Probably no other organ of the United Nations concerned with economic affairs has been so closely dependent on the current temper of east-west relations as the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). The paralyzing effect of the cold war on ECE was such tiiat its activities, as distinct from its membership, have become truly all-European only within the last three years. To outline this development and reflect upon the present character of east-west cooperation within ECE is die concern of this article. But first a few words about die character of the organization itself, for its constitution is a poor guide.

The development, in size as well as importance, of the international civil service is a relatively recent phenomenon in the international scene. One of its consequences is an increase in die number of problems that may and do arise between an international organization and the members of its staff. Such problems exist in all civil services, national as well as international; they arise in relation to the legal position of the service officials, to their dismissals and promotions (or lack of them), to disciplinary measures against any of them, to their salaries, leaves of absence and other such administrative “details”. On all such questions, the views on which the organization, as represented by its higher administrative officers, bases its actions, may differ from the views of the officials concerned. The facts in each case may be in dispute, or the meaning of the terms and provisions of the contracts of employment and the regulations of the service, may be understood in different ways by die parties concerned.

The United Nations is the most comprehensive general international organization that has been established, but such organizations have existed before. General international organizations constitute a type of union of independent governments which has occurred in numerous instances in recorded history and even among primitive peoples.

For more than a century intellectuals and statesmen in Central America have kept alive a Bolivarian dream of fashioning a political unity in the isthmian region of the Americas. The formation of the Organization of Central American States in 1951 marked a signal accomplishment along a pathway strewn with many obstacles and previous frustrations. The establishment of this organization added a third regional grouping to the two already present in the Americas— the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Commission. It remains to be seen to what extent the three will be able to work together when questions affecting interests of the hemisphere as a whole arise.

One of the significant structural differences between the organization of economic and social work under the League and under the United Nations is the extent to which non-governmental organizations (NGO's) have been allowed to participate. NGO's have been granted far greater privileges in the UN than they enjoyed in the League. Initially, they were formally recognized in Article 71 of the Charter, which gives the Economic and Social Council the right to make “suitable arrangements” for consultation with them. While defined in differing ways during different periods, consultative status under this article has, subject to various conditions, always included the right to participate in the debates of ECOSOC, its commissions and committees, and to propose items for inclusion in their provisional agenda. NGO's have made extensive use of these privileges. Their use, however, as well as the entire record of NGO action in the UN, has been inseparably linked with the cold war. Russian demands at San Francisco for privileges for the newly created, communist-controlled World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) were a contributing factor in the decision to include Article 71 in the Charter. The initial definition of this article resulted primarily from the interaction of pressures by the Soviet Union and the WFTU and the western response.

The first emergency special session of the General Assembly, summoned by the Secretary-General in the light of the resolution adopted by the Security Council at its 751st meeting on October 31, 1956, was held from November 1 through 10, 1956 (56Ist–563d, 565th, 566th–567th and 572d plenary meetings), under the presidency of His Excellency Ambassador Rudecindo Ortega (Chile). At the opening of the session the representative of France (de Guiringaud) criticized the principal substantive item of the provisional agenda of the session, which was the “question considered by the Security Council at its 749th and 750th meetings held on October 30, 1956”. Mr. de Guiringaud stated that in his view it was impossible for the letter of the representative of Egypt to the Security Council to be dealt with by the Assembly, since in the Security Council debate on the Egyptian complaint, no draft resolution had been presented, and consequently no vote had been taken; therefore, no lack of unanimity on the part of the permanent members of the Council had been demonstrated. As to the United States draft resolution considered by the Security Council, Mr. de Guiringaud held that it was within the framework of Chapter VI of the Charter, rather than Chapter VII. Therefore, he concluded, the conditions of the “Uniting for Peace” resolution had not been fulfilled, and he made a complete reservation on behalf of his government as to the convening of the special session of the Assembly and as to the validity of any resolution that might be adopted.

On September 12, 1956, the representatives of France and the United Kingdom drew the attention of the President of the Council to the situation in the Suez. On September 23, they requested the President to call a meeting on September 26 to consider the situation created by the unilateral action of the Egyptian government in nationalizing the Suez Canal. The Egyptian government also requested that the Council meet to consider action against Egypt, particularly by the United Kingdom and France, which in its view constituted a danger to international peace and security.

The first part of the 22d session of the Economic and Social Council was held in Geneva from July 9 to August 9, 1956 (926th–951st meetings). The 926th meeting opened with a tribute to the memory of the late Mr. van Heuven Goedhart, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Engen (Norway) presided at the meetings.

The eighteenth session of the Trusteeship Council was held at Headquarters from June 7 through August 14, 1956, under the presidency of Mr. Asha (Syria). The Council adopted an agenda of nineteen items, and devoted the greater part of the session to an examination of the annual reports on the administration of the trust territories of Togoland under United Kingdom administration, New Guinea, Nauru, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Somaliland under Italian administration, and Western Samoa. The Council also dealt with a number of questions referred to it by the General Assembly, including the Togoland unification problem and the future of Togoland under United Kingdom and under French administration. Before concluding the session the Council also took action on petitions relating to trust territories, and decided to hold its sixth special session for the purpose of considering the report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Somaliland under Italian administration.

Annual Report of the Secretary-General: In the introduction to the eleventh annual report of the Secretary-General on the work of the United Nations, which covered the period from June 16, 1955 to June 15, 1956, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold stated that during the period under review the most important development bearing upon the future role of the UN in world affairs was the decisive step taken toward universality of membership. He noted that sixteen new members had been admitted at the tenth session of the General Assembly, and that the Security Council had unanimously recommended the admission of three additional new Members in the intervening period. Stressing that the UN, being a world institution, was a unifying force in a divided world, Mr. Hammarskjold held that the UN was faced by three great challenges: the relationship of the peoples of Asia and Africa with the peoples of western traditions; economic development for the majority of mankind; and the unresolved conflict between the ideologies dividing the world. The admission of many new Members, he stated, created new constitutional, political and organizational problems for the UN. Constitutionally, there were questions raised by proposals to enlarge the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council; politically, there were problems of adjustment to the fact that changes in world relationships would in the future be more fully reflected in the debates and decisions of the UN; and for the Secretariat, organizational and administrative problems arose. Constructive solutions for those problems would be needed if the UN were to make good use of the increased capacity for service resulting from its wider membership.

Case of the Norwegian Loans Issued in France (France v. Norway): In an order of September 28, 1956, the Court fixed December 20, 1056, as the time-limit for the counter-memorial of the Kingdom of Norway, February 20, 1957, as the time-limit for the reply of the government of France and April 25, 1957, for the rejoinder of Norway. In the same order, the Court joined the objections raised by the Kingdom of Norway to the merits in the proceedings instituted by the French government in order that it might adjudicate in one and the same judgment on these objections and, if necessary, on the merits.

The eleventh annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was held in Washington, D.C., from September 24 through 28, under the chairmanship of Antonio Carillo Flores (Mexico). Of the five plenary sessions, two were held jointly with the International Monetary Fund. In addition, an informal session on the subject of atomic energy in economic development was held.

Inaugural meeting: The inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was held in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 1956. Before the Governors was the inaugural report on the Corporation, submitted to it by R. L. Garner, IFC President. During the two months of actual operations covered by the report, considerable progress had been made in establishing a working organization, adopting operating policies for the initial stage of IFC activities, developing working procedures and recruiting staff. As of September 15, the Corporation had 32 members, whose subscriptions totaled $78,382,000. An encouraging degree of interest in IFC's activities had been shown by private industrial enterprises and private investors all over the world, the report continued, and inquiries received had included a number of proposals which had appeared to be of a kind appropriate for IFC investment.

The tenth session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was held in Caracas from June 19 to July 16, 1956, under the presidency of Dr. Santiago Pérez Pérez (Venezuela).

The 39th session of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conference was held in Geneva from June 6 to 28, 1956, under the presidency of Mr. Mohsen Nasr (government delegate and Minister of Labor, Iran). The Conference was attended by delegates from 73 member countries and observers from the Federation of Malaya, the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration, and Trinidad. During the session Morocco, Tunisia and the Sudan were admitted to membership.

The eleventh annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund was held in Washington, D. C, from September 24 through 28, 1956, under the chairmanship of Antonio Carillo Flores (Mexico). Of the six plenary sessions, two were held jointly with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In addition, an informal session on recent developments in monetary analysis was held.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held its ninth General Conference in New Delhi from November 5 to December 5, 1956. It was presided over by Mr. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Education (India).1 Of the 76 states which were members of UNESCO as of June 30, 1956, the Conference recognized as valid the credentials of 73 attending member states. In addition, the Conference was attended by delegates from associate members, and observers from non-member states, the UN and international and non-governmental organizations.

Representatives of three of the members of the Arab League bordering on Israel (Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan) met at Beirut on October I, 1956, reportedly to discuss the lodging of a joint complaint to the UN Security Council relative to Israel military actions along their frontiers bordering on Israel.

The chiefs of state of members of the Baghdad Pact, except the United Kingdom, met November 5–8, 1956, in Teheran. Their statement issued after the meeting condemned “Israeli aggression”, called for immediate withdrawal of Israel troops from Egypt and release of Egyptian prisoners taken by Israel, and requested the United Kingdom and France to stop hostilities, withdraw their forces from Egypt, and respect Egypt's sovereignty, integrity, and independence. The statement welcomed the General Assembly resolution contemplating the establishment of an international police force. The Suez dispute, it said, should be settled through negotiations with Egypt, under the auspices of the UN, “which should, inter alia, insure free passage through the canal with full respect for Egyptian sovereignty”. It added that those present had emphasized the necessity of solving the Arab-Israel dispute and considered the UN 1947 resolution an appropriate basis for negotiating a settlement.