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Committee II/4

Proposed Working Paper for Chapter on Dependent Territories and Arrangements for International

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Italicized portions indicate new matter added to United States draft" for reference and convenience in consideration of proposed working paper for chapter on Dependent Territories and arrangements for international trusteeship.

This paper is not proposed by any government at this time and does not constitute a withdrawal of the proposals put forward by any government. Note. This draft deals with principles and mechanism only and makes no assumption about the inclusion of any specific territory.

Note. Section A might be considered for inclusion in the chapter on Principles.

A. General Policy

1. States members of the United Nations which have responsibilities for the administration of territories inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world accept the general principle that it is a sacred trust of civilization to promote to the utmost the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories within the world community, and to this end(i) to insure the economic and social advancement of the peoples concerned;

(i) to develop self-government in forms appropriate to the varying circumstances of each territory; and

(iii) to further international peace and security.

2. States members also agree that their policy in respect of such territories, no less than in respect to their metropolitan areas, must be based on the general principle of good-neighbourliness, due account being taken of the interests and well-being of other members of the world community, in social, economic, and commercial matters.

B. Territorial Trusteeship System

1. The Organization should establish under its authority an international system of trusteeship for the administration and supervision of such territories as may be placed thereunder by subsequent individual agreements and set up suitable machinery for these purposes. 2. The basic objectives of the trusteeship system should be: (a) to further international peace and security; (b) to promote the political, economic, and social advancement of the trust territories and their

“Ante, p. 235. The paper was prepared by the American Delegation, which took into account the suggestions of the other sponsoring governments and France, Australia, and Mexico; it was discussed and accepted by the four sponsoring governments and France.

inhabitants and their progressive development toward self-government in forms appropriate to the varying circumstances of each territory; and (c) to insure equal treatment in social, economic, and commercial matters for all members of the United Nations without prejudice to the attainment of (a) and (b) above, and subject to the provisions of paragraph 5, below.

3. The trusteeship system should apply only to such territories in the following categories as may be placed thereunder by means of trusteeship arrangements: (a) territories now held under mandate; (b) territories which may be detached from enemy states as a result of this war; and (c) territories voluntarily placed under the system by states responsible for their administration. It would be a matter for subsequent agreement as to which territories would be brought under a trusteeship system and upon what terms. The trusteeship system should not apply to territories which have become members of the United Nations.

4. The trusteeship arrangement for each territory to be placed under trusteeship should be agreed upon by the states directly concerned and should be approved as provided for in paragraphs 8 and

10 below.

5. Except as may be agreed upon in individual trusteeship arrangements placing each territory under the trusteeship system, nothing in this chapter should be construed in and of itself to alter in any manner the rights of any state or any peoples in any territory.

6. The trusteeship arrangements in each case should include the terms under which the territory will be administered and designate the state which should exercise the administration of the territory or designate the United Nations Organization itself to exercise the administration of the territory.

7. There may be designated, in the trusteeship arrangement, a strategic area or areas which may include part or all of the territory to which the arrangement applies.

8. All functions of the Organization relating to such strategic areas, including the approval of the trusteeship arrangements and their alteration or amendment, should be exercised by the Security Council. The basic objectives as provided for in paragraph B, 2, above should be applicable to the people of each strategic area. The Security Council may avail itself of the assistance of the Trusteeship Council provided for in paragraph 11 below to perform those functions of the Organization under the trusteeship system relating to political, economic, and social matters in the strategic areas, subject to the provisions of the trusteeship arrangements.

9. It shall be the duty of the state administering any trust territory to insure that the territory shall play its part in the maintenance of international peace and security. To this end the state shall be empowered to make use of volunteer forces, facilities, and assistance from the territory in carrying out the obligations undertaken by the state for the Security Council in this regard and for local defense and the maintenance of law and order within the territory.

10. The functions of the Organization with regard to trusteeship arrangements for all areas not designated as strategic should be exercised by the General Assembly.

11. In order to assist the General Assembly to carry out those functions under the trusteeship system not reserved to the Security Coun

cil, there should be established a Trusteeship Council which would operate under its authority. The Trusteeship Council should consist of specially qualified representatives, designated (a) one each by the states administering trust territories, and (b) one each by an equal number of other states named for three-year periods by the General Assembly.

12. The General Assembly, and under its authority, the Trusteeship Council, in carrying out their functions, should be empowered to consider reports submitted by the administering state, to accept petitions and examine them in consultation with the administering state, to make periodic visits to the respective territories at times agreed upon with the administering state, and to take other action, in conformity with the trusteeship arrangements.

13. The administering authority in each trust territory within the competence of the General Assembly should make an annual report to the General Assembly upon the basis of a questionnaire formulated by the Trusteeship Council.

Amendment Proposed by the Delegation of

Doc. 405, May 18

Guatemala

The Delegation of Guatemala proposes the following amendment to the plan for a territorial trusteeship system.

The Delegation of Guatemala suggests that the following text be inserted after the enumeration of categories of territories which might be placed under the system:

The trusteeship system shall not be applied to territories in dispute, concerning which there is pending any question, claim, controversy, or litigation, between states members of the International Organization.

A statement of reasons forwarded by the Delegation of Guatemala is as follows:

The Delegation of Guatemala submits to the consideration of the Committee this amendment, which is inspired by the principle of justice that the rights of third parties should be safeguarded in the face of any situations which might derive from the application of the trusteeship system.

Thus, in so far as concerns the Republic of Guatemala, which maintains a controversy with Great Britain in relation to Guatemalan sovereignty over Belize (British Honduras), it could in no case admit that such territory be placed under the trusteeship system, because this would imply a change in the status of Belize, in such a manner that it might complicate Guatemala's action toward regaining this territory.

Proposed New Part C To Be Added to Working Paper Submitted by the Delegation of Australia

Doc. 575, May 25

C. Promotion of Welfare and Development

1. Member states responsible for the administration of territories of the type referred to in Part A undertake—

(a) to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of such territories;

(b) to maintain freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals;

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(c) to prohibit and suppress abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traffic, and the liquor traffic;

(d) to abstain from the military training of natives for other than police purposes and defense purposes;

(e) to encourage by financial and other appropriate means research into the economic and social problems of dependent peoples, including research into health, anthropological, agricultural, and other like problems;

(f) to furnish regularly to the Secretariat of the United Nations all available statistics and other information of a technical nature relating to the health, nutrition, welfare, education, economic, and labor conditions of the peoples of each such territory; (g) to promote in territories under their administration and to cooperate with other states in promoting positive measures for economic development calculated to raise the standards of living of the peoples of the territories concerned; and (h) to cooperate with one another and other states, both through functional organs of or associated with the United Nations and through regional bodies, with a view to giving practical effect to the principles affirmed in Part A and the safeguards and measures mentioned in this paragraph.

2. (a) In order to give fuller effect to the general principles declared in Section A, the General Assembly may specify territories in respect of which it shall be the duty of the states responsible for their administration to furnish annual reports to the United Nations upon the economic, social, and political development of the territories concerned.

(b) Before specifying any such territories the General Assembly shall convene a conference or conferences of states responsible for the administration of territories inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand alone under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, and shall take into account the recommendations made by any such conference.

Report of Rapporteur of Committee II/4 to

Doc. 1115, June 20

Commission II

Committee 4 of Commission II, charged with the drafting of provisions relating to the international trusteeship system, found no terms of reference for its work in the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals. The only terms of reference on the subject were contained in the Memorandum on the Organization of the Conference, adopted by the Conference in plenary session, which stated that the functions of the Committee were: "To prepare and recommend to Commission II, and to Commission III as necessary, draft provisions on principles and mechanism of a system of international trusteeship for such dependent territories as may by subsequent agreement be placed thereunder".

The Committee, under the chairmanship of the Right Honorable Peter Fraser, Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs of New Zealand, held its first meeting on May 5, and has had a total of 16 meetings. In addition the drafting subcommittee held four meetings. This subcommittee was composed initially of the Delegates of Australia, Belgium, China, Egypt, France, Greece, the Netherlands,

the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, together with the Chairman, the Rapporteur, and the Secretary of the Committee. Delegates of Haiti and Uruguay later joined the subcommittee and Delegates of Iraq, Mexico, and the Philippine Commonwealth participated in the discussions of the subcommittee during the drafting of the provisions relating to general policy. Informal consultations with regard to a number of proposed articles were also held, among delegates submitting suggestions or expressing opposing opinions, in an effort to reach a meeting of views.

At its fifth meeting Committee 4 of Commission II adopted as the basis of its discussions a working paper prepared after careful study and consultation on the general foundation of proposals submitted by the Delegations of Australia, China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, together with suggestions made by other delegations and on the basis of the general discussion which had taken place during the first five meetings of the Committee. Texts of proposed articles embodying the recommendations of the Committee were approved by the Committee and are attached to this report.15 These articles are grouped into two sections: (A) Declaration, and (B) International Trusteeship System.

The Committee makes the following recommendations to Commission II:

Declaration

(Section A, Paragraphs 1 and 2)

The Committee recommends that a Declaration, Section A, paragraphs 1 and 2, be made by states members of the United Nations having responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government. This Declaration would be applicable to all such territories.

In describing the territories to which the Declaration relates, the Committee felt that it was desirable to find new language more suitable to existing conditions than the language employed in paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, that is, "colonies and territories. . . which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world."

By this Declaration, the Committee recommends that states members of the United Nations having responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government should recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants are paramount and should accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost the well-being of the inhabitants within the United Nations system of international peace and security.

In the Declaration it is further stated: to insure the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the peoples concerned, with due respect for their own culture, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses; to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples concerned and to assist them toward self-government and in the progressive development of their free political institutions according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples; to promote constructive measures of development, to en

15 Post, p. 655.

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