Special economic assistance to Benin

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

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

3. Expresses its appreciation for the assistance already given or pledged to Benin by Member States, organizations of the United Nations and regional, interregional and intergovernmental organizations;

4. Takes note with appreciation of the various measures adopted by the Government of Benin to strengthen the country's economy, and of the fruitful implementation of a number of economic initiatives of prime importance;

5. Expresses its concern at the fact that, in spite of those favourable developments, the Government of Benin continues to encounter serious economic and financial difficulties and that those problems have been aggravated by losses in agricultural and livestock production as a result of the floods in the south of the country and the drought in the north;

6. Draws attention to the needs of Benin for supplementary external assistance in order to implement fully the recommended special economic assistance programme;

7. Urgently reiterates the appeal it has addressed to all Member States to provide substantial and appropriate assistance bilaterally and multilaterally, if possible in the form of grants-in-aid or loans granted on favourable terms, in order to enable Benin to carry out fully the recommended economic assistance programme;

8. Urges Member States, organizations and programmes of the United Nations, regional and interregional organizations, financing and development institutions, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to respond generously to the needs of Benin at the round table, scheduled to be held at Cotonou in January 1983;

9. Requests the appropriate bodies and programmes of the United Nations - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United Nations Children's Fund - to maintain and expand their programmes of assistance to Benin, to co-operate closely with the Secretary-General in the work of organizing an effective international programme of assistance and to report periodically to him on the measures they have taken and the resources they have made available to help that country;

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

11. Urges Member States and appropriate United Nations agencies - in particular the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities - to provide all possible assistance to help the Government of Benin to meet the critical humanitarian needs of the population, and to provide to that Government, as appropriate, food, medicines and equipment for hospitals and schools;

12. 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, the special needs of Benin and to report the decisions of those bodies to the Secretary-General by 15 July 1983;

13. 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 Benin;

(b) To ensure that the necessary financial and budgetary arrangements are made to continue the organization of the international programme of assistance to Benin and the mobilization of that assistance;

(c) To keep the situation in Benin under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, the specialized agencies, regional and other intergovernmental organizations and the international financial institutions concerned, and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1983, of the status of the special economic assistance programme for Benin;

(d) To report on the progress made in the economic situation of Benin and in the organization and implementation of the special programme of economic assistance for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly not later than at its thirty-ninth session.