Office of the Historian

320/8–2853

The Embassy in Belgium to the Belgian Foreign Ministry1

confidential
Brussels, August 15, 1953.

Excellency: I have the honor to refer to a statement recently made to me by Mr. Ryckmans, Honorary Governor General of the Belgian Congo, that your Government had decided to withdraw from the United Nations Special Committee on Information on Non-Self-Governing Territories and that notification to that effect was being sent to appropriate authorities of the United Nations.

In this regard, my Government has instructed me to bring to the attention of your Government the following views:

My Government intends to continue to participate in the work of the Committee on Information and feels deep concern over possible effects of your Government’s decision to withdraw at this time from this Committee. It is our view that the withdrawal from the Committee of a member nation which is responsible for administering a non-self-governing territory will upset the current balanced membership [Page 413] of the Committee and will thereby substantially diminish the possibility of obtaining in the Committee’s work during the forthcoming session moderate resolutions for presentation to the United Nations General Assembly. Therefore, my Government urges reconsideration regarding your Government’s participation in the Committee at least through the forthcoming session. Postponement of your Government’s withdrawal for this period of time would enable the question of the composition of the Committee to be reviewed in the General Assembly with a possibility that even should your Government subsequently withdraw, arrangements may be made so that membership of the Committee would continue to be balanced between nations with and without responsibility for administration of non-self-governing territories.

My Government is also presenting the above views to the Committee’s other member nations which administer non-self-governing territories.

Please accept [etc.]

  1. This note, which was intended for Paul van Zeeland, was an enclosure to despatch 242 from Brussels of Aug. 28, 1953, not printed. (320/8–2853)↩