UN General Assembly Resolutions: Resolution 2656

The General Assembly

Having considered the report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East covering the period from 1 July 1969 to 30 June 1970,2/

Noting with grave concern the acute financial situation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and its serious implications for the future work of the Agency,

Bearing in mind the appeal made by the Secretary-General on 2 December 1970 at the 740th meeting of the Special Political Committee as well as the appeal made by the Chairman of that Committee on 25 November 1970 at the 733rd meeting of the Committee, and taking into account the suggestions made in the course of the debate concerning possible means of securing additional income,

1. Decides to establish a Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, consisting of nine Member States, to study all aspects of the financing of the Agency;

2. Requests the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with the Secretary-General, to designate the Member States which will compose the Working Group;

3. Requests the Working Group, in consultation with the Secretary-General and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to present an interim report to the General Assembly, not later than 14 December 1970, containing its recommendations on possible measures to be taken to prevent a reduction of the Agency's services in 1971;

4. Also requests the Working Group, in the interval between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth sessions of the General Assembly, to assist, as appropriate, the Secretary-General and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in reaching solutions to the problems posed by the Agency's financial crisis;

5. Further requests the Working Group, in consultation with the Secretary-General, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the specialized agencies, to present a comprehensive report on all aspects of the financing of the Agency to the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth session.

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The Working Group is composed of the following Member States: France, Ghana, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America.

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1/ See also resolution 2728 (XXV), p. 8.

2/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/8013).

Sources: The United Nations