IO files, lot 71 D 440

Minutes of the First Meeting of the United States Delegation to the Seventh Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly, October 13, 1952

[Extract]

1
secret
US/A/M(Chr)/238

. . . . . . .

This session of the Assembly, in the Secretary’s opinion, would be particularly difficult, especially when the United States has no great constructive program to offer as it has had in the past. This time we will see the former dependent areas arrayed against the European colonial powers, making for many difficulties. The Secretary recalled the problem of Morocco that had faced the 6th Session.2 It had been decided then that it was not a good idea to force France to make a choice between its interests in NATO and its interests in North Africa. Therefore, postponement had been sought. This treatment had probably succeeded in alienating both sides. It would not be wise to seek postponement again. Equally, or perhaps more difficult at this Session, would be the item on the racial policies of South Africa. In both of these cases the United States would vote to inscribe the item on the agenda, and agreed that the Assembly had competence to discuss them. The important objective would then be to avoid exacerbating relations between the opposing sides. There was really very little that the Assembly could do. If discussion could be held, however, in an atmosphere of restraint and mutual respect, the United States might succeed, by talking with both sides and with others, in reducing the temperatures and heated tempers. From Casablanca to Indonesia there was a vast area of potential and actual unrest which is of concern to us; on the other hand, we must not allow those matters to endanger our security interests in the NATO area. As to the South African items—one consideration is that our principal reliance for uranium lies there. He cautioned against taking hold of glowing principles and dropping these other important considerations.

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The US Delegation should talk with the other Delegations and show them that these very difficult problems could not be solved by extreme measures. The Secretary felt that time, relaxation of tension and an absence of recriminating charges were the only hopes for solving these problems.

. . . . . . .

  1. Among those parts of the Minutes not printed is a list of 40 people present, including the Head of the U.S. Delegation, Secretary of State Dean Acheson; and United States Representatives to the Seventh Session, Ambassador Warren R. Austin; Eleanor Roosevelt; Senator Theodore F. Green; Senator Alexander Wiley; and Ambassador Ernest A. Gross. The agenda for this meeting included: welcoming remarks, remarks by the Secretary, delegation organization and procedures, delegation press policy, administrative arrangements, and Plenary and General Committee problems (Chinese representation and General Committee slate). The extract is taken from the section entitled “Remarks by the Secretary.”
  2. For documentation on U.S. interest in this subject, see Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. ii, pp. 135 ff.