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250. The Conference had before it the Director-General's report on the Transfer and Establishment of Headquarters in Rome (C 52/22). In the opinion of the Conference this document showed that the complex problems involved in the move to Rome had been solved with success, expedition and economy. The following resolution was adopted:

Resolution No. 39
Transfer of Headquarters

The Conference

Having noted the report of the Director-General on the transfer of Headquarters from Washington to Rome, Commends the Director-General and the administration of FAO for the efficient manner in which the move was carried out, and Conveys to the Italian Government the deep appreciation of the Member Governments of FAO for its generosity and the efforts which it has put forth to provide FAO with headquarters facilities of which all can be proud.

Financial implications of the interpretation of date of membership of certain governments
Scale of contributions
Amendments to constitution, rules of procedure and financial regulations concerning financial questions (C 51/7)
Levels of income for 1952 and 1953
Budgets for 1952 and 1953
Financial position of the organization
Use of the organization's headquarters conference facilities (C 51/III-3)
Liquidation of international institute of agriculture and the international forestry center
Audited accounts of fifth financial year
Staff commissary
Distribution of conference documentation (C 51/III-2)
Administrative and financial aspects of the expanded technical assistance program

Financial implications of the interpretation of date of membership of certain governments

251. In 1950, the Special Session of the Conference had noted that it had no alter native but to accept the position taken by certain Governments, original Members of FAO, that their membership dated only from parliamentary ratification of their signature ad referendum of the Constitution and not from date of signature.

252. The Twelfth Session of the Council reported that the decision made by the Special Session of the Conference implied that an amount of $ 285,750 carried on the books of the Organization as arrears of contributions from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay, as detailed below, should be written off.

253. The Conference adopted the following resolutions:

Resolution No. 40
Writing Off of Arrears Contributions

The Conference

Decides that the sum of $ 285,750, representing the amount carried on the books of the Organization as arrears of contributions from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay inclusive, be written off in view of the interpretation of the Special Session of the Conference in 1950 of the date on which these countries became members of the Organization.

With regard to the unallocated shares of Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay in the funds turned over to FAO by the Interim Commission, the Conference adopted the proposal of the Committee on Financial Control, which had been endorsed by the Twelfth Session of the Council.

Resolution No. 41
Allocation of Shares of Colombia, Peru and Uruguay

The Conference

Decides that an amount of $ 5,591.39 appearing in the audited accounts and representing the unallocated shares of Colombia, Peru and Uruguay in the funds turned over to FAO by the Interim Commission, be retained in the Working Capital Fund and be shared by all Member Nations which have as of 31 December 1951 paid their contributions in full for the first financial period, in the same ratio as their respective payments of contributions bear to the total contributions paid for that period.

254. The Conference further noted that of the above countries, Peru alone had not yet ratified the Constitution. The Conference decided that Peru could not be considered a member of the Organization, and accordingly adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 42
Assessment of Peru

The Conference

Having considered the reports of the Special Session of the Conference, 1950, and the Twelfth Session of the Council regarding the membership status of Peru, which signed the Constitution ad referendum in 1945 and has not yet ratified its signature,

Decides that, if the Government of Peru does not ratify its signature before 31 December 1951, (a) the contribution assessed for the Government of Peru in 1951 shall be written off, and (b) the scale of contributions for 1952 and 1953 shall be computed without the inclusion of a contribution payable by Peru; and

Further decides that if the Government of Peru ratifies its signature during 1952 or 1953 it will be requested to pay to FAO as membership contribution equivalent to that which Peru would have been assessed as a member duly included within the approved scale of contributions, the sum of $ 12,075 for each of the years 1952 and 1953, if the instrument of ratification is deposited in 1952, and a sigle sum of $ 12,075, if the instrument is deposited in 1953;

And further decides that any sum consequently paid by the Government of Peru in 1952 or 1953 shall be placed in a Reserve Account, the disposal of which shall be determined at the Seventh Session of the Conference

Scale of contributions

255. The Conference had before it Scales of Contributions for 1952 and 1953 (C 51/11) recommended by the Special Committee on the Scale of Contributions as a result of three years' study. The scales were, in accordance with the instructions of the Special Session of the Conference, based upon the national income of countries as calculated by the United Nations Statistical Office.

256. It was necessary for the Conference to make certain adjustments in these scales in order to incorporate the four new Members admitted to the Organization during the current session, to reflect the decision of the Conference to exclude Peru from the scales for 1952 and 1953, and to exclude from the scale for 1953 China and Hungary whose resignation from the Organization would be effective in that year. Further adjustments became necessary as the result of Conference decisions on the granting of temporary emergency relief to certain Member Governments and the raising of the ceiling on contributions to 30 percent.

257. With regard to the granting of temporary emergency relief, the Conference considered representations from various countries, and decided on the relief set out in Resolution No. 43.

258. Scales for 1952 and 1953 incorporating the adjustments described above were approved. It was decided that the Special Committee on the Scale of Contributions could now be disbanded, and that future scales should be calculated by the Director-General on the basis of the latest United Nations national income statistics. and submitted to the Council.

259. The Delegation of Canada, while not disagreeing with the scales, expressed the hope that in the framing of future scales, account should be taken of the principle that no government should be assessed a higher per caput contribution than that made by the highest contributor.

260. The Conference adopted the following resolutions:

Resolution No. 43
Scale of Contributions

The Conference

Notes that the Special Committee on the Scale of Contributions, presenting scales for use in 1952 and 1953, has followed the instructions given by the Conference at its Special Session in 1950;

Approves the scales recommended by the Committee for 1951 and 1953, subject to the following adjustments:

Accordingly adopts for use in 1952 and 1953 the scales set out in Table I of Appendix F which incorporate the foregoing adjustments.

Resolution No. 44
Calculation of Future Scale of Contributions

The Conference

Notes with approval the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Scale of Contributions, that United Nations national income statistics continue to be used as the basis for the FAO scale of contributions, and

Having regard to. the fact that these statistics are subject to continuous revision by the Statistical Office of the United Nations in the light of new information and changing economic conditions,

Requests the Director-General to calculate for submission to the Council in its midyear session of 1953 a scale for use in 1954 and 1955 based on the latest national income statistics as obtained from the Statistical Office of the United Nations, having regard to the maximum and minimum limits of contributions determined by the Conference at its 1951 Session, for the years 1952 and 1953; and

Also requests the Director-General to circulate this scale to Member Nations together with any comments the Council may make on it, 60 days before the date fixed for the opening of the regular session of the Conference in 1953.

Resolution No. 45
Temporary Emergency Relief In Respect of Contributions

The Conference

Directs that in future, any government desiring temporary emergency relief shall present to the Director-General a formal request and full statement of its reasons for seeking such relief, in sufficient time to permit the circulation of the statement to Member Nations at least 30 days before the date fixed for the opening of the next regular session of the Conference.

Amendments to constitution, rules of procedure and financial regulations concerning financial questions (C 51/7)

a) Date on which membership becomes effective and assessment of new members
b) Conformity with UN financial regulations
c) Utilization of miscellaneous receipts
d) Currency of the working capital fund
e) Currency of contributions

a) Date on which membership becomes effective and assessment of new members

261. The Conference had before it the report of the Twelfth Session of the Council in which several amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Procedure, and Financial Regulations were recommended in order to overcome the undesirable financial results of the present provisions under which a new Member Government may delay presenting its instrument of acceptance of the Constitution for six months after notification of the decision of the Conference accepting its application.

262. The Conference adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 46
Admission and Assessment of New Members

The Conference

Having considered the Report of the Twelfth Session of the Council suggesting amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Procedure, and Financial Regulations with respect to the date on which membership becomes effective and the assessment of new Members, and

Having noted that the amendments were duly circulated to Member Governments and delegates in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure,

Resolves to adopt the amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Procedure, and Financial Regulations set forth in the following text.

(a) Amendments to be made to the CONSTITUTION

Paragraph 2

The Conference may by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, [decide to admit additional Members to the Organization], provided that a majority of the membership of the Organization is present, decide to admit as an additional Member of the Organization any nation which has submitted an application for membership and a declaration made in a formal instrument that it will accept the obligations of the Constitution as in force at the time of admission. Membership shall [commence upon] become effective on the date [of deposit of an instrument accepting this Constitution as in force at the time] on which the Conference approves the application for membership.

Paragraph 3

Each Member Nation shall, upon [its acceptance of this Constitution] approval of its application, pay as its first contribution a proportion to be determined by the Conference, of the budget for the current financial year.

(b) Amendments to be made to the RULES OF PROCEDURE

Paragraph I

[Applications for admission to the Organization shall be addressed to the Director-General and shall be transmitted by him to Member Nations]. Any nation which desires to become a Member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shall submit an application to the Director-General. This application shall be accompanied or followed by the formal instrument of acceptance of the Constitution, required under Article II, paragraph 2, of the Constitution. This formal instrument shall reach the Director-General not later than the opening day of the Conference Session at which the admission of the applicant is to be considered.

Paragraph 2

Any such application shall be transmitted immediately by the Director-General to Member Nations and shall be placed on the agenda of the next Conference session which opens not less than 30 days from the receipt of the application.

Paragraph 3 [Paragraph 4]

The first contribution of a new Member Nation shall be determined by the Conference [in connection with its acceptance of] at the time of its decision on the application for membership

Paragraph 4 [Paragraph 3]

[Any decision by the Conference to accept an application shell be communicated to the applicant, which shall as soon as possible, and in any event within six months from its receipt, deposit with the Director-General an instrument of acceptance in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article II of the Constitution. If no such deposit is made, the application shall be considered as withdrawn, without prejudice to its resubmission to the Conference at a later session].

The Director-General shall inform the applicant Nation of the decision of the Conference. If the application is approved, such notice shall also state the amount of the first contribution.

(c) Amendments to be made to the FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

5.8 Any Nation admitted to membership in the Organization shall pay a contribution to the budget for the financial year in which the membership becomes effective. Such contribution shall be in an amount [equivalent to the remaining portions of its assessment for the year, prorated on a quarterly basis, beginning] determined by the Conference, and shall begin with the quarter in which the [instrument of acceptance was deposited, and computed on its percentage share of the scale of contributions] application was approved. All new Member Nations shall be required to make advances to the Working Capital Fund in accordance with Regulation 6.2 (b).

263. The Conference had before it the Report of the Twelfth Session of the Council suggesting certain amendments to the Financial Regulations with a view to achieving conformity with those of the United Nations and other Specialized Agencies.

264. The Conference adopted the following resolution:

b) Conformity with UN financial regulations

The Conference

Having considered the amendments which, in pursuance of the request of the Special Session of the Conference, were suggested in the Report of the Twelfth Session of the Council with a view to achieving the greatest warranted degree of conformity with the Financial Regulations of the United Nations and other Specialized Agencies,

Decides to amend the Financial Regulations as follows:

3.6 The Council shall prepare a report to the Conference on the estimates submitted by the Director-General. This report [which may contain alternative estimates] shall be transmitted to all Member Nations at the same time as the estimates.

6.7 [Subject to later approval by the Council and the Conference]. Trust and Special Funds may be established by the Director-General to cover monies made available to the Organization for special purposes and such funds shall be reported to the Council. The purpose and limits of each such fund shall be clearly defined. Unless otherwise provided by the. Conference, such funds shall be administered in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the Organization.

c) Utilization of miscellaneous receipts

265. The Conference had before it the

Report of the Twelfth Session of the Council on the Utilization of Miscellaneous Receipts, and concurred with the Council's opinion that the method followed by the United Nations in handling miscellaneous receipts was a desirable procedure for FAO and should be adopted. The Conference therefore adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 48
Miscellaneous Receipts

The Conference

Having considered the Report of the Council on the Utilization of Miscellaneous Receipts,

Decides to amend the Financial Regulations as follows:

5.2 In the assessment of the contributions of Member Nations adjustments shall be made to the amount of the appropriations approved by the Conference for the following financial year in respect of:

d) Currency of the working capital fund

266. The Conference had before it a Report of the Twelfth Session of the Council regarding the currency of the Working Capital Fund, and endorsed the recommendation of the Council regarding an amendment to Financial Regulation 5.6.

267. The Conference adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 49
Currency of Working Capital Fund

The Conference

Having considered the Report of the Council regarding the currency of the Working Capital Fund,

Decides to amend the Financial Regulations as follows:

5.6 Advances to the Working Capital Fund shall be assessed in U. S. dollars and shall be payable in U. S. dollars.

Financial Regulations concerning the Currency of Contributions (C 51/7)

268. Possible ways of amending Financial Regulation 5.5 in order to meet the situation created by the transfer of Headquarters to Rome were considered at length by the Conference. The Regulation in force read:

"Annual contributions to the budget shall be assessed in U.S. dollars. In 1951 contributions shall be payable in U.S. dollars."

269. There appeared a difference in view between those delegations who considered that basic contributions should be required to be paid in Member Nations' own currency freely convertible into fire, and those who considered that contributions might at the choice of Member Nations be paid either in their own currency freely convertible into fire, or in fire. A statement by the United States delegation that that Government would in the foreseeable future pay in United States dollars contributed largely towards the reaching of a solution.

270. There was general agreement that all Member Nations should, if a dollar deficit were anticipated, pay a proportion of their contributions in United States dollars.

271. The Conference unanimously approved the following resolutions:

e) Currency of contributions

The Conference

Considering the necessity of meeting the situation arising from the transfer of Headquarters from Washington to Rome, decides to amend the Financial Regulations as follows:

5.5 Annual contributions to the Budget shall be assessed in U.S. dollars. [In 1951 contributions shall be payable in U.S. dollars]. To the extent that the Conference, after ascertaining in what currencies Member Nations propose to make their contributions in the ensuing two years, finds that anticipated U.S. dollar income will be inadequate to meet estimated U.S. dollar expenditures of the Organization as determined by the Conference, the Conference will determine the proportionate share of contribution that all Member Nations who do not pay their contributions in full in U.S. dollars shall pay in that currency. Each Member Nation shall pay the remainder of its contribution in fire, or in its own currency which for the purposes of its FAO contributions must be freely convertible into fire, the convertibility being the responsibility of the contributing government. The applicable rate shall be the official rate of the fire to the dollar on the first business day in January of the year for which the contribution is assessed or the rate in effect on the day payment is made, whichever is the higher.

Resolution No. 51
Maintenance of Convertibility Rights

The Conference

Having considered the dollar needs of the Organization for 1951 and 1953, and

Having ascertained, in accordance with Financial Regulation 5.5, in what currencies Member Nations propose to make their contributions in the ensuing two years,

Determines that Member Nations who do not pay their contribution in full in United States dollars need not pay a proportionate share in that currency for these years, and

Requests the Council to instruct the Committee on Financial Control to make a thorough study of the general problem of the maintenance of convertibility rights and report on it to the Council before the 1953 Conference.

272. The Conference also approved the following resolution, on hearing from the Director-General that, owing to international clearing agreements, delay had been experienced in receiving contributions:

Resolution No. 52
Prompt Exchange Into Lire of Contributions

The Conference

Having heard a statement from the Director-General concerning possible financial difficulties resulting from the time-lag encountered in the receipt of contributions because of technical impediments to the prompt exchange of currencies,

Calls the attention of Member Governments to the danger that a continuation of this situation would imply to the efficient discharge of the program of work of FAO, and

Requests Member Governments to take the necessary steps to arrange for the prompt exchange into fire of contributions paid in currencies other than dollars or fire.

Levels of income for 1952 and 1953

273. The Conference approved the following resolution:

Resolution No. 53
Levels of Income for 1952 and 1953

The Conference

Having noted that an assessment budget of 5 million dollars will not assure to the Organization sufficient funds to provide adequately for the Program of Work proposed for 1952,

Taking into account that the Director-General has been requested to undertake new and extended activities set out in separate Resolutions in Chapters II and III of this Report,

Decides that for the 1951 and 1953 financial years there shall be assessment budgets of $ 5,250,000, and

Leaves to the discretion of the Director-General the extent to which the savings recommended in to 1952 and 1953 and the additional income expected in 1953 shall be used in the implementation of the additional activities recommended by the Conference.

Budgets for 1952 and 1953

274. [he Conference found it extremely difficult to evaluate many proposals in the budget presented by the Director-General because of the lack of adequate comparative figures reflecting experience under similar conditions. This was particularly true with respect to administrative costs and Headquarters operative expenses. This lack of appropriate experience data on which to rely was, of course, a matter over which the Director-General had no control. It arose primarily from two unusual factors: the internal reorganization in FAO, and the transfer of Headquarters from the United States to Italy. The Conference was disappointed in finding that increases were proposed for nearly all phases of general operational expenditures except office space for Headquarters staff; it found itself, however, unable to make specific recommendations for reduction without giving the Organization an opportunity for a longer period of experience under the new conditions. Rather than make arbitrary reductions at this time, the Conference felt it desirable to concur in most of the estimates recommended by the Director-General, but called upon him to give special attention to the possibility of effecting savings in general operational expenditures during the ensuing two years.

275. Some delegations were equally concerned about proposed increases in travel costs. While it was recognized that members of the Headquarters Secretariat as well as technicians must travel if a sound and effective program was to be carried out, the Director-General was urged to use every means within his command to keep the costs of such travel to a minimum.

276. Having scrutinized the individual items of the Budget not contained in the Chapters covering technical divisions, the Conference recommended the following changes:

277. Changes in total and sub-totals, and in the annexes shall be made accordingly.

278. The Conference also resolved to remove from the Contingency Reserve against Unpaid and Delayed Contributions amounts of $ 275,000 for 1952 and $ 525,000 for 1953 These reductions were used to modify the budget ceilings for each of those years and in no way affected the amounts budgeted for the actual operations of the Organization.

Carry-overs

279. The Conference noted that funds for the Conference of 1953 had been budgeted partly in 1952 and partly in 1953. Financial Regulation 4.5 provides that the Conference may authorize the carry-over of credits in appropriations voted for meetings of the Conference. The Conference therefore adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 54
Carry-overs

The Conference

Authorizes in accordance with Financial Regulation 4.5, the carry-over into 1953 of the following budgetary provisions in Chapter I and Chapter III of the 1952 Budget:

Postal Services

280. The Conference noted with concern the marked increase in the amount budgeted for Postal Services and adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 55
Cost of Postal Services

The Conference

Noting with concern the marked increase in the cost of Postal Services,

Requests Member Governments receiving, large numbers of documents from FAO to arrange wherever practicable, to have such documents delivered to their missions in Rome, for forwarding to their home countries

Income Tax Refunds

281. There was considerable discussion on the subject of the amount budgeted for payment of national income taxes assessed against members of the staff of FAO. Uncertainty as to the actual provisions of new taxation laws in certain countries made the Director-General reluctant to reduce the amounts budgeted at this time, but it was thought that refunds of some taxes paid might be expected during 1953 and that these would necessitate some revision in the estimate of Miscellaneous Receipts. It was decided that the amounts budgeted should not be reduced at this time, but that the matter should be referred to the Council, with a view to estimating, before the 1953 assessments were finalized, all miscellaneous receipts, and in particular, receipts which might be expected as tax refunds from national governments.

282. The Conference therefore adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 56
Review of Miscellaneous Income Including Income Tax Refunds

The Conference

Noting that, under the provision of Financial Regulation 5.2 (b) adjustments must be made in the assessment of the contributions of Member Nations for estimated Miscellaneous Income for the year in respect of which the assessment of contributions is being made,

Requests the Council, at its last session in 1952, to review the estimates of Miscellaneous Income for 1953, including any refunds by national governments of national income taxes.

Journeys by Staff Members

283. Certain delegations expressed the opinion that some journeys by members of the staff were not as productive as they might be since they were not planned far enough in advance to permit Member Governments to take the best advantage of them. The Conference asked the Director-General and Member Governments to co-ordinate their efforts to the fullest extent to ensure that maximum benefits were derived from visits of members of the staff.

Economy of Paper

284. Some delegations were concerned with the number of blank pages and the amount of waste space appearing in documents prepared by FAO. The Conference drew this to the attention of the Director-General and requested that the greatest economy possible be observed in the use of paper in documents.

General

285. The Conference made a number of suggestions for improvement in the format and structure of the budget. These included an additional summary schedule to reflect documents costs in the total cost of the work of the technical divisions, and a general summary of staff in each division by grade and salary. The Director-General was asked to consult with the Committee on Financial Control regarding these matters, being guided by comments thereon in the Records of the Conference.

Financial position of the organization

a) Disposal of the 1951 surplus
b) Credits in working capital fund
c) Establishment of a special fund (CL 13/8)

a) Disposal of the 1951 surplus

286. The Conference considered the report of the Thirteenth Session of the Council on the transfer of Headquarters from Washing ton to Rome and noted that a number of posts had remained unfilled for considerable periods, resulting in an estimated 1951 surplus in the General Fund of approximately $ 565,000 There was, in addition, an estimated surplus in the Headquarters Removal Fund of some $ 73,000 after all unliquidated commitments had been taken into account. The Conference felt that, had the Special Session realized that the transfer would lead to such surpluses, it would not have approved the negotiation of the $ 800,000 loan from the United Nations. In these circumstances the Conference decided that the outstanding balance of the loan amounting to $ 600,000 which had been scheduled for repayment by three installments of $ 200,000 each in 1952 1953 and 1954, should be repaid to the United Nations in 1951. To this end the Conference adopted the following resolution:

Resolution No. 57
1951 Surplus

The Conference

Noting that a substantial surplus will be available in the General Fund at the close of the financial year 1951 and that such surplus, together with the unused balance in the Headquarters Removal Fund, will be more than adequate to repay the balance of the loan obtain, d from the United Nations for removal of FAO Headquarters to Rome,

Decides that the 1951 surplus shall be used to repay the balance of the United Nations loan before the accounts for 1951 are closed, and that should such surplus be inadequate to meet completely the unpaid balance of the loan, the Director-General is directed to provide such additional amount as may be necessary from the unused balance of the Headquarters Removal Fund,

Decides further that no commitments or obligations shall be incurred against the Headquarters Removal Fund after 30 June 1952 and that, notwithstanding the resolution of the Special Session of the Conference regarding the disposition of any unused balance in the Headquarters Removal Fund, the unused balance of such Fund shall accrue to the Working Capital Fund and shall be credited to Member Governments in accordance with the 1951 scale of contributions; provided, however, that this determination shall not be construed as preventing payments from the Headquarters Removal Fund after 30 June 1952 in liquidation of commitments or obligations incurred in connection therewith before that date.

287. The Conference noted that the repayment of the United Nations loan in 1951 would mean that there would be in each of the 1952 and 1953 Budgets an additional sum of $ 200,000 available for the technical program.

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