501.BC Atomic/7–847
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Special Political Affairs (Rusk) to the Under Secretary of State (Lovett)1
Today’s press carries stories about the fact that Mr. Gromyko obtained majority support in Working Committee No. 1 of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission on behalf of a proposal to “destroy” atomic weapons—i.e., “the destruction of stocks of manufactured atomic weapons and of unfinished atomic weapons”.2
Committee 1 is now considering Soviet amendments and additions proposed on February 183 to the first report of the AEC to the Security Council. These discussions are preliminary to the working out of specific proposals for eventual inclusion in a draft treaty to be submitted in due course to the Security Council by the AEC. Before the results of current discussions could become effective, the following action must be taken:
- (a)
- Approval of a report by Working Committee 1 to the AEC (majority)
- (b)
- Approval by the AEC and inclusion in its report to the Security Council (majority in AEC)
- (c)
- Approval by the Security Council by vote of not less than seven, including concurring votes of 5 permanent members
- (d)
- Reference to a special session of the General Assembly for its consideration and recommendation to signatory governments for acceptance (by ⅔ vote of General Assembly)
- (e)
- Approval by member governments, by their several constitutional processes.
It has been agreed that discussions in Working Committee 1 of the AEC do not commit their governments at this stage.
The subject now under discussion is for eventual inclusion in a treaty or set of treaties, none of which would become operative unless an entire system for the control of atomic energy simultaneously comes into existence.
The discussion on July 7 turned upon the difference between “the disposal of” and “the destruction of”. It was apparent from the record of the discussion that some of the members saw no difference between the two expressions.
The U.S. is already committed to the eventual elimination of atomic weapons from national armaments. The remaining issue is limited to the question as to whether such weapons might be available to the [Page 553] Security Council. Decision on this latter question is still open and has not been precluded by the discussion of July 7.
Mr. Osborn’s view is that the press representatives sought to build a story out of inadequate material, explainable perhaps by the fact that this was the first meeting of Committee 1 to which they had been admitted.