Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, United Nations and General International Matters, Volume XI

80. Position Paper Prepared in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs for the Delegation to the Twelfth Session of the General Assembly¹

SD/A/434

Washington, September 2, 1957.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR A CONFERENCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVIEWING THE CHARTER

The Problem

The Twelfth General Assembly has on its provisional agenda the Report of the Committee on Arrangements for a Conference for the Purpose of Reviewing the Charter, established by the Assembly in 1955 at its Tenth Session (Resolution 992).² This Committee was created to consider the question of fixing a time and place for a Charter review conference, which the Assembly had decided should be held “at an appropriate time”, and the organization and procedures of such a conference, and to report to the Twelfth General Assembly. The Committee, comprised of all U.N. Members, met on June 3, 1957, and adopted by 67 votes (U.S.) to none, with 9 abstentions, a resolution recommending to the Twelfth General Assembly that the Committee “be kept in being” and requested to report again to the Assembly with recommendations “not later than its fourteenth session.”

The same Tenth General Assembly Resolution that established this Committee had also requested the Secretary-General to complete the publications program undertaken pursuant to the request of the Eighth General Assembly (Resolution 796)³ and to continue, prior to the Assembly’s Twelfth Session, to prepare and circulate supplements, as appropriate, to the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. The resolution adopted by the Committee at its meeting on June 3 requested the Secretary-General to continue this work.

United States Position

1. The United States should support acceptance of the Committee’s recommendation by the General Assembly including its request to the Secretary-General and should be prepared either to join in co-sponsoring a resolution to this end or to leave this initiative to others, depending on which appears most desirable from the tactical standpoint.

2. The United States should, if appropriate, make a brief statement of support for the Committee’s recommendation at the time this agenda item is considered, reiterating U.S. interest in the holding of a Charter review conference when circumstances are auspicious but recognizing the general consensus that such circumstances do not presently prevail.

3. In view of the nature of the Committee’s recommendation and the vote by which it was adopted, consideration of this agenda item in committee does not appear necessary, and the United States should therefore endeavor to arrange for its consideration directly in plenary.

Comment

Article 109(3) of the U.N. Charter provides that if a general conference to review the Charter has not been held by the Tenth Session of the General Assembly, the proposal to call such a conference shall be placed on the agenda of that session. No such conference having been held by 1955, this question therefore appeared automatically on the agenda of the Tenth General Assembly. The Assembly adopted by a vote of 43 (U.S.) to 6 (Soviet bloc and Syria), with 9 abstentions a resolution, co-sponsored by the United States, the United Kingdom, and five other members, expressing the belief that review of the Charter “under auspicious international circumstances” is desirable and deciding that a general conference to review the Charter “shall be held at an appropriate time.” The resolution then established the committee whose report is before the current session of the Assembly. There was general agreement at the Tenth Session that the Assembly’s action constituted a decision in principle to hold a review conference and at the same time took into account the necessity for a more favorable political climate than that then prevailing if the potential benefits of a review conference were to be fully realized. Only the Soviet bloc opposed the idea of Charter review, its members stating that they would therefore not participate in the Committee.

It was the general understanding at that time that the Committee had the authority to recommend further postponement of the decision on the time and place of the review conference if in its opinion international circumstances are still not auspicious for the holding of the conference, and the Committee acted on this understanding. The United States, in supporting this action, referred to the general agreement among Committee members that the “appropriate time referred to in the Tenth General Assembly’s resolution had not yet arrived” and reaffirmed its belief that the review conference “should be held when circumstances are auspicious.” The phrase “no later than its fourteenth session” in the Committee’s resolution reflects the U.S. view that the Committee should be free to report earlier if circumstances warrant. The Soviet bloc, contrary to previous statements, participated in the meeting of the Committee but abstained on the resolution, after its members had declared their continued opposition to the holding of any review conference.

While the United States and the United Kingdom were co-sponsors of the Tenth General Assembly resolution, none of the major powers was included among the sponsors of the Committee resolution—Brazil, Canada, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iran, Liberia, and Panama. In view of the fact that Article 109(3) was included in the Charter in deference to the views of the smaller states, it may prove desirable to leave the sponsorship of the Assembly resolution to them.

The vote on the Committee’s resolution points to its acceptance by the Twelfth General Assembly without controversial debate, and there have been no indications to the contrary since the Committee’s meeting in June. This should permit expeditious handling of the item directly in plenary, which would be consistent with the handling of the original item at the Tenth General Assembly and serve to discourage any substantive discussion.⁴

1. Source: Department of State, IO Files: Lot 71 D 440, 12th GA, Committees 1–6. Official Use Only.
2. Resolution 992 (X), “Proposal to Call a General Conference of the Members of the United Nations for the Purpose of Reviewing the Charter,” adopted at the 547th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on November 21, 1955, without reference to a committee is printed in United Nations General Assembly Official Records, Tenth Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/3116), Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during its Tenth Session from 20 September to 20 December, 1955, p. 49.
3. Resolution 796 (VIII), “Publication of documents concerning the drafting and application of the Charter: Preparatory work with regard to the possible holding of a General Conference of the Members of the United Nations in accordance with Article 109 of the Charter,” adopted at the 458th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on November 27, 1953, is printed ibid., Eighth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/2630), Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its Eighth Session from 15 September to 9 December, 1953, p. 51.
4. On October 14, the General Assembly took up the Committee’s report in the form of a draft resolution endorsing the Committee’s recommendations. This resolution, sponsored by Afghanistan, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Liberia, and Panama was adopted by a vote of 54 to 0 with 9 abstentions, as Resolution 1136 (XII). For further information, see Yearbook of the United Nations, 1957, pp. 113-114.