The General Assembly held its twentieth session, comprising the I332nd–1408th plenary meetings, at UN Headquarters from September 21 to December 21, 1965, during which time it took action on 108 agenda items and adopted 125 resolutions. By acclamation the Assembly admitted three new states, Gambia, the Maldive Islands, and Singapore, to United Nations membership, thereby bringing the Organization's total membership to 117.

Amos Perlmutter has raised an interesting series of points in his commentary on my recent article concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). As I understand the crux of his argument, it is as follows. “From the outset UNRWA was a political organization” (p. 307). Despite this fact I have displayed a “low level of political judgment” (p. 306) which has led me to focus neither on the decisions rendered by UNRWA's commissioner-general nor on the future impact of UNRWA and the ways in which it can contribute to stability in the Middle East. Presumably these latter two types of analysis would be “high-level political judgments” (p. 308).

It has now become quite axiomatic to say that United States participation in the United Nations system is having an effect upon the substance I of United States foreign policy. What is not so well known as yet is that this participation is the cause for the creation of a new piece of machinery I for aiding the conduct of our foreign policy. Established in 1946 as the United States Delegation to the United Nations, this new outpost of the Department of State illustrates in its organization and operation many of the changes which have come about as bilateral diplomacy has given way to multilateral, “conference-type” United Nations diplomacy. Located at the headquarters of the international organization in New York City, the permanent Mission and its work are symbols of the importance and endless variety of problems posed for American foreign policy by our membership in and support for the United Nations. Since it is still in the process of development, the following study of the organization and role of the United States Mission to the United Nations should be taken as a preliminary analysis.

On June 6, 1961, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a $15 million loan to Ceylon for the expansion of Ceylon's electric generating capacity and for the extension of electric power distribution in western Ceylon. The loan, the third made by the Bank to Ceylon for the purpose of developing an integrated electric power system under the Department of Governmental Electrical Undertakings (DGEU), was to cover the foreign exchange requirements of the project; local currency costs were to be met from government contributions and from DGEU's earnings. The loan was a 25-year term loan at 5%¾ percent interest, with amortization to begin on November 15, 1964. Six commercial banks participated in the loan, without the International Bank's guarantee, for a total amount of $1.1 million.

Ambatielos Case: When oral proceedings in the preliminary objection in the Ambatielos Case opened on May 15, as announced, the President of the Court stated that the Greek government had designated an ad hoc judge in the person of Mr. Jean Spiropoulos. Sir Eric Beckett, counsel for the United Kingdom, stated that, in spite of the United Kingdom's contention that the jurisdiction of the Court should be accepted as widely as possible by states, it felt bound to contest the jurisdiction of the Court in the case under consideration because: 1) the dispute related to facts occurring before 1930 when the United Kingdom first accepted the Optional Clause; 2) it considered the claim of denial of justice completely unfounded on the merits; 3) it considered it clear that municipal remedies had not been exhausted; and 4) no claim of any denial of justice or other breach of an international obligation was made until 1933, ten years after the events and eight years after a refusal of a request ex gratia in which it had been admitted that no legal claim could be made. Sir Eric explained that the United Kingdom, although it took the preliminary objection that the Court had no jurisdiction, had filed a comprehensive counter-memorial on the merits of the case in order that the Greek government's aspersions on the administration of justice in the English High Court and Court of Appeal should not appear on the record unrefuted. Further, the United Kingdom denied that the terms of the 1886 or 1926 treaties (or the declaration appended to the latter) between the two governments lent any support to the Greek government's claims on behalf of Mr. Ambatielos.

In the closing months of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War and for about two and one-half years thereafter, the American voluntary agency CARE (Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere) operated a rehabilitation program in Nigeria's East-Central State. With funds largely provided by USAID, it concentrated on rebuilding or extending basic structures, like bridges and water systems, and on distributing badly needed planting material. During much of that period, while the war for Bangladesh's independence still raged, the British voluntary agency Oxfam also sought, in timely fashion and on its own initiative, to improve the condition of refugees who had fled to camps within India. Its major emphases were on supplementary feeding, medical assistance, sanitation, shelter, and clothing.

Second Session: Shortly before the adjournment of the second session of the ICAO Council, a resolution was unanimously adopted accepting for the permanent organization the responsibilities imposed upon the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization under the International Agreement on North Atlantic Ocean Weather Stations concluded in London on September 25, 1946. The Council also approved the sending of a technical mission in answer to Iceland's request for financial aid, and authorized the Secretary General (Roper) to assume certain responsibilities for the premises of the International Commission for Air Navigation and for the distribution of its assets. The Council ended its second session on December 12, 1947.

Following months of preliminary planning and negotiation, the first concrete steps toward the establishment of an International Trade Organization were taken by the Preparatory Committee of the International Conference on Trade and Employment, which met in London from October 15 to November 26, 1946. Called by the Secretary-General of the United Nations pursuant to a resolution of February 18, 1946, of the Economic and Social Council, the meeting was the first of a series of conferences to consider the possible integration of national trade policies and the removal of trade barriers on a world-wide scale. Its work, however, has been essentially preparatory in scope; its recommendations are not binding upon the governments represented.

Case concerning the Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on December 23rd, 1906 (Honduras v. Nicaragua): On July 1, 1958, Honduras filed an application instituting proceedings against Nicaragua concerning an arbitral award made by the King of Spain with regard to the demarcation of the limits between the two countries. According to Article 5 of the Bonilla-Gamez Treaty which determined the limits, certain points in dispute might, in certain circumstances, be referred to the decision of the government of Spain. Thus an arbitration was requested from the King of Spain in October 1904, and the award was made on December 23, 1906. The application stated that, when the time came to proceed to the delimitation, Nicaragua contended that the arbitral award was a nullity and that it was not possible to resolve the dispute by diplomatic means or through the mediation of friendly nations and governments. Under the resolution adopted by the Organization of American States on July 5, 1957, the governments of Honduras and Nicaragua concluded an agreement at Washington on July 21, 1957, by virtue of which their dispute should be referred to the International Court of Justice. In its application Honduras requested the Court to declare that Nicaragua's failure to give effect to the arbitral award of 1906 constituted a breach of an international obligation and that Nicaragua was under an obligation to carry out the award.

The Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS) took place from January 22–31, 1962, at Punta del Este, Uruguay, to consider the threat posed to the western hemisphere's security by Cuba. Before the meeting, the Inter-American Peace Committee, a standing committee of OAS, after investigating charges made by the representative of Peru that Cuba was engaged in promoting subversive movements in other Latin American countries, unanimously approved a report to be put before the meeting of the foreign ministers. This report included the following points: 1) that the identification of the government of Cuba with the Marxist-Leninist ideology and socialism of the Soviet type presupposed positions that were basically antagonistic to the principle established in the OAS charter that the solidarity and high aims of OAS were based on the effective exercise of representative democracy; 2) that the present government of Cuba impeded the exercise of the right of self-determination, as it was conceived in the inter-American system; 3) that the serious and systematic violation of human rights by the government of Cuba not only constituted one of the principal causes of the international tensions affecting the peace of the hemisphere but was also in open contradiction to various instruments of the inter-American system. Also, it stated 4) that the connections of the government of Cuba with the Sino-Soviet bloc of countries were incompatible with the principles and standards that governed the regional system, and particularly with the collective security established by the OAS charter and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance; and 5) that the intense subversive activity in which the countries of the Sino Soviet bloc were engaged in America and the activities of the Cuban government that had been pointed out in the report represented attacks upon inter-Amercian peace and security as well as on the sovereignty and political independence of the American states, and therefore a serious violation of fundamental principles of the inter-American system.

The first part of the eighth ordinary session of the Assembly of the Western European Union (WEU) took place in Paris from June 4 to 8, 1962. Mr. Arthur Conte (French Socialist) was re-elected President. In addition to the usual reports on defense questions, the Assembly took up the question of the negotiations between the European Common Market and the United Kingdom. On the solution of the Commonwealth problem in the negotiations, the Assembly recommended that special provisions should be worked out to cover a transitional period for imported foodstuffs, especially from the temperate zone. On political union, the Assembly's recommendation proposed that it should take the form of a Community institution, with an executive independent of the member states and responsible to an elected assembly and a ministerial council voting in some cases by qualified majority.

The first 1964 meeting of the Ministerial Council of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) took place in Geneva on February 13–14, 1964. Chaired by Dr. Hans Schaffner, Minister of Public Economy in Switzerland, the meeting reviewed all major developments relating to the objectives of EFTA.

The eighteenth plenary meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee was held in Washington, May 14–22, 1959. Governments from 34 countries were represented as members and 24 attended as observers; representatives from ten international organizations were also in attendance. Eight resolutions were adopted by the plenary meeting, the first four of which were concerned with budgetary matters. The fifth dealt with the future work program and instructed the secretariat to prepare a statement on government regulations on cotton and a report on harsh short staple cotton; the secretariat was also instructed to keep under review the extra-long staple cotton situation, to investigate the possibility of a similar survey on long staple cottons, and to provide as much information as possible on the effect of competition from the Soviet Union, communist China, and eastern Europe on world markets for cotton and cotton textiles. The sixth resolution drew attention to the present surplus situation of extra-long staples and indicated the desirability of convening a special meeting to examine the problems of this commodity with attention to production plans and policies, price and export policies, and steps needed to encourage consumption.

On November 6, 1963, the Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) authorized its Secretary-General to conclude an agreement of cooperation between the OAS and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), included in which would be an exchange of experts in the nuclear energy field and of studies, information, and documents of common interest. A similar relationship between the OAS and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was approved at the Council's December 4 meeting.

The tenth session of the General Assembly met at UN Headquarters from September 20 to December 20, 1955. At the opening plenary meeting, Mr. José Maza (Chile) was unanimously elected President of the session. On the motion of the United States, the Assembly by a vote of 42 to 12 with 6 abstentions decided not to consider any proposals to exclude the representatives of the government of the Republic of China or to seat representatives of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China during the tenth session.

By June 1, 1950 Austria had become the sixtieth country to ratify the International Telecommunication Convention of Atlantic City, 1947. Four additional countries acceded to the convention bringing the membership of the International Telecommunication Union to 64. The Hungarian People's Republic, the Republic of Poland, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, also during the period under review, ratified the European Broadcasting Convention, Copenhagen, 1948.