Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–14, Part 1, Documents on the United Nations, 1973–1976

179. Telegram 126689 From the Department of State to the Mission to the United Nations, May 30, 1975, 2325Z.¹ ²

May 30, 1975, 2325Z

TELEGRAM
Department of State
126689

P R 302325Z MAY 75

FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
INFO AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY MEXICO

STATE 126689

E.O. 11652:N/A
TAGS:UN, SGEN, AORG

SUBJECT: NEGOTIATING GROUP ON WORLD CONFERENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S YEAR (WCIWY)
REF: (A) USUN 1685, (B)USUN 1723, (C)USUN 1812

1. THIS MESSAGE CONFIRMS POOLE/WIGGINS TELECONS MAY 28-30.

2. DEPARTMENT RECEIVED NOTE FROM MEXICAN EMBASSY (PRESUMABLY SIMILAR TO NOTES DELIVERED TO OTHER INVITEES) PROPOSING CREATION OF A SMALL INFORMAL NEGOTIATING GROUP, TENTATIVELY COMPOSED OF AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, U.S., FRANCE, UK, INDIA, IRAN, MEXICO, ROMANIA, SENEGAL, SIERRA LEONE, TUNISIA, AND USSR, TO MEET IN NEW YORK TO EXAMINE FOLLOWING TOPICS PERTAINING TO UPCOMING WCIWY, IN ORDER OF PRIORITY: (1) ADVISABILITY OF APPROVING A DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES, BASED ON DECLARATION OF CARACAS, WHICH NOTE REFERS TO AS REPRESENTING LATIN AMERICAN CONSENSUS; (2) FINAL OBSERVATIONS ON PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION; (3) PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS WHICH DELEGATIONS MAY BE THINKING OF PRESENTING, INDEPENDENTLY OF PLAN OF ACTION OR DECLARATION. NOTE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT NEGOTIATING GROUP SHOULD CONTINUE WORKING DURING CONFERENCE ITSELF. (AS MISSION IS AWARE, SUGGESTED MEMBERS OF GROUP WERE ALL MEMBERS OF 23-COUNTRY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE WHICH MET IN NEW YORK LAST MARCH.) SECOND MEXICAN NOTE RECEIVED BY DEPARTMENT YESTERDAY (MAY 29) STATES ROMANIA, FRANCE, SENEGAL, IRAN, SIERRA LEONE, AND TUNISIA HAD SO FAR ACCEPTED AND THAT CHINA HAD ALSO INDICATED INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING. NOTE SAYS JUNE 2-5 WERE CONTEMPLATED FOR SESSIONS OF GROUP.

3. TODAY (MAY 30) DEPARTMENT INFORMED MINISTER ROBERTO CASELLES OF MEXICAN EMBASSY THAT U.S. WOULD BE PLEASED TO PARTICIPATE IN NEGOTIATING GROUP, AS WE THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE USEFUL STEP IN ATTEMPTING TO WORK OUT CERTAIN PROBLEMS IN ADVANCE OF CONFERENCE ITSELF. WITH RESPECT TO THREE SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION, WE CONVEYED FOLLOWING COMMENTS:

- (1) DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE DECLARATION WOULD PROBABLY BE MOST USEFUL -- ALBEIT PERHAPS MOST DIFFICULT -- TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION. HOWEVER, U.S. COULD MAKE NO COMMITMENT THAT THIS SHOULD BE BASED ON CARACAS DECLARATION (ECLA REGIONAL SEMINAR ON THE INTEGRATION OF WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO POPULATION FACTORS), SINCE U.S. HAD DIFFICULTIES WITH IT AND WOULD HAVE ABSTAINED HAD THERE BEEN A VOTE. WE GAVE CASELLES A COPY OF U.S. RESERVATIONS, ADDRESSED TO ESSENTIALLY PERIPHERAL REFERENCES TO CHARTER OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF STATES (CERDS), DISARMAMENT AND NEO-COLONIALISM, AS WELL AS TO BASIC THESIS OF DECLARATION THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS PREREQUISITE FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY -- OUR VIEW BEING THAT PROBLEMS OF WOMEN’S UNEQUAL STATUS ARE FOUND IN COUNTRIES AT ALL STAGES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THAT THEIR SOLUTION IN ANY EVENT CANNOT WAIT UNTIL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IS ACHIEVED. U.S. WOULD THEREFORE FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS WHATEVER SORT OF DECLARATION MIGHT BE SUITABLE.

- (2) FURTHER REVIEW OF DRAFT WORLD PLAN OF ACTION WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE THAN NEGOTIATING GROUP SHOULD UNDERTAKE IN VIEW OF LENGTHY AND TECHNICAL NATURE OF DOCUMENT AND FACT THAT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE HAD ALREADY REVIEWED AND COMMENTED ON IT.

- (3) U.S. IS UNAWARE OF RESOLUTIONS OTHER COUNTRIES MAY CONTEMPLATE SUBMITTING, ALTHOUGH WE WOULD OF COURSE BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING AND PERHAPS DISCUSSING WHATEVER MAY HAVE SURFACED TO DATE, E.G. SHOULD MEXICO ITSELF HAVE CERTAIN PROPOSALS IN MIND.

- (4) WE ADDED GENERAL COMMENT THAT NEGOTIATING GROUP MIGHT BE ABLE TO RESOLVE IN ADVANCE CERTAIN CONTROVERSIAL BUT PERIPHERAL QUESTIONS SUCH AS REFERENCES TO CERDS, AS U.S. HOPES THAT UNNECESSARY CONTROVERSY OVER SUCH ISSUES COULD BE AVOIDED IN CONFERENCE, WHERE IT WOULD SERVE NEITHER MEXICAN NOR U.S. INTERESTS. NOR WOULD IT SERVE THE MAIN INTERESTS OF THE CONFERENCE ITSELF, WHICH ARE TO DEAL WITH ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GA RESOLUTION CONVOKING CONFERENCE. WE FELT CERTAIN THAT LANGUAGE COULD BE ARRIVED AT THAT SHOULD MEET MEXICAN REQUIREMENTS WITHOUT RUNNING COUNTER TO THE POSITIONS OF THE U.S. AN CERTAIN OTHER COUNTRIES, AS WAS THE CASE IN CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

4. CASELLES SAID HE WOULD REPORT ALL THIS TO HIS GOVERNMENT.

5. DEPARTMENT HAD EARLIER CONVEYED GIST OF U.S. POSITION AS ABOVE TO AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY, WHICH HAD INQUIRED ABOUT MEXICAN PROPOSAL. WITH RESPECT TO AUSTRALIAN CONCERN OVER QUESTION OF MEMBERS OF CONSULTATIVE GROUP WHO WERE NOT INVITED, WE RESPONDED THAT WE CONSIDERED THIS WAS MEXICO’S PROBLEM, BUT THAT WE DID IN GENERAL FEEL THAT A SMALLER GROUP WAS DESIRABLE AND THAT MEXICO’S SELECTION WAS REASONABLY REPRESENTATIVE. AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY LATER HEARD THAT MEXICANS HAD DECIDED TO INCLUDE OTHER COUNTRIES THAT MIGHT EXPRESS PARTICULAR INTEREST (E.G. CHINA) BUT WITHOUT ISSUING OPEN INVITATION.

6. USUN IS AUTHORIZED TO PROCEED ON ABOVE BASIS AND TO EXPRESS ABOVE U.S. VIEWS ON TOPICS OF DISCUSSION. INGERSOLL

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Limited Official Use. Drafted by Poole; cleared by Hendsch, Burgess (in substance), and Morey (in substance), and in D/IWY, ARA/MEX, and L; and approved by Poole. Repeated to Canberra, London, and Mexico City.
2. The Department informed the Mission of a Mexican proposal to create a small informal working group to deal with issues related to the World Conference of the International Women’s Year and relayed the Department’s position on what topics the group should address.