USUN Files
The Deputy United States Representative on the United Nations Commission for Conventional Armaments (Bard) to the Chairman of the Working Committee
Sir: In accordance with your suggestion made at the last meeting of the Working Committee of the Commission for Conventional Armaments on September 12th, I am transmitting herewith some of the views of my Government in connection with the Items 2 and 3 of the Plan of Work.1
The United States feels that the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces is only one part of the problem of preventing [Page 661] wars. In any consideration of the general principles governing the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces, the first and most important consideration is the establishment of world confidence and security. Indicative of the fact that this condition is at hand would be such concrete achievements as the conclusion of the peace treaties with Germany and Japan, the organization and implementation of a United Nations armed force under Article 43 of the Charter, the conclusion of an international agreement for the control of atomic energy, etc.
Because of the past experience of my Government in the field of disarmament, we are determined never again to be a party to any scheme of unilateral disarmament. It is an important principle, therefore that any effective system for the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces must be participated in and agreed to by all nations having substantial military resources.
Since it is anticipated that some time may elapse before conditions of world security are such that a full-fledged system of regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces can be implemented, it is important to consider the general principles which should govern our actions in the interim period. It is the view of my Government that any system for the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces should therefore be instituted progressively, in phase with the achievement of improved conditions of international security and good will.
My Government also subscribes to Article 26 of the Charter, which provides that any system for the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces should permit the diversion of human and economic resources to armaments only to the extent that such armaments contribute to and are consistent with the maintenance of international peace and security. It is felt that examples of ultimate requirements within this principle would be armaments essential to the internal security of nations, the provision of United Nations forces under Article 43 of the Charter, occupational responsibilities as contemplated by Article 107 of the Charter and expressed in peace treaties with Germany and Japan, etc.
It is contemplated also that any system for the regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces must make provision for effective enforcement, in the event of violation, of the terms of the treaty.
Lastly, my Government considers it important that a system of international controls and inspections be established by the treaty for the regulation and reduction of armaments. This is important, in order to provide effective safeguards to protect complying states against the hazards of violations and evasions.
[Page 662]In connection with point 3 of the Plan of Work, which provides for a discussion of safeguards, the above general principle would of course come into play. It is important that the system of international safeguards be so devised that its operation be effective, technically feasible and practicable. Any system of international control and inspection should be so devised that it will detect promptly the occurrence of violations. It is also of importance that the system minimize interference with and impose the minimum burdens on the economic and industrial life of the inspected nations.
It is hoped that the above stated general principles and the comment on the system of safeguards will prove of value in the discussion of general principles and will result in a concrete expression of the feelings of a majority of the Working Committee. This concrete expression might take the form of a resolution setting forth the agreed general principles.
I have [etc.]
- The Working Committee of the CCA had decided at its 5th Meeting, September 12, that each delegation should submit its views regarding items 2 and 3 of the Plan of Work. This statement represents the response of the United States. It was based largely upon position paper US/A/C.1/136, September 15, “United States Position on General Principles in Connection with the Regulation and Reduction of Armaments and Armed Forces (CCA Plan of Work, Item II),” not printed. That paper had been informally approved by the Secretaries of War and Navy on September 4 and by the Acting Secretary of State on September 10; it had been circulated in the Executive Committee on Regulation of Armaments as RAC D–13/10e, August 14. (Department of State Disarmament Files)↩