On April 7, 1948 the World Health Organization came into existence as a specialized agency of the United Nations with the ratification of its constitution by the Byelorussian SSR and Mexico. These ratifications brought the total number of ratifying States (Member governments of the United Nations) to 27, or one more than were required by the WHO Constitution to bring the Organization into existence. The Member states who had ratified the Constitution at that time were Australia, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Siam, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Ukrainian SSR, Union of South Africa, USSR, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia. In addition, Albania, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Transjordan had also joined the organization.

The Conference of Directors of the International Meteorological Organization, meeting in Washington, D.C., on September 22, 1947, formulated and opened for signature on October 11, 1947, the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization, an intergovernmental body which as a specialized agency was to continue the functions of the semi-official International Meteorological Organization. The Final Act of the Conference suspended the rights of the Director of the Spanish Meteorological Service in accordance with the resolution of the General Assembly of December 12, 1946, and provided for the convening of the first meeting of the Congress of the World Meteorological Organization immediately upon the coming into force of the Convention. The projected organization was to consist of 1) the World Meteorological Congress, which would convene at least every four years to adopt technical regulations covering meteorological practices and procedures, and to determine general policies for the fulfilment of the purposes of the organization; 2) the Executive Committee, which would meet at least once a year to supervise the execution of the resolutions of the Congress, adopt resolutions arising from the recommendations of the technical commissions of the organization, provide technical information and assistance in the field of meteorology, and study matters affecting international meteorology and the operation of meteorological services; 3) regional associations meeting as often as necessary to promote the execution of the resolutions of the Congress and the Executive Committee in their respective regions, to coordinate meteorological and associated activities and to make recommendations to the Congress and the Committee on matters within the purpose of the organization; 4) technical commissions to be established by the Congress to study and make recommendations on any subject within the scope of the organization; and 5) a permanent secretariat. The future status of the organization as a specialized agency was provided for in Article 25 of the Convention.

Because of serious dissension within Arab policy-making groups, the Arab League reportedly made attempts to straighten out the differences between Haj Amin el-Husseini, the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem, and King Abdullah of Trans jordan regarding military procedure in the proposed Palestine invasion. On January 15, 1948 Assad Dagher Bey, Chief of the press section of the Arab League, announced that regular armies of the Arab countries were planning to occupy all of Palestine as soon as the British withdrew, and he further stated that intervention by an international police force or any large body of foreign troops would be considered as an unfriendly act by the Arab states. At this same press conference it was disclosed that the Arab governments had sent notes to the United States and Great Britain informing them that the Arab League had decided to give all possible aid to the Arabs of Palestine. Up to that time, the League, while encouraging action against the establishment of a Jewish state, had taken no official recognition of the guerrilla warfare; it had been reported, however, that Fawzi el-Kawukji, commander of the Arab People's Army in Syria, was pressing for more active assistance from the members of the Arab League. Shortly thereafter, on January 23, it was announced that he had crossed the border into Palestine from Syria to carry out a reorganization of Arab forces.

Fifth Meeting of the Caribbean Commission: Resolutions adopted by the Caribbean Commission which met in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from December 8 to 13, 1947, assigned Guadeloupe and November 1948 as the place and date for the third biennial session of the West Indian Conference, planned the conference agenda, and gave publicity to the recommendations of the Caribbean Research Council which had met in Port-of-Spain the week before. The Commission, under the chairmanship of Governor William H. Hastie (United States) set its budget at $343,537, which represented a reduction of $27,800 from its budget of the previous year. The Commission discussed a reorganization of its machinery and personnel, and suggested that the personnel of the central secretariat be strengthened by gradual addition of scientific and technical staff.

The Ninth International Conference of American States convened in Bogotá, Colombia, on March 30, 1948, to consider a seven-topic agenda: 1) reorganization, consolidation, and strengthening of the Inter-American system; 2) regulation of the dependent organs and specialized Inter-American agencies; 3) economic cooperation; 4) recognition of de facto governments; 5) “defense and preservation of democracy in America in face of the possible installation of undemocratic regimes on the continent”; 6) European colonies in America; and 7) development and improvement of inter-American social services.

On January 16,1948, the United States High Commissioner for Austria (Keyes) proposed to the other members of the Allied Commission the restoration to the Austrian Government of numerous controls previously exercised by the Commission. To assist the Austrian Government in assuming such controls as soon as possible, the United States suggested that the Directorates of the Commission examine the controls within their spheres of authority and decide which might be passed to the government. Functions suggested for transfer under the United States proposal included: civil aviation; allocation of food and electric power; control of the movement and distribution of indigenous food supplies; control over travel into and out of Austria; administration of the educational system; control of the operation, arming and equipping of Austrian police and frontier control agencies; and internal and international communications. The United States also proposed a reduction of occupation costs and occupation forces and the abolition of censorship.

The period from November, 1947, to the middle of April, 1948, ended with a number of fundamental changes in the nature of the occupation of Germany: 1) the Allied Control Council for Germany held no meetings after March 20,1948, and was regarded by the press as virtually dissolved; 2) reorganization of the bizonal government of the combined occupation zones of the United States and the United Kingdom resulted in the formation of a substantially new governmental structure for the area; 3) considerable progress was made toward the integration of the French zone of occupation with the British and American zones, together with the establishment of trizonal policies designed to place western German industrial production into close relationship with the European Recovery Program. All three developments closely followed the failure of the London meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in December 1947 to reach agreement on the terms of the treaty of peace with Germany.

On January 24, 1948, the Soviet proposals for the settlement of Soviet claims against German assets in Austria were communicated to the permanent secretariat of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London. These proposals, which Secretary of State Marshall (United States) had urged the Soviet to submit during the Moscow session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (December 1947), although representing approximately a 50 per cent reduction in former Soviet claims, demanded for the Soviet Union 1) concession rights to two-thirds of current oil production and two-thirds of the exploitation privilegesin all undeveloped oil. areas in eastern Austria for a period of 25 years; 2) possession of oil refineries with a total annual capacity of 450,000 tons of crude oil; 3) possession of all assets of the Danube Shipping Company located in Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania and Austria; 4) surrender by the four powers of all property rights to former German enterprises in Austria and payment by Austria in compensation of $200,000,000 in United States currency to the Soviet Union and of undetermined amounts to the other three powers; 5) transfer of such assets to the Soviet Union subject to alienation only with the consent of the Soviet Union, and free from obligations accrued prior to Soviet possession; and 6) settlement of disputes arising in connection with the application of treaty provisions relating to German assets on a bilateral basis between Austria and the Soviet Union. After receiving the Soviet proposals, Secretary Marshall proposed that the Foreign Ministers' Deputies meet in London in February to work for further progress on the drafting of the Austrian treaty.

In the period from January 1 to April 15, 1948, the major policy decision approved by the Far Eastern Commission dealt with the prohibition of military activity in Japan and disposition of Japanese military equipment. On February 12, 1948, the Commission directed that the possession of arms, ammunition, and implements of war by any Japanese should be prohibited, save that which might be authorized for Japanese civil police agencies and licensed hunters. The development, manufacture, importation or exportation of arms, ammunition and implements of war, the manufacture of aircraft of all kinds, and the construction of naval combatant and auxiliary vessels were similarly prohibited. In addition, reestablishment of any of the military ministries and their subsidiary service groups – such as the Naval General Headquarters and the Imperial High Command – was prohibited, together with ex-officers clubs, para-military organizations, or even associations of ex-officers ostensibly founded for legitimate purposes but being disguised forms of military organizations. All senior officers andc career officers in the Army, Navy and gendarmerie were prohibited from employment in the government service or educational institutions unless performing services essential to demobilization and repatriation.

Work of the Agency in 1947: By January 1948 some progress had been made in carrying out a reparation program for the 18 signatory governments, but disagreement over the political and economic future of Germany impeded the reparation plan as foreseen at Potsdam and reparation assets made available to the Inter Allied Reparation Agency for allocation had been few in number. Between January 1 and December 31, 1947 the Assembly of IARA approved the allocation of equipment from plants of a total value of 132 million Reichsmarks. Since the establishment of the Agency the cumulative total of plants or part plants made available was 261, of which equipment from 197 had been allocated to member governments. More progress was reported in the distribution of the German merchant fleet; by the end of 1946 most of the usable shipping had already been allocated and agreement was made regarding the remainder during the first half of 1947. This meant that 274 ships were distributed and the remaining vessels, suitable only for scrapping, were distributed to the highest bidders among member states.

On April 2, 1948, the Congress of the United States passed legislation authorizing the appropriation of $6,098,000,000 for foreign aid, of which $5,300,000,000 was allocated for the first twelve months of the European Recovery Program. The bill became effective upon the signature of the President the following day, and early in April Mr. Paul Hoffman, President of the Studebaker Company, was appointed as director of the Economic Cooperation Administration, an independent agency to handle the funds appropriated by the Congress.

On March 17, a 50-year pact was signed at Brussels by the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Under the provisions of the pact, the signatories agreed to coordinate in so far as was possible their national policies in the economic, social and military spheres. Economic phases of the agreement included the elimination of conflict in national policies, and the development of commercial exchanges to promote European economic recovery. This cooperation was to be provided for by a consultative council which was to meet whenever necessary, or immediately upon the request of any of the parties for consultation on any situation which might constitute a threat to peace. The signatories also agreed to develop the social services of their individual countries, to promote a higher standard of living, to conclude social conventions with other countries, and by cultural exchanges and other means to promote understanding of their common civilization among the people of the five nations. These ends were to be accomplished either directly through the consultative council, or through specialized organizations whose creation was envisaged by the treaty.

The special session of the International Wheat Council which began in Washington on January 28, 1948, announced on March 6 the successful conclusion of a five-year International Wheat Agreement fixing a range of prices within which 500 million bushels of wheat would flow annually through the channels of international trade. The agreement was signed by some 36 nations, including all the major wheat-importing and wheat-exporting countries of the world with the exception of Argentina and the Soviet Union. Subject to the ratification of the signatory states, the multilateral agreement — the first of its kind in history — was to come into force on August 1, 1948, climaxing many years of effort to stabilize the world wheat market through international cooperation. The agreement provided maximum and minimum prices for each of the five years of its duration and specified quantities to be purchased or sold by each of the importing and exporting nations. While transactions outside the prescribed range were permitted, they would not apply toward the fulfillment of each member's quota under the agreement.

Following a decision of the Rubber Study Group at its fourth meeting, a Permanent Secretariat with headquarters in London was established by the Management Committee in 1947, with A. G. Pawson as secretary and W. G. G. Kellett as senior statistician. The secretariat's primary activity was to be to provide the Group with information on the statistical situation and general world economic conditions as related to rubber.

A. The Interim Committee should study the categories of decisions which the Security Council is required to make in carrying out the functions entrusted to it under the Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and should report to the General Assembly those categories of decisions which in its judgment, in order to ensure the effective exercise by the Security Council of its responsibilities under the Charter, should be made by an affirmative vote of seven members of the Security Council, whether or not such categories are regarded as procedural or non-procedural. (A provisional proposed list of such categories is attached.)

1. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, referred to in this agreement as the parties, hereby agree as follows:

That a stand fast and cease fire order be issued separately and simultaneously by both parties immediately upon the signing of this agreement and to be fully effective within forty-eight hours. This order will apply to the troops of both parties along the boundary lines of the areas described in the proclamation of the Netherlands Indies Government on 29 August 1947, which shall be called the status quo line, and in the areas specified in the following paragraph.

The Committee of Good Offices has been informed by the delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and by the delegation of the Republic of Indonesia that, the truce agreement having been signed, their Governments accept the following principles on which the political discussions will be based:

1. That the assistance of the Committee of Good Offices be continued in the working out and signing of an agreement for the settlement of the political dispute in the islands of Java, Sumatra and Madura, based upon the principles underlying the Linggadjati Agreement.

The Committee of Good Offices is of the opinion that the following principles, among others, form a basis for the negotiations towards a political settlement:

1. Sovereignty throughout the Netherlands Indies is and shall remain with the Kingdom of the Netherlands until, after a stated interval, the Kingdom of the Netherlands transfers its sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia. Prior to the termination of such stated interval, the Kingdom of the Netherlands may confer appropriate rights, duties and responsibilities on a provisional federal government of the territories of the future United States of Indonesia. The United States of Indonesia, when created, will be a sovereign and independent State in equal partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a Netherlands-Indonesian Union at the head of which shall be the King of the Netherlands. The status of the Republic of Indonesia will be that of a state within the United States of Indonesia.

The Government of Chile has noted that on 10 March Mr. Jan Papanek, Permanent Representative of Czechoslovakia accredited to the United Nations, sent you a communication requesting that the Security Council should consider the events which had taken place in his country since 22 February last on the grounds that they constitute a situation endangering the maintenance of international peace and security.

WHEREAS Article 75 of the Charter of the United Nations provides for the establishment of an international trusteeship system for the administration and supervision of such territories as may be placed thereunder by subsequent agreements; and

WHEREAS under Article 77 of the said Charter the trusteeship system may be applied to territories now held under mandate; and

WHEREAS on 17 December 1920 the Council of the League of Nations confirmed a mandate for the former German islands north of the equator to Japan, to be administered in accordance with Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations; and

WHEREAS Japan, as a result of the Second World War, has ceased to exercise any authority in these islands;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Security Council of the United Nations, having satisfied itself that the relevant articles of the Charter have been complied with, hereby resolves to approve the following terms of trusteeship for the Pacific Islands formerly under mandate to Japan.