A brief delay was necessary before a final decision on the future of Eritrea could be reaches. An investigating commission was instructed to determine the wishes of the various groups in Eritrea and to suggest a plan for their political future. On-the-spot surveys were taken as a basis for the commission’s report. In December 1950, the General Assembly approved a plan according to which Eritrea would be federated with Ethiopia as an autonomous unit under the Ethiopian Crown. A United Nations commissioner was to assist with the transitional steps. A new constitution came into effect in September 1952.