341. Airgram From the Department of State to the Mission to the United Nations1
SUBJECT
- United States position in General Assembly plenary on resolution urging ratification of Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961
The United States Delegation should continue to vote against the resolution.2 It is recommended that the Delegation make the following explanation of its negative vote:
“The United States has opposed passage of this resolution in the Third Committee and in the Economic and Social Council for reasons which were explained at that time. Since then, the Government of Greece has ratified the 1953 Protocol, an event which the United States believes is a major new development in the field of international control of narcotic drugs. As a result of this ratification it is expected that the 1953 Protocol will soon enter into force. [In the event that Greece deposits its ratification before the explanation is given by the Delegation, the preceding sentence should be replaced by one reading [Page 753] ’As a result of the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Greece, the 1953 protocol will enter into force on——-.’]3
“I shall not take your time at this point to give what would be a very technical explanation of what this development means. But I am convinced that further action at this time towards implementing the Single Convention, in the absence of experience with the operation of the 1953 Protocol, is premature. I hope other governments may come to share this view once they have had the opportunity to evaluate this new development.”
USUN should not lobby for the US position. It should consult with the Greek delegation and if possible prevent any lobbying on its part. Agreement should be reached with the Greek delegation on the statements to be made by the United States and Greece. The United States Delegation should request both the Greek Delegation and the Secretariat to inform the USDel the minute the Greek instrument of ratification is deposited and the date the Protocol will enter into force.
Discussion
In explaining our negative vote on this resolution in the Third Committee we stated that our opposition to the Single Convention was: (1) because it permitted any country to produce up to 5 tons of opium for export; and (2) because it permitted ratification subject to reservations which allowed countries to gain the benefits of adherence with few, if any, of the liabilities.
Greek ratification of the 1953 Protocol furnishes a third reason. The terms of the 1953 Protocol are sufficiently rigid to provide for the first time the legal control over opium production which has been sought by all persons seriously concerned with the problem since it was first discussed on an international level. It would be highly desirable, now that this system of control is at last to be put into effect, to allow nations to experience the benefits which should accrue from this system over a period of time. It can be confidently predicted that this experience will be rewarding and the chances of getting even broader international agreement on this basis after a trial period are considered good.
While this new development presents a strong reason why member countries should not ratify the Single Convention, USUN should not attempt to change the vote of other countries at this time. A very substantial number of delegations voted in favor of the resolution in the Third Committee. Presumably most of these did so under instructions, and it is unrealistic to hope that other delegations could get their instructions changed in time for a negative vote or abstention in plenary. Also, should the United States make this attempt and should the [Page 754] plenary vote be overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution, then the United States’ new argument will appear to have been publicly repudiated. In addition, argument at this point might harden the position and thus make it more difficult to persuade other governments to change their position in the future.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1960–63, 341.9/11–3062. Official Use Only. Drafted by Helen E. Dougherty; cleared by James P. Hendrick (Treasury), Bevans, and James M. Ludlow (NEA); and approved by Robert Rossow, Jr. (IO/OES).↩
- Reference is to a resolution that the UN General Assembly adopted on December 7 as resolution 1774 (XVII) by a vote of 92 to 1 with 4 abstentions. The resolution invited member states to take such steps as might be necessary to ratify or accede to the Single Convention and noted that by October 12, 64 countries had signed the Convention and 11 had ratified or acceded to it.↩
- Brackets in the source text.↩