III. ACITIVITIES OF FAO AND WFP (continued)
III. ACTIVITES DE LA FAO ET DU PAM (suite)
III. ACTIVIDADES DE LA FAO Y DEL PMA (continuación)

9. Preparations for the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
9. Preparation de la Conférence mondiale sur la reforme agraire et le développement rural
9. Preparativos para la Conferencia Mundial sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarollo Rural

CHAIRMAN: As you will note, there is no document on this. This is an item put on for information. I would like to call on Mr. Santa Cruz, who is dealing with this matter.

H. SANTA CRUZ (Representante Especial del Director General - Conferencia Mundial sobre la Reforma Agraria y el Desarrollo Rural): Conozco bien el gran interés demostrado por el Consejo respecto a la Conferencia Mundial sobre la Reforma Agraria y el Desarrollo Rural convocada para julio de 1979 Fue el Consejo el que ya en 1974 y 1975 tomó la iniciativa para que ella se realizara y después en sus periodos de sesiones 69°, 70° y 71°, trazo orientaciones para la Conferencia, tanto en sus aspectos procesales como sustantivos. No creo, sin embargo, prudente repetir ante esta sesión del Consejo tan recargada de tareas - lo que exige intervenciones cortas - todas las informaciones detalladas sobre los trabajos preparatorios de la Conferencia Mundial, que los gobiernos miembros de FAO ya han reci­bido: a través de las exposiciones ante las Conferencias regionales del Director General y de su Representante Especial; de cuatro informes sobre el estado de las actividades preparatorias que han sido publicados a intervalos dedosmeses; de exposiciones ante el Consejo Económico y Social de las Naciones Unidas; del material entregado a las representaciones permanentes; y, finalmente, por medio de una carta circular pormenorizada enviada hace pocas semanas a todos los gobiernos que participaran en la Conferencia.

En esas exposiciones y documentos hay amplia información sobre los ajustes internos en FAO para pre­parar la Conferencia; las reuniones del Comité Consultivo de alto nivel; la cooperación de las organi­zaciones y organismos del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas, como resultado del carácter multidiscipli-nario de la Conferencia; la contribución de los gobiernos en la etapa preparatoria, particularmente a través de 67 estudios por países que nos han sido enviados y que serán puestos a disposición de los gobiernos participantes en la Conferencia, en varias copias, en idioma original. Contienen tam­bién el estado de la documentación y la orientación de la Conferencia de acuerdo con las directivas del Consejo y de la 19^a Conferencia de FAO.

Estas razones me determinan a referirme solamente a las actividades y hechos más recientes y a los programas futuros, pero haciendo presente que estoy a disposición de los señores miembros del Conseio para proporcionar las informaciones adicionales que tengan a bien demandar.

Debo comenzar destacando los resultados de las cinco Conferencias regionales de la FAO, celebradas durante el presente año y que examinaron los aspectos regionales y subregionales de las materias que tratará la Conferencia Mundial. Todas ellas confirmaron el gran interés de los países por dicho, torneo y su intención de participar activamente en ella y, ademas, de dar prioridad en sus programas a las políticas de desarrollo rural.

Hubo consenso en que la erradicación de la pobreza rural, el aumento de la producción, la participa­ción efectiva de la población en el proceso de desarrollo, especialmente la de la mujer, y el fomento del empleo agrícola y no agrícola, deben ser los objetivos principales de la Conferencia. Todas las Conferencias regionales han subrayado, igualmente, que la reforma agraria y el desarrollo rural'no deben limitarse a modificar los sistemas de la tenencia de la tierra, sino que deben comprender una serie de medidas tendientes a acelerar el desarrollo económico, social, tecnológico y ecológico de las areas rurales. Coincidieron, asimismo, en que las políticas y estrategias para alcanzar tales objeti­vos debían ser decididas soberanamente por cada país. Por otra parte, los países en desarrollo, todas las Conferencias de los países en desarrollo destacaron que las actividades nacionales en esta materia no darán los resultados apetecidos, a menos que se establezca y se ponga en marcha un orden económico internacional diferente del actual: uno más justo y más humano. La Conferencia dispondrá de un docu­mento donde se analizan los resultados de las Conferencias Regionales en estas materias.

La documentación ha sido ya redactada y está en proceso de reproducción en seis idiomas v será distri­buida en los plazos reglamentarios. El documento principal se intitula "Examen y Análisis de la Reforma Agraria y el Desarrollo Rural en los países en desarrollo desde mediados de los años 60" Se pondra a disposición del Comité Preparatorio como base de su examen del Programa provisional de la Conferencia. Este documento estudia las condiciones sociales y económicas generales que prevalecen en los países en desarrollo, incluido un examen de las tendencias y características fundamentales de las situaciones que se han planteado durante los últimos diez años. Se ha elaborado tomando en cuenta las informaciones de los estudios por países que estuvieron disponibles al prepararse aquél, así como las contribuciones de las organizaciones y organismos de las Naciones Unidas que han prestado direc­tamente y a través del Comité de Interorganismos, una contribución muy valiosa.

El Comité Preparatorio, que se reunirá del 12 al 16 de marzo de 1979 tendrá, además de las tareas de examinar el Programa de la Conferencia y el resultado de las Conferencias Regionales, las de aprobar el Reglamento interior de ésta y proponer las autoridades. Esperamos una participación amplia de los Gobiernos, pues el Comité Preparatorio tendrá una importancia decisiva.

Creo oportuno señalar que el Comité Consultivo de expertos de alto nivel, que ya han contribuido valio­samente a nuestros trabajos en dos reuniones, tendrá una tercera en el mes de enero próximo.

El Director General ha aprobado el Programa provisional para la Conferencia que será presentado al Comité Preparatorio para su consideración y aprobación.

Los temas que contendrá este Programa serán los siguientes:

En materia de políticas nacionales:

- Políticas y estrategias para la reforma agraria y el desarrollo rural en los años 80;

- Acceso y mejor aprovechamiento de tierras, aguas y otros recursos naturales;

- Participación de la población en el desarrollo;

- Acceso a los insumos, mercados y servicios:

- Desarrollo de actividades rurales no agrícolas;

- Educación, capacitación y extensión.

Las cuestiones internacionales serán:

- La reforma agraria y el desarrollo rural en el contexto del Nuevo Orden Económico Internacional;

- Comercio internacional;

- Cooperación económica y técnica entre países en desarrollo;

- Inversiones externas del sector privado;

- Asistencia oficial y préstamos comerciales para el desarrollo;

Función del sistema de las Naciones Unidas y otros organismos interesados;

El Director General propondrá también que la Conferencia organice su labor en sesiones plenarias y en dos comisiones. Una de éstas se ocupará de políticas nacionales y la otra de políticas inter­nacionales.

Inspirados por el mandato de la 19^a Conferencia de que las deliberaciones del torneo mundial debieran resultar en programas bien definidos orientados hacia la acción, estamos preparando breves docu­mentos de explicación y apoyo de cada uno de los temas del Orden del Día de la Conferencia, con el objetivo de hacer posible que un programa de acción adecuado, tanto respecto a políticas nacionales como internacionales, sea considerado por la Conferencia.

En lo que toca a la participación en la Conferencia de representantes no miembros de la FAO, pero que lo que son de las Naciones Unidas u otras organizaciones del sistema, recomendada por la 19 Con­ferencia y el Consejo Económico y Social, puedo informar que la Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas So­viéticas y la República Democrática Alemana, han aceptado la invitación que les formuló nuestro Di­rector General.

Consciente del interés directo de los pueblos en las materias que debatirá la Conferencia Mundial, la FAO ha invitado a concurrir a la Conferencia más de 70 organizaciones no gubernamentales, a las que la FAO u otros miembros del sistema de las Naciones Unidas han dado algún tipo de reconocimiento internacional.

Hemos podido realizar actividades de información y publicidad, que no tienen f inane i amien to en el presupuesto, gracias al generoso aporte de Suecia, Noruega y Dinamarca. Se ha distribuido extensa­mente un folleto de antecedentes sobre la Conferencia en varios idiomas, los informes sobre el estado de las actividades preparatorias a que ya me referí y dos números de la publicación mensual "Pueblo, pan y tierra". Asimismo estamos organizando un coloquio de periodistas para antes de la Conferencia.

Señor Presidente, el Director General me ha honrado con la responsabilidad de ser su Representante Especial para la organización, promoción y dirección de la Conferencia Mundial. En esa calidad he podido visitar numerosos Estados Miemibros y las organizaciones internacionales que cooperan con noso­tros, con el objetivo de informarlos y estimular su cooperación para el éxito de la Conferencia. En el futuro continuará en esta grata tarea.

El Consejo ha podido aquilatar en estos días que en la mayor parte de los países en desarrollo la producción agropecuaria per capita está estancada o ha disminuido y los niveles son alarmantemente bajos. Por tal razón sigue vigente lo declarado por la Resolución 13/77 de la Conferencia en el sentido de que "los progresos globales que se han realizado no han repercutido realmente en la eliminación de la miseria de las masas rurales que continúan padeciendo desempleo, subempieo, hambre y desnutrición a causa de la inadecuación de las estructuras socioeconómicas vigentes", y que por ello es urgente "determinar que cambios institucionales hacen falta" para transformar esa situación.

Una Conferencia que ; produzca recomendaciones concretas orientadas hacia la acción dará un impulso de­cisivo a las importantes y novedosas medidas que el Consejo ha estado acordando en los últimos días, a propuesta del Director General. Ellas, para dar resultados duraderos y plenamente eficaces, necesitan insertarse en programas de desarrollo económicosocial integrales de las áreas rurales, que satisfagan la trilogía de necesidades básicas: las necesidades del individuo rural, las nece­sidades de la comunidad internacional; es esta la única manera de superar las múltiples crisis de carácter estructural que caracterizan nuestra epoca y que repercuten, sobre todo, en la población rural del mundo postergado.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Santa Cruz, for the account of what has been done so far in preparation for this important Conference.

G. BULA HOYOS (Colombia): Hemos oído una buena declaración, lúcida y clara que revela el dominio y conocimiento del tema presentado en forma adecuada. Somos conscientes de que este asunto se presenta al Consejo para información. Sin embargo, la delegación de Colombia considera que podría ser conveniente expresar algunos conceptos de orden general sobre lo que se ha dicho, evitando entrar en controversias que den lugar a debate que no está previsto en nuestro Orden del Día.

Decimos esto porque si bien en el pasado nuestro Consejo se ocupó de la idea de la Conferencia, es ésta la primera vez que nos vamos a ocupar de los preparativos de esa importante reunión, después de que la Conferencia de la FAO de noviembre pasado, mediante la Resolución 13/77 autorizó la realización de esa Conferencia. Además es ésta la última ocasión que tiene el Consejo para tratar esta cuestión, pues el Comité Preparatorio se reunirá a partir del 12 de marzo próximo, y nuestra reunión del Consejo de verano de 1979 está prevista del 11 al 22 de junio, o sea, inme­diatamente antes de la Conferencia Mundial sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural que se ini­ciará el 12 de julio.

Por eso decimos que tal vez algunos conceptos que incluyéramos en nuestro informe podrían representar el aporte del Consejo de la FAO a la reunión del Comité Preparatorio. Con su venia, en forma muy brevel,la delegación de Colombia destacará algunos de los asuntos esenciales tratados por el señor Representante Especial, a quien luego le dirigiremos algunas preguntas, pues él con acierto ha manifestado que permanece a disposición de los miembros del Consejo para sumi­nistrar informaciones adicionales.

Creo que en primer lugar podríamos decir que el Consejo insta a los gobiernos a que se hagan representar en esa Conferencia a alto nivel político y técnico ya que de esa participación dependerá el buen éxito de esa reunión y de la implementación de sus Recomendaciones. Así lo había ya recomendado el último párrafo dispositivo de la Disposición 13/77. Estaríamos de acuerdo en que las políticas y estrategias para alcanzar los objetivos que persigue esa reunión deben ser decididos soberanamente por cada país. Mahifestaríamos nuestra satisfacción por la coope­ración que a la FAO vienen ofreciendo otras organizaciones del sistema dé las Naciones Unidas, porque los problemas del desarrollo rural y de la reforma agraria van más allá del campo espe­cífico que corresponde a nuestra Organización. Y podríamos agradecer a los países nórdicos citados las contribuciones extra que han estado haciendo en favor del adelanto de estos preparativos.

Finalmente, quisiéramos preguntarle al señor Representante Especial si en el adelanto de esos preparativos se han tenido en cuenta, por ejemplo, las conclusiones y recomendaciones de la Con­ferencia Mundial sobre Reforma Agraria celebrada en 1976 y que fue presidida exitosamente por el mismo señor Embajador Santa Cruz.

Quisiéramos saber también si la FAO ha tenido en cuenta el llamado marco conceptual juzgado excelente en aquella oportunidad, aprobado por la Conferencia Regional Latinoamericana celebrada en Caracas en 1970. Igualmente, nos parece que hubiera sido de interés que en esos preparativos se tuvieran en cuenta los principios fundamentales del Informe que aprobó nuestra Conferencia General de la FAO en 1971, basados en el Informe que presentó un Comité a muy alto nivel que fue dirigido por el ex-Presidente de Colombia, Dr. Carlos Lleras Restrepo.

También hubiera podido ser interesante evaluar, como supongo lo habrá hecho el señor Representante Especial y sus colaboradores, los 67 informes, por países recibidos, para determinar en qué medida los gobiernos han implementado esas recomendaciones y cuáles han sido los obstáculos fundamen­tales que se han presentado en este campo. Consideramos que seria importante utilizar este material, pues los problemas de la Reforma Agraria y el Desarrollo Rural generalmente son los mismos, y al utilizar la experiencia y conocimientos que ya tiene nuestra Organización, evitaríamos duplicación de actividades.

Finalmente, queremos recordar que el párrafo 2.6.7 de la pasada Conferencia de la FAO que se ocupó de esta cuestión, dice textualmente: "Es esencial que los preparativos se hagan con cuidado y que se eviten discusiones teóricas". Y sigo citando: "La documentación debe orientarse expresamente a las cuestiones claves que se debatan". Fiel a esas posiciones que ya definió nuestra Conferencia, la delegación de Colombia desearía que las actividades restantes de los preparativos y la celebración de la propia Conferencia se llevaran a cabo en forma ordenada, sin demagogia, sin alardes, a fin de obtener el más positivo resultado de esa importante reunión.

En general, nuestra delegación está de acuerdo con los preparativos que se vienen adelantando y desea al Embajador, señor Santa Cruz, Representante Especial, muy buen éxito en la importante labor que en buena hora se le ha confiado.

RAMADHAR (India): My delegation would like to compliment Mr. Santa Cruz on his very illuminating introduction. We know that the information that he has given is only for the information of the Council, but I think my delegation would be failing in our duty if we did not register our satisfaction at the manner in which the preparation for the Conference has been going on.

My delegation feels that this Conference is of a unique character, though reference has been made by the delegate of Colombia to the conference held in 1966. But I had occasion to glance through the report of the 1966 Conference and as I see the subjects to be discussed in the forthcoming Conference I find that this forthcoming Conference is of a completely different complexion. It encompasses the very widest spectrum of subjects and for the first time we feel that while the problems of development and progress are not going to percolate to the poorest segment of the society, this basic problem of development is going to be discussed at the highest political level. With this background we feel that the Conference is very timely and unique and we are sure, keeping in view the elaborate preparations, that the Conference will result in very well defined action-oriented programmes.

We are looking forward very keenly to the document which Mr. Santa Cruz has just mentioned, the Review and Analysis of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development in Developing Countries since the mid-1960s. We feel that this document will be very valuable because it will provide a synthesis of the experiences of many developing countries on this basic issue of development.

In conclusion, my delegation would again like to emphasize that we are very much satisfied and encouraged by the manner in which the preparation for the Conference is going on and we are sure that the Conference will result in very fruitful recommendations.

P.A. MORALES CARBALLO (Cuba): Hemos oído con atención la clara exposición hecha por el Sr. Embajador Santa Cruz, representante especial del Director General para la Conferencia Mundial de Reforma Agra­ria y Desarrollo Rural. Nos satisface mucho saber la buena marcha que llevan los preparativos de la próxima Conferencia Mundial y vemos que no se escatiman esfuerzos por lograr su éxito, éxito que es esperado por todos.

Nuestra delegación quiere aprovechar la ocasión para reiterar nuestro apoyo más decidido a los tra­bajos que se realizan con vistas a la próxima Conferencia, apoyo que también fue expresado durante la reciente Conferencia Regional para América Latina, y que fue refrendado sin excepción por todas las conferencias regionales. Nosotros deseamos expresar, igualmente, que nuestro Gobierno, cons­ciente de la importancia de este evento, hará el máximo esfuerzo por hacerse representar en el mismo con un alto nivel político y técnico.

Por último, Sr. Presidente, deseamos proponer que la intervención que nos ha hecho el Sr. Santa Cruz sea distribuida como documento de información para este Consejo.

P.L. SALES (United States of America): My delegation would like to compliment Ambassador Santa Cruz for a most helpful presentation. We also wish to compliment the Secretariat for its comprehensive enlightening documents on agrarian reform and rural development prepared for regional conferences. We found them remarkably useful. The Secretariat was admirably forthright in its position on the importance of secure land tenure and land reform as essential, though insufficient conditions for development in many developing countries.

The United States believes that there are other critically important linkages between food production, distribution and consumption. In many developing countries if increased employment and income are not generated for the poor effective demand for basic foods will not increase sufficiently. Production incentives will remain weak and food production itself will not meet national goals.

The United States continues to hope that the World Conference potential for increasing international consciousness and concern about the problem of agrarian reform and rural development and for stimulating action programmes in developing countries with appropriate support for the international community will be realized. To realize that potential we continue to believe that a carefully designed programme of work, including documentation and preparatory meetings, is required to help resolve a complex of related leading issues.

We wish to commend the Director-General and Ambassador Santa Cruz for the organization of work now under way.

M.S. ZEHNI (Libya) (Interpretation from Arabic): This might be the third or fourth time that we listen to His Excellency Ambassador Santa Cruz, in which he gives an account of the preparatory activities for the coming World Conference. I felt that his measures are becoming more concrete all the time, and he is more confident, and this is evidence that the great effort exerted for the preparations is a sound one; and this is a good occasion to commend His Excellency the Ambassador once more for his efforts and his great attention in the preparation of this Conference, in order to reach the desired objectives.

It is our duty also to reiterate our congratulations to the Director-General on his good choice for his special representative for the preparation of this World Conference. Despite the fact that what has been given to us today is for the information of the Council, it is yet timely and appropriate to stress here the satisfaction of the Council for the steps taken in preparation of this important World Conference, and that this satisfaction has been expressed more than once and in more than one forum, especially in FAO Regional Conferences.

Although the sound preparation of the Conference is very important, yet its real success will depend greatly on those who will participate in the actual sessions. We therefore find it necessary to reiterate that it is important to stress the quality of representation. This might not appear important in the first place, but the quality of this representation is what counts. Representation for any institution or non-governmental organizations directly interested in agrarian reform and rural development should play an important role in this Conference, We stress this aspect especially as it is related to the effective and direct participation in development and in rural development, shouldered by the masses who are concerned in development in various countries.

We have said more than once that we attach great interest to this Conference which will serve the declared objectives, especially in the acceleration of development, and particularly rural development in developing countries. My country was in the vanguard of countries submitting their country reports in the review of the programmes of agrarian reform. We should like to say that these country reports - there were more than 64 reports - should be submitted and fully studied and analysed appropriately, not with a view to historical information but in a manner that would reflect completely the various attempts and trends and the different efforts exerted in this respect.

Once more, I should like to express my satisfaction with what has been submitted by His Excellency Ambassador Santa Cruz and I wish him every success in his forthcoming efforts for the preparation of the Conference.

Sra. G. RIVERA MARIN DE ITURBE (México): El informe que ha presentado a nuestra consideración el Sr. Embajador Santa Cruz como representante del Director General para la Conferencia Mundial de Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural confirma, en el criterio de mi delegación, la excelente designación hecha por el propio Director General al depositar en la persona del Embajador Santa Cruz toda su confianza.

Para México el tema de la Conferencia de Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural por obvias razones, resulta de gran importancia. El país entero está poniendo su atención en los preparativos que là FAO está realizando para la Conferencia Mundial en el año entrante, y estamos seguros que las per­sonas que vendrán a representar a mi país serán del más alto nivel ejecutivo y técnico. Los prepara­tivos se están haciendo con gran entusiasmo y hay algunos programas que se han empezado a implementar con el fin de poder venir a esta Conferencia con informes precisos sobre lo que se está haciendo para el desarrollo rural en México y qué resultados se han logrado. Pero todo esto no sería de utilidad para el país si no fuera complementado con los informes y con los modelos de desarrollo que esperamos sean presentados por otros países que, como México, se encuentran en vías de desarrollo y que nos servirán para tomar experiencia y corregir los errores que hayamos cometido, o que se cometan, en este proceso de mejoramiento de las condiciones de la producción agrícola de México. México es un país, como lo hemos indicado con anterioridad, que se encuentra ahora en crisis de producción agrí­cola y necesitamos el apoyo de quienes saben más de estos temas que nosotros. La experiencia inter­nacional que vamos a tener la oportunidad de comparar en el desarrolló de la Conferencia, va a ser de indudable beneficio para mi país, además de que los técnicos que asistan a la Conferencia en calidad de delegados, estoy segura de que también podrán aportar para otros países sus propias expe­riencias que en algunos casos han sido de verdadero éxito.

Desearía en este momento agradecer al Sr. Santa Cruz las luces que ha puesto en nuestros trabajos, la metodología que utilizó y, en este sentido, apoyo la propuesta que presentó el delegado de Cuba para que el documento que nos ha sido leído por el propio Sr. Santa Cruz nos sea distribuido como documento de informe a todos los miembros del Consejo. Este documento nos servirá de guía adecuada para rea­lizar nuestras tareas, enviarlo a nuestros países, y trabajar sobre las aportaciones que haremos en la Conferencia preparatoria y en el curso de la Conferencia misma.

Q.H. HAQUE (Bangladesh): We have heard with great interest the statement of Señor Santa Cruz which is very clear and precise. We are aware of the steps the Director-General has taken to make this Conference a success. Besides his high level advisory committee, he has also constituted an inter-developmental committee presided over by the Assistant Director-General for Economic and Social Policy Department, Professor Nouri Islam, who will be responsible for preparing substantive inputs for the Conference. We feel that the way the preparation is going will take the situation to a climax by the time we meet in the preparatory meeting. We are sure the combination of the Professor and the diplomat - one producing the intellectual inputs and the other going on with his diplomacy to the Member Countries for the highest level attendance and highest level participation - will produce very good results.

For the developing countries in 1978 the most important event was the Conference on TCDC held in the country of my good friend, the great country of Argentina, and in 1979 the most important event will be the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, to which we had been looking forward for the last three years now, since the resolution in the Eighteenth FAO Conference and the resolution in the ECOSOC.

Another important input for the Conference will be the country review papers. The response by as many as 67 countries to produce country review papers showed the interest that Señor Santa Cruz has succeeded in arousing in the Member Countries. As regards this important input, I feel that it may be necessary to synthesize the inputs in the country papers and produce them in a form showing the similarities :and dissimilarities in the country review papers in different countries, and then breaking up under sub-items. This is a suggestion I am making for better understanding of the country review papers which are as many as 67, so that at the time of intervation and participation of the Conference, Member Countries may make best use of these country review papers. We are sure that the main document review and analysis will be an excellent one. We assure you, Mr. Chairman, that from Bangladesh we are looking forward to this Conference and that attendance will be at the highest possible level.

CHAIRMAN: I should like to thank the Minister of Liberia for withdrawing from the list of interventions on this item.

M. MESSAOUI (Algérie): Notre delegation s'excuse du retard indépendant de sa volonté. Nous tenons toutefois à démontrer combien l'Algérie accorde d'importance à cette honorable Organisation. Nous tenons aussi à remercier et à féliciter le Secrétariat pour les documents précis et concis qui nous ont permis d'appréhender clairement les différents sujets.

La question qui nous est soumise aujourd'hui revêt une importance primordiale. Elle est importante par le fait qu'elle permettra, par nos différentes institutions, de remédier à cette disparité qui existe entre les citoyens des villes et les citoyens des campagnes. Nous n'allons pas revenir sur les débats qui ont eu lieu à Arusha sur cette question. Néanmoins certains points nous tiennent à coeur que nous voudrions reprendre. Certaines délégations ont exprimé le souhait, autour de cette réunion d'Arusha, que les politiques générales devraient fondamentalement s'étayer sur les ressources et l'autonomie nationales pour permettre de parvenir à un haut degré d'autosuffisance, notamment en matière de productions alimentaires.

Cette conférence a fait état aussi de la nécessité de l'amélioration de l'infrastructure, de l'octroi de ressources financières, de l'instauration de services de recherches, de développement et de vulgarisation et de la formation des agriculteurs. Ce sont autant de points importants qui nécessitent toute notre attention. En effet, la Conférence mondiale sur le développement rural et la réforme agraire, au-delà des espoirs qu'elle porte pour les pays du tiers monde, n'en demeure pas moins une forme d'échanges d'expériences enrichissantes.

C'est pourquoi nous devons nous féliciter des mesures prises par le Directeur général en vue de la préparation de la Conférence mondiale sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural. La Conférence mondiale sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural pourra être un apport au nouvel ordre économique international.

K. ITANO (Japan): My delegation also compliments Ambassador Santa Cruz for his excellent introductory statement. The issue is only for information so I shall be as brief as possible.

My Government very much welcomes the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and it is timely to have the Conference at this juncture, so that we can exchange experiences and views thereon and discuss action plans to be pursued in the future.

Having said this I should like to make two points which are, in our opinion, to be taken into consideration in discussing the issue. Firstly, attention should be given not only to agricultural production in a narrow sense but also to a wider range of issues, including the creation for development of agro-industries in rural areas, the labour-intensified farming methods and the improvement of the economic and social infrastructure as a whole in rural areas. Secondly, the possible institutional reforms of urgent need should be sought through the analysis of various problems faced by small farmers, that is the marketing of agricultural products, the attaining of input for agricultural production, transfer of techniques, the introduction and utilization of irrigation facilities and so on.

S. A. PERVEZ (Pakistan): We have heard with interest the address of the Director-General's special representative to the WCARRD. We are grateful to Mr. Santa Cruz for his elaboration and feel satisfied that the preparations for the Conference are in competent hands. The field of rural development is of special significance to us in Pakistan, as indeed it is to all developing countries, as the major portion of their populations reside in rural areas. We look forward, therefore, to this Conference and hope that it will achieve the importance and vital purpose for which it is being convened, that is to involve all governments of the world in new and consistent efforts to improve conditions and the quality of life for rural people and to stimulate self-reliant growth with equity within the context of a new international economic order.

We agree with the view expressed that this Conference is both unique and timely. We would also like to mention that the FAO Conference conferred on the World Conference a clear mandate to take up the key economic issues on agrarian reform and rural development.

Finally, we compliment Ambassador Santa Cruz and the FAO Secretariat for the efforts and preparations they are making to make the World Conference both conspicuous as well as successful.

CHAIRMAN: I have received the notes of Thailand in writing, which will be taken care of in the usual way.

I. MOSKOVITS (Malta): I would like first of all to thank Ambassador Santa Cruz for this very lucid information. We are very grateful for it, as well as for the information that is to be sent regularly to the governments.

We congratulate the Director-General for the organization of this Conference and particularly for the excellent choice he made to select Ambassador Santa Cruz as his special representative and Mr. Nehemiah who is the head of the Secretariat. We are particularly satisfied that this Conference will be vital and most stress will be made on rural development.

For a small country like Malta there are some particular problems which are prominent and since this is how to increase the cultivated land, how to increase agricultural'land and how to create from the rocky soils, with the addition of a sub soil and cover that with soil, how to make that really productive land, this Conference will be of great interest to us. Another problem which I would like to mention is the proportion of full-time farmers and part-time farmers. In a country in which it is in the interest of development, more and more people are leaving the land, or not completely leaving the land but are becoming part-time farmers and this, of course, has its repercussions on agricultural production. If we are discussing rural development in the Conference in general I hope these two points, which I mentioned also at the last session of COAG, will be also taken into account.

CHAIRMAN: The French delegation will also submit their comments in writing.

F. GERBASI (Venezuela): Aunque el tema nos ha sido sometido para nuestra información, la ocasión es propicia para reiterar en nombre del Gobierno de Venezuela nuestro total apoyo al Representante Especial del Director General, Sr. Hernán Santa Cruz, por los continuos e invalorables esfuerzos que viene realizando en la preparación de la Conferencia Mundial sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural.

Estamos convencidos de que estos esfuerzos, conjuntamente con una adecuada participación de nuestros países al más alto nivel, nos permitirá obtener resultados en el marco del nuevo orden económico in­ternacional dirigidos hacia la acción y en beneficio directo de las ingentes masas rurales de nuestros países.

CO. KELLER SARMIENTO (Argentina): Mi delegación quiere agradecer muy especialmente al Sr. Hernán Santa Cruz su información, la cual nos es sumamente útil y revela la aplicación, capacidad y seriedad con que se están efectuando las tareas de preparación de esta Conferencia.

La Conferencia Mundial sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural será un acontecimiento de gran impor­tancia para la comunidad internacional si se logran los objetivos básicos enunciados, esto es: procurar el mejoramiento de la capacidad de producir alimentos y la posibilidad de que una explotación más ra­cional y humana de los recursos agropecuarios de un país pueda tender a mejorar la situación del medio rural a través de una mayor capacidad de producción y realización dentro del marco de la voluntad so­berana de su pueblo y de acuerdo con la características propias de cada región.

En este espíritu entendemos el esfuerzo de la FAO y la aplicación personal y generosa del Sr. Santa Cruz en los trabajos preparatorios de esta Conferencia. Le deseamos mucho éxito.

Muchos países en desarrollo que han seguido su propio camino en la promoción del desarrollo rural y la distribución de la tierra y que lo han hecho en función de sus intereses nacionales y la voluntad so­berana de sus pueblos, tendrán seguramente una participación activa y constructiva en esta reunión con miras a lograr los objetivos que inspiraron la convocatoria.

Apoyamos sin reserva la moción presentada por el representante de Cuba en el sentido de que la presen­tación efectuada por el Sr. Santa Cruz sea circulada como documento de trabajo de esta reunión.

P. LAOWHAPHAN (Thailand): The World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, no doubt captured the great attention of all countries, in particular the developing countries.

As land reform and rural development still remain the major problems of all the developing countries - and Thailand is no exception in this regard - my delegation would like to pay tribute to the Director-General who underlined the essential role of this World Conference and chose very appropriately Mr, Santa Cruz as his special representative dealing with this Conference.

My delegation would like to assure you our keen interest in this Conference. We have already submitted our country review paper and look forward to hear about the knowledge and experience of other countries. 1/

P. HALIMI (France): La perspective de la Conférence mondiale sur la réforme agraire et le développe­ment rural ne saurait laisser la France indifférente (mon pays a d'ailleurs fourni un des 67 rapports) car cette rencontre internationale devrait être l'occasion de synthétiser des efforts épars dans une vision globale permettant une meilleure contribution de l'agriculture à la croissance économique.

Ce n'est certes pas la première fois que les problèmes agraires font l'objet d'une confrontation internationale et cette Conférence mondiale n'est pas la première consacrée à la réforme agraire mais ce qu'il y a de nouveau c'est l'association explicite de la réforme agraire et du développement rural et c'est en cela qu'on peut dire qu'il y a une situation porteuse d'espérances nouvelles.

Du fait de ce rapprochement, la réforme agraire n'est plus un objectif en soi, elle devient une condi­tion parmi d'autres, essentielle certes du développement rural, celle qui doit permettre par une transformation de la structure agraire l'expansion de la production agricole qui est le but ultime.

En donnant à la notion de structure agraire une signification centrale, la Conférence réalise une conjonction d'intérêt au niveau de la compréhension du développement rural qui devrait trouver son prolongement dans une coopération internationale mieux adaptée aux besoins des pays les moins développés.

Mon pays, comme tous les pays européens, a déjà exprimé à Lisbonne son appui à cette Conférence mondiale, ses félicitations au Directeur général et à M. Santa Cruz du soin apporté à sa préparation, et la résolution votée à la Conférence, régionale de Lisbonne traduit le vif intérêt porté à cette importante réunion internationale et notre désir d'y participer activement au niveau approprié.

IV. PROGRAMME, BUDGETARY, FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS (continued)
IV. QUESTIONS CONCERNANT LE PROGRAMME, LE BUDGET, LES FINANCES ET L'ADMINISTRATION (suite)
IV. ASUNTOS DEL PROGRAMA Y ASUNTOS PRESUPUESTARIOS, FINANCIEROS Y ADMINISTRATIVOS (continuación)

20. Financial Matters, including:
20. Questions financières, notamment:
20. Asuntos financieros, en particular:

20.1 Special Account for the Prevention of Food Losses
20.1 Compte spécial pour la prevention des pertes de produits alimentaires
20.1 Cuenta Especial para la Prevención de las Perdidas de Alimentos

20.2 Financial Position of the Organization
20.2 Situation financière de l'Organisation
20.2 Situación financiera de la Organización

20.3 Audited Accounts
20.3 Comptes verifies
20.3 Cuentas Comprobadas

(a) Regular Programme, 1976-77
(a) Programme ordinaire, 1976-77
(a) Programa Ordinario, 1976-77

(b) UNDP, 1977
(b) PNUD, 1977
(b) PNUD, 1977

(c) World Food Programme, 1977
(c) Programme alimentaire mondial- 1977
(c) Programa Mundial de Alimentos, 1977

CHAIRMAN: The Members will note that this item has many sub-items. These sub-items are clearly listed. Most of these documents are statements of accounts of past funds spent and so on, and they are here mainly for information, although some debate may be necessary on some of them.

I would therefore, if you agree, follow the procedure we followed yesterday of taking the whole of item 20 and then those members who wish to speak to any particular sub-item can mention the sub-item they want to speak on, so that the various members of the Secretariat who are here and also the Chairman of the Finance Committee can respond to Members' comments. The only new document we have is CL 74/INF/ll/Corr. 1.

M. BEL HAD J MOR (Président du Comité financier): Comme vous le savez, ce point concerne le compte spécial pour la prévention des pertes de produits alimentaires. Il est soumis à notre Conseil pour information.

Cependant, il a été longuement discuté par le Comité des finances et je voudrais attirer l'attention de notre Conseil sur deux ou trois des observations formulées à la fin du débat du Comité financier.

En examinant cette question, le Comité a pris note de la liste des pays qui ont demande la restitution de leur part des 10 millions de dollars réservés au virement au compte spécial, pour donner suite à la Résolution 3/77 de la Conférence.

Mais le Comité a également pris en compte les contributions volontaires qui ont été promises ou versées à ce compte.

En général, il a exprimé sa satisfaction devant l'appui financier que connaît ce compte spécial auprès de donateurs, ainsi que devant l'importance que les gouvernements bénéficiaires accordent au programme institué par là FAO tendant à réduire les pertes des produits alimentaires. Cette importance d'ailleurs est soulignée par le nombre de projets, déjà reçus et dont la liste a été communiquée au Comité.

Néanmoins, le Comité a souligné la nécessité de verser les contributions volontaires directement au compte spécial, afin que le programme puisse fonctionner avec plus de souplesse et plus d'efficacité. Le Comité espère que le Conseil appuiera cette nécessité.

En outre, le Comité des finances, tout en prenant en compte le nombre de demandes reçues et l'exiguïté des ressources prévues qui sont engagées d'ici le début de 1979, prie instamment le Conseil d'exhorter les Etats Membres à fournir de nouvelles contributions au fonds spécial, en vue d'atteindre, le plus rapidement possible, l'objectif de 20 millions de dollars fixé par la Conférence.

C'est tout ce que j'ai à dire à propos de ce point, à moins que le Conseil ne demande d'autres éclaircissements.

P. MASUD (Pakistan): I will restrict my remarks to document CL 74/INF/11, which is the Annual Report on Operations of the Special Account for the Prevention of Food Losses. We have read this document with interest and note with satisfaction the Report of the Forty-Second Session of the Finance Committee. We would like to compliment the Director-General for the vigour and ability with which he has pursued the Conference Resolution on the subject. We are confident that his untiring efforts will be rewarded with even greater success.

My country has, in view of the importance of preventing food losses, always attached the greatest importance to FAO' s efforts in this direction. We therefore fully subscribe and support the appeal to Member Nations to make further contributions to the Special Account with the objective of reaching as soon as possible the target of US$ 20 million fixed by the Conference. We also fully support the proposal that contributions should be paid directly into the Special Account in order to provide the Director-General with greater flexibility and effectiveness in operating the programme.

P.L. SALES (United States of America): I ampleased to announce that the American Congress has passed, and that the President of the United States has signed into law, a voluntary contribution of $3 million for this very special effort. This contribution is being made through the UNDP, and we are informed that the contribution to the FAO will be made within the next few days.

CHAIRMAN: This is very good news because, as can be seen from the Programme Committee's discussions, this question of food losses is very important and any contribution to it will help developing countries to save food already harvested.

M. DESSOUKI (Egypt) (Interpretation from Arabic): My delegation has perused the special document on the annual prevention of food losses, and wishes to express its satisfaction with the immediate measures taken by FAO for the implementation of the Resolution of the recent conference. From the number of proposals submitted, the interest of countries in this subject is clear.

We wish to express our thanks to all countries that have contributed to making this programme a success, either by not withdrawing their share from the cash contribution. We also appeal to all countries who are considering contributing to this programme to do so.

I mention Canada in particular here, who has always been generous in contributing to such programmes for the support of food security, and their contribution is the best witness of their attitude.

The Egyptian Delegation wishes to see this programme continued, for food losses lead to crises in Egypt on certain occasions. If we do not lose the whole crop, the losses can amount to 25 percent, because of the ware-housing and transportation facilities. We hope everybody will help us to over­come this problem.

P. VÁNDOR (Hungary): I should like to make only a brief comment on CL 74/LIM/l concerning the financial position of the Organization. On a page of the document those Member Nations are listed from which a part or the total amount of the contributions have been received during the period 1-28 November 1978. Hungary is listed here among other Member Nations.

Appendix A of this document is a statement showing the contributions outstanding at 31 October 1978. From this Appendix it seems that the outstanding contribution of Hungary for the current year is 100 percent of our total contribution. I would like to inform the Council that our Government took the necessary actions last August for transmitting the total amount of the Hungarian contribution to FAO. An administrative failure must have caused Hungary to be put on this list.

D.R. BHUMBLA (India): I will confine my remarks to CL 74/LIM/l. In Appendix A, a list has been shown of the amounts that are outstanding, and India has been listed as one such country where dues are outstanding for 1978. I have information that this amount has been paid, and FAO has acknowledged it. This is for information.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité financier): Je n'ai pas voulu exposer en même temps la question du compte spécial pour la prévention des pertes de produits alimentaires et la situation financière de 1 organisation, d'autant plus que cette situation comporte plusieurs volets, et je crois que l'inter­vention du délégué de la Hongrie est motivée par le fait qu'il n'a pas eu de precision concernant ce qui s'est passé pour ce qui est des contributions à partir du 31 octobre. Si j'avais fait mon exposé auparavant, il aurait certainement obtenu des éclaircissements avant son intervention.

Aussi je me permettrai, Monsieur le Président, avec votre permission, d'attirer l'attention du Conseil sur quelques-uns des aspects importants de la situation financière de l'Organisation. Cette situation apparaît d'abord au document CL 74/4, paragraphes 31-49, complété par le rapport du Comité, document CL 74/5, paragraphes 2.5 - 2.26. Ces documents ont été complétés à leur tour par le document CL 74/LIM/l, et un tout dernier document en date du 5 décembre qui n'a pas été distribué au Conseil puisque moi-même je ne l'ai eu que ce matin.

La situation se présente comme suit:

D'abord, pour ce qui est des contributions courantes, on peut dire que la situation reste satisfaisante, et le chiffre que vous avez au document CL 74/LIM/l, paragraphe 3, doit être complété. Il ne s'agit plus de 83 millions de dollars mais il faudrait ajouter à peu près 7 millions de dollars qui ont été perçus à partir du 28 novembre, ce qui fait que normalement nous devons avoir recouvré 90 millions de dollars. Cela représente un pourcentage assez satisfaisant évalué à 91,30 pour cent.

En général, ce mouvement de recouvrement favorable est dû au fait que bon nombre d'Etats Membres ont rempli leurs obligations financières dans des délais raisonnables, et cela le Comité le relève, malgré pour certains d'entre eux de graves difficultés économiques intérieures. En général, le Comité s'est déclaré satisfait de cette tendance et n'a pas manqué de relever certains cas précis, tels que ceux mentionnés dans le document CL 74/5, paragraphes 2.8 à 2.10. Ces cas précis, de l'avis du Comité, doivent servir d'exemple pour le reste des Etats Membres, car ce faisant nous éviterons qu'une injustice ne subsiste en faveur des payeurs tardifs. Cela en ce qui concerne les contributions courantes.

Malheureusement, le Comité a accueilli avec beaucoup moins de plaisir la situation des arriérés qui figure dans le document CL 74/5, paragraphes de 2.12 à 2.16. A ce propos, le Comité a exprimé de très vives inquiétudes, tout en estimant que les Etats Membres doivent faire preuve de discipline en matière de paiement de leurs contributions.

Aussi, le Comité recommande-t-il au Conseil de souligner cette exigence dans son rapport à la Conférence et d'inviter le Directeur général à utiliser tous les moyens en son pouvoir pour assurer le recouvrement des arriérés. J'espère que le Conseil appuiera la recommandation du Comité.

A propos de la situation du budget et des dépenses de 1978/1979, le chiffre indiqué au paragraphe 2.17, et qui a certainement évolué étant donné que c'est un chiffre qui est arrêté après les comptes du 31 août 1978, reste conforme aux prévisions.

Paragraphes 2.18 et 2.19: Nous avons la situation du programme de coopération technique. Je n'ai pas de commentaires à ajouter aux chiffres qui sont indiqués, sauf que le Comité a relevé avec satisfaction que des mesures tendant à accélérer l'approbation des projets sont en voie d'adoption.

Un autre aspect de la situation financière concerne les mouvements de trésorerie. Là également, le Comité remarque que la situation se manifeste convenablement puisque les recettes au 31 août 1978 excédaient les dépenses.

Pour ce qui est du compte spécial de réserve et le rapport sur les fluctuations de change de 1978, là je dois dire que le Comité a exprimé certaines inquiétudes en constatant que si le change demeurait - et je parle de la question du change dollar/lires italiennes - compris entre 824 lires, taux de septembre 1978, et le taux actuel de 816 lires, les dépenses de personnel pourraient se trouver majorées de 4 millions à 4 millions et demi de dollars. Cela est une situation qui remonte au mois de septembre. Entre septembre et maintenant, nous constatons qu'il y a une certaine évolution, le dollar ayant repris une certaine cote. Toujours est-il que je sais que le Comité a décidé de suivre cette question de très près, étant donné le montant qui se trouve dans ce compte spécial de réserve et qui est très réduit.

Fonds de roulement: Là nous constatons que le Directeur général a autorisé un prélèvement d'un montant de 350 000 dollars pour financer des interventions anti-acridiennes d'urgence dans la région de la Mer rouge. Je tiens à préciser que le Directeur général a eu auparavant des consultations avec le Comité des finances. Il appartiendra à la Conférence de déterminer les méthodes de remboursement de ces prélè­vements, ce qui fait que le compte du Fonds de roulement, pour le moment se trouve réduit de la somme de 350 000 dollars.

Pour les recettes accessoires, la situation reste satisfaisante étant donné que les sommes recouvrées ou exigibles ou échues dépassaient les prévisions du budget pour tout l'exercice 1978-1979.

Pour le moment, je n'ai pas d'autres commentaires à ajouter concernant la situation financière et, s'il n'y a pas de remarques, je passerai aux comptes vérifiés, mais je préfère d'abord donner la parole aux membres du Conseil.

CHAIRMAN: The Chairman of the Finance Committee has asked if you have any questions. If not, I will take it that this subject has been satisfactorily dealt with and we will move on to the next item.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité fiancier): Il s'agit du dernier volet du point 20 concernant les questions financières. Ce sont les comptes vérifiés. Je dois avouer que je n'ai pas beaucoup de commentaires à ajouter à ce qui figure dans le rapport, à savoir le CL 74/5. Entre le paragraphe 2.33 et le paragraphe 2.45, le seul point sur lequel je voudrais attirer l'attention du Conseil, c'est que le Comité recommande que le Conseil, compte tenu des observations qu'il lui adresse, propose à l'adoption de la Conférence les comptes vérifiés du programme ordinaire pour 1976-77, ainsi que ceux du PNUD et du PAM pour 1977. D'ailleurs, un projet de résolution unique relatif à l'adoption par la Conférence des comptes vérifiés précités, ainsi que de ceux que le Conseil examinera en 1979, sera soumis au Conseil à la session qui se tiendra en novembre 1979.

Je me tiens à la disposition du Conseil pour tous les éclaircissements concernant les paragraphes du rapport.

CHAIRMAN: That concludes the discussion on Item 20.

V. CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
V. QUESTIONS CONTITUTIONNELLES ET JURIDIQUES
V. ASUNTOS CONSTITUCIONALES Y JURIDICOS

22. Report of the Thirty-Sixth Session of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters - Rome, 25-27 September 1978
22. Rapport de la trente-sixième session du Comité des questions constitutionnelles et juridiques Rome, 25-27 septembre 1978
22. Informe del 36° período de sesiones del Comité de Asuntos Constitucionales y Jurídicos - Roma, 25-27 septiembre 1978

T. GLASER (Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters): The report of the CCLM, document CL 74/9, contains only one substantive item. This item relates to amendments to the Agreement for the Establishment of a Regional Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia, the Far East and the South-West Pacific.

The Commission, commonly known as the APHCA, adopted these amendments as its Second Session in 1977. The proposed amendments are set out in Appendix A to document CL 74/9.

In accordance with the Agreement, amendments require the approval of the Council.

The amendments were considered by the CCLM at its Thirty-sixth session last September. As noted by the CCLM, these amendments are designed to give effect to two Conference Resolutions (relating to the participation of non-member States in FAO bodies and meetings and to the approval of the Rules of Procedure of such bodies). These amendments are the same mutatis mutandis as amendments to other agreements establishing Article XIV bodies previously approved by the Council at its Seventy-Second Session in November 1977.

In addition, the amendment to Article XIV of the APHC Agreement is designed to make express reference to the adoption of financial regulations by the Commission. In accordance with paragraph 33 (iii) of part R of the Basic Texts, Article XIV bodies may adopt financial regulations, which must be in conformity with the financial regulations of the Organization and are subject to approval by the Director-General and confirmation by the Council. Of course, endorsement by the Council of such an amendment does not imply that the Director-General would necessarily approve such financial regulations if circumstances did not warrant their introduction.

In its report the CCLM recommends that the Council approve the proposed amendments. If the Council concurs it may wish to adopt the draft Resolution prepared by the CCLM, that is reproduced in para­graph 10 (on page 2 of the English text) of document CL 74/9.

CHAIRMAN: The document is now open for discussion by those Members who wish to take the floor.

P. MASUD (Pakistan): This is a question relating to Appendix A, Article IX, in which there is a reference to "Nations", which is placed in square brackets, and then it goes on to read, "States which, while not Members". Also I note that in paragraph 9 there is an explanation of why this has been done, why the word "States” has been used instead of "Nations", but then it goes on to say, "The use of the word 'nations' was, however, appropriate in the last phrase of the English text of Article IX.3". I wonder whether this could be elaborated for our information.

LEGAL COUNSEL: As the delegate of Pakistan rightly pointed out, the question of "States'' versus "Nations" is explained in paragraph 9 of the Report of the CCLM. The same question was raised in the CCLM and that is why it appears in paragraph 9. The Conference found, when it introduced the amendments to the Constitution and to the General Rules of the Organization, on which the present admendments are based, that FAO was probably the only Organization which used the term "Member Nations" for its Members. This is reflected throughout the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization and it would not be easy to change this terminology. However, it also found that, when referring to States that are not Members of the Organization it would be preferable to use the term "States", namely, non-member States. This is now also reflected in amendments to conventions or agreements establishing Article XIV bodies.

As regards the question whether paragraph 3 of Article IX of the APHCA Agreement is available, it is in fact reproduced in Appendix A, to the Council document.

CHAIRMAN: Are there any more queries? If. not, the Council is required to adopt the Resolution recommended by the CCLM in paragraph 10 in order to give effect to the amendments proposed. If there is no disagreement I will announce that this Resolution has been adopted unanimously.

It was so decided
Il en est ainsi decide
Asi se acuerda

CHAIRMAN: That concludes Item 22.

The meeting was suspended from 11.30 to 11.45 hours
La séance est suspendue de 11 h 30 à 11 h 45
Se suspende la sesión de las 11.30 a 11.45 horas

23. Other Constitutional and Legal Matters
23. Autres questions constitutionnelles et juridiques
23. Otros asuntos constitucionlaes y

CHAIRMAN: We will go on to item 23 which you will notice also consists of some sub-items, some of these sub-items are for information and some are for decision. I intend to ask the members of the Secretariat to introduce the sub-item for which they are responsible, then it will be open to members, for the items on which a decision is necessary, to make their interventions one after another so that you can mention which sub-section you are dealing with to enable the appropriate member of the Secre­tariat to respond to you. I would now like to call upon Mr. Sylla to introduce his part of item 23.

23.1 Membership of the Programme and Finance Committees
23.1 Composition du Comité du programme et du Comité financier
23.1 Composición de los Gomités del programa y de Finanzas

LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL.- Le point 23.1 concernant la représentation des pays membres au Comité du Programme et au Comité financier est un document d'information au Conseil pour la représentation à l'un ou à l'autre de ces deux comités. Il s'agit de membres de ces comités qui, pour des raisons diverses, n'ont pas pu continuer leur participation à ces deux comités et dont les pays ont proposé pour leur remplacement les noms de nouveaux candidats. Cette information vous est donc donnée dans ces documents CL 74/INF/10 et CL 74/INF/8.

S'il y avait à leur sujet des questions, naturellement le Président du Comité du Programme, celui du Comité financier et moi-même serions disposés à y répondre.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you Mr. Sylla, Are there any comments? If none, we pass on to the following item.

23.2 Invitations to Non-Member Nations to Attend FAO Sessions
23.2 Invitations adressées à des Etats non membres à assister aux réunions de la FAO
23.2 Invitaciones a los Estados no miembros para asistir a las reuniones de la FAO

LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Le point 23.2 est simplement un point d'information. Il s'agit d'informer Conseil que des pays qui ne sont pas membres de la FAO, ni membres d'organisations du système des Nations Unies, ont été invités par le Directeur général à assister à certaines réunions de l'Organi tion. La liste de ces pays est contenue dans le document CL 74/LIM/2. S'il y avait des questions ce sujet, nous serions disposés à y répondre.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Now we pass on to the following item.

23.3 Amendments to the Statutes of FAO Bodies
23.3 Amendements aux statuts d'organes de la FAO
23.3 Enmiendas a los Estatutos de los Organos de la FAO

23.4 Amendment to Staff Regulations
23.4 Amendement du statut du personnel
23.4 Enmiendas al Estatuto del Personal

LEGAL COUNSEL: The first paper before you is document CL 74/20. By resolution 42/63, the Twelfth Session of the Conference authorized the Director-General to establish an Advisory Committee on Forestry Education under Article VI paragraph 2 of the Constitution. The terms of reference of this body were to advise the Director-General on the evolution and implementation of the FAO programmes in the field of forestry education. Under the terms of the Conference resolution, which is reproduced in Appendix A in the paper before you, the Director-General was authorized to select Member Nations, inviting them to appoint members of the Committee on the basis of their technical competence, such selection by the Director-General being made in the light of the desirability that the Committee membership should be not less than twelve and not more than twenty and that its composition should be representative of the different regions of the world and of countries with long established institutions for training forestry personnel at professional and technical levels.

The current membership of the Committee and the dates of its sessions from 1964 to 1978 are given in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Council document CL 74/20. In view of the increase of the number of forestry and research institutions and considering that Member Nations now require advice on more diversified programmes, including training for forest industry, wildlife and national parks management, watershed and range management, extension of forestry for local community development at the professional, technical and vocational levels, the Director-General deemed it appropriate to broaden the composi­tion of the Committee to a maximum of thirty members. To this end, the Council is invited to examine the proposal put forward by the Director-General for the increase in the membership of the Committee to not more than thirty members. If the Council concurs with this proposal it is invited to adopt the draft resolution set forth in paragraph 5 of the document.

The second paper referred to under this agenda item is document CL 74/27. The object of the document before you is to invite the Council to approve two amendments to the Statutes of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission established by this Council in 1973, These amendments are submitted to the Council at the request of the Commission.

In the first place, the Commission considered that its terms of reference should be broadened so as to encompass certain resource management functions. As explained in the document before you, the Commission reached the conclusion unanimously that the migration patterns of fish stocks and the geographic conditions in the area made it necessary for the countries sharing these stocks to co­operate in their rational management. That is why the Commission suggested that it should be in a position to provide advice on this matter to the governments concerned, at their request. Incidentally, other fishery bodies established within the framework of FAO already have authority to deal with fishery management and development.

Secondly, on the basis of scientific studies it has become apparent that the southern boundary of the Commission's area of competence - now at 5°00' N latitude - cuts across important fishery resources. The Commission therefore decided to request that the boundary be extended southwards to 10°00'S latitude.

If the Council concurs with the recommendations, it may wish to consider, with a view to adoption, the draft resolution which incorporates the amendments I have just referred to.

I have a minor point to add. While the French text is entirely correct, one phrase was dropped, due to a typing error, from the operative paragraph 1, that is paragraph 1 of the Statutes, in the under­lined part, which appears on page 2 of the English text in the draft Council resolution. The under­lined part reads "Thence due east along this parallel to 30^o00'W longitude: thence due south along this meridian to the equator" and here it should read "thence due east along the equator" and the text runs on "to 20°00 along this parallel" etc.

A very minor error occurred also in the Spanish text. The Spanish text in the third line that is under­lined in the same provision it should not read "Allí hacia el Oeste" but "allí hacia el Este".

In the document for item 23.4 of the agenda, that is, document CL 74/30, your approval is sought for two amendments to Staff Regulation 301.111 relating to the FAO Appeals Committee. As you know, this Committee advises the Director-General on appeals by staff members against administrative decisions. It is a joint body with two members nominated by the Director-General, two members elected by the staff and an independent chairman.

The main amendment proposed in the document before you would introduce flexibility into the present application of staff regulation 301.111, which clearly implies that the Director-General cannot take a final decision on any appeal until the advice of the Appeal Committee has been received. Consequently, is staff members are to preserve their right subsequently to appeal to the Administra­tive Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation, they must always have recourse to the Appeals Committee, even when such recourse is considered unnecessary by all parties concerned.

In most cases, recourse to the Appeals Committee is very desirable since it facilitates the settlement of disputes at a relatively early stage, or if such disputes are not settled, then at least the issues are clarified. However, cases do occur in which the issues are already clear, and the dispute is essentially centred on a question of legal interpretation, or where issues have already been considered in depth by another body, such as the Organization's Advisory Committee on Compensation Claims. Further consideration by the Appeals Committee normally involves an unnecessary expenditure of time and work by the staff member and the Organization and, of course, the Appeals Committee.

The practical effect of the amendment would be to allow the staff member to appeal directly to the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation without prior recourse to the Appeals Committee, provided that the Director-General agreed. This is in fact already the case in other organizations such as the United Nations and Unesco as well as WHO and, subject to certain modifications, the ILO.

The other amendment proposed would merely reflect existing practice based on the Staff Rules, under which a member of the Appeals Committee who is unavailable may temporarily be replaced by an alter­nate member nominated or elected in the same way as the member. There are at present six alternate members. They will be increased to ten, - five nominated by the Director-General, five elected by the staff, - with a view to ensuring that the disposition of appeals cases vili not be delayed on account of absences of members. Staff Regulation 301,111 to which I have referred only mentions the Chairman, the alternate Chairman and the members. The proposed inclusion of a reference to alternate members would complete the Regulation with respect to the composition of the Appeals Committee. The proposed new text of the Staff Regulation is set out in paragraph 7 of document CL 74/30.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité financier): Sans doute vous souvenez-vous qu'hier j'avais annoncé qu'une question concernant le règlement intérieur du Comité devait être soumise au Conseil.

Vous savez que le Comité a consideré la question de son règlement intérieur après la modification de la composition du Comité. Certains amendements ont été introduits au règlement intérieur. Ces amen­dements figurent à l'Annexe D du document CL 74/4, Je voudrais me référer en particulier au para­graphe 113 du document que je viens de mentionner.

Le Comité, pour les raisons qu'il a exposées dans ce paragraphe, souhaiterait voir le Conseil reconsi­dérer l'article 27.9 du Règlement général de l'Organisation, en vue de proposer un amendement autori­sant le remboursement des frais de voyage effectivement exposés par les membres du Comité qui ne résident pas á Rome, que le représentant ait voyagé à partir de son lieu d'affectation ou à partir de la capitale de son pays.

Je soumets cette recommandation au Conseil et j'espère qu'elle sera appuyée.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you, but I do not know how members will react to what you have just said. There does not seem to be any preparation for them to think about the proposal you have just made. Any how, what I intend to do now is let us go on with what we have on our agenda, and when we finish we can come back to the proposal made by the Chairman of the Finance Committee.

As you heard, two of the sub-items are for information, that is on item 23. Mr, Sylla told us 23.1 and 23.2 are for information, but Mr. Dobbert's introduction needs Council decision on certain amendments which are clearly put and I suggest that members speak to those documents which have been dealt with by Mr. Dobbert unless you also have some comments on what Mr. Sylla has told us.

The floor is open for discussion.

H. MAURIA (Finland): I want briefly to deal with item 23.3. I can say that our delegation is strongly in favour of expanding the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education, as proposedby the Draft Resolution which appears in CL 74/20, Expanding the membership of the Committee from maximum 20 to maximum 30 would enable the Committee to cope effectively with the widened subject matter areas on the different levels on which the advice of the Committee is requested. The motivation for the expansion of membership is in our view outlined clearly in paragraph 4 of the document I just mentioned and we concur with what has been said in this regard.

Before concluding to support the Draft Resolution we have carefully studied the pros and cons involved, since in our view every enlargement of existing bodies or creation of new ones has to be given due attention. In this case we are assured that the proposed modest enlargement of membership is justified in view of the benefit involved and taking into account the obvious strengthening of capacity it would bring about in the work of the Committee. Moreover, we believe that expanding the membership would in this case mean only a minor increase in Secretariat costs, as the cost for interpretation and documentation would apparently be more or less at the same level, and the travel costs to the meeting of this Committee are provided by the Governments. On these grounds my delegation is ready to support the Draft Resolution for adoption,

P. VÁNDOR (Hungary): I want only to make some remarks on the documents CL 74/INF/8 and 74/INF/10, in which the Council was informed about the designation of the substitute representatives on the Finance and Programme Committees. There is no doubt that the substitute representatives mentioned in these documents have the best qualifications, and it was a wise decision of the Government to designate them to these important Committees. But Rule XXVI of the General Rules of the Organization, as amended by the Conference at its Nineteenth Session by Resolution 15/77, states among others that ''The Council shall be informed of the qualifications and experience of the substitute representative'', and these documents inform us only about the experience but not the qualifications. My delegation thinks that in the future it would be useful if the Director-General, according to the above-mentioned rule, would request the member nation to provide more detailed information also on the qualification of the designated substitute representative to these Committees.

CHAIRMAN: Any more members wishing to take the floor? If not, then I will put the resolutions one by one so that you can give your approval.

The first resolution is the one in document CL 74/20 concerning the Membership of the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education. The resolution is adopted unanimously.

The next resolution is the one in document CL 74/27 concerning the Proposed Amendments to the Statutes of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission. The resolution is adopted unanimously.

The next action is on document CL 74/30, where we are seeking Amendment of Staff Regulation on Inter­nal Appeals Procedure. The resolution is adopted unanimously.

I will now give the House a chance to talk on and consider the point made by the Chairman of the Finance Committee concerning some regulations which he mentioned, and for which there is no separate document as such. May I ask the Chairman of the Finance Committee to refresh Members' minds about what he wants a decision on.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité financier): Il s'agit en particulier du paragraphe 113 du rapport du Comité des finances (CL 74/4) et je lis le paragraphe en question. En discutant du règlement intérieur du Comité, "le Comité note que les dispositions de l'Article XXVII.9 du RGO ont pour effet de placer les représentants de ses membres sur le même pied que ceux des membres du Conseil en ce qui concerne le remboursement des frais de voyage. Il a néanmoins le sentiment que l'appli­cation dudit article risque d'être inéquitable dans le cas d'un représentant en poste dans une ville plus éloignée du lieu de la session que ne l'est la capitale du membre considéré, car le Comité est un organe de nature technique et les représentants des membres sont désignés compte tenu de leur compétence et de leur expérience''.

C'est pour éviter disons toute injustice que ''le Comité recommande au Conseil de reconsidérer l'Article XXVII. 9 du RGO en vue de proposer un amendement autorisant le remboursement des frais de voyage effectivement exposés, que le représentant ait voyagé à partir de son lieu d'affectation ou à partir de la capitale de son pays''.

Je crois que le paragraphe est très clair et nous souhaitons avoir l'opinion du Conseil sur ce point.

CHAIRMAN: You have heard the proposal of the Finance Committee as outlined by the Chairman a moment ago. Are there any objections to the proposal?

I. OROZCO GUZMAN (México): Perdón por tomar la palabra acerca de un asunto nue realmente por el momento no ofrece ninguna dificultad. Es solamente con un deseo de coherencia en los textos relativos a este aspecto de los gastos de viaje en relación con los que eventualnente se ofrecerán a los miembros del Comité del Programa; si hubiese una fórmula diferente, no creo quo fuere muy justo, pues ambos incurren en los mismos gastos. Nosotros desearíamos que hubiera coherencia en los dos textos y que se actuara en el mismo sentido con el Comité del Programa.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité financier): Je crois qu'il n'y a aucun doute là-dessus; normalement, ce qui s'applique pour le Comité des finances sera discuté et s'appliquera également aux membres du Comité du Programme. Maintenant, si la question a été soulevée uniquement au Comité des finances, c'est qu'il s'agit d'une question d'argent et je pense que si le Conseil prend une décision, il la prendra pour les deux Comités, étant donné qu'il n'y a aucune différence entre les membres des deux Comités.

LE CONSEILLER JURIDIQUE: A la suite de ce que vient de dire le président du Comité financier, on peut conclure que ce Comité n'était habilité qu'à proposer un amendement à l'Article du Règlement général qui le concerne. Il est également souhaitable, du point de vue de l'Organisation, de traiter les membres des deux Comités de la même façon. Comme vous le savez, le Règlement général de l'Organisation et tout amendement à tel Règlement doivent être adoptés par la Conférence. Si donc le Conseil est d'accord avec la proposition qui lui a été faite par le Comité financier, et s'il entend l'étendre également au Comité du Programme, il serait souhaitable, selon la coutume habituelle, de demander au Comité des questions constitutionnelles et juridiques de rédiger des textes qu'il soumettra au Conseil lors de sa prochaine session, c'est-à-dire en été 1979.

F. SHEFRIN (Canada): The Legal Counsel in fact answered the question I was going to ask and he anticipated me. I was going to ask the same point, since no action can be taken to meet the increased cost of travel until the Conference meets. There is no hurry for this Council to take a decision, and therefore we will anyway have to wait till November 1979. I would therefore like to propose that the decision be postponed until the June Session of the Council, at which time we will also have the views of the Legal Constitution Committee, and the Chairman of the Programme Committee can speak on behalf of the whole Committee rather than on his own behalf.

So I suggest we postpone the decision until June 1979 unless it affects someone's welfare. No-one has told us how much additional money they will require, and I would always think the Finance Committee's Chairman would want to know how much it would cost. Has he any idea how much it is going to cost the Organization? However, there is no problem in leaving the whole thing until June, 1979 - everything will have to be left until then when people will have a piece of paper in front of them and cannot complain about not having the text.

CO. KELLER SARMIENTO (Argentina): Simplemente para hacer una pregunta: Estoy leyendo el artículo noveno del Reglamento General de la Organización y de acuerdo con su texto no me parece que pudie­ran surgir inconvenientes para abonar el pasaje de los miembros del Comité de Finanzas. La pregunta es si ha sucedido en algún caso que haya habido dificultades institucionales para abonar este pago a algún miembro del Comité de Finanzas.

M. BEL HADJ AMOR (Président du Comité financier): Je dois quand même donner quelques éclaircissements, surtout sur deux points soulevés par le délégué du Canada.

Tout d'abord, en ce qui concerne l'amendement que le Comité des finances a suggéré au Conseil, il ne s'agit pas d'amender maintenant le texte, parce que nous savons pertinemment qu'il y a une pro­cédure à suivre, et ce que nous avons demandé, c'est que le Comité recommande au Conseil que celui-ci veuille bien reconsidérer le texte actuel en vue de proposer un amendement. Il s'agit donc seulement d'une proposition. Je sais fort bien qu'il faudrait que le CQCJ nous présente un papier qui sera soumis au Conseil de juin et probablement adopté par elle. C'est la première réponse.

Sur le deuxième point, en ce qui concerne les coûts, on aurait pu les calculer cette fois-ci, mais, étant donné que c'est un texte qui ne s'appliquera pas aux membres du Comité actuel, il m'est impossible, en tant que représentant du Comité des finances, de donner une idée des coûts, étant donné que ce n'est qu'une fois les membres élus que nous saurons s'ils viennent de leur capitale respective ou de leur lieu d'affectation. Je crois que ce sera alors une opération très simple que de fournir non pas un chiffre approximatif, mais un chiffre précis de ce que cela coûtera à l'Organisation. C'est un supplément de frais. J'espère que le délégué du Canada est satisfait de ces réponses.

F. SHEFRIN (Canada): I still think the whole matter can be postponed, bearing in mind what the Chairman of the Finance Committee said - but I will not insist on that. As far as estimates are concerned, first of all there is a principle which should be looked at more carefully in the sense of whether you pay for the duty station or the capital - as this may affect the choice of people, as Member Governments may not want to pay the cost between the duty station and the capital itself. I feel a rough estimate should have been made on the assumption that the pattern could remain unchanged.

But satisfied as I am, I am still querelous!

Q.H. HAQUE (Bangladesh): I think that the Chairman of the Finance Committee needs to be bailed out. This was discussed in the Finance Committee. I think there is a misunderstanding of the whole issue by both the delegates of Argentina and the delegate-of Canada. The Finance Committee are not suggesting an escalation of the cost right away. They are suggesting an amendment of a principle. You have been sitting on the Programme Committee for a long time, Mr. Chairman, and you know that previously the members of both committees were reimbursed their actual costs, wherever they were coming from. Under the present arrangement they are reimbursed to the extent of their capital. For instance, our Chairman of the Finance Committee, if tomorrow he is appointed his country's Permanent Representative from New York and comes from New York to attend a meeting of the Finance Committee, he would be reimbursed after Tunis, not after New York, which is four times the distance, and who pays the balance? The delegate of Canada is making the point that there should be an estimate. There cannot be an estimate. I think this is a misunderstanding of the whole issue. What the Finance Committee is recommending is only an amendment of a principle. I agree that we do not need to take a decision right away. The suggestion is that the CCLM should consider this and that it should be put before the next Council meeting concerning both the Programme Committee and the Finance Committee.

P. MASUD (Pakistan): I believe this matter was discussed at great length and that the Programme Committee also has some views on this subject. I would like to hear the Chairman of the Programme Committee.

M. TRKULJA (Chairman, Programme Committee): I would simply say that the Programme Committee have not yet faced such a problem, so I am not able to speak on behalf of the Committee at this moment.

P. MASUD (Pakistan): As the Programme Committee and the Finance Committee operate in similar circumstances, if the Programme Committee has not faced this problem we would like to know how the Finance Committee has all of a sudden come across this problem.

CHAIRMAN: We are now speaking on a matter of principle. Therefore, if Members agree, I will stop the discussion here and summarize it as follows, that the Finance Committee have put a proposal that the Rules concerning reimbursement of travel be looked at by the CCLM and that a proposal for an amendment be put to Council at the next meeting. Some Members felt that the Programme Committee should also be looked into, not just the Finance Committee, so that a general amendment can be made for both Committees. If this is a fair summing up, we will leave the matter here and we will be presented with a properly documented amendment at the next meeting.

This, then, concludes item 23.

VI. OTHER MATTERS (continued)
VI. QUESTIONS DIVERSES (suite)
VI. OTROS ASUNTOS (continuación)

24. Date and Place of Seventy-Fifth Session of the Council
24. Date et lieu de la soixante-quinzième session du Conseil
24. Fecha y lugar del 75° período de sesiones del Consejo

IV. PROGRAMME, BUDGETARY, FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS (continued)
IV. QUESTIONS CONCERNANT LE PROGRAMME, LE BUDGET, LES FINANCES ET L'ADMINISTRATION (suite)
IV. ASUNTOS DEL PROGRAMA Y ASUNTOS PRESUPUESTARIOS, FINANCIEROS Y ADMINISTRATIVOS (continuación)

19. 1978-79 Calendar of Sessions of the Council and of These Bodies which Report to the Council
19. Calendrier 1978-79 des sessions du Conseil et des organes qui doivent faire rapport au Conseil
19. Calendario para 1978-79 de los períodos de sesiones del Consejo y de los órganos que le informan

CHAIRMAN: If there are no comments, I take it that Council approves the proposals on the meeting of our next session as well as the other sessions submitted in the documents before us.

Unless Members have other business, this brings our meeting to an end, the debate side of the whole of our Session. Instead of being one day late we are only five minutes late.

I would like to thank everybody for their tremendous cooperation. The two Vice-Chairmen and all of us have worked so hard that the Second Vice-Chairman, the delegate of Bangladesh, really has no work to do. I am sure he will understand. The arrangement was for him to take the Chair this afternoon.

The crisp and businesslike manner in which you have conducted the debates has increased the effectiveness of Council, and I am sure that this will be reflected in the Report, because there is no waffling and there are no long interventions which confuse everybody. I would like to thank everybody for the very businesslike manner in which our work has been done.

The meeting rose at 12.45 hours
La seance est levée à 12 h 45
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.45 horas