Editorial Note
On November 5, United States Representative at the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge delivered a major address to Committee I (Political and Security) of the United Nations. Lodge first reviewed [Page 1552] the efforts of his government to advance the peaceful uses of atomic energy in the 11 months since President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address. He then turned to the specific activities contemplated for an international atomic energy agency, stating:
“We believe that the agency should encourage worldwide research in and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy; it should arrange for nuclear materials to meet the needs of research, development, and practical application to all manner of peaceful activities, including the eventual production of power. We believe the agency should foster the interchange of information on peaceful uses.”
Lodge added that the agency “should be created by a treaty which in our opinion should define the standards and principles governing the organization in the discharge of its functions. All states which originally ratified the agreement should become members of the agency, and there should be a provision for accepting additional members. We believe that members should accept an obligation to supply materials and information for the work of the agency, financial support, facilities for open discussion and contacts among scientists engaged in peaceful research activities.”
But such an agency, Lodge continued, could not encompass all international atomic activities. The United States, therefore, was prepared “to start discussion with other countries for the conclusion of bilateral agreements which will make it possible, under our laws, to furnish technical information, technical assistance, and necessary amounts of fissionable material for the construction and operation of research reactors to be located abroad.” Moreover, the United States was prepared to establish a reactor training school early in 1955 to begin training “between 30 to 50 scientists and engineers from overseas” in the area of “practical reactor engineering.”
Lodge concluded his presentation by calling for a United Nations-sponsored international conference to determine the fields in which peaceful atomic progress was technically feasible and to develop procedures through which various nations could make known their requirements. The conference would be organized by an advisory committee to the United Nations Secretary-General composed of representatives of states possessing knowledge of atomic energy development.
On November 6, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, the Union of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States sponsored a draft resolution to the First Committee (UN doc. A/C.1/L.105) which reflected the position enunciated by Ambassador Lodge. Lodge’s address of November 5 to Committee I and the seven-nation draft resolution on the atomic energy plan are printed [Page 1553] in Department of State Bulletin, November 15, 1954, pages 742–750. For text of the revised draft approved by the General Assembly on December 4, see the editorial note, page 1578.