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

Department of State Atomic Energy Files

Memorandum by the United States Naval Representative on the Military Staff Committee (Turner) to the Army and Air Force Representatives

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USMS 388.3

[New York,] 5 December 1946.

Subject: Comment by U.S. Naval Representative on Soviet Amendments to U.S. Proposal concerning the General Registration and Reduction of Armaments, in General Assembly Committee I, 4 December 1946.⁵⁸

1. The United States proposal (A/C.1/90 of 30 November 1946) together with the Soviet amendments proposed on 4 December 1946 are quoted (deletions are dashed out, and additions underlined):

1. With a view to strengthening international peace and security in conformity with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, the General Assembly recognizes the necessity of an early general regulation and reduction of armaments. Accordingly, the General Assembly recommends that the Security Council give prompt consideration to working out the practical measures, according to their priority, which are essential to provide for the general regulation and reduction of armaments pursuant to international treaties and agreements and to assure that such regulation and reduction will be generally observed by all participants and not unilaterally by only some of the participants. (Note: Molotov stated that paragraph 1 must be amended so that regulation of armaments would be by resolution of the Security Council.)

2. The General Assembly recognizes that essential to the general regulation and reduction of armaments is the early establishment of international control of atomic energy and other modern technological discoveries to ensure their use only for peaceful purpose. Accordingly, in order to ensure that the general regulation and reduction of armaments are directed towards the major weapons of modern warfare and not merely towards the minor weapons the General Assembly recommends that the Security Council give first consideration to the report which the Atomic Energy Commission will make to the Security Council before 31 December 1946, and facilitate the progress of the work of that Commission.

2. As an essential step toward the urgent objective of eliminating from national armaments atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction, the General Assembly urges the expeditious fulfillment by the Atomic Energy Commission of its terms of reference as set forth in section 5 of the General Assembly resolution of Jan. 17, 1946. Accordingly, in order to insure that the general regulation and reduction of armaments are directed toward the major weapons of modern warfare and not merely toward the minor weapons, the General Assembly recommends that the Security Council expedite consideration of the report which the Atomic Energy Commission will make to the Security Council before 31 December 1946, and facilitate the progress of the work of that commission and also that the Security Council expedite consideration of a draft convention for the prohibition of atomic weapons.

3. The General Assembly further recognizes that essential to the general regulation and reduction of armaments is the provision of practical and effective safeguards by way of inspection and other means to protect complying states against the hazards of violations and evasions. Accordingly the General Assembly recommends to the Security Council that it give prompt consideration to the working out of proposals to provide such practical and effective safeguards in connection with the control of atomic energy and other limitation or regulation of armaments. To insure the adoption of measures for the reduction of armaments and prohibition of the use of atomic energy for military purposes there shall be established within the framework of the Security Council, who bear the main responsibility for international peace and security, international control operating on the basis of a special provision which should provide for the establishment of special organs of inspection for which purpose there shall be formed:

(A) A commission for the control of execution of the decision regarding the reduction of armaments.

(B) A commission for the control of the execution of the decision regarding the prohibition of the use of atomic energy for military purposes.

4. The General Assembly calls upon the governments of all states to render every possible assistance to the Security Council and the Atomic Energy Commission in order to promote the establishment of international peace and collective security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources.

2. An analysis of the Soviet proposal indicates that, in the Soviet view, an international convention or treaty is required only for the prohibition of atomic weapons but that reduction of armaments must be handled by a resolution of the Security Council. This is shown by the following excerpt from the Soviet proposed paragraph 2:

“that the Security Council expedite consideration of a draft convention for the prohibition of atomic weapons.”

In Mr. Molotov’s Statement, the Soviet views on agreements relative to the reduction of armaments are clearly expressed:

“If we take the view that the reduction of armaments is to be carried out by means of international agreements, this will give rise to a good many pretexts for all sorts of delays. For this reason, the Soviet Delegation is of the opinion that the decision on the reduction of armaments should be taken by means of a resolution of the Security Council. … The wording of the first paragraph (of the U.S. proposal) must be amended accordingly.”

3. The Soviet proposals reject the idea of an international treaty for setting up the rules for operation, control, and inspection by an Atomic Development Authority, and punishment of violators without veto in the Security Council, in favor of having the Security Council formulate the rules.

4. With respect to the possible veto in the A.D.A., Mr. Molotov stated:

“But when decisions regarding the composition of the control commissions are taken and the control commissions begin their task, they will, of course, work in accordance with those rules drawn up for them by the Security Council.”

It should be noted that Mr. Molotov has also made it clear that in the formulation of the rules by the Security Council, the veto right must be unimpaired.

It appears from the foregoing that such rules regarding operation, control, and inspection by the A.D.A. as are approved by the Security Council, with the unanimous agreement of the five permanent members, may not be disregarded by the A.D.A. However, it is also clear from Mr. Molotov’s statement that these rules will cover only the day-to-day operations of the A.D.A. and will not give the Security Council the right to punish a violator of the atomic treaty except in the case of unanimity of the five major Powers. This right will remain in the Security Council, with no derogation of the veto. Hence, the Soviet position is directly contrary to the United States position that the veto cannot be used to protect a wrongdoer in the field of atomic energy; and does not constitute any advance in this respect from the Atomic Energy Proposals made by the Soviet on June 19th.

5. The Soviet proposal reiterates their previous proposal for an A.D.A. with the same powers of “control” as given in paragraph (3) of the Soviet proposal of 19 June 1946 regarding the Atomic Energy Control Committee of the Security Council (AEC official records, No. 2, Second Meeting, 19 June 1946, p. 29). By omission, the current Soviet proposal rejects the power of the A.D.A. to recommend a draft convention as in paragraph (1) of their proposal of 19 June.

6. To summarize, the Soviet position with regard to Atomic Energy remains exactly the same as it was. The only part of their current proposals which may be considered an advance toward the United States position is a clear statement that there will be no right of veto in the A.D.A., but that the A.D.A. will function under rules prescribed by the Security Council; and their statement that the Soviet will accept some degree of control and inspection by an international authority.

R. K. Turner

58. Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov proposed the amendments printed here at the 38th Meeting of the First Committee, December 4. He stated that the Soviet Union was prepared to accept the United States proposal as a basis for discussion “in the interest of unanimity.” Earlier in the meeting he had contended that while the Soviet Union insisted on preserving the principle of unanimity in Security Council decisions, the veto would have “no relevance to the work” of inspection and control instruments. The Committee agreed to establish Subcommittee 3, a twenty-member body, to consider the various disarmament proposals before the Committee. Subcommittee 3 first met on December 5. Subsequently, a drafting group consisting of representatives of Canada, Egypt, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States prepared a text which was adopted by the Subcommittee at its 6th Meeting, December 12. The report of the Subcommittee contains the text of the recommended resolution, the membership of the Subcommittee, its terms of reference, and a summary of its work; for text of the report, see GA (I/2), First Committee, pp. 346–48. Subcommittee 3 documentation exists on microfilm in the IO Files.