In reviewing major developments since the last session, the High Commissioner stated to the twenty-sixth session of the Executive Committee that the accession to independence of former colonial territories and recent developments in Indo-China had had a tremendous impact on the activities of his Office. The High Commissioner recalled that considerable efforts had already been deployed in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula since 1973, and that following recent developments he had been called upon to undertake special operations of considerable magnitude to help meet the immense needs of uprooted and displaced persons in that area. During the general debate, members of the Committee strongly emphasized that the highest priority should be given to international protection which was the cornerstone of international assistance to refugees. The Committee recommended that consideration be given by governments to the possibility of reviewing the membership of the Executive Committee, taking into account the criteria laid down for membership by the General Assembly in terms of the widest possible geographical basis. The Committee decided on the establishment of a Sub-Committee of the Whole on International Protection which would meet, in principle, during the sessions of the Executive Committee and would study in more detail some of the more technical aspects of the protection of refugees and would report to the Committee on its findings. In considering the UNHCR report on assistance activities, the Committee heard the High Commissioner recall the institutional framework for special operations on the basis of the 'good offices' resolutions of the General Assembly. The High Commissioner reported on certain special operations, notably assistance to displaced persons from Indo-China in Thailand as well as: the coordination of UN humanitarian assistance to Cyprus, assistance to returning refugees and displaced persons in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, assistance to southern Sudanese refugees and displaced persons, assistance to Asians of undetermined nationality from Uganda, assistance to displaced and uprooted persons in Indo-China, emergency relief operation in South Viet Nam, and assistance to displaced persons from Indo-China outside their country of origin. The High Commissioner submitted a Note to the Committee concerning the management of special operations, specifically the problems faced by UNHCR in the field of management and staffing as a result of the increasing number of special operations. The High Commissioner proposed the use of the Working Capital and Guarantee Fund to facilitate a flexible deployment of personnel to meet the demands of special operations without disrupting vital work in the Office and to meet immediate costs. The Committee authorized the High Commissioner to draw up to a maximum of.