FUTURE OF U.N.R.R.A.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26216, 29 July 1946, Page 5

FUTURE OF U.N.R.R.A.

EARLY CESSATION FORECAST AGREEMENT REPORTED (Rec. 10 p.m.) NEW YORK, July 27. Great Britain, America and Canada will recommend the end of U.N.R.R.A. activities within the next nine months, and will oppose the creation of any elaborate international organisation to replace it. reports the New York Times Washington correspondent. These countries, which provided 94 per cent, of U.N.R.R.A.’s funds, have reached general agreement that, first, a new refugee organisation will have to be established to take care of displaced persons, probably under the United Nations; secondly, that U.N.R.R.A. health activities should be . taken over by a -new world health organisation; thirdly, that some U.N.R.R.A. rehabilitation functions should be taken over by the World Bank; fourthly, that the major U.N.R.R.A. tasks of delivering supplies for relief and rehabilitation in devastated areas will have to be dealt with on a national basis with those needing relief seeking it wherever they think they can get it( Attempts will probably be made at a final meeting of the U.N.R.R.A. Council at Geneva in August to create an international organisation to carry on U.N.R.R.A. work in Europe after the end of the year and in Asia after April 30, 1947. Mr La Guardia is expected to announce his resignation at Geneva and to propose several suggestions for carrying on U.N.R.R.A. work, but, without the support of the three main sources of supply and finance, he is unlikely to make much headway. Feeling in Washington is that the longer an international relief organisation exists, the longer some countries will continue to use it as a means of relief rather than make the maximum effort to assist themselves.

Furthermore, it is pointed out that under the existing political structure in eastern Europe, the Soviet is unfairly able to demand concessions from the nations in its European bloc while saddling U.N.R.R.A. and its principal contributors with the task of relief in the Soviet bloc.