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result of the crisis in the Persian Gulf. The Council, meeting in Rome, approved the application for membership in Category III of Namibia, and the reclassification of Portugal from Category III to Category I.

The Council adopted a resolution encouraging members of the High-Level Intergovernmental Committee on IFAD's Future Financial Basis and Structure (HLIC) to hold ministerial-level consultations in 1991 to prepare for fourth replenishment negotiations. The United States joined consensus on this resolution in the expectation that such a meeting would take place only when all categories demonstrated the political commitment necessary for achieving solutions which would put IFAD's future on a more secure financial basis.

In authorizing a second and final phase of the Special Program for Sub-Saharan African Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification (SPA), the Council took note of the appeal made by African members that every effort be made to reach a target of $300 million, the same target value set for the first phase of the SPA. A new element was added to the design of the second phase, the promotion of rural employment through the development of microenterprises. Although the United States reaffirmed its support for the goals of the SPA, the United States made no commitment regarding future contributions.

Executive Board

The IFAD Executive Board met in April, September and December, approving 22 new loan projects totaling approximately $264 million. The United States expressed concern that the complex design of some IFAD projects added to the costs of project supervision and the difficulty of project implementation and sustainability.

The Board reached agreement on funding for the preliminary development and testing phase of IFAD's work on evolving environmentally sustainable approaches to rural poverty alleviation. At its December meeting, the Board approved $1.4 million to finance pro-active environmental impact assessments, natural resource management studies, pre-investment activities, and the development of operational guidelines for sustainable agricul

ture.

The Executive Board also discussed the role of IFAD in providing organizational and secretariat support for the Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women, scheduled for February 1992. The Summit, funded through extrabudgetary resources, was intended to serve as the culmination of regional

consultations which IFAD organized in 1991 in Cyprus, Senegal, Costa Rica and Malaysia to identify obstacles and opportunities for the economic advancement of rural women. The United States fully supports IFAD programs to address the problems facing rural women, particularly as a result of migration of men to urban areas, but it urged caution in the commitment of IFAD staff and financial resources to the organization of the Summit, urging IFAD's limited resources be concentrated instead on its core project and project-related activities.

Since ministerial-level consultations on IFAD's future recommended by the Governing Council did not take place in 1991, the December session of the Executive Board proposed to organize an informal meeting of the HLIC on the margins of the 15th session of the Governing Council in January 1992.

International Labor Organization (ILO)

Established under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the International Labor Organization in Geneva became in 1946 the first specialized agency associated with the United Nations. The ILO seeks to promote social justice for working people everywhere by formulating policies and programs to improve working and living conditions, creating labor standards as guidelines for national governments and providing technical assistance, such as training, education and research, to help governments more effectively implement labor standards.

The International Labor Organization has 154 members, including the United States, each represented by government, worker and employer delegates. In 1991 the Governing Body, which has 28 government, 14 worker and 14 employer representatives, met in Geneva three times. The 78th annual International Labor Conference (ILC), the Organization's general assembly at which all member states are represented by two government delegates, a workers' delegate and an employers' delegate, was held June 5-26, also in Geneva.

Governing Body

Financial Issues. The 249th session of the Governing Body (GB) of the ILO met February 26-March 1 preceded by various GB committees which sat February 14-24. This session was delayed a day-and-a-half by the resumed 248th session, necessitated by a staff strike in November 1990 that forced GB officers to suspend the 248th. The issue that precipitated the strike, a question concerning staff pensions, was examined at the 249th

and a proposal for compromise consisting of an endowment for a savings fund for employees was sent to the 78th ILC.

The main financial issue for the 249th session was the budget for 1992-1993. After extensive debate the GB adopted the International Labor Office recommendation of a provisional program level of $376,168,000. Although this level was in accord with the U.S. policy of zero real growth, other questions caused us to reserve our position on the proposed budget at the GB.

For the second year the Governing Body adopted, over U.S. objections, an Arab country resolution calling for a special sitting of the ILC to examine the Director General's report on "The Condition of Workers in the Occupied Arab Territories." The GB held a special commemorative session February 27 for David A. Morse, an American who was Director General of ILO for 22 years, who died in New York on December 1, 1990.

The 250th session, May 23-June 3 and June 27, made two notable decisions: it established a working group to examine proposals for improvements in the functioning of the International Labor Conference, and it approved a Fact-finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association for South Africa. The first resulted from a recommendation of the Director General carried in the debate on the proposed budget for 19921993. The second was an initiative of the Congress of South African Trade Unions that the United States has long advocated.

The 251st session, including committees, took place October 31-November 14. The session took two decisions affecting two long-standing political questions: it approved a tripartite conference on southern Africa that had been requested by the Conference Committee on Apartheid, and it again entertained an Arab request for a special session of the ILC. The request for the special session was sent to the 252nd GB (1992) for final decision, and an Arab proposal that a special committee be established to handle the Occupied Territories question was turned down in the same resolution. During the session, the ILO again welcomed Lithuania as a member; the country had been in the ILO from 1921 until 1940, when it was absorbed by the Soviet Union. In addition, Albania participated in the ILC for the first time in 25 years.

International Labor Conference

At the 78th International Labor Conference session U.S. Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin announced June 14 that the United

States had ratified ILO Convention 105 Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor on May 14. The Secretary also talked about efforts in the United States on issues concerning women in the workplace, and described tripartite programs in education that respond to workers' needs. Secretary Martin supported the goals expressed by the ILO Director General in his report on the informal sector, the theme of the 78th ILC.

For the second consecutive year the Conference had a special sitting on the Director General's report on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories. Even more subdued and less well attended than the uneventful first sitting in 1990, this one did not decide on any actions.

U.S. efforts on the report of the Apartheid Committee yielded some results at the ILC. Because the United States believed that the Committee did not sufficiently take into consideration in drafting its report both developments in South Africa and UN General Assembly resolutions on apartheid, the U.S. Delegation called for a vote on the report. Although only the two U.S. Government delegates voted against the report, there were an unprecedented 67 abstentions, including 3 government and 12 employer delegates from Africa.

The Conference Committee on the Applications of Conventions and Recommendations held its most successful session in recent history. The Committee examined cases concerning 51 countries and included special paragraphs in its report citing Panama and Thailand for violating ILO workers' rights conventions. Recent controversy over interpretation of ILO standards dominated discussions in the Committee. All groups, particularly the workers and employers, worked constructively and effectively.

Further efforts at budgetary restraint enabled the International Labor Office to scale the 1992-1993 budget at $374,293,000, which was approved at the Conference by consensus. The Finance Committee, however, voted over U.S. objections to approve a $4,875,000 grant to establish an employee thrift savings plan. This move ended the dispute over employee pensions that led to the strike which forced suspension of the 248th session in 1990. Discussions in the Finance Committee made clear the determination of member governments to insist on greater efforts to hold down spending by the organization.

The Conference adopted a Convention and a Recommendation on Working Conditions in Hotels, Restaurants and Similar

Establishments. The U.S. Government delegates abstained on both. It also approved conclusions on the elaboration of a convention on the issue of the protection of workers in the event of insolvency.

The Resolutions Committee reported out two resolutions: on Structural Adjustment, Industrial Relations and Economic and Social Development and on ILO Action for Women Workers. Both were adopted.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The principal objectives of the International Maritime Organization, established in 1958, are to foster cooperation among governments on technical matters affecting international shipping, achieve the highest practical standards of marine safety and prevent pollution of the sea by ships and other craft. IMO also has responsibility for legal matters concerning international shipping and the facilitation of international maritime affairs, and it provides technical assistance in maritime matters to developing countries.

The IMO Assembly meets in regular session every 2 years; the 17th session was held in October 1991. The IMO Council is responsible for all the functions of the Assembly between sessions. With Luxembourg's ratification of the IMO Convention in 1991, membership increased to 135 full members and 2 associate members.

Assembly

The 17th regular session of the IMO Assembly was held October 28-November 8. The Assembly is charged with electing the 32 members of the Council, and the United States, a member of the Council since the establishment of IMO, was reelected for another 2-year term.

The head of the U.S. Delegation, Admiral William Kime, Commandant of the Coast Guard, notified IMO that the U.S. Senate had given its advice and consent to ratification of the 1990 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation. The United States was the first state to ratify this convention, which had its origins in President Bush's proposal to the July 1989 Group of Seven Summit.

The biennial budget for 1992-1993 was considered by the Assembly at its 17th session. After considerable debate and with

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