Office of the Historian

UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Slates”

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Key) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Barbour)

confidential
[Washington,] September 16, 1954.
  • Subject:
  • United States Position on Election of U.S.S.R. Candidates to the Advisory Committee and the Committee on Contributions

Reference is made to your memorandum of September 10, 1954 in which you express the belief that we should vote in favor of suitable Soviet candidates for the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Committee on Contributions if China does not put forward one.

China has now proposed a Chinese National for the Advisory Committee, and we will support his election. The only case in question, therefore, is the Contributions Committee.

I recognize that there are arguments in favor of voting for a Soviet national for this particular Committee. However, an affirmative vote would be contrary to current Department policy, which is against voting for Soviet bloc candidates for any United Nations post. While it is true, as you point out, that we examine Soviet bloc candidacies on an ad hoc basis, we do this not to determine whether to vote for them, but rather to determine whether we should vote against or abstain—in other words, whether we should vote for a non-Soviet candidate instead or cast a blank ballot.

In the case of the Contributions Committee, we will, of course, support a Chinese candidate if one is nominated. Even if China does not put forward a candidate, I think we should authorize the Delegation to vote for any other qualified non-Soviet candidate if Mr. Saksin of the U.S.S.R., who is particularly objectionable, is the Soviet candidate. However, if the U.S.S.R. nominates a more suitable candidate, I think the United States could cast a blank ballot.