Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V

320/12–1350: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the United States Representative at the United Nations (Austin)

confidential

Washington, December 14, 1950—7 p. m.

Gadel 182. Re Jerusalem, re telecons Ross¹ to Kopper² and Bancroft Dec 13.

1. Dept believes USDel, in a consultation with co-sponsors res in Delga 432,³ shld consider submitting res for vote in plenary session if Belgian res fails to gain necessary two-thirds vote.

2. Dept feels US position made amply clear during Ad Hoc Committee discussions. Therefore, you shld vote against Belgian proposal but no effort shld be made to persuade others to fol our course or to discourage possible shift in voting for Belgian res in plenary since Dept believes it might be desirable to have res re Jerusalem on books as basis for possible GA action next year.

3. If simple res introduced sending UN rep to Jerusalem you may vote for it at your discretion.

Acheson

1. John C. Ross, Alternate United States Representative at the Fifth Session of the General Assembly.
2. Samuel K. C. Kopper, Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs.

3. Dated December 13, not printed; it gave the text of the joint amendment offered by the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay to the Swedish draft resolution (320/12–1350); see the fourth paragraph of the editorial note, p. 1071.

   The Ad Hoc Political Committee, on December 13, adopted a Chilean proposal that it vote first on the Belgian draft resolution, even though it had been submitted after the Swedish draft resolution. The Committee proceeded to adopt the Belgian proposal by thirty votes to eighteen, with eleven abstentions. The United States and the United Kingdom were recorded in opposition; the Soviet Union abstained. The Committee then adopted a Lebanese proposal whose effect was to make unnecessary a vote on the Swedish measure; see GA (V), Ad Hoc Political Committee, pp. 521–522.

   The official summaries of the meetings of the Ad Hoc Political Committee on the Jerusalem question, which were held from December 7 to 13, are printed in ibid., pp. 469–522. The report of the Committee to the General Assembly, dated December 14, is found in GA (V), Annexes (20), pp. 7–8. The report contains the text of the resolution adopted by the Committee.