350/6–253
Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of Dependent Area Affairs (Cargo) to the Chief of the Division of International Conferences (Kissick)
- Subject:
- Provision for including two inhabitants of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the U.S. Delegation to the Twelfth Session of the Trusteeship Council.1
The staff study for the Twelfth Session of the Trusteeship Council, which we sent you on April 6, 1953,2 refers to the possibility of attaching a suitably qualified inhabitant of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the Delegation to the Twelfth Session of the Trusteeship Council. The staff study indicated that consideration was being given to such action pursuant to recommendations of the Trusteeship Council (Resolution 466 (XI)) and the General Assembly (Resolution 655 (VII)) and that consultations concerning the implementation of these resolutions were to be held with the Departments of the Interior and Navy.
As a result of such consultations, the Department of the Interior has by letter of May 29, 1953, from Mr. William C. Strand, Director of the Office of Territories,2 nominated Mrs. Dorothy Kabua, a member of the Marshallese Congress, to serve on the U.S. Delegation. Mrs. Kabua has been recommended for this position by the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory, Mr. Frank E. Midkiff, a copy of whose letter on the matter is attached to Mr. Strand’s letter.2 Copies of both letters are enclosed. You will note that Mr. Midkiff considers Mrs. Kabua the inhabitant of the territory best suited to sit with the Delegation to the Trusteeship Council this year. As Mrs. Kabua does not speak [Page 1315] English, it is recommended by the High Commissioner and the Interior Department that she be accompanied to the Trusteeship Council by her son, Mr. Amata Kabua, a school teacher, who would serve as her interpreter.
For the reasons set out below, I strongly hope that it will be possible to accept the recommendations of the High Commissioner and the Department of the Interior and to attach Mrs. Kabua and her son to the Trusteeship Council Delegation for the period of the examination of this report on the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. All concerned recognize, of course, that the expense of attaching two inhabitants of the territory to the Delegation would be greater than anticipated. However, Mrs. Kabua and her son have been suggested for reasons cogently set forth in the High Commissioner’s letter. In this connection, I should like to point out that as the Trusteeship Council did not hold a 1953 winter session the demands for funds for Trusteeship delegations this year have been considerably smaller than usual. Under these circumstances it would not appear unreasonable to devote some part of these savings on a project of such value as that recommended herein.
There are a number of reasons why the United States should implement the resolutions cited above at this time. The United States took a leading part in the Trusteeship Council and the General Assembly in securing the adoption of these two resolutions. These resolutions represent compromises between those UN Members who sought to establish some kind of separate and direct representation in the Trusteeship Council for the inhabitants of trust territories and those who opposed any closer association of the inhabitants with the work of the Council. The U.S. opposed as a matter of principle any such direct representation and strongly contended that the attaching of inhabitants to the Delegations of the Administering Members would provide a desirable kind of closer association of inhabitants of trust territories with the work of the TC without derogating from the full responsibility of the Administering Authorities for the international affairs of these territories during the period of trusteeship. If, however, no administering authority implements these resolutions at the Council’s forthcoming session, the only session scheduled before the next session of the General Assembly, it is likely that further efforts will be made in the Assembly to recommend some kind of representation for trust territory inhabitants unacceptable to the U.S., thereby placing us in a difficult dilemma politically and at a disadvantage vis-à-vis a large part of world opinion.
An additional reason for implementing these resolutions at the Council’s forthcoming session lies in the fact that particular attention will be focussed by the Council on the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands at this session. A UN Visiting Mission has [Page 1316] just visited the Pacific Islands, and its report, along with the annual report submitted by the United States, will be before the Council for consideration. There will also be a number of petitions (18) concerning the Trust Territory before the Council. Furthermore, it is expected that the United States will be represented on the Council by a new Representative and a new Special Representative. For the U.S. to include inhabitants of the Trust Territory on its Delegation to this session of the Council, in response to Council and Assembly Resolutions, would not only bring a favorable response from the majority of UN members but would also assist the new U.S. representatives in making a good first impression on the Council, the UN, and public opinion generally. Finally, direct experience with the workings of a United Nations body would, as pointed out by the High Commissioner, be valuable for qualified inhabitants of the Trust Territory, as well as a demonstration of the sincerity with which the U.S. carries out its trust in their behalf.
The High Commissioner indicates that it is his plan to leave Honolulu for Washington and New York on June 15, 1953. Presumably he would wish arrangements made so that Mrs. Kabua and her son could leave the Trust Territory in time to accompany his party. It is expected that briefing sessions will be held in the Department on June 19th and that the group from the Territory will proceed to New York on June 22 so as to complete preparations for their appearance before the Council, which is scheduled to take up the Pacific Islands on June 24, 25, and 26. Presuming this schedule is maintained, the presence of the Kabua’s in New York would no longer be required after that period.
In order that the Department of the Interior and the High Commissioner may be informed as soon as possible of the Department’s action on this matter, it would be appreciated if you could have it examined urgently and give us a reply in the near future.