Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V

350/4–450

The United States Representative in the Trusteeship Council (Sayre) to the President ¹

secret

Geneva, April 4, 1950.

My Dear Mr. President: Knowing your very personal interest in the situation in Palestine, and particularly in Jerusalem, may I report to you briefly on the developments which have taken place in the recently concluded meeting of the Trusteeship Council with respect to Jerusalem.

You will recall that the General Assembly on December 9, 1949, adopted a resolution proposed by Australia calling for the complete internationalization of the Jerusalem area. Although the United States, the United Kingdom, and twelve other Delegations voted against this resolution, it was nevertheless adopted by a curious combination of the Soviet bloc, the Arab bloc, and the majority of Latin American Delegations, together with France, Belgium and Australia. Many of these were undoubtedly inspired by strong views held by the Vatican. You will remember also that both Israel and Jordan, although at present technically only in de facto occupation of Jerusalem, have strongly opposed any drastic plan of internationalization and that neither our Government nor the British Government has felt it possible, nor indeed wise, to implement such a drastic plan by force or by economic compulsion.

During the past weeks the Trusteeship Council in Geneva has faced the exceedingly delicate and well-nigh impossible task of acting as an “executive organ” of the General Assembly, charged with the task of completing the preparation of the Statute of Jerusalem for thoroughgoing internationalization, and of taking immediate steps to implement it, even though certain interested Governments might strongly oppose it.

Although the United States voted against the General Assembly resolution on the ground of its impracticability, nevertheless, as a loyal member of the Trusteeship Council and in accordance with your instructions of December 20, 1949,² the United States Delegation has cooperated in the technical part of the task laid before the Council. To the completed draft Statute the United States made one notable contribution by proposing that the property rights of all churches, missions and other religious and charitable agencies in Jerusalem should be confirmed and respected, and that all such properties which have not already been returned should be returned to their original owners or to other churches, missions or charitable agencies representative of the same confession. To this proposal our Delegation won general acceptance.

After a protracted debate on the texts of the various articles, the Statute as a whole was approved by the Trusteeship Council on April 4, 1950 by a vote of 9 to 0, with the United States and the United Kingdom abstaining.³

Since complete internationalization as provided by the General Assembly resolution of December 9 is manifestly impracticable and realizing that the question of Jerusalem must therefore eventually be referred back to the General Assembly, the United States Delegation devoted its efforts to the support of a program calling for the transmittal of the completed Statute to the Governments of Israel and Jordan during the period between the winter and spring sessions of the Trusteeship Council. The objective of our Delegation was thus to give the two Governments the opportunity of expressing their views on the completed Statute and also, if possible, of reaching some common agreement of a nature to protect Christian and world interests in the Holy City. The Trusteeship Council agreed unanimously to this program.

In spite of the obvious difficulties under which the Trusteeship Council has had to work, our labors have not been in vain. We have drawn up a constructive and excellent trusteeship agreement under which Italy has already undertaken to administer its former colony of Somaliland for a period of ten years prior to its independence. In addition, the Council has carried on its normal work of examining conditions in a number of Trust Territories.

Altogether the Geneva session of the Council, which commenced on January 19 and ended on April 4, 1950, has been a constructive one. The absence of the Soviet Delegation, due to the Soviet boycott of the Council, has facilitated our work.

May I, in closing, Mr. President, express the deep personal satisfaction of Mr. Gerig, the Deputy United States Representative, and myself, in having the opportunity under your guidance and inspiration of helping to build part of the necessary foundations for the lasting peace of the world.

Respectfully yours,

Francis B. Sayre

1. Copy transmitted to the Secretary of State by Ambassador Sayre in his letter of April 4.
2. Copy not found in the files of the Department of State or in the papers of Ambassador Sayre in the Library of Congress. A White House copy is presumably in the Harry S. Truman Papers.
3. For the text of the Statute, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session, Supplement No. 9 (A/1286), p. 19. This publication will hereinafter be identified as “A/1286”.