Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Africa and South Asia, Volume XI, Part 1

771.00/8–2553: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the United States Mission at the United Nations¹

confidential priority

Washington, August 25, 1953—7:40 p.m.

80. For Lodge.² Following draft statement has been personally approved by Secretary. The use of the phrase in parentheses is left to your discretion:

“In passing on the question of inscription of this item we must decide whether the developments in Morocco constitute a situation the continuance of which endangers the maintenance of international peace and security. We are not asked to express our position on colonialism, or on other similar questions, important and appealing though they may be. The US is certainly one of the greatest examples in the world today of a country which has successfully freed itself and helped to free others from a colonial status. We applaud the fact that in the brief time since the UN came into existence ————— million people in the non-Soviet world have won their independence (just as we deplore the fact that in the Soviet-dominated world a comparable number of people have lost the reality of independence). We have recently publicly applauded the July 3 announcement of the French policy of complete independence for the Associated States of Indochina. We look for increasing self-government in Morocco and elsewhere. Such are our sentiments. But it must be obvious to anybody who looks at the facts candidly that the situation in Morocco does not endanger international peace and security, just as it must be clear to anyone who surveys the UN candidly that the surest way to undermine the position of the SC is to depart from its primary mission to maintain the peace of the world and instead to deal with all sorts of other questions under the guise of international peace and security.

I realize that the argument is made that the fact that 16 nations object to recent events in Morocco in and of itself constitutes ‘international friction’ and therefore empowers the SC to investigate to see whether continuance of the situation is likely to endanger international peace. This line of reasoning would make it possible always to break down the distinction between matters of domestic and international concern.

It is our conviction that the situation in Morocco does not endanger international peace and security and we therefore shall vote against placing this question on the agenda.”³

Dulles

1. This telegram was drafted by Mangano.
2. A memorandum by Kitchen to Smith, dated Aug. 25, transmitted several statements on Morocco for use in the Security Council debate on Aug. 26. One was a text submitted by Ambassador Lodge in USUN telegram 134, Aug. 24. Attached to it were a memorandum by Sandifer suggesting some minor revisions and a final revision of Ledge’s text by UNA. Also attached was a memorandum by Merchant to the Secretary indicating that EUR could not concur in the UNA–NEA draft and transmitting a suggested statement by EUR. (771.00/8–2553) Another copy of the Merchant memorandum had a handwritten note by O’Connor, noting that the Secretary had seen it and had sent his own version by cable on Aug. 25. (330/8–2553)
3. On Aug. 27, Lodge advised the Security Council of the U.S. position along the above lines. On Sept. 3, the Security Council voted not to include the item on its agenda by a vote of 5 to 5, with 1 abstention.