Assistance for the development of Liberia

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 36/207 of 17 December 1981, in which it appealed to all Member States, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and international development and financial institutions to provide all possible assistance for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of Liberia, Noting the statement made by the representative of Liberia before the Second Committee on 4 November 1982, describing his country's serious economic and financial situation, Having examined the report of the Secretary-General, to which was annexed the report of the interagency mission he dispatched to Liberia in March 1982 to consult with the Government on the additional assistance needed for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of the country. Noting from the report the serious economic and financial problems that confront Liberia, which arise primarily from the weak and underdeveloped state of the economic and social infrastructure, Noting also that the budgetary situation in Liberia, according to the report, makes it impossible for the Government to embark on a development programme without sufficient external financial aid, Particularly concerned that the Government of Liberia is unable to to provide the population with adequate health, educational and other essential social and public services because of an acute shortage of financial and material resources, especially so in the wake of the recent national disaster arising from the landslide and floods which causes the loss of lives, Taking note of the recommended programme of assistance to Liberia, drawn up by the United Nations Interagency mission in consultation with the Government, Aware of the intention of the Government of Liberia to organize, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, a round-table conference of donors in 1983 to discuss the country's development needs and to consider ways and means of backing the Government in its efforts to meet those needs, Noting that the Government of Liberia, with the assistance of the United Nations Secretariat, has prepared and submitted to the Committee for Development Planning, for consideration at its nineteenth session, in 1983, a report containing additional and up-to-date information relating to the economic situation of Liberia,

1. Notes with satisfaction the efforts exerted by the Government and people of Liberia for national reconstruction, rehabilitation and development;

2. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report on the economic situation of Liberia and the additional assistance required by that country for its reconstruction, rehabilitation and development,

3. Urgently reiterates its appeal to all Member States to contribute generously, through bilateral or multilateral channels, to the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of Liberia; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to organize an international programme of financial, technical and material assistance to Liberia to enable it to meet its long-term needs with respect to reconstruction, rehabilitation and development; 5. Requests the appropriate organizations and programmes of the United Nations system - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund - to expand their programmes of assistance to Liberia, to co-operate closely with the Secretary-General in organizing an effective international programme of assistance and to report periodically to him on the steps they have taken and the resources they have made available to assist that country; 6. Calls upon regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations, as well as the international development and financial institutions, to give urgent consideration to the establishment of a programme of assistance to Liberia or, where one is already in existence, to the expansion of that programme; 7. Urges Member States and relevant United Nations bodies - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities - to provide all possible assistance to help the Government of Liberia meet the critical humanitarian needs of the population and to provide, as appropriate, food, medicines and essential equipment for hospitals and schools; 8. 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 Liberia and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July 1982; 9. Invites the Government of Liberia to provide the Committee for Development Planning with up-to-date statistical data and information, on the basis of the existing criteria, pertinent to the examination of the country's economic situation, with a view to considering the possibility of its inclusion in the list of the least developed among the developing countries; 10. Requests the Economic and Social Council to invite the Committee for Development Planning, in the light of the new data and information provided by the Government of Liberia, to consider, on the basis of the existing criteria, its eligibility for inclusion in the list of the least developed countries; 11. Requests Member States and the organizations of the United Nations system to accord Liberia, in view of its critical economic situation, assistance that is adequate to the needs of the country until the situation returns to normal; 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 Liberia; (b) To ensure that adequate financial arrangements are made to continue the organization of the international programme of assistance to Liberia and for the mobilization of assistance; (c) To keep the situation in Liberia under 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 1983, of the current status of the special economic assistance programme for Liberia, (d) To report on the progress made in the economic situation of Liberia and in organizing and implementing the programme of assistance for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session.