raising the levels of nutrition and mitigating the effects of the world food crisis.

This resolution was adopted on December 8 by a vote of 35 to 1, with 2 abstentions.]

The General Assembly,

1. BEARING IN MIND the resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council and the reports of the specialized agencies, particularly of the Food and Agriculture Organization on the question of shortages of foodstuffs,

2. Approves the action taken by the Economic and Social Council at its 6th and 7th sessions on the initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization regarding co-ordinated action to meet the continuing world food crisis; and

3. CONSIDERING that

(a) The present under-nourishment of large numbers of people throughout the world is caused inter alia by insufficient production of food, by loss of foodstuffs through wastage, by the results of war devastation, by the under-developed character of large areas of the world and by lack of purchasing power, while fear of unstable prices remains an obstacle to the necessary increase of production;

(b) In connection with this, measures should be taken in the first place and especially in under-developed countries and in countries devastated by war to raise the productivity of farms, to avoid losses arising from wastage and to improve the production, marketing and distribution facilities;

(c) The equitable distribution of essential foodstuffs requires inter alia that such burdensome fiscal charges as hamper the sale and consumption of such foodstuffs be appreciably reduced;

(d) Wherever profiteering by distributors or speculators is involved in the marketing of essential foodstuffs, such profiteering constitutes an obstacle to the equitable distribution of such foodstuffs;

4. Invites Member States to accord high priority to measures designed to avoid food losses arising from wastage and to increase food production and improve marketing and distribution facilities so as to raise to a maximum the effective quantity of food available for consumption and export, and, in connection with the raising of consumption levels, to consider the extent to which existing taxes and other dues on the consumption of essential foodstuffs serve to keep down food consumption, and to take suitable action with a view to the elimination of profiteering in respect of such foodstuffs;

5. Calls upon the Economic and Social Council, in consultation with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the other specialized

agencies concerned, to continue to give consideration to the problems of increasing the world's supply of food and of the international trade in food products; and

(a) To give special consideration to the technical, financial, supply and other problems involved in providing the production facilities which may be necessary to enable under-developed and war-devastated countries to contribute effectively to the required increase in the world's supply of food; and

(b) To examine any other measures, including measures designed to improve storage, marketing and distribution facilities for basic foodstuffs and measures in regard to the possibility of reducing burdensome taxes and to give consideration to measures ensuring stability of prices, with a view to raising the levels of nutrition of under-nourished population groups to health standards and to mitigate the effects of the world food crisis.

9. Assistance to Palestine Refugees

[In this resolution the General Assembly took action on that part of the report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine dealing with relief for Palestine refugees. It decided upon the amount of the necessary relief budget for the care of these refugees and requested Members to make voluntary contributions in kind or in funds to this budget. The Secretary-General was requested to make the necessary administrative arrangements, including the appointment of a Director of United Nations Relief for Palestinian Refugees. In addition, the appropriate specialized agencies were requested to assist in the relief program according to their responsibilities.

This resolution was adopted without objection on November 19, with one abstention.]

WHEREAS the problem of the relief of Palestine refugees of all communities is one of immediate urgency and the United Nations Mediator on Palestine in his Progress report of 18 September 1948, Part Three, states that "action must be taken to determine the necessary measures (of relief) and to provide for their implementation” and that "the choice is between saving the lives of many thousands of people now or permitting them to die",

WHEREAS the Acting Mediator in his Supplemental Report of 18 October 1948, declares that "the situation of the refugees is now critical" and that "aid must not only be continued but very greatly increased if disaster is to be averted",

WHEREAS the alleviation of conditions of starvation and distress among the Palestine refugees is one of the minimum conditions for the success of the efforts of the United Nations to bring peace to that land,

The General Assembly,

1. Expresses its thanks to the Governments and organizations which, and the individual persons who, have given assistance directly or in response to the Mediator's appeal;

2. Considers, on the basis of the Acting Mediator's recommendation, that a sum of approximately $29,500,000 will be required to provide relief for 500,000 refugees for a period of nine months from 1 December 1948 to 31 August 1949; and that an additional amount of approximately $2,500,000 will be required for administrative and local operational expenses;

3. Authorizes the Secretary-General in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions to advance immediately a sum of up to $5,000,000 from the Working Capital Fund of the United Nations, the said sum to be repaid before the end of the period specified in paragraph 2, from the voluntary governmental contributions requested under paragraph 4;

4. Urges all States Members of the United Nations to make, as soon as possible, voluntary contributions in kind or in funds sufficient to ensure that the amount of supplies and funds required is obtained, and states that, to this end, voluntary contributions of non-member States would also be accepted. Contributions in funds may be made in currencies other than the United States dollar, in so far as the operations of the relief organization can be carried out in such currencies;

5. Authorizes the Secretary-General to establish a Special Fund into which contributions shall be paid, which will be administered as a separate account;

6. Authorizes the Secretary-General to expend the funds received under paragraphs 3 and 4 of this resolution;

7. Instructs the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, to establish regulations for the administration and supervision of the Fund;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary steps to extend aid to Palestine refugees and to establish such administrative organization as may be required for this purpose, inviting the assistance of the appropriate agencies of the several Governments, the specialized agencies of the United Nations, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the League of Red Cross Societies and other volun

tary agencies, it being recognized that the participation of voluntary organizations in the relief plan would in no way derogate from the principle of impartiality on the basis of which the assistance of these organizations is being solicited;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to appoint a United Nations Director of Relief for Palestine Refugees to whom he may delegate such responsibility as he may consider appropriate for the overall planning and implementation of the relief programme;

10. Agrees to the convoking, at the discretion of the SecretaryGeneral, of an ad hoc advisory committee of seven members to be selected by the President of the General Assembly to which the Secretary-General may submit any matter of principle or policy upon which he would like the benefit of the Committee's advice;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to continue and to extend the implementation of the present relief programme, until the machinery provided for by the present resolution is set up;

12. Urges the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Refugee Organization, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and other appropriate organizations and agencies, acting within the framework of the relief programme herein established, promptly to contribute supplies, specialized personnel and other services permitted by their constitutions and their financial resources, to relieve the desperate plight of Palestine refugees of all communities;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly, at the next regular session, on the action taken as a result of this resolution.

10. Question of Continuing Through 1949 the United Nations Appeal for Children

[After noting the response to the United Nations Appeal for Children and recognizing the international moral responsibility for action for the greater well-being of children throughout the world, the General Assembly in this resolution continues the Appeal for Children, inviting continued cooperation from the peoples of all countries for the Appeal. The proceeds of the collection are to be for the benefit of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, which agency is requested to assist in the conduct of national campaigns and to report concerning the appeals to the Ninth Session of the Economic and Social Council and to the Fourth Regular Session of the General Assembly.

This resolution was adopted on December 8 by a vote of 32 to 0, with 5 abstentions.]

The General Assembly,

NOTING the widespread response to the United Nations Appeal for Children, the large number of countries which have co-operated in the conduct of national campaigns, and the co-operation and support for the Appeal provided by non-governmental organizations,

RECOGNIZING that the aftermath of devastation and dislocation resulting from war has revealed specific needs of children in many countries and that a moral responsibility falls on the peoples of all countries to act for the greater well-being of children throughout the world,

NOTING, with approval, the provisions of resolution 162 (VII) adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 12 August 1948,

1. Continues the United Nations Appeal for Children as a worldwide appeal for voluntary non-governmental contributions to be used for the benefit of children, adolescents, and expectant and nursing mothers without discrimination on account of race, religion, nationality, or political belief;

2. Invites the co-operation of peoples of all countries to assist and support national activities in favour of the Appeal;

3. Decides that the proceeds of the collections in each country shall be for the benefit of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and that the name United Nations Appeal for Children shall be used only in national campaigns which are conducted for this purpose, subject to the provisions of resolution 92 (I) of the General Assembly governing the use of the United Nations name and abbreviations of that name;

4. Requests the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, as the United Nations agency entrusted with special responsibility for meeting emergency needs of children in many parts of the world:

(a) To assist in the conduct of national campaigns for the benefit of the International Children's Emergency Fund, with a view to providing international co-ordination of voluntary governmental and nongovernmental appeals for the benefit of children;

(b) To report concerning the appeals to the ninth session of the Economic and Social Council and to the fourth regular session of the General Assembly.