AUSTRALIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE WORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. When the United Nations is established by the first meeting of
the General Assembly in January, 1946, certain immediate problems
relating to Australian participation in the work of the new
organisation will arise. As Executive Officer of the Australian
Delegation to the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations, I
wish to bring these under the notice of the Department in order to
assist it in placing the appropriate submissions to the Minister
for External Affairs on his return to Australia. The following
observations are based chiefly on experience as Australian
Delegate to the Executive Committee of the Preparatory Commission
and as one of the Alternate Delegates to the Preparatory
Commission itself.

2. It is assumed that the General Assembly will meet, as planned,
on January 10th and continue until early February. The interests
of Australia during the Assembly will be served by the Delegation
appointed for that purpose but, as soon as the Assembly ends, it
may be expected that the members of the Delegation will be
dispersed.

3. In the subsequent months, however, a number of duties arising
from Australian membership of the United Nations will have to be
performed. These will include-
(a) Preparations for and attendance at the second part of the
First Assembly, probably in April, 1946.

(b) Attendance at the final session of the Assembly of the League
of Nations, probably about April, 1946, though possibly earlier.

(c) Participation in the work of any of the Councils of the United
Nations to which Australia may be elected or in the work of any
special committees or commissions. In the case of the Security
Council this would mean continuous representation; in the case of
the Economic and Social Council it would mean attendance at
inaugural meetings in January or February and at further meetings
at least each quarter.

(d) Preparations for and attendance at the second Assembly at the
beginning of September, 1946.

(e) Preparation for and attendance at any special conferences
called by the United Nations. Probable subjects are health,
refugees, trade.

(f)Possibly, from February onwards, negotiations regarding the
creation of the trusteeship organ and trusteeship agreements.

(g) Possibly, preliminary consideration of the special security
agreements to be concluded under Article 45 of the Charter.

(h) Various organisational questions-the recruiting of the
Secretariat, the granting of privileges and immunities to the
organisation, the planning commission for permanent headquarters,
the work of the advisory group on administrative and budgetary
questions, further examination of matters concerning the relations
with specialised agencies-and numerous other subjects are also
likely to be engaging the interest of members of the United
Nations almost continuously until September.

4. The decision for the handling of the above-mentioned matters
will depend on the arrangements made for establishing the
Organisation. The present expectation is that the first meetings
of the Security
Council and the Economic and Social Council will be held in London
in January or February during the first part of the General
Assembly; that, when the Assembly rises, the Organisation will be
transferred to the permanent seat of the United Nations, where the
Secretariat will be assembled; and that the April and September
meetings of the Assembly, future meetings of the Councils and most
of the special conferences are likely to be held at the permanent
headquarters. More or less continuous activity at the headquarters
of the United Nations, wherever it may be, can be foreseen during
the greater part of 1946.

5. It is submitted that the conditions described above will
require special arrangements for Australian participation, both in
the form of a permanent representative at the headquarters of the
United Nations and in the form of delegations sent to Assemblies
and conferences. [1] Neither method would alone be adequate and
each will be necessary to the other. A permanent representative
will be required to give continuous attention to the problems
arising at the headquarters and special missions will be required
when the formality of the occasion or the technical nature of the
subject calls for them.

6. The positive case for immediately appointing a permanent
representative rests on the following facts:-

(a) It is necessary for the discharge of our responsibilities as
members, and will assist the establishment of the organisation.

(b) The headquarters of the United Nations will be a centre for
the exchange of information both as to the work of the
organisation and international affairs generally, and for the
establishing of friendly relations with other Governments. All the
great powers and most of the middle powers intend to appoint
representatives and Australia will be at a disadvantage in the
organisation if it does not do the same.

(c) Representation is necessary to obtain support from other
Governments of the views we may wish to advance or the candidacy
for office which we may favour in the future sessions of the
organs of the United Nations.

(d) The effectiveness of our participation in meetings of the
organs of the United Nations may depend to a considerable extent
on the preparatory work we can do at the United Nations
headquarters, our familiarity with all branches of the
Secretariat, and with other delegations, and our knowledge of the
methods of work of the Organisation.

(e) Representation at the headquarters is a necessary (although
not always the sole) means for participating in the work of any
elected councils or committees of which Australia is a member.

(f) Representation at the headquarters is a necessary and probably
the only method by which Australia can keep closely in touch with
the work of any elected council or committee of which we are not a
member.

(g) Permanent representation at the headquarters will facilitate
the work of Australian delegations to special conferences called
at the headquarters.

(h) Particularly during the first eight or nine months, when the
organisation is still in a formative stage, representation at the
headquarters will be essential to ensure that Australia is kept
closely in touch with developments and that its influence is felt.

7. In elaboration of point (e) and (g) above, it is suggested that
the best results in representation on standing committees or at
conferences can be obtained by using both a permanent
representative and special delegations sent for particular
purposes. For the greater part, the success of delegations will
depend, not only on the expert knowledge of the subject in hand,
but also on the skill and discretion of the advocates, the
confidence obtained from other members of these bodies, and
knowledge of the procedures and methods of work. The position of
permanent representative and special mission may be compared to
that of barrister and counsel, each of whom is necessary to the
other. It is suggested that, whether at an Assembly or on the
Councils, the most effective representation can be brought about
by a combination of the permanent representative at the
headquarters and the special expert delegation sent when
particular matters are under consideration. With the aid of a
permanent representative the striking power of any special mission
can be doubled.

8. For the reasons outlined above, it is submitted that the basis
of Australian participation in the work of the United Nations
should be the appointment of a permanent representative at the
headquarters of the United Nations to take up duty immediately
after the meeting of the first part of the General Assembly.

9. It is suggested that the major qualifications required of a
good representative would be:-

(a) Diplomatic skill and skill in advocacy.

(b) Thorough knowledge of all aspects of Australian foreign
policy.

(c) Thorough knowledge of the Charter, structure and procedure of
the United Nations and the background of its establishment.

(d) Reliability in reporting.

(e) Sufficient standing and those personal and domestic qualities
which are necessary to enable him to gain the respect and
confidence of representatives of other members of the United
Nations.

10. Except for (c) these are qualities which might be asked of any
senior diplomatic representative abroad. It need only be added
that, the 'diplomatic corps' at the United Nations headquarters is
likely to be more highly expert and more highly specialised in
matters of international organisation than the diplomatic corps at
a national capital, and that the representatives will have to
engage in rather more advocacy and discussion around conference
tables than the average Minister of Legation. These points of
specialisation suggest the selection of the professional rather
than the political representative.

11. Questions of rank, staff and establishment etc., will
necessarily wait on a decision regarding the appointment of such a
representative, but it may be added that rank should be such as to
ensure that the Australian representative is not at a disadvantage
to other representatives. Accreditation will be direct to the
United Nations.

12. The appointment of a representative at the permanent
headquarters would not altogether remove the necessity of sending
special missions to assist in the handling of various questions
mentioned in paragraph (3) above but each case would have to be
treated on its merits as it arose.

PAUL HASLUCK