UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Membership”
Memorandum of Conversation, by an Adviser of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly (Allen)
- Subject:
- Associate Membership
Dr. Haymerle is awaiting further word from Vienna as to the present thinking of his government on this problem. His personal view, however, which he thinks will be shared by his government, is that it would be desirable to take steps to work out some sort of associate membership only if there is very general spontaneous sentiment among the members for such a course. He does not find any such sentiment at present—indeed, his soundings tally with those of USGADel that a number of countries have grave doubts both constitutionally and politically as to the wisdom of any such plan. Dr. Haymerle feared, therefore, that if it were pushed, while an appropriate resolution might well be gotten through the GA, nevertheless it would have taken such effort and there would have been sufficient opposition that it might well result in making the countries less disposed to exert real efforts to obtain full membership for the pending applicants.
While he could see some merit in additional participation of qualified applicants he put forward the suggestion, as yet only a personal one, that rather than attack the problem head-on under the concept of associate membership, it would be preferable to pick a few items, [Page 983] relatively non-controversial ones at first, and have the GA increase the practice of inviting qualified applicants to participate without vote. The practice could be continued and broadened gradually. In thus approaching the problem in a piece-meal fashion, less opposition would be aroused with less likelihood that a definite stigma of second class citizenship would be attached to the applicants.