While we agree that perhaps now is not the time to commit ourselves on an
understanding regarding the allocation of a seat to the Soviet bloc, we
nevertheless believe it will be necessary, very likely well before the
opening of the General Assembly, to discuss in detail the allocations
question as a whole. I cannot imagine that any of the regional blocs
will limit their discussions in the ensuing weeks to the question of the
number of seats. Equally, and possibly more important, to them will be
the question of how the seats are to be distributed so as to protect
their own interests and at the same time to secure Soviet assent to an
increase in the Council. We can expect that an overwhelming majority
will insist on one Council seat for the Soviet bloc in the firm belief
that this is the minimum price that will have to be paid for Soviet
agreement. In fact, I foresee the danger that we might be confronted
with the choice of agreeing to such an allocation under Soviet pressure
or thwarting the will of the
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majority. Unless we are prepared to state concretely and in detail our
views on both the size of increase and the allocation of seats, which I
believe are inseparable, we will not be able to exert maximum influence
on others in order to achieve a solution which fully meets our
views.
I have not discussed this letter with the Secretary since we now appear
to be in substantial agreement regarding our proposed circular message.
We shall, of course, defer transmittal of the circular until we have
your reaction to the revised text.
[Enclosure]
Draft Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain
Diplomatic Missions3
On December 14, 1955, sixteen countries were admitted to the United
Nations (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal,
Rumania, and Spain). It is anticipated that the question of
amendments to the U.N. Charter to enlarge certain organs in view of
this increase in membership will be considered at the Eleventh
Session of the General Assembly, scheduled to convene in November of
this year. Various proposals are already being discussed among U.N.
Members and the Latin American countries are now considering the
submission of an agenda item. The United States is prepared to
support an appropriate agenda item on this question.
Amendments to the Charter come into force when they have been adopted
by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of the United Nations,
including all the permanent members of the Security Council.
The following sections include essential background information on
this problem and also a summary of the present U.S. positions. The
Embassies are not requested to take any initiative on the basis of
this circular. However, if approached by the Foreign Offices
regarding U.S. views, the Embassies to which the circular is sent
for action are authorized to inform the Foreign Offices along the
lines indicated below.
[Page 105]
1. Security Council. Under Article 23 of the
Charter, the Security Council consists of five permanent members
(Republic of China, France, U.K.,
U.S. and U.S.S.R.) and six
non-permanent members elected for two year terms. A retiring member
is not eligible for immediate reelection. The six non-permanent
members at the present time are Australia, Belgium, Cuba, Iran,
Peru, and Yugoslavia. (The latter was elected on the understanding
that it would withdraw at the end of 1956 and that the Philippines
would be elected to serve the unexpired portion of its term.)
There are two principal inequities in the present allocation of
seats. First, despite the fact that a number of countries from the
Far East have been admitted to the United Nations since 1946, this
area has never been allocated a non-permanent seat. Second, only one
seat is allocated to Western Europe, whereas a substantial number of
new members from this area have been admitted to the United
Nations.
If the question of the enlargement of the Security Council is
considered at the Eleventh Session, the present position of the
Department is to support an increase of two in the number of
non-permanent seats (one Western European and one Far Eastern),
bringing the total of such seats to eight.
The United States would strongly oppose consideration by the Eleventh
Session of an increase in the number of permanent seats on the
Security Council. This question has serious implications for the
status of the Council and its operations, would be likely to embroil
the Assembly in difficult collateral issues, and could delay action
on an increase in the number of non-permanent seats.
2. Economic and Social Council. Under Article
61 of the Charter the Economic and Social Council consists of
eighteen members, elected by the General Assembly for a term of
three years. A retiring member is eligible for immediate reelection.
The Charter does not designate any countries as permanent members
but in fact the five permanent members of the Security Council have
always been reelected to ECOSOC.
In addition to the five permanent members of the Security Council,
the following countries are presently members of ECOSOC: Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece,
Indonesia, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Yugoslavia.
If the question of the enlargement of ECOSOC is considered at the Eleventh Session, the
present position of the Department is to favor an increase of four
in the number of seats, bringing the total to 22.
In considering the question of the enlargement of ECOSOC, it should be kept in mind
that one of its primary functions is the
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coordination of the economic and social
activities of the U.N. and the Specialized Agencies. This function
cannot be undertaken by a body that is too large for effective
operation. A body of 22 would be manageable, though it comes close
to being unwieldy in size. An even larger body would make more
difficult ECOSOC’s operation and
extend the length of the Council’s meetings excessively.
3. Trusteeship Council. Article 86 of the
Charter provides that the Trusteeship Council shall consist of: a)
those Members which administer trust territories; b) such of those
Members which are permanent members of the Security Council as do
not administer trust territories; and c) as many other members
elected for three-year terms by the General Assembly as may be
necessary to ensure that the total number of members of the Council
is equally divided between those members of the United Nations which
administer trust territories and those which do not. The present
members of the Trusteeship Council are Australia, Belgium, France,
Italy, New Zealand, U.K., and the
U.S. which administer trust territories; China and the U.S.S.R., which are members of the
Council because they are permanent members on the Security Council;
and Burma, Guatemala, Haiti, India and Syria, which are elected
members.
The United States believes that Article 86 is a sound provision and
should be maintained without change. Under this provision, the last
session of the General Assembly elected Burma to the Trusteeship
Council as the seventh non-administering member after Italy was
admitted to the United Nations and automatically became the seventh
administering member of the Trusteeship Council, bringing the total
number of the Council members to fourteen.
4. International Court of Justice. Article 2
of the Statute of the International Court of Justice provides that
the Court “shall be composed of a body of independent judges,
elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high
moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their
respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial
offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in
international law.” Article 3 provides that the Court shall consist
of fifteen members. Article 9 states that the electors (the General
Assembly and the Security Council) “shall bear in mind not only that
the persons to be elected should individually possess the
qualifications required, but also that in the body as a whole the
representation of the main forms of civilization and of the
principal legal systems of the world should be assured.”
The United States believes that no change should be made in the size
of the Court. In view of the nature of the Court’s work and its
special judicial procedures, an increase in its present size, which
is already unusually large for a Court which sits en banc, would
tend to hinder the proper functioning of that organ. A Court of
fifteen,
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moreover, is
sufficient to assure, in accordance with Article 9 of the Statute,
the representation in the body as a whole of the main forms of
civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world.
The present Court consists of; Hackworth, U.S.; Abdel Hamid Badawi,
Egypt; Guerrero, Salvador; J. Basdevant, France; Winiarski, Poland;
Zoricic, Yugoslavia; Klaestad, Norway; Read, Canada; Hsu Mo, China;
Armand-Ugon, Uruguay; Kojevaikov, Russia; Khan, Pakistan;
Lauterpacht, Great Britain; Quintana, Argentina; Cordova,
Mexico.4
“FYI—If the Court is not enlarged
there may be pressure in future elections to reduce the number of
seats now held by other areas in order to enable the election of an
additional judge from the Arab-Asian group which besides the Chinese
member has only two judges. The US is not committed to supporting
the existing pattern at future elections. The Department anticipates
that some redistribution of the existing pattern would in fact be
sought, and there is no assurance that other areas would be able to
maintain their present number of judges. It is therefore possible
that these areas will urge strongly an increase in the size of the
Court. The Embassies should report any indication which will assist
the Department to gauge the strength of the sentiment concerning an
increase in the Court. End FYI.
For LA posts: This circular is
intended to supply further background in connection the Department’s
circular 820 of May 25.”5
