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VIII. SECOND COMMITTEE: ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL QUESTIONS Officers Chairman Mr Waclaw Konderski {Poland) Vice-Chairman Mr Pedro Lopez (Philippine Commonwealth) Rapporteur Mr Eduardo del Portillo (Bolivia) New Zealand Representatives Rt Hon. P. Fraser Mr R. M. Campbell Miss J. R. McKenzie The Second Committee was asked to consider and report on a number of international economic and financial questions, of which the most immediately important was the means by which contributions to the fund of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration could be expedited in order that the organization might be enabled to fulfil its urgent programme of relief in the liberated countries. In addition, the Second Committee approved and passed on to the General Assembly the recommendations of the Preparatory Commission for the establishment at the first session of the Economic and Social Council of an Economic and Employment Commission and a Statistical Commission, and, at the earliest possible date, a Temporary Transport and Communications Commission and a Fiscal Commission. At the request of the Assembly, a joint sub-committee of the Second and Third Committees met under the chairmanship of Mr Fraser (Chairman of the Third Committee) to discuss certain matters of joint concern to them : arrangements for the first meeting of the Economic and Social Council, the advisability of setting up a Co-ordination Commission, and the terms of reference and composition of the Commissions of the Council. The question of the relationship between the Council and existing or future specialized international agencies was also discussed, and the hope was expressed that the Council would be given the greatest liberty to consider and to propose any form of international machinery which it considered most effective for co-ordinating action on economic and Social problems. Most of the time of the Second Committee was devoted, however, to the drafting of the resolution on UNRRA. This was based on a proposal by the delegation of the United Kingdom that the General Assembly should urge States signatory to the UNRRA agreement to contribute with the least possible delay the further 1 per cent, of their national income as recommended in the UNRRA Council Resolution No. 80 of August, 1945 ; and that it should urge other peace-loving States to join the organization and make their contributions to its great humanitarian task. The United Kingdom proposal emphasized that the culminating stage, which was then beginning, of UNRRA's work was clearly the most critical.