Office of the Historian

CFM Files

United States Delegation Journal

August 1, 1946, 10 a.m.

USDel (PC) (Journal) 4

A discussion took place on the Greek amendment to the proposed rules of procedure. It was objected to by the Yugoslav, Ukrainian and Soviet Delegations principally because of the reference to voting contained in it. M. Molotov proposed that it be amended to read as follows: “The Conference may place on its agenda at the request of one or more of the delegations any question connected with the draft peace treaties.” The proposal as amended was unanimously adopted.

The proposal of the Council of Foreign Ministers concerning the General Commission was adopted.23

The Netherlands Delegation proposed that all states represented at the Conference participate in the work of all the commissions. This amendment was opposed by the U.K. and French Delegations on the ground that the procedure proposed by the Council of Foreign Ministers offered a more efficient way of accomplishing the work of the Conference without prejudicing the rights of any of the members. The Soviet Delegation opposed it on the grounds that states not at war with the enemy states in question were not sufficiently concerned with the respective peace treaties to be represented on the commissions. Dr. Evatt (Australia) supported the Netherlands amendment. A roll-call vote was taken and the following delegations voted for the amendment: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Netherlands and the Union of South Africa, The following delegations voted against the amendment: Byelorussia, France, Great Britain, India, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., and Yugoslavia. The United States abstained. The amendment was defeated by 11 votes to 9. A compromise proposal of the Soviet Delegation amended by the U.K. Delegation and reading as follows: “The representatives of any states members of the Conference may be heard by any commission if they so notify the chairman of the commission concerned” was unanimously adopted.

The Polish Delegation proposed that Poland be admitted to membership on the Balkan Economic Commission on the grounds that Poland had been in a de facto state of war with Hungary. This proposal was supported by the Czechoslovak Delegation. Consideration of this proposal was deferred until the next meeting.

  1. Part I, paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure vol. iv, p. 796.↩