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Printed for the Cabinet. May 1951

CONFIDENTIAL

C.P. (51) 138

24th May, 1951

CABINET

Copy No. 31

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

REPORT ON THE TWELFTH SESSION

MEMORANDUM BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

I submit, for the information of my colleagues, the following report on the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which was held at Santiago de Chile from 20th February to 21st March, 1951.

2. The Twelfth Session of the Economic and Social Council was the first to be held away from New York or Geneva. It was mainly notable for the virulence of the propaganda attacks directed by the Slav delegates against the Western Powers, and for the urgency with which the representatives of the under-developed countries advanced their demands that rearmament should not affect the supply of finance and capital goods for their economic development. The following para- graphs briefly describe the principal debates:

Economic Items

3. The main business of the session was the annual debate on the world economic situation, with which were linked discussions of the annual reports of the International Monetary Fund and of the International Bank and of methods of financing the economic development of the under-developed countries. The three major themes of these debates were:

(i) The argument of the under-developed countries that rearmament should not be allowed to interrupt the flow of capital and equipment required for economic development, and that if commodity prices were to be controlled then the prices of industrial products must also be controlled; (ii) the peace offensive" propaganda of the Slav delegates, who drew attention to the reductions in the standard of living of the workers which would result from rearmament and called for wholesale cuts in defence programmes; and

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(iii) the call of the more industrial countries, who laid the blame for rearmament at the door of the Cominform countries, for increased production of raw materials.

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4. At the end of the debate a resolution was adopted which called on all Governments to take measures to ensure adequate production and equitable distribution of capital goods, essential consumer goods and raw materials, the maintenance of equitable price relationships between goods moving in inter- national trade, and the avoidance of inflationary pressures. Member Governments were requested to submit a report to the next meeting of the Council on the steps they had taken in this connexion.

Forced Labour

5. The Council had before it a resolution presented jointly by the United States and United Kingdom Delegations at its previous session which called for the establishment of a small committee of experts to take evidence about the nature

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