A—7

the report of the Employment Committee reflects the attitude in which it applied itself to the task of drafting a Resolution on economic policy for the maintenance of full employment. The fact that over forty amendments were proposed to the Draft Resolution put forward by the Office may perhaps be taken as an indication of its diligent application to its task. The resulting Resolution is printed in full in the Appendix. It is not proposed to review it in detail here, but there are certain aspects to which attention should be drawn. Considerable developments in economic thought, for which the International Labour Organization has been in no small measure responsible, have occurred since the First Session of the Conference, meeting in "Washington in October, 1919, considered the question of "unemployment." These developments culminated in the enunciation of. the objective of full employment not only in the Declaration of Philadelphia, but also in the Charter of the United Nations. It will be noted that the item on the Agenda refers to the maintenance of " high levels of employment," a phraseology adopted also by the Office Draft Resolution. In the preliminary discussion in the Employment Committee several delegates expressed regret that the phrase " full employment," which had attained a special significance as a symbol of the post-war world, which the peoples of the United Nations desired to create, had not been maintained. When the workers' group moved an amendment to substitute " full employment" for " high levels of employment," it was agreed to unanimously. Other paragraphs in the Resolution also deal with the human and social aspects of a full employment policy. Thus paragraph 2 (1) postulates the responsibility of Governments to take all steps in their power to establish conditions to facilitate " the absorption into useful employment, at the highest practical levels of remuneration, of all members of the population of working age who are able to work and willing to accept such employment." Paragraph 3 (b) refers to " appropriate methods by which public authorities may support and supplement investment in types of development (such as housing) which are of special importance from the social point of view." Paragraph 6 (5) states that " adequate unemployment insurance and/or assistance schemes should, be established in countries which have not yet adopted such schemes, this being important not only for social reasons, but in order to maintain purchasing-power." The Declaration of Philadelphia affirmed that " poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere." The Resolution clearly indicates that the Employment Committee and the Conference fully appreciated that the successful implementation of a full employment policy is a matter of international as well as of national concern. The importance of the International Monetary Fund and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is recognized. In paragraph 1 (3) the hope is expressed that " the United Nations Organization, through its appropriate organs, will define and put into effect, as quickly as possible, appropriate measures for furthering international co-ordination of employment policies during the reconversion period"; while in paragraph 1 (4) members of the International Labour Organization are urged to take early steps to determine and announce the main features of their post-war policy. Paragraph 2 (2) suggests that Government policy in relation to certain matters shall have due regard to the impact of particular national measures upon the employment situation in other countries. International co-operation is at the basis of the measures,, financial and otherwise, proposed in paragraph 8 for the alleviation of the

6