Assistance to Guinea-Bissau.

  • Author: UN General Assembly (34th sess. : 1979-1980)
  • Document source:
  • Date:
    14 December 1979

34. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE
121. Assistance to Guinea-Bissau

The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 3339 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974, in which it invited Member States to provide economic assistance to the then newly independent State of Guinea-Bissau, Recalling also its resolution 32/ 100 of 13 December 1977, in which it, inter alia, expressed deep concern at the serious economic situation in Guinea-Bissau resulting from the many years of struggle for national liberation, the return of large numbers of refugees and the total lack of infrastructure for development, and in which it appealed to the international community to provide financial and economic assistance to help Guinea-Bissau overcome serious social and economic difficulties and to meet its economic development needs, Recalling further its resolution 33/124 of 19 December 1978, in which it expressed continued concern at the state of the economy of Guinea-Bissau and the acute shortages facing the country and reiterated its appeal to the international community to provide effective and continuous financial, material and technical assistance to Guinea-Bissau, Taking note of the recommendation of the Committee for Development Planning at its fourteenth session, in response to the application of Guinea-Bissau for inclusion in the list of the least developed countries, that Guinea-Bissau should be assisted during the remainder of the current decade and that the special difficulties and upheavals experienced by Guinea-Bissau required special measures [1] Having examined the report of the Secretary-General of 3 August 1979,[2] to which was annexed the report of the mission which he sent. to Guinea-Bissau in response to General Assembly resolution 33/124, Noting with concern that Guinea-Bissau continues to be beset by a wide range of economic and financial difficulties, Noting that the Government of Guinea-Bissau, by the application of a policy of stringent economy, was able to reduce the budget deficit in 1978 to a level substantially lower than in the two preceding years, Noting also that, despite the imposition of new and heavier taxes, there is no foreseeable possibility of a recurrent budget surplus becoming a significant source of public capital investment, and that the country will continue to be dependent upon external sources for public capital expenditure, Further noting with concern the deficit in the over-all balance of payments in 1977 and 1978, the unmanageably low level of foreign exchange reserves and the yearly accumulation of payment arrears, Concerned that, in real terms, the projected level of imports for 1979 is significantly lower than in the two preceding years and that the low level of imports will impede development, Noting that Guinea-Bissau continues to suffer the effects of the 1976 and 1977 drought, particularly with regard to the marketable rice surplus, and that the transport and storage of food present problems, Recalling its resolutions 32/160 of 19 December 1977 and 33/197 of 29 January 1979 on the Transport and Communications Decade in Africa, Noting, in this connexion, the emphasis placed by the Government of Guinea-Bissau on the need for assistance to expand and improve transport facilities, in particular, river and coastal transport, Recognizing the need of Guinea-Bissau for international assistance to overcome the obstacles to its short-term and long-term development,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the steps he has taken to mobilize assistance for Guinea-Bissau;

2. Endorses fully the assessment and recommendations contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General and draws the attention of the international community to the requirements for assistance for the projects and programmes identified in it;

3. Expresses its appreciation to those States and organizations which have provided assistance to Guinea-Bissau in response to appeals by the General Assembly and the Secretary-General;

4. Reiterates its appeal to Member States, regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies to provide effective and continuous financial, material and technical assistance to Guinea-Bissau to help it overcome its financial and economic difficulties and to permit the implementation of the projects and programmes identified in the report of the Secretary-General;

5. Requests Member States and the organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to accord Guinea-Bissau special measures for the rest of the Second United Nations Development Decade, pending the examination of its situation by the Committee for Development Planning;

6. Invites the Economic and Social Council to request the Committee for Development Planning to examine the situation of Guinea-Bissau as a priority matter and, in the light of up-to-date statistical data, to give consideration to the inclusion of Guinea-Bissau in the new list of the least developed countries to be drawn up in the context of the third United Nations development decade;

7. Calls upon Member States and appropriate international organizations to respond generously to the need of Guinea-Bissau for food aid;

8. Further calls upon Member States to assist Guinea-Bissau in developing its water transport system;

9. Draws the attention of the international community to the special account which was established at United Nations Headquarters by the Secretary-General, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/ 100, for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to Guinea-Bissau;

10. 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 special needs of Guinea-Bissau and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 August 1980;

11. 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 Guinea-Bissau;

12. 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 Guinea-Bissau;

(b) To pursue with the Government of Guinea-Bissau the question of organizing a meeting of donors and, in this respect, to co-ordinate efforts with the United Nations Development Programme, the Economic Commission for Africa and the World Bank;

(c) To ensure that adequate financial and budgetary arrangements are made to continue the organization of the international programme of assistance to Guinea-Bissau and the mobilization of assistance;

(d) To keep the situation in Guinea-Bissau 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 session of 1980, of the current status of the special economic assistance programme for Guinea-Bissau;

(e) To arrange for a review of the economic situation of Guinea-Bissau 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-fifth session.

104th plenary meeting
14 December 1979


[1] See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1978, Supplement No. 6 (E/1978/46 and Corr.1), para. 99. [2] A/34/370.
Disclaimer:

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.