May 12, 1949
To the Congress of the United States:
The accompanying report on the participation of the United States in the United Nations for 1948 is transmitted to the Congress on the recommendation of the Secretary of State.
The report has my approval.
At this stage in the life of the United Nations it is appropriate to say a word about the Charter and the organization. The Charter is at once a statement of objectives and a guide to action. It proclaims the objectives of preventing future wars, of settling international disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with principles of justice, of promoting world-wide progress and better standards of living, of achieving universal respect for and observance of fundamental human rights and fundamental freedoms, and of removing the economic and social causes of international conflict and unrest.
These objectives are well stated in the Charter itself. We subscribed to them at the time we signed the Charter. We are firm in our resolution to work for these objectives.
The Charter is a guide to action. While this is so for all Members, it is particularly so for those enjoying the "right of veto". There is a greater obligation on these five powers than on the other Members to conduct themselves in accord with the principles of the Charter. They must "settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered." Equally, they must "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." Fulfilment of these obligations means the exercise of national self-restraint in international relations. Along with other Charter obligations they place limits on our freedom of action. But these limits are self-imposed, because we signed the Charter without reservation. During 1948 we have continued to recognize these Charter obligations as restrictions upon our conduct. We will continue so to recognize them. And we have a right to expect other Members of the United Nations to act similarly, for the Charter is a pledge of good faith exchanged by each Member with all the others.
I recommend the accompanying report to the attention of the Congress. The nature of our participation and the many different ways in which it is manifested may come as a surprise to many members. But it will not be an unpleasant surprise. We have taken the leadership in many fields of international relations. We can be proud of what we have done. If the United Nations as a security organization has disappointed us, as the Secretary of State notes, and if we have had to take supplemental measures to meet actual or potential threats to our security, it is not because the United States has not put forth real efforts to develop the United Nations to its full stature. The world today is not the world we had hoped for when the San Francisco conference adjourned less than four years ago.
The United States supports the United Nations in all respects. The following pages tell how that was done in 1948.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
NOTE: The report is printed in House Document 178 (81st Cong., 1st sess.).
To the Congress of the United States:
The accompanying report on the participation of the United States in the United Nations for 1948 is transmitted to the Congress on the recommendation of the Secretary of State.
The report has my approval.
At this stage in the life of the United Nations it is appropriate to say a word about the Charter and the organization. The Charter is at once a statement of objectives and a guide to action. It proclaims the objectives of preventing future wars, of settling international disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with principles of justice, of promoting world-wide progress and better standards of living, of achieving universal respect for and observance of fundamental human rights and fundamental freedoms, and of removing the economic and social causes of international conflict and unrest.
These objectives are well stated in the Charter itself. We subscribed to them at the time we signed the Charter. We are firm in our resolution to work for these objectives.
The Charter is a guide to action. While this is so for all Members, it is particularly so for those enjoying the "right of veto". There is a greater obligation on these five powers than on the other Members to conduct themselves in accord with the principles of the Charter. They must "settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered." Equally, they must "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." Fulfilment of these obligations means the exercise of national self-restraint in international relations. Along with other Charter obligations they place limits on our freedom of action. But these limits are self-imposed, because we signed the Charter without reservation. During 1948 we have continued to recognize these Charter obligations as restrictions upon our conduct. We will continue so to recognize them. And we have a right to expect other Members of the United Nations to act similarly, for the Charter is a pledge of good faith exchanged by each Member with all the others.
I recommend the accompanying report to the attention of the Congress. The nature of our participation and the many different ways in which it is manifested may come as a surprise to many members. But it will not be an unpleasant surprise. We have taken the leadership in many fields of international relations. We can be proud of what we have done. If the United Nations as a security organization has disappointed us, as the Secretary of State notes, and if we have had to take supplemental measures to meet actual or potential threats to our security, it is not because the United States has not put forth real efforts to develop the United Nations to its full stature. The world today is not the world we had hoped for when the San Francisco conference adjourned less than four years ago.
The United States supports the United Nations in all respects. The following pages tell how that was done in 1948.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
NOTE: The report is printed in House Document 178 (81st Cong., 1st sess.).