A/RES/38/202 GA

V. Resolutions adopted on thc reports of the Second Committce 157 ------------- -------------- cal development problems and attain thcir objectivcs, giv- ing due regard to the special nccds of the lcast dcvcloped among them, 1. Decides to Jiquidate thc United Nations Emcrgency Operation Trust Fund and to allocate thc remaining bal- ance to existing funds and programmes of the United Nations as follows: (a) Seventy per cent shall be channelled through United Nations Development Programme-administered funds to finance urgently needed projects, primarily in the food and agricultura) sectors in countries affiicted by fam- ine and malnutrition as a result, particularly, of scvere or prolonged drought, with special emphasis on African countries; (b) Eighteen per cent shall be channelled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agcncy for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, especially to its educational programme; (e) Twelve per cent shall be channelled through the United Nations Development Programmc for the purpose ofeconomic and technical co-operation among developing countries; these funds shall be allocated to activities in economic and technical co-operation among developing countries of critica) importancc to developing countries, according to the priorities set by them; 2. Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary action to ensure that the funds are allocatcd in accordance with the present resolution as soon as possible; 3. Also requests the Administrator of thc U nited Nations Development Programme to rcport to the Gov- erning Council at its thirty-first session on action takcn to implement the present resolution; 4. Further requests the Secretary-Gcneral to monitor closely the implementation of the prcsent resolution, to make available progress rcports and to rcport fully to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth scssion. f04th plcnarr meeling 20 Deccmhcr 1983 38/202. Strengthening of the capacity of the United Nations system to respond to natural disas- ters and other disaster situations The General Assemb!y, Reca!!ing its resolutions 2816 (XXVI) of 14 Deccmbcr 1971, by which the Office of thc Unitcd Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator was established, and 36/225 of 1 7 December 198 I, by which it reaffirmed the mandate ofthe Office and, inter afia, called for thc strcngthening and improvement of its capacity and effectivencss, Recalling also its resolution 37/144 of 17 December 1982, in which the Assembly rccognized that, in order to attain an effective co-ordination system of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance, it was essential to strengthen and improve the capacity and effecti veness of the Officc of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator and of the United Nations system as a whole, Recalling Jurther Economic and Social Council resolu- tion 1983/47 of 28 July 1983, Recognizing that, as a result of thosc resolutions and other relevant resolutions and decisions, there is now in place a workable system to promotc, facilitate and co- ordinate relief activities carried out by the l lnited Nations 178 A/38/202-E/ 198 3/94. 179 A/38/201-E/198J/69 and Corr 1 ande system, in co-opcration with Govcmments and voluntary agennes. No/ing that the operation of that system has been much improvcd but that therc remains a need for its full applica- tion. Noting(urlhcr with appreciation the cffective response of thc Office of the Umted Nations Disaster Relief Co- ordinator to reccnt maJor disasters, Recogniz1ng that shortage of resources has been a con- straint on an effectivc response of the United Nations to disastcr situations. Rccognizing a/so that the primary responsibility for administration, relief operations and disaster preparedness lics with the affected countries and that the major part of thc material assistance and human effort in disaster relief comes from thc Govemments of those countries, Rccognizing furlhcr the importance of the contribution of thc lnternational Committee of the Red Cross, the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and appropriate voluntary organizations, l. rakes no1c with apprcciation of the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the capacity of the United Nations system to respond to natu- ral disasters and other disaster situations, 178 as well as of his report on the work of the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator 179 and of the statement made by thc Co-ordinator on JO November 1983; 18º ' l•./oles with particular interest the observations and conclusions of the Secrctary-General relating to the trans- portation, more rapid delivery and distribution of relief supplics. reconstruction and rehabilitation and the need for more effeetive monitoring and evaluation procedures to assess the way in which thc Office ofthe United Nations Disaster Relicf Co-ordinator and the intemational com- munity as a whole havc dealt with the mobilization and provision of disaster relief in particular cases; 3. Rccognizcs the importance of disaster preparedness and prcvcntion activitics, and calls upon the Offi.ce of the linited Nations Disastcr Relief Co-ordinator, Govem- ments and agencies involved to ensure that a high leve) of attcntion is given to them; 4. Rcafjirms the sovereignty of individual Member States, rccognizes the primary role of each State in caring for thc victims of disasters occurring in its territory and stresses that ali relief operations should be carried out and co-ordinated in a manncr consisten! with the priorities and needs of the countries concemed; 5. 5itresscs that the quality and appropriateness of material and other assistance provided by the intema- tional community should meet the particular needs of the populations of disaster-affected areas; 6. Rcpca/s its cal! to ali Govemments and competen! organs and organizations to co-operate with the Office of the lJnitcd Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator and to improve. in particular, their flow of information on relief assistance, action, plans and needs; 7. Rcquests the Officc of the U nited Nations Disaster Rclief Co-ordinator to continue and improve further the flow of information to Govemments, organizations and agencies concerned, so that a more complete picture of rclicf aetivities, assistance received and further require- mcnts may be provided to ali concemed; 8. Stresscs the need for the continuance and further strengthening ofrelations between the Office ofthe United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator and appropriate vol- untary organizations working in the arca of disaster relief, !XII 0!/1< 1,,/ Record,· o/ 1he c;,•11aa/ hsemNr. lhmv-1.·11?hth Sesmm, Sl'Cond ( ·, 11>11111rt,·c 14th nweting. rara·, 1 -1 ~ 158 General Assembly-Thirty-eighth Session including the Intcrnational Committce of thc Red Cross and the League of Red Cross and Red Cresccnt Socicties, and requests the Secretary-General to consider thc estab- lishment of a small consulta ti ve group composed of exccu- tives of these major relief organizations, in their individual capacity, to provide advice, upon request, to the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator in the assessment of relief needs and in the preparation and execution of con- certed relief programmes; 9. Authorizes the Secrctary-General to permit thc Office of the United Nations Disastcr Relief Co-ordinator to respond to requests for emcrgency disaster assistancc up to a total of $600,000 in any one year, with a normal ceil- ing of $50,000 per country in the case of any one disaster, within existing resources as far as possible: 10. Once again urgently ca/Is upan ali States to respond positively and expeditiously to the Secretary- General's appeals for contributions to meet natural disas- ters and other disaster situations; 11. Appeals to Governments for urgent voluntary con- tributions, channelled through the Trust Fund ofthe Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator, to enable the Office to cover, inter afia, unforeseen expenses in connection with disaster relief operations; 12. Requests the Secretary-Gcneral, in consultation with the Governments of both donor and recipient coun- tries, as well as with appropriate agencies, to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session, through the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1984, specific proposals to follow up the conclusions and problems identified in his comprehensive report, as well as in the present resolution. I04th p/enary meeting 20 Deccmher 1983 38/203. Assistance to Ghana The General Assemhly, Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1983/ 44 of 28 July 1983, in which the Council cxpressed its deep concern at the adverse economic conditions in Ghana, exacerbated by the sudden repatriation early in 1983 of over one million Ghanaians, Having heard the statement made by the Secretary for Foreign Affairs ofGhana on 11 October 1983, 181 in which he expressed appreciation for the humanitarian assistance rendered by Governments, the United Nations system and other organizations during the difficult period of the influx ofreturnees and his appreciation ofthe action taken by the Secretary-General, and described his country's serious eco- nomic and financia] situation, Having considered the report of thc Secretary- General, 182 to which is annexed the report of the multi- agency mission which he dispatched to Ghana in May 1983, Noting from the report the serious economic and finan- cia! problems that confront Ghana and the efforts made by the Government, and people of Ghana to cope with these problems and to rehabilitate returnees, Taking note of the recommended programme of assist- ance to Ghana, drawn up by the mission in consultation with the Government, concerning short-term emergency- related and medium-term recovery-related assistance, 183 Affirming the urgent need for international action to assist the Government and the people of Ghana in their IBI /bid., Plenan• Mcerin1;s. 28th meeting. para,. 67-1()4 l82 A/38/215. • • cfforts towards cconomic rccovcry and rehabilitation of rcturnecs. l. Jake.1 note of thc cfforts made by the Government and peoplc of Ghana to rehabilita te returnees; 2. l:"xprcsscs 11.1 apprcciation to the Secretary-General for his prompt action and for the report of the multi- agcncy mission on thc economic situation of Ghana and the additional assistance required by that country to cope with the problems cxacerbated by the influx of returnees; 3. Fxprcsscs 1ts gratitudc to ali States and organiza- tions that ha ve provided emergency humanitarian assist- ancc to Ghana: 4 l:"ndorscs thc assessment and recommendations of thc multi-agency mission annexcd to the report of the Sec- rctary-General pertaining to assistance to Ghana; 182 5. l 'rgently rcilcratcs thc appea/ made by the Eco- nomic and Social CounciL in its resolution 1983/44, to ali Statcs, intcrgovernmental and non-governmental organi- 1ations and the specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system to support fully the efforts of the Government ofGhana to mobilize funds for its special cconomic assistance programme and respond generously to the short-term and medium-term programmes drawn up by the multi-agency mission in consultation with the Government of Ghana; 6. Requcsts thc appropriate organizations and programmes of the United Nations system-in particular the lJnited Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultura! Development, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Industrial Development Organiza- tion-to maintain and expand their programmes of assist- ance to Ghana, to co-operate closely with the Secretary- Gcncral in bis efforts to organize an effective international programmc of assistance and to report periodically to him on the steps they have taken and the resources they have madc available to hclp that country; 7. Ca/Is upon regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies and non- govcrnmental organizations, as well as international finan- cia! institutions, to give urgent consideration to the estab- lishment of a programme of assistance to Ghana or, where one is already in cxistence, to the expansion of that pro- gramme; 8. Requests the Secretary-Ueneral: (a) To continue his cfforts to mobilize the necessary resources for an effective programme of international assistance to Ghana: (b) To keep the situation regarding assistance to Ghana under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies and international financia! institutions concerned, and to apprise the Eco- nomic and Social Council, at its second regular sessions of 1984 and 1985, of the current status of the special eco- nomic assistance programme for Ghana, including contri- butions to the United Nations Trust Fund for Special Eco- nomic Assistance Programmes, in accordance with Council resolution 1 983/ 44; (e) To report on the progress made in the economic sit- uation of Ghana and in organizing and implementing the programme of assistance for that country, in time for the 18 ' !!11d.. annc.,, ",L'Ct. \'

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