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CONFIDENTIAL
STEERING BRIEF AND BACKGROUND POLITICAL NOTES FOR UK DELEGATION
MEMBERSHIP
1. ECAFE's Terms of Reference, approved by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, define the geographical scope of the Commission and listed its original membership. The geographical scope of the Commission is defined by the geographical area of the regional Member countries; any new application for membership, therefore, requires an amendment to the geographical scope of the Commission. The present member- ship consists of:
2.
(a) 25 regional members - Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan,
Burma, The Khmer Republic, Šri Lanka, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, Western Samoa, Republic of Korea and the Republic of Vietnam.
(b)
5 non-regional members France, Netherlands, USSR, United Kingdom and United States
(c) 6 associate members
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Brunei, Hong Kong, Fiji, Papua/New
Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Cook Islands.
At the moment, the Terms of Reference of ECAFE exclude the Arab countries and Israel but the case of Iran, which was admitted to ECAFE in 1958, is a precedent for the applications made by Israel and Saudi Arabia at the 21st Session of ECAFE.
CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION OF ECAFE
3.
Generally, ECAFE is required to work within the framework of the policies of the United Nations and is subject to the general supervision of its parent body ECOSOC, to which it reports annually. ECAFE is not competent to decide finally on membership questions, which are the responsibility of the Economic and Social Council, but it can make recommendations. Since ECAFE is financed from the UN Regular Budget, the financial implications of ECAFE resolutions involving the expenditure of UN funds are incorporated in the relevant sections of the Secretary-General's Regular Budget proposals, which depend for financial endorsement on the General Assembly.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DELEGATION
4. Along with other non-regional members, the United Kingdom plays a less active role in ECAFE's proceedings than the regional members. It is therefore necessary to use considerable tact both in public and in private discussions and especially to avoid public opposition to proposals primarily of regional interest which have the clear
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CONFIDENTIAL