Minutes of Meeting of Committee 3 Group⁴

10 January 1946

Present: Mrs. Roosevelt, Mr. Feller,⁵ Mr. Townsend, Mr. Mulliken,⁶ Miss Miller,⁷ Mr. Fowler,⁸ Mr. Taylor,⁹ Mr. Hyde,¹⁰ Mr. Sandifer, and Mr. Burnett¹¹

Refugees

A general discussion took plac1e of the document entitled "Refugees" (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3) January 9, 1946. Mr. Fowler traced a little of the background of the refugee problem as it had arisen in the Preparatory Commission.¹² The British proposal in the Preparatory Commission had been opposed by the United States. The Australians had then suggested an organ under Article 22¹³ and this had been supported by New Zealand. Mr. Fowler declared that he thought it possible that the British might now follow this new line of approach.

The discussion turned to the numbers and types of refugees and in this Mr. Feller presented approximate figures to indicate the dimensions of the problem. In this connection the document "Refugees: Additional Material on the Scope and Nature of the Problem", (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3/Supplement) January 9, 1946, was presented and its figures (page 4) were examined.¹⁴ Mrs. Roosevelt said that it seemed clear to her that there would be great difficulty at the present time in getting a numerically accurate picture of the situation that an immediate decision ought to be avoided, and that some kind of fact-finding procedure would be necessary.

Mr. Feller pointed out that two principles had constantly lain behind the United States position in regard to the "dissident" refugees: (1) to encourage them to return to their own countries by every means possible but (2) not to force their repatriation.

Mrs. Roosevelt said that she was chiefly interested in finding out what our position was to be and what the procedure should be in developing that position. Mr. Feller said that the British posi-tion had stiffened noticeably following an instruction by Mr. Noel-Baker. Mr. Noel-Baker was eager that the United Nations should undertake operating functions and that he saw in the refugee problem an opportunity for the Organization to develop its strength in this way.¹⁵

Mrs. Roosevelt said it was her understanding that the United Nations was not to have operating functions but was simply to make recommendations on policy to the member governments. Mr. Feller thought that this whole problem would have to be carefully considered. Should we stand, he asked, on the constitutional position that we have heretofore maintained, or should we begin to alter our position somewhat in the direction desired by the British? Mr. Feller said that he thought developments would have to take place along three lines: (1) the formulation of an American position on the refugee question; (2) direct conversations with the British at a high level; (3) the formulation of an American position on the constitutional question.

Mrs. Roosevelt said that the constitutional question had certainly better be settled. She had understood that the American position was quite opposed to the undertaking of actual operations by the Organization. Mr. Sandifer thought that this question ought to be more fully explored. Following a discussion, it seemed to be agreed that the United Nations should not operate in this particular field even if the constitutional question were resolved in favor of it doing so. It was also argued that the constitutional question ought not to be presented so sharply as to encourage a decision against operations that might debar the United States for a long time from espousing any operating policies at all. There appeared to be a consensus that it would be unfortunate to get at this time a definite decision that the Organization should not engage in operations. It would be better to keep away from the theoretical aspects of the matter and to base our decision on the practical aspects of the question.

It was pointed out that, if a specialized agency were set up to handle the refugee question, it could adopt whatever quota system of contributions would best express the relative interests of the participating states in the refugee question—something which would aid the British very much by relieving them of the large proportion of the total contribution which they now carry.

Mr. Feller said that it was generally supposed, particularly by the Congressional members of the U. S. Delegation, that UNRRA would have ceased its operations very soon after January 1, 1947. It was important therefore, he argued, that a specialized agency should be ready to function in the refugee field by that time.¹⁶ Miss Miller asked whether the dates of April 1 and July 1, as set forth in the draft memorandum entitled "Refugees" would be feasible dates to meet. Mr. Sandifer said that those dates had been simply presented for discussion, and urged that this paper be now examined for its concrete proposals. Mr. Mulliken said that he agreed with the assumption of this paper; that the United States position could not be limited to a proposal merely to study the refugee problem. Mr. Fowler commented that this was correct, and that the American position in the Preparatory Commission had indicated American recognition of (1) the urgency of the problem, and (2) of the fact that existing agencies were inadequate.

Discussion took place on point 3 of the proposed United States position.¹⁷ After some discussion, it was agreed to omit all reference to the specific committees of the General Assembly from which the ad hoc committee should be drawn. Mr. Feller declared that the idea of an ad hoc committee was essentially a good one, but that he cautioned lest an ad hoc committee be composed of a higher proportion of representatives from the countries of Eastern Europe than would be the case if the committee were constituted by the Economic and Social Council.

A considerable discussion took place on point 4.¹⁸ Mr. Fowler said that the convening authority should be the countries members of the ad hoc committee. Mr. Mulliken suggested that the Economic and Social Council should convene the conference. Mr. Burnett argued that it would be better not to set up special combinations of states to accomplish what was provided for in an orderly way in the Charter. Mrs. Roosevelt said that she too thought it was better to use regular channels whenever possible. Mr. Fowler emphasized the political issues involved in the refugee question and thought that this was a justification for having the conference called by a special procedure. Mr. Mulliken argued that the Economic and Social Council would have the administrative mech-anism by which to call a conference. Mrs. Roosevelt inquired why the next Assembly could not call the conference. Mr. Mulliken said that the next Assembly, it was now thought, might not meet until July 1st. Mr. Sandifer said that that was why he had proposed in point 3 that the Committee should report directly to the members of the United Nations, that is, in order to avoid delay. Mrs. Roosevelt thought that the conference should not be called by the states, that it would be better to have it called by the Assembly. Mr. Fowler agreed, that especially with a view to meeting the British position so far as possible, it would be better to have the conference called by the Assembly, but, he said, he was concerned about the possibility of delay. Mr. Mulliken pointed out that the Assembly could provide at the present session for a conference to meet on a definite date, prior to the first of July. Mr. Sandifer agreed that this would be possible and said that he would attempt to re-draft his paper along this line.

Mr. Fowler inquired whether we should wait for a British proposal to be made in the General Assembly. Mrs. Roosevelt thought that it was generally better to take the initiative when that was possible. Mr. Fowler said that we could have a draft resolution ready to present. Senator Townsend inquired whether the British would present any proposal on this question since they knew that would encounter heavy opposition. Mr. Fowler believed that the British would offer their proposal again but in a somewhat modified form.¹⁹

The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.

TD, AERP, FDRL

1. For Senator John G. Townsend, Jr., see n23 Document 76.

2. The UN General Assembly divided its work into seven committees. The Third Committee handled a range of educational, cultural, health, and humanitarian projects, including human rights questions. The other six committees dealt with civil and political affairs, economic/financial affairs, trusteeship issues, administrative and budgetary policies, legal issues, and special political details (Boyd, 53-55).

3. Third Committee, Refugees, Tentative Draft, 10 January 1946 (USGA/Ia/SHCom/Del Min/3), AERP.

4. Third Committee, Refugees, Tentative Draft, 10 January 1946 (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3 Rev. 1), AERP.

5. A close friend and advisor to Secretary-General Lie, Abraham H. Feller (1904–1952) served as general counsel to the United Nations and as head of its legal department from 1946 until 1952 ("Feller Leaves UNRRA," NYT, 7 November 1945, 15; Russell Porter, "A. H. Feller, Ill 2 Weeks, Eludes Wife's Effort to Prevent Suicide," NYT, 14 November 1952, 1).

6. Otis E. Mulliken (1907–1972) served as the delegation's advisor on technical problems at the meetings and by the end of the year became chief of the State Department's Division of International Labor, Social and Health Affairs ("Stresses Social Aims in U.S. Foreign Policy," NYT, 23 November 1946, 9).

7. An active member of the International Labour Organization, Frieda S. Miller (1889–1973) devoted her life to labor reform. In 1944, she succeeded Mary Anderson as the director of the Women's Bureau in the Labor Department (NAW).

8. William Fowler (1903–1981), foreign trade specialist, advised the US delegation in this capacity (RDS 1948, 217).

9. Economist William H. Taylor (1906–?) served as an advisor to the United Nations from the Treasury Department. For eight years he remained under suspicion for espionage activities and in 1955, Elizabeth Bentley accused him of Communist affiliation and espionage. He successfully challenged the accusation and thus the credibility of the Loyalty Board's reliance upon secret and unsubstantiated sources (Anthony Lewis, "The Taylor Decision: A Security Case History," NYT, 15 January 1956, E8).

10. Louis K. Hyde, Jr. (1901–?), a State Department advisor on technical problems, joined the federal government in 1942 and began working with the US delegation to the United Nations in July of 1945 (RDS 1948, 278-79).

11. Philip M. Burnett (1908–?), an employee of the State Department since 1942, assisted the US delegation in his capacity as a specialist on international organization affairs (RDS 1948, 143).

12. On the Preparatory Commission, see n5, Document 68. At this meeting, the British proposed the creation of a new commission under ECOSOC to handle the refugee situation. Following debate they withdrew the proposal for a commission and agreed that any UN body organized to address the refugee problem—even an agency with limited powers—would be better than none (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3 Rev. 1 Tentative Draft, AERP; "Limited UNO Board on Refugees Seen," NYT, 15 January 1946, 8).

13. Article 22 of the United Nations Charter reads, "The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions" ("Charter of the United Nations," http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter).

14. The supplement estimated that by mid-1946 the following groups of "non-repatriable refugees" would remain in Europe: "500,000 Poles, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, and Yugoslavs in the three western zones of Germany and Austria; 200,000 Spanish Republicans, in France; 100,000 German and Austrian Jews, in Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, France, and Shanghai; 300,000 'Nansen' refugees, chiefly in France, who as a result of the events of World War II, have been again uprooted; 250,000 members of the Polish Army, in Italy and Northwestern Europe; and 50,000 wives and children of the above, in Middle East and East Africa." The estimated total of "non-repatriables for whose permanent establishment some long-term concerted international effort will presumably have to be made" totaled between 1,250,000 and 1,500,000 (USGA/Ia/SHCom3/Supplement, 9 January 1946).

15. Philip Noel-Baker (1889–1982), a British Labour politician, Quaker, disarmament proponent, and League of Nations advocate, became involved with United Nations work in 1944. At this first meeting, Noel-Baker, in his capacity as minister of state, headed the British delegation. A long-serving British Labour Party MP, Noel-Baker also held a variety of posts in Attlee's postwar government, including a position as a minister of state in the Foreign Office. In 1959, he would receive the Nobel Peace Prize ("Lord Noel-Baker Dies at 92; Winner of Nobel Peace Prize," NYT, 9 October 1982, 30; DNB).

16. In fact, UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), an international agency devoted to providing relief aid to World War II victims in Europe and Asia, closed down its European operations in 1947, transferring them to other international organizations. The congressional members of the US delegation to the first General Assembly included Senator Tom Connally (D-TX); Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI); Representative Sol Bloom (D-NY); and Representative Charles A. Eaton (R-NJ). For more on UNRRA, see n7 Document 55 (Camille Cianfarra, "750,000 DP's Face Crisis in 80 Days," NYT, 9 April 1947, 12; Lash, Years, 39; Kathleen Teltsch, "UNRRAs End Tonight Finds Many Nations Still in Need," NYT, 30 June 1947, 1).

17. The third point of the proposed US position in the discussed document reads: "An ad hoc committee of the General Assembly should be charged with a.) examining the existing intergovernmental agencies dealing with refugees; b.) making a report to the members of the United Nations not later than April 1, 1946, with recommendations as to the form and scope of action of the specialized agency envisaged under paragraph 2" (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3 Rev. 1 Tentative Draft, AERP).

18. The fourth point states, "A conference of the members of the United Nations should be convened under the auspices of the General Assembly not later than June 1, 1946 to consider the report of the ad hoc committee and to prepare an agreement for the establishment of the agency contemplated in paragraph 2. The Secretary General of the United Nations should issue the invitations and make the necessary preparations for the conference" (USGA/Ia/SHCom/3 Rev. 1 Tentative Draft, AERP).

19. For the disposition of the British proposal on refugees, see Document 86 and its header.

Fielding Questions on the United Nations

Nine days after arriving in London, ER held her first press conference at the American Embassy. M. J. McDermott, the delegation's liaison to the press, accompanied her and prepared this transcript.