Assistance to Zambia.

33. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE*
131. Assistance to Zambia

The General Assembly,

Recalling the resolutions of the Security Council concerning the question of assistance to Zambia, in particular resolution 329 (1973) of 10 March 1973, and Economic and Social Council resolutions 2012 (LXI) of 3 August 1976 and 2093 (LXIII) of 26 July 1977, in which the Council commended the decision of the Government of Zambia in 1968 to implement progressively United Nations mandatory sanctions against Southern Rhodesia in accordance with Security Council resolution 253 (1968) of 29 May 1968, Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/46 of 2 August 1978, in which the Council endorsed the assessment and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General of 5 July 1978,[1] Recognizing that the Government of Zambia has incurred both direct costs and the costs of contingency measures as a result of its decision to apply sanctions against the illegal racist regime in Southern Rhodesia as well as losses due to the diversion of limited financial and human resources from the country's normal development, Recognizing further that the influx of refugees has imposed an additional burden on the economy of Zambia, Having examined the report of the Secretary-General of 3 October 1978,[2] containing the report of the mission which he sent to Zambia, Noting that the current critical situation in Zambia has been brought about by the effects of applying sanctions, the dislocations resulting from the prolonged period of destabilization of the southern African region and the depressed state of copper prices, particularly since 1975, Noting that, since the border with Southern Rhodesia was closed in 1973, Zambia's gross domestic product in real terms has shown virtually no growth, but rather actual declines in 1973, 1975 and 1977, Noting also the serious deterioration of the Government's financial position, the size of the over-all foreign deficit and the substantial domestic inflation, Noting further that the budgetary situation and the disruption and reorientation of transport and trade have prevented Zambia from undertaking any kind of normal development programme and, indeed, have made it almost impossible for Zambia to carry out any rational planning, Regretting that the international community has not thus far provided assistance to Zambia on a scale commensurate with the costs of freeing Zambia from its dependence on the south, as called for in Security Council resolutions 253 (1968) of 29 May 1968, 277 (1970) of 18 March 1970 and 329 (1973) of 10 March 1973, Taking into account that the deteriorating political situation in southern Africa and particularly the threat posed to Zambia's security by the illegal regime in Southern Rhodesia, including overt acts of aggression and continual incursions and harassments, have necessitated the diversion of scarce resources to defence, Noting that Zambia continues to grant asylum to an increasing number of refugees and that Zambia has had to bear a large proportion of the costs for the care of those refugees, and recognizing the need for additional international assistance for those refugees, Taking note of the Government of Zambia's broad guidelines for its future development strategy, which includes programmes for agriculture, manufacturing and mining and the longer-term development projects and programmes identified by the Government as requiring international assistance, Taking note of Zambia's need for resources to overcome the current crisis and to implement successfully a stabilization programme, as well as for assistance directed towards the country's longer-run development objectives, Having examined also the report of the Secretary-General of 1 November 1978,[3] submitted in response to Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/46, Noting that at least $850 million in quick-disbursing assistance is required in the period ending in December 1979 in order to finance necessary imports, reduce substantially outstanding arrears, build up foreign exchange reserves to a workable level and begin the long-term restructuring of the economy, Noting further that international assistance is urgently required to allow Zambia to transport needed imports and exports,

1. Strongly endorses the appeals made by the Security Council and the Secretary-General for international assistance to Zambia;

2. Endorses fully the assessment and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General of 3 October 1978;

3. Expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided thus far to Zambia by various States and regional and international organizations;

4. Expresses its deep concern that the total assistance provided to date falls far short of Zambia's needs;

5. Draws the attention of the international community to the additional financial, economic and material assistance urgently required by Zambia, as identified in the Secretary-General's report of 3 October 1978, and to the particular need for immediate assistance in the transport sector;

6. Calls upon Member States, regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to provide financial, material and technical assistance to Zambia, wherever possible in the form of grants, and urges them to give special consideration to the early inclusion of Zambia in their programmes of development assistance if it is not already included;

7. Further urges Member States and organizations which are already implementing or are negotiating assistance programmes for Zambia to strengthen them, wherever possible;

8. Draws the attention of the international community to the special account established at United Nations Headquarters by the Secretary-General for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to Zambia;

9. Requests the appropriate organizations and programmes of the United Nations system—in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund—to maintain and increase their current and future programmes of assistance to Zambia to enable it to carry out its planned development projects without interruption and to cooperate closely with the Secretary-General in organizing an effective international programme of assistance;

10. Further requests the appropriate specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to report periodically to the Secretary-General on the steps they have taken and the resources they have made available to assist Zambia;

11. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development to bring to the attention of their governing bodies for their consideration the assistance they are rendering to Zambia, for which the General Assembly has requested the Secretary-General to implement a special economic assistance programme, and to report the results of that assistance and their decisions to the Secretary-General in time for consideration by the Assembly at its thirty-fourth session;

12. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to continue his humanitarian assistance programmes on behalf of refugees in Zambia and urges the international community to provide him speedily with the necessary means to carry out those programmes;

13. Requests the Security Council to examine the situation in Zambia as a matter of urgency, in the context of Chapter VII, Articles 49 and 50, of the Charter of the United Nations, with a view to proposing additional measures of assistance to Zambia in view of its critical economic and financial position;

14. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To continue his efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for an effective programme of financial, technical and material assistance to Zambia;

(b) To continue to ensure that adequate financial and budgetary arrangements are made to mobilize resources and to co-ordinate the international assistance to Zambia;

(c) To keep the situation in Zambia under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies and international financial institutions concerned and to apprise the economic and Social Council, at its second regular se Eco of 1979, of the current status of the special economic assistance programme for Zambia;

(d) To arrange for a review of the economic situation of Zambia and the progress made in organizing and implementing the special economic assistance programme for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth session.

88th plenary meeting 14
19 December 1978

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[1] E/1978/114. [2] E/1978/114/Rev.1 [3] A/33/343.