Office of the Historian

845A.411/12–654: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the United States Mission at the United Nations1

confidential
priority
Washington, December 7, 1954—10:47 a.m.

Gadel 139. Re: Apartheid

On paragraph-by-paragraph vote 20-power resolution (Delga 344)2 [Page 1056] GADel should vote against operative paragraphs 4, 6 and 7, abstain on all other paragraphs and abstain on resolution as whole, making appropriate explanation of vote.3

Dulles
  1. Telegram drafted by Brown (UNP), approved by Key (IO), and cleared in substance by Jernegan (NEA) and Merchant (EUR).↩
  2. Dated Dec. 6, supra.↩
  3. On Dec. 8, 1954, the Representative of India, in behalf of the sponsors of the draft resolution, introduced a revised text, which incorporated several drafting changes. The Indian Representative also introduced an additional amendment, to be added as operative paragraph 8, which provided guidance for the replacement of Commission members when the General Assembly was not in session. During the vote which followed, the Committee rejected an amendment, by Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba, which would have deleted the fifth preambular paragraph; it then adopted the Indian amendment and the 20-power revised draft resolution, as amended. (Report of the Ad Hoc Political Committee, Dec. 11, 1954, UN document A/2857) On Dec. 14, the General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, as amended, in a paragraph by paragraph vote. The United States abstained on the resolution as a whole in both the Ad Hoc Committee and the General Assembly. For text of resolution 820 (IX), see Official Records of the General Assembly, Ninth Session, Supplement No. 21, UN document A/2890).↩