Office of the Historian

RSC Lot 60 D 224: D 1–p

Draft United States Proposals for Trusteeship54

[San Francisco,] April 26, 1945.

Chapter—

Arrangements for International Trusteeship

  • (Note 1: This draft deals with principles and mechanism only and makes no assumption about the inclusion of any specific territory.)
  • (Note 2: If this draft is to be included as a chapter of the Charter of the Organization, the relevant paragraphs and clauses of the Charter would require revision in order that they might be brought into harmony with the trusteeship provisions.)
1.
The Organization should establish under its authority a system of international trusteeship for the administration and supervision of such territories as may be placed thereunder by subsequent agreement.
2.
The basic objectives of the trusteeship system should be’: (a) to further international peace and security (b) to promote the political, economic, and social advancement of the trust territories and their inhabitants and their progressive development toward self-government; and (c) to provide for non-discriminatory treatment in trust territories with respect to the economic and other appropriate civil activities of the nationals of all member states.
3.
The trusteeship system should apply only to such territories in the following categories as may be placed thereunder by means of trusteeship arrangements: (a) territories now held under mandate; (b) territories which may be detached from enemy states as a result of this war; and (c) territories voluntarily placed under the system by states responsible for their administration. It would be a matter for subsequent agreement as to which territories would be brought under a trusteeship system and upon what terms.
4.
The trusteeship arrangement for each territory to be placed under trusteeship should be agreed upon by the states directly concerned and should be approved as provided for in paragraphs 7 and 8 below.
5.
The trusteeship arrangements in each case should include the terms under which the territory will be administered.
6.
There may be designated, in the trusteeship arrangement, a strategic area or areas which may include part or all of the territory to which the arrangement applies.
7.
All functions of the Organization relating to strategic areas, including the approval of the trusteeship arrangements and their alteration or amendment, should be exercised by the Security Council.
8.
The functions of the Organization with regard to trusteeship arrangements for all other areas should be exercised by the General Assembly.
9.
In order to assist the General Assembly to carry out those functions under the trusteeship system not reserved to the Security Council, there should be established a Trusteeship Council which would operate under its authority. The Trusteeship Council should consist of specially qualified representatives, designated (a) one each by the states administering trust territories: and (b) one each by an equal number of other states named for three-year periods by the General Assembly.
10.
The General Assembly, and under its authority, the Trusteeship Council, iii carrying out their functions, should be empowered to consider reports submitted by the administering authorities, to accept petitions, to institute investigations, and to take other action within their competence as defined by the trusteeship arrangements.
11.
The administering authority in each trust territory within the competence of the General Assembly should make an annual report to the General Assembly upon the basis of a questionnaire formulated by the Trusteeship Council.

  1. Text of this draft (D 1–p, the 16th draft of United States proposals for trusteeship made since the beginning of interdepartmental consideration early in 1945) was adopted by the United States delegation at its nineteenth meeting, April 26, 8:40 p.m.; after clearance by telegraph with the War and Navy Departments copies were transmitted to the Acting Secretary of State in telegram 9, April 27, and to President Truman in memorandum of May 1, neither printed.

    With the omission of Note 2, this document is the same as that submitted to the Conference at midnight, May 5 (Doc. 2, G/26 (c), UNCIO Documents, vol. 3, p. 607).

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