The eleventh special session of the Trusteeship Council was 'Held at UN Headquarters in New York on April 10, 1961, to consider the agenda item: report of the UN plebiscite commissioner for the supervision of plebiscites in the southern and northern parts of the trust territory of the Cameroons under United Kingdom administration. Introducing the report, Mr. Abdoh, the UN plebiscite commissioner, noted that the report included all the pertinent facts about the organization, conduct, and results of the plebiscites. In order that the General Assembly would have ample time to examine the report during the resumed fifteenth session, the Council did not discuss it but limited itself to transmitting the report to the General Assembly, as provided in a draft resolution sponsored by Bolivia and India and approved by the Council. After adopting its draft report to the General Assembly on the item, the Council set June 1, 1961, as the tentative opening date for its 27th session.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced on September 9, 1960, its first loan to Israel, in the amount of $27.5 million to help build and equip a new sheltered deep-water port at Ashdod, on the Mediterranean Sea. The Bank's loan was to cover all the foreign exchange requirements and part of the local currency costs of die first stage of the project, scheduled to be completed early in 1965; diis stage was to include the construction of about two miles of breakwaters, dredging the port area to proper depths for ocean-going ships, extension of piers to a length adequate for the accommodation of five ships at once, construction of a track and roadway within the port area and rail links outside it to a building quarry, construction of transit sheds, paved open storage areas, port utilities, and auxiliary structures, and the supply of some harbor craft, cranes, and cargo-handling equipment. Amortization on the loan, which was for a term of 25 years and bore interest at the rate of 5¾ percent per annum, was to begin in August 1965.

The Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) held its 26th session in Geneva from October 25 to November 4, 1960, under the chairmanship of Dr. H. M. Penido. Dr. M. G. Candau, Director-General of WHO, reported on WHO assistance to the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) deriving from the request of the Secretary-General and the Security Council in July 1960 that WHO take part in the UN emergency program in the Congo. Twenty-eight WHO staff members had immediately been assigned to the Congo, and within a few weeks 28 medical teams had been sent by 25 national Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Red Lion and Sun Societies as the result of an appeal by WHO to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies. These teams made it possible to get a number of hospitals operating again in the cities and in the interior. To meet the long-range medical needs of the Congo where there were as yet no native doctors, assistants medicaux were selected for further training and given WHO fellowships to attend medical schools so that they might become fully qualified doctors. To cope with the crisis the UN guaranteed the funds necessary for WHO to engage 130 health workers of all categories to work for the Congolese government. Dr. Candau concluded his report by emphasizing that, if political stability and normal administration could be effectuated, the medical problems of the Congo would not be difficult to solve; the preventative work carried out under the Belgian administration could then be resumed and the threat of the spread of disease effectively averted.

The 40th session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) consisted of twelve meetings held on April 27 and May 24 and between June 6 and 22, 1960. The Council examined the secretariat's draft of the preliminary study on supersonic aircraft and decided that the study should be issued on the responsibility of the ICAO Secretary-General, with suggestions made by representatives to the Council to be taken into account. The Council considered the reports of a working group on an investigation of major deficiencies in air navigation facilities and services on the main international air routes through Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Southeast Europe and the Middle East, and the Caribbean and south America. As recommended by the group, it approved for further investigation the following problems: 1) the lack of adequate flight testing of radio-navigation aids in all these areas; 2) the shortage of trained personnel in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, and 3) the lack of proper transmitting and receiving facilities in Burma. The Council further decided that the machinery for promoting the implementation of regional plans should take the form of a standing group with a permanent membership of five—the President of the Council (chairman), the President of the Air Navigation Commission, and the chairmen of the Air Transport, Joint Support, and Finance Committees—and a floating membership to be selected on an ad hoc basis by the President of the Council to act when needed after secretariat efforts had failed in the implementation of regional plans.

The press reported in late October 1960 that an Arab spokesman had announced plans for opening an office of the Arab League in New Delhi, India, in an effort to counteract Israeli overtures toward South Asia. The press report added that the New Delhi office of the Arab League would eventually have under its supervision League branches to be established in Ceylon, Burma, and Indonesia. It was reported that the New Delhi office would concentrate on such League matters as the Arab economic blockade of Israel, the Palestinian refugees, and Arab cooperation in oil and commerce.

Two stand-by arrangements were announced by the International Monetary Fund on September 23, 1960, one with the government of El Salvador, authorizing drawings up to the equivalent of $11.25 million for a period of six months in order to strengthen El Salvador's international reserve position prior to the marketing season for the country's cotton and coffee crops, and the other to Haiti, making available the equivalent of $6 million for a one-year period, in support of Haitian currency convertibility. El Salvador had made similar arrangements with the Fund in previous years and had repurchased in full any drawings made under these arrangements. The arrangement with Haiti was to become effective on October 1, 1960, at the expiration of Haiti's current $4-million agreement with the Fund established a year previously in connection with a stabilization program.

It was announced on May 1, 1961, that the government of Honduras had entered into a stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund designed to support the Honduran government in its effort to strengthen its foreign payments position, while maintaining the freedom and flexibility of its foreign exchange system. The agreement authorized drawings equivalent to $7.5 million from the Fund over the following twelve months. On May 17, 1961, the Fund arranged a one-year standby agreement for the government of Brazil for $160 million and rescheduled the payments to be made by that country to the Fund against previous drawings totaling $140 million. The Fund's financial assistance to Brazil was to support a broad financial program of fiscal, credit, trade, and exchange measures designed to combat inflation and to achieve balance of payments equilibrium within the framework of a free and simplified exchange system. The arrangement with the Fund was to be supplemented by additional credits from other sources and by renegotiation of maturities on Brazil's medium-term foreign indebtedness. The Fund also announced that on April 27, 1961, it had agreed to a drawing by the government of Australia of $175 million in currencies held by the Fund. At the same time it entered into a stand-by arrangement with the Australian government authorizing additional drawings up to $100 million over the following twelve months to support the government's efforts to improve its foreign payments position by means of fiscal, monetary, and other measures.

The 34th session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held in Rome, October 17–27, 1960. Noting that this was the fifteenth anniversary of FAO-the first specialized agency to be set up by United Nations governments, the Council urged all nations to increase their active support of the organization and to participate fully in the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign. In adopting the report of the Committee on Commodity Problems, the Council once again expressed concern at the adverse effects of the worsening in recent years of the ratio of agricultural product prices to those of other goods and at the slow growth of markets for agricultural exports in the industrial countries. The Council was reminded of the Special Fund projects for which FAO already was, or was to become, the executing agency; they included an inter-regional desert locust project and regional projects pertaining to 1) agricultural education in Latin America, and 2) animal health in the Near East. Concerning the report on the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign, delegates stressed the need for strengthened planning with respect to the projects undertaken within the framework of the Campaign. The Council also heard reports on: the control of foot-and-mouth disease; FAO's joint programs with the UN Children's Emergency Fund; recent developments in the organization of international work in oceanography; and program appraisals, inter alia. Resolutions were adopted on the following subjects: 1) the provision of food surpluses to food-deficient peoples; and 2) administrative and financial matters, including approval for the setting up of a joint policy committee on oceanography by FAO and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

The Caribbean Organization, a new organization for economic and social cooperation in the Caribbean area, was created under an agreement signed by representatives of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the Netherlands in Washington, D. C, on June 21, 1960. The new organization was to supercede the Caribbean Commission founded in 1946 by the same four signatory powers, which was in turn the successor to the wartime Anglo- American Caribbean Commission. The Caribbean Organization, reportedly set up as the result of the wishes of the people of the area and in light of their new constitutional relationships, was designed to remove the taint of colonialism attached to the paternal structure of the Caribbean Commission. Although the four signatories of the agreement were members of the Caribbean Commission, only France, representing the three French Overseas Departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, was eligible for membership in the new organization. Membership in the Caribbean Organization was to be open to the following: the Netherlands Antilles, Surinam, the Bahamas, British Guiana, British Honduras, the British Virgin Islands, the British West Indies, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, in addition to France. Any of the eligible prospective members could accede to membership in the organization by notifying the Secretary- General of the organization or the Secretary- General of the Caribbean Commission. The statute of the organization, annexed to the agreement for its establishment, included in the purposes of the organization social, cultural, and economic matters of common interest to the Caribbean area, particularly in the fields of agriculture, communications, education, fisheries, health, housing, industry, labor, music and the arts, social welfare, and trade.

The ninth session of the Ministerial Council of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) was held in Ankara, Turkey, April 27–28, 1961, under the chairmanship of Mr. Selim Sarper, Foreign Minister of Turkey. The session opened with a speech by General Gursel, the Turkish head of state, in which he said that the alliance had achieved successful results in the fields of security, economic development, and cultural activities. According to the press, there was a controversy as to the primary role of the alliance, with Mr. Hussein Ghods Nakhai, the Iranian Foreign Minister, referring to CENTO as an economic and defensive organization, in that order, while Mr. Manzoor Quadir, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, emphasized the defense aspect of the organization by stating that CENTO had to concern itself with developing the military as well as the economic strength of the area. Mr. M. O. A. Baig, retiring Secretary-General of the organization, was said to have asserted in his report to the session that only the presence of the United States gave meaning and validity to any “free world” defense alliance, CENTO included, even though the United States was not a full member of the organization. United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk, in addressing the session, pledged the continued cooperation of his country for the mutual security of the area.

On June 6, 1961, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a $15 million loan to Ceylon for the expansion of Ceylon's electric generating capacity and for the extension of electric power distribution in western Ceylon. The loan, the third made by the Bank to Ceylon for the purpose of developing an integrated electric power system under the Department of Governmental Electrical Undertakings (DGEU), was to cover the foreign exchange requirements of the project; local currency costs were to be met from government contributions and from DGEU's earnings. The loan was a 25-year term loan at 5%¾ percent interest, with amortization to begin on November 15, 1964. Six commercial banks participated in the loan, without the International Bank's guarantee, for a total amount of $1.1 million.

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 third part of the twelfth ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly was held from March 1 to 3, 1961, under the chairmanship of Mr. Per Federspiel (Danish Moderate Liberal). At the opening of the session Mr. Federspiel welcomed, on behalf of the Assembly, the delegation from Switzerland, which was attending for the first time as observers, due to the fact that Switzerland had accepted the invitation of the Assembly extended to representatives of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to take part in Assembly debates on OEEC affairs and on general economic questions. Mr. Max Weber (Swiss Socialist), leader of the Swiss delegation, pointed out that this was the first time Switzerland had sent a delegation to an international political and parliamentary body, and expressed the hope that Swiss activities in the Consultative Assembly might eventually extend beyond economic and agricultural affairs.

On June 7, 1961, it was announced that the International Monetary Fund had entered into a stand-by arrangement authorizing the government of Ecuador to draw up to $10 million in currencies held by the Fund during the following twelve months. Then, on July 19 the Fund announced that it had concurred in the establishment of a new par value for Ecuador's currency, accompanied by a simplification of the country's exchange system. The par value as of that date was changed from 15 to 18 sucres per United States dollar, and Ecuador discontinued most of its multiple rate practices. Under the new system at least 90 percent of all trade and trade-connected transactions, including the export of such major products as bananas, coffee and cacao, was to be conducted within one percent either side of parity, while a small free market with a fluctuating rate, mainly for nonessential invisible transactions and unregistered capital transactions, was to continue to operate, chiefly as a means of controlling capital movements. During the period under review the Fund also entered into stand-by agreements wkh other Latin American countries. On July 14, 1961, the Fund announced a one-year stand-by arrangement with the government of El Salvador authorizing drawings in an amount equivalent to $11.25 million. The Fund's assistance was designed to help to support the country's reserve position and ensure the continued convertibility of its currency while measures were being adopted to improve El Salvador's internal situation through appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.

The twelfth session of the Executive Committee of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was held in the new headquarters building in Geneva from June 27 to July 15, 1960. The work of the session was divided as usual between two committees, the administrative and financial, and the technical; and reports on over 60 agenda items were prepared by them for decision in plenary meeting.

The Ministerial Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its spring ministerial meeting in Oslo, Norway, from May 8 to 10, 1961, under the chairmanship of the new Secretary-General of NATO, Mr. Dirk U. Stikker. United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk announced to the assembled Ministers of the fifteen-member alliance that his government was prepared, in pursuance of the plan announced to the NATO Council by his predecessor, Mr. Christian A. Herter, to commit five Polaris nuclear missile submarines to forces assigned to NATO. The Herter plan had been contingent upon agreement by the European members to purchase an additional 100 nuclear missiles for NATO, but according to the press, this part of the proposal was understood to have been abandoned because of European objections to the cost of such an undertaking. The submarines were to be assigned to the command of Vice-Admiral George W. Anderson, who held the dual role of Commander of the United States Sixth Fleet, based in Naples, and of the NATO Strike Force South, it was also made known. Ultimate control of the eighty Polaris nuclear warheads would, however, revert to the President of the United States. A plan for the Permanent Council of the treaty powers to review the alliance's total military situation as a matter of high urgency was tied to Secretary Rusk's announcement on the Polaris submarines. The United States Secretary of State, in addressing the Council, gave his government's views on the situation in Cuba, the Congo, Laos, and South Vietnam and stated that the United States would consider it a violation of the legal situation in Berlin if the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty with East Germany. Should the Soviet Union proceed to sign such a peace treaty the allies would insist on continued Western rights of access to West Berlin and would make it clear that they were prepared to resist encroachment on their position, Mr. Rusk declared.

The Executive and Liaison Committee of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) met in Berne, Switzerland, from May 15 to 20, 1961, preceded by meetings of several sub committees. Discussion was devoted chiefly to examining the reports of the various subcommittees, the recommendations of which were generally accepted, and to formulating proposals for the consideration of the congress meeting one year hence. As there was considerable hesitation regarding a system proposed by Switzerland in the Tariffication Subcommittee for the treatment of unprepaid or insufficiently prepaid mail, the Executive and Liaison Committee asked the subcommittee to reconsider the question in order to find out if the Swiss system could be applied generally by all member countries before recommending it to the congress. In view of its acceptance of all the recommendations of the Technical Assistance Development Subcommittee, the committee entrusted to the International Bureau, its administrative agent, the task of carrying out a supplementary inquiry into the technical assistance system of the UN and of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), with a view to submitting the results to the 1962 session of the subcommittee.

The second part of the twelfth ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly was held from September 21 to 29, 1960, under the chairmanship of Mr. Per Federspiel (Danish Moderate Liberal). Among the speakers who addressed the Assembly was Mr. J. O. Krag, chairman of the Committee of Ministers and Danish foreign minister. Referring to modern technology, he alleged that the greatest challenge of the times was that of disarmament, and that any new body set up to negotiate on disarmament ought to be accepted, provided its composition guaranteed a realistic approach. Then, concentrating on the problems of European integration, he welcomed the signing of the treaty establishing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the projected membership of Canada and the United States therein. Its tasks, he pursued, were three-fold: to provide effective consultation for improving the coordination of economic policies; to promote the expansion of world trade; and to assist in the economic development of underdeveloped countries by increasing the magnitude and improving the nature of financial assistance. Another speaker was Mr. Edward Heath, minister of the United Kingdom for European affairs, who, in presenting the United Kingdom's attitude toward European integration, stated that the two main problems were the Commonwealth relationship and the demands of domestic agricultural policy. He expressed the view that it was preferable to concentrate on solving immediate practical difficulties before initiating formal negotiations, and that a solution acceptable to the Commonwealth was undoubtedly possible with further exploration.

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 21st session of the South Pacific Commission was held at Commission headquarters in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from October 13 to 25, 1960. It was attended by representatives from the Commission's six member nations—Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the chairman was Mr. Dudley McCarthy, senior commissioner for Australia. The meeting reviewed progress made by the Commission in all its fields of work during the year under consideration and approved plans for its 1961 program.