Search results

The semi-annual report of the Director-General (Kingsley) covering the period from July 1, 1949 to December 31, 1949 stated that during the second half of 1949 the organization had re-established refugees at an average rate of about 27,800 per month. By December 31, 1949 the total had reached 758,923, of whom 68,778 had been repatriated and 690,145 had resettled in new countries. Late in the year, however, severe reductions in the United States and Australian programs intervened, so that in December only 19,043 were resettled. The last six months of 1949 had emphasized programs implementing decisions of the General Council to extend the life of IRO into 1951, establish a series of date lines in order to keep the organization's responsibilities within the limits of the time and funds at its disposal, intensify and broaden the counselling program to obtain as complete and accurate view possible of the task remaining and to budget up to $22,000,000 for use in solving the "hard core" problem.

Exchange Rates: It was announced on October 6, 1949 that the government of Uruguay had consulted with the Fund and proposed the following modifications in its exchange rates: 1) for the export of meat, wool, linseed and wheat, 1.519 pesos per dollar; 2) for the export of oils, dry and salted hides and skins, and packing house products, 1.78 pesos per dollar; 3) for the export of woolen yarns, its by-products, tanned leather and its manufacturers, 2.35 pesos per dollar; and 4) for general imports, 1.90 pesos per dollar and for imports of luxuries and non-essentials, 2.45 pesos per dollar. The Fund accepted these changes with the understanding that consultation with the Fund would continue in order to unify the rate and to agree on a par value.

The conference which was concluded at Annecy August 13, 1949 consisted of two separate meetings: the third session of the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and a series of tariff negotiations among the 23 contracting parties and eleven other governments which wished to accede to GATT.

By April 1949 Australia had ratified the ITO Charter, contingent on its being put into effect by the United States and the United Kingdom. Other countries were awaiting action by the United States, where President Truman was about to submit the Charter to the Congress for decision. With the acceptance of the Havana Charter by twenty countries necessary for the creation of ITO, Eric Wyndham White, Executive Secretary of the Interim Commission, stressed the importance of bringing ITO into being without delay. He described the organization as essentially a business-like approach towards the reduction of trade barriers and the expansion of trade on a multilateral, permanent basis.

At its seventh session the Economic and Social Council took note of the report submitted by the ITU, and the Soviet representative (Arutiunian) raised a question concerning the fact that ITU had not admitted to membership the Baltic States and the Mongolian People's Republic. By a vote of 14 to 3 the Council rejected a Soviet proposal to ask the ITU to review the question.

Despite the fact that the General Assembly of the United Nations established a budget of $155,860,500 for first year of operation of the IRO, as of September, 1947, contributions were at the rate of only $90,000,000 a year, and actual payments represented only one-fourth of the annual contributions of the twelve member governments. With these funds the Preparatory Commission, which had taken over operational activities of UNRRA and IGC on June 30, 1947, maintained 640,000 people in European and Middle Eastern camps, and was providing legal assistance and administrative aid to 900,000 others not in camps. Food and transportation was being given those who voluntarily returned to their former homes, and the immigration of some 12,000 people who monthly moved to new countries was being aided.

On October 20 the Fund issued its second financial statement for the quarter ended August 31,1947. Authorized subscriptions of members had increased from the equivalent of $7,721.5 million to the equivalent of $7,921.5 million when Australia accepted membership in the Organization, and the equivalent of $6,579.2 million had been paid by members by August 31, as contrasted to $6,519.9 million at the end of the first financial quarter. The Fund's holdings of gold were estimated at $1,345.0 million for the period reviewed, and its holdings of currencies (including non-negotiable and non-interest bearing notes) amounted to the equivalent of $5,232.6 million.

Regional Conferences:The ILO Preparatory Regional Asiatic Conference which convened in New Delhi on October 27,1947, considered such topics as problems of social security, enforcement of the social standards embodied in the ILO conventions and recommendations not yet applied in the individual Asiatic countries, and a report of the preliminary mission to Asiatic countries which the 99th session of the Governing Body established at Montreal in September, 1946.

The Australian Government was notified on May 23 of the decision of the Governors of the Fund approving Australia's application for membership. Australia was given until August 31, 1947 to accept membership, subject to the terms and conditions set down by the Board of Governors. Upon accepting membership on August 5, Australia's quota in the Fund became $200,000,000.

As a result of an agreement concluded with the United Nations, the ILO became the first intergovernmental organization created before World War II to be integrated into the framework of United Nations. The 29th Conference of the ILO effected a revision of the Constitution in order to facilitate a working relationship with the United Nations.