The first concrete step in effecting international regulation of air navigation was taken by the Aeronautical Commission of the Peace Conference in 1919 when it drew up the International Air Convention of October 13, 1919, instituting the International Commission for Air Navigation (which came into being in July, 1922) in order to provide rules for air traffic. Later modifications in the text of the Convention were authorized in June, 1929.

The International Sugar Agreement of 1937 established the International Sugar Council to deal with problems concerning sugar surpluses and sugar distribution. The agreement, entered into for a period of four years by the twenty-two principal sugar importing and exporting states, was renewed by protocols in 1942, 1944, and 1945. According to the last two protocols, the original agreement was to be revised “as soon as the time appears opportune” and although a proposal for redrafting the agreement was made in January, 1946, no action had been taken on the matter by April, 1947.

See World Health Organization, p. 134f.

The question of the termination or reorganization of ECITO, along with the Emergency Economic Committee for Europe and the European Coal Organization, was considered during May, 1947, by the Economic Commission for Europe, which called a meeting of transport experts to recommend arrangements for absorption of ECITO. Continuation of ECITO functions during the transitional period was urged by ECITO representative Zielinski at the Economic Commission's meeting.

The seventh and final plenary session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, attended by twenty-nine of its members, was held in London from May 30 to June 3, 1947. Action at the meeting included resolutions 1) that no further activities were to be undertaken by the Committee after July 1, 1947; 2) that the Executive Committee arrange for the transfer of all office equipment, motor vehicles, stock and stores to the Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organization; and 3) that a board of liquidation be established composed of representatives of France, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela to arrange for the disposal of surplus funds in accordance with instructions of the Executive Committee.

The third meeting of the International Rubber Study Group, comprising representatives of the Governments of France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States, to discuss common problems arising from the production and consumption of rubber, took place at The Hague from November 25 to 28, 1946.

In September, 1946, representatives of China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR met at Moscow to consider questions of telecommunications. Particular attention was given to proposed reorganization of the International Telecommunications Union in order to provide for an Administrative Council, a permanent Secretariat and a Central Frequency Registration Board. This revision was to be undertaken at the World Telecommunications Meeting, seheduled for July, 1947, at which time the Telecommunications Convention of Madrid (1932) would be amended to provide for the new structure. Matters relating to the improvement of the organization of radio communications and re-allocation of radio frequencies to maritime, aeronautical and long distance land services were considered, while attention was also directed to proposals for a new frequency allocation for various services. Organization of international telephone and telegraph communications and the proposed revision of telegraph and telephone regulations were studied. It was also agreed that a World High Frequency Broadcasting Conference Should be called in the fall of 1947 to assign frequencies to short-wave stations and that a World High Frequency Broadcasting Organization should be established in order to facilitate the interchange of short-wave broadcast programs between countries. The Conference further recommended that an Administrative Radiocommunications Conference be convened on May 15, 1947 and that a World Conference on telephone and telegraph communications be called in 1948.

Established by a Memorandum of Agreement signed by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States in April, 1942, the International Wheat Council was set up as an agency to deal with the allocation of wheat surpluses. During the war it has served as a central organ to administer and coordinate the work of implementing the commitments of member-states to a pool of wheat for the relief of war-stricken and other necessitous areas. It held two sessions in Washington during 1946.

The sixth meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee was held in Washington from June 9 to 11, 1947. Action was taken to provide the basis for a permanent secretariat to compile statistics and lend continuity to the work of the Committee, and L. A. Wheeler (United States) was reelected chairman of the executive committee. The next meeting was scheduled for Cairo in April, 1948.

The First International Conference on Private Air Law held at Paris in 1925 adopted a resolution providing for the creation of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts, usually referred to as CITEJA. This committee of experts acted on their own responsibility and their respective governments were free to approve or reject their conclusions at international conferences. The committee was organized and held its first sessions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Paris in May, 1926, with twenty-eight countries participating. Its initial working schedule covered the establishment of a program dealing with subjects pertaining to private air law to be studied by commissions of experts, preparation of texts of international conventions on legal subjects for consideration at periodic international conferences, and maintenance of the principle of the progressive elaboration of a single international code of private air law.

The fourth meeting of the Rubber Study Group ended its sessions in Paris on July 8, 1947, after reviewing changes in the world rubber situation from the previous meeting in November, 1946, and adopting a resolution urging 1) that membership be open to all countries substantially interested in production, consumption, or trade in rubber; 2) that the group consider ways to expand the world consumption of rubber; and 3) that a secretariat be established to arrange for the collection and dissemination of statistics. Countries attending included Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Ceylon, Denmark, Ecuador, United States, France, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Norway, Holland, United Kingdom, British Colonies, Siam, Czechoslovakia and Venezuela, with observers from Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Guatemala, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Nations and FAO.

The Universal Postal Union, which has operated since 1874 through periodic Congresses (every five years) and the International Bureau, has recently continued work interrupted by the war. The Congress of the Union, convening May 6 in Paris, at the call of the French government, was to consider over 500 proposals which had been submitted by member countries, asking for changes in many phases of the international postal provisions of the Buenos Aires Convention (1939), and subsidiary agreements. Matters pending consideration included the question of establishing some relationship between the Union and the United Nations, and the possible creation of an Administrative Council designed to make important decisions, in cooperation with the International Bureau, during intervals between Congresses.

Established in 1932 by the Madrid Radio-telegraph Conference as a successor to the International Telegraph Union, the International Telecommunications Union held a meeting in Moscow September 28 to discuss necessary revisions to be made in the Madrid Convention, and to hold informal preliminary discussions prior to the calling of a World Telecommunications Conference. Delegates were present from China, France, USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The report of the Scientific and Technical Committee on Scientific and Technical Aspects of the problem of Control, included in its entirety as Part IV of this report, was accepted by Committee 2 as a basis for its future work. The Commission now records its approval of that report and incorporates in its present findings the conclusions summarized therein in Chapter 6, as follows: “The substances uranium and thorium play a unique role in the domain of atomic energy, since as far as we know these are the only raw materials from which the nuclear fuel required for the development of atomic energy can be obtained. There is an intimate relation between the activities required for peaceful purposes and those leading to the production of atomic weapons; most of the stages which are needed for the former are also needed for the latter. The character of the different stages of the activities has been discussed in order to explore at each stage the elements of danger and to some extent the problem of safeguards against these dangers. “With respect to mining operations, which are of special significance as the first step in these activities, it appears hopeful that safeguards are not too difficult. Particular attention should be paid to the installations in which concentrated nuclear fuel is produced since the product lends itself immediately to the production of bombs. Unless appropriate safeguards are taken at each of these stages, it will be difficult to ensure that no diversion of material or installations will take place.

The sixteenth and final session of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts (CITEJA) was convened in Montreal on May 10, 1947, with a second meeting on May 22. Represented were Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Yugoslavia.

Established by the Geneva Convention of 1925 for the purpose of supervising the opium trade, the Permanent Central Opium Board consists of eight independent persons chosen for their technical qualifications, impartiality and independence. Governments are required to submit to the Board quarterly or annual statistics concerning the production, manufacture, stocks, import and export of raw materials covered by the Convention.

The International Tin Study Group, which parallels in general the other international study groups established for commodities, was created by an international conference held in London in October, 1946. Its functions are to review periodically the world supply and demand position of tin and to make recommendations to the member governments.

International cooperation regarding maritime problems was extended during the exigencies of war with the establishment of the United Maritime Authority which, as a wartime shipping organization, controlled the activities of ninety percent of the world's non-Axis tonnage. With the termination of United Maritime Authority controls, transitional machinery was set up to ensure transportation of UNRRA and other rehabilitation cargoes.

MR. GROMYKO (USSR) (Second interpretation; original in Russian): Mr. President, I would recall that in our last meeting devoted to this question I said that I should like to raise some important questions of substance in relation to the Report of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The Security Council, having accepted the resolution of the General Assembly of 14 December 1946 and recognizing that the general regulation and reduction of irmaments and armed forces constitute a most important measure for strengthening international peace and security, and that the implementationof the resolution of the General Assembly on this subject is one of the most urgent and important tasks before the Security Council,

RESOLVES:

1. to work out the practical measures for giving effect to the resolutions of the General Assembly on 14 December 1946 concerning, on the one hand, the general regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces, and the establishment of international control to bring about the reduction of armaments and armed forces and, on the other hand, information concerning the armed forces of the United Nations;

2. to consider as soon as possible the report submitted by the Atomic Energy Commission and to take suitable decisions in order to facilitate its work;