Mrs Maria KADLECIKOVA (Slovakia): Distinguished delegates, let me deliver our contribution on behalf of the Central and Eastern European countries. The eradication of hunger, malnutrition, and the achievement of food security in the world represents supreme commitment of the international community at the end of the second millennium. In spite of mankind's generous intentions but also praticai undertakings by many countries and the relevant organizations, the substance and magnitude of the hunger and malnutrition are always the same.
It is frustrating that every eight seconds a child is dying in this world. For this reason Central and Eastern Euoropean countries are generally in support of the decision to convene the World Food Summit. The intention to support the convocation of the Summit has already been expressed at the Ministry of Consultation on Agricultural Policy and Reforms in the Central and Eastern European Economies in Transition held in Warsaw in the September of 1994.
Our commitment to support the Summit stems from the assessment of the global situation in food security as 88 nations fall into the category of Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries. However, it should be emphasized that Central and Eastern European countries, at the present stage of transition, are facing food security problems as well. This is particularly visible in the countries which suffer wars and civil conflict. Some governments have adopted their own concept of food security.
It is obvious that the problems of food security in our part of the world have a different face than in the most affected countries. In all documents for the Summit, it should be noted that world food security has not only commanded quantitative features but qualitative as well. It is well known that the production ability of our food and agriculture sectors is already high and should grow farther in the framework of sustainable development. In spite of this, qualitative aspect of the food consumption represents serious problems of the human nutrition.
Therefore, associating ourselves with the position of the European Union on this issue, we welcome the conclusions of the 20th session of the Committee on World Food Security, which recognized that food insecurity and malnutrition were not only food supply problems but also demand problems requiring ultimately poverty alleviation and social equity.
In anticipation of full documentation of the World Food Summit, I shall make a few preliminary remarks. The Summit process must be action-oriented, consolidate F AO's universal mandate, particularly during the Quebec Conference, be integrated with regular FAO activities, and focus ultimately on the regional and sub-regional levels of cooperation.
In this context it should be pointed out that the last FAO General Conference as well as successive sessions of the FAO Council emphasized that economic and social problems of transition in the Central and Eastern European countries should be given high priority in the regional policy of the Organization. Having recalled this, Central and Eastern European countries expect that their specific problems of food security will receive appropriate attention in the preparatory process as well as actions of the World Food Summit itself. This is the best way to ensure other involvement in the implementation of the programme activities to be adopted by the Summit. Mr Chairman, I thank you for your attention.
CONGMENG LIU (China) (Original language Chinese): Mr Chairman, the Chinese delegation wishes to say a few words regarding the World Food Summit. We are celebrating this year the 50th Anniversary of the founding of FAO and in the ensuing period a great deal of successes have been scored. But, of course, to continue along these lines, we must have, continuing efforts. The task of eliminating hunger and malnutrition
has not yet been fully completed and it's estimated that in the year 2010 there will still be 730 million people who are undernourished. Hence this World Food Summit proposed by the Director-General comes at a very timely moment indeed.
The Chinese Government, from the very inception of this idea, has consistently supported the convening of this Summit and will continue to lend its support thereto. And we shall make our contribution to all the preparatory activities leading up to the Summit, and we hope that the success of the World Food Summit will contribute to achieving sustainable food security on a universal basis.
Having said this, Mr Chairman, I would like to address the document CL 108/12 more specifically. Firstly, the Chinese delegation can agree with the approach spelt out in paragraph 7, namely that we should refer back to the various commitments that have been made at different international fora and activities. We think this is a practical approach; and as you know, this year the fourth World Conference on Women will take place in Beijing and the theme of the contribution of women to world development will be very important and will be discussed there.
It is important to stress women's involvement in decision-making, women's contribution to overall cooperation, and other issues as well should be focused upon, and the role to be played by women in socioeconomic development in the rural world is very important. This is one of the aspects that we are focusing on in preparing for a successful World Conference on Women, and we were very pleased indeed to learn that Mr Diouf, the FAO Director-General, will be participating in the World Conference on Women, and the Chinese Government extends a most cordial welcome to him for that meeting.
Secondly, turning now to paragraph 17, which talks about the relationship between food availability and population growth: now, of course, as the population grows, there will be less land available per capita.
We in China have taken very strict measures to protect arable land. In order to satisfy the cereal requirements of our population, the Chinese Government has adopted measures to rehabilitate certain mountainous land. For example, in the sphere of world food security we think that it is very important to reduce post-harvest losses, and we must strengthen buffer stocks and the maintenance and storage of cereals and grains is very important as well, so as to keep them from being subject to perishing.
Turning to paragraph 19, it talks about reaffirming the concept of food security. We can concur with the use of that concept and my delegation feels it is necessary to have a clear understanding of what is entailed by food security. It must include the two aspects that are indicated in the paragraph. First of all, there must be a reliable, sustainable supply of food, and all inhabitants should have access to healthy, nourishing foodstuffs. What this boils down to is providing for the food requirements of the population, so we have to focus not only on production but also on meeting the grain requirements of the population. This is the way we construe the concept of food security.
In developing means of production, we think that it is also important to provide job opportunities so that the population can increase salaries, have more disposable income and thus the population will be better nourished and it will be possible to alleviate poverty.
Turning now to paragraph 21,1 think here we have to stress the important role played by small industries which are developing apace in China. This provides jobs so that the rural population has a higher income and this can contribute to the overall economic development of the country and provides economies of skill as well. At the same time, this is one means of curbing rural exodus if you can develop local small industries.
Turning now to the Plan of Action, the Chinese delegation can concur with the contents spelled out in the document regarding the Plan of Action. We believe that the best possible conditions should be provided for the development of agriculture, that is to say, political stability and good macro- economic circumstances, so as to increase the availability of agricultural input and to improve the scientific level of agriculture. Clearly such measures are critical to the development of agriculture. In China, agricultural reform set out to make sure that there would be a stable policy. In particular, there must be a continuous supply of inputs that the population can rely on, and scientific and technological developments and state of the art developments have been brought on line in our agricultural activities.
Under paragraph II, it talks about creating appropriate political and macro-economic conditions to foster food security. In this respect, we deem it very important to underscore the role played by agriculture in the overall economy of each country. This is particularly the case for the developing countries. Agriculture is the major recipient of raw materials and it also produces tremendous job opportunities, more raw material, and manpower is also supplied for industry. This therefore means that agriculture can prove to be a driving force and impetus for future industrialization as well, so agriculture is really the very basis of the economy in many different countries and this must, of course, be underscored.
Mme Régine DE CLERCQ (Belgique): Lors de la dernière session du CSA la Belgique s'est déjà amplement exprimée au sujet de ce point de l'ordre du jour ce qui va me permettre d'être assez brève aujourd'hui. Je voudrais dès à présent remercier le Secrétariat de la FAO pour avoir pris en compte plusieurs - pour ne pas dire la plupart - des commentaires que nous avons faits au CSA.
Les commentaires que je ferai en ce moment, je les ferai aussi au nom des Pays Bas avec lesquels nous nous sommes consultés ce qui vous permettra, Monsieur le Président, de réduire votre liste d'orateurs d'au moins ime entité.
Pour répondre aux deux questions que Mme Killingsworth a posées à l'introduction de nos débats, nous trouvons que ces propositions nous conviennent et que le document constitue une très bonne base de discussion. Nous voudrions toutefois suggérer quelques petites modifications, pour ne pas dire quelques petits ajouts.
La première de ces modifications que je voudrais suggérer s'adresse au plan d'action, et notamment au point 1 du plan d'action. Nous nous demandons si on ne pourrait pas inscrire concrètement dans ce premier point que la sécurité alimentaire devrait constituer un principe directeur du développement, parce que la sécurité alimentaire permet un développement ciblé et qui tient compte également des plus pauvres. C'est pourquoi nous pensons que c'est un principe de développement.
Pour le reste, je m'associe pleinement à ce qui a été dit par la délégation allemande au sujet de l'inclusion de la croissance démographique, au sujet du "follow-up" concret que l'on devrait prévoir, et au sujet de "empowerment of women" pour employer l'expression utilisée par la délégation allemande.
En ce qui concerne la première partie, j'ai quelques petites suggestions.
A propos du titre du paragraphe 20 qui maintenant est libellé: "Nécessité d'une action", on se demande si un titre plus approprié ne serait pas: "Nécessité d'une stratégie", parce qu'une stratégie à trois composantes: des actions, des programmes et des politiques, et des mesures, tandis que "action" n'est qu'une partie de tout cela.
Je m'associe à ce sujet aux déclarations qui ont été faites par d'autres orateurs, en particulier par l'Allemagne au sujet du "good governance".
J'ai écouté avec beaucoup d'intérêt ce qui a été dit par la délégation australienne sur le lien faim-pauvreté et il me semble que des références à cette déclaration devraient se retrouver dans la première partie de notre déclaration.
Je voudrais faire aussi une petite suggestion d'ordre rédactionnel dans le paragraphe 19.
Dans la première phrase de ce paragraphe, je crois qu'il s'agit peut-être d'une expression de traduction mais qui selon moi est un peu malheureuse et qui a été utilisée au sujet de l'accès à des produits, et je lis le texte: "alimentaires, nourrissants et non nocifs". Des aliments non nocifs ne me semblent pas vraiment appropriés dans le contexte de la sécurité alimentaire. Ce que l'on veut probablement signifier c'est qu'il s'agit d'aliments sains qui tiennent compte des habitudes nutritionnelles parce qu'il ne suffit pas de ne pas s'empoisonner pour être nourri. Donc il s'agit là d'une question d'ordre rédactionnel.
Enfin, au sujet de questions organisationnelles, plusieurs délégations ont fait ce matin des suggestions à propos de mécanismes intersessionnels au sujet des "one issue meetings". Je dois dire que j'ai été un peu préoccupée
en écoutant tout cela, et ce, pour deux raisons: d'un côté toutes ces réunions supplémentaires en cours aboutissent à des dépenses budgétaires dans une période où nous avons déjà un budget qui n'est pas très confortable. D'autre part, je me demande si ces "one issue meetings" ne vont pas entraîner un certain détricotage du document qui est maintenant très cohérent parce qu'il a été étudié et examiné par une instance. Si on commence à le faire examiner par plusieurs instances il risque de perdre un peu sa cohérence. Ceci ne veut pas dire que je ne serai pas du tout d'accord pour que l'on ait, à un certain moment, et peut-être un peu plus tard cette année, après les différentes conférences régionales, et à nouveau dans une enceinte qui pourrait être une session extraordinaire du Comité de la sécurité alimentaire par exemple, la possibilité de se réassurer de la cohérence du document après qu'il ait été vu par des instances régionales. Cela me paraît peut-être une meilleure méthode. Ce sont là des éléments plutôt concrets que je voulais apporter à cette discussion.
Nedilson RICARDO JORGE (Brazil): Mr Chairman, first of all allow me to thank the FAO Secretariat and in particular Mrs Killingsworth for the preparation of this excellent document. Document CL 108/12 is a very good and sound basis on which we can continue to work in order to achieve what we feel will be outstanding final documents of the Summit to which the Brazilian Government attaches the greatest importance.
My delegation had the opportunity to express its worries and points of view during the last meeting of the Committee on World Food Security. Therefore, I will be very brief in my comments now. We would like to commend the draft for consideration in our final declaration and Plan of Action that will be adopted by the Summit next year.
As a framework for consideration, the document before us reflects well the debate that we had during the last CFS as registered in its report in CL 108/10. We are particularly supportive of the concepts contained in paragraphs 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 39 of that report. The document before us, however, is still a first draft and we think that it can naturally improve as it develops according to our debate until it reaches its final version.
As a contribution to the process, my delegation would like to make some brief comments on the contents of the declaration. As we have already remarked during the last session of the CFS, my delegation considers -and I would like to reiterate the point - that the question of access to food and the relationship between poverty and hunger are central questions when one considers the matter of food security.
As other delegations that preceded us, we think that this point should deserve a more prominent position in the document and we are of the opinion that it should be duly highlighted as a very, very crucial point.
My delegation would like also to express its view that the reference to genetic resources as we understand in paragraph 23 of the draft, is very important due to the relationship of the matter with food security. We would like to emphasize that any controversial wording should be avoided in the document, in particular to what relates to matters that clearly are not the object of consensus.
As a final remark, my delegation would like to support the proposal made by Chile and endorsed by many other delegations to give the Committee on Food Security a more prominent role as a preparatory body for the Summit, so as we could have now a focal point in the process preparation of that meeting. Thank you Mr Chairman.
Mme Béatrice DAMIBA (Burkina Faso): La délégation du Burkina Faso se félicite de vous avoir à nouveau parmi nous, Monsieur le Président, pour présider nos travaux avec doigté.
La préparation du Sommet mondial de l'alimentation a déjà fait l'objet d'un examen approfondi des Etats Membres lors de la vingtième session du Comité de la sécurité alimentaire à laquelle participait le Burkina Faso. Au passage, je voudrais rendre hommage au Secrétariat du Sommet pour la rapidité avec laquelle il a pu prendre en compte une grande partie des observations du Comité, dont les nôtres. Raison pour laquelle à cette deuxième étape du processus d'examen des documents préparatoires la délégation du Burkina Faso voudrait seulement formuler rapidement quelques commentaires généraux sur le Sommet. Quant aux observations spécifiques sur certains articles du document, elles seront remises par écrit au Secrétariat du Conseil.
En termes de commentaires généraux disons que le Sommet mondial de Γ alimentation intéresse au premier degré les pays concernés par l'insécurité alimentaire. Les victimes des aléas climatiques et de la faim attendent de la communauté internationale et de la F AO, 50 ans après sa création des mesures concrètes pour résoudre durablement les questions de sous-alimentation et de malnutrition, facteurs essentiels des retards de développement. Elles espèrent de la prise de conscience politique attendue du Sommet un renforcement de l'engagement matériel financier et technologique et un renforcement de la solidarité internationale.
La délégation du Burkina Faso réitère particulièrement son soutien ferme aux recommandations du Comité de la sécurité alimentaire sur la nécessité de parvenir à un accord sur des objectifs quantifiables et réalisables dans le domaine de la sécurité alimentaire, en établissant clairement les responsabilités et le calendrier d'exécution afin d'obtenir des résultats concrets. Cette préoccupation n'est malheureusement pas prise en compte dans le développement de la dernière partie du document. Le paragraphe 37 manque de précision et gagnerait à être développé en tenant compte des suggestions suivantes: définition d'objectifs quantifiables et si possible quantifiés pour atteindre la sécurité alimentaire adaptée à chaque région. Ces objectifs devront être formulés en fonction de chaque niveau de décision, international, régional et national. Il s'agit notamment d'accroître les investissements et l'utilisation des facteurs de production, d'augmenter les ratios terres irriguées-terres irrigables, d'assurer l'intégration régionale du commerce agricole et de réitérer les engagements pour accroître la proportion du PNB destinée à l'aide publique au développement; de réviser le niveau d'engagement minimum prévu au titre de la Convention de l'aide alimentaire; de s'engager à augmenter les budgets destinés au développement de l'agriculture.
Evidemment une fois ces objectifs quantifiés définis, un suivi étroit, notamment des évaluations par étape, devra être assuré tant au niveau sous-régional, régional qu'international afin que ce sommet tant attendu n'accouche pas d'une souris et ne soit pas qu'une autre grand-messe de plus.
A propos des commentaires spécifiques que nous allons remettre au Secrétariat par écrit, ils sont relatifs à la note explicative aux paragraphes 11, 16, 24 et 25 ainsi que 28 et puis également aux éléments d'un plan d'action sur les principes 2, 5 et 7 mais ils sont tellement techniques que nous préférons vous les remettre tout à l'heure avec l'espoir qu'ils seront également pris en considération.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias distinguida Delegación de Burkina Faso, le aseguro que serán tomadas en cuenta sus observaciones que por escrito enviará a la Secretaría.
Supote DECHATES (Thailand): My delegation supports the statement made by the Chairman of the Asia Group in supporting the Director-General of the FAO for his initiative to convene a World Food Summit. It is now rescheduled from 11 to 17 November 1996. We believe this new schedule is timely and most suitable for the present world situation. We all realize that several countries will still be facing food shortage, I refer in particular to the low-income food deficit countries. We also believe that raising awareness of the world problem at the highest level and securing concerted international action are the key objectives for a successful Summit in order to find solutions for our planet to be free from hunger. My delegation hopes countries' policies would focus more on food security rather than arms security. Thanks to the Government of Italy for hosting this Summit.
Mr Chairman, my government endorses the Director-General's intention that the Summit would not be a pledging conference nor aim at the creation of any new financial mechanism or institution. Instead, we strongly support the close partnership between FAO and Member Nations, multilateral organizations and the NGOs. This partnership should begin from the preparatory process of the Summit to the implementation of the Summit Plan of Action. The continuation of the process of the Summit should include the role of the FAO in assisting Member Nations to follow up the Summit Plan of Action.
With regard to the document CL 108/12, paragraph 9, my delegation agrees that objectives and Plan of Action should have regional and sub-regional as well as global components. We look forward to cooperating closely in the FAO Regional Conference schedule for 1996.
Mr Chairman, in conclusion, my government endorses Part I and Part II elements of the document CL 108/12 to be included in the policy document and in the Plan of Action, respectively.
Fernando GERBASI (Venezuela): Muchas gracias señor Presidente. Mi gobierno está convencido que una cumbre mundial sobre la alimentación, en los actuales momentos, significa involucrar a toda la comunidad internacional y, sobre todo, a los países de mayores recursos para colaborar con la FAO en la búsqueda de soluciones prácticas al problema de la inseguridad alimentaria, que constituye, sin lugar a dudas, un grave flagelo para gran parte de la humanidad y que de no aunarse voluntades, sin la mediación de factores políticos, no permitirá mejorar las condiciones de los más necesitados y llegaremos, ciertamente, a una situación verdaderamente catastrófica.
Venezuela, como país de América Latina y el Caribe, ha visto con suma preocupación como la pobreza en nuestra región se ha incrementado hasta alcanzar niveles realmente inhumanos. Es por ello que una cumbre mundial sobre la alimentación parecería una esperanza válida para todos aquellos que, pese a los esfuerzos nacionales realizados, no han encontrado salida para solucionar este problema.
Mi Gobierno, atendiendo la solicitud y el planteamiento del Director General de la FAO, no sólo designó a un Secretario Nacional que servirá de enlace con la Organización para los preparativos de la cumbre, sino que dio un paso a nuestro entender que va más allá, cuando el Presidente de la República juramentó hace unos días y puso en funcionamiento el Consejo Nacional de Alimentación, órgano de carácter permanente para concretar, asesorar y proponer al ejecutivo nacional, los mecanismos e instrumentos que aseguren la disponibilidad financiera y la objetiva toma de decisiones para su inversión a fin de garantizar la producción de alimentos y, proteger así a la nación contra riesgos de desabastecimiento y contra la alta dependencia foránea que actualmente tenemos.
Señor Presidente, es evidente que para lograr el éxito de la cumbre, se hace necesario un Plan de Acción concreto en el tiempo, con objetivos precisos y alcanzables, de manera que la misma no concluya en una mera declaración política de buena voluntad. Por tal motivo compartimos la idea de que el Proyecto de Declaración sea breve y conciso.
Ya en el Informe de la cumbre de 1974, intitulado "Alimentación, Agricultura y Seguridad Alimentaria, la dimensión mundial, evolución histórica, situación actual y perspectivas de futuro" se sostenía que, y abro comillas... mientras la esencia del problema de la alimentación mundial sea la elevada inseguridad alimentaria y la subnutrición precisamente en los países con escasos suministros de alimentos per capita y una acusada dependencia de la agricultura, no podrá haber respuestas políticas adecuadas si no incluyen una fuerte dosis para acelerar la producción de alimentos en esos mismos países, por lo menos en esta fase de su desarrollo cierro comillas.
Señor Presidente, no escapa a nadie las diferencias sustanciales que existen en todas las regiones del mundo, en cuanto a los niveles de seguridad alimentaria y a las capacidades para remediar esta situación, y es por ello, que pensamos que debe adoptarse un enfoque, primeramente nacional y posteriormente regional. Mi delegación considera oportuna la decisión del Director General de postergar la cumbre para la segunda mitad del año de 1996, pues esto nos permitirá preparar con más esmero y tiempo los temas y documentos que en ella se puedan adoptar.
Es por eso, Señor Presidente, y dentro de esta perspectiva, que creemos que el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria, que es el Organo de la FAO con más competencia en los temas que serán debatidos en la cumbre debe ser el Organo que se encargue de coordinar, debatir y examinar todo el proceso preparatorio de esta cumbre. Y por eso requiero la propuesta lanzada por mi Delegación durante el Vigésimo Período de Sesiones de ese Comité, en el sentido de designarlo con tal carácter de Organo preparatorio.
Si el Director General de la FAO, consciente de la necesidad de coordinar las actividades que distintos organismos, a nivel nacional, adelantan y que tienen que ver con la participación de los países en la Cumbre, propuso con mucha visión el que se nombrara un Secretario Nacional que sirviera de enlace entre el país y el Secretariado de la Cumbre, pensamos entonces que es necesario alcanzar una coordinación que vaya más allá de la nacional, que sea a nivel internacional.
Por eso, Señor Presidente, estamos convencidos de que este rol de coordinación, de punto focal, corresponde al Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria por ser el órgano intergubernamental de la FAO, por su competencia, y por ser más apto para adelantar tales funciones de la Cumbre Mundial sobre Alimentación.
A nuestro entender, este papel de Comité Preparatorio de la Cumbre debe traducirse no sólo en la reunion normal prevista en enero de 1996, sino que también debe preverse una reunión extraordinaria breve, quizás hacia septiembre de 1996, que permita incorporar, a los documentos que se vayan a someter a la Cumbre para su aprobación, los resultados de las reuniones regionales que tendrán lugar durante el verano del próximo año. Por ello, el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria, en su calidad de Comité Preparatorio, deberá, en su reunión de enero, establecer las directrices que encuadren claramente las contribuciones que harán los países y las regiones a la cumbre.
Señor Presidente, nos complace altamente constatar que numerosas delegaciones han apoyado previamente esta idea que Venezuela quería exponer en la tarde de hoy.
Sra. Ileana Maritza LOPEZ TURCIOS (Honduras): Muchas gracias Señor Presidente. La delegación de Honduras desea hacer algunos breves comentarios de carácter general sobre el documento CL 108/12 que se somete a nuestra consideración.
Mi delegación otorga a este proyecto de documento normativo y plan de acción, una importancia fundamental para el fomento de la toma de conciencia a nivel mundial y para garantizar la acción internacional concertada sobre uno de los más graves problemas que aquejan a la humanidad, o sea la inseguridad alimentaria.
En este contexto, permítame, a nombre de mi delegación y la de los países del Istmo Centroamericano, expresar nuestro más decidido apoyo a la celebración de la Cumbre Mundial sobre Alimentación y por ende a la elaboración del proyecto que nos ocupa.
En este orden de ideas, deseo expresar que concedemos particular importancia a los criterios y conclusiones alcanzados en foros anteriores, comenzando por la Declaración Universal sobe la Erradicación del Hambre y la Malnutrición de la Conferencia Mundial de la Alimentación de 1974, incluyendo especialmente los compromisos que sobre el particular adoptó la comunidad internacional en la CNUMAD celebrada en Rio de Janeiro en 1992, así como la Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición (CIN) efectuada en Roma en 1992, la Cumbre Mundial sobre Desarrollo Social realizada en Copenhague este año y otras mencionadas el día de hoy.
En nuestro concepto, estas iniciativas, las citadas en el párrafo 11 y otras más de carácter regional, dan continuidad al debate y evitan repeticiones innecesarias.
Para mi delegación, la orientación regional, subregional y nacional deben dar el rumbo a aquellas de carácter mundial. En este marco de referencias estimo oportuno señalar que la región del Istmo Centroamericano ha venido efectuando sobre el tema de la seguridad alimentaria las siguientes acciones: participación y apoyo a la reciente Conferencia Latinoamericana y del Caribe sobre Seguridad Alimentaria, realizada en Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, del 15 al 17 de marzo de 1955, donde se decidió definir una estrategia para establecer un movimiento que persigue lograr la convergencia de esfuerzos y acciones de todos los actores sociales para reducir la inseguridad alimentaria de los grupos de población que la padecen, prevenir el incremento de dicha población y superar las causas que originan situaciones de inseguridad alimentaria, así como la inclusión de la generación de ingresos y empleo, desarrollo de la producción y adecuación de la comercialización de alimentos, disponibilidad de infraestructura física y social y mejoramiento de la educación nutricional.
De la misma manera, deseamos referirnos a los acuerdos alcanzados en la declaración de Antigua de 1990, la declaración de Guatemala de 1993, así como la declaración de Panamá de 1992, reconociendo la necesidad de incrementar la disponibilidad y accesibilidad de alimentos que permitan a la población combatir efectivamente la desnutrición.
En el contexto del documento en análisis, estimo que, sin lugar a dudas, el desarrollo agrícola sostenible es un elemento fundamental, lo que puede significar una efectiva seguridad alimentaria en los países en desarrollo. Resulta lógico que en muchos países de bajos ingresos con déficit de alimentos, la producción de alimentos básicos no crezca al ritmo de crecimiento de la población, por lo que respaldamos las observaciones del distinguido delegado de Chile en relación con el imperativo ético y sus consideraciones sobre los párrafos 16 y 17.
Se hace indispensable pues, la necesidad de intensificar, de una parte, la ayuda directa a las poblaciones más vulnerables y, por la otra, aumentar los recursos económicos destinados a los países en desarrollo en el marco de políticas sostenibles de desarrollo rural.
De manera global, deseamos expresar que concedemos gran importancia a la capacitación y la investigación. Asimismo, consideramos que la estrategia para el desarrollo debe basarse en un fortalecimiento de las estructuras nacionales para aumentar y consolidar el nivel tecnológico interno y, a este propósito, estimamos fundamental el rol de la FAO.
El tema de la participación de la mujer debe tener una altísima prioridad, ya que somos nosotras, las mujeres, las que constituimos la piedra angular en la que se fundamenta el núcleo familiar, el desarrollo social y más específicamente representamos el foco del desarrollo agrícola, en la producción de los alimentos y en la conservación del medio ambiente.
La delegación hondurena desea también reafirmar el concepto de seguridad alimentaria tal como se señala en el párrafo 19 del documento, aun cuando en nuestra opinión deben reforzarse algunos aspectos de carácter económico, social y de oportunidad de trabajo, que consideramos de gran importancia. Apoyamos de manera decidida los párrafos 29 y 30.
Compartimos y apoyamos la propuesta de la Delegación de Chile en el sentido de que por conducto de este Consejo se eleve a la Conferencia la propuesta del Señor Director General relacionada con la convocatoria de la Cumbre. De la misma manera respaldamos la propuesta de que el órgano oficial para la preparación de la Cumbre sea el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria y la convocatoria de los períodos extraordinarios de dicho Comité, siempre que sean necesarios.
Para finalizar, y, en forma general, aun cuando sujetos a mejoramiento, respaldamos los criterios de acción, los principios y compromisos, así como los objetivos de la seguridad alimentaria y la responsabilidad de su aplicación.
Per Harald GRUE (Norway): Mr Chairman, as my delegation expressed its opinion on the content of the document at the last Session of the CFS, I can be brief. My delegation adds its support to the emerging consensus to hold a World Food Summit in November 1996, whether at the level of ministers or Heads of State. We share the Director-General's view that the challenge to feed three billion additional inhabitants of our planet by the year 2030 is immense. We are fully committed to the work of eradicating hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity but I would like to make some general comments on the process of deciding on and preparing for the Summit. This is the first time that the Summit has been on the Council's agenda. We therefore find ourselves in the peculiar situation that the Council is now presented with a long list of other organizations who have already discussed the holding of the Summit within this Organization. We would have much preferred a process within the Organization which allowed us time to go through the normal decision making processes. It might have taken longer but it would have ensured a more thorough examination of the pros and cons of using scarce resources on a Summit rather than on operational activities. As the concept of food security is broad and involves several other sectors and organizations, a Summit approach might well be justified. The calling of a Summit might nevertheless have benefited from being brought to the highest organ in the UN system, the General Assembly, to ensure full commitment at that level also.
In the information note on the World Food Summit distributed to the Council it is underlined that this should be a Summit with a difference. We agree that the preparations should be kept simple, but they should still be of a high quality. In our opinion, it is the quality of the preparatory phases of summits and other high-level meetings which determine the long term success of such events. The only point in calling for a high level meeting on food security is if it will produce concrete, substantial and measurable progress towards improved global food security. A summit should never be regarded as an aim in itself, but rather a means to reach a common understanding as a basis for global action. The content of the information note is of such importance for the governing body in evaluating preparation for the Summit that it should have been provided in a Council document well in advance.
Mr Chairman, I am satisfied that the information note stresses the need to involve other agencies and NGOs. It is of the utmost importance that the Summit actively involves all other relevant international organizations. I would nevertheless like to receive more information on how the NGOs will be involved.
Turning to the preparations for the Summit, the technical work so far done by the Secretariat is of high quality. The revised elements for a possible declaration and plan of action presented to this Council generally reflect well the comments made at the CFS, though we agree with the comments made by the European Union, particularly on the need for strong international coordination, and on the importance of the population issue and of access as the key factors to be addressed. Also, the issue of sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishery in accordance with the UNCED conclusions must be given high prominence in the plan of action.
This statement has been prepared in consultation with the other Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden.
Aldo PUGLEESE (Italy): First of all, with reference to Document CL 108/12, let me say that we appreciate the quality of the content. We see that most of the considerations of the last CFS have been taken into account and work is progressing well, resulting in two meaningful documents. On the elements for the final document and the plan of action, we have nothing to add to the statement made the European Union as it covered our comments comprehensively.
However, we would like to add a consideration referring to paragraphs 10 and 11 which is the documentation for the Summit. We believe in order to have a meaningful approach to food security that a critical analysis of past experience would be extremely useful. This would refer to the various food security-related programmes of FAO such as, for instance, early warning prevention of post-harvest food losses, multiplication and so on as well as other international actions and strategies carried out in the past for food security during the last decade.
We believe this analysis is important both for the Summit and the launching of concrete initiatives under the Special Programme.
Finally, Mr Chairman, as Italy will be the country which will hold this important event, we would like to say a few words on the organization of the Summit. We were reminded in the statement of the Director-General -and I take this opportunity to thank him for his kind words addressed to our government - that we have agreed the Summit will take place in Rome and we promise we will fully collaborate with FAO as much as possible to solve the complex problems connected with the organization of an event of such magnitude. This implies there will have to be a remarkable effort on all sides, both in terms of work and financial engagement. This, I must say, is at a time when our country, along with many others, is facing a difficult situation and serious budgetary constraints.
However, we do agree with the Director-General that an event of this kind should take place here in Rome, the city which is the seat of FAO and of all the other food and agricultural organizations. Therefore, it is and should remain in our view the natural centre for discussion and decisions on all matters related to food security.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias, Señor Distinguido Delegado de Italia, por confirmar el apoyo de su Gobierno a la FAO en la preparación, tanto material como diplomática, de la Cumbre.
Raphael RABE (Madagascar): La délégation de Madagascar est déjà intervenue sur ce point de l'ordre du jour lors de son examen au Comité de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale au cours de sa vingtième session. Aussi, nous serons brefs.
Tout d'abord, nous voudrions manifester notre reconnaissance au Secrétariat d'avoir bien voulu tenir compte des commentaires et recommandations que nous avons formulés à cette occasion.
A l'instar de nombreuses délégations qui ont pris la parole, nous voudrions, nous aussi, mettre l'accent sur la nécessité de renforcement de la coopération et de la solidarité entre pays développés et pays en développement, d'une part, et entre pays en développement eux-mêmes, d'autre part.
Comme plusieurs délégations, nous sommes d'avis qu'il faudra traiter largement des mesures allant dans le sens de l'intensification des investissements dans le secteur de l'agriculture et de la pêche, sans oublier l'aquaculture qui constitue un domaine de grandes possibilités dans le cadre d'une amélioration sensible de la sécurité alimentaire. Dans cet ordre d'idées, nous sommes favorables, nous aussi, à un large partenariat. Ainsi, nous apprécions avec grand optimisme la contribution du secteur privé, des organisations non gouvernementales ainsi que des principaux organes et organisations concernés du système des Nations Unies, des institutions financières de Bretton Woods et des banques régionales, tel que l'a d'ailleurs mentionné le Directeur général dans son discours d'ouverture.
Nous apprécions l'accent mis sur le renforcement des capacités nationales et le transfert effectif des technologies, surtout des nouvelles technologies, pour assurer la mise à disposition des utilisateurs, à savoir les agriculteurs, quelque soit leur statut, hommes ou femmes, des résultats de la recherche agricole.
Si nous avons relevé quelques priorités qui nous tiennent à coeur, nous accordons notre appui à toutes les propositions pertinentes figurant dans le document CL 108/12, notamment celles contenues dans la partie II du document.
Nous voudrions indiquer que nous appuyons la proposition de la délégation de l'Allemagne, reprise par d'autres délégations, tendant à s'assurer qu'un suivi efficace des décisions et recommandations du Sommet soit fait pour évaluer les progrès accomplis dans leur mise en oeuvre par les différents protagonistes.
Enfin, nous voudrions réitérer le soutien chaleureux du Gouvernement malgache à l'Organisation et à la tenue du Sommet mondial de l'alimentation.
EL PRESIDENTE: Como la delegada de Argentina no se encuentra en la sala, me voy a permitir conceder la palabra a la distinguida delegación de la República Islámica del Irán.
Abbas AMINI (Iran, Islamic Republic of): Among other reasons, the existence of 800 million hungry people in the world, and the increase in this number is a clear indication of insufficiency of current attention and activities of all who are concerned with difficulties concerning humanity, especially the international bodies concerned with food and nutrition.
Due to this outstanding fact, my delegation, would like to express its full and unconditional support for this timely initiative by the Director-General of FAO. We would also like to inform the Council that the meeting of Agricultural Ministers of the OIC held in January 1995 in Teheran, passed a resolution not only supporting this Summit but highly praising the Director-General for this initiative.
Mr Chairman, as far as the Documents CL 108/10 and CL 108/12 are concerned, we are quite satisfied with the reports. These reports fully reflect the comments of Member Nations during the CFS session, and we would like to add only one extra comment. As far as food and hunger are concerned, the small agricultural producers of developing countries deserve very high attention. These farmers are not only the major food supply source for the low-income population of the world but they themselves are a major part of the hungry population. Any endeavour to increase their production and income is the most direct and effective way of combating hunger and malnutrition. Therefore, not only should they be the centre of attention at the Summit but they should be represented at the Summit in a proper manner which shows their very existence, importance, potential and difficulties.
We think that even the physical presence of their true representatives would play an important role in drawing the attention of the world and world leaders to the core of the problem of hunger, food insecurity and the existing potentials. We urge the Secretariat to take this point into consideration.
Filibus ΒATURE (Nigeria): Mr Chairman, it is a great pleasure to see you once more in the chair. The proposal to hold a World Food Summit is an important decision in the right direction. Since the World Food Conference held in 1974 every effort has been made by the United Nations, regional bodies as well as individual nations, to solve the problems of food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition and poverty but the goals set, unfortunately, have not been reached.
The situation has been compounded by other factors such as civil strife, natural calamities and diseases leading to ruined lives and loss of productivity. The World Food Summit intends to offer us the opportunity to solemnly affirm our commitments in the potential for a brighter future in which the satisfaction of man's needs will not threaten the integrity of the whole world.
The Summit, which is intended to be held at the highest policy-making level, should among other things examine the application of internal policies and external factors such as debt as well as increases in interest rate, falling commodity prices, trade protectionism and the growing challenges of increased population and environmental degradation. Member Nations through their food strategy framework should make a greater effort to increase the productivity and incomes of small farmers and encourage them to adopt environmentally sustainable production practices to promote rural and urban measures which support women and which take into account their needs and full contribution to the development process; to strengthen and build domestic institutions with appropriate emphasis on the private sector and grassroots institutions as well as to strengthen national debt collection and analytical capabilities to monitor, evaluate and plan progress towards our goals.
Mr Chairman, the Nigerian delegation supports a proposal to hold a World Food Summit in 1996 and also supports all the necessary arrangements being made to make the Summit a success.
Sra. Ileana DI GIOVAN BATTISTA (Argentina): Pido disculpas, Sr. Presidente, por no haber estado presente en la sala, pero estamos celebrando en estos momentos una reunión de coordinación del grupo Latinoamericano y del Caribe, sobre este tema y sobre otros particularmente importantes en el presente Consejo.
La delegación argentina, Sr. Presidente, quisiera hacer algunos comentarios sobre el documento CL 108/12 que nos ha presentado la Secretaría.
Con relación a la Declaración y el Plan de Acción de la Cumbre Mundial de Alimentación, nosotros creemos que debe ser básicamente un consenso mundial sobre principios y objetivos básicos, pero también incluir compromisos más o menos obligatorios en áreas específicas o de alcance regional.
Con respecto a la definición del concepto de seguridad alimentaria que se pretende ampliar y sacar de su significado tradicional, o hacer más comprensivo que su significado tradicional, creemos que debe enfatizar el derecho a acceder a los alimentos y a procurárselos en el sentido de acceso a la capacidad de producir a un sistema de distribución, a la capacidad de adquirir y de importar, con especial énfasis en la autonomía alimentaria. Creemos que sería más feliz la palabra autonomía que autodependencia que se está usando en el documento.
Entendemos que debe enfocarse sobre todo la posibilidad de aumentar la capacidad de respuesta de los países en desarrollo para atender a sus necesidades alimentarias y lograr un nivel satisfactorio de seguridad alimentaria en el ámbito nacional y en los hogares.
En el documento Cl 108/12 se registra en el párrafo 24 un punto que es muy importante como enfoque y como punto de partida de la declaración y plan de acción de la Cumbre, que es el de la interdependencia. Creemos, efectivamente, en la interacción positiva entre la liberalización de mercados y el desarrollo; entre la liberalización de los mercados en los países industrializados y el crecimiento de los mercados en los países en desarrollo. Esta interacción dinámica no puede ir sino en favor de un crecimiento global generalizado.
También agradecemos que el documento cite la importancia de los planes regionales de integración en el mejoramiento de los niveles de nutrición de los países. Asimismo, la nueva versión del proyecto de declaración y plan de acción recoge la cooperación técnica entre países en desarrollo, como guía para afianzar
la seguridad alimentaria, a través del apoyo a la transferencia de tecnologías autóctonas o intermedias entre los países en desarrollo.
Otro tema importante, Sr. Presidente, es el componente regional en los documentos de la Cumbre y en la aplicación posterior de los documentos de la Cumbre. En la región de América Latina y el Caribe se están elaborando aportes, así como respaldos expresos a la preparación de la Cumbre Mundial de Alimentación, tanto en el Grupo de Rio que se reunirá en Ecuador en octubre de 1995, como para la Conferencia Iberoamericana que se reunirá en Argentina en octubre de este año para citar dos ejemplos. Decía, Sr. Presidente, en esos ámbitos se están preparando documentos de apoyo a la celebración de la Cumbre y especiales aportes en cada uno de ellos. En el caso del Grupo de Rio apuntando a instar a las instituciones financieras internacionales y organismos gubernamentales y no gubernamentales y sector privado en los países miembros a proporcionar su apoyo a los programas pendientes a mejorar la seguridad alimentaria.
En el caso de la Cumbre Iberoamericana que este año estará dedicada a la capacitación y a la educación, pensamos que el punto VI del documento CL 108/12 que se refiere justamente a la investigación, a los conocimientos autóctonos, la capacitación y la transferencia de conocimientos y el aumento de la capacidad para la innovación, señala un área donde América Latina y el Caribe y los países iberoamericanos en general creen que tienen mucho que recorrer y para lo cual piensan que debería surgir de la Cumbre, junto con los documentos de la declaración y plan de acción, algún tipo de compromisos regionales, o planes de acción regionales, como digo en este ámbito de la investigación, la capacitación y la difusión de conocimientos.
Finalmente, Sr. Presidente, esperemos que las conferencias regionales de la FAO que se celebrarán en 1996, desarrollen en contenidos concretos los compromisos normativos que el documento CL 108/12 menciona en el párrafo 28 y desarrolla en los apartados I-IX, a los cuales mi delegación asigna particular importancia.
La delegación argentina se asocia, asimismo, a la propuesta de la delegación de Chile en el sentido de programar otra reunión del Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria en septiembre del 96 para integrar y consolidar los aportes de las conferencias regionales y pronunciarse sobre los proyectos de documentos que se someterán a la Cumbre.
EL PRESIDENTE: Para una observación le paso la palabra a la distinguida delegación de Francia.
Jacques LAUREAU (France): Nous avons discuté du contenu des textes qui seront soumis au Sommet et nous avons fait quelque peu avancer la réflexion sur ce sujet. C'est pour cela que je n'ai pas pris la parole.
En ce qui concerne le niveau de représentation à ce Sommet de novembre 1996, de notre point de vue les participants doivent être du niveau le plus élevé possible, c'est-à-dire d'abord des chefs d'Etat ou sinon des chefs de gouvernements, mais aussi, de notre point de vue, des ministres, pour ceux des pays qui ne seront pas en mesure d'envoyer ni chef d'Etat ni chef de gouvernement. Nous pensons que cette flexibilité, qui n'est pas une excuse pour faciliter le non-engagement d'un certain nombre de pays, est nécessaire pour permettre de trouver la formule la plus appropriée. Il y aurait donc peut-être avantage, lors des travaux du comité de rédaction, à inclure une formule dans laquelle le mot "ministre" figure, ou bien une formule telle que celle-ci: "au niveau le plus élevé possible", ce qui permettrait de couvrir toutes les hypothèses.
Je parle maintenant sur le plan français et j'ai été très intéressé par la proposition faite par mon collègue chilien concernant une réunion du CSA qui ferait le bilan des propositions faites par les conférences régionales, pour améliorer les textes par des suggestions régionales comme celle qui viennent d'être faites par l'Argentine sur la recherche.
Le problème est le suivant: est-ce-que l'Organisation a vraiment les moyens de multiplier les réunions? Je ne suis pas contre l'idée, mais il faut bien voir combien cela coûte et si cela est possible. Si vous pouviez nous éclairer sur ce point nous vous en serions reconnaissants.
Je parle toujours à titre français, si nous pouvions avoir d'ores et déjà des indications budgétaires sur le coût envisagé pour le Sommet, avec tout ce processus préparatoire, nous en serions heureux. Je pense que vous allez nous en parler après, mais c'est également très important.
EL PRESIDENTE: Efectivamente las cuestiones presupuestales relativas al proceso preparatorio y la celebración de la Cumbre se discutirán bajo el tema 16 el viernes.
Con esto concluyo la lista de oradores de miembros del Consejo. Tengo una lista de observadores a quienes voy a pedir que noten que estamos atrasados en nuestros trabajos en el día de hoy, y por tanto, procuren ser lo más breve posible.
Mohamed SAID HARBI (Observer for Sudan) (Original language Arabic): I would like to thank you very much, Mr Chairman. This Summit, this World Food Summit, has more than one meaning. By the very nature of our continuing work in this Organization, we have closely followed the efforts made by the Secretariat in preparing this Summit and have also very closely followed the work of the specialized committees set up by the Director-General.
Mr Chairman, we ourselves witnessed the efforts and the abnegation fielded by the Director-General to ensure the full success of the Summit. The Director-General has his own philosophy and his vision, which he made quite clear yesterday in his statement and which is very much in line with our ideas as to what should be done by countries and by regions.
Mr Chairman, Sir, quite obviously there is a difference between inviting a high-level official or minister to a summit and inviting a head of state. A head of state is a direct symbol of national sovereignty, and the expression of the political will of the people in all its diversity. This is a reason why, Sir, my delegation harbours great hopes and has great expectations in this Summit, and we really place much hope in it and we'll meet despite political differences that do exist in the world, and this is a positive and encouraging sign. All the countries, developed and developing, will express their worries.
We are going to try to come up with solutions to the problems of food and supply, hunger, and poverty in the world in order to ensure a better climate and a better future to generations still to come.
Mr Chairman, during that Conference heads of state and government will talk about the economic possibilities of their countries; they will talk about the situation of the agriculture and also refer to the possibilities that their countries do have as regards resolving the problems that do prevent agricultural development. The commissions and the committees which have been set up in Sudan which have met to prepare drafting the documents for that Summit have done some interesting work.
They will show clearly and faithfully the enormous possibilities of the Sudanese agriculture. We in Sudan have 200 million hectares of land which could be farmed but only farm a small percentage of the available arable land. Our soil, the soil in our country, is very fertile, and we have a climate which is quite adept for many types of crops and fruits and vegetables and also forests. We also have extremely important resources in waterways, one of the largest rivers in the entire world. We also have a great livestock wealth, wild animals and fisheries.
Nonetheless, Mr Chairman, at this important Conference, we have to show our faith in the capabilities of the developing countries. The developed countries able to do so should help to make the best use of these hidden resources and capabilities. We feel, Mr Chairman, that the upcoming Summit will represent a historical occasion as regards signing a treaty, in terms of signing some sort of document where all partners would undertake the commitment quite honestly to do away with this expression, "food deficit countries", in all UN and FAO documents.
And, Mr Chairman, we know, we really don't want any more to listen to this expression that we have heard over the last 50 years, an expression which is really disappointing and discouraging. We are about to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this Food and Agriculture Organization. Mr Chairman, we have taken a very close look at the documents which have been distributed by the Canadian delegation in preparation of the meeting in Quebec, and we do trust and hope, Sir, that the forthcoming Conference will constitute a very important and useful basis, or we hope that that celebration will constitute a very important basis for the World Food Summit and will be an opportunity for an exchange of views among all participating countries. We trust and hope that the Summit itself will make it possible to resolve the problems of each country and of the entire world.
Mr Chairman, Sir, we would have to applaud the efforts deployed by the Director-General and encourage the contacts that he has had with the some 60 countries that have supported the idea of this Summit, and all volunteered to participate financially in the Summit and in the preparatory meetings. This is not toadying, but we should not be afraid of telling the truth. The very useful proposals of the Director-General make us look ahead to a very brilliant future for this Organization.
We would like to thank the Secretariat and the committees working in the corridors in utmost silence in preparation for that Summit. We trust and hope that the Almighty will be of assistance to us in this endeavour. Thank you, Sir.
Björn SIGURBJÖRNSSON (Observer for Iceland): Mr Chairman, there can be no question that the World Food Summit is necessary to draw attention to the present food situation and to emphasize the worrisome outlook for the future. The document prepared for this event, however, is rather bland, does not highlight the real problems to be confronted in the future, and is rather unlikely to tempt heads of governments to attend this event. A number of distinguished scientists and scholars have presented population growth and food production trends for the future and attempted to paint food supply scenarios at various points of time in the future.
For example, FAO Towards 2010 and other predictions for 2025 and 2030. It is striking that none of the prophets dares to look beyond the middle of the next century, yet the food and population growth lines start to cross and diverge from one another long before the middle of the century and the gap threatens to increase sharply. Nobody dares to state that by 2050 the world's farmers will indeed be able to feed the world using present knowledge, technology, natural resources and unputs. By that time there will not be any extra land or any extra water to accommodate more food production. Our hopes can only lie in novel technology and new approaches to producing materials which can be consumed as or instead of food. Unless population growth is stopped and reversed during the next century, we must emphasize basic and applied research and development to find ways to produce more food without mining our natural resources and the environment. Research results are often slow in coming. Basic research started today may not be translated into increased food production until decades later, perhaps fifty years from now. Unless the Plan of Action brings out as a central point the need for a vast increase in research, investment of benefit to food production, we are doomed to lose the fight against hunger in the next century. We need to raise our sights and widen our horizons. We may need to look beyond crop and livestock and plants and animals and look at the building blocks themselves, the chloroplast, the mitochondria, freed of the cumbersome framework of flesh and bones, cell-walls, leaves and roots, the use of seawater and deserts for food production. We need to establish think tanks to charter the scientific and technical paths to be followed in the next century. The future of mankind may depend on the skills of agricultural scientists. A dedication to scientific research leading to new breakthroughs and a series of more and better green revolutions must be a central theme of the World Food Summit in 1996. Surely, paragraph 23 does no justice to this central theme.
Gilbert DOH-DJANHOUNDY (Observateur de la Côte d'Ivoire): Mon intervention d'hier a porté sur le document CL 108/10, celle d'aujourd'hui portera sur le document CL 108/12 concernant le Sommet mondial de l'alimentation. La première partie de ce document décrit les principes sur lesquels le Sommet mondial doit se mettre d'accord. La délégation de la Côte d'Ivoire marque son accord sur ces principes au stade de notre discussion. Le plan d'action pèche un peu par manque d'informations, comme l'ont souligné un grand nombre de délégués. Je pense qu'ainsi que nous l'avons dit hier il convient de mettre suffisamment l'accent sur la maîtrise de l'eau pour assurer le développement rural et le développement agricole et il convient d'entreprendre des actions concrètes pour les ouvrages d'irrigation.
A propos du point VI où l'on parle de connaissance de la recherche et du développement, il faut prévoir l'établissement d'une banque internationale de données techniques et technologiques relatives à toutes les techniques qui peuvent être utilisées dans le domaine du développement agricole et de l'alimentation. Il faudrait également que le plan d'action mette un accent particulier sur l'élevage et l'agro-industrie.
La proposition du Chili relative à une réunion qui serait susceptible de faire le point de toutes les réunions régionales me paraît pertinente dans le cadre par exemple du Comité de sécurité alimentaire, mais en session extraordinaire.
A.T. ABDEL HAFEEZ (Observer for the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development) (Original language Arabic): For me Sir, it is a pleasure and an honour to extend to you on behalf of His Excellency Dr Yahia Bakhour, the General Director of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, our congratulations and thanks for being able to speak at this session of the Council, to which we extend our best wishes for a successful outcome, and we would like to thank the Director-General, Dr Jacques Diouf, for having invited us to attend this Council meeting where discussion is under way on issues of the utmost importance, especially for world food security.
Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development is one of the specialized agencies of the League of Arab States. It was created in 1970. It set up its main headquarters in the city of Khartoum, Sudan and opened regional branch offices scattered throughout the length and breadth of the Arab world. In the Maghreb we have the offices of Rabat, Niwagshot, Tripoli and Algeria and in eastern Arab Region we have the branch offices in Amman, Damascus, Baghdad, Sanaa and among all this chain is the branch office of Cairo. There are also the liaison officers. The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development has its General Assembly made up of Their Excellencies the Ministers of Agriculture of all our Arab countries and the Organization also has an Executive Council and a General Secretariat.
Mr Chairman, ever since its inception the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development has sought to pursue the following objectives: (1) development of the human resources active in agriculture; (2) sustainable agricultural development; (3) conservation of environmental resources; (4) increased agricultural production and agricultural productivity; (5) to render operative the trade between agricultural products; (6) development of the role of rural women in agriculture; (7) adaptation of technologies to local conditions. (8) Last but not the least to guarantee food security for Arab citizens.
Mr Chairman, in order to attain the forementioned objectives, our Organization adopted many mechanisms and used many measures among which I would just venture to mention that ever since the inception of the Organization it has intensified its studies of the natural resources available in the Arab world. For example, studies were conducted on soils, on water resources - groundwater - surface or rainfall resources. Studies have also been conducted on climatology of each Arab country, and in addition, studies on institutions and agricultural structures in the Arab world.
Considering agriculture as the engine of sustainable development, our Organization has focused its attention on the training of human resources in numerous seminars and workshops conducted throughout the region on human resource development. We are aware as well of the importance of cooperation. The Organization established very close relationships with institutions and organizations of a regional and international nature active in the field of agriculture. For example, we established very close cooperation with the UN System and its Specialized Agencies, such as FAO here at its Headquarters in Rome or through its Regional Office in Cairo. Many have been the joint activities that we have conducted with FAO. Among them, I would just mention the various training sessions encounters among senior staff officials and the Working Group on Crop Production and Protection over which the Regional Office in Cairo presides and our organization is the Rapporteur of that working group.
We also cooperate quite closely with the Division of women and people's participation in development here in Rome and we consider it useful to reinforce and bolster that Division because it is a very important role that world women do play in development activities at large. We also cooperate quite closely with the Documentation Division and with EDI, IIMI, UNDP, and ICRASAT. Activities in the context of food security for example, is the project for the development of oilseeds in three Arab countries executed by the organization and UNDP. We are also involved in the project for the development of Agrarian Research with ISNAR and in workshops with IIMI, and also very much involved in desert locust control activities with EMPRESS.
We look forward to greater cooperation with FAO in the field of food security because, as we see it, this is a priority issue in the League of Arab States and our Organization. Our Organization provides the Technical Secretariat to the Food Security Commission of the League of Arab States. Some years ago the League of Arab States recommended to our Organization and to the Secretariat for Economic Issues that they pursue efforts to look into food security. In the light of this utmost responsibility, the General Assembly of the Organization set up a special Department to work on food security, a Department that is working tirelessly towards the attainment of this noble objective, that is, achieving Arab food security.
Lastly, Mr Chairman, I would like to inform you that the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development is very much in favour of the celebration of this World Food Summit scheduled to take place in November 1996 and we place all our capabilities at the full disposal of that.
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, this has been a rapid overview of what the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development is doing in the field of food security. Lastly, I would like to extend to you and to all delegates present, full success in your meeting, and may peace reign with all of you.
Giuseppe VASTA (Observateur de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques): Monsieur le Président, je vous remercie d'avoir bien voulu m'accorder la parole. Je vous félicite de votre façon de diriger nos travaux et, avec vous, je félicite les trois vice-présidents et le Secrétariat pour l'excellente documentation qui nous a été préparée.
Je désire adresser à M. le Directeur général des remerciements particuliers et des félicitations pour son intéressante déclaration sur la situation de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation et pour les propositions évoquées en vue de la préparation du Sommet mondial de l'alimentation. Je félicite également Mme Killingsworth pour son excellent travail qu'elle accomplit avec beaucoup de compétence et d'amour.
Je me réfère au point 4 de l'ordre du jour et, en particulier, à l'opportunité d'exploiter pleinement l'expérience et l'expertise d'autres organisations durant les préparatifs du Sommet. Par conséquent, je me permets de citer certaines questions qui ont été traitées au cours de la réunion du Comité d'aide au développement de l'OCDE, au niveau ministériel, qui s'est tenu les 3 et 4 mai 1995. A cette occasion, il a été confirmé que la coopération pour le développement doit être considérée comme un investissent essentiel pour l'avenir.
Le soutien accordé à l'effort de développement a sa part dans les progrès extraordinaires enregistrés sur le plan du bien-être économique et social. Le nombre de personnes qui ont vu s'accroître leurs revenus, s'allonger leur espérance de vie et s'améliorer leur éducation et leur accès aux services essentiels excède largement les deux milliards. La coopération pour le développement a en outre permis l'émergence de nouveaux partenaires économiques qui jouent un rôle de plus en plus dynamique et générant dans nos pays, de nouveaux courants d'échanges, de nouveaux investissements et de nouveaux emplois, ce qui nécessite des ajustements. Depuis 1990, les débouchés offerts aux exportations de la zone de l'OCDE par les pays en développement se sont accrus de 50 pour cent.
Il a été confirmé que s'attaquer aux causes profondes de la pauvreté est un objectif primordial. Les membres du CAD ont affirmé qu'ils centreront leur soutien sur des stratégies et programmes qui aideront efficacement les plus démunis à élargir le champ de leurs possibilités et à améliorer leurs conditions de vie. Les ministres ont déclaré que le soutien apporté à l'effort de développement reflète leur souci permanent pour la dignité humaine et le bien-être d'autrui. Malgré l'évolution prometteuse observée dans de nombreux pays en développement, plus d'un milliard de personnes vivent encore dans une extrême pauvreté. Or, en exploitant les enseignements de l'expérience, on a de bonnes chances de parvenir à faire reculer sensiblement la pauvreté dans les années à venir.
On a affirmé qu'il existe aujourd'hui des stratégies menant au succès et que l'action de coopération visera à aider nos partenaires à renforcer leur propre capacité de mettre en place ces éléments interdépendants, qui sont indispensables à un développement durable, en tenant compte de la situation et des engagements de chaque pays.
On a aussi affirmé que l'aide au développement est un complément vital d'autres ressources, en confirmant l'engagement à dégager des ressources substantielles pour la coopération au développement afin d'appuyer les efforts des pays et des peuples pour qu'ils s'aident eux-mêmes.
On a déclaré, entre autres, que les politiques suivies dans d'autres domaines doivent être compatibles avec les objectifs de développement. A ce propos, la collaboration avec les responsables des autres domaines de l'action publique a été assurée afin de faire en sorte que nos pays mènent des politiques économiques ouvertes et cohérentes à l'égard de nos partenaires dans le développement.
Sur l'effort de coopération, on a précisé que celui-ci doit être efficace et efficient et qu'à ce propos seront intensifiées les activités de coordination de l'aide, d'évaluation de l'efficacité de cette aide, de l'examen et de la mise en oeuvre par les pays des meilleures pratiques.
Une des préoccupations fondamentales de l'OCDE est que la coopération favorise un développement durable. Une coopération efficace pour le développement contribue à renforcer le système multilatéral et à promouvoir les objectifs de croissance génératrice d'emploi et de cohésion sociale à l'échelle internationale. Les membres de l'OCDE engagent dans cet effort des ressources substantielles avec des déboursements d'aide publique au développement qui atteignent plus de 50 milliards de dollars par an, soit 90 pour cent du total mondial.
Les membres du CAD ont réaffirmé l'engagement de s'employer ensemble à la mise en oeuvre des orientations énoncées pour la décennie en cours, à l'intégration des considérations de coopération en matière de développement dans les autres priorités de l'action publique des membres et à la préparation de stratégies ouvrant sur le siècle prochain.
Les considérations exposées font partie d'une déclaration en sept points intitulée "Vers un partenariat pour le développement dans le nouveau contexte mondial". Celle-ci définit les orientations fondamentales des efforts des membres en faveur d'un développement économique et social durable en mettant l'accent sur les enjeux de la sécurité de l'humanité à l'échelle mondiale, à l'approche du vingt-et-unième siècle.
Le Conseil de l'OCDE, qui s'est réuni, au niveau ministériel, les 23 et 24 mai, a soutenu la déclaration du CAD. Eu égard à l'interdépendance mondiale et à l'importance que continue de revêtir la coopération pour le développement, les ministres s'engagent à soutenir l'intégration des pays en développement et des économies en transition dans le système économique mondial, et à mettre en oeuvre les orientations stratégiques définies dans la déclaration "Vers un partenariat pour le développement dans le nouveau contexte mondial" adoptée par le CAD, réaffirmant notamment la détermination à mobiliser autant de ressources publiques que possible et à encourager les apports privés afin de soutenir les efforts déployés par les pays en développement pour répondre eux-mêmes à leurs besoins.
Dans un monde de plus en plus interdépendant, les ministres demandent à l'OCDE d'élaborer les orientations stratégiques de la coopération pour le développement au tournant du siècle afin de répondre à l'évolution de la situation sur les plans économique, humain, environnemental et technologique.
A propos de politiques, marchés et échanges agricoles dans les pays de l'OCDE, la conclusion de l'Accord d'Uruguay devrait entraîner une importante réforme agricole à long terme. Toutefois, davantage d'efforts seront nécessaires en vue de renforcer la réforme des politiques intérieures dans la plupart des pays de l'OCDE afin de réduire les distorsions dans le domaine de l'agriculture et de trouver des solutions aux problèmes touchant l'environnement, l'économie rurale, l'ajustement structurel du secteur agroalimentaire ainsi que l'application effective des politiques agricoles.
Les engagements pris par les ministres des pays membres de l'OCDE, soit au cours de la réunion du CAD des 3 et 4 mai, soit au cours de la réunion du Conseil des 23 et 24 mai 1995, offriront, je l'espère, de bons auspices à la préparation de l'important Sommet mondial de l'alimentation, duquel le monde entier attend avec impatience et grand espoir des décisions et des initiatives capables de résoudre les graves problèmes qui affligent des milliards d'êtres humains.
Parmi les travaux réalisés par l'OCDE ces derniers temps, je me permets de citer, entre autres, l'étude sur les perspectives agricoles 1995-2000, qui évaluent les tendances qui marqueront les marchés des principaux produits agricoles de la zone tempérée jusqu'en l'an 2000. Il s'agit d'une partie intégrante des activités régulières de l'OCDE cherchant à identifier et analyser les problèmes naissants pour permettre au plus tôt un dialogue sur l'action des pouvoirs publics. Ces perspectives agricoles fournissent notamment une estimation de l'incidence des changements récents de politiques agricoles sur les marchés et soulignent la nécessité d'autres changements.
Une autre publication intéressante est le rapport du Comité d'aide au développement pour 1994, qui rend compte de certains progrès réalisés et des déceptions éprouvées en 1994 dans la transition en cours vers un modèle nouveau et cohérent de développement durable. Il repose sur un postulat de départ qui est le suivant:
une coopération efficace pour le développement est de plus en plus nécessaire et les moyens d'y parvenir, Dieu merci, s'améliorent.
Une autre publication concerne les politiques et les échanges agricoles dans les pays d'Europe centrale et d'Europe de l'Est, dans certains nouveaux Etats indépendants, en Mongolie et en Chine: Suivi et perspectives 1995.
Monsieur le Président, je vous remercie et vous prie de bien vouloir m'excuser si j'ai été trop long.
EL PRESIDENTE: Gracias, Señor Observador. Efectivamente hay algunos observadores que se han olvidado de mi petición de brevedad, que a estas alturas creo que es indispensable.
Mrs Lydie ROSSINI VAN HISSENHOVEN (Observateur du Conseil international des femmes): C'est au nom du Conseil international des femmes que je désire m'associer aux nombreuses délégations qui ont insisté sur un partenariat étroit avec les ONG et sur l'importance du rôle des femmes.
En ce qui concerne la reprise du dialogue FAO/ONG, comme l'a exprimé le représentant de l'Allemagne ce matin, je désire remercier le Directeur général, Monsieur Diouf, pour les trois réunions avec les représentants des ONG internationales résidant à Rome auxquelles il les a conviées depuis son mandat. La dernière a eu lieu le vendredi 2 juin pour nous donner, avec Madame Killingsworth et le Secrétariat, des informations sur le Sommet mondial et le Symposium de Québec d'octobre prochain.
Comme l'a dit le représentant de l'Espagne, les ONG "font beaucoup" et il est indispensable et nécessaire de les associer de manière concrète et pertinente, suivant leur diversité, afin de "faire mieux".
En ce qui concerne le rôle des femmes, nous avons étudié avec attention les documents 108/10, 12 et 18 pour lesquels nous félicitons le Secrétariat; le CIF ayant à coeur, depuis ses origines, 1888, les problèmes liés à la malnutrition, à la santé et à la sécurité alimentaire. C'est pourquoi il a participé aux conférences internationales mentionnées dans les documents, a été très actif dans les phases préparatoires de la CIN/ONG et s'apprête à participer à part entière à la quatrième Conférence mondiale des femmes à Pékin.
Le CIF a organisé des ateliers de formation et a participé aux projets gouvernementaux sur la nutrition, l'hygiène et les aliments, en Turquie et au Zimbabwe, par l'assistance bénévole des membres de ses conseils nationaux sur le terrain.
En Australie, le Conseil national a participé à la diffusion et l'élaboration d'un "encart" volet divulgatif sur les aliments en collaboration avec d'autres organisations. Par les plans d'action de nos commissions permanentes, le CIF a oeuvré pour la défense du consommateur par la requête d'un étiquetage plus compréhensif et rigoureux et a fait un relevé de données dans plusieurs pays sur ce point lié aux aliments.
Le Conseil national du Maroc a été très actif dans le développement des coopératives au profit des femmes à Temara et Bensliman, pour ne citer que quelques exemples. Je me permettrai de fournir à la FAO de plus amples informations sur la participation du CIF aux différents problèmes qui figurent au Sommet mondial de l'alimentation.
Avant de conclure et en vous remerciant de votre attention, je voudrais me référer au document 108/12. A la dernière ligne du paragraphe 15 de la version anglaise, "the consequences of malnutrition for human development" rend mieux l'idée que la traduction française: "le développement de l'homme". Peut-être serait-il préférable de traduire par "l'être humain" ou "l'humanité". Dans le texte francais du document 108/18, page 4, puis-je suggérer de ne pas associer les deux phrases "aider les groupes défavorisés et marginalisés à assurer leur rôle légitime dans la société et dans le cas des femmes reconnaître..." mais marquer, par un paragraphe isolé, et insister davantage sur le rôle important que jouent les femmes dans la production et la commercialisation ? Dans le même paragraphe, il est question de la contribution fondamentale à la vie familiale dans le monde en développement. Ceci me semble un peu limitatif. Je pense qu'elles n'y contribuent pas seulement dans le monde en développement mais dans le monde en général.
Ms Barbara DINHAM (Observer for Consumers International): Thank you for the opportunity to put to the Council the views of Consumers International and the Pesticides Action Network, which I am also representing at this meeting. We very much welcome the initiative to hold the World Food Summit and the structures proposed for NGO input. Consumers International and Pesticides Action Network are both large networks, keen to contribute their experience to the analyses presented to the World Food Summit to help shape the decisions and to contribute to implementation. Consumer International's 1996 World Consumer Rights Day will focus on the right to safe food. They will aim to link the material presented, where relevant, to the World Food Summit. We urge the Secretariat for the World Food Summit to develop clear and democratic structures so as to allow many NGO voices to be heard, particularly those in developing countries and those working with or formed by rural and agricultural communities.
We note and welcome the emphasis throughout documents CL 108/10 and CL 108/12 on food security at a local and household level and the emphasis on equity, distribution of and access to food. In order that this should become more than a slogan, we urge that the Conference on World Food Security take very seriously the matter of farmer and community participation in the process of evolving more food-secure regions. This will also need resources for education and training services.
Some NGO concerns I would like to bring to the attention of the Council particularly relate to the references in CL 108/12 to the statement "macro-economic policies that have proven to be conducive to sustained progress towards food for all must be vigorously pursued". This needs very close examination and more explicit reference to which macro-economic policies the statement refers to, as many previous such policies have failed. Very different and diverse cultural conditions and economic strengths may require very different macro-economic policies. Likewise, it cannot be assumed that in all circumstances the free-trade policies supported in the Uruguay Round and the Agriculture Agreement of GATT and designed to integrate the world economy will address household food security. We ask FAO to consider this issue in one of the technical papers in preparation for the World Food Summit.
NGOs working in rural areas frequently conclude that land reform is crucial in many agricultural contexts, and this has not been fully addressed in the draft papers to date. Given the emphasis on household food security, the stress on prioritizing productivity in areas where the natural resource base can tolerate intensity should be balanced with stressing priority to food-insecure regions, such as semi-arid zones, and to crops consumed by the poor. Supporting the populations in these regions and encouraging stability and land reform where necessary may also be part of a strategy to address the food/population nexus, strengthening agricultural economies and communities.
Many NGOs welcomed the initiatives of the sustainable agriculture and rural development approach and are uneasy with the terminology "a new green revolution" in spite of assurances that it will maintain a social dimension. The green revolution is associated not only with increasing food production but also with increasing inequity, the creation of landlessness, as well as intensive inputs of synthetic chemicals. Given that health and environmental problems with pesticides have not decreased, as the paper COAG 95/8 drew attention to, and that industry predicts that 30 percent of agro-chemical sales will be in developing countries by the year 2000, and that pesticides sales overall are now increasing, we believe that sustainable agriculture and rural development must form the bedrock of a more food-secure future.
Evlogui BONEV (United Nations Development Programme): The Administrator of UNDP has asked me to pledge UNDP's full support to the FAO's initiative to convene a World Food Summit in November 1996. Many speakers have stressed the importance of the involvement in and contributions by other relevant organizations and agencies to the Summit. UNDP will be delighted to play a supportive role in the Conference if asked to do so. Our joint food security initiative, the Joint Agreement on Sustainable Food Security, signed by the heads of UNDP and FAO last September, will be, in our view, a vehicle in attaining the goals of the Summit. Two follow-up joint meetings have already been held: one in December 1994 in New York and another in May 1995 in Rome. The two meetings gave us the hope and now the confirmation that we will in future actively pursue food security with FAO based on a broad definition of sustainable food security, aiming both at access to food for all and at increased productivity. Mr Chairman, UNDP also pledges full support to FAO's drive to advance sustainable agriculture and rural development, with concerns over poverty and the environment being at the top of our Agenda.
Finally, UNDP has decided to work closely with FAO and other partners in future in furthering IPM programmes. UNDP appreciates the leading role FAO has taken in this on operational grounds and in building alliances for Integrated Pest Management.
EL PRESIDENTE: Concluimos nuestra lista de oradores y me permito pasar la palabra al señor Hjort para que responda.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: I will take a few general points and Mrs Killingsworth will respond to the rest; in other words, I will take the easy ones and she can take the rest. I want to start by again expressing my appreciation for a very rich set of comments and guidance. In many respects, this is a repeat of the Committee on Food Security, when your comments and views were very helpful in the redrafting of this document. The comments which you have made this time will again give us guidance as to the content of the documents. I want to note the specific suggestion of the Ambassador of Chile with respect to an additional meeting of the Committee on Food Security. I have not heard anybody speak against that but I have heard several speak in support of it. In view of that wide support, I can assure you that in Friday's session, when you consider the Summary Programme of Work and Budget, in accordance with the standing financial regulations, we will give you an estimate of the additional costs associated with a September 1996 meeting of the Committee on Food Security.
I have one point to make in response to the large number of comments about the involvement of NGOs and the private sector. In that regard, I call attention to the Director-General's statement that, "Several Member Nations have answered my request to appoint a national secretary to liaise with the Secretary-General of the Summit, who is heading a small coordinating unit at FAO Headquarters. The NGOs and the private sector would be involved throughout the process, from preparation to implementation of the Summit's conclusions." In a recent round of meetings with the Permanent Representatives in Rome the Director-General made clear that he would expect and hope that the national secretariats would include representation from all of the important components of your societies. After all, when it comes to action on and implementation of whatever comes out of the Summit, it will be private agents and NGOs generally which will have the big task of implementing those actions. Governments have an essential role with respect to policy but when it comes to action, it is not only FAO or other intergovernmental organizations; it is the citizens of your countries who will ensure its success or otherwise.
In answer to a specific question as to the plans for the NGOs, I could say that for national non-governmental organizations and interests, very broadly defined, it is up to you. We would expect that you would involve all sections of your societies. As far as international non-governmental organizations, associations, bodies, unions and so forth, Mrs Killingsworth will speak about that.
The only other points I wish to address are with respect to the comments on poverty and hunger. After listening to the debate here and at the Committee on Food Security, it is evident that we will have to do more analyses of the linkages between poverty alleviation and hunger. At the end of the CFS I reminded you that you had just finished participating in a social summit for development where the main theme was poverty alleviation, and that certain commitments arose out of that on the part of your governments and peoples. I was hoping that some of the documentation in the preparations for the social summit would be in such a state that we could draw upon them and utilize them for our own Summit. I am told that there really were no such firm documents leading up to the social summit, so we may have to prepare one. Of course, our assessment document, one of the technical documents that is referenced in your paper, will go into this matter and I take the guidance to be that we will have to go more deeply into it than we might have considered doing before. The assessment document will have to and will identify regional and sub-regional differences. There were concerns and comments about where these differences emerge. This would be in the assessment document, which analyses what has happened in the past, where problems lie and where progress has been made.
Related to poverty and hunger are access and production. Increasing productivity and production of food does enhance access.
It has a big impact in least developed countries, less impact in other developing countries and in industrialized countries it hardly has any impact at all. It is this realization that agricultural production and so on cannot
ensure of itself food security that is the foundation for having a World Food Summit. I am sure that very few of your Ministers of Agriculture have the mandate to do all that is necessary to ensure access. Usually it is a good number of Ministries who share in that task and therefore it is essential to have a Summit of Heads of State or Government as they are really the only ones who have the mandate at a policy level for all aspects of access.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias señor Hjort por sus comentarios. Ahora tiene la palabra la señora Killingsworth para hacer los suyos.
Ms Κ. KILLINGSWORTH (Secretary-General, World Food Summit): Going on from what Mr Hjort said, I have a very few comments concerning the documents themselves and I would like to answer some queries concerning the involvement of all actors on the national and international scene in the preparatory process for the Summit.
Mr Chairman, as I mentioned in my introduction, this document is an outline and we appreciate the comments that have been made; I would like to assure you that in preparing the full text we will rectify our sins both of commission and omission, in particular on the various points made including the results of Cairo, the Barcelona Declaration, the Non-Aligned Movement. We have several others coming up including Beijing and these will all feed into the process.
These are not the only strands that we have to pull together in the next few months. A number of countries have asked if they might send further comments to us in the near future. Of course, any which are available now we would be happy to have, but may I suggest that the mechanism of the National Secretariat which Mr Hjort was just mentioning could be an ideal channel for transmitting the fruits of reflection at national level now and in the months to come for inclusion in our collective thought process. These could also be from representatives of the private sector and NGOs who we hope will be very closely involved at national level. There the role of National Secretary or focal point will be very important.
I would like to mention the very interesting information passed on, I believe, by the Delegate of Spain who indicated they have set up a multi-disciplinary coordination mechanism at national level to bring in inputs from various ministries as well as from non-governmental sources. We will be using that channel of communication to send out also the technical documents as they come out in the next few months and we hope that in feedback we will receive comments on these documents as well.
Since a number of questions were asked about the technical papers I would just like to clarify a point. You have a list of the papers in the document before you which are very close to completion, but completion still in a provisional form because until we translate them and therefore can circulate them widely in all official languages we really cannot pretend to have canvassed a broad spectrum of views. Therefore, we attach great importance in the coming months to gathering comments from all sources in order to prepare the documents in final form much closer to the time of the Summit.
Going on from there, Mr Chairman, to some of the points made about involvement in the process, there were some suggestions that it might be necessary to have inter-sessional meetings or working groups, I believe mostly in 1996. I would only point out we would share the concern expressed by the delegate of Belgium concerning costs. Even informal mechanisms have their costs. It seems to me, as Mr Hjort pointed out, that there is an evolving consensus on the role which could be played by the CFS (which, of course, is an existing body) as the focal point for carrying forward the process in 1996, perhaps envisaging a meeting in September 1996 to synthesize the results of Regional Conferences.
Then we come to the question of involvement of other organizations, both governmental/intergovernmental and non-governmental. As we have also pointed out to the Committee on World Food Security, one of the first actions which the Director-General took last autumn in fact was to approach a number of organizations, including the International Financing Institutions, IF AD and the World Food Programme, to request their collaboration in preparing some technical documents for consideration as part of the series which we are developing. We have had very positive replies. These documents are also in preparation and we hope to be bringing them out some time in the future. Our idea is that we are in fact inviting them to join us in a process
of joint reflection. We therefore bring to bear additional expertise on those particular issues where cooperation will produce something which is, let us say, greater than the sum of its parts.
In addition, of course, our sister organizations are normally invited to our meetings. In fact, there was a very constructive and informative intervention by the World Bank at the CFS and one from the observer at the UNDP today. I think as the process goes on we can see there will be a number of ways in which we can develop this cooperation around important specific issues where we will seek assistance from the organizations particularly specialized in the different subject matters. Of course, as Mr Hjort reminds me, they will be invited to the Regional Conferences as well as the CFS, as is the normal practice.
Then, of course, comes the question of NGOs. We have had some interesting interventions this afternoon from the observers of the NGOs, which is just one more indication of the interest which is already becoming extremely apparent in the NGO community both in the Summit and in the preparatory process.
We, as a Secretariat, have preferred to wait at least until this point, developing our document primarily with you, because we feel we need to know what your view is on the content of the Summit documents and how you would like to see them formulated. I think there has been support during the debate today for us now to also seek comments from the non-governmental sector, and that we will certainly do. For other forms of outreach, I think to a large extent this will depend on what the NGOs can come and propose to us, what we can do together within our very limited resources, and what we may possibly be able to find extra budgetary support to do.
With that, Mr Chairman, you have said you want your report on this item to be very concise. The Secretariat will certainly attempt to be concise in producing a draft for you, to comply with that recommendation. I would only like to say that we are very happy to have Verbatim Reports to consult in the coming months in order to benefit fully from the many and detailed interventions that have been made on this item.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias señora Killingsworth por sus aclaraciones. Le pregunto a los miembros del Consejo si tienen algún comentario ulterior que hacer.
En ese caso me voy a permitir resumir nuestros debates. Quizás mi resumen será un poco más largo que lo que vamos a tener en el Consejo, pero quiero de todas maneras dar una idea, una sensación de lo que, por lo menos desde la mesa, pude recoger de lo que dijeron ustedes.
En primer lugar, sobre los acuerdos generales del Consejo. El Consejo agradeció a la Secretaría de la FAO los documentos preparados que consideró fueron una base útil para sus debates. El Consejo respaldó plenamente la iniciativa del Director General de llevar a cabo una Cumbre Mundial sobre la Alimentación, que consideró oportuna y útil. El Consejo espera que ese evento desate acciones concretas, eficaces e inmediatas, tanto en la comunidad internacional como en cada país y en la sociedad entera. Se insistió en que la participación de los Estados Miembros sea al más alto nivel posible respetando la disposición y características de cada país. Se está invitando a jefes de estado para la celebración de la Cumbre. También se apoyó que en su preparación, la Cumbre involucre a una amplia participación tanto de organizaciones internacionales como del sector social, académico, privado y de la sociedad civil en general, incluyendo, desde luego, a las organizaciones no gubernamentales.
El Consejo en general, recomienda, por tanto, a la 28a Conferencia de la FAO que apruebe la iniciativa del Director General sobre la Cumbre Mundial sobre la Alimentación, a celebrarse en noviembre de 1996 y, que prevea los preparativos y condiciones necesarios para su exitosa realización.
El Consejo tomó nota con aprecio de la respuesta del Gobierno italiano y su disposición a apoyar a la FAO en la celebración de dicha Cumbre. El Consejo convino en que el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria Mundial sea el punto focal para darle seguimiento a los trabajos preparatorios y que en principio se celebre una reunión adicional a la de enero, en 1996, que se podría preveer para septiembre de ese año.
Se reconoció que la nueva documentación presentada al Consejo sobre este tema tenía una buena calidad y recogia adecuadamente el debate del Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria. Se solicitó que la documentación futura a prepararse, se distribuya a la mayor brevedad posible, con el propósito de lograr la más amplia
participación de todos los sectores y, desde luego, de los Estados Miembros que están involucrados en el proceso preparatorio. Esto incluye también, los documentos de carácter regional que deberían estar disponibles con suficiente antelación. Se insistió en que los documentos deben ser breves, ir al punto y en su caso sugerir medidas de acción concretas. Su formato comprendería una serie de principios o compromisos básicos y complementados por un Plan de Acción, o como algunas delegaciones sugirieron una estrategia. Para ser breves, en esos documentos se hará referencia a las conclusiones alcanzadas en otros foros, inclusive la Conferencia Mundial de Población de El Cairo, la futura Conferencia sobre la Mujer en Beijing, así como otros foros también de carácter regional.
En lo que se refiere al proceso preparativo, brevemente, se insistió en una amplia participación de todos los Estados Miembros, como de los diversos sectores de la sociedad, también se pidieron aclaraciones respecto a asegurar que este proceso de consulta amplio pueda conducirse eficazmente entre las reuniones previstas que tocarán este tema. Para ello, hubo una propuesta generalizada de que el Consejo supervise el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria, e inclusive varios delegados indicaron que podría considerarse por dicho Comité, en enero, de la creación de un Grupo de Trabajo, o un mecanismo similar, para supervisar, tanto los documentos, su contenido, su calidad, y su distribución. Yo considero al respecto que será el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria, en enero, el que decida sobre la conveniencia de tal mecanismo o, quizás, si lo determina así, la Conferencia de nuestra Organización en octubre.
Se hizo también referencia sobre el canal para conducir los comentarios y las diversas posiciones dentro de los países, se propuso que se constituyeran Secretarías Nacionales, mientras que la participación de Organizaciones Regionales podría asegurarse a través de las Conferencias Regionales.
Finalmente, en lo que se refiere a la declaración de políticas y el marco normativo, se reprodujo en cierta medida el debate que se celebró en el Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria, indicando que esta está íntimamente vinculada a la problemática de la pobreza y que, desde luego, había que considerar en este contexto la problemática específica, no sólo a nivel mundial, sino también regional e inclusive de país a país, así como de ciertos grupos humanos incluidos, entre estos, las mujeres embarazadas, las poblaciones indígenas, minusvalidos y que, desde luego, el problema en general de la seguridad alimentaria estaba relacionado al acceso y, al respecto, se identificó el acceso para las familias y para los individuos.
Se destacó igualmente, la importancia en la generación de empleos y de las oportunidades de ingreso y el papel destacado de la mujer en el desarrollo. Varios países también indicaron que el problema de la seguridad alimentaria no debía verse sólo en el contexto de su liga con la pobreza, sino que tenía otras dimensiones y al respecto se hizo referencia, tanto a cuestiones de carácter ambiental, como al de la sostenibilidad agropecuaria, la preservación del medio ambiente y de la insalubridad en el manejo de alimentos, la solución de los problemas de desnutrición, la comercialización, distribución, acceso y consumo de alimentos.
Finalmente, deseo hacer referencia al problema planteado respecto a resolver la ecuación que se consideró tenía una implicación ética entre el incremento en la producción y productividad agropecuaria, que tienen un elemento tecnológico, los problemas de la sostenibilidad de la producción y el deterioro del medio ambiente, que conllevan también la problemática específica de la contaminación y la erosión y, finalmente, el elemento relacionado con el crecimiento demográfico y el crecimiento de la demanda y la diversificación del consumo de alimentos. Estas cuestiones deberán ser tratadas de manera clara en los documentos.
Solamente me queda mencionar, respecto del Plan de Acción, que el Consejo coincidió en que dicho Plan o estrategia, debe ser sólido, viable y ejecutable de inmediato, que deberían aclararse los aspectos que abarcaría dicho Plan, identificar puntos de acción, que se debía establecer una clara colaboración con organismos internacionales y con otros sectores de la sociedad civil, con organizaciones no gubernamentales y, se propuso que se incluya una sección que identifique el mecanismo de monitoreo o seguimiento, y una lista de temas de acción a seguir. En particular, la acción propuesta y responsable, efectos esperados y resultados previsibles, así como precisar la instancia de los mecanismos responsables de supervisar las acciones acordadas.
Hubo muchas otras propuestas y planteamientos, los verbatim los recogen adecuadamente, pero creo que como este Consejo desea formular un informe, como nos ha recordado usted señora Killingsworth, muy ejecutivo, el informe se deberá dedicar a estas cuestiones de carácter operativo y los distinguidos delegados
podrán leer las múltiples proposiciones en el verbatim, - estoy seguro que la Secretaría ha tomado debida nota de ellos -, que sus consideraciones ahora y posteriormente serán utilizadas para forjar documentos claros, breves, concisos y útiles para la acción.
Hasta aquí el resumen de nuestros debates y si no hay ninguna otra observación me queda simplemente mencionar que las delegaciones que habían propuesto presentar adicciones o cambios a la Declaración de Québec, lo han hecho y, estamos en espera de constituir este Grupo de Trabajo que el Consejo ha decidido trabajará el sábado o, si se puede, antes de esa fecha. Los delegados, por tanto, están invitados a identificarse ante el Secretario General con el propósito de hacer los arreglos pertinentes para la celebración de dicho Grupo de Trabajo. El documento se facilitará a todos ustedes para la realización de los trabajos de dicho grupo que estará disponible el día de mañana.
Distinguidos delegados, si no hay ninguna otra observación sobre este Tema 4, lo damos por concluido y me voy a permitir invitar, en vista de que todavía tenemos algunos minutos antes de suspender la reunión y poder asistir a la invitación que nos ha hecho el Secretario de Estado Robichaud, del Canadá, pedir que pasemos al Tema 10 de nuestra Agenda que corresponde al Informe del Comité de Problemas de Productos Básicos.
Así lo hacemos y le agradezco a la señora Killingsworth su asistencia.
EL PRESIDENTE: Pasamos al Tema 10 que es el Informe del Comité de Problemas de Productos Básicos. Ustedes verán un recuadro al inicio del Informe en donde se señalan las cuestiones a consideración del Consejo. Les hago notar que lo que este Consejo debe hacer es aprobar el Informe. Les recuerdo que las discusiones respecto de los diversos temas fueron ya realizadas y yo, por tanto, espero que sean ustedes breves al referirse a este Informe y que podamos compactar todo nuestro debate respecto de este punto, el Tema 6, el 7 y el 8, de aquí a mañana, para evitar una sesión nocturna, que de una vez les amenazo vamos a tener si no terminamos el día de mañana con la revisión de todos estos informes.
Para presentarlo le pido al doctor de Haen que tome la palabra.
H. de HAEN (Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department): Thank you, Mr Chairman. It's a great pleasure for me to address this Council again. At this late hour, you may be somewhat exhausted, but by reminding you of the very refreshing meeting that the Committee on Commodity Problems had earlier this year, this may at least be a pleasure to recall that this session was most fruitful, considered by all who spoke as well as by the Secretariat. We received a lot of guidance and enjoyed a very lively debate on issues of interest to trade.
The Committee observed, in reviewing the commodity situation and outlook and in follow-up to the Conference Resolution 2/79 which is on commodity trade, protectionism, and agricultural adjustment, a number of issues and debated them. I will not go on to the details of the Committee's conclusions as these are contained in paragraphs 6 to 8 of the report which is before you.
The Committee did observe that support measures and protectionism remained large and world agriculture was still conditioned by use of export subsidies and domestic support programmes. However, Mr Chairman, the Committee also concluded that important efforts to liberalize trade had been made and that the process initiated by the Uruguay Round provided reasons for optimism.
The Committee noted that commodity problems and protectionism were only partially dealt with in the Uruguay Round and there was continued need to monitor developments as required by Resolution 2/79, and the Committee concluded these discussions by identifying priority areas which the Council may take into account when considering the adoption of the report. They are set forth in paragraph 12 of the report.
The Committee undertook a substantive review of the work of its subsidiary bodies, and that is reported in paragraphs 13 to 26. In brief, Mr Chairman, the Committee considered the groups had undertaken a broad and varied spectrum of activities and had noted that the interdisciplinary approach needed for the work of these groups drew upon expertise within FAO as well as from many other organizations.
In this context the Committee took several decisions which the Council has to consider for adoption which, as the Committee considered, would improve the functioning of the intergovernmental groups. These are presented in paragraph 21 of the report and they cover such things as documentation reports, frequency of sessions, grouping of sessions and means for streamlining the discussions and the debate.
Mr Chairman, the Secretariat has taken careful note of these decisions, decisions as recommended to the Council by the Committee which will be implemented during the next biennium and, of course, as instructed, will ensure that the item is on the Agenda for its next session provided that the Council endorses them. If you count, distinguished members of the Council, you will find out that recommendations by the Committee imply that the total number of meeting days of these intergovernmental groups for the next biennium would be reduced from 41 to 23, a considerable reduction in the length of sessions.
When reviewing the work of the Consultative Sub-Committee on Surplus Disposal, another item on the Agenda of the Committee, delegates welcomed the incorporation of the CSD principles of surplus disposal and consultative obligations in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. It was also recognized that formation of the WTO Committee on Agriculture would increase the importance of the Committee on Surplus Disposal, and several proposals were made regarding the future work of the Sub-Còmmittee, bearing in mind the formation of the WTO. These are found in paragraphs 25 and 26 of the report.
The Committee also considered the assessment that FAO had prepared on the impact of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. In fact, that took quite a considerable part of the debate in the Committee session, and this debate is summarized in paragraphs 28 to 34 of the report. A number of issues were raised by delegations including -I only highlight two or three - the need to consider agriculture as part of the total Uruguay Round package, the changing policy agenda caused by changes in world market conditions and the possible impact on preferential arrangements and implications that the agreement might hold for developing countries. The Committee also recommended priority areas for post-Uruguay Round activities of the Secretariat and these are listed in paragraph 34.
I only now have to refer very briefly to the other substantive item on the agenda of the CCP, which was the consideration of links between trade, the environment and sustainable agricultural development where a tentative methodology was developed by the Secretariat for possible future elaboration on measurement of the impact of Environment Regulations on Trade. The Committee, in concluding its deliberations on these links between trade and the environment, endorsed the programme of work in this area, which is set out in paragraph 42 of its report. With this, I hope to refer to the main paragraphs which might facilitate the Council's consideration of this item and hopefully facilitate the adoption of the Committee's report. I thank you for your attention, Mr Chairman.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias, señor de Haen, por sus comentarios introductorios. Se abre el debate sobre este tema y les recuerdo que la decisión que debe tomar el Consejo es la de aprobar el informe. Voy a tomar nota lentamente de los oradores, y les pido que si alguien tiene alguna urgencia por ofrecer sus comentarios antes o después, me lo haga saber, porque no puedo distinguirlo en función de los países que levantan su bandera. Parece que no hay ningún delegado u observador que desee intervenir; en este caso, lo único que hacemos es endosar el informe del Comité de Problemas de Productos Básicos unánimemente. Parece que el Sr. Delegado de Australia desea intervenir.
Kevin O'BRIEN (Australia): Australia is pleased to give its overall endorsement to the Report of the Committee on Commodity Problems as a considered assessment of many of the issues and challenges facing world agricultural markets and the important and constructive work that FAO is currently undertaking.
In particular, we would endorse the areas for follow-up work identified in paragraph 12 of the report, especially those aimed at facilitating international trade, understanding the problems caused for many of the countries by trade protectionism and restriction on investment and encouraging a process of on-going agricultural adjustment to allow countries to take advantage of the opportunities created by the Uruguay Round Agreement. We believe that these tasks will contribute towards a global environment which will allow the less restricted movement of commodities on international markets and, through the provision of timely and accurate information and expert advice, assist developing countries to expand existing markets and develop new ones.
We are aware, Mr Chairman, that a number of delegates have expressed reservations about the Uruguay Round Agreement on agriculture in terms of the impact on their domestic economies. If anything, one criticism that could be levelled at the CCP report is that it fails to place the significant progress achieved in the Uruguay Round in its proper context. Too much attention perhaps is given to the specific outcomes of the Round rather than to the underlying problems in world markets that it has revealed. It is worth emphasizing that the difficult situation in which many food-importing developing countries now find themselves is the result of long-standing distortions in international agricultural trade, compounded by flawed domestic policies in many developed countries. We share these concerns. This is part of the tyranny of protectionism that breeds a form of dependence on support and trade restrictive measures.
The Uruguay Round outcome highlights these serious defects in the world agricultural trading system. It has not caused them. To blame the Round is a classic case of "shooting the messenger" because we either do not like or understand the message. For some countries, the situation is made worse because they did not expect a substantive outcome in the Round and did not, or have only belatedly, put in place a series of domestic policy adjustments to take account of the new trading environment for agriculture. Sadly, for a number of developing countries they have not had the resources or the capacity to put more appropriate agricultural policy arrangements in place and they have been attracted to or encouraged to follow the misguided policy settings of many developed economies.
Mr Chairman, we believe there is hope. We would draw attention to the statement in paragraph 7 of the report that, for developing countries as a whole, the price index of their agricultural, fishery and forestry export commodities rose by over 20 percent in 1994, compared with a 2 percent increase for commodities produced by developed countries. We are confident that following the progressive implementation of the disciplines agreed in the Uruguay Round, this can lead to a continued strengthening of conditions on world agricultural markets.
We are conscious that not all countries are confident that they can benefit from these improving prospects. Our aim is to create the conditions where all agricultural producers can look to the future with some confidence and we continue to emphasize the important role of FAO in ensuring that the benefits of international agricultural reform and trade liberalization in goods, services and investment flow through to all participating members, particularly the least developed and low-income food-deficit member countries.
We notice that some members are still anxious to justify the continuation of their restrictions on agricultural trade based on the multi-functional nature of their agricultural industries. We believe this to be a misguided notion, lacking a degree of sensitivity as to its adverse impacts on other countries. This multi-functional nature of agriculture is a characteristic of agricultural activity in all producing countries, although reflected in slightly different ways in each case. For some, agriculture is critical to address their most basic poverty and malnourishment concerns. For some too it is the major source of employment and economic activity with up to 20 percent of their work force engaged in agricultural activity. For others, it is a major engine of growth in upgrading to value added products and downstream food processing. For still others, agriculture is a major concern to limit the depopulation of rural areas and to maintain the responsible care of their fragile resource environments.
Each of these cases, we believe, highlights the special nature of agricultural activity. All are typical of different economies at different stages of their economic development. While we share the desire of all
members to recognize the important contribution that agriculture makes to our respective economies, and to have appropriate support and assistance policies in place, the manner in which this support and assistance is provided is critical to the future well-being of agricultural markets internationally.
We cannot join with others who seek to intervene in domestic or international markets in a trade-distorting way, or to shift on to world producers some of the pain caused by inappropriate agricultural policies at home. This view was soundly endorsed by the conclusions of the Uruguay Round Agreement which for the first time has introduced disciplines on trade-distorting forms of support, whether income transfers to producers, import barriers and non-tariff measures and export subsidization practices.
Mr Chairman, we are pleased to welcome the decision of this Committee to strengthen and streamline the role and functioning of the intergovernmental groups, especially the need for documentation to be more analytical and concise, discussions to concentrate on substantive issues and for reports to focus mainly on conclusions and recommendations.
These changes are fully consistent with the efforts of the FAO to move towards more targeted and constructive meetings and is a useful first step in upgrading and enhancing its reporting and assessment procedures. We believe it is important for the work of the IGG's to complement those of other commodity organizations and to operate with a clear purpose especially where an identified need exists.
In this context, we are pleased to note that Malaysia has offered to convene an international consultation on tropical fruit in early 1996, with technical input from FAO, which would assist in disseminating information on production, exports and imports of tropical fruits. We are happy to consider the most appropriate means or mechanism for continuing this valuable process in future.
We are also pleased to join with other members of the Committee in welcoming the incorporation of CSD principles on surplus disposal and consultative obligations into the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. We believe this gives proper recognition to FAO's important work in this area. Taking account of the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, which provides an internationally agreed definition of food aid, and the work currently being undertaken by the OECD on international disciplines on officially sponsored export credits which should help to further differentiate commercial and aid-based transactions, we are pleased to join a consensus for a review by the CSD of so called "grey area" measures. We would not, however, support any activities or changes in usual marketing requirements that give rise to increased uncertainty about the potential of aid donations to disrupt commercial sales.
Finally, Mr Chairman, Australia supports further work on the links between trade, environment and sustainable agricultural development proposed in paragraph 42 of the Report. We would also draw the Council's attention to the recent decision taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development on Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 on promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development. In particular, the Commission noted the need for a comprehensive examination of the environmental consequences of the use of agricultural practices and policies, including agricultural subsidies, in all countries and their impact on sustainable agriculture and rural development. We see this examination as a key issue in the Commission's request for the FAO to analyse the implications for sustainable agriculture and rural development of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias. Mientras hablaba el Sr. Delegado de Australia se han ido apuntando varios otros oradores. Vamos a proseguir otros diez minutos, luego levantaremos la sesión y continuaremos mañana.
Dato' Ahmad Zabri IBRAHIM (Malaysia): I thank you for giving me the floor. I know that everybody is tired and wants to go home. I shall be very brief.
Again my delegation would like to commend the Secretariat for presenting clear issues needing attention and decision as given in the preface of the Report. On the subject of the review of the subsidiary bodies, my delegation is of the opinion that it is timely that the number of intergovernmental commodities of the IGG be slightly reduced through regrouping and forming of sub-groups within the mini-class of commodity. Back-to-
back meetings should be held within the framework of the main class of commodity. This is to be done without sacrificing the quality and purpose and the meaning of those commodities. At a later stage perhaps full amalgamation can be introduced. It is also necessary, therefore, to determine which commodities have graduated from the group and those that need to be maintained. For those that have graduated and consequently do not require an intergovernmental forum, they may not need only inter-monitoring support of the FAO. Those Members' preoccupation with an intergovernmental commodity group should be one that examines new commodities requiring attention. My delegation is in complete agreement that the meetings of the IGG should utilize the procedure of re-negotiations within the groups and that discussion should be limited to substantial issues.
On the subject of tropical fruits, and almost all developing countries strongly support that intergovernmental forum, my delegation requests that the FAO provides the necessary budget for the forum to move smoothly as soon as Member Nations make decisions regarding this subject during the first international consultation with FAO involvement.
Malaysia, on this part, has already been mentioned by the distinguished delegate from Australia who has already expressed his offer to hold the first international consultation on this commodity in Guadalupe in early 1996. In this Council meeting my delegation wishes to reiterate the offer. Steps are already being taken in my country towards convening this first conference which shall be held with the worldwide participation. Private sectors are encouraged to participate in this consultation and depending on their number, a separate agenda can be included. Finally, Mr Chairman, my delegation joins the other nations in endorsing the Report of the Committee on Commodity Problems 60th Session.
Akihiko UDOGUCHI (Japan): I am very happy to be the third speaker on this agenda item and following the Distinguished Delegates of Australia and Malaysia and I am also glad to endorse the outcome of the Committee on Commodity Problems. Having said so I would like to point out a couple of points to which we hope the activities of CCP should pay due attention in the future.
The first point relates to the reorganization of the method of convening the intergovernmental groups. Basically we welcome this change and trial of back-to-back convening the intergovernmental groups. We hope that this trial will bring about improvement in cost-effectiveness and real cost production and also hope that progress and results relative to this trial will be reported to member countries in the future. Also, we consider that this change should aim at cost reduction of intergovernmental groups and should be carefully implemented so as not to impose additional budgetary burdens to member countries as hosts of meetings and sponsors of them, of course, excluding voluntary cases.
My second point relates to trade and environment activities. Currently these national and international organizations are also considering this matter and they are UNCTAD, WTO, OECD, etc. It is very important that FAO cooperate with those organizations relating to this matter and my delegation would like to stress that FAO, as the centre of excellence in this area of food and agriculture, should make a detailed and balanced analysis, taking into account the important missions of this Organization such as addressing the world food security problem and exploring for sustainable agricultural and rural development.
Finally, Mr Chairman, we hope that in this kind of analysis of trade and environment, not only the impact of environmental measures to trade, but also the impact of trade measures or trade liberalization to sustainable agricultural and environment should also be carefully dealt with.
EL PRESIDENTE: Cuando ustedes proponen que se establezcan lazos de cooperación con otras organizaciones deben considerar que eso tiene, obviamente, un costo, pero que en algún momento futuro esta Organización podría considerar alguna forma más barata de establecer esas fórmulas de cooperación, sobre todo se involucra mandar, o quizá la permanencia de un individuo, o un grupo de individuos, ante tales organizaciones. Quizá el uso de alguna otra fórmula, inclusive electrónica podría utilizarse para asegurar esa cooperación.
En fin, distinguidos delegados, era un comentario marginal.
Con Japón concluimos el grupo de oradores de esta tarde respecto al Tema 10. Les invito a que estén en punto mañana a las 9.30 para terminar nuestros trabajos sobre este tema. Mañana tendremos que concluir con este tema, el Tema 6, el Tema 7 y el Tema 8 de nuestra agenda. Si es necesario ocupar una sesión nocturna, así lo haremos.
Bien, distinguidos delegados, levanto la cuarta sesión.
The meeting rose at 18.00 hours.
La séance est levée à 18 heures.
Se levanta la sesión à las 18.00 horas.
