17 December 1981

Assistance for the development of Liberia

The General Assembly,

Having examined the letter dated 20 October 1981 from the Permanent Representative of Liberia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Economic and Social Council, analysing the critical condition of the economy of Liberia,

Deeply concerned about the weak and underdeveloped state of the economic and social infrastructure of Liberia, which is a serious obstacle to the economic development of the country and to the raising of the living standards of its population,

Noting the statements made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liberia to the General Assembly on 26 September 1980 and on 28 September 1981, in which he described the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in his country, including extremely high rates of illiteracy and infant mortality and unacceptably low levels of income among the vast majority of the population,

Affirming the urgent need for international action to assist the Government of Liberia in its efforts for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of the country,

1. Urgently appeals to all Member States, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and international development and financial institutions to contribute generously, through bilateral or multilateral channels, to the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of Liberia;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to organize an international programme of financial, technical and material assistance to Liberia to enable it to meet its long-term needs with respect to reconstruction, rehabilitation and development;

3. Requests the appropriate organizations and programmes of the United Nations system - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund - to expand their programmes of assistance to Liberia, to co-operate closely with the Secretary-General in organizing an effective international programme of assistance and to report periodically to him on the steps they have taken and the resources they have made available to assist that country;

4. Calls upon regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations, as well as the international development and financial institutions, to give urgent consideration to the establishment of a programme of assistance to Liberia or, where one is already in existence, to the expansion of that programme;

5. Urges Member States and relevant United Nations bodies -

in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities to provide all possible assistance to help the Government of Liberia meet the critical humanitarian needs of the population and to provide, as appropriate, food, medicines and essential equipment for hospitals and schools;

6. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development to bring to the attention of their governing bodies, for their consideration, the special needs of Liberia and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July 1982;

7. Invites the Government of Liberia to provide the Committee for Development Planning with up-to-date statistical data and information, on the basis of the existing criteria, pertinent to the examination of the country's economic situation, with a view to considering the possibility of its inclusion in the list of the least developed among the developing countries;

8. Requests the Economic and Social Council to invite the Committee for Development Planning, in the light of the new data and information provided by the Government of Liberia, to consider, on the basis of the existing criteria, its eligibility for inclusion in the list of the least developed countries;

9. Requests Member States and the organizations of the United Nations system to accord Liberia, in view of its critical economic situation, assistance that is adequate to the needs of the country until the situation returns to normal;

10. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To dispatch a mission to Liberia with a view to holding consultations with the Government on the additional assistance which it needs for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of the country and to communicate the report of the mission to the international community, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly;

(b) To ensure that adequate financial arrangements are made for the organization of an effective international programme of assistance to Liberia and for the mobilization of international assistance;

(c) To inform the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1982, of the assistance granted to Liberia;

(d) To keep the situation in Liberia under review and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.