America As Essential For the Community of Nations
On April 25, 1945, fifty countries1 met in San Francisco, California commencing the United Nations Conference on International Organization. There were 850 delegates and with staff members the official delegations rose to around 3500 with an additional 2500 members of the press.2 This conference, which lasted until June 26, 1945, would rewrite what was known colloquially the Dumbarton Oaks Agreement into what we know today as the United Nations Charter, making real, making juridical, the community of nations. Almost eighty years of peace and prosperity followed. This peace came about after decades of slaughter, suffering and destruction, and only because of America.
Decades of Blood
The Great War resulted in about 27 million soldiers as casualties. The civilian death toll was at least 10 million with about 30 million civilians all told were casualties. Combined with the 27 million military casualties, the total comes to around 57 million casualties in the space of about 51 months.3
The League of Nations, an American idea, formed and failed without American involvement. Another bloody war came. By some estimates, the military deaths in World War II were 21 to 25.5 million and the civilian deaths from all causes including genocide were 48 million to 58 million. Combined about 69 million to 83 million people lost their lives with up to a quarter of a billion wounded.
The causes? Desires for wealth, for power, for land, to satisfy ancient vengeances, for hatred, for imperialism. The leaders? Autocrats, dictators, absolute rulers who slaughtered whole peoples. Things had to change. Ethnicity, nationalism, Christianity – they all failed to stop the slaughter and destruction.
That change needed was to more fully recognize the dignity of the person and to orient societies, and the world society, the world community, to that same end. America brought the world back to the Natural Law, the Law of Nations, the timeless truths forgotten by Europe and Man.
Cordell Hull and the Americans
The most notable American in bringing the change the world so earnestly needed was Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who came to be known as “The Father of the United Nations.” A Democrat Senator from Tennessee before being asked to join FDR’s cabinet as the Secretary of State, he was a lawyer heavily involved in international affairs and international law. He knew the essence of America, and that essence was the Law of Nations, based on the Natural Law, holding to the existence of a natural community of nations.
Hull wrote “from the moment when Hitler’s invasion of Poland revealed the bankruptcy of all existing methods to preserve peace, it became evident…that we must begin almost immediately to plan the creation of a new system.”4
That system’s origin was in the organization of America, as that organization was in accordance with the Law of Nations. In a June, 1938 speech, Hull recognized the Law of Nations as part of America. He said
“In 1815 Chief Justice Marshall declared that the law of nations is a part of the law of the land. Justice Gray stated in 1900: ‘International law is part of our law, and must be ascertained and administered by the courts of justice of appropriate jurisdiction, as often as questions of right depending upon it are duly presented for their determination. For this purpose, where there is no treaty, and no controlling executive or legislative act or judicial decision, resort must be had to the customs and usages of civilized.’”5
Customs and usages of the civilized were set out by Emer De Vattel in his Law of Nations, a treatise widely read by the American Founders who took it to heart.Vattel explained how the Law of Nations was a consequence of, and in accordance with, the Law of Nature. Hence, the significance of that phrase “the Law of Nature” in the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence. Vattel wrote:
“The universal society of the human race being an institution of nature herself, that is to say, a necessary consequence of the nature of man, — all men, in whatever stations they are placed, are bound to cultivate it, and to discharge its duties. They cannot liberate themselves from the obligation by any convention, by any private association. When, therefore by any convention, by any private association. When, therefore, they unite in civil society for the purpose of forming a separate state or nation, they may indeed enter into particular engagements towards those with whom they associate themselves; but they remain still bound to the performance of their duties towards the rest of mankind.”6
To accomplish this duty, this obligation, two general laws applied. The first found in the “very object of the society of nations, is that each individual nation is bound to contribute everything in her power to the happiness and perfection of all the others.” The second is “that each nation should be left in the peaceable enjoyment of that liberty which she inherits from nature” as the “natural society of nations cannot subsist, unless the natural rights of each be duly respected.”7
As Hull said, the “Customs and the usages of the civilized” were necessary for the community of nations and so became part of “a new system”8 as he put it that provided peace.
First, domestic society must be right ordered and so the person must be the focus of society, which is governed by law, friendship or sociability. He said
”It is only through the development of social institutions, through the evolution of man as a social being, that humanity has steadily progressed to higher and higher levels of civilized existence and has learned the true meaning of individual freedom. The foundation of such existence and of such freedom is order under law. The individual who lives in organized society shares in the vast benefits which flow from a properly functioning social organization – by way of security for life and property; by way of the material advancement resulting from organized effort and enterprise; by way of moral, intellectual, and spiritual betterment induced by the contacts and fellowship of community life. But he must make his contribution to the maintenance of such organized society. His first and most direct contribution should be self-restraint, willingness to accept and practice the rules of social conduct which are embodied in law and interpreted by the authorized agencies of government. Of equal importance should be his participation in the functioning of an alert and informed public opinion, which serves, by collective disapproval, to enforce self-restraint upon those individuals who, through anti-social conduct, imperil the safety and progress of organized society.”9
Second, the concept of the primacy of states must be rejected as this was anarchy and not community on the international level. He said
“In the evolution of man’s civilized existence, there has been only a slow and sporadic development of the doctrine that, if progress is to continue, nations must be subject to certain defined rules of conduct, in the same way as are individuals within communities and communities within nations. There was long prevalent the belief that each nations was a law unto itself, the sole arbiter of its international conduct, fully entitled – if it possessed sufficient power – to engage in aggression and aggrandizement, to destroy by armed force the independence of other nations and to subjugate other peoples.
“Such attitude on the part of nations is the essence of international anarchy. Under it, armed conflict was, to a large extent, the rule in the relations among nations, and war inevitably laid its crushing hand upon all phases of life within and among nations…International law began to develop as an increasingly accepted basis of relations among nations The flowering of man’s intellectual and mechanical genius began to create all over the world a steadily extending network of peaceful international relationships, based upon a growing sense of community among nations of political, economic, social, and cultural interests.10
Third, law was to order international relations between states.
“The processes of international law are the civilized man’s way of conducting relations among nations….Our present-day social and political organization is, generally speaking, based upon the theory of national sovereignty, which is accepted and approved by an overwhelming majority of mankind…The primary function of international law is to define and prescribe rules of international conduct. These rules must be such as to represent the maximum practicable reconciliation between the sovereign rights of each nation and the sovereign rights of other nations for the greater benefit of all. In this spirit, international law operates as an incalculably powerful force for human progress….international law operates as an incalculably powerful force for human progress. Rules of conduct must, in themselves, be based upon sound fundamental principles, that breathe the spirit of reasonableness, the spirit of live and let live.”11
Last, war was not the way, it was not the natural state of things. Peace was. He said
”I am convinced of the falsity of the doctrine that armed conflict is the natural and inevitable state of man. I am certain that no legitimate differences that may arise among nations are incapable of settlement by peaceful means. I am certain that no legitimate differences that may arise among nations are incapable of settlement by peaceful means. As a matter of fact, the whole modern system of international law, having emerge largely out of a spirit of enlightened protest against international anarchy symbolized by war.”12
Rules of conduct must be based upon the spirit of live and let live. Cordell Hull wisely stated
“Maintenance of peace should be constantly advocated and practiced. All nations should, through voluntary self-restraint, abstain from use of force in pursuit of policy and from interference in the internal affairs of other nations. All nations should seek to adjust problems arising in their international relations by processes of peaceful negotiation and agreement. All nations should uphold the principle of the sanctity of treaties and of faithful observance of international agreements. Modification of provisions of treaties, when need therefore arises, should be by orderly processes carried out in a spirit of mutual helpfulness and accommodation. Each nation should respect the rights of others and perform scrupulously its own established obligations. Steps should be taken toward promotion of economic security and stability the world over through lowering or removal of barriers to international trade, according of effective equality of commercial opportunity, and application of the principle of equality of commercial treatment. All nations should be prepared to limit and progressively reduce their armaments.
“Apart from the question of alliances with others, each nation should be prepared to engage in cooperative effort by peaceful and practicable means in support of these principles…..Machinery must be devised for the interpretation and application of the rules….”13
The Process to the United Nations
The first important event towards “creation of a new system” was the Atlantic Charter, which was drafted by Winston Churchill and FDR meeting at a US Naval Base leased from the British and issued August 14, 1941. That statement set forth certain principles for the foreign policies of the United States and the United Kingdom to advance the “hopes for a better future of the world”. These principles were both a combination of the ancient and the best of human understanding as became known over time.
The first principal was that the “countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other.” Second, “no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned.” Third, that all peoples have the right to choose the “form of government under which they will live” and that sovereign rights restored to those governments and peoples who have been deprived of such. Fourth, to advance the “further the enjoyment by all States,” regardless of size or status after the war, to “the trade and the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity.” Fifth, to promote collaboration between “all nations in the economic field with the object of security, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security.” Sixth, to establish peace between “all nations” and insure the “means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries…from fear and want.” Seventh, freedom of the seas. Eighth, “abandonment of the use of force.”14
More than four months later, on January 1, 1942, twenty-six countries15 signed the Declaration of the United Nations which consisted of an endorsement of the Atlantic Charter. An additional twenty-one countries would sign the Declaration of the United Nations by the end of 1945. These countries agreed to the following:
“Having subscribed to a common program of purposes and principles embodied in the Joint Declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Great Britain dated August 14, 1941, known as the Atlantic Charter,
“Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world,
“Declare:
“(1) Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such government is at war.
“(2) Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies.
“The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism.”16
A number of meetings to flush out the details of an international organization and an international regime ensued. In August, 1943, the Quebec Conference between Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resulted in a declaration that included a call for “a general international organization, based on the principle sovereign equality of all nations.” Another declaration issued in Moscow in October, 1943. FDR and Joseph Stalin during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, in November, 1943 proposed an international organization while flushing out some of the details of the organization. There was proposed an assembly of all member states with a ten member executive committee to discuss social and economic issues. The “four policemen” would be United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and China and they would enforce peace as “the four policemen.” A number of task-oriented organizations came about over the course of World War II. There were the Food and Agricultural Organization (May, 1943), the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (November, 1943), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (April, 1944), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank (July, 1944), and later the International Civil Aviation Organization (November, 1944).17
The Washington Conversation on International Peace and Security Organization, or the Dumbarton Oaks Conversation, occurred in Washington, D.C. from August 21 through October 7, 1944. Representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China were present to draft an outline for the new global organization. That draft or what became known as the Proposals for the Establishment of a General International Organization or the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals, provided a blueprint for the United Nations Charter, and was the document considered by the assembled delegates in San Francisco some six months later.18
The Dumbarton Oaks Proposals stated the purposes of the United Nations, the principles by which to guide the actions of the United Nations, membership in the organization, and identified the principle organs being the General Assembly, the Security Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. Parts V, VI, and VII dealt with the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice in greater detail while Part X dealt with the Secretariat. Part VIII, entitled “Arrangements for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security Including Prevention or Suspension of Aggression” dealt with several topics. One was the Pacific settlement of disputes. Another with determination of threats to peace and a third pertained to regional arrangements to assure the peace. Part IX pertained to the development of an instrument for international economic and social cooperation.
The Yalta Conference in February, 1945 between FDR and Stalin, among other things, discussed the veto power of the members of the Security Council as well as the membership of Ukraine and Belorussia.19 With every step along the way, the influence of Cordell Hull, and America, in bringing about a better world order with the juridical manifestation of the community of nations — the United Nations — is undeniable.
1 Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Republic, Turkey, South Africa, Soviet Union, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, United Kingdom with India, United States with Philippines, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia.
2 “The San Francisco Conference,” United Nations.
3 Exhibits, National World War I Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri.
4 Antonio Cassese, International Law (2nd Ed., Oxford University Press, 2005), 317
5 Cordell Hull, “The Spirit of International Law,” International Conciliation: Documents for the Year 1938, January –December, 1938 No. 336-345 (Carnegie Endowment for Internaitonal Peace Divison of Intercourse and Education Publication and Editorial Offices; New York): 297-310, at 305
6 Emer De Vattel, The Law of Nations; or, Principles of the Law of Nature, Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns, (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., Clark, New Jersey, 2020), lx.
7 Ibid., lxi.
8 Cassese, 317
9 Cordell Hull, “The Spirit of International Law,” International Conciliation: Documents for the Year 1938, January –December, 1938 No. 336-345 (Carnegie Endowment for Internaitonal Peace Divison of Intercourse and Education Publication and Editorial Offices; New York): 297-310, at 298
10 Ibid, at 298.
11 Ibid., 299, 301-302
12 Ibid., 302-304.
13 Ibid., 301-303
14 “Joint Statement by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, August 14, 1941,” The Atlantic Conference, Avalon Project, Yale Law School. The entire Joint Statement, or the Atlantic Charter, follows:
Joint Statement by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, August 14, 1941(1) :
The following statement signed by the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain is released for the information of the Press:
The President of the United States and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, have met at sea.
They have been accompanied by officials of their two Governments, including high ranking officers of the Military, Naval and Air Services
The whole problem of the supply of munitions of war, as provided by the Lease-Lend Act, for the armed forces of the United States and for those countries actively engaged in resisting aggression has been further examined.
Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Supply of the British Government, has joined in these conferences. He is going to proceed to Washington to discuss further details with appropriate officials of the United States Government. These conferences will also cover the supply problems of the Soviet Union.
The President and the Prime Minister have had several conferences They have considered the dangers to world civilization arising from the policies of military domination by conquest upon which the Hitlerite government of Germany and other governments associated therewith have embarked, and have made clear the stress which their countries are respectively taking for their safety in the face of these dangers.
They have agreed upon the following joint declaration: (2)
Joint declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, being met together, deem it right to make known certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they base their hopes for a better future for the world.
First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other;
Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned;
Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them;
Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity;
Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field with the objector securing, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security;
Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all the men in all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want;
Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;
Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must come to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other practicable measures which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
WINSTON S. CHURCHILL
NOTES
(1) The copy in the Department files is a press release which indicates signature by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. Apparently, however, there was no signed copy.
(2) Known as the Atlantic Charter, published in Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 236.
15? This included the United States, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, China, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia.
16 “The Washington Conference,” The Avalon Project, Yale law School, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/washc014.asp
17 “The formation of the United Nations, 1945,” Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/un#:~:text=Roosevelt%20also%20sought%20to%20convince,nations%20had%20ratified%20the%20Charter
18 The entire document comes from “Dumbarton Oaks Conversation,” at https://www.doaks.org or at https://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1944/441007a.html. It follows:
PROPOSALS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENERAL INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION [1]
There should be established an international organization under the title of The United Nations, the Charter of which should contain provisions necessary to give effect to the proposals which follow.
CHAPTER I. PURPOSES
The purposes of the Organization should be:
1. To maintain international peace and security; and to that end to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means adjustment or settlement of international disputes which may lead to a breach of the peace;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
3. To achieve international cooperation in the solution of international economic, social and other humanitarian problems; and
4. To afford a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the achievement of these common ends.
CHAPTER II. PRINCIPLES
In pursuit of the purposes mentioned in Chapter I the Organization and its members should act in accordance with the following principles:
1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving states.
2. All members of the Organization undertake, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership in the Organization, to fulfill the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the Charter.
3. All members of the Organization shall settle their disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered.
[1] Including text of provision relative to voting procedure in the Security Council (Chap. VI, sec. C) as agreed upon at the Crimea Conference and announced by the Secretary of State on Mar. 5, 1945.
4. All members of the Organization shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the Organization.
5. All members of the Organization shall give every assistance to the Organization in any action undertaken by it in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
6. All members of the Organization shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which preventive or enforcement action is being undertaken by the Organization.
The Organization should ensure that states not members of the Organization act in accordance with these principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
CHAPTER III. MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership of the Organization should be open to all peace-loving states.
CHAPTER IV. PRINCIPAL ORGANS
1. The Organization should have as its principle organs:
a. A General Assembly;
b. A Security Council;
c. An international court of justice; and
d. A Secretariat.
2. The Organization should have such subsidiary agencies as may be found necessary.
CHAPTER V. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Section A. Composition. All members of the Organization should be members of the General Assembly and should have a number of representatives to be specified in the Charter.
Section B. Functions and Powers. 1. The General Assembly should have the right to consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments; to discuss any questions relating to the maintenance of international peace and security brought before it by any member or members of the Organization or by the Security Council; and to make recommendations with regard to any such principles or questions. Any such questions on which action is necessary should be referred to the Security Council by the General Assembly either before or after discussion. The General
Assembly should not on its own initiative make recommendations on any matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security which is being dealt with by the Security Council.
2. The General Assembly should be empowered to admit new members to the Organization upon recommendation of the Security Council.
3. The General Assembly should, upon recommendation of the Security Council, be empowered to suspend from the exercise of any rights or privileges of membership any member of the Organization against which preventive or enforcement actions have been taken by the Security Council. The exercise of the rights and privileges thus suspended may be restored by decision of the Security Council. The General Assembly should be empowered, upon recommendation of the Security Council, to expel from the Organization any member of the Organization which persistently violates the principles contained in the Charter.
4. The General Assembly should elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of the Economic and Social Council provided for in Chapter IX. It should be empowered to elect, upon recommendation of the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the Organization. It should perform such functions in relation to the election of the judges of the international court of justice as may be conferred upon it by the statute of the court.
5. The General Assembly should apportion the expenses among the members of the Organization and should be empowered to approve the budgets of the Organization.
6. The General Assembly should initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of promoting international cooperation in political, economic and social fields and of adjusting situations likely to impair the general welfare.
7. The General Assembly should make recommendations for the coordination of the policies of international economic, social, and other specialized agencies brought into relation with the Organization in accordance with agreements between such agencies and the Organization.
8. The General Assembly should receive and consider annual special reports from the Security Council and reports from other bodies of the Organization.
Section C. Voting. 1. Each member of the Organization should have one vote in the General Assembly.
2. Important decisions of the General Assembly, including recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security; election of members of the Security Council; election of members of the Economic and Social Council; admission of members, suspension of the exercise of the rights and privileges of members, and expulsion of members; and budgetary questions, should be made by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. On other questions, including the determination of additional categories of questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, the decisions of the General Assembly should be made by a simple majority vote.
Section D. Procedure. 1. The General Assembly should meet in regular annual sessions and in such special sessions as occasion may require.
2. The General Assembly should adopt its own rules of procedure and elect its President for each session.
3. The General Assembly should be empowered to set up such bodies and agencies as it may deem necessary for the performance of its functions.
CHAPTER VI. THE SECURITY COUNCIL
Section A. Composition. The Security Council should consist of one representative of each of eleven members of the Organization. Representatives of the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Republic of China, and, in due course, France, should have permanent seats. The General Assembly should elect six states to fill the non-permanent seats. These six states should be elected for a term of two years, three retiring each year. They should not be immediately eligible for reelection. In the first election of the non-permanent members three should be chosen by the General Assembly for one-year terms and three for two-year terms.
Section B. Principle Functions and Powers. 1. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the Organization, members of the Organization should by the Charter confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and should agree that in carrying out these duties under this responsibility it should act on their behalf.
2. In discharging these duties the Security Council should act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Organization.
3. The specific powers conferred on the Security Council in order to carry out these duties are laid down in Chapter VIII.
4. All members of the Organization should obligate themselves to accept the decisions of the Security Council and to carry them out in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
5. In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion of the world’s human and economic resources for armaments, the Security Council, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee referred to in Chapter VIII, Section B, paragraph 9, should have the responsibility for formulating plans for the establishment of a system of regulation of armaments for submission to the members of the Organization.
[Section C. Voting. 1. Each member of the Security Council should have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters should be made by an affirmative vote of seven members.
3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters should be made by an affirmative vote of seven members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VIII, Section A, and under the second sentence of Paragraph 1 of Chapter VIII, Section C, a party to a dispute should abstain from voting.]
Section D. Procedure. 1. The Security Council should be so organized as to be able to function continuously and each state member of the Security Council should be permanently represented at the headquarters of the Organization. It may hold meetings at such other places as in its judgment may best facilitate its work. There should be periodic meetings at which each state member of the Security Council could if it so desired be represented by a member of the government or some other special representative.
2. The Security Council should be empowered to set up such bodies or agencies as it may deem necessary for the performance of its functions including regional subcommittees of the Military Staff Committee.
3. The Security Council should adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
4. Any member of the Organization should participate in the discussion of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the Security Council considers that the interests of that member of the Organization are specially affected.
5. Any member of the Organization not having a seat on the Security Council and any state not a member of the Organization, if it is a party to a dispute under consideration by the Security Council, should be invited to participate in the discussion relating to the dispute.
CHAPTER VII. AN INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
1. There should be an international court of justice which should constitute the principal judicial organ of the Organization.
2. The court should be constituted and should function in accordance with a statute which should be annexed to and be a part of the Charter of the Organization.
3. The statute of the court of international justice should be either (a) the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, continued in force with such modifications as may be desirable or (b) a new statute in the preparation of which the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice should be used as a basis.
4. All members of the Organization should ipso facto be parties to the statute of the international court of justice.
5. Conditions under which states not members of the Organization may become parties to the statute of the international court of justice should be determined in each case by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council.
CHAPTER VIII. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY INCLUDING PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF AGGRESSION
Section A. Pacific Settlement of Disputes. 1. The Security Council should be empowered to investigate any dispute, or any situation which may lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether its continuance is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.
2. Any state, whether member of the Organization or not, may bring any such dispute or situation to the attention of the General Assembly or of the Security Council.
3. The parties to any dispute the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security should obligate themselves, first of all, to seek a solution by negotiation, meditation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement, or other peaceful means of their own choice. The Security Council should call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.
4. If, nevertheless, parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in paragraph 3 above fail to settle it by means indicated in that paragraph, they should obligate themselves to refer it to the Security Council. The Security Council should in each case decide whether or not the continuance of the particular dispute is in fact likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, and, accordingly, whether the Security Council should deal with the dispute, and, if so, whether it should take action under paragraph 5.
5. The Security Council should be empowered, at any stage of a dispute of the nature referred to in paragraph 3 above, to recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment.
6. Justiciable disputes should normally be referred to the international court of justice. The Security Council should be empowered to refer to the court, for advice, legal questions connected with other disputes.
7. The provisions of paragraph 1 to 6 of Section A should not apply to situations or disputes arising out of matters which by international law are solely within the domestic jurisdiction of the state concerned.
Section B. Determination of Threats to the Peace or Acts of Aggression and Action With Respect Thereto. 1. Should the Security Council deem that a failure to settle a dispute in accordance with procedures indicated in paragraph 3 of Section A, or in accordance with its recommendations made under paragraph 5 of Section A, constitutes a threat to the maintenance of international peace and security, it should take any measures necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Organization.
2. In general the Security Council should determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression and should make recommendations or decide upon the measures to be taken to maintain or restore peace and security.
3. The Security Council should be empowered to determine what diplomatic, economic, or other measures not involving the use of armed force should be employed to give effect to its decisions, and to call upon members of the Organization to apply such measures. Such measures may include complete or partial interruption of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communication and the severance of diplomatic and economic relations.
4. Should the Security Council consider such measures to be inadequate, it should be empowered to take such action by air, naval or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such action may include demonstrations, blockade and other operations by air, sea or land forces of members of the Organization.
5. In order that all members of the Organization should contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, they should undertake to make available to the Security Council, on its call and in accordance with a special agreement or agreements concluded among themselves, armed forces, facilities and assistance necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security. Such agreement or agreements should govern the numbers and types of forces and the nature of the facilities and assistance to be provided. The special agreement or agreements should be negotiated as soon as possible and should in each case be subject to approval by the Security Council and to ratification by the signatory states in accordance with their constitutional processes.
6. In order to enable urgent military measures to be taken by the Organization there should be held immediately available by the members of the Organization national air force contingents for combined international enforcement action. The strength and degree of readiness of these contingents and plans for their combined action should be determined by the Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee within the limits laid down in the special agreement or agreements referred to in paragraph 5 above.
7. The action required to carry out the decisions of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security should be taken by all the members of the Organization in cooperation or by some of them as the Security Council may determine. This undertaking should be carried out by the members of the Organization by their own action and through action of the appropriate specialized organizations and agencies of which they are members.
8. Plans for the application of armed force should be made by the Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee referred to in paragraph 9 below.
9. There should be established a Military Staff Committee the functions of which should be to advise and assist the Security Council on all questions relating to the Security Council’s military requirements for the maintenance of international peace and security, to the employment and command of forces at its disposal, to the regulation of armaments, and to possible disarmament. It should be responsible under the Security Council for the strategic direction of any armed forces placed at the disposal of the Security Council. The Committee should be composed of the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives. Any member of the Organization not permanently represented on the Committee should be invited by the Committee to be associated with it when the efficient discharge of the Committee’s responsibilities requires that such a state should participate in its work. Questions of command of forces should be worked out subsequently.
10. The members of the Organization should join in affording mutual assistance in carrying out the measures decided upon by the Security Council.
11. Any state, whether a member of the Organization or not, which finds itself confronted with special economic problems arising from the carrying out of measures which have been decided upon by the Security Council should have the right to consult the Security Council in regard to a solution of those problems.
Section C. Regional Arrangements. 1. Nothing in the Charter should preclude the existence of regional arrangements or agencies for dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security as are appropriate for regional action, provided such arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the purposes and principles of the Organization. The Security Council should encourage settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies, either on the initiative of the states concerned or by reference from the Security Council.
2. The Security Council should, where appropriate, utilize such arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority, but no enforcement action should be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council.
3. The Security Council should at all times be kept fully informed of activities undertaken or in contemplation under regional arrangements or by regional agencies for the maintenance of international peace and security.
CHAPTER IX. ARRANGEMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COOPERATION
Section A. Purpose and Relationships. 1. With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations, the Organization should facilitate solutions of international economic, social and other humanitarian problems and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Responsibility for the discharge of this function should be vested in the General Assembly and, under the authority of the General Assembly, in an Economic and Social Council.
2. The various specialized economic, social and other organizations and agencies would have responsibilities in their respective fields as defined in their statutes. Each such organization or agency should be brought into relationship with the Organization on terms to be determined by agreement between the Economic and Social Council and the appropriate authorities of the specialized organization or agency, subject to approval by the General Assembly.
Section B. Composition and Voting. The Economic and Social Council should consist of representatives of eighteen members of the Organization. The states to be represented for this purpose should be elected by the General Assembly for terms of three years. Each such state should have one representative, who should have one vote. Decisions of the Economic and Social Council should be taken by simple majority vote of those present and voting.
Section C. Functions and Powers of the Economic and Social Council. 1. The Economic and Social Council should be empowered:
a. to carry out, within the scope of its functions, recommendations of the General Assembly;
b. to make recommendations, on its own initiative, with respect to international economic, social and other humanitarian matters;
c. to receive and consider reports from the economic, social and other organizations or agencies brought into relationship with the Organization, and to coordinate their activities through consultations with, and recommendations to, such organizations or agencies;
d. to examine the administrative budgets of such specialized organizations or agencies with a view to making recommendations to the organizations or agencies concerned;
e. to enable the Secretary-General to provide information to the Security Council;
f. to assist the Security Council upon its request; and
g. to perform such other functions within the general scope of its competence as may be assigned to it by the General Assembly.
Section D. Organization and Procedure. 1. The Economic and Social Council should set up an economic commission, a social commission, and such other commissions as may be required. These commissions should consist of experts. There should be a permanent staff which should constitute a part of the Secretariat of the Organization.
2. The Economic and Social Council should make suitable arrangements for representatives of the specialized organizations or agencies to participate without vote in its deliberations and in those of the commissions established by it.
3. The Economic and Social Council should adopt its own rules of procedure and the method of selecting its President.
CHAPTER X. THE SECRETARIAT
1. There should be a Secretariat comprising a Secretary-General and such staff as may be required. The Secretary-General should be the chief administrative officer of the Organization. He should be elected by the General Assembly, on recommendation of the Security Council, for such term and under conditions as are specified in the Charter.
2. The Secretary-General should act in that capacity in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, and of the Economic and Social Council and should make an annual report to the General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
3. The Secretary-General should have the right to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security.
CHAPTER XI. AMENDMENTS
Amendments should come into force for all members of the Organization, when they have been adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by the members of the Organization having permanent membership on the Security Council and by a majority of the other members of the Organization.
CHAPTER XII. TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
1. Pending the coming into force of the special agreement or agreements referred to in Chapter VIII, Section B, paragraph 5, and in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of the Four-Nation Declaration, signed at Moscow, October 30, 1943, the states parties to that Declaration should consult with one another and as occasion arises with other members of the Organization with a view to such joint action on behalf of the Organization as may be necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
2. No provision of the Charter should preclude action taken or authorized in relation to enemy states as a result of the present war by the Governments having responsibility for such action.
NOTE
In addition to the question of voting procedure in the Security Council referred to in Chapter VI, several other questions are still under consideration.
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
October 7, 1944.
19 “The Formation of the United Nations, 1945,” Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/un#:~:text=Roosevelt%20also%20sought%20to%20convince,nations%20had%20ratified%20the%20Charter.