In an attempt to reconcile the opposing British and Soviet views on the creation of an international body under the UNO to handle the refugee problem, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, on behalf of the American delegation today submitted a proposal providing that the entire matter be referred to the Economic and Social Council of the UNO for further study, and that the Council issue a report at the next meeting of the Assembly, scheduled to open in New York in September.
The American plan included a recommendation that the Economic and Social Council take into consideration the following principles when studying the establishment of some sort of refugee machinery:
1. The problem is international in scope and in nature.
2. No uprooted person who objects to returning to his country of origin should be compelled to do so, but his return should be encouraged.
3. There should be safeguards, so that extradition of war criminals shall not be prevented by protections set up for refugees.
4. The future of the uprooted persons who express valid objections to returning to their homelands should become the concern of whatever international body will be recognized or established as a result of the Council’s report.
New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Frazer, chairman of the Humanitarian Committee, which has been studying the refugee problem, appealed to the Russian and Yugoslav delegates to accept the U.S. compromise. The committee decided to refer to a sub-committee the task of drafting the final proposal, which is expected to be voted on tomorrow.
The UNO Trusteeship Committee last night adopted a vague resolution on trusteeships, which completely bypassed the knotty issue of what countries should be the “states directly concerned” in the negotiation of agreements for placing mandated territories under trusteeships. The Arab delegates had been pressing for a definition which would give them a decisive voice in any trusteeship for Palestine.
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