APPENDIX D
GENERAL REGULATIONS
Arrangements and Procedures for the Establishment and Operation of the UN/FAO World Food Programme
In pursuance of the provisions of the United Nations General Assembly
resolutions 1714 (XVI), 2095 (XX), 3348 (XXIX) and 3404 (XXX) and resolutions
Nos. 1/61, 4/65 and 22/75 of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the following are the detailed
procedures and arrangements for the World Food Programme as approved by
the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the Council of FAO
1.
PART A
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA
- In accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations General
Assembly and FAO Conference, the World Food
Programme (hereinafter referred to as ''the Programme'') which was established on an experimental basis in 1962 and extended on
a regular basis in 1966, shall continue its activities on the basis of the present
regulations and in the light of the periodic reviews which will take place before
the end of the successive pledging periods.
- Having regard to the functions of the United Nations in the general field
of economic and social development, and the special
responsibilities of FAO in securing improvements in nutrition and in the efficiency of food production and distribution, the
Programme is under taken jointly by the United Nations and FAO in cooperation with other
interested United Nations agencies and appropriate intergovernmental bodies.
Contributions
(3). (a)
- All contributions to the Programme shall be on a voluntary basis. They shall
generally be pledged at conferences convened jointly by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO
approximately one year before the commencement of the pledging period to which
they relate, and shall aim at such total as may from time to time be set by
the General Assembly of the United Nations and the FAO Conference for such
pledging periods as may be determined by the aforementioned bodies.
They may be pledged by countries in
the form of appropriate commodities, acceptable services (including transport and
other services) and cash, aiming at cash and services components amounting in
the aggregate to at least one third of the total contributions.
Contributions may also be accepted from intergovernmental bodies, other public
sources as well as appropriate non-governmental sources, in commodities, services or cash.
- Countries participating in the international emergency reserve should,
pending the establishment of a world food grain reserve, indicate to the
Programme, over and above their regular pledges to the Programme, availabilities of
primarily food grains or of cash contributions which might be called upon for
emergency food aid purposes, in accordance with United Nations General
Assembly resolution 3362 (S-VII). Developing
countries not in a position to make contributions in cash or in kind to the reserve
should, where possible, indicate their willingness to make interest-free loans of
commodities to be used by the Programme.
- Appropriate commodities and
acceptable services shall be determined from time to time by discussions
between contributors and the Executive Director in the
light of operational needs.
(3).(b)Commodity pledges may be made either in monetary terms or in terms of
fixed physical quantities of specified commodities.
In the latter case, a nominal value will be placed on the commodity
pledge by the Executive Director at the time of pledging, based on world
market prices or the nearest approximation to the world market prices at the
time. This nominal value will be
adjusted at the time of each delivery of a commodity to conform to the world
market price, or the nearest approximation
to the world market price, at the time. All commodities delivered to
the Programme will be valued at world market prices, or the nearest approximation
to world market prices, at the time of delivery. Contributions of acceptable
services shall be valued either at world market prices, or the nearest approximation
to the world market prices, or, where a service is of a local character, at the
price contracted for by the Executive Director.
(3).(c)
- Pledged contributions of commodities and services shall be held
available for commitment for the purposes
of the Programme until the end of the pledging
period. Should unforeseen
circumstances, such as domestic crop failure,
arise, a donor country may, in consultation with the Executive Director, defer delivery of any part of the commodities pledged, or substitute
other commodities therefor, provided that the commodities concerned have not
yet been committed to recipient
countries. After appropriate notice has been given, cash
in convertible currencies of equal value to the portion of the commodity pledge
withdrawn may be substituted therefor. , The Executive Director shall keep
donor countries informed of contemplated and final commitments of commodities
and services pledged by them. Pledged
commodities which have been committed
shall be held in the contributing country until called for by the Executive
Director, and then delivered at export ports free on board at the cost
of the contributing country. Any committed commodities remaining undelivered
by the end of the period for which they have been pledged shall remain
available for delivery for such extended period as may be agreed upon in
consultation between the Executive Director and the donor country. Committed
services shall be treated in the same manner.
- In Agreement with the Executive Director, cash in convertible currencies may be substituted
for pledged services which have not been committed by the Programme.
- Any participating government which initially pledges more than one third of its total contributions in cash
and/or services may, in agreement with the Executive Director, at any time
during the pledging period offer appropriate commodities up to a value limit
of two thirds of its total initially pledged contributions.
To the extent that such additional commodities are utilized by the
Executive Director, their value at prevailing world market prices, or the
nearest approximation to world market prices, shall be offset against any unpaid portion of the country's initial pledge.
(3).(d) Cash contributions to the Programme shall be made in convertible
currencies. In exceptional
circumstances, however, developing countries may, with the agreement of the
Executive Director, make cash contributions in nonconvertible currencies.
(3).(e) Countries shall, with regard to each pledging period, pay their cash
contributions in
equal annual installments, except as otherwise agreed with the Executive Director.
(3).(f) The annual installment of cash pledges shall be paid for each year of
the pledging period
to which it relates within 60 days after the beginning of the country's fiscal
year. Countries which for
domestic, legal and budgetary reasons are not in a position to meet this time
limit may announce at the Pledging Conference the times at which they intend
to make their cash contributions available to the Programme.
PART B
TYPES AND FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
4.
The Programme shall, on request,
provide assistance for:
- implementing
projects, using food as an aid to economic and social development, particularly when related to feeding and improving the nutritional condition
of the most vulnerable and neediest groups, increasing agricultural production
and productivity,
fostering labour-intensive projects and promoting rural employment and welfare, and human resources development; and such other projects,
including regional
projects, as may be approved by the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes
referred to in paragraph 6(a). Special
emphasis should be given to projects
in the neediest countries.
-
meeting emergency food
needs; and
-
promoting world food security in accordance with the
recommendations made to it by the
United Nations and FAO.
5.
- For meeting emergency food needs, a portion of the resources of the
Programme
shall be reserved each year for use by the Director-General of FAO.
The amounts to be reserved shall be determined by the Committee on Food
Aid Policies and Programmes from time to time in accordance with changing
circumstances. In cases of special
needs, the Committee may, at the request of the Executive Director, in consultation with the Dix"ector-General of FAO, allocate further
amounts for use by the
Director-General to meet emergency food needs. Any unused balance of the emergency
allocation shall return to the general resources of the Programme at the end
of each year.
-
The Programme shall, within the framework of emergency assistance in the
United Nations system and in accordance with appropriate recommendations of
the United Nations
and FAO, seek to ensure coordination of emei-gency food assistance.
PART C
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
6.
The organs of the World Food
Programme shall be:
- Committee on Food Aid Policies and
Programmes (hereinafter referred to as ''the Committee'') jointly established by
the United Nations and FAO and composed of 30 States Members of the United Nations or Member Nations of FAO;
- Secretariat located at FAO
Headquarters in
and reporting to both the Secretary-General of the United
Nations and the Director-General of FAO.
Powers and functions of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and
Programmes
7.
- Intergovernmental supervision of
the Programme shall be exercised by the Committee.
8.(a) The Committee shall help evolve and coordinate short-term and longer-term food aid
policies recommended by the World Food Conference.
It shall, in particular:
- provide general guidance on the
policy, administration and operation of the World Food Programme;
- provide a forum for intergovernmental consultations on national and
international
food aid programmes and policies;
-
review periodically general trends in food aid requirements and food
aid availabilities;
- recommend to governments, through the World Food Council, improvements in food
aid policies and programmes on such
matters as programme priorities, commodity composition of food aid and other
related subjects;
- formulate proposals for more effective coordination of multilateral,
bilateral and
non-governmental food aid programmes, including emergency food aid;
- review periodically the implementation of the recommendations made by
the World Food Conference on food aid policies.
8.(b) With regard
to the operation of the Programme, the Committee shall examine and approve projects submitted to it by the Executive Director.
In respect of the approval
of projects, however, it may delegate to the Executive Director such authority
as it may specify. It shall
examine and approve the administrative and project budgets of the Programme.
It shall review the administration and execution
of approved projects and other activities of the Programme.
9. The Committee shall report annually to the Economic and
Social Council and the Council of
the Food and Agriculture Organization. It
shall also submit periodic and special reports to the World Food Council.
10.
- The Committee shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.
These Rules shall, inter alia, provide that decisions of the
Committee on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and
voting. Important questions shall
include questions of policy, the approval of projects and the allocation of
resources. Doubts, if any, as to
what are important questions shall be resolved through a majority vote of the
Members present and voting. Similarly,
decisions of the Committee on
questions other than important questions shall be made by a majority of the
Members present and voting.
- Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 10 (a) above, the Rules of
Procedure may, with respect to the
approval of projects, make provision for such approval being obtained by correspondence between sessions of the Committee.
-
The Rules of
Procedure shall also make provision for inviting States Members of the United Nations or Member Nations of
FAO that are not members of the Committee to participate in its deliberations.
11.The Committee shall
normally hold regular sessions twice a year and such special sessions as it considers necessary, or on the call of the Secretary-General of
the United Nations and the Director-General of
FAO in consultation with the Executive Director of the Programme, or on request submitted in writing by at least
one-third of the members of the Committee.
12.The Committee shall ensure, in the programmes under its
supervision, that;
- In accordance with the FAO Principles of Surplus Disposal and with the consultative procedures established by the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP), and in conformity with the United Nations General
Assembly resolution 1496 (XV), particularly paragraph 9, commercial markets and normal and developing trade are
neither interfered with nor disrupted.
- The agricultural economy in recipient countries is adequately safeguarded with respect both to its
domestic markets and the effective development of food production.
- Due consideration is given to safeguarding normal commercial practices in
respect of acceptable services.
WFP Secretariat
13.
- The Programme shall be administered by a Secretariat, headed by an
Executive Director.
- The Executive Director shall be appointed, for a term of five years, by the
Secretary- General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO after consultation with the Committee.
-
The
Executive Director shall be responsible for servicing the Committee.
- The Executive Director shall operate through three divisions, subject to such modifications as may from
time to time be approved by the Committee.
-
The Executive Director
shall be responsible for the staffing and organization of the Secretariat.
The selection and appointment of senior officials shall be made in agreement with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the
Director- General of FAO.
-
Every effort shall be made to keep the cost of management
and administration of the Programme to a minimum consistent with the maintenance of efficiency.
-
General
financial and administrative services shall be provided on a reimbursable basis through the regular FAO
administration service, and to this end the Executive Director shall rely to the fullest extent possible on the existing staff and facilities of FAO within the
context of sub-paragraph (f) above.
-
For other services the Programme shall rely to the maximum extent
feasible on the existing staff and facilities of FAO, the United Nations and other
intergovernmental agencies within the context of sub-paragraph (f) above. The additional
cost involved
shall be reimbursed from the Programme's resources.
- The
representative of the Programme in each recipient country shall be the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme or the Regional Representative of theUnited Nations Programme, as the case may be.
The Programme field staff stationedin a recipient country shall form
part of his office.
-
The Executive Director shall administer the staff of the Programme in
accordance with FAO Staff
Regulations and Rules and such special rules proposed by the Executive
Director as may be approved by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
and the Director-General of FAO.2
-
The Programme may, upon request, arrange for the purchase and the
transport of food and for the
monitoring of its distribution, on behalf of bilateral donors or UN
agencies, for emergency relief and other food aid operations.The Programme should
be reimbursed for such services according to procedures agreed upon with the
donors or agencies concerned on the basis of criteria approved by the
Committee.
PART D
PROCEDURES
Eligibility
for Assistance
3 14. All States Members of the
United Nations or Members or Associate Members of any Specialized
Agency or of IAEA shall be eligible to submit requests for consideration by
the Programme. The Programme may also consider other requests in line with the
decisions of the UN and FAO which meet the aims of the Programme and for which there is
adequate assurance that implementation will be carried out in accordance with the Programme's criteria and procedures as appropriate. General responsibilities of the Executive Director
15.
- The Executive Director shall be responsible for assuring that projects
to be implemented are sound, carefully planned and directed toward valid objectives, for
assuring the mobilization of the necessary technical and administrative
skills, and for assessing the ability of
recipient countries to carry out the projects. He shall be responsible
for assuring supply of Commodities and acceptable services as agreed. However, he has the responsibility to seek, in consultation
with the recipient government, correction of any inadequacies in
project operation, and may withdraw assistance in the event essential
corrections are not made.
-
In order to enable the
Committee to obtain a comprehensive view of the development of the Programme, the Executive Director,
in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, shall prepare
once a year a report indicating activities under way, new activities to be undertaken,
priorities and results of completed projects and
their evaluation, and.shall submit this report for the consideration and approval of the Committee.
-
To assure a prompt
response to request for emergency assistance, the Executive Director may, as appropriate, borrow
commodities from other projects assisted by the Programme in the country or in neighbouring countries, or from other
sources such as cooperating non-governmental programmes.
-
The
Executive Director shall be responsible for making the optimum use of
available resources
in commodities, cash and acceptable services. To this end he may use cash
resources to purchase commodities to the maximum extent possible from developing countries, and shall report such purchases to the Committee.
Cooperation of the Programme with the United Nations and FAO and with other agencies and organizations
16.
- In all stages of the
development of its activities, the Programme shall, as appropriate,
consult with and seek advice and cooperation from the United Nations and FAO.
It shall also operate in close liaison with appropriate United Nations
agencies and United Nations operating programmes, as well as with regional
intergovernmental organizations and bilateral programmes.
Interested and cooperating international agencies and bodies shall be
invited to send representatives to attend
meetings of the Committee. The Executive Director, in consultation with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, shall
give special attention to developing these and other means of cooperation with
these agencies and organizations, and shall report to the Committee on the
progress made.
-
The Programme shall ensure that its assistance be
associated with material, financial and technical assistance provided through other multilateral
programmes and shall seek similar coordination with bilateral programmes.
-
Non-governmental
organizations shall be encouraged, where and as appropriate, to cooperate with the Programme and to support its activities.
Development and operation
of projects, and emergency operations Initiation of projects
17.
- Governments desiring to
establish food aid programmes or projects assisted by the
Programme shall present their requests in the form indicated by the Executive Director.
Prior to the submission of the project application, the knowledge,
skills and experience of locally available technicians, including those of the
United Nations, FAO, the Programme and
other United Nations organizations, should be drawn on to the extent
feasible and necessary for the purpose of assuring maximum
refinement and improvement in the project plans at the earliest possible stage,
particularly with reference to the administrative and technical aspects
thereof. Requests shall normally
be presented through the UNDP Resident Representatives,
who shall keep the FAO Country Representatives and, as appropriate, the
representatives of other United Nations agencies fully informed.
- All projects should have a clear relationship with the recipient country's development plans and/or priorities and should include, as appropriate, a significant input of the recipient government's resources. The Programme should also be assured that all efforts will be made, as feasible and appropriate, to
have the objectives of the projects pursued once the operations of the Programme have
been phased out.
-
The Executive Director shall, upon receipt of requests, proceed to appraise them, and, in doing so, consult with and seek advice and cooperation from the United Nations, FAO and other interested and
cooperating international agencies and bodies according to their respective fields of competence.
- The Executive Director may also, if necessary, dispatch a survey team to examine the project on the spot in consultation with the country concerned.
Such a team should normally include officers of the United Nations and FAO and, where appropriate, also officers of such other
United Nations agencies as may be directly concerned and agree to participate in the field investigation.
- Recipient countries
should, as far as feasible, provide the Executive Director with any relevant information on other aid programmes that would assist the Programme in coordinating its activities with such other programmes. When this
is not possible, the donor countries or organizations may supply the relevant information.
Initiation of Emergency Operations
18. Governments
desiring food assistance to meet emergency food needs shall present a request to the Director-General of FAO.
Such requests should contain the basic information required about the situation. The
Director-General of FAO will request the Executive Director of the Programme to examine it.
The Director-General of FAO will decide upon the request,
taking into account the recommendation of the Executive Director of the Programme.
Project Agreements
19.
- Upon approval of a proposed project by the Committee or by the Executive Director on its behalf, an agreement shall be prepared by the
Executive Director in consultation with the
government concerned. All such agreements shall indicate the terms and
conditions on which the proposed activities are to be carried out; the
supplementary aid to be provided by other agencies or institutions; the
obligations of the government with respect to the utilization of the
commodities supplied, including the use and control of any local currencies
generated from their sale, and with respect to the arrangements made for their
storage, internal transportation and distribution; the responsibility of the
government for all expenses incurred from
the point of delivery, including the cost of import duties, taxes,
levies, dues and wharfage; and such other relevant terms and conditions as
may be mutually agreed upon as necessary for the execution and subsequent
evaluation of the project. Such
agreement shall safeguard the Programme's right to observe all phases of
project operation from the receipt of commodities in the country to final
utilization; provide for audits as necessary; and allow the Programme to
suspend or withdraw assistance in case of serious noncompliance.
It shall also provide for the collection of data on the manner of food
distribution and its effects on the improvement of the nutritional status and
the economic and social development of the country on a longer-term basis; for
the maintenance of complete records, including transport and storage
documents, concerning the utilization of assistance from the Programme; and
for the communication of such records to
the Programme upon request.
- Agreements
may provide for projects under which assistance from the Programme would be available for a
maximum period of five years, provided that such agreements also carry the qualification that their full execution beyond the relevant pledging period is conditional upon resources becoming available.
- Project
agreements shall be signed by the representative of the recipient country and by the Executive Director, or his representative, on behalf of the
Programme.
Emergency Operation Agreements
20. Upon
approval of an emergency operation by the Director-General of FAO, an
agreement, which may be in the form of an exchange of letters, shall be concluded
forthwith between the Executive Director and the recipient government.
Implementation of Projects
21.
- The primary responsibility for project execution shall rest with the
recipient country, in accordance with the provisions of the project agreement.
The Executive Director shall, however, be responsible for supervision
and assistance in execution, shall
take the necessary measures for this purpose and shall utilize the services of
the United Nations and FAO and, where appropriate, other organizations, under such
arrangements as may be agreed upon.
- Costs of unloading and
internal transport, and of any necessary technical and administrative supervision, shall be borne by the recipient government.
However, this condition may be waived by the
Executive Director in exceptional cases, where he is satisfied that a government is unable to meet these costs out of
its own resources, or to arrange that they be met from sources other than the
Programme.
- Commodities shall be delivered to the recipient country
as grants without payment. If such commodities are sold
internally for local currency, the proceeds thereof shall be used for the particular purposes and activities specified in the agreement.
- Before
accepting a project which requires additional external technical or financial
assistance to make such a project feasible, the Executive Director shall assure
himself that such assistance is available.
It shall be the responsibility of the recipient country to obtain and arrange for such additional assistance
as may be available from multilateral and other sources.
- As agreements are carried into effect, recipient
governments shall give full cooperation
so as to enable authorized personnel of the Programme to observe operations from time to time, to ascertain their effects, and to carry out evaluations of
the results
of the projects. Any final reports prepared shall be submitted to the recipient
countries concerned for their comments, and subsequently to the Committee, together with any such comments.
- The
Programme, in making arrangements for the evaluation of projects, shall seek the
assistance of the United Nations and FAO and, as appropriate, of other interested and cooperating
agencies and bodies to carry out an analytical review of the implementation of projects, including an assessment of the
technical progress made and, when practicable, of the effect of assistance from the
Programme on the economic and social development of the country.
Implementation of Emergency Operations
22.
- Paragraphs 21(a), (b)
and (c) above are applicable to the implementation of emergency operations.
-
The recipient government shall report as may be
provided for in the agreement between the Executive Director and the government on the progress of
distribution of WFP commodities.
- As agreements are carried into effect, recipient
governments shall give full cooperation so as to enable authorized personnel of the Programme to observe operations from time to time, to ascertain their effects, and to carry out
evaluations of the results. The Executive Director shall submit reports to the CFA
on emergency operations.
Safeguarding, exporters, international trade, and producers in recipient countries
23. In the assessment of prospective economic and social
development projects, and in their implementation and subsequent evaluation, full consideration shall be
given to the prospective
and actual effect of the project upon local food production, including
possible ways
and means of increasing such production, and upon the markets for agricultural
products produced
in the country.
24. Adequate consideration shall also be given to safeguarding
commercial markets and the normal
and developing trade of exporting countries in accordance with the FAO
Principles of Surplus
Disposal, as well as safeguarding normal commercial practices in respect of acceptable
services used by the Programme.
25. As a means of safeguarding commercial markets, the
Executive Director shall comply with the following requirements:
- At an early stage in the preparation of a project which
may be of such significance as to
threaten to interfere with or disrupt commercial markets or normal and developing
trade, he shall consult with the countries likely to be affected.
- He shall also inform the chairman of the Consultative
Subcommittee on Surplus Disposal
of the FAO Committee on Commodity Problems of such preparations.
- If questions concerning any proposed project are raised
before the Consultative Subcommittee,
its views should be promptly reported to the Executive Director, who shall take them into
account before proceeding with the project.
- To facilitate the consideration of policies within the field of surplus disposal, he shall make available to theConsultative Subcommittee documents relevant to these subjects, prepared by the Programme.
PART E
FINANCIAL
ARRANGEMENTS
26. The Director-General of FAO shall establish a Trust Fund
under Financial Regulation6.7 of FAO, to which all contributions to the Programme shall be credited and
from which thecost of administration and operation of the Programme shall be met.
27. The financial operations
of the Programme shall be carried out insofar as possible under the existing Financial Regulations of
FAO. The Director-General of FAO, in consulta tion with the Executive Director, the FAO Finance Committee and the
United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary
Questions (ACABQ), shall develop, for the approval of the Committee, such additional financial procedures as are necessary
to meet the special needs for the administration of the
Programme.
28. The biennial budget of the Programme shall be reviewed by
the FAO Finance Committee and by the ACABQ, and submitted
together with their reports to the Committee for approval.Supplementary budget estimates may, in exceptional circumstances, be prepared
and reviewedto the extent feasible under the same procedure before submission to the
Committee for approval.
The financial reports of the Programme shall be- submitted to the FAO
FinanceCommittee and to the ACABQ. After review by the FAO Finance Committee and by the
ACABQ,if the latter so desires, they shall be submitted with any comments which these
committees might
wish to make to the Committee for approval.
PART F
STUDIES
29. The Executive Director may undertake, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, studies of problems
related to the effective operations of the Programme and such other functions as may be given to it.
30. The Executive Director, in consultation with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO,
shall arrange for expert studies to be undertaken, as needed, to aid in the consideration of the future development of multilateral foodprogrammes. In developing these
studies, he shall arrange for as much as possible of theinvestigations to be made as part of the regular staff activities of FAO and the
United Nations, and of other interested and competent intergovernmental organizations.
1 In the final version a footnote will appear indicating the resolutions of ECOSOC and the ~ FAO Council by which the revised General Regulations will have been finally approved.
2The Committee decided that paragraph 13 (k) should be
transferred to Part B and become paragraph 6 and all the subsequent paragraphs be renumbered.
3The Committee could not reach a decision on the text of
paragraph 14 and postponed its further consideration until its Fourth Session in the autumn of 1977.