Since the preparation in August 1947 of the first part of this report, three significant developments affecting the scope and character of United Nations–specialized agency relations have taken place. First, the “family” of specialized agencies, in being and in prospect, has substantially increased in size and variety. Second, the regional machinery of the Economic and Social Council has been expanded by the establishment of economic commissions for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) and for Latin America (ECLA), with the probability that a similar commission for the Middle East will be authorized before the end of 1948. Together with the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), set up in the spring of 1947, these subsidiary instrumentalities of the Council will be concerned with a wide range of reconstruction and developmental activities which bear directly upon various functions of FAO, ILO, Bank, Fund, and ITO and which, in addition, introduce a further element of complexity in the task of coordinating international economic programs. The third development, important from the procedural standpoint, was the action taken by the General Assembly at its second regular session in November 1947, and by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at its sixth session in March 1948, in spelling out methods for treating the budgets and reports of the specialized agencies.

In the introduction to the annual report for 1954–1955 on the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the Director-General of FAO (Cardon) stated that although FAO had many separate projects in the fields of agriculture, economics, fisheries, forestry, and nutrition, the organization had an over-all program, that of improving human well-being by increasing and improving the production, distribution, and utilization of food and other products of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. He stated that progress had been made in unifying and integrating FAO's work since 1) each division of FAO contributed to the five major aspects of the general program, and 2) the work of direct technical advisory assistance for economic development had been more closely integrated with the regular FAO program. In elaborating on his themes of integration, the Director-General stated that “…the need grows more pressing for the closest integration within each receiving government, within each agency, among agencies, and with the like activities of bilateral and other programs”. During the year under review, considerable progress had been made in the more effective association of FAO's work with that of other international organizations.

At the seventh regular meeting of the Danube Commission in December 1952 it was decided to extend the mandate of the special commission established in July 1952 to examine the Yugoslav proposal for amendment of the rules of procedure and the Statute until the eighth regular meeting. However, despite Yugoslav objections, the report of the special commission was not put on the agenda for the eighth meeting. Also discussed at the seventh meeting were the Yugoslav failure to pay dues for the preceding year, and the action of Yugoslavia in taking over control of the locomotive traction of the Sip Canal. Yugoslavia took the position that it had a right to defend its national interests in the light of previous breach of contract by other Commission members. With Yugoslavia objecting to both nominations, the meeting elected the Rumanian representative as chairman and the Soviet delegate as secretary of the Com-mission, the latter for a term of three years.

The second session of the twelfth plenary meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee was held in Washington from November 2 to 12, 1953. The first session, held in Washington from May 4 to 5, 1953, had been concerned with budgetary matters and the exchange of information. Representatives of 28 members of the committee as well as observers from 24 non-member governments and six international organizations were present at the second session which considered a technical study proposing three possible types of international cotton agreements: 1) a multilateral contract, under which quantitative quotas and minimum and maximum prices for each importing and exporting country would be established; 2) a buffer stock agreement, which would also set floor and ceiling prices for cotton and under which there would exist buffer stocks, held by member governments or by an international agency which would be built up in times of surplus and drawn on in times of shortage; 3) a combination of 1) and 2). The meeting failed to agree on any of these, and referred the question to the standing committee for further study. Other resolutions of the committee at this meeting included recommendations to the standing committee to study means of increasing cotton consumption to close the ten percent gap between production and consumption, and to circulate information about the terms of external trade of cotton importing and exporting countries, and a recommendation to the secretariat to begin publishing textile statistics. E. D. White (United States) was reelected chairman of the standing committee. In closing, the session accepted the invitation of the government of Brazil to hold its next plenary meeting in Sao Paulo.

The report of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the ninth General Conference of the Agency covered the period from July 1, 1964, to June 30, 1965. During the period under review, membership of the Agency increased from 87 to 92. The new members were Cameroun, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Kuwait, and Madagascar. The main event during the period had been the Third International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (Third Geneva Conference), which had provided a full evaluation of the experience gained since 1958 in designing, building, and operating nuclear power plants as well as of future prospects for nuclear power being introduced in an increasing number of countries. Ten specialized agencies, 75 states, and the Agency had been represented. The Conference focused its attention on nuclear power, the rapid rise of which as a major source of energy promised to be of decisive importance to the economic development of the world.

The General Assembly,

Having regard to its resolutions 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and 194 (III) of 11 December 1948,

Having studied the reports of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine set up under the latter resolution,

I. Decides

In relation to Jerusalem,

Believing that the principles underlying its previous resolutions concerning this matter, and in particular its resolution of 29 November 1947, represent a just and equitable settlement of the question,

The Assembly of Western European Union (WEU) held the first part of its sixth ordinary session in Paris from May 31 to June 3, 1960. After Mr. Badini Confalonieri (Italian Liberal) had been reelected President of the Assembly, the first item of business was the presentation of the fifth report of the Council of WEU, covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 1959, by Mr. van Houten, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Chairman ad interim of the Council. In connection with the transfer of social and cultural activities from WEU to the Council of Europe, he pointed out that, by means of partial agreements, the seven governments of WEU remained free to undertake new activities either among themselves or within the framework of the WEU Council, and that only the implementation of current activities was to become the responsibility of the Council of Europe. Speaking next of the Standing Armaments Committee and of the Agency for the Control of Armaments, Mr. van Houten stated that the procedure for cooperation in the field of equipment formulated by the Committee had been successful and that the Control Agency had continued to develop its activities. Concluding his report, he pointed to the importance of political consultations within WEU as a means of enabling members to discuss differences of opinion and thereby come nearer to a solution. In the general debate which followed, members stressed the importance of cooperation in armaments and civil defense.

International organization is not a new concept in the minds of men, but the creation of most of the international organizations now in existence has occurred within the memory of many who are by no means our oldest citizens. Before the last war, it was not too difficult for the interested layman, the scholar, the government official, or the teacher to keep abreast of new ideas and new philosophies. He watched the League of Nations, the Pan American Union, and a handful of specialized organizations like the Postal Union or the International Institute of Agriculture, and felt reasonably safe in his conviction that he could qualify as an intelligent citizen or even, at times, a teacher.

The Council of Ministers of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) convening in Paris under the chairmanship of Mr. Macmillan (Chancellor of the Exchequer, United Kingdom) received the report of a Ministerial Working Party of OEEC on November 15, 1956 which discussed the economic situation in member countries. The report noted the prosperity in western Europe, yet stressed the threats to it due to events in the middle east and interruption of traffic in the Suez. Besides a shortage of oil, the report noted a shortage of coal. It also stressed three weak points in the economy of western Europe: 1) the slowing down of the expansion of production; 2) the rise of prices; and 3) the imbalance in intra-European payments. It explained that the increase in production had fallen off due to a shortage of available labor; the rise in prices was due to excessive demand and increasing wages. The report called for serious fiscal measures, such as an increase in taxes, a reduction of subsidies to consumption and a cutting down of public expenditures. These measures could be supplemented by governmental action designed to increase competition in the home market and to enhance the free movement of workers in order to alleviate the man-power shortage.

I fully share the conviction expressed by President Kennedy in May 1962 that “Atlantic unity represents the true course of history.” This seems to me inevitable despite the complications, contradictions, and conflicts of national policies which are still very much with us.

The chiefs of state of members of the Baghdad Pact, except the United Kingdom, met November 5–8, 1956, in Teheran. Their statement issued after the meeting condemned “Israeli aggression”, called for immediate withdrawal of Israel troops from Egypt and release of Egyptian prisoners taken by Israel, and requested the United Kingdom and France to stop hostilities, withdraw their forces from Egypt, and respect Egypt's sovereignty, integrity, and independence. The statement welcomed the General Assembly resolution contemplating the establishment of an international police force. The Suez dispute, it said, should be settled through negotiations with Egypt, under the auspices of the UN, “which should, inter alia, insure free passage through the canal with full respect for Egyptian sovereignty”. It added that those present had emphasized the necessity of solving the Arab-Israel dispute and considered the UN 1947 resolution an appropriate basis for negotiating a settlement.

The report as a whole on conditions in the Cameroons under United Kingdom administration, which was to be included in the Trusteeship Council's annual report to the General Assembly, was adopted on March 25 by 9 votes to 1 with 2 abstentions. The Council then adopted, by 8 votes to 1 with 3 abstentions, its report as a whole on conditions in the Cameroons under French administration; previously, the conclusions and recommendations in the report of the drafting committee on the French-administered Cameroons had been approved, as amended by Syria, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Also on March 25, the Council's report as a whole on conditions in Togoland under United Kingdom administration was adopted by a vote of 8 to.1 with 3 abstentions. This followed adoption by the Council of the conclusions and recommendations, as amended by the Soviet Union, contained in the drafting committee's report on this trust territory and a decision to postpone consideration of the administrative union affecting the territory until the Council's next session. This decision, taken by 9 votes to 1 with 1 abstention, was made in pursuance to a recommendation contained in an interim report of the Standing Committee on Administrative Unions on Togoland under United Kingdom administration. Incorporating amendments proposed by the United Kingdom and Syria, the Council approved the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the drafting committee on Togoland under French administration on March 22 and then adopted its report as a whole on conditions in French-administered Togoland by 11 votes to 1.

According to the press, the four experts appointed by the Council of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in January 1960 for the purpose of drawing up plans for a body to succeed OEEC recommended, in a report published on April 20, 1960, the establishment of a new economic organization linking Europe with North America, to be called the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The principal difference between the proposed organization and OEEC, apart from the full membership of the United States and Canada, was to be its emphasis on the promotion of economic growth and development in Asia and Africa. The supreme body of the organization was to be a council of ministers with powers identical to those of the parallel OEEC body; that is, member governments would be expected to conform to its decisions, which were to be taken unanimously. However, any country was to have the right to abstain by disclaiming interest in the subject under discussion, thereby freeing itself of the obligation to carry out the resulting decisions. The daily operations of the organization were to be directed by a secretary-general of wide political prestige, appointed for a five-year term. The report also envisaged the establishment of a preparatory committee to decide which of OEEC's tasks should be continued by the new organization.

On June 3, 1960, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced an agreement with three other investors to invest the equivalent of £2.3 million in the Kilombero Sugar Company, Ltd., in Tanganyika, for a sugar production and refining project estimated to cost £3.2 million, production to begin in 1962. The investment was represented by the equivalent of £1.15 million in debentures bearing 7 percent interest and maturing by 1973; by, £500,000 in convertible income notes maturing by 1975 without fixed interest and bearing returns contingent on earnings; by, £650,000 in share capital; and by an option on ordinary shares. Additional financing for the project was to come from an issue of convertible preferred shares, totaling, £700,000, by the Standard Bank of South Africa and the Colonial Development Corporation, to be offered for sale to residents of Tanganyika.

The World Health Organization sponsored an inter-regional conference on rabies, held on Coonoor, India, during July 1952, which gave intensive and individual training in complicated laboratory procedures to an international group. A consultant staff of eight members gave lectures, led discussions, and supervised the laboratory work of 47 participants. One of die objects of die conference was to teach standardized procedures in rabies tests so that results obtained in laboratories diroughout the world might be compared.

The Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held its 48th session in Paris from June 3 to 20, 1957, under the chairmanship of Dr. Vittorino Veronese. After approving work plans for carrying out in 1957–1958 two major projects which had been endorsed by the ninth session of the General Conference, the Board allocated 1957–1958 budgets of $839, 209 for the first project, a ten-year plan for the promotion of better cultural understanding between east and west, and $500,000 for the second, a six-year project for scientific research on arid lands. A third major project, concerned with extension of primary education in Latin America, had been approved by the Board at its previous session.

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East: The fifth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East opened at Singapore on October 20,1949. Among the items considered at the session were the reports of ECAFE's various subordinate and technical bodies; the question of admission of Viet-Nam and Korea to associate membership; reports on continued cooperation with the specialized agencies and on the United Nations program of technical assistance for economic development; and the plan for an economic survey of Asia and the Far East for 1949. Under the chairmanship of Malik Sir Firoz Khan Noon (Pakistan) the commission turned first to the question of the admission of associate members. Applications were before the commission from both the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the French-supported State of Viet-Nam, as well as from both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The commission heard discussion by the representatives of France (Maux) and the Soviet Union (Nemtchina) on the legality of the respective Vietnamese applications and, by a vote of 8 to 1, admitted the State of Viet-Nam to associate membership. After comment by the representatives of the United States (Cowen) and the Soviet Union (Nemtchina) in support of the two Korean applications, the commission by a vote of 11 to 1 approved admission of the Republic of Korea and rejected the application of the Korean People's Republic by a vote of 9 to 2.

The twelfth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was held in Washington, D.C., September 23–26, 1957, under the chairmanship of Miguel Cuaderno, Sr. The meeting included four plenary sessions, two of which were held jointly with the International Monetary Fund, and two meetings of the Joint Procedures Committee.

The second part of the ninth ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe was held from October 16 to 29, 1957, under the presidency of Mr. Fernand Dehousse.