That wording limited the membership to 12 Arab states2/ ECWA held its second plenary session May 5-10, 1975, in Beirut, the Commission's provisional headquarters location. At ECWA's invitation the United States sent an observer to the meeting. The agenda included items on the application of the PLO to participate as an observer in the plenary session, the review of the economic and social situation in the region, the work of the Commission, and the permanent site of ECWA's headquarters. With respect to the latter point, the Commission took note of either firm or tentative offers from Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, and urged member states interested in serving as host to submit proposals as soon as possible so that a decision could be taken at the 1976 session of the Commission. ECWA adopted 14 resolutions dealing with various aspects of its work and with its relations with other organizations in the region and the UNDP. Of particular interest were resolutions (1) urging intensified activity in the integration of women in development, (2) supporting the inclusion of Yemen (Aden) as well as Yemen (Sana) on the revised list of least developed among the developing countries,3/ and (3) granting the PLO permanent observer status and access to the Commission's services, and requesting that a report be prepared by the Executive Secretary for ECWA's next session on the requirements for a study of the economic and social situation and potential of the Palestinian Arab people. ECWA participated with ESCAP in a June preparatory conference for the Habitat Conference (see p. 184) but its regular on-going activities were severely hampered and ultimately cut off entirely by the civil disturbances and guerrilla war in Lebanon during the last half of 1975. UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM The UNDP is a voluntary fund which finances the world's largest multilateral program of grant technical 2/ Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Aden), Yemen (Sana). 3/ See footnote, p. 151. 77-838 - 76-9 assistance. Established in 1966 through the merger of two earlier programs, the UN Special Fund and the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance, the UNDP is the hub for all technical assistance activities in the UN system and disburses over two-thirds of the technical assistance funds expended by the system of UN agencies involved in such activities. The UNDP responds to requests from developing countries for technical assistance and for preinvestment studies leading to formulation of sound capital projects which can then be financed by either public or private investment capital. Although all states that are members of the United Nations, the specialized agencies, or the IAEA are, in principle, eligible for assistance, UNDP assistance is largely limited to developing countries with an increasing emphasis on the poorest. In 1975 UNDP projects were underway in some 147 countries and territories. Projects of a few months to several years in duration in such fields as agriculture, industry, education, health, economic policy and planning, transportation, and natural resource exploration comprise the major part of the UNDP program. In addition, the UNDP undertakes smaller projects designed either to train nationals by means of fellowships or to provide countries with required expertise through the use of advisers. Both types of projects are normally executed for the UNDP by one of the other organizations of the UN system, such as FAO and UNESCO. The UNDP also directly undertakes a limited number of regional, interregional, and global projects. Brad The UNDP has its headquarters in New York. ford Morse became the third consecutive American Administrator of UNDP in January 1976. He had been Under Secretary General of the United Nations since 1972 and, previous to that, a member of Congress from Massachusetts. Governing and Advisory Bodies The UNDP's operating policies are established and its programs and budgets approved by a Governing Council that meets twice a year. The UNDP is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, administered under the authority of ECOSOC and the General Assembly. The Governing Council reports through ECOSOC to the Assembly, which sets overall UNDP policy. As provided in various decisions of the General Assembly, the Governing Council also has become the governing body for the UN Fund for Population Activities, the UN Capital Development Fund, the UN Volunteers, and the recently established UN Revolving Fund for Natural Resources Exploration, as well as for the small program of technical assistance financed from the regular UN budget. The Assembly decided in 1971 that the Governing Council would be composed of representatives from 48 states--21 developed and 27 developing. Members are elected by ECOSOC for 3-year terms and are eligible for reelection. The United States has been a member of the Governing Council since the UNDP's establishment. An Inter-Agency Consultative Board (IACB) facilitates improved working relations between the UNDP and its executing agencies. The IACB is composed of the UN Secretary General and the executive heads of the specialized agencies, IAEA, UNCTAD, and UNIDO. The IACB advises the Administrator on major issues pertaining to interpretation and implementation of policy, plus program direction. It also assists in bringing about maximum coordination and integration of all UNDP-related activities of the UN system. Secretariat and Field Organization The UNDP consists of a Secretariat in New York, headed by the Administrator, and 108 field offices located in developing countries where programs are being carried out. At the end of 1975 UNDP staff consisted of 643 professional employees, of whom 263 were located at headquarters in New York and 380 were in field posts. There were also, during 1975, about 10,700 experts assigned to some 8,000 UNDPfunded projects in the employ of about 18 executing agencies and the UNDP itself. Overall accountability for the UNDP program rests with the Administrator, his support staff, and the Directors of UNDP's four regional bureaus--all of whom are located at UNDP headquarters in New York. However, over the course of the past 2 years there has been a steady move to decentralize certain elements of project monitoring and other implementation-related actions and delegations to the 108 UNDP Resident Representatives in the field. The Resident Representatives advise their host governments on development planning and UN assistance and coordinate within their countries of assignment the operation of programs that are financed by the UNDP or the Fund for Population Activities. Designated by the General Assembly in 1970 as the overall leaders of the UN technical assistance teams in their respective countries of assignment, many of the Resident Representatives include on their immediate staffs representatives of the FAO and UNIDO in the roles of senior agricultural and industrial advisers, as well as representatives of the UN Fund for Population Activities, World Food Program, and other UN Agencies. Financing The financial resources of the UNDP come principally from voluntary contributions pledged by governments. For 1975, 129 governments pledged $406 million to which the assisted governments added local-cost counterpart contributions to each project totalling, on the average, more than one-half of total project costs, thus bringing the overall 1975 UNDP-administered program to approximately $1 billion. Since 1970, when the U.S. contribution of $86.3 million represented 38% of total voluntary contributions to the UNDP, other donors have increased their pledges by over 130% to a total of $328 million in 1975. The U.S. contribution at the same time declined in 1974 and 1975 from the 1970-73 high. Its contribution of $77.9 million in 1975 represented 19% of total voluntary contributions. Toward the end of 1975 the UNDP became aware of a shortfall in its liquid resources. The main causes of this major financial problem were a rapid upturn in project approvals in 1974 and 1975 leading to a greatly accelerated implementing rate in 1975, increased costs of experts, high inflation rates in all parts of the world, a slow financial reporting system, and a largely nonliquid reserve fund containing a large number of inconvertible currencies (mostly Soviet and Eastern European contributions) which have been difficult to utilize. Austerity measures were promptly instituted affecting both ongoing and new projects. The Administrator proposed a cutback of $40 million in program spending for 1976 with further cuts likely unless there were additional voluntary contributions. He also began a phased reduction of Headquarters staff commensurate with the degree of decentralization and a stringent economy drive to reduce overheads further. Improved financial forecasting and more rapid reporting procedures were being instituted to keep pace with the high rate of implementation and inflation, and the Administrator led a major effort to mobilize additional resources worldwide. Development Assistance During 1975, the UNDP had underway more than 8,000 projects, of which some 1,000 were large-scale, longterm projects costing over their project life an average of more than $2 million each. Actual field program costs during 1975 totalled about $434 million, while UNDP administrative and program support costs totalled $42.5 million and agency overhead costs totalled an additional $57.7 million. While the majority of UNDP projects relate to a single country, of the 8,021 projects approved (and not yet completed) as of June 30, 1975, 658 were regional, 145 were interregional, and 17 were large research projects with global implications. Of the country and regional projects, 2,169 were in Africa; 2,090 in Asia and the Pacific; 1,919 in Europe, the Mediterranean area, and the Middle East; and 1,681 in Latin America. Major sectors of concentration were agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (1,513 projects); industry (1,863); general economic and social policy and planning (986); transport and communications (719); education (595); science and technology (547); health (537); labor, management, and employment (321); social services (261); and natural resources (267). New Program Directions The first programming cycle (1972-76) will be completed at the end of 1976 with an anticipated UNDP expenditure over the 5-year period of about $1.75 billion on country programs. In preparation for the second programming cycle (1977-81), the Governing Council approved new guidelines for the allocation of the expanded UNDP resources projected for those years. These guidelines provide a significant monetary and percentage increase in resources for the lower income countries. Of the $2 billion allocated under the country Indicative Planning Figures (IPF's) for the second cycle, about 60% will go to countries with a GNP below $250 per capita annually, compared with 43% during the first cycle. About 80% of the projected amounts to be allotted would go to countries with a per capita GNP below $500. In contrast, countries with a per capita GNP above $700 will receive no monetary increase in IPF allocation above that provided in the current cycle. It is further anticipated that a greatly increased number of the wealthier developing countries will become "net contributors," with their voluntary contributions to the UNDP exceeding the program funds they receive from it. Planning and implementing of UNDP projects at the country level are a joint cooperative endeavor by the government, by the UNDP-- through the Resident Representative--and by the executing agency --usually one of the UN specialized agencies. The growing decentralization in the UNDP means that many of the basic decisions (including approval of smaller projects) are made at the country level. In this way the delivery of the program is being speeded up, the program is becoming far more responsive to the expressed needs of each country, and the program is thus generally better related to national development plans. In a further effort to make UNDP more responsive and at the same time increase the self-reliance of the developing countries, the so-called "new dimensions decision" was taken by the Governing Council in June |