Office of the Historian

320/12–2151: Telegram

The Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly (Roosevelt) to the Secretary of State

priority
Paris, December 21, 1951.
[Received December 21—3:53 p. m.]

Delga 777. Subject: New Soviet item. Comite One this afternoon rejected Sov res by vote of 5–39–11 (Afghanistan, Burma, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen). The absentees were Bolivia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Panama, Union of South Africa, all of whom would have voted against Sov res.1

Roosevelt

  1. For the proceedings in the First Committee concerning the new Soviet item, December 19–21, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, First Committee, pp. 103–120 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), First Committee).

    In a statement at the beginning of the debate on December 19, the United States representative handling this item in committee, Congressman Mansfield, declared that the United States Government “denied, without reservation, the USSR allegation that the United States was interfering in the domestic affairs of the USSR or the States responsive to the USSR’s control” (ibid., p. 103). At the end of the debate, on December 21, Congressman Mansfield spoke again, noting that “The sole purpose of the [Kersten] amendment in question [section 101 (a)] was to permit refugees to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The act would be administered by the President of the United States for that purpose. The United States Government and people had no apologies to make for giving that opportunity to refugees from USSR tyranny or for the arrangement to defend the North Atlantic area … a defensive, not an aggressive, arrangement” (ibid., p. 119).

    For the Report of the First Committee on the new Soviet item to the General Assembly, in which the committee declined to recommend the draft Soviet resolution to the General Assembly for adoption, see GA (VI), Annexes, fascicule for agenda item 69.

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