Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, United Nations and General International Matters, Volume XI

38. Memorandum From the Senior Adviser on International Organization and Legal Matters to the Mission at the United Nations (Bender) to the Representative at the United Nations (Lodge)¹

New York, October 31, 1956.

SUBJECT

• US Contribution to UN Budget

Attached is a letter from Francis Wilcox dated October 26² enclosing a discussion paper on the contributions question which was prepared for a meeting held in Washington yesterday. He suggests that he should talk to you about this matter prior to the briefing of our GA Delegation.

Jack Fobes, who was at the Washington meeting (which was attended by Phillips but not by Wilcox), has reported that the consensus concerning the position we should take in the GA was as follows:

1. The US should not strongly attack the Contributions Committee’s report but should rather express regret that other possible approaches to the problem were not considered by the Committee.

2. The US should oppose the retroactive application of the Committee’s proposed new scale of contributions to 1955 and 1956. We should argue that the old scale should apply until action has been taken by the GA and that contributions received in the meantime should be treated as miscellaneous income. If we succeed on this, we can save a million dollars.

3. The US should accept with regret the Committee’s proposed new scale for 1957.

4. The US should take the position that, because of new factors in the situation—primarily the increase in membership—the GA should consider the whole question of the contributions scale at the 1957 GA and should consider the reduction of the US percentage to 30 per cent. Accordingly, the US would ask that the Contributions Committee be instructed to prepare for discussion purposes at the 1957 Assembly a scale based upon a US contribution of 30 per cent (30 per cent is just about the figure we would reach by prorating among the older members the contributions of the new members including Japan).

Recommendation

Since the contributions question will probably come up by the beginning of the third week of the GA, it is essential that we establish a final position as soon as possible. Accordingly, I would like to convey to the Department as soon as possible any reactions you have to the foregoing proposal. In my opinion, the proposal is sound in view of the reactions we have had from other governments with respect to the report of the Contributions Committee.³

1. Source: USUN Files, IO, Financing. Limited Official Use.
2. Document 36.
3. Bender’s recommendation was incorporated in Delga 160 from New York, November 22, following further discussions with Fobes and other members of the Department. (Department of State, Central Files, 320/11–2256)