IO Files: US/A/C.1/448

Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Elwood N. Thompson of the United States Delegation Staff of Advisers

confidential
Participants: Mr. Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Delegation1
Mr. P. H. Gore-Booth, United Kingdom Delegation
Mr. Elwood Thompson, United States Delegation

In the course of general comments on the work of Committee 1, discussion turned to the question of tactics being used by Eastern Europeans in the Committee.2 Mr. Bech said he did not see how he could do more to control the committee than he was doing, since he regarded himself not as the speaker of the house in a legislature but simply as the presiding officer in a group of states. When he spoke to any delegate he said he did not regard himself as speaking to an individual but, rather, to a sovereign government.

Elwood Thompson
  1. Chairman of the First Committee of the General Assembly.
  2. From September 25 to October 13, the First Committee had before it the item regarding threats to the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece: from October 14 the Committee’s attention had been devoted to the U.S. proposal for the establishment of an interim committee. For the official Committee record, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Second Session, First Committee (hereafter cited as GA (II), First Committee).