To the Congress of the United States:
     I am transmitting herewith for the consideration of the Congress a suggested bill "to promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the purchase of United Nations bonds and the appropriation of funds therefor." This bill would authorize and appropriate up to $100 million for the purchase of United Nations bonds.
     The United Nations is faced with a financial crisis due largely to extraordinary expenditures which it incurred in fulfilling the pledges in its Charter to secure peace, progress and human rights. I regard it as vital to the interests of our country and to the maintenance of peace that the capacity of the United Nations to act for peace not be inhibited by a lack of financial resources.
     Some members have failed to pay special assessments levied for peace-keeping operations in the Middle East and in the Congo, claiming that these assessments are not binding upon them. The shortage of operating funds thus created has reduced the working capital fund of the United Nations to zero and compelled it to hold back on the payment of bills and borrow from United Nations agencies.
     Prudence and good management require all institutions - public or private, national or international - to keep their affairs in good financial order. The Secretary-General of the United Nations therefore urged the adoption of, and the members approved by a large majority, a three point plan to relieve the cash deficit and to avoid the need for makeshift financing of emergency operations designed to keep or restore the peace:
     Point One is to cover anticipated expenses for the United Nations Operation in the Congo and for the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East through the end of the present Fiscal Year. The Sixteenth General Assembly approved a new appropriation for these purposes, assessed against all members.
     Point Two is to resolve all doubt as to whether delinquent members must pay special assessments for the Congo (ONUC) and Middle East (UNEF) operations, or face the loss of their voting rights. To this end, the United Nations General Assembly requested from the International Court of justice an advisory opinion as to whether these special assessments, like regular assessments, are "expenses of the Organization" legally binding on all members by the terms of the United Nations Charter.
     It is the opinion of the United States that special assessments voted by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly are obligatory. We anticipate a decision by early summer of this year. If our view, which is shared by most of the members of the United Nations, is confirmed by the Court, then all members will have to pay their dues or lose their right to vote in the General Assembly. It is only fair that members that participate in the privileges of membership should participate also in its obligations.
     Even if the Court's opinion goes as we believe it should, the United Nations would still be faced with a serious cash problem, aggravated by any further delays in collecting back dues from those who have not been willing to pay the special assessments. Consequently,
     Point Three of the United Nations financial plan is to acquire a special fund to relieve the present cash deficit by paying off current bills and debts, and by setting aside a reasonable reserve to help finance United Nations peace-keeping operations in future emergencies.
     For this purpose the General Assembly has authorized the Secretary-General to issue $200 million worth of United Nations bonds repayable at 2 percent interest over a twenty-five year period with annual repayments charged against the budget of the United Nations. All members are assessed a share of that budget.
     If this program is successful, the United Nations will be in a vastly improved financial position. It is my judgment that this plan is sound both for the United Nations and for its members. These bonds will be repaid with interest at the rate of approximately $10 million a year, as part of the regular assessment. Every nation - including the Soviet Union - will thus be required to pay its fair share or lose its vote. And the United States will be obligated, in the long run, to meet only 32 percent of these special costs instead of the nearly 50 percent we are presently contributing to the special operations of the United Nations.
     I ask that the Congress act now to back the United Nations by authorizing the purchase of these bonds. Failure to act would serve the interests of the Soviet Union, which has been particularly opposed to the operation in the Congo and which voted against this plan as part of the consistent Communist effort to undermine the United Nations and undercut its new Secretary-General. For without the bond issue, either the United Nations' executive arm will wither or the United States will be compelled to pay a larger share of the costs of operation than is reasonable for any one member of an international organization.
     The central purpose of the United Nations is to keep the peace wherever possible and to restore the peace whenever it is broken.
     The United Nations has received the support of both political parties since its inception.
     By emergency action the United Nations turned back aggression in Korea.
     By emergency action the United Nations brought a halt to war in the Middle East over five years ago, and ever since has safeguarded the armistice lines.
     By emergency action the United Nations has prevented large-scale civil war and avoided great-power intervention in the Congo.
     It is impossible to say where or when the United Nations may be called on again for emergency action to preserve or restore the peace.
     We shall spend this year nearly one-half of the Federal Budget for national defense. This authorization represents an investment of one-tenth of one percent of that budget in the peace-keeping capacity of the United Nations.
     Whatever its imperfections, the United Nations' effectiveness and existence are an essential part of the machinery to bring peace out of this world of danger and discord.
     I earnestly hope that the Congress will give early and favorable consideration to this request.