Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

501.BB/4–447: Circular telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to Certain American Diplomatic Missions ¹

secret
us urgent

Washington, April 4, 1947—10 p. m.

Please inform FonOff we are replying affirmatively to SYG’s request to UN Members re summoning special session GA for purpose constituting and instructing a special committee to prepare for consideration Palestine question at next regular GA session in Sept.

Please express our hope agenda can be confined to this question alone. We feel it highly desirable establish precedent that in general agenda special session be confined to speedy consideration urgent problems for which summoned and fear this would be impossible if agenda broadened. You might also express view it might be difficult for govts to prepare adequately for discussion other items in short time prior to special session.

In order avoid strain on UN budget, we would plan to limit our delegation to one representative and one alternate, with necessary advisers, on assumption agenda can be limited. We trust other govts planning along similar lines and would appreciate info re views FonOff.²

Acheson

1. Sent to 52 diplomatic missions. The Code Room was directed to preface the first sentence of the message sent to Moscow, Belgrade, Warsaw and Prague with “In your discretion”.

   According to telegram 134, April 7, from Baghdad, the Ambassador in Iraq (Wadsworth) presented an aide-mémoire, based on the circular telegram, to Foreign Minister Jamali on April 6. The Foreign Minister handed him a message he had telegraphed to other Arab League states, proposing a uniform communication to the Secretary General of the United Nations. It expressed opposition to a special session but stated that if the session were summoned to declare Palestine’s independence immediately, the Iraqi Government would welcome the session. Ambassador Wadsworth suggested that the General Assembly did not possess authority to declare Palestine’s independence and that the word “immediately” was ill-chosen in view of the British communication. Thereupon, the Foreign Minister modified his language to read that his Government would welcome a General Assembly session to the end that Palestine’s independence be declared forthwith (867N.01/4–747). The Arab states finally decided to request inclusion of an additional item in the agenda, calling for termination of the mandate over Palestine and the declaration of its independence. These views were sent to the Secretary General by the diplomatic representatives in the United States of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia in communications dated April 21 and 22; for texts, see GA (S–I), Plenary, vol. i, pp. 183–186.

2. Telegram 2108, April 7, from London reported that the British Foreign Office informed the Embassy that restriction of the agenda to a single item was entirely in conformity with its Wishes (501.BB/4–847).