500.CC/3–2345: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)21
2267. The Department has received from the League of Nations, the Permanent Court of International Justice, the International Labor Organization, the Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture, and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration requests that they be invited to send representatives to the United Nations Conference at San Francisco. All these are inter-governmental organizations. There have also been formal and informal inquiries from non-governmental international organizations.
We believe that a clear distinction should be drawn between intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental international organizations. The latter should not be invited or encouraged to send representatives, but no obstacles would be placed in the way of their voluntarily sending representatives to San Francisco.
As regards inter-governmental organizations, the Department would appreciate being advised whether the other sponsoring governments would have any objection to this Government making arrangements for unofficial representation at San Francisco of the above named organizations. Such representation would be limited to not more than two or three persons for each organization. These are organizations which will eventually be liquidated or modified as a result of the creation of the proposed United Nations organization or which may be brought into formal or informal relationship with the new organization.
Please take this matter up with the Foreign Minister and inform the Department as promptly as possible of his views concerning this matter:
Repeated to Moscow and Chungking.22
- Marginal notation initialed by Mr. Grew: “Approved by the President”.↩
- Telegram’s 691 and 486, respectively. The Department was informed of the Chinese and the British concurrence in the proposal in telegram 525, March 28 from Chungking (500.CC/3–2845), and 3648, April 10, from London (500.CC/4–1045). In telegram 999, April 1, 1 p.m., from Moscow, Ambassador Harriman reported: “Molotov has written me under date of March 31 to effect that Soviet Government agrees to participation of non-official representatives of the inter-Governmental organizations set forth in Department’s 691, March 23, midnight at San Francisco Conference. … He concludes that Soviet Government also agrees with opinion of American Government that non-Governmental international organizations should not be invited to San Francisco Conference.” (500.CC/4–145)↩