TRUSTEE AREAS

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 22611, 16 May 1945, Page 2

TRUSTEE AREAS

AGREEMENT REPORTED BRITAIN AND AMERICA THREE MAIN ISSUES (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 The New York Herald-Tribune says the British and American delegations have reached an agreement on the trusteeship system. It has been referred to London and Washington for approval. If it is approved it will still be necessary to consider it in the light of suggestions by China and Russia. The Chinese ideas are not expected to meet opposition, but the Russian proposals will give rise to considerable argument. The Jewish groups asked that consideration be given to the status of Palestine, but this was rejected on the grounds that the committee is determined to avoid discussing any particular territory. It is concerned only with a general agreement. The correspondent says the agreement reached is on three main issues, which are:— Designating Strategic Areas (1) The British desire for one over-all mandatory system and the American backing of a dual system, one part relating to trusteeships and the other to strategic areas. In the .tentative agreement it was decided that it should be possible to designate certain areas strategic, but that the British objections should be met by authorising the Security Council to devolve on to the trusteeship commission all matters affecting social and economic problems in those areas. This would assure a certain amount of supervision of native problems by the world organisation, while allowing the trustees a free hand in matters relating purely to the strategic position of certain areas. Matter of Discrimination The second issue, whether discriminatory policies (regarding trade barriers and immigration) should be allowed in the trusteeship area, was settled by an agreement that there shall be no discriminatory practices against any members of the United Nations, unless it can be shown that such discrimination is necessary in the interests of the purposes and principles laid down by the trusteeship commission and which will eventually be of benefit to the people of the trusteeship. The third issue was whether trusteeships might be inspected at regular intervals by representatives of the world organisation. The British opposed this inspection on the grounds that roving groups of inspectors were inclined to do more harm than good. The United States maintained that unless some kind of inspection was established the native populations would remain completely unprotected. Form of Inspection Agreement was reached on the decision that the trusteeship commission should have the right to end inspecting bodies at fixed intervals to the trusteeships unless the mandatory power could show that inspections would create civil or other disturbances. The chairman of the committee, Mr P. Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that a member of the American delegation had begun the compilation of a working programme for the committee by listing all the Allied agreements on the question of trusteeship. After that the committee would draw up a common policy.