5. The Council considered document CL 48/2 and the introductory statement of the Director-General on the Indicative World Plan for Agricultural Development (IWP). The Council recognized the importance and urgency of the Plan, not only because of the critical world food problem but also in relation to the key role played by agriculture in the economy of most developing countries.
6. The value of the Plan lay both in its long-term view of the global assessment of the problems of food and agriculture, and in the guidance it could provide to the orientation and co-ordination of the activities of FAO and other Agencies, as well as national planning organizations. The Council noted that preparation of the Plan now involved all the subject-matter Divisions of FAO, including field staff.
7. The Council reitereated its support for the broad concepts of the Plan as endorsed by the Thirteenth Session of the Conference. Several Members emphasized the need to consider not only the agricultural sector in its widest context, but also the development of the economy as a whole to the maximum extent possible. Particular emphasis was laid on financial aspects, education and training, development of infrastructure, and industrialization. The Council supported the policy of seeking all possible assistance from the UN Regional Economic Commissions and other agencies both inside and outside the United Nations framework, and asked that these links should be further strengthened.
8. Attention was drawn to the deteriorating situation in respect of agricultural export earnings in many developing countries, and it was emphasized that, in view of the crucial role that export crops played in the income of farmers, it was essential that the Plan should embrace trade problems as an integral part of the solution to problems of food and hunger. The Council also considered that alternative assumptions concerning prices, population growth and other factors must play an essential part in the methodology of the Plan.
9. The Council noted the closer co-operation which should result from recent or proposed visits of staff members in connection with regional studies of the IWP. The importance of a continuous and up-to-date dialogue with developing countries was stressed. The appointment of IWP liaison officers to certain countries and the establishment of national working parties for studies related to the Plan were generally welcomed.
10. Whilst it was recognized that the Plan could not ignore political realities, it was agreed that there was a need for a bold and objective approach leading to policies which would be realistic and capable of implementation by developing countries. It was also agreed that the Plan must be looked on as a long-term activity of great importance both to FAO and to national planners, which would require continuous revision over time as the statistical base changed and fresh and more comprehensive information became available.
11. In view of the important conclusions already emerging from the regional studies undertaken so far and the need to avoid being overtaken by events, it was felt that every effort should be made by FAO to publish results at an early date. This, however, should not be at the expense of a sound and well conceived Plan. It was agreed that, if the provisional studies were made available early to countries, they could then make useful comments and criticisms in time, which would be taken into account in the preparation of the documents to be presented to the 1969 Session of the Conference.
12. The Council accepted the timetable outlined by the Director-General, whereby the provisional world document and four regional studies (Near East, South America, Africa South of the Sahara, and Asia and the Far East) would go to the printers at about the end of April 1968, so as to be available for discussion at the Council Session in October 1968. It was emphasized by the Secretariat that every effort would be made both before and after the first deadline to discuss the provisional conclusions of the Plan with Governments, both of developed and developing countries, and to take their comments into consideration to the fullest extent possible.
13. The Council noted the anxiety of Governments to receive regional documents as early as possible, and it was agreed that these should be despatched to all Member Nations and Associate Members, and not just to countries of the Region concerned.
14. The Council agreed that the Plan should be considered by the appropriate organs of FAO (CCP and if possible Council) before its presentation to the World Food Congress, which was scheduled for the second half of 1968. In this respect it recognized that the earliest date at which it would be possible for the CCP or the Council to have the provisional Plan ready for consideration would be in the second half of 1968. It considered furthermore that it was the responsibility of the FAO Conference to reach conclusions and make recommendations to Governments, and noted that the Thirteenth Session of the Conference had already laid down the respective roles of the World Food Congress and the FAO Conference in regard to the Indicative World Plan.
15. The Council took note of the Director-General's progress report on the Interagency Study of Multilateral Food Aid (CCP 67/13) which had been prepared for the Committee on Commodity Problems, and of the Committee's consideration of this progress report at its Forty-First Session. This report had been prepared in FAO as material for a joint progress report which the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General had undertaken, with the endorsement of the General Assembly (Resolution No. 2155 (XXI), to submit to the Forty-Third Session of ECOSOC in the summer of 1967. The joint progress report formed part of a comprehensive program of studies to be undertaken under UN General Assembly Resolution No. 2096 (XX), which called on the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the Director-General, to examine “the means and policies which would be required for large scale international action of a multilateral character … for combating hunger effectively.”
16. In introducing this item of the Council's agenda, the Director-General pointed out that the attention this subject was now receiving in intergovernmental meetings reflected the gravity and urgency of the food problem of developing countries, and the greater preparedness of the international community as a whole to accept responsibility for some remedial measures. He explained that one purpose of his progress report was to assess in a preliminary way the order of magnitude of the overall food deficiency in the developing countries on stated growth assumptions, and to provide a breakdown of this total according to various criteria on which future food aid programs, bilateral or multilateral, might be based - emergency relief, special feeding programs and development aid. The analysis was not intended to indicate targets for multilateral aid, which it would be for governments to decide.
17. The Director-General stated that another major issue in the present situation was the means by which the availability of the supplies required for food aid would be ensured since the surplus stocks of the United States of America and other countries had now largely disappeared. In the absence of such reserve stocks, deliberate production decisions such as those recently taken by the United States, to ensure supplies, including supplies for food aid, would have to become a normal policy for governments. If an expanded multilateral food aid program was to be put on a systematic basis, measures for enabling the participation, where appropriate, of the developing countries as suppliers would also have to be considered.
18. To implement policy decisions on these issues, provisions would have to be made for a number of institutional arrangements. The progress report had examined certain basic institutional alternatives. Whatever the institutional arrangements that might be chosen, account would have to be taken of the potential impact of expanded food aid particularly on the agricultural production of the recipient countries and on normal commercial trade in the commodities concerned. In the Director-General's view, the complexities of these issues made it desirable to direct the maximum portion possible of available food aid supplies through multilateral channels and to concentrate the multilateral distributions as far as possible in one Agency. Account would have to be taken of development plans and possibilities of the recipient countries, a field in which the IBRD had considerable experience, but, for the use of food aid, there might be need for the further evolution of appraisal techniques. In all this, FAO clearly would have an important part to play.
19. The Council welcomed the Director-General's progress report which, it was informed, would be made available, with the incorporation of certain revisions arising out of the CCP's discussion, as a background document for ECOSOC during its consideration of the matter at its coming summer session. It considered that the report provided a useful provisional analysis of possible future trends in food production in developing countries in relation to their growing demand, and discussed some alternative institutional arrangements for an expanded multilateral food aid program, which would be of value in the further discussion of this question in FAO and elsewhere.
20. The Council stressed once again, as the CCP had done, that the basic long-term solution of the world food problem was to be found in a more rapid increase in food production in the developing countries. Nevertheless, for a considerable number of years ahead, food aid would continue to be required in many developing countries. In particular, it was noted that food aid for meeting the minimum nutritional requirements and also for building up reserves of food stocks as a safeguard against unforeseen droughts and scarcity, will continue to remain a basic necessity for developing and food-deficient countries. Much was already being done, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to bring food aid to the developing countries in need of it and the Council noted with satisfaction that additional supplies of grains for this purpose would shortly become available under the food aid provisions now being developed in the framework of the international grains arrangement negotiated in GATT under the Kennedy Round.
21. Many Members emphasized that food aid should be a shared responsibility to be borne by both food exporting and importing countries. Some Members also pointed out that aid programs could be implemented by different means, including aid through food production requisites. Several Members emphasized that aid programs needed to be complemented by appropriate trade policies that would ensure larger and more remunerative outlets for the exports of developing countries. The provision of supplies on a large scale for food aid would have to be co-ordinated with commercial trade arrangements, as was visualized in the current negotiations for a new wheat agreement, since such co-ordination would provide the means to safeguard commercial trade.
22. Several Members drew attention to the problems now being encountered in a number of developing countries where, as a result of their efforts to increase food production, surpluses were now appearing which could not be marketed through normal channels and which the countries in question were not in a position to make available on concessional terms to other developing countries in need of food aid. The Council agreed that the international financing of purchases of such surpluses was an issue to be taken into account in any expanded multilateral food aid program, and noted that a beginning had been made in this direction in the cereal negotiations under the Kennedy Round. This was an aspect of the program of studies to be undertaken under the General Assembly Resolution which merited particular attention by FAO.
23. It was pointed out that, with the expected expansion in food aid activities, both bilateral and multilateral, together with the development of surpluses in some developing countries, there would be an increasing need for reliable and up-to-date assessments of food needs, and for the exchange of information, in order to provide some overall co-ordination of food aid efforts. The new approach to multilateral food aid should take into account this need for global co-ordination. In this connection, several Members emphasized the importance of avoiding proliferation of international organizations in this field and of making the fullest use of the experience of FAO and of WFP both in the evaluation of food requirements and in the operation of a multilateral program.
24. While it was recognized that there would be differing estimates of the size of the need for food aid, there was full agreement in the Council on the gravity of the problem in the immediate future.
25. The Council considered the report of the Forty-First Session of the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP). The Council's discussion of the two major subjects dealt with in the report by the CCP has been recorded elsewhere in this report (Commodity Projections and the Indicative World Plan, paragraphs 5 to 14, and the Interagency Study of Multilateral Food Aid, paragraphs 15 to 24). The Council took note of the views of the CCP on the membership of the Committee in forming its decision on this matter (see paragraphs 135 to 140), and considered the Committee's recommendation for an amendment to the General Rules concerning the membership of non-Member Nations of FAO in some subsidiary bodies of the Committee (see paragraphs 141 to 143).
26. The Council noted that, in view of the early date of the Forty-First Session, the Committee had not been able to undertake its usual comprehensive review of the general agricultural commodity situation. While concurring with the CCP findings based on a summary review, the Council hoped that the Committee would in future be able to resume its usual thorough examination of commodity problems. The Council noted that agricultural production in 1966/67 promised to show a more substantial increase than in the previous year, and that the value of agricultural exports in 1966 also appeared to show some improvement, based, however, mainly on the prices of a few commodities. For many developing countries the food situation continued to be difficult, and the council endorsed the Committee's emphasis on the need for giving higher priority to agriculture in the general development effort.
27. The Council shared the satisfaction of the CCP on the wide range of activities which FAO had been able to carry out in support of consultations and negotiations in other bodies, especially UNCTAD and GATT. The Council agreed with the CCP that FAO should continue to make available to UNCTAD its expertise and services in the preparation of the documentation needed by the latter, especially for the forthcoming Second UN Conference on Trade and Development.
28. The Council noted that the new study groups on hard fibers and on oilseeds, oils and fats had held their first sessions and had initiated substantive activities. The Council also noted that the UNCTAD Committee on Commodities, in seeking a forum for the discussions of the problems of producers of vegetable oil and oilseeds, had requested that use be made of the existing Study Group on Oilseeds, Oils and Fats in a session to be serviced jointly by the Secretariats of the two Organizations. The Council agreed that the Second Session of the Study Group should be advanced so that these problems could be taken up with a minimum of delay, and the findings of the Study Group made available in time for consideration by the Council and the Conference later in 1967 and also at the Second UNCTAD Conference early in 1968.
29. With regard to the work program of the Committee, the Council agreed that the CCP, in addition to its other activities, could usefully give prior attention to commodity projections, together with the commodity and trade aspects of the Indicative World Plan at future sessions. The Council also agreed with the Committee's decision to retain the subject of multilateral food aid as a major agenda item for future session, in view of FAO's leading responsibility for estimating world food demand and for giving guidance in the formulation of international policies for food aid.
30. The Council took note of the CCP's readiness to meet for four or five days in October 1967, for the purpose of assisting the Conference in its consideration of commodity questions. The Council felt that the need for such a session was not yet clear. It agreed that the Director-General, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, should take the decision on the question of convening the CCP in October 1967, taking into account the state of preparation of documents on subjects on which the Conference might value preliminary consideration by the CCP. These subjects might include possible agenda items such as the revised study on projections, the FAO Commodity Review 1967, the Interagency Study of Multilateral Food Aid in the light of ECOSOC decisions, and the preparations for the Second UNCTAD Conference. Some doubt was expressed as to whether a short session to deal with such important items could be very fruitful.
31. The Chairman of the Intergovernmental Ad Hoc Committee, which had been set up by the Forty-Seventh Session of the Council to advise the Director-General on the content and conduct of the Study on Food Production Resources in Agricultural Development, presented a progress report on the Study to the Council.
32. The Council drew attention to the great diversity of agricultural conditions and problems in the developing countries. The Study should therefore take into account these regional differences while following the global approach. It should also take into account the impact which the Program might have on those developing countries which already produce agricultural requisites of a kind likely to be employed in the Program. In the discussion, the desirability of including in the Study high-yielding varieties of seeds which have been developed in a number of countries was emphasized. It was recognized, however, that seeds have to be adapted to conditions in individual countries. The choice of other production requisites should also be suited to each country. Intensive research programs should therefore be started, and, for this purpose, existing research institutes may need to be strengthened or new ones established if necessary. In programs of mechanization, special schemes might be required to assist small farmers to utilize the appropriate forms of farm equipment. Regarding pesticides, it was pointed out that their usage had not yet been widely adopted, partly because of the need for all farmers in the area affected to cooperate in the control measures and partly because of the lack of modern equipment for spraying, e.g. equipment for aerial spraying.
33. It was stressed that all the necessary measures should be taken to ensure that production resources would be effectively used. Government schemes and measures would be needed in several fields and these would require more trained personnel and an improvement in the general administrative structure. Among the important measures needed, especially as production in some developing countries has begun to rise significantly, would be improvements in the economic infrastructure, e.g. roads, and in marketing and distribution facilities. Another important requirement would be the training of farmers in new methods of cultivation and in the correct use of requisites. For this purpose an efficient extension service would be essential.
34. Some Members considered that the most effective policy would be to select certain regions of a country with favourable climatic and ecological conditions, and provide them with a package of production resources supported by the necessary complementary services and facilities. Such integrated schemes would provide a favourable opportunity to train farmers and to obtain the maximum response from the use of these requisites. It was emphasized that the Study should take into account the results of some developments in agricultural production after 1964, which indicated the potential of distinctly higher crops output for which much larger quantities of inputs will be required.
35. The Council noted that it was proposed to complete and circulate the Study to all Member Nations by 1 September 1967, together with a letter indicating that the Study had not yet been received by the Ad Hoc Committee and that the views of that Committee would follow. This would give them adequate time to formulate their views on the Study before the Fourteenth Session of the Conference.
36. Regarding the future work of the Ad Hoc Committee, the Council decided that a broad interpretation should be given to its terms of reference, as laid down by the Forty-Seventh Session of the Council, namely to consult with the Director-General on the content and conduct of a study on this topic. It was decided that a Third Session of the Committee should be held when the Committee would review and give its comments on the content of the Study. These observations together with the Study would be presented to the Forty-Ninth Session of the Council. The views of the Ad Hoc Committee should be circulated to all Member Nations immediately after its Third Session. It was decided to hold the Third Session of the Ad Hoc Committee from 2 to 4 October 1967.
37. Before the Council addressed itself to matters brought to its attention by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) it heard from the Committee's Chairman, Dr. A.W.H. Needler, a general description of the Committee's work covering both its First Session in 1966 and its Second Session in 1967. He outlined the Committee's role in relation to the dynamic development of the fisheries of the world, the rapidly growing importance of fisheries as a source of protein food, and their special international nature. He enlarged on the function of COFI as a forum for discussion of international fishery problems, and also its function of reviewing the Program of Work of FAO in the field of fisheries, especially its discussion in depth in non-Conference years when it can influence the program. The Council then addressed itself to specific matters brought to its attention in the Committee's Report of its Second Session (CL 48/7), on which Council action was required.
38. The Council considered paragraphs 42 to 47 of the Report of the Second Session of COFI (CL 48/7), and noted that the existing Regional Fisheries Commission for Western Africa was not operative for reasons of a political nature, and that the proposed FAO Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic would in effect replace the Regional Commission which would be dissolved. The Council also noted that the Director-General would consult Governments especially concerned by means of a Technical Conference on Fisheries of West African Countries being held in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 July to 4 August 1967.
39. The Council then adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 1/48
FAO FISHERY COMMITTEE FOR THE EASTERN CENTRAL ATLANTIC
THE COUNCIL
Noting that the need for effective international action for the development and the rational utilization of the fishery resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic had been established;
Considering that, as recommended by the Committee on Fisheries at its Second Session, the establishment of a Committee of selected Member Nations and Associate Members under Article VI-2 of the Constitution for the Eastern Central Atlantic area would, as an interim measure, lead to international co-operation in that area;
Authorizes the Director-General of the Organization to establish, under Article VI-2 of the Constitution, a Committee of selected Member Nations and Associate Members to be known as the “FAO Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic”, and to select its membership from among Member Nations and Associate Members in Africa whose territory borders the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Spartel to the mouth of the Congo River and such other Member Nations and Associate Members fishing or carrying out research in the sea area concerned or having some other interest in the fisheries thereof, whose contribution to the work of the Committee he deems to be essential or desirable;
Further authorizes the Director-General to promulgate the Statutes of the Committee and in particular to determine its terms of reference along the general lines of those terms of reference of the FAO Regional Fisheries Commission for Western Africa which relate to sea fisheries;
Requests the Director-General, when selecting the members of the Committee and determining its terms of reference, to give consideration to the views that may be expressed thereon by the Technical Conference on the Fisheries of West African Countries scheduled to be held in Dakar from 31 July to 4 August 1967; and
Requests the Director-General to report to the Council, at its next Session, on measures taken to implement this resolution.
40. The Council discussed the recommendation of COFI in paragraphs 61 to 69 of the Report of its Second Session (CL 48/7), and a draft resolution prepared at the Committee's request and placed before the Council as Annex IV of document CL 48/21.
41. The Council noted that the creation of this new fishery commission might lead to a withdrawel of interest in the Indian Ocean by the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council. The Council endorsed the Committee's recommendation that the Director-General do everything in his power to ensure close co-operation between IPFC and the new Commission. The Council also endorsed the recommendation of COFI that the Antarctic area be excluded for the time being from the terms of reference of the proposed Commission.
42. The Council then adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 2/48
INDIAN OCEAN FISHERY COMMISSION
THE COUNCIL
Noting that the Indian Ocean is an area as yet inadequately served by international fishery bodies;
Noting further that the need for collective action for the development and rational utilization of the fishery resources of the area had been established;
Considering that the Committee on Fisheries, after a thorough examination of the situation, recommended at its Second Session the establishment of a fishery body to cover the Indian Ocean and further recommended that such body be established under Article VI-1 of the Constitution.
Hereby establishes under Article VI-1 of the Constitution of the Organization a commission to be known as the “Indian Ocean Fishery Commission”, the statutes of which shall be as follows:
The Commission's area of competence shall be the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas but excluding the Antarctic area.
The terms of reference of the Commission shall be:
to promote, assist and co-ordinate national programs over the entire field of fishery development and conservation;
to promote research and development activities in the area through international sources, and in particular international aid programs;
to examine management problems with particular reference, because of the need to take urgent action, to those relating to the management of offshore resources.
Membership in the Commission shall be open to all Member Nations and Associate Members which notify the Director-General of the Organization of their desires to be considered as members.
The Commission may establish such subsidiary bodies as it deems necessary for the accomplishment of its task, and in particular to deal with special problems arising in subdivisions of its area of competence subject to the availability of the necessary funds in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization; the determination of such availability shall be made by the Director-General. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the creation of subsidiary bodies, the Commission must have before it a report from the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications thereof.
The Commission shall report and make recommendations to the Conference through the Director-General of the Organization it being understood that copies of its reports, including any conclusions and recommendations, will be circulated to interested Member Nations and Associate Members, and international organizations, for their information as soon as they become available.
The Commission may adopt and amend its own rules of procedure which shall come into force upon approval by the Director-General, subject to confirmation by the Council.
Other statutory provisions, and in particular the participation as observers of Member Nations and Associate Members that are not members of the Commission, of non-member nations of the Organization that are members of the United Nations, and of international organizations shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the principles adopted by the Conference.
43. The Council had before it a recommendation from the Committee on Fisheries that it consider formulating an amendment to Article VI-1 of the Constitution and, as necessary, amendments to related rules, principles and procedures, so as to provide for the expeditious establishment of regional commissions concerned with fisheries defined in relation to sea areas and having characteristics set out in para. 39(a) of its Report (CL 48/7).
1 See also paragraph 182 below.
44. In a lengthy debate on this matter, two contrasting points of view emerged: one, incorporated in a draft resolution, favoured recommending to the Conference an amendment of Article VI-1 of the Constitution, and in an amended form was adopted; the other, against proposing any amendment at this time, was submitted in the form of an alternative resolution, substituting for the former, and was consequently rejected by a majority of votes. A summary of the arguments put forward on both sides follows.
45. The position taken by the Members opposing the proposed amendment to Article VI-1 of the Constitution was that the Council was not in a position at this time to make any recommendation to the Conference before the legal, political and social implications of the proposal had been examined very carefully by Governments, and that a first examination should be undertaken by the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM).
46. While the need for co-operation was fully understood by these Member Nations, they felt that the safeguards included in the Resolution would be inadequate to protect the rights of coastal states in certain eventualities. They felt that there was insufficient information available to the Council on several important matters; for instance, non-Members of FAO might some day become members of fishery commissions which, in turn, might come to have direct or indirect rights of intervention in matters relating to territorial waters and in zones contiguous thereto coming under the jurisdiction of certain nations; this might lead to disputes. The extent of sea areas had not been defined by general consensus and, with regard to the delimitation of the high seas, no international agreement had yet been reached. These concepts should be kept distinct, otherwise attempts might be made to apply procedures and methods other than those included in the Geneva Convention on Fishing and the Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas.
47. There were territorial waters and contiguous zones, extremely valuable ones, particularly adjacent to Latin America, which contained national fishery resources of the Member Nations concerned. Commissions established under the amended Article and consisting of both Member Nations with coasts, territorial waters and contiguous zones within the sea area concerned, and Member Nations fishing in the high seas in the same sea areas, should not concern themselves with purely national fishery resources. It was noted in the Program of Work and Budget for 1968/69, that the Fishery Resources and Exploitation Division proposed an assembly and appraisal of data on fish stocks of special international interest, and that the anchoveta of the South-Eastern Pacific was included among these. In the view of some Members, this anchoveta resource was entirely within the territorial waters of Peru, Chile and Ecuador. These countries recognized the important assistance that the FAO Department of Fisheries had rendered to them in developing scientific programs for assessment of this resource, but they could not see that this resource was of concern to any other than these three nations.
48. They therefore felt that the considerations underlying the Resolution were not purely technical but were also political in nature. They referred to the distinction between high seas fisheries and those of the territorial sea and contiguous zones, and saw in the proposed amendment a possible threat to their sovereignty and national jurisdiction for the reasons stated in CL 48/LIM/3. In any case they did not consider that the urgency of the matter was such as to warrant precipitate action.
49. Members in favour of the proposed amendment to Article VI of the Constitution declared that every effort had been made in drafting the Resolution to take into account the reservations expressed in discussions by Members who had serious doubts about adopting an amendment at this time. Those supporting the Resolution felt that the amended Article VI-1 and the sea area commissions which might be established under it would not and could not interfere with the sovereign rights of any Member Nations. This was true of any Commission set up under Article VI of the Constitution including those already in operation. Interference with sovereign rights was outside the powers not only of the Council but of the Conference itself. These Members reminded the Council that the Resolution was only a proposal, which would go forward to FAO Member Nations at least 120 days before the Conference, and which would be reviewed before the Conference met by the CCLM. It would be for the Conference itself to take a decision in the matter. They also reminded the Council that this proposal had been discussed by the Program Committee at its Eleventh Session (September 1966), by the Forty-Seventh Session of the Council, by a Sub-Committee of COFI, and COFI itself. It had, therefore, had lengthy and detailed consideration.
50. Other arguments adduced in favour of the Resolution brought out the special conditions obtaining in high seas fisheries, especially the common property nature of their resources. There were many problems, particularly resource problems, of less than worldwide interest, and these could best be debated in commissions defined by sea areas. Such commissions under Article VI, which are in any case exclusively advisory, should be open to all those Member Nations with legitimate interests in the fisheries within each sea area concerned, where the fish resources were open to competitive fishing by many Nations. Mobility of fleets and new technologies of catching, processing and marketing were accelerating fish production, and all sea areas had development and exploitation problems. In many cases fishing fleets from highly developed nations were operating far from home exploiting stocks which developing nations closer at hand were not yet in a position to utilize. In the absence of international machinery providing for research and eventual management of these resources, the stocks might be seriously impaired before the developing nations had an opportunity to benefit from them. It was, therefore, urgently necessary to bring together around the table both the nations fishing in the respective sea areas, and others having an interest in them, in order to discuss problems of fishery development, research and types of conversation measures to be recommended. It was also desirable to include around the same table, non-Member Nations of FAO who were members of the United Nations and who were fishing significantly in such areas, since co-ordinated research and necessary agreement on conservation would be ineffectual without them.
51. Towards the end of the debate, a motion to adjourn discussion of this item to another session of the Council was proposed under Rule XII-22 of the General Rules of the Organization. This was put to a vote by a show of hands. The voting was as follows:
| Number of votes cast: | 26 |
| Majority required: | 14 |
| Votes for: | 10 |
| Votes against: | 16 |
| Abstentions: | 1 |
The motion was, therefore, rejected.
52. When the discussion on the substance was resumed, a resolution proposing that the Conference amend Article VI of the Constitution, and also containing a clause relating to the safeguarding of national sovereignty, was put to the vote. The Council, by a majority of votes, adopted that resolution in an amended form, which appears in paragraph 53 below and which, as suggested during the debate, incorporates in the proposed amendment itself the clause relating to the safeguarding of national sovereignty. The voting, which was by show of hands, was as follows:
| Number of votes cast: | 22 |
| Majority required: | 12 |
| Votes for: | 16 |
| Votes against: | 6 |
| Abstentions: | 6 |
53. The Council accordingly adopted the following resolution, with Argentina reserving its position:
Resolution 3/48
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLE VI - 1 OF THE CONSTITUTION WITH REGARD TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SEA-AREA FISHERY COMMISSION
THE COUNCIL
Recalling that the Conference at its Twelfth Session had recognized the exceptional possibilities offered by the oceans and inland waters in meeting the most pressing need in human nutrition for an adequate supply of high quality protein and had accordingly requested the Director-General to take measures to ensure that FAO became the leading inter-governmental body in encouraging rational harvesting of food from the oceans and inland waters;
Recognizing that international co-operation on a broad scale is necessary for the exploration and development of fishery resources and for their rational exploitation on a continuing basis and that without the active co-operation of all nations concerned there is grave danger in many parts of the world's oceans that fishery resources will be depleted, in many cases before developing countries can prepare themselves for active participation in their use;
Recalling further that the special problems of achieving the necessary co-operation in laying the basis for rational exploitation of the living resources of various sea areas were already recognized by the Council at its Forty-Seventh Session when it stated that the land-based geographical concepts normal in dealing with agricultural problems in FAO were generally not suited to marine fishery problems, and that a different approach in the grouping of countries was necessary; and further that it might therefore be preferable to constitute such bodies in relation to the fisheries of a sea region; and open to membership by all nations having significant fishing interests in the area or the species of fish concerned;
Noting with appreciation that the Committee on Fisheries, with the assistance of its Sub-Committee on the Development of Co-operation with International Organizations concerned with Fisheries, has given through consideration to the need for international bodies to bring about the necessary co-operation by all nations interested in the exploration, development and continuing rational exploitation of the fishery resources of various sea areas;
Also noting that at the Second Session of the Committee on Fisheries most members favoured the recommendation of the Sub-Committee suggesting that the Council formulate an amendment to Article VI-1 of the Constitution which would allow the creation of commissions concerned with the fisheries of specific sea areas and which might be open to non-Member Nations of FAO which are Members of the United Nations;
Therefore proposes that the Conference amend Article VI-1 of the Constitution of the Organization as follows:
The present text of Article VI-1 to become Article VI-1(a) and to add the following as Article VI-1(b):
“1(b) The Conference or Council may also establish sea-area commissions of sea-area joint commissions concerned with fisheries having similar advisory functions and with the following characteristics, it being understood that the statutes of sea-area commissions and sea-area joint commissions established under this Article shall contain express provisions to the effect that nothing in the statutes of such commissions shall be considered as affecting the rights, claims or views of any nation in regard to the limits of the territorial sea or the extent of jurisdiction over fisheries under international law:
membership shall be open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization whose territory borders on the sea area are covered by the Commission, and to all other Member Nations and Associate Members which inform the Director-General that they have an interest in the fisheries of that sea area and wish to co-operate in their rational exploitation;
membership shall also be open to non-Member Nations of the Organization that are Members of the United Nations fulfilling either of the requirements set forth in (i) above, upon their request and subject to their admission by the Council;”
Requests the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters to review the drafting of the proposed amendment and to report its views to the Fourteenth Session of the Conference;
Expresses the view that non-Member Nations of the Organization that become members of sea-area commission or sea-area joint commissions should be required to contribute towards the expenses incurred by the Organization with respect to the activities of these commissions;
Further requests the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters to review the Basic Texts of the Organization with a view to reporting to the Conference any consequential changes which might be necessary if the Conference decides to amend the Constitution and to take the action proposed by this Resolution.
54. The Council endorsed the request by COFI to the Director-General in paragraphs 48 and 49 of the Report of its Second Session (CL 48/7) to prepare the draft of an international convention providing for a fishery body for the Southeast Atlantic.
55. The Council took note of COFI's view that the Department of Fisheries should in its work on the development and co-ordination of regional fishery statistics pursue, among other courses, that of establishing regional or group country working parties on the subject, in view of the proved value of such working parties in the North Atlantic and in the CARPAS areas.
56. The Council noted that this Convention, which was agreed at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries held at Rio de Janeiro in May 1966, had been signed by Brazil, Korea, Spain, Japan and the U.S.A. and had also been ratified by the U.S.A. The Convention would come into effect when seven Nations had ratified or adhered to it. The Director-General had called to the attention of all Member Nations the desirability of bringing this Convention into effect as soon as possible. The Council also stressed the need for proceeding as rapidly as possible with its implementation.
57. The Council took note of paragraphs 70 to 76 of the Report of the Second Session of COFI (CL 48/7), which described the history of the UN Resolution on Development of Natural Resources - Resources of the Sea (A/Res/2172(XXI)), adopted by the UN General Assembly on 6 December 1966. It was informed of more recent developments since COFI had met. The Council noted particularly that Dr. A.W.H. Needler and Mr. F.E. Popper had been nominated respectively by COFI and by the Director-General to serve on a small group of experts, who were to assist the Secretary-General of the UN in the preparation of the comprehensive survey and in the formulation of proposals referred to in the Resolution. The Council noted the important role that FAO and COFI were to play in these consultations, and wished to be kept informed of progress at its next and subsequent sessions.
58. The Council authorized the Director-General to invite the U.S.S.R. to attend in an observer capacity the FAO Conference on Fish Behaviour in Relation to Fishing Techniques and Tactics to be held in Bergen, Norway, from 19 to 27 October 1967, if a request to this effect were received.
59. The Council recalled that it had recommended at its Forty-Seventh Session that the Director-General submit a progress report on the manner in which the recommendations of the UN Ad Hoc Committee of Fourteen Experts to Examine the Finances of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies were being carried out.
60. The Council noted the comments of the Program and Finance Committees, as set forth in paragraphs 52 to 82 of CL 48/6, with respect to the review which the Committees made of the progress reported by the Director-General.
61. The Council suggested that the Conference give special consideration to the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee that total meeting time of conferences and meetings be reduced, including the possibility of biennial meetings for those bodies which at present meet annually.
62. Paragraph 104 (h) of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee recommends that no subsidiary body should be permitted to increase the number or length of its meetings already authorized, without the specific approval of the organ which established it. The Council concurred with the recommendation of the Program and Finance Committees that the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters review this recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee to determine what problems were involved and to make recommendations for amendments, if desirable, in the General Rules or the statutes of FAO statutory bodies.
63. The Council recommended the following draft resolution for adoption by the Conference.
DRAFT RESOLUTION FOR THE CONFERENCE
Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts to Examine the Finances of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies
THE CONFERENCE
Having reviewed the report of the Forty-Eighth Session of the Council on the developments concerning the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts to Examine the Finances of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies, and
Having noted the approval of these recommendations by the United Nations General Assembly on 4 November 1966,
Noting that a considerable number of the recommendations either correspond to FAO's practice or could be placed into effect by the Director-General under his own authority, and that in some instances this would only be done after consultation among the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies,
Noting with appreciation the co-operation of the Director-General in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee and in the subsequent inter-Agency consultations,
Requests the Director-General to continue to implement as soon as possible the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee where feasible and applicable to inform the Council of the progress made in implementing these recommendations,
Approves the participation by FAO in the joint Inspection Unit, and
Requests the Director-General to continue to co-operate in inter-Agency consultations on the implementation of those recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee requiring concerted action with other organizations.
1 Agenda Item 7.
2 See also paragraph 103 below.
64. The representative of the United States of America to the FAO/UNICEF Joint Policy Committee introduced the report of the Sixth Session which was held in Rome, 6–8 February 1967 (CL 48/11), He drew to the Council's attention the Committee's proposals that the Joint Policy Committee:
In addition the Committee proposed that a sixth member be appointed on both the FAO and UNICEF sides. The Committee had also considered various possibilities of rotation of membership but proposed to leave this question to the discretion of the Council.
65. He also informed the Council that the UNICEF Executive Board, at its current session in New York, had approved the report of the Sixth Session, and had endorsed the proposals made by the Committee as to the continuation of the Committee, its meeting every two years and the increase in membership from five to six members on each side.
66. The Director-General elaborated on the possibilities and considerations in regard to proposals concerning the membership of the Committee, its size and possible rotation, and the payment of travel and subsistence for one delegate of each FAO member of the Committee. On the last point, since such treatment was accorded by UNICEF to the delegates of its membership, the Director-General considered there was a case to provide the FAO members with the same facilities. However, under the Principles governing conventions and agreements, as well as the practices established under Article VI of the FAO Constitution, where bodies were composed of Governments, the expenses of members of such bodies for attending sessions of these bodies as Government representatives were to be borne by the respective Governments. Therefore, for FAO to follow the practice of UNICEF would require an exception to be made to the established Principles which could only be by the authority of the Conference.
67. In the Council discussion, note was taken of the usefulness of the work of the FAO/UNICEF Joint Policy Committee and of the great value of joint FAO/UNICEF activities to Member Nations.
68. The Council decided that the Joint Committee should be continued for an indefinite period with the same terms of reference, should normally be convened at intervals of about two years, and that the FAO membership should be augmented by the addition of one member.
69. The Council also concurred with the view that in order to achieve better geographical representation, this additional member be selected from African countries South of Sahara where FAO/UNICEF jointly assisted projects were in operation. The FAO membership of the Joint Policy Committee would thus be as follows: Brazil, Iran, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America, (an African Member Nation to be selected).
70. The Members of the Council expressed divergent opinions with regard to the proposal for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses to one delegate of each FAO Member Nation attending the Committee's sessions. Three trends emerged from the discussions:
Some Members considered that the Principles established by the Conference with regard to the Member Countries financing the travel and subsistence expenses of their own delegates to Committees appointed under Article VI should not be altered. They believed, therefore, that no exception should be made in the case of the FAO/UNICEF Joint Policy Committee, as such an exception might constitute an undesirable precedent.
A greater number of Members expressed the opinion that an exception could be made in view of the specific structure of the FAO/UNICEF Joint Policy Committee, as unique of its type in FAO. The reasons put forward were that this would allow for a better representation at sessions, particularly from developing countries, and that, in view of the geographical representation, each member spoke on behalf of all Member Nations in its Region rather than in the name of one Government only.
A few Members suggested that the constitutional difficulties might be avoided by the device of reconstituting the Committee as one of individual experts. The Council rejected this suggestion preferring to maintain the governmental nature of the Committee.
71. The Council decided that this question should be submitted to the Conference for consideration and recommended that if the Conference should grant an exception to the Principles referred to above in the case of the FAO/UNICEF Joint Policy Committee, it should be clearly specified that such exception should not be construed as a precedent.
72. The Council discussed the state of relations between FAO and Unesco in the field of agricultural education, a field of fundamental importance in promoting the development of many countries. Many members, stressing the enormous needs of developing countries to develop their human resources, expressed dissatisfaction at what they considered to be the present unsatisfactory state of affairs. They therefore felt that it was necessary to resolve the impasse created by the opposing points of view persistently maintained by the FAO and Unesco governing bodies. The importance of uniform governmental policies on agricultural education to be followed by the governing bodies of both FAO and Unesco was also recognized as an essential element in bringing about improved co-operation between the Agencies. Agricultural education required the cooperation of both Agencies, and while rigid lines of demarcation of responsibilities between the two Agencies were difficult to establish, broad areas of primary responsibility and initiative for each Agency could and should be established. The majority of Members expressed the view that the 1960 Agreement provided a good basis for such demarcation of responsibility and, in any event, every effort should be made to narrow the area of uncertain responsibility. The Council, recognizing the need for specific adaptation of agricultural education and training to the requirements of agricultural development and the presence on FAO's staff of specialists in agricultural education and in all other aspects of agricultural development, expressed the view that while Unesco's competence in general educational problems was recognized, FAO should exercise its full responsibility in the field of agricultural education.
73. The Director-General was authorized to continue his consultations with the Director-General of Unesco, taking into account the deliberations of the Council, in an effort to achieve an effective pattern of co-operation. The Recommendation of the General Conference of Unesco to convene an Ad Hoc Joint Governmental Committee, should negotiations between the Directors-General fail to produce a solution to the problems found general support. Some Members expressed the opinion that in any case such a committee would be useful. To permit timely action, the Director-General was requested to be ready to submit proposals for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Joint Governmental Committee to the next session of the Council. It was further recommended that for the effective co-ordination of effort in the field Programs and Projects for which the Specialized Agencies assumed operational responsibility, the Governments of Member Nations should take steps to ensure a common policy as between various ministries concerned.
74. Although several Members expressed support for the establishment of a Joint FAO/ Unesco Division of Agricultural Education, some reservations were expressed regarding the disadvantages of moving too precipitately toward establishing such a Joint Division, before other solutions had been fully explored. Furthermore, even with a clear division of functions, and regardless of the establishment of a Joint Division, it might be necessary to have periodical consultations between the officers responsible for agricultural education in FAO, and those responsible for adult education, mass media and school education.
75. In the course of negotiations on agricultural education, the Director-General was requested to keep in mind the problems arising in the field of agricultural research. FAO should be particularly concerned with agricultural research, and the policy, Organizational and institutional arrangements required to translate the findings of research into practice.
76. Distribution of the Report of the ILO/FAO/Unesco Consultations on Agricultural Education, Science and Training held in Paris on 17 and 18 April 1967, was requested and effected.
77. The Council reviewed the arrangements made by the Director-General for reviewing the Organization's development program in accordance with Conference Resolution 8/65. It noted that the Program Committee at its Twelfth Session had reviewed in detail the outline prepared for the Accountability Report to be presented to the Fourteenth Session of the Conference, and recorded its satisfaction with the scope of the documentation envisaged and progress made to date. It endorsed the recommendations of the Program Committee concerning some adjustments in the proposed outline, and was confident that this comprehensive report on the Organization's field program would enable the Conference to pay closer attention to the field program than had hitherto been possible. One Member expressed the desirability of consulting the regional offices on the outline, since these offices have considerable experience in the operation of technical assistance programs.
78. Regarding the evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of the Organization's Development Program, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, there was full agreement that greater attention will have to be given to this type of work in future. While it was considered that evaluation studies would need to be undertaken concurrently at several levels, i.e. project, sector, country or global, it was believed that efforts should be concentrated on the project and country approach. As regards the first it was agreed that pre-project appraisal is of decisive importance in assuring the solution of projects which best accord with the needs of the Governments.
79. As for evaluation studies on a country basis, it was noted that the Accountability Report for the biennium 1968/1969 would contain a number of such studies, to be prepared in close co-operation with the Governments concerned.
80. Consideration was given to UNDP document DP/TA/L.10 (incorporated in CL 48/13) on the proposals of the UNDP Administrator concerning the new Technical Assistance programming procedures which UNDP intended to institute after the approval of the current Fourth Session of the UNDP Governing Council. During the debate, satisfaction was expressed at the programming procedures which the UNDP Governing Council was instituting. These procedures represented a new stage in development assistance programs. It was noted that the most important aspects of the new procedures included the following:
The current biennial programming procedure would be replaced by what was termed “continuous programming” and which, in practice, amounted to semiannual programming, since new projects or additions or amendments to the country programs would be submitted for approval to the UNDP Governing Council, which meets twice a year.
There would be a “notional” target established for each country, and each country would be able to plan the country programs three or four years ahead, but the actual annual target would be approved by the UNDP Governing Council at its June session for the following year. The final target would be about 6 percent higher than the notional target.
Countries would be able to carry over 50 percent of their targets to the following year.
Countries would be notified of savings arising in the course of the year on the basis of months of expert services and not in terms of cash.
“Earmarkings” would be discountinued; but in case of financial crises, Resident Representatives would be informed that the first claim on savings would be used to eliminate any deficits arising.
81. A number of Council Members noted that the allocation for regional projects was receiving high priority consideration in view of the latter's importance, and welcomed the possibility of an increase in the UNDP allocation for this purpose.
82. In the course of the debate, one Member indicated that the new means and the perfecting of the UNDP would require adjustments in methods of work, and possibly in the structure of the Executing Agencies, among them FAO, and that this need for adjustment would undoubtedly be taken into account by those bodies which are to study and decide upon FAO's structure.
83. The Council agreed that FAO's ability to manage the TA Program in the light of the new procedures would depend on the extent of the flexibility given within total allocations.
84. The Council also agreed that, notwithstanding the management difficulties which may be expected to arise from the revised procedures, those having been agreed by the Inter-Agency Consultative Board should be implemented on an experimental basis, and subsequently adjusted as necessary in the light of experience gained during the initial trial period.
85. Further progress reports on the matter would be submitted to the Council from time to time.
86. Reference was made to UNDP document DP/SF/L.11, which incorporated comments received from participating Specialized Agencies (including FAO) on the preparation of plans of operation (this document was also included in CL 48/13). The Council noted the analysis made by the FAO Secretariat of the factors causing delays in the signing of plans of operation (as outlined in FAO's comments included in the above-mentioned document) and welcomed the steps being taken and the proposed measures for speeding-up the signature of plans of operation and project operations generally. The Council stressed, however, that care should be taken to ensure that any speeding-up of the time taken in the preparatory stages should not be at the expense of quality and soundness, which would result in delays and reduced effectiveness of the project during its operational and follow-up stages.
87. The Council was informed that the UNDP Governing Council at its Third Session requested the Administrator, Mr. Paul G. Hoffman, to make arrangements for a study to be undertaken on the future needs for pre-investment assistance, and of the ability of the UNDP and the Agencies to undertake an increased workload. It was evident that such a study would involve a vast research undertaking but, for present purposes, it had been decided to proceed as follows:
The scope of the initial part of the study should be limited and concentrate primarily on a realistic assessment of possibilities within the next three years, and to include only brief estimates and predictions of further possibilities over a longer period.
Apart from the data to be obtained by UNDP directly from Governments or through the various UNDP Resident Representatives, FAO and the other Specialized Agencies would supply information on:
volume, type and estimated cost of new projects expected to be requested by Governments under existing procedures;
volume, nature and cost estimates of technical and pre-investment projects which are likely to be required by Governments for possible implementation after 1970, and/or if new procedures and policies were to be introduced for requesting and operating UNDP financed projects;
suggestions and proposals to be made by FAO and the other Agencies would include a forward look for speeding-up operational efficiency and the impact of UNDP financed projects (both national and regional) and a critical evaluation of factors considered to be currently inhibiting the effectivness and impact of FAO/UNDP activities.
88. The Council noted that the UNDP Administrator had appointed a Special Consultant to undertake this study. His findings and conclusions would be incorporated in a document to be submitted to the Fifth Session of the UNDP Governing Council in January 1968. A preliminary progress report on this subject was being presented to the current Fourth Session of the UNDP Governing Council. The Consultant had recently visited FAO for consultations, and it had been agreed that FAO would supply, by the end of August 1967, a paper incorporating ideas, data and estimates of pre-investment and technical assistance needs in the fields of development activity. A separate paper was also required from FAO indicating the estimated and considered capabilities of the Organization to handle an increased or increasing volume of work.
89. The Council considered that there were two aspects to this questions, namely:
the organizational aspect which was being taken into account and under consideration by the Review Committee and Team on the Organization's Structure, which would be reporting to the Fourteenth Session of the FAO Conference; and
the recruitment aspect, which was under continuous consideration and study by all segments concerned in FAO.
90. The Council also noted that a Special Inter-Agency session was scheduled to take place in October 1967 on the very important question of Recruitment. Council Members made a number of suggestions which would contribute towards the easing of the difficulties of the recruitment problem, including the better use of “middle-level” experts to support senior highly qualified experts in short supply, and the use of contracting firms. Others expressed the needs to simplify recruitment procedures, and to be more flexible in applying the rules according to the needs of the field of assistance involved, and the availability of experts.
91. In this connection, reference was made to the discussions at the Third and Fourth Sessions of the UNDP Governing Council concerning the increased use of sub-contractors in the execution of the UND Program. The Council shared the views of the Director-General that the employment of sub-contractors in carrying out a certain type of pre-investment project offered a number of advantages, such as the speedy delivery of services, and the greater homogeneity of expert teams. On the other hand it was stressed that commercial firms did not have an equally satisfactory record with regard to the training of counterpart staff, both concerning on-the-job training, and the organization of formal training courses. It was also noted that dollar costs of sub-contracting are normally higher than the cost of projects executed directly by the Organization. While it was appreciated that this additional money was usually well spent and was compensated by the supporting services and prestige of consultant firms executing a given project, it was agreed that the additional money could on occasions be a limiting factor. It was noted that the recipient countries had a special interest in keeping to a minimum the costs of such items, so that the net value of the aid was not unduly reduced.
92. The Council agreed with the Director-General that the method of execution of projects must continue to be a matter for ad hoc decision by the Agency concerned in the light of the requirements of each project. It welcomed the information that action is being taken or considered regarding the improvement of procedures for inviting bids or proposals and for suitable organizational arrangements concerning the co-ordination of all matters dealing with the sub-contracting of development projects. The Council also noted that, in view of the difficulty of getting high-level experts for long periods, it might be desirable and economical to have short-term consultants in certain cases.
93. The Council was also informed of the discussions which took place at the Third and Fourth Sessions of the UNDP Governing Council concerning UNDP assistance for pilot plants. It was noted that, in the view of the Administrator, the system of UNDP assistance still falls short of the main objective of a pre-investment policy, namely the actual stimulation of capital for investment. In re-appraising his policy the Administrator had come to the conclusion that experimental production units should be set up with the assistance of the UNDP in fields which are connected with basic industrial production pre-requisites. This might include the establishment of experimental production units for agricultural tools, fertilizers, the processing of cheap locally manufactured insecticides, food processing, textile and leather processing etc. It was reported that some delegations to the Fourth Session of the Governing Council had raised certain reservations on those proposals of the Administrator and it was believed that its success and implementation would depend to a large degree on the ability of Executing Agencies and Governments in preparing suitable projects for UNDP financing.
94. The Council fully endorsed the basic concept of the Administrator's proposal, which it was noted runs parallel to that made by the Director-General when proposing a program of direct inputs in agriculture consisting of the actual provision of production requisites such as tools, fertilizers, insecticides and seeds. As the Session of the Governing Council was still in progress the Council wished to be informed at its next session of the final outcome of the debate on this very important subject. Several delegations referred to the need for a definition of the relationship between UNIDO and FAO and the desirability for the closest collaboration in this field. It was noted that consultations were in progress between the Director-General and the Executive Director of UNIDO with a view to arriving at a clear demarcation of responsibilities. The Council wished to be kept informed on developments in these negotiations.
95. Recalling its discussion at the previous session concerning the agreement of the Director-General with the Administrator on the closer integration of the offices of the FAO Country Representatives and the UNDP Resident Representatives, it was noted that the first group of ten senior agricultural advisors was now in the process of selection and appointment. The Council welcomed this information and was confident that the early implementation of this agreement would help substantially in strengthening the organization's co-operation with technical Ministries in Member Countries concerned, improve its performance in the planning and delivery of the field program, and strengthen the co-ordination between the various UN and other assistance programs operating in recipient countries.
96. The Council agreed that the FAO volunteer program should proceed along the lines indicated in the Program Committee's report (CL 48/6). The Council recognized the growing potential of volunteers in technical assistance projects and their important rôle as a new arm to FAO's developmental effort, particularly at the intermediate level.
97. With a view to securing the services of vocationally qualified and well-adjusted volunteers, several Members emphasized the advantages of recruiting and assignment under FAO's formal arrangements with sponsoring organizations. In this connection, attention was drawn to the need for training to include instruction in the appropriate national language, an essential if the volunteers were to act effectively as a link between the expert and the rural population, and were to co-ordinate their action with that of national efforts.
98. While recognizing the merits of such formal arrangements where these were called for, the Council felt that the present policy, whereby informal arrangements were encouraged when they were acceptable both to the host country and to the sponsoring organization, should also be continued.
99. The report to the Council of the Joint Session of the Program and Finance Committees (CL 48/6) highlighted (in summary and tabular form) the results of the new survey on the impact of field programs on the Regular Program, as carried out by the Organization in October 1966 pursuant to Conference Resolution 31/63. The Council noted that, in addition to providing general background on the 1966/67 “impact” picture, the survey also served, in line with the formula agreed upon by the Council, as the principal basis for presentation in the 1968/69 Program of Work and Budget (C 67/3) of tabulations showing all funds administered by FAO; their distribution into (i) funds used for field operations and (ii) funds available for management and operation of Regular Program and field projects; and on the basis of the “time study” - the extent to which the Regular Program is financially supporting the various field programs.
100. In particular the periodic “impact” surveys (of which the 1966 survey is the seventh in a series going back to 1953) have facilitated consideration of the approach which the Organization, following the recommendations of the Conference and Council, should take vis-à-vis the Agencies which provide the extra-budgetary sources for field programs in order to secure adequate reimbursement for technical, supervisory and administrative costs.
101. The Council noted from the Joint Report that the 1966 survey confirmed once again the main conclusions arrived at in previous surveys - that the Regular Program still supports close to three-fourths of Headquarters and Regional Office costs, while Headquarters and Regional Office staff continue to devote half of their time to non-Regular Program matters.
102. The Council observed that although a small improvement had been achieved in the reimbursement formula for activities under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) FAO will, in effect, be providing a “subvention” around $9,500,000 for activities under UNDP during the 1968/69 biennium.
103. The Council noted that the UN Ad Hoc Committee of Fourteen Experts, established to examine the finances of the UN and the Specialized Agencies (see paragraphs 59 to 63 of this Report), had made a particular point of the need for ensuring equitable sharing of the overhead cost of UNDP activities by the Executing Agencies and UNDP itself. The Council concurred in the recommendations of the Program and Finance Committees that efforts be continued, as suggested by the Thirteenth Session of the Conference, to secure a more reasonable coverage of costs in connection with the elaboration and execution of field projects. It hoped that the expected further review of the question by the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) would, in fact, achieve the objective, set forth by the Committee of Fourteen, to ensure more equitable sharing of costs. The Council also agreed that the impact survey procedure be continued, so that every two years the situation could be reexamined by the Council in the light of the most current developments, and the financial and program implications could be taken into account in the planning and presentation of the Program of Work and Budget for the subsequent biennium.
104. The Council took note of the Report of the Fourteenth Session of the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, held in Rome, 14–16 March 1967. The main activities of the Commission were highlighted, and the Council's attention was drawn in particular to the results achieved during the past five years in arresting in South-Eastern Europe the westward spread of exotic types or strains of the foot-and-mouth disease virus.
105. The Council noted the program and budget for 1967 and 1968 of the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Eastern Region of its Distribution Area in South-West Asia. Recognising the importance of the work of the Commission, the Council urged the member countries of the Commission to pay their contributions on schedule.
106. The Director-General presented his proposals regarding FAO's collaboration in the UN International Year for Human Rights (CL 48/17). FAO's whole program, and most specifically the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, was a major contribution to the International Year since its purpose was to secure man's right to freedom from hunger. The Director-General suggested that Member Nations adopt at the Fourteenth Session of the Conference a Declaration stating their determination to take separately and collectively all necessary steps to ensure man's right to freedom from hunger. He asked the Council, in considering the agenda for the Fourteenth Session of the Conference, to allow for the introduction of this item.
107. The Council welcomed the Director-General's proposal and agreed that FAO should collaborate fully in the UN International Year for Human Rights. It was also agreed that Human Rights should be one of the main themes of the FAO Regional Conference during 1968. It was further suggested that stress be laid on the farmers' rights of access to the means of production.
108. The Council also agreed that provision should be made in the arrangements for the Fourteenth Session for the Conference to debate and adopt a Declaration on the lines proposed by the Director-General.
