17 December 1981

Assistance to Djibouti

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 32/93 of 13 December 1977, 33/132 of 19 December 1978 and 34/124 of 14 December 1979, in which it, inter alia, expressed its deep concern at the serious economic situation prevailing in Djibouti and strongly appealed to Member States and to the international institutions concerned to offer effective and sustained assistance to Djibouti to enable it to deal with the critical situation arising from its economic difficulties and requested the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for an effective programme of financial, technical and material assistance,

Recalling also its resolution 35/89 of 5 December 1980, in which it drew the attention of the international community to the critical economic situation still confronting Djibouti and to the list of urgent short-term and long-term projects submitted by the Government of Djibouti,

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General, to which was annexed the report of the mission which he sent to Djibouti in response to General Assembly resolution 35/89,

Taking note of the critical economic situation of Djibouti and the list of urgent and priority projects, formulated by the Government of Djibouti, that require international assistance,

Noting with concern that the harsh effects of the prolonged drought continue to persist and place serious strains on the fragile economic, social and administrative infrastructure of the country,

Noting the conclusion of the Committee for Development Planning at its seventeenth session, in response to the application of Djibouti for inclusion in the list of the least developed among the developing countries, that Djibouti did not satisfy the existing criteria for inclusion in that list,

Noting the statement made before the Second Committee on 6 October 1981 by the Co-ordinator of Special Economic Assistance Programmes, in which he emphasized the importance of priority projects for diversification of the economy and the urgency of providing increased financial, material and technical assistance to Djibouti,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the steps he has taken to organize an international economic assistance programme for Djibouti;

2. Endorses fully the assessment and recommendations contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General;

3. Notes with appreciation the assistance already provided or pledged to Djibouti by Member States and organizations of the United Nations system;

4. Draws the attention of the international community to the critical economic situation confronting Djibouti, to the assistance immediately needed for the victims of the drought and to the list of urgent short-term and long-term projects submitted by the Government of Djibouti for financial assistance as described in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General;

5. 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 Djibouti to consider, on the basis of existing criteria, its eligibility for inclusion in the list of the least developed among the developing countries;

6. Renews its appeal to Member States, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and international economic and financial institutions to provide Djibouti with ample and appropriate assistance, bilaterally and multilaterally, whenever possible in the form of grants, to enable Djibouti to cope with its special economic hardships;

7. Calls upon the international community to contribute generously to the special account which was established at United Nations Headquarters by the Secretary-General for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to Djibouti;

8. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health 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 Djibouti and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July 1982;

9. Requests the appropriate specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to maintain and increase their current and future programmes of assistance to Djibouti, 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 Djibouti;

10. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To continue his efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for an effective programme of financial, technical and material assistance to Djibouti;

(b) To continue to ensure that adequate financial and budgetary arrangements are made to mobilize resources and to co-ordinate international assistance to Djibouti;

(c) To keep the situation in Djibouti under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies and international financial institutions concerned and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1982 of the current status of the special economic assistance programme for Djibouti;

(d) To arrange for a review of the economic situation of Djibouti and the progress made in organizing and implementing the special economic assistance programme for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session.