Department of State Disarmament Files
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Deputy United States Representative to the Commission for Conventional Armaments ( Nash )1
US/S/C.3/11
Subject: Implementation by the Commission for Conventional Armaments of the General Assembly Resolution of November 19, 1948, on Census and Verification
| Participants: | Sir Terence Shone and Mr. Falla, United Kingdom Delegation |
| Messrs. Nash, Osborn, Russell, Leith, Shooshan,2 United States Mission |
On March 9, 1949 the Deputy United States Representative on the Commission for Conventional Armaments gave to the Representatives of the Delegations of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, an informal and unofficial paper3 indicating tentatively the general line of the United States thinking on the above subject. This paper, it is understood, was transmitted by the above Delegations to their respective Governments.
Subsequently, on April 6th the Deputy United States Representative transmitted to the above Delegations a more detailed paper4 representing the official United States position. It is understood that this later paper has also been transmitted by the Delegations to their respective Governments.
[Page 48]At the subject meeting the United Kingdom Representatives stated that they had received instructions from their Government to the effect that “on a political and tactical basis” the initial United States paper could be accepted as a basis for discussion. They further stated that no response had as yet been received with respect to the later official United States paper.
In the ensuing discussion of the two papers, the impression was conveyed that, notwithstanding certain reservations which, for security reasons, they had respecting the scope and detail of the United States proposal, the United Kingdom Delegation would be prepared to support the United States position on “political and tactical” grounds.
With respect to the program of future action in the CCA, the British stated that they had not given much thought to the matter. However they expressed the opinion that it would be desirable to have the French Delegation introduce a proposal into the Working Committee, since it was the French and Belgians who had been responsible for the original General Assembly Resolution calling for a census.
We agreed with the British that the above course of action might be desirable. An alternative plan was also discussed which is to have the Working Committee in the near future start discussing the method of implementing the General Assembly resolution. Such a discussion would inevitably bring forth various views as to what should be done and as to the nature and scope of the census. Following general discussions in the Working Committee, it would then be in order to propose that a subcommittee be established to iron out the differences between the various ideas put forth in the Working Committee and to draft, if possible, a common plan. Under this alternative, it would be in this subcommittee, that a paper or papers would be presented by one or several members of the United Kingdom, French Canadian, and United States Delegations. The advantage in this procedure would be that whatever plan may come out of the subcommittee would not be labeled a United States plan or a French plan, etc., but would be a CCA plan if a majority could agree to it.
Respecting the timing of future activities in the CCA, we stated that we should like to have a meeting of the Working Committee at the earliest possible date in order to begin the actual implementation of the General Assembly resolution before too much more time should elapse. We said we felt that the time was getting short and that we would have to utilize every opportunity to complete work on the census plan in the CCA between now and the middle or end of July in order to have a report ready for the General Assembly in the coming fall session. The British agreed with this but felt as a practical matter it would be most difficult to hold meetings prior to the end of the present session of the General Assembly. The British stated their feeling that [Page 49] the major desideratum at this point was to have the United States, United Kingdom, French and Canadian Delegations concert their plans as rapidly as possible so that when the present session of the General Assembly has ended we will be prepared to act with the necessary dispatch in getting a census plan discussed, developed and, if possible, approved in the CCA in time for the fall session of the General Assembly. To this end, it was agreed that arrangements could be made to have a joint meeting at an early date between the United Knigdom, French, Canadian and United States Delegations.
- Frank C. Nash succeeded Frederick H. Osborn as Deputy United States Representative to the Commission for Conventional Armaments on April 2; Osborn continued to serve as Deputy United States Representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.↩
- Harry M. Shooshan, Jr., of the Division of International Security Affairs, Department of State; Executive Secretary of the Executive Committee on Regulation of Armaments.↩
- Not printed.↩
- The paper under reference, based on position paper RAC D–34e (p. 33), is not printed. It was circulated in the Executive Committee on Regulation of Armaments as RAC D–34/f, April 26, with the notation that it was being negotiated by the United States Mission pursuant to RAC D–34e. (Department of State Disarmament Files)↩