SPA Files: Lot 54–D510, Box 20012
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Dependent Area Affairs (Bartlett)
[Washington,] December 1, 1946.
Mr. Gerig, who had just been talking with Mr. Cohen, stated that Mr. Cohen had had three suggestions to make regarding the method of presentation to the Security Council of the draft trusteeship agreement for the Japanese Mandated Islands. Mr. Gerig requested that Mr. Cohen’s suggestions be brought to the attention of Mr. Green.
- 1.
- It was Mr. Cohen’s recommendation that the formal presentation of the draft trusteeship agreement to the Security Council be postponed until after the General Assembly had acted upon the draft trusteeship agreements for non-strategic areas which are now being discussed in the Fourth Committee. He felt that to formally present the draft trusteeship agreement during the present discussion in Committee 4 would merely complicate its handling in the Security Council.
- 2.
- It was felt that Mr. Herschel Johnson’s primary responsibility should be to explain and defend the detailed provisions of the draft trusteeship agreement and that the general introductory statement introducing it to the Security Council should preferably be made by the Secretary himself or, if that were not possible, should be prepared in a way which would indicate that it was being submitted on behalf of the Secretary.
- 3.
- Mr. Cohen indicated that perhaps consideration should be given to the desirability of this Government’s acceptance in a certain degree [Page 693] of the USSR interpretation of Articles 82, 84, and 43 of the Charter of the United Nations. This Government might be prepared both in non-strategic and in strategic trusteeship agreements to provide for referral to the Security Council of proposals for military facilities within the area. If the Security Council should then refuse to approve such proposals there would be in effect no agreement regarding them. The administering authority would, in such a case, be left however with the overriding power of taking measures for self-defense of the territory and, in lieu of international measures tp maintain international peace and security, would be free, and indeed obligated to maintain the security of the trust territory as it saw fit.