The Foreign Ministers of the Central American States of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, meeting in San Salvador October 8–14, 1951, to discuss measures for promoting the unity of Central America, drafted the “Charter of Salvador” to “promote by group action the strengthening of the bonds of fraternity among the five Central American states and to serve as an instrument for the study and solution of their common problems.”

Meeting on April 4, 1952, the Council of the Organization of American States approved the report of the Committee on Inter-American Organizations and proposed standards for special agreements or arrangements and cooperative relations petween the Council and its organs and non-governmental organizations. The report on the publications and the information program of the Pan American Union submitted by the General Committee was approved; certain duties regarding this program which had been assigned the General Committee in January by the Council were declared no longer within its competence, in view of the changes made in the structure and functions of the committee by the Council in March. Thereupon, the Council established a Special Committee on Publications and Public Information of five members and delegated to it the duties connected with this program approved by the Council in January. Also at this meeting the Council requested the Inter-American Economic and Social Council to prepare the agenda and regulations of the special meeting of the Pan American Highway Congress, taking into account the first draft of the agenda and regulations drawn up by the organizing committee of the congress.

Freedom of information and of the press is a fundamental human right and is the touchstone of all the freedoms consecrated in the Charter of the United Nations and proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it is essential to the promotion and to the preservation of peace.

From April 28 to May 7, 1952 the ninth session of the South Pacific Commission was held in Noumea, New Caledonia.1 The session, which was primarily concerned with administrative matters, was under the chairmanship of N. A. J. de Voogd (Netherlands). As a result of agreement by member governments at the eighth session to include Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands within the scope of the Commission, at the ninth session it was agreed unanimously to extend Commission activities to embrace these territories. Assurances of cooperation in Commission activities were given on behalf of both territories by the Acting Senior Commissioner for the United States (Leebrick) and the Secretary of Guam (Herman). Special aspects of its work program were reviewed by the Commission. The printing of two project reports dealing with the area was authorized: one, on economic development of coral atolls covered a survey made for the Commission in 1951 in the Gilbert Islands and the other was concerned with the possibilities of expanding the cacao industry in the area.

The eighth session of the South Pacific Commission, held at Nouméa, New Caledonia, from October 29 to November 9, 1951, was presided over by R. L. Lassalle-Séré (France). On November 7, 1951, the six participating countries (Australia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States) signed an agreement extending the scope of the Commission to include Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Other agenda items included consideration of the Commission's work program and budget for 1952. The program, consisting of 39 projects, included ten in the field of health. The Commission discussed the report of the conference of medical experts on filariasis and elephantiasis which was held in Tahiti from August 21 to September 1, 1951, to study current research and control programs for these diseases and to recommend measures for combatting them,2 and decided to appoint an expert to supervise the implementation of these recommendations. The Commission also reviewed the work done in the projects on tuberculosis, nutrition and leprosy. In the economic category, in which there were ten projects, the commission considered plans for a conference of fisheries experts in 1952 and grantsin-aid for the furtherance of work with economic plants. In the field of social development, where nineteen projects were considered, the Commission discussed the preparation of plans for a model vocational training institution; publication of a report on research in social anthropology and a report on a community development project being carried out in the Fiji Islands; continuation of a housing survey; and the work of the South Pacific Literature Bureau. It was decided to appoint E. M. Ojala (New Zealand) deputy chairman of the South Pacific Research Council.

Edwin T. Gibson (United States) was elected permanent chairman of the Central Group of the International Materials Conference1 and served in this capacity until October 2, 1951 when he resigned both as chairman and as delegate.Viscount Knollys (United Kingdom) was elected to fill the vacant position. Mr. Charles W. Jeffers continued to serve as Executive Secretary of IMC. Early in December, 1951, two new vice-chairmen were elected to serve for six-month terms: M. K. Kirpalani (India) and Octavio Paranaguá (Brazil).

The first Annual Report of the International Wheat Council, considered and approved at the fourth session of the Council, was published in November, 1950.2 Part I of the report dealt with: 1) the historical development of the International Wheat Agreement; 2) the administration of the agreement and the operation of the council, executive committee, advisory committee on price equivalents and the secretariat; 3) the guaranteed purchases, guaranteed sales and the resales for the period under review — i.e., the crop-year 1949–1950; 4) the maximum and minimum prices and the price equivalents for the same period; and 5) as distinguished from the factual account of the council's activities, the broader subject of world trade in wheat, although an exhaustive analysis of the problem was not considered to be within the scope of the report. Part II of the report was an official reproduction of the International Wheat Agreement, signed in Washington in March, 1949. Part III was the first publication of the rules of procedure, given in response to many requests for information on the operation of the agreement.