The heading under which these observations are brought together may well seem presumptuous. The request made to me was to deal with the subject: “collective security”—a phrase which I am hesitant to use, for it has come to cover the most diverse international political arrangements. The title adopted provides a convenient umbrella under which to bring together a number of general observations on the approach to the problem of maintaining peace.

It has been said that the northern nations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, personify unity within diversity.

Ties of ethnographic and cultural kinship give these northern peoples a sense of unity and a desire for working together. At the same time, the varying outlooks and aspirations which the five countries have come to hold as a result of their differing geographic, economic and political conditions and experiences, have produced a strong desire for independence and the preservation of their own ways of life.

United Nations technical assistance is unique in many ways. Its popularity is attested by pledges and contributions from eighty-two nations, some of which are not members of the UN. Its success is indicated by increasing contributions from all nations of the world and increasing requests for assistance from underdeveloped countries. Most significant of all, the UN technical assistance program is the only setting where the Soviet Union, its constituent republics, and the eastern European countries in its orbit cooperate widi western powers in economic activities not specifically and directly for their own national purposes. Nowhere else can one find delegates from the United States, Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and many other nations wrestling not with high politics and ways to advance their power position, but, rather, with the practical problems of irrigation in Iran, statistical research in India, and malaria control in Ceylon.

The salaries of international officials have again been under discussion in the General Assembly and, as the discussion is to continue during the twelfth session, this would seem to be an appropriate moment to review the situation. The eleventh Assembly had before it the report of a special committee requested to undertake “a comprehensive review of the United Nations salary, allowance and benefits system”. Although this report was praised in the debate, the Staff Council expressed the view that its “principal conclusions and recommendations are profoundly disappointing”. The committee, known as the Salary Review Committee (SRC), did not confine itself to salaries and allowances, but quite naturally dealt also with such questions as grading, recruitment and, to some extent, with pensions. Since Dr. R. N. Swift, in a recent article on personnel problems in this journal, has devoted sections to recruitment and salaries in the UN, I do not propose to consider recruitment policies, but to discuss the inter-related problems of salaries, grading and pensions in the wider setting of the whole UN family of international organizations.

Report of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary: The Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary, at its last meeting, June 7, 1957, adopted its report to the General Assembly. The committee, composed of representatives of Australia, Ceylon, Denmark, Tunisia, and Uruguay, had been appointed by the General Assembly at its second emergency special session to provide information regarding the situation created by Soviet intervention in the internal affairs of Hungary as well as the developments relating to the Assembly's recommendations on this subject. The report, based on available documentation and the testimony of in witnesses, dealt with a brief history of the Hungarian uprising, the movement as seen by the Soviet Union and by the government of Janos Kadar, the Soviet military intervention and its political background, the effects of the use or threat of use of force on the political independence of Hungary, and specific acts violating other rights of the Hungarian people. The committee believed that the uprising in October and November 1956 had been a spontaneous, improvised national movement, stemming from resentments caused by longstanding grievances, particularly against the inferior status of Hungary in relation to the Soviet Union. The thesis put forth by the Soviet Union and the Kadar government that the uprising had been fomented by Hungarian reactionary circles and strengthened by western “imperialists” was unacceptable to the committee, which felt that the movement had been led by students, workers, soldiers and intellectuals, who had demanded, inter alia, that democratic socialism should be the basis of the Hungarian political structure and that such social achievements as land reform should be safeguarded. Reporting that Soviet authorities had taken steps as early as October 20 to make armed intervention possible, the committee felt that it could not say whether the Soviets had anticipated the occurrence. It stressed, however, that the Warsaw Treaty did not provide for Soviet armed intervention to dictate political developments within any signatory's frontiers.

The following summary covers the activities of the Security Council from its 783d meeting on August 20, 1957, through its 790th meeting on September 9, 1957.

The Sub-Committee (Canada, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States) of the Disarmament Commission held its 87th–157th meetings in London, March 18—September 6, 1957. On March 18, the Soviet representative presented a proposal for an international convention on the reduction of armaments and armed forces and the prohibition of atomic and hydrogen weapons, in accordance with a resolution passed by the General Assembly at its ninth session. He outlined two stages, one to be carried out in 1957–58 and one in 1959, and stated that it would be desirable to establish control posts at such places as large ports and railway junctions and to establish zones of limitation and inspection in Europe, including the territory of both parts of Germany and that of the states adjoining them. During the first stage, the five great powers were to reduce their armed forces to levels not higher than those suggested in the Anglo-French memorandum of March 29, 1955, and the Soviet proposals of May 10, 1955. During the second stage, inter alia, the production of atomic and hydrogen weapons was to becompletely discontinued and provision was to be made for the elimination of those weapons from armaments and the destruction of stockpiles of them.

The twenty-third session of the Economic and Social Council took place at Headquarters from April 16 to May 2, 1957. Mr. Mir Khan (Pakistan) was elected president of the Council for 1957.

Annual Report of the Secretary-General: Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold reviewed the UN role in world affairs in the introduction to his twelfth annual report, covering the period from June 16, 1956, to June 15, 1957. Stating that during the period under review the UN had been confronted with some of the most difficult situations it had been called upon to meet since 1945, Mr. Hammarskjold first reviewed UN activities with respect to the Palestine question, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), the Suez Canal, and the Hungarian question. He stated that UNEF had been important as a pre-condition for the maintenance of quiet in the area of its deployment, and that the governments' attitudes underlying the development of peace in that area had been encouraging, but that at the same time there had been few, if any, signs of further progress. The Secretary-General felt that the UN could help by lending its influence, its presence, and the processes of diplomacy, as well as by providing an objective judgment of the rights and interests involved. Its primary obligations with respect to the Palestine question consisted of working toward a restoration of the Armistice Agreements and of helping the Palestine refugees. The Secretary-General reported that UNEF would be thoroughly studied, should the UN wish to build an agreed stand-by plan for a UN peace force that could be activated on short notice in future emergencies to serve in similar ways. He noted the services of the UNEF Advisory Committee established by the General Assembly and recommended in the execution of future mandates of this kind the appointment of similar “select committees”.

Case concerning the Guardianship of an Infant (Netherlands v. Sweden): An application instituting proceedings against Sweden was filed by the Netherlands on July 10, 1957, and alleged that Marie Elisabeth Boll, born in Sweden of a Dutch father and a mother of Swedish nationality before her marriage, possessed Dutch nationality. After the death of the mother Swedish authorities had taken and maintained measures providing for guardianship of the child, despite appeals from the Dutch guardians and from the Netherlands government, which considered that the Swedish authorities had violated the 1902 convention governing the guardianship of infants. In an order of August 19, 1957, the Court fixed November 30, 1957, as the time–limit for the memorial of the Netherlands and March 31, 1958, as the time–limit for the counter–memorial of Sweden.

The 1957 annual report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that the main trends in the world food and agricultural situation in previous years had been continued during 1956/57. Agricultural production as a whole and food production had again increased by about three percent. In the less developed areas (the Far East, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America) food production since 1952 had risen slightly above that in the world as a whole; these areas had shown an increase of twenty percent in net food output in comparison with averages for 1948–52, while the developed regions (North America, western Europe, and Oceania) had shown an increase of fifteen percent. In 1957/58, the report predicted, world agricultural production would continue to increase at approximately the same rate as in the past.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development made twelve loans to seven countries during the period under review. On June 26, 1957, it loaned an equivalent of $4.8 million to the trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi for improvement of transport. The loan, guaranteed by Belgium, was for a term of twenty years and bore interest of 5⅝ percent, including the 1 percent commission allocated to the Bank's Special Reserve. Amortization payments were to begin January 15, 1961. The Belgian-American Banking Corporation, without the Bank's guarantee, participated in the loan to the extent of $359,000.

The 40th session of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conference, was held in Geneva from June 5 to 27, 1957, under the presidency of Mr. H. E. Holt (government delegate and Minister for Labor and National Service, Australia). The meetings were attended by delegates, advisers, and observers from 73 member countries and ten territories.

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1957, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on June 28, 1957. The report stated that boom conditions had continued throughout 1956, sustained by an undercurrent of private business investment sufficiently strong to compensate for weaknesses in individual sectors. The increase in the demand for capital, due largely to new production techniques, changes in agricultural and manufacturing methods, and growth in population, had been accompanied by a great volume of economic activity and an increased demand for public and private investment in social services and amenities. Although there had been no further significant extension of restrictions, inflationary tendencies had constituted a primary problem.

The tenth Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO), held in Geneva from May 7 to 24, 1957, was attended by the delegates of 79 member and associate member states. After unanimously electing Dr. S. Al-Wahbi (Iraq) president, the Assembly adopted the report of the Committee on Credentials by 58 votes to o with 5 abstentions.

The first part of the ninth ordinary session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe was held in Strasbourg, April 29—May 4, 1957, under the presidency of Mr. Fernand Dehousse (Belgium, Socialist). During the session Mr. Lodovico Benvenuti (Italy, Christian Democrat) was elected Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. On the proposal of the Bureau of the Council, the Assembly decided that the Committee on General Affairs should be named the Political Committee.

The Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) held the first part of its fifth ordinary session in Strasbourg, May 14–17, 1957, under the chairmanship of Dr. Hans Furler (Federal Republic of Germany, Christian Democrat). At the opening meeting Dr. Furler commented on the signature of the treaties establishing the European Economic Community (common market) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and their consequences for the Assembly. Stating his opinion that plans for a broad association between all European institutions could not be established until later, he cited the efficient collaboration between ECSC and the Council of Europe and advocated the study of a plan for coordinating European parliamentary activities by creating a standing committee of the three bureaux with the possible addition of representatives from other institutions. Dr. Furler felt, however, that identity of membership in the assemblies should be limited to a third and at the most half of the representatives. Mr. Mayer, President of the High Authority, reviewed the work of ECSC between 1953 and 1956, during which time, he said, productivity per man had increased by 9.5 percent in the coal mines, giving a total increase of production of about 30 percent, while in the steel industry manpower had increased by 10 percent and production by 43 percent giving a rise of 29 percent in productivity per man. Turning to problems facing ECSC, Mr. Mayer called attention to the decreasing investment in the mines and insufficiency of manpower, and to the limitation of the development of the steel industry by problems of supplying raw materials. In the general discussion members commented on the price of coal and steel, falling trade within ECSC, and the High Authority's decision to lower the levy rate from 0.45 to 0.35 percent. Mr. Mayer replied that prices had risen to a smaller extent within ECSC than in other countries, that diminishing trade was a consequence of the priority given to the supplying of domestic consumers within each country, and that the fall in the levy rate did not reflect pressure from producers. The Assembly heard a statement on cooperation between the High Authority and governments, discussed reports on industrial concentrations and on the coordination of European transport, and adopted a resolution approving the establishment of a permanent body responsible for taking measures to ensure security and rescue in the mines.

The fifth annual report prepared by the secretariat of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), International Trade 1956, opened with a survey of developments in the structure and pattern of international trade. During 1956 the value of international trade had risen by II percent from 1955 to more than $90,000 million during the first half of the year and $95,000 million in the second. Because of a slight increase in the general price level the volume of world trade had risen somewhat less, but had exceeded the rate of increase in industrial output. Trade between industrial and non-industrial areas had continued to decline. Due to the greater increase in value of exports of industrial countries than of those of the non-industrial areas, as well as to the greater rise in volume of exports of industrial countries to each other than to non-industrial destinations, the share in world exports of trade among industrial countries had risen to 40.3 percent, while the share of trade between industrial and non-industrial countries fell to 49.2 percent and that among non-industrial countries to 10.5 percent. The report attributed this trend to the decline in exports from non-industrial areas at a time when the share of their imports in world trade had remained unchanged, a situation due primarily to industrial development, slow growth of primary production, and increased domestic demand in the semi-industrialized countries. Examining the long-term market outlook for primary products in western Europe and North America, the report concluded that prospects for export of raw materials and fuels from non-industrial areas were favorable, but that with respect to the market for most foodstuffs the future was uncertain, depending on the rate of growth of agricultural production in the industrial countries.

The sixth annual meeting of the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries was held in Halifax, Canada, June 11–15, 1956, under the chairmanship of Captain T. de Almeida (Portugal). After the opening addresses the panels reviewed the research programs being carried out in each regional sub-area and proposed various improvements in sampling, reporting the tag recaptures and statistics of catch and effort, and related matters. An ad hoc committee, which had been appointed to consider difficulties reported by the French Commissioner in connection with the mesh regulation proposed at the fifth annual meeting, recommended that research should be undertaken to determine the consequences of using multiple cod ends and to find methods of strengthening the cod end without diminishing the selective effect of the gear. Another ad hoc committee was appointed to deal with a suggestion that the exemption from mesh regulations be amended. With respect to the establishment of the two ad hoc committees, the Commission decided to discuss at its next meeting whether it should refer regulatory and enforcement questions to ad hoc committees, or whether a standing committee should be formed to deal with such problems.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee held its fifteenth plenary meeting in Washington, D. C, from May 8 through 17, 1956, under the chairmanship of Mr. Marvin L. McLain (United States). Sixty-two governments were represented, 32 as members of the Committee and 30 as observers. The Committee received a report from the Standing Committee on the present world cotton situation and the Secretariat's annual review, heard statements by member countries and observers, and held an extensive discussion of the world cotton situation, in which it attributed the present imbalance between supply and demand and the consequent build-up of world cotton stocks to the 1) existence of relatively high cotton prices, 2) marked improvement in cotton production techniques, and 3) economic progress in a number of underdeveloped countries, bringing new areas into cotton production. The conference felt that changes in United States government policy would lead to an improvement in cotton's competitive position and would offer some disincentive to uneconomic cotton production. At the same time, the Committee warned against any sudden or substantial decline in cotton prices which would adversely affect the economies of both producing and consuming countries. Finally, the Committee stressed the unsettling effect on world markets of uncertainty regarding the future level of cotton prices. With respect to the price question, the Committee recommended reasonable short-term stability to facilitate orderly distribution of crops and longer-term price flexibility to permit adjustments in cotton supply and demand.