problems of development in Africa; and declared that the objective of eliminating injustice and inequality and of achieving international cooperation for the promotion of economic progress and better standards of life, social advancement, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction had yet to be achieved in large areas of the world. It further declared ECOSOC's adherence to the principles of national independence, sovereignty, and self-reliance and its faith in cooperation, dialogue, and negotiation between developed and developing countries based on a real political will to promote an equitable and just system of international economic relations in conformity with the principles of the UN Charter. In 1976, as in most recent years, questions of economic development occupied much of the United Nations attention and a number of omnibus resolutions adopted in earlier years underlay most of the actions taken. These resolutions were the International Development Strategy (IDS) for the Second UN Development Decade (adopted by the 25th General Assembly in 1970), the Declaration and Program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order (NIEO) (adopted by the sixth special session of the General Assembly in 1974), the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States (CERDS) (adopted by the 29th General Assembly in 1974), and Development and International Cooperation (adopted by the seventh special session of the General Assembly in 1975). The United States had objected to many provisions in the resolutions on NIEO and CERDS, which had been adopted while points of difference between the developed and developing countries were still unresolved, but it had warmly supported the IDS and the resolution of the seventh special session. A major UN event in 1976 was the fourth quadrennial meeting of UNCTAD--the UN Conference on Trade and Development--which adopted among other resolutions a comprehensive program designed to strengthen the international trading position of primary commodities important to developing country producers. On another important issue, debt, it was agreed that "appropriate existing international forums" (e.g., the Conference on International Economic Cooperation--CIEC) should determine features which could guide debt considerations. The CIEC, a 27-member non-UN forum selected by the developing and developed countries, met throughout 1976 to examine in depth the problems of energy, raw materials, development, and finance. When the final ministerial meeting of CIEC was postponed from December 1976 until 1977, the General Assembly decided without objection on December 22 to suspend rather than close its 31st session so that it could resume to consider the results of CIEC in relation to the agenda item on implementation of the decisions of the Assembly's seventh special session. In social matters the United Nations continued its important work to eliminate drug abuse, assist refugees and the victims of natural disasters, improve the quality of life for disadvantaged groups. such as children or the disabled. An important event during 1976 was Habitat: the UN Conference on Human Settlements, held in Vancouver, Canada. First proposed in 1972 at the UN Conference on the Environment, Habitat was an important forum for the nations of the world to seek ways to improve the living conditions of their peoples. Preparations continued for three major UN scientific conferences. The first, scheduled for 1977, concerns the development and conservation of fresh water resources. The second, under the sponsorship of the UN Environment Program and also scheduled for 1977, concerns ways to prevent, control, and reclaim deserts. The third, scheduled for 1979, will deal with the broad area of using science and technology to further development. The United States, which strongly supports this latter conference, has offered to serve as its host, as have Mexico, the Philippines, and Austria. In the important area of human rights, the United States continued, with varying success, to seek cooperation with other states in the protection and promotion of human rights for people everywhere. Of particular importance during 1976 were the actions taken to get under way a comprehensive program to improve the status of women during the UN Decade for Women, which was proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1975. Finally, this section of the report discusses the activities in such fields as finance, agriculture, labor relations, education and culture, health, civil aviation, maritime matters, telecommunications, postal services, meteorology, and the peaceful uses of atomic energy of the 15 independent intergovernmental organizations affiliated with the United Nations--the 14 specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES PROGRESS ON THE DEVELOPMENT DECADE Without becoming a major issue, the International Development Strategy (IDS) for the Second UN Development Decade, originally adopted by the 25th General Assembly in 1970, continued to figure prominently in the economic debates of 1976. The proposed revision of the IDS, however, as foreseen in a resolution adopted by the 30th General Assembly in 1975, failed to take place. While the possibility was still considered during the summer at the 61st ECOSOC, that body provided no guidelines on revision for the General Assembly, and the latter gradually shifted its emphasis to an endorsement of initial preparations for a Third Development Decade, i.e., the 1980's. Consideration of broad issues of development and international economic cooperation during 1976 was to a large extent in other forums, such as UNCTAD and the CIEC. However, both revision of the IDS and implementation of the decisions adopted at the seventh special session of the General Assembly remained on the agenda and provided opportunity for comment in the general debate of the Second Committee. The U.S. Representative, Senator McGovern, among others, stressed the recent achievements such as monetary reforms, the pending establishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and cooperation in the transfer of technology. On the other hand, representatives of developing nations stressed that greater financial help and assistance in expanding their industry and trade were essential to improve their economic situation. The developing nations' position found expression in resolutions related to the IDS adopted as the result of debates on three separate agenda items. The first, proposed during the Second Committee's consideration of the item "Revision of the IDS for the Second UN Development Decade," was sponsored by the Philippines and 10 other states. Entitled "Ways and means of accelerating the transfer of real resources to developing countries on a predictable, assured, and continuous basis," the resolution (1) reiterated the Assembly's appeal to developed countries to meet the target of .7% of GNP for official development assistance set out in the IDS; (2) urged developed countries to accelerate the transfer of real resources to developing countries; (3) recommended that developed countries give serious consideration to the establishment of a development tax to be earmarked for international development assistance; (4) recommended that appropriate policies be developed further to increase flows of private capital to developing countries; and (5) requested the Secretary General to report to the next General Assembly on the implementation of the resolution. The Committee approved the resolution on December 13 by a recorded vote of 74 to 1 (U.S.), with 19 abstentions, and the Assembly adopted it in plenary session on December 21 by a recorded vote of 117 to 1 (U.S.), with 18 abstentions.2/ Although the United States was alone in voting against the resolution, other developed nations expressed their dissatisfaction with the terms through abstention. As the U.S. Representative, Richard M. Seifman, explained in the Second Committee, the United States was determined to increase official development assistance effectively, but had never accepted the target for aid of .7% of GNP which was reiterated in the resolution. Moreover, the United States, while agreeing with the aims expressed in the title of the resolution, felt that the choice of specific methods for increasing aid was a matter for determination by the donor countries, and it objected in particular to the proposal in the resolution for a development tax earmarked for international assistance. A draft resolution with even broader implications was that originally introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 (the developing countries) under the agenda item "Implementation of the decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its seventh special session." While citing the IDS and the seventh special session, this draft resolution also included the resolutions containing the Declaration and Program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States (which were adopted in 1974 over U.S. objections) among the points for reference for present and future development decades. A key provision called for a detailed assessment of progress in implementing all these resolutions to be conducted at the 32nd General Assembly in 1977. The draft resolution, moreover, criticized the developed nations for inadequate support of the developing countries. Intense negotiations toward the end of the session, in which the United States did not participate, led to the deletion of some of the criticism of the developed countries, but no compromise was reached on other provisions. The final draft, introduced by the Vice Chairman of the Committee, 2/ Resolution 31/174. emphasized the conclusions of the mid-term review and appraisal on implementation of the IDS, which had specifically identified serious shortfalls in implementation. It also expressed deep concern at the failure of the CIEC to achieve any concrete results and at the limited nature of agreements reached at UNCTAD IV. In lieu of the biennial review and appraisal of the Development Decade due to take place in 1977 under the original IDS schedule, the resolution retained the requirement for a combined assessment of all the omnibus resolutions mentioned above. The United States felt obliged to vote against this resolution, which was approved on December 13 by a recorded vote of 105 to 1 (U.S.), with 7 abstentions. After the Committee vote, the U.S. Representative explained that his position should not be interpreted as reflecting any diminution of the U.S. determination to contribute to development and international cooperation. He objected, however, to certain statements which could be interpreted as meaning not only that the U.S. Government was committed to implementation of the resolutions on the "New International Economic Order," but also that it was prepared to accept criticism for failure to implement the measures in question. The United States also considered that the paragraph relating to the combined assessment of the several broad resolutions on development would complicate rather than facilitate such assessments. The United States was prepared to set aside ideological and policy differences in order to concentrate on practical problems; it was not prepared, however, to accept criticism for alleged failure to carry out commitments it had not agreed to. The resolution approved by the Second Committee was adopted by the Assembly in plenary session on December 21 by a recorded vote of 128 to 1 (U.S.), with 8 abstentions.3/ corded Despite differences on past accomplishments the Committee members then proceeded to unite and, without vote, to approve on December 13, during consideration of the report of ECOSOC, a third resolution entitled "Preparations for a new international development strategy." This was based on a draft introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77, but subsequently modified and reintroduced by the Committee's Vice Chairman. While the resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1975 on the midterm review and appraisal of the present IDS was cited in the preamble, no reference was made to the portion of that resolution calling for revision of 3/ Resolution 31/178. |