further noted that the full independence of Indonesia had been followed by the admission of that state to membership in the United Nar) tions. The operative paragraphs of the resolution noted with satisfaction the communication of the Netherlands Government to the Secretary-General recording its decision to discontinue the transmission of information on Indonesia under article 73 (e) of the Charti ter and requested the Special Committee to examine and report ta the General Assembly on any information which might be transmitted to the Secretary-General in the future under Resolution 222 (III) regarding the cessation of the transmission of information.77 The Fourth Committee concluded the work of this session on itemsi relating to non-self-governing territories by electing Cuba and Pakist tan to succeed Sweden and Venezuela as nonadministering members of the Special Committee.

For the fifth successive year the General Assembly undertook to find a solution to the question of the future of the mandated ter ritory of South-West Africa. This former German colony, assigned to the Union of South Africa after the First World War for administration under League of Nations supervision, is the only former mandated territory which is not yet either an independent state or under the trusteeship system of the United Nations. In 1949 the, General Assembly requested the International Court of Justice to, furnish an advisory opinion regarding the international status the territory and the international obligations of the Union arist ing therefrom. On June 11, 1950, the Court delivered its opinion, advising

به hi

(a) that South-West Africa is a territory under the international, mandate assumed by the Union of South Africa on December 17 1920;

rigo

(b) that the Union of South Africa continues to have the inter national obligations stated in article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations and in the mandate for South-West Africa as well; as the obligation to transmit petitions from the inhabitants of that Territory, the supervisory functions to be exercised by the United Nations, to which the annual reports and the petitions are to be submitted, and the reference to the Permanent Court of International, Justice to be replaced by a reference to the International Court of Justice, in accordance with article 7 of the mandate and article 37 off the Statute of the Court;

1O།

(c) that the provisions of chapter XII of the Charter are applicable to the Territory of South-West Africa in the sense that they provide a means by which the Territory may be brought under the trusteeship system;

(d) and that the provisions of chapter XII of the Charter do not impose on the Union of South Africa a legal obligation to place the Territory under the trusteeship system;

(e) that the Union of South Africa acting alone has not the competence to modify the international status of the Territory of SouthWest Africa, and that the competence to determine and modify the international status of the Territory rests with the Union of South Africa acting with the consent of the United Nations.

The Court also stated in the body of the opinion that the degree of supervision to be exercised by the General Assembly should not therefore exceed that which applied under the mandates system and should conform as far as possible to the procedure followed in this respect by the Council of the League of Nations. These observations are particularly applicable to annual reports and petitions. The opinion was an important development in international law with respect to the continuity and effectiveness of international organization.

Basically, the problem at the 1950 session was to devise a resolution which would fulfill the duty of the United Nations, within the scope of its functions, to implement the Court's opinion and at the same time avoid the impasse which might result if the Union Government should feel that it was being unfairly criticized for its longcontinued opposition to the desires of the General Assembly that the territory be placed under trusteeship. The majority of members of the Assembly felt that action should carefully avoid going beyond the confines of the opinion. This point of view resulted in the consideration by the Fourth Committee of two draft resolutions. The main difference between the two resolutions was in the composition and functions of a commission to assist in implementing the Court's opinion. The Fourth Committee adopted, 26 for, 21 against, with 4 abstentions, a resolution requesting the Government of the Union of South Africa to submit before June 1, 1951, a report on its administration of the Territory during the years 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1950 and to transmit together with its observations all petitions relating to the Territory. The draft resolution further provided for a commission composed of 10 experts from countries to be chosen on the basis of equitable geographic distribution to consider annual reports, petitions, and all other matters relating to the Territory and to report thereon to the General Assembly.

The members opposing this resolution, including the United States, felt that although the objectives were acceptable the machinery set up ought to be modified to provide an opportunity for consultations with the Union on procedures. The United States also felt that it was unwise to fix a specific deadline for the submission of the reports. In view of the almost equal division in this Committee it was possible, between the passage of the draft resolution by the Fourth Committee and its consideration by the plenary session, to reach a compromise between the two groups. A new resolution was accordingly prepared and adopted by the plenary session, 45 to 6, with 5 abstentions, which did not fix a date for the transmission of reports and established a committee of five, consisting of the representatives of Syria, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay, with the major duty of conferring with the Union of South Africa concerning the procedural measures necessary to implement the Court's opinion and, as an interim measure, to examine, in accordance with the procedures of the former Mandates Commission, reports and petitions that might be received from the territory and to report thereon to the General Assembly. The United States felt it could not refuse to serve on the Committee in view of its advocacy of the principle of negotiation with the Union and of its belief that a satisfactory solution of the problem could be found.

C. WORK OF THE REGIONAL
COMMISSIONS

The United States is a member of two regional commissionsthe Caribbean Commission and the South Pacific Commission-which are consultative and advisory bodies to member governments and to the 30 territorial governments in these regions on common economic and social matters. These regional commissions are not organically related to the United Nations, but there is close cooperation between them and the United Nations and the specialized agencies. The commissions have as auxiliary bodies research councils composed of scientists and technicians and periodic conferences of delegates from the

Central secretariats for the commissions are located in Portof-Spain, Trinidad, for the Caribbean Commission, and Nouméa, New Caledonia, for the South Pacific Commission.

1. The Caribbean Commission

The members of the Caribbean Commission are France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which administer non-self-governing territories in the Caribbean area. The region covered by the Commission's activities contains approximately 6,000,000 people of whom over 2,000,000 live in the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Since its establishment 5 years ago, the Commission has made useful contributions to the advancement of the area. It has undertaken studies and made recommendations in various fields on the basis of which programs by territorial or member governments have been and are being developed. As a technical information and liaison center, it has issued periodic publications of a technical and general information character. A Market Analysis Service has rendered useful service to producers and exporters in the area. The Animal Diseases Reporting Service is recognized by livestock specialists in the area as an indispensable means for preventing the introduction of dangerous diseases into their territories. The Commission has an educational-film-lending library of some 100 documentary filmsmostly on health and agricultural subjects-which are in constant circulation among the territories.

In the field of vocational and industrial education, the Commission reported during 1950 that 40 scholarships were made available through the generosity of the Government of Puerto Rico in its School of Industrial Arts to students from other parts of the Caribbean area. This action on the part of the Government of Puerto Rico is an outgrowth of a recommendation of the third session (1948) of the West Indian Conference. Delegates recognized that vocational training was a necessary concomitant to the development of agriculture and industry and asked the Commission to ascertain whether the Puerto Rican facilities could be made available to train students from other Caribbean territories. The Commission acted in an administrative and liaison capacity in awarding these scholarships.

Two meetings of the Commission were held in 1950-the tenth meeting in Martinique, June 26-July 1, 1950, and the eleventh meeting in Curaçao, November 24-December 9, 1950. The fourth session of the West Indian Conference met in Curaçao from November 27 to December 8 and was attended by delegates and advisers from 14 non-self-governing territories of the area and observers from Haiti. Canada, the United Nations, FAO, ILO, and local educational institutions. The central theme of the Conference was "Agricultural Problems of the Caribbean," and recommendations were adopted for

implementation by the member and territorial governments designed to improve the basic agricultural economy of the region. Fao and ILO made important contributions to the Conference by supplying expert advisers and technical papers on such subjects as "The Importance of Agriculture in the Caribbean Economy With Reference to the World Market, Livestock, Cooperatives, Marketing Problems, Agricultural Labor and Mechanization, and Home Economics Education and Extension in the Caribbean."

In addition to the above meetings during the year, the Commission held under its auspices three ad hoc meetings of specialists on livestock, soil science, and statistical reporting; assisted the International Meteorological Organization (Regional IV Commission) in convening a second meeting of meteorological specialists of the area for the purpose of developing the hurricane warning system of the eastern Caribbean; and convened the second meeting of the Caribbean Research Council.

In June 1950 the four Governments issued a joint statement setting forth their interim views on the role of the Caribbean Commission in the expanded technical-assistance program.

The Commission in its 5 years of existence has enjoyed the cooperation and support of the territorial governments. Its purposes and functions are becoming more clearly understood in the area. It is gaining wider public recognition and approval and is making significant if unspectacular contributions toward the social and economic improvement of the peoples of the area.

2. South Pacific Commission

International cooperation in promoting the economic and social welfare and the advancement of the peoples in the non-self-governing territories of the South Pacific was strengthened by the establishment of the South Pacific Commission in 1948. The governments participating in the Commission are Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which administer 15 non-self-governing territories in the region south of the Equator and east from and including Netherlands New Guinea. During 1950 the Commission held its fifth session at Suva, Fiji, May 11-19, and its sixth session at Nouméa, New Caledonia, October 23-November 2. The primary emphasis of the Commission has been devoted to carrying out its work program of 29 research projects. Among these projects are a pilot project in community development