34. Editorial Note
In his address before the U.N. General Assembly on September 22, President Eisenhower devoted considerable attention to Africa, concluding with the following proposal:
“These then are the five ingredients of the program I propose for Africa:
“Noninterference in the African countries” internal affairs; “Help in assuring their security without wasteful and dangerous competition in armaments;
“Emergency aid to the Congo;
“International assistance in shaping long-term African development programs;
“United Nations aid for education.” (American Foreign Policy: Cur-rent Documents, 1960, pages 60–70; see also Document 225)
On September 28, Ambassador James J. Wadsworth wrote to Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld requesting inclusion of a new item entitled “Africa: A United Nations Program for Independence and Development” in the agenda of the Fifteenth Regular Session. Wads-worth’s letter was accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum as required by Rule 20 of the Rules of Procedure. (U.N. doc. A/4515; ibid., October 24, 1960, pages 657–659) The question was inscribed as item 88 on October 10, but it did not come up for discussion until the resumed 15th Session in 1961. In his welcoming remarks to the heads of the delegations of 15 new African states and Cyprus at the White House on October 14, President Eisenhower stated that his proposals might not have been “exactly those that you believe to be correct. All I was trying to point out was the kind of thing that the United States would be prepared to join with others in attempting to do through the United Nations.” (Ibid., November 7, 1960, page 713)
On October 20, Ambassador Wadsworth conveyed to the Secretary-General for circulation to all Member States an illustrative draft resolution (Addendum 1 to U.N. doc. A/4515) “in Elaboration of the Views Presented by the United States in its Request for Inscription of an Item Entitled, Africa: A United Nations Program for Independence and Development.” Thereby the United States hoped to enhance its bargaining position, maintain the initiative, and preserve the total impact of the President’s proposals. Background information is in telegram 681 to USUN, October 15. (Department of State, Central Files, 320/10–1560) The text of the illustrative draft resolution adhered closely to the language of the President’s U.N. address.