840.50/2424
The Norwegian Ambassador (Morgenstierne) to the Secretary of State
Excellency: I have the honour, on behalf of my Government, to acknowledge the receipt of the draft agreement for the constitution of a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, which was transmitted by the American Ambassador with a letter of the 10th June last.94
My Government have requested me to express to the American Government their great appreciation of the initiative taken. Next to the paramount consideration of winning the war and of liberating Norway and the Norwegian people from the German occupation and oppression, the task of providing, immediately upon the liberation of [Page 975] the country, for effective relief in the form of food and other necessary supplies for the population and of material for the rebuilding of the country, has been the foremost preoccupation of the Norwegian Government.
The Atlantic Charter, to which the Norwegian Government together with the other Allied Countries have adhered, gives expression to their mutual conviction that this war must not only result in the military defeat of the common enemies, but must also lead to a new international understanding ensuring freedom from want and from fear. The first step towards the realization of this objective must be to assure to the victims of the war and of enemy occupation their subsistence and immediate employment when victory is won. This assurance will give fresh hope to the populations of the occupied countries, and increase their will to resistance against the occupying power. The nationals of these countries, taking active part in the war effort outside their home countries, will also thereby receive further encouragement in their struggle.
The common effort uniting the Allied nations is a firm basis for their cooperation in the work of relief and reconstruction necessitated by the war. This immense task can only be performed by joint action. Each nation must, within the limits of its resources, make its contribution towards meeting urgent needs and adjusting the burdens laid upon them by the war.
In view of the restrictions which in the common interest have been laid upon the different countries with regard to their free purchases of post-war supplies, the Norwegian Government consider it to be of the greatest importance that an interallied organisation should be established which can ensure that the necessary supplies will be available when required. They are therefore fully prepared to participate in discussions with a view to establishing in detail the rules governing an organization such as proposed by the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China.
In thus accepting the main principles on which the proposed United Nations organization is based, the Norwegian Government desire to make the following observations with regard to some of the questions which in their opinion are of a special importance in this connection.
At the base of the proposed draft agreement lies the principle that a joint effort on the same lines from a great number of states is necessary for carrying out the work of relief and rehabilitation. At the same time the draft endeavours to find a form of organization by which the effective execution of practical measures is rendered possible. Two main questions of farreaching importance to future international cooperation are here involved.
- 1.
- The first of these questions concerns the sovereignty and the special interests of each particular country. The Norwegian Government [Page 976] have noted with satisfaction that the draft confirms that the national government of a country, only with the limitations imposed by actual hostilities or other military necessities, has the right of decision with regard to activities to be performed within its territory, and has the complete control of the carrying out of such activities.
- 2.
- The second main question is related to the special position and powers conferred upon the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China, as compared with the other participating countries.
In view of the fundamental importance of this latter question to the future international cooperation, the Norwegian Government find it necessary to observe that an agreement as proposed in the draft would establish a distinction between the four countries mentioned and the other countries which would be inconsistent with the principle of equality between states on which all international cooperation must be based. The Norwegian Government realize, however, the special position which certain countries in fact occupy in connection with questions of supplies because of their vast resources and the importance of their participating in the solution of these problems. They also realize that a change in the composition of the Central Committee by including representatives of other countries would not fully meet the demands of the interests involved in this principle. The Norwegian Government have, therefore, come to the conclusion that the said inconsistency should be corrected, partly by strengthening the Council as the supreme body of the Administration and the most representative organism of the interests concerned, and partly by extending the opportunities for the different member governments to participate in the discussion of actions of special interest to them. This may be done without reducing the efficiency of the Administration, which is of such great importance.
As regards possible additions to and alterations in the draft, the Norwegian Government wish to draw the attention to the following:—
(c) It is suggested that the Council should in all cases have power to discuss proposed measures of the kind referred to in Art. I, paragraph 2 (c) of the draft, and that, therefore, the following provision should be inserted at the end of the paragraph: “Such proposed measures may in all cases be taken up for discussion in the Council”.
(b) The Council alone should be empowered to admit new members, and it is therefore proposed that the words “or between sessions of the Council, by the Central Committee” in Art. II should be deleted.
(c) In Art. III, paragraph 3, the second phrase should be worded as follows:—“Between sessions of the Council, it shall exercise all the powers and functions thereof, except when expressly stated in this Agreement that a power or function is exercised by the Council alone”.
(d) The following provision should be inserted as the last phrase but one of Art. III, paragraph 3:—“The Government in question [Page 977] can itself propose that it be admitted to participate in the discussions of such actions in the Committee. In case of difference of opinion between the member government and the Committee as to whether such admission should be granted, the question may be referred to the Council for decision”.
(e) In Art. III, paragraph 4, the expression “member governments likely to be principal suppliers of materials for relief and rehabilitation” is understood to cover governments supplying services, as well as those supplying goods. This entails that also representatives of governments being principal suppliers of transport facilities will become members of the Committee on Supplies.
At the same time the services which overseas transports represent are of such decisive importance that, in the opinion of the Norwegian Government, a special permanent Committee should be established on the same lines as the Committee on Supplies, for considering questions related to such transports.
Both as regards the Committee on Supplies and the proposed Committee on Overseas Transports, provision should be made to the effect that the committees shall invite the participation of the representatives of any member government at those of the meetings at which action of special interest to such government in its capacity of important supplier of goods or services is discussed. Provisions corresponding to those mentioned under paragraph (d) above should also be added, giving the particular member government the power of proposing its own admittance to participation in the discussions, and of bringing the question before the council in case of difference of opinion.
The principle that the consumer interests shall be represented when the question of the provision of supplies is discussed, should further, in the view of the Norwegian Government, be applied, e.g. by the regional committees appointing members representing these interests to sit on the Committee on Supplies and on the proposed Committee on Overseas Transports.
(f) In Art. IV, paragraph 5, the following provision should be inserted after the second phrase of the paragraph:—“If the report affects the interests of a member government in such a way as to render it questionable whether it should be published, such government shall be given the opportunity of expressing its views on the question of publication”.
(g) The final provisions of the draft give no rules as to the formalities to be observed by a member government in case it should wish to terminate its membership of the Administration. It is thought that provisions covering this contingency ought to be included in the agreement.
Whatever the form finally given to the organization, the Norwegian Government deem it necessary to make the reservation that it should not be considered as a precedent for other international organizations which might be established during the war or later.
In making the above observations, my Government have instructed me to inform you that they are fully prepared to discuss informally with the American Government any question arising in connection therewith, and that they would be grateful to receive any comment which your Government might wish to make. In accordance with the [Page 978] suggestion made by the American Ambassador in his letter of the 10th June last, I have been authorized to represent the Norwegian Government in such informal discussions.
Accept [etc.]