Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, General; The United Nations, Volume I

501.BC Atomic/12–847: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the United States Representative at the United Nations (Austin)

restricted
urgent

Washington, December 8, 1947—7 p.m.

590. 1. Reference penultimate paragraph urtel 1281, December 4,¹ Dept considers it undesirable to postpone discussion of US communication on Eniwetok² until SC receives report of Committee of Experts.³ Notification of closure of an area is unilateral act not dependent on SC action. Moreover, procedures proposed by Hood⁴ might complicate discussion of both subjects.⁵

2. Following is text of a statement all or part of which might be used in SC debates if it seems necessary to defend US position. Suggest you might query Hood as Australian Delegate on his intentions in placing item on agenda and in suggesting postponement and discuss with him and with other delegates their estimate whether full-dress debate will be precipitated. In your discretion suggest to other delegates debate on this item may be unnecessary.⁶

“The US Govt has notified the SC that, effective Dec 1, 1947, Eniwetok Atoll in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands is closed for security reasons. The action to close this area was taken pursuant to the provisions of the trusteeship agreement concluded between the SC and the US.⁷ The SC was notified of this action in accordance with the statement made by the US Representative in the SC on Apr 2, 1947, that ‘my Govt contemplates that notification shall be made to the SC whenever the proviso contained in Article 13 comes into use.’⁸

The US Govt has made known to the SC in some detail the reasons for closing Eniwetok Atoll. It has announced that work has commenced there on the construction of installations required in conducting experiments relating to atomic fission. These installations will be used for the continuing conduct of a wide range of experimental projects, including the testing of results indicated by laboratory studies carried out in this country. All test operations will be under laboratory conditions and the security restrictions provided under the laws of the US will be applied.

It is expected that these scientific and technical operations on Eniwetok will provide new fundamental data and a broader understanding of the phenomena of nuclear fission which will facilitate advances in peaceful as well as in military applications of atomic energy. With respect to military applications, my Govt has made it clear many times that, pending the establishment of a fully effective system for the control of atomic energy, the US intends to expand its knowledge of atomic weapons and to continue its experiments in this field.

Scientific research in atomic energy need not and should not, in the view of my Govt, wait upon agreement among the nations of the world on a system of international control. The US has already made available to other Governments radioactive isotopes for use in medical research and for other humanitarian purposes. My Govt, moreover, has urged and will continue to urge the adoption of effective international control of atomic energy.

In this connection, it is recalled that the US Representative, in presenting the draft trusteeship agreement⁹ for these islands to the SC on Feb 26, 1947, stated that with respect to the provision in Article 13 for closing areas: ‘This provision will not, of course, prejudice the full application to the entire trust territory of all international control and inspection measures that become part of a system of international control of atomic energy, other weapons of mass destruction, and conventional armaments.’ Furthermore, my Govt stands ready, as it has stated on numerous occasions, to turn over its plants and facilities to an international agency, to dispose of its atomic bombs, and to reveal its scientific information at an appropriate stage as the elements of effective international control are progressively established. In the meantime, scientific research must go forward if mankind is to derive at an early date the full benefits of atomic energy.

The decision to establish installations for research in nuclear fission on Eniwetok Atoll was made after the most thorough investigation had been made of possible sites in the US and in areas under the jurisdiction of the US. Because of the nature of the experiments, a relatively uninhabited and isolated, though accessible, area was needed to avoid endangering human life. A study revealed that Bikini is not suitable because of its lack of suitable land surface for instrumentation necessary in scientific observations, and for housing, utilities, communications, and other facilities. Of other possible sites, Eniwetok Atoll has the fewest inhabitants to be cared for, approximately 145, and, at the same time, the necessary land surface. Of particular importance from a radiological standpoint, Eniwetok is isolated; it is far from the routes of commercial shipping and aviation; and there are large areas of open sea, particularly in the direction in which winds might carry radioactive particles, and which will be kept clear by suitable measures to avoid danger to life and property.

The action by my Govt in establishing installations on Eniwetok and the closing of the atoll for security reasons falls clearly within its powers under the terms of trusteeship. Under Article 3 of the trusteeship agreement the US Govt, as administering authority, has full powers of administration, legislation, and jurisdiction over the territory, subject to the other terms of the agreement. Under Article 13 of the agreement, the US Govt has the authority to close Eniwetok Atoll and the territorial waters surrounding it for security reasons and to determine the extent to which Articles 87 and 88 of the Charter shall be applicable to the closed area.

In the exercise of these powers, the US will protect the safety and welfare of the 145 people now located in Eniwetok Atoll. These people were relocated in their present villages by US forces during the war. They had previously been dispersed throughout the atoll to avoid being pressed into labor service by the Japanese and to obtain protection during the military operations. The chiefs and elders of Eniwetok have consented to the removal of the inhabitants from the atoll and have selected the sites for their new homes in Ujelang. They have expressed complete satisfaction with the plans for the relocation. The inhabitants concerned will be reimbursed fully for lands and other property utilized. The people to be relocated will be given every assistance and care in their move to, and reestablishment at, their new location. Measures will be taken to insure that none of the inhabitants of the Pacific area are subject to danger, and also that those few inhabitants who will move will undergo the minimum of inconvenience.

The UN has the pledge of the US Govt that the local inhabitants of the Trust Territory affected by the proposed experiments not only will be accorded every right which would be accorded under the Constitution to citizens of the US, but also will be treated as persons to whom the US owes special obligations. I am instructed by my Govt to state that special attention will continue to be given to those few inhabitants who have traditionally occupied both Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls. They will be abundantly provided with housing, food, and clothing. Special regard will be given to their permanent economic rehabilitation in their new location. Special attention will be given to their health and their educational advancement.

Periodic visits provided for in Article 87(c) of the Charter are suspended in the closed area until further notice as permitted in Article 13 of the trusteeship agreement. With this exception the provisions of Article 87 of the Charter, i.e. those relating to annual reports and petitions, will continue to apply. With respect to Article 88 of the Charter, the US Govt will, of course, report to the UN on the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Trust Territory on the basis of a questionnaire prepared by the appropriate organ of the UN. In these reports special information will be given as to the steps taken to promote the welfare of the people of Eniwetok and the former inhabitants of Bikini.”

3. More detailed material for use in rebuttal will be forwarded shortly.

Lovett

1. Not printed.
2. Document S/613, December 2; for text, see United Nations, Official Records of the Security Council, Second Year, Supplement No. 20, p. 169 (hereafter cited as SC, 2nd yr., Suppl. No. 20.); or Department of State Bulletin, December 14, 1947, p. 1174.
3. At its 220th Meeting, November 20, the Security Council had referred the question of respective functions of the Security Council and the Trusteeship Council with regard to the Trusteeship system as applied to strategic areas to the Committee of Experts for a report within four weeks. For documentation on United States policy with respect to the trusteeship question, see pp. 279 ff.
4. John D. L. Hood, of Australia, President of the Security Council in December.
5. At the 222nd Meeting of the Security Council, December 9, Hood proposed that the Council simply take note of the United States communication, deferring discussion on it until such time as the Committee of Experts submitted its report on the Trusteeship system. No objection was raised to this suggestion.
6. On December 12, the Committee of Experts informed the Security Council that unexpected complications prevented it from submitting its report within the prescribed four weeks; the report was not submitted in 1947. The United States found it unnecessary to discuss its communication since no debate on it occurred in the Security Council. In a circular diplomatic note of December 26, not printed, the Department of State officially notified the Chiefs of Mission in Washington of the closing of the Eniwetok area as of January 31, 1948.
7. For text, see SC, 2nd yr., Suppl. No. 8, pp. 69–74.
8. For the full text of the statement by the United States Representative, Warren R. Austin, see United Nations, Official Records of the Security Council, Second Year No. 31, p. 668. Hereafter cited as SC, 2nd yr., No. 31.
9. For text, see SC, 2nd yr., Suppl. No. 8, pp. 69–74.