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Arrangements Required as a Result of the Establishment of the Permanent Headquarters of the

United Nations in the United States

[This resolution authorizes the Secretary-General to negotiate and conclude with the United States an agreement concerning the arrangements required as a result of the establishment of the permanent headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. It was adopted by the General Assembly on December 14, 1946 by a vote of 50 in favor and one abstention.]

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY takes note of the Joint Report by the Secretary-General and the Negotiating Committee on the negotiations with the authorities of the United States of America concerning the arrangements required as a result of the establishment of the seat of the United Nations in the United States of America (documents A/67 and A/67/Add.1).

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, having decided that the permanent headquarters of the United Nations shall be located in the City of New York, recognizes that any agreement with the United States relating to the permanent headquarters will need to be adapted to the circumstances of this site.

THEREFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES:

1. That the Secretary-General be authorized to negotiate and conclude with the appropriate authorities of the United States of America an agreement concerning the arrangements required as a result of the establishment of the permanent headquarters of the United Nations in the City of New York.

2. That in negotiating this agreement the Secretary-General shall be guided by the provisions of the draft agreement set forth in document A/67.

3. That the agreement referred to in paragraph 1 shall not come into force until approved by the General Assembly.

4. That, pending the coming into force of the agreement referred to in paragraph 1, the Secretary-General be authorized to negotiate and conclude arrangements with the appropriate authorities of the United States of America to determine on a provisional basis the privileges, immunities and facilities needed in connection with the permanent headquarters by the United Nations. In negotiating these arrangements, the Secretary-General shall be guided by the provisions of the draft agreement set forth in document A/67.

5. That the Government of the United States of America be requested to take the necessary steps as soon as possible to put into effect the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and to give effect to such arrangements as may be reached in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Resolution.

2. Address by President Harry S. Truman to the General Assembly, October 23, 1946

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On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States I extend a warm welcome to the delegates who have come here from all parts of the world to represent their countries at this meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

I recall with great pleasure the last occasion on which I met and spoke with the representatives of the United Nations. Many of you who are here today were present then. It was the final day of the conference at San Francisco, when the United Nations Charter was signed. On that day the constitutional foundation of the United Nations was laid.

For the people of my country this meeting has a special historic significance. After the first World War the United States refused to join the League of Nations, and our seat was empty at the first meeting of the League Assembly. This time the United States is not only a member; it is host to the United Nations.

I can assure you that the Government and the people of the United States are deeply proud and grateful that the United Nations has chosen our country for its headquarters. We will extend the fullest measure of cooperation in making a home for the United Nations in this country. The American people welcome the delegates and the Secretariat of the United Nations as good neighbors and warm friends. This meeting of the Assembly symbolizes the abandonment by the United States of a policy of isolation.

The overwhelming majority of the American people, regardless of party, support the United Nations.

They are resolved that the United States, to the full limit of its strength, shall contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a just and lasting peace among the nations of the world.

However, I must tell you that the American people are troubled by the failure of the Allied nations to make more progress in their common search for lasting peace.

It is important to remember the intended place of the United Nations in moving toward this goal. The United Nations-as an organization-was not intended to settle the problems arising immediately out of the war. The United Nations was intended to provide the means for maintaining international peace in the future after just settlements have been made.

The settlement of these problems was deliberately consigned to negotiations among the Allies, as distinguished from the United Nations. This was done in order to give the United Nations a better opportunity and a freer hand to carry out its long-range task of providing peaceful means for the adjustment of future differences, some of which might arise out of the settlements made as a result of this

war.

The United Nations cannot, however, fulfil adequately its own responsibilities until the peace settlements have been made and unless these settlements form a solid foundation upon which to build a permanent peace.

I submit that these settlements, and our search for everlasting peace, rest upon the four essential freedoms.

These are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These are fundamental freedoms to which all the United Nations are pledged under the Charter.

To the attainment of these freedoms-everywhere in the worldthrough the friendly cooperation of all nations, the Government and people of the United States are dedicated.

The fourth freedom-freedom from fear-means, above all else, freedom from fear of war.

This freedom is attainable now.

Lately we have all heard talk about the possibility of another world war. Fears have been aroused all over the world.

These fears are unwarranted and unjustified.

However, rumors of war still find willing listeners in certain places. If these rumors are not checked they are sure to impede world

recovery.

I have been reading reports from many parts of the world. These reports all agree on the major point-the people of every nation are sick of war. They know its agony and its futility. No responsible government can ignore this universal feeling.

The United States of America has no wish to make war, now or in the future, upon any people anywhere in the world. The heart of our foreign policy is a sincere desire for peace. This nation will work patiently for peace by every means consistent with self-respect and security. Another world war would shatter the hopes of mankind and completely destroy civilization as we know it.

I am sure that every delegate in this hall will join me in rejecting talk of war. No nation wants war. Every nation needs peace.

To avoid war and rumors and danger of war, the peoples of all countries must not only cherish peace as an ideal but they must develop means of settling conflicts between nations in accordance with principles of law and justice.

The difficulty is that it is easier to get people to agree upon peace as an ideal than to agree upon principles of law and justice or to agree to subject their own acts to the collective judgment of mankind.

But difficult as the task may be, the path along which agreement may be sought with hope of success is clearly defined.

In the first place, every member of the United Nations is legally and morally bound by the Charter to keep the peace. More specifically, every member is bound to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

In the second place, I remind you that 23 members of the United Nations have bound themselves by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal to the principle that planning, initiating, or waging a war of aggression is a crime against humanity for which individuals as well as states shall be tried before the bar of international justice.

The basic principles upon which we are agreed go far, but not far enough, in removing fear of war from the world. There must be agreement upon a positive, constructive course of action as well.

The peoples of the world know that there can be no real peace unless it is peace with justice for all-justice for small nations and for large nations, and justice for individuals without distinction as to race, creed, or color-a peace that will advance, not retard, the attainment of the four freedoms.

We shall attain freedom from fear when every act of every nation, in its dealings with every other nation, brings closer to realization the other freedoms-freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom from want. Along this path we can find justice for all, without distinction between the strong and the weak among nations, and without discrimination among individuals.

After the peace has been made, I am convinced that the United Nations can and will prevent war between nations and remove the fear of war that distracts the peoples of the world and interferes with their progress toward a better life.

The war has left many parts of the world in turmoil. Differences have arisen among the Allies. It will not help us to pretend that this is not the case. But it is not necessary to exaggerate the differences.

For my part, I believe there is no difference of interest that need stand in the way of settling these problems and settling them in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Above all, we must not permit differences in economic and social systems to stand in the way of peace, either now or in the future. To permit the United Nations to be broken into irreconcilable parts by different political philosophies would bring disaster to the world.

So far as Germany and Japan are concerned, the United States is resolved that neither shall again become a cause for war. We shall continue to seek agreement upon peace terms which insure that both Germany and Japan remain disarmed, that Nazi influence in Germany be destroyed, and that the power of the war lords in Japan be eliminated forever.

The United States will continue to seek settlements arising from the war that are just to all states, large and small, that uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which the Charter pledges all its members, and that do not contain the seeds of new conflicts.

A peace between the nations based on justice will make possible an early improvement in living conditions throughout the world and a quick recovery from the ravages of war. The world is crying for a just and durable peace with an intensity that must force its attainment at the earliest possible date.

If the members of the United Nations are to act together to remove the fear of war, the first requirement is for the Allied nations to reach agreement on the peace settlements.

Propaganda that promotes distrust and misunderstanding among the Allies will not help us. Agreements designed to remove the fear of war can be reached only by the cooperation of nations to respect the legitimate interests of all states and act as good neighbors toward each other.

Lasting agreements between allies cannot be imposed by one nation nor can they be reached at the expense of the security, independence, or integrity of any nation. There must be accommodation by all the Allied nations in which mutual adjustments of lesser national interests are made in order to serve the greater interest of all in peace, security, and justice.

This Assembly can do much toward recreating the spirit of friendly cooperation and toward reaffirming those principles of the United Nations which must be applied to the peace settlements. It must also prepare and strengthen the United Nations for the tasks that lie ahead after the settlements have been made.

All member nations, large and small, are represented here as equals. Wisdom is not the monopoly of strength or size. Small nations can contribute equally with the large nations toward bringing constructive thought and wise judgment to bear upon the formation of collective policy.

This Assembly is the world's supreme deliberative body.

The highest obligation of this Assembly is to speak for all mankind in such a way as to promote the unity of all members in behalf of a peace that will be lasting because it is founded upon justice.

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