Department of State Committee files, lot 54 D 5, “Working Group on Colonial Problems”
Memorandum by Curtis C. Strong of the Office of Dependent Area Affairs to the Working Group on Colonial Problems1
The Dilemmas for the United States Presented by the South West Afriac Question in the UN2
the problem
The problem is to ascertain the dilemmas for the United States involved in the South West Africa question.
discussion
The question of South West Africa, which has been on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly since its first session in 1946, is one of the many questions in the colonial field with regard to which the United States has conflicting foreign policy interests. In this case the conflicts can be stated briefly as follows.
On the one hand, the United States is interested in retaining the friendship and close cooperation of the Union of South Africa. The Union is not only strategically located athwart the sea and air lanes between the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean but it also has mineral and other resources of great value to this country both from a security and an industrial point of view. Moreover, the Union has the only industrial plant, army and air force of any consequence in Africa south of the Sahara, and has an air squadron fighting in Korea. Thus one set of political, security and economic interests would incline us to show our solidarity with the Union by supporting her claims in regard to South West Africa.
On the other hand, the United States is interested in insuring the friendship and cooperation of the many “anti-colonial” nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa, as well as of the emerging colonial peoples. The conflict with Soviet communism is world wide and all these nations and peoples are important to us strategically and economically. Thus another set of political, security and economic interests would incline us to support these nations, which form a majority in the UN, in their view that South West Africa should not be absorbed by the Union of South Africa but should be placed under international supervision.
As the Union is a Member of the British Commonwealth the United States, in taking a position on the question of South West Africa, must [Page 1147] not only consider its effect on our relations with the Union but also with other Members of the British Commonwealth.
The United States is also interested in a strong and effective United Nations. We are therefore greatly concerned that resolutions of the General Assembly be accorded the greatest possible respect and be implemented to the fullest possible extent. We would thus tend to support United Nations actions vis-à-vis South West Africa. At the same time we are anxious to avoid any action by the United Nations which might lead to the withdrawal of the Union from the United Nations thereby not only weakening the United Nations but also setting a precedent of great potential danger to it. We would thus tend to seek to moderate the kind of United Nations actions toward South West Africa which would probably be favored by the majority of United Nations Members.
In summary, the need of the United States for close and harmonious relations with the Union of South Africa, the other Members of the British Commonwealth, and the large group of “anti-colonial” powers, as well as our need for a strong and effective United Nations, oblige us to take a position vis-à-vis the question of South West Africa which will reconcile these various interests to the greatest possible extent and sacrifice none of them to a serious degree. It is clear that in evaluating these various interests there must be a constant reappraisal, particularly as to how the factor of time is affecting all of these interests.