"the defenses of peace" Documents Relating to UNESCO The United Nations Educational Part 1 [Part II, printed separately, contains a summary and analysis of DEPARTMENT OF STATE Publication 2457 CONFERENCE SERIES 80 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price 10 cents Letter of Transmittal to the Secretary of State Mr. SECRETARY: JANUARY 15, 1946. I transmit herewith the report of the Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Conference in London in November for the establishment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Annexed to the report is an analysis of the Constitution which was drafted for the new Organization.1 I think you will be impressed by the logic as well as the eloquence of this Report. If the creation of mutual understanding among the peoples of the world was important in the spring of 1945, before the demonstration of atomic warfare, when in San Francisco it was declared an essential purpose of the United Nations, it has now become a matter of paramount urgency. I share the hopes of UNESCO expressed by the Chairman and members of the United States Delegation who represented our nation and our people so ably at the London Conference. But I would couple with their words of hope a serious warning that the many groups throughout the country interested in UNESCO do not overestimate what has so far been accomplished. UNESCO has a constitution. It has a Preparatory Commission. It has behind it the accumulated experience and zeal of those who have worked in this field for a generation. But UNESCO is still only a document, only a piece of paper. To use a figure which I owe to Mr. MacLeish, it is like a kite lying on the ground. It has yet to rise. It needs a strong wind behind it. UNESCO can become a dynamic force-only if it is given the world's best intellectual, moral, and political leadership; only if it is accorded adequate financial support; and only if it is granted time to grow. Years of devoted service by the ablest, the best-trained and most energetic men and women will be needed to realize its full potentialities. UNESCO will require ample funds-not only in the budget of the international agency, itself, but also for support of the national commissions proposed for the respective governments. Unless UNESCO is accorded such solid support, it will not be able to live up to its promise. If it is starved for leadership or funds, if 1This analysis, together with other relevant documents, will be printed in Part II. |