while the other, relating to allegations of human rights violations by Chile, was postponed. At the same time, however, a normally routine matter--the decision on invitations to be issued to various meetings and intergovernmental conferences being organized for 1975 and 1976--took on special significance because Israel was omitted from the list of proposed invitees to a meeting of experts and a subsequent international conference on the subject of the recognition of higher education studies and diplomas in European countries and Arab states bordering the Mediterranean. The U.S. Board member, Gordon Scherer, voted against this decision which was adopted by a vote of 28 to 1, with 3 abstentions.

Most of the fall session of the Executive Board was devoted to preparations for the adoption of a mediumterm plan for 1977-82 and of a draft program and budget for the next biennium, 1977-78. The Board decided that during the next few years the organization's work should be strengthened in the areas of human rights, the establishment of peace, development, the application of science and technology, and the improvement of education. In this connection, partly in response to U.S. recommendations, the Board called for particular attention to be paid to the needs of the least developed countries. Among the highest priorities identified by the Board for the next biennium were the further strengthening of the social sciences, promotion of a more rational utilization of natural resources, expansion of the two-way flow of information, and improvement in the status of women and enhancement of their participation in the development of society.

The major policy decision of the fall session of the Board took the form of a resolution calling upon the next General Conference, scheduled to meet in the fall of 1976, to take steps to ensure that every member state enjoys membership in at least one of the organization's regional groups. Strongly supported by the United States, the resolution reaffirmed "the fundamental principle whereby every member state has the right and duty to participate fully and regularly in the organization's regional and international activities" and recommended to the General Conference that it be guided by the preference of the present members of each regional group.

Although the Board's action constituted an important first step toward reversing the decision of the previous General Conference to deny Israel membership in the European Regional Group, it was not deemed sufficient to enable the President to certify to Congress, as stipulated by an amendment to the 1974 Foreign Assistance Act, that UNESCO had "taken concrete steps to correct its recent actions of a primarily

political character." As a result, the United States made no payments to UNESCO during 1975 and at the end of the year was in arrears by approximately $23 million.

Consistent with the apolitical, business-like atmosphere carefully cultivated during the previous Board meeting, a controversial item concerning a report on educational and cultural institutions in territories occupied by Israel--a follow-up to a decision of the 18th General Conference--was dropped from the agenda.

Other program actions taken by the Executive Board in 1975 are described in the appropriate substantive sections below.

Education

The 35th session of the International Conference on Education was held in Geneva, August 27-September 4 1975, under the auspices of the International Bureau of Education and UNESCO. Delegations from 98 member states, including 20 ministers of education, attended. The U.S. delegation was led by Dr. Terrel H. Bell, U.S. Commissioner of Education. The special theme for the session, "the changing role of the teacher and its influence on preparation for the profession and on in-service training," became the subject of a Conference recommendation to the ministries of education of member states. Another recommendation, strongly supported by the United States, proposed the adoption and application of the International Standard Classification of Education as a basic standard in all international reporting of statistics on education.

U.S. delegations and experts also participated in a meeting of a committee of experts on the recognition of higher education studies, degrees, and diplomas in European states, held in Helsinki, October 20-24; a meeting of senior officials of the ministries of education of the 25 least developed countries, held in Paris, September 8-16; and a symposium of officials in charge of higher education in ministries of education in Europe, sponsored by UNESCO's European Center for Higher Education, held in Bucharest, May 28-30. The latter was the first regional European meeting held since the United States was admitted to that regional group by action of the 18th General Conference in 1974.

In conjunction with worldwide observance of International Literacy Day, an annual event sponsored by UNESCO to focus attention upon the global problem of illiteracy, the Right to Read Program of the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, held a national seminar in Washington on September 8, attended by more than 100 representatives of Federal and State governments, educational

associations, state and local education agencies, and community organizations. Assistant Secretary of Education Virginia Trotter and U.S. Commissioner of Education Terrel H. Bell greeted participants and reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to eradicate illiteracy in the United States.

Natural Sciences

During 1975 the United States participated actively in the numerous meetings and activities of the UNESCO science sector.

The fourth session of the 25-member International Coordinating Council of the "Man and the Biosphere" program (MAB), which was held in Paris in November, reported worldwide progress toward MAB's goal of improving man's partnership with the environment through intergovernmental and interdisciplinary cooperative research, training, and action. MAB participants now number 80 countries, a substantial proportion of which are developing nations. At the Council session, the Deputy Director General of UNESCO commented on the fact that MAB had made a major conceptual contribution to international activities by introducing the principle of an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented focus for action and noted the many cooperative activities already underway within the 14 MAB Project Areas. Project 1, Tropical and Subtropical Forest Ecosystems, includes a regional program, centered in the Ivory Coast, involving 12 nations in Africa and Europe. A number of Latin American and Asian members described plans for Project 1 programs in their areas. MAB Project 8, Biosphere Reserves, has made substantial progress, and several countries announced plans to establish additional reserves. The United States has designated eight areas as biosphere reserves and plans are continuing on the establishment of research, monitoring, and educational programs for them.

Since the number and variety of MAB projects is growing, the Council agreed that guidelines needed to be developed for project formulation. This will greatly aid international communication regarding the projects being planned or underway and how additional countries can be included in them. Representatives from UNEP, WMO, FAO, the International Council of Scientific Unions, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources reported that the interorganizational cooperation with MAB urged by the Council was taking place and expressed their organizations' support for the MAB program.

The World Science Information System (UNISIST), a long-term program established by the 17th General Conference to accelerate and enhance the worldwide

voluntary transfer of scientific information, held several meetings at which U.S. representatives significantly influenced the direction of the program. In particular, the UNISIST Steering Committee adopted U.S. proposals establishing program priorities, tightening management, endorsing evaluation as an essential component of all projects, emphasizing the development of numerical data handling and dissemination activities, stressing the education and training of users, extending UNISIST to the social sciences, and giving priority to the needs of developing nations.

In

The United States attended the ninth biennial session of the Assembly of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), which met in October and took significant actions relating to research and monitoring of marine pollution. A Working Committee for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME), open to all IOC member states, was established to continue the development and implementation of the comprehensive marine pollution monitoring activities under the Integrated Global Ocean Station System. A Marine Pollution Monitoring Pilot Project, concentrating on petroleum hydrocarbons, began in January 1975 and will continue for 2 years. another area of concern, the Assembly approved the establishment of a Working Group on the investigation of the "El Niño" phenomenon, an atmospheric-oceanographic phenomenon which has, among other things, a drastic effect on the anchovy fishing off northwest South America. An IOC association for the Caribbean and adjacent regions (IOCARIB) was established to replace the International Coordination Group which had concerted oceanographic research in that area for 7 years. IOCARIB is an experiment to test the viability of semiautonomous regional groups to coordinate all IOC activities--research, monitoring, data exchange, and technical assistance--within an area.

The International Hydrological Decade ended in 1974. It was a successful effort to intensify the study of water resources and expand the capabilities of developing countries to conduct hydrological surveys, efforts in which U.S. scientists played a significant role. Satisfaction with the results of the Decade led to the establishment of UNESCO's 18th General Conference of an ongoing International Hydrological Program. The United States is one of 30 countries on the Program's Intergovernmental Council, which held its organizational session in April 1975.

The International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP), jointly sponsored by UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences, is a coordinated research program focusing on fundamental problems of geology, with particular emphasis on more effective exploration of natural resources. The United States is

a member of the IGCP Board, which held its third meeting in April 1975, reviewing the progress of 27 approved projects and approving 18 more. Additional meetings have been held throughout the world to implement previously approved projects.

Social Sciences

American social scientists, both individually and through their learned societies and councils, have been increasingly involved in UNESCO programs, and the United States in 1975 continued its efforts to strengthen and expand the role of the social sciences in UNESCO's work. These efforts were a follow-up to the U.S.-initiated resolution adopted by the 18th General Conference that assigned a high priority to the social sciences for the next decade and called on the organization to integrate the social sciences into UNESCO's programs, with particular reference to medium-term planning and to the restructuring of the organization under the aegis of the new Director General. In response to this resolution, the Director General announced that the Department of Social Sciences would be raised to the level of a separate sector under an Assistant Director General.

While maintaining its traditional focus on expanding international cooperation among social scientists, providing a clearinghouse service in the social sciences, and extending social science teaching and research, UNESCO has also sought to apply social science research and methods to specific problems in such areas as human rights; the construction of peace; social, economic, and cultural development; population trends; the preservation and improvement of the quality of the human environment; and the prevention of drug abuse.

In the area of environment studies, progress was made during 1975 in implementing thé important new program authorized by the 18th General Conference, "Man in his Environment--Human Settlements." Among the most significant activities undertaken in this program during 1975 were the creation of a coordinating unit designed to act as a catalyst and to provide expert advice; preparations for UNESCO participation in Habitat; and efforts to expand and improve contacts with the "Man and the Biosphere" program in the natural sciences sector.

During 1975 Americans took part in UNESCO-sponsored symposia and meetings on a wide variety of projects, including the creation of a social sciences component of UNISIST, in conjunction with the development of a computerized data retrieval system for the social and human sciences, and the design of interdisciplinary evaluation models.