UN Decision 33/426: Second UFO Resolution Calls for International Research
On November 27, 1978, the U.N. Special Political Committee holds meetings on UFOs following up on Grenadian PM Eric Gairy's initiative. Witnesses include J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallée, Stanton Friedman, Lt. Colonel Lawrence Coyne, and astronaut Gordon Cooper. Cooper describes his 1951 Germany encounter with 'groups of metallic, saucer-shaped vehicles at great altitudes' that were 'able to change direction faster than our fighters.' He says UFOs exist and 'the truly unexplained ones are from some other technically advanced civilization.' The meetings conclude on December 8 with U.N. Decision 33/426 calling for 'establishment of an agency or a department of the United Nations for undertaking, coordinating and disseminating the results of research into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena.' Members are asked to develop scientific research programs. However, on March 13, 1979, Eric Gairy is overthrown in a coup by Maurice Bishop while at the U.N., killing the initiative.
Background
On 8 December 1978, the UN General Assembly adopted Decision 33/426 on unidentified flying objects and related phenomena. It invited interested Member States to coordinate scientific research and investigation at the national level and to inform the UN Secretary-General of observations, research, and evaluations. The decision followed discussions in the Special Political Committee and an initiative backed by Grenada's Prime Minister Eric Gairy. It did not create a UN UFO agency or establish an extraterrestrial origin for UFO reports. The initiative lost its principal political support after Gairy was overthrown in March 1979.