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

Department of State Disarmament Files⁶⁴

Memorandum Prepared in the Division of International Security Affairs

secret
SWNCC/MS UNO Doc. 28

[Washington,] June 5, 1946.

Regulation of Armaments

U.S. Commitments Under the United Nations as Guidance to Formulation of a Program⁶⁵

problem

1. To set forth U.S. commitments under the Charter of the United Nations as guidance in formulating a United States program for the regulation of armaments.

2. To recommend procedures by which the United Nations can meet its responsibilities in respect to the regulation of armaments.

facts bearing on the problem and discussion

(See Enclosure “A”)⁶⁶

conclusions

3. The United States and other permanent members of the Security Council have an obligation under the Charter to participate in the Security Council in the formulation of plans for the regulation of armaments in such manner that peace is maintained with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources, to the end that the Purposes and Principles of the Charter are upheld, and to the end that armaments are not a deterrent to the stability and well-being of members.

4. Under the Charter, the permanent members of the Security Council have not only equality of status before international law in all respects possessed by states by virtue of being sovereign but also have equality of special responsibility with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security. A logical development of this principle would be for these members to have a practical equivalence in readily available armaments. (For definition of armaments, see page 3 of Enclosure “A”.) This would discourage aggression by any one or any two of the five in combination and would thus enhance the chances of lasting peace.

5. In achieving this practical equivalence, emphasis should be placed on reducing the readily available armaments of the more powerfully armed of the permanent members, the United States and the Soviet Union, rather than on augmenting the forces of the others.

6. A United States policy of shipping arms to other permanent members of the Security Council should be judged in the light of the principle of equivalence and should be consistent with the Charter obligations to reduce the total burden of armaments as far as possible.

7. While the medium and small powers have military obligations under Article 43 of the Charter, these will not be great. However, it is evident that in addition to any contingents or other contributions which such governments may make available to the Security Council, these governments will, as in the case of the great powers, require additional forces for self-defense and the maintenance of internal order.

8. The Security Council should provide appropriate machinery for handling matters relating to the regulation of armaments. This machinery, however, should be supplemented by conversations, bilateral or otherwise, between the United States and other permanent members.

recommendations

9. That the conclusions in paragraphs 3 through 8 be approved.

10. That the following program for further development of this Government’s position be adopted:

A. The development through SWNCC of a statement of general principles in extension of paragraphs 4 and 5 of these conclusions.

B. The discussion of these general principles with the other permanent members as soon as possible after the completion of A.

C. The development concurrently with A of a paper in response to SWNCC 240/D containing the outline of a general plan for the regulation of armaments, including the traffic in arms. The general plan as outlined would embody the principles emerging from the study scheduled under A.

D. Upon the completion of A, B and C, or sooner if the question of the regulation of armaments is raised in the United Nations, the making of a recommendation that the Security Council establish a committee on the regulation of armaments to consider and report to the Council on all matters referred to it.

E. The introduction in the Committee on the Regulation of Armaments the positions outlined in A and C.

11. That the United States Representatives on the Security Council and Atomic Energy Commission be informed that the United States considers:

A. That the Commission for the Control of Atomic Energy should seek as a matter of highest priority a plan for the prevention of the use of atomic energy for destructive purposes.

B. That the consideration of major weapons adaptable to mass destruction other than atomic weapons should not be permitted to delay the formulation of the plan indicated in A above.

12. That the Department of State be requested to implement paragraph 11 above.

64. Lot 58D133, a consolidated lot file in the Department of State containing documentation on armaments, regulation of armaments, and disarmament, 1943–1960.
65. This paper was prepared in response to the request by the Joint Chiefs of Staff contained in SWNCC 240/D, December 28, 1945; for text, see the attachment to Johnson’s memorandum to Hiss, February 25, 1946, p. 755. The present paper was submitted to the Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments at its 2nd Meeting, June 5; with respect to the establishment and functions of PCA, see footnote 72, p. 840. The present paper was intended for eventual transmittal to the Ad Hoc Committee to Effect Collaboration between the State, War, and Navy Departments on Security Functions of the United Nations, where it was to serve as the basis for discussion in determining a United States position. PCA Chairman Hilldring appointed a Sub-committee on the Regulation of Armaments to consider the present paper. The Sub-committee’s preliminary report, PCA D–5/5, not printed, was submitted to PCA at its 26th Meeting, December 6, 1946. The report consisted of a list in outline form, “Topics to Be Considered in Connection with the Formulation of Specific United States Proposals for the Regulation of Armaments.” PCA took no decision on PCA D–5/5 in 1946, nor did the Ad Hoc Committee actually undertake the formalization of a United States position. (Department of State Disarmament Files)
66. Not printed. It contains the following sections: Charter provisions pertaining to the regulation of Armaments, positions taken at Dumbarton Oaks on regulation of armaments, definition of terms, military obligations of permanent members of the Security Council under the Charter, military obligations under the Charter of other members of the United Nations, other Charter obligations affecting regulation of armaments, weighing military and other obligations of United States under the Charter, the necessity for adjusting the readily available armaments of the permanent members in line with Charter obligations, U.S. armaments policy with respect to other permanent members of the United Nations, urgent problems of regulation, present status of problems, and procedure