Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, General; The United Nations, Volume I

IO Files: US/A/C.4/34

United States Delegation Working Paper

confidential

[New York,] September 15, 1947.

Information Transmitted Under Article 73 (e) of the Charter Regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories: Report of the Ad Hoc Committee

(Preliminary Draft: Subject to Clearance)

the problem

The problem is to determine the position which the Delegation should take with respect to the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on non-self-governing territories.

recommendations

1. The Delegation should, in general, initiate and support a constructive approach toward the problems of non-self-governing territories. It should reaffirm the traditional American policy of promoting the advancement of dependent peoples to the end that they may achieve the form of self-government or independence which they are desirous and capable of maintaining.

2. The Delegation should avoid associating itself with either the more conservative colonial powers or those intent upon the immediate liquidation of colonial empires. With respect to the latter, the Delegation should oppose efforts to give the General Assembly functions in all non-self-governing territories similar to those which it exercises in trust territories.

3. The Delegation should, in accordance with the foregoing recommendations, support the five resolutions recommended by the Committee.¹ It should oppose efforts to alter these resolutions in any of the following ways:

1. To expand the standard form to be used in the preparation of information into an obligatory questionnaire and to include such objectionable items as immigration;

2. To make information on government institutions obligatory or subject to analysis by the Secretary General;

3. To broaden the resolution on supplemental information to include use of political information and information not approved by the governments concerned, and to delete from this resolution provision for comparisons between dependent areas and independent States; and

4. To permit the General Assembly, or the proposed Special Committee on non-self-governing territories, to make recommendations with respect to individual territories, to examine petitions, or to determine whether a Member should transmit information on any particular territory.

comment

The Committee adopted, with the support of the United States and largely upon its initiative, the following draft resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly:

1. Provisional standard form for the guidance of Members in the preparation of information;

2. Use of supplementary documents by the Secretary General;

3. Voluntary transmission of information regarding the development of self-governing institutions in non-self-governing territories;

4. Collaboration with the specialized agencies; and

5. Creation of a special committee of the Fourth Committee of the Assembly to examine information transmitted under Article 73 (e).

The U.S.S.R. launched bitter attacks against the colonial powers, part of which was directed against United States administration of Puerto Rico. The following Soviet proposals, supported by the Philippines, India, China, and Egypt, were defeated:

1. That the information transmitted was inaccurate;

2. That information on local government is obligatory and should be analyzed by the Secretary General;

3. That information from sources not approved by the governments concerned should be summarized by the Secretary General; and

4. That the United Nations should visit, and receive petitions from, non-self-governing territories.

The United States Delegation, by initiating constructive proposals, was able to split the non-colonial powers and to disassociate itself from the more conservative approach of the colonial powers. It supported the idea of comparing conditions in non-self-governing territories with those in independent States on scientific grounds, i.e. as being helpful in evaluating conditions and in revealing the basic causes of certain problems in non-self-governing territories.

1. The five resolutions are briefly described in the next paragraph. Complete texts are found in GA (II), Fourth Committee, pp. 211 ff., with an account of the Committee’s drafting work on pp. 206–211.