501.AA/8–2246: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Acting United States Representative at the United Nations (Johnson)
165. USdel. 1. In event your informal conversations on membership question do not result in securing adequate support for admission representative group of states, you should make initial statement in SC along following lines.25 We will send subsequently resolution26 in support of which this statement should be made.
From the inception of plans for the creation of the United Nations it has been clearly recognized that the organization should move toward universality of membership. In the world conflict which ended only a year ago, the several United Nations had a most vivid realization [Page 430] of the interdependence of all peoples and all parts of the world. That great coordinated effort, in which the forces of the various United Nations met the enemy throughout the world, was a lesson to all that took part in it. Now, with the memories of the fighting and the sacrifices already growing dimmer, it is necessary not to forget the fundamental lesson that the interdependence of the world demands its unity in efforts to ensure peace, that the talents and energies of all peoples must be united in an organized effort to this end. If they are not, those left out inevitably become a source of danger or at best an unused resource. If the United Nations is to be successful, no major state can be left out of it any longer than is absolutely necessary.
The conference at San Francisco created the Charter. In the first part of the first session of the Assembly, and the meetings of the other United Nations organs held in London at the time, the structure of the organization was substantially completed. We believe that one of the important constructive acts of the coming assembly meetings should be the logical next step—the expansion of membership to include all presently eligible applicants. The organization cannot afford to function any longer than is absolutely necessary without the cooperation of every qualified state. It should in its very first year seek as great universality as is possible. The General Assembly will not meet again this year after the coming session. It may not meet again for a full 12 months after that session. Unless favorable action is now taken by the Council on applications before it the organization must carry on for some time with a less representative membership than is necessary.
My Government proposes that the Council take broad and far-sighted action to extend the membership of the United Nations now, so far as is consistent with the provisions of Article 4 of the Charter. It accordingly proposes that the Council now recommend to the General Assembly the admission of all the present applicants. We do not disguise the fact that we have misgivings about some of the applicants, especially Albania and Outer Mongolia. Our doubts and questions with regard to these applicants were fully and clearly stated during the proceedings of the Membership Committee.
If there were among the present applicants an entity that was not a State in the international sense, or one that lacked the governmental powers or material means of carrying out the obligations of the Charter, we would not make this proposal. In order to accelerate the achievement of universality of membership we are prepared, on the basis we have suggested, to resolve the questions we have had as to the complete readiness of some applicants to assume the obligations of the Charter. Accordingly, the essence of our proposal is that the Council now, in a spirit of fair-mindedness toward all present applicants and [Page 431] in the best interests of the organization recommend that the Assembly admit them all to membership.
2. In event foregoing proposal fails of acceptance you should find opportunity prior to actual voting on individual cases to make statement27 along following lines:
- I must express the deep regret and grave concern of my Government over the rejection of what is, in our view, the fair and wise way to apply the Charter provisions as to membership. My Government is, however, determined to minimize the adverse results of such rejection to the fullest extent possible. It does not propose to agree to what is in its judgement an arbitrary use of power to bring about the rejection of clearly qualified applicants and the admission of doubtful applicants. That in our opinion would be contrary to the best interests of the United Nations.
The Membership Committee of the Security Council is established pursuant to the Rules of Procedure to provide a means for the examination of applications and report thereon to the Council. It was clearly contemplated that problems seen by the Members in connection with any application should be brought forward in the Committee, so that an opportunity would exist for clarifying, the issues and, if possible, removing doubts in advance of the formal proceedings in the Council.
The record of the proceedings of the Membership Committee leaves no room for doubt that the problems connected with the applications of Albania and Outer Mongolia were raised by my Government and others at the proper place and time—that is, during consideration of the applications by the Committee. The difficulties raised pertained directly to the qualifications of the two applicants as measured by the Charter. Since then, little has been brought forward by either of the two applicants or by the Permanent Member that so strongly sponsored their applications, to remove the grounds for our misgivings.
When the applications of Eire and Portugal were considered, no substantial questions concerning their qualifications under the Charter were raised by any Member. The Delegate of the Soviet Union merely stated that the Soviet Union could not support their admission. This attitude has been maintained although it has not been attended by any explanation, in terms of the Charter, of why the two States concerned are thought not to be qualified.
The United States firmly believes that in the admission of new members there should be no compromise with principles. The decision upon any application should be made according to the objective standards of Article 4 of the Charter. These requirements are that the [Page 432] applicant be a State in the international sense, that it be peace-loving and that it be, in the judgement of the organization, able and willing to carry out the obligations contained in the Charter. Whether or not a State qualifies for admission to membership depends upon its possession of those qualifications. It does not depend upon other considerations. It does not depend for example upon the existence of diplomatic relations with any particular Member. It is true that one of the most reliable evidences of statehood is the acceptance of the entity as a State by other States generally, its reception into the international community of States. But this is far from saying that the Charter justifies a Member in making its vote on an application depend on its own direct relations with the applicant’s Government.
It would be a manifest injustice and contrary to the best interests of the United Nations if Portugal and Eire, whose qualifications for membership have not been seriously challenged, should be rejected while two applicants concerning which such material doubts have been raised by a number of Members, should be recommended for admission. The result would be to make the membership of the United Nations unrepresentative of the qualified states of the world. The world will not understand why, in its first consideration of new members, the organization had chosen to admit the doubtful and reject the qualified. Such a precedent would be most unfortunate.
My Government must therefore propose that, in the circumstances, the Council not recommend at this time the admission of Albania and Outer Mongolia. We should dislike to cast an adverse vote. However, if other members insist upon bringing these two applications to a vote, we shall have to vote adversely on both applications.
I therefore move that the Council not take action at this time on the applications of Albania and Outer Mongolia.28
- The statement as delivered to the Security Council by Mr. Johnson at the morning session on August 28 followed this text closely; see SC, 1st yr., 2nd series, pp. 41 ff.↩
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Telegram 168, August 23, 4 p.m. The draft resolution read: “The Security Council having received applications for membership submitted to the Organization by Albania, the Mongolian People’s Republic, Afghanistan, Transjordan, Ireland, Portugal, Iceland, Siam and Sweden;
“Having pursuant to its rules of procedure and to its resolution of May 17, 1946 as amended, referred the above-mentioned applications to its Membership Committee for examination and report, and
“Having received and considered the Membership Committee’s report, which indicates that individual consideration has been given to each application
“Recommends to the General Assembly that it admit to membership the following applicants: [Here follows list of the above nine applicants].” (501.AA/8–2346). The resolution proposed to the Security Council by the United States on August 28 (morning session) was the same as the above except for the omission of Siam and changes in nomenclature; see SC, 1st yr., 2nd series, pp. 42 and 43.
↩ - The statement made to the Security Council by Mr. Johnson on the afternoon of August 28 was identical with this draft; see SC, 1st yr., 2nd series, pp. 54 and 55.↩
- Repeated to the Secretary of State at Paris as telegram 4286, Secdel 726.↩