Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The United Nations; The Western Hemisphere, Volume II

IO Files: US/A/3064

United States Delegation Position Paper

restricted

[New York,] December 11, 1950.

Scale of Assessments to the United Nations: Report of the Fifth Committee

1. United States Position

The United States should vote in favor of the resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee.¹

The United States should vote against Plenary discussion of the Fifth Committee report. If there is discussion, the United States may need to make a statement.

2. History in Committee

The Soviet Union and other states whose assessments were increased² opposed the Committee’s report, but the report was carried over their opposition.³ The Soviet Union objected strongly to the United States statement in the Committee⁴ (USDel Press Release 1086), and if debate is permitted may attack the United States on this ground.

3. Possible Developments in the Plenary

It is not expected any statements will be made except that the U.S.S.R. may make a statement opposing the Committee report. The United States should not speak unless an attack is directed at the United States, in which event some of the material in the Committee speech may be used in rebuttal.⁵

1. For the Report of the Fifth Committee on this matter, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session, Annexes, vol. ii, fascicule 40, pp. 2–5. The resolution recommended by the Committee is incorporated in the body of the report.
2. A table of the recommended scale of assessments appears on p. 4 of the Committee’s report, ibid. The contribution percentage for the United States was set at 38.92.
3. For the proceedings of the Fifth Committee in its consideration of this matter, November 29 and 30, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session, Fifth Committee, pp. 220 ff.
4. For the lengthy United States statement, see ibid., pp. 227–229.
5. For the proceedings of the General Assembly on December 14 when it adopted the Committee’s report, resolution, and scale of assessments, see GA (V), Plenary, vol. i, pp. 653 ff. The Assembly first rejected a Soviet amendment deleting the revised scale of assessments for 1951 and replacing it by a statement that the present scale of assessments should continue to apply in 1951 (the Soviet contribution was increased). The resolution recommended by the Committee was then adopted without discussion. In the resolution, the Committee on Contributions was instructed to review the scale of assessments in 1951 and report thereon for consideration at the sixth session of the General Assembly. It further provided authorization for the Secretary-General to accept, at his discretion and after consultation with the chairman of the Committee on Contributions, a portion of the contributions of Members for 1951 in currencies other than United States dollars.