Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

and reports on the policies, programming, and projects for implementation of the Plan undertaken by UN organizations and other international agencies. The Commission requested that all this information be available to it before its 19th session (1977).

The Commission approved without a vote a resolution on the UN biennial work program and medium-term plan of work in the field of population which recommended, inter alia, that ECOSOC (1) call the attention of the General Assembly to the need to strengthen the monitoring, review, and appraisal functions of the Secretariat arising from the recommendations of the World Population Conference and the Plan of Action, and (2) express concern that the planned administrative and financial resources were not adequate for implementing the Plan. The United States and other members of the Commission expressed reservations about the adequacy of the Secretariat proposals, particularly in regard to the final 2 years (1978-79) of the medium-term plan.

The United States was one of nine sponsors of a resolution, which the Commission approved without a vote, in which ECOSOC requested the Secretary General (1) to prepare guidelines to assist development planners at the national level to take into account populationrelated factors when drawing up plans for development, and (2) to submit such guidelines to ECOSOC at its 60th session in 1976.

The Commission also approved without vote a resolution on the status of women that was introduced by the United States and sponsored by nine states. The resolution recognized that improvement of the status of women in both the family and society could contribute to smaller family size while the opportunity for women to plan births would also improve their individual status. The resolution quoted in full some of the recommendations in the World Population Plan of Action relating to the equal status of men and women and urged UN bodies, member states, and relevant nongovernmental organizations to take appropriate action to implement the recommendations.

Finally, the Commission approved without vote a resolution on international migration recommending that intergovernmental and UN organizations establish an ad hoc group to study appropriate measures for, inter alia, the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families. (ECOSOC subsequently adopted this resolution as part B of a two-part resolution; part A had been recommended by the Commission for Social Development--see p. 174.)

The four decisions that the Commission prepared for adoption by ECOSOC provided that (1) the Commission would examine on a biennial basis the progress made in

implementing the World Population Plan of Action; (2) the Commission would continue as a functional commission of ECOSOC, preserving its character as an expert governmental body on all population matters; (3) ECOSOC would review population questions in depth every 2 years, with emphasis on implementation of the Plan of Action; and (4) ECOSOC's Committee on Review and Appraisal would be asked to incorporate the appropriate principles, objectives, and recommendations contained in the Plan of Action in its review of progress in implementing the International Development Strategy for the Second UN Development Decade.

With only minor amendments, ECOSOC adopted all the resolutions and decisions recommended to it in May 1975 during its 58th session.

Fund for Population Activities

UNFPA was established in 1967 by the UN Secretary General as a special trust fund and was brought under the General Assembly's own authority in 1972. Since 1973 the Fund has operated under the overview of the UNDP Governing Council, which is responsible for "the financial and administrative policies relating to the work program, the fund-raising methods, and the annual budget of the Fund."

Support for the UNFPA is achieved through voluntary contributions from governments. During 1975, contributions paid or pledged were $63 million, compared to $54 million in 1974; the United States contributed $20 million each year. In 1975, a total of 52 states, about half of them in the developing world, contributed to the Fund.

Since its creation the Fund has supported over 1,000 projects in more than 90 countries, including numerous regional projects. Prior to 1975 country agreements each totalling over $1 million had been approved for one African, three Near Eastern and South Asian, three Latin American, and four East Asian countries. Two more Near Eastern and two more Latin American countries joined this category in 1975. Of several comprehensive country agreements, the one signed with India in 1974 to provide $40 million of assistance over a 5-year period is by far the largest signed to date.

Allocation of scarce resources was a particular focus of UNFPA operations in 1975, because requests for assistance had begun to exceed greatly available resources. Throughout the developing world in 1975 there was a decided shift of both UNFPA and domestic resources toward family planning and away from projects involving basic data gathering and other necessary, but preliminary programs. In Africa, the collection

of basic population data (census work) continued to demand a major share of funds, amounting to 68% of total expenditures, but family planning activity increased to 18%. By contrast, family planning projects in Latin America drew 48% of available funds. Within the Arab world, family planning programs, emphasizing maternal and child health, drew 56% of area allocations. For Asia and the Pacific, the proportion of resources devoted to family planning services reached 60%, with education and communications drawing 22% of allocated funds.

Fund-raising demanded special attention from both the UNFPA leadership and the donor countries. Intimations of greater financial support from Arab states were given substance by Egypt which sought to spark a new support campaign among other Arab states by increasing its own pledge by more than 50%. At the same time, the Fund's Executive Director, Rafael Salas (Philippines) called upon traditional donors to supplement their contributions with arrangements by which bilateral assistance could be dovetailed with multilateral programs, thus adding new sources of funds and releasing UNFPA funds for additional projects. Pressure to institute this "multi-bilateral funding" was provided by the prospect of $105 million in approved projects for 1976 against anticipated revenues of only $74 million.

FOOD PROBLEMS 11/

World Food Council

The 1974 World Food Conference had called upon the General Assembly to establish a World Food Council (WFC) at the ministerial or plenipotentiary level to function as an organ of the United Nations, reporting to the General Assembly through ECOSOC. The main role of the WFC is to serve as a coordinating mechanism providing overall, integrated attention for the successful coordination and follow-up of policies concerning food production, nutrition, food security, food trade, food aid, and other related matters by all agencies of the UN system. The United States strongly supported the establishment of the WFC and at the World Food Conference worked to ensure that the WFC would be a worthwhile organization with a small but representative membership. The 36-member 12/ WFC was established by the General Assembly in December 1974.

11/ Also see section on FAO, p. 229.

12/ Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Chad, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, France, Gabon, Federal Republic of Germany, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mexico, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S.S.R., United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zambia.

77-838 - 76 - 11

Dr. John Hannah of the United States was appointed Executive Director of the WFC by the UN Secretary General. The WFC held its first session at Rome from June 23 to 27, 1975, and elected Sayed A. Marei of Egypt (former Secretary General of the World Food Conference) as President. The Council session was mainly taken up with a review of the activities of the various bodies engaged in following up resolutions of the World Food Conference and a consideration of the more critical food issues: (1) food availability for the most seriously affected countries; (2) various approaches to improving world food security; (3) the fertilizer and pesticides situation; (4) financial and technical assistance for agricultural development; and (5) progress toward attainment of the World Food Conference target of 10 million tons of food aid a year.

On the latter, U.S. leadership in providing six million tons in 1975-76 was recognized, as were increased aid efforts by several other developed countries. The Council requested its President and Executive Director to undertake consultations with other aid-giving countries that had not yet made firm commitments to increase food aid.

Since the Council was still in the organizing phase, a 16-state working group (including the United States) was set up to draft rules of procedures. The group continued its work into the following year and was expected to report to the next plenary session of the WFC in the summer of 1976. The principal issue, which was the subject of controvery at the 1975 meeting, was the definition of the respective roles and responsibilities of the WFC President and Executive Director. The developing countries generally advocated giving the stronger role to the President, while the developed countries favored a strong Executive Director.

The United States encouraged the WFC secretariat to prepare a tight, more specific agenda for the Council's second session and maintained that only the most important issues should be presented for review. The United States advocated that the WFC continue to work at the ministerial level and avoid duplicating work already being undertaken by other international bodies. The United States also advocated that the WFC secretariat be a small body located in Rome and housed in FAO headquarters.

International Fund for Agricultural Development

Another important resolution adopted by the World Food Conference called for the establishment of an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). There was general recognition that a large increase in investment in the agricultural sector would be

required in order to achieve the necessary expansion of food production in the developing countries.

The 29th General Assembly requested the UN Secretary General to convene a meeting of interested countries to work out the details of such a fund, and the meeting was held in Geneva, May 5-6, 1975. The Meeting of Interested Countries, attended by representatives of 66 states (including the United States) and various intergovernmental organizations, gave overwhelming support to the establishment of IFAD but recognized that many operational, financial, procedural, technical, and other related questions would have to be examined before the Fund could be formally established. The Meeting, therefore, set up a 27-state ad hoc working group, again including the United States, to consider and make recommendations on the establishment of the Fund.

The working group met in June and September, and the Meeting of Interested Countries held a second session in late October. The principal questions at issue were the system of voting, the level and sources of pledges required to bring IFAD into being, and the use to be made of existing international financial institutions for appraisal and supervision of projects. Substantial progress was made toward resolving these issues.

At the opening of the seventh special session of the General Assembly in September, Secretary Kissinger announced that he would seek authorization for a U.S. contribution of $200 million, provided others would add their support for a combined goal of at least $1 billion.

On December 15 the 30th General Assembly, on the recommendation of its Second Committee and without a vote, took note of the report of the Meeting of Interested Countries. It also adopted a resolution that (1) requested the Secretary General to convene in Rome a Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of IFAD as soon as possible after the Meeting of Interested Countries completed its preparatory work; and (2) invited the Conference of Plenipotentiaries to adopt an agreement for the establishment of IFAD, which is to become a specialized agency of the United Nations, and to establish a preparatory commission to enable IFAD to commence its operations at the earliest possible date.

The third session of the Meeting of Interested Countries was scheduled for January 1976.

« ÎnapoiContinuă »