Editorial Note
In Paris during the month of November 1951, United States Delegation advisers engaged in conversations with British and French representatives, as well as with officials of other nations on the Collective Measures Committee, in an effort to prepare an agreed draft resolution for presentation to the General Assembly. Documentation on these discussions is in file 320 and in IO Files, Lot 71 D 440.
At the 462d Meeting of the First Committee, December 3, 1951, João Carlos Muniz of Brazil, Chairman of the CMC, submitted the report of the Committee (GA (VI), Suppl. No. 13); for the summary record of his remarks, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, First Committee, pages 59–60 (hereafter cited as (GA (VI), First Committee). On the same day, 11 members of the Collective Measures Committee (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, the Philippines, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yugoslavia) introduced draft resolution A/C.1/676, which included provisions approving the conclusions of the Collective Measures Committee report and directing the committee to continue its work for another year. For text, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Annexes, Agenda Item 18, pages 1–2 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Item 18), or Department of State Bulletin, December 24, 1951, page 1027.
The First Committee did not direct its attention to the report of the Collective Measures Committee until after the first of the year. For the summary records of its consideration of this matter, January 2–9, 1952, see GA (VI), First Committee, pages 121–174. The First Committee ultimately adopted a revised version of the 11-nation draft resolution, as amended in the course of debate. This resolution contained provisions taking note of the report of the Collective Measures Committee, directing it to continue its work and report thereon to the Security Council and the Seventh Session of the General Assembly, and recommending that the Security Council convene a periodic meeting to consider measures to remove international tension. For text, see the report of the First Committee, document A/2049, January 10, 1952 (GA (VI), Annexes, Agenda Item 18, pages 4–7).
On January 12, 1952, the draft resolution approved by the First Committee was adopted by the General Assembly as Resolution 503 (VI), “Methods which might be used to maintain and strengthen international peace and security in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter;” for text, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Resolutions, pages 2–3. Documentation and additional information on First Committee and General Assembly disposition of this matter will appear in the Foreign Relations series for 1952–1954.