American cities. Spanish is the official language of the Institute, but the Institute's Bulletin publishes articles in English, Portuguese, and French. The Director of the Institute is Roberto Berro. FINANCES Budget. The annual budget of the Institute is approved by the Directing Council, Expenditures during the calendar year 1948 totaled 36,673 Uruguayan pesos (approximately $19,300). The Institute derives income from member quotas and a nominal sum from investments and the sale of publications. Members' Quotas. Before 1946, each member was assessed an annual quota of $2,000. The Directing Council of the Institute, in 1946, approved a resolution which revised the basic financial provision of the Statutes of the Institute so as to establish a scale of contributions based on population with quotas ranging from $200 to $10,000. The quotas of members under the revised statutes are as follows: Authorization. United States participation is authorized by an act of Congress approved May 3, 1928.2 Payments. The act of Congress authorizing United States participation in the Institute also authorizes an annual appropriation of $2,000 for payment of the United States contribution. The United States 2 See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 205. pays this amount annually from funds appropriated to the Department of State for this purpose. Authorization to enable the United States to pay the new quota of $10,000 in accordance with the revised scale of contributions has been requested from the Congress. Agencies Chiefly Concerned. Responsibility for relations with the Institute is vested in the Department of State which works closely in this connection with the U. S. Children's Bureau of the Federal Security Agency. Participation. The technical delegate for the United States, who is the Chief of the Children's Bureau of the Federal Security Agency, has been assigned the responsibility of developing the work in the zone including Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands republics. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS A formal agreement between the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Institute, which recognizes the Institute as a specialized organization in the inter-American system, was signed on April 22, 1949. The Institute has held consultations with the International Labor Organization on matters of common interest and has negotiated with the International Children's Emergency Fund for the services of an UNICEF nutrition expert to visit Latin American countries for the planning of national programs on nutritional problems of children. BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS United States Participation: 45 Stat. 487; (22 U.S.C. 269 (b)). Estatutes del Institute Internacional Americano de Proteccion a la Infancia. Montevideo, 1946. Memoria. (Annual Report). Montevideo, 1927-. Noticiario del Instituto Internacional Americano de Proteccion a la Infancia. Monthly. Montevideo, 1942-. Bulletin of the International Institute for the Protection of Childhood. Quarterly. Montevideo, 1927. Central International Office for the Control of the Liquor Traffic in Africa ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT Brussels, Belgium The Central International Office for the Control of Liquor Traffic in Africa was established as a successor to an earlier office created by the General Act of Brussels of July 2, 1890, which was concerned with the regulation of the slave trade and the importation of firearms, ammunition, and spirituous liquors in certain regions of Africa. The General Act was revised at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and the resulting conventions were signed at St. Germain-en-Laye on September 10, 1919. The Central International Office was established under article 7 of the Convention relating to liquor traffic in Africa, which came into force on July 31, 1920. It had its seat at Brussels (as had the earlier international office), pursuant to a decision of the Council of the League of Nations of January 11, 1922. The activities of the Office, which ceased during World War II owing to the German occupation of Belgium, have recently been revived. MEMBERSHIP The members of the Office are the signatories to the convention of 1919: Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, United Kingdom, the United States and Egypt which adhered to the convention in 1924. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The Office was established for the purpose of collecting and centralizing information relating to the liquor traffic in Africa. The parties to the convention undertake to furnish each other and the Office with annual reports concerning liquor importation and manufacture in respect of African territories under their control. STRUCTURE The Office has only a small secretariat, which is a part of the Belgian Foreign Office. There are no meetings of the parties to the convention. FINANCES The budget of the Office for each of the fiscal years 1947 and 1948 amounted to 14,000 Belgian francs (approximately $320). The expenses are apportioned equally among the members (Japan temporarily excepted). The Office has no sources of revenue other than member contributions. UNITED STATES RELATIONS United States participation was authorized by virtue of United States ratification of the Convention of St. Germain, deposited March 22, 1929.3 The United States has been assessed 2,000 Belgian francs (approximately $46) for each of the fiscal years 1947 and 1948. This amount represents one-seventh of the total budget. 8 See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 207. Relations with the Office are the responsibility of the Department of State. As indicated above, however, there are no meetings of members; hence, there is no United States representation for the Office. BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS U. S. Department of State. Convention between the United States and Other Powers, Relating to the Liquor Traffic in Africa. Signed at Saint Germainen-Laye, September 10, 1919. Treaty Series 779, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1929. (46 Stat. 2199.) Inter-American Commission of Women Pan American Union, Washington, D.C. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT The Inter-American Commission of Women was originally organized pursuant to a resolution of the Sixth International Conference of American States at Habana in 1928 and was charged with the responsibility of assembling data which would enable the Seventh International Conference of American States, Montevideo, 1933, to consider the question of civil and political equality for women. Reports of the Commission were subsequently submitted to the Montevideo Conference, which drew up a convention on the nationality of women that was later approved by the United States Senate and ratified by the President on June 30, 1934. The Commission became a permanent intergovernmental body through the adoption of resolution XXIII at the Eighth International Conference of American States in Lima in 1938. The Ninth International Conference of American States at Bogotá in April 1948 approved a new "Organic Statute" of the Inter-American Commission of Women (resolution XXI) recognizing it as a "permanent entity attached to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States." MEMBERSHIP The governments of the 21 American republics are represented on the Inter-American Commission of Women. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The Commission operates as an advisory body working for the extension of civil, political, economic, and social rights to the women of 'See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 209. America. It makes reports and recommendations to the Organization of American States (OAS) and inter-American conferences and suggests to governments that resolutions adopted concerning women be carried out. It also establishes close relations with inter-American organizations, as well as those of world-wide scope, which are working for similar objectives. STRUCTURE Each of the 21 American republics appoints a delegate to the InterAmerican Commission of Women. A general assembly of these delegates is scheduled to meet annually, and special assemblies may be called if needed. The place of meeting rotates among the member countries. The assembly formulates the policy and outlines the program of the Commission. The Commission elects its own chairman and vice chairman from among its members, their term of office being four years. The present chairman is Mrs. Castillo Ledon, who replaced Miss Minerva Bernardino in August 1949. Election requires an absolute majority of the delegates composing the Commission, and the officers may not be reelected for an ensuing term. An executive committee, composed of the chairman and four delegates, elected for two-year terms, functions between the annual assemblies. The chairman and executive committee perform their duties at the seat of the Commission, which is located along with its permanent secretariat at the offices of the Organization of American States in the Pan American Union in Washington. The official languages are English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Documents are available in Spanish and usually in English. FINANCES Budget. Under the Commission's organic statute no separate appropriations for the Inter-American Commission of Women are required, since funds for the expenses of its secretariat are now included in the budget of the Pan American Union, the secretariat of the OAS. UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. United States participation in the Inter-American Commission of Women is pursuant to the authority vested in the Executive to conduct the foreign relations of the United States. Payments. The United States paid a contribution of $2,000 for each of the fiscal years 1945 through 1948 when the Commission was supported by quotas from member governments based on their respective populations. Since the fiscal year 1949 the expenses of the secretariat of the Commission have been borne by the Pan American Union. |