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

501.BB/12–646

Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Special Political Affairs (Hiss) to the Under Secretary of State (Acheson)

[Washington,] December 6, 1946.

Mr. Dulles called me this morning and told me that he and Novikov had been named as a committee of two by Committee IV⁷⁹ to attempt to resolve the remaining outstanding differences on the subject of “states directly concerned”. Mr. Dulles said that he had met with Novikov and that he believes it may be possible to settle the issue on the basis of having the General Assembly direct those states submitting trusteeship agreements in the future to consult with the permanent members of the Trusteeship Council who will express an interest in the particular territory concerned and with other members of the United Nations especially interested in such territory. Mr. Dulles said that the Soviets do not wish a repetition of the procedure we followed with respect to our proposed agreement for the Japanese Mandates in which we published the agreement without prior consultation and announced our intention of presenting it promptly to the Council without inviting consultation in the interim. In particular they do not wish to have the United States propose a trusteeship for other Pacific Islands, such as Okinawa, without prior consultation. Mr. Dulles said that he has received express assurances the Soviets mean consultation when they say consultation and not a right of veto, i.e., they do not insist that we must reach agreement with them before submitting a trusteeship agreement in the future.

Mr. Dulles said that he had discussed this matter with the Secretary who had some anxieties as to whether the Navy might not feel that such a practice would commit us to discussions in which our ability to resist suggestions for revisions would be less than in a procedure where we first published our proposed text.

I told Mr. Dulles that his proposal seemed to me entirely consistent with the theory and practice which the Department itself had advocated to the mandatory powers last Spring and Summer. We had urged the mandatories to refuse to enter into formal agreements with countries claiming to be “states directly concerned”. Instead we urged them to consult any interested states. Mr. Dulles said that Mr. Cohen had expressed agreement with the proposal.

I talked with Captain Dennison who is the Navy’s chief representative on trusteeship matters. Captain Dennison’s offhand reaction was quite favorable. He said he thought that if we could get our basic principle agreed to that agreement of “states directly concerned” is not a condition precedent to submission of a trusteeship agreement we would be willing to commit ourselves to consultations prior to publication. He thought there were indeed some advantages to such consultation in as much as we would not “have to air our dirty linen in public”, i.e., some controversial points might be settled in the course of consultations. He said he assumed that the consultations would not involve organized meetings in which there would be voting. I told him that the consultation would be by diplomatic means but that it was quite possible that group discussions with representatives of interested states might be held. In any event there would be no voting as the consultations would not constitute any organized meeting. He seemed satisfied on this point.

Later in the afternoon Mr. Dulles sent word that with the Secretary’s approval he was taking up with Mr. Novikov a draft along the foregoing lines. Attached hereto is a copy of Mr. Dulles’ draft proposal. The first paragraph represents a slight revision of a statement which he made to the Committee yesterday after clearing with Mr. Cohen and with the Department (I took it up with the War and Navy Departments and with Mr. Hickerson and Mr. Dulles accepted our suggestions). The second paragraph represents the new proposal which Mr. Dulles is discussing with Mr. Novikov.

[Annex]

secret

Draft Memorandum Which Mr. Dulles is Discussing With Mr. Novikov

“All Members of the United Nations have had an opportunity in committee to present their views with reference to the terms of trusteeship now proposed to the General Assembly for approval. All member states which might be ‘states directly concerned’ within the meaning of Article 79 have either agreed in committee to the terms of trusteeship or have agreed to accept the terms approved by the General Assembly. There has, however, been no specification of ‘states directly concerned’ in relation to the proposed trust territories. Accordingly, the General Assembly in approving the terms of trusteeship does not prejudge the question of which states are or are not ‘directly concerned’ within the meaning of Article 79. It recognizes that no state has waived or prejudiced its right hereafter to claim to be a ‘state directly concerned’ in relation to any alteration or amendment of the trusteeship agreements now approved or in relation to any trusteeship agreements which may be subsequently proposed.

“As regards the procedure to be followed hereafter the General Assembly calls on member states which may initiate trust agreements in relation to territories (a) now held under mandate or (b) which may be detached from enemy states as a result of the Second World War in advance of submission to the General Assembly to consult with such permanent members of the Trusteeship Council as assert an interest in relation to the proposed trust territory and also to consult with any other member state which has a substantial distinctive relationship to the proposed trust territory. But nothing herein contained shall be deemed to imply that prior agreement on the part of such other states is a condition precedent to the submission to or approval by the General Assembly of terms of trusteeship.”

79. Reference should be made here to the two meetings of Sub-Committee 1 on December 5 (GA(I/2), Fourth Committee, Pt. II, pp. 170–185) at which the issue was joined on the opposing viewpoints regarding interpretation of the phrase “states directly concerned”. The Soviet Union was the principal spokesman for a group holding that the Charter required a determination of the states directly concerned in the negotiation of the trusteeship agreements and the concurrence of these states in the terms of the agreements. In the course of the discussion Mr. Dulles introduced a statement outlining the U.S. Delegation’s position along the lines of the memorandum of December 5, supra, and proposed that a small drafting sub-committee be constituted “to find a formula acceptable to all” ( ibid., p. 176). As no consensus was forthcoming on either the terms of reference or the composition of such a drafting sub-committee, the Chairman requested the representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union “to consult informally on the question and to report back to the next meeting of the Sub-Committee. …” ( ibid., p. 185).