Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, General; the United Nations, Volume I

IO Files:USGA/Ia/Exec Off/2²⁸

Minutes of Meeting of Executive Officers of the United States Delegation, London, January 16, 1946, 9 a. m.

London, January 16, 1946, 9 a.m.

secret

Check List of Points Raised and Action Taken

[Here follows brief commentary on first point under discussion.]

2. It was pointed out that the Journal²⁹ summary of the WFTU³⁰ discussion in the General Committee was unsatisfactory. The basic issue had been whether the WFTU should be invited to speak before the General Assembly, Kuznetsov (U.S.S.R.)³¹ spoke on behalf of the-WFTU as well as in the role of a Soviet Delegate taking the position that the desires of WFTU were clearly set forth in their letters to Mr. Jebb.³² The Secretariat had been of the opinion that no action should be taken until the WFTU clarified its demands.³³ A long discussion took place on inviting the WFTU to appear before the General Committee. The debate was primarily a struggle between the U.K. and the U.S.S.R. … Mr. Spaak³⁴ was indecisive. Mr. McNeil³⁵ of the United Kingdom carried the discussion with vigor and aggressiveness, and more than covered the points which the United States Delegation felt should have been made. The Genera! Committee finally took the position, with the Russians agreeing, that a General Committee subcommittee should meet with a WFTU delegation and make a recommendation concerning the relationship of that body to the General Assembly but not the relationship of the WFTU to ECOSOC. The General Committee would then examine the report of the subcommittee and the Committee itself could invite the WFTU to appear before it but such action could not be taken by an individual Delegate.

[Here follow further brief comment on this question and discussion of other items pending before the United States Delegation at this time.]

28. Short title for the master files of the Reference and Documents Section of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State.
29. United Nations, Journal of the General Assembly, First Session. As the Journal was subsequently discontinued, all citations are rather to the permanent official records which were then adopted and which incorporated retroactively the earlier verbatim record of the Journal in the case of the General Assembly itself and a summary record of the Journal for the Committees of the General Assembly, in this case of the General Committee. The meeting of the General Committee in this instance was that of January 15, 10:30 a.m. The reader should refer to United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, First Session, First Part, General Committee, p. 2. (Hereafter cited as GA(I/1), General Committee.)
30. The historical background of the World Federation of Trade Unions is described in an enclosure to the communication cited in footnote 33, p. 500.
31. Vassilii V. Kuznetsov, Soviet delegate on the General Committee.
32. Mr. H. M. Gladwyn Jebb who was serving in a temporary capacity as Executive Secretary of the United Nations pending the election of the Secretary-General; the “letters” referred to here consisted of a communication dated December 13, with enclosure, from the Secretary-General of the WFTU, Mr. Louis Saillant, to the President of the Preparatory Commission which sat in London in late 1945, preceding the General Assembly; see GA(I/1), General Committee, pp. 33 ff, annex 2, As the letter arrived too late for consideration by the Preparatory Commission, and the objectives of the Federation stated therein were not deemed by Mr. Jebb to be sufficiently clear for consideration by the General Assembly, a certain confusion existed at this time as to the nature of the WFTU request.
33. For a second letter written sent by the WFTU see footnote 37, p. 503.
34. Paul-Henri Spaak, President of the General Assembly.
35. Hector McNeil, British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Alternate Delegate on the British Delegation to the General Assembly.