12. The Ad Hoc Commission considers it to be its duty to inform the Secretary-General of this obstacle that is paralysing its work and increasing the difficulty of verifying the large amount of information furnished by other governments directly concerned in the repatriation of prisoners who have not yet returned to their homes. 13. In accordance with the resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 1950 (resolution 427 (V)) the Commission intends, at its next session, to prepare the final report on the results of its work together with such conclusions as may be drawn from the documentation in its possession. 14. In the meantime, the Commission has decided to send this special report to the Secretary-General, with the request that he transmit it to the Members of the United Nations before the opening of the seventh session of the General Assembly. The Commission hopes that a fresh appeal for international co-operation among the Members of the United Nations and to their spirit of humanity might have the effect of giving a more promising direction to the work that has so far been carried on, with only limited success, by the Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War. 31. RESOLUTION 741 (VIII) OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1 DECEMBER 9, 1953 1 The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 427 (V) of 14 December 1950 on measures for the peaceful solution of the problem of prisoners of war, Reaffirming its belief that all prisoners having originally come within the control of the Allied Powers as a consequence of the Second World War should either have been repatriated long since or have been otherwise accounted for as required both by recognized standards of international conduct and the Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, and by specific agreements between the Allied Powers, 3 Having examined the progress report to the Secretary-General on the work of the Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War, and 1. Notes with satisfaction that some progress has taken place in the repatriation of prisoners of war in the course of the last two years, expresses the hope that those governments and Red Cross Societies which have contributed to that progress will continue their efforts; 2. Reiterates its grave and continuing concern at the evidence that large numbers of prisoners taken in the course of the Second World War have not yet been repatriated or otherwise accounted for; 3. Urgently appeals to all governments and authorities which continue to hold prisoners of the Second World War to act in con 1 General Assembly, Official Records, Eighth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/2630), pp. 19-20. 2 See Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, for the Protection of War Victims (Department of State publication 3938; 1950), pp. 84-161. See U.N. doc. A/2482. formity with the recognized standards of international conduct and with the above-mentioned international agreements and the Geneva Convention of 1949 which require that, upon the cessation of active hostilities, all prisoners should, with the least possible delay, be given an unrestricted opportunity of repatriation; 4. Expresses its sincere appreciation to the Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War for its efforts to assist in a solution of the problem of prisoners of war; and requests the Commission to continue its efforts to assist in a solution of the problem of prisoners of war under the terms of reference contained in General Assembly resolution 427 (V) of 14 December 1950; 5. Notes with satisfaction that a large amount of valuable information was made available to the Ad Hoc Commission concerning prisoners of war; but notes with concern that certain governments and authorities mentioned in the report of the Commission have so far refused to co-operate with the Commission, which refusal represents the main obstacle by which the best efforts of the Commission have been frustrated; 6. Urgently appeals to all governments and authorities which have not already done so to give their full co-operation to the Ad Hoc Commission to supply the information requested by it on all prisoners of the Second World War who are still under their control and on such prisoners who have died while under their control; and to grant the Commission access to areas in which such prisoners are detained; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to furnish the Ad Hoc Commission with the staff and facilities necessary for the effective accomplishment of its task; 8. Requests the Ad Hoc Commission to report as soon as practicable the results of its further work and possible suggestions to the SecretaryGeneral for transmission to the Members of the United Nations. Restrictions on United States Contributions to 32. PUBLIC LAW 495 (82d CONGRESS, 2d SESSION), Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, and the Judiciary, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1953, namely: 1 66 Stat. 549. CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS For expenses necessary to meet annual obligations to international organizations, the Government of Panama, and Gorgas Memorial Institute, pursuant to treaties, conventions, or specific Acts of Congress, $30,484,749. No representative of the United States Government in any international organization after fiscal year 1953 shall make any commitment requiring the appropriation of funds for a contribution by the United States in excess of 33% per centum of the budget of any international organization for which the appropriation for the United States contribution is contained in this Act: Provided, however, That this section shall not apply to the United States representatives to the inter-American organizations. No representative of the United States Government to any international organization of which the United States is not now a member shall, unless specifically authorized in an appropriation Act or other law, make any commitment requiring the appropriation of funds for a contribution by the United States in excess of 33% per centum of the budget of such international organization. This Act may be cited as the "Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, and The Judiciary Appropriation Act, 1953". 33. PUBLIC LAW 471 (83d CONGRESS, 2d SESSION), Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and the United States Information Agency for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1955, namely: TITLE I-DEPARTMENT OF STATE SEC. 109. None of the funds appropriated in this title shall be used (1) to pay the United States contribution to any international organization which engages in the direct or indirect promotion of the principle or doctrine of one world government or one world citizenship; (2) for the promotion, direct or indirect, of the principle or doctrine of one world government or one world citizenship. This title may be cited as the "Department of State Appropriation Act, 1955". 1 68 Stat. 413. United Nations Employment Policies 34. STATEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, The Charter of the United Nations provides that the staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General under regulations established by the General Assembly. It also provides that the SecretaryGeneral shall not seek or receive instructions from any government and enjoins member nations to respect the exclusively international character of his responsibilities. Accordingly, the U.S. Government does not attempt to instruct the Secretary-General as to whom he may employ or may not employ; it neither recommends U.S. citizens. for employment nor gives loyalty or security clearance to those employed. At the same time, the Department of State has made known to the Secretary-General its view that the employment of U.S. citizens who are Communists is not in the best interest of the United Nations, and the Department has long had assurance of the Secretary-General's agreement to this principle. Under a confidential arrangement with the Secretary-General, the Department of State, drawing upon its access to information held by the security agencies of the U.S. Government, has for some time been of assistance to the Secretary-General in identifying U.S. citizens, employed or contemplated for employment, who would appear to be Communists. 35. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON PERSONNEL POLICY, JANUARY 30, 1953 (Excerpts) 2 INTRODUCTION C. BASIC ISSUES 4. To understand the question adequately, it is necessary to recall the fundamental decision affirming the international character and independence of the Secretariat taken in London in 1945 and 1946 by the Preparatory Commission and by the General Assembly at its first session. Two basically different concepts with regard to the appointment of members of the Secretariat were put forward in the Preparatory Commission. One view was that Article 101 of the 1 Department of State Bulletin, Nov. 10, 1952, p. 735; see also the statement issued to the press by the Department of State Dec. 2, 1952 (ibid., Dec. 15, 1952, p. 967). 2 U.N. doc. A/2364. See: United Nations Preparatory Commission, Committee 6: Administrative and Budgetary, 22nd and 23rd meetings, 19 and 20 December 1945 Summary Record of Meetings, pages 50-51. (Footnote in original.) Charter placed exclusive responsibility for appointment on the Secretary-General and that this responsibility was necessary to assure the freedom, independence and truly international character of the Secretariat. 5. The other view, embodied in a proposal presented by a delegation (PC/AB/54), was that appointments of officials of the Secretariat should be subject to the consent of the Government of the Member State of which the candidate was a national, as it was argued that a government would be best able to pass on the qualifications of its nationals. A majority, however, considered that this latter proposal, if adopted, would effectively destroy the independence of the Secretariat. They thought that "it was common sense that the staff should, as far as possible, be acceptable to the Member governments, and also that the Secretary-General would often require information regarding candidates from government or private bodies". But they also believed that "it would be extremely undesirable to write into the text anything which would give national governments particular rights in this respect, or permit political pressure on the Secretary-General". The Preparatory Commission, therefore, decided by a large majority in favour of the first concept. This recommendation affirming the exclusive responsibility of the Secretary-General for appointment and removal of staff members was later adopted by the General Assembly at the first part of its first session.1 6. The principle then approved has been followed from the beginning amid growing tensions which have arisen between Members of the United Nations-tensions which have resulted in increasing concern for security on the part of the Member States. This concern has been particularly manifest in the United States of America, the principal host country. In these circumstances, the SecretaryGeneral has endeavoured to provide reasonable assurance with regard to the security of host countries and other Members of the United Nations, while safeguarding the basic requirements of an independent international secretariat pursuant to Articles 100 and 101 of the Charter. 7. Accordingly, it has always been the policy of the SecretaryGeneral to uphold the international character of the Secretariat, and to resist all pressures from whatever source which could have the effect of undermining its independence as defined in the Charter. At the same time, he has always upheld the policy that no member of the Secretariat should engage in subversive activities against the government of any Member State. This does not mean that a staff member must agree with the government of the State of which he is a national. But so long as he remains in the Secretariat, it is his clear obligation under the Charter and the Staff Regulations 2 to take no Resolution 13 (I): Organization of the Secretariat-adopted on 13 February 1946. See: Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during the first part of its first session from 10 January to 14 February 1946, page 14. (Footnote in original.) For the text of the Staff Regulations referred to by the Secretary-General throughout his report, see the annex to General Assembly Res. 590 (VI), Feb. 2, 1952; General Assembly, Official Records, Sixth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/2119), pp. 76-80. |