I submit for the approval of Cabinet general instructions for the Canadian Delegation to the 8th session of the United Nations General Assembly in respect of major items which will come up for discussion. I shall seek the approval. of Cabinet separately in respect of certain items having financial implications. The 8th session of the General Assembly has very little that is new on its agenda. Most of the questions are those which have been considered in previous Assemblies and on which whatever progress is made will be against a background of the discussions which took place in other years. Cabinet approved instructions on most of these questions last year and in general therefore, the Delegation should follow a policy in accordance with that adopted by the Canadian delegation to, the 7th session of the Assembly.

General -- The 8th session of the General Assembly will be held at a time when attention is being devoted to major questions in other international discussions. The political Conference on a Korean settlement is scheduled to, take place during the period of this session, and a four-power meeting on German questions is likewise a possibility. It is to be hoped, therefore, that discussions at the 8th session of the Assembly will not render the other discussions more difficult. With this in mind the Canadian Delegation should endeavour to keep the attention of the Assembly focused on the substance of the questions in hand and should strive to keep propaganda debate to a minimum, at least until the Communist attitude in other international Conferences has become clear.

South Africa, Tunisia and Morocco -- The items in relation to Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa fall within the category of matters; in which, despite early new developments within the past year, there is no reason to change the basic lines of Canadian policy. The Delegation should support the right of the Assembly to discuss these problems but should not vote in favour of any resolutions that clearly impinge upon the domestic jurisdiction of states. The aim should be to encourage a solution of the problems involved and to avoid action which is not clearly warranted under the Charter, or which may aggravate the difficulties by the encouragement of unrest in the countries concerned or by antagonizing the states whose cooperation in achieving a solution is essential.

Admission of Communist China -- Any proposals at the opening of the 8th session to admit Communist China to the United Nations should be opposed. If the matter should be revived at a later stage during the 8th session as a result of developments which would indicate any possibility that the Assembly might give favourable consideration to the admission of Communist China a directive from Cabinet will be sought.

Admission of New Members -- The Delegation should continue to oppose any solution to this problem which would circumvent the provisions of the Charter. The agreement of the Great Powers on admission of new members is not at present in sight. An extension of the membership of the United Nations is desirable and the acceptance of certain Communist satellites might not be too great a price to pay, but the admission of applicants such as North Korea and Viet Minh which are not independent could not be accepted.

Questions of Dependent Territories -- As in the past the Canadian Delegation should maintain the view that the Assembly should concern itself with broad matters of policy regarding trust territories and leave to the Trusteeship Council the right to deal with the administrative details. The Delegation should continue efforts to bring about a measure of agreement between non-administering powers and administering authorities by seeking to modify the stands of both sides.

Prisoners of War Commission -- Support should be given to the continuance of the Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War. In so doing the Delegation should bear in mind the importance attached to this Commission by the Governments of Western Germany, Italy and Japan as a means of bringing public opinion to bear on the culpability of the USSR in retaining their nationals. The Delegation should not ignore the possibility that the conciliatory action taken by the USSR in other directions might in time encompass the question of prisoners of war.

Personnel Problems -- The Secretary-General must report to, the 8th session on the progress made in the conduct and development of personnel policy. The broad objectives of Canadian policy as contained in the instructions to, the Delegation 10 the 7th session included maintenance of the independence of the United Nations from undue influence by member states, and the achievement of a modus vivendi between the United Nations and the United States by meeting the justifiable security requirements of the United States. The new Secretary-General will report in an improved atmosphere as some of the problems have been solved and morale has improved. The problem remains of reconciling the needs for an impartial review of staff dismissals by an independent tribunal and of giving the Secretary-General certain discretion to dispense with the services of staff members whose retention would be harmful to the interests of the United Nations. The Delegation will be guided by the same basic objectives as were laid down for the Canadian Delegation to the 7th session.

Korea -- At the opening of the 8th session the question of the political conference may again come up for discussion on the basis of counter-proposals of Communist China and North Korea. Now that the question of a political Conference has been settled on the UN side, it would be preferable for the General Assembly to avoid further debate upon Korean political questions until a report on progress at the Conference is submitted. This, however, may be difficult. On the question of aid for Korea, the Delegation should give a clear indication of the concern felt by the Canadian people for the distressed citizens of Korea and should give some indication in discussion of the attention and support which Canada has already devoted to reconstruction in Korea.

Burma -- The Delegation may support action of the Assembly calling upon the parties concerned to arrange for the withdrawal of Chinese nationalist forces from Burma.

Economic Matters -- The General Assembly will again be considering the question of the establishment of a Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development (SUNFED) and of an International Finance Corporation for equity investment and loans without government guarantees in the under-developed countries. Draft instructions for the delegation on these two questions and on Canadian participation in the United Nations Expanded Technical Assistance Programme are still under discussion, and Cabinet will be consulted if any significant change is considered desirable in the policy of those matters; approved for the 7th session of the Assembly.

L.B. PEARSON