Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V

320.2AA/11–2450

Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President

secret

Washington, November 24, 1950.

Subject: Contribution to Palestine Refugee Program

Pursuant to your approval of my memorandum of November 1, 1950, the United States Delegation to the General Assembly supported a program of relief and reintegration as recommended by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees for fiscal 1952. As final action of the General Assembly is to be deferred pending negotiations on Governmental contributions, your approval as to the extent of the United States contribution to the work of the Agency for fiscal 1952 is now desired.

Congress has appropriated $27,450,000, half of the estimated requirements, for the current program of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the period ending June 30, 1951. It does not now appear likely that contributions from other governments for this period will exceed $15 or $16 million.

In view of the difficulties in securing widespread support from other countries, it may be necessary for the United States to contribute a larger proportionate share than in the past.

The subject of the United States contribution has been reviewed by the Department with the National Advisory Council, which perceives no objection to a contribution as large as $35,000,000 from the United States to the total fund of $50,000,000. Its decision is attached (Tab A).¹

Negotiations at the General Assembly will necessarily be limited to commitments as to the amounts for which delegations will be pledged to seek legislative authority. It is now believed that distribution of the costs can be determined in such a manner that the United States contribution will be set at a figure between 50 percent and 60 percent of the $50,000,000 total, and that it is necessary to make such a tentative commitment to provide a basis for negotiation.

This program has received preliminary review by the Bureau of the Budget. The Bureau agrees in principle with the proposal, but reserves opinion on the exact form of the legislation and the amount of the appropriation involved.

I therefore recommend that you authorize the Department to engage in negotiations relating to the extent of our contribution to the program and the contributions of other governments and involving an undertaking by the Executive Branch to seek legislative authority for a contribution not in excess of $30,000,000.²

Dean Acheson

1. Document 88 (Action 432) of November 2, not printed: it stated that the Council unanimously perceived “no objection to United States participation in the Palestine Refugee Program … on a grant basis estimated at $50 million … for the period July 1, 1951, to June 30, 1952.” It also had “no objection to a proposed United States commitment to the above program not in excess of $35 million.”

   The National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems was an interagency group comprising the Secretaries of the Treasury, State, and Commerce and the heads of the Federal Reserve System, the Export-Import Bank, and the Economic Cooperation Administration.

2. The Embassy in London, on November 22, informed the Department that the British Treasury had authorized a contribution of $9,000,000 in sterling to Palestine relief, provided that the United States contributed $27,500,000; and an additional $1,000,000 in sterling, provided that the United States increased the proportionate share of its contribution. The British authorization was based on the futher proviso that these actions would have a salutary effect on stimulating larger contributions by third countries. (Telegram 3020, 357.AC/11–2250)