Mr Holyoake Reviews U.N.E.S.C. Session

Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 17

Mr Holyoake Reviews U.N.E.S.C. Session

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, May 3. ' From New Zealand’s point of view, perhaps the most notable event of the thirtyfirst session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council was the election of our representative, Mr Foss Shanahan, as president of this important body for 1961," said the Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs (Mr Holyoake) this evening. The council considered the annual reports of the three specialised agencies with responsibility in the field of international finance the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. and the International Finance Corporation. These, said Mr Holyoake, were of particular interest to the Government, which in the next few months would be studying closely the question of New Zealand’s membership of these institutions. The managing-director of the IMF., in his opening to the council, expressed pleasure at the receipt of New Zealand’s preliminary appli-

cation for membership. Statements made by other delegations on the I.M.F. report confirmed that considerable confidence was reposed in the fund’s guidance by countries concerned with stabilising their currencies or international payments position, said Mr Holyoake. The operations of the International Bank were discussed by many delegations, and by the bank’s president, in the sober realisation that current levels ot growth in the less-developed countries were barely sufficient to maintain per capita incomes in the face of the prevalent rates oi population increase. The International Development Agency was recently established under the aegis of the International Bank with an authorised capital of 1000 million dollars to increase the flow of development capital to the countries most in need of it. It was disclosed at the council session that the agency would extend loans free of interest. repayable over 50 years. The council considered a number of other questions related to its function of

supervising the economic and social programmes of the United Nations. One was freedom of information. "Some concern has been felt in New Zealand and other countries,” said Mr Holyoake, "at efforts made by some delegations at the United Nations to draft a convention, ostensibly on freedom of information, but in practice leaning towards the restriction, rather than the facilitation, of international exchange of information, and the dissemination of news within individual countries. A welcome development at the recent council session was the recognition that more positive steps should be taken to ensure that news and information were more freely available through the improvement of information media in those countries where resources were now deficient. New Zealand would consider sympathetically requests made by other Governments for assistance in this field, Mr Holyoake said. Functional commissions and other expert subordinate bodies had been established to help the council in considering specialised topics. New Zealand, said Mr Holyoake, was at present a member of three of these—the Statistical Commission, the Commission on International Commodity Trade, and the executive board of the Children’s Fund. Elections to most of the subordinate bodies were held

at the recent council session. Among the results especially pleasing to New Zealand were the election of Australia to the Commission on International Commodity Trade, of Canada and Nigeria to the U.N.I.C.E.F. executive board, and of Malaya to the Social Commission. Other questions of interest to New Zealand considered by the council included the planning of specialised international conferences to consider the promotion of tourist travel, and the preparation of an international map of the world on the millionth scale. The council also examined the report of its newly-established Committee on Industrial Development, Mr Holyoake said.