1. The Ninety-ninth Session of the Council was held in Rome from 10 to 21 June 1991 under the Chairmanship of Antoine Saintraint, Independent Chairman of the Council.
2. The Council examined the provisional agenda and was informed of the deletion of Item 23.3, Appointment of External Auditor, and the addition of Item 29.1, Appointment of Representatives of the FAO Conference to the Staff Pension Committee.
3. With the above amendments the Council adopted its agenda and timetable. The agenda is given in Appendix A to this Report.
4. The Council elected three Vice-chairmen for its Session: Mercedes Fermín-Gómez (Venezuela), Michael Kima Tabong (Cameroon) and Nusyirwan Zen (Indonesia).
5. The Council elected Sture Theolin (Sweden) as Chairman of the Drafting Committee with the following membership: Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of), Sweden, Thailand and United States of America.
As was customary the Director-General made a statement to the Council.
6. In his statement the Director-General, in drawing the attention of the Council to the current state of the world's food and agriculture, pointed to the widespread suffering inflicted on millions of people as a result of successive tragedies in recent months in Africa, Asia and the Near East. He stressed that Third World countries, particularly those in Latin America, were collapsing under the weight of their cumulative debt, while Eastern European countries were experiencing desperate economic straits in their struggle to make the transition from centrally-planned to market economies.
7. The Director-General highlighted FAO's vital role within the UN System in responding effectively and impartially to these challenges within its areas of competence. He referred in particular to the activities of the Screwworm Emergency Centre for North Africa (SECNA), the aerial spraying mission in Iraq north of the 36th parallel which had treated more than 100 000 hectares of cereal crop infected by the sunn pest disease, and the immediate assistance provided to Bangladesh through the shipment of animal vaccines, vegetable seeds and supplies for the fishing population.
8. Furthermore, FAO had responded to the cholera outbreak in Latin America by providing assistance under the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to strengthen the control of food products in Peru and other countries at risk in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. It was also playing an important role, within tight limited resources, in assisting Eastern European countries to analyse their agricultural situation, examine their production systems, and envisage feasible new farming models encompassing both cooperatives and the private sector.
9. In referring to the acute financial position of the Organization, which remained his greatest concern and which had reached the alarming figure of USS 313.8 million in arrears, the Director-General emphasized that if FAO was to accomplish its mandate and meet the ever-increasing demands from its Member Nations, it should be provided with the funds approved by the Conference.
10. The Director-General underlined that the main item of the agenda requiring the attention of the Council members was his proposed Summary Programme of Work and Budget for 1992-93. He expressed the hope that since the Organization had been subjected to a series of substantial cuts in recent biennia, a spirit of solidarity would prevail among Member Nations and that consensus would be reached at the Conference session in approving the Programme of Work and Budget for 1992-93.
11. The full text of the Director-General's Statement is given in Appendix D to this report.
Retirement of Mr Dean K. Crowther4
12. The Council was informed by the Director-General of the retirement of Mr Dean K. Crowther, Assistant Director-General of the Administration and Finance Department. In bidding farewell to Mr Crowther, the Director-General thanked him for his decisive contribution in coping with FAO's financial crisis and in ensuring many significant improvements in personnel, travel, computer, and other administrative and financial services, and wished to place on record his appreciation for his competence, hard work and dedication to the Organization.
13. The Representative of the United States of America, the country of which Mr Crowther is a national, commended the high degree of competence and professionalism which Mr Crowther brought to his responsibilities at FAO and thanked him for his service and dedication to multilateralism.
14. The Council paid tribute to the professionalism and care which Mr Crowther had always shown in his dealings with Member delegations and wished him the very best for the future.
1CL 99/1; CL 99/INF/l-Rev.1; CL 99/PV/l; CL 99/PV/19.
2CL 99/INF/9; CL 99/PV/l; CL 99/PV/3; CL 99/PV/4; CL 99/PV/19.
3CL 99/INF/5; CL 99/PV/l; CL 99/PV/19.
4CL 99/PV/18; CL 99/PV/19.
