Freedom From War
The United States Program for General
and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 7277
Disarmament Series 5
Released September 1961
Office of Public Services
BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. - Price 15 cents
INTRODUCTION
The revolutionary development of modern weapons within a world
divided by serious ideological differences has produced a crisis in
human history. In order to overcome the danger of nuclear war now
confronting mankind, the United States has introduced at the
Sixteenth General Assembly of the United Nations a Program for
General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.
This new program provides for the progressive reduction of the
war-making capabilities of nations and the simultaneous
strengthening of international institutions to settle disputes and
maintain the peace. It sets forth a series of comprehensive
measures which can and should be taken in order to bring about a
world in which there will be freedom from war and security for all
states. It is based on three principles deemed essential to the
achievement of practical progress in the disarmament field:
First, there must be immediate disarmament action:
A strenuous and uninterrupted effort must be made toward the goal
of general and complete disarmament; at the same time, it is
important that specific measures be put into effect as soon as
possible.
Second, all disarmament obligations must be subject to effective
international controls:
The control organization must have the manpower, facilities, and
effectiveness to assure that limitations or reductions take place as
agreed. It must also be able to certify to all states that retained
forces and armaments do not exceed those permitted at any stage
of the disarmament process.
Third, adequate peace-keeping machinery must be established:
There is an inseparable relationship between the scaling down of
national armaments on the one hand and the building up of
international peace-keeping machinery and institutions on the
other. Nations are unlikely to shed their means of self-protection in
the absence of alternative ways to safeguard their legitimate
