IO files, lot 71 D 440, US/A/3506
Memorandum of Conversations, by the Acting Officer in Charge of Trusteeship Area Affairs (McKay)
- Subject:
- Future of the Commitee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories (formerly the Special Commitee on Information Transmitted under Article 73e of the Charter)
| Participants: | Separate Conversations with: | ||
| Mr. W. A. C. Mathieson, United Kingdom Delegation | |||
| Mr. Francis Hure, French Delegation | |||
| Mr. Pierre Ryckmans | } | Belgian Delegation | |
| Mr. Jacques Houard | |||
| Mr. Benjamin Gerig | } | United States Mission | |
| Mr. Vernon McKay | |||
In separate conversations with the above-mentioned members of the British, French and Belgian delegations, we have raised the question of their attitude toward the future of the Article 73e Committee, the terms of reference of which expire this year. Although they indicated that their governments had not yet taken a final position on this question, they expressed the following tentative views.1
Mr. Mathieson (UK) stated that he thought his government (1) regarded the extension of the Committee’s life as inevitable, (2) would participate in it in the same way as in the past, (3) would oppose any extension of its function and (4) would abstain on a General Assembly resolution to extend the life of the Committee with its present functions. He said that as far as he knew the French position would be the same as the British, and thought the same was true of the Belgians, although he had not heard any Belgian views on the question.
Mr. Hure (France) said that his government would participate in the 1952 session of the Committee on the same de facto basis and with the same constitutional reservations as in the past. He thought that the only thing which might interfere with such participation would arise if the Egyptian or other members of the Committee should launch an attack on France because of the Tunisian question. With regard to the future extension of the life and functions of the Committee, he stated that the position of his government might not be decided for some time. He felt that his government would either abstain or vote against a General Assembly resolution to extend the life of the Committee with its present functions, and would certainly vote against a resolution which would extend the functions of the Committee. He stated that it was more and more difficult for his government to reach [Page 1205] decisions on colonial issues because these issues had become so important in French thinking that they frequently had to be discussed with the Foreign Minister.
Mr. Ryckmans and Mr. Houard of Belgium said that their government (1) would vote against any proposal to re-establish the Committee, whether or not its functions were extended, (2) would probably participate in the Committee if its functions are not extended but would not participate if the Committee’s function are appreciably extended, (3) will oppose any discussion of or recommendation concerning any aspect of Belgium’s administration of the Congo, (4) if Belgian administration in the Congo is discussed, the Belgian representative will discuss conditions of non-self-governing peoples in specific metropolitan countries even though no information has been transmitted on these peoples under Article 73e, and (5) would withdraw from the Committee if a Belgian intervention along the lines of (4) above is ruled out of order.