Office of the Historian

840.50 UNRRA/11–945: Airgram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Berle)

Washington, November 9, 1945.

A–1031. [The first paragraph of this airgram is identical with that of circular airgram of November 8, 3:50 p.m., printed supra.]

Consideration will also be given at the next UNRRA Council meeting to the possible addition of several new members to the Central Committee. If, as seems desirable, this Government is to support [Page 1040] the nomination of Brazil to be one of these, it is important that preliminary steps be undertaken in the very near future to support this position with the other interested governments. The US initiation of action in this regard would only be justified if Brazil should find it possible to increase her present contribution to UNRRA, or at the least, to take definitive steps in that direction before the meeting of the Council which is expected to take place late this year or early in 1946.28

At the same time it should be borne in mind that the action taken by Brazil will have no small influence on the action to be taken by the Congress in considering an additional contribution to UNRRA. During the recent hearings both the Congress and the press gave considerable attention to the fact that many governments had failed to make available to UNRRA the contributions which had been previously agreed upon. The British and Canadian Governments have joined this Government in calling these facts to the attention of certain of the American Republics and it is not unlikely that favorable action by Brazil in regard to an additional contribution will also have the effect of spurring other governments especially those in Latin America to fulfil their existing obligations, if not to pledge further contributions.

It is apparent that without additional contributions to UNRRA the aims and objectives of the Administration and of this Government cannot be accomplished.

You are requested to take appropriate measures to bring this matter to the attention of the Brazilian Government and thus render an important service to UNRRA as well as this Government.29

Byrnes
  1. Brazil became a member of the UNRRA Central Committee at the Fourth Council meeting, March 15–29, 1946; see Woodbridge, UNRRA, vol. i, pp. 52, 56.↩
  2. For information on Brazil’s contributions to UNRRA, see ibid., p. 121.↩