320/12–1951: Telegram
The Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly ( Roosevelt ) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 19—7:02 p. m.]
Delga 743. Re Draft Covenant on Human Rights. Following are texts of three resolutions submitted in Comite Three:
1. Guatemala 12 Dec Document A/C 3/L 190:
“The GA considering that it is desirable that the Covenant on HR should include provisions relating to the admissibility or non-admissibility [Page 770] of reservations and to the effect to be attributed to them, in particular with regard to the validity of the covenant as between the reserving state and other states ratifying the covenant, considering that the ICJ and other organs of the UN, including the GA, have studied the problem of reservations and that it is desirable that their conclusions should be taken into account in so far as they are appropriate to the purpose of this resolution, decides to recommend to the ECOSOC that it should instruct the Commission on HR to prepare for inclusion in the Covenant on HR one or more clauses relating to the admissibility or non-admissibility of reservations and to the effect to be attributed to them”.
2. Ecuador and Guatemala Dec 13 doc A/C 3/L 189:
“The GA considering that the Commission on HR has by virtue of GA res 421 E (V) of 4 Dec 1951, prepared various articles on economic, social and cultural rights, considering that the wording of those articles, which have been examined during the present session of the GA, should be improved in order to protect more effectively the rights to which they refer calls upon the ECOSOC to request the Commission on HR to take into consideration when revising those articles of the draft covenant the views expressed during the discussion of the draft covenant and also such views as the specialized agencies [garble] and govts of member states may think fit to advance.”
3. Syria, Dec 18 doc A/C 3/L 191.
“The GA considering that the measures for the implementation of the international Covenant on HR so far recommended by the ECOSOC and the Commission on HR do not provide for commissions of investigation and enquiry, considering that commissions of investigation and enquiry could if made to offer adequate guarantees of good faith and impartiality contribute greatly towards the implementation of the Covenant on HR and in particular of the provisions concerning economic, social and cultural rights, whereas commissions of investigation and enquiry are already widely used by the organs of the UN as means of study and investigation, requests the ECOSOC to consider the possibility of including commissions of investigation and enquiry, offering adequate safeguards of good faith and impartiality among the measures of implementation provided for by the Covenant on HR and of giving the Commission on HR specific directives on these lines.”