Special economic assistance to Guinea-Bissau

 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Special economic assistance to Guinea-Bissau

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 35/95 of 5 December 1980, in which it reiterated its appeal to the international community to provide 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 recommended by the Secretary-General in his report of 21 August 1980 submitted in response to General Assembly resolution 34/121 of 14 December 1979, Recalling also its resolution 36/217 of 17 December 1981, Recalling further 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, and its resolutions 32/100 of 13 December 1977 and 33/124 of 19 December 1978, in which it, inter alia, expressed deep concern at the serious economic situation in Guinea-Bissau and appealed to the international community to provide financial and economic assistance to that country, Having examined the summary report of the Secretary-General, Recalling that Guinea-Bissau is one of the least developed countries, Noting with concern that Guinea-Bissau continues to be beset by serious economic and financial difficulties, Also noting with concern that the gross national product has dropped in real terms, that the balance-of-payments deficit continues to increase, that the external debt is imposing a heavy burden on the economy and that the budget deficit has also risen substantially, Noting that Guinea-Bissau continues to face a serious food shortage and needs more than 82,000 tonnes of foodstuffs, Noting with satisfaction that the Government of Guinea-Bissau has prepared a comprehensive development strategy aimed at stabilizing the country's finances and ensuring the country's economic recovery within the framework of a four-year development plan (1983-1986), Noting also that the Government of Guinea-Bissau, in view of the seriousness of the economic situation, has decided to implement a rigorous economic and financial stabilization programme, the main purpose of which is to remedy the economic situation, Noting further that the Government of Guinea-Bissau had proposed, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, to hold a round table of donors at Geneva in January 1984 and that, to this end, it held a preparatory meeting of donors at Lisbon from 17 to 19 November 1983,

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

2. Draws the attention of the international community to the requirements for assistance for the projects and programmes identified in the Secretary-General's reports mentioned above;

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

4. Calls upon Member States and the international organizations concerned to be generous in granting Guinea-Bissau the food aid it needs;

5. Renews its urgent appeal to Member States, regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies to continue providing financial, material and technical assistance to Guinea-Bissau to help it overcome its economic and financial difficulties and to permit the implementation of the projects and programmes identified in the annexes to the reports of the Secretary-General;

6. Urges Member States, bodies in the United Nations system, regional and interregional bodies and financial and development institutions, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, to respond generously to the needs of Guinea-Bissau at the round table of donors in January 1984;

7. Appeals to the international community to contribute to the special account 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;

8. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health 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 July 1984;

9. Requests the appropriate specialized agencies and other bodies 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;

10. 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 keep the situation in Guinea-Bissau under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, the specialized agencies, regional and other intergovernmental organizations and international financial institutions concerned, and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular sessions of 1984 and 1985, as well as the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session, of the status of the special programme of economic assistance for Guinea-Bissau;

(c) To arrange for a review of the results of the round table of donors scheduled to be held in January 1984, and of the progress made in organizing and implementing the special programme of economic assistance for Guinea-Bissau in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its fortieth session.