Proceedings for a Peaceful Settlement.

€ 3,500.00

United Nations report on the situation in the Buraimi Oasis after British military occupation in 1955, following the unilateral abrogation of the arbitration proceedings. Essentially an attack on British policy, the report claims that protecting oil interests was the primary concern of the UK government, concluding with a chronology of events from 1744 to 19 December 1955, when Abdel Rahman Azzman, Agent of Saudi Arabia, accused the United Kingdom at a U.N. press conference of directing the Sultan of Muscat to attack the sovereignty of Oman. The map indicates southern boundary claims, areas in dispute, and places seized by British-led forces.

The Buraimi Dispute was an early source of tension between Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Abu Dhabi (then a Trucial Sheikhdom), as well as their respective American and British oil backers. In 1949 the Saudis first laid claim to the Buraimi area, believed to be rich in oil deposits, backed by the American company Aramco. A small invasion force occupied the territory in 1952, claiming the oasis for Saudi Arabia, and the "Buraimi Dispute" made global headlines. A joint expedition of TOS forces from Abu Dhabi and the Sultan's forces from Sohar began to advance on Buraimi, but the Saudis withdrew due to international pressure. As a result of British arbitration, a Saudi police post was permitted to be established in the oasis in 1954. The following year arbitration broke down, and Britain encouraged the forces of Abu Dhabi and Oman to expel the Saudi police, which was effected without major incident. The dispute had progressively wider ramifications for deteriorating British oil interests in Saudi Arabia, and Emir Faisal, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, took the conflict as an attack on the Arab League.