Letter to the Secretary of State From the United States Representative on the Social Council To the Secretary of State: MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: Economic and NEW YORK In less than a year during part of which the world was still at war-the long-range campaign for economic and social advancement has been opened on a world-wide front. On June 21st, just five days before the first anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, the Economic and Social Council created by that Charter ended its Second Session. It was the first session of the Council to be held in the United States. It made substantial progress toward completion of the organizational structure through which we can actively and concretely pursue the objectives which only a year ago were hardly more than hopes. The Economic and Social Council formally came into existence last January, with the initial election of its members by the General Assembly. Its First Session was held concurrently with the meeting of the General Assembly in London. There, preliminary or "nuclear” working commissions were established, and these groups worked on their respective blueprints at meetings which began in New York on April 29th. By the time the Council convened in New York on May 25th, these groups had laid the foundations for the full permanent commissions of the Council. And, during the Council Session, lasting from May 25th through June 21st, the main framework for the Council's activities was erected. The work already done should make it possible for the Council, its commissions and its related agencies, to concert their efforts before the end of this year, toward the attainment of the economic and social objectives of the United Nations Charter. The worth of an organization can only be tested surely by experience. But we have, I believe, organized well. This has been accomplished despite the diversity of interests inevitably reflected by representatives of eighteen different nations. The creation of conditions which will permit the achievement of an enduring peace is the keystone of our national foreign policy. It economic chaos and wracked by social injustice. The strong support of the United States for the creation of the Economic and Social Council and our whole-hearted participation in its functions is founded upon that premise and upon that knowledge. Because of this conviction that our national welfare is so inextricably linked with that of our global neighbors I take particular pleasure in transmitting to you this review of what was accomplished at the First and Second Sessions of the Economic and Social Council. First Things First The most urgent tasks before us are the economic reconstruction of devastated areas and the repatriation or resettlement of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, driven from their homes by oppression and war, who still will be homeless when the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration ends early next year. Another is to deal effectively with the network of trade barriers, governmental and private, which restrict world trade and employment. The world cannot be restored to full economic and social health until substantial progress has been made on these tasks. On all three of them the Council has now taken the first steps. It has voted to recommend to the General Assembly the establishment of an International Refugee Organization to take up the problem of displaced persons where UNRRA will leave off. A draft constitution has been worked out and is being circulated to all Members of the United Nations, so that it may be put into final form ready for signature during the forthcoming meeting of the General Assembly. In the case of the United States, participation in this organization will be subject to acceptance by Congress in the same way as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and other specialized agencies. Entirely aside from the humanitarian aspects, the presence-in and out of camps-of large numbers of refugees and displaced persons will be a continuing source of political frictions until they can be returned to their homes or resettled. In the field of economic reconstruction, the Council has established a Temporary Subcommission on the Economio Reconstruction of Devastated Areas which will form two working teams, one for Europe and Africa and the other for Asia and the Far East. These groups will survey the needs of all devastated countries except Germany and Japan. When the Subcommission has done its work, the Economic and Employment Commission, and the Council itself, will then have the necessary facts at their disposal to work out and recommend to the governments a coordinated and practical program for recon struction. initiative of the United States, a Preparatory Committee for an International Conference on Trade and Employment. The SecretaryGeneral has announced that the first meeting of this Committee, on which the United States will be represented, will be held in London on October 15, 1946. The Council at its First Session also called an International Health Conference in New York to effect establishment of a special agency to stimulate international cooperation in the field of health. Consequently a constitution has been drafted for a World Health Organization. This agency will not only promote the general improvement of health standards but will be able to tackle the immediate danger of widespread epidemics resulting from the dislocations and hardships of war. Responding to requests from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Special Meeting on Urgent Food Problems, the Council has requested the Secretary-General to offer the full assistance and cooperation of the United Nations Secretariat in working on a survey and proposals for international machinery to cope with long-range food problems. Organizing the Council The Council has made important progress in organizing its work for the main objectives assigned to it by the United Nations Charter. Essentially, the Council constitutes a means of coordination, consultation, and recommendation. Operative functions generally are to be detailed to specialized inter-governmental agencies closely related to the United Nations organization. At the recent sessions, machinery for both the advisory and operative functions was set in motion. The working teams of the Council will be its permanent commissions and the subcommissions. Reports prepared by the preliminary commissions, and approved by resolutions of the Council after consideration and amendment, provided for the establishment of commissions and subcommissions on a full operating basis. At London the Economic and Employment Commission was organized to be the Council's chief adviser on international economic action for the achievement and maintenance of full employment with higher standards of living. At the Second Session in New York, the Council further strengthened the functions of this Commission. The report of the Commission on Human Rights, as it was finally adopted by unanimous vote, included provisions particularly desired by the United States. One of these was a recommendation that human rights provisions be written into future treaties, including treaties of peace as far as practicable. A second important recommendation authorized the establishment of a permanent Subcommis economic chaos and wracked by social injustice. The strong support of the United States for the creation of the Economic and Social Council and our whole-hearted participation in its functions is founded upon that premise and upon that knowledge. Because of this conviction that our national welfare is so inextricably linked with that of our global neighbors I take particular pleasure in transmitting to you this review of what was accomplished at the First and Second Sessions of the Economic and Social Council. First Things First The most urgent tasks before us are the economic reconstruction of devastated areas and the repatriation or resettlement of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, driven from their homes by oppression and war, who still will be homeless when the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration ends early next year. Another is to deal effectively with the network of trade barriers, governmental and private, which restrict world trade and employment. The world cannot be restored to full economic and social health until substantial progress has been made on these tasks. On all three of them the Council has now taken the first steps. It has voted to recommend to the General Assembly the establishment of an International Refugee Organization to take up the problem of displaced persons where UNRRA will leave off. A draft constitution has been worked out and is being circulated to all Members of the United Nations, so that it may be put into final form ready for signature during the forthcoming meeting of the General Assembly. In the case of the United States, participation in this organization will be subject to acceptance by Congress in the same way as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and other specialized agencies. Entirely aside from the humanitarian aspects, the presence-in and out of camps-of large numbers of refugees and displaced persons will be a continuing source of political frictions until they can be returned to their homes or resettled. In the field of economic reconstruction, the Council has established a Temporary Subcommission on the Economio Reconstruction of Devastated Areas which will form two working teams, one for Europe and Africa and the other for Asia and the Far East. These groups will survey the needs of all devastated countries except Germany and Japan. When the Subcommission has done its work, the Economic and Employment Commission, and the Council itself, will then have the necessary facts at their disposal to work out and recommend to the governments a coordinated and practical program for recon struction. |