Cablegram 10107 LONDON, 21 September 1945, 11.59 p.m.
SECRET
PRECOM 16.
1. Trusteeship Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Evatt has agreed on recommendation to the Executive Committee re interim arrangements pending the establishment of a Trusteeship Council.
Difficulty arose in application of article 86 inasmuch as the Trusteeship Council cannot be created until there are trust territories but trust territories cannot be created until there is a Trusteeship Council (see articles 75, 77, 83 and 85). This difficulty due to hasty work at San Francisco had to be resolved by making interim arrangements.
2. The Trusteeship Sub-Committee recommends that General Assembly acting under Article 22 of the Charter should create a temporary subsidiary organ to carry out certain of the functions assigned in the Charter to the Trusteeship Council pending the establishment of the Council. This temporary Committee would inter alia perform the following functions- (a) Assist the United Nations in expediting the conclusion of Trusteeship agreements and the coming into operation of the Trusteeship system provided for in Chapter 12 of the Charter.
(b) Assist and advise the General Assembly in discharging any of its functions with regard to non-strategic areas including approval of trusteeship agreements.
(c) Assist the Security Council in such matters as the Security Council might wish to refer to it in relation to matters dealt with in Article 83.
(d) Advise the General Assembly on any matters that might arise with regard to the transfer to the United Nations of any functions and responsibilities hitherto exercised under the Mandates system.
3. The Sub-Committee recommends that temporary Trusteeship Committee be composed as follows- (a) The five states mentioned by name in Article 23.
(b) The member states namely, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand and South Africa other than those mentioned in Article 23 who are at present administering Mandate territories.
(c) Any other states to whom may be allocated the administration of territories which have been detached from enemy states as a result of the second world war and which are to be administered as proposed trust territories.
(d) As many other members to be elected by the General Assembly as are necessary to secure equality between administrating and non- administrating members (the Sub-Committee suggests that a recommendation be made to the Assembly that among these other members be elected the Netherlands on account of long experience in administering dependent territories).
4. The term of temporary Trusteeship Committee would end when by conclusion of a sufficient number of trusteeship agreements conditions foreseen in Article 86 had been fulfilled.
5. Any comments should reach London before Friday, 28th September, when recommendations will be presented to the Executive Committee for approval. At the same meeting approval will also be sought for recommendations by Committee 5 on registration of treaties (Document ICJ/13 Revision 1 forwarded by bag).
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1 Corrected according to AA : A3642, vol. 23, 1.30550.
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[AA : A1066, H45/777/2]