The seventh special session in September 1975 provided an opportunity to initiate a serious dialogue and to reexamine former positions in order to identify areas of agreement where progress could be made on specific issues.

The United States began its preparations in early 1975, a process which culminated in the speech that Ambassador Moynihan delivered on behalf of Secretary of State Kissinger on the first day of the special session. The speech outlined major proposals in five fundamental areas in which development strategy should

concentrate:

International cooperation to ensure basic economic security by safeguarding developing countries against economic shocks such as sharp cyclical declines in export earnings, food shortages, and natural disasters;

Laying the foundation for accelerated growth by improving the access of developing countries to capital markets, by adaptation of technology to development, and by reaching consensus on rules for foreign investment to facilitate the flow of capital;

Improvement in the opportunities of the developing countries in the world trading system, so that they could make their own way by earnings rather than by aid;

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Improvement of the conditions for trade and investment in key commodities on which many developing country economies are dependent; and

Attention to the special needs of the poorest countries most seriously affected by current economic conditions, with responsibility shared among both traditional and newly wealthy donors.

Among the specific proposals put forward were the creation in the IMF of a new development security facility to stabilize overall export earnings, the establishment of consumer-producer forums for key commodities, the contribution of $200 million by the United States to help launch the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the expansion of the IFC's capital from $100 million to at least $400 million, and the creation of a number of new international institutions to foster cooperation in the fields of industrialization, energy, and technology. Appendix I, p. 363, for full text of address.)

(See

After two weeks of negotiations, a comprehensive

omnibus resolution, "Development and International Economic Cooperation," was adopted by consensus on

September 16. It contained many specific recommendations,

including over two dozen of Secretary Kissinger's proposals and policy recommendations, within the broad areas of international trade; transfer of real resources for financing the development of developing countries; international monetary affairs; science and technology; industrialization; food and agriculture; cooperation among developing countries; and restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the UN system in order to make it more effective in dealing with international economic cooperation and development. In the latter connection, the resolution established an ad hoc committee of the whole to prepare detailed action proposals and to report through ECOSOC to the General Assembly at its 31st session.

The United States joined in most of the specific undertakings of the resolution and warmly associated itself with the resolution as a whole, although it expressed reservations or clarifications regarding a small number of the proposals, as did most of the other industrialized countries. The United States maintained its position on the resolutions of the sixth special session and on certain provisions of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States and on the Lima Declaration adopted by UNIDO. It rejected the concepts of setting world prices, manipulating the terms of trade, and indexing commodity prices so that they would rise automatically as the prices of some industrial goods rose. The United States supported the objective of an effective increase in official development assistance and affirmed its intention to increase the level of its own assistance. However, it did not consider that the establishment of specific targets was likely to achieve the intended result.

In a closing statement before the plenary Assembly, Ambassador Moynihan declared:

"Perhaps never before in the history of the United Nations has there been so intensive and so genuine a negotiation between so many nations on so profoundly important a range of issues. We have shown that we can negotiate in good faith and, doing so, reach genuine accord. Not least we have shown that this can be done in the unique and indispensable setting of the United Nations.

A group of congressional advisers participated fully in early U.S. preparations for the seventh special session, in the formulation of the proposals that Secretary Kissinger outlined in his September 1 speech, and in the subsequent negotiations. In their October 9 report to the Congress the congressional advisers stated: "The consensus resolution of the seventh special session of the United Nations, entitled 'Development and International Economic Cooperation,' marks a significant

turning point in U.S. relations with the developing countries and sets the stage for a new era of economic partnership between rich and poor nations."

In a statement before the 30th General Assembly on September 22, Secretary Kissinger said:

"The special session gives us ground for hope that--at least for the immediate future--a choice has been made to turn away from confrontation toward cooperation. The United States is proud to support the final document which is the product of arduous effort and dedication of so many in this chamber.

"The United States considers the achievements of the special session a beginning, not an end. As recommended by the final report, we must now move forward in available forums to give reality and content to the objectives on which we have agreed. In the difficult negotiations ahead, my government will participate energetically in a cooperative and conciliatory spirit."

Follow-Up Action

Follow-up action to the work of the special session began almost immediately. The Department of State established a special committee to monitor progress in various international forums on recommendations in the Secretary's September 1 address, and many concerned and interested UN organizations began work on appropriate portions of the consensus resolution.

The 30th regular session of the General Assembly added to its agenda a new item on implementation of the decisions adopted by the Assembly at its seventh special session. The Second Committee considered various aspects of the subject intermittently throughout the session. Five resolutions were adopted.

On November 7, Pakistan introduced a resolution, sponsored by 20 states, that reiterated the need for substantial increase in the transfer of concessional financial resources to developing countries and urged both traditional donors and other countries in a position to do so to support the fifth replenishment of IDA. The resolution was approved without vote the same day and adopted by the Assembly without a vote on November 13. (See also p. 223.)

On November 26, Afghanistan introduced on behalf of 24 developing countries a draft resolution deciding to establish immediately a special fund for the landlocked developing countries to compensate for their additional transport and transit costs, and requesting

the Secretary General to submit at the 31st General Assembly his proposals on the organizational arrangements for the fund. The resolution was approved on November 28 by a vote of 91 to 0, with 21 abstentions (U.S.), and adopted on December 15 by a vote of 103 to 0, with 22 abstentions (U.S.). Although the United States agreed that increased emphasis should be placed on improving transit facilities in the landlocked and the corridor countries, it did not agree with establishing a special fund since the objective could be attained through the normal activities of the UNDP, IDA, and other existing bodies. The United States abstained because it did not object if others wished to establish and contribute to the proposed fund.

On December 2, Peru introduced a draft resolution on the integration of women in the development process, which was sponsored in its final form by 29 states. The resolution recognized that the World Conference of the International Women's Year (see p. 217) had established that improvement of the status of women was a basic element in any development process; urged all states to ensure the participation of women on an equal basis with men; invited the relevant organizations in the UN system to pay special attention to development programs relating to women; and asked the Secretary General to report to the 31st General Assembly on the extent to which women participate in fields such as agriculture, industry, trade, and science and technology, with a view to making recommendations on ways and means of improving the participation of women therein. The resolution was adopted without vote by the Committee on December 3 and by the plenary Assembly on December 15.

On December 4 the Committee approved without vote a resolution sponsored by the group of developing countries that urged all states to implement promptly the policy measures adopted by the seventh special session, requested all organizations of the UN system to assign the highest priority to the implementation of the measures set out in the September 16 resolution and to submit progress reports to the Assembly through ECOSOC, and decided to assess the implementation of the resolution at the 31st session of the General Assembly. The Assembly adopted the resolution in plenary session on December 15, without a vote.

Finally, the Committee on December 5 and the Assembly on December 15 adopted without vote a resolution on institutional arrangements in the field of the transfer of technology, which was sponsored by 18 developing countries. The resolution reaffirmed the importance to developing countries of wider dissemination of scientific and technological information, requested UNIDO to establish an industrial technological information bank, and requested other organizations in the UN system to undertake feasibility studies on the

establishment of sectoral and regional technological information banks and other viable information systems and to report through ECOSOC to the General Assembly.

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

It

ECE was established in 1947 and is one of five regional economic commissions reporting to ECOSOC. has 34 members--the European members of the United Nations plus the United States, Switzerland, and Canada. Other countries that are UN members also participate in its work when matters of particular concern to them are considered; e.g., Japan participates in meetings concerned with transport, steel, and trade, while Israel participates in meetings dealing with agriculture. As a UN organization composed largely of developed industrial nations, ECE concentrates on seeking solutions to common problems that confront modern industrial societies both in Europe and other parts of the world. The organization normally does not take votes, but acts through consensus developed by the Eastern and Western

caucuses.

ECE carries out its activities through 15 principal committees (Agricultural Problems; Chemical Industry; Coal; Electric Power; Gas; Housing, Building, and Planning; Inland Transport; Steel; Timber; Development of Trade; Water Problems; Conference of European Statisticians; Senior Economic Advisers; Senior Advisers on Environmental Problems; Senior Advisers on Science and Technology) and many subsidiary bodies which deal with specialized aspects of the programs of the principal committees. Still other parts of the Commission's work program are dealt with by special groups working on such matters as automation and standardization.

ECE also convenes symposia, seminars, and conferences on topics of special interest to member governments and publishes the results for use by governments and by private specialists. A notable example during 1975 was a seminar on Desulphurization of Fuels and Combustion Gases, held in Washington, D.C., November 11-17. The seminar was sponsored by the Senior Advisers on Environmental Problems and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency served as host.

The ECE Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretary, Janez Stanovnik (Yugoslavia), and includes a number of outstanding experts who prepare and service the meetings of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies. The Secretariat also prepares many surveys, studies, and statistical compilations which are distributed to governments for their use.

ECE's terms of reference are broad and have been adapted to the changing character of its work. Its