If there is truth in the assertion that the strength of the United Nations depends upon the support of public opinion within member states, the responsibility of those organs of the United Nations which supervise public information activities of the Secretariat is an important one. To those concerned with the future of international organization an analysis of the scope and limitations of the information programs which have developed in the first six years of the history of the United Nations should be of primary value. What are the problems which national delegates to the United Nations face in making decisions about the way in which an international secretariat should attempt to influence public opinion? What is the process by which such decisions are made in the administrative framework of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies? What outcomes in terms of increased international cooperation can be expected from the information activities of United Nations Secretariat?

The 143d session of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) was held in Geneva from November 17 to November 20, 1959. As had been decided at its 141st session (March 1959), the Governing Body was given an opportunity at the outset to review the major emphases and trends of ILO's activities and methods of work. This was undertaken as an experiment which the Governing Body could repeat if it deemed it necessary or beneficial. Opening the debate, the United States representative pointed out that ILO's objective of improving the condition of the underdeveloped countries had generally been regarded as most important and that much still remained to be done in that field. He cautioned against the dissipation of efforts on secondary matters, as funds for operational activities were limited and the setting of priorities was therefore imperative. In his opinion, some of the industrial committees had been running out of useful work; he thus suggested substituting for them ad hoc meetings designed to cope with specific regional problems. He also criticized various joint projects ILO had undertaken with other specialized agencies as well as the drafting of rigid instruments which, in his opinion, occupied too much of the Organization's time. In the ensuing discussion, all representatives agreed on the importance and necessity of ILO's operational activities, particularly technical assistance. Several speakers suggested that technical assistance should not be confined to industry but should also be given to agriculture. The representative of West Germany, for one, expressed the view that the Organization should intensify its work in the field of employment and labor-management relations, while the Indian spokesman favored workers’ education programs and vocational training, as well as a long term project for raising living standards in rural areas.

The eighteenth annual report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1963, was transmitted to the Board of Governors on July 11, 1963, by the Acting Chairman of the Executive Board, Mr. Frank A. Southard, Jr. Summarizing the world payments situation, the report indicated that economic activity continued during 1962 to expand in most industrial countries. Exceptions to this general upward trend were recorded in the United Kingdom and Japan and were seen partly as the result of policies directed toward strengthening the balance of payments. In both 1961 and 1962 the value of world trade was some 5 percent higher than in the preceding year, and in 1962 the increase in the value of exports of primary producing countries as a group almost kept pace with that of the manufacturing countries, although declines in the prices of certain products adversely affected some nations.

The General Assembly held its eighteenth session, comprising the 1206th–1285th plenary meetings, at UN Headquarters from September 17 to December 17, 1963, during which time it took action on 86 agenda items. Zanzibar and Kenya were admitted to membership at the 1281st plenary meeting on December 16, 1963, thereby bringing the total UN membership to 113.

The effective transfer of skills and resources to less developed countries through multilateral as well as bilateral channels is a central element in the UN Development Decade. But the utility of international institutions in the economic field does not stop there. They are also proving to be indispensable in coping with related challenges to the United States in its trade relations with other nations—challenges posed by a rapidly changing world economy. The first challenge is to reduce the trade barriers which presently mpair the economic efficiency and political unity of the free world, particularly the North Atlantic Community and Japan. The second challenge is to find additional ways to deal with the special problems which affect the trade of the less developed countries. International organizations are now the focus of efforts to cope with both of these challenges.

The seventeenth session of the Administrative Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was held from May 5 to June 9, 1962, under the chairmanship of Mr. Juan Antonio Autelli (Argentina). ITU's Secretary-General, Mr. Gerald C. Gross, remarked that the activities of the Union during the past year had continued to increase usefully on a sound financial basis. In discussing the work of ITU in the future, the Secretary-General stated that the efforts being taken by some nations to penetrate outer space constituted one of the greatest intellectual and technical enterprises in human history. ITU's role in this effort would be particularly important.

The 30th session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), comprising the 1112th to the 1134th meetings inclusive, was held in Geneva from July 5 to August 5, 1960. In opening the session, Mr. C. W. A. Schurmann (Netherlands), President for i960, drew attention to the meetings at the ministerial level and to the discussion of program appraisals, two innovations which were to constitute a noteworthy experiment of the current session.

The thirteenth session of the Council of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) was held in Geneva, December 1–9, 1960.1 Ambassador Max H. Wershof, permanent representative of Canada to the European Office of the UN in Geneva, was elected chairman.

The fifteenth session of the Administrative Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was held in Geneva from May 28 to July 2, 1960, under the chairmanship of Mr. Libero Oswaldo de Miranda (Brazil). In pursuance of a decision of the Plenipotentiary Conference of ITU held in Autumn 1959 to increase the part played by the Union in the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance, the Council devoted a considerable part of the session to technical assistance. Discussion revolved around the review of previous procedures applied to ITU technical assistance problems and consideration of procedures that would enable the Union to take a more active part in technical assistance. Since telecommunication projects had been submitted to ITU by the Special Fund, thus making ITU an executive agent of the Fund, the Council passed a resolution outlining the procedure by which ITU should take part in the Fund's activities, along with a directive to the General Secretariat to inform countries of the possibility of recourse to the Fund with a view to financing telecommunication projects. After a long discussion, the Council decided that ITU could also provide technical assistance through the preparation of seminars on technical telecommunication subjects and through the assistance of the Consultative Committees. The Council urged closer contact between the ITU Secretariat and the countries requiring technical assistance in order to specify the needs of those countries and to follow up current expert missions more efficiently. The possibility of regional representation in ITU was considered, but the consensus was that it would be too expensive for the Union at present. Concerning the financing of telecommunication projects, the Council acknowledged the help that might be given by private or international banking concerns and requested the Secretary-General to send to administrations all the information he could assemble on this question.

The Scientific and Technical Committee of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), holding its tenth session in Brussels on October 4, 1960, approved the following undertakings: 1) the establishment of a European information center on the use of radioisotopes; 2) Euratom's participation in studies of the problems involved in using nuclear power for ships; 3) the completion of Euratom's reactor research project, carried out jointly with the French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA); 4) the proposal to conclude agreements with companies building or operating nuclear-power stations where Community trainees could gain on-the-job experience in construction and operation; and 5) the study of methods for disposing of radioactive waste underground and in the sea.

The third meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held in Paris on November 19–20, 1963, under the chairmanship of Dr. Halyard Lange, the Norwegian Foreign Minister. During the discussion on economic growth the Council took note of the improvement in the prospects for economic growth in member countries since the end of 1962, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It was expected that the increase in gross national product (GNP) of the OECD area for the period 1960–1964 would correspond to the growth target of 50 percent set in 1961 for the ten-year period beginning with 1960. Because of the persistent gap between the industrialized countries and those that were in the process of development, the Council considered that OECD and its more industrialized members should continue to devote their attention and cooperation to the development problems of the less developed members. The ministers noted in particular that a new Spanish development program would be inaugurated in 1964.

The double crisis we witnessed last autumn dates back to six months ago, yet it may already be possible to outline a schematic picture of its repercussions on the international organizations in Europe. I shall describe neither the structures of these organizations nor the way they work, but, rather, the political context, which alone permits us to evaluate their potential for action and influence on the European scene. This paper will therefore deal first with the immediate consequences of the Budapest massacres and with the unsuccessful enterprise of the Anglo-French forces in Suez. It will then try to evaluate the present political motivations of the French, British, and German policies, and this will lead to an examination of the political decay of both NATO in Europe and the Western European Union. A cursory glance at what is usually called the European parliaments—already in existence or in the process of being created—will lead us to conclusions in which the Algerian question and the question of German reunification will figure more predominantly than international organizations whose juridical future seems more certain than their political effectiveness.

Ministerial representatives attending the thirteenth session of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) held a meeting from October 16 to 18 preceding the plenary session. According to the communique issued after the meeting, it was the view of the ministers that the outlook was promising for a continuing steady expansion in international trade and for substantial further progress in achieving the objectives of GATT, but they noted that serious trade and payments problems continued to confront many of the less developed countries, that unsatisfactory conditions still prevailed with respect to world trade in a number of primary commodities, and that special difficulties threatened to impede the future growth of international trade in agricultural products. The ministers reviewed the trends in international trade and in particular took into account a report prepared by a Panel of Experts, entitled Trends in International Trade The report, which was also before the thirteenth session, contained a number of recommendations. Among them were: the extension of more economic aid; more adequate domestic measures against business recessions; the provision of greater international liquidity; the provision of funds for buffer stock action; a reduction of certain revenue duties in countries consuming tropical foodstuffs and beverages; a moderation of agricultural protectionism in western Europe and North America; a shift in methods of agricultural protection in such countries away from price supports toward deficiency-payment systems; a reduction of protection against the import of minerals; and the avoidance of trade-diverting measures in regional economic arrangements such as the European Economic Community (common market).

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East: The fifteenth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) was held in Broadbeach, Australia, from March 9 to 19, 1959, under the chairmanship of Mr. Richard G. Casey, Minister of State for External Affairs of Australia.1 During the course of the session, new offers of financial aid to the Lower Mekong river development project were made: Canada offered $1,300,000 to pay for its undertaking of an aerial survey and mapping of the Lower Mekong basin; Australia offered $225,000 for equipment and training; and France promised an additional $102,500 beyond the $126,000 previously contributed. The Soviet Union also indicated that it was prepared to extend technical assistance to the Mekong project either directly or through ECAFE for power stations.

The 45th session of the International Labor Conference was held in Geneva from June 7 to 29, 1961, under the presidency of Mr. M. A. Raschid (government delegate and Minister of Industry, Mines, and Labor, Burma). The Conference was attended by over a thousand delegates, observers, and advisers from 94 member countries and four territories, including the ministers of labor from 42 of these countries.

The Council of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) held its fifteenth session from October 23 to October 27, 1961, in Geneva, under the chairmanship of Dr. Mario Raul Pico (Argentina). During the first day's meeting, the delegates granted observer status to delegations from Japan and the European Economic Community (EEC). The Council examined a progress report in which it was noted that the Committee had helped re-establish in new homes 56,462 migrants in the first seven months of 1961—a drop of almost 3,000 from the same period in 1960. The decline resulted chiefly from a slowdown in migration to Australia. The total number of workers—both industrial and agricultural—leaving Europe for Latin America under ICEM auspices during the seven-month period was almost double that of 1960.