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This submission is concerned with Canadian participation in
and contributions to the
following programmes:
United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance
to Under-Developed Countries (ETAP)
United Nations Refugee Fund (UNREF)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Expanded Technical Assistance Programme to
Under-developed Countries
(ETAP)
The Expanded Technical Assistance programme supplements the
regular technical assistance
programme of the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies; it
was devised to make available
to the economically less well-developed countries of the world an
increased volume of
specialized knowledge through providing the services of experts and through
technical training
projects. It provides tangible evidence to the under-developed countries
of the world that the
developed countries have a genuine interest in their development. ETAP is
conducted efficiently
and it receives broad public support throughout the world. During the
seventh ETAP financial
period (1957) eighty countries pledged approximately $30.8million
(U.S.). The programme's popularity among the recipient
countries is confirmed by the way in which
it has broadened in scope during recent years. It now provides
assistance to almost all the under-developed
countries and territories, and in addition is being asked to provide
marginal assistance
to countries not normally considered under-developed. As a result, the
number of requests made
on the ETAP exceeds the resources available, as might be expected of an
effective and useful
programme.
In addition to the strain on the ETAP caused by new and
increased requests for assistance,
there are now acute financial problems being created. For the past few
years, the amount pledged
by the United States under a matching arrangement has
been approximately 50% of the total
Expanded Programme. However, the United States representative at
the Technical Assistance
Committee meetings held recently in Geneva said that in keeping with
Congressional action, the
United States would decrease its percentage contribution in 1958 to
45%, to 38% in 1959, and
331/3% in 1960 and thereafter. This means that in order for the ETAP
budget to remain at
approximately the same level in 1958, countries other than United
States would have to
contribute $1.2million (U.S.) more than in 1957. It may be necessary,
therefore, prior to the
1959 Pledging Conference, to review our position with regard to the ETAP in
the light of the
United States decreasing percentage contribution and the final budget
of the ETAP for 1958. Last year Canada contributed $2million (U.S.) to
the ETAP (an increase of $200,000 over
1956), and the Canadian Delegation at the ETAP Pledging Conference was
authorized to say that
support of at least a similar order of magnitude could be expected from
Canada in 1958 and
1959.
United Nations Refugee Fund (UNREF) At the end of the Second World War there were
approximately 2.2million refugees in Europe
(a refugee is defined as a person who has left the country of his normal
residence because of fear
of persecution). By the end of December 1956 there were still about
1million refugees in Europe
under the international legal protection of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), and of this number the High Commissioner has estimated that about
125,000 will be
in need of some material assistance from him by the end of 1958 when his
refugee programme
and fund (UNREF) are due to expire. Through the UNREF programme, the High
Commissioner
has been able to reduce the number of refugees requiring assistance from
more than 350,000 in
1954 to an estimated 125,000 by the end of 1958. Of the refugees still in need of material assistance
from the UNHCR, there were, as of
January 1957, just over 50,000 still living in refugee camps in Austria
(19,850), Germany
(23,430), Greece (1,680) and Italy (5,370), and this total of 50,000 was
exclusive of the
Hungarian refugees who fled to Austria and Yugoslavia after October 1956.
Concerning theseHungarian refugees, there were approximately 31,000 of
them in refugee camps in Austria
(23,722) and Yugoslavia (7,915) at the end of August 1957. The General Assembly of the United Nations
in 1954 authorized the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees to undertake a more comprehensive programme over a
four-year
(1955-58) period to achieve permanent solutions for the refugee problem while
continuing to
provide some emergency aid in destitute and problem cases. UNREF's target budget for the four years (1955-58) is
$16million. After two years of
operation, the accumulated deficit in government contributions to UNREF is
$2.7million. The
High Commissioner has recently re-appraised the UNREF programme and decided
that the
original target of $16million is insufficient to close all the refugee
camps in Europe by the end
of 1958. He will need an extra $4.8million in order to do this. Canada's contributions to UNREF have been: 1955[cad
- $125,000; 1956 $125,000; 1957 -
$200,000. Pledges or contributions to UNREF from some other countries in
1957 are: France
$257,000; Denmark, $72,000; Belgium, $200,000; Sweden, $116,000 plus
a special contribution
of $1.3million; U.K., $280,000; U.S., $1.5million (estimated). It would seem appropriate for Canada's contribution to
continue at $200,000.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA) was established by the United Nations in December 1949. It
was intended to provide
relief and temporary employment for some 950,000 Arab refugees, who had lost
their homes and
means of livelihood in Palestine during the hostilities following
establishment of Israel, until
such time as they might be able to exercise the choice between
repatriation or resettlement with
compensation. The early hope that the refugee problem could be solved in
three years, through
the repatriation of some and the compensation of others and their integration
into the economies
of the areas where they had taken refuge, did not materialize and the
Agency's operational
mandate has been extended to the end of June 1960. The dimensions of the problem have not been diminished
since 1949 and a solution appears
to be as difficult as ever. The refugees on the rolls still number upwards of
900,000 of which
about half are children under 15. The failure to reduce the numbers on
relief is due mainly to
three causes: (1) Israel has refused to consider admitting to its
territory any substantial number of
refugees; (2) the refugees have insisted that they had a right to return to
their former homes and
have tried to maintain as far as possible a united front in refusing any form
of rehabilitation
which might prejudice their chances of repatriation; (3) the governments of
Arab states have
supported the position taken by the refugees. Given the full political
co-operation of the
governments of the area, projects offering substantial opportunities for
self-support could be
developed. However, because of political difficulties expenditures
against the fund of $200
million authorized in January 1952 for such resettlement projects
hitherto have been mainly for
research, experimentation and planning. The largest single item on the
rehabilitation budget
has been education.
Canada voted in favour of the establishment of the
Agency and in favour of the extension of
its mandate to 1960, and as a responsible member of the United
Nations has been a regular
contributor to the UNRWA budget. Our contributions have been particularly
appreciated by the
U.K., other Commonwealth members and the U.S. who have welcomed the
stabilizing role of
UNRWA in the area and have themselves been regular contributors. Since 1948
the Canadian
Government has contributed to the Palestine Refugee programmes of UNRWA
and its
predecessor (the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees) a
total of $5,320,929 (Canadian)
in cash or kind. Since 1951 the annual rate of contributions has been
between $500,000 and
$600,000. That rate has been satisfactory relative to other states although
the level of Canadian
contributions has not been commensurate with the rate of the Canadian
assessment for the
administrative budget of the United Nations (3.15%). The other major contributors and their approximate totals
are:
| United States |
$171.2 million |
($17.5 million for 1956-57) |
| United Kingdom |
$47.0 million |
($4.4 million for 1956-57) |
| France |
$ 12.0 million |
($428,571 for 1956-57) |
| Australia |
$ 1.7 million |
($112,500 for 1956-57) |
New Zealand
|
$ 1.2 million
|
($140,000 for 1956-57)
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UNRWA's tentative budget for 1958 has been set at
$41.5 million (CAD) $26.5million for relief
and $15million for rehabilitation [CAD - which is in line with past
expenditures. It is generally agreed that the refugee problem is one of
the potentially explosive factors in
an already delicate Middle Eastern situation. The possible results of
further curtailment of
services to the refugees, which are only at the subsistence level (the per
capita expenditure is
approximately $30 per year), and particularly the repercussions which
might follow the
reduction of educational services, cannot be predicted but would
certainly be serious. Since it is
not considered to be in the interests of Canada to invite a situation
which might increase the
burden already carried by the United Nations Truce Supervision
Organization and the United
Nations Emergency Force, it would appear appropriate for Canada
to continue to support
measures which have already proved their usefulness in
helping to maintain a degree of security
in a troubled and strategically important area. If the major contributing governments should put
forward to solve the refugee problem a
scheme involving special expenditures there would no doubt be pressure on
Canada to increase
its contribution. No definite plan of this kind has yet materialized. It
would seem appropriate
therefore for Canada's contribution to continue at the existing level of
$500,000.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF was created in 1947, and by a decision of the
United Nations in 1953 it will
continue its work for an indefinite period. It provides assistance to
recipient countries for the
building up of child health and welfare services, for child feeding and other
related undertakings.
Three hundred and nineteen (319) UNICEF-aided programmes are currently in
operation in one
hundred and two (102) countries and territories mainly in Asia,
Africa, the Middle East and
Latin America. Countries and territories receiving aid must equal or
better the contributions
allocated to them. UNICEF's budget is made up of governmental as well as
non-governmental contributions.
Income from all sources in 1957 is estimated at $20.5million. From 1952
to 1955 allocations
made by UNICEF to its various programmes averaged approximately
$16million yearly. In
1956, they rose to just over $22million. For 1957, total allocations are
expected to amount to
$24million, and for 1958 to $25million. In the last two years UNICEF
was able to make
allocations considerably higher than its revenues permitted by using
unallocated resources which
had been previously accumulated. While the budget for 1958 has not yet definitely been set,
the Executive Director is aiming
at a target figure of close to $21million in governmental contributions.
The United States
Congress has recently approved an appropriation of $11million to UNICEF
for 1958, or $1
million more than in 1957. At the same time, however, the United
States has included the
proviso that the United States contribution could not exceed 52.5% of
the total 1958
contributions, whereas it was 55% of the 1957 contributions and 57.5% of the
1956
contributions. In order that UNICEF may avail itself of the increased
U.S. participation, it will
be necessary for the contributors to raise their pledges for 1958 from an
estimated $8million in
1957 to close to $10million. Present indications are that it may be
difficult to attain this goal. It
is understood, however, that the U.S. is prepared to continue pledging to
UNICEF sums of at
least the same magnitude as those being given at the present time, even if
the matching
requirements are not met. The Canadian Government has contributed just over
$10.5million to UNICEF since it
began in 1947; in addition voluntary contributions to UNICEF from private
Canadian sources
exceed $1.5million. Canada's pledged contribution to UNICEF for 1957
was $650,000.
Contributions from some other countries in 1957 are as follows:
France $785,000, U.K.
$616,000, U.S.S.R. $500,000. It is suggested that Canada's contribution to UNICEF
for 1958 be maintained at the same
figure as for 1957, i.e. $650,000, which is less than 1/15 of the U.S. pledge
of $11million.
It is therefore recommended:107
ETAP
that authorization be given to announce the Government's
intention to seek parliamentary
approval for a contribution of $2million (U.S.) to the United
Nations Expanded Programme of
Technical Assistance for 1958.
UNREF that authorization be given to announce the Government's
intention to seek parliamentary
approval for a contribution of $200,000 to the United Nations Refugee
Fund for 1958.
UNRWA that authorization be given to announce the Government's
intention to seek parliamentary
approval for a contribution of $500,000 to the United Nations Relief
and Work Agency for
Palestine Refugees for 1958.
UNICEF that authorization be given to announce the Government's
intention to seek parliamentary
approval for a contribution of $650,000 to the United Nations
Children's Fund for 1958.
SIDNEY E. SMITH
107 Approuvé par le Cabinet le 7 novembre 1957./Approved by Cabinet on November 7, 1957.
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