DUMBARTON OAKS PROPOSALS

for [Music] Dumbarton Oaks the Autumn of 1944 representatives of four allied powers are greeted by the assistant Secretary of State Edward R stettinius head of the United States delegation these conversations arising out of the Declaration of Moscow seek to explore the groundwork of a general International Organization they are opened by The American Secretary of State Cordell H the lessons of earlier disunity and weakness should be indelibly stamped upon the minds and hearts of this generation and of generations to come so should the lessons of unity and the resultant strength achieve by United the United Nations in this war he is seconded by sir Alexander kogan leader of the United Kingdom delegation individual Nations small and great must be the basis of our new world organization and our problem is to construct a machine which will give to each of them the responsibilities commensurate with its power his Excellency Ambassador Andre a gromo leader of the Soviet delegation also stresses the need for the continued Unity on the basis of Sovereign equality of all Freedom loving nations in peace as in war VK Wellington coup Chinese ambassador to Great Britain reminds the delegates that his country the first victim of the present World catastrophe has never lost faith in the power of cooperation to bring about world security the conversations at dumot notes which began on August 21st 1944 were completed on October 7th the proposals agreed upon were submitted to the four participating governments to all the United Nations and to the peoples of the world for study and discussion in February at the Crimea conference there was further clarification and a call was sent out for a meeting of all the United Nations to be held on April 25th 1945 at San Francisco to consider the proposed organization the proposed United Nations organization is composed of four main bodies first a general assembly the central organ on which every member nation is represented second a security Council of 11 five permanent Members United States the United Kingdom the Soviet Union China and France and six non-permanent members elected by the general assembly for two-year overlapping terms each member to have one vote and a majority of seven required for all decisions an international court of justice the principal judicial organ its statute would be that of the present permanent Court of international Justice with modifications or a new one based upon it it would render legal advice to the security Council lastly the Secretariat headed by a Secretary General elected by the general assembly upon the recommendation of the security Council the Secretary General would act as the chief administrative officer for all parts of the organization these four form the nucleus of the organization several subsidiary and related bodies are also suggested an economic and social Council of 18 members elected by the assembly for three-year terms assisting the council would be commissions of experts in economic Affairs social and other related fields in addition numerous specialized International agencies already existing or to be created would be brought into relationship with the organization through special agreements with this Council the international labor organization the proposed United Nations food and agriculture organization the proposed international monetary fund the proposed International Bank for reconstruction and development other economic agencies now under discussion in the fields of Aviation Communications and foreign trade and other proposed social agencies in the fields of health education and cultural relations the security Council has under it a military staff committee representing the Chiefs of Staff of the five permanent members of the council the committee would advise and assist the Council on matters relating to its military requirements and the regulation of armaments it would under the security Council direct the Strategic disposition of the national contingents of armed forces these forces to be made available by special agreements between the member nations and the council Regional security agencies or Arrangements would not be precluded provided they are consistent with the purposes and principles of the organization such is the structure proposed for the general International Organization how would its various parts perform their functions the primary purpose of this organization is the building of the positive conditions for permanent peace it will be the responsibility of all the United Nations as members of the general assembly to plan and execute longrange programs for international stability economic well-being and social cooperation the assembly having formulated general policies instructs the economic and social Council which is its general staff to implement them this Council in turn or on its own initiative May request studies and information from its commissions of expert advisors and from the various specialized International agencies already existing or to be created the council also coordinates the activities of these agencies through consultations and recommendations for concerted and effective action and through these agencies the policies and activities of their respective member nations are also coordinated information from all these sources is integrated by the council into studies and recommendations and forwarded to the general assembly the assembly should also be able to make recommendations directly to the specialized agencies for the coordination of their activities finally both the assembly and the economic and social Council should be able to recommend directly to the nations of the world Solutions of international economic social and humanitarian problems thus the proposed organization would function to achieve its long range purpose the positive development of economic and social stability ultimately leading to permanent peace but another and more immediate purpose of the organization is the peaceful settlement of international disputes when disputes arise between nations all members of the organization would be obligated to refrain from the use of force and to seek a direct settlement among themselves through peaceful means by negotiation mediation conciliation or arbitration if however direct settlement fails the dispute may be referred to the organization through through several channels for peaceful settlement if the dispute is justiciable it should be referred to the international court of justice for judgment disputes of a local or Regional nature may be referred to Regional security arrangements or agencies these could either by themselves or with the assistance of the security Council recommend Solutions thirdly the disputing nations may refer the problem to the general assembly which can recommend the settlement directly to the disputing parties or either before or after discussion pass the case on to the security Council the Secretary General too may bring to the attention of the security Council any matter likely to threaten International Peace also any Nation whether a member of the or organization or not may bring a dispute to the attention of the general assembly or the security Council and the disputing nations may themselves take the dispute directly to the council the security Council Bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of International Peace and security it should therefore have the power to investigate at any time any situation likely to lead to International friction and and if in its opinion the piece is threatened to assume direct jurisdiction over it such decisions must be concurred in by the permanent members provided that parties to the dispute abstain from voting in non-justiciable disputes the council would request legal advice from the international Court the council having considered disputes coming to its attention in these various ways May either refer them to the general assembly for discussion and recommendations of settlement or it may recommend methods and procedures of settlement directly to the disputing Nations if however peaceful settlement of disputes has failed or if at any time the security Council with all permanent members concurring determines that an immediate threat to World Peace exists it would have the power to take measures non military or armed necessary to maintain or restore peace calling upon all or any of the members of the organization to assist in enforcement for non-military enforcement measures the security Council could call upon the economic and social Council and the participating specialized International agencies for information regarding existing economic and social conditions and the most effective enforcement procedures it would inform the general assembly of the action to be taken and obtain its assistance in carrying them out the council would call upon all members of the organization to apply the measures decided upon these might include the severance of Economic and diplomatic relations or the partial or complete Interruption of communications whether rail Sea Air postal telegraphic radio or other means should the council find such non-military measures inadequate an actual Act of aggression being threatened it would be empowered to take armed action the military staff committee would advise on the most effective military measures again the council would advise the general assembly and request its assistance the national contingents of land Naval and Air Forces under the Strategic direction of the military staff committee would conduct demonstrations blockades or other military operations such are the proposed organs functions and responsibilities of the United Nations organization its purposes to build a peaceful world of economic and social stability and cooperation to prevent threats to the Peace by the peaceful settlement of inter international disputes to maintain International Security by the suppression of Acts of aggression in the words of Sir Alexander kogan let us go forward with a full sense of our responsibilities not only to our own Nations but to the World At Large let us go forward above all with the determination to produce a scheme worthy of the men and women of the United Nations who are giving their all to make possible the construction of a better world [Music]