CM/Res. 611(XXX)
RESOLUTION ON THE UNITED NATIONS NEGOTIATING CONFERENCE ON A COMMON FUND UNDER THE INTEGRATED PROGRAMME FOR COMMODITIES
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity meeting in its Thirtieth Ordinary Session in Tripoli, Libya from 20 to 28 February, 1978,
Having received and examined the Administrative Secretary-General’s progress report on the United Nations Negotiating Conference as a Common fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities;
Considering the importance of commodity trade to the developing countries in general, and to the OAU Member States in particular;
Considering especially that new commodity trace arrangements as proposed by the developing countries would make a significant contribution to the establishment of a New International Economic Order;
Convinced that some of the developed countries, unwilling to lose cont rol of commodity trade, are determined to obstruct any constructive international action on commodity trade;
Considering that the United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities has met twice without success, and had to be suspended on the second occasion in December 1977 because of failure to agree on even the basic elements of a common fund which would make it a key instrument of the integrated programme for commodities;
Recalling UN General Assembly resolution 32/193 which re-affirmed the urgency of establishing the common fund and, to that end, requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to undertake consultations with a view to reconvening the Conference early in 1978;
Considering that the resumed conference would be, as when suspended, at plenipotentiary level;
Recalling the decision of the 5th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Countries in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in august 1976, that a meeting of Plenipotentiaries on a Common Fund should take place in the event that the United Nations Negotiating Conference on Common Fund failed to yield satisfactory results by March 1977;
Recalling its resolution CM/Res. 545 (XXVIII) on the possibility of convening a Summit Conference of the Group of 77 to deal with this matter:
CONGRATULATES the Administrative Secretary-General for his report on developments in this vital area and requests him to maintain close and vigilant contact with the other groups within the Group of 77 on the matter;
REGISTERS its strong exception to and deeply deplores the obstructive tactics of most of the developed countries at the United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common fund, and calls on these countries to adopt a more positive and constructive attitude to the establishment of the Fund;
URGES all countries in the event of the UN Negotiating Conference on a Common fund being reconvened to ensure participation at plenipotentiary level in order to enable the conference to take conclusive decisions, including the establishment of the Common fund whether or not there is support form all developed countries;
RECOMMENDS that, in the light of developments and results under paragraph 2 and 3 above, a meeting of Plenipotentiaries from developing countries on a Common Fund should be convened within 6 months to establish a Common Fund, contributed to and operated by the developing and any other countries which are ready to cooperate with the former;
APPEALS to all developing countries to support both the convening of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries from developing countries on a Common Fund and the establishment of the Fund itself;
REQUESTS the Administrative Secretary-General to initiate the necessary contacts with the other groups within the Group of 77 with a view to the convening of the meeting of Plenipotentiaries from developing countries on a Common fund as well as to determining the need and date for convening a summit conference of the Group of 77 on this matter subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 of this resolution.