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 following summary covers the activities of the Security Council at its 707th meeting on December 16, 1955, and from its 709th meeting on December 22, 1955, through its 716th meeting on February 6, 1956.

The resumed 24th session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was held on December 10 and 13, 1957, under the presidency of Mr. Mohammad Mir Khan (Pakistan). The Council elected as members of the Council Committee on Non-Governmental Organization, Brazil, China, France, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Council also elected Morocco to membership on the Technical Assistance Committee to replace the Sudan, which had been elected to ECOSOC, thereby becoming ineligible for TAC as a nonmember of the Council. The appointment of a number of members of ECOSOC commissions was subsequently confirmed by the Council.

The fifth session of the WHO Executive Board was held in Geneva from January 16 to February 2, 1950. Long-range plans for WHO operations were outlined, and the Board recommended that the 1951 program should continue at the same general level, with primary emphasis on strengthening national health administrations and on control work against malaria, tuberculosis, and venereal disease. Development of services in the fields of maternal and child health, mental health, nutrition, sanitation, health statistics and medical training facilities would also be stressed.

The Council of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) held its ninth annual meeting in Manila on April 13–15, 1964, under the chairmanship of Salvador P. Lopez, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. The communiqué issued at the close of the meeting expressed the Ministers' contention that SEATO had had, and continued to have, a most important stabilizing influence in Southeast Asia. Despite the sharpening of the Sino-Soviet dispute, the Council agreed that world domination remained the aim of communism and that vigilance could not therefore be relaxed. In addition to measures to deter overt aggression and active insurgency, the Ministers agreed that emphasis on the development of economic and social conditions should be continued in order to strengthen national resistance to subversion. Reaffirming that the determination of national policy rested with individual governments, the Council declared that material support and encouragement should be given to those nations which, in defending themselves, needed and requested such support.

The notes of protest which the United States, the United Kingdom, and France sent to the Danube Commission governments on November 15, 1949, were answered by the Soviet Union on March 9, 1950, and by Bulgaria on March 28, 1950. Both governments rejected the western protests, the Soviet note commenting that the Danube Commission's Convention of August 18, 1948, eliminated the injuristices of previous international waterways concepts and established the jurisdiction of the riparian states. The note added that the Soviet government would not consider the protests registered by Belgium, Italy and Greece since they were not members of the Danube River Commission under the previous navigational treaty of 1921.

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.

In his Introduction to the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, 16 June 1965–15 June 1966 Secretary-General U Thant observed that the year under review had been a period in which the prospects for the peace and well-being of mankind suffered disappointments which seemed to outweigh once again the modest gains made in some directions. Describing the international political situation, Mr. Thant said that the cloud over Vietnam had grown larger and more ominous. The serious open conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir had calmed, but tensions had been heightened and violence had erupted elsewhere. Nuclear as well as conventional armaments developed apace. Furthermore, comparatively little happened during the year to brighten the outlook of those who occupied the two-thirds of the world where poverty, disease, ignorance, and lack of opportunity were the most conspicuous facts of daily life. Generally speaking, during this period the powerful nations did not show themselves able to overcome the suspicions, fears, and mistrust that sprang from their different ideologies and from their different conceptions of the best interests of the rest of the world; the rich nations did not rise above their concern for the continuation of their own prosperity, nor did the poor nations escape from the dead weight of their chronic poverty and their anachronistic social structures. Against such a background the international community, still incompletely represented by the United Nations, made only limited progress in those areas such as peacekeeping, disarmament, economic and social development, decolonization, and human rights where most was expected of it.

The seventeenth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was held in Washington, D.C., from September 17 through September 21, 1962, under the chairmanship of Mr. Ahmed Zaki Saad, Governor for Saudi Arabia. In his opening address, Mr. Per Jacobsson, Managing Director of IMF, commented on the relation of the Fund's assistance to capital transactions. He remarked that although the Fund's resources had been used in situations involving capital transfers, there had been some uncertainty as to the extent to which, or the circumstances in which, the Fund's resources could be used for helping to meet those deficits in the balance of payments of members that went beyond the current account and were attributable in whole or in part to capital transfers. By a decision of July 1961 the Executive Directors were able to eliminate any doubt which had not already been dissipated by the practice of the Fund that the Fund's resources could be used to alleviate pressures brought about by capital transfers, in accordance with the criteria of Article VI and other relevant provisions of the Fund Agreement. Thus, if a country facing a disequilibrating outflow of capital were to turn to the Fund for assistance, one of the criteria which the Fund would apply would be to satisfy itself that the appropriate measures were being taken to overcome the balance of payments difficulties, and that the assistance provided by the Fund would be repaid at the earliest opportunity, and in any event not later than three to five years after the drawing.

Of the many aspects of the UN operation in the Congo (ONUC) that gave rise to controversy, some were unique and can reasonably be chalked up to novelty and inexperience. One, however, is as old as military history itself. This is the matter of political control of a force once it is in the field. Two levels are involved: first, control of the field operations by headquarters; second, control of the military force in the field by the civilian authority—in this case the representative of the Secretary-General.

The present critical stage of inter-American relations offers a timely occasion for an inquiring glance at the Organization of American States (OAS). For more than half a century—and particularly during the last two decades—the United States has increasingly adapted its policy toward Latin America to the principles and procedures of the Organization of American States, confident that such an approach would best serve our long-range objectives in the hemisphere. Yet the varying responses which the United States has gained from the regional agency when problems of high importance have been submitted to it constitute one of the most confusing aspects of our hemisphere relations. The last few years have provided a striking illustration of this point.

On September 16, 1959, the International Monetary Fund announced that 40 members, including most recently Bolivia, Ethiopia, Honduras, Libya, Malaya, and Peru, had consented to increases in their Fund's quotas by amounts ranging from 50 to 100 percent. This was in response to a recommendation by the Directors of the Fund arising out of the thirteenth annual meeting of the Governors of the Fund, held in New Delhi in October 1958. The Fund extended to July 31, 1960, the period within which the rest of its 68-nation membership might accept increases in its quotas. Some of these countries had already communicated consents to the Fund which would become effective upon the completion of certain formalities. The Fund's assets, which, as of January 31, 1959, amounted to the equivalent of $9.2 billion, would be enlarged by the recommended increases by the equivalent of $5.8 billion.

On March 5, 1970, the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) went into effect, having been ratified by 47 states including the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treaty legally bars these three nuclear powers from transferring atomic weapons to nonnuclear states and formally pledges those nonnuclear states signing the treaty to refrain from developing such weapons or acquiring them from other powers. It thus caps a long effort by the United States to inhibit—so long as it could not preclude—the spread of nuclear weapons and to avoid the potential instabilities associated with that spread.

Since the signing and ratification of the treaties establishing the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), there has been renewed interest in the organization which pioneered die European effort toward economic integration under supra-national institutions. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) commemorates this year two anniversaries which are of more dian usual significance. February 10 and May 1, 1958, mark die completion of die first five years of die common market for coal and iron ore, and for steel and scrap, respectively. February 10 also marks die end of die “period of transition” provided by die treaty to cushion die impact of competidon on weak industries and to facilitate their adaptation to die conditions of the common market. During this period, some member countries were authorized to continue certain customs duties (e.g., on Italian imports of coke and steel), subsidies (e.g., for Lorraine coal and coke), and odier protective devices; and in some cases, provision was made for financial assistance by the Community itself (e.g., in favor of coal mines in Belgium and Sardinia). But unlike the escape clauses included in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), diese exemptions and supports were limited to five years, widi die possibility, in some cases, of a further extension of two years. Also during this period, measures were to be taken to eliminate discriminatory practices and to harmonize the conditions of competition, particularly in transport, and a common tariff was to be worked out vis-à-vis non-member countries.

The Council of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) met in Geneva from April 27 to May 4, 1955, after a week-long meeting of the ninemember Executive Committee. The Council approved a $48 million budget, of which $2.5 million was earmarked for administrative expenses. The $46.6 million operational budget would finance the processing, transport and resettlement of the 142, 165 Europeans the Committee hoped to move in 1955. The major countries of immigration were expected to be Australia, United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Venezuela; major countries of emigration were expected to be Trieste and Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece, Netherlands.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced on February 16, 1960, a loan of $42 million to Iran for an electric power generation, irrigation, and flood control project on the Dez River. The Bank's loan, which was for a term of 25 years and bore interest of 6frac14 percent with amortization beginning August 1, 1964, was to cover the foreign exchange costs of building the project with a total cost of $83 million.

During the sixth session of the Executive Board in Geneva from June 1 to June 9, 1950, it was reported that some difficulties had been encountered in the establishment of a regional office for Europe. Six member states had not replied to the request sent them on the subject, seven had expressed reservations, six had sent in negative replies, and only eight had indicated their approval. It was also proposed that rules of procedure of the Assembly be changed to permit the participation in discussions of representatives of the Executive Board in either plenary or committee meetings. During the biennial revision of the list of non-governmental organizations with which WHO maintained official relations, a total of eighteen were retained. The Executive Board also agreed that, while WHO was not an organization for sending supplies to governments, it was nonetheless true that supplies were occasionally indispensable to enable a government to carry out a specific program. A total of $100,000 had been thus distributed to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Finland, India, Hashemite Kingdom of the Jordan, Monaco, Portugal, Thailand and Yugoslavia for the control of malaria and leprosy, the improvement of nursing care and similar activities.

In his report to the 36th session of the International Labor Conference the Director-General (Morse) selected the problem of productivity as a special theme for emphasis and debate. Mr. Morse wrote that since 1950 the need for higher productivity had become steadily more apparent, that a great deal of the work of the International Labor Organization had always impinged on the problem of productivity, and that during the last four years he had increasingly stressed the need to extend and intensify ILO's work on this problem. He urged the delegates to the conference to do what they could “to secure a wide-spread comprehension and acceptance of the need for higher productivity and of the ways in which it can be achieved.” Three main ways in which the resources needed to raise the living standards of the less well-to-do section of the community might be made available were: 1) a larger proportion of total output of wealth might be distributed to wages and social services at the expense of recipients of other income; 2) where there was less than full employment, an increase in wealth could be achieved by bringing all available resources into employment; and 3) total output might be increased by securing a larger output per unit of resources already in employment. Mr. Morse believed that the most essential conditions under which higher productivity would yield an increase in welfare were: a) that there should be the fullest possible consultation and cooperation between employers and workers in the application of measures to raise productivity, b) that the benefits of higher productivity should be fairly distributed, c) that effective action should be taken to ensure that higher productivity did not lead to unemployment, and d) that higher productivity should be sought by means which only required of workers a working speed and intensity which they could maintain without increased fatigue, strain, or risk to health or safety.

The sixteenth annual report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1961, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on June 23, 1961, by Mr. Per Jacobsson, Chairman of the Executive Board. The report stated that in contrast to the year 1959, when virtually all countries had participated in world-wide expansion, the year 1960 and early part of 1961 had presented a less unified picture. For the world as a whole, the expansionary elements had considerably outweighed the contractionary elements. World industrial production, excluding the countries of the Soviet area, had been almost 6 percent greater in 1960 than in 1959, having grown by 10 percent; and the value of world trade had increased by 12 percent, compared with 6 percent in 1959. The stimulus for the rise in world trade had come predominantly from the booming European industrial countries and from Japan, which had increased their imports by nearly 20 percent; there had been a slight decline in imports from the United States and Canada. The imports of the less-industrialized countries had also increased considerably, by some 10 percent. Trade developments during 1960 had improved the basic international payments situation in some respects. Rising exports and slightly declining imports caused an increase in the surplus of private goods and services account in the United States. West Germany's surplus also increased, while France's remained stationary; decreases had been noted in several other industrial countries, in particular Japan and Italy, where the rate of economic expansion had been exceptionally high, and in the United Kingdom, mainly due to the sharp growth of imports associated with their high level of economic activity.