Early last summer the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations took a decision which in the course of years is likely to have a very considerable and, in my opinion, a very damaging effect on its work and its efficiency. After a lengthy discussion it resolved by a majority vote that all its advisory commissions should be composed of government representatives — of persons, therefore, acting on government instructions — rather than of persons acting in their individual capacity.

One of the first of the specialized agencies of the United Nations to become active, the Food and Agriculture Organization has elicited interest beyond the specialized field of agricultural economists. Attempting as it does to solve one of the very basic problems of the world, that of an adequate food supply, the organization represents a significant and hopeful international attempt to create a world in which there may actually exist “freedom from want.” The objectives of FAO, as formally expressed in the preamble to the constitution, read as follows:

“The nations accepting this constitution being determined to promote the common welfare by furthering separate and collective action on their part for the purpose of raising levels of nutrition and standards of living of the people under their jurisdiction, securing improvements in the efficiency of the production of all food and agricultural products, bettering the conditions of rural populations, and thus contributing toward an expanding world economy, hereby establish the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.”

The term “middle power” is a convenient one that has come into general use as a means of avoiding the unreality of a simple division of states into “great” and “small”. While attempts to find a yardstick for the measurement of states have been fruitless, there can be some agreement on the categories. For practical purposes the great powers at the present time are those which hold permanent seats on the Security Council, just as during the war they were those which participated in the meetings of heads of government on high policial and military policy. There are clearly also a number of smaller states which, because of limited resources or small population, or both, are commonly ranked as small powers. In between lie a number of countries which make no claim to the title of great power, but have been shown to be capable of exerting a degree of strength and influence not found in the small powers. These are the middle powers. There is no agreed list because, while there is a fixed, if arbitrary, boundary between them and the great powers, there are, as it were, marginal powers which might be classified as “middle” or “small”. Probably, however, the following members of the United Nations would generally be recognized as middle powers: in Europe — Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland; in the Americas — Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico; in the Pacific — Australia, and India.

On April 2, 1947, the United Kingdom transmitted a message to the United Nations requesting the Secretary-General to place the question of Palestine on the agenda of the next annual session of the General Assembly and to call a special session “as soon as possible” in order to constitute a special committee to study the Palestine situation and report thereon. Within eleven days a total of 28 concurrences, the necessary majority, was received, thus making possible the convocation of such a session. Consequently, the General Assembly's first special session convened on April 28, with a provisional agenda containing one substantive item: “constituting and instructing a special committee to prepare for consideration of the question of Palestine at the second regular session.”

This issue covers the work of the Security Council from the 89th meeting, on January 7, 1947, to the 131st meeting on April 18, 1947.

Acceptance of the Statute of Trieste

By a letter of December 12, 1946, from James F. Byrnes, Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers the Security Council was asked to approve the articles of the Treaty of Peace with Italy establishing the Free Territory of Trieste. The matter was debated at the 89th and 91st meetings of the Security Council on January 7 and 9, 1947, and approved on the latter date by a vote of 10 in favor with one abstention (Australia).

The Fourth Session of the Economic and Social Council, which met at Lake Success from February 28 to March 29, 1947, considered matters which were mainly substantive in character, most of its organizational work having been completed at the third session. Questions discussed ranged from urgent short-term problems, such as the reconstruction of devastated areas, to those of a long-range nature such as world freedom of information and an international bill of rights.

The last of the main organs of the United Nations to begin functioning, the Trusteeship Council met for its first session at Lake Success on March 26, 1947. Representatives were present from five powers administering trust territories (Australia, Belgium, France, New Zealand and United Kingdom) and four non-administering states (China, Iraq, Mexico, and the United States); the USSR, although automatically a member of the Council by virtue of her permanent membership on the Security Council, did not designate a representative and took no part in the activities of the Council.

Recognized by Article 7 of the Charter as one of the principal organs of the United Nations, the Secretariat of the United Nations occupies a key position in the work of the organization. It is entrusted with the essential task of preparing the ground for decisions taken by the policy-forming organs of the United Nations, and with executing those decisions. International in scope, it must “enjoy the confidence of all the Members of the United Nations,” and it serves as a center and integrating body for the multifarious activities of the organization.

New Parties to the Statute: Afghanistan, Iceland, Siam and Sweden became parties to the Statute during 1946 when they joined the United Nations. Switzerland, as a non-member of the United Nations, inquired as to the conditions on which Switzerland might become a party to the Court's Statute, and these conditions were established by a resolution of the General Assembly on December 11, 1946.

FAO Preparatory Commission on World Food Proposals

The Second Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from September 2 to 13, 1946, created a preparatory commission to consider the proposals of the Conference and any other suggestions relative to the establishment of a World Food Board. The Preparatory Commission, made up of representatives of sixteen member nations of FAO — Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, India, Netherlands, Philippine Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States — and representatives of four United Nations organizations — the Economic and Social Council, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Labor Office and the International Monetary Fund — began its sessions at Washington October 28. Siam, although not a member of FAO, participated as a full member in all the discussions concerning rice; the Soviet Union and Argentina, also non-members of FAO, were invited to participate as full members of the Commission but did not designate representatives, although Argentina named two observers. Fifteen FAO members, not members of the Commission, and the International Emergency Food Council (IEFC) also sent observers. The representative of Australia (Bruce) was appointed by the Director-General of FAO (Orr) to serve as chairman of the Commission.

Mr. Eugene Meyer of the United States, elected June 4, 1946, by the Executive Directors of the International Bank to serve as its President, announced on December 4, 1946, his resignation from that position, effective December 18 or on such earlier date as his successor might be elected. Mr. John J. McCloy, also of the United States, was named as his successor by the Executive Directors on February 28, 1947. Mr. McCloy assumed his duties on March 17.

On March 11, 1947, the United States Department of State announced that there had been deposited the number of instruments of ratification of the Convention on International Civil Aviation necessary, under the terms of the Convention, to bring it into force. Accordingly, on April 4, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) came into being. The First Assembly of ICAO met in Montreal, May 6, 1947, to take up the problems of air transport which had been handled, pending the establishment of the permanent Organization, by the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO), created June 6, 1945, for a period not to exceed three years.

As a result of an agreement concluded with the United Nations, the ILO became the first intergovernmental organization created before World War II to be integrated into the framework of United Nations. The 29th Conference of the ILO effected a revision of the Constitution in order to facilitate a working relationship with the United Nations.

On December 18, 1946, the International Monetary Fund announced the initial par values of the currencies of its members and stated that exchange transactions through the Fund would commence March 1, 1947. Eight of the member states — Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Greece, Poland, Yugoslavia, France in respect of French Indo-China, and the Netherlands in respect of the Netherlands East Indies — requested and received from the Fund additional time for the determination of initial par values; the establishment of the par value for Uruguay's currency was postponed, pending the completion of certain legislative steps in that country.

In December 1946, the United Nations General Assembly voted to submit to member countries the draft constitution of the International Refugee Organization, the provisions of which stipulated that the IRO was to come into existence after acceptance by fifteen countries, whose contributions would provide at least 75 per cent of its operational budget. By February, 1947, eleven governments had signed the Constitution, pending subsequent ratification for effective participation: Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippine Republic, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Continuing the work of the first session of the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment, which was held in London from October 15 to November 26, 1946, several steps looking toward the establishment of an International Trade Organization were taken during the early months of 1947. The Preparatory Committee itself met for a second time, to consider the recommendations of its Interim Drafting Committee, and the Economic and Social Council discussed several related trade and employment questions.

At the conclusion of the First General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization held in Paris during November and December, 1946, over one hundred proposals had been formulated for consideration during 1947, several of which were enumerated as being pressing projects for the current year. Problems requiring immediate attention included 1) rehabilitation in devastated areas, 2) a wide-spread attack on the problem of illiteracy, 3) a study of psychological and social tensions likely to lead to war, 4) a concerted effort in conjunction with the Commission of Human Rights of the United Nations to reduce obstructions to the free flow of information, 5) the study of a possible international broadcasting network, and 6) the proposed creation of the International Institute of the Amazon in order to deal with problems of that tropical area. For these and other projects it was emphasized that exchange of students, scholars, scientists and media of information was necessary and should be forthcoming.

Pending the ratification of the Constitution of WHO by 26 members of the United Nations which will bring the Organization into existence, the Interim Commission, under the chairmanship of Dr. Andrija Stampar (Yugoslavia) and composed of health experts representing 18 Member States, has proceeded, as a provisional body, with the work of unifying international health operations and services. It had considered solutions for present urgent health problems and laid the groundwork for the convoking of the first World Health Assembly.

Established on March 22, 1945, the Arab League has envisaged a development of Arab unity through a regional planning program designed to provide a nucleus which would facilitate political cooperation in the Arab Near East. Salient objectives of the League, as set out in its covenant, include protection of the independence of member states, and close cooperation between member states in economic and financial affairs, problems connected with nationality, passports, visas and extradition, and public health and social matters. Special committees organized under the provisions of the League Pact have endeavoured to promote economic and social development by proposing such measures as 1) a draft treaty for a unified educational system which would include exchange of students and teachers, and development of libraries, 2) establishment of permanent offices on cultural affairs and legal problems, 3) development of trade and communications, 4) a postal union, customs union, common citizenship and a passport system. These committees, while able to formulate draft agreements, were to submit such agreements first to the Council and then to the several Arab states for approval.

The Caribbean Commission, formally established on October 20, 1946, by the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands and France, held a third meeting of its four national sections consisting of representatives of the above mentioned countries at Curacao, Netherlands West Indies, in December, 1946. Particular items on the agenda included 1) discussion of the activities of the Commission's Secretariat, 2) rules of procedure for the Commission and the West Indian Conference, and 3) appointment of the budget. Attention was directed to the implementation of the recommendations of the second session of the West Indian Conference, which was held in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands of the United States, in February, 1946. Such recommendations reflected the effort of the member powers to coordinate their activities with a view to improving the economic and social well-being of Caribbean inhabitants.