(i) Small factories and workshops for the manufacture, maintenance, repair and servicing of the most essential agricultural machinery and for the storage of spare parts; (ii) Locally-based enterprises for the processing of agricultural products; (d) Taxation policies designed to lighten, to the greatest possible extent, the tax burden on tenants and small and medium-sized farmers; (e) Promotion of family owned and operated farms and of co-operative farms, as well as of other measures to promote the security of tenure and the welfare of agricultural workers and tenants and of small and medium-sized farmers; 3. Recommends to the Governments of the under-developed countries concerned that they avail themselves of the facilities available to them through the United Nations expanded programme of technical assistance, in order that they may obtain expert advice in the planning of such measures as those listed in the preceding paragraph, for the purpose of improving agrarian conditions. 4. Development of Arid Land [The fourth resolution concerns the development of arid land. It recommends that the Secretary-General prepare, in collaboration with competent specialized agencies, a report on the practical measures adopted for study of problems of arid zones and on technical and financial means employed by the specialized agencies for this purpose; invites him to submit his report of the fourteenth session of the Economic and Social Council; and calls upon the Council to examine the report and to consider such measures as devotion of sufficient technical and financial means to study the relevant scientific and practical problems, promotion and coordination of United Nations activities to that end, and the furnishing of appropriate technical assistance to the governments concerned.] The General Assembly, CONSIDERING THAT: (a) One of the basic reasons for the low standard of living in certain underdeveloped countries is the inadequate extent of the areas at present under cultivation, (b) The continual increase in the populations of these countries requires the adoption of appropriate and urgent measures for the development of their resources, (c) It is essential in the above circumstances, if the equitable distribution of land is to be promoted and the standard of living raised, that, among other measures, the areas as present under cultivation be increased by the development of arid zones, (d) The Economic and Social Council, in resolution 324 D (XI) of 9 August 1950, has recommended an intensification of scientific research to promote the economic and social progress of mankind and has recognized the necessity for coordinating the efforts of the various competent bodies of the United Nations and the specialized agencies in order to study the problems of the arid zones both in their scientific and in their practical aspects, 1. Recommends that the Secretary-General prepare, in collaboration with the competent specialized agencies, a report on the practical measures adopted for the study of the problems of arid zones and on the technical and financial means employed by the specialized agencies for this purpose; 2. Invites the Secretary-General to submit his report on this matter not later than to the fourteenth session of the Economic and Social Council; 3. Calls upon the Economic and Social Council to examine the report and, with a view to facilitating and encouraging the development of arid land, to consider such measures as: (a) Devoting sufficient technical and financial means to the study of the rele vant scientific and practical problems; (b) Promoting and co-ordinating the activities of the United Nations and the specialized agencies to that end; (c) Furnishing appropriate technical assistance to the Governments concerned. 5. Volume and Distribution of National Income in Underdeveloped Countries [The fifth resolution deals with the volume and distribution of national income in underdeveloped countries. It recommends that these countries devote special attention to studies directed toward calculation of their national income and its distribution; requests the Secretary-General and specialized agencies concerned to give most favorable consideration to requests for technical assistance for the above purpose; requests the Economic and Social Council to study and report on this question with special reference to various income groups and respective proportions and the amounts used in underdeveloped countries to meet their foreign commitments arising from loans and investments and the payment of services; directs the Secretary-General to prepare and submit a report to the Council on this matter, and requests him to avoid any duplication in this work with the study recommended in Economic and Social Council resolution 294 D (XI).} The General Assembly, CONSIDERING THAT, in order to mobilize better their resources with a view to accelerating their economic development, it is desirable that the under-developed countries should have knowledge of their national income and its distribution, NOTING Economic and Social Council resolution 299 E (XI) of 12 July 1950 concerning national income and social accounts, 1. Recommends that the under-developed countries should devote special attention to studies directed towards the calculation of their national income and its distribution; 2. Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the specialized agencies concerned to give the most favourable consideration possible to requests for technical assistance made for the above purpose; 3. Requests the Economic and Social Council to study and report on the volume and distribution of national income in the under-developed countries, with special reference to: (i) The various income groups and the respective proportions between them; (ii) The amounts used by these countries to meet their foreign commitments arising from loans and investments, public and private, and the payment of services; 4. Directs the Secretary-General to prepare and submit to the Economic and Social Council a report to enable it to carry out the request made in paragraph 3 above; 5. Requests the Secretary-General, in carrying out studies relating to the present resolution, to avoid any duplication with the study recommended in paragraph 16 of Economic and Social Council resolution 294 D (XI) of 12 August 1950. 6. Economic Development and International Economic and Commercial Policy [The final resolution reaffirms previous Assembly action on this subject and requests the group of experts, to be appointed by the Secretary-General pursuant to an Economic and Social Council resolution dealing with this matter, to pay due attention in their studies to the influence that prevailing commercial policies have on national plans for the economic development of underdeveloped countries.] The General Assembly, CONSIDERING that the economic welfare of most countries depends on their imports and exports, and that these imports and exports are directly affected by prevailing commercial policies, CONSIDERING further that the United Nations and its specialized agencies must thoroughly and continuously study the extent to which prevailing commercial policies influence the plans for economic development of under-developed countries, Reaffirms General Assembly resolution 307 (IV) of 16 November 1949 concerning economic development and international economic and commercial policy, and requests that the group of experts, to be appointed by the Secretary-General under Economic and Social Council resolution 290 (XI), paragraph 13, after consultation with the Executive Secretary of the Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization, pay due attention to the influence that prevailing commercial policies have on national plans for the economic development of under-developed countries. O. ACTION TO ACHIEVE AND MAIN- [Four resolutions were adopted by the Assembly on December 12, 1950, on this item. The first of these resolutions notes with satisfaction the vigorous action taken by the Economic and Social Council in connection with full employment and invites governments to cooperate with the Secretary-General in carrying out the tasks entrusted to him by the Economic and Social Council with respect to certain studies in this field. This resolution was approved by a vote of 43 to 5, with 1 abstention. The second resolution requests the Economic and Social Council, when examining the world economic situation during its twelfth session, to pay special attention to changes currently occurring in the international economic situation, with a view to recommending measures designed to make possible uninterrupted progress of programs of economic stability and development; invites the members of the Council to submit to it their views concerning the way in which the current situation has affected their economic progress and the prospects of continuing world economic expansion; and invites all other members of the United Nations similarly to submit their views to the Council to assist it in its work in this field. This resolution was adopted unanimously. The third resolution deals with guides for the organization and collection of economic data in underdeveloped countries and notes that the Economic and Social Council has recommended that governments should furnish the Secretary-General with a wide range of economic and statistical information. It recommends that the Secretary-General and the specialized agencies, taking into account different institutional circumstances in the underdeveloped countries, prepare material which may serve to guide governments wishing to make use thereof and which should set forth the types of data considered necessary to provide up-to-date information regarding level of economic activity, employment, unemployment and underemployment, procedures and methods suitable for obtaining and presenting such data, and other relevant suggestions. This resolution was approved by 51 votes to 0, with 1 abstention. The last resolution notes past Assembly action on this matter in which the belief was expressed that "action is needed to overcome unemployment and under-employment such as that arising, particularly in under-developed countries, among large numbers of people engaged in agricultural pursuits" and that economic development must be stimulated to this end, and it refers to the work of the Economic and Social Council, through a group of experts, and of the Economic, Employment, and Development Commission. The resolution then requests the Secretary-General to impress upon the experts to be appointed by him the necessity of giving due consideration to ways and means of preventing aggravation in certain branches of industry and agriculture and to measures of social security designed to insure that there will be no interruption in the income of workers temporarily unemployed through mechanization or technological progress; and it requests the SecretaryGeneral and the specialized agencies concerned to bear in mind this resolution of the Assembly in their work on this matter. The resolution was adopted unanimously.] 1. Full Employment The General Assembly, CONSIDERING that the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 290 (XI) of 15 August 1950 concerning full employment, has formulated recommendations to Governments designed to strengthen the resistance of their national economies and of the international economic structure against the danger of recession, CONSIDERING that the additional studies which the Secretary-General and the various groups of experts are requested to undertake by that resolution are designed to provide a sound basis for the adoption of national and international measures tending to ensure full employment, both in economically advanced and in under-developed countries, 1. Notes with satisfaction the vigorous action taken by the Economic and Social Council in connexion with full employment; 2. Invites Governments to co-operate with the Secretary-General in carrying out the tasks entrusted to him. 2. Current World Economic Situation The General Assembly, BEARING IN MIND that, as a result of the international events of the last few months, new economic factors have appeared which may unbalance and dislocate the general economic stability and the economic progress of many countries, RECOGNIZING that, under Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter, the United Nations is under an obligation to use all the means at its disposal to ensure the steady growth of the world economy and to prevent the emergence of those factors of economic disequilibrium which impair general economic stability and disturb the economic development of the under-developed countries, 1. Requests the Economic and Social Council, when examining the world economic situation during its twelfth session, to pay special attention to changes currently taking place in the international economic situation, with a view to recommending to Governments and to the General Assembly measures designed to make possible the uninterrupted progress of programmes of economic stability and development; 2. Invites all the members of the Economic and Social Council to submit to the twelfth session of the Council their views concerning the way in which the current world situation has affected their economic progress and the prospects of continuing world economic expansion, and, if possible, to communicate these views, through the Secretary-General, to the Council before the opening of its twelfth session; 3. Invites all the other Members of the United Nations similarly to submit their views to the Council, with the object of assisting the Council in its task of recommending measures referred to in paragraph 1 above to the Governments and to the General Assembly. 3. Guides for Organization and Collection of Economic Data in Underdeveloped Countries The General Assembly, NOTING that the Economic and Social Council, in resolution 290 (XI) of 15 August 1950, inter alia, (a) Recommended that Governments should furnish the Secretary-General with a wide range of economic and statistical information relating to the implementation of that resolution, (b) Stated that "Having regard to the fact that, in some predominantly agricultural countries, figures for unemployment and under-employment may not be easily ascertainable and full employment goals may, if related only to industrial labour, lead to misleading conclusions, and that, consequently, it may not be possible for such countries to implement certain provisions of this resolution", (c) Invited the International Labour Organisation to take all feasible further steps towards the practical implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth International Conference of Labour Statisticians in order to facilitate international comparability of employment and unemployment data with special reference to their use in the formulation of full employment standards and annual employment goals, policies and programmes, |