Department of State Atomic Energy Files
Memorandum of Conversation, by Messrs. Frederick H. Osborn and Charles H. Russell of the United States Mission at the United Nations
US/AEC/30
Subject: Work of the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Six-Power Consultations.
| Participants: | General McNaughton, Mr. Ignatieff, Mr. Starnes; Canadian Delegation |
| Dr. Wei; Chinese Delegation | |
| M. de Rose; French Delegation | |
| Sir Terence Shone, Mr. Cole; United Kingdom Delegation | |
| Mr. Osborn, Mr. Russell; United States Mission |
Immediately after the short meeting of the Working Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission on April 1,1 the delegates of the five [Page 46] sponsoring powers named above met informally to discuss plans for their work.
It was felt that the course of the debates in the five meetings of the Atomic Energy Commission which had been held in February and March had made it abundantly clear that the Soviet was using the Commission solely for propaganda purposes with no intention of taking part in negotiations.
On the question of the six-power consultations, M. de Rose urged that there should be a new approach: he called attention to the fact that in the Second Report the majority had presented detailed proposals and that the Soviet had refused to accept any of them; he now recommended that the majority present a few broad principles2 which would be easily understood by the public and the General Assembly. If the Soviet refused to agree to them, the other sponsoring powers would have a clear record and sound reasons for not going further.
It was agreed that Mr. Osborn and M. de Rose would meet together in the near future to do the preparatory work, as the other delegates would be very busy with the work of the General Assembly, but would bring in the other delegates as much as possible. It was important that the preparatory work should be completed and agreed upon before the consultations of the sponsoring powers were called. It was felt that the consultations should take place after the termination of the Second Part of the Third Session of the General Assembly and at the level of the members of the UNAEC. The view was expressed that the consultations, being diplomatic negotiations, should be held in closed meetings.
Sir Terence Shone said that his instructions contained a suggestion that some concession should be made at this time on the question of ownership. Mr. Cole added that it would be made more with a view to being rejected by the Soviet than for any other purpose. Mr. Osborn took a very firm position, and asked Sir Terence Shone to inform his Government that the U.S. Government felt strongly that it would be highly inadvisable to suggest any compromise on the question of ownership at present. General McNaughton said: “We must not give up the idea of ownership in trust. No nation has any rights of ownership. This is essential”.
There was general agreement that the Fourth Report would have to state that the impasse, to which the Third Report referred, still existed and for the same reasons, and that the report should be thoroughly documented. Mr. Osborn suggested that it might be advisable to leave it to the Fourth General Assembly to decide what the Commission should do thereafter, and that the Commission itself should make no [Page 47] recommendation on this point in the Fourth Report. General McNaughton said that he thought well of this idea.
It was agreed that the sponsoring powers should make an entirely separate report to the General Assembly.
It was generally understood that the consultations would be called by the Secretary General of the United Nations.
C. H. Russell
- At its 44th Meeting, April 1, the Working Committee examined a skeleton document prepared by the Secretariat (AEC/C.1/77, not printed), setting out the recommendations on atomic energy approved by the General Assembly at its Third Session (1948). The Committee adopted various modifications which were to be incorporated into a new draft. The Working Committee did not meet again until June 1. The Proceedings of the Working Committee are not published as part of the Official Record of the United Nations, but exist in mimeographed form in United Nations Depository Libraries.↩
- For the principles suggested by de Rose in a memorandum of January 27, see footnote 1, p. 27.↩