320/6–2751: Circular airgram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Missions 1

confidential

The Department has begun preparations for the next (sixth) regular session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held in Paris. The date for the convening of the session has been fixed as November 6, with the possibility that it might begin earlier, perhaps October 24.

1. Advance Diplomatic Consultations

For your background information we are planning to consult other friendly governments in advance of the Assembly with respect to (a) the broad program for the session; and (b) our positions on certain significant agenda items. In these consultations, the general program of action in the Assembly will probably be taken up first. In respect of both (a) and (b), however, consultations will be held on the basis of our tentative views in order that we may be able to take the views of other governments into account, insofar as possible, in the formulation of our final positions.

We will, therefore, over the next four months, send several communications relating to the question of the general program for the session, and setting forth appropriate background information and our tentative positions on a number of issues which you will be asked to discuss with the Foreign Office. We will parallel your approaches with consultations here in Washington with various diplomatic representatives and, through the USUN, with members of the permanent United Nations delegations in New York.

2. New Agenda Items

We would, as in previous years, appreciate any information you may receive regarding new agenda items which the government to which you are accredited is likely to raise for inclusion in the Assembly’s agenda. In making any appropriate informal inquiries in this connection, however, you should not give any impression that we wish to stimulate the introduction of new items. In fact, in view of the size of the present agenda, the importance and urgency of a number of items, and the lateness of the session, we would be inclined to discourage the introduction of new items not strictly of an important and urgent character.

There is transmitted under separate cover for your background information a list prepared in the Department of items which are [Page 16] expected to be included in the agenda of the sixth Assembly.2 You will note that bracketed items are not certain to be included in the agenda.

3. Composition of Delegations and Biographic Material

We would appreciate information with respect to the composition of other Delegations to the Assembly and any available information regarding the assignment of delegates to the Main Committees of the Assembly (Committee 1: Political and Security; Ad Hoc Political Committee; Committee 2: Economic and Financial; Committee 3: Social, Humanitarian and Cultural; Committee 4: Trusteeship; Committee 5: Administrative and Budgetary; Committee 6: Legal).

As for previous sessions the Department will prepare biographic sketches of the members of other Delegations for the background information of our Delegation. In this connection it would be appreciated if you would communicate to the Department biographic material on new delegates and any additional information on former delegates which has not previously been reported.

Acheson
  1. Sent to the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) and to U.S. Embassies and Legations located in 52 of the Member States of the United Nations, for action; sent to the Embassies in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovkia, and Poland for information only.
  2. See section entitled “Matters Considered During the Sixth Regular Session” (the General Assembly agenda) in United Nations, Yearbook of the United Nations, 1951 (United Nations, New York, 1952), pp. 1822.