160. Telegram From the Mission at the United Nations to the Department of State1
Delga 279. Re: Membership. I made following statement at press conference held Sunday, 4:30 p.m. at US Mission:
“In his speech at the opening of the General Assembly on September 22nd, Secretary of State Dulles pointed out ‘that our organization’s power derives largely from moral judgments formed here’ and that, therefore, it is essential ‘that there should be here all of those eligible nations which, by their policies and conduct, have demonstrated their devotion to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter’. He pointed out that ‘about a score of sovereign nations are not represented here and many of them meet the membership tests of our Charter. They are peace-loving and they have shown themselves able and willing to carry out the Charter’s obligations. Their governments would reflect here important segments of world opinion. To block the admission of such nations by use of the veto power is a grave wrong, not only to them, but it is also a wrong to this organization and to all of its members. I hope that during this Tenth Session action will be taken by the Security Council and by the General Assembly to bring these nations into our membership. Thus, the United Nations would enter its second decade better equipped to serve mankind’.
A large number of deserving and qualified nations have been blocked from admission to the United Nations because of the Soviet Union’s abuse of the veto power in the Security Council. Among these nations, in the European area, are Italy, Austria, Finland, Eire, and Portugal. The Security Council has not as yet taken up the application of Spain, which is also a deserving and qualified nation.
In the Near and Far East, the number of deserving and qualified nations includes seven countries specifically endorsed for immediate [Page 357] United Nations membership by the Bandung Conference of last spring: Cambodia, Ceylon, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Libya, and Nepal.
It has been reported that the Soviet Union would be willing to withhold its veto and accept these free nations as members of the United Nations if the free world is willing to accept the admission of nations behind the so-called Iron Curtain nations whose governments are not equals among equals as are nations of the free world, but are in a subordinate relationship to Moscow.
To refrain from preventing the entrance of satellites into the United Nations does not mean approval of their present systems of government nor does it condone the violations of human rights in which these governments have persistently engaged.
Indeed, there is reason to hope that membership in the United Nations will to some extent bring the peoples of these countries closer to independence.
The over-riding fact is that the admission of 13 free nations greatly outweighs whatever drawbacks there may be in the admission of the others because the 13 nations would add so tremendously to the moral weight of the United Nations.
For these reasons, the United States intends to vote for the admission of the 13 and to abstain on the others. Our abstention in the Security Council on the applications of satellites is consistent with our national policy, as expressed in the Vandenberg resolution of 1948 (80th Congress), which called for voluntary agreement among the permanent members of the Security Council to remove the veto from the admission of new members. This proposal covers 17 new members, 13 of whom we favor. The satellites would include Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania, since it is obvious that Outer Mongolia can not make the grade.”
In response to planned inquiry, I made following statement concerning question of Chinese representation:
“To avoid any possible misunderstanding, I pointed out that the question of new members is totally distinct from the demand of the Chinese Communists to represent China, which is already a member. In American political language, the matter raised by the Chinese communists is not a question of membership, but a question of what delegates from what governments are entitled to represent a country which, from the beginning of the United Nations, has been an acknowledged member. The only connection between the proposed new members and representation of China by the Communists would be that the added moral weight of the new members would mean more support for the United States on many issues (even after deducting the votes of the satellites), including our opposition to seating the Chinese Communists.”
[Page 358]In addition, in order to help prepare groundwork for important role we expect Belaunde (Peru) to play on this question, I paid tribute to his efforts as Good Offices Committee chairman.
I also praised Canadian government for efforts made up to this point in keeping membership question alive. I also took opportunity to make reference to Kossuth, reference to which was included in additional material Dept sent on Eastern European satellites. With respect to divided countries, I made statement along lines suggested by Secretary in Secto 230.2
Verbatim text of entire press conference will be sent by wire also.3