Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, The Far East and Australasia, Volume VII, Part 1

501.BC Indonesia/5–349

Position Paper Prepared by the United States Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly

secret

[New York,] May 3, 1949.

US/A/AC.24/57

The Indonesian Case

i. problem

To determine the United States position in the General Assembly on the Indonesian question.

The Security Council is actively exercising the functions assigned to it in the Charter with respect to this problem. Under Article 12 of the Charter, therefore, the General Assembly “shall not make any recommendations with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security Council so requests,” The role of the Assembly thus is limited here to discussion.

ii. recommendations

A. The following recommendations are made on the assumption that the Batavian talks are continuing and that progress is being made at the time the question is reached on the agenda.

1) It is desirable, in the interests of a speedy settlement, at least to defer debate to as late in the session as possible in order to take due account of developments in Batavia. The Department is committed to this position so long as the parties show continuing evidence of good faith in the negotiations.

2) If, in the judgment of the Department, there appears to be a reasonable chance of success and the Dutch evidence a real desire to reach a settlement, the United States position will be that there should be no discussion in the General Assembly on the ground that it would be harmful to the work of the United Nations Commission for Indonesia in that it might force the parties to take more extreme positions in the General Assembly discussions than they are taking in the Batavia talks.

3) If the question is debated, the United States representative should not take the lead in the debate. When he does speak, he should:

a) Emphasize how, from the time of the Linggadjati agreement, the United States has accepted and endorsed proposals for the early creation of a free and independent United States of Indonesia.

b) Describe how the United States has in every way sought to contribute to the achievement of that end. It has sent top level representatives to participate in the work of the Committee of Good Offices and of the United Nations Commission for Indonesia. These representatives have actively contributed to the work of the bodies as shown by the du Bois–Critchley plan, the Cochran plan and the activities of Ambassador Cochran in bringing the parties together in Batavia.

c) Recount the progress being made in the Batavia talks.

d) Reaffirm our support of the 28 January Resolution and the 23 March directive, including the necessity of the restoration of the Republican Government to Jogjakarta.

e) Urge a speedy settlement of the immediate preliminary issues and the convening of the Hague Conference to work out arrangements for an early transfer of sovereignty.

4) If the present situation continues, the United States will neither support nor oppose a condemnatory resolution, but will abstain from voting if such a resolution is introduced. The general opinion may be expressed that no resolution should be of such character as to cause unnecessary firmness in the positions of the parties and prevent the flexibility desired in free negotiations. However, under no conditions, should the United States be put in the position of condoning Dutch policy in Indonesia or of guaranteeing the success of the Batavian talks.

B. The above recommendations are made on the assumption that the talks will be continuing and that there are evidences of substantial progress. If, on the other hand, the talks have definitely broken down, an impasse has been reached, or if in the opinion of the Department no progress is being made, the Department will re-examine its position, giving due weight to the respective responsibility of each party. It is believed unlikely that this situation will develop during the course of the present session of the General Assembly. If the talks should break down or an impasse develop, the United Nations Commission for Indonesia itself will probably make positive recommendations. These recommendations, together with the views of the United States Representative will be given careful consideration by the Department in the reformulation of its position.

C. Procedural Recommendation:

There is no question but that in the present case the Security Council is actively “exercising ….¹ the functions assigned to it” and that the General Assembly may not make any recommendation with regard to the dispute (Charter, Article 12). It is the opinion of the Department, however, that the Assembly has not only the power of discussing the problem under Article 10 and 11, but can give expression to the result of its discussions in an appropriate resolution, so long as no recommendation is made. Although certain resolutions expressive of opinion may be undesirable and in effect interfere with the effective handling of the case by the Security Council and UNCFI, any opposition thereto should be based not on lack of power of the Assembly, but rather on the inexpediency of the exercise of the power in such case.

D. Further recommendations will be made as required by the course of events in Batavia.

1. Omission as in the original.