LIST OF DECISIONS, DIRECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE COUNCIL
Adoption of the Agenda and Timetable
Adopted the Agenda and Timetable for the Session (para. 2)
Election of Three Vice Chairmen and Designation of the Chairman and
Members of Drafting Committee
Elected three Vice-Chairmen for its Session: Nasreddine Rimouche (Algeria),
Roberto O. Villambrosa (Argentina) and Constantin M. Grigorie (Romania) (para. 4)
Elected Daniel Berthery (France) as Chairman of the Drafting Committee with the
following membership: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Iran (Islamic
Republic of), Japan, Senegal, Syria, Uganda, United States of America and Uruguay (para.
5)
Current World Food and Agriculture Situation
Suggested that in future reporting, the Secretariat should take a more
future-oriented view, increase its monitoring of prices, stocks, stock to consumption
ratio, export earnings and the broad food security situation (para. 7)
Recognised the importance of the reform process underway in world
agricultural trade policy (para. 9)
Noted the need for improved access for the exports of all
countries, especially the developing countries as a way to increase countries' capacity to
import their food needs (para. 9)
Recognised that food production fluctuations in developing
countries could be reduced by better control of water, especially through appropriate use
of irrigation, reducing post harvest losses, strengthening research and extension, and
improving agricultural infrastructure (para. 10)
Recognised that food production would need to be boosted in many
developing countries to support a reasonable degree of self-reliance (para. 11)
Follow-up to the World Food Summit
Endorsed the report of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on all
aspects of the World Food Summit and the follow-up to the Declaration and Plan of Action,
prepared in compliance with Conference Resolution 2/95 (para. 12)
Decided to transmit this report to the Twenty-ninth Session of
the Conference, with its own views as reflected below (para. 12)
Reaffirmed its satisfaction that the Summit had met the
objectives of sensitizing public opinion to the importance of achieving food security for
all, of providing a framework for concerted action to achieve it, and of moving food
security higher on the national and international political agenda (para. 13)
Reaffirmed the catalytic role of FAO, in supporting this
follow-up process in cooperation with all organizations in the UN system, as well as other
competent international institutions (para. 14)
Endorsed the monitoring and reporting process proposed by the
Committee on World Food Security (para. 16)
Approved the proposed workplan for the gradual development and
establishment of FIVIMS at national and international levels, building upon existing
information systems and mechanisms (para. 17)
Welcomed the arrangements endorsed by the Administrative
Committee on Coordination (ACC), for inter-agency follow-up to the Summit (para. 18)
Re-confirmed its support for the objectives of the Special
Programme for Food Security (SPFS) (para. 20)
Welcomed South-South and extra-budgetary support to the SPFS from
members, multilateral institutions, international and regional financial institutions
(para. 20)
Reports of the Twenty-Second (Rome, 23-30 September
1996, 8-9 and 28-31 October 1996) and Twenty-Third (Rome, 14-18 April 1997) Sessions of
the Committee on World Food Security
Adopted the Reports of the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Sessions of the
Committee on World Food Security (para. 21)
Reports of the Third Extraordinary Session (Rome 9-13 December 1996)
and the Seventh Regular (Rome, 15-23 May 1997) Sessions of the Commission on Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture
Adopted the reports of the Third Extraordinary and Seventh Regular Sessions
of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (para. 22)
Emphasized, in particular, the importance of developing the
Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources and supporting
national efforts to implement the Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources (para.
24)
Reiterated the priorities set by the Seventh Session of the
Commission: the convening, as a first priority, of an Extraordinary Session of the
Commission devoted solely to the continuing negotiations for the revision of the
International Undertaking; as a second priority, of the Inter-governmental Technical
Working Groups on Farm Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; and as the third
priority, of the Inter-governmental Technical Working Groups on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture (para. 24)
Urged the Director-General to allocate the necessary funds in the
budget and, if necessary, seek extra-budgetary resources to ensure the holding of the
meetings agreed by the Commission (para. 24)
Agreed on the urgent need to convene the proposed Extraordinary
Session of the Commission, but no agreement was reached on whether this session should be
held before or after the Fourth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (para. 25)
Welcomed the contributions that had been made by Switzerland,
Sweden and Norway to support the participation of developing countries in the negotiations
and to support regional meetings (para. 26)
Invited donor countries to provide further funds to ensure
developing country participation in future negotiations (para. 26)
Report of the Sixty-First Session of the Committee on
Commodity Problems (Rome, 25-28 February 1997)
Adopted the Report of the Sixty-first Session of the Committee on Commodity
Problems (CL 112/6) (para. 27)
Report of the Twenty-Second Session of the Committee on Fisheries
(Rome, 17-20 March 1997)
Adopted the Report of the Twenty-second Session of the Committee on Fisheries
(para. 29)
Reconfirmed the importance of the implementation of the Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries if fish stocks were to be managed in a sustainable
manner (para. 29)
Reiterated the need for guidelines to be established on the
relevant articles of the Code (para. 29)
Reaffirmed the need to increase the contribution of aquaculture
to employment and income of rural populations and thus to food security (para. 29)
Called for priority to be given to the sustainable development of
environmentally-sound aquaculture (para. 29)
Stressed the need for effective regional fishery organizations
and arrangements (para. 29)
Agreed that FAO regional fishery bodies should be reviewed and
evaluated by their respective members on a case by case basis, with a view to
strengthening each body as appropriate (para. 29)
Stressed that excessive fishing capacity and fishing effort
leading to overfishing continue to require special attention by FAO and Member Nations
(para. 29)
Report of the Thirteenth Session of the Committee on
Forestry (Rome, 10-13 March 1997)
Adopted the Report of the 13th Session of the Committee on Forestry (para.
30)
Supported FAO's activities in the promotion of sustainable forest
management, especially in the follow-up to UNCED as Task Manager for the Implementation of
Agenda 21 and in support of the Inter-governmental Panel on Forests (IPF) (para. 30)
Agreed that in view of the post-UNCED importance of Forestry, FAO
should allocate additional resources to the Forestry Programme (para. 30)
Supported the recommendation of COFO for the further
prioritization of FAO's activities in forestry (para. 30)
Report of the Fourteenth Session of the Committee on
Agriculture (Rome, 7-11 April 1997)
Adopted the Report of the Fourteenth Session of the Committee on Agriculture
(COAG) (para. 32)
Decided to transmit the two draft phytosanitary standards - "Guidelines for
Surveillance" and "Export Certification System" - to the Twenty-ninth
Session of the Conference for adoption as International Phytosanitary Standards (para. 32)
Revision of the IPPC
Established an Informal open-ended Working Group which agreed on a text of
the revised International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) (para. 33)
After agreeing to the inclusion of an additional article to specify the
relation of the revised IPPC to other relevant international agreements, decided
that the additional article would be submitted to the Committee on Constitutional and
Legal Matters (CCLM) at its Sixty-eighth Session, to consider its legal implications and
to determine its precise wording and place within the Convention (para. 34)
Urged that high priority be given to the reporting of the
occurence, outbreak or spread of pests and urged that relevant procedures
applicable to this reporting be established (para. 35)
Unanimously recommended that the revised text of the IPPC be
transmitted through the CCLM and the Hundred and Thirteenth Session of the Council to the
Twenty-ninth Session of the Conference for adoption (para. 36)
Recommended that the Conference, in adopting the revised IPPC,
consider the necessity for appropriate interim measures for the period between the
adoption of the IPPC and its entry into force, including the establishment of an interim
Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (para. 38)
World Food Programme
First Annual Report of the WFP Executive Board
Welcomed the importance given to the follow up to the World Food Summit (para.
39)
Stressed the importance of WFP for development activities (para.
39)
Recognised the usefulness of the synergetic collaboration between
WFP and FAO (para. 39)
Approved the Executive Board's Report (para. 40)
Adopted Resolution 1/112 on Target for WFP pledges for the period
1999-2000 (para. 41)
Revision of the General Regulations of the World Food
Programme
Approved the draft Resolution on the General Regulations of the World Food
Programme for adoption by the Conference (para. 44)
Preparations for the Twenty-Ninth Session of the FAO Conference
Arrangements for the Session and Provisional Timetable
Agreed that following their consideration at the Hundred and Thirteenth
Session of the Council the following two additional items would be referred to Conference
and would be in its Provisional Agenda and timetable: (a) Negotiation of a Legally-Binding
Instrument on Prior Informed Consent (PIC); (b) Desert Locust Control Situation: Measures
Taken and Further Action Required (para. 45)
Agreed to submit to the Conference for approval the provisional
agenda, the tentative timetable and the arrangements outlined in the draft document as
amended above (para. 46)
Recommended that: (a) the Conference be convened from 7 to 18
November 1997; (b) three Commissions be established to examine Parts I, II and III of the
Agenda; (c) the deadline for the receipt of nominations for election to the Council be at
12.00 hours on Saturday 8 November; (d) the statements of Heads of Delegation be limited
to a maximum of 5 minutes each; (e) votes to elect Members of the Council, to appoint the
Independent Chairman of the Council and to decide on the budget level, be scheduled for
Friday 14 November (para. 46)
Deadline for Nominations for Independent Chairman of
the Council
Decided to establish the deadline for the receipt of nominations for
Independent Chairman of the Council at 12.00 hours on Friday 22 August 1997 (para. 47)
Programme Evaluation Report 1996-97
Endorsed the Programme Committee's views on the Programme Evaluation Report
1996-97, especially those on the inclusion of programme managers' comments on the
individual programme reviews and the summary assessment on programme performance based on
the criteria for programme analysis suggested by the Council at its Hundred and Tenth
Session (Rome, 2-3 November 1995) (para. 50)
Agreed that these innovations enhanced the transparency of the
evaluation process and promoted interaction between evaluators and programme managers
(para 50)
Endorsed the Programme Committee's recommendations for further
improving the analytical content of the Programme Evaluation Report (para. 51)
Highlighted, in particular, the need for more systematic
analysis of the effects and impact of FAO programmes, as well as the use of external
expertise in programme evaluation while bearing in mind the cost implications of such
approaches (para. 51)
Endorsed the recommendations of the Programme and Finance
Committees with regard to FAO publications: (a) that the proposed change in publication
distribution from the quota distribution system to that based on "national
publication accounts" be accepted in principle for further consideration; and (b)
that all major FAO publications be issued, in all five official languages, recognizing the
need for flexibility in certain cases (para. 52)
Agreed to transmit the Programme Evaluation Report 1996-97 to the
Conference for its approval (para. 53)
Medium-Term Plan 1998-2003
Agreed that the Medium-Term Plan should reflect the conclusions and
recommendations of the Technical Committees of the Council, in particular the Committees
on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (para. 55)
Agreed that the Plan should be a tool for establishing agreement
among the membership on broad policy orientations and priorities (para. 57)
Recognised the force of the recommendation from the Programme
Commmittee that the Governing Bodies should revisit medium-term planning practices in FAO
(para. 58)
Requested the Secretariat to prepare a paper for the Programme
Committee at its September 1997 session which reviewed and discussed the options for an
adapted medium-term planning process (para. 60)
Concluded that consideration of the Medium-Term Plan by the
Conference together with the proposals for an adapted planning process would facilitate
Conference decisions (para. 61)
Summary Programme of Work and Budget 1998-99
General aspects
Welcomed the integration of "other" income into the Programme of
Work, and looked forward to its further elaboration and refinement in the full Programme
of Work and Budget (para. 62)
Endorsed the new programming approach being tested in the Summary
Programme of Work and Budget (SPWB) under Programme 2.1.1 Natural Resources (para. 63)
Budget discussions
Recognised that it was not in a position at the present time to reach a
consensus on a budget level for 1998-99, and that further refinement of PWB proposals and
inter-governmental dialogue would be required to facilitate the search for a possible
consensus at the September sessions of the Programme and Finance Committee and its own
next session, prior to final consideration of the Programme of Work and Budget by the
Conference (para. 70)
Stressed the desirability of avoiding the problems experienced in the aftermath
of the decision on the budget level at the last Conference in October 1995 (para. 70)
Stressed the need to protect to the maximum extent possible the economic,
technical and policy activities of the Organization and to maintain an appropriate balance
by strengthening synergies between normative and operational activities (para. 72)
Underlined the desirability of further refinement of the priority-setting
criteria, endorsed at its Hundred and Tenth Session (Rome, 2-3 November 1995), to
facilitate the assessment of priorities (para. 73)
Conclusion
Endorsed the recommendation from the Programme and Finance Committees at
their last joint session, that for analytical purposes the Secretariat (para. 74):
Continue to develop the zero real growth proposal with the base level of
US$ 650 million and minimizing cost increases, incorporating all the pertinent
factors as regarded the revised estimates for cost increases and the impact of the
exchange rate, but seeking maximum cost absorption (para. 74)
Continue the search for further efficiency and other savings (para. 74)
Develop, within the overall approach, clear options for a zero nominal growth
budget, based upon sound prioritization among FAO activities (para. 74)
Identify activities that would be eliminated if the budget were to be below the
zero nominal growth level (para. 74)
Reports of the Eighty-sixth (Rome, 28-29 January 1997) and
Eighty-seventh (Rome, 21-29 April 1997) Sessions of the Finance Committee
Status of Contributions
Underlined the responsibility of all members to honour their financial
commitments towards the Organization in full as soon as possible (para. 77)
Budgetary Performance 1996
Endorsed the Annual Report of Budgetary Performance to members for the year
1996 (para. 78)
Scale of Contributions 1998-99
Agreed that it was too early to prejudge the outcome of the discussions
being held in the UN Committee on Contributions in New York (para. 79)
Requested the Secretariat to follow the evolution of the matter
in New York, and report to the Finance Committee at its September Session and to the
Hundred and Thirteenth Session of the Council with an updated situation (para. 79)
Deferred its recommendation of a Draft Resolution on Scale of
Contributions 1998-99 until it reviewed the matter again at its Hundred and Thirteenth
Session (para. 79)
Other Matters Arising out of the Reports
Requested that the Finance Committee once again review the recommendation
regarding the continuation or not of the Incentive Scheme to Encourage Prompt Payment of
Contributions (para. 80)
Agreed on the need to correctly account for the cost of After
Service Medical Coverage (para. 80)
Recognised that full service costs for current employees should
be included in the budget but that certain questions, particularly as regarded the
responsibility for that part of the accumulated liability relating to staff funded by
other institutions, remained outstanding (para. 80)
Requested the Director-General to continue to explore solutions
to covering the accumulated liability so as to minimize the negative effects on the
substantive output of the Organization, taking into account other approaches being adopted
in the UN system (para. 80)
Concluded that the Finance Committee should again consider the
matter at its September session where it should address the proposals of the
Director-General in the context of the full Programme of Work and Budget 1998-99 (para.
80)
Urged that action be continued to the extent possible to reverse
the trend to transfer resources from the technical programmes to general policy and
direction, support and common services (para. 80)
Review of FAO Statutory Bodies and Panels of Experts
Broadly endorsed both the Conclusions of the Programme and Finance
Committees and the suggestions in paragraph 26 of CL 112/20 (para. 82)
Reiterated that the search for further savings should not detract
from the contributions of Technical Committees, and in particular the effectiveness of
governance and the role of the Council and Conference as unique inter-governmental policy
fora (para. 82)
Welcomed the recommendations that Technical Committee sessions
should be held earlier in Conference years, and that the January Joint Session of the
Programme and Finance Committees in Conference years be eliminated (para. 83)
Agreed that further consultation among Member Nations was
required, with advice from the Programme and Finance Committees, on how further
streamlining could be achieved (para. 83)
Agreed that it was important to obtain agreement of the countries
of the region before changes were made (para. 84)
Welcomed the decision of the Programme and Finance Committees to
set up a Contact Group to review in detail the recommendations provided in Annex II of CL
112/14 on Commissions and Committees and Expert Committees and Panels (para. 85)
Agreed that the Codex Alimentarius Commission should review all
proposals pertaining to its Bodies (para. 85)
Requested that the Contact Group take into account the views and
detailed points made in the Council discussion and consult closely with concerned Member
Nations (para. 85)
Report of the Sixty-Sixth Session of the Committee on
Constitutional and Legal Matters (Rome, 5-6 May 1997)
Amendment to Rule XXXIII of the General Rules of the Organization
and of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee on World Food Security
Adopted the Report of the Sixty-sixth Session of the CCLM (para. 86)
Concurred with the proposed amendment to Rule XXXIII of the
General Rules of the Organization (para. 87)
Recommended that it be referred, together with the draft
Resolution on Amendments to the Rule XXXIII of the General Rules of the Organization
(Committee on World Food Security), to the Conference at its Twenty-ninth Session in
November 1997 for consideration and adoption (para. 87)
Amendments to the Agreement and Rules of Procedure of
the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC)
Concurred with the proposed amendments to the Agreement and Rules of
Procedure of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) as reflected in Appendix F
to this Report (para. 88)
Cooperation Agreement between FAO and the Regional Centre on Agrarian
Reform and Rural Development for the Near East (CARDNE)
Approved the proposed Cooperation Agreement between FAO and the Regional
Centre on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development for the Near East (CARDNE) as set out in Appendix
G to this Report (para. 89)
Recommended its transmission to the Conference at its
Twenty-ninth Session in November 1997 for confirmation (para. 89)
Cooperation Agreement between FAO and the
Intergovernmental Organization for Marketing Information and Technical Advisory Services
for Fishery Products in the Asia and Pacific Region (INFOFISH)
Approved the proposed Cooperation Agreement between FAO and the
Intergovernmental Organization for Marketing Information and Technical Advisory Services
for Fishery Products in the Asia and Pacific Region (INFOFISH) as set out in Appendix H
to this Report (para. 90)
Recommended its transmission to the Conference at its
Twenty-ninth Session in November 1997 for confirmation (para. 90)
Other Constitutional and Legal Matters
Invitations to Non-Member Nations to Attend FAO Sessions
Agreed, in accordance with paragraph B-1 and B-2 of the "Statement of
Principles relating to the Granting of Observer Status to Nations", that: a) the
Russian Federation and Kazakstan attend the Hundred and Twelfth Session of the Council in
an observer capacity; b) the Russian Federation attend as an observer the Tenth Session of
the General Fisheries Council of the Mediterranean (GFCM), Rome, 17-20 June 1997 (FI-720)
(para. 91)
Applications for Membership in the Organization
Authorized the Director-General to invite the Republic of Kazakstan to
participate, in an observer capacity, to appropriate Council meetings as well as regional
and technical meetings of the Organization of interest to it (para. 94)
Date and Place of the Hundred and Thirteenth Session of the Council
Agreed that its Hundred and Thirteenth Session should be convened in Rome
from 4 to 6 November 1997 (para. 95) |