which were brought to the attention of the Committee since its inception. The number of such cases totalled 135. Of these, in 14 cases transactions were conducted with the knowledge of Governments, which means that, first, the violations were verified and, second, the Governments permitting the transactions took no punitive action a In only 27 cases one or more Governments reported punitive or preventive measures following requests or inquiries by the Committee. Five cases were closed because the Committee decided that no further action was necessary. This leaves us with approximately 90 cases in which no conclusive evidence has as yet been evinced that the reported suspected violations of sanctions did or did not occur. In alI these cases the Committee sent inquiries to the Covcrn- merits involved but it was unable to reach any decision, primarily, because: (a) some Governments have failed to reply; (b) the replies of some Governments were elusive, incomplete or did not relate to the matter at all; (cl the conduct of an investigation was indicated, but the results have never been made known to the Committee ; and (d) certificates of origin issued by Portuguese colonial authorities were offered as proof that the goods were not of Southern Rhodesian origin, which certainly should be regarded as invalid and insufficient. Some >f these cases are 4 four years old and yet the truth could not be established, let alone the violators prosecuted. 41. If we consider that the 135 reported suspected violations of sanctions represent merely a small fraction of all the transactions with Southern Rhodesia which are carried out on a world-wide scale, we will have a pretty clear picture of the present situation of the sanctions policy and of the Committee’s ability to deal effectively with widespread violations. 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the effectiveness of sanctions against Southern Rhodesia, focusing on the number of reported violations and the Committee's ability to investigate and take action. The sanctions seem to be related to international trade, as the Committee is investigating transactions and certificates of origin. The text does not mention any specific economic development, natural resources, or environmental issues, but rather focuses on the implementation and enforcement of sanctions.

**Category**
International trade