In the complex field of international frequency management procedures, results quite compatible with United States interests were achieved. Existing procedures were modified substantially. The new procedures are intended to produce on an evolutionary basis an international record of current frequency usage. Special procedures, based upon a United States proposal, were adopted for high-frequency broadcasting. In the field of frequency allocations a large number of actions were taken, and for the first time progress was made in gaining recognition of spectrum requirements for radio astronomy and for space research programs. It is obvious that the International Telecommunication Convention and the annexed radio regulations 39 which will be considered by this committee include complex provisions. Mr. Arthur L. Lebel, Acting Chief of the Telecommunications Division of the Department of State; Commissioner T. A. M. Craven of the Federal Communications Commission; the chairman of the United States delegation to the radio conference, Commissioner Rosel H. Hyde, also of the Federal Communications Commission, are present and prepared to answer any questions you may have on the technical details of the treaties. Commissioner Craven is prepared to make a statement before the committee on behalf of the Commission. In closing I should like to point out that the convention entered into force on January 1, 1961, as between the members who have ratified it. Article 17 of the convention provides that a signatory government which has not deposited an instrument of ratification within a period of 2 years from the date of the convention's entry into force shall not be entitled to vote at conferences or meetings of the Union. Because of the importance of international telecommunications to this country, the United States plays a leading role in all the activities of the Union. Hence early ratification of the convention and the annexed radio regulations will materially assist this Government in protecting its interests and the interests of its citizens and in maintaining its leadership at related international conferences. I should, therefore, like to urge the earliest possible consent by the Senate to the ratification of these two treaties. INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION CONVENTION AND FINAL PROTOCOL, Signed at Geneva, December 21, 1959, Entered Into Force for the United States, October 23, 1961 40 39 40 See the unnumbered title, infra, p. 236. TIAS 4892; 12 UST 1761. See S. Ex. J, 86th Cong., 2d sess., June 9, 1960, and S. Ex. Rept. 10, 87th Cong., 1st sess., Sept. 12, 1961. The Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the convention and final protocol by the United States by a vote of 66 to 0, taken Sept. 25, 1961. The convention and final protocol were ratified by the President, Oct. 4, 1961; U.S. ratification of the convention and final protocol was deposited with the ITU, Oct. 23, 1961; the President proclaimed its entry into force, Nov. 22, 1961. RADIO REGULATIONS, WITH APPENDICES, AND ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL, Signed at Geneva, December 21, 1959, Entered Into Force for the United States, October 23, 1961 11 THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ORGANIZATION [NOTE: See Section G, "The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade," in Part XI, post.] THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR UNITED STATES PARTICIPATION IN THE UNESCO INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM TO PRESERVE THE MONUMENTS OF THE NILE VALLEY: Letter From the President (Kennedy) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Rayburn) and the President of the Senate (Johnson), April 6, 1961 42 THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION 73. FOURTEENTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY, NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 7-24, 1961: Report of the Chairman of the U.S. Delegation (Dr. Burney) (Excerpts) 43 The Fourteenth World Health Assembly was held in the Vigyan Bhavan-the Indian Government's international conference hall-in New Delhi, India, from February 7 to 24, 1961. The Assembly is the governing body of the World Health Organization and is composed of delegations from the Organization's member countries. The Assembly is primarily a business meeting which decides the WHO's policies, budget, and programs, rather than a conference or convention in the usual sense. United States membership in the World Health Organization is "TIAS 4893; 12 UST 2377. See the preceding footnote. White House press release dated Apr. 7, 1961; the Department of State Bulletin, May 1, 1961, pp. 643-645. See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, p. 167. The Fourteenth World Health Assembly: Report by Dr. Leroy E. Burney, Chairman, United States Delegation to the Fourteenth World Health Assembly, New Delhi, India, February 7-24, 1961 (U.S. Department of Health, Education. and Welfare; Public Health Service). authorized by Public Law 643, 80th Congress (1948)." At present, 109 countries are members of WHO; this includes the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which was admitted as a full Member State and Tanganyika and Ruanda Urundi which were admitted as Associate Members during the Fourteenth Assembly. Since the Thirteenth World Health Assembly in May 1960, the following countries have been admitted to Full Membership in WHO by virtue of formally notifying the United Nations, of which they are members, that they accept the WHO Constitution: Central African Republic, Chad, Cyprus, Dahomey, Gabon, Republic of Ivory Coast, Malagasy, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, and the Republic of the Upper Volta. Three countries of the Soviet bloc-Byelorussian S.S.R., Hungary, and Ukranian S.S.R.-are members of WHO but are in inactive status. (A complete roster of WHO Members and Associate Members is included with this report in Annex 1.) Delegations from 100 Members and three Associate Members were accredited to the Assembly.45 In addition, there were in attendance observers from one non-Member State (Holy See); from 13 intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labor Organization (ILO), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and from 47 non-governmental, international organizations in affiliation with WHO. (Annex 2 lists countries and organizations represented at the Assembly, with numbers of representatives from each.) More than 400 persons attended the Assembly in some official capacity. The official United States Delegation totaled 18; other large delegations were from India (26), and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (11). (The complete list of names of delegations and observers will be published in the official report of the Assembly by the WHO.) 46 Election of Officers-Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Nominations, which consisted of 18 countries, including the United States, the following officers were elected: President: Sir Arcot Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar (India); Vice Presidents: Dr. A. Martinez Marchetti (Argentina), Dr. J. Plojhar (Czechoslovakia), and Dr. D. Samonte (Philippines); Committee on Programme and Budget: Chairman, Dr. W. A. Karunaratne (Ceylon); Committee on Administration, Finance and Legal Matters: Chairman, Dr. H. van Zile Hyde (United States). Establishment of Committees-Following election of officers, the mittees "Of June 14, 1948 (62 Stat. 441; also A Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents, 1941-1949, pp. 352-353). The members not attending the 14th Assembly were the Byelorussian S.S.R., the Dominican Republic, Hungary, Panama, and the Ukrainian S.S.R. "See Fourteenth World Health Assembly, New Delhi, 7-24 February 1961, Part II, Plenary Meetings (Verbatim Records), Committees (Minutes and Reports) (Official Records of the World Health Organization No. 111), pp. 1-14. Assembly established the General Committee. This Committee, which acts as a steering committee for the Assembly, consisted of the Assembly officers plus representatives of delegations from the following nine countries: France, Ghana, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Togo, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Venezuela. Other Assembly Committees are as follows: Committee on Nominations-Argentina, Ceylon, France, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, Federation of Malaya, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, and Venezuela; Committee on Credentials-Albania, Burma, Chile, Ethiopia, Honduras, Republic of the Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Senegal, and Switzerland. Chinese Representation-The question of representation in the Assembly by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was brought up by Dr. Kurashov, Delegate from the U.S.S.R., who put forward a draft resolution calling for exclusion of the Government of the Republic of China and inviting the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China to be represented in the Assembly. Although the issue of representation by Communist China is a perennial one, this is the first time, in the World Health Assembly, that a resolution has been introduced to reject the credentials of the Government of the Republic of China in favor of Communist China. Following this formal move by the U.S.S.R. Delegate, Dr. Burney spoke for the United States Delegation, proposing that the Assembly not consider for the duration of the 14th regular session any proposals to exclude the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China. This moratorium resolution was adopted by a vote of 38 to 24 with 15 abstentions. 48 Program items which received most discussion were malaria eradication, smallpox eradication, radiation health, and education and training of health and medical personnel. Malaria Eradication A report on the development of the worldwide malaria eradication campaign described progress which had been made in 1960 toward the goal of eradication.49 In a joint meeting of the Administration, Finance and Legal and Program and Budget Committees, it was reported that out of 1,336 million people in present or formerly malarious areas, 298 million-22.3 percent-are now living in areas from which malaria 47 Text ibid., p. 29, footnote 1. 4 See ibid., pp. 29–30 and 35–36. 49 Not published. has been eradicated. Over 612 million-45.9 percent-are living in areas where malaria eradication campaigns are in progress. The report also acknowledged that a number of malaria eradication campaigns had not progressed according to schedule for technical, operational, or administrative difficulties. Briefly, here is a region-by-region report on progress and plans in the worldwide malaria eradication campaign: Africa-Problems of malaria in Africa had been given special study during 1960. Results of well-planned pilot projects showed that where total coverage could be assured, malaria eradication was technically feasible in large parts of tropical Africa but certain administrative operational difficulties remain to be solved in the Region. Americas-In the Region of the Americas considerable progress had been made in 1960 in most programs and prospects for the attainment of eradication appeared hopeful. In Mexico, for example, when the eradication program began 4 years ago, there had been 2,500,000 cases of malaria annually, with 250,000 deaths; in 1960, there were only 1,396 positive results from blood tests, and there had been no deaths. Delegates from Paraguay, Costa Rica, and Chile, reported reduced incidence of malaria during 1960. The Argentine delegate expressed hope that his country would soon be added to the list of areas from which malaria had been eliminated. South-East Asia-Progress in malaria eradication in this Region was reported to be less uniform than in some others, with encouraging progress noted in some countries and rather serious problems reported in others. The eradication program in India was reported to be making progress and implementation of the Five-Year Malaria Eradication Program in Ceylon was stated to be progressing satisfactorily. Administrative difficulties and problems of vector resistance were noted in Burma, Indonesia and Nepal. The administrative problems in these and other countries in the Region were receiving increasing attention according to the report. Eastern Mediterranean-A majority of the countries in this Region have made progress in malaria eradication, notably Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian province of the United Arab Republic. Nomadism constitutes one of the main technical problems in this area. Europe-Advances in eradication campaigns in continental Europe were reported to be such that it is expected that the consolidation phase will be reached everywhere in the Region by the end of 1962. Western Pacific-All countries in the Region have agreed in principle to malaria eradication, but not all have fully developed eradication plans. Trials with medicated salt have been put into operation in Netherlands, New Guinea, and Cambodia and in the Tokelau Islands an attempt has been made to control mosquito larvae by biological means with the introduction of a parasitic fungus Smallpox Eradication The Assembly emphasized the urgency of achieving worldwide eradication of smallpox. The group noted that although progress had Doc. 73 |