In June 1949 the Universal Postal Union reported the results of the third Conference of the African Postal and Telecommunications Union, held in Capetown from November 12 to 27, 1948. The eighteen members of the union — with the French Cameroons, French Equatorial Africa and Madagascar represented for the first time — met to consider the advisability of revising the African Postal Union Agreement of 1939 but concluded that no amendments were necessary. The agreement was, however, supplemented by working arrangements defining in detail the regulations for the various categories of postal services. The fourth meeting of the Conference was scheduled to meet in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo, in July 1953.

The WHO Expert Committee on Tuberculosis met in Copenhagen from July 26 to July 30, 1949, and drew up a series of measures designed to strengthen health administration in underdeveloped countries. A plan stressing the importance of health education and of training public health personnel provided that a tuberculosis control scheme in underdeveloped countries start with a survey of the needs, resources, and attitudes of the people. Plans were also made to carry forward tuberculin-testing and BCG vaccination. These measures were to be submitted to the Executive Board of WHO in January.

The Council of the Arab League met at Cairo from October 17 to 30, 1949, to consider the following agenda items: 1) Palestinian Arab refugees, 2) internationalization of Jerusalem, 3) coordination of Arab states' policy at the United Nations, 4) the possibility of unifying Arab passports, 5) a budget for 1950, and 6) such policy questions as might be raised during the course of the meeting. The policy question receiving most discussion was an Egyptian proposal for an Arab League collective security pact. Such a pact was agreed to in principle and a committee of legal and military experts was assigned the drafting of the details of the pact for consideration by the Council or its political committee.

On October 31, 1949 a preparatory meeting of representatives of the northern European regional planning group – Britain, Denmark and Norway – was held in London. It was attended by the defense ministers, their chiefs-of-staff and other advisers of the three countries. Instructions necessary for the permanent establishment of this group, for meetings of the chiefs-of-staff of member countries, as well as for meetings of the ministers themselves were issued. There was to be also a permanent committee of principal staff officers in London, responsible to the chiefs-of-staff, to provide day-to-day coordination.

The seventh session of the Consultative Council took place in Paris on November 7, 1949 under the chairmanship of M. Robert Schuman. Two conventions regarding social matters were signed by the five foreign ministers. The first, closely linked with the network of bilateral agreements on social security already negotiated or in the course of negotiation, would have enabled nationals of these countries to take advantage of any of these bilateral agreements, no matter in which of the five countries they resided or had resided. The benfits covered by these agreements included sickness, old age, death, maternity, industrial injuries and prescribed occupational diseases. The second convention was based on the principle that a national of any of the five countries requiring social or medical assistance, but without sufficient resources, when resident in the territory of any of the other four, would receive such assistance from the latter country on the same basis as its own nationals.

On November 3, 1949 the second session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe opened in Paris under the chairmanship of Gustav Rasmussen, Danish minister for foreign affairs. The work of this session consisted mainly in examining and approving or disapproving the recommendations of the Consultative Assembly which had met at Strasbourg in August and September 1949. In particular the Committee considered whether or not the Statute of the Council of Europe should be amended as suggested by the Assembly, as a step in increasing its influence and freedom within the Council. Although it was decided not to allow changes in the Statute for the time being, as it had just been approved by national parliaments and had only just come into force, the Committee was, however, “concerned to insure that the wishes of the Assembly shall in practice be met to the greatest possible extent.”

On October 11, 1949 the Council of the Organization of American States adopted a resolution designating the city of Bogotá as the seat of the tenth Pan American Child Congress and setting 1952 as the year in which the Congress should meet. Approval was given on November 2 to the report and second draft statute of the Inter-American Council of Jurists submitted by the Committee on the Organs of the Council and Their Statutes; the draft was put into force provisionally. The Council decided to transmit it to the governments of the American republics and to the Inter-American Juridical Committee for observation. The activities of the Inter-American Trade Mark Bureau were declared to have ceased, while the report and second draft statute of the Inter-American Cultural Council as submitted by the Committee on the Organs of the Council and Their Statutes was approved by the Council and transmitted to the governments. After this committee had received the observations of the Inter-American Cultural Council and prepared a definitive text of the statute on the basis of these comments, it was to submit the text to the Council of the Organization. Finally, at its meeting on November 2, the Council chose Mexico City as headquarters of the first meeting of the Inter-American Cultural Council and agreed in general upon the second half of 1950 as the time of meeting. The Cultural Council was requested to study the matter of the provisional creation and headquarters of the Committee for Cultural Action and submit recommendations on the provisional membership of the Committee for Cultural Action.

From October 22 to 31, 1949, the fourth session of the South Pacific Commission met at its headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia with representatives of the six participating governments present. Progress on the 30 research projects the Commission had undertaken in May 1949 was reviewed; the projects related o t the health and economic and social development of the 2,500,000 people of the south Pacific region. The project regarding exchange of epidemiological information between the fifteen non-self-governing territories of the area had been completed and was to begin operation during November 1949. Encouraging progress was noted in other projects, including: investigation of infant food; a filari-asis survey; introduction of economically valuable plants in Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua and Netherlands New Guinea; the problem of illiteracy; establishment of centralized technical training institutions and use of visual aids in education; a pilot survey of methods of land usage; and a scheme of community development under trained native leadership. The Commission, recognizing the importance of disseminating information throughout the territories, decided to issue a quarterly bulletin reporting primarily upon progress made in the implementation of the Commission's work program.

During June and July 1949 the Allied Council and its Executive Committee considered a series of election laws for Austria. The constitutional law establishing procedures and regulations for the conduct of the 1949 national elections was approved by the Council after considerable debate over its relationship to a Council decision of September 1945, which required Allied Council authorization for new political parties. Approval of the election law was eventually given on the understanding that it did not conflict with previous Council decisions. The Council also discussed in detail a Vienna city election law dividing the city into 23 electoral districts, which was opposed by the communist party as putting it at a disadvantage; the Soviet representative refused to approve the law and stated that unless it was withdrawn he would not approve a constitutional law defining the borders between Vienna and lower Austria, making elections impossible. The Vienna city council subsequently modified the city law and it was approved by the Allied Council, the United States High Commissioner (Keyes) noting his “regret and disappointment” over “tampering” with the Austrian legislative process.

Western Germany: Major developments concerning western Germany during the fall of 1949 centered around the problems of dismantling, German industrial production, and the international status of the German Federal Republic. The foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, meeting in Paris on November 10 and 11, turned the problem over to the Allied High Commission; French agreement to proposals for liquidation of the dismantling program was obtained after long discussion and with the provision that German steel production should not increase above the current limit of 11,500,000 tons annually. The ministers “reaffirmed their policy as expressed in the occupation statute of giving to the Federal Republic a wide area of free determination in the conduct of German affairs,” the area of autonomy to grow as the Republic “gave confidence that it was proceeding toward the establishment of a free democratic and peaceful Germany.” The integration of the German people into the European community was also to be supported.

Austrian Treaty: Negotiations on an Austrian treaty were temporarily suspended by the Council of Foreign Ministers Deputies on December 14, 1949. The Deputies had considered questions concerning the treaty at a series of 34 meetings held in New York from September to December 1949; three informal meetings of the Foreign Ministers were also held.

The Far Eastern Commission in two meetings on September 22 and October 6, 1949, approved amendments to its policy decision on restitution of looted property, which had been approved on July 29, 1949. The amendments related to a secured fund established by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers from the proceeds of unidentifiable looted property, the original policy decision stating that the fund was ultimately to be distributed by October 1, 1949 among the countries looted by Japan (Australia, China, France, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines and the United Kingdom) in proportion to the shares of Japanese reparation received by these countries. The amendments extended the deadline date of October 1,1949 to April 1, 1950, and provided that, in the absence of an agreed schedule of reparation shares, the seven countries might work out among themselves a schedule of shares for distribution of the secured fund.

The “consultative group” of the Council of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, composed of eight foreign or finance ministers, met in Paris on October 28, 1949. The group discussed a report made by permanent members of the Council which analyzed the reductions of quantitative import controls suggested provisionally by governments of OEEC. The report concluded that the proposed reductions were less important than they appeared, since many of them merely would ratify an existing situation. It found that the main obstacles to a substantial reduction of import barriers were the difficulties of international payments and the traditional desire for protective measures.

The General Assembly,

In accordance with Annex XI, paragraph 3, of the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947, whereby the Powers concerned have agreed to accept the recommendation of the General Assembly on the disposal of the former Italian colonies and to take appropriate measures for giving effect to it,

Having taken note of the report of the Four Power Commission of Investigation, having heard spokesmen of organizations representing substantial sections of opinion in the territories concerned, and having taken into consideration the wishes and welfare of the inhabitants of the territories, the interests of peace and security, the views of the interested Governments and the relevant provisions of the Charter,

The General Assembly,

Having regard to its resolutions 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and 194 (III) of 11 December 1948,

Having studied the reports of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine set up under the latter resolution,

I. Decides

In relation to Jerusalem,

Believing that the principles underlying its previous resolutions concerning this matter, and in particular its resolution of 29 November 1947, represent a just and equitable settlement of the question,

The General Assembly,

Having considered the report of the Special Committee established by General Assembly resolution 270 (III) of 29 April 1949,

Being of the opinion that the United Nations Field Service, as proposed by the Secretary-General in document A/AC.29/I2 and modified by the report of the Special Committee, will contribute to the more efficient operation of United Nations missions,

Considering that the Secretary-General has authority to establish the United Nations Field Service, subject to budgetary limitations and the normal administrative controls of the General Assembly,

Takes note of the intention of the Secretary-General to establish this proposed unit as modified by the observations contained in the report of the Special Committee.

The General Assembly,

Considering its request to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion, formulated in resolution 258 (III) of 3 December 1948 concerning reparation for injuries incurred in the service of the United Nations,

Having regard to the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice on 11 April 1949.

Considering that it is highly desirable that reparation be secured for injuries incurred in the service of the United Nations,

Considering that the Secretary-General has submitted in his report of 23 August 1949 (A/955) a number of proposals relating to the aforementioned advisory opinion,

On the recommendation of the General Committee, the General Assembly shall, at the beginning of each session, fix a target date for the closing of the session.

1. The Kingdom of the Netherlands unconditionally and irrevocably transfers complete sovereignty over Indonesia to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia and thereby recognizes said Republic of the United States of Indonesia as an independent and sovereign State.

2. The Republic of the United States of Indonesia accepts said sovereignty on the basis of the provisions of its Constitution which as a draft has been brought to the knowledge of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

3. The transfer of sovereignty shall take place at the latest on 30 December 1949.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of the United States of Indonesia,

having resolved on a basis of free will, equality, and complete independence to bring about friendly cooperation with each other and to create the Netherlands Indonesian Union with a view to effectuate this future cooperation,

having agreed to lay down in this Statute of the Union the basis of their mutual relationship as independent and sovereign States,

thereby holding that nothing in this Statute shall be construed as excluding any form of cooperation not mentioned therein or cooperation in any field not mentioned therein, the need of which may be felt in the future by both partners.