840.48 Refugees/1101: Telegram.
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson)
782. For Rublee. Your 1427, December 13, 5 p.m. We agree that the High Commissioner should have primary responsibility for dealing [Page 871] with the problems of transmigration and refugee camps and believe that it would be wise to leave this field to him.
With respect to negotiations with the countries of settlement, the respective mandates of the two bodies obviously cover much the same ground. We nevertheless wish to re-emphasize our desire that the work of the two bodies in this field should be closely coordinated and avoid duplication. You may wish to emphasize our position to Winterton and Emerson, and to express to the latter the hope that he will approach his task in a similar spirit. The proposed weekly meetings appear to afford a reasonable machinery for effecting close cooperation. This will not, of course, in any way lessen your responsibility for carrying out energetically the Committee’s mandate in this field.