197. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Cleveland) to Secretary of State Rusk1
SUBJECT
- Resumed Session of the 16th General Assembly
Time magazine recently described the 16th General Assembly as “the sensible 16th”. In the assessment that I sent to you on December 20, I noted that real progress had been made at the first part of the session.
The resumed session, which with one exception was confined to colonial issues, did nothing to upset this favorable balance and in fact made it even more favorable. With solid Latin American support (except for Cuba itself), the Assembly refused, despite strenuous Soviet bloc efforts to the contrary, to take any action even of an anodyne nature on Cuba’s charges against the United States. The greater moderation on colonial issues that had marked the first part of the session continued to prevail during the resumed session. Moderate resolutions on Angola and Ruanda Urundi were adopted by overwhelming majorities, and Soviet efforts on behalf of more extreme positions, particularly in the case of Ruanda Urundi, were not appreciated by the Afro-Asians. As we hoped, no resolution was adopted on British Guiana. Only in the case of Southern Rhodesia was action taken that we fear may aggravate rather than ameliorate the problem.
A more detailed account of the Assembly’s action on the five items considered at its resumed session is attached.2
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1960–63, 320/3–862. Confidential. Drafted by Virginia F. Hartley on March 8.↩
- Not printed. The topics discussed in the “Resume of Resumed Session” were General Assembly actions concerning Angola, Cuba, Ruanda-Urundi, Southern Rhodesia, and British Guiana.↩