Southern Rhodesia, (1); Rumania, (1); Saudi Arabia, (3); Siam, (10); Sweden, (10); Switzerland, (10); Syria, (3); Tunisia, (1); Turkey, (10); Ukrainian S.S.R., (15); Union of South Africa, (25); U.S.S.R., (25); United Kingdom, (30); United States, (30); United States Territories, (30); Uruguay, (5); Vatican City, (1); Venezuela, (10); Yemen, (3); and Yugoslavia, (1). UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. The United States participates in the reorganized Iru through ratification, deposited July 17, 1948, of the International Telecommunication Convention, signed at Atlantic City on October 2, 1947.15 This convention entered into force on January 1, 1949. The United States instrument of ratification of the Telecommunication Convention of Madrid, December 9, 1932, was deposited on June 12, 1934.15 On May 31, 1947, the President designated the International Telecommunication Union as a public international organization entitled to enjoy the benefits of the International Organizations Immunities Act.15 Payments. Contributions of the United States are paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State for this purpose. The United States notified the Union of its selection in the scale of contributions of class I (30 units) for itself and of class I (30 units) for the territories of the United States. On the basis of 60 units, its share of the ordinary expenses for 1949 was 310,980 Swiss francs (approximately $72,660), or eight percent of total assessments. Its share of the extraordinary expenses for 1949 will not be definitely determined until 1950. Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Department of State is responsible for coordinating the interests of various other government agencies in connection with all matters pertaining to international telecommunications. This coordination is generally effected through the Telecommunications Coordinating Committee which advises the Secretary of State and which consists of representatives of the following interested agencies: The Federal Communications Commission, the Department of the Treasury, Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, Department of Commerce (Civil Aeronautics Administration), and the Department of State. Participation. The United States was not a party to the telegraph conventions adopted by the various telegraph conferences of the International Telegraph Union which have been held periodically since 1865. It was, however, a party to the radiotelegraph conventions of 1906, 1912, and 1927, each of which provided for utilization of the Bureau of the International Telegraph Union for administrative purposes. Since the establishment of the International Telecommunication Union under the Madrid Convention, the United States has restricted its participation to radio matters. It has not approved the telegraph and telephone regulations annexed to that convention, and its contribution to the Bureau of the Union covered only its share of the expenses of the Bureau for radio services. Because of the provisions of article 13 of the Atlantic City Convention stipulating that the telegraph regulations, telephone regulations, radio regulations and additional radio regulations shall be binding on all members, the United States formally declared in the final protocol adopted by the Conference that it did not, by signature of the convention, accept any obligation in respect of the telegraph regulations, the telephone regulations, or the additional radio regulations. The United States did sign, with a reservation as to the fixing of rate levels, the telegraph regulations as revised at the Administrative Conference held in Paris in 1949. Since the war the United States has played an active role in bringing about a reorganization of the Union and in revising the radio regulations. It took the initiative in convening the Atlantic City Conferences for these purposes. The United States was elected to membership on the Administrative Council and Paul D. Miles (formerly with the Federal Communications Commission) was elected chairman of the International Frequency Registration Board. The United States has also participated in all conferences convened by the Union during the past year, including the Provisional Frequency Board, the International Radio Consultative Committee, the Preparatory Committee for a High Frequency Broadcasting Conference, the High Frequency Broadcasting Conference, and the Aeronautical Radio Conference. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS An agreement of relationship with the United Nations under which the Union was recognized as a specialized agency of the United Nations entered into force definitively on January 1, 1949. Provision is made in the general regulations for limited participation by representatives of international organizations, private international organizations, and recognized private operating agencies in meetings of various bodies of the Union. Working relationships with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Meteorological Organization, and the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization are of particular importance. BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS U.S. Department of State. Telecommunications Convention: Final Protocol, and Radio Regulations Between the United States of America and Other Governments. Signed at Atlantic City, October 2, 1947. Entered Into Force, January 1, 1949. Treaties and Other International Acts Series 1901. Pub. 3509. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949. Stat. -). (63 International Telecommunication Conferences, Atlantic City, New Jersey, May-October 1947. Report of the United States Delegations to the International Radio Conference, the International Telecommunication Conference, and the International Conference on High Frequency Broadcasting, Atlantic City, 1947. Pub. 3177. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1948. 192 pp. International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669; 8 U.S.C. 203, 215; 22 U.S.C. 288 a, b, c, d, e, f, note; 26 U.S.C. 116, 1400, 1426, 1600, 1607 and notes, 1621, 3466, 3469, 3475, 3797; 42 U.S.C. 401, 409, 1001, 1101, notes) made applicable to the International Telecommunication Union by Executive Order 9863, dated May 31, 1947. Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union. Journal des Telecommunications. Monthly, Berne, 1933-. Successor to the Journal Telegraphique, Berne, 1869-1933. Rapport de Gestion, Annual. Berne, 1868. Report on the administration of the Secretariat of the Union. International Union of Official Travel 6 Arlington St., St. James's, London, England ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT The International Union of Official Travel Organizations (IUOTO) was evolved from an International Congress of Official Tourist Propaganda Associations, developed in 1935 at The Hague, Netherlands, with an original membership of 14 European countries. Between 1925 and 1937 it held 11 annual meetings and cooperated with the League of Nations on problems of travel development. Following World War II the British Travel Association called an International Conference of National Travel Organizations in London in October 1946, attended by representatives of 42 countries including former members of the prewar Union. An exploratory committee was set up by this conference to revise and reconstruct the prewar organization. The resulting revised statutes were recommended at a conference of these organizations in Paris in October 1947, 15 countries immediately adhering and becoming dues-paying members. MEMBERSHIP Members are national official travel organizations or the government bodies designated to represent travel interests. As of June 30, 1949, 37 countries were represented as members, as follows, with affiliate membership of international organizations as indicated. Members: Australia, Argentina, Belgian Congo, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ceylon, Denmark, East Africa, Eire, France, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Turkey, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Trinidad and Tobago, United States (Department of Commerce), and New Zealand. Associate Members: Association Internationale des Skal Clubs, Federation Internationale des Associations Touristiques des Cheminots, Association Internationale de l'Hotellerie. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The purposes of the IUOTO are (a) to promote the free flow of visitors among member countries in the interest of the expansion of trade and the development of cultural understanding; (b) to facilitate the solution of problems in the field of international interchange of visitors through consultation and collaboration among members and to present a united front on all questions affecting international travel; (c) to create increasing opportunities for the expansion of the travel trade of the member countries on a mutually advantageous basis by developing with the respective Governments uniformity, simplicity, and freedom of travel in all countries; (d) to cooperate with the United Nations and other international organizations in the achievement of the social and economic objectives of the United Nations; (e) to promote national and international action for the reduction of barriers to international travel; the facilitation of the movement of travelers; the simplification and standardization of the documentary, registration, and inspection requirements and procedures for persons and their personal effects, funds, and means of transport; the reduction or elimination of fees, charges and other costs incidental to travel; and the elimination of all forms of discriminatory treatment in international travel-thus contributing to the creation of exchange, the stimulation of trade, the expansion of transport facilities, the development of latent economic resources, and mutual appreciation of the cultural contributions of all countries; (f) to promote the interchange, between member organizations, of all information and literature likely to be of service to the cause of international tourism and to raise the standards of travel and tourist propaganda material; and (g) to pro vide international machinery for the collaboration of all members in carrying out these purposes. STRUCTURE Officers of the International Union consist of a President and a Secretary General and two auditors elected by the General Assembly. Organs of the Union are the General Assembly which meets annually, with extraordinary general meetings held as required; the Executive Committee, composed of the president and not more than 11 members, elected by the General Assembly; and the general secretariat. The International Union performs its work throughout the year through a series of study commissions established by the Executive Committee. These commissions are made up of representatives from the official travel bodies of various countries and study particular problems in international travel, developing reports and recommendations looking toward their solution. These studies are discussed by the General Assembly of the Union at its annual meeting and the recommendations approved are forwarded to the United Nations and the Governments of the participating countries for action. Commissions on the following subjects have been established to date: international travel statistics, US-Europe transport, passports, visas and frontier formalities, currency problems in international travel, low-cost volume travel, European travel, inter-American travel, African travel, and training and exchange of trained tourist bureau personnel. The Secretary General of the Union is F. M. Morin. FINANCES Budget. The Executive Committee is responsible for the submission of an annual budget to the General Assembly for approval and is responsible for the financial transactions of the Union. The Union derives its funds from subscriptions from its members. Members' Quotas. The General Assembly determines the amount of subscriptions. Under the terms of the organization's statutes, all member countries pay like amounts. Similarly, all associate members are assessed the same annual subscriptions. For the year 1949, member countries were assessed 150 pounds sterling (approximately $600) and associate members, 25 pounds sterling (approximately $100). UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. The Department of Commerce applied for membership in the International Union on January 1, 1949, under the author |