the United States disassociating from the decision, the Secretary General's budget request, which included 14.38 percent nominal growth (revised downward from 19.6 percent), was approved by consensus. The Assembly also approved, with U.S. support, a revised assessment scale changing the tonnage/ability to pay ratio for the calculation of member states' assessed contributions from 90/10 percent to 87.5/12.5 percent. The new formula provides for 12.5 percent of a state's assessment to be based on the state's basic contribution to the UN budget, and 87.5 percent to be allocated according to the registered tonnage of the member state. A new rule of procedure-Rule 56 bis-was approved requiring states to request individual waivers of loss of voting rights and Council membership if in arrears.

The Assembly also institutionalized the Facilitation Committee as the fifth standing committee of the IMO, approved a special meeting of the organization to review IMO's technical cooperation activities, decided to convene an international conference to adopt protocols modifying the 1969 Civil Liability Convention and the 1971 Fund Convention, authorized a diplomatic conference to adopt protocols to the Torremolinos Convention and granted consultative status to Greenpeace International.

Council

The IMO Council held its 66th session June 10-14. A 1-day 16th extraordinary session of the Council met October 25, just prior to the Assembly, and the 67th session of the Council met November 7 immediately after the conclusion of the Assembly.

At its 66th session the Council continued discussion on the organization's proposed 1992-1993 budget and revised assessment scale, but reached no agreement. The Council tabled further action on a Danish proposal to build a bridge across the Great Belt sea lane until the outcome of the International Court of Justice hearings on the case was known. It also accepted the resignation of the Chancellor of the World Maritime University, Mr. C.P. Srivastava (India), and appointed the current Secretary General, William O'Neil (Canada) as his successor.

At the 67th session, Mr. S. Tighilt (Algeria) was elected Chairman of the Council for the 1991-1993 term.

Maritime Safety Committee

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) held its 59th session May 13-24. Its primary emphasis was on the practical applica

tion of new technology in dissemination of navigational, safety and emergency information to seafarers. The Committee adopted amendments to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention, setting guidelines for the use of current high-technology systems such as satellite emergency position indicator beacons, the Worldwide Navigation Warning Service and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. It also adopted at this session amendments pertaining to fishing vessel stability standards, container stowage on cargo ships, and the training and qualification of crewmen.

An increase in reported acts of piracy prompted the MSC to solicit reports of piracy from member states for collection and analysis. It recommended for adoption an amendment on the prevention and suppression of acts of piracy, encouraging regional action among nations in the fight against this continuing threat to mariners.

Marine Environment Protection Committee

The 31st session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) met July 1–5. During the meeting, the United States deposited instruments of ratification for Annex III of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as amended (MARPOL 73/78). This annex regulates the shipping of packaged harmful substances designated as marine pollutants. A U.S. proposal requiring double hulls on new and existing oil tankers was taken up by the committee; final action on this issue is anticipated in 1992.

MEPC also adopted an amendment to MARPOL 73/78 designating the Wider Caribbean as an Annex V "Special Area." Once in force, this provision would severely restrict the dumping of ship-generated garbage in that region. The Committee also recommended for adoption two sets of guidelines for protection of the marine environment. Guidelines for designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas were completed and forwarded to the IMO Assembly, which approved them. Additional guidelines for control of discharge of ballast water in order to minimize harmful marine organisms were drafted and sent to the Maritime Safety Committee for review.

Legal Committee

At its two sessions March 18-22 and September 30-October 4, the Legal Committee continued work on developing a draft international convention on liability and compensation for dam

ages in connection with the maritime transport of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS). The draft convention under consideration provided a two-tier structure: under the first tier, the shipowner would be held strictly liable for environmental damage; under the second tier, an international fund financed by cargo interests would be available to provide compensation if first-tier coverage was insufficient.

Facilitation Committee

The 20th session of the Facilitation Committee met April 812. The United States requested support for a U.S.-proposed drug testing program introduced at the 59th session of the Maritime Safety Committee. This issue was added to the Committee's agenda for its next session. The Committee also prioritized 21 proposed amendments to the Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, 1965, as amended (FAL), for possible adoption. The United States opposed a proposal to impose a 5-year restriction on the entry into force of amendments to the convention; this item is to be reviewed by the Committee at its session in 1992.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and has headquarters in Geneva. Its purposes are to maintain and extend international cooperation for the improvement and rational use of telecommunications of all kinds, and to promote the development of technical facilities and their most efficient operation. A Plenipotentiary Conference, which serves as the supreme organ, normally meets every 5 years, the last time in 1989. It also has an Administrative Council and permanent organs that include the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB), International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) and Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT). Membership in the ITU increased to 166 in 1991 with the accession to the International Telecommunication Convention (Nairobi, 1982) of Lithuania and Latvia.

High-Level Committee

A High-Level Committee (HLC) on the Structure and Functioning of the ITU was established by the Administrative Council at the direction of the 1989 Plenipotentiary Conference. In

April of 1991 the HLC completed its work and issued a report with 96 recommendations for streamlining the ITU and improving its efficiency and management practices. For example, the HLC recommended the ITU change from an annual to a biennial budget cycle, and the format and procedures for the ITU budget be changed to enhance transparency and increase the accountability and flexibility of managers and constituent units within the ITU. To improve morale and efficiency, the HLC recommended reforms for the personnel appraisal system, establishment of a performance incentive program, improvements in ITU recruitment and promotion procedures, and greater flexibility for department heads to organize their staffs within overall financial constraints. In addition, the HLC suggested improvements for the ITU information management system. The United States achieved its major goals in the HLC, which endorsed many U.S. proposals.

Administrative Council

The Union held the 46th annual session of its Administrative Council in Geneva on May 27-June 7. The Council serves as the governing body between Plenipotentiary Conferences. The United States is a member of the Council, which adopted a budget for 1992 of approximately $96,332,000, representing a 5.1 percent nominal growth and a 2.1 percent real growth over the 1991 budget. The United States disassociated itself from (but did not block) consensus adoption of the 1992 budget. To begin implementing some HLC recommendations, the Council approved withdrawing approximately $1,097,000 from the ITU's 1991 reserve fund.

The Council also approved expending $1,184,000 for an additional session of the Plenipotentiary Conference to consider, inter alia, HLC recommendations that require plenipotentiary approval and proposed redrafts of the ITU Constitution and Convention necessitated by adoption of HLC recommendations. The additional plenipotentiary will be held December 7-22, 1992, in Geneva. To accommodate the additional plenipotentiary, the Council decided to postpone a previously scheduled plenary assembly of the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) from 1992 to 1993 (postponing the concomitant expenditure of approximately $914,000). The Council also decided to postpone indefinitely the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) tentatively scheduled for 1993 (putting on indefinite hold the concomitant expenditure of about $707,000).

Of the approximately 400 units by which the ITU budget is divided, the United States is one of five industrialized countries which contributed 30 units to the 1991 regular budget. The growth in the budget and decrease in the total number of contributory units pledged by members (3 units) caused the value of the contributory unit to increase 4.78 percent from 1991 to 1992. The U.S. contribution (8.01 percent of the budget) grew from about $6,480,000 for 1991 to approximately $6.8 million for 1992.

In addition to the U.S. Government contribution, U.S. private industry (68 companies and organizations) contributed a total of 45 units (over $2 million) to the ITU budget under the "recognized private operating agencies (RPOA) and scientific or industrial organization (SIO)" contribution categories to cover standards setting activities in the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) and in the CCITT. (RPOA and SIO contribution units are different from member-country contribution units. Each RPOA-SIO unit has only about 20 percent of the value of a country unit.) Each organization or company in these categories contributed from 0.5 to 3 units (approximately $23,000 to $136,000) to the 1992 budget.

Two staff-related issues caused a great deal of controversy at the 46th Council. The Secretariat proposed seeking Council approval for an additional $1,480,000 to fund a bonus equal to a month's salary for every professional ITU staff member. ITU staff considered this too little to make up for allegedly decreasing real salary levels, and called for larger bonuses. In the face of opposition from the United States and other Council members, the Secretariat withdrew its proposal. Instead, it circulated a document indicating ITU staff members would be given a nonpensionable special allowance purportedly for additional work they will perform relative to implementing the approved HLC recommendations. It was estimated that approximately $370,000 would be needed in 1991 and again in 1992 to fund this allowance, and that this could be absorbed within the approved budgets for each of these years. This set off heated demonstrations by ITU staffers and further controversy among Council members. When the Chairman of the Council's Committee on Personnel Matters attempted to put into the record a statement indicating the Council had given a "clear mandate" to carry out this allowance proposal, the United States and other Council members intervened, disagreeing that such a mandate had been given. As a result, the statement about a mandate was dropped.