IO Files: US(P)/A/C.1/153
United States Delegation Working Paper
Draft Statement on Mexican Resolution1
Mr. Chairman, my Delegation desires to express its appreciation to the Delegate of the Government of Mexico for the spirit of cooperation which has animated him in introducing the Draft Resolution.
We are fully aware that this Draft Resolution has been introduced in response to the deep sentiment of the Members of this General Assembly who have been disturbed by the growing tensions amongst the Great Powers. We realize that the Members of this Assembly wish above all to re-establish a fuller spirit of Great Power cooperation, without which our efforts must necessarily suffer. We recognize and welcome the desire of all those who support the Mexican resolution to do everything they can to reduce international friction.
It is not our purpose to participate in the debate on this resolution. Since the resolution is addressed to the larger Powers and constitutes an effort to establish harmony among them, we believe the Committee would agree that it would not be entirely appropriate for us to enter the debate on the underlying issues which have given rise to the proposal or, for that matter, on the terms of the resolution itself. Needless to say, my Government will give the most serious attention to the terms of any resolution which is passed by the General Assembly in this field.
In the interest of the spirit of harmony, which the sponsor of this Draft Resolution is seeking to obtain, I offer the observation that there may be certain points of detail in the Draft Resolution which may raise elements of disagreement among those to whom the resolution is addressed. For example, the present wording of the fifth paragraph of the preamble is not entirely clear and may open up rather than reconcile certain differences in point of view. More important, I would invite your attention to Paragraph 4 of the operative part of the resolution. That paragraph expresses a broad point of view which has been strongly supported in the past by my Government. At the same time, we recognize that the subject is one upon which the larger Powers have not found it easy to agree.
It might contribute to the purposes of the resolution, therefore, if the Honorable Delegate of Mexico would consult with the larger Powers with a view to making such drafting changes as would remove specific elements of difference. My Delegation would hope that, after [Page 93] such informal consultation, the mover of this resolution would then be in a position to suggest changes to this Committee which might permit it to be adopted without objection.
- For Delegation discussion of this draft statement, see Delegation Minutes, infra.↩