operational activities andintheprovision ofguidance totheresident co-ordinators. Withregardtotheemergency situation inAfrica, theresident co-ordinators provided considerable assistance. He,himself, onbehalfofthe Secretary-General, andjointly withtheExecutive Secretary ofECA,chaired atask forceonAfrica; whenthesituation hadturnedfortheworse,hehadrecommended theestablishment ofanewofficeundertheleadership oftheAdministrator ofthe UnitedNations De\elopment Programme (UNDP).~=----,.::::.. -..:-=---~- ~.notyetbeenissued, sincethestructure oftheOfficewasunderreview, butwould r receive priority attention, withaviewtoitscompletion beforetheendof '.. theyear.TheDirector-General alsostatedthat,initswork,hisOfficetookinto I'account theCharter ofEconomic RightsandDutiesofStates. !:~ ~ ~ ~.~ 'Ij :;1 I 110.Inthecourseofthediscussion, questions wereraisedaboutthereasonfor listing programme elements 2.2to2.4separately. Onedelegation suggested that programme elements 2.2and2.4shouldbemerged. Itwasaskedwhyprogramme -20-115.Wi salespu them.) i telements 2.3and2.4listednofinaloutputs. Onedelegation considered thatthere wasanapparent duplication between programme elements 1.5and4.1. Ill.Questions wereraisedaboutthetermination ofprogramme elements 1.3and1.4 included intheprogramme budgetforthebiennium 1984-1985, andtheredeployment ofresources tothenewprogramme element 1.3(seepara.5B.ll). withregardto programme element 1.3,somedelegations expressed doubtwhether theCentrewould havesufficient expertise todealwithasubject ofsuchcomplexity especially in lightofthefactthatonlyonework-month ofconsultancy workwasforeseen for thatprogramme element duringtheentirebiennium (seepara.5B.13). One delegation alsonotedthatthephrase"tobeselected" inthedescription ofthe taskoftheconsultant underprogramme element 1.1(seepara.5B.13)indicated that therewasnomandate forthebackground studies. Questions werealsoraisedabout thereasons fordesignating thelowestpriority toprogramme elements 2.4,2.6 and4.3. 112.Several observations weremadeaboutthepublications programmed forthe biennium 1986-1987. Onedelegation wishedtoknowforeachpublication thenumber soldsincethatwouldindicate thelevelofinterest inwhattheCentrewas producing. Another delegation, however, wasoftheopinion thattheimportant issuewithregardtoasalespublication waswhether ornotitwasauthorized bya legislative mandate. Thequestion wasalsoraisedaboutthedifference between the ATASBUlletin underprogramme element 1.2andUpdateunderprogramme element 4.4~ onedelegation considered thattheformershouldbefinanced fromextrabudgetary resources. 113.Replying tothevarious questions raised, theExecutive Director oftheCentre explained thattheco-ordination ofactivities underprogramme element 2.4was restricted totheUnitedNationsitself, undertheauthority ofthe Secretary-General. Theharmonization ofactivities underprogramme element 2.2was system-wide. Thefunction oftheACCTaskForceonScience andTechnology for Development underprogramme element 2.3wasrelated toboththoseprogramme elements. Therewerenooutputs citedaccording tostandard practice, since programme elements 2.3and2.4didnotprovide services tousersexternal tothe secretariats oftheUnitedNations system. Concerning theapparent duplication between programme elements 1.5and4.1,itwasexplained thatwhiletheformer referred totheactivities oftheCentre, thelatterdealtwiththenetwork of focalpoints. 114.TheExecutive Director expressed hisagreement withtheviewthattheworkto beundertaken underprogramme element 1.3was,indeed, complex andhedidnot expectcomplete answers tobeprovided inasinglebiennium. Programme elements 1.3and1.4oftheprogramme budgetforthebiennium 1984-1985 hadbeen terminated inaccordance withprogramme planning regulation 4.6.Similarly, priorities hadbeendesignated inaccordance withthesameregulation. Programme element 2.4wasproposed forlowestpriority designation sinceco-ordination of Secretariat activities wascarried outinotheroffices aswell.Thereasonfor designating thelowestpriority toprogramme elements 2.6and4.3wasthatthe Centrewaslimited initsability toinfluence activities underthoseprogramme elements.
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a report from a meeting or conference, discussing the activities and plans of an organization, likely the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations. The topics mentioned, such as economic rights and duties of states, science and technology for development, and programme elements, suggest that the organization is focused on economic development and international cooperation. However, the text does not provide a clear indication of the specific sector or theme, and some of the topics may overlap between categories.

**Category**
Economic development, Science and technology