Special economic assistance to Benin

 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Special economic assistance to Benin

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 35/88 of 5 December 1980, 36/208 of 17 December 1981, and 37/151 of 17 December 1982, in which it appealed to the international community to provide effective and continuous financial, material and technical assistance to Benin so as to help that country overcome its financial and economic difficulties, Recalling also Security Council resolution 419 (1977) of 24 November 1977, in which the Council appealed to all States and all appropriate international organizations, including the United Nations and the specialized agencies, to assist Benin, Having heard the statement made by the representative of Benin before the Second Committee on 10 November 1983 describing his country's serious economic and financial situation and the measures adopted by his Government to address those difficulties, Having considered the summary report of the Secretary-General, Noting from that report that despite a variety of adverse factors, Benin continues to make some progress in its development efforts as a result of the measures adopted by the Government and the assistance provided by the international community, Deeply concerned, however, by the fact that Benin continues to experience serious economic and financial difficulties, characterized by a severe balance-of-payments disequilibrium, heavy burdens of external debt and a lack of resources to implement its planned economic and social development programme, Noting also that continued unfavourable climatic conditions in the coastal and northern areas of Benin have entailed losses in agricultural and livestock production, Having noted the efforts of the Government of Benin to mobilize international support for the country's development plan through the organization of a round-table Conference held at Cotonou in March 1983 with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, Bearing in mind that Benin is classified as one of the least developed countries,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the measures he has taken to organize and mobilize support for the international programme of economic assistance for Benin;

2. Reiterates its endorsement of the assessment and recommendations of the United Nations review mission dispatched to Benin in July 1982, contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General;

3. Notes with satisfaction the interest and support for the development plan of Benin expressed by the participants in the round-table Conference;

4. Appeals to Member States, international financial institutions and the organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations system to respond generously and urgently to the needs of Benin as set out in the country's development plan for 1983-1987;

5. Expresses its appreciation for the assistance already given or pledged to Benin by Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and regional, interregional and intergovernmental organizations;

6. Notes with appreciation the measures that are being taken by the Government of Benin to strengthen the country's economy through financial and administrative reforms;

7. Reiterates the appeal it has addressed to all Member States to provide substantial and appropriate assistance bilaterally and multilaterally, if possible in the form of grants-in-aid or loans granted on favourable terms, in order to enable Benin to carry out fully the recommended special programme of economic assistance;

8. Requests the appropriate bodies and programmes of the United Nations - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United Nations Children's Fund - to maintain and expand their programmes of assistance to Benin, to co-operate closely with the Secretary-General in organizing an effective international programme of assistance and to report periodically to him on the measures they have taken and the resources they have made available to help that country;

9. Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization to provide all possible assistance to help the Government of Benin to meet the critical humanitarian needs of the population through the provision of food aid, medicines and equipment for areas affected by drought;

10. 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 Benin and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July 1984;

11. 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 Benin;

(b) To ensure that the necessary financial and budgetary arrangements are made to continue the organization of the international programme of assistance to Benin and the mobilization of that assistance;

(c) To keep the situation in Benin under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, the specialized agencies, regional and other intergovernmental organizations and the international financial institutions concerned, and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1984, of the status of the special programme of economic assistance for Benin;

(d) To arrange for a review of the economic situation in Benin and the status of the special programme of economic assistance and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session.