800.42/11–2844: Airgram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received December 8—4 p.m.]
A–1419. Reference Department’s instruction No. 4409, August 10. Following letter and enclosure were received today from the British Foreign Office:
“No. LC 768/10/453. 25th November, 1944. My dear Ambassador: I am writing on behalf of Mr. Eden to express his deep regret that the Foreign Office should have delayed so long in replying to your letter of the 18th August about the tentative draft constitution for a United Nations Organization for Educational and Cultural Reconstruction. We should welcome an exchange of views, in which the Minister of Education (of whose interest in the matter you are aware) would participate, on the detailed amendments of the original draft which you and we might wish to propose.
“We are, however, in complete agreement with the general trend of your proposed modifications, and in order to accelerate the next stage towards the establishment of the new organization—the discussion which is to take place as soon as 20 Governments have expressed their views on the tentative draft—we suggest that it might be helpful if we were both, without further delay, to accept the project in principle on the lines of the enclosed draft memorandum.
“There would seem to be no need to consult any other Governments before doing this, though it might be wise to inform the Russian and [Page 980] Chinese observers on the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education, and the French representative, of our intended action.
“Yours sincerely, (signed) Alexander Cadogan30
“His Excellency, The Honourable John Gilbert Winant, United States Embassy, 1, Grosvenor Square, W.1.
Memorandum
“His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom accept in principle the project for a United Nations Organization for Educational and Cultural Reconstruction as set forth in the tentative draft constitution, on the understanding that
- “(1) they intend to propose a number of amendments to the draft when it comes before the meeting foreshadowed in the explanatory note which was circulated with it to the Governments;
- “(2) the immediate task of the proposed Organization will be to promote practical and concrete measures to meet the urgent educational needs of liberated territories;
- “(3) as regards other fields of educational and cultural cooperation, the activities of the proposed Organization will be directed to the preparation of plans for the establishment of a continuing organization.”
The Embassy would appreciate an instruction as to whether the exchange of views to which the British Government has acceded should be undertaken immediately or whether it should await the return of Mr. Kefauver to London.
- British Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.↩