IOC/B - 50 (1) - page 19 



Commission within Unesco to be improved in an appropriate way. Ttie higher finan- 

 cial burden resulting from this and from tlie enlarged scope of IOC should be com- 

 pensated by the financial support of the agencies concerned and by the direct 

 financial contributions of the IOC Member States. Finally, the IOC statutes 

 should be adapted to these modifications." 



7. FINLAI^iD 



Extract from the letter of 27 September I968 from the Acting Director for 

 Political Affairs s 



"The project, according to which the United Nations and its Specialized 

 Agencies agree to broaden the base of IOC through adequate financial support, a 

 secretariat organized Jointly, and an equitable participation in organizing the 

 Commission's work, car be considered very appropriate. Especially it seems nat^ 

 ural thtit, besides Unesco, also FAO and WMO would provide support to the Com- 

 mission as it has been planned. 



On the other hand, possibilities to imple:nent the project, according to 

 which the Uriited Nations and its £:pecialized Agencies should provide direct finan- 

 cial support to the Commission, ought to be studied thoroughly. Because volun- 

 tary contributions, which have probably been taken into a-count, will hardly lead 

 to any satisfactory result, it ceoms necessary to include fi::ed membership fees 

 in the pruject. The fees to be paid by each Member State to the Commission can 

 hardly be fixed in the same proportion as those paid to Specialized Agencies, as 

 maritime interests of each State vary to a great extent. Perhaps the most ap- 

 propriate solution would be to establish different categories for membership fees 

 to be paid by Member Stj^tcs to the Commission and to fix separately the corre- 

 sponding category for each Member State." 



8. FiWICE 



Extract from the letter of 27 September I968 from m-. Jean Femand- Laurent, 

 Plenipotentiary Minister, Perrr.anent Delegate of France to Unesco: 



"The French Government, for its part, is av/are of the increased responsibil- 

 ities which will devolve on the Intersovemmsntal Oceanographic Commission as a 

 result of the various decisions adopted or in the process of being adopted by the 

 United Nations with regard to oceanography. It is especially mindful of the ac- 

 tion to be taken under United Nations resolution 2172 (XXI) on the Resources of 

 the Sea and the implementation of a possible International Decade of Ocean Ex- 

 ploration. 



The increased responsibility for co-ordination which might then be incumbent 

 upon the Commission would probably necessitate placing increased means at its 

 dispersal. In the opinion of the French Government, however, the following con- 

 siderations should be taken into account when this is done: 



1 . The IOC should continue to act within the framework of its present statutes, 

 which authorize it (cf . Article 5) to set up the committees which it deems neces- 

 sary and would therefore allow it to set up the desired co-ordinating body or 

 bodies. Op 



