Office of the Historian

320/1–2651

Memorandum by the Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs (Raynor) to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Perkins)

secret
[Washington,] January 26, 1951.

Subject: Possible Modification of US Resolution in UN on Chinese Communist Aggression

In accordance with your request that we investigate the possibility of modifying the US draft resolution in such a way as to overcome British objections, a telegram (copy attached)1 went to New York this morning suggesting that paragraph 8 might be amended to read as follows:

“The General Assembly…

“Requests a committee composed of the members of the Collective Measures Committee as a matter of urgency to consider additional measures to be employed to meet this aggression and to report thereon to the General Assembly, taking into account in its report the results [Page 134] of the efforts of the good offices committee provided for in the following paragraph.”2

I understand that this wording has already been discussed with the British delegation and that unfortunately they have replied that it does not go far enough to meet their position. Our Delegation may nevertheless propose the Amendment in the hope that it will win some additional support for our resolution.3

G. H[ayden] R[aynor]
  1. Telegram 662, January 26, to New York, not printed.↩
  2. As drafted, telegram 662 also contained the following suggested addition to the final paragraph of the draft resolution: “The Committee should as a first step determine the possibilities of arranging a cease-fire in accordance with the report of the cease-fire group of Jan 2, 1951”, but this sentence was deleted from the telegram by Mr. Acheson. (320.2/1–2551)↩
  3. At the First Committee meeting held on January 27 from 10:45 a. m. to 2:50 p. m., Mr. Austin did not propose the above amendment but pointed out to the Committee that the intent of the U.S. draft resolution was to allow the proposed Good Offices Committee to work toward producing a peaceful solution while the committee of the CMC was still considering further measures. He also stated that the United States could not support and would oppose the Arab-Asian draft resolution. (U.N. document A/C.1/SR.433)↩