1. The World Food Summit: five years later was held at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 10 to 13 June 2002, in keeping with the decisions of the Hundred and Nineteenth and Hundred and Twenty-first sessions of the FAO Council (Rome, November 2000 and November 2001, respectively). The Summit held seven Plenary Sessions.
2. Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, welcomed the distinguished delegates and observers and expressed gratitude for the generosity of the Government of Italy in hosting the Summit.
3. His Excellency Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, stressed the need for concrete actions to meet the targets set out in the 1996 Rome Declaration and Plan of Action.
4. His Excellency Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in addressing the Summit, stressed the need to give hope to the 800 million hungry people of the world through concrete action.
5. His Eminence Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State of the Holy See, delivered a message from his Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Summit.
6. In his statement Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, emphasized the need to mobilize political will and financial resources for the goals of the 1996 Summit to be attained.
7. The full texts of the statements delivered during the Inaugural Session are included in Annex I.
8. Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, recalled that during the Hundred and Twentieth Session the FAO Council in June 2001 a broad consensus had emerged in favour of inviting His Excellency Silvio Berlusconi, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, to chair the Summit. Mr Berlusconi was elected Chairperson of the Summit by acclamation.
9. Mr Berlusconi then addressed the Summit. This was followed by a short welcome address by Mr Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome. Mr Berlusconi's statement, and that of Mayor Veltroni, are included in Annex I.
10. The Summit adopted the Programme of Work as contained in document WFS:fyl 2002/1, and the Rules of Procedure as contained in document WFS:fyl 2002/2.
11. The Chairperson noted that, in accordance with Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure, the Chairperson and the six Vice-Chairpersons of the Summit would constitute the General Committee. The Chairperson reported that, as a result of consultations held among participating countries before the Summit, a consensus had emerged with regard to nominations for the six Vice-Chairpersons of the Summit. The Chairperson proposed the following nominations:
His Excellency Jean Bertrand ARISTIDE, President of the Republic of Haiti;
His Excellency Chief Olusegun OBASANJO President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA, Presidentof the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka;
His Excellency Omar Hassan Ahmed AL-BASHIR, President of the Republic of Sudan;
The Honourable 'ULUKALALA LAVAKA ATA, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga;
Ms Mary T. CHAMBLISS, Department of Agriculture of the United States of America.
12. The Summit agreed to the nominations proposed by the Chairperson by acclamation. Furthermore, the Summit agreed that, taking into account the long working hours of the Summit, the Vice-Chairpersons would be allowed to designate a senior member of their respective delegations to chair any session or part of a session. The Sixth and part of the Seventh Plenary Meeting were chaired by the Honourable Giampaolo Dozzo, Under-secretary for Agricultural and Forestry Policy (Italy). His Excellency Raffaele Berlenghi, Ambassador to FAO, chaired part of the Sixth Plenary Meeting.
13. The Chairperson reported the six following nominated countries as Co-Chairpersons of the Round Tables:
Round Table I
- Colombia
- New Zealand
Round Table II
- Tanzania, United Republic of
- Canada
Round Table III
- Jordan
- Belgium
14. The Summit agreed to the nominations proposed by the Chairperson by acclamation.
15. The Chairperson reported that, according to Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure, a Credentials Committee, comprising seven Members chosen among representatives of States attending the Summit had been nominated by the Committee on World Food Security during its Twenty-eighth Session, subject to confirmation by the Summit. The Members were:
El Salvador (Chairperson)
Cameroon
Indonesia
Jordan
Malta
New Zealand
United States of America
16. The Summit endorsed the nominations made by the Committee on World Food Security.
17. At its first meeting on 8 June 2002, the Credentials Committee elected Ambassador Mar¨ªa Eulalia Jim¨¦nez de Mochi Onori (El Salvador) as its Chairperson.
18. The Credentials Committee during its two meetings examined the credentials of 183 delegations and found them to be valid. However, three delegations could not participate in the World Food Summit: five years later.
19. The Chairperson presented the Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later to the Summit, recalling that it was the result of long negotiations and that it represented a recommitment to the goals of the Summit.
20. The Summit adopted by acclamation the Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later - International Alliance Against Hunger, as contained in document WFS:fyl 2002/3 and in the Appendix to this Report.
21. The Chairperson noted that any delegation having reservations on aspects of the Declaration or wishing to make explanatory notes should make them available to the Secretariat in writing. The explanatory notes and reservation received by the Secretariat are contained in Annex II.
22. The Chairperson expressed appreciation to all those who had participated in reaching a consensus position on the "International Alliance Against Hunger". In this context the Chairperson expressed gratitude to the individual participants in the negotiations, to the Regional Groups and to FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
23. The Chairperson stressed the role played by the Council of FAO in convening the Summit and in giving the Committee on World Food Security the task of finalizing the Summit Declaration. The Chairperson also thanked the Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security, Mr Adisak Sreesunpagit, and the Co-Chairs of the Open-Ended Working Group, Her Excellency Mary M. Muchada and Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll.
24. The Independent Chairman of the FAO Council, His Excellency Aziz Mekouar, then delivered a statement to the Summit, the text of which is included in Annex I of the present report. The Independent Chairperson of the FAO Council recalled the role played by the Council and paid special tribute to the Committee on World Food Security. He added that the FAO Council would not spare any effort to help States implement the International Alliance Against Hunger.
25. The Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security, Mr Adisak Sreesunpagit, outlined the preparatory work carried out by the Committee and by the Open-Ended Working Group. The text of Mr Sreesunpagit's statement is included in Annex I of the present report.
26. The Chairperson declared open the General Debate, and called the first speaker to address the Summit.
27. Heads of Delegation of 160 countries and of the European Community addressed the World Food Summit: five years later. In addition, representatives of 13 United Nations organizations, of 15 other inter-governmental organizations, and of eight NGO caucuses delivered statements. The Summit also received reports of events held as part of, or in parallel with, the World Food Summit: five years later – the three Round Tables, the Multistakeholder Dialogue, a Meeting of Parliamentarians, an NGO Forum, a Private Sector Forum, as well as a Meeting on Rural Women (Annex III). Annex IV relates the various side events, also held during the Summit.
28. Of 180 participating delegations (179 countries and the European Community), 34 were represented at the level of Head of State, 9 at the level of Deputy Head of State, 17 at the level of Head of Government, 12 at the level of Deputy Head of Government, 1 at the level of Crown Prince, 96 at the level of Minister and 11 at the level of Ambassador or other. In addition, 191 other high-level representatives (including 109 Ministers and 82 Vice-Ministers and Under-secretaries) participated in the Summit as members of the delegations of the participating countries. A list of countries and organizations participating in the World Food Summit is given in Annex V.
29. The list of documents of the World Food Summit: five years later is given in Annex VI to this document.
30. The World Food Summit: five years later concluded its work and was declared closed on 13 June 2002 at 10.45 hours. The texts of the closing statements are given in Annex VII.
