ODA files, lot 62 D 225, “Committee 4”
Memorandum by Charles D. Withers of the Office of Dependent Area Affairs
Fourth Committee of the Ninth General Assembly
One of the basic objectives of the United States during the Ninth General Assembly, as in past Assemblies, has been to foster an attitude of moderation among the anti-colonial powers and of greater conciliation among the administering members and, thus, to promote greater cooperation and mutual understanding between the two sometimes widely divergent groups thereby minimizing the tensions which weaken the free world. Our aim has always been one of furthering the progress of the non-self-governing peoples toward independence or self-government, but in an orderly fashion, avoiding too-rapid progress built on flimsy foundations. There is a strong continuing tendency among the non-administering members of the UN to endeavor to extend the supervisory role of the United Nations in the dependent territories in order to accelerate that progress, and our role has evolved, over the past few years, into one of seeking to moderate the attitudes of the more extreme among the administering and non-administering groups, keeping in mind the interests of the non-self-governing peoples. Our success in that role during the last Assembly was mixed.
On the one hand, the benefits of such moderate action were illustrated in the passage of two particular resolutions: (1) an approval of [Page 1427] the cessation of the transmission by Denmark of information on Greenland which has now become a part of the Danish realm; and (2) a resolution on Togoland which recognizes that the people of British Togoland are now in a position to express their own wishes as to their future. On the other hand, we were unable to avert the passage of several resolutions by the Fourth Committee which we regarded as overextending the supervisory role of the United Nations in the non-self-governing territories. In one instance, despite our objections, the Assembly, passed a resolution which would have the effect of giving the General Assembly the power to decide on the advisability of sending a visiting mission to a territory about to change its status, in order to check, for all practical purposes, the accuracy of statements made by the administering powers. This resolution conflicts in principle with our belief that the determination of the constitutional status of one of our territories is not subject to review by the UN. In conflict also with our principles was a paragraph inserted in the resolution on Greenland which reiterated the theory that the General Assembly is competent to determine whether a non-self-governing people have or have not achieved a full measure of self-government.