Military Staff Committee

The greatest purpose of the MSC, arising from Article 45 of the UN Charter, was intended to provide command staff for a set of air-force contingents.

"That they [the Foreign Ministers] recognize the necessity of establishing at the earliest practicable date a general international organization, based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving states, and open to membership by all such states, large and small, for the maintenance of international peace and security."

[4] The Declaration by United Nations was made on 1 January 1943 by an initial 29 states representing the Allies of World War II in support of the principals of the Atlantic Charter.

Minor changes to the plan were made at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco in 1945.

[8] The UN was formally established 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council—France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US—and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.

[9] The MSC was established in Article 46 and 47 of the Charter, which defines the membership of the Committee as "the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives".

[10][11] In the first United Nations Security Council Resolution, the Military Staff Committee was established and directed to meet in London on 1 February 1946.

[14] The US considered that the committee could oversee decolonization and border disputes, but was cautious that too much money was not spent and Congress retained war powers.

The Soviet Union, fearing undue Western influence, was reluctant to participate in the MSC, and delegates had little negotiating power.

Debate was moved to the UNSC,[15] and in a report titled MS/264 issued on April 30, 1947[14] by the MSC outlining proposals, differences were expressed between the Soviet Union and United States.

All UN members were encouraged to contribute forces, facilities, or other assistance, though the majority of initial troops would come from the great powers.

By August 1948, after conflicts such as the Berlin Blockade and 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, and despite efforts at compromise by various people including US Secretary of State Dean Rusk, the MSC was essentially defunct.

[19] Such organizations in the United Nations Secretariat supplanted the MSC's role, and it currently functions in an advisory capacity to the UNSC.

"[20] British naval historian Eric Grove describes the MSC as "a sterile monument to the faded hopes of the founders of the UN".

The chairmanship of the MSC rotates in alphabetical order (by country name) at the beginning of each month through the representatives of the five permanent members.