develoPnent cithin the United Nations systen' Discussions t{ith indePendent experts and relearchers in lhis field are also taking Prace' B. [or ig inal : Englishl [2 MaY r98s] I. At-though the Fooal and AEriculture organizaEion of the gniEed NaEions (FAo) does not have a spec i' f l.-'tt"it t" in the tield of disarnamen!' Ehe urgency of putting a sEop to Ehe continued diversion of rnuch-needed resources into arsenalg of ieattr -remains a rnajor concern tor the organizaEion' 2. At a tilDe when Ehe eorld is confroneed (ith lhe nagnitude of the traqrc situaEion in Africa ."a il'liri"tiq to bring relief to ihe starving Populations of, Ehe droug ht-st r lax.n aouilitt, trt" need !o rerease hunan and naterial resourceg through the reduction "t"t-fiiitty expenaicures jn favour of devetopnent in general and of agricurturar aevelJf,;;;-;" parcidular is seen bv FAo as being more inperaCive than ever. 3,InthisconnectionFAO,duringtheyearunderreview'conlinued'whenever possible, to dissenlnaEe iniormacion on t^he dranaEic consequences of the arms race and in particular tnrougn ll"-o1r""tor-cenera!ts najor policY statements' 4. The observance ot DisarmatrEnt week starEing on 24 october 1984' uas aLso marked b'y FAO with the folloeing nessage: "FAO lrelcones the oPportunity ot the c€lebration of Disarmanent 't{eek 1984 to renew its upp,."iuiiln iot tit united Nations Eireless efiorts in iEs struggle against Ehe arns race ' l. The information rece ived Cu ltu ra.I Organiza!ion rITNESCO)contained in the report of the(A/40 / 443t .A/40/552 English Page 29 grol'ing pressures from public opibion. FAO observesrise in isorld niLitary expenditure has continued toand that },orl-d tensions stilt shoe no sion of fron the United Nations Educational. Scientific andregarding its d i sa rnanent-rela led activities isSecr eta ry-Gene ra I on the ttorld Disarnanent CanDaj.onDespite these efforts andwith deep concern that theaccelerate yea r after yearolntnlshinq.