710 Consultation (3)A/444: Telegram
The Ambassador in Uruguay (Dawson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:49 p.m.]
1017. For Duggan from Spaeth. At today’s meeting which was attended by all members except the Argentine representative the formula and procedure described in my No. 977, of November 16 were unanimously approved. The following is a paraphrased translation of the most important paragraphs of the report as approved:
“The documents shall be made available only to the members of the Committee who act on behalf of the community of states which, breaking diplomatic relations with or declaring war against the Axis, have recognized that acts or [of] aggression, as defined by the pertinent resolutions of inter-American Conferences, have been committed against them, either individually or collectively, by the said Axis.
“The subcommittee recommends that the conclusions set forth above be approved as a provisional emergency measure to continue in effect so long as the circumstances in which said conclusions originate remain unchanged.
[Page 33]“In submitting these conclusions the undersigned subcommittee recommends that in the event of their approval they be communicated to the Pan American Union.”
With regard to the absence of the Argentine member the following facts are pertinent. Friday is the regular meeting day of the Committee. The agenda of today’s meeting was delivered to the Argentine Embassy 48 hours prior to the meeting and, in accordance with the regulations, a copy of the subcommittee’s report was delivered 24 hours prior to the meeting. Shortly before the meeting the Secretary General telephoned the Embassy to inquire whether Achaval70 was going to attend and was informed that the latter had been detained by important matters at the Foreign Office in Buenos Aires and that Escobar, the adviser to Achaval, would call on the Secretary General later in the day for information on the Committee’s action.
The member from Chile voted with the other five members without any reservation and without presenting a negative argument. This unqualified support from MacIver came as a surprise because when the proposal was discussed with him yesterday he emphasized its delicacy and indicated that he might present an alternative formula pursuant to which the documents would be made available only to those members who participated in the recent consultative visits. [Spaeth.]
- Guillermo Achaval was reported on July 3 to have succeeded Miguel Chiappe as the Argentine member of the Committee.↩