For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: ERNEST BEVIN OLIVER FRANKS For the United States of America: DEAN ACHESON I CERTIFY THAT the foregoing is a true copy of the North Atlantic Treaty signed at Washington on April 4, 1949 in the English and French languages, the signed original of which is deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I, DEAN ACHESON, Secretary of State of the United States of America, have hereunto caused the seal of the Department of State to be affixed and my name subscribed by the Authentication Officer of the said Department, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, this fourth day of April, 1949. [SEAL] DEAN ACHESON Secretary of State By M. P. CHAUVIN 98756-50 -85 307. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE PRESIDENT ON NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY, APRIL 7, 19491 THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to transmit to you the North Atlantic Treaty, signed at Washington on April 4, 1949, with the recommendation that it be submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. In accepting the obligations of the United Nations Charter in 1945, the United States Government committed itself for the first time to full participation in collective action to maintain international peace and security. The foreign policy of the United States is based squarely upon the United Nations as the primary instrumentality of international peace and progress. This Government is determined 1 Department of State Bulletin of April 24, 1949, pp. 532-536. to make the United Nations ever more effective in order ultimately to assure universal peace. Although this Government's full participation in world cooperation dates only from 1945, this Government had, for more than a century and a quarter, contributed to the peace of the Americas by making clear its determination to resist any attack upon our neighboring Republics to the South. The same determination and the obligations necessary to give it effect through the collective action of all the American Republics was incorporated in the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro in 1947. This Treaty, like the North Atlantic Treaty, is a defense arrangement under the Charter of the United Nations. The essence of that Treaty is recognition of the fact that an armed attack on any of the American States is in effect an attack upon them all. The North Atlantic Treaty is patterned on the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro. Its essence is recognition of the fact that an armed attack on any of the North Atlantic nations is in effect an attack upon them all. An attack upon any of them would not be designed merely to gain territory or nationalistic ends. It would be directed squarely against our common democratic way of life. The essential purpose of the Treaty is to fortify and preserve this common way of life. It is designed to contribute to the maintenance of peace by making clear in advance the determination of the Parties resolutely and collectively to resist armed attack on any of them. It is further designed to contribute to the stability and well-being of the member nations by removing the haunting sense of insecurity and enabling them to plan and work with confidence in the future. Finally, it is designed to provide the basis for effective collective action to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area if an armed attack should occur. This Treaty and the Rio Treaty, committing the United States as they do to exert its great influence for peace, are, in my opinion, second only in importance to our membership in the United Nations. For this reason every effort has been made to develop it on a wholly non-partisan basis and in cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. In December 1947 you ratified the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro on the advice and consent of the Senate given with only one dissenting vote. On March 17, 1948, the Governments of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom signed the Brussels Treaty, which was modelled to a considerable extent on the Rio Treaty and which established another collective defense arrangement within the framework of the Charter. That arrangement was established with the encouragement of this Government as a step toward the closer integration of the free nations of Europe and as evidence of the determination of the five parties resolutely to defend themselves and each other against aggression. In establishing it, they repeatedly advised us that, despite their determination to do their utmost in self-defense, their collective strength might be inadequate to preserve peace or insure their national survival unless the great power and influence of the United States and other free nations were also brought into association with them. On the day the Brussels Treaty was signed, you addressed the Congress in joint session and praised the conclusion of that Treaty as a notable step toward peace. You expressed confidence that the American people would extend the free countries the support which the situation might require and that their determination to defend themselves would be matched by an equal determination on our part to help them to do so. Shortly thereafter, my predecessor, General Marshall, and Mr. Robert Lovett undertook a series of consultations with the leaders and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the problems facing the free world and how they might best be met by bringing American influence to bear in the cause of peace, in association with other free nations, and within the framework of the United Nations Charter. On May 19, 1948, the Foreign Relations Committee unanimously reported Senate Resolution No. 239. That Resolution declared: "WHEREAS peace with justice and the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms require international cooperation through more effective use of the United Nations: "Therefore be it "RESOLVED, That the Senate reaffirm the policy of the United States to achieve international peace and security through the United Nations so that armed force shall not be used except in the common interest, and that the President be advised of the sense of the Senate that this Government, by constitutional process, should particularly pursue the following objectives within the United Nations Charter: "(2) Progressive development of regional and other collective arrangements for individual and collective self-defense in accordance with the purposes, principles, and provisions of the Charter. "(3) Association of the United States, by constitutional process, with such regional and other collective arrangements as are based on continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, and as affect its national security. "(4) Contributing to the maintenance of peace by making clear its determination to exercise the right of individual or collective self-defense under Article 51 should any armed attack occur affecting its national security." On June 11, 1948, the Senate adopted that Resolution by a nonpartisan vote of 64 to 4. The Preamble of H. R. 6802 which was unanimously reported by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on June 9 but not voted upon prior to adjournment, contained language identical in substance with that quoted above. In July, on the basis of these expressions of the wishes of the Legislative branch, you authorized Mr. Lovett to begin exploratory conversations with the Ambassadors of Canada and of the Parties to the Brussels Treaty. These conversations resulted in September in agreement by the representatives participating in them that an arrangement, established by Treaty, for the collective defense of the North Atlantic area was desirable and necessary. Agreement was also reached on the general nature of the Treaty. Following approval by the governments concerned of the recommendations of their representatives, negotiation of the Treaty was begun in December and finished on March 15, 1940 Throughout these conversations and negotiations Mr. Lovett and I have constantly made clear that, so far as the United States was concerned, the Treaty must conform to the expression of guidance contained in the Senate Resolution. I am glad to say that the principles stated in the Resolution received the wholehearted concurrence of the other participating governments. From time to time during the negotiations first Mr. Lovett and, since January 20, I have consulted fully with the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee. During the later stages of the negotiations I met twice with the Foreign Relations Committee as a whole The Treaty in its final form reflects a number of constructive suggestions made by members of the Committee. Early in March the Norwegian Government decided to join in negotiating the Treaty and since March 4 the Norwegian Ambassador has participated fully in the discussions. It is clear that a collective defense arrangement of this nature, in order to be fully effective, should be participated in by as many countries as are in a position to further the democratic principles upon which the Treaty is based and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area and as are prepared to undertake the necessary responsibilities. Accordingly, invitations to become original signatories of the Treaty were issued on behalf of the eight participating governments on March 17 to the Governments of Denmark, Iceland, Italy, and Portugal. It is a source of gratification that those governments decided to participate in this collective enterprise. Treaties are ordinarily negotiated in strict confidence and their contents made public only after signature. In this case, while it was necessary to conduct the negotiations in confidence until general agreement had been reached, the negotiating governments decided to make the text public as soon as it had been tentatively agreed upon. This was done in order to give public opinion in each of the participating countries and in all other countries the maximum opportunity to study and discuss its terms. I am exceedingly gratified by the popular reaction to the Treaty in the United States and abroad. The text of the Treaty is, I think, self-explanatory. In drafting a document of such importance to millions of individuals every effort has been made to make it as clear, concise, and simple as possible. The Preamble expresses the spirit and purposes of the Treaty. In it the Parties reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments. They express their determination to safeguard the freedom and the common heritage and civilization of their peoples founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They express their desire to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area and their resolution to unite their efforts for collective defense and for the preservation of peace and security. Article 1 reflects "their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments" by explicitly reaffirming the obligations, expressed in Article 2 of the Charter and reflected throughout the Charter, to settle any international disputes in which they may be involved, with any nation, by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered and to refrain in |