EL PRESIDENTE: Distinguidos señores delegados, muy buenas tardes. Se inicia la segunda sesión de la Comisión III. Continuamos con la discusión del tema 24 del programa. El primer orador que tengo en mi lista es la distinguida delegación de Yugoslavia.
Marinko DOMLJANOVIC (Yugoslavia): Although it is not a member of any regional economic integrated organization, Yugoslavia has carefully studied the issue of the possible forms of membership of REIOs in FAO.
Bearing in mind the increasing urgency of new regional integrations not only among the developed but also among the developing countries, we are of the opinion that the issue of the membership of such groupings in international organizations of the United Nations system is of exceptional importance. The resolution of similar requests in future will depend on how this issue is resolved now. Having in mind what Legal Counsel said this morning in his introductory comments about the principles which are provided for by the compromise text presented to the Conference by the Hundredth Session of Council, such as formal membership of regional economic integrated organizations is sui generis, the possibility of membership of all regional economic organizations providing they fulfil the provisions of Article II.3, a scheme based on the fundamental principle of alternative exercise of rights, and so on, the Yugoslavian delegation is of the opinion that the proposed Single Text is a good basis for further discussion which might bring us to the point of drafting an adequate resolution on the matter.
Vishnu BHAGWAN (India): First of all, Mr Chairman, I would like to congratulate you and the members of the Bureau on your election. I shall be very happy to work under your leadership. My delegation also welcomes the new members - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - to the FAO family, and we extend our welcome to Puerto Rico on its associate membership. I wish them all success in this esteemed Organization.
I would like to record the appreciation of my delegation to Mr Moore who has worked so hard on this issue. We much appreciated his lucid presentation this morning, when he clearly indicated the principle on which this issue has been based, and the draft amendments prepared. In fact, he has explained them so often that this principle and these bases are now very clear to all members attending the meeting here.
I would be failing in my duty if I did not record my appreciation and admiration for the delegate of Colombia, Mr Bula Hoyos, who has worked untiringly on this issue, something which has aroused a lot of controversy, but with his efforts and the efforts of the ad hoc group we were able to work out an agreed text during the last Council based on this principle.
My delegation has no difficulty in endorsing this principle and accepting the text which was accepted during the time of the last Council. In fact we have discussed this matter for so long, from the Ninety-eighth Council to the Hundredth Council, that we have gone over it umpteen times. We very much appreciate the aspirations not only of the EEC, but the regional economic integrated organizations who might become members of FAO at a later stage as and when they fulfil the criteria laid down. We also believe that this is a dynamic situation. Today it is the EEC; tomorrow it could be other organizations as well.
In our view the text which we finally worked out at the time of the Council is a good basis, and we can definitely work on it to reach a definite conclusion.
Milan BERÁNEK (Czechoslovakia) : As I have had many opportunities to express my sincere personal congratulations to you, Mr Chairman, on your election to the Chair of this Commission, I would like to repeat it now once more formally and in the capacity of representative of my Government. I would like also to welcome the newly-elected members of FAO taking part in our work.
After the excellent presentation of Mr Moore and Mr Bula Hoyos - and I must say I appreciated them very much - I have only too little to say on the substance of this matter. My delegation is one of the co-sponsors of the proposed text which has been introduced so brilliantly. Having heard also the positive reaction of the delegate of the Netherlands on behalf of the EEC, the delegate of Pakistan, along with many other delegations, and taking into account careful consideration of the matter by all the legal and political bodies of the FAO - and not only of FAO but also other agencies, including the United Nations Legal Office - my delegation cannot do other than recommend to this Commission of the supreme FAO body the acceptance of perhaps not an ideal one but really the politically balanced proposal which now lies upon the Table.
We would like to see the proposal transferred to the Plenary without further delay and without repeating the whole negotiation process which we have gone through in the past months and years. Of course, my delegation is at any time ready to intervene further in the debate or to take part in further negotiations or explanatory consultations or whatever you like on the specific questions if there is any further and open minded need to do so.
MA GENG-OU (China) (Original language Chinese): Before my formal intervention, I would like to congratulate the three new members of the FAO. I would also like to welcome Puerto Rico to be admitted as an associate member into FAO.
Just as the Chinese delegation has mentioned in the Hundredth Session of the Council, at present there are many regional economic integration organizations in the world. They have now shouldered actually many works within the competence of FAO which their Member Nations have already done. Therefore, the admittance of REIOs into FAO has become a very practical issue now. Many efforts have been done in this regard by FAO. Therefore, I would like to thank the Special Ad Hoc Committee, and also I would like to thank Mr Bula Hoyos and also the Members of this Committee. I thank you for your efforts. I would like to thank the Secretariat for their detailed documents prepared for this Session. Through the study of this document, we have some in-depth and overall understanding of this issue. Also, we have gained insight into the process of studying this issue. Therefore, I think, as Ambassador Bula Hoyos has mentioned, a single text can serve as a very good basis for our debate. The single text concerning the REIOs has laid out the competence and rights and responsibilities of all the Member Nations as well as many important issues in a very detailed way. To these principles we find ourselves in agreement. But this one single issue needs to be further clarified. That is, in terms of REIOs, when they are admitted into the FAO as a Member instead of a Member Organization, I would like to give you my understanding of this issue. I think FAO has two kinds of members. One refers to Member Nations; one refers to Member Organizations. If EEC applies for membership to FAO and has been defined as a Member Nation in FAO but they still are regarded as a Member Organization, they cannot be seen as a Member Nation. In the amendment text there are a lot of rules laid out for Member Organizations. They are also suitable for EEC. If my understanding on this issue is correct, I would like to endorse EEC's being admitted into FAO. Therefore, China will support this. If my understanding goes against this description or classification, I would like the Chairman and the Legal Counsel to give me an explanation.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchísimas gracias, distinguido delegado. Agradezco sus palabras hacia la Presidencia. Sus dudas podrán ser resueltas un poco más adelante, si es que quedara alguna, por el distinguido Consejero Legal.
Francis MBEWE (Zambia): Zambia participated in the discussions on this subject, and therefore in principle and generally we accept the concept of the regional economic integration organizations in FAO. What, however, I would like to point out here is that there appears to be confusion as to whether we are talking about the EEC or whether we are talking about the principle of admitting other REIOs. I think the issue at hand at first, in our view, is to amend the Constitution which provides thereafter admission of REIOs. It would appear that people are referring to areas of competency, whether EEC should be admitted or not. I think we are putting the last things first. I think the issue at hand is that we accept that the regional economic integration organizations should be admitted. Therefore, if the answer is yes, let us look at the text, the amended text. When the text has been amended providing for admission of REIOs, then we will look at the EEC application and its criteria for admission. I thought I should clarify that, considering the various interventions I have observed.
Coming to the amendment of the Constitution, I would recall that in June this year, the issue of exclusive competence was at the centre of our debate in both the Council and also the small committee which was set up by the Council. I note from the draft proposal of the amendment that this has
been excluded and thereby substituted with explanations which relate to Rule XLIV regarding competence which describes what should happen to the process of participation in debate of an REIO. In my view, if the words "exclusive competence" were included in Article II.3, there would not have been a need for that rule explaining extensively the need for Member States to ask for areas of competence, the need for the Member Organizations in an REIO to declare the area of competence and so on and so forth. Maybe at a later stage the Legal Counsel can provide us with wisdom as to why the words "exclusive competence" have been left out. It was supposed to have been submitted to the Council of the last Commission.
EL PRESIDENTE: Efectivamente, el texto al que usted hace referencia es justamente el texto a cuyo compromiso llegó, en su oportunidad, el Comité de las ORIE. Por ello, no aparece esa mención que usted citaba. En todo caso, cualquier otra duda que quede al respecto será gustosamente respondida, en su oportunidad, por el distinguido Consejero Legal.
Sture THEOLIN (Sweden): I told you earlier under a Point of Order how much we appreciate working under your leadership, and I wanted to repeat that now under more regular circumstances.
Like other speakers before us, we would like equally to welcome the new members of the Organization, Puerto Rico as an Associate Member and in particular, the Baltic States, which will provide Sweden with an opportunity also within FAO to reopen and build on the relationship which was so close and fruitful in earlier periods. As you know, I have been a bad participant by withdrawing from the list of speakers this morning. I had really intended to deliver this then, but I was forced by other circumstances to leave this Committee, and I apologize for that.
Concerning the process which has led to our present predicament, we are impressed by the different variety of opinions and views which have been able to be heard and voiced and that a compromise has been worked out in which so many countries have been indeed involved, and countries from all regions. Sweden was a member of the Regional Economic Integration Organization Committee which met earlier, and we would like to thank the participants of the Ad Hoc Group for the work they have done in providing the Committee and the Conference with a single proposal.
Sweden believes that the regional economic integration organizations may play an important and crucial role in the life of FAO. We welcome and support the definition of a criteria which has been established in this proposal and we welcome the innovative arrangements for the practical working out of how a member organization can participate.
We understand that these ways eventually will have to evolve, but this is an extremely good starting point which we should thank the working group for helping us out with.
Further, Mr Chairman, moving them according to the same line which the Colombian delegation expressed we welcome the opportunity for the European Community to eventually become a member of the FAO.
I would also like to express support for the timetable which was suggested by Ambassador Bula Hoyos when the report was introduced, and I think it is only fair to share the thankfulness expressed by others to Ambassador Bula Hoyos for the excellent work he has performed. So, Mr Chairman, the one merit of speaking late if you can, most of the things have actually been said, and suffice it therefore to say that Sweden does accept and support the proposal, the single proposal which has been put forward to this Committee, and like others we suggest it be approved by the Committee and sent forward in order that the EEC will eventually become a member at this very Conference. Thank you.
EL PRESIDENTE: Ha sido una importantísima declaración, de la que hemos tomado nota. Se han agregado algunas delegaciones a la lista de oradores.
Roberto PONCE ALVARADO (Ecuador): En primer lugar, deseo hacerle llegar a usted, señor Presidente, las congratulaciones de nuestra delegación por su elección para la Presidencia. Nos complace mucho verle dirigiendo estos trabajos. Igualmente y aunque ya nos sumamos al aplauso caluroso que se tributó ayer en la Plenaria a los nuevos miembros, quisiera, en el marco de esta Comisión III, dar la bienvenida a los tres nuevos miembros, Estonia, Letonia y Lituania y también al Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, que ingresa en esta Organización como Estado asociado también.
Trataré de ser breve, pero no sin antes hacer una pequeña aclaración que creemos necesaria. Nuestro país no es miembro del Consejo; no es miembro tampoco del Comité de Asuntos Constitucionales y Jurídicos ni formó parte del Comité de miembros escogidos por el Director General para examinar ese asunto. Por tanto, ésta es la primera vez en que mi país puede expresar oficialmente su posición respecto al tema, de tal manera que es probable que las opiniones expresadas por mi delegación se sumen a la diversidad de opiniones que han maravillado a alguna delegación aquí.
Deseo comenzar indicando que somos partidarios de la participación de las organizaciones regionales de integración económica en la FAO, pero creemos que eso debe darse a través de un proceso estructurado en una forma, podríamos decir abstracta, es decir, sin destinatario alguno, de tal forma que se deje abierto el camino para el ingreso, ahora y en el futuro, de una, dos o varias organizaciones regionales de integración económica que deseen participar y colaborar en los trabajos de esta Organización.
Por ello compartimos la declaración formulada esta mañana por la distinguida delegación de México, que destaca claramente la necesidad de dar a este proceso una mayor racionalidad metodológica; es decir, primero habría sido deseable determinar las bases en las cuales se debería dar el ingreso de las ORIE a esta Organización y, luego, examinar las solicitudes de ingreso que se presenten.
En segundo lugar, es necesario tener claramente presente la distinción que debe hacerse entre Estados soberanos y organizaciones regionales de integración económica. Digo esto porque recojo una afirmación realizada esta mañana por el Asesor Jurídico, en el sentido de que si ingresa alguna ORIE en la FAO - una o varias - ésta o éstas tendrán que tener necesariamente un estatus sui generis - creo que así lo dijo: estatus sui
generis - que, por ser tal, no puede ser equiparado de ninguna manera al de los Estados Miembros.
A esta observación se podrían sumar algunas otras observaciones de fondo inclusive, tales como la relativa a la definición de competencias, que nosotros pensamos debe ser un requisito previo - y subrayo: previo - al examen de cualquier solicitud de admisión de una ORIE en esta Organización.
Mme Amina BOUDJELTI (Algérie): Permettez-moi à mon tour de vous féliciter pour votre élection à la présidence et de vous dire combien nous apprécions de travailler sous votre direction.
Ma délégation a eu l'honneur de participer aux travaux du Comité des Etats Membres depuis déjà deux mois, elle a donc eu l'occasion à maintes reprises d'exprimer sa position tant en ce qui concerne l'adhésion d'éventuelles OIER à notre Organisation qu'en ce qui touche plus particulièrement l'entrée de la CEE.
Elle tient toutefois en cette enceinte à faire une courte déclaration, tout d'abord pour féliciter et remercier tous ceux qui, tant au niveau du Secrétariat qu'au niveau des différents Comités, ont permis d'aboutir au résultat actuel.
C'est à dire que nous sommes actuellement co-auteurs des amendements proposés dans le document C 91/LIM/30 et que nous avons peu de choses à ajouter sur le fond car nous estimons qu'il s'agit là d'un texte équilibré et pertinent qui est le fruit d'une volonté certaine.
Nous nous associons donc pour toutes ces raisons à tous ceux qui ont recommandé la transmission de ce texte en Plénière.
EL PRESIDENTE: Gracias por sus palabras tan gentiles para la Mesa. Por cierto, recordamos el gran trabajo que a su delegación le correspondió en el Comité presidido por el distinguido Embajador de Colombia.
Winston R. RUDDER (Trinidad and Tobago): Thank you Mr Chairman. Permit me first of all to extend best wishes to you as a colleague Member Nation of the Latin American and Caribbean region. And secondly to join with others who have spoken before me in welcoming to this august institution the three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and particularly, our good neighbour Puerto Rico.
We were witness to that very short but moving ceremony this morning and we are very happy that they have joined us.
Mr Chairman with respect to the particular matter before us at this time may I be permitted a few brief comments. Mr Chairman, the world has changed significantly since FAO came into being some forty-odd years ago. Nations, both developed and developing have recognized the significance of bonding together on the basis of commonality. And in fact what we are finding are these arrangements are deepening to the extent that we have to consider different arrangements if we seek about the governance of development in the world today.
In this regard therefore, Mr Chairman, with regard to these trends that have taken place and in light of the substantive discussions that have taken place within the halls of the FAO over the last two or more three years on this specific matter the question of regional economic integration organizations, and the desirability and the conditions under which they may be considered for membership in this Body. We feel satisfied that the major concerns that we held at the beginning of the debate some two years ago are far gone today.
And indeed we feel pleased to join with others who have spoken before us to endorse the proposal that we have here and which we considered balanced and suggest and recommend that in fact they be taken forward in the process of finally determining the circumstances, the criteria and the conditions which would allow for the admission of regional economic integration organizations to FAO. Thank you very much.
EL PRESIDENTE: Gracias por sus gentiles palabras, especialmente por venir de nuestra región de América Latina y el Caribe, y gracias por su importante declaración.
Thomas YANGA (Cameroun): Avant tout je voudrais m'excuser de ne pas avoir pris part à la séance du matin de cette importante Commission. C'est avec un peu de retard que je voudrais vous adresser nos vives et sincères félicitations pour votre élection à la tête de cette Commission. Je vous assure de notre appui total pour la réussite de votre importante mission. Mon pays s'associe à d'autres pays pour souhaiter la bienvenue aux nouveaux Etats Membres et même nous pourrions déjà souhaiter la bienvenue aux éventuelles organisations membres qui se joindraient à nous au sein de la FAO.
Mon pays a eu l'honneur et la responsabilité de participer à presque toutes les discussions qui ont eu lieu dans différentes enceintes, ici à la FAO, sur la question de l'admission des OIER. C'est ici le lieu de réitérer que mon pays se prononce favorablement pour l'admission de la CEE à la FAO.
Comme je l'ai dit nous avons participé aux différentes discussions qui ont eu lieu et je puis vous confesser que ces discussions ont été très intéressantes, riches parfois en rebondissements, d'où l'absence de certains termes ou de certains mots qui ne figurent pas dans le texte par exemple du document C 91/LIM/30 par rapport au texte que le Conseil avait examiné dans sa quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième session. C'est le fruit d'une longue réflexion, de discussions ardues et des explications en profondeur qui ont permis aux membres participant à ces discussions notamment au Comité des Etats Membres chargé d'examiner les amendements aux Textes fondamentaux, d'essayer de simplifier autant que possible et de clarifier les choses, et de produire ce document C 91/LIM/30 auquel mon pays est associé et que j'appuie de tout coeur.
C'est dire que nous souhaitons que ce texte puisse être transmis à la Conférence pour être examiné par la Plénière pour être éventuellement adopté. Je crois que le Conseiller juridique et d'autres membres peuvent donner des explications à ceux qui auraient des interrogations sur les implications ou les aspects juridiques de certains termes qui manquent ou qui ont été ajoutés.
Voilà ce que ma délégation voulait dire à ce stade des débats.
Kiala KIA MATEVA (Angola): M. le Président, puisque j'interviens pour la première fois, je voudrais vous féliciter pour votre désignation à la tête de la Commission III. Je suis certain que les travaux de cette Commission trouveront une bonne issue, de bons résultats, sous votre direction.
La délégation angolaise félicite également les quatre pays: Lettonie, Estonie, Lituanie et Porto Rico qui sont parmi nous. Elle leur souhaite la bienvenue au sein de la FAO. Je manquerais à mon devoir si je ne félicitais pas M. Moore, Conseiller juridique de la FAO, pour l'exposé clair et concis qu'il a présenté ce matin.
Nos félicitations s'adressent également à M. Bula Hoyos, Ambassadeur de la Colombie et Président du COIER pour sa compétence devenue légendaire et la façon dont il a conduit ce groupe pour nous présenter un texte équilibré, comme l'a dit mon collègue de gauche qui n'est pas là malheureusement.
Sur le document sujet de notre discussion, la délégation angolaise, bien que ne faisant pas partie du COIER, accepte le principe exposé sur les amendements à l'Acte constitutif qui concernent l'adhésion à la FAO d'organisations d'intégration économique régionale à la qualité de membre de la FAO.
En ce qui concerne l'admission de la CEE au sein de la FAO, l'Angola doit être compté parmi les pays qui veulent son entrée. Je vous remercie.
Frank BUCHHOLZ (United States of America): Thank you Mr Chairman. We are faced today with an important issue that has implications not only for the FAO but for other international organizations. We have before us amendments to the FAO Constitution which would, in effect, create a new form of membership for the international community. We must take our task seriously and proceed cautiously and prudently to ensure that there is no ambiguity or lack of clarity in the text of the proposed amendments. In particular, we should not proceed with the text if it obscures fundamentally differing viewpoints.
In this regard we would like to draw the attention of delegates to the letter of the Legal Office of the United Nations reproduced in Council document CL 100/9-Sup. 1 which in part states: "What is needed is a reference to transference, full transference of competence in a given field, from the members of the Organization to the Organization itself, and the competence of the Organization to make decisions in that field which are binding on the members of the Organization. The rationale behind allowing an Organization to cast the votes of its Member States is based upon the fact that those Member States no longer have any role to play in the matter being discussed".
As to substance, the text contained in document C 91/LIM/30 would not, in the United States' view, constitute an acceptable basis for adoption of an amendment on this issue. Specifically, as suggested by the representatives of Zambia and Japan, the text requires clarification concerning what is meant by transfer of competence. The United States therefore believes it is essential that any amendment of Article II.3 include the following language
in the text or any commentary. "The transfer of competence to REIO on a particular matter means that the REIO's members may no longer exercise competence with respect to that matter". We could not agree to any text if this concept were not made clear in the text or at least in the commentary.
Second, it must be clear in the text that it is a requirement of membership that the REIO's competence includes the competence to enter into treaties as well as to take other decisions binding on its member states in respect of matters within FAO's purview. We believe this requirement is necessary for two reasons. First, to undertake the obligations of membership in the FAO is regarded by many nations as tantamount to undertaking the treaty obligation. Secondly, Article XIV of the Constitution envisages a situation where member organizations will be allowed to enter into treaties and agreements approved and submitted by the Conference. It would therefore be logical for the eligibility requirements to specify the competence to enter treaties.
A number of multilateral agreements to which REIOs made here have already addressed this problem and incorporated the competence to enter into treaties as eligibly a requirement. These agreements include the 1989 Treaty on Intellectual Property in respect of integrated circuits, the 1991 ECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a trans-boundary context, the 1979 ECE Convention on Long-Range Trans-Boundary Air Pollution, and the Law of the Sea Convention. The United States therefore believes it is essential for Article II.3 to include wording that the competence transferred "include the competence to enter into treaties and to make other decisions binding on its member states in respect of those matters".
We would also like to support the comments by the representative of Japan concerning the insertion of the words: "within the limit of their respective competence" in Article II.2 and clarification of speaking rights in Rule XLIV.
Like the representative of Japan, we would also like the opportunity to review the EC's letter of competence as soon as possible. On the basis of the membership criteria contained in the proposed text contained in document C 91/LIM/30, we would have to reconsider our position on the amendments generally. At the very least the United States could not support the view that a REIO join the FAO as a "Member" as opposed to "Member Organization".
As to how to proceed, I would like to support the suggestion by the Representative of Pakistan that you, Mr Chairman, convene a group of interested delegations, perhaps from individual regions, to discuss what changes could be made to the text such that it would receive the support of all delegations. Thank you Mr Chairman.
Mme Maria De Lourdes MARTINS DUARTE (Cap-Vert): M. le Président, tout d'abord nos félicitations et réjouissances de vous voir présider notre commission.
Le Cap-Vert, en tant que co-auteur du texte proposé sous le code C 91/LIM/30, tient une fois encore à souligner le remarquable travail du Comité présidé par l'Ambassadeur Bula Hoyos, et propose que le texte des amendements soit soumis à la Plénière pour approbation.
Earl W. WEYBRECHT (Canada): Mr Chairman, my delegation would like to join others in congratulating you on your election to the position of Chairman of this Commission and to members of your Bureau. My remarks will be very general at this point.
Mr Chairman, my delegation wishes to acknowledge the substantial progress that has been achieved to date in paving the way for the admission of regional economic integration organizations in FAO: The object of achieving an amendment to the Basic Texts to enable the EEC to join the Organization is one that we fully support.
We wish to express our appreciation as well to those who have worked so intensively on this exercise over the past few weeks, including members of the Working Group under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Bula Hoyos.
My delegation had contributed to the discussion on this issue in previous Council sessions, and we have followed closely the work of the Working Group. We note that there are a number of points where differing views still exist. It would be our hope, however, Mr Chairman, that since so much progress has been achieved to date, it will be possible to reach a full consensus on this important issue.
To avoid any possible confusion and to enable us to effectively plan our time it would be helpful, we believe, if you could set out quite clearly the process that we will need to follow in our deliberations on this issue, particularly once a resolution is introduced on this subject.
Sidaty AIDARA (Sénégal): Je voudrais avant tout m'acquitter d'un agréable devoir, celui de présenter, au nom du Gouvernement et du peuple sénégalais, les chaleureuses félicitations de ma délégation, à celle des Etats Baltes qui ont été admis comme membres à part entière de l'Organisation et à celle de Porto Rico bien sûr, admis à notre Organisation en qualité de membre associé.
La présence au sein de la FAO de ces nouveaux membres est une preuve éclatante de l'universalité de notre Organisation. Et je suis persuadé, que leur présence dans notre Organisation va permettre d'enrichir la réflexion au sein de cette Institution et nous permettre, en tant qu'Etats Membres, de bénéficier de leurs expériences respectives. Ceci étant dit, je voudrais dire que, s'agissant de la question qui nous occupe actuellement, il est important, comme l'a dit tout à l'heure le distingué représentant du Canada, que l'on définisse le processus sur la base duquel nous devons travailler pour mener à bien cette tâche importante que nous avons entreprise.
Ma position sur la liste des orateurs me permet de ne pas être très long. J'ai écouté une vingtaine de délégations. Ceci veut dire que le débat que nous avons eu a permis d'enrichir la réflexion que nous avons entamée sur cette question. Je crois que ceci est important.
L'initiative, comme je le rappelais ce matin, est partie il y a trois ans. Beaucoup de chemin a été parcouru. Beaucoup ont apporté leurs contributions à cet exercice. Et je crois que la Conférence, et notamment notre Commission, est tout indiquée pour les féliciter de ce travail.
Intervenant à ce stade du débat, je n'ai aucunement l'intention de répondre à un certain nombre de questions. Ceci appartient au Secrétariat. Il vous appartiendra à vous-même, M. le Président, de dégager les grandes lignes de notre débat. Mais je voudrais évoquer un certain nombre de questions.
Je crois qu'il est important de savoir que tout le monde est d'accord sur le fait que les organisations d'intégration économique régionale ne sont pas des Etats. La CEE, même si elle peut se prévaloir d'être un Etat en formation, ce que lui reconnaît d'ailleurs le droit international, ne peut en l'état actuel se considérer comme tel.
Donc nous sommes tous conscients qu'une OIER ne peut être un Etat. Et c'est la raison pour laquelle d'ailleurs, tant au niveau du Comité des questions constitutionnelles et juridiques que du Comité des Etats Membres chargés d'examiner les amendements au texte de base pour permettre l'adhésion des OIER, nous avons tenu à faire le distinguo entre OIER et Etats Membres sur le plan de la forme comme sur le plan du fond.
Sur le plan de la forme: Initialement, si mes souvenirs sont bons, l'amendement qui était proposé était un amendement unique, qui incluait l'admission autant des Etats Membres que des OIER, c'est-à-dire les organisations d'intégration économique régionale. La réflexion s'améliorant, les suggestions se faisant tant au niveau du CQCJ qu'au niveau des Etats Membres, l'on s'est rendu compte qu'il fallait dissocier les Etats Membres, et les OIER. C'est ainsi qu'il a été proposé deux amendements :
Un amendement qui concerne bien sûr l'admission des Etats en tant qu'Etats Membres, et l'admission des OIER en tant qu'organisations d'intégration économique régionale. Donc sur le plan déjà de la forme, il y a un distinguo net qui est opéré.
Sur le plan du fond, beaucoup de choses ont été dites ici que je n'ai pas besoin de rappeler. Je voudrais tout simplement insister sur le caractère sui generis de l'Organisation d'intégration économique régionale. En aucune manière, cette organisation ne peut être considérée comme un Etat. Et d'ailleurs, elle ne peut agir comme tel. L'OIER, certes, a ses compétences qui lui seront déléguées. Elle agira dans le cadre de ses fonctions. Nous ne pouvons pas comparer l'Etat Membre avec l'OIER. L'Etat Membre peut à tout moment voter sur tout ce qui concerne la vie de l'Organisation. Ce n'est pas le cas de l'OIER. L'Etat Membre peut à tout moment participer à tout débat au sein de l'Organisation. Ce n'est pas le cas de l'OIER.
Ne serait-ce que pour citer ces deux cas, je pense qu'il est honnête de dire que, même s'il y a une dose d'assimilation, l'OIER n'est pas un Etat Membre. Donc, le fait de dire que cette OIER-là est admise en tant qu'organisation membre, ou que cette OIER est admise en tant que membre, pour moi revient au même. C'est, comme j'ai l'habitude de le dire, le discours de la bouteille à moitié vide ou à moitié pleine.
Ce qui m'importe, ce n'est pas la bouteille. Ce qui m'importe, c'est le contenu de la bouteille. Donc le caractère sui generis, la qualité de membre d'une organisation, ne peut être jugé que par les fonctions que cette OIER exerce. Ceci me semble fondamental.
Je voudrais insister sur un deuxième point: l'exercice alternatif des droits attachés à la qualité de membre. Ceci est clairement défini dans les amendements qui sont proposés. Je crois que ceci est également important, cette notion d'alternance de l'exercice des droits qui sont attachés à la qualité de membre de l'OIER.
On nous a dit qu'il était important de reprendre le processus pour intégrer un certain nombre de réflexions qui ont été menées ici. Je pense qu'il est important que nous fixions les formes et les limites de cet exercice.
Nous avons entrepris déjà une grande tâche à tous les niveaux, au niveau institutionnel de la FAO, au niveau des Etats Membres, au niveau de consultations sous-régionales et régionales. Je pense que reprendre cet exercice depuis le début ne serait pas non seulement opérationnel, mais serait contre-productif.
L'Ambassadeur de Colombie, ce matin, nous a fait une bonne suggestion.
Le Sénégal, comme vous le savez, est co-auteur de cette proposition soumise à la Conférence. Mais nous sommes ouverts à toute forme d'amélioration qui puisse permettre de rallier un plus large consensus. Ne l'oublions pas, nous avons travaillé dans cet esprit depuis le début. Les avis étaient très partagés, et c'est normal. C'est normal que les avis soient partagés, parce que c'est la première fois dans l'histoire des institutions spécialisées du système des Nations Unies qu'une OIER demande à être membre d'une institution spécialisée. C'est tout à fait normal, et je crois que nous devons nous en féliciter. Nous devons nous féliciter de faire oeuvre de pionniers dans cet exercice car demain, que ce soit la CEE, que ce soient les autres organisations d'intégration économique régionale, celles-ci vont certainement élargir la réflexion au niveau d'autres institutions spécialisées. Ce qu'il nous appartient de faire ici, c'est de tracer un canevas, des garde-fous, pour éviter les extrêmes, de quelque bord que ces extrêmes se trouvent d'ailleurs. Et je pense que ceci est extrêmement important.
M. le Président, je ne voudrais pas prolonger ce débat. Nous avons eu, je pense, un échange très fructueux de points de vue de tous les côtés.
La délégation sénégalaise, en ce qui la concerne en tout cas, est prête à participer à toute forme de consultation pour aboutir à un consensus constructif. Et j'insiste sur l'adjectif constructif. Je pense que nous devons aller de l'avant. Nous ne pouvons plus revenir en arrière. Je pense que le problème est arrivé à un moment où il appartient à la Conférence générale de prendre une décision, et la bonne décision. Et c'est nous, Etats Membres, qui devons placer la FAO, notre organisation, en mesure et dans la situation de prendre la bonne décision. Voilà ce que je tenais à dire à ce stade de nos débats. Encore une fois, ma délégation est ouverte à toute suggestion qui puisse permettre de réaliser un consensus. Il vous appartiendra bien sûr de dégager les nouvelles étapes sur la base desquelles nous devons travailler pour arriver à ce consensus. En tout cas, pour notre part, encore un fois, nous sommes prêts à participer, à
coopérer, à collaborer dans un esprit constructif pour l'aboutissement heureux de cette initiative, de cet exercice, qu'ensemble nous avons entrepris.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchísimas gracias Embajador de Senegal por sus afectuosas palabras a la Presidencia y su muy importante declaración, especialmente recordando que Ud. ha sido un miembro destacado del Comité de las ORIE y es un miembro destacado del CACJ.
Raphaël RABE (Madagascar): M. le Président, la délégation malgache voudrait, elle aussi, vous féliciter pour votre brillante élection à la présidence de cette importante Commission. Nous vous assurons de notre entière collaboration.
Nous aussi, M. le Président, nous voudrions souhaiter la bienvenue aux Etats Baltes, et à Porto Rico.
Mon intervention sera très brève car, comme vous le savez, M. le Président, Madagascar a participé à tous les travaux ayant conduit à l'élaboration des documents qui nous sont soumis et que, bien entendu, nous appuyons étant donné que nous sommes co-auteurs.
Nous appuyons, bien entendu, très chaleureusement, les déclarations des délégations de Colombie, du Cameroun, du Cap-Vert, et tout récemment du Sénégal.
M. le Président, nous ne manquons pas de manifester notre reconnaissance à Son Excellence l'Ambassadeur Bula Hoyos pour les efforts inlassables qu'il a déployés pour parvenir au résultat actuel qui, à notre sens, devrait faciliter grandement la réalisation du consensus. Bien entendu, nous étendons cette reconnaissance au Conseiller juridique, M. Moore, et à tous ceux qui ont oeuvré pour permettre la saisine de la Conférence.
Enfin, M. le Président, nous sommes toujours disposés à nous employer autant que possible pour que cette vingt-sixième session de la Conférence finalise la procédure d'adhésion de la Communauté économique européenne à la FAO, en qualité de membre, telle qu'elle est formulée dans le document C 91/LIM/30. Je vous remercie.
Sra. Mayra IVANKOVICH ANZOLA (Panamá): Muchas gracias señor Presidente. Sean mis primeras palabras para felicitarle, en nombre de la delegación de Panamá, por su elección como Presidente de esta Comisión. Como distinguido miembro del Grupo Latinoamericano y del Caribe, conocemos su condición y capacidad jurídica que nos llevará a una conclusión atinada de este complejo tema. Le ruego que, por su intermedio, dé la bienvenida de parte de nuestra delegación a las tres Repúblicas Bálticas y a Puerto Rico como miembro asociado, otro hermano latinoamericano que nos acompaña.
Señor Presidente, a la delegación de Panamá le interesan de particular manera todas las acciones tendientes a reforzar esta Organización, y es precisamente en esta óptica que pensamos que cualquier iniciativa que se adelante en ese sentido debe tomar en consideración no sólo el presente sino el futuro de la Organización y las implicaciones jurídicas que para
ella tiene en el futuro. Mi pais, Panamá, no es miembro del Consejo, no ha formado parte de los comités que se han formado para analizar este complejo tema como es el ingreso de las ORIE a la FAO. Sin embargo, he venido siguiendo con interés el desarrollo de cada uno de los debates que se han suscitado en el Consejo, y con relación al informe del CACJ, después de cada una de estas reuniones, mi delegación ha informado a nuestra cancillería sobre los progresos logrados.
Mi delegación considera, señor Presidente, que a lo largo del tiempo y de los debates el tema del ingreso de las ORIE a la Organización ha sido paralelo al ingreso de la CEE a la FAO, y esto ha sido a nuestro juicio un gran error debido a que no hemos logrado serenamente introducir cambios en los Textos Fundamentales de la Organización que se refieran solamente a las ORIE, a las ORIE por ellas mismas, tomando en consideración su estatus, competencia, etc., cambios que se pueden referir en el futuro a cualquier otra ORIE de Africa, de Asia, de América Latina.
Pero dejando estas consideraciones a un lado, quiero informarle, señor Presidente, que lo importante y fundamental para nuestra delegación es establecer cómo deben entrar las ORIE a la FAO, con qué estatus y con qué competencias y posteriormente ver las solicitudes a la Organización. Después de haberle dicho estas palabras, señor Presidente, quiero manifestarle que el Gobierno de Panamá no se opone en ningún momento al ingreso de la CEE a la FAO, pero consideramos que antes se deben disipar ciertas dudas que todavía hay en ciertas delegaciones.
Parviz KARBASI (Iran, Islamic Republic of): In the name of God, on behalf of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I would like to welcome the new Member States to the FAO family, and congratulate you, Mr Chairman, on your election.
I have said before that in FAO we have enough rights of voting and right of voice. What is needed is the assistance of this Organization in order to eliminate hunger and malnutrition through technical assistance, and more production. We have been looking back to the cooperation of the EEC and FAO. When we look back, we can see comparatively many positive points. This is very important if we look at how this Organization is running, and how much assistance is coming from the different sectors of this Organization. So in this respect, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no objection to the admission of the EEC to FAO. We hope we will witness closer cooperation and assistance from the EEC and FAO.
The Islamic Republic of Iran agrees with document C 91/LIM/30, and agrees with the suggestion made by the delegate of Pakistan to look into this in more detail in order to reach consensus.
Mahmoud Ahmed Samir SAMY (Egypt) (Original language Arabic): Mr Chairman, allow me to begin by joining the ranks of all delegates who congratulated you on your election to chair the work of this Commission. We are convinced that under your helmsmanship our work will be crowned with success. Allow me also to welcome the four new Member States in FAO.
Now, as regards the item at present before us, I would like to stress the fact that my country wholeheartedly welcomes the admission of the EEC to FAO. That, in fact, is a reflection of the statement we made during the Ninety-ninth Session of Council. Because of the importance of this subject, my Government wished to participate very closely in the examination of the subject. That is why we were one of the members of the Committee that examined the subject of regional economic integrated organizations, REIOC.
As regards the work done so far on this subject, I think the discussions were useful and fruitful. We need to safeguard and preserve what we have acquired. We have managed to produce a Single Text which is at present before us. This will in itself represent an excellent result, and we have every reason to congratulate ourselves, and we should like to thank Mr Bula Hoyos for his great contribution to this.
I beg the Commission to focus on document C 91/LIM/30. I would not like to see us opening a general debate and going back in time. We do not want to go back to the various alternatives proposed at the outset.
I should also like to tell you that as things are at present in this debate, we are convinced that document C 91/LIM/30 will provide us with an excellent basis for negotiation. It is something we should scrutinize carefully. A far-reaching examination of C 91/LIM/30 I am sure will enable us to reach a consensus. Of course, we have remarks to make, but we will reserve the right to make these when we go into detail on the various proposals.
Samir ABU-JAWDEH (Liban) (Langue originale arabe): Permettez-moi tout d'abord, M. le Président, de vous féliciter à l'occasion de votre élection pour présider aux travaux de cette Commission, dans une période qui peut constituer un tournant décisif dans l'histoire de la FAO.
Il y a toujours des préoccupations quand il s'agit d'amender l'acte constitutif et ce n'importe où dans le monde. Les avis sont divers et divergeants. Il y a une préoccupation pour l'avenir et un attachement au présent; il y a des analyses objectives et d'autres qui ont des significations différentes.
C'est la raison pour laquelle nous avons écouté différent avis, certains sont préoccupés de l'avenir de la FAO, d'autres sont en faveur des amendements, l'objectif de tous étant bien entendu de servir l'organisation. Nous sommes persuadés que les amendements proposés a l'Acte constitutif quand ils visent à servir un groupe de pays avec tout ce qui cela comporte comme avantages futurs pour la FAO ne doivent pas nous amener à nous préoccuper, surtout que ces amendements proposés ont été longuement examinés par des gens compétents et jaloux de l'intérêt de la FAO.
C'est la raison pour laquelle nous voulons joindre notre voix à la Colombie, à Chypre, à l'Algérie, à tous ceux qui ont appuyé ces amendements.
Quant à la proposition de créer un Comité restreint pour examiner les points de divergences nous ne pensons pas que ce soit utile parce que cette question a été longuement débattue et surtout parce que il n'y a pas de
divergence sur le principe. Il reste seulement des points qui doivent être éclaircis, c'est le droit de ceux qui les demandent.
C'est la raison pour laquelle nous pensons que le CQCJ qui connaît parfaitement les tenants et les aboutissants de cette question pourrait expliciter ces zones d'ombres et inclure ces explications comme note de bas de page à ces amendements.
Ahmed Tidjane KANE (Guinée): La délégation guinéenne voudrait à son tour joindre sa voix à celles qui l'ont précédée pour vous féliciter à l'occasion de votre brillante élection à la présidence de notre Commission.
Elle voudrait également adresser ses souhaits de bienvenue et ses vives félicitations aux nouveaux membres et membres associés de notre Organisation.
La question soumise à notre appréciation, à savoir l'admission en qualité de Membres de la FAO des organisations d'intégration économique régionale, revêt pour nous une très grande importance. Ma délégation entretient de très bonne relations de coopération avec la CEE, c'est dire qu'elle ne formule aucune objection à l'admission de cette organisation régionale au sein de la FAO.
Toutefois la délégation guinéenne reste convaincue de la nécessité d'examiner cette question sous l'angle plus large de l'admission des OIER en général ce qui, bien sûr, suppose une démarche prudente devant se traduire par une révision des Textes fondamentaux de notre Organisation.
A ce titre la délégation guinéenne soutient les propositions contenues dans le document C 91/LIM/30, brillamment présenté par le distingué représentant de la Colombie, document qui, à notre avis, doit être soumis à la Plénière sans aucune modification.
Enfin ma délégation souhaite vivement que le point soumis à examen ne constitue pas un recul par rapport aux recommandations et conclusions auxquelles ont abouti le Conseil et le CQCJ.
Rashid Mohammed ABBAS (Iraq) (Original language Arabic): I should like to begin by expressing my delight at working under your Chairmanship. I should also like to welcome the three Baltic States which have joined FAO and Puerto Rico, the Associate Member of FAO.
I do not know why we are having such a lengthy debate on a subject which could have been accepted straight away without much change of the Constitution. As a matter of fact, the activities of this Organization in agriculture include rural development, animal husbandry, improving the living conditions of various social groups and so on. In other words, our Organization has a leading role in many aspects relating to the destiny of mankind. That is why I think that this young Organization one day or another will play a role which will be of similar importance to that of the Organization of the United Nations itself and will have in its midst some regional organizations as "Members", different from what is known as "Member States". That is why I see no reason for continuing this lengthy debate and trying to find different solutions. All we need is to draft a
new Article II.2(bis), concerning the admission of REIOs dealing with food, agriculture, rural development, land and water development in accordance with document C 91/LIM/30.
Peter Robert BENNETT (New Zealand): May I join other delegates in congratulating you on your election to your position. You have a brilliant career in FAO, and that experience, that brilliance is already showing in your handling of this Commission. I would also like to welcome to membership of the Organization, since this is the first time that I am speaking, the three new members of FAO, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, and Puerto Rico as Associate Member. Coming from a fairly small country, we welcome very much other small countries to this body.
I will be very brief. New Zealand looks forward to and welcomes the membership of the European Economic Community to FAO. We would have been very happy to have accepted their entry on the basis of the compromise text in C 91/LIM/30. A great deal of time and work have been put in to reach this consensus. That said, we do acknowledge that there are, among some delegations, some fairly deep-rooted reservations. It does seem to us that it is vital for the future of FAO and for those regional economic integration organizations that do join FAO that they do so on the basis of clarity and on the basis of a full consensus. We look forward, therefore, to your suggestions on how we might reach that consensus. New Zealand thinks, nonetheless, that it is most important that we do reach that consensus in this Conference, that the matter not be put off until any future time. That I think is very important.
Pavel GRECU (Romania) : It is the pleasure of my delegation to convey to you its warmest congratulations on your election to the High Office of Chairman of our Committee. At the same time, my delegation congratulates and welcomes the three countries newly admitted to the FAO, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Associate Member, Puerto Rico.
Now passing to the issue under consideration, and in order to save time, and without going so into detail, I would like to voice my delegation's support for the admission of the EEC to the membership of FAO. We are confident that once admitted the European Community will play an important role in the work of the Organization.
EL PRESIDENTE: Señores delegados, en este momento no tengo más oradores en mi lista. Sin perjuicio de si alguna delegación deseara hacer uso de la palabra posteriormente, a objeto de avanzar en nuestras deliberaciones, rogaria al distinguido Asesor Legal, que nos informe sobre aquellas materias que han quedado en la mente de ustedes, en las preguntas que han propuesto algunas delegaciones.
Tiene la palabra el distinguido Consejero Legal, Dr. Moore.
LEGAL COUNSEL: I would like to try to respond first of all to some of the points which have been made in this very interesting debate and try to answer and clarify, I hope, some of the doubts still remaining in a few delegates' minds. Then I would like to go on to the process because I think
this is one of the things that everybody has been asking. Where do we go from here? Exactly what is required of this Commission? What are the stages that you would have to go through? If I can start, then, first, by trying to answer some of the questions. First of all, a number of distinguished delegates have raised questions about the form of membership for regional economic integration organizations. I think a number have said, "Is it the same as that of Member Nations, or is it different?" I think really we have tried to be very clear on this. The form of membership one is suggesting for regional economic integration organizations is sui generis. It is different. It is different from the form of membership for Member Nations. I think the distinguished delegate of Senegal said it very clearly when he said to look at how it is spelt out in the basic text, all the differences. It is a sui generis form of membership which has been devised in order to deal with the very real situations where you have regional economic integration organizations to which competence, including powers to take decisions, have been transferred in certain areas, so it has to be a very different form of membership. It is sui generis, and all of the attributes of that membership are spelt out in the basic text, in the amendments which are being proposed to you today. So that is the first thing. I do not think it is really a good idea to get held up on one word - member organization -or anything. I think we are talking about a form of membership, fine. But it is a sui generis form of membership. And I think throughout our negotiations, we keep on getting hung up on particular words. Basically, words mean what you want them to mean, and basically we have got all of the facts down here in the amendments, which says exactly what it means. That is what the important thing is. I just want to make that very, very clear, so that there is no doubt.
The second point regards the eligibility criteria. A lot of people have said we are dealing with just the EEC. No, we are not dealing with just the EEC. I do not think we have ever been dealing with just the EEC. Right from the beginning, we have been asked to devise a form of membership for all regional economic integration organizations, and that is what we have been trying to do throughout this process, which has been a long process over the last two years. We have been trying to devise a status which is applicable to all regional economic integration organizations. But regional economic integration organizations have to meet certain criteria, of course, because we do not get into a situation of needing to consider a form of membership until we get into a situation where regional economic integration organizations have reached a certain stage where, in fact, powers have been transferred from the Member States to those regional economic integration organizations, powers to take binding decisions. This is really the situation. Then we are talking about all regional economic integration organizations that meet those criteria. There are developments in all parts of the world, and I think serious regional economic integration organizations are developing, that eventually will be meeting those criteria. But the question is, we are talking about participation in a decision-making process, so who should participate in the decision-making process? And really, it is only those Organizations that have the power to take decisions who can really participate in the decision-making process.
Questions also have been raised about the form of speaking rights that had been devised in this long process of negotiation, where a single agenda item may cover some items within the competence of a member organization and other matters within the competence of the member states. And the point is being raised - "is the system that we have proposed which says in that
instance both the member organization and its member states may speak, but only one may speak authoritatively?" - and the question is being raised, is this a good example of the alternative exercise of membership rights.
We in our long negotiations felt it was a suitable compromise because the member organizations and their member states would have to choose who is going to be speaking authoritatively on this particular subject. I think this is something where we spent a long time, almost two years, working over this particular wording and we came to this compromise. And it seems to us that is something that is a clear example of the alternative of membership rights. Only one speaks authoritatively, the other one speaks without the authority of the one that has the voting rights.
Other points were raised by a number of delegates including why certain words were dropped out as we were developing, negotiating this particular compromise. All I can say is that it is such a long process that we have been going over for the last two years, concepts have been developing throughout, certain words have been dropped if they are found to be immaterial or misleading, and really I would ask you to bear with us because we really have been trying to develop the text as time has passed. And I think we have all of us gained a greater understanding of the concepts we have been dealing with.
I would like to now turn to the process that faces the Commission at the moment. It seems that there are three real things that need to be done by the Commission. First of all, there is, if you like, almost a clearing up, a housekeeping operation that we have in front of us, because certain amendments were submitted by the Council at its session last June to this Conference, to this Commission. Since then the Council has asked for further negotiations to take place in order to try to reach agreement on the compromise text.
We have a compromise text and that was submitted in the proposal submitted by Ambassador Bula Hoyos. I think one of the things, perhaps one of the first things that the Commission has to do, is to clear its decks, as it were, and to say, let's get out of this time warp with having the old amendments which were presented in June, and let's bring it up to date by adopting, perhaps, the proposal of Ambassador Bula Hoyos either now or later in order to ensure that we are dealing with a single compromise text, a compromise text that has come out of the Council last week. And then it is a matter of what changes need to be made to that compromise text. So that is one of the first things to do. And this as I understand is why the proposal to amend the amendments submitted by the Council in June has been put forward, to clear the decks and to make sure that we are dealing with a single compromise text that represents the degree of agreement we have already reached in our negotiations.
The second task I think that the Commission maybe needs to do is to go through the compromise text as it were article by article and see if everybody agrees with the individual paragraphs and provisions as set out in the proposed amendment.
And the third task is to prepare and submit a resolution to the Plenary of this Conference to say, these are the suggestions of the Commission with respect to the actual amendments proposed to the Basic Texts of the Organization. I would make one further point. Yes, the whole question of
EEC admission comes later. Once we have adopted an amendment to the Basic Texts, which deals with regional economic integration organizations and once they have applied for admission to the organization then we face the question of, do we wish to admit, do you wish to admit, the EEC as the first of the regional economic integration organizations that may be eligible to apply for membership.
Thank you Mr Chairman.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchísimas gracias, Dr. Moore, muy importante su clarificación, tanto desde el punto de vista del fondo de las materias que estamos discutiendo, como desde el punto de vista de las posibilidades procesales que tenemos en nuestras manos para continuar nuestros debates.
Antes de avanzar sobre estos puntos, agradeciéndole una vez más, quisiera otorgar la palabra al distinguido Embajador Sr. Bula Hoyos, de Colombia.
Gonzalo BULA HOYOS (COLOMBIA): Señor Presidente, habíamos anticipado esta mañana que a la luz del resultado del debate sobre este tema, teníamos el propósito de presentar un Proyecto de Resolución.
Ahora al final de esta tarde, de este día intenso, creemos que la manera como se ha celebrado el debate justifica plenamente el cumplimiento de ese propósito.
Presentaremos un Proyecto de Resolución, oportunamente suministraremos a la Secretaría, la lista de los países copatrocinadores que serán más o menos los mismos del documento C 91/LIM/30 con otros países que posteriormente han adherido y, desde luego, ese proyecto de resoluciones está abierto a todos los colegas y amigos que quieran igualmente suscribirlo.
Entendemos que una vez que la Secretaría reciba ese Proyecto de Resolución, lo transmitirá al Comité de Resoluciones.
Esperamos que el informe del Comité de Resoluciones será distribuido cuanto antes y que se tomarán las medidas adecuadas para elaborar el proyecto de informe que ojalá sea distribuido con la mayor anticipación posible para que los representantes de todos los gobiernos puedan conocerlo en oportunidad, estudiarlo y si es posible consultar a sus países.
Reiteramos la propuesta provisional de esta mañana, en el sentido de que a fin de atender las solicitudes justas de aquellos colegas que dicen necesitar aún más tiempo, que esa parte de nuestro proyecto de informe sobre este tema 24 sea discutido solamente el día viernes, señor Presidente, en la mañana o en la tarde, eso lo veremos más adelante.
Sólo un miembro del Comité General y sabemos que cuando ese Comité recomendó a la Conferencia anticipar el comienzo de los trabajos de esta Comisión III para tratar el tema 24, el Comité General sabiamente previó que oportunamente haría nuevas recomendaciones a la Conferencia, sobre el calendario global de esta Conferencia si fuera el caso, es así como yo confío en que el Comité General en su reunión que tendrá mañana por la mañana, procederá a recomendar a la Conferencia el cambio necesario para que se cumpla la propuesta que ahora reiteramos, porque todos sabemos que
hay tres reuniones en curso y que la Comisión I está esperando iniciar sus trabajos.
Señor Presidente, los representantes de Colombia estamos plenamente de acuerdo con los tres puntos que ha planteado el Dr. Moore, nuestro Consejero Legal, y para cumplir todo ello hemos anunciado ya el tercero, o sea la presentación del Proyecto de Resolución.
Pensamos, señor Presidente, que de esta manera estamos procediendo con la seriedad, la cautela y la prudencia que compartimos. En relación con la manera como deba seguirse tratando este asunto, entre las delegaciones, somos escépticos como lo han dicho particularmente los colegas de Egipto y Libano, sobre la conveniencia y la utilidad de crear otro grupo de trabajo en el seno del cual, seguramente, podría reabrirse el debate sobre algunos puntos para llegar a los cuales hemos ya celebrado tantas reuniones y tenido tantos contactos, señor Presidente. Sin embargo, pensamos que respecto a esta manera de proceder, la Comisión debe confiar a usted plenamente la decisión que deba tomar dirigida como lo han dicho particularmente Canadá, Senegal y Nueva Zelandia a que este asunto sea decidido por consenso. Gracias.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchísimas gracias distinguido Embajador de Colombia. De sus palabras recojo algo que me ha llamado poderosamente la atención por su claridad.
La Comisión ha trabajado, como lo sabemos, de manera sumamente delicada en este tema, y no ha sido el único organismo.
La FAO en sus diversos órganos, se ha venido preocupando con gran dedicación en el Comité de las ORIE, en el CACJ, en el Consejo, en reuniones pasadas y en innumerables contactos de negociación.
Las explicaciones del Dr. Moore, han servido para clarificar de manera precisa aquellos alcances que tal vez pudieran estar todavía no suficientemente aclarados.
La profundidad de las declaraciones que hemos escuchado hoy día, nos permiten asegurar que es un tema que está cabalmente comprendido en todas sus implicancias por los distintos países.
De esta manera, sin por ello negar la posibilidad como Presidente de esta Comisión, de estar abierto a toda sugerencia, me inclino en poner a consideración de ustedes: primero, suspender los debates y conversaciones que se tienen bajo la guía de la Presidencia, salvo que se acuerde lo contrario en vista del avance que se ha logrado en las distintas negociaciones; segundo, tomar como base de discusión, el Proyecto de Resolución que oportunamente conoceremos una vez que el Comité de Resoluciones lo ponga en conocimiento de la Comisión. Por qué, porque tenemos absoluta confianza que en ese proyecto estarán reflejados cabalmente todos los avances que en las distintas etapas de discusión del tema se han podido alcanzar; tercero, discutir esas bases y todas las otras que la Comisión decida el día viernes en alguna sesión de la mañana o la tarde que la Secretaría asegure su posibilidad de realización. Someto estas ideas generales a Uds., señores delegados, al objeto de permitir que éste
muy importante tema sea efectivamente avanzado de la manera que hemos propuesto. Tiene la palabra la distinguida delegada de Argentina.
Sra. Mónica DEREGIBUS (Argentina): Mi delegación ha escuchado hace un momento que Ud. dijo que se suspende el debate atento al estado de avance en las negociaciones. Yo quisiera saber, señor Presidente, si esto es una suspensión o una clausura del debate, en primer lugar.
En segundo lugar, señor Presidente, quisiera saber cuándo podremos reanudar el debate y si eventualmente podremos hacer uso de la palabra sobre este tema. O sea, cuándo se va a reunir la Comisión para considerar este debate.
EL PRESIDENTE: No hablé de suspensión del debate, dije, tal vez expresándome no en la forma precisa, que la idea era no continuar negociaciones informales con grupos de contacto bajo la Presidencia a menos que la Comisión así lo decidiera. Eso significa que confiamos en poder discutir este tema, naturalmente con una lista de oradores que no he cerrado, y que continuará en su momento cuando la Secretaria disponga que podemos reunimos el dia viernes de acuerdo al punto 3 de mi propuesta. Lo que si es conveniente que quede claro es que, desde el punto de vista de la Presidencia, el avance de los temas es tal y la profundidad de sus discusiones ha sido tal que no parece conveniente continuar los contactos y negociaciones informales a menos que la Comisión decidiera lo contrario. El Embajador de Colombia tiene la palabra.
Gonzalo BULA HOYOS (Colombia): Creemos que las observaciones de la distinguida colega Mónica Deregibus de Argentina son sensatas, están plenamente fundadas y que todos debemos tener ocasión de volver sobre esta discusión. Por ello, creo que la Comisión ha estado de acuerdo en los tres puntos sugeridos por el Dr. Moore, el último de los cuales dice que "se discutirá el texto articulo por artículo". Entonces todos tendremos ocasión de pronunciarnos.
EL PRESIDENTE: Justamente dependiendo de si el asentimiento de la Sala asi lo manifestaba, la discusión en su oportunidad que tendremos el dia viernes se hará sobre esas bases de artículo por artículo. Por supuesto, en su oportunidad en ese proyecto al ir discutiendo artículo por artículo, podremos ir viendo cómo avanzamos en ese texto.
Señores delegados, gracias por su comprensión y por su apoyo. Deseo simplemente convocarles para el día viernes a la reunión de nuestra Comisión en el horario y lugar que la Secretaría comunicará oportunamente. Se levanta la sesión. Un momento por favor. Tiene la palabra el señor Secretario de la Comisión.
Richard STEIN (Secrétaire de la Commission III): J'interviens pour vous dire juste deux choses que l'on m'a prié de vous exposer. Tout d'abord, il s'agit du document C 91/LIM/30: une petite erreur s'est glissée tout au début du texte dans l’enumeration des pays pour des délégations ayant soumis la proposition: Il s'agit d'une erreur du Secrétariat. Nous vous prions donc de bien vouloir nous excuser. Il faut biffer le nom de la
Belgique qui ne devrait pas être parmi les délégations. C'est une erreur matérielle qui n'implique pas plus que cela.
Par ailleurs, il m'est demandé de vous rappeler ce à quoi il est fait référence dans le document diffusé ce matin et qui s'appelle "le journal de la Conférence", page 7 de la version francaise: il s'agit de l'audience du Pape qui est prévue pour après-demain, jeudi 14 novembre. Ceux qui souhaiteraient y assister peuvent en faire la demande comme cela est indiqué dans le document que vous pouvez lire à votre aise. Je vous rappelle simplement que les délégués observateurs qui souhaitent assister à cette audience sont priés de bien vouloir remplir l'un des cartons spéciaux qui ont été distribués aux délégations au bureau des documents et de le rendre le plus rapidement possible. La date précisée ici est celle d'aujourd'hui parce qu'il faut un certain temps pour établir les invitations formelles, etc.
Vous pouvez donc relire cela dans le bulletin mais j'insiste sur la nécessité de remettre ces cartons pour ceux qui veulent assister à l’audience.
Je vous remercie.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias por sus precisiones al distinguido Secretario de la Comisión.
The meeting rose at 17.15 hours.
La séance est levée à 17 h 15.
Se levanta la sesión a las 17.15 horas.
