The Ministerial Council of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) met in Lisbon on May 9–11, 1963, under the chairmanship of Mr. Corrêa d'Oliveira (Portuguese Minister of State). The Ministers decided to establish a final timetable for the dismantling of tariffs on industrial products. These tariffs would be eliminated by December 31, 1966. The next 10 percent reduction would take place on December 31, 1963, thus bringing intra-EFTA tariffs down to 40 percent of their level when EFTA began.

The Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) held a number of meetings during the period May-December 1956. Following a series of discussions concerning the proposed text of the statutes of the Inter-American Peace Committee as submitted by the Committee on Juridical-Political Matters the Council revised and approved the text on May 9.1 A document dealing with the draft convention on extradition was also submitted by the committee to the Council, which decided to transmit the draft to OAS member states for comment. From July 18 to 22 the Council held a special meeting in Panama City to commemorate the Congress of Panama of 1826.

The press reported in late October 1960 that an Arab spokesman had announced plans for opening an office of the Arab League in New Delhi, India, in an effort to counteract Israeli overtures toward South Asia. The press report added that the New Delhi office of the Arab League would eventually have under its supervision League branches to be established in Ceylon, Burma, and Indonesia. It was reported that the New Delhi office would concentrate on such League matters as the Arab economic blockade of Israel, the Palestinian refugees, and Arab cooperation in oil and commerce.

The Permanent Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met in Paris early in May 1959 to consider the proposals of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom for presentation to the Soviet Union at the forthcoming conference of foreign ministers. According to the press, the proposals won a favorable reception from the Council. No formal action of approval was required, but agreement was reached on the principle of a permanent liaison between the western ministers and the Council during the Geneva conference, scheduled to begin on May 11.

The following summary covers the activities of the Security Council from its 757th meeting on December 19, 1956, through its 775th meeting on March 7, 1957.

Eight years ago the United States set out, at the request of American editors and press associations, to increase the amount of information available to its own and other peoples through international compacts. What began as a project for lowering barriers to the gathering and transmission of news soon developed into an effort to assure freedom of information and expression to all peoples in the belief that without such basic freedoms there can be no other enduring freedoms and very little progress towards the good life.

The South West Africa Cases presented the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with a choice not only between the parties to the suit but also between rival claims about the nature of international law itself. Perhaps every case presents the Court with a choice of some degree between jurisprudential foundations, but in the South West Africa Cases the choice is striking.

The ninth meeting of the International Whaling Commission was held in London in June 1957. Commissioners from all the members were present, with the exception of Panama and Canada. The latter, however, was represented by an observer, while observers were also present from Argentina, Italy, and Portugal, and from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

In 1961, therefore, we shall do what we have to do. We shall help to build up Europe, which, by confederating its nations, can and must—for the sake of mankind—become the greatest potential economic, military, and cultural power that has ever existed. We shall help this assembled Europe and its daughter America to reorganize their alliance to better defend the free world and to act together in all parts of the earth.

The deputies of the Council of Foreign Ministers resumed negotiations on the Austrian treaty in London on June 10, 1950. The meeting ended in deadlock with the Soviet delegate declaring that so long as violations referred to in the Soviet note of July 8 on Trieste continued, there could be no guarantee that the western powers would not similarly violate the Austrian treaty. After the western delegates denied the allegations on Trieste and maintained that they were irrelevant to the Austrian treaty, it was agreed to hold a further meeting on September 7 subject to the approval of the Soviet government.

The first indications of Moscow's willingness to share its technological know how in nuclear science with other countries appeared on January 18, 1955. On that date, the Council of Ministers of the USSR published a declaration to the effect that, “attributing great importance to the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, the Soviet government has decided to render scientific, technical and production aid to other states in setting up experimental bases for developing research in nuclear physics and in utilizing atomic energy for peaceful purposes.”

The fourteenth regular session of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was held in Geneva from May 11 to 30, 1959. Mr. W. C. M. Beale (United States) spoke at the opening meeting to urge west European countries to end discrimination against dollar imports. At the same meeting it was decided to admit Spain as an observer. Mr. Fernando Garcia-Oldini of Chile, chairman of GATT, referred in his opening address to the brighter prospects for international trade, as the threat of economic recession began to fade.

Additional measures to increase the numbers of scientists and engineers in European countries were agreed upon by the Council of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in approving the second annual program of the organization's Office for Scientific and Technical Personnel. Potential funds at the disposal of the Office were increased to approximately $1,350,000 in order to put this program into effect. The new program was to comprise courses, seminars, conferences, and improved methods of instruction and experiment which would help the spread of scientific and technological knowledge and new training policies throughout Europe.

At the request of the Director-General (Chisholm) of the World Health Organization, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Lie) transmitted on March 20, 1952 to the People's Republic of China and the People's Democratic Republic of North Korea WHO's offer of assistance in controlling reported epidemics in north Korea. Two further telegrams were sent on March 27 and April 3 but no acknowledgment or reply had been received.

On June 7, 1960, it was announced that the government of Guatemala had entered into a one-year stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund authorizing drawings up to $15 million in support of the country's currency. The purpose of the arrangement was to help Guatemala maintain the traditional stability of the quetzal by providing a second line of reserves to supplement other stabilization measures, such as an increase of reserve requirements against bank deposits, limitations on central bank rediscounts, and a further reduction of government expenditures. Guatemala, with a quota of $15 million, had not previously drawn upon the Fund's resources.

The third part of the eleventh ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly was opened on January 18, 1960, with a tribute to its President, Mr. John Edward, who had died at Strasbourg on November 23, 1959. At the onset, the Assembly unanimously adopted a motion against anti Semitic outbreaks presented by the Political Committee, which a delegation from the Israeli parliament gratefully acknowledged. A motion to adjourn the election of the President until the opening of the next session was also adopted. Following presentation of a report on the activities of the Bureau and Standing Committee, the second supplementary report to the tenth report of the Committee of Ministers was presented by its chairman, Mr. Pierre Wigny, Belgian Foreign Minister. He noted that the Assembly had been disturbed over the fact that the Council of Europe was no longer fulfilling an adequate role, and stressed the importance of the exchanges of views which the Committee of Ministers had decided could take place at the request of any member state. In the economic sphere he called attention to recent moves toward economic coordination, and, before concluding, asked the Assembly to examine further both the question of Eurafrican relations and that of rationalization of European institutions.