LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Vous vous souvenez qu'à la 83ème session du Conseil, vous avez eu à examiner le document CL 83/11 qui portait sur l'organisation de la vingt-deuxième session de la Conférence. Dans ce document sont prévues la nomination du Président de la Conférence et celle des présidents des trois Commissions de la Conférence.
Au cours d'une réunion informelle des chefs de délégation, il a été convenu que le Ministère de l'agriculture des Etats-Unis d'Amérique serait proposé pour l'élection au poste de Président de la vingt-deuxième session de la Conférence.
On a également proposé au cours de cette réunion informelle les candidatures de M. José Ramón Lopez Portillo Romano, Représentant permanent du Mexique auprès de la FAO, comme Président de la Commission I. Comme Président de la Commission II, on a proposé le nom de S. Exc. M. Chaka Ntsane, Représentant permanent du Lesotho auprès de la FAO. Comme Président de la Commission III, on a présenté le nom de M. Theodor Glaser, Représentant permanent de la Suisse auprès de la FAO. Le Conseil a été informé des résultats de cette réunion informelle des chefs de délégation à la quatre-vingt-troisième session du Conseil, laquelle a pris note de ces propositions. Il a été convenu que le Directeur général contacterait les gouvernements des pays des différents candidats pour s'assurer que les personnes ainsi proposées seraient disponibles pour occuper les fonctions pour lesquelles elles ont été proposées.
Le Directeur général a reçu des réponses positives à ces candidatures et il est maintenant demandé au Conseil de les examiner, de les entériner officiellement, et de les proposer à la Conférence.
C'est tout ce que j'ai à dire à ce sujet pour le moment et ensuite nous passerons, si vous le voulez bien, à l'élection des membres du Comité des nominations.
CHAIRMAN: Heads of delegation who attended the last session of the Council might recall that in our informal meeting we had proposed these names and I am sure Council members will be happy to hear that the Director-General has received the acceptance of all these very distinguished persons.
S.J. KAO (Lesotho): My delegation wishes to record its appreciation for the trust placed in it by this Council in the nomination of the Ambassador of Lesotho to FAO as Chairman of Commission II. Further we take the opportunity to assure this meeting, as well as the Conference, of our preparedness to carry out the responsibility so entrusted in us.
CHAIRMAN: If there is no other intervention may I express our happiness on behalf of the Council that the Hon. Mr. John Block has been able to accept to be the Chairman of the Conference and His Excellency José Ramon Lopez Portillo Romano and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mexico to FAO, whom we have the privilege of having in our midst here, as Chairman of Commission I, and His Excellency Chaka Ntsane, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Lesotho as Chairman of Commission II, and Mr. Theodor Glaser as Chairman of Commission III. We would like to wish them all well in their very important tasks in the coming weeks.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Conformément aux dispositions pertinentes des Textes fondamentaux de l'Organisation, il est prévu que le Conseil, au cours de sa session précédant immédiatement la Conférence, propose les candidats qui doivent être désignés au Comité des nominations. Une consultation a eu lieu entre les pays des différents groupes géographiques et la liste suivante, Monsieur le président, vous est donc soumise pour être portée à la connaissance des membres du Conseil, liste comportant les candidats qui sont envisagés pour être élus membres du Comité des nominations. Je vais donc en donner lecture avec votre permission:
L'Afrique a deux postes dans ce comité, il est proposé qu'ils soient occupés par le Ghana et Madagascar; l'Asie a deux postes également, il est proposé qu'ils soient occupés par l'Indonésie et le Japon; l'Amérique latine a également deux postes, qui sont proposés pour l'Argentine et la Colombie; le Proche-Orient a un poste, qui est proposé pour l'Arabie Saoudite; l'Amérique du Nord a un candidat, qui est proposé pour les Etats-Unis d'Amérique; le Pacifique du Sud-Ouest, une candidature est proposée en faveur de la Nouvelle-Zélande.
CHAIRMAN: So we welcome Ghana, Madagascar, Indonesia, Japan, Argentina, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, United States of America, New Zealand as members of the Nominations Committee. We now have the names of the European representatives on the Nominations Committee. The representatives from Europe will be the Netherlands and Poland. So the Nominations Committee is now complete. The members are: Ghana, Madagascar, Indonesia, Japan, Argentina, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand.
CHAIRMAN: You will notice.that it reads Nomination of the Chairman of the Informal Meeting of Observers of Non-Governmental Organizations and I had a discussion with the Director-General and the non-governmental organizations would like to elect their own Chairman. It is not proper for us to nominate a Chairman on their behalf and the suggestion is they will elect a Chairman of their own.
A. REGNIER (Directeur, Bureau des affaires interinstitutions): Je voudrais tout simplement confirmer ce que vous venez de dire. En réalité, comme vous le savez, lors de chaque session de la Conférence, il y a une réunion informelle tenue avec les représentants des organisations non gouvernementales. Cette année-ci elle aura lieu le 8 novembre. C'est basé sur l'intérêt qu'il y a à renforcer les relations entre la FAO et les ONG. Au cours d'ailleurs du biennium qui vient de s'écouler, basé sur les recommandations de la Conférence tenue il y a deux ans, le Directeur général a revu avec les organisations non gouvernementales comment renforcer cette coopération. Au cours des réunions qui ont eu lieu, une des demandes des ONG a été de pouvoir désigner elles-mêmes le président de cette réunion informelle en consultation bien sûr avec le Directeur général. Ceci permet, selon les ONG, de sélectionner leur président bien à l'avance sans attendre le Conseil juste au moment de la Conférence et par ailleurs d'assurer une suite à cette réunion. Le Directeur général a agréé cette suggestion et cette demande des ONG ce qui signifie donc qu'a l'avenir les ONG désigneront leur président en consultation avec le Directeur général, sans en référer au Conseil, puisqu'il ne s'agit pas d'une disposition fondamentale mais d'une simple pratique.
Je voulais donc simplement vous signaler que, pour la réunion du 8 novembre, Mme Pela, de la FIPA, qui est présidente du groupe, à Rome, des ONG, présidera cette réunion informelle. Je crois que c'est à la fois un élément d'information que je vous donne et pour l'avenir je pense que c'est une pratique très correcte, me semble-t-il, de laisser à ces ONG le soin de décider elles-mêmes de leur président en consultation avec le Directeur général.
CHAIRMAN: I am sure the Council members would support the idea that the NGOs would elect their own Chairperson in consultation with the Director-General. If you so approve we will record it in our report so that this item does not come in the future meetings of the Council. Is that agreeable? I see no comments to the contrary. So we approve it and we will see that the Drafting Committee includes this in the report.
CHAIRMAN: We are now on item 14, the Report of the Forty-third Session of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (Rome, 3-7 October 1983). May I request Mr. Glaser, the Chairman of the CCLM, to come to the podium, please. We welcome Mr. Glaser, who is also going to be the Chairman of Commission III at the forthcoming Conference.
T. GLASER (Président du Comité des questions constitutionnelles et juridiques): Si vous le permettez, je vais m'écarter de l'ordre du jour en saisissant cette occasion de remercier le Conseil pour la confiance qu'il a témoignée envers mon pays et moi-même en me nommant président de la Commission III pour la Conférence. C'est un grand honneur pour moi de pouvoir ainsi servir la FAO.
Maintenant je vais vous faire rapport sur la 43ème session du CQCJ. Le Comité a été saisi de deux questions: premièrement, un amendement à l'article XXXIX.3 du Règlement général de l'Organisation, Il s'agit de l'exécution d'une décision que le Conseil a prise il y a un an. Le Directeur général doit être autorisé à appliquer immédiatement les recommandations de la Commission de la fonction publique internationale approuvées par l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies. Le but est donc d'assurer que la FAO ne s'écarte pas du régime commun des Nations Unies dans sa politique de personnel. Avec l'amendement ainsi proposé on ne crée tout de même pas un automatisme. Si le Directeur général juge qu'une recommandation de la CFPI ne correspond pas aux intérêts de la FAO, il reste libre de suspendre son application et d'en saisir le Conseil ou un de ses comités.
Le CQCJ a aussi constaté que l'amendement proposé n'entraîne pas de conséquences financières directes. Les conséquences financières indirectes qui pourraient en résulter seront examinées par le Comité financier et le Conseil lorsque le Directeur général y rendrait compte de la promulgation d'amendements au Statut du personnel.
Le CQCJ a examiné les projets d'amendement du Règlement général et du Statut du personnel qui seraient nécessaires pour donner effet à la décision du Conseil. Notant que l'amendement du Règlement général exigerait l'approbation de la Conférence, il a soumis à l'examen du Conseil le projet de résolution que vous trouverez dans le document CL 84/5 sous point 7. Vous voyez là le texte qui commence avec des considérants, puis il y a un titre I - Amendement de l'article XXXIX.3 du Règlement général de l'Organisation. Ensuite il y a le titre II pour amender corrélativement l'article 301.122 du Statut du personnel.
Le deuxième point dont le Comité a été saisi concerne l'amendement à l'Accord sur la protection des végétaux dans la région de l'Asie du Sud-Est et du Pacifique. Il s'agit là de deux amendements qui ont été demandés et appuyés par la Commission phytosanitaire pour l'Asie et le Pacifique et qui, pour entrer en vigueur, doivent être approuvés par le Conseil.
Par le premier amendement, les membres de la Commission s'engagent à verser des contributions obligatoires au budget. Puisque cela entraîne de nouvelles obligations, cet amendement n'entrera en vigueur qu'à l'égard des gouvernements qui l'auront effectivement accepté.
Le deuxième amendement modifie la définition de la région pour y inclure la Chine.
Le CQCJ estime que ces amendements sont compatibles avec les Textes fondamentaux de la FAO et recommande au Conseil de les approuver en adoptant la résolution que vous trouverez au sous-point 15 du document CL 84/5.
Finalement le CQCJ a été informé des derniers développements de la question de l'immunité de juridiction de la FAO en Italie. A ce sujet il n'y avait pas de décision à prendre.
En conclusion, le Conseil est donc invité à approuver les deux résolutions mentionnées.
P.S. McLEAN (United Kingdom): I would like to make a brief intervention on this item and I trust you will not feel it necessary to rule me out of order on this matter. I would like to refer back to the discussions that took place under Item 12.2 yesterday, in which our Italian colleague made a suggestion which involved questions concerning the responsibilities of the Finance Committee and the CCLM. My American colleague asked some questions and was answered by the Chairman of the Finance Committee. At the same time the Deputy Director-General took the floor and expressed his view about the proposal, in the course of which he made a comment to our United States delegate to the effect that did he feel deprived as a member of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters. The United Kingdom is also a member of this committee. From my point of view it is not a question of deprivation but I think there is a question of whether the CCLM is used as an organ of this Organization to its maximum extent. I do not intend to try to reopen the debate on the issue raised yesterday but I would suggest that the proposal made by our colleague from Italy merits further thought and I do hope there will be an opportunity for the proposals he has made to be considered in relation to the remit and the work of the CCLM.
CHAIRMAN: Document CL 84/2, FAO's Immunity from Legal Process in Italy, is coming up next. If members would refer to the Resolution which we adopted at the June meeting of our Council, it clearly states: "Request the Director-General to continue to keep the matter under review and to report thereon to its next session, if appropriate, through the Finance Committee or the CCLM." As I understand, there are two aspects to this issue: there are these legal aspects, there are financial aspects. That is why in our last Resolution we refer to both Committees, whichever is appropriate. So as long as it stands this is our Resolution and it is for the Organization to decide through which Committee they take it up.
ZHONG SHUKONG (China): Regarding document CL 84/5, I have very tentative comments to make at this moment. The document came to our notice only this morning and there is a background to it. To make a long story short, the document which is before us was originally entitled "Plant Protection Agreement for Southeast Asia." Last March at the ESCAP meeting proposals were made that the title be changed to the present one so that China could be included. At that meeting our colleagues from China were agreeable to this suggestion. That is the background to this amendment. Tentatively we feel that paragraph (a) and the definition should be reworded in such a way that the word 'border' be replaced by 'boundary'. As can be seen from the context 'border' can mean a line, it can mean an area, whereas 'boundary' seems to be more accurate. Those are the tentative comments that I wish to submit. I reserve my rights for future comments.
T. GLASER (Chairman, Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters): I have no objections to 'border' or 'boundary'. It is a subject which has not been discussed in the Committee. The whole wording may seem a little bit bizarre, but we just tried to change as little as possible of the previous text with the aim of making sure that China can be included.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: If I may, I would like to reply to comments of the United Kingdom. It may be that I misunderstood the proposal of Italy. I think we need to be clear in any case what we are talking about. My comments were not addressed to the question of the immunity from legal process but to the proposition which I thought had been made that matters such as the progress of negotiations with the building authorities about the construction of the eighth floor, progress with other authorities about the possible construction of a new building on the side of FAO and discussions about the progress of archeological excavations towards that end should be dealt with in the future in the CCLM instead of or as well as in the Finance Committee, and my comment was to the effect that I saw no logical or legal reason for assigning such responsibilities to the Legal Committee. They are matters purely of administration, building, equipment and so forth. If and when such matters reach the stage at which questions of law contract arise, then of course we would place the matter before the CCLM, but before then, I really cannot see how the CCLM could have a useful role to play, and I think one might even get into the situation in which one was obliged to consider amendment of the Basic Texts, the General Rules defining the functions of the CCLM in order to enable them to so, but I really could not understand the proposal, if that was what it was, and that was what I was addressing myself to, not to depriving the CCLM of any of its legitimate functions as defined in the Basic Texts.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. If I do not hear that there is any other Council Member wanting to take the floor on these two Resolutions, one, Mr Glaser has pointed out that your comments on these two amendments the Draft Conference Resolution, paragraph 7, amendment to Rule XXXIX-3 of the General Rules of the Organization, and the next one is amendments to the Plant Protection Agreement for the Asia and Pacific Region in paragraph 15. Here China has proposed the substitution of the word "boundary" for "border", and the Chairman of the CCLM has supported it.
R.C. GUPTA (India): We are not very clear about the connotation of the two terms and would be grateful to have the views of either the Chairman of the CCLM or of the legal expert of the FAO as to what are the connotations of the two words and how the substitution of "boundary" for "border" would change the meaning or modify the meaning of this.
H. CARANDANG (Philippines): I completely agree with the Deputy Director-General in regard to his comment that administrative matters should not be referred to the CCLM. However, I believe that there are still a good number of legal matters arising from FAO's immunity from legal process and in connexion with the progress of the negotiations with the Italian Government as to the steps to be taken so that this matter would be resolved to the advantage of the Organization, and I believe that this matter should still be referred to the CCLM, as indicated in the Resolution before us, 3/83 and I know that this matter is not going to be resolved tomorrow.
LEGAL COUNSEL: On the question which would be the better word to use, "border" in English or "boundary", I think I would choose, although the meaning is exactly the same and the intention is that they should be synonymous, I think I would share the opinion expressed by China that "boundary" is perhaps more descriptive and I think more accurate.
The reason why the CCLM did not change that word was largely because we wished to remain as close to the existing terminology as was previously used, but I think that in this definition, the use of the word "border" could very well be and to advantage substituted by the word in English "boundary".
Just to refer briefly to another observation made by China regarding the question of whether the Agreement and the Commission is for South-East Asia, I think there must be a mistake in the Chinese version, because the amendments which have previously been recommended by the CCLM and approved by the Council some time ago have entered into force, and now both the title of the Agreement and the name of the Commission established under the Agreement are for Asia and the Pacific Region.
R.C. GUPTA (India): In view of the clarification of the Legal Counsel of the Organization that the two words "border" and "boundary" are synonymous and convey the same sense here, we agree to the suggestion of China.
D.R. GREGORY (Observer for Australia): I did not wish to address that issue, but I did with regard to the matter that has been raised wish to come back to that question about the consideration of various issues within the CCLM or within the Finance Committee, and I really wanted to, at this stage, and I think it is appropriate to reiterate the view that has been expressed in the Finance Committee that some of the matters relating to Headquarters and other aspects being addressed at length in that Committee when many of the issues there are probably tangentential to the real interests of that Committee.
I realize that it is difficult to know how to deal with this, and I appreciate Mr West's comment, but surely, as specific legal issues arise or as specific financial issues arise from these particular arrangements, they can be brought to the attention of either of these committees in relation to the nature of the item itself, and I think that is probably all I have to say on the matter at this stage.
CHAIRMAN: Shall we then adopt the two Resolutions as proposed and with that modification of substitution of "boundary" for "border"? I hear no one wants to speak, so I take it we have adopted the two Resolutions. I want to thank the Chairman of the CCLM and the Members of the Committee for their outstanding contribution. Thank you very much.
LEGAL COUNSEL: The Council will recall that this item was on its agenda at its Eighty-second Session in November-December 1982 and also at its Eighty-third Session in June of this year. At both of these sessions, the Council adopted a Resolution in which, inter alia, it urged the Host Government to take action to remedy the serious situation which has been created as the result of the Corte di Cassazione's disregard for the Organization's immunity from legal process provided for in Section 16 of the Headquarters Agreement. At this session the Council has before it document CL 84/2 which in fact reproduces a paper that was submitted to the Finance Committee and which informs that Committee of developments that have taken place up to September 1983 and which may have administrative or financial implications for the Organization.
The Council also has before it paragraphs 3.82 to 3.85 of document CL 84/4 which contains the Finance Committee's views on the question of the Organization's immunity from legal process in Italy.
Now, the Council will note in particular that the Finance Committee expressed its disappointment at the apparent lack of any measures taken by the Host Government to give effect to Council Resolution 3/83. This disappointment is of course shared by the Director-General, since very nearly a year has now elapsed since the Council's Eighty-second Session, and the Host Government has apparently made no progress at all in finding a solution to the dispute with the landlords of Building F without further recourse to the Italian courts or shall we say the general problem of taking measures to ensure that the Organization's immunity from legal process, which is provided for in this Agreement, would be adequately safeguarded in the future.
The Council will also remember that in June, the Director-General reported a deteriorating situation. Further cases have been brought against the Organization in the Italian court and there have been further proceedings in those courts despite the fact that the Organization had not waived its immunity. At its last Session, the Council expressed serious concern at this situation.
I am afraid in the meantime the situation has not improved. In particular, judgement was rendered in favour of the landlords of the Commissary warehouse ordering the Organization's eviction. Fortunately, however, the notice of this eviction has not been transmitted officially to the Organization.
I think the Council will also be interested to know that on 18 October, there was a final hearing in the action brought against the Organization by the landlords of Building F in which they were claiming very substantial retroactive increases in the rent payable under the lease. Unfortunately, from information that we have received, the judgement and its contents will not become available until a few months hence, but this is an important development.
In conclusion, I should mention the Director-General wrote to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs in early September and he has also met him, as we have already been informed, at the Farnesina.
It is therefore the Director-General's hope, which I am certain Council will share, that these latest contacts will lead to positive results as regards giving effect to Council Resolutions 1/82 and 3/83.
F. FRANCISCI di BASCHI (Italie): Sur ce sujet, il y a deux faits nouveaux d'une certaine importance qui ont eu lieu tout récemment à propos de la discussion que nous avons eue hier sur les locaux du Siège. Il y a eu la rencontre entre le Directeur général et le Ministre des affaires étrangères d'Italie. La question de l'immunité de la FAO a été discutée. Il y a également une lettre que ma délégation a adressée au Directeur général à propos des consultations sur l'accord de siège, y compris le problème de l'immunité. Donc, nous sommes prêts à avoir des consultations dès aujourd'hui avec le Secrétariat général et le Bureau juridique de l'Organisation à propos de ce problème.
Sur le plan pratique, il y a toujours cette menace de mesures d'exécution. Mais ces mesures d'exécution n'existent pas encore. On nous dit qu'il y a une décision d'éviction, mais elle n'a pas été consignée à l'Organisation. Nous n'en savons absolument rien. On dit toujours que la situation se détériore. Je ne trouve pas qu'elle se détériore, elle est simplement immobile.
Je confirme ce qu'a déjà dit le représentant de l'Italie au Conseil: le Gouvernement italien est convaincu de l'immunité de l'Organisation. S'il y aura des mesures d'exécution, le Gouvernement italien est prêt à agir pour bloquer ces mesures lorsqu'elles auront lieu. Je ne peux pas en dire plus pour le moment.
A long terme, je peux dire que le Gouvernement italien est en train d'étudier des modifications de la législation italienne à propos des relations avec les Etats étrangers et les organisations internationales, pour avoir des instruments plus aptes à faire face à certaines situations. Je n'ai rien d'autre actuellement à ajouter sur ce problème.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador, for this very helpful statement. Is there any other Council member who wishes to speak on this topic, otherwise we have noted the situation and we do hope that progress will be made, and we have noted the assurance of the Ambassador of Italy with gratitude.
D.F.R. BOMMER (Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department): Mr. Chairman, I am speaking here in response to the request of the last Council for a report on the achievements in rinderpest control with special reference to the representation made in this session. It was decided that FAO's support for the proposed Pan-African rinderpest campaign should cover not only technical assistance for the Organization of African Unity, its Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (OAU/IBAR) but should also include responsibility for the backstopping and monitoring of the programme of the campaign as well as the coordination of the various substantial bilateral and multilateral donor interests that were needed.
An ad hoc meeting will be held at FAO headquarters next week on the 7th and 8th November with representatives of the EEC, OAU and OIE to arrive at clear decisions on the division of responsibilites between these bodies and FAO. The relationships with bilateral and other multilateral agencies will also be reviewed. This is essential for a programme which will be of very considerable magnitude and duration.
Let me now turn to the disease position itself. Here I am able to report an encouraging decrease in the incidence of outbreaks since the situation was described to you in June last. This is due to fervent efforts made by African governments themselves, supported by substantial financial and technical assistance for emergency actions which have been provided largely by FAO, by the EEC, and to some extent by a few bilateral donor agencies.
The assistance provided already by FAO through the TCPs since 1982 amounts to more than $ 4 million. However I wish to stress that the emergency is not yet over and that the success achieved is only partial. Sporadic outbreaks continue and the threats of further serious episodic outbreaks remain in a number of countries. This demands continuing vaccination as well as the rehabilitation of vaccine production centres which are seriously deficient in equipment and other supplies beacause of foreign exchange difficulties regarding their purchase. FAO is continuing to take action on these emergency aspects.
In order however to consolidate gains and in order to avoid repeated breakdowns in control of the disease, the launching of the proposed longer-term multidonor funded Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign remains essential. Let me repeat that its purpose is to continue vaccination programmes on a large scale, to monitor disease incidence and to search out residual foci until eradication can be achieved.
The problem to which we are now addressing ourselves is to find the funds required from external sources amounting to some hundred million dollars for the longer-term campaign which is foreseen for the duration of some ten years.
You will recall that a donor meeting was convened in Brussels in June 1983 but no long-term pledges were made by any of the participants who represented both bilateral and multilateral agencies, notwithstanding the clear statements of both the EEC and FAO support of the campaign. We are now studying the modalities open to us to mobilize the financial resources required, and we sincerely hope that at the ad hoc meeting on rinderpest next week agreement will be reached in recognizing FAO's lead role in this aspect in line with your strong recommendations of June 1983.
CHAIRMAN: I have Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Upper Volta. Is there any other delegation that wants to speak? Cameroon Observer.
J. TCHICAYA (Congo): Ma delegation a examine avec beaucoup d'intérêt le document CL 84/INF/13 soumis à notre attention, et tient à adresser ses félicitations au Secrétariat de la FAO pour l'excellente présentation des faits contenus dans ce rapport intérimaire sur la campagne panafricaine contre la peste bovine.
Nous voudrions profiter de cette occasion pour exprimer notre satisfaction quant aux efforts déployés par le Directeur général dans sa ferme volonté d'éradiquer cette maladie dont l'état endémique contribue à inquiéter l'Afrique entière.
Le concours international dont a bénéficié jusqu'à présent l'Afrique est à cet égard encourageant, et nous nous en félicitons. Cependant, nous pensons que les gouvernements intéressés devraient se sentir plus concernés par les mesures prises par la communauté internationale. Il importe en consé_ quence que, dans les efforts actuellement déployés pour combattre ce fléau, les gouvernements de cette région soient intimement associés dans la prise des mesures susceptibles d'être mises en oeuvre. En effet, toutes ces initiatives, auxquelles ma délégation adhère, ont avantage à privilégier les concertations entre les organisations internationales et ces gouvernements. Nous pensons que la FAO a tout à gagner à présenter aux éventuels donateurs un programme concerté, résultant d'un échange d'idées entre notre Organisation et les gouvernements intéressés. Il faudra éviter de donner la fâcheuse, impression que tout cela est fait pour eux, mais sans eux.
Le conseil peut donc recommander à la FAO d'instaurer ce dialogue et cette concertation, qui, à nos yeux, est l'un des gages de succès de l'opération d'eradication entreprise au même titre que les besoins en ressources financières.
Nous sommes certains que, de cette façon, les organisations internationales seront épaulées dans leurs efforts visant à mobiliser les ressources auprès des gouvernements donateurs, avec l'espoir que le Conseil recommandera une telle démarche qui pourrait amener le Directeur général à convoquer, de concert avec l'OUA, une réunion gouvernementale sur le sujet, réunion qui pourrait proposer des recommandations susceptibles d'être soumises à la prochaine conférence régionale de la FAO pour l'Afrique qui a lieu l'an prochain à Harare.
Nous tenons à apporter notre appui aux actions menées par la FAO, et plus singulièrement par le Directeur général, de concert avec d'autres organisations auxquelles je tiens à rendre également hommage.
De même, ma délégation apporte son soutien aux actions proposées dans le document au chapitre 5.
Enfin, la délégation de mon pays qui relève dans le rapport que plusieurs tentatives qui ont eu lieu dans le passé pour essayer d'éradiquer la maladie ont échoué, émet l'espoir qu'il en sera autrement cette fois-ci. A cet égard, il faut craindre les risques de propagation de la maladie dans les pays avoisinants, ceux cités dans le document. C'est pourquoi la création des zones tampons dans ces pays préconisée dans le document, constitue à nos yeux une réponse à cette inquiétude. Nous nous en réjouissons.
Ma délégation est de l'avis qu'un effort soutenu pour intensifier la lutte afin de parvenir à l'eradication complète de la peste bovine est nécessaire, et la communauté internationale doit être invitée à y participer activement, grâce à l'octroi des inputs financiers qui font actuellement défaut aux pays concernés et aux organisations chargées de mener cette campagne.
Dans ce contexte, nous pensons qu'un tel document ne peut être soumis à une instance comme la nôtre pour information, mais plutôt comme action, car la situation à nos yeux le commande.
En conclusion, nous accueillons avec plaisir la réunion de coordination de la campagne africaine de lutte contre la peste bovine qui sera organisée au Siège de la FAO les 7 et 8 novembre de cette année, afin d'examiner la question de la répartition des responsabilités.
Notre voeu est de voir les pays concernés être consultés afin de les responsabiliser davantage. De même, il convient de les associer à l'élaboration des projets dont ils ont la charge de les approuver, sans oublier qu'ils devront également prendre une part active dans la recherche du financement et de l'assistance technique auprès des organismes donateurs. Ces propositions n'ont pour but que d'éviter la passivité des gouvernements intéressés qui devront veiller au succès des opérations qui sont ou seront engagées dans leurs pays respectifs.
TESSEMA NEGASH (Ethiopia): My delegation wishes to extend its appreciation to FAO for the Report on the Pan-African rinderpest campaign, document CL 84/INF/13. This is an excellent document as information material and at the same time the information contained therein is very alarming, demanding even greater action. It highlights the present situation as well as some of the steps taken by the infected countries of Africa, the OAU, FAO, OIE, IBAR and the EEC. We sincerely appreciate such joint efforts in dealing with the spread of the disease threatening livestock production throughout the country.
It is clear from the Report that piecemeal and fragmented efforts here and there cannot produce permanent solutions. The cost component needed to bring about the total eradication of rinderpest from the surface of the Continent is immense and necessitates more coordinated efforts and actions at the international level.
My delegation therefore wishes to reiterate here the proposal made by the Ambassador of the Congo, which is also in line with the steps and the modalities undertaken by FAO, in requesting FAO, first, to organize intergovernmental consultations on problems of infected countries and such other countries threatened by the spread of rinderpest, regional organizations such as OAU and IBAE and chart out workable plans of action to eradicate the disease. Such a consultative group could be constituted on a permanent basis and meet at least once a year to review the situation until the Continent has been declared free from the disease. Parallel to this, organize doners'meetings involving governments, NGOs as well as international organizations and potential donors. Three, report the steps taken and results achieved to the next FAO regional meeting to be held in HARARE in July 1984.
Meanwhile, appreciating wholeheartedly past FAO efforts and actions, my delegation requests the continuation of the use of TCP funds, at least at the present level until this proposal brings positive results.
O. AWOYEMI (Nigeria): The Nigerian delegation would like to commend FAO for its activities in the rinderpest campaign in Africa. The fast action taken to assist countries which were afflicted with fresh outbreaks of the disease in the past year is greatly appreciated. Nigeria was one of those countries. From the Report before us, it would appear that a good working relationship has been established between the FAO and the OAU and IBAR. One wonders, however, if this relationship is as strong at the level of individual Member countries of the OAU.
The eradication of rinderpest requires the cooperation of all countries in a sub-region. My delegation would therefore suggest that all consultations be held at the sub-regional level so as to ensure that the campaign is carried out with some measure of collaboration among countries in the sub-region. Efforts at mobilizing resources from donor agencies are also welcome but my delegation is of the opinion that countries most seriously affected should be invited to participate at these meetings of donors so that they can put their case to the donors more convincingly. This does not detract from the effectiveness of the OAU/IBAR but merely strengthens their efforts. It will also make programmes to be developed more reflective of the needs of the countries.
Finally, my delegation implores the FAO to continue to use TCP and other available resources to fight the disease until donor resources become available to expand the Programme.
P.M. AMUKOA (Kenya): The seriousness of the rinderpest problem in Africa is on record and we do not wish to elaborate on it but to comment on the approaches being made in order that our Continent be freed from this persistent problem. We recognize the important role FAO is playing in assisting us to eradicate this problem and we wish to place on record our appreciation. We also compliment donors and of course also the affected countries themselves for their contributions in this task. We request that this spirit to assist be continued and even strengthened further.
We see in this document that there is a Pan-African rinderpest campaign programme in which FAO is seriously involved. We welcome this programme very much. However, paras. 9 and 10 do not seem to give - in fact nowhere in the document is there any evidence of - the serious involvement of these countries and also of course others that may be faced with this danger as a group. There is evidence of the Secretariats of the organizations mentioned there, working out this Programme with individual countries but not with countries as a group.
My delegation feels that if this observation is correct and since the rinderpest disease knows no boundaries, all the countries affected and all those that could be affected should be given a chance to discuss this Programme. We say this because we believe that once we get involved from the word "go" we shall work out the mechanism through which we ourselves shall coordinate our efforts; and once these get their roots, the rinderpest problem may be more fully controlled. In this connection, my delegation would like to go along with the proposals which have been made by Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria, that FAO in collaboration with the OAU and IBAR Secretariats, organize an intergovernmental consultation of the affected African States and those that could be in danger of infection, to discuss this Pan-African rinderpest campaign programme. At this consultation each country could indicate its national control efforts, their cost implications and what contributions they themselves may be able to make, and discuss the programmes with potential donors. Here donor participation will come out very clearly.
The delegate of Ethiopia suggested that the Regional Conference of FAO next year could also have a chance to look at this programme. That to me also seems like a good idea. When proposing this, we wish to underline the usefulness of the FAO/TCP aid in rinderpest emergency situations and we request that this support be continued.
S.G. DEMBA (Malawi): It is indeed most unfortunate that the Malawi delegation comes in to intervene at this late hour. You may rest assured that it is not because the items discussed so far have not been relevant and appealing to our own situation, but rather that circumstances beyond our control have prevented us from participating fully in these discussions. I wish to assure the Council that the Malawi delegation does fully endorse the discussions which have taken place so far and the recommendations which have been made. We look forward to detailed discussions in the coming weeks of the FAO Conference.
Coming to the subject under discussion this morning, agenda item 7, and referring specifically to document CL 84/INF/13, the Report on the Pan-African rinderpest campaign, the Malawi delegation does, of course, note the fact that this item is only for the information of the Council but we would very much wish to associate ourselves with the Council's endorsement of this Report, as we feel that this is an important item.
As has been correctly described in the Report, rinderpest is a highly contagious virus disease of cattle and other ruminant stocks of our areas and poses a dangerous threat to livestock development in our countries. Although in Malawi livestock is only part of agriculture, it is an important component and one of the most contributing sectors to our economy, both in terms of nutrition and income to several thousands of our small-scale farmers. It is in this line that my delegation welcomes this Report and the proposed lines of action towards eradicating this disease.
Malawi has indeed cooperated fully and we shall do so in all efforts to eradicate this disease. It is also in this light that we would welcome increased international assistance, both material and financial, from FAO/TCP. Although the Report which has just been tabled speaks of reduced incidence of this disease, in most of our areas the disease is certainly not under complete control. This point is also mentioned in paragraph 4 of the Report. My delegation therefore feels strongly that there is a need for increased support in the regional campaign as well as national government efforts. My delegation fully supports the five point action proposed on page 5 of the Report.
M. TATIETA (Haute-Volta): La delegation de Haute-Volta apprécie hautement le rapport qui nous est présenté. Nous remercions le Directeur général pour les efforts déjà accomplis en vue de venir à bout de cette maladie. Nous approuvons et soutenons les propositions de solutions contenues dans le rapport et nous appuyons le voeu émis par l'Ambassadeur du Congo, à savoir une concertation concrète avec les pays concernés en vue de trouver les solutions les meilleures pour lutter contre ce fléau. Le recul actuel de la maladie ne devrait pas faire ralentir la recherche active des moyens nécessaires pour la combattre de façon définitive.
Nous demandons aux donateurs d'être plus généreux car il s'agit là d'un problème capital pour les économies de la plupart des pays touchés par le fléau.
Mrs. M. FENWICK (United States of America): I think it is time that we went a little beyond our usual ways. We are dealing here with a scourge that affects all of sub-Sahara and central Africa and not great installations of widespread ranches; every little farmer; everybody who has five cows; every small person trying to make a living and to live, and perhaps have a little income. It is a frightful situation and I do commend the FAO and the TCP programme for the action that has already been taken, but it is not enough.
I would urge the governments concerned, every single one of them, to go after the non-governmental agencies that are professing an interest in the problems of hunger and of Africa, to go after the bilateral people who have already shown concern, to go after every Embassy, every Embassy that has a delegation in these countries that are affected or could be affected. Every Embassy should receive a delegation from the government of the countries saying "Give". Yes, the donors must give and I hope my own Embassy will receive messages from the governments concerned. But all the others too, who do not seem so willing to concern themselves with this kind of a problem, who are not yet donors. Let nobody escape from some responsibility in the world for what our fellow human beings are facing in this crucial situation. We must be moved with some indication of the absolute horror of what these countries are facing. As has been said here, it knows no borders and every Embassy that professes an interest in the welfare of the people to which they are assigned and accredited should be doing something, and I make no exceptions.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. I hope your message will go home.
Y. HAMDI (Egypt) (original language Arabie): I want on this occasion to put on record the thanks of our delegation to the Director-General, to Mr Griffels and to all his colleagues because of the prompt reaction to our demand for assistance the moment we discovered rinderpest disease. We received that assistance through the TCP. We hope that this assistance will continue to curb this disease and to produce necessary serums to combat it. We would like also to support this work Programme undertaken by this Organization. We launch an appeal to donor countries to increase their technical and financial support for the Programme. I would like also to put on record my personal thanks to the Ambassador of the United States of America for the appeal that she has just launched.
P. KANGA (Angola): Ce problème, qui concerne certains pays, pour le moment ne nous concerne pas directement mais la maladie pourrait arriver jusqu'à nos frontières si l'on ne prenait pas de mesures très efficaces.
A cet effet, ma délégation félicite la FAO sur les mesures qui ont été prises pour l'élimination de la peste bovine et ma délégation appuie les propositions faites par l'Ambassadeur du Congo.et les autres délégués qui ont bien voulu prendre la parole sur ce point.
K.C.S. ACHARYA (India): I just want to know on a point of interest as to whether the campaign is taking into account the incidence of this deadly disease on the wildlife. As you know, rinderpest is fairly common in my country also and we have found in our experience that when we get reports of this disease and we quickly mount a medical team, paramedical teams, and then they fan out in the villages and they take measures to immunize the cattle and to treat the suffering cattle but it then soon spreads to various areas, the areas which are contiguous to these areas where the disease is spreading, and we have found it very difficult to do anything for these helpless wildlife in the forest area and sometimes the toll is so devasting that it is really heartrending and just on a point of interest I wanted to know if some light could be thrown on how the toll of this disease on the wildlife is being tackled.
M. HAMDOON (Iraq)(original language Arabic): I believe we should not forget that this disease, rinderpest, is not confined to the very borders of the African continent, it menaces and threatens other continents as well. So in fact we cannot consider this disease to be solely an African problem and I agree with the Ambassador of the United States because she insisted on this problem and she gave it even a human dimension which is so necessary. As long as this disease can go from one to other continents I suggest that we follow the same example that we have seen in desert locusts, for example, and set up an interregional commisission to combat this disease like the DLCC. I think that Iraq has achieved a lot in combatting this disease. We are now producing serums which can help us a great deal in putting an end to this very dangerous disease.
S.J. KAO (Lesotho): We would like first to associate our remarks with your appreciation of the work that is being done by FAO and other donors to contain this disease.
This disease knows no international boundaries and those countries that appear to be free of the disease today stay in constant apprehension of experiencing an outbreak in the near future. However, that fear has in some countries materialised. In order to further enhance the good work so far done to contain the disease we would like to support the suggestion that an intergovernment consultation be held to consider what joint action, with emphasis on joint action, can be taken to contain the disease.
We would further like to emphasise the point that even though the countries that are now free of the disease should attend such consultation and we would like once more to associate our remarks with those of the delegate of the United States and further indicate that the situation has reached a position where it calls for a total commitment of all countries in Africa and indeed in the rest of the world.
A.G. NGONGI (Observer for Cameroon): I take the floor as an Observer mostly to associate my delegation with the views already expressed by the speakers before me, especially the delegate of Congo who has been supported by virtually everybody.
Clearly we appreciate very much the efforts that are being carried out by FAO in meeting the emergency outbreak of rindepest in Africa and my country has been a beneficiary of the TCP assistance, which we greatly appreciate but certainly the long term Pan-African Rindepest Campaign cannot be achieved without a resolute coordination and cooperation among the various African countries. In. this regard we do support the call that has been made for an African inter-governmental consultation to collectively discuss and draft a programme of action which they will also support with some of their own limited funds before appealing for international assistance. I am sure that such a consultation will be a venue for a local dialogue between the African countries and the interested donors who may be willing to participate in these kinds of meetings. I think the kind of atmosphere which the delegate of the United States just told us, would be very helpful if it could be made an inter-governmental consultation. Clearly the work which is being done, and in the next meeting which will be held, the inter-Secretariat meeting between OAU, IEA, IBNA and the FAO and EEC and the IOE are very helpful but it requires the will of the governments themselves and cooperation between the African governments and donors to implement this programme. I do not wish to take the time of the Council any more. I wish only to associate my delegation with the suggestion that have already been made.
T.E.C. PALMER (Observer for Sierra Leone): As an Observer we want to recognize the wonderful way in which the document has been received because it is a reflection of the input of the Organization into the preparation of the document and for this reason my delegation would like to commend the Secretariat for presenting a factual picture of what actually is happening on the particular topic, that is the Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign and we do not like to procrastinate the idea which has been forward by many of the speakers who have taken the floor before me but we would just like to emphasise one or two points, especially those brought up by the representative of Congo and Ethiopia and supported by others, that at least the Pan-African Campaign should be used in a wider context-with a long term view and consequently much elaborate action should be conceded even at the preparatory stage and conequently we support the proposals which have been put forward to incorporate the considerations or consultations of governments in the region, governments interested, governments which could eventually be donors, which would be supporters of the programme because we look at the problem from a wider perspective, including three main factors, institutional arrangements involved with such a Campaign, the financial and human resource contribution from recipient as well as donor governments and also the political commitment of the recipient governments or governments of the region because all too often there are even within the sub-region one or two political differences at political level. So when we consider the main factors we do not want the programme to get bogged down. We believe that at this inception stage that when the programme is developing wider dimension these factors should be taken into consideration and of course we believe also that these factors should incorporate the proposals put forward by previous speakers including the inter-government consultation, the involvement of the regional conference or more or less the inclusion of the programme as an agenda item in the forthcoming regional conference for Africa. We believe also that with FAO as a lead agency we could see far reaching results being obtained if we adopt such modalities of the question.
A. PINOARGOTE CEVALLOS (Ecuador): Dada la magnitud de este problema pienso yo que el Consejo debe manifestarse de manera enfática en los términos en que lo ha propuesto la Sra. Embajadora de los Estados Unidos de América, puesto que verdaderamente el problema es de tal magnitud que si no se to-ma una acción de esa naturaleza los esfuerzos resultarán estériles, pues según el mismo documento que estamos estudiando lo que reporta es un problema que tiene ya muchísimos años de existencia y que tiende siempre a repetirse y a agravarse.
Incluso si examinamos el punto 11 del documento CL 84/INF/13 vemos que se habla de una suma del orden de los 100 millones de dolares para poder efectuar una campaña que obtenga resultados ampliamente satisfactorios.
En el mismo documento vemos que en el cuadro 1 el aporte de la FAO en estos últimos cinco años ha llegado apenas a 5 070 000 dolares puesto que la FAO no tiene recursos para hacer un aporte de ma-yor magnitud, pero yo pienso que la FAO sí puede hacer un llamamiento muy enfático a la comunidad internacional para que se tome una acción y un empeño como el que propone la distinguida representante de los Estados Unidos de América.
J.M. OGWANG (Observer for Uganda): As an observer from a country invaded by rinderpest I would like to express my appreciation to FAO for the prompt asssistance given to my country in the fight against this international desease, rinderpest.
I would like to associate my delegation with the views of those who have spoken before me, that in the formulation of the Pan African rinderpest campaign the governments of those countries having this disease should be involved in constant consultations to facilitate smooth coordination of the campaign.
D. NORMAN (Observer for Zimbabwe): I do not intend to prolong this discussion, but I have read the report with interest and I thought that delegates may be interested to know that this is one of the projects currently being studied by the study group of countries. It was highlighted by Tanzania at the recent Donors Conference in Maseru, where as a matter of interest it was the largest single request item on that agenda and it was fully supported by members attending, but regrettably to date has attracted very little support, and Zimbabwe, like many other countries which currently are not affected has a large vested interest. The last time we were struck by the disease at the turn of the century we lost 97 percent of the total head of cattle in the country.
I would also like to give my support to the views expressed by the delegate of the United States of America because not only are so many farmers reliant upon cattle for meat and milk but certainly in many parts of Africa it is the only source of draught power and if we are going to see a continuation or a spread of the disease it will be extremely difficult to maintain many of the cropping programmes that we are currently trying to promote in Central Africa.
G. BULA HOYOS (Colombia): La Delegación de Colombia desea hacer llegar su más plena solidaridad a los países africanos, particularmente a aquellos que están afectados por la peste bovina.
Apoyamos con todo entusiasmo toda medida concreta, específica y positiva que pueda tomarse en favor de solucionar esa difícil situación.
D.F.R. BOMMER (Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department): I think Dr. Griffiths gave a wise reply and I liked it very much because Dr. Griffiths is head of the Animal Production and Health Division. It is the last time you will see him sitting on the rostrum of the Council because he will retire at the end of the year; so perhaps you would allow me to turn over to Dr. Griffiths.
R.B. GRIFFITHS (Director, Animal Production and Health Division): Thank you, Dr. Bommer, for those remarks. As you say, this is the last time I shall be on the podium and I should like to say how much I have enjoyed my association with the Council over the years.
We have had a very fruitful and interesting discussion. It is quite clear that there is unanimous agreement with what the delegate from Congo has said about intergovernmental consultation. Just for the record let me say that we started the work on this Pan American rinderpest campaign with intergovernmental consultation in Nairobi two years ago, but that was not meant to be a once and for all type of meeting. It is quite clear, and the Secretariat fully agrees, that there must be regular intergovernmental consultation, and I can assure you that the matter is in hand. We are at the moment appointing, together with the OAU and IBAR what are called regional coordinators. One will be provided shortly by FAO under the TCP. Another is being appointed with funds from the EEC, and a third by the Overseas Development Administration in the United Kingdom. One of their tasks will be to set up a regular consultative intercountry mechanism on a regional and subregional basis. But that does not mean that we should not have from time to time Pan African consultations. I think, as the delegate from Congo has said, the time is ripe and we shall certainly look into this with a view to holding such a meeting at a suitable place as soon as possible.
Mention was made of the item coming up at the next FAO Regional Conference for Africa. This will certainly be an item of interest and importance in some part of the agenda. It is quite clear from this morning's discussion how important it is felt among the African Member Nations and the other members of the Council.
Specific reference was made to the question of the involvement of wildlife in the disease and by the delegate of India. It is true that rinderpest does kill wildlife but there are considerable question marks over the exact role of wildlife in the transmission process as between wildlife and domestic stock. We agree fully with the delegate of India that this is a subject which requires much deeper investigation. I am able to announce this morning that starting this month there will be an FAO project in East Africa on this subject financed again under the Technical Cooperation Programme.
The delegate of the United States of America made a very important statement, and I think it would be appropriate for me to say here that at the donors meeting which was held jointly with the EEC, the OAU and the OIE in Brussels this year, some of the potential donors complained that they were not receiving requests from African countries themselves - I am not saying every African country, but they said there was an opportunity if they received requests to consider support. But most of the bilateral donors in particular have said, as they always say, that they cannot act unilaterally, they must receive requests. So what the delegate of the United States of America has said is very important: go out and try to obtain support yourselves. This is absolutely essential. We all know as members of the Council and members of the Secretariat that FAO cannot do this, it has to be done to a great extent by the governments concerned and affected by this problem.
I hope I have covered the main points, but I assure you now that we will continue to press this programme ahead very quickly and I am really looking forward to the ad hoc meeting that we shall have next week to be able to take a major step forward.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Dr. Griffiths. The Council will unanimously and very strongly endorse the integrated disease containment and control strategy outlined in this paper as well as the multipronged assistance strategy so eloquently outlined by the Ambassador of the United States of America. I think with these two put together we shall be able to see progress and success in next week's consultations and the other consultations which are likely to take place. I want to thank all the delegates for their very strong support for this programme. I think I must here convey our very sincere appreciation to Dr. Griffiths. We learned from Dr. Bommer that he is retiring. Dr. Griffiths has put in over 22 years of most dedicated service to this Division of Animal Health and Animal Production, and I am sure that we would like to record the Council's appreciation to Dr. Griffiths' very dedicated, devoted and competent service. Thank you very much.
V. J. SHAH, (Director, Office of Programme, Budget and Evaluation): The Council had received at its Eighty-second Session last year the report of the Director-General on the Unscheduled Sessions and the Cancelled Sessions from the beginning of 1982 until the time the Council met.
As is customary in the second year of the biennium, we now present the Director-General's report on the same facts as they apply to 1983. The information is given in document CL 84/3 in two distinct parts, part one dealing with the unscheduled sessions and part two dealing with the cancelled sessions. In each case, a brief but I trust clear explanation is provided as to the reason why an unscheduled session was convened or on the contrary, why a session which was scheduled to be held had to be cancelled.
Mr Chairman, I am at the disposal of yourself and the Council for any further clarification which may be required, but I believe that the document stands essentially on its own.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. The document is very clear and I think we should thank the Director-General for this information.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Conformément aux dispositions pertinentes des textes fondamentaux de la FAO, le Directeur général, sur la demande de la République démocratique allemande reçue le 20 septembre 1983, a invité ce pays à participer à la onzième session du Comité des pêches qui s'est tenue à Rome du 10 au 19 octobre 1983.
La République démocratique allemande figure au 42ème rang parmi les grandes nations qui ont une activité halieutique dans le monde et sa participation aux débats et aux échanges de vues a été appréciée des membres de ce Comité.
CHAIRMAN: Is there any member of the Council who wants to speak, otherwise we are happy that they made a useful contribution. Thank you very much, Mr. Sylla, for this information.
A. REGNIER (Director, Office for Inter-Agency Affairs): As the Council knows, FAO is organizing a large number of technical meetings to which various international organizations, intergovernmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations are invited. FAO is thus able to get expert advice and information on particular subjects.
International non-governmental organizations having status with FAO are invited on the basis of existing arrangements for cooperation based on FAO's Basic Texts. International non-governmental organizations having no status with FAO can be invited on an ad hoc basis if their participation is considered useful to a particular meeting. The Director-General informs the Council in advance whenever possible of the names of these organizations, but when this is not possible he reports to the Council ex post facto on such invitations. Now these organizations and the meetings to which they have been invited are listed in the Council document that we have just referred to, CL 84/INF/9, and I think that this is for the information of the Council.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Conformément aux dispositions pertinentes des textes fondamentaux de la FAO, le Directeur général a reçu, en ce qui concerne le Comité du programme, une lettre en date du 22 août 1983 de M. Michael D. Metelits, Représentant permanent suppléant des Etats-Unis auprès de la FAO, l'informant au nom de son gouvernement que S. Exc. Mme l'Ambassadeur Millicent H. Fenwick, nouvellement nommée Représentante permanente des Etats-Unis d'Amérique auprès de la FAO, avait été désignée pour remplacer M. Roger Sorenson comme représentant des Etats-Unis au Comité du programme. Le Président du Comité du programme en a été informé.
On trouvera à l'annexe A des informations sur les qualités, les compétences et les expériences de S. Exc. Mme l'Ambassadeur Fenwick.
Pour le Comité des finances, le Directeur général a reçu une note verbale du 14 septembre 1983 du Représentant permanent du Sénégal auprès de la FAO, l'informantque M. Sidaty Aidara, en raison des tâches pressantes qui lui incombaient à la veille de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies à New York, ne serait pas en mesure d'assister à la session. Le Gouvernement sénégalais a donc désigné M. Papa Yoro Diallo pour le représenter au Comité financier. Le Président du Comité financier en a également été informé.
On trouvera à l'annexe B des renseignements sur les qualités, les compétences et l'expérience de M. Diallo.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. I am sure members of the Council will welcome Ambassador Fenwick and Mr. Diallo on the Programme and Finance Committees. Having attended part of the meeting of these two committees I can say the contributions of Ambassador Fenwick and Mr. Diallo were outstanding and we are very happy they are present on these committees.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Mr. Chairman, as you will see from the document - which 1 hope you can find because I cannot find my copy - this is a tidying up process to ensure equitable treatment between members of staff in the matter of dependency benefits. The objective here is to avoid duplication of benefits, so I do not think this should raise any problems financially or otherwise.
CHAIRMAN: Are there any other comments from any member of the Council? Then we accept this proposal.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: La prochaine reunion du Conseil est fixée au 25 novembre, suivant immédiatement la session de la Conférence.
The meeting rose at 12.30 hours.
La séance est levée à 12 h 30.
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.30 horas.
