Economic and social questions Chapter I Development and international economic and social policy The discouraging world economic situation– sluggish growth, accelerating inflation, world trade slow-down, worsening current-account balances and higher energy prices–continued to occupy a major part of the attention of United Nations bodies during 1981. Little progress was recorded towards the launching of global negotiations on international economic co-operation for development, origi- nally scheduled to commence in 1980 (p. 378). Accordingly, the General Assembly decided to leave the item open to allow informal consulta- tions to continue on the form the negotiations should take. Technical work was under way to promote greater economic co-operation among developing countries, including preliminary con- sideration of a global system of trade preferences among them (p. 382). The special concern the Organization had shown for more than two decades for the poorest of the world’s poor was further demonstrated at the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (Paris, 1-14 September 1981). (3) The Conference adopted the second phase–the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s–of the Comprehensive New Programme of Action for these countries, inaugurated in 1979 by the United Nations Con- ference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ). The Substantial New Programme was designed to transform the economies of these countries and enable them to achieve internationally ac- cepted minimum standards of nutrition, health, housing and education as well as job opportuni- ties for all, particularly the rural and urban poor. In December, the General Assembly endorsed the Programme, called for its implementation and arranged for its mid-term review in 1985. (15) Earlier, the Economic and Social Council ap- pealed for substantial aid to these countries, (8) added Guinea-Bissau to the United Nations list of the least developed countries (6) and decided to review Togo’s economic situation for its possible inclusion in the list. (9) The Assembly also appealed again to donor nations to assist the land-locked developing coun- tries build their transport and transit facilities (13) and made a further request for contributions to the United Nations Special Fund for Land-locked Developing Countries, managed by the United Nations Development Programme. (16) Reiterating the need to strengthen economic co-operation for development within the United Nations system, the Economic and Social Coun- cil called for the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Develop- ment Decade, adopted by the Assembly in 1980, (12) to be applied in the work programmes of United Nations organizations. (11) The first of a new series of annual reports on the world economic situation–the Trade and Develop- ment Report, 1981 –was issued by UNCTAD. (2) Another report, the World Economic Survey 1980-1981, (1) was a background document for the annual discussion in the Economic and Social Council on international economic and social policy, with special emphasis on current trends (p. 384). A third assessment of current trends and prospects for the 1980s was prepared by the Com- mittee for Development Planning, a standing body of experts appointed by the Council. (4) The Council also considered a preliminary draft of a report on long-term trends, offering a socio- economic perspective of the world economy to the year 2000 p. 388). Several broad areas of economic and social de- velopment were the object of special United Nations studies. Following preliminary action by the Council in July (10) the General Assembly called in December (14) for implementation of a new United Nations work programme to study the interrelationships between resources, envi- ronment, people and development. The Council also requested high priority for United Nations studies on the role of the public sector in economic development. (7) Reports were submit- ted on a unified approach to development analy- sis and planning, combining economic and social elements (p. 395). The Council called on Governments to give special attention to increas- ing the social impact of rural development poli- cies, (5) and arranged for the continued submis- sion, every four years, of reports on agrarian reform and rural development (p. 399). The As-
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Economic and social questions
Chapter I
Development and international economic and social policy
The discouraging world economic s i tuat ion–
sluggish growth, accelerating inflation, world
trade s low-down, worsening current-account
balances and higher energy pr ices–cont inued
t o o c c u p y a m a j o r p a r t o f t h e a t t e n t i o n o f
United Nations bodies during 1981.
L i t t l e p r o g r e s s w a s r e c o r d e d t o w a r d s t h e
launching of global negotiations on international
economic co-operation for development, origi-
nally scheduled to commence in 1980 (p. 378).
Accordingly, the General Assembly decided to
leave the item open to allow informal consulta-
tions to continue on the form the negotiations
should take. Technical work was under way to
promote greater economic co-operation among
developing countries, including preliminary con-
sideration of a global system of trade preferences
among them (p. 382).
The special concern the Organizat ion had
shown for more than two decades for the poorest
of the world’s poor was further demonstrated
at the United Nations Conference on the LeastDeveloped Countries (Paris, 1-14 September
1981).( 3 )
The Conference adopted the second
p h a s e – t h e S u b s t a n t i a l N e w P r o g r a m m e o f
Act ion for the 1980s–of the Comprehensive
New Programme of Action for these countries,
inaugurated in 1979 by the United Nations Con-
ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The Substantial New Programme was designed
to transform the economies of these countries
and enable them to achieve internationally ac-
cepted minimum standards of nutrition, health,
housing and education as well as job opportuni-
ties for all, particularly the rural and urban poor.
In December, the General Assembly endorsed
the Programme, called for its implementation
and arranged for its mid-term review in 1985.(15)
Earlier, the Economic and Social Council ap-
pealed for substantial aid to these countries,( 8 )
added Guinea-Bissau to the United Nations list
of the least developed countries(6)
and decided to
review Togo’s economic situation for its possible
inclusion in the list.(9)
The Assembly also appealed again to donor
nations to assist the land-locked developing coun-
tries build their transport and transit facilities(13)
and made a further request for contributions to
the United Nations Special Fund for Land-locked
Developing Countries, managed by the United
Nations Development Programme.(16)
Reiterating the need to strengthen economic
co-operation for development within the United
Nations system, the Economic and Social Coun-
ci l cal led for the Internat ional Development
Strategy for the Third United Nations Develop-
men t Decade , adop ted by the Assembly in
1980,(12)
to be applied in the work programmes
of United Nations organizations.(11)
The first of a new series of annual reports on the
world economic situation–the Trade and Develop-
ment Report, 1981 –was issued by UNCTAD.( 2 )
Another report , the World Economic Survey
1980-1981, (1)
was a background document for the
annual discussion in the Economic and Social
Council on international economic and social
policy, with special emphasis on current trends
(p. 384). A third assessment of current trends and
prospects for the 1980s was prepared by the Com-
mit tee for Development Planning, a s tanding
body of experts appointed by the Council.(4)
The
Council also considered a preliminary draft of a
report on long-term trends, offer ing a socio-
economic perspective of the world economy to the
year 2000 p. 388).
Several broad areas of economic and social de-
velopment were the object of special United
Nations studies. Following preliminary action
by the Council in July (10)
the General Assembly
called in December( 1 4 )
for implementation of anew United Nations work programme to study
the interrelationships between resources, envi-
ronment, people and development. The Council
also requested high priority for United Nations
s tud i e s on t he ro l e o f t he pub l i c s ec to r i n
economic development.(7)
Reports were submit-
ted on a unified approach to development analy-
s i s a n d p l a n n i n g , c o m b i n i n g e c o n o m i c a n d
social elements (p. 395). The Council called on
Governments to give special attention to increas-
ing the social impact of rural development poli-
cies,(5)
and arranged for the continued submis-
sion, every four years, of reports on agrarian
reform and rural development (p. 399). The As-
3 7 8 Economic and social questions
sembly decided to continue a computerized De-
ve lopmen t I n fo rma t ion Sys t em ope ra t ed by
the Information Systems Unit of the United
Nations Secretar ia t ’s Department of Interna-
tional Economic and Social Affairs.(17)
The improvement of development planning
(p. 396) and public administration (p. 398) in de-
veloping countries continued to be a focus of
technical co-operation activities.
Among other broad aspects of development
under consideration in 1981 were development
finance (p. 558), social development (p. 761),
and the relationships between disarmament and
d e v e l o p m e n t ( p . 9 6 ) a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a n d
human rights (p. 973).
P u b l i c a t i o n s : ( 1 )
Wor ld Economic Survey 1980-1981
( E / 1 9 8 1 / 4 2 ) , S a l e s N o . E . 8 1 . I I . C . 2 ; 1 9 8 1 - 1 9 8 2
(E/1982/46), Sales No. E.82.II.C.1. (2)
Trade and Develop-
m e n t R e p o t , 1 9 8 1 ( T D / B / 8 6 3 / R e v . 1 ) , S a l e s N o .
E.81.II.D.9. (3)
Report of the United Nations Conference on
the Least Developed Countries (A/C0NE.104/22/Rev.1),
Sales No. E.82.I.8.
Report: (4)
CDP, E/1981/27.
Resolutions: ESC: (5)
1981/15, 6 May (p 399); (6)
1981/34,
8 May (p. 412); (7)
1981/45, 20 July (p. 394); (8)
1981/46,
20 July (p. 405); (9)
1981/47, 20 July (p. 413);( 1 0 )
1981/51 22 July (p. 392); ( 1 1 )
1981/64, 23 July (p.
381). GA: (12)
35/56, annex, 5 Dec. 1980 (YUN 1980, p.
503); (13)
36/175, 17 Dec. 1981 (p. 414); (14)
36/179 (p.
393), (15)
36/194 (p. 410), (16)
36/195 (p. 416), 17 Dec.;(17)
36/237, 18 Dec. (p. 398).
Other publication: Towards the New International Economic
Order, Sales No. E.82.II.A.7.
Economic co-operation
P r o p o s e d g l o b a l n e g o t i a t i o n s
GE N E R A L AS S E M B L Y C O N S I D E R A T I O N . AS it
had decided in 1980,( 1 1 )
the General Assembly
resumed its thirty-fifth session on 15 January
1981 to consider four agenda items, among them
the launching of global negotiations on interna-
tional economic co-operation for development.
On the same day, the Assembly agreed to an oral
proposal by its President that he pursue consul-
tations on the subject and report on their out-
come at a later date.
At the final meeting of the thirty-fifth session,
on 14 September 1981, the President outlined
work done since October 1980, when an informal
consultative group had been established under
his chairmanship to seek general agreement on
launching the negotiations.( 1 4 )
That group had
ach i eved subs t an t i a l p rog re s s by December
1980, the President said, and he felt that it had
been close to agreement. He had set out the re-
sults in an informal text of 14 December that
dealt with both procedures and agenda for the
negotiations.
A w i d e m e a s u r e o f a g r e e m e n t h a d b e e n
reached, the President stated, on a four-stage
general framework for the negotiations: (1) the
central conference would establish objectives
and provide guidance with respect to the agenda
items; (2) the items would be sent to an existing
specialized forum in the United Nations system
–commodit ies to U N C T A D , for example–or to
an ad hoc group when no such forum existed, as
in the case of energy questions; (3) the outcome
of the second phase would be considered by the
central conference, which would be responsible
for assembling a package for approval by al l
Member States; and (4) the agreements would
be implemented. However, there was disagree-
ment in regard to the third stage, and specifically
as to whether the conference should be able to
change conclusions reached in a special ized
forum such as the International Monetary Fund,
whose procedures and vot ing s t ructures were
m o r e r e s t r i c t e d t h a n t h o s e o f t h e G e n e r a l
Assembly.
R e g a r d i n g t h e a g e n d a , t h e P r e s i d e n t s a i d
t h a t t h e r e w e r e s t i l l d i f f e r e n c e s o v e r t w o
a r e a s – e n e r g y , a n d m o n e y a n d f i n a n c e . T h e
major issue concerning energy was whether pre-
dictabil i ty of supplies and petroleum pricing
should be listed as distinct sub-items. Concern-
ing money and finance, the major question was
how to set out the functioning and reform of the
international monetary and financial system in
all its aspects.
He informed the Assembly that, following an
economic summit meeting of Western industrial
n a t i o n s ( O t t a w a , C a n a d a , 1 9 - 2 1 J u l y ) , t h e
United States had told him that the matter of
global negotiations should not be pursued until
the Assembly’s regular 1981 session. In the con-
viction that full participation in efforts to launch
t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s w a s v i t a l , t h e P r e s i d e n t
proposed–and the Assembly decided without
vote on 14 September–to include the item in
t h e d r a f t a g e n d a o f i t s t h i r t y - s i x t h ( 1 9 8 1 )
session.(12)
S p e a k i n g a f t e r t h e d e c i s i o n , C a n a d a a n d
China expressed regret that no agreement had
been reached on procedures and agenda. How-
ever, these States–together with the United
Kingdom, speaking for the European Communi-
ty (EC) members-generally felt that there had
been a narrowing of differences. Japan urged all
countries to recognize the serious economic and
political impact that might result from failure to
engage in construct ive North-South dialogue
and to adopt a more positive and constructive
attitude towards the negotiations. Norway, on
behalf of the Nordic countries, said they were
ready to accept the texts as they s tood and
hoped all States would join in a consensus. The
Development and international economic and social policy 3 7 9
United States reiterated its view that considera-
t ion of the negotiat ions should be deferred
unt i l af ter the Internat ional Meet ing on Co-
operat ion and Development–a conference of
22 heads of State or Government at Cancún,
Mexico, on 22 and 23 October , focusing on
North-South relationships.
Venezuela expressed the disappointment of
the Group of 77 developing countries that nego-
tiations had not formally commenced. Jordan,
on behalf of the Group of Arab States, termed
the progress meagre.
The readiness of the industr ial ized States
members of the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) to conduct
internat ional consultat ions and co-operat ion
with developing countries was affirmed in a com-
muniqué issued by an OECD ministerial meeting
on 16 and 17 June; the communiqué, forwarded
by a 13 July letter from Belgium,(3)
also reviewed
member countries’ economic prospects and poli-
cies, trade problems, the energy situation and
trade relations with developing countries.
A 30 September letter from Venezuela( 5 )
at-
tached the Declaration of the fifth annual meet-
ing of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the
Group of 77 (New York, 28 and 29 September),
in which the Group expressed regret that a few
developed countries lacked the political will to
undertake without delay measures to achieve
equitable solutions to the world economic crisis
and voiced concern that the launching of the
negotiations continued to be jeopardized mainly
by one country.
The outcome of the Cancun summit confer-
ence was conveyed in a summary by i ts co-
Chairmen, transmitted by a 26 October letter
from Canada and Mexico.( 4 )
With regard to
global negotiations, the summary said the partic-
ipants had confirmed the desirability of support-
ing a consensus to launch them on a basis to be
mutually agreed and in circumstances offering
the prospect of meaningful progress; some coun-
tries had insisted that the competence of the spe-
cialized agencies should not be affected.
The General Assembly resumed consideration
of the subject on 4 and 5 November, hearing
delegations reiterate their views on the substance
and format of the projected negotiations.
Several States pointed to recent international
high-level meetings, part icular ly the Cancún
conference and a meet ing of Commonweal th
heads of Government (Melbourne, Australia, 30
September-7 October),(2)
as reason for optimism
for the launching of the negotiations, although it
was recognized that there had been differences
of approach.
For Japan, a highl ight of Cancún was that
agreement had been reached to continue pre-
paratory negotiat ions for the global round in
New York. Australia suggested that progress in
the preparatory process might be made through
a contact group open to all countries, meeting
c o n c u r r e n t l y w i t h t h e A s s e m b l y ’ s S e c o n d
( E c o n o m i c a n d F i n a n c i a l ) C o m m i t t e e , t h a t
might capture the spirit of the Cancún and Mel-
bourne meet ings–a free-f lowing exchange of
views between developed and developing coun-
tries. The United Kingdom said EC members felt
that concentration on substance could help in
the search for practical solutions; the General
Assembly had a central role to play but the
competence of the specialized agencies should
be respected. Regarding the respective roles of
specialized bodies and the overview mechanism,
Finland and Sweden thought it over-zealous to
try to establish, before the substantive negotia-
tions began, what to do with their results.
Norway said it was important that further ef-
forts at agreement be based on common positions
already establ ished and that preparat ions be
finalized so the negotiations could start at the
beginning of 1982. Austria felt it essential to
arrive at a consensus on basic elements and not
become bogged down in a fut i le search for
detailed and specific guidelines for every stage
of the negotiations. Canada urged States to con-
sider the damage that would be done to the
credibility of the United Nations if the projected
u n d e r t a k i n g c o u l d n o t b e s u c c e s s f u l l y c o n -
cluded.
The United States ci ted i ts leading role in
assistance to and trade with developing coun-
tries, and stressed five objectives for develop-
ment: feeding hungry people, enabling all coun-
tries to strengthen and diversify their economies
through an open world trading system, integrat-
ing developing countries more fully into that
system, achieving economic growth through
trade and commercial capital flows that respond-
ed to market-place incentives, and solving the
energy problem through higher production and
more efficient use.
Algeria, on behalf of the Group of 77, restated
the Group’s view that: there was a fundamental
need for a world dialogue open to all countries,
based on democratic decisions and institutions;
the General Assembly was the central body for
decision-making, direction, the provision of im-
petus and co-ordination at all stages of negotia-
tion; essential questions of reconstructing the
w o r l d e c o n o m y a n d r e s h a p i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l
economic inst i tut ions could not be removed
from the agenda; and the major issues identified
by the Assembly when i t decided in 1979 to
launch the negotiations (8)
should be considered
with equal care and with regard for their inter-
relationship.
3 8 0 Economic and social questions
China said that an orderly restructuring of in-
ternational economic relations through dialogue
was in the common interest of most nations and
would contr ibute to peace and securi ty . The
Philippines remarked that no one was calling for
the overthrow of the current system or the de-
struct ion of exis t ing economic and f inancial
institutions; the task was to make adjustments in
the existing order to meet urgent needs of the
times.
Poland, on behalf of the Eastern European
States and Mongolia, reiterated their support in
principle for the negotiations and the broad out-
line of the agenda and said they had been willing
to participate in the consensus on procedure, but
remarked that the unwillingness of certain impe-
rialist circles to give up their positions and their
desire to keep the developing countries in a state
of dependence hardly gave reason for optimism.
O n 9 D e c e m b e r , i n a r e s o l u t i o n o n t h e
strengthening of international security,(9)
the As-
sembly urged States to proceed without delay to
a global considerat ion of ways and means to
revive the world economy and restructure inter-
national economic relations within the frame-
work of global negotiations.
Following several weeks of inconclusive infor-
mal consultations, the Assembly agreed on 18
December, on an oral proposal by its President,
that the item should be left open in order to
allow the consultations to continue, on the un-
derstanding that the Assembly would reconvene
at short notice to consider any agreement that
might emerge. Accordingly, the topic was includ-
ed in the list of seven items which the Assembly
decided to consider when it resumed its thirty-
sixth session in 1982.(13)
Algeria (for the Group of 77), China and the
USSR, the last named on behalf of the Eastern
European States and Mongolia, expressed regret
that, because of one delegation, agreement had
not been reached. The United Kingdom restated
the EC members’ aim to launch the negotiations
on a ba s i s accep t ab l e t o a l l and p romis ing
genuine progress.
OTHER ACTION. The first regular 1981 session
of the inter-agency Administrative Committee
on Co-ordinat ion (ACC) (Geneva, 13 and 14
April) was attended by the General Assembly
President, who informed it of efforts to launch
the global negotiat ions. The Committee ex-
pressed appreciation to the President for his ef-
forts(10)
and, in its annual overview report,(6)
issued in May, stated its concern that there had
been no agreement on the matter.
The Joint Meetings of ACC and the Committee
for Programme and Co-ordination (CPC) (Geneva,
29 June-1 July) (7)
reaffirmed the contribution
that adequately prepared global negotiat ions
could make to implementation of the Internation-
al Development Strategy for the Third United
Nations Development Decade (see below) and the
need to launch them as soon as possible.
The Conference of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), meet-
ing at Rome, Italy, from 7 to 25 November, of-
fered that organization’s assistance in the global
negot iat ions with regard to food product ion,
food aid, food security and related matters; the
Conference’s position was conveyed in a letter of
8 December from the FAO Director-General, an-
nexed to a 16 December note by the Secretary-
General.( 1 )
Letters: ( 1 )
FAO Director-General , 8 Dec. , transmitted by
S-G no t e , A /36 /836 ; ( 2 )
Aus t r a l i a , 9 Oc t . , annex ing
C o m m o n w e a l t h c o m m u n i q u é a n d d e c l a r a t i o n . A /
36/587; ( 3 )
Belgium, 13 July, annexing OECD commu-
n i q u é , A / 3 6 / 3 8 0 ; ( 4 )
Canada and Mex ico , 26 Oc t . ,
annexing summary of International Meeting on Co-
operation and Development, A/36/631 & Corr.1;(5)
Venezuela, 30 Sep., annexing Group of 77 declara-
tion, A/36/573.
Reports: ( 6 )
ACC, E/1981/37; ( 7 )
ACC and C P C chairmen,
E/1981/86.
Resolutions and decisions:
Resolutions: GA: (8)
34/138, 14 Dec. 1979 (YUN 1979,
p. 468); (9)
36/102, para. 5 (e), 9 Dec. 1981 (p. 145).
Decisions: ( 1 0 )
ACC: 1981/1,, para. (a), 14 Apr. GA:( 1 1 )
3 5 / 4 5 0 , 1 7 D e c . 1 9 8 0 ( Y U N 1 9 8 0 , p . 5 2 6 ) ;(12)
1 0 - 2 6 , 2 8 - 3 2 , 4 1 , 4 6 ( 2 4 S e p . - 7 D e c . ) ; p l e n a r y ,
A/36/PV.103 (17 Dec.).
Economic and Social Council resolution 1981/51
Adopted without vote Meeting 39 22 July 1981
4-nation draft (E/1981/L.52); agenda item 3.
Sponsors: India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sweden.
Development and international economic and social policy 393
Interrelat ionships between resources,
environment, people and development
The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 35/74 of 5 Decem-
ber 1980 on international co-operation in the field of the envi-
ronment, in which the Secretary-General was requested to
take the requisite steps for the Implementation of the recom-
mendations of the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme on the work of the United Nations
system on interrelationships between resources, environ-
ment, people and development,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on in-
terrelat ionships between resources, environment, people
and development;
2. Welcomes the statement of the Director-General for De-
velopment and International Economic Co-operation, in
which he presented an outline of the elements of a system-
wide programme of work on the interrelationships between
resources, environment, people and development;
3. Urgently requests the Director-General for Development
and International Economic Co-operation to finalize the
proposals for the system-wide programme of work on interre-
lationships between resources, environment, people and de-
velopment, bearing in mind the above-mentioned outline of
the elements, and to submit the proposals to Governments at
an early stage, so as to facilitate the full consideration of the
programme of work by the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth
session and to enable the Assembly to take the appropriate
decisions for its implementation, also bearing in mind Council
resolution 1981/73;
4. Welcomes the establishment of the general trust fund
for the purpose of facil i tat ing the implementation of the
system-wide programme of work to be undertaken pursuant
to General Assembly resolution 35/74.
General Assembly resolution 36/179
A d o p t e d w i t h o u t v o t e M e e t i n g 1 0 3 1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 1
Approved by Second Committee (A/36/694/Add.1) without vote, 7December (meeting 46); draft by Vice-Chairman (A/C.2/36/L.133),based on informal consultations on 3-nation draft (A/C.2/36/L.75);
agenda item 69.
Interrelat ionships between resources,
environment, people and development
The General Assembly,
Having considered the report of the Director-General for De-
velopment and International Economic Co-operation on inter-
relat ionships between resources, environment, people and
development,
Conscious of the Interrelationships between resources, en-
vironment, people and development, as noted in the Interna-
tional Development Strategy for the Third United Nations De-
velopment Decade,
Recognizing that the application of existing knowledge con-
cerning those interrelationships could lead to a more efficient
use of available resources in the United Nations system,
Recalling its resolution 35/74 of 5 December 1980, in para-
graph 5 of which it requested the Secretary-General to take
the requisite steps for implementation of a system-wide pro-
gramme of work on the interrelationships between resources,
environment, people and development,
Reca l l i ng Economic and Soc i a l Counc i l r e so lu t i ons
1981/51 of 22 July 1981 and 1981/73 of 24 July 1981,
Aware that the formulation and implementation, at the na-
t i o n a l l e v e l , o f p o l i c i e s a n d s t r a t e g i e s i n t h e f i e l d s o f
resources, environment, people and development fall within
the prerogative of Governments,
1. Requests the Director-General for Development and In-
ternational Economic Co-operation:
(a) To Initiate implementation of a co-ordinated multidis-
ciplinary programme of work on interrelationships between
resources, environment, people and development, as outlined
in his report, and within this framework the recommendations
on this subject of the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme and of the Economic and Social
Council;
(b) Urgently to consult Governments on the elements con-
tained in his report, as he proceeds in the implementation of
the above-mentioned programme of work;
2. Supports the arrangements proposed by the Director-
General for Development and International Economic Co-
operation for inter-agency consultations and programme sup-
port in the implementation of the programme of work, as well
as the establishment of a small advisory body, to be financed
through the trust fund which has been established for financ-
ing activit ies concerning interrelationships between re-
sources, environment, people and development, to assist him
in the overall guidance of the programme of work and to over-
see the operation of the trust fund;
3. Appeals to Governments to contribute to the trust fund;
4. Decides to review at its thirty-eighth session the prog-
ress made in the implementation of the present resolution.
Inflation and development
In a note to the General Assembly, transmit-
ted by the United Nations Secretary-General on
29 September 1981,(2)
the Secretary-General of
the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) proposed to submit in
1982 rather than 1981 a report requested by the
Assembly in 1979( 4 )
on measures to combat
world inflation with a view to accelerating devel-
oping countries’ real growth and increasing their
import capacity in a context of just and stable
financial markets. He pointed out that there had
b e e n c h a n g e s s i n c e 1 9 7 9 i n t h e u n d e r l y i n g
economic forces affecting inflation. Several Gov-
ernments appeared to have different perceptions
of the origins of that process and to attach dif-
ferent weights to the goals of reducing inflation
and achieving full employment. Therefore, the
UNCTAD secretariat felt that a comprehensive
review was required and it proposed to submit
such a report for the twenty-f i f th session of
the Trade and Development Board (September
1982) and the Assembly’s 1982 regular session.
On 9 October, the Board noted this intention
and a agreed to consider the report in September
1982.(3)
On 16 December, in a resolution on
UNCTAD,(5)
the Assembly took note of the
UNCTAD Secretary-General’s intention and the
Board’s agreement. In an earlier version of this
text , submit ted by Algeria on behalf of the
Group of 77,(l)
the Assembly would have wel-
comed the Board’s decision and requested that
the study and the Board’s comments be transmit-
ted to the Assembly in 1982.
In a related decision,(6)
adopted without vote
on 16 December, the Assembly took note of the
UNCTAD Secretary-General’s communication.
This action was recommended by the Second
Committee, which similarly approved it on 11
December on an oral proposal of its Chairman.
The effects of inflation and monetary instabili-
394 Economic and social questions
t y o n t h e f i n a n c e s o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s
system were also examined by the Assembly
during the year (p. 1300).
Draft resolution withdrawn: (1)
Algeria, for Group of 77,
A/C.2/36/L.65.
N o t e : ( 2 )
U N C T A D S - G , t r a n s m i t t e d b y S - G n o t e ,
Ireland, ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Libe-ria, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mal-dives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozam-bique, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,Qatar, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia,Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suri-
name, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo,Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UnitedRepublic of Cameroon, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela,Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia.
gary, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Ukrainian SSR, USSR,United Kingdom, United States.
Abstaining: Afghanistan, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Ghana,Greece, India, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Romania, Rwanda, Spain,Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania.
Other developments
During 1981 there were several other develop-
ments with regard to economic and social informa-
tion systems. In July, the Economic and Social
Council adopted two resolutions on the subject.
The first dealt with preparations for the Second
Intergovernmental Conference on Strategies and
Policies for Informatics, scheduled for Havana,
Cuba, in 1983 (p. 759). By the second, the Council
r e c o g n i z e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f h a r m o n i z i n g
United Nations information systems and made
specific requests to the Secretary-General and the
Administrative Committee on Co-ordination on
enhancing the effect iveness of such systems
(p. 1385). In May, the Governing Council of the
United Nations Environment Programme acted
to expand the International Referral System on
the environment (INFOTERRA) (p. 826). The In-
dustrial and Technological Information Bank, a
project of the United Nations Industrial Develop-
ment Organization, continued to develop its data
base and network of correspondents (p. 593).
Public administration
Technical co-operation
The United Nations Secretariat’s Department
of Technical Co-operat ion for Development
Development and international economic and social policy 399
(DTCD) supported 86 projects in 1981, including
27 new ones, in the field of development adminis-
t r a t i o n , w h i c h e n c o m p a s s e d p u b l i c f i n a n c e
(p. 562) as well as public administration. A third of
these focused on administrative reform and im-
provement of management practices and pro-
cedures, according to a report on United Nations
technical co-operation activities prepared by the
Secretary-General for the Governing Council of
the United Nations Development Programme.(3)
Emphasis was also given to programmes for alle-
viating shortages of skilled personnel.
Support was given to public enterprises in a
number of countries to strengthen their role as ef-
fective instruments of economic development.
D T C D co-operated with the Central American
Institute for Public Administration, the Latin
American Centre for Development Administra-
t ion and the Afr ican Training and Research
Centre in Administration for Development, as
well as with the International Centre for Public
Enterprises at Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.
An Expert Working Group on Network in
Public Administration and Finance focused on
the potential for global co-operation and joint ac-
tivities in this field (Alcalá de Henares, Spain,
9-15 December).( 2 )
Among seminars and work-
shops organized by DTCD during the year were
those on: curricula design for management devel-
opment (Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania,
20-24 July);(1)
decentralization for development
(Khartoum, Sudan, 14-18 September); economic
performance of public enterprises-jointly with
the Government of Pakistan (Islamabad, Paki-
stan, 24-29 November); and strategies and mea-
sures for enhancing capabilities for development
administrat ion in developing countr ies Bang-
kok, Thailand, 9-14 December).
Publications: (1)
Curricula Design for Management Develop-
ment, Sales No. E.82.II.A.18; (2)
Network for the United
Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance,
Sales No. E.82.II.H.3.
Report: (3)
S-G, DP/1982/22.
Rural development
Socia l aspec ts
By a resolution adopted on 6 May 1981,(1)
the
Economic and Social Council called on Govern-
ments to give special attention to increasing the
social impact of basic rural development policies
such as implementing agrarian reforms, promot-
ing co-operative endeavours, introducing devel-
opment planning, strengthening the role of na-
t i o n a l q u a l i f i e d p e r s o n n e l a n d e n c o u r a g i n g
popular part icipat ion in the development of
rural areas. The Council requested the Secretary-
General to devote special attention to social as-
pects of rural development in his 1982 report on
the world social situation (p. 768). He was also
invited to help increase dissemination of infor-
mation on national experience and requested to
report in 1983 to the Commission for Social De-
velopment on implementation of this resolution.
The resolution was adopted without vote after
the Council’s Second (Social) Committee had
similarly approved the draft on 29 April, as rec-
ommended by the Commission for Social Devel-
opment on 16 February.
T h e C o m m i s s i o n o n H u m a n S e t t l e m e n t s
made several recommendations on 6 May to im-
prove slums, squatter areas and rural settlements
(p. 858).
Resolution: (1)
ESC, 1981/15, 6 May, text following.
M e e t i n g r e c o r d s : E S C : 2 n d C o m m i t t e e , E / 1 9 8 1 / C . 2 /
SR .3 .10 , 11 (16 -29 Apr . ) ; p l ena ry , E /1981 /SR .14
(6 May).
Economic and Social Council resolution 1981/15
Adopted without vote Meeting 14 6 May 1981
Approved by Second Committee (E/1981/57) without vote, 29 April
( m e e t i n g 1 1 ) ; d r a f t b y C o m m i s s i o n f o r S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t
(E/1981/26); agenda item 10.
Social aspects of rural development
The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling the Declaration on Social Progress and Develop-
ment contained in General Assembly resolution 2542(XXIV)
of 11 December 1969,
Recalling also the International Development Strategy for
the Third United Nations Development Decade, contained in
the annex to General Assembly resolution 35/56 of 5 Decem-
ber 1980.
Concerned at the distressing social conditions prevailing in
rural areas of many countries.
Taking into account the need for implementing integrated
rural development programmes to fight mass poverty, raise
the levels of living of the rural population and achieve the
goal of equitable distribution of national income,
1. Calls upon Governments, while implementing the rele-
vant provisions of the International Development Strategy for
the Third United Nations Development Decade and national
development programmes, to give special at tention to in-
creasing the social impact of basic rural development policies
such as:
(a) Implementing agrarian reforms;
(b) Promoting co-operative endeavours;
(c) Introducing development planning;
(d) Strengthening the role of national qualified personnel
in rural development;
(e) Encouraging popular participation in the development
process of rural areas:
2. Requests the Secretary-General to devote special at-
tention in the forthcoming report on the world social situation
to the social aspects of rural development, taking into account
the provisions of the present resolution;
3. Invites the Secretary-General to facil i tate increasing
dissemination of information on national experience of coun-
t r i e s w i t h d i f f e r e n t s o c i o - e c o n o m i c s y s t e m s i n r u r a l
development;
4. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the
Commission for Social Development at its twenty-eighth ses-
sion on the implementation of the present resolution.
Rural development and land reform
The Food and Agricul ture Organizat ion of
the Uni ted Nat ions ( F A O ) , in a report to the
400 Economic and social questions
Economic and Social Council in June 1981,( 2 )
described action it was taking to analyse and
disseminate information on agrarian reform and
rural development , as cal led for in the Pro-
gramme of Action approved by the 1979 World
C o n f e r e n c e o n A g r a r i a n R e f o r m a n d R u r a l
Development.( 9 )
According to this report, review and analysis of
national policies were being undertaken by high-
level missions, whose reports could give guidance
to developing countries in regard to policy options
and to development organizations regarding assis-
tance possibilities. United Nations agencies were
conducting research, diagnostic and evaluation
s t u d i e s w e r e t o b e u n d e r t a k e n a n d r e g i o n a l
centres for rural development had been estab-
lished in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific to ana-
lyse and disseminate information. Information
furnished by Governments would be monitored
by FAO, which would col laborate with other
United Nations agencies to establish benchmarks
and socio-economic indicators.
The FAO report was submitted following three
decisions by the Council relating to the type of
reports it wished to receive on this topic. It had
Publications: The Least Developed Countries and Action in
Their Favour by the International Community (A/CONF.
104/2/Rev.1), Sales No. E.83.I.6; United Nations Confer-
ence on the Least Developed Countries (DPI/691).
Comprehensive New Programme of Action
In 1979 , U N C T A D had decided to launch a
two-phase Comprehensive New Programme of
Ac t ion fo r t he Leas t Deve loped Coun t r i e s ,
compris ing an Immediate Action Programme
(1979-1981) and a Substantial New Programme
of Action for the 1980s, aimed at transforming
their economies towards self-sustained develop-
ment.(1)
While the initial phase was drawing to a
close (see below), the Substant ial New Pro-
gramme of Action was adopted by the United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries, held in Paris from 1 to 14 September
1981 (p. 406).
Yearbook reference: (1)
1979, p. 568.
Implementat ion of the
Immediate Action Programme (1979-1981)
After receiving preliminary information from
the Secretary-General on the results of the Im-
mediate Action Programme for the least devel-
oped countries (LDCs), the Economic and Social
Council expressed deep concern in July 1981
that the Programme had not been fully imple-
mented more than two years after its adoption
and nearly at the end of the programme period
(1979-1981). This provision was incorporated in
a resolution of 20 July on preparations for the
Conference on LDCs(7)
The phrase “nearly at the
end of the programme period” was added to the
original draft by i ts sponsor-Venezuela, on
behalf of the Council members belonging to the
Group of 77–after Austral ia remarked that a
number of delegations thought it premature to
declare the Programme a failure when data for
the whole period were not available.
In another action on 20 July,( 9 )
orally pro-
posed by the Counci l President and adopted
without vote, the Council took note of an initial
report by the Secretary-General on the Pro-
gramme’s implementation.( 4 )
The report, pre-
402 Economic and social questions
pared in response to a 1980 General Assembly
request to monitor implementation of measures
in favour of LDCs,( 8 )
contained no substantive
information. Rather, it drew attention to studies
prepared for the Conference on L D Cs and to
the fact that the Preparatory Committee for the
Conference had also been asked to monitor
progress under the Programme.
The Committee undertook this review at its
June/July session(2)
but reached no conclusions,
devot ing most of i ts a t tent ion to Conference
preparations (p. 404).
In further response to the Assembly request,
the Secretary-General included, in his November
report on the Conference,(3)
a review of progress
in the Programme’s implementation. The report
summarized information supplied by individual
donor countries, the United Nations system and
multilateral donor agencies. It concluded that
sufficient financing had not been provided to
meet one of the Programme’s two main aims-
an immediate boost to the economies of LDCS
and al leviat ion of their most pressing social
needs. Despite efforts by some donors, overall
concessional financial resources to LDCs had de-
clined in 1979 and, according to preliminary esti-
mates, again in 1980, in both total and per capita
real terms. As to the other main aim, the request
by the Group of 77 for at least $100 million to
support preparations by LDCs for the Substantial
New Programme of Act ion for the 1980s re-
mained unfulfilled.
A l so i nc luded in t he Sec re t a ry -Gene ra l ’ s
r epo r t was i n fo rma t ion abou t a c t i v i t i e s by
United Nations bodies in implementation of the
Immediate Action Programme, including the
following:
–Department of Technical Co-operation for Develop-ment. Twenty-two projects in 18 countries encom-passing regional and national economic planning,strengthening and creating project formulation andevaluation units, and rural development; expertmissions on mineral development.
–Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (ESCAP). Activities in agriculture, industry, en-vironmental protection, regional trade expansionand co-operation, export promotion and othertrade-related issues.
–Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA).
Advisory services, training of personnel and researchto assist Democratic Yemen and Yemen.
–World Food Council Assistance to 10 countrieson food supply strategies to eradicate hunger andmalnutrition.
–United Nations Industrial Development Organiza-tion Technical assistance, training of personnel, in-dustrial information services; solidarity meetingswithin the framework of economic and technical co-operation among developing countries.
–United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Expenditures of $139.3 million in 1979, $158.3 mil-
lion in 1980 and an expected increase for 1981; inaddition, $9.8 million in 1979, $14 million in 1980
and $15 million in 1981 (6)
from the Special MeasuresFund for LDCs; special intercountry programmes inAfrica, the Arab States and Asia.
–World Food Programme. Economic and social de-velopment projects and emergency operations topromote agriculture, food production and rural de-velopment, and to improve nutrition and warehousemanagement.
–International Labour Organisation. Technicalassistance and advisory services to create employ-ment opportunities, combat poverty and satisfybasic needs; assistance in negotiations with financialinstitutions for cash, equipment and materials forpublic works programmes.
–World Health Organization. Allocation for Afri-can LDCs of $17.3 million in 1980-1981 budget; $5.8million in voluntary contributions to the VoluntaryFund for Health Promotion in LDCs.
–World Bank. Total commitments to LDCs of $858
million for 1979, $980 million for 1980 and $1,186million (estimated) for 1981, with some 80 per cent ofall International Development Association credits infiscal 1980 (1 July 1979-30 June 1980) going to coun-
tries whose per capita gross national product did notexceed $360 (in 1978 dollars).
–International Monetary Fund. A total of 2,776million in special drawing rights made available toLDCs during 1979 and 1980 from various Fund facili-ties; $71.8 million distributed to them from goldsales profits.
–Universal Postal Union. Provision of experts andfellowships to Botswana, Cape Verde, Chad, theComoros, Lesotho and Uganda.
–International Telecommunication Union. Help indevelopment planning and improvement of trainingschemes; efforts to enable African countries toattain some objectives of the Transport and Com-munications Decade in Africa (1978-1988) (p. 614).
-Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organi-
zation. Technical assistance to 13 countries in train-ing of personnel, developing dry docks and otherport facilities, and reorganization and equipping ofshipyards.
–World Intellectual Property Organization. Awardof 43 fellowships for training or study courses; assis-tance in drafting or revising national legislation con-cerning intellectual property rights; aid to two Afri-can bodies for the establishment of documentationand information centres concerned with patents.
-International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentAssistance to LDCs amounting to $306 million-about35 per cent of the Fund’s total aid- between Decem-ber 1977 and December 1980, through either devel-opment loans on highly concessional terms or grantsfor technical assistance and research.
–General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Specialand differential treatment and technical assistanceprovided under tariff and non-tariff measuresagreed during the Tokyo Round of negotiations, inforce from 1 January 1980.
(10)
A report by the UNDP Administrator, describ-
ing the Programme’s role in development co-
(continued on p. 404)
Development and international economic and social policy 403
SELECTED BASIC INDICATORS FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIESAS COMPARED WITH ALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
RwandaSamoaSomaliaSudanUgandaUnited Republic of TanzaniaUpper VoltaYemen
All LDCs
All developing countries
(1)
16.3
90.7
3.6
1.3
0.8
4.3
0.3
2.3
4.5
0.4
1.9
32.2
0.6
5.1
0.8
5.1
3.8
1.4
6.4
0.2
7.1
14.6
5.5
5.0
0.2
4.9
18.9
13.6
18.5
7.1
5.9
290.6
2,280.4
(2)
77
84
46
93
79
83
56
87
83
63
58
79
78
80
82
66
73
83
83
77
86
92
87
89
75
80
76
80
80
81
75
81
58
(3)
1.6
3.8
1.8
-
10.2
2.8
0.3
0.8
0.4
1.1
_
2.4
1.8
3.1
0.9
4.3
1.0
7.0
7.0
6.8
3.7
2.0
4.4
7.0
2.5
3.9
3.3
0.0
4.4
1.7
7.8
3.2
6.0
(4)
238
118
242
109
1,204
225
288
261
173
285
347
148
388
360
268
312
98
281
265
320
194
157
354
251
623
386
380
356
283
150
558
220
970
(5)
750
56
109
50
182
143
60
94
77
128
45
73
115
164
136
100
6?
76
108
99
54
98
170
115
312
191
138
277
143
55
102
765
(6)
48
9
13
12
67
23
16
35
14
15
49
15
10
11
5
56
4
13
40
13
15
6
19
32
-
24
27
15
26
21
33
19
175
(7)
42.5
8.7
11.0
12.8
480.8
16.3
18.2
54.5
13.2
43.4
225.6
11.6
43.6
95.2
17.5
31.3
5.0
37.1
44.6
54.1
21.7
9.3
93.1
14.1
69.6
40.9
34.8
22.8
30.6
10.6
2.5
25.0
725.8
(8)
18.3
12.2
22.6
7.4
116.6
28.2
154.4
43.3
13.9
103.0
60.1
8.1
99.8
18.6
84.1
20.9
36.7
73.4
21.6
76.6
31.8
12.7
37.5
31.0
160.7
78.9
30.3
10.5
37.9
30.6
54.3
22.1
16.5
(9)
61
46
51
-
424
13
253
44
23
47
529
29
128
84
55
52
62
-
48
-
30
1 1
51
19
281
63
89
27
55
29
76
52
459
(10)
37
46
47
44
50
42
61
44
41
47
45
40
42
45
42
53
43
51
44
47
43
44
43
45
68
44
46
54
52
39
42
45
55
(11)
7
25
13
7
22
3
23
12
4
7
31
11
13
16
10
15
76
21
4
6
9
79
4
2
39
8
17
8
4
3
4
15
32
*Or latest year available.
NOTES (for figures in italics)Column 2—Maldives and Samoa=1980; Samoa=in subsistence agriculture.Column 3—Samoa=national income 1975-1979.Column 4 — Afghanistan=tentative estimate of net material product per capita; Democratic Yemen, Samoa, Yemen and all developing coun-
tries=1980 estimate; Lao People's Democratic Republic=estimate of gross national product per capita; Maldives=at 1980 prices; Sudan and Ugan-da=preliminary World Bank estimate.
A d o p t e d w i t h o u t v o t e M e e t i n g 1 0 3 1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 1
Approved by Second Committee (A/36/694/Add.12) without vote, 7
December (meeting 461; draft by Vice-Chairman (A/C.2/36/L.139),
based on Informal consultations on draft by Algeria. for Group of 77
(A/C.2/36/L.115); agenda item 69 (p).
United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 3201(S-VI) and 3202(S-VI) of 1
May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of
Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic
Order, 3281(XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the
Cha r t e r o f Economic R igh t s and Du t i e s o f S t a t e s , and
3362(S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and inter-
national economic co-operation,
Reaffirming that in the International Development Strategy
for the Third United Nations Development Decade the General
Assembly stated, inter alia, that as an essential priority within
the Strategy, the least developed countries-the economical-
ly weakest and poorest countries with the most formidable
structural problems-require a special programme of suffi-
cient size and intensity consistent with their national plans
and priorities to make a decisive break from their past and
present situation and their bleak prospects,
Recalling resolution 122(V) of 3 June 1979 of the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in which the
Conference decided, as one of its major priorities, to launch a
Comprehensive New Programme of Action for the Least De-
veloped Countries in two phases, an Immediate Action Pro-
gramme, 1979-1981, and a Substantial New Programme of
Action for the 1980s, which was endorsed by the General As-
sembly in its resolution 34/210 of 19 December 1979,
Recalling also its resolutions 34/203 of 19 December 1979
and 35/205 of 16 December 1980 on convening a United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries with
the objective of finalizing, adopting and supporting the Sub-
stantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the least
developed countries,
Deep ly conce rned a t t he g r av i t y o f t he de t e r i o r a t i ng
economic and social situation of the least developed coun-
t r i e s a n d t h e i r d i s m a l d e v e l o p m e n t d u r i n g t h e p a s t t w o
decades, as well as their bleak development prospects for
the 1990s.
Recalling that the objective of the Substantial New Pro-
gramme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries, adopted by the United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries, is to transform the economies of
those countries towards self-sustained development and
enable them to provide internationally accepted minimum
standards of nutrition, health, transport and communications,
housing and education as well as job opportunities to all their
citizens, particularly to the rural and urban poor,
Expressing deepest concern that more than two years after
the adoption of the Immediate Action Programme, 1979-
1981, contained in resolution 122(V) of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, very limited progress
has been made towards its implementation,
Reaffirming that there is an immediate need for a greatly ex-
panded programme, including a major increase in the transfer
of additional resources, to meet the critical needs of the least
developed countries and to help them promote more rapid
socio-economic development,
Stressing that external support should be forthcoming from
all developed countries, developing countries in a position to
do so, multilateral development institutions and other sources,
Emphasising the particular importance of the contribution
tha t economic co -ope ra t ion and t echn ica l co -ope ra t ion
among developing countries can make, inter alia, to the devel-
opment of the least developed among them,
Recogn i z ing t he need fo r ex t ens ive pub l i c awa renes s
throughout the world of the desperate plight of the least de-
veloped countries and the importance and objectives of the
Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the
Least Developed Countries,
Taking note of the Report of the United Nations Conference
on the Least Developed Countries,
Taking note also of the report of the Secretary-General on
secretariat services for the follow-up, monitoring and imple-
mentation of the Substantial New Programme of Action,
1 . Endorses the Substantial New Programme of Action for
the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries;
2 . Expresses its appreciation to the Government and the
people of France for acting as host to the United Nations Con-
ference on the Least Developed Countries, as well as for their
gracious hospitali ty, excellent arrangements and important
contribution to the outcome of the Conference;
Development and international economic and social policy 411
3. Calls upon all Member States as well as intergovern-mental and multilateral institutions, the organs, organizationsand bodies of the United Nations system, and all others con-cerned to take immediate, concrete and adequate steps toimplement the Substantial New Programme of Action as partof the international action for the establishment of a new in-ternational economic order;
4. Emphasizes that, in view of their desperate socio-economic plight, the least developed countries need theurgent and special attention and the large-scale and contin-ued support of the international community to enable them toprogress towards self-reliant development, consistent withtheir own plans and programmes;
5. Strongly urges all donor countries to implement theircommitments, as stated in paragraphs 61 to 69 of the Sub-stantial New Programme of Action, so as to achieve, in thatregard, a substantial increase of assistance for the develop-ment of the least developed countries;
6. Reaffirms that the least developed countries have pri-mary responsibility for their overall development and that, al-though international support measures are vitally important,the domestic policies those countries pursue will be of criticalimportance for the success of their development efforts;
7. Urges all donor countries to make adequate specialallocation to the Special Measures Fund for the Least Devel-oped Countries of the United Nations Development Pro-gramme and the United Nations Capital Development Fund,or through other suitable channels for the least developedcountries, in order to provide the extra resources needed bythe Governments of those countries for more intensive plan-ning efforts, feasibility studies and project preparation overthe first half of the decade of the 1980s and, for that purpose,invites the Administrator of the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme to take appropriate action to mobilize additionalresources for the activities under his administration;
8. Decides that regular review and monitoring of the prog-ress in the implementation of the Substantial New Programmeof Action at the national, regional and global levels should beundertaken, as envisaged in that Programme, to maintain themomentum of commitments made by the international com-munity and to promote the implementation of the plans andprogrammes of the least developed countries with a view toachieving accelerated growth rates and structural transfor-mation of their economies;
9. Decides also that the Intergovernmental Group on theLeast Developed Countries of the United Nations Conferenceon Trade and Development at its high-level meeting in 1985shall carry out the mid-term review, consider the possibility ofholding a global review at the end of the decade, which might,inter alia, take the form of a United Nations conference on theleast developed countries, and readjust, as appropriate, theSubstantial New Programme of Action for the second half of thedecade in order to ensure its full implementation, and furtherdecides that the results shall be made available to it, so thatthey may be taken fully into account in the review and appraisalof the implementation of the International Development Strate-gy for the Third United Nations Development Decade;
10. Calls upon States, organs, organizations and bodiesof the United Nations system and other relevant agencies togive favourable response to invitations to participate in aidconsultative groups or other arrangements to be establishedat the initiative of the least developed countries in accor-dance with paragraphs 110 to 116 of the Substantial NewProgramme of Action as a mechanism for the regular andperiodic review and implementation of that Programme andsuggests that the first round of review meetings for that pur-pose at the country level should take place as soon as possi-ble, preferably by 1983;
11. Invites the governing bodies of appropriate organs, or-ganizations and bodies of the United Nations system to takethe necessary and appropriate measures for the effectiveimplementation and follow-up of the Substantial New Pro-gramme of Action within their respective spheres of compe-tence and mandates;
1 2. Decides further to ensure that resources that will bemade available to the United Nations Conference on Tradeand Development and other appropriate organs, organizationsand bodies of the United Nations system are adequate for theeffective follow-up, review, monitoring and implementation ofthe Substantial New Programme of Action, including thosespecified in the report of the Secretary-General on the secre-tariat services required, as well as in paragraph 8 of the pres-ent resolution;
13. Requests the Secretary-General, in conformity withparagraph 1 23 of the Substantial New Programme of Action,to entrust the Director-General for Development and Interna-tional Economic Co-operation, in close collaboration with theSecretary-General of the United Nations Conference onTrade and Development, the executive secretaries of the re-gional commissions and the lead agencies for the aid groups,with the responsibility of ensuring at the Secretariat level thefull mobilization and co-ordination of all organs, organizationsand bodies of the United Nations system for the purpose ofimplementation and follow-up of the Substantial New Pro-gramme of Action and, for this purpose, to retain and effec-tively utilize the system of focal points in each United Nationsagency, which was used in the preparations for the UnitedNations Conference on the Least Developed Countries;
1 4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report tothe General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session on theimplementation of the present resolution.
General Assembly decision 36/448Adopted without voteApproved by Second Committee (A/36/694/Add.12) without vote, 7
December (meeting 46); oral proposal by Chairman; agenda item69 (p).
United Nations Conference on theLeast Developed Countries
At its 103rd plenary meeting, on 17 December 1981, theGeneral Assembly, on the recommendation of the SecondCommittee, took note of the report of the Preparatory Commit-tee for the United Nations Conference on the Least DevelopedCountries as well as of the report of the Secretary-General onthe Conference.
List of LDCsGuinea-Bissau was added in 1981 to the
United Nations list of LDCs, raising the total
number of countries therein to 31 (p. 403). The
Economic and Social Council requested in July
that the situation of Togo be examined with a
view to its inclusion, and the General Assembly
took similar action in December with respect to
Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and Sao
Tome and Principe. Recommendations with re-
spect to additions to the list continued to be
made by the Committee for Development Plan-
ning (CDP) on the basis of three main
criteria—per capita gross domestic product
(GDP), share of manufacturing output in total
GDP and adult literacy rate.
CDP ACTION. At its March/April 1981 ses-
sion, in accordance with 1980 requests by the
Economic and Social Council(12)
and the General
Assembly,(7) CDP reviewed the economic situa-
tion of Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles,
Tonga and certain newly independent develop-
ing countries, with a view to their inclusion in
4 1 2 Economic and social questions
the list of LDCS. The review was based on the most
recent available data provided by the Secretariat
in respect of the three main criteria, (3)
covering the
aforementioned countries and Dominica, Kiri-
bati, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grena-
dines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Zimbabwe.
In its report to the Council,(4)
CDP concluded
that only Guinea-Bissau met the criteria and rec-
ommended that it be added to the list. The Com-
mittee added that the possibility of revising the
criteria used to identify LDCs deserved to be ex-
plored, as did the broader question of the useful-
ness of such groupings as developing island and
land-locked countries and those most seriously
affected by economic crises.
E C O N O M I C A N D S O C I A L C O U N C I L A C T I O N
(MAY). On 8 May, the Economic and Social
Council acted on the CDP recommendation by
deciding without vote to add Guinea-Bissau to
the list. The resolution to this effect,(5)
based on
i n f o r m a l c o n s u l t a t i o n s , w a s s u b m i t t e d b y a
Council Vice-President.
In the discussion, Djibouti objected to its ex-
clusion from the list, saying that it was a drought-
stricken country whose per capita annual GDP
(given in the Secretariat note to CDP as $947 at
current market prices for the period 1976-1978)
did not take into account high local prices, the
presence of many expatriates and the overvalua-
tion of production compared to less urbanized
countries having more subsistence production.
Regarding criteria for inclusion in the list,
Australia thought additional factors such as nu-
tr i t ion levels and l i fe expectancy should be
taken into account; it was also concerned that
the current measures might exclude large coun-
tr ies with high enough aggregate f igures but
having major pockets of poverty, as well as small
countries, such as several in the Pacific, whose
GDP had been distorted by large amounts of ex-
ternal a id. Denmark, for the Nordic States ,
agreed with CDP on the desirability for a fresh ap-
praisal of the criteria. Brazil observed that such
a review would require political as well as techni-
cal input. Bangladesh stated that its approval of
the resolution was not intended to prejudge its
position on the views of CDP regarding criteria.
E C O N O M I C A N D S O C I A L C O U N C I L A C T I O N
(JULY). On 20 July, the Economic and Social
Council requested CDP to examine the economic
situation of Togo, with a view to including it in
the list on the basis of existing criteria, and to
make a recommendation to the Council as soon
as possible. The Council acted by adopting with-
out vote a resolution( 6 )
sponsored by Burundi,
Senegal , Togo, Zaire and Zambia, and intro-
duced by Zambia.
The action was taken after the Council Presi-
dent received a request to this effect from Togo,
contained in a letter dated 6 July,(2)
which cited
figures concerning its economy and noted that it
had been classified as least developed by the Eu-
ropean Economic Community.
In the Counci l ’s discussion, Austral ia and
Denmark reiterated their view that the criteria
should be re-examined at an appropriate time;
Australia added that the information provided
by Togo suggested that its characteristics did
not differ much from those of countries which
C D P had found not to meet the cr i ter ia . The
United States also supported a review of criteria
and said it could agree to applying them retro-
actively to countries already on the list if that
was generally regarded as appropriate. Togo and
Zambia agreed on the need for a review of crite-
ria, but Togo said its figures had been calculated
according to accepted methods. Bangladesh op-
posed any proposal to modify the criteria.
GE N E R A L AS S E M B L Y A C T I O N . On 17 Decem-
ber, in resolutions on special economic assistance
to specific African States, the General Assembly
requested the Economic and Social Council to
invite C D P to consider the eligibil i ty of Dji-
bouti,( 1 1 )
Equatorial Guinea,( 8 )
Liberia,( 9 )
and
Sao Tome and Principe( 1 0 )
for inclusion in the
list of LDCs, in the light of new data from those
Governments. In the case of Equatorial Guinea,
the Assembly noted that UNDP would assist the
Government in preparing new statistics on na-
tional income and population. The Secretary-
General was requested to assist Sao Tome and
Principe to prepare new national income figures.
In regard to Liberia, the Assembly invited the
Government to provide the data to CDP.
The preamble of the resolut ion on Liberia
ment ioned a le t ter f rom that country to the
Council President,(‘) dated 20 October, contain-
ing s tat is t ics on i ts economic s i tuat ion and
asking for a study of its economic conditions so
tha t i t cou ld be c l a s s i f i ed among the l e a s t
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Luxembourg. Madagascar, Malawi. Malay-
sia. Maldlves, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Para-guay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda,
Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singa-
pore , Somal ia , Spa in , S r i Lanka , Sudan , Sur iname , Swaz i l and ,
Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago.Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian SSR, USSR, United Arab Emir-
ates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Cameroon, United States,Upper Volta, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen.Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: None.
Abstaining: Burma, Chile, India, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sierra Leone.
a Later advised thê Secretariat it had intended to abstain
UN Special Fund for
Land-locked Developing Countries
No new projects were financed in 1981 by the
United Nations Special Fund for Land-locked
Developing Countries, in view of the low level of
contributions to the Fund (p. 416). Some alloca-
tions were made to small-scale projects previous-
ly approved. Total allocations since the Fund
b e c a m e o p e r a t i o n a l a m o u n t e d t o $ 6 8 1 , 0 0 0 ,
c o v e r i n g 1 2 p r o j e c t s . A t y e a r ’ s e n d s o m e
$400,000 was unencumbered, of which $350,000
had been allotted to the three regions containing
land-locked developing countries; negotiations
were under way for commitment of this money.
The Fund was in its fifth year; its statute was ap-
proved by the General Assembly in 1976.(3)
On 19 June, ( 9 ) the UNDP Governing Council
appealed to all countries to review their position
with respect to the Fund and to contribute ur-
gently and generously. The Administrator was
requested to report on the Fund’s activities bien-
nially, beginning in 1983.
On 22 July,(6)
the Economic and Social Coun-
ci l decided without vote to take note of the
Governing Council’s action and a report by the
Administrator(2)
on the Fund’s 1980 activities.(10)
The draft decision was similarly approved on 17
July by the Council’s Third (Programme and Co-
ordination) Committee, on an oral proposal by
i t s C h a i r m a n .
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION. In a resolution
of 17 December,(5)
the General Assembly, urging
Member States to give due consideration to the
special constraints affecting the development of
land-locked developing countries, appealed to
donor countries to review their position with re-
spect to the Fund, with a view to giving greater
s u p p o r t . I t a p p e a l e d t o M e m b e r S t a t e s -
particularly developed countries-and to finan-
cial inst i tut ions to contr ibute generously in
order to implement measures relating to land-
locked developing countries provided for in the
International Development Strategy.( 4 )
The As-
sembly requested the U N D P Administrator, in
consu l t a t i on w i th t he Sec re t a ry -Gene ra l o f
UNCTAD and heads of other bodies, to continue
action in favour of those countries.
The resolution was adopted by 119 votes to
none, with 22 abstentions. The draft, submitted
by Algeria on behalf of the Group of 77, was ap-
proved by the Second Committee on 16 Novem-
ber by 112 votes to none, with 20 abstentions. In-
troducing the text, Algeria remarked that, owing
to lack of resources, the Fund had been unable
to meet the needs of the land-locked developing
countries.
Explaining the Nordic States’ abstentions in
the vote, Denmark said they opposed the prolif-
eration of special funds and preferred to channel
aid through existing bodies. For the European
Community members, the United Kingdom said
they felt that assistance to the countries in ques-
tion should be proportional to their individual
levels of development and, therefore, they pre-
ferred to contribute through bilateral or multi-
lateral programmes.
On oral proposals of its President, the Assem-
bly took two decisions on 17 December, both
without vote, deferring action on the inaugura-
tion of the permanent machinery envisaged for
the Fund by its statute. First,( 7 )
the Assembly
deferred to 1982 the election of the Fund’s Board
of Governors. Second,(8)
it took note of informa-
t i on con t a ined i n a no t e by t he Sec re t a ry -
General(1)
to the effect that he was not submit-
ting for Assembly confirmation an appointment
for the post of Executive Director. The Fund
thus continued on an interim basis under UNDP
management, in collaboration with UNCTAD.
Note: (1)
S-G, A/36/816.
Report: (2)
UNDP Administrator, DP/541.
Resolutions and decisions:
Resolutions: GA: ( 3 )
31/177, annex, 21 Dec. 1976
(YUN 1976, p. 356); (4)
35/56, annex, paras. 152-155, 5
Dec. 1980 (YUN 1980, p. 517); (5)
36/195, 17 Dec. 1981,
text following.
Decisions: (6)
ESC: 1981/173, 22 July, text following.
GA: ( 7 )
3 6 / 3 1 9 , 1 7 D e c . , t e x t f o l l o w i n g ; ( 8 )
36 /321 ,
4 1 6 Economic and social questions
1 7 D e c . , t e x t f o l l o w i n g . ( 9 )
U N D P C o u n c i l ( r e p o r t ,
E/1981/61/Rev.1): 81/3, 19 June.
Yearbook reference: (10)
1980, p. 550.
M e e t i n g r e c o r d s : E S C : 3 r d C o m m i t t e e , E / C . 3 / 1 9 8 1 /
SR .9 -12 , 16 (13 -17 Ju ly ) ; p l ena ry , E /1981 /SR .39
( 2 2 J u l y ) . G A : 2 n d C o m m i t t e e , A / C . 2 / 3 6 / S R . 3 , 6 ,
Approved by Th i rd Commi t t ee (E /1981 /102 ) w i thou t vo t e , 17 Ju ly
(meeting 16); draft orally proposed by Chairman; agenda item 17.
United Nations Special Fund for
Land-locked Developing Countries
At Its 39th plenary meeting, on 22 July 1981, the Council
took note of:
(a) The report of the Administrator of the United Nations
Development Programme on the United Nations Special Fund
for Land-locked Developing Countries;
( b ) D e c i s i o n 8 1 / 3 o f 1 9 J u n e 1 9 8 1 a d o p t e d b y t h e
Governing Council of the United Nations Development Pro-
gramme at its twenty-eighth session.
General Assembly resolution 36/195
119-0 -22 Meeting 103 17 December 1981
Approved by Second Committee (A/36/812) by vote (112-0-20), 16November (meeting 40); draft by Algeria, for Group of 77(A/C.2/36/L.64); agenda item 70 (g).
United Nations Special Fund for
Land-locked Developing Countries
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 31/177 of 21 December 1976, by
which it approved the statute of the United Nations Special
Fund for Land-locked Developing Countries,
R e c a l l i n g a l s o i t s r e s o l u t i o n s 3 2 / 1 1 3 o f 1 5 D e c e m b e r
1977, 33/85 of 15 December 1978, 34/209 of 19 December
1979 and 35/82 of 5 December 1980,
Taking account of resolution 123(V) of 3 June 1979 of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and
decisions 80/21 of 26 June 1980 and 81/3 of 19 June 1981
of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development
Programme,
Recall ing i ts resolution 35/56 of 5 December 1980, the
annex to which contains the International Development
Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade,
and the relevant provisions of the Strategy, in particular para-
graphs 152 to 155,
Recalling further the relevant paragraphs of the Substantial
New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Devel-
oped Countries, adopted by the United Nations Conference
on the Least Developed Countries,
Convinced that access to world markets at the least possi-
ble cost is an integral part of meaningful economic develop-
ment of land-locked developing countries,
Bearing in mind that a large number of countries classified
as least developed are land-locked developing countries.
Expressing deep concern at the consistently very low level
of contributions that have been pledged to the Fund since its
establishment,
Noting that, according to the report of the Secretary-
General prepared in response to General Assembly resolution
34/207 of 19 December 1979, contributions to the Fund
must increase significantly if it is to be effective in meeting
the large requirements for reducing the réal costs of transit
for land-locked developing countries,
Noting further that the demands for assistance from the
Fund are additional to, and generally different from, the types
of activities financed from other sources of the United Nations
system,
1. Urges ail Member States to give due consideration to
the special constraints affecting the economic and social de-
velopment of land-locked developing countries;
2. Appeals to all donor countries to review their position
with respect to the United Nations Special Fund for Land-
locked Developing Countries, with a view to extending greater
support to it;
3. Also appeals to all Member States, in particular devel-
oped countries, and to multi lateral and bilateral f inancial
institutions to contribute significantly and generously to the
Fund in order to implement the measures relating to land-
locked developing countries provided for in the International
Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Develop-
ment Decade;
4 . Requests the Administrator of the United Nations Devel-
opmen t P rog ramme , i n consu l t a t i on w i th t he Sec re t a ry -
General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and De-
velopment and the executive heads of other related bodies, to
continue to pursue action in favour of land-locked developing
countries within the framework of the interim arrangements,
bearing in mind that each country concerned should receive
appropriate technical and financial assistance.
General Assembly decision 36/319
Adopted without vote
Oral proposal by President; agenda item 17 (e).
Election of the members of the Board of Governors
of the United Nations Special Fund for
Land-locked Developing Countries
At its 103rd plenary meeting, on 17 December 1981, the
General Assembly, on the proposal of its President, decided
to defer to its thirty-seventh session the election of the mem-
bers of the Board of Governors of the United Nations Special
Fund for Land-locked Developing Countries.
General Assembly decision 36/321
Adopted without vote
Oral proposal by President: agenda item 18 (I)
Confirmation of the appointment of the Executive
Director of the United Nations Special Fund
for Land-locked Developing Countries
At its 103rd plenary meeting, on 17 December 1981, the
General Assembly took note of the information contained in
the note by the Secretary-General.
F i n a n c e s o f t h e F u n d
Contributions. In 1981, a total of $39,570
was collected from 12 States in contributions to
the Special Fund for Land-locked Developing
Countr ies , and 14 States pledged a total of
$69,291 for 1982 (see table on following page).
Most of the contributors were land-locked devel-
oping countries. The pledges were made at the
1981 United Nations Pledging Conference for
Development Activities, held at United Nations
Headquarters in November (p. 426). Contribu-
tions pledged during the five years of the Fund’s
existence amounted to about $1 million.
Financial regulat ions. The General Assem-
bly , on 18 December 1981,( 2 )
author ized the
Governing Council of the United Nations Devel-
opment Programme ( U N D P ) to adopt the f inan-
cial regulations of the Special Fund for Land-
locked Developing Countries and, in the mean
time, to apply the UNDP Financial Regulations
to the Fund. Regulations for the Fund would
Development and international economic and social policy 4 1 7
CONTRIBUTIONS AND PLEDGES TO THE UNITED NATIONS
SPECIAL FUND FOR LAND-LOCKED DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES FOR 1981 AND 1982
(As at 31 December 1981; in US dollar equivalent)
1981 1982
Country p a y m e n t p ledge
Afghanistan 5 ,000 5 ,000
Bhutan 1 ,000 1 ,000
Bolivia - 5 0 0
B o t s w a n a 1 ,529 1 ,714
Brazil 20 ,000 10 ,000
Democratic Yemen 1 ,000 - .
Lao People’s
Democratic Republic 1 ,000
Lesotho - 1 ,000
Malawi 2 ,000 2 ,100
Mall 5 0 0 -
Nepal 2 ,000
Philippines 2 ,500
Swaziland - 1 ,070
Thailand 2 ,000 1 ,000
Togo - 707
Tunis ia 1 ,913 2 ,200
Uganda 128 -
Zambia 40 ,000
Zimbabwe - 2 ,000
Total 39 ,570 69,291
first be reviewed by the Advisory Committee on
Administrat ive and Budgetary Quest ions and
would be reported to the Assembly following
their adoption by the Council. This arrangement
was to apply during the interim period before
the Fund’s own policy and management machin-
ery was established.
This action modified a provision of the Fund’s
s ta tute ,( 1 )
adopted by the Assembly in 1976,
which specified that the Financial Regulations
and Rules of the United Nations would apply
until the Assembly approved new ones on the
recommendation of the Fund’s Board of Gover-
nors. The Assembly’s 1981 action was taken at
the request of the Council, which asked on 30
June 1981(3)
for authority to formulate financial
regulations in respect of all funds which it ad-
ministered, including the Special Fund (p. 451).
Resolutions and decision:
Resolutions: GA: ( 1 )
31/177, annex, art . 9, 21 Dec.
1976 (YUN 1976, p. 357); (2)
36/227, para. 3, 18 Dec.
1981 (p. 451).
Decision:( 3 )
U N D P C o u n c i l ( r e p o r t , E / 1 9 8 1 / 6 1 /
Rev.1): 81/28, para. 3, 30 June.
Island developing countries
In accordance with a 1979 resolut ion of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Devel-
o p m e n t ( U N C T A D ) , ( 3 )
t h e U N C T A D s e c r e t a r i a t
issued in January 1981 a note for the Trade and
Development Board( 1 )
describing UNCTAD stud-
ies on common problems of island developing
countries.
The note suggested six areas which might be
examined by an intergovernmental group of ex-
perts, in the event that the Board established
such a group, to examine the specific problems
of developing island economies, as had been sug-
gested in 1980:(4)
statistics policy for effective
planning; investment policy for national savings
and for foreign capital; employment, training
and migrat ion policy; integrat ion of marine
space into national economic planning; response
to technical change in transport and communica-
tions; and marketing and export promotion of
goods and services.
On 20 March 1981, after considering the ques-
tion, the Board decided to remit to its March
1982 session a draf t decis ion, submit ted by
Mexico on behalf of the Group of 77 developing
countries, which would have the Board decide
that an intergovernmental group of experts be
convened to prepare a comprehensive action pro-
gramme to al leviate the special problems of
island developing countries.(2)
Special economic assistance programmes co-
ordinated by the United Nat ions were under
way in three island developing countries in the
Africa region during 1981: Cape Verde (p. 500),
the Comoros (p. 506) and Sao Tome and Prin-
cipe (p. 518). Multiagency missions, studying
economic assistance needs resulting from hurri-
cane damage and other problems, visited four
Caribbean island nations: Dominica (p. 525),
Grenada (p. 526), Saint Lucia (p. 527) and Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines ( 528). Severalp.United Nations agencies were providing assis-
tance to Tonga, in the Pacific (p. 530).
Note: ( 1 )
UNCTAD s e c r e t a r i a t , TD/B/841.
Report: (2)
TDB, A/36/15.
Yearbook references: (3)
1979, p. 569; (4)
1980, p. 551.
UN Special Fund for the mostseriously affected countries
On 4 December 1981, the General Assembly
decided without vote to continue performing the
funct ions of the Board of Governors of the
United Nations Special Fund pending further
consideration of the matter in 1983.(3)
It recalled
its 1978 decision to suspend ad interim the activi-
ties of the Fund for lack of contributions.(2)
The
Fund was established by the Assembly in 1974
to assist countries most seriously affected by
economic crises.
The 1981 decision was recommended by the
Second (Economic and Financial) Committee,
which approved without vote on 20 November a
draft by its Chairman.
During the Committee’s discussion of develop-
ment and international economic co-operation,
Sri Lanka urged react ivat ion of the Fund to
meet the grave difficulties faced by the least de-