323. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of International Administration, Bureau of International Organization Affairs (Hefner) to the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Cleveland)1

SUBJECT

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees

You will recall Mr. Gardner’s note of December 28 on the above subject.2 In discussion of the matter with Mr. Abba Schwartz so as to determine the position our Government will take, we should keep the following thoughts in mind:

1.
Mr. Schnyder might not have performed his duties as UN High Commissioner in a most dynamic way, but he appears to have carried out his mandate and his “good offices” in a creditable manner. As you know, the U.S. Government has sought a rather limited area of responsibility for the organization. There appears to be a consensus here that Mr. Schnyder has performed in a satisfactory manner and if we continue to take a rather restrictive view of the functions of the office, it may be to our advantage to propose another term for him. This conclusion would probably not incur too much opposition from other Member Governments.
2.
If we decide that we cannot support the incumbent for another term, we should then determine whether a U.S. national should be supported or a national of another government. In my opinion, there are a number of other international organizations of more importance which calls for our efforts to secure appointments of Americans.
3.
Should we decide to support the national of another country, we ought to keep in mind the limited terms of reference we have consistently supported for this organization. If we continue to follow this line we should make certain that we do not support a national who would tend to extend the Charter of the UN High Commissioner beyond that which presently governs.

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, IO Files: Lot 67 D 378, Refugees. Official Use Only. Drafted by Lewis M. Lind and Frank K. Hefner (IO/OIA). Copies were sent to Elmer M. Falk and John C. Sauls.
  2. Not found.