Economic assistance to Vanuatu : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

  • Author: UN General Assembly (39th sess. : 1984-1985)
  • Document source:
  • Date:
    17 December 1984
 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Economic assistance to Vanuatu

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 38/218 of 20 December 1983 on economic assistance to Vanuatu, in which it requested the Secretary-General to mobilize the financial, technical and economic assistance of the international community, in particular the developed countries and the appropriate organizations of the United Nations system, with a view to meeting the development needs of Vanuatu, Recalling also its resolutions 31/156 of 21 December 1976, 32/185 of 19 December 1977, 34/205 of 19 December 1979, 35/61 of 5 December 1980 and 37/206 of 20 December 1982, in which it urged all Governments, in particular those of the developed countries, to lend their support, in the context of their assistance programmes, for the implementation of the specific action envisaged in favour of island developing countries, and in which it also called upon all organizations of the United Nations system to implement, within their respective spheres of competence, appropriate specific actions in favour of island developing countries, Noting the difficult problems faced by island developing countries, owing mainly to their smallness, remoteness, constraints in transport, great distances from market centres, highly limited internal markets, lack of natural resources, heavy dependence on a few commodities, shortage of administrative personnel and heavy financial burdens, Taking into account the fact that Vanuatu is an island developing country, that it is a geographically remote archipelago with a small population, that it has demographic disadvantages, that its dependence on imports is overwhelming and that it has a scarcity of adequate transportation and communications links, all of which pose special development problems, making the provision of services difficult and entailing very high overhead costs,

1. Calls the attention of the international community to the report of the Secretary-General on assistance to Vanuatu;

2. Endorses the assessment and recommendations contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General;

3. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the steps he has taken to mobilize assistance for Vanuatu;

4. Also expresses its appreciation to those States and organizations which have provided assistance to that country;

5. Further calls the attention of the international community to the special problems confronting Vanuatu as an island developing country with a small but rapidly growing and unevenly distributed population, a severe shortage of development capital and declining budgetary support from present donors;

6. Requests the appropriate organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to maintain and expand their current and future programmes of assistance to Vanuatu, 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 help that country;

7. Invites the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the International Labour Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development to bring to the attention of their governing bodies, for their consideration, the special needs of Vanuatu and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July

1985;

8. Requests the Committee for Development Planning at its twenty-first session, as a matter of priority, to give due consideration to the question of the inclusion of Vanuatu in the list of the least developed countries and to submit its conclusions to the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1985;

9. Calls upon Member States, pending consideration by the Committee for Development Planning at its twenty-first session of the report submitted to it and in view of the critical economic situation of Vanuatu, to accord Vanuatu special measures and, as a matter of priority, to give special consideration to the early inclusion of Vanuatu in their programmes of development assistance;

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 Vanuatu;

(b) To keep the situation in Vanuatu under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies and the international financial institutions concerned, and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1985, of the current status of the special programme of economic assistance for Vanuatu;

(c) To report on the progress made in the economic situation in Vanuatu and in organizing international assistance for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its fortieth session.

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