Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, United Nations and General International Matters, Volume XI

195. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at the United Nations¹

Washington, December 1, 1955—2:03 p.m.

390. Personal for Lodge from Secretary. I have spent some two hours this morning with my associates going over this very delicate and difficult problem of membership. I have come to the following conclusions:

We should in committee abstain on the Soviet amendment to the Canadian Resolution. We should then abstain in the vote on the Canadian Resolution whether or not the Soviet amendment has been adopted and in plenary we should similarly abstain.

In connection with our votes, we should make clear our basic position with reference to the membership problem.

1. Our desire is to bring about promptly membership of the qualified nations which have applied.

2. We do not, however, desire to be committed to a “package” procedure which seems to be incompatible with the provisions of the Charter as interpreted by the Court of International Justice.

3. We do not wish to endorse for membership countries which, in our opinion, are not independent sovereign states and whose subject status constitutes or derives from the violation of treaties and wartime agreements.

4. It is not, however, our intention to use the veto in the Security Council to thwart what may prove to be the will of a qualified majority in the Security Council and in the General Assembly.

5. We abstained, and do not vote against, the Canadian Resolution and Soviet amendment because they are in form at least merely a request to the Security Council to consider certain applications. We do not wish to vote for the Resolution because that could be misinterpreted as, in fact, approving a procedure and certain membership applications as regards which we have grave doubts as above set forth.

In view of the extreme importance which this whole matter has assumed as regards our relations with friendly countries in Europe and in Asia, who in turn have strong supporters in this hemisphere, we expect to prepare a text elaborating the points 1 to 5 which we will transmit tomorrow morning after it has been cleared here in the Department by the Assistant Secretaries concerned with the various areas involved.

Dulles

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 310.2/12–155. Secret; Priority. Drafted and approved for transmission by Dulles. Cleared by Merchant and Robertson. The substance of this telegram was conveyed to Taipei, eyes only for Ambassador Rankin, in telegram 326, December 1. (Ibid.)