April 24, 1968
Extracts from a Memorandum for the Information of the Government by the Department of External Affairs, ‘The General Assembly of the United Nations (Resumed Twenty-second Session’ (417/289), Dublin
This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)
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I. Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
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7. The Irish delegation at the resumed Session of the General Assembly will follow the previously expressed policy of urging the endorsement by the General Assembly of the draft non-proliferation Treaty and the opening of the Treaty for signature and ratification at the earliest possible date. The delegation will co-sponsor any acceptable draft resolution to this effect. The delegation will also oppose moves to have the Assembly postpone action on the Treaty to some future time. The Minister for External Affairs is of the opinion that further delays would not produce any significant changes in the draft Treaty and that once the Treaty is opened for signature most States will put aside their reservations in the interests of international security as was the case generally when the Moscow Test Ban Treaty of 1963 was opened for signature…
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The view of Frank Aiken throughout the 1960s was that once the United States and the Soviet Union had come to a basic agreement on the treaty, it was in the interests of all states to sign it on the basis of enlightened self-interest. He was not in favor of delay to finalize agreement on finer points as the will of the superpowers was of paramount importance.
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