POST-WAR RELIEF

Grey River Argus, 8 January 1944, Page 7

POST-WAR RELIEF

UNRRA ADMINISTRATION RjUGBY, January 4. English has 'been declared the official language of the UNRRA Council and its committees. It was stressed that the staff should be international in character and selected on a basis of individual competence, character and integrity. without discrimination, sex or race, nationality, or creed. It was recommended that the personnel should fee recruited from as wide a geographical .area as possible. It was believed essential to secure the most competent employees available and necessary to pay them commensurately. It was proposed that all member governments be requested to make available persons from -their own civil services, and that they be released in time to give them the necessary training The United States will make the largest contribution to the budget ot UNRRA—4O per cent.; While Britain and the Soviet Union will each pay 15 per cent, and China 5. The smallest contribution called for is SUOU dollars. If it appears to be necessary to operate in enemy countries, or territories which belonged to the enemy, UNRRA will do so only from such time and for such purposes as may be agreed between the military command and the established central authority or duly recognised administrative body of. the territory, on the one hand and UNRRA on the other, and subject io such control as the military command may find necessary. All expenses are to be carried by the ex-enemy country concerned. ’ The Director-General will consult the military command or other established authorities having control of enemy or ex-enemy territories with a view to securing information as to any surpluses in such territories from which the relief and rehabilitation, import requirements of liberated areas might be met. The UNRRA report established the standard, but kept a flexible basis, for contributions to the cost of operations. The standard for members whose home territory is not occupied bv the enemy is an amount equal to 1 per cent, of the country s national income during the year ended June, 1943. This amount is not to be an annual contribution, but a contribution to cover the country s basic share for UNRRA’s entire term of operation. This recommendation is subject to ratification by the constitutional bodies of the countries As much as possible of the- contribution, but no less than 10 per cent, is to be in currency which can tie expended outside the country itself, and the balance in the form of credit in local currency, to be available, to. the purchase of supplies and services. Members giving . to and receiving from foreign sources direct contribu tions or other direct .aid shall do so only after consultation with the Director-General. As far as possible UNRRA will use the contributions at apfiroximately an equal rate. Cpntributions towards administration costs, .as distinguished from operational costs, may be deducted tiom the basic contribution UNRRA will not deplete its resources to provide aid in any area whose government is in a position to pav. Governments unable to pay for aid in foreign exchange will be asked to hand over to UNRRA the proceeds of the sale of supplies furnished by UNRRA. UNRRA will use such local currency for relief and rehabilitation including the care and movement of displaced persons. As far as possible administration expenses within any country shall be borne by the government of the .area, and paid fOwith its own currency or with local currency derived from the sale ot supplies. In no circumstances shall any distribution of gold or convertible currency resources be made oy the administration to any member or non-member government, except for purchases of Essential supplies and services.

ZONES FOR CONTROL For the purposes of UNRRA two areas are defined —the European and the’Far Eastern. The Far Eastern area is defined as: Eastern, Continental Asia, the East Indies the Philippines, Australia. New Zealand, and the islands of the East Indian and Pacific Oceans. The standing committee for the Far East consists ■of (representatives of China, the United States, Australia New Zealand the Philippines, India, Great Britain the Netherlands and France. The membership of the standing committee on supplies is confined to the countries likely to be the Principal suppliers of materials. On this basis the 11 countries- chosen were Britain, the United States, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. China Brazil, France, Belgium and Holland. Others may be added as they become major suppliers. ine supplies committee will arrange to draw on supplies and services in as uniform and equitable a manner as possible, and to consider whether there are unjustifiable differences in the valuations placed by the contributing countries on the supplies or services reached by or made available to UNRRA, and to recommend their adjustment. . The standing committee on. financial control consists of Britain, the United States, Russia, South Africa, China. Mexico, Greece and Norway. It will recommend the proportionate shares of administrative costs to be borne by each member, and w*Al exercise safeguards lagamdl anv inflationary tendency arising from the spending of local currency by UNRRA within the supplying C °Mr r paul Henri Spaak (Belgium 5 ) is to be chairman of the committee on organisation and administration. The chairmen of the organisational sub-committees are Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai (India). Mr Hector David Castro (El Salvador), Mr Kyriakos Varvaressos (Greece) and Mr Jan Masaryk (Czechoslovakia). Mr Vassili Alexseevich Sergeev (■Russia) is chairman of the committee on general policies. Under him. the chairmen of sub-committees are Colonel John J. Llewellm (United Kingdom), Mr Anders Fnhagen /Norway). Mr Enrico Penteado (Brazil) and M. J'ean . Monnet (French Committee of National . L’beration). Dean Acheson (United States) <s chairman of the sub-committees on financial supplies and services, and Mr L B. Pearson (Canad.a) heads the sub-committees for ascertaining and meeting deficits in supplies reqUTheSch^rmantlofl’the committee on relief and rehabilitation policies is Mr Tingfu F. Tsiang (China). Under £im the chairmen of sub-committees qir Owen Dixon (Australia), Dr Tnm fSan (United States) Mr (Poland). Mr Gustavo Cidierrez (Cuba), Mr Vassili Alex- , Sergeev (Prussia), and Mr p A. Kerstens (the Netherlands).