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

Editorial Note

The First Committee resumed its consideration of regulation of armaments on December 11, 1951, having before it the report of the subcommittee, document A/C.1/677, December 10 (for text, see GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Items 66 and 16, pages 8–12). The Committee also considered document A/C.1/668/Rev. 1, December 11, revised Soviet amendments to the United States–United Kingdom–France draft resolution (A/C.1/667, November 17, page 584). For text of A/C.1/668/Rev. 1, see GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Items 66 and 16, pages 6–7, or Documents on Disarmament, 1945–1959, volume I, pages 330–333. For the record of the statement by Selwyn Lloyd, the British Representative, regarding the Soviet amendments, December 11, see GA (VI), First Committee, pages 61–63, or Documents on Disarmament, 1945–1959, volume I, pages 333–336.

At the 466th Meeting of the First Committee, December 14, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France introduced a revision of their draft resolution, document A/C.1/667/Rev. 1; for text, see GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Items 66 and 16, pages 15–16. On December 18, the Soviet Union submitted amendments applicable to the revised tripartite draft, contained in document A/C.1/668/Rev. 2. For text, see ibid., pages 16–18. Amendments to the tripartite resolution were also submitted by Lebanon, Egypt, and Czechoslovakia, and a separate draft resolution was introduced by Poland. For texts, see ibid., pages 12–13.

The First Committee concluded discussion of the subject on December 18. At the 471st Meeting, December 19, voting took place on the various draft resolutions and amendments. The revised tripartite draft resolution, incorporating amendments proposed by Lebanon and Peru, was adopted as a whole by a roll-call vote of 44 to 5 with 10 abstentions. For the summary record of the 471st Meeting, see GA (VI), First Committee, pages 99–102. The action by the Committee is also described in its report, document A/2025, December 22; for text, see GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Items 66 and 16, pages 13–19. The text approved by the First Committee, which was adopted by the General Assembly on January 11 as resolution 502 (VI), reads as follows:

Regulation, Limitation and Balanced Reduction of All Armed Forces and All Armaments

international control of atomic energy

The General Assembly,

Moved by anxiety at the general lack of confidence plaguing the world and leading to the burden of increasing armaments and the fear of war,

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

Reaffirming its desire that the United Nations develop an effective collective security system to maintain the peace and that the armed forces and armaments of the world be progressively reduced in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter,

Believing that a necessary means to this end is the development by the United Nations of comprehensive and coordinated plans, under international control, for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments, for the elimination of all major weapons adaptable to mass destruction, 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 whose military resources are such that their failure to accept would endanger the system, and must include safeguards that will ensure the compliance of all such nations,

Noting the recommendation of the Committee of Twelve established by resolution 496 (V) that the General Assembly should 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 Disarmament Commission. This commission shall have the same membership as the Atomic Energy Commission and the Commission for Conventional Armaments, and shall 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, for the elimination of all major weapons adaptable to mass destruction, and for effective international control of atomic energy to ensure the prohibition of atomic weapons and the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes only. The Commission shall by guided by the following principles:

(a) 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;

(b) Such verification must be based on effective international inspection to ensure the adequacy and accuracy of the information disclosed; this inspection to be carried out in accordance with the decisions of the international control organ (or organs) to be established;

(c) The Commission shall be ready to consider any proposals or plans for control that may be put forward involving either conventional armaments or atomic energy. Unless a better or no less effective system is devised, 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 international control of atomic energy to ensure the prohibition of atomic weapons and the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes only;

(d) There must be an adequate system of safeguards to ensure observance of the disarmament programme, 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;

(e) The treaty (or treaties) shall specifically be open to all States for signature and ratification or adherence. The treaty (or treaties) shall provide what States must become parties thereto before the treaty (or treaties) shall enter into force;

4. Directs the Commission, when preparing the proposals referred to in the preceding paragraph, to formulate plans for the establishment within the framework of the Security Council of an international control organ (or organs) to ensure the implementation of the treaty (or treaties). The functions and powers of the control organ (or organs) shall be defined in the treaty which establishes it;

5. 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;

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

(a) To determine how overall limits and restrictions on all armed forces and all armaments can be calculated and fixed;

(b) To consider methods according to which States can agree by negotiation among themselves, under the auspices of the Commission, concerning the determination of the overall limits and restrictions referred to in sub-paragraph (a) above and the allocation within their respective national military establishments of the permitted national armed forces and armaments;

7. 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. The Commission shall submit its first report not later than 1 June 1952;

8. 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 programme is ready for submission to governments;

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

10. 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.

For the official text of Resolution 502 (VI), see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly during the Sixth Session, pages 1–2.