Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, The United Nations; The Western Hemisphere, Volume II

IO Files: US/A/2010/Rev.1

United States Delegation Working Paper¹

New York, December 19, 1949

Summary of Action Taken by the Fourth Regular Session of the General Assembly

September 20–December 10, 1949

[Here follow certain general observations and summaries of the record of activities of the First, Second, and Third Committees and issues related thereto.]

reports of the fourth committee²

(Trusteeship and Non-Self-Governing Territories)

(a) Report of the Trusteeship Council³

Six resolutions were approved by the Assembly on this subject, on November 15.⁴ The United States voted in favor of these resolutions.

The first resolution deals with the political advancement of Trust Territories and, as adopted, simply takes note of decisions of the Trusteeship Council in this field, expressing full support of the Council’s recommendations to the Administering Authorities for the adoption of measures to hasten the advancement of Trust territories toward self-government or independence; and recommends to the Trusteeship Council that it should include in its annual reports to the General Assembly information dealing with the implementation of its recommendations concerning measures adopted to grant the indigenous inhabitants of Trust Territories a larger degree of self-government through participation in the legislative, executive and judicial organs and procedures of these territories. As originally reported by the Fourth Committee, this resolution contained two additional provisions, both of which were defeated, under which the Assembly would have expressed the view that the seat of administration in all Trust Territories should be located in the territories concerned, and would have called upon the Administering Authorities to furnish to the Trusteeship Council within one year a general plan of the means by which they intended to comply with the provisions of the Charter relating to the progressive development of Trust Territories toward self-government, self-determination or independence. The first of these provisions was rejected (a two-thirds majority being required for action in trusteeship matters) by a vote of 29 to 15, with 8 abstentions, while the second was defeated by a vote of 29 to 21, with 7 abstentions. Following the deletion of these two paragraphs, the resolution as a whole was adopted by 51 votes to 0, with 2 abstentions.

Resolution II, after taking note of the activities of the Trusteeship Council with respect to the examination of petitions and the sending of visiting missions to Trust Territories, recommends that the Trusteeship Council take appropriate measures to facilitate and accelerate examination and disposal of petitions and that it direct its visiting missions to report fully on political, economic, social and educational advancement, and particularly steps taken toward self-government or independence in the Trust Territories. This resolution was adopted by a vote of 54 to 0, with 1 abstention.

Resolution III, following a paragraph-by-paragraph vote, was adopted as a whole by 49 votes to 1, with 7 abstentions. This resolution, having to do with economic advancement in the Trust Territories, expresses support of the recommendations of the Trusteeship Council in this field; re-affirms the principle that the interests of the indigenous inhabitants must be paramount in all economic plans or policies in Trust Territories; expresses concern at the lack of budgetary autonomy in some cases and the scarcity of data in others, making impossible thorough examination by the Trusteeship Council of the financial situation of certain territories; notes with satisfaction the excellent financial situation in Western Samoa and Nauru; and recommends that the Trusteeship Council include in its annual report a special section dealing with implementation by the Administering Authorities of its recommendations on economic advancement of Trust Territories.

Resolution IV was adopted by 52 votes to 1, with 4 abstentions. This resolution expresses satisfaction at the recommendations of the Trusteeship Council concerning absolute prohibition of such practices as child marriage in Trust Territories; recommends the adoption of strong measures to abolish corporal punishment in certain territories; recommends that the Trusteeship Council consider the adoption of measures for the solution of such problems as migrant labor and penal sanctions for breach of labor contracts by indigenous inhabitants; recommends the abolition of discriminatory laws and practices in Trust Territories and their examination by the Trusteeship Council; and requests the Council to include [in] its annual report a special section dealing with implementation of its recommendations concerning the improvement of social conditions in Trust Territories.

Resolution V, dealing with educational advancement in the Trust Territories, following a paragraph-by-paragraph vote, was adopted as a whole by 50 votes to 0, with 5 abstentions. This resolution, among other things, recommends that the Trusteeship Council continue its program for developing in the Trust Territories the diffusion of information on the United Nations; expresses the hope that the administering authorities will give special prominence to improving and increasing educational facilities; expresses the opinion that the more rapid development of facilities for high education in the Trust Territories constitutes an essential contribution to progress toward independence of the inhabitants of these territories; and recommends that the Trusteeship Council include in its annual reports to the Assembly a special section with respect to these matters.

Resolution VI, which was adopted by 48 votes to 5, with 4 abstentions, requests that the Trusteeship Council recommend to the administering authorities that the flag of the United Nations be flown over all Trust Territories, together with the flag of the administering authorities concerned, and the territorial flag, if there is one.

The first five of these resolutions result directly from recommendations contained in the report of the Trusteeship Council. Resolution I, dealing with political advancement in Trust Territories, was the subject of a great deal of discussion, and the two provisions which were subsequently deleted by the plenary were introduced by the Fourth Committee and not the Trusteeship Council. The Czech Delegation was responsible for the introduction of the provision that the administering authorities should be required to submit a plan within one year covering the program to be followed by the peoples of the territory in the achievement of self-government. The resolution regarding the use of the flag of the United Nations in Trust Territories was proposed by the Delegations of China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Liberia, Mexico, and the Philippines. This proposal had not been discussed by the Trusteeship Council.

(b) Administrative Unions Affecting Trust Territories⁵

The General Assembly on November 15, 1949, following a paragraph-by-paragraph vote, adopted a resolution on this item by a vote of 44 to 9, with 1 abstention.⁶ The resolution, after referring to the reports of the Trusteeship Council with respect to Administrative Unions Affecting Trust Territories, recommends that the Council complete its investigations, paying particular attention to certain matters, including the desirability of advance notice to the Trusteeship Council by the Administering Authorities of any proposed new administrative unions, the desirability of furnishing precise separate financial statistical information and other data relating to a Trust Territory, the desirability of establishing a separate judicial organ in each territory, the desirability of establishing a separate legislative body within each territory, and the desirability of taking into account in these matters the wishes of the inhabitants. The Trusteeship Council is further requested to complete its investigation and present a special report to the next regular session of the Assembly on its results, including particular reference to any safeguards which it may consider necessary to request from the Administering Authorities.

This resolution was opposed both in the Fourth Committee and subsequently in the plenary by certain of the administering powers, not including the United States. The basis for this opposition was that certain of these states had already taken steps toward the formation of administrative unions, which could not be considered as entirely in conformity with the recommendations set forth in this resolution or in the resolution adopted by the third regular session of the Assembly on this same subject.

(c) Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories⁷

Acting on the report of the Special Committee on Information Transmitted under Article 73(e) of the Charter, the Fourth Committee approved ten resolutions for action by the General Assembly. Action was taken on this item by the General Assembly December 2, 1949.⁸

Resolution I, which was adopted by a vote of 33 to 9, with 11 abstentions, recommends that when revision of the Standard Form for the guidance of Members in the preparation of information is undertaken, general information on geography, history, people and human rights should cease to be classified under the optional category of the Form; and expresses the hope that Members may voluntarily include details on the government of non-self-governing territories in the information transmitted by them under Article 73(e). The United States voted against the resolution. This resolution was strongly opposed by certain administering powers in the Fourth Committee because they regarded it as an attempt to make obligatory certain items of information called for by the Standard Form which are at present classified as political in nature and which they believed should be retained in the optional category. Actually the Standard Form as a whole constitutes an optional arrangement for the transmission of information although it is in general followed by the Administering States in transmitting information under Article 73(e).

Resolution II, which was adopted by 44 votes to 1, with 7 abstentions, invites the Administering Members to take steps to establish equal treatment in matters relating to education of the inhabitants of the non-self-governing territories under their administration, and invites these Members to include in the information transmitted under Article 73(e) full data on the costs and methods of financing separate educational facilities where these are provided for different communities within a territory.

Resolution III invites the Administering Members to take steps to promote the use of the indigenous languages in territories under their administration, and invites UNESCO to undertake an overall study of this question. This resolution was adopted by 34 votes to 4, with 13 abstentions.

Resolution IV, dealing with the eradication of illiteracy in non-self-governing territories, invites UNESCO to communicate to the Administering Members information on measures for the suppression of illiteracy which could be applied with satisfactory results in non-self-governing territories, and to communicate annually to the United Nations an account of these measures and the extent to which its services have been utilized. It was adopted by a vote of 42 to 0, with 10 abstentions.

Resolution V, which was adopted by 39 votes to 2, with 8 abstentions, provides for international collaboration in regard to economic, social and educational conditions in non-self-governing territories between the United Nations and the specialized agencies.

Resolution VI is the key resolution in this series, since it provides for the establishment of the Special Committee on Information Transmitted under Article 73(e) of the Charter for a three year period, giving it the same terms of reference and the same composition as the predecessor Special Committee. This resolution was adopted by a vote of 44 to 5 with 4 abstentions. It may be noted that this particular resolution encountered strong opposition from the administering powers who oppose the Special Committee in principle and consider that it is probably illegal, since functions which they consider go beyond those contemplated in the relevant articles of the Charter are assigned to it.

Resolution VII, which was adopted by a vote of 35 to 5, with 9 abstentions, was originally proposed jointly by the United States and Mexico. This resolution deals with the work program of the Special Committee and invites the Special Committee at its 1950 session, without prejudice to the consideration of the other two functional fields (economic and social) within its terms of reference, to give special attention to the problems of education in the non-self-governing territories.

Resolution VIII, which was most bitterly opposed by the Administering Members, was adopted on a roll-call vote by 30 votes to 12, with 10 abstentions including the United States. The resolution expresses the view that it is within the responsibility of the General Assembly to express its opinion on the principles which have guided or may in the future guide the Members concerned in enumerating the territories for which the obligation exists to transmit information under Article 73(e), and invites the Special Committee to examine the factors which should be taken into account in deciding whether any territory is or is not a territory whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government. The opposition of certain administering states arose out of the fact that certain of them have already ceased to submit information on certain non-self-governing territories, even though in the opinion of the majority of the Members of the United Nations, such territories have not achieved a full measure of self-government.

Resolution IX, which was adopted by 31 votes to 4, with 16 abstentions, relates to the publication of information relating to non-self-governing territories and notes the future requirement that this information is to be published in the three working languages.

Resolution X, which was adopted by 46 votes to 1, with 5 abstentions, requests the Secretary-General to keep the Special Committee informed of the nature of the technical assistance accorded to non-self-governing territories by specialized international bodies.

All ten resolutions met either with negative votes or abstentions on the part of certain of the administering powers, particularly the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. As indicated above, the United States voted against Resolution I, abstained on Resolution VIII, and voted in favor of the remaining resolutions.

Acting pursuant to Resolution VI, the Fourth Committee, on December 5, 1949, elected eight members of the Special Committee on Information Transmitted under Article 73(e) of the Charter, to balance the eight members submitting information: Australia, Belgium, France, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States. The U.S.S.R., Egypt, India, and Brazil were elected for a three-year term; Mexico and the Philippines for a two-year term; and Sweden and Venezuela for a one-year term. Three states, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, did not participate in this election because of their opposition to the Special Committee. This action was reported to the plenary December 9.

(d) Question of South, West Africa⁹

The question of the status of South West Africa was before the Assembly for the fourth time. The Assembly had previously recommended that the Government of the Union of South Africa should submit a trusteeship agreement for the territory of South West Africa and, pending that arrangement, should submit information on it as a non-self-governing territory in accordance with Article 73(e). No trusteeship agreement was submitted, and since 1947 no information on the administration of South West Africa has been submitted by the Union Government. Moreover, the Union Government formally advised the United Nations in 1949 that it would not submit information regarding its administration of the territory.

Two resolutions were recommended for adoption by the Assembly. The first of these, on which the President ruled, and was upheld, that a two-thirds majority was required, expresses the regret of the Assembly that the Government of the Union of South Africa has withdrawn its previous undertaking to submit reports on its administration of South West Africa; reiterates the three previous Assembly resolutions on this subject, expressing regret that the Union of South Africa has decided not to take them into account; and invites the Government of the Union of South Africa to resume submission of reports to the General Assembly and to comply with its previous decisions. Following roll-call votes on each of the paragraphs, the resolution as a whole was adopted by 33 votes to 9, with 10 abstentions, on December 6, 1949. The United States voted against the resolution.

The second resolution requests the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion as to the international status of the territory of South West Africa and the international obligations of the Union of South Africa arising therefrom. In particular, the Court is asked to determine whether the Union Government continues to have international obligations under the mandate for South West Africa, whether the provisions of Chapter XII of the Charter are applicable in any way to the territory, and whether the Union Government has the competence to modify the international status of the territory of South West Africa, or if not, where such competence rests. The Secretary-General is requested to submit certain documents relating to the Assembly’s consideration of South West Africa for the use of the International Court. This resolution, also adopted on December 6, was approved by a vote of 40 (including the United States) to 7, with 4 abstentions, following separate votes on its several paragraphs. It may be noted that the President of the Assembly ruled without challenge that the reference to the Court did not require a two-thirds majority.

1. The date of this paper is December 19, 1949, and presumably it was written at New York.
2. The several reports of the Fourth Committee may be found as indicated below.
3. See GA (IV), Plenary, Annex, pp. 19 ff.
4. See GA (IV), Plenary, pp. 173 ff.
5. For the report of the Fourth Committee on this matter, see GA (IV), Plenary, Annex, pp. 99 ff.
6. For the Assembly’s plenary discussion, see GA(IV), Plenary, pp. 190 ff.
7. For the Fourth Committee’s report, see GA(IV), Plenary, Annex, pp. 111 ff.
8. See GA(IV), Plenary, pp. 449 ff. General Assembly discussion began on December 1 and was concluded on December 2.
9. For the report of the Fourth Committee, see GA (IV), Plenary, Annex, pp. 103 ff. For the General Assembly’s discussion of the matter, see GA (IV), Plenary, pp. 523 ff.