501.AA/6–1146: Telegram
The Acting United States Representative at the United Nations (Johnson)87 to the Secretary of State
secret
New York, June 11,
1946—3 p.m.
[Received June 11—2:28 p.m.]
[Received June 11—2:28 p.m.]
302. Reurtel No. 84, June 5.88 Following suggestions are submitted concerning the establishment and organization of the Membership-Committee of the Security Council:
- 1.
- We believe that July 17 would be the most suitable date for the Membership Committee to convene since the presidency of the Security Council will change on that date. If agreeable, I suggest that we informally indicate this view to the Secretariat. If it were decided that the chairmanship of the Committee should rotate with the Council presidency, the chairman would be a representative of the Netherlands.
- 2.
- While we agree in principle that the Committee chairmanship might rotate with the Council presidency, we believe that since the Committee would be in session for a maximum of 6 weeks (unless a question arises during the meeting of the General Assembly), it would be unnecessary to provide for a change in the chairman on August 17. If you concur with this view, may we be authorized to discuss it informally with the other delegations, particularly the Netherlands and Poland?
- 3.
- The composition of the Committee is, of course, a matter for the individual members of the Council to decide for themselves, since the US resolution on membership provides that the Committee is to be “composed of a representative of each of the members of the Security Council”. In this connection a letter was received from the Secretary General on June 10 which stated in part as follows: “I have the honour to request that you communicate to me, before 1 July 1946, [Page 393] the name of your representative on the Committee to be constituted pursuant to the Security Council’s resolution of 17 May 1946.”
- Because of the political importance which may attach to the deliberations of this Committee I feel that each delegation should appoint its deputy representative or a person occupying a relatively high position. Unless the Department objects, I shall indicate this view to the other delegations, and also inform the Secretary General that I shall be the United States representative. After the Committee commences its consideration of the applications, circumstances may require that I assign another member of the delegation to act in my stead. If this is necessary, I shall, nevertheless, continue to follow the work of the Committee very closely because of its importance.
- 4.
- With regard to the procedure to be followed by the Committee
in examining applications for membership, it is believed that:
- (a)
- Applications should be examined individually in the chronological order of their receipt. (This would mean that the application of Albania would be the first to be considered by the committee.)
- (b)
- The Committee should examine each application in order to determine whether the applicant state has conformed with the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Charter.
- (c)
- The Committee should take into account any written or oral testimony relating to the qualifications of the state seeking membership which members of the United Nations desire to submit for consideration.
- (d)
- The Committee should report its conclusions to the Council not later than August 1 in accordance with the US resolution. It would be preferable to have the report cover the Committee’s findings on all of the applications; however, we see no reason for insisting that a single report, rather than individual reports on each of the applications, be submitted, provided the latter are submitted simultaneously.
The report should be as brief as possible but in such form as to prevent any superfluous discussion in the Council.
Johnson