Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Foreign Economic Policy; Foreign Information Program, Volume IX

160. Instruction From the Department of State to the Mission at the United Nations¹

A–250

Washington, March 11, 1957.

SUBJECT

• Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on SUNFED

The following is for the guidance of the U.S. Delegation to the Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on SUNFED.

1. Since the Committee’s first task is to complete the report called for by General Assembly Resolution 923 (X),² the U.S. Delegation should, so far as this task is concerned continue to be guided by the relevant portions of the instructions contained in Departmental Instruction A–281 of May 4, 1956.³

2. As regards the task assigned to the Ad Hoc Committee by the resolution⁴ on a special UN fund for economic development of the 11th Session of the General Assembly, the Delegation should bear the following in mind: In explaining its vote in favor of this resolution, the U.S. Delegation recalled the understanding as to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee arrived at during the 10th Session of the General Assembly, i.e., to carry on the orderly exploration, already initiated by the United Nations, of the various ideas and suggestions which governments may have relative to the proposed special fund, which may be useful when the fund becomes a practical possibility. The Delegation stated that in its view the resolution adopted by the 11th General Assembly provided for further work along these lines. The Ad Hoc Committee was being asked to give a fuller, more orderly and helpful picture of the various organizational patterns or forms of legal framework on which an international development fund could be established. The Committee was not being asked to select from among these various patterns a particular pattern, or combination of elements from different patterns, which it would recommend as the legal framework which appeared most desirable for an international fund. Work of this nature would be of the very essence of drafting statutes. It would, therefore, be work in which the United States would be unable to participate.

The Delegation should endeavor to keep the new work of the Ad Hoc Committee consistent with the above understanding of the U.S. Delegation to the General Assembly, as to its nature.

In this connection, the Delegation’s attention is called to the last paragraph of Gadel 142 of February 12⁵ which stated that the “U.S. cannot support any resolution which would require U.S. as a member Ad Hoc Committee to state a set of principles on which fund’s charter should be based or to select among governments’ views on fund’s organization and administration those which it favors. Function Ad Hoc Committee should continue to be essentially clerical and limited to organization of views of governments into meaningful categories”.

In particular Delegation should endeavor to avoid any report from the Ad Hoc Committee the effect of which would be to merge or otherwise to blur the differences among views expressed by governments with respect to the establishment, organization and operation of a special UN economic development fund.

3. Should it become apparent that a majority of the Ad Hoc Committee is disposed to press for a report inconsistent with the above, the Delegation should reserve its position and request instructions.

Herter

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 398.051/3–1157. Official Use Only. Drafted by Stibravy.
2. See footnote 4, Document 138.
3. Instruction A–281, May 4, 1956, states in part that the U.S. Representative should make clear at the outset of the committee’s deliberations that “there is no change in the United States position on SUNFED as expressed in recent meetings of the General Assembly and ECOSOC” and that he should “scrupulously avoid speculation as to the possibility of any future changes in that position.” (Department of State, Central Files, 398.051/3–1157)
4. Resolution 1030 (XI), adopted by the General Assembly at its 661st plenary meeting, February 26, 1957. For text, see Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly from 12 November 1956 to 8 March 1957 during its Eleventh Session, p. 13.
5. Not printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 398.051/2–957)