CONFIDENTIAL
22. At present everyone seems to be waiting for everyone else and in the light of the many unknown factors the UK Delegation should maintain this cautious attitude. If pressed for an opinion, but not otherwise, the Delegation should say that we favour a co-ordinated multilateral effort for reconstruction aid but that we must be guided by the views of governments with closer interests in the region. Present indications are that a multilateral exercise is unlikely in view of the stated preference of the North Vietnamese for aid on a bilateral basis.
23. An attempt made by the Secretariat at the meeting of the Committee of Industry and Natural Resources in Bangkok in February to make a bid for ECAFE involvement in rehabilitation in Indo China was headed off but there may be a renewed attempt at Tokyo to revive the issue. Our Delegation should take the line that ECAFE is not an appropriate organisation for any such role as it does not command the resources of finance and expertise available to such agencies as the IBRD.
BANGLADESH
24. It is possible that the question of Bangladesh's admission to ECAFE will be raised at the 29th Session, although no formal application has been received and there has been no indication that Bangladesh is interested in joining. Article 3 of the ECAFE Terms of Reference lists the members, 5 of whom are not members of the UN. ECOSOC Resolution 517 (XVII) which admitted the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Vietnam to the Commission, referred to a General Assembly Resolution stating their eligibility for UN membership. General Assembly Resolution 2937 (XXVII) which stated the eligibility of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh for membership in the UN may be quoted by some delegations as evidence of Bangladesh's eligibility to join ECAFE although such a Resolution is not in fact a necessary condition for admission to ECAFE. would be quite proper for ECAFE to recommend to its parent body, ECOSOC, that Bangladesh should become a member of the Commission. ECOSOC could then endorse this recommendation by a simple majority. However, by tradition ECAFE takes no vote and if strong opposition from Pakistan and China were to prevent any consensus, bitter discussion could be expected.
It
25. The UK Delegation should avoid involvement in any dispute. HMG recognises Bangladesh and is anxious to help in the rehabilitation of the country, but any decision on Bangladesh's admission to ECAFE should be left primarily to the regional members. The Regional Economic Commissions are not competent to discuss or to take a decision on the wider issue of Bangladesh's membership of the UN organisation which is a matter for the Security Council and the General Assembly. If this question is raised formally the Chairman should rule the discussion out of order on the grounds of the non-competence of the Commission. The UK Delegation should support this ruling or any other motion which would have a similar effect. If the substantive question of Bangladesh's representation at the UN is nevertheless put to the vote, the UK Delegation should abstain on the grounds that the question is out of order.
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/BRUNEI