79. Letter From Acting Secretary of State Dillon to Secretary-General Hammarskjöld1
Dear Mr. Hammarskjold: I understand that during your visit to Washington on April 232 the Secretary was not able to discuss with you in detail the problem of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Since then you have been good enough to provide us, as you told him you would, with a copy of your draft report3 on the future of UNRWA and to give us an opportunity to comment on it. I am informed that you intend to publish the report about the end of May, and I should like to give you our views on the subject.
We believe the report contains an excellent analysis of the difficulties connected with the refugee problem. In view of the political complexities involved, your reluctance to recommend a more specific solution of the problem than through a broad program of economic development for the area is understandable.
We believe your suggestion for giving host governments full responsibility for general education is a step in the right direction. However, in our view, the report does not go far enough in the direction of turning over to these governments the administrative responsibilities for the refugee program. We are aware of your reservations about the capability and willingness of the host countries to move further in this direction at the present time, but we remain convinced that such a development is an essential part of a total program looking toward a [Page 175] permanent resolution of the problem. There are admittedly some risks inherent in the proposals which our Mission at New York transmitted to you on March 20.4 However, we believe that in the long run, should international assistance be reduced, the Arab host countries could more readily be assisted in other ways, including bilateral programs, if they are caring directly for the refugees.
The need to move ahead toward an ultimate solution of the problem is of great concern to us. In this connection, your report recommends continuation of UNRWA beyond its presently scheduled termination date “pending reintegration of the refugees in the Middle East”. This, in essence, means an indefinite continuation of the program since there is no indication of how much time might be involved before it could be terminated.
I hope you will appreciate that the issuance of the report in these terms would confront the United States with very serious problems. We have made very clear on a number of occasions that we do not consider that indefinite continuation of UNRWA in its present form is the proper way to handle the problem and that feasible alternative courses do exist. Among other reasons, we are concerned that a renewal of UNRWA’s mandate might be interpreted by the countries concerned in the Near East as an indication that the United States is willing to continue to carry the major burden without those countries having to reassess carefully their own responsibilities.
Therefore, while of course the decision on publishing the draft report is yours to make, since you were kind enough to give us an opportunity to comment on it before it is issued, I must in all frankness express our regret that it does not go farther toward providing for a fundamental solution of the refugee problem.
I am confident that you will interpret my remarks in the spirit intended. I hope that you will review the contemplated report with these thoughts in mind, since real difficulties must be expected if, as now formulated, it should constitute the basis for discussion of the problem at the fourteenth General Assembly session.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 320.511/5–2159. Confidential. Drafted by Buffum on May 13 and revised in S/S on May 14; cleared with Ludlow, Rountree, Rockwell, Walmsley, Murphy, A, H, and SCA.↩
- See Document 76.↩
- No copy of the draft report has been found; for the report as released on June 15, see U.N. Doc. A/4121.↩
- See footnote 3, Document 69.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩