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1. Dato’Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, delivered the Twenty-third McDougall Memorial Lecture, in memory of Frank Lidgett McDougall, a founding father of the Organization.
2. The annual B.R. Sen Award, in recognition of the former Director-General, Mr B.R. Sen’s role in transforming FAO from a study organization to a development agency, is presented at each regular session of the Conference to an FAO field officer who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the country or countries to which he or she was assigned.
3. The 2002 B.R. Sen Award was conferred on Mr Narendra Singh Tunwar, a national of India, in recognition of his work in the rebuilding of the national seed production system in Afghanistan. This achievement was realized over more than a decade, through a series of successive projects under the Poverty Eradication and Community Empowerment Programme (PEACE) of FAO/UNDP. In 2002 Mr Tunwar’s work resulted in the production, by the project and its implementing partners, of more than 10 000 tonnes of Quality Declared Seed (QDS) for internal use. Through his outstanding technical capabilities and commitment, Mr Tunwar has trained and built a cadre of dedicated national staff, and helped set up a parastatal organization, the Improved Seed Enterprise, to ensure the sustainability of his work.
4. The 2003 B.R. Sen Award was conferred on Mr James William Everts, a national of the Netherlands, for his outstanding achievement in establishing the Ecotoxicological Centre for the Sahel in Senegal, through the project “Observatoire des risques des pesticides dans l’environnement sahelien”. Because of Mr Everts’ unique intellectual, managerial and leadership skills, this research and training centre was privatized as a foundation with a highly-qualified national team, and has become the only African institution of its kind that has been certified as an OECD Laboratory of Good Practices. Through his personal commitment, this innovative programme has become an example for other regions of the world.
5. The A.H. Boerma Award for 2002-2003 was presented jointly to Mr Marcelo Canellas, Brazilian television reporter and documentary film-maker, for his contribution in publicizing the situation at the hungry in Brazil, and to Mr David Brough, correspondent and commodity reporter for the Reuters News Service (UK) Rome Bureau, who has consistently worked to increase awareness about food-related issues to a wide global audience.
6. The Edouard Saouma Award is presented biennially to an institution that has implemented with particular efficiency a TCP-funded project. The Award for 2002-2003 was presented jointly to national institutions in Nicaragua and the People’s Republic of China for their outstanding contributions to the implementation of their respective TCP assistance.
7. The “Instituto Nicaragüense de la Mujer”, represented at the Ceremony by its Executive Director, Ms Ivania Toruño de Martínez, demonstrated exceptional ability in designing and implementing a Rural Women’s Programme to ensure better targeting of women in development programmes and to introduce a gender perspective in the working plans of institutions dealing with agriculture and natural resources.
8. The “Sichuan Provincial Plant Protection Station”, represented at the Ceremony by its Director, Mr Tu Jianhua, developed and widely-disseminated simple and effective rodent monitoring and control technologies. In so doing, it minimized grain losses both in the fields and in storage, while simultaneously reducing farmers’ expenses related to control measures.
9. The Margarita Lizárraga Medal for 2002-2003 was presented to the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), an international non-governmental organization based in Chennai, India. ICSF has, by its comprehensive, sustainable and catalytic initiatives through workshops, outreach and advocacy activities, mobilized grassroots support and enhanced human capacity-building for the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The dissemination of information undertaken by ICSF, through its widely circulated flagship magazine SAMUDRA, has increased awareness of the Code and has contributed to national fishery policy formulation and implementation in accordance with the Code’s principles and articles.
10. The Conference observed one minute of silence in memory of those staff members who had died in the service of the Organization since the Conference had last met. The names of the deceased staff members were read and are contained in the Verbatim Records of the Conference.
11. The Council nominated and the Conference elected Jim Sutton (New Zealand) as Chairperson of the Thirty-second Session of the Conference.
12. The Council nominated and the Conference elected the three Vice-Chairpersons of the Conference:
Hélder dos Santos Félix Muteia (Mozambique)
Michael Odevall (Sweden)
Juan Francisco Reyes López (Guatemala)
13. The Council recommended and the Conference elected the:
Seven Members of the General Committee
Australia |
Greece |
China |
Sudan |
Costa Rica |
United States of America |
Eritrea |
Nine Members of the Credentials Committee
Armenia |
El Salvador |
Slovenia |
Bangladesh |
Greece |
Sudan |
Canada |
New Zealand |
Uganda |
14. The Conference adopted its Agenda as amended by the General Committee, and as given in Appendix A to this Report.
15. The Conference adopted the arrangements and timetable proposed by the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Session of the Council, as approved by the General Committee.
16. The Conference concurred with the Council's recommendations to establish two Commissions to consider and report upon Parts I and II of the Agenda.
17. In accordance with Rule VII and Rule XXIV-5 (b) of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Session of the Council had nominated the following Chairpersons of the Commissions which the Conference approved:
| Commission I | Ms Hedwig Wögerbauer (Austria) |
| Commission II | Mohammad Saeid Noori-Naeini (Iran, Islamic Republic of) |
18. Moungui Médi (Cameroon) was elected Chairperson of the Drafting Committee for Commission I with the following Membership: Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Libya, New Zealand, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
19. Marco Romiti (Italy) was elected Chairperson of the Drafting Committee for Commission II with the following Membership: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mali, Namibia, Sweden, United States of America and Venezuela.
20. The Conference appointed the foregoing officers and, taking into consideration the proposals of the General Committee, in accordance with Rule XIII-2 GRO, also appointed the following Vice-Chairpersons:
| Commission I | Ilia Krastelnikov (Bulgaria) |
Carlos Luis Pozzo Bracho (Venezuela) |
|
Commission II |
Ewald Wermuth (Netherlands) |
Ms Bongiwe Nomandi Njobe (South Africa) |
21. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the Hundred and Twentieth Session of the Council to establish a Resolutions Committee of seven Members, one from each Region, and appointed the following:
|
Africa |
: |
Algeria |
|
Asia |
: |
Philippines |
Europe |
: |
Germany | |
Latin America and the Caribbean |
: |
Colombia | |
Near East |
: |
Egypt | |
North America |
: |
United States of America | |
Southwest Pacific |
: |
New Zealand |
22. The Conference agreed to the recommendation of the General Committee that the Resolutions Committee be chaired by Mrs Nihal Hegazy (Egypt).
23. The Conference approved the functions of the Resolutions Committee and the criteria for the formulation of resolutions, as given in Appendix C of document C 2003/12.
24. The Conference confirmed the decision taken at its previous sessions to the effect that, when a Member wished to reply to criticisms of its Government's policy, it should preferably do so on the afternoon of the day on which such criticism had been voiced after all those wishing to participate in the discussion had had an opportunity to speak.
25. As provided for in Rule XVIII-1 GRO, Verbatim Records were kept of all Conference Plenary and Commission meetings. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the General Committee that statements could be inserted in the Verbatim Records when time did not permit them to be delivered, taking into consideration, however, the conditions laid down by the General Committee.
26. The credentials of delegations of 91 Members were found valid. The remaining Members did not submit valid credentials.
27. The credentials of the representatives of the United Nations, its Specialized Agencies and related organizations were duly deposited as prescribed under Rule III-2 of the General Rules of the Organization.
28. At its Hundred and Twenty-fourth Session, the Council welcomed the proposal contained in the Report10 of the Joint Meeting of the Eighty-ninth Session of the Programme Committee and the Hundred and Second Session of the Finance Committee to hold three Round Tables from 1 to 3 December 2003 during the Thirty-second Session of the Conference. The Conference endorsed the recommendation made by the General Committee to adopt the arrangements for the Round Tables, as set out in document C 2003/12-Sup.1, and appointed the following Co-chairs of the Round Tables:
Round Table I: |
Mr. Joseph Pröll, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of the Republic of Austria |
Ms. Jeanne Dambendzet, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Advancement of Women of the Republic of Congo | |
Round Table II: |
Mr. Giovanni Alemanno, Minister for Agricultural and Forestry Policies of the Italian Republic |
Mr. Jaime Campos Quiroga, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Chile | |
Round Table III: |
Mr. Franc But, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Slovenia |
Mr. Magzoub Al-Khalifa Ahmed, Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry of Sudan |
29. The six Co-chairs subsequently reported to the Plenary on the conclusions reached in their respective Round Tables. These conclusions are given as Appendices D, E and F to this Report.
30. The Conference noted that, in accordance with Article III-4 of the Constitution, at the beginning of the Session 37 Member Nations (Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Mauritania, Moldova, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Suriname, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Union des Comoros, Uruguay, Vanuatu) had no Right to Vote in the Conference, since the amount of their arrears of contributions to the Organization exceeded the amount of the contribution due from them for the two preceding years. Nevertheless, the Conference decided that all Member Nations in attendance be authorized to vote on 29 November and 1 December 2003.
31. Subsequently, two of these Member Nations (Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania) made payments sufficient to regain their Voting Rights.
32. The Conference decided to restore the Voting Rights to thirteen Member Nations having requested special consideration under Article III.4 of the FAO Constitution and permission to vote: Afghanistan, Argentina, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Comoros, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
33. The Conference further decided to restore the Voting Rights to Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and Moldova by agreeing that payments under instalment plans proposed by those Member Nations would be considered as fulfilment of their financial obligations to the Organization. To this effect, the Conference adopted the following Resolutions:
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting that the Government of Armenia had made a proposal that it liquidate its arrears of contributions over a period of fifteen years commencing in 2003 in addition to paying each current contribution in the calendar year of assessment,
Decides that:
(Adopted on 3 December 2003)
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting that the Government of Georgia had made a proposal that it liquidate part of its arrears of contributions over a period of six years commencing in 2004 in addition to paying each current contribution in the calendar year of assessment,
Decides that:
(Adopted on 5 December 2003)
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting that the Government of Kazakhstan had made a proposal that it liquidate its arrears of contributions over a period of five years commencing in 2004 in addition to paying each current contribution in the calendar year of assessment,
Decides that:
(Adopted on 5 December 2003)
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting that the Government of Lithuania had made a proposal that it liquidate its arrears of contributions over a period of eight years commencing in 2003 in addition to paying each current contribution in the calendar year of assessment,
Decides that:
(Adopted on 5 December 2003)
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting that the Government of the Republic of Moldova had made a proposal that it liquidate its arrears of contributions over a period of ten years commencing in 2004 in addition to paying each current contribution in the calendar year of assessment,
Decides that:
(Adopted on 5 December 2003)
34. The Director-General had provisionally invited applicants for Membership to be represented by observers until a decision had been taken on their applications. The Conference approved the Director-General’s invitation in respect of the Federated States of Micronesia, Timor Leste, Tuvalu and Ukraine.
35. The Conference confirmed the invitations issued by the Director-General to the Governments of Andorra and the Russian Federation to attend the Session in an observer capacity.
36. The Conference confirmed the invitation issued by the Director-General, at the suggestion of the Hundred and Twenty-fourth Session of the Council, to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
37. The Conference reviewed the list of intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations to which the Director-General had extended a provisional invitation to the Session, and confirmed the said provisional invitations.
38. One hundred and nineteen Heads of Delegation and the Holy See intervened on this agenda item. Members commented on the overall world agriculture and food security situation. Many Members also reported on the food and agriculture situation of their respective countries. Seven observers also spoke.
39. The Conference noted with concern the insufficient progress so far towards the World Food Summit target and the Millennium Development Goals relating to poverty and hunger. It considered the recent increase in the number of undernourished people in the developing countries as particularly worrisome, underlined the need to intensify efforts to reduce food insecurity and emphasized the importance of the International Alliance Against Hunger called for by the World Food Summit: five years later.
40. The Conference noted the efforts within the International Working Group charged with elaborating Voluntary Guidelines for the Progressive Realization of the Right to Food. Many Members welcomed the International Year of Rice in 2004, which would hopefully contribute to enhancing the role of this food staple in ensuring food security.
41. The Conference welcomed signs of an increasing awareness of the central role of agricultural and rural development for reducing undernourishment and poverty in many of the most food insecure countries in the world. Many Members made reference to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) as an important initiative in this direction.
42. Many Members urged increased expenditures for and investment in agriculture in developing countries, both from domestic and international sources. Several Members called for increased levels of external assistance to the sector. The need was also stressed to empower small-scale producers and to ensure access of the rural poor to productive resources. In addition, equitable access of women to productive resources was referred to by several Members as indispensable for addressing poverty and food insecurity.
43. Many Members also emphasized the importance of improving small and poor farmers’ access to markets, both local markets and international markets. With regard to international markets, many Members referred to the need for reform of the international agricultural trading system, with proper consideration for the needs of developing countries, and urged the resumption of negotiations in the context of the Doha Round.
44. The Conference noted with extreme concern the devastating effects in numerous developing countries of HIV/AIDS, which gravely exacerbated poverty and food insecurity. It stressed the need to design agricultural and food security interventions so as to confront the specific problems posed by the pandemic.
45. The Conference likewise noted with concern the persistence of numerous food emergencies, many of which were human-induced.
46. The Conference underlined the importance of sustainable management of natural resources for food security. Many Members welcomed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture as an important step forward. Extensive reference was also made to the crucial role of water management for addressing food insecurity and sustaining the natural resource base. FAO was requested to organize in Rome, in 2005, a Conference of Small Island Developing States to further review the progress achieved in the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.
47. Many Members expressed concern over the continuous high levels of forest degradation and deforestation, especially in tropical countries, with implications also for food insecurity, hunger and poverty, and over forest fires, which devastated local communities and caused environmental damage in both developed and developing countries. Several Members also noted the adverse trends in world fisheries and their negative impact on livelihoods and food security. A number of Members stressed the need for full implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and other relevant international instruments and for addressing the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries (IUU). Several Members requested the Director-General of FAO to convene high-level meetings, preferably at the Ministerial level, to address the issues mentioned in this paragraph and consider the effectiveness of international arrangements dealing with them.
48. Many Members called on FAO to continue to provide them with much needed technical assistance.
49. The Conference recalled that, at its Thirty-first Session in November 2001, the Secretariat had been requested to prepare a first Progress Report on the Implementation of the Gender and Development Plan of Action (2002-2007).
50. The Conference received the Progress Report favourably and noted the importance of the linkages between the Gender Plan of Action and the corporate Medium-Term Plan (MTP), the World Food Summit Plan of Action and the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women Platform for Action. Some Members suggested that future Progress Reports should focus more on how the implementation of the Gender Plan of Action would contribute to the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals.
51. Many Members reconfirmed their support for the four priority areas and the policy orientations and programme priorities highlighted in the document, and noted the importance of the Gender Plan of Action as a key policy guidance document for FAO managers and as the main instrument for the Priority Area for Interdisciplinary Action (PAIA) on Gender and Development. Some Members suggested that more focus should be put on policy advice relating to gender mainstreaming in the context of the Poverty Reduction Strategies of FAO Members.
52. The Conference also requested that an increased effort be made to address the gender-based concerns arising from the HIV/AIDS pandemic in rural areas. Several Members encouraged the Organization to continue working for the empowerment of rural women through training and skills development in such areas as production, post-harvest processing, off-farm employment, access to credit, land and technology, trade and commerce, marketing, and natural resource management, as well as through efforts designed to remove legal barriers marginalizing women.
53. While expressing appreciation for the many positive achievements to date illustrated in the Report, many Members provided advice on further improving the reporting in the future. Several Members considered that the Report focused on listing actions that had been implemented without an adequate assessment of the impact of those actions, as well as problems encountered and lessons learned. They noted, however, that this was partially the result of the lack of gender-sensitive indicators to measure the impact of various interventions. Many Members suggested that FAO concentrate more on developing such indicators and collecting relevant data, in order to produce more analytical reports in the future. The Conference agreed that it was crucial that such indicators be formulated and utilized for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Plan of Action.
54. Several Members suggested that the Organization take a more proactive role in the integration of gender in its field operations, such as the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) and the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), and devote adequate resources to the task.
55. The Conference noted the usefulness of the Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) Training Programme for building skills and capacity both in Member Nations and within the Organization itself. It encouraged the Secretariat to support its regional and sub-regional staff in incorporating regionally-adapted SEAGA principles in the planning and implementation of their work, and to support regional and inter-regional exchange of good practices and learning in gender mainstreaming.
56. The Conference commended the Secretariat for forging institutional partnerships with other UN System organizations and with the NGO community. Some Members felt that FAO should do more to support Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and rural women’s groups.
57. Several Members expressed agreement with the observations, as noted in paragraphs 46 through 52 in document C 2003/6, indicating that FAO and its Member Nations still needed to take many actions to reduce gender inequalities in the areas of agricultural and rural development.
58. The Conference endorsed the recommendation in paragraph 5 of the document, and requested regular reporting to future Sessions of the Conference on progress made in implementing the Gender and Development Plan of Action.
59. The Conference recognized the importance of tsetse and trypanosomiasis as a primary cause of rural poverty, food insecurity and delayed agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa.
60. It expressed appreciation of the progress made by FAO – through the Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis (PAAT) – in implementing the Plan of Action for the Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC). It noted, however, that further progress was required in developing and implementing national and regional intervention initiatives, and that this would demand continued commitment by FAO and other stakeholders.
61. In this regard, Member Nations were encouraged to make explicit reference to the tsetse and trypanosomiasis (T&T) problem within national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in order to increase opportunities for mobilising the necessary financial and other commitments from national and international sources.
62. FAO was encouraged – through PAAT – to continue to support the PATTEC Plan of Action. The Conference emphasised that the overriding consideration for any T&T intervention was to reduce poverty and food insecurity by promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development.
63. It was also suggested that future reports to the Conference should focus on achievements on the ground.
64. The Conference commended the work of the World Food Programme (WFP), as reflected in the Annual Report of the Executive Director 2002 and in the opening statement made by Ms. Sheila Sisulu, Deputy Executive Director, Policy and External Affairs. Members expressed appreciation for the leadership of Executive Director James Morris, as well as for the work of all WFP staff. Some Members expressed their appreciation for the new strategic and management plans, the results-based management approach, and the Organization's reform. They also commended continued WFP efforts to improve its core business activities.
65. The Conference reiterated its support for the dual mandate of WFP and the twin-track approach to assist the hungry and poor both in acute emergencies and in development situations. In this context, the Conference commended the cooperation of WFP with FAO and IFAD, and encouraged the three Rome-based organizations to further enhance it, in streamlining their activities and in achieving operational efficiencies.
66. Many Members expressed their concern over declining resources for development, requested that this trend should be reversed and pointed out that development food aid was necessary to fight poverty in a structural way and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to poverty and hunger. Many Members, however, emphasized the importance of WFP's outstanding logistic capacity and experience in emergencies in the transition from relief to development, and recommended that WFP maintain its focus on these important areas in conjunction with improved harmonization with relevant long-term development agencies.
67. Many Members supported the procurement of food aid by WFP on local and regional markets, and encouraged WFP to increase these types of procurement in the future.
68. The Conference referred to the natural disasters and the importance of WFP's preparedness in responding to them. It also requested WFP to use its available means to strengthen awareness of the causes of global warming.
69. Some Members requested a detailed report from WFP on its staff recruitment with regard to the geographical representation of Member Nations.
70. The Conference was informed that Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand has accepted the role of Goodwill Ambassador of School Feeding.
71. It was recalled that the Council at its Hundred and Twenty-fourth Session agreed that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing be included in the Agenda of the Conference in order to underscore the importance of this issue for decision-makers both within and outside the fisheries sector.
72. Members reiterated that the continuing high and growing incidence of IUU fishing and the lack of effective implementation of the International Plan of Action (IPOA) on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) had far-reaching adverse consequences for the sustainable management of fishery resources and the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. This situation was aggravated by, inter alia, the use of vessels flying “flags of convenience”, fishing overcapacity, and lack of political will and/or resources for addressing IUU fishing problems effectively. In some instances, States had shown a lack of commitment to meet their obligations under international law.
73. Many Members reported on measures being taken to combat IUU fishing, including better port State and flag State control, recognition of the principle of “genuine link” in relation to the duty of States to exercise effective control over ships flying their flags, enhanced monitoring, control and surveillance and vessel monitoring systems, strengthening of regional fisheries management organizations, and improved legal frameworks and institutional arrangements.
74. The Conference acknowledged that responsibility for combating IUU fishing rested primarily with States but that this would be greatly facilitated by strengthening regional fisheries management organizations and collaboration among States, as well as by the acceptance of the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement by States. In this regard, Members highlighted the need for capacity- and institution-building in developing countries for the elaboration and implementation of National Plans of Action on IUU Fishing. FAO was commended for its work in combating IUU fishing and was urged to continue to assist in promoting the implementation of the IPOA-IUU, particularly in developing countries. Some Members welcomed the designation of FAO as the implementing office for the Assistance Fund under Part VII of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement established within the UN System to support Developing States Parties in their efforts to implement the Agreement.
75. Members expressed their interest to participate in the June 2004 Technical Consultations to review progress and promote full implementation of the IPOA-IUU and the IPOA-Capacity. Members also stressed the importance of examining issues related to subsidies in the fisheries sector. Noting the adverse trends in world fisheries and their multiple negative impacts on livelihoods and food security, the Conference agreed that there was urgent need to stimulate further action towards full implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and other relevant international instruments. Members requested the Director-General to convene a high-level meeting, preferably at the Ministerial level, to address these concerns.
76. The Conference adopted the following Resolution:
THE CONFERENCE,
Noting the continuing high and growing incidence of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related activities and the lack of political will and capacity by some Governments to deal effectively with such fishing;
Noting the lack of commitment by some States to meet their obligations under international law;
Noting further that IUU fishing seriously undermined national, regional and international efforts to achieve long-term sustainability in fisheries;
Recalling the adoption on 11 March 1999 of the Rome Declaration on the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries at the FAO Ministerial Meeting on Fisheries wherein it was agreed, inter alia, that States would develop a global plan of action to deal effectively with all forms of IUU fishing including fishing vessels flying "flags of convenience";
Noting further the increasing incidence of vessels flying “flags of convenience” and the inability or lack of will on the part of some countries to apply any controls over the vessels they flag;
Recalling the endorsement of the FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) by the Hundred and Twentieth Session of the FAO Council on 23 June 2001 wherein States were encouraged to develop and implement, as soon as possible but not later than three years after the adoption of the International Plan of Action, national plans of action to further achieve its objectives and to give full effect to its provisions as an integral part of their fisheries management programmes and budgets;
Recalling the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted on 4 September 2002 by the World Summit on Sustainable Development wherein States were urged to implement the FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing through national and, where appropriate, regional plans of action by 2004;
Recalling the relevant provisions of Resolutions (A/58/L.18 and A/58/L.19) on Oceans and the Law of the Sea adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 24 November 2003:
(Adopted on 9 December 2003)
77. The Conference expressed satisfaction both with FAO’s initiatives and the way they were reported in the document. The Conference recalled that such initiatives were necessary given the slow pace of progress towards the World Food Summit (WFS) goal. The Conference emphasized the need for multifaceted efforts to reduce hunger in the context of the goals of the Millennium Declaration and the results of the Monterrey Conference in collaboration with all stakeholders. At the same time, it reemphasized the primary responsibility of national governments for hunger reduction. The Conference emphasized the need for FAO initiatives at the national level to be part of a coordinated effort aiming at the inclusion of food security and agricultural development goals in national strategies for sustainable development and poverty reduction. The Conference also stressed the need to strengthen horizontal and vertical harmonization of actions within and outside FAO.
78. Some Members stressed that important issues such as good governance, democracy, human rights, decentralization and institution building were not adequately highlighted.
79. The Conference applauded FAO’s increasing openness to development partners and initiatives and its active participation in the Millennium Development Goals machinery. It was suggested that FAO intensify its efforts in monitoring, evaluating and reporting on its work regarding the goals of the Millennium Declaration, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the follow-up to the Monterrey Conference.
80. The Conference requested that an annual report be submitted to the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) containing concrete and quantitative analysis of activities under the eight initiatives described in the document, especially FAO support to developing countries on trade capacity-building. Several Members also expressed a desire to receive reports on FAO’s activities related to the linkages between food security and international trade.
81. Several Members added that the performances of national economies were closely interlinked with the international issues of trade finance and technology flows. Regarding the present WTO’s framework of negotiations, they felt that agriculture was at the center of the Doha Round and that development was the essential component. Meaningful results in agriculture would translate into reality the lofty objectives of the Doha Development Agenda. Without the three agricultural pillars and effective special and differential treatment, it would not be possible to arrive at the twin objectives of a free and fair agricultural trading system, or to enable developing countries to effectively take account of their development needs, including food security and rural development.
82. Appreciation was expressed for FAO’s role in facilitating the work of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on the Elaboration of a Set of Voluntary Guidelines for the Realisation of the Right to Food in the Context of National Food Security.
83. The Conference stressed the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives into FAO operations and initiatives and of promoting the use of gender-nuanced MDGs. Suggestions were made for additional candidates to be added to the list of initiatives. These included the Third Kyoto World Water Forum, the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
84. The Conference noted and welcomed signs that FAO’s efforts to highlight the importance of agricultural and rural development were beginning to bear fruit. The Maputo Declaration, in particular, was widely welcomed as an example of this.
85. The Conference recognized that rice was the staple food for more than half the world’s population and that four-fifths of the world’s rice was produced by small-scale farmers. In this context, it emphasized that the sustainable development of rice-based production systems – including strategic diversification – was a central element in addressing global food security and rural poverty in many parts of the world.
86. The Conference acknowledged that the Director-General had responded to its resolution at the Thirty-first Session of the Conference to approach the United Nations to declare the year 2004 as the International Year of Rice (IYR). It noted with appreciation that FAO was reacting with commitment to the United Nations General Assembly’s invitation to play a lead role in facilitating the implementation of the IYR, which embraced technological, environmental, economic and social dimensions within its theme: Rice is Life.
87. The Conference observed that numerous countries were now establishing national organizing committees to promote diverse activities at the country level. It encouraged the Secretariat to further support those efforts and to continue sharing information and raising awareness regionally and globally, including at FAO’s Regional Conferences in 2004. It also called upon Member Nations to support IYR activities that contributed to food security and sustainable development.
_____________________________
1 C 2003/INF/9; C 2003/PV/1; C 2003/PV/14.
2 C 2003/INF/6; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
3 C 2003/INF/7; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
4 C 2003/INF/8; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
5 C 2003/LIM/13; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
6 C 2003/PV/12; C 2003/PV/14.
7 C 2003/LIM/1; C 2003/PV/1; C 2003/PV/14.
8 C 2003/LIM/1; C 2003/PV/1; C 2003/PV/14.
9 C 2003/1; C 2003/12; C 2003/12-Sup.1; C 2003/INF/16; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
10 CL 124/4.
11 C 2003/13; C 2003/LIM/1; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/14.
12 C 2003/2; C 2003/PV/2; C 2003/PV/3; C 2003/PV/4; C 2003/PV/5; C 2003/PV/6; C 2003/PV/7; C 2003/PV/14.
13 C 2003/6; C 2003/I/PV/1; C 2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
14 C 2003/7; C 2003/I/PV/I; C2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
15 C 2003/LIM/3; C 2003/I/PV/2; C 2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
16 C 2003/21; C 2003/LIM/11; C 2003/I/PV/2; C 2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
17 C 2003/16; C 2003/I/PV/3; C 2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
18 C 2003/17; C 2003/I/PV/3; C 2003/I/PV/4; C 2003/PV/13.
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