INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DIVISION WEEKLY SUMMARY NO. 41

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CIA-RDP79-01090A000100020011-7
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RIFPUB
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S
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4
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December 9, 2016
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September 13, 2000
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11
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Publication Date: 
October 11, 1949
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PERRPT
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Approved For Relejse 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP79-01 Q OA000100020011-7 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DIVISION WEEKLY SUMMARY NO. 41 For week ending 11 October 1949 The International Week Volume II In a week highlighted by Soviet creation of a puppet re- gime in Eastern Germany, the UN awaited a new USSR disarmament proposal. Meanwhile,, as the GA debated the Italian colonies issue,, it was apparent that partition of Eritrea, urged by, the US was unlikely to be approved. In. Washington, following the Atlantic Pact Defense Corrrn1ttee ? s initial session last week,, the Military Committee met to set up the pact's defense organi- zation. uuS?position on Brit ea laces GA def at. It is now virtu=- ally certain that outright cession cif the bulk of Eritrea to Ethiopia 9 as favored by the US and UK. will not be approved by the GA. The Latin American,, Arab, and Asiatic blocs are solidly opposed, and current UN testimony by representatives of local independence groups will further strengthen their stand o Under these circumstances the USUN delegation suggests working for a compromise solution which will secure as much as possible for Ethiopia while protecting US irterests in Eritrea. UK sources propose cession to Fthiopaia of only those Coptic areas desiring union (the boundaries to be drawn by a UN commission), hoping that the difficulty of separating these areas from the rest of Eritrea would force the commission to cede all but the Western province to I;,hiopia. USUN believes that a formula more likely to command GA support woull be confederation of Ethiopia and Eritrea,, with safeguards for Eritrean autonomy,, Both Italy and Ethiopia have given some indicatiora that they night accede to such a course. Whirs it thus has a better chance of success than the initial US--UK position, opposition to any ty' I ..hg of- Eritrea to Ethiopia will remain strong, however, and postpone- ment while a UN cor.missioi visits t 'territory will have much appeal. Meanwhile if the Latin American bloc sticks to its deci- sion to tie Libyan independence to Italian trusteeship for Somaliland, Italy's prospects will lmproveo However, the in- creasingly vocal hostility of the local population to Italian return is a powerful counter factor, and the outcome is still in doubt. DOCUMENT NO. NO CH ArtNGE 1. 1 1 - 5IFIED . CH -CLASS. CHANGE9.,Jp-TS 5 C NEXT REVIE16da11r? Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP7j 00100020011-7 REVIEWER: 006514 .Approved For Rase 2001/04ZR9-090A000100020011-7 The Cemmunit:sponsore "In ernationai Day of Struggle ror Peace" on 2 October obtained only scattered popular support in those Western countries where demonstrations were staged. _De- st lte-av- -uriirecederitediv hea w b rase of Soviet .bxo do sts., the. dries to mobilize "the peopl.e'' against their "aggressor" govern-- ;r:ents produced only: (1) a peace demonstration of about 160,000 in Paris- (2) scattered meetings in Rome celebrating "Italian- Russian friendship month"; (3) an assembly of 1,200 partisans in Mexico City; (4) a few street riots in Brazil; and (5) a "National Labor Conference" in Chicago. The relativel ? disappointing turn- out in Paris, hub of the World. Peace Movearen , reflects the ap- parent failure of the Peace Partisans to link the "struggle for peace" with the immediate wage demands of the French working classes. A more pointed effort to connect the peace movement with local Communist objectives was made at the Mexico city meet- ing where the Communist Party leader proposed establishment of a "national committee in defense of our petroleum." In the US, the Chicago "National Labor Conference in Defense of Pease" demon- strated the willingness of 42 leftwing CIO and APL ufivns to sup- port the principal "peace objectives" enunciated by Soviet For- eign Minister Vishinsky in the UN. The decision of these unions to forma a permanent organization in Chicago way also' foreshadow the early emergence of a third, Communist-oriented 1S labor move- ment YuaosllavA,nti.-met tactic$ in OA. While studiousl avoiding presentation of any -specific complaint against the USSR, Belgrade has displayed both versatility and ingenuity in Its methods of embarrassing Moscow. After its bid for a seat in the Security Council, Yugoslavia recently contrived to exploit the ordinarily minor league Legal Committee of the GA try filing a proposal which, while omitting direct mention of. the USSR, unc mistakably condemns Soviet methods of aggression through foment- ing civil war, disturbances and terrorism within the territory of other states. TLIs proposal was submitted as an amendment to the International Law Commission?s draft "Declaration of the Rights and Duties ot States," which comes before the Legal Com- mittee. While the Yugoslav proposal embodies no novel principle of international law, its pointed phraseology constitues a neat propaganda thrust against the Kremlin. Yugoslavia also us4l the Economic Committee, which is considering Point IV Ad as a platform from which to denounce use of joint Soviet-Satellite corporations as a means of economic exploitation. Through these tactics, Tito is achieving a strong condemnation of the USSR without raking a formal case. Approved For Release 2001/0310. lA-RDP79-01090A000100020011-7 Approved For R ase 2001/03/ 4 : -RDP79-0 9OA000100020011-7 Egypt Is, motives i n ressi f r Jerusalem de ilit r zati . Egypt?s evident determination to place the issue of Jerusalem's demilitarization on the SC agenda is certain to generate fresh political wrangles without any constructive result. The GA res- olution of 11 December 1948 recuested the SC to demilitarize the Holy City "at the earliest possible date." Although Jordan and Israel have since concluded an armistice and the Palestine Conciliation Commission has been studying the matter, this re- quest to the SC has never been acted on. Raising the question at this time will agitate political controversy at a time when the ESM is seeking to focus attention on the economic issues in the troubled Near East. But the Egyptians seem bent on keeping Palestine political issues in the foreground to embarrass Israel even though the consequences of doing so may be largely negative. Plans to counter the Soyi t "peace" proposal. The main problem in answering the Soviet GA propaganda attack on the US and UK is to deflect the thrust without giving the USSR an opportunity to claim credit for whatever resolution is ulti- mately adopted. There are three possible ways to r..eet the Soviet "peace" proposal: (1) merely voting it down (there is no chance of the GA failing to take some acticn on the subject); (2) amending the proposal to make it innocuous; and (3) making a counterproposal. The UK and US have tentatively agreed to propose a counter-resolution which, after noting that the UN Charter contains all the principles needed to maintain peace, calls on all nations to refrain from direct or indirect aggres- sion, participate fully in the UN specialized agencies, grant access to UN bodies, remove barriers to the free exchange of in- formation between countries and urging restraint in the use of the veto. The British lean toward a resolution more sharply pointed at the USSR than does the US, and friendly GA delegations are being sounded out to find out how far they would go along. There is great danger that any Anglo--US resolution will eventu- ally be watered down by the GA. It is important, however, that whatever resolution is finally adopted should represent a new proposal rather than a mere amendment of the Soviet text for which the U&R would claim credit in its propaganda. In any case, it is going to be difficult to prevent the Russians from doing just this. McNeil (UK) therefore favors a proposal so strongly worded that the USSR will have to disclaim it. The announcement of an atomic explosion inside the USSR has contributed to a feeling of urgency in the GA that immediate, Approved For Release 2001/04 :GIA-RDP79-01090A000100020011-7 Approved For Rase 2001 ~1-DP79-0 '90A000100020011-7 _Je~ action of some sort must be taken to deal with the global arms race now under way. Reflecting this anxiety is the Argentine plan to set up a conciliation commission composed of past and present non-permanent members of the SC to study the causes of the breach between the permanent SC members and the failure to agree on establishing a UR1 police force and controlling atomic energy. Unless the US and UK can present the GA with some constructive alternative, they may be faced with exactly some such woolly small nation effort to "relieve" East-West tension as that suggested by the Argentine. East-West struggle for ke nd s ria unions s read to Latin America. Recent developments on the Latin American labor front indicate that the struggle between the Sovietized WFTU and Western labor lez dens for the control of labor within particular industries may soon spread to this area. The anti- Communist Mexican Labor Federation (CTS{) has demonstrated core cern over discussions between representatives of the Mexican Miners Unicn and the Communist-influenced CIO Mine, Mill and Smelters Union regarding plans for an inter-American mine and metal workers federation.. With this development apparently in mind the CTM leader, Fernando Amilpa' recently intimated that the CTM would favor a grouping of Latin American labor unions into continental federations for each trade in preference to the AFL-sponsored Inter-American Federation of Lahr (CIT). The Mexican Federation's attitude, rejecting the CIT as "only one more central," may also reflect its desire to combat cur- rent efforts of the WFTU and Lombardo Toledano's CTAL to organize key industries intern; tionally In WFTU "trade departrrent s .. " It apparently considers that organization of Latin American wo-kers within each industry would be a more realistic response to the Communist challenge. Although Jis own ideas regarding such a regrouping are still only in the blueprint stage, the C'h'M may find support for this position from other Latin American labor federations dissatisfied with AFL mentorship. Approved For Release 2001/03/U4: CIA-RDP79-0109OA000100020011-7