Minutes of the First Meeting of the United States Delegation to the Second Regular Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, New York,3 September 12, 1947, 10:30 a.m. 4
| Present: | Ambassador Austin | Mr. Stevenson |
| Ambassador Johnson | Mr. Ross | |
| Mrs. Roosevelt | Mr. Sandifer5 | |
| Mr. Dulles | Mr. Winslow6 | |
| Mr. Fahy | Mr. McKeever | |
| Mr. Thorp | Mr. Power | |
| Ambassador Sayre |
Delegation Assignments
Ambassador Austin opened the meeting remarking that since all of the Delegates were veterans in United Nations matters there was no need for any introductory statement on the task that lay ahead.
He read the tentative assignment of Committee work of the Delegates (SD/A/156, Annex II7). He stated that the Secretary wished to consult the Delegation on these Committee assignments and that if any one were especially interested in some agenda item, and desired to have his assignment changed, he should make his views known to the Secretary. Otherwise, it would be assumed that the Delegation assignments would be as set forth in the document. He understood Dean Gildersleeve was ill and, therefore, had tendered her resignation.
Organization of the Delegation
Mr. Sandifer observed that everyone was already familiar with the general procedure and the nature of the documentation. He noted that instead of formal, signed instructions, the Delegation had been given position books with recommendations which actually consisted of the United States Government’s agreed position as of the present time. In [Page 6] certain cases, the positions had not yet matured, as with the Palestine and Greek questions which were still under study. Further documentation will be provided as the Assembly progressed. Moreover, it would be endeavored to indicate for each case the degree of clearance and firmness of the relevant papers. This could be made clear in the Delegation discussions. Each Delegate had been supplied with position papers for each Committee. In addition, the Advisers for the respective Committees had much larger and more extensive background books which would be made available to the Delegates as the various questions came forward. This arrangement had been made largely in the interest of convenience so that Delegates would not be bothered with the extremely bulky documentation which had been prepared for all of the Committees.
Mr. Sandifer referred to the statement in SD/A/156 on the organization and procedure of the Delegation. He described the Principal Executive Officer’s function of supervising and coordinating the substantive material to see that it had been properly prepared; that the positions were matured, and were presented to the Delegation for consideration. He8 also had the responsibility for seeing that the problems which arose in New York were presented in the Department for decision. He described the Executive Officer as the managing officer of the Committee, and the right-hand of the delegate. It would be the Executive Officer’s responsibility to see that all documents were-properly prepared and to assist the Delegates at the plenary and committee sessions.
Since Committee 1 had a large number of complex subjects on its agenda, there was a long list of advisers but these would, in practice, be broken down into working teams. The Executive Officer of Committee 1 was to serve as a general manager of various working teams in coordination with Mr. Sandifer. In the case of other Committees, the Executive Officer was to serve him as an adviser. Mr. Wainhouse was to serve as a deputy for Mr. Sandifer with respect to Committee 1. The specialist advisers would be in charge of the preparation for the specific agenda items. Mr. Sandifer also pointed out that when the Department was asked for instructions, these should be cleared through Mr. Sandifer.
Ambassador Austin inquired whether, in view of the fact that the Secretary would be present, the former procedure of consultation with the Department would be continued. Mr. Sandifer replied that the Secretary would want to talk with the Delegation about this question. He understood the Secretary was not sure how much time he could spend in New York. Since he could not give continuous attention to all of the Assembly questions, the Secretary would prefer to use the [Page 7] Department for all of the staff work. Therefore, normally, it would be expected that questions would be referred to the Department. Although the Secretary desired that the Delegation consult with him, he did not want to assume the continuous responsibility for reviewing and deciding all questions.
Ambassador Austin inquired whether it was Mr. Sandifer’s understanding that there was no change in the procedure of clearance with Washington that, in short, the presence of the Secretary did not bring the Department to New York. Mr. Sandifer said that this was his understanding but that the Ambassador would want to take up this question with the Secretary.
Ambassador Austin emphasized that it was necessary for the Delegation to have complete coordination in order that it might run smoothly. Mr. Sandifer commented that certain confusion had arisen last year from the fact that Secretary Byrnes had been in town for the Council of Foreign Ministers meetings. Accordingly, rather complicated procedures had arisen. He pointed out that Secretary Marshall worked on the basis of staff work.
Mr. Sandifer explained the general role and nature of the Advisers.
Mission Facilities
Mr. Winslow welcomed the Delegation on behalf of the permanent Mission. He explained the shortage of local transportation, stating that transportation would be available on a pool basis for Delegates at all reasonable hours, seven days a week. He cautioned against excessively long trips outside the immediate business area but assured the Delegates that all of their transportation requirements would be made if they placed them with the dispatcher. Ambassador Austin emphasized that the Delegates must have no concern about such minor details as moving around freely, and instructed all transportation needs of the Delegation should be met promptly.
Committee Schedules
At Ambassador Austin’s request, Mr. Power explained the tentative schedule of Committee meetings as planned by Secretary-General Lie’s office. These would provide that Committee 1 and the Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine should meet once a day each, six days a week. It was also planned that Committee 5 would have almost daily meetings. However, the Committee 5 and the Headquarters Committee, Committees 2 and 3 and Joint Committees 2 and 3 are to be planned in such a way that they would not conflict. The Secretary-General’s proposal was that meetings should be held on a six-day a week schedule. Night meetings were not planned for the present.
[Here follows further discussion of the facilities of the United States Mission.]
- Short title for the Master Files, Reference and Documents Section, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State.↩
- There is a carefully recorded set of minutes of United States Delegation meetings, beginning with 1946. These carry the symbol US/A/M(Chr)/[number]. There is also a separate set of “Delegation Decisions” (US/A/M [number]).↩
- Headquarters of the United States Delegation was the United States Mission, located at Two Park Avenue.↩
- Two other meetings of the Delegation were held on September 12; these dealt with substantive questions relating to items on the agenda of the General Assembly. Ambassador Austin chaired these three meetings because Secretary of State Marshall did not attend until the fourth meeting, on September 13.↩
- Durward V. Sandifer, Special Deputy Director, Office of Special Political Affairs, Principal Executive Officer of the United States Delegation.↩
- Messrs. Winslow, McKeever, and Power were officers of the United States Mission.↩
- See Doc. US/A/443, September 23, p. 11.↩
- The Principal Executive Officer.↩