Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, General: The United Nations, Volume I

501.PA/11–545: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, November 5, 1945—midnight.
[Received November 5—11:10 p.m.]

11611. For Acheson from MacLeish.²⁰ US Delegation is unanimously in favor of taking initiative whereby educational and cultural problems in non-self-governing territories may be given suitable attention by UNESCO.^20a There is considerable pressure in the Conference for some action of this kind and we think this proposal is the best way to handle it. Toward this end the following proposal has been drafted for possible submission to Commission Five of the Conference:

“Acting upon the conviction that the ideas and purposes expressed in the preamble to the draft proposals for an educational, scientific and cultural organization of the United Nations and in articles 1 and 2 of these proposals are of paramount concern to the non-self-governing peoples of the world and,

In accordance with the obligations accepted in articles 73 and 91 of the Charter of the United Nations to ensure the educational advancement of non-self-governing peoples with due respect for their culture,

The US Delegation hereby submit to Commission Five the following proposals for consideration and appropriate action: (1) That UNESCO convene at an early date a conference on educational and cultural problems of the peoples in non-self-governing territories. (2) That special consideration be given in such a conference to ways and means whereby the peoples of these territories will be enabled effectively to participate in the work of UNESCO. (3) That the Interim Commission in formulating recommendations for the agenda of the first meeting of the conference of UNESCO give special attention to this item.”

Item 2 in the above proposal ties in with similar action taken on dependent territory representation at the Paris International Labor Conference.²¹

Department’s views urgently requested. [MacLeish.]

Winant

20. Archibald MacLeish, Assistant Secretary of State for Public and Cultural Relations, Chairman of United States delegation.
21. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
21. See International Labour Conference, 27th Session, Paris, 1945, Record of Proceedings, (Geneva, International Labour Office, 1946), pp. 401–437; for text of resolution, see ibid., p. 469.