Telegram from the Brazilian Delegation at the United Nations General Assembly, New York, 7 p.m., Monday

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS

TELEGRAM

RECEIVED

13 458

FROM THE DELEGATION OF BRAZIL AT THE XVII SESSION OF THE GENERAL-ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS—NEW YORK

ON/12/12/XI/62

SECRET—EXTREMELY URGENT

DNU/DEA/DAS/DAC/DOr/DAf/604(04)

Denuclearization of Latin America.

600.(24h)

151 – MONDAY – 1900hs – I REQUEST TO TELEPHONE INCONTINENTE [sic—IMMEDIATELY?] MINISTER OF STATE OR AMBASSADOR [CARLOS] BERNARDES OR MINISTER GUERREIRO: TELEGRAPHIC BULLETIN 38 ADDRESSED TO THIS MISSION CONTAINED THE FOLLOWING: “BRAZIL MODIFIED PROPOSAL DENUCLEARIZATION LATIN AMERICA AND AFRICA PRESENTED IN THE LAST DAY TWENTY NINE [i.e., 29 October 1962] GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS. PRINCIPAL ALTERNATION WAS CIRCUMSCRIBED DRAFT ONLY LATIN AMERICA, EXCLUDING AFRICA BEYOND SMALL ALTERATIONS OF THE TEXT. BRAZILIAN DELEGATION TOOK THE DECISION TO ALTER DOCUMENT PRESENTED INITIALLY TO AVOID INTRODUCTION OF AMENDMENTS BY DELEGATIONS OF OTHER COUNTRIES, WHICH WOULD MODIFY ENTIRELY THE SPIRIT OF THE PROPOSAL. SOME AFRICAN COUNTRIES WOULD MAKE RESTRICTIONS OF THE PROPOSAL, GIVING IT TO STAND OUT FROM IT POSSIBLY SOME NUCLEAR ARMAMENT. FRANCE ALSO HAS AN INTEREST TO UTILIZE THE SAHARA DESERT AS A TESTING GROUND AND WOULD NOT ACCEPT DENUCLEARIZATION. THE ACTION OF THESE TWO COUNTRIES [sic—other country besides France not identified—trans.], WHO LEAD GROUPS IN THE UN, WOULD EVEN BRING DOWN THE PROPOSITION. THEREFORE IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO ELIMINATE THE PART RELATIVE TO AFRICA. AS FOR THE TEXT, IT HAS MODIFICATIONS IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH HAVING BEEN ABOLISHED THE ITEM WHICH CALLED ON ALL MEMBER STATES TO ABSTAIN FROM USING TERRITORY, TERRITORIAL WATERS AND AIR SPACE OF AFRICAN AND LATIN-AMERICAN COUNTRIES FOR TESTING, STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION OF NUCLEAR ARMS OR THEIR DELIVERY VEHICLES. THE SUPPRESSION OF THIS ITEM OWED PRINCIPALLY TO AN ACTION OF ARGENTINA, WHOSE MILITARY GOVERNMENT CONSIDERED THE ITEM RESTRICTIVE OF OTHERS, AND ALSO SOME CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES, NEXT TO UNITED STATES TESTING AREAS WHO USE THEIR TERRITORIAL WATERS AND THEIR AIR SPACE TO TRANSPORT NUCLEAR ARMAMENT TO TESTING GROUNDS. BRAZIL DECLARED YESTERDAY IN THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT ITS PROPOSAL TO DENUCLEARIZE LATIN AMERICA WAS NOT MOTIVATED BY THE CUBAN CRISIS. AMBASSADOR AFONSO ARINOS CHIEF OF THE BRAZILIAN DELEGATION SAID THAT THE INTENTION OF THE BRAZILIAN INTENTION [SIC—PROPOSAL?] IS TO GENERALIZE INTERNATIONAL INSPECTION OF NUCLEAR ARMS. ARINOS ADDED THAT THE ORIGINAL BRAZILIAN DRAFT, WHICH REQUESTED TOGETHER THE DISATOMIZATION OF AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA AND WHOSE LAST VERSION THE AFRICA QUESTION WAS REDUCED TO RECORDING THAT ON TWENTY FOUR NOVEMBER NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY [24 November 1960] IT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE ASSEMBLY THE NECESSITY TO CONSIDER THE AFRICAN CONTINENT A DISATOMIZED ZONE.[”?—trans.] WE CONSIDER THE PUBLICATION OF THIS NEWS OF MAJOR GRAVITY BEING ABLE TO HAVE UNFAVORABLE REPERCUSSIONS IN THE GENERAL-ASSEMBLY AND TO PREJUDICE APPROVAL OF THE BRAZILIAN DRAFT ON DENUCLEARIZATION. THE GRAVITY OF THE MATTER IS INCREASED BY THE FACT THAT THE NEWS SEEMS TO BE BASED PARTIALLY ON MY TELEGRAM No 140 THAT TRANSMITTED INFORMATION AND COMMENTARIES OF A STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL CHARACTER. I TAKE EVEN THE LIBERTY TO SUGGEST THAT YOUR EXCELLENCY TO COLLECT INFORMATION TO VERIFY IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCE THE INFORMATION SERVICES DIVULGED THIS NEWS AND AT THE SAME TIME I ASK YOUR EXCELLENCY TO INSTRUCT IMMEDIATELY THE EMBASSIES RETRANSMISSIONS IN THE SENSE TO ELIMINATE THE BULLETIN THE PASSAGE TO WHICH I ALLUDED IN ORDER TO AVOID DIPLOMATIC DIFFICULTIES WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS.

AFONSO ARINOS DE MELLO FRANCO