A proposal for an international inspectorate lies at the heart of every contemporary plan for armament control. Alternatives to the increasing perils of the unprecedented arms race of our era are made dependent on the development of a reasonably effective method of monitoring treaty compliance. Reduction of tension through control of weapons can be attempted only by the creation of a type of political instrument with which the world has had little previous experience. The achievement of a system of inspection, when viewed in the perspective of the history of international organization, is a task of political and administrative architecture on an unprecedented scale. Even the more modest proposals envisage staff and budgetary resources comparable, if not greater, in size than those of the present UN. More significantly, these plans imply an extension of international authority within national borders. Therefore, if arms control should become a viable instrument of international diplomacy, a rapid development of international political, judicial, and administrative techniques will be required.

On an evening in the large, comfortable Circuit House (guest house for government officials on tour) in a city in the interior of West Pakistan, a dapper young Pakistani District Commissioner (our official host) burst in on a group of UN experts from Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. After a few perfunctory salutations while we were unpacking our bags after a long day's drive from Karachi—my first visit up-country a few weeks after my arrival —we were subjected to a blunt attack on foreign aid to countries like Pakistan. The target was western aid in general—and the concluding blast of an hour's discussion over our scotch and soda was something like this: “Your aid is not of much importance. What the western nations are doing does not represent a ‘drop i n the bucket’ in relation to their wealth or to the needs and poverty of the East”. This was a rare experience in my two years’ duty as Resident Representative of the UN Technical Assistance Board (TAB) in Pakistan, as Pakistanis seldom show signs of temperament and are usually soft-spoken and very friendly. I should add that a few days later this young commissioner and his wife invited us to a nice dinner at his sumptuous official residence and carried through the formalities of the occasion in a very “correct” manner reminiscent of the days of the British regime.

Much has been written about the international civil service. The more serious literature is often produced by those who have had at least a limited personal experience within one or the other of the Secretariats, and some of it is by veterans of many years’ standing. Other writings range all the way from popular attempts to bring home to the wider public the spirit and objectives of this relatively new profession to the kind of running, petty vendettas pursued by certain factions, such as the Beaver brook press in Great Britain and isolationist or xenophobic elements in the United States, France, and elsewhere, against what they conceive to be the thin end of a subversive wedge which will eventually sunder national sovereignties and the freedom of an already largely illusory power of self determination.

In a year which sees the tenth anniversary of both the Council of Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) there are a number of good reasons for looking again at some aspects of the problems of these organizations of limited membership. The most important reason is that there is a general feeling in the western world that neither the “European” organizations nor NATO are working as well as might have been hoped, and that there is probably a good deal of room for improvement even within the limits set by the present public attitudes toward the counter-claims of “integration” and “national sovereignty” in the countries concerned.

The following analytical study is divided into two main parts. The first is devoted to general considerations about the literature on international organization; the second seeks to convey a picture of the range and variety of publications which have appeared during the period 1954–1958. The intention is not so much to furnish complete bibliographical references as to survey the present state of theory and literature on international organization.

Report of the Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories: The tenth session of the Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories was held in New York from April 20 through May 19, 1959. At this session the committee gave special attention to educational conditions in the non-self-governing territories, using as a guide the special studies prepared by the Secretariat and certain specialized agencies which it had before it. The studies by the Secretariat included papers on the participation of the inhabitants in the development of education and on secondary and higher education, while those prepared by the specialized agencies included reports on fundamental education, the eradication of illiteracy, free and compulsory primary education, recent developments in technical and vocational training, agricultural education and extension services, and the education and training of medical and health personnel. Statements in the general debate on this item, discussed at the 188th to 196th meetings inclusive, were made by the representatives of Australia, Brazil, Ceylon, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Iraq, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The 27th session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), comprising the 1048th to the 1066th meetings, was held in Mexico City from April 7 through April 24, 1959. Mr. Cosío Villegas (Mexico) was elected President for 1959 at the opening meeting, while Mr. Michalowski (Poland) and Mr. Zahiruddin Ahmed (Pakistan) were elected First and Second Vice-Presidents, respectively.

The Trusteehip Council held its 24th session at UN Headquarters in New York from June 2 to August 6, 1959. At its opening meeting, the 967th, the Council adopted its provisional agenda which included examination of the annual reports of the administering authorities on the trust territories of Ruanda-Urundi, Togoland under French administration, New Guinea, Nauru, the trust territory of the Pacific Islands, Somaliland under Italian administration, and Western Samoa, as well as consideration of petitions, matters referred to the Council by the General Assembly, reports of visiting missions, the report of the UN Advisory Council for the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration, and reports of various committees of the Council.

Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, in the introduction to his fourteenth annual report on the work of the Organization, June 16, 1958 to June 15, 1959 observed that the year had been characterized by intense diplomatic activities mainly outside the UN, although in some cases within its precincts or in informal contact with the Organization. The dual significance of this intense diplomatic and political activity, exemplified by the meetings in Geneva on a controlled cessation of nuclear tests and on die problem of the status of Berlin, as well as by die increasing number of exchanges of visits of leading statesmen, lay, on the one hand, in its indication that various international problems had been brought to a point where they called for renewed and urgent efforts to find a solution, and, on die other, in its introduction, through the broadening and deepening of personal contacts on different levels, of a new constructive element which might strengthen the hope that ways to reconciliation and to a reduction of tensions might be found. Although such negotiations were encouraged by the Charter of the UN, the Secretary-General continued, diere would be legitimate reason for concern if such developments outside the Organization were to reflect a neglect of the possibilities offered by the Organization, because of a lapse into bilateralism, disregarding third party interests. Likewise, the situation would be a reason for concern if it reflected a view that the Organization was unable to meet the demands which Member nations were entitled to put on it.

Case concerning the Aerial Incident of November 7, 1954 (United States v. Soviet Union): On July 7, 1959, an application instituting proceedings against die Soviet Union was filed in the Registry of the Court by the government of the United States. In its application the government of the United States alleged that on November 7, 1954, one of its aircraft was attacked and destroyed over the Japanese island of Hokkaido by fighter aircraft of the Soviet Union. It requested the Court to find that the Soviet Union was liable for the damages caused and to award damages in the sum of $756,604. It also stated that it had submitted to the Court's jurisdiction for the purposes of this case and that it was open to the government of the Soviet Union to do likewise. In accordance with Article 40 of the Statute of the Court, the application was thereupon communicated by the Registry to the government of the Soviet Union.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced on June 10, 1959, a loan equivalent to $11.6 million to the Union of South Africa. The funds were to help carry out a railway expansion program, executed by the South African Railways and Harbors Administration, that had been one of the chief objects of public investment in the Union since the end of World War II. Twelve banks participated in the loan for a total amount of $2,484,000, representing the first three maturities and parts of the fourth and fifth maturities which were to fall due between December 1961 and December 1963. Among the participating banks were: the Bank of America, Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company, The Philadelphia National Bank, The New York Trust Company, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, National Shawmut Bank of Boston, The First National Bank of Chicago, The Chase Manhattan Bank, First National City Bank of New York, The Northern Trust Company, and the Swiss Bank Corporation (Basle). Amortization of the loan, which was for a term of ten years and bore interest of 6 percent, was to begin in December 1961.

The twenty meetings of the 35th session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) were held between November 12 and December 17, 1958, except for the first meeting which was called during the committee phase on September 25. At its last meeting the Council unanimously decided to appoint Mr. R. M. McDonnell of Canada, Secretary General of ICAO to succeed Carl Ljungberg of Sweden, who had served in that post for more than seven years. Additional elections and appointments, inter alia, included: W. G. Algar of Ireland, First Vice- President of the Council for 1958–1959; Col. E. Chagas of Brazil, Second Vice-President; Henry Soderberg of Sweden, Third Vice-President; J. R. Belcher of Canada, Chairman of the Finance Committee.

The 43d session of the International Labor Conference was held in Geneva from June 3 to 25, 1959, under the presidency of Mr. E. Dreyer (Danish government delegate). The Conference was attended by over 900 delegates, advisers, and observers from 75 member countries and 15 territories, including the Ministers of Labor from 41 countries.

The Tenth Annual Report on Exchange Restrictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), covering the period from May 1958 to April 1959, was transmitted to members and governors of the Fund on June 3, 1959.1 In Part I of the report the establishment of external convertibility of the major European currencies was described as the most important single achievement of the postwar period in the field of exchange restriction. This event took place at the end of 1958, while in early 1959 other countries adjusted their exchange control regulations to the new conditions. A major factor behind the move was pinpointed as the general gain in strength, both economic and financial, of the industrialized countries and, with the exception of the United States, their substantial addition to their gold and dollar reserves. Most of the less developed countries continued to experience difficulties, according to the report, but several were putting into effect comprehensive stabilization programs which included the simplification of their exchange systems. The report considered the immediate effects of this concerted move and the impact it might be expected to have on the restrictions that still remained. It also pointed out that during the period under review appreciable further progress was made in the substitution of unitary exchange rates for multiple currency practices, and that there was a general decline in the number of bilateral payments arrangements between member countries of the Fund.

The Administrative Council of ‘the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) held its fourteenth session in Geneva from May 19 to June 12, 1959, under the chairmanship of Mr. Alfred F. Langenberger (Switzerland). In preparation for the 1959 conferences, the Council decided to prepare a report for submission to the forthcoming Administrative Radio Conference relating to the implementation of the Atlantic City Table of Frequency Allocations; the report summarized the action taken by the Council with respect to the situation prior to the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference, held in Geneva in 1951, and with respect to that arising from the decisions of that Conference. As usual during the session of the Council prior to a Plenipotentiary Conference, the Council also drew up its report to the 1959 Conference on the recent activities of the Union, including questions calling for special attention by the Conference. In its final form, the report was in three parts: Part I related to the activities of the Council and ITU from 1953 to 1959; Part II dealt with the staff and finances of the Union; and Part III covered the various questions to be brought to the attention of the Plenipotentiary Conference. Chief among these matters were the possible assimilation of Union salaries, allowances, and pensions to those of the UN common system, the possible introduction of a consolidated budget and a Working Capital Fund, and problems set by the “ceiling” for the ordinary expenses of the Union.

The Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held its 54th session in Paris, June 1–12, 1959. Under the heading, Execution of the Program, th Board took the following decisions, inter alia:1) to appoint a rapporteur, commissione to follow the successive discussions of the Director-General ‘s reports by the Board, for the purpose of assisting in the preparation of comments by the Board on these reports for information to the General Conference at its forthcoming session; 2) to authorize the Director-General to request the Technical Assistance Committee to contribute for 1960 a sum of $505, 779 toward the Headquarters costs of administering the Technical Assistance Program; 3) to designate twelve Member States— namely, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States—which were to be entitled to appoint a representative for two years on the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee for the Major Project on the Extension of Primary Education in Latin America; 4) to request the Director-General to accept the invitation of the government of Denmark to hold in Denmark in i960 an intergovernmental conference on international oceanographic research and training vessels; 5) to approve the celebration of the anni- 1 Document 54 EX/Decisions, June 22, 1959. For a summary of the 33d session, see International Organization, Spring 1939 (Vol. 13, No. 2), p. 324. versaries of the great personalities (Frederic Chopin and Charles Darwin) listed in one of the documents before the Board; and 6) to authorize the Director-General to signify UNESCO&'s agreement in principle to the proposals by the government of the United Arab Republic concerning international action for the study and protection of the archaeological monuments of Nubia threatened by submergence as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

The Executive and Liaison Committee of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) met in Berne from May 14 to 23, 1959, under the presidency of Mr. A. Wolstencroft (United Kingdom). In dealing with the agenda, the Committee approved without reservation the report of the activities of UPU for 1958. Several questions on the relation of UPU to the UN were treated at this time with reciprocal understanding. The examination of the reports of the subcommittees on the progress in their respective tasks figured prominently in the discussion; the Committee did not, however, come to a decision on tariff policy, although it did decide that the present scales of transit rates needed to be revised. The subcommittee scheme regarding the eventual issue of an international postage stamp met with serious opposition; at the end of the discussion, it was decided that examination of the problem should be continued, but no decision was taken. The agenda contained also several points of an administrative character concerning the organization and the working of the International Bureau and the examination of various proposals submitted by administrations.

According to press reports from Beirut, Lebanon, on August 11 and 18, 1959, representatives of nine Arab states—all the members of the Arab League except Tunisia—were preparing a lengthy reply to the suggestion of Mr. Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary-General of the UN, that the Palestine refugees being sheltered by various Arab countries be economically integrated into these countries. Spokesmen for the Arab states declared at the end of a tenday conference that they would unanimously support the refugees' demand to return to their homes in what had become the state of Israel; this was tantamount to rejection of Mr. Hammarskjold's proposal to spend $1.5–$2 billion within the next five years to create productive jobs for about one million refugees living in Arab lands. Although the Secretary-General had asserted that economic integration would not prejudice any rights of the refugees, the Arabs interpreted the plan to mean that the refugees would be permanently resettled among them. Apparently the only part of Mr. Hammarskjold's report that was acceptable to the Arabs was that calling for the continued existence of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the organization administering the relief program for refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and the United Arab Republic.

The European Parliamentary Assembly met in ordinary session from May 12 to 14, 1959, at Strasbourg. One of the principal points on the agenda was the proposed creation of a European University. While it was admitted that, for the time being, it was essential for the proposed institute to concentrate on nuclear and technical research, most of the speakers agreed that the European University should progressively be extended to include other branches of learning such as European law. Furthermore, the University should not be limited to Six-Power Europe but should be open to professors and students from all the countries of Kurope. In a resolution adopted at the close of the discussion, the Assembly requested the executives of the three Communities and the Councils of Ministers to unite their efforts to create a European University destined to serve the interests of the European Communities and their overseas countries and territories, through the development of scientific and technical research, the study of social and economic science, philosophy, and history, and the elaboration and development of Community law.