Assistance to Benin, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone and Vanuatu : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 39/196 of 17 December 1984 on economic assistance to Haiti, as well as resolutions 40/215 on assistance to Democratic Yemen, 40/216 on assistance to Equatorial Guinea, 40/217 on assistance for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of the Central African Republic, 40/220 on assistance to Sierra Leone, 40/222 on special economic assistance to Benin, 40/223 on assistance to the Comoros, 40/224 on assistance to the Gambia, 40/225 on special economic assistance to Guinea-Bissau, 40/227 on assistance to Djibouti, 40/230 on assistance to Madagascar, 40/233 on economic assistance to Vanuatu, 40/234 on assistance to Nicaragua and 40/235 on special economic assistance to Guinea, all of 17 December 1985,

Having considered the relevant reports of the Secretary-General,

Noting with satisfaction the financial, economic and technical support that Member States, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and regional, interregional and intergovernmental organizations have provided to those countries,

Deeply concerned that those countries continue to face special economic and financial difficulties owing to a variety of factors,

Noting the efforts made by Democratic Yemen in its rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes in response to the devastating consequences of the floods in 1982,

Noting the particularly difficult problems faced by island developing countries in responding to negative and special economic circumstances, as referred to in General Assembly resolution 41/163 of 5 December 1986 on specific measures in favour of island developing countries,

Noting with concern that Vanuatu is an island developing country, that it is a geographically remote archipelago with a small but rapidly growing and unevenly distributed population, that it has a severe shortage of development capital and declining budgetary support from present donors, that its dependence on imports is overwhelming and that it has a scarcity of adequate transportation and communication links, all of which pose special development problems, making the provision of services difficult and entailing very high overhead costs,

Deeply concerned that Benin continues to experience serious economic and financial difficulties, characterized by a marked balance-of-payments disequilibrium, the heavy burden of its external debt and a lack of resources necessary for the implementation of its planned economic and social development programme,

Noting in particular that, despite the progress achieved recently in re-establishing economic stability, the situation in the Central African Republic remains precarious, as the Secretary-General emphasized in his report, which notes that the results achieved by the Government of the Central African Republic in the context of the national action programme it has adopted are encouraging, and that more external assistance is required to finance the remainder of the projects as indicated in table 2 of the report, and appealing to the international community, including international organizations, to participate at a high level of representation at the round table of the Central African Republic's development partners to be held at Bangui in December 1986,

Deeply concerned that the Comoros continues to face serious economic difficulties arising from its geographical isolation and scarcity of natural resources, compouonded by the recent drought and frequent cyclones,

Noting also that adverse climatic conditions that impede any meaningful agricultural activities, the lingering effects of recurrent drought and the presence of large numbers of refugees have a devastating impact on the economic and social development of Djibouti,

Noting that the instability of export markets for the principal exports of Equatorial Guinea - coffee, cocoa and wood - has affected its ability to finance its pressing needs and bearing in mind that country's continuing need for international assistance to complement its own national development efforts,

Noting further that, owing to the lack of external financial assistance, the Government of the Gambia has not been able to implement the six projects recommended by the Secretary-General in his report submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session,

Noting that Guinea continues to face serious difficulties in the implementation of its interim programme of economic rehabilitation for the period 1985-1987,

Noting in particular that, in spite of efforts of the Government of Guinea-Bissau to rehabilitate its economy, the economic and financial situation of the country, which has been worsened by drought and desertification, impedes the economic and social development process,

Noting that the Government of Haiti urgently requires international assistance to finance its interim programme of development to enable it to reinforce the productive capacities of the country, reduce unemployment, promote education, reinforce health coverage and strengthen public administration,

Noting that Madagascar's economic and social development efforts are being thwarted by the adverse effects of the cyclones and floods that afflict that country periodically, particularly those of December 1983 and January and April 1984, and that the implementation of reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes requires the mobilization of sizeable resources exceeding the country's real possibilities,

Noting also that, in recent years, the economy of Nicaragua has been adversely affected by various events and natural disasters, such as drought, the intense rains and floods of 1982, a sequence of natural disasters repeated during June, July, October and November 1985, and the drought of May, June and July 1986, all of which have worsened and impeded the normalization of its economic situation,

Noting further that the severe socio-economic problems experienced by Sierra Leone, manifested, inter alia, in a continuous decline, since 1980, in real gross domestic product per capita and in investments, are intractable without urgent and generous international economic assistance, and that the Government of Sierra Leone recently introduced far-reaching stabilization and structural adjustment measures, including floating the national currency from June 1986, eliminating subsidies for petroleum products and rice, liberalizing the import licensing regime, and increasing producer prices of major agricultural commodities as an incentive for greater production,

Having heard the statements of Member States at the forty-first session on the situations currently prevailing in those countries,

Noting that Benin, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Sierra Leone and Vanuatu are classified as least developed countries,

1.         Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the steps he has taken to mobilize resources for carrying out the special programmes of economic assistance to those countries;

2.         Also expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided or pledged to those countries by Member States, specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and regional, interregional and intergovernmental organizations;

3.         Further expresses its appreciation for the efforts made by the Governments of those countries to overcome their economic and financial difficulties;

4.         Notes with concern that the assistance made available to those countries has fallen short of their urgent requirements and that additional assistance is still needed;

5.         Reaffirms the need for all Governments and international organizations to honour the commitments undertaken within the framework of the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries;

6.         Appeals to Member States, international financial institutions, the specialized agencies and organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to respond generously and urgently to the needs of those countries as identified in the reports of the Secretary-General;

7.         Invites the international community to contribute to the special accounts established at United Nations Headquarters by the Secretary-General for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to the countries facing special difficulties;

8.         Urgently appeals to all international organizations, in particular the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system, regional organizations, humanitarian organizations and voluntary agencies to continue and increase, to the extent possible, their assistance in response to the reconstruction, economic recovery and development needs of those countries;

9.         Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps, in collaboration with the programmes, organs and agencies of the United Nations system, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 41/192 of 8 December 1986, on special programmes of economic assistance, to provide assistance for all disasters, natural or otherwise, striking those countries and to mobilize the necessary resources to enable them to meet their short-, medium- and long-term needs;

10.       Further requests the Secretary-General to keep the question of assistance to those countries and their economic situation under review and to report to the General Assembly at its forty-second session on the implementation of the present resolution.