The eleventh session of the Economic and Social Council opened in Geneva on July 9 and was expected to continue until mid-August. Among the recurring items on the Council's agenda were eleven reports from its subsidiary bodies and nine reports from the specialized agencies. Other topics which ECOSOC was to consider included the problems of economic development and social progress of the Italian colonies, the maintenance of full employment, technical assistance for economic development including methods of financing economic development, forced labor and trade union rights, higher education in the trust territories in Africa, and the problem of refugees and stateless persons. In the procedural field, the Council was to discuss the organization of the Economic and Employment Commission and its two subcommissions, consultative arrangements with non-governmental organizations and the calendar of conferences for 1951; elect new members to eight of its functional commissions: and confirm the membership of its commissions.

This issue covers the work of the Security Council from the 458th meeting on December 29, 1949 to the 470th meeting on March 14, 1950. From the 460th meeting on the work of the Council was conducted without the participation ofthe Soviet Union.

The fourth session of the General Assembly met at Lake Success and Flushing Meadows from September 20 to December 10, 1949. General Carlos P. Romulo (Philippines) was elected president for the session on the Assembly's first ballot, receiving 53 votes to 5 for Vladimir Clementis (Czechoslovakia). The heads of delegations of Brazil, China, France, Pakistan, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States were elected as vice presidents, and the following chairmen of the six main committees were chosen: political and security committee, Lester Pearson (Canada); economic and financial committee, Hernan Santa Cruz (Chile); social, cultural and humanitarian committee, Carlos Eduardo Stolk (Venezuela); trusteeship committee, Hermod Lanning (Denmark); administrative and budgetary committee, Alexei Kyrou (Greece); and legal committee, Manfred Lachs (Poland)

The eleventh session of the Economic and Social Council met in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 9 to August 16, 1950. The governments of the Soviet Union, Poland and Czechoslovakia communicated to the Council their refusal to participate in the session in view of the presence of the “representative of the Kuomintang group,” although the Polish representative attended meetings of the Agenda Committee where he sought unsuccessfully to delete from the agenda the consideration of reports of those committees and commissions of the Council covering sessions in which the representatives of the Nationalist Chinese government had participated. Of the 51 items included on the provisional agenda of the session, the Agenda Committee recommended action on all but one, allegations concerning the infringement of trade union rights, an item which was submitted to the International Trade Organization for consideration.

With the signature on November 2, 1949, of a comprehensive Covering Resolution, the Round Table Conference on the Indonesian question reached an “eminently successful” conclusion, the United Nations Commission for Indonesia reported to the Security Council on November 8. Agreement had been reached by representatives of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia, and the Federal Consultative Assembly on transfer of sovereignty over Indonesia, the statute of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union, and a series of related problems. The commission's report, to which Conference agreements were appended, noted that the commission had taken part in the conference in accordance with its terms of reference, and had played a substantial role in the successful outcome.

The Economic and Social Council met at Lake Success for its tenth session from February 7 to March 6, 1950, to consider a provisional agenda of 41 items, in addition to considering a large number of reports from its subsidiary bodies, the Council was to review the general world economic situation, discuss the economic development of under-developed countries, including methods of financing, consider Council relations with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, and survey forced labor and the problem of trade union rights and freedom of association. Hernan Santa Cruz (Chile) was elected to the presidency of the Council by acclamation.

Following the recommendation in the report of the Committee on Administrative Unions and the subsequent resolution of the Trusteeship Council passed during its seventh session, a Standing Committee on Administrative Unions was established. It held its first meeting at Lake Success on August 18, 1950 at which time the delegate of Argentina (Munoz) was elected chairman. The other members serving on the committee were New Zealand (Laking), Philippines (Aquino) and the United States (Gerig). A resolution was passed by the committee at its second meeting requesting the Secretariat to prepare an informal paper on the terms of reierence of the committee. The report of the Secretariat, based on the resolution of the Trusteeship Council and the report of the Committee on Administrative Unions, was submitted on August 24, 1950 and recommended that the committee might wish to 1) give attention to measures taken in respect to the limitation and duration of the legislative powers of the High Commission and of the East Africa Central Legislative Assembly which would cease to have effect on January 1, 1950, 2) determine whether administering authorities would continue to furnish clear and precise separate financial, statistical and other data relating to the trust territories participating in administrative unions, 3) give attention to the judicial systems of New Guinea and the Cameroons, 4) give attention to the possibility of attaining greater participation of the indigenous population in legislative activities in New Guinea, 5) consider whether the allocation of legislative powers between the East Africa Central Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly of Tanganyika would be conducive to the advancement of the trust territory and an attainment of the objectives of the trusteeship system, 6) examine the extent to which the administering authorities regarded the desires of the inhabitants in matters relating to the administrative unions, 7) examine the extent to which the administering authorities facilitated the work of visiting missions of the United Nations, and 8) study any modification of the boundaries, separate status, and identity of trust territories participating in administrative unions. The resolution of the Trusteeship Council also charged the committee with the duty of ensuring that the administering authorities expended on the administration, welfare and development no less than the total amount of revenue derived from the trust territory in a given year.

Sixth Session

International Regime for Jerusalem: During the second reading of the draft statute for Jerusalem, President Roger Garreau read a telegram from Daniel Auster, Mayor of Jerusalem, stating that the entire population of the city was opposed to any plan of internationalization.

The second special session of the Trusteeship Council was held at Lake Success from December 8 to 20, 1949 to consider two items: negotiation with Italy of a draft trusteeship agreement for placing Italian Somaliland under the international trusteeship system, in accordance with the resolution of November 21, 1949 of the fourth session of the General Assembly, and completion of a draft statute for the administration of Jerusalem as an international enclave, in accordance with the decision of the General Assembly of December 16, 1949.

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 Secretary-General stated in his annual report on the work of the United Nations for the period of July 1, 1949 to June 30, 1950 that despite the failure of the allied powers to resolve their disagreements over the peace settlements of World War II, the United Nations had demonstrated its capacities in many fields during the first five years of its existence. The major decisions and acts of the United Nations between July 1,1949 and June 30,1950 included 1) the decision of the General Assembly to grant independence to Libya within two years and to Somaliland after ten years, 2) the transfer of sovereignty from the Netherlands to the Republic of Indonesia, 3) the renewed effort of the Security Council to settle the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, 4) the successful maintenance of the armistice between Israel and her neighbors by the operations of the Mixed Armistice Commissions, 5) the “progressive pacification of the northern borders of Greece” although no settlement of major differences was reached, 6) the start of the United Nations Technical Assistance Program and the pledging of twenty million dollars by Members to the first period of the program, 7) the convening of the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources, serving as a beginning for future international action, 8) the preparation of a series of covenants on human rights, 9) the agreement on limitation of opium production, 10) the establishment of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 11) the decision to appoint a High Commissioner for Refugees, when the International Refugee Organization terminated in 1951, 12) the further development of the trusteeship system with the formulation of an agreement for Italian Somaliland incorporating provisions designed to strengthen the system of supervision which are not found in other trusteeship agreements, and 13) the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice reaffirming the principle of international responsibility for Southwest Africa.

Activities of the Secretary-General: On March 21, 1950, the Secretary-General (Lie), in an address delivered at the triennial dinner of B'nai B'rith in Washington, D.C., called for a twenty-year program of peace within the framework of the United Nations. After referring to the difficulties arising from the non-participation of the Soviet Union in United Nations organs because of the presence of the representative of the Nationalist government of China, Mr. Lie suggested that negotiation between the major powers was possible if the Security Council would hold the “periodic meetings” referred to in Article 28(2) of the Charter, in which the various Members would be represented by either the heads of states or the foreign ministers.

Establishment of a Publications Board: In order to insure maximum efficiency and economy in the use of equipment, staff and funds of the Secretariat for the publication of United Nations documents, it was announced in December 1949 that a publications board had been established. It was to be composed of representatives of the executive office of the Secretary-General, the Department of Public Information, Conference and General Services and Administrative and Financial Services. The representative of the executive office of the Secretary-General was to be chairman of the board, which would be directly responsible to the Secretary-General. Duties of the board included: 1) approving the estimates for contractual printing for inclusion in the budget estimates for each financial year, 2) establishing annually the publications program of the United Nations and issuing all necessary directives to insure control of that program, 3) determining policies within the Secretariat to govern all phases of the preparation, production and distribution of documents, and 4) reporting to the Secretary-General on its work at least once a year.

This case was brought to the Court following a dispute between Colombia and Peru on the interpretation of the Convention on Asylum signed at Havana in 1928 and the right of asylum. The government of Peru charged that the government of Colombia did not keep within the terms of the treaty when asylum was granted to Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, a writer and the head of a political party, by the Colombian government in the Colombian Embassy in Lima, Peru. Since the Court had neither a national of Colombia or Peru sitting on the bench, both governments availed themselves of Article 31 (3) of the Statute and named Dr. José Joaquin Caicedo Castilla (Colombia) and Dr. Luis Alayza y Paz Soldan (Peru) to sit as judges ad hoc.

Special Sessions: On September 27, 1949 a special session of the Trusteeship Council met at Lake Success to appoint a member to replace Abelardo Ponce Sotelo (Mexico) on the visiting mission to West African trust territories. Antonio Ramos Pedrueza (Mexico) was appointed to the mission to replace Sr. Sotelo.

Advisory Opinions

Interpretation of the Peace Treaties with Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania: Early in May the Secretary-General (Lie) advised the International Court of Justice that neither Bulgaria, Hungary or Rumania had designated its representatives to the commissions provided in the treaties before the deadline of within thirty days from March 30. Therefore the United Kingdom and United States deposited their written statements within the time limit of June 5 for the second phase of the case.1 The two questions under consideration were: 1) “If one party fails to appoint a representative to a Treaty Commission under the Treaties of Peace with Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania where that party is obligated to appoint a representative to the Treaty Commission, is the Secretary-General of the United Nations authorized to appoint the third member of the Commission upon the request of the other party to a dispute according to the provisions of the respective Treaties?” In the event of an affirmative reply to that question: 2) “Would a Treaty Commission composed of a representative of one party and a third member appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations constitute a Commission, within the meaning of the relevant Treaty articles, competent to make a definitive binding decision in settlement of a dispute?”

The Sixth Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization was to meet in Washington in November. The eleventh session of the Committee on Financial Control met in July 1950 and recommended reduced expenditure in 1951. Factors responsible for the cut in the working budget, which at maximum would have been $5,000,000 but was estimated at $4,500,000, were the $200,000 which constituted the first repayment installment on the four year loan granted the FAO by Italy for the removal of its headquarters to Rome and $100,000 repayment to its Working Capital Fund which had been drawn upon the previous year. The Director-General (Dodd) noted that despite decreased income increased requests had been made by the member governments upon FAO, especially in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry divisions, and that it had been necessary to create new regional offices in Cairo and Bangkok. The aims of FAO continued as they had been stated in the Report of the Fifth Session of FAO Conference; (1) to undertake a limited number of projects of major importance, (2) to increase projects which extended direct aid to enlargement of production and improvement of nutrition, (3) to place greater emphasis on activities aimed at increasing production of food and primary products, and (4) not to alter the general character of the FAO regular program although it was to be somewhat integrated with that of the United Nations technical assistance program. Budgetary reductions were made in administrative services, travel, regional organization, information and translation work, statistical and economic service, and direct technical assistance. The expanded Technical Assistance Program mitigated, however, reductions of FAO in this field.

Corfu Channel Case: At a public hearing on December 15, 1949 the International Court of Justice gave judgment in the last stage of the Corfu Channel Case between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of Albania. The two experts appointed by the Court to examine the figures and estimates of damages produced by the United Kingdom had reported on December 2, 1949 and had been further questioned by the judges. Because the Albanian government had failed to defend its case, procedure in default of appearance was brought into operation. After finding that the figures given by the United Kingdom government for the replacement of the destroyer Saumarez and for the damage sustained by the destroyer Volage were an exact and reasonable estimate of the damage sustained, and after finding the documents produced by the United Kingdom regarding deaths and injuries of naval personnel sufficient proof, the Court gave judgment in favor of the claim of the United Kingdom and ordered Albania to pay that country a total compensation of £843,947.

FAO Council

The Council of FAO held its ninth session in Rome, Italy, from May 8 to 18, 1950. Financial and administrative arrangements for transferring the headquarters of the organization from Washington to Rome were made, and the need for stronger financial support was brought to the attention of the members. The Council considered the report of the Committee on Commodities, established by the Conference at its fifth meeting. It was unanimously agreed to continue the work of this body and Italy was chosen to replace Poland on the committee, following receipt by the Council of Poland's withdrawal from the organization. Measures taken by FAO preparatory to undertaking its share in the technical assistance program were approved. The Council reported little change in the over-all food situation since the fall of 1949; food production in the world was steadily rising, although in areas of acute shortage, little change was noted. The sixth Conference of the organization was scheduled to meet on November 6, in Washington.

Establishment of an Administrative Tribunal: On November 8, 1949, the administrative and budgetary committee of the General Assembly recommended establishment of an administrative tribunal for the Secretariat to come into force on January 1, 1950. Discussion in the committee was based on a report of the Secretary-General proposing the discontinuance of the Appeals Board. The representative of Belgium (Lebeau) favored creation of the tribunal but urged the continuance of the Appeals Board to handle disciplinary measures. Iran, Poland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, and Yugoslavia supported this view; the United Kingdom and the United States suggested postponing the question of an administrative tribunal. The chairman of the Staff Committee (Epstein) expressed the view that the joint disciplinary committee proposed by the Secretary-General to replace the Appeals Board did not fulfill the rights guaranteed by the provisional staff regulations. After consultation the Secretary-General and the Staff Committee agreed upon a revised draft statute, subsequently approved by the administrative committee, which provided for internal appeals machinery to advise the Secretary-General in disciplinary as well as contractual cases, and on administrative practices. The administrative tribunal was not to have jurisdiction in disciplinary cases but was to pass judgment upon applications from staff members alleging non-observance of contracts on terms of appointment.