International Trade Files, Lot 57D284, Box 108
Press Release No. 420 of the European Office of the United Nations, Issued at Geneva, Switzerland, August 11, 1948
United Nations ITO Interim Commission Established at Geneva
The Interim Commission of the International Trade Organization has established provisional headquarters at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.
The Interim Commission of ITO (ICITO) is a temporary UN agency which has certain specified interim functions pending the establishment of ITO. ICITO was established by a Resolution of the Havana Conference, in March 1948. ICITO held its first meeting at Havana and elected an Executive Committee composed of 18 countries to which it delegated its powers.
The Chairman of the Executive Committee is Ambassador Dana Wilgress, Canada.
icito secretariat
The Secretariat of the ITO Interim Commission is a small unit, headed by the Executive Secretary, Eric Wyndham White, who was previously Executive Secretary of the Havana Conference and of the earlier Preparatory Committee. The Executive Secretary and the Secretariat are responsible for the day-to-day work of the Commission, under the general direction of the Executive Committee.
Other members of the ICITO Secretariat are:
| Deputy Executive-Secretary and J. A. Lacarte (Uruguay) acting Representative at Lake Success | |
| Special Assistant | Jean Royer (France) |
| Commercial Policy Adviser | F. A. Haight (South Africa) |
| Information Officer | Richard Ford (U.K.) |
| Research Assistant | Constant Shih (China) |
| Research Assistant | G. Maggio (Italy) |
| Administrative Assistant | Dorothy Peaslee (U.S.) |
and on loan from United Nations Secretariat:
| Alan Renouf (Australia) | Legal Adviser |
| Hugh Gosschalk (U.K.) | Research Assistant. |
the work of icito
The functions of the ITO Interim Commission are defined by a resolution of the Havana Conference. They can be summarized as follows:
Preparations for the first session of ITO. These will include a plan of work for the first year of ITO; budget proposals for ITO; and recommendations as to the site of ITO headquarters and as to ITO’s relationship with United Nations, the specialized agencies, and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
The publication of the main committee reports of the Havana Conference.
Consultations with the International Court of Justice.
The preparation, for the first session of ITO, of a report on the whole field of industrial and general economic development and postwar reconstruction, particularly in so far as the United Nations, the specialized agencies, and other organizations are concerned.
Consultation with the Government of Switzerland in a study of certain problems facing the Swiss economy in relation to the terms of the Havana Charter.
[Here follows information relating to the work of the Executive Committee of the ICITO and the ICITO Secretariat.]