The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has been established as a specialized agency under the United Nations. An agreement, negotiated between the Preparatory Commission and the United Nations in June, 1946, was later approved by the General Conference of UNESCO, and by the General Assembly of the United Nations, provided that UNESCO, should maintain direct working relations with the Economic and Social Council's commissions and committees, with the Secretariat of the United Nations, and with other specialized agencies.

According to the press, the four experts appointed by the Council of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in January 1960 for the purpose of drawing up plans for a body to succeed OEEC recommended, in a report published on April 20, 1960, the establishment of a new economic organization linking Europe with North America, to be called the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The principal difference between the proposed organization and OEEC, apart from the full membership of the United States and Canada, was to be its emphasis on the promotion of economic growth and development in Asia and Africa. The supreme body of the organization was to be a council of ministers with powers identical to those of the parallel OEEC body; that is, member governments would be expected to conform to its decisions, which were to be taken unanimously. However, any country was to have the right to abstain by disclaiming interest in the subject under discussion, thereby freeing itself of the obligation to carry out the resulting decisions. The daily operations of the organization were to be directed by a secretary-general of wide political prestige, appointed for a five-year term. The report also envisaged the establishment of a preparatory committee to decide which of OEEC's tasks should be continued by the new organization.

The Security Council devoted its 913th–920th meetings to a consideration of the current situation in the Congo. The Council had before it a report by the Secretary-General regarding the arrest and subsequent treatment of Mr. Patrice Lumumba.and a statement from the government of the Soviet Union concerning the Congo situation, as well as requests to present their views from several delegations not members of the Council. All these requests were granted. Referring to the statement of the Soviet delegate raising the question of the role of the UN in the Congo, and to his own note dealing with the arrest and detention of Mr. Lumumba, the Secretary-General opened the discussion by presenting his views on a number of aspects of the situation. Reminding the Council that UN troops had been sent into the Congo to protect life and property, he assured the delegates: 1) that the UN personnel there had maintained a strict neutrality in relation to all domestic political problems; 2) that, since the UN Force had been requested to assume functions in regard to law and order, there was a legal basis for the Secretary-General to concern himself with the observance of generally accepted human rights; and 3) that it was on that basis that he and his special representatives had appealed to the Congolese authorities to apply due process of law. The problem of ascertaining the true functions of the UN in the Congo was derived from the fact that the situation in that country had changed since the original Security Council mandate authorizing the dispatch of a UN Force to the Congo; one of the original objectives, namely, the elimination of Belgian military forces, had been achieved, but the problem of the protection of life and property was still acute, and the army was not, in the Secretary-General's opinion, much more capable of maintaining law and order than when the UN had first entered the Congo. Thus, it was his conclusion that the original reasons for the UN military presence were still valid, and that the withdrawal of the UN Force would result in chaos rendering impossible technical assistance activities, civilian business, and normal political leadership.

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East: The fifth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East opened at Singapore on October 20,1949. Among the items considered at the session were the reports of ECAFE's various subordinate and technical bodies; the question of admission of Viet-Nam and Korea to associate membership; reports on continued cooperation with the specialized agencies and on the United Nations program of technical assistance for economic development; and the plan for an economic survey of Asia and the Far East for 1949. Under the chairmanship of Malik Sir Firoz Khan Noon (Pakistan) the commission turned first to the question of the admission of associate members. Applications were before the commission from both the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the French-supported State of Viet-Nam, as well as from both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The commission heard discussion by the representatives of France (Maux) and the Soviet Union (Nemtchina) on the legality of the respective Vietnamese applications and, by a vote of 8 to 1, admitted the State of Viet-Nam to associate membership. After comment by the representatives of the United States (Cowen) and the Soviet Union (Nemtchina) in support of the two Korean applications, the commission by a vote of 11 to 1 approved admission of the Republic of Korea and rejected the application of the Korean People's Republic by a vote of 9 to 2.

The second part of the tenth session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe was held from October 10 to 17, 1958. The Assembly first discussed the supplementary report of the Committee of Ministers. M. Fatin Zorlu (Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs and present Chairman of the Committee of Ministers), presenting the report, recalled that two of the Council's most important achievements during the period covered were the setting up of the Cultural Fund and the fulfilment of the requirements for the setting up of the European Court of Human Rights. He also reviewed several topics worthy of particular attention, such as strengthening the Assembly's relations with national parliaments, nuclear and thermonuclear tests, and the European Social Charter. Concerning the development of Africa, which was treated in the report, the Assembly adopted an order instructing its Economic Committee to present detailed proposals regarding an investment statute, a guarantee and financial assistance fund, and the expansion of technical assistance by the European countries.

The eighteenth session of the South Pacific Commission was held at Commission headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, from September 26 to October 12, 1958. At the session the Commission placed emphasis on the need for an all-out campaign against the rhinoceros beetle, which had become a major threat to the economy of the South Pacific. The Commission decided that a meeting of its rhinoceros beetle advisory committee of leading Pacific entomologists would be held in Suva from February 16 to 20, 1959, to review results of present campaigns against the beetle, and to plan further action. The Commission also made a further grant of £3,000 for 1959 to assist the investigation being carried out on its behalf by the Institute of Scientific Research in Madagascar.

The British Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations have today at least one thing in common, namely, that each faces a crisis so serious as to threaten its very survival. Nor are the reasons for the crises so very different. In part they stem from the nature of the two institutions. Both are associations of sovereign states, each one of which views the Commonwealth or United Nations relationship as only one strand–and only rarely the most important strand–in a complex and variegated web of relationships.

The press announced that the Inter-American Economic and Social Council met in Punta del Este, Uruguay, under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS) from August 5 to 17, 1961. A draft act embodying the principles of the “Alliance for Progress” plan for the economic development of Latin America envisaged by the United States was put before the meeting by the delegates of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the United States, according to press reports. Mr. Douglas Dillon, United States Secretary of the Treasury, promised that his government would provide active assistance in the form of development loans running up to 50 years, but Mr. Dillon made it clear that the development scheme depended on the local programs for social and economic advancement. It was noted that aside from the United States offers, some European and odier countries had indicated that they would take part in development programs in the area.

The report as a whole on conditions in the Cameroons under United Kingdom administration, which was to be included in the Trusteeship Council's annual report to the General Assembly, was adopted on March 25 by 9 votes to 1 with 2 abstentions. The Council then adopted, by 8 votes to 1 with 3 abstentions, its report as a whole on conditions in the Cameroons under French administration; previously, the conclusions and recommendations in the report of the drafting committee on the French-administered Cameroons had been approved, as amended by Syria, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Also on March 25, the Council's report as a whole on conditions in Togoland under United Kingdom administration was adopted by a vote of 8 to.1 with 3 abstentions. This followed adoption by the Council of the conclusions and recommendations, as amended by the Soviet Union, contained in the drafting committee's report on this trust territory and a decision to postpone consideration of the administrative union affecting the territory until the Council's next session. This decision, taken by 9 votes to 1 with 1 abstention, was made in pursuance to a recommendation contained in an interim report of the Standing Committee on Administrative Unions on Togoland under United Kingdom administration. Incorporating amendments proposed by the United Kingdom and Syria, the Council approved the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the drafting committee on Togoland under French administration on March 22 and then adopted its report as a whole on conditions in French-administered Togoland by 11 votes to 1.

Listed below is the membership of United Nations bodies for 1969. Unless otherwise noted, membership expires on December 31 of the year indicated in parenthesis. Where names of individuals are listed, the members serve in their personal capacities and not as representatives of states; their nationalities are given for information only.

The eighth session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held in Rome from November 4 through 25, 1955 under the chairmanship of the Right Honorable K. J. Holyoake (New Zealand). The Conference had accepted the proposals submitted by the FAO Council on the organization of the eighth session, and consequently established various commissions to deal with agenda items pertaining to program trends and policy questions in food and agriculture, constitutional and legal questions, and administrative and financial questions. During its discussion of the world food and agricultural situation, the Conference noted that world per capita agricultural production, which had decreased by ten to fifteen percent at the end of World War II, had regained its pre-war level in spite of an increase of nearly 25 percent in population. However, agricultural production had increased more rapidly in advanced countries than in economically under-developed ones, so that per capita production in Asia and Latin America wasstill below pre-war levels, while surpluses had built up in the more advanced countries. The Conference felt that this situation was due to a failure to expand effective demand for farm products as rapidly as technical developments made it possible to expand production. Although the Conference noted that surplus agricultural commodities had increased more slowly in 1954–1955 than in the two preceding years, it felt that this had been due at least as much to poor crops in some countries as to increased consumption or to a planned reduction of output.

The second part of the ninth ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe was held from October 16 to 29, 1957, under the presidency of Mr. Fernand Dehousse.

On July 11, 1958, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development made a loan equivalent to $33 million to the Japan Development Bank to assist the privately owned Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. to modernize and expand the capacity of its iron and steel plants. United States, German, and Swiss banks participated in the loan, without the Bank's guarantee, for a total amount equivalent to $1,100,000. The entire project was scheduled for completion by March 1962 at an estimated cost equivalent to $83 million. The Bank's loan, which financed approximately 40 percent of this total, was for a term of 15 years and bore interest of 5⅜ percent. It was guaranteed by the government of Japan.

On February 20, 1959, Denmark announced the repurchase from the International Monetary Fund of $17 million which, together with repurchases made in March and June 1958, exceeded by $8.5 million the $34 million purchased by Denmark from the Fund in July 1957. The excess was applied to reducing the Fund's holdings of kroner to 75 percent of quota. On March 19, the United Kingdom made a repurchase of $200 million, in line with its announced intention to repurchase its outstanding balance monthly through 1960 and 1961, or more expeditiously if possible.

The third World Meteorological Congress opened in Geneva on April i, 1959, under the presidency of Mr. Andre Viaut. Delegates from nearly 90 member states, two non-member countries, and several other international organizations were joined by a number of distinguished guests. Following several welcoming speeches, Mr. Viaut, in his presidential address, referred to the accession of the 100th member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which had taken place just before the opening of the Congress, and to the ever-increasing world-wide cooperation which had made possible such a vast project as the meteorological program of the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

Since 1962 the United Nations, mainly through the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Special Committee of 24), has attempted to effect political change in dependent territories in accordance with the principle of self-determination of peoples. While the organization usually demands that the inhabitants be given a chance to determine their political future and to choose their government, its primary objective has been somewhat more specific. Spurred on by the influx of new members that occurred around the start of the decade, most of them former colonies, the UN has pressured for the complete displacement of alien rule in dependent territories and has tended to accept whatever type of government emerges as long as it is indigenous, that is, not controlled by a colonial power or European settlers.

The Atlantic Community regards itself as the core of the free world and, at least in aspiration, as the leader of all the peoples which have not fallen under the communist spell. The major barriers to the successful assertion of that leadership are the suspicion and hostility generated by the era of Western imperial overlordship of most of the world and the radical divergence in view as to what constitutes the major problem of our times. Although there are marked differences of emphasis within it, the Atlantic Community arms and guards against the threat of communist imperialism, while much of Asia and Africa still see the colonialism of the West as the gravest and most immediate menace to their own freedom and the peace of the world. For the most part they want to abstain from what seems to them the sterile and unrewarding task of holding back communism in order to be able to concentrate on their own immense problems of stabilization, integration, and development. Aware of their pressing needs, and of what the West has to offer, they look to the Atlantic Community for economic and other assistance, even though they may also be ready to accept assistance from the communist states as well. It is probable that most of those in responsible positions in the Atlantic Community have a greater degree of understanding and sympathetic appreciation of the position of the underdeveloped countries than the leaders of the latter have of the West's concern with communism.

The twelfth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was held in Washington, D.C., September 23–26, 1957, under the chairmanship of Miguel Cuaderno, Sr. The meeting included four plenary sessions, two of which were held jointly with the International Monetary Fund, and two meetings of the Joint Procedures Committee.

The seventeenth session of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was held in Geneva from October 31 to November 19, 1960, under the chairmanship of Mr. Edmundo Penna Barbosa da Silva (Brazil). One of the main items of discussion was regional economic integration, considered in terms of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the proposed Latin American free trade area, and the European Economic Community (EEC). Examination of the Stockholm Convention establishing EFTA, begun at the sixteenth session, was resumed, with the contracting parties concluding that the provisions concerning the setting up, within the time limit set forth in the convention, of a free trade area were within the definition of such an area, as contained in Article XXIV of GATT. Delegates felt, however, that there remained some legal and practical issues which could be more fruitfully discussed in the light of experience of the operation of the convention, and thus welcomed the willingness of EFTA members to furnish additional information as the organization evolved. In examining the Montevideo Treaty proposing a Latin American free trade area, delegates reached much the same conclusions. In response to the report on developments within EEC, particularly with regard to tariffs, delegates expressed a desire to receive details on the common agricultural policy of the Community, and raised queries as to the harmful effect of the Community's progressively favorable treatment of the associated territories on the trade of certain outside countries with EEC.