Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, National Security Affairs; Foreign Economic Policy, Volume I

IO Files, Lot 71 D 440

Draft Tripartite Resolution on Armaments¹

confidential

[Paris,] November 17, 1951.

US/A/C.1/2499/Rev 2

The General Assembly

Desiring to lift from the peoples of the world the burden of increasing armaments and the fear of war, and to liberate new energies and resources for positive programmes of reconstruction and development,

Believing that the necessary means to this end is the development by the United Nations of comprehensive and co-ordinated plans, under international control, for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction to levels adequate for defense but not for aggression of all armed forces and all armaments, and for the effective international control of atomic energy to ensure the prohibition of atomic weapons and the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes only,

Recognizing that a genuine system for disarmament must include all kinds of armed forces and armaments, must be accepted by all nations having substantial armed forces, and must include safeguards that will ensure the compliance of all such nations,

Noting the Report² of the Committee of Twelve established by resolution 496 (V), and especially its recommendation that the General Assembly establish a new commission to carry forward the tasks originally assigned to the Atomic Energy Commission and the Commission for Conventional Armaments,

1. Establishes under the Security Council a commission for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments to be known as the Disarmament Commission. This Commission shall have the same membership as the Atomic Energy Commission and the Commission for Conventional Armaments, and function under the Rules of Procedure of the Atomic Energy Commission with such modifications as the Commission shall deem necessary;

2. Dissolves the Atomic Energy Commission and recommends to the Security Council that it dissolve the Commission for Conventional Armaments;

3. Directs the Disarmament Commission to prepare proposals to be embodied in a draft treaty (or treaties) for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments. The Commission shall be guided by the following principles:

(a) It is a primary objective of the United Nations to bring about the limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments to levels adequate for defense but not for aggression and to achieve effective international control to ensure the prohibition of atomic weapons.

(b) In a system of guaranteed disarmament there must be progressive disclosure and verification on a continuing basis of all armed forces—including para-military, security and police forces—and all armaments, including atomic.

(c) Such verification must be based on effective international inspection to ensure the adequacy and accuracy of the information disclosed.

(d) In formulating the proposals for the draft treaty (or treaties) referred to above, while not prejudging any other plan that may be put forward, the United Nations plan for the international control of atomic energy and the prohibition of atomic weapons should continue to serve as the basis for the control of atomic energy unless and until a better and³ no less effective system can be devised.

(e) There must be an adequate system of safeguards to ensure observance of the disarmament program, so as to provide for the prompt detection of violations while at the same time causing the minimum degree of interference in the internal life of each country.

(f) The treaty (or treaties) should be open to all States for adherence and must be ratified by at least those States whose military resources are so substantial that their absence from the program would endanger it.

4. Directs the Commission, in preparing the proposals referred to in paragraph 3 above, to consider from the outset plans for progressive and continuing disclosure and verification, the implementation of which is recognized as a first and indispensable step in carrying out the disarmament programme envisaged in the present resolution.

5. Directs the Commission, in working out plans for the regulation, limitation, and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments,

(a) to seek to formulate criteria of general application, which could be simply and clearly stated;

(b) to formulate for each State, taking into account the agreed criteria, proposals for over-all limits and restrictions on all armed forces and all armaments;

(c) to consider methods according to which States could⁴ agree among themselves, under the auspices of the Commission, concerning the allocation within their respective national military⁵ establishments of the permitted national armed forces and armaments.

6. Directs the Commission to commence its work not later than thirty days from the adoption of this resolution and to report periodically, for information, to the Security Council and to the General Assembly, or to the Members of the United Nations when the General Assembly is not in session;

7. Declares that a conference of all States should be convened to consider the proposals for a draft treaty (or treaties) prepared by the Commission as soon as the work of the Commission shall have progressed to a point where in the judgment of the Commission any part of its program is ready for submission to governments;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to convene such a conference when so advised by the Commission;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to furnish such experts, staff, and facilities as the Commission may consider necessary for the effective accomplishment of the purposes of the present resolution.

1. This draft, with the minor modifications noted below, was submitted to the First Committee by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France on November 19. It was circulated as document A/C.1/667.
2. “(A/1922)” follows the word “report” in document A/C.1/667. For text of the report, October 23, see p. 552.
3. The word “or” replaces the word “and” in document A/C.1/667.
4. The word “can” replaces the word “could” in document A/C.1/667.
5. The word “military” does not appear at this point in document A/C.1/667.