International Labor Organization

The 117th session of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization met at Geneva from November 22 to 26, 1951 under the chairmanship of Paul Ramadier. Meetings of the Governing Body's committees on manpower and employment, finance and administration, relations with other international organizations, industrial committees, technical assistance, and allocations preceded the session, at which reports of these committees were considered. Also on the Governing Body's agenda was the report of the third session of the Asian Advisory Committee, which was held in Geneva from November 10 to 13. The Governing Body authorized the Director-General (Morse) to consult the Egyptian government on suggestions which might result in an investigation by ILO of Egyptian charges that United Kingdom military authorities were using arms to force Egyptians to work in the Suez Canal zone. Among its other decisions the Governing Body accepted an invitation from Brazil to hold ILO's Fifth American Regional Conference at Rio de Janeiro from April 17 to 30, 19S2, authorized the Director-General to undertake consultations with a view to the convening of a tripartite meeting of representatives from coal-producing countries on problems of the coal mining industry, and reaffirmed the need for ILO to continue to assist governments in solving immediate practical problems in the manpower field and, particularly, to provide them with technical assistance concerning the migration process. An invitation from Turkey to locate ILO's Near and Middle East Manpower Field Office at Istanbul was accepted, and an agreement by ILO and the Council of Europe providing for cooperation between the two bodies approved. It was decided that the next session of the Governing Body should be held at Geneva from March 11 to 14, 1952.