The sixteenth meeting of the Caribbean Commission was opened in Paramaribo, Surinam, on May 11, 1953; the principal items on the agenda concerned recommendations made by the Fifth West Indian Conference. The Commission endorsed the recommendations of the Preparatory Committee for the Joint Conference on Education and Small-Scale Farming, to be sponsored jointly by the Commission and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the Preparatory Committee had recommended that a Single conference be held on the two subjects, that these questions be viewed from the point of view of their contribution to community and economic development, that each government in the area be invited to send two delegates, and that the conference be held in Trinidad in October 1954. The Commission agreed to the preparation of a number of research and problem papers for the conference, emphasizing the desirability of obtaining the assistance of UNESCO, the United States Technical Cooperation Administration, and member governments in preparing them. Plans for the conference were coordinated with those of the Sixth West Indian Conference, a principal item on whose agenda was to be the report of the conference on education and small scale farming.

According to press information, a study of the effects of atomic and hydrogen weapons on the strategy of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Forces, Europe (SHAPE) had been concluded in the summer of 1954 after more than nine months preparation. Although the report itself was said to be classified “cosmic top secret”, it was reported to have concluded, first, that future warfare would inevitably be atomic and, second, that the peak of destruction in a future war would come at the outset, rather than building up gradually as in the past. It was further reported that the study had led to the conclusion that the initial target for atomic weapons would be the opposing air, ground and naval forces and not, as had previously been believed, the industrial areas. The results of this study would, it was felt, affect SHAPE military goals so that they would Stress a permanent “ready” force of approximately 25 first-class divisions and about 9,000 highly trained modern jet aircraft.

The six signatories of the European Defense Community Treaty — France, the German Federal Republic, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg —met in Brussels from August 19 to 22 to consider changes in the treaty which the French Premier, Pierre Mendès-France, felt were essential if it were to be ratified by the French National Assembly. Such a meeting had been proposed by Mr. Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, and endorsed by the other Foreign Ministers of the Benelux nations on June 22. After a meeting with Mr. Spaak in Paris on June 30, Mr. Mendes-France agreed on the usefulness of such a meeting as soon as the French government had made known its views on the treaty as it stood at that time and before the French National Assembly voted on its ratification.

Annual Report: The fourth annual report of the Managing Board of the European Payments Union covered the period July 1, 1953 to June 30, 1954. The financial year 1953–1954, the report noted, was marked by a general improvement in the balance of payments of member countries with the Union, an overall trend which had been apparent in the previous financial year. However, during 1952–1953 there had been a reduction of the largest extreme positions i n EPU, whereas during 1953–1954 there had been considerable increase in some of these positions. The restoration of internal economic stability, which had begun in a number of member countries in 1952–1953, was continued during 1953–1954; during the earlier period, the improvement had been accompanied by a relative stagnation in industrial production, but during the period 1953–1954 the increase of industrial production was fairly marked, especially i n chemical products and textiles, in agriculture and in building.

The Tenth Inter-American Conference was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from March 1 through 28, 1954, under the presidency of Dr. Aureliano Otanez, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs. Twenty American states sent delegations to the Conference1 which was also attended by observers from inter-American agencies and the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was decided that the Eleventh Inter-American Conference would be held in Quito, Ecuador (LXIV).

On September 8, 1954, representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand signed the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, a protocol designating the areas to which the treaty was to apply, and the Pacific Charter, a declaration setting forth the aims of the eight countries in southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific. Negotiations leading up to the actual signature of the treaty had been underway throughout the summer of 1954 and had culminated in an eight-power conference in Manila which opened on September 6.