Hickerson–Murphy–Key files, lot 58 D 33, “Ambassador Lodge”
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Hickerson) to the United States Representative at the United Nations (Lodge)1
- Subject:
- Question of “Associate Membership” (Participation by non-members in the General Assembly)
I thought you might be interested in a brief summary of the situation regarding the question of “associate membership”, which we discussed last week. The following are the essential points.
[Page 917]As I mentioned to you, for the past two years we have given serious consideration to the idea of “associate membership” arrangements for States excluded by the Soviet veto under which they could participate in the Assembly’s proceedings on a regular basis. We have concluded that there is nothing in the Charter which would prevent the Assembly from granting non-Members the right to participate in the Assembly provided the privilege did not include the right to vote. The Assembly has already established the precedent of inviting non-Members to participate without vote in the Committees on an ad hoc basis during discussion of cases in which they are directly interested.
We have, on a number of occasions, discussed the matter with Italy and Japan. While the Italian Government has indicated that it might consider the idea of “associate membership” if the United States had a special reason to foster the idea, it has thus far not been in favor of any arrangements providing for less than full membership. I think Italy’s attitude is motivated in part by a fear that once Italy was granted some form of “associate membership”, the Members of the United Nations would feel less compelled to press for its admission as a full Member. In addition, the Italian Ambassador last year referred to some of the smaller States which are members of the United Nations and expressed the view that second class membership for Italy would not be desirable because of its prestige and its standing in the community of nations. He also pointed to the difficulty of explaining less than full membership to the Italian people. We have not tried to encourage Italy to reconsider its position since we have felt that this is a matter for Italy itself to decide and since we have wanted to exhaust every effort to obtain its admission as a full Member.
Japan appears to be more interested. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepared a tentative formula last year for our consideration. Under this formula, non-Members excluded by the veto would have the right to send to the Assembly the same delegation as Members and to participate without vote in the Plenary and main Committee meetings and other committees of the whole, with the privilege of speaking, proposing draft resolutions and amendments, submitting and withdrawing motions, and receiving documents. These states would be called “Non-Voting Participants”. However, the Japanese made clear that they had not made a decision in favor of such an arrangement and later indicated that although they hoped we would keep the idea under consideration, they did not regard the matter to be urgent.
While we have believed that we could support an arrangement for participation in the Assembly by non-Members excluded by the Soviet veto, a number of other Members might oppose such an arrangement. The Australian Government, for instance, has told us that it does not favor the idea of “associate membership” and has taken the view that there is considerable danger in the doctrine that what is not strictly [Page 918] forbidden by the Charter is permitted. Further, there is the risk that some might urge that “associate membership” arrangements should also apply to Soviet sponsored applicants. For these reasons, we have felt that when and if non-Members show a definite interest, we should carefully consult with other Members before making a specific proposal. We have not carried on extensive consultations because, up to now, Italy has not favored the idea and Japan and others have shown no desire that we move ahead.
- Drafted by Paul W. Jones of the Office of UN Political and Security Affairs.↩