220. The Council noted that two principal subjects had been considered at the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Sessions of the CCLM. First at its Fifty-fourth Session, the Committee had reviewed the Draft Headquarters Agreement for the World Food Programme. Second, at both its Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Sessions, the Committee had examined the Progress Reports by the Director-General on the study which he had undertaken regarding possible forms of membership for regional economic integration organizations in FAO, as well as a draft report by the Director-General on options for a form of membership of such organizations.
221. With respect to the Draft Headquarters Agreement for the World Food Programme, the Committee had considered the proposed amendments relating to the inviolability of the Headquarters, protection of the Headquarters, immunity of officials of WFP and certain restrictions of enjoyment of privileges and immunities. The CCLM had endorsed the approach proposed.
222. The Committee examined the impact of the Draft WFP Headquarters Agreement on the relationship between the WFP, FAO and the UN in the light of the. institutional relationship between WFP on the one hand, and the UN and FAO on the other, as well as the recommendation in the Report by the joint UN/FAO Task Force in 1985.
223. The Committee had concluded that the Draft WFP Hedquarters Agreement, if adopted, would have a substantial impact on the relationship between WFP on the one hand, and the UN and FAO on the other hand, and in particular on the location, status and powers of the WFP Secretariat as well as the legal status of the WFP itself. The Committee agreed that, to the extent that the draft agreement would substantially change that relationship, the desirability of effecting such a change would have to be passed upon by the Governing Bodies concerned.
224. With respect to the progress report on the study being undertaken by the Director-General regarding possible forms of membership for regional economic integration organizations in FAO, the CCLM recalled that, at its Ninety-fifth Session in June 1989, the Council had invited the Director-General to explore the options for a form of membership of FAO for regional economic integration organizations for which their Member States had transferred competence in some fields of activity of FAO, along with the full constitutional, legal, financial and other implications for the Organization of such options and to report thereon to the Ninety-eighth Session of the Council in November 1990. As a result, a series of talks had taken place between FAO and the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC).
225. The Committee had noted that, in order to take full account of the special legal position of a regional economic integration organization to which its Member States had transferred competence in fields of activity of FAO, the concept which had been adopted for purposes of the talks was that of "alternative membership" as opposed to either normal membership (which was really suited only for States) or associate membership (which was appropriate only for dependent territories). The Committee has looked closely at the various attributes which this implied and had concluded that the concept of alternative membership was useful and that it would be advisable for the Director-General to continue the exploratory talks along those lines.
226. One of the most difficult questions which had arisen concerned the modality of participation of a regional economic integration organization in cases of concurrent competence were it to become a member. This matter had been considered at some length, and the results of the discussions were set forth in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the report of the Fifty-fifth Session.
227. At its Fifty-fifth Session, the CCLM had been informed that, at the informal discussions between FAO and the EEC Commission in June 1990, the Commission had indicated that it would seek a status of full member of FAO and that a status of alternative member would not be acceptable. The EEC would agree, however, to exercise the attributes of that status in practice in a manner consonant with the concept of the alternative nature of membership.
228. In discussing this aspect, the Committee had underlined that the scope of the study being carried out was not limited to the EEC, but was intended to cover any reegional economic integration organization to which competence had been transferred by its Member States in areas of FAO's activities. Thus, whatever solutions were proposed would have to be suitable for any organization which met those criteria.
229. The Committee had concluded that further consideration should be given to finding a compromise solution which would be appropriate for any regional economic integration organization to which the Member States had transferred competence in areas of FAO's activities. Such a formula would, therefore, have to be sufficiently flexible and adaptable whilst, at the same time, providing the required amount of certainty with regard to the membership status and membership rights of such an organization.
230. The CCLM had envisaged three variants for such a compromise solution. The attributes of membership for regional economic integration organizations could be defined in the Constitution without creating a separate category of alternative membership. Similarly, such membership attributes could be set out in the General Rules of the Organization rather than specified in the Constitution. A third option might be to set them out in a protocol to be agreed between FAO and a regional economic integration organization, with the approval of the appropriate Governing Bodies.
231. Finally, the CCLM had considered the special problem posed by the ineligibility of regional economic integration organizations to participate in conventions and agreements under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution. The Committee had recognized that it might be desirable to consider an amendment to Article XIV in order to deal with these problems whatever the results of the exploratory study on the broader question of alternative membership.
232. The Council expressed its appreciation to the Chairman of the CCLM and to the Members of the Committee for the excellent work which they had carried out. The Council took note of the reports of the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Sessions of the CCLM.
233. Bearing in mind the conclusions which had been reached by the CCLM in respect of the options for a form of membership for regional economic integration organizations in FAO, the Council considered this matter in more depth. It was underlined that any solution adopted would have to be applicable to any regional economic integration organization to which competence had been transferred by its Member States in fields of activity of FAO. It was recognized, however, that at this stage it appeared that the EEC was the only such organization meeting such criteria. In the course of these discussions, a consensus emerged that many questions would require further study by the Director-General and in the course of additional discussions with the competent authorities of the EEC.
234. The Council noted that the Director-General had received a letter from the President of the Council of the European Communities dated 22 October 1990 informing him that, on the basis of the outcome of the exploratory talks which had been held between FAO and the Commission of the European Communities, "the Council of the European Communities had decided to request that the Constitution of the FAO he amended, to anable the Community to accede to the FAO on the basis of member status commensurate with its powers. The Community considered that, in this context, the dialogue should be continued between the Community and FAO, with a view to preparing a proposal relating to the amendment of the Basic Texts of the Organization to allow for the possibility of such a status. This initiative was welcomed by the Council whilst recognizing, however, that a number of problems would require further study and reflection.
235. The first point which would have to be considered concerned the exercise of membership rights by regional economic integration organizations. The Council noted that the criterion used in the discussions between FAO and the EEC had been that of the alternative nature of the exercise of membership rights. This implied that either the regional integration organizations or the Member States of the organizations, but never both, would exercise these rights, depending on which had competence in the matter concerned. The sum of the rights and obligations of a regional economic integration organization and its member states would never exceed the sum of the rights and obligations of the Member States of this regional economic integration organization. The implications of this principle were underlined in the course of the discussions. For example, agreement would have to be reached on the precise way in which both the right to speak and the right to vote would be exercised in the following three cases: when full competence had been transferred to the regional economic integration organization; when the subject fell within the joint competence of the regional economic integration organization and its Member States and when full competence remained with the Member States. In this contexts it was stressed that the number of votes of a regional economic integration organization would never exceed the number of votes of its Member States.
236. The second field of problems concerned the division of competence between a regional economic integration organization and its member states, ant the way in which that competence would be exercised. For example, in the case of EEC, it was not competent in all aspects of the operations of FAO. It was, broadly speaking, at present not competent in matters relating to the institutional life of the Organization as this competence, at the present time, remained with the individual Member States. Consequently, as the situation stood at the moment, the EEC would not be eligible to be a member of restricted bodies of FAO such as the CCLM, the Programme Committee and the Finance Committee. Moreover, it would not be able to vote on the adoption of the Programme of work and Budget of FAO.
237. There was general agreement in the Council that the membership status of a regional economic integration organization would have to be sui generis, but that the manner in which such membership could be reflected in the Basic Texts would need further exploration. It was stressed that in whatever manner such form of membership were reflected, there would need to be a clear and precise legal definition of the attributes of membership and how they should be exercised. This could take the form of additional special provisions to be added to the Basic Texts (the Constitution or the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), etc.) or a special protocol which would be submitted to the Governing Bodies for approval. These options would need to be explored further in discussions with the EEC and by the CCLM.
238. With respect to the competence of any regional economic integration organization, it was underlined that this would have to defined in a very precise and complete manner. In particular a statement of competence as detailed as possible would need to be prepared, listing the areas in which full competence had been transferred, areas in which competence was shared. Moreover, mechanisms would have to be devised so that Member Nations would be able to know at any time whether competence on any given matter laid with the regional economic integration organization or its Member States.
239. The Council agreed that regional economic integration organizations in other parts of the world might be interested in possible membership in FAO and that this should be borne in mind in the course of further studies which would be carried out. Naturally, such organizations would be eligible if they met the criteria for membership. In this respect the Council underlined that if regional economic integration organizations were to become eligible for membership in FAO, this would create an extremely important precedent for other organizations of the United Nations system. A full examination would have to be made of all the possible implications of such membership. In this connection, the Council noted that FAO would be consulting with other organizations of the UN system on this matter.
240. The Council noted the request by the President of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities that further talks be held with FAO with a view to proposing amendments to the Constitution that would allow for eventual membership by the EEC. In this context, the Council noted that were there amendments to the Constitution to be approved at the forthcoming Twenty-sixth Session of the Conference in November 1991, it would not, under the existing General Rules of the Organization be possible to consider an application for membership by the EEC at that time, because under Article XIX.2 of these Rules an application for membership should be submitted at least 30 days before the opening of the Conference session at which it would be considered, unless the Conference decided to make use of the possibility to suspend that Rule.
241. The Council reviewed the desirability of amending Article XIV of the FAO Constitution in order to allow participation by regional economic integration organizations in agreements concluded thereunder. The Council noted that problems had arisen in the past concerning EEC participation in such agreements, and that this was currently a problem in respect of the Draft Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. This could also be considered by the Conference at its session in November 1991. In this connection, several members expressed the wish that such an amendment should be carried out as soon as posible. Many members felt that the matter should be examined in the broader context of the possible admission of regional economic integration organizations.
242. The Council requested that the Director-General should hold further talks with the EEC and that the Secretariat should prepare detailed documentation on the various matters which had been discussed in the course of the present session of the Council, including drafts of possible amendments to the Basic Texts of the Organization. The Council requested that the matter be referred for consideration by the CCLM at its Fifty-sixth Session in Spring 1991. The CCLM could then submit its Report to the Council for consideration at its Session in June 1991. The Finance Committee should also be kept fully informed. The Council underlined that the request to the Director-General to continue talks with the EEC and to carry out the various studies which had been requested did not prejudice the final decision as to membership of the EEC. This would have to be taken by the Conference, on the basis of the advice of the Council, and in the light of the further talks and results of the additional studies undertaken.
Invitations to Non-Member Nations to Attend FAO Sessions
3
243. In accordance with paragraph B-l of the "Statement of Principles relating to the Granting of Observer Status to Nations", the Council considered the request made by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to attend as an observer the Ninety-eighth Session of the Council and agreed to its participation. The Council welcomed the participation of the USSR and expressed the hope that, very soon, this important country would become a full member of the Organization.
244. In accordance with paragraph B-2 of the aforementioned Statement of Principles, the Council was informed that since its Ninety-seventh Session, the Director-General, on being so requested, had invited the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to attend as observers the Seventeenth Regional Conference for Europe, Venice, Italy, 3-7 April 1990 (CC-709).
245. The Director-General, on being so requested, had also invited the USSR to attend as observers the following sessions :
- Twentieth FAO Regional Conference for Asis and the Pacific, Beijing, China, 23-27 April 1990 (CC-708)
- Third Session of the Subcommittee on Fish Trade of COFI, Rome, Italy, 4-7 September 1990 (FI-709)
- Consultation for the Establishment of an Interregional Cooperative Research Network on Rice, Arles, France, 11-12 September 1990 (REUR-803)
-Tenth Session of the Committee on Forestry, Rome, Italy, 24-28 September 1990 (FO-701)
- Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea, Rome, Italy, 16-19 October 1990 (ESC-722)
Attendance as an Observer by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
1
246. The Council was informed of a request by the Palestine Liberation Organization to attend its Ninety-eighth Session as an observer. The Council agreed to this participation.
Changes in Representation of Member Nations on the Programme and Finance Committees
5
247. As provided for in Rule XXV1-4(a) of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), the Council was advised that Ruall C. Harris had been designated as the new Government Representative of Barbados in the Programme Committee as of the Fifty-ninth Session.
248. As provided for in Rule XXVII-4(a) GRO, the Council was advised that Peter Gary Franklin had been designated as the Government Representative of Australia for the Sixty-seventh Session of the Finance Committee.
249. The Council took note of the changes, welcomed the new Government Representative of Barbados and expressed its appreciation for the services rendered by the Representative of Australia during the Sixty-seventh Session of the Finance Committee.
Changes in Status of Member Mations
6
250. The Council was informed that formal notice of the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, both Member Nations of FAO, had been received on 10 October 1990 from the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Yemen to FAO.
251. The Council was also informed that the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to FAO had notified the Organization on 3 October 1990 that on the same day the German Democratic Republic had acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany.
252. The Council noted that matters relating to membership in the Organization and assessment of contributions to the budget of the Organization are matters within the purview of the Conference.
253. The Council also noted that any questions arising in connection with the reassessment of the scale of contributions payable by Member Nations as a result of these changes in membership and, in particular the question of to what extent, if any, changes might be given retroactive effect, might need to be referred to the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters before being submitted to the Conference for decision.
1CL 98/5; CL 98/19; CL 98/PV/17; CL 98/PV/19.
2CL 98/5 paras 4-14; CL 98/19 paras 3-12; CL 98/23; CL 98/23-Sup.l; CL 98/PV/17; CL 98/PV/19.
3 CL 98/INF/8; CL 98/PV/l ; CL 98/PV/19.
4CL 98/PV/6, CL 98/PV/19
5 CL 98/INF/10; CL 98/PV/18; CL 98/PV/19
6CL 98/INF/24; CL 98/lNF/24-Corr.1 ; CL 98/PV/18; CL 98/PV/19
