Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The United Nations; The Western Hemisphere, Volume II

IO Files: US/A/C.4/186, also US/T/84

Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. O. Benjamin Gerig of the Advisory Staff of the United States Delegation to the Fifth Regular Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

confidential

[New York,] November 20, 1950.

Mr. Meade¹ said he wished to suggest, informally for the moment, the desirability of arranging for further talks on colonial questions similar to those we held in August [July], in London some time in January, before the next meeting of the Trusteeship Council. Mr. Cook, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, is particularly interested in this idea and believes that it would be mutually advantageous to have such conversations in order (a) to review the various resolutions which have grown out of the present Assembly, and (b) to consider any matters which might arise in the next meeting of the Trusteeship Council.

Mr. Meade said, incidentally, that the British Delegation was very much pleased with the effects which our talks in the summer had had, particularly in the course of the discussions in Committee Four. They felt that the talks had not only been helpful but that our delegation had frilly lived up to the understandings which we had arrived at, and had helped to bring about more reasonable resolutions than had previously been the case. (The French had mentioned the same thing to me, and I believe also to Senator Cooper² a few days ago.) Meade thought that this experience showed that such talks in London would be helpful for the questions which will arise in 1951 in the Trusteeship Council, the Special Committee and the next General Assembly. I told Mr. Meade that we felt the same way about the results of the talks we had had and were very gratified that they felt our activities in this Assembly had been helpful. I added that the more positive participation of the United Kingdom Delegation and their willingness to respond to questions, many of which were very irritating, had greatly helped to change the tone of the discussions.³

[Here follows brief discussion of possible dates and participants.]

1. Gerald Meade, Adviser, British Delegation to the General Assembly.
2. Senator John Sherman Cooper was a member of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly, and represented the Delegation on the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee (Trusteeship).
3. For the summary records of these meetings, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session, Fourth Committee.