Dec 13, 1984

REPORT ASKED ON COERCIVE MEASURES AGAINST THIRD WORLD-

NEW YORK, DECEMBER 10 (IFDA/THALIF DEEN) -- The group of 77 has called for a comprehensive UN report on trade restrictions, embargoes and other economic sanctions imposed by industrialised nations on Third World countries.-

A spokesman for the group said Monday that the group was specifically concerned about trade sanctions being used as weapons of political and economic coercion against Third World countries.-

Last Friday the second Committee (economic and financial) recommended that the General Assembly request UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to prepare a report on the wide-spread use of economic sanctions against developing nations.-

The Committee took this decision by adopting a draft resolution with a recorded vote of 102 in favour to 19 against (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, West Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States), with six abstentions (Austria, Finland, Greece, Ivory Coast, Spain and Sweden).-

The Secretary-General has also been asked to study the impact of these sanctions on international economic relations, with a view to taking concrete international action against these measures.-

The report is expected to be submitted to the 40th session of the General Assembly next September.-

In explaining their negative votes, most of the industrialised countries dismissed the resolution as being completely one-sided and said they had voted against it because it only addressed economic measures applied by developed countries against developing countries.-

Last month the U.S., Japan and China, accused of deliberately adopting restrictive and coercive measures aimed at "de-stabilising" the economies of at least five Asian and Latin American countries.-

The accusations were made by Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea and Vietnam.-

In their complaints to the UN Secretary-General, the five Third World nations said that the UN should continue to play a major role in studying and compiling information provided by governments on the adoption and effects of coercive measures by industrialised nations against the Third World.-

Last year a resolution adopted by the General Assembly urged industrialised nations to refrain from threatening or applying trade restrictions, blockades, embargoes and other economic sanctions incompatible with the provisions of the UN charter and in violation of undertakings contracted multilaterally and bilaterally.-

The resolution, which was sponsored by Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77, says that it is gravely concerned with the use of coercive measures which it says adversely affects the economies and development efforts of Third World nations.-

In some cases, the G77 points out, those measures have worsened, creating a negative impact on international economic cooperation.-

The group also deplores the fact that some developed countries continue to apply and, in some cases, have increased the scope of economic measures that have the purpose of exerting coercion on the sovereign decisions of developing countries subject to those measures.-

In preparing the proposed report, the Secretary-General has been asked to request further comments on the subject from governments, and to use inputs from competent organisations of the UN system, particularly the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Regional Commissions.-