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support of regional members.
The Delegation should scrutinise drafts carefully in the light of the UK position on substantive DD2 and UNCTAD issues, as given in the briefing.
5.
ECAFE provides a
useful channel of communication between the UK and Asian opinion on economic matters. The Delegation should take any opportunity to emphasise the positive interest which the UK has in the development of the ECAFE region, and what steps have been taken in the past to foster this purpose. It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to co-operate fully in the economic development of the developing countries through the United Nations, through other multilateral organisations, and bilaterally. The Delegation has discretion to judge where inter- vention can be most useful, apart from any general statement, but it should be borne in mind that our influence can be more effectively exercised in the corridors.
6. One of the main reasons for our interest in the Commission's work is that as part of the UN, ECAFE uses a proportion of the UN budget to which the UK makes an assessed contribution. The Delegation should bear this consideration in mind in discussion of any projects which would affect the size of the Commission's staff and administrative budget; and should also look out for cases in which the work of the Commission may not appear to be co-ordinated sufficiently with the work of other United Nations bodies, 80 resulting in duplication of effort.
ISRAEL
7. Although there are Regional Commissions for Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, the Middle East, becuase of the Arab/ Israeli situation, has only a small UN Economic and Social Office in Beirut and a resident representative of UNDP in Israel. Israel does not regard this arrangement as an adequate substitute for a Regional Economic Commission and objects to the Beirut Office on principle over the right of access, but the current situation in Cyprus prevents the Office being located there and the only other Middle East countries fulfilling the criterion of accessibility (Turkey and Iran) are unacceptable on the grounds that they are members of other UN Regional Commissions.
8. In 1965, Israel made a formal application for membership of ECAFE at its 21st Plenary Session. This move was strongly opposed by Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and to a lesser extent by India; Attempts to have the item removed from the agenda were thwarted and the situation was deliberately complicated by a parallel application from Saudi Arabia. The matter was eventually shelved by constituting a "Committee of Five", namely the representatives of India, Iran, Pakistan and New Zealand and the Executive Secretary of ECAFE, to define the demarcation of the region without reference to any particular application and to report back to a closed meeting of Heads of Delegation at the 22nd Session. The Americans were prominent in achieving this compromise and the UK Delegation gave them some support. This was the first time the "Committee of Five" had met and there is no record of it having met since.
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/9. Israel
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