The Declaration of 1 May 1974

In one line

The Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order was adopted without a vote at the 2229th plenary meeting on 1 May 1974, and it consists of a proclamation, a diagnosis in paragraphs 1 to 3, twenty principles in paragraph 4, and paragraphs 5 to 7 on implementation and status.

How it was adopted

Without a vote, at the 2229th plenary meeting on 1 May 1974.

Adoption without a vote is not consensus in the sense of agreement. Several industrialised States placed on record reservations and interpretative statements immediately afterwards, particularly on permanent sovereignty and compensation, on the regulation of transnational corporations, and on indexation of commodity prices. A candidate who says the Declaration was adopted unanimously and by agreement has missed the most important fact about it.

The contrast with the Charter of December 1974 is instructive. That instrument was put to a vote and adopted by 120 to 6 with 10 abstentions, and the six were industrialised States. [The Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States: Chapter I].

The proclamation

We, the Members of the United Nations, having convened a special session to study for the first time the problems of raw materials and development, and bearing in mind the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter to promote the economic advancement and social progress of all peoples, solemnly proclaim our united determination to work urgently for the establishment of a new international economic order based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and co-operation among all States, irrespective of their economic and social systems.

The order so established shall correct inequalities and redress existing injustices, make it possible to eliminate the widening gap between the developed and the developing countries, and ensure steadily accelerating economic and social development and peace and justice for present and future generations.

Note "irrespective of their economic and social systems". The Declaration was drafted while the Cold War divided the industrialised world, and the phrase secured the support of the socialist States without conceding that the programme was socialist.

And note "for present and future generations", which is an early appearance in a General Assembly instrument of what later became the language of sustainable development.

Paragraph 1: what has changed and what has not

The achievement: the independence of a large number of peoples and nations from colonial and alien domination, and technological progress providing a solid potential for improving the well-being of all peoples.

The obstacles: the remaining vestiges of alien and colonial domination, foreign occupation, racial discrimination, apartheid and neo-colonialism in all its forms.

The measurements: the developing countries, which constitute 70 per cent of the world's population, account for only 30 per cent of the world's income, and the benefits of technological progress are not shared equitably.