I. BACKGROUND

1. With a view to defining a common strategy against desert locust, the FAO Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC), at its Thirty-third Session held in Rome from 16 to 20 January 1995, recommended that a meeting be organized by FAO to gather the locust-affected countries of the North West Africa Region and those countries of Western Africa. At its Twenty-ninth Session held in November 1997, the FAO Conference recommended that "locust-affected countries re-evaluate existing regional locust control structures in order to achieve an appropriate and efficient geographic coverage taking into account the effectiveness of these structures, and to establish a realistic financial provision that would assist affected member Nations to take common action".

2. As a result of these recommendations FAO invited the nine countries concerned (i.e. Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia) as well as the secretariats of the two regional organizations concerned, the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in North West Africa (DLCCNWA) and the "Organisation Commune de Lutte Antiacridienne et Antiaviaire" (OCLALAV) to participate in two meetings on the common strategy and the restructuring of the desert locust control organizations in the Western Region. The meetings were held in Rome on 22-24 February 1999 and on 21-22 May 1999, respectively. The participants at the meetings unanimously agreed that a new common regional cooperation body involving the nine countries concerned with desert locust control in the Western Region should be established within the FAO framework, under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution. It was also agreed that a ministerial meeting should be held on the matter on the occasion of the next FAO Conference. The ministerial meeting on the restructuring of the responsible organizations for controlling the desert locust in Western and North West Africa, held in Rome on 15 November 1999, confirmed that a new organization, common to the two regions, should be established under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution and asked the Director General of FAO to convene, in accordance with Article XIV.3 (a) of the FAO Constitution, a Legal and Technical Consultation on a draft Agreement for the Establishment of a Desert Locust Control Commission for the Western Region.

3. The Legal and Technical Consultation on a Draft Agreement for the Establishment of a Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region was held in Rabat, Morocco, on 12-14 April 2000; it adopted the Draft Agreement for the Establishment of a Desert Locust Control Commission for the Western Region, the text of which is attached hereto as Appendix I.

II. Rule XXI of the General Rules of the Organization

4. The attention of the Committee is drawn to Rule XXI of the General Rules of the Organization which provides, inter alia, that:

"Rule XXI.1(a) To secure proper consultation pursuant to paragraph 6 of Article XIV of the Constitution, the Director-General shall notify Member Nations and Associate Members of any proposal for a convention, agreement, supplementary convention or agreement under Article XIV of the Constitution, not later than the time when he dispatches the agenda of the session of the Conference or Council at which the matter is to be considered. Such notification shall be accompanied by:

1. any reports on the matter by the Director-General, including a report on the technical, administrative and financial implications, if any, of such convention, agreement, supplementary convention or agreement; and
2. request for comments and information on the matter and for such representations as Member Nations or Associate Members may wish to make".

III. Report of the Director-General on the Administrative and Financial Implications of the Proposal

5. The report of the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications of the proposal to establish a Desert Locust Control Commission for the Western Region is set out in Appendix II, for the information of the Committee, and through it for the information of the Council in accordance with Financial Regulation XIII.

IV. Conclusions and suggested action by the Committee

6. It is proposed that the Committee confirm that the spirit of Rule XXI of the General Rules of the Organization has been respected as concerns the proposed draft Agreement.

7. The Committee is invited to review the draft Agreement, with a view to recommending its formal approval by the Council at its Hundred and Nineteenth Session in November 2000. Following such approval, the Agreement will be circulated to the FAO Members entitled to join the Commission, and will enter into force as from the date of deposit of the fifth instrument of accession.

APPENDIX I

DRAFT AGREEMENT

DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION FOR CONTROLLING THE DESERT LOCUST IN THE WESTERN REGION

PREAMBLE

The Contracting Parties

Recognizing the urgent need to prevent the damage that the desert locust can cause to overall agro-sylvo-pastoral production in many countries of West and North-West Africa;

Bearing in mind the socio-economic upheaval that can result from damage caused by the desert locust and the serious environmental harm that can be caused by operations to control this pest;

Considering the need to ensure very close collaboration for desert locust control in the western region, and between this region and the other invasion areas, in view of the extensive migratory range of the pest;

Taking note of the outstanding action conducted for many years by the Organisation Commune de Lutte Antiacridienne et Antiaviaire ('Joint Anti-Locust and Anti-Aviarian Organization') and, within the framework of FAO, by the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in North-West Africa (CCDLNWA);

Agree as follows:

ARTICLE I
Establishment of the Commission

The Contracting Parties hereby establish, within the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as "the Organization" or "FAO") and under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, a commission to be known as the "Desert Locust Control Commission for the Western Region" (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission" or the "DLCCWR").

ARTICLE II
Purpose of the Commission

The purpose of the Commission is to promote, at national, regional and international level, action, research and training to ensure the preventive control of and appropriate response to the invasions of the desert locust in the western region of its distribution area, encompassing West Africa and North-West Africa.

ARTICLE III
Definition of the Region

For the purposes of this Agreement, the western region of the invasion area of the desert locust (hereinafter "the Region") comprises Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia, countries in which gregarization areas exist or that are directly affected by all early upsurges.

ARTICLE IV
Seat of the Commission

1. The Commission shall decide the location of its seat. The agreement on the seat concluded between the Director-General of FAO and the government concerned shall be submitted to the Commission for approval.

2. In agreement with the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in North-West Africa and the Government of Algeria, the Commission shall benefit from the expertise and, as appropriate, the property and assets of the CCDLNWA.

ARTICLE V
Membership

1. The Members of the Commission shall be those Member Nations of the Organization that constitute the Region defined under Article III that accept this Agreement in accordance with the provisions of Article XVII below.

2. The Commission may, by a two-thirds majority of its Members, admit to membership such other Member Nation of the Organization or such other State belonging to the United Nations, to one of its Specialized Agencies or to the International Atomic Energy Agency that has submitted an application to this effect together with an instrument declaring acceptance of the Agreement as in force at the time of admission.

ARTICLE VI
Obligations of Member Nations regarding National Policies and Regional Cooperation for Control of the Desert Locust

1. Each Member Nation of the Commission undertakes to implement the preventive control strategy and to deal with plagues of the desert locust within its territory and thus to avoid or reduce agro-sylvo-pastoral damage to itself and to the other Nations in the invasion area, by adopting all necessary measures and enacting the following provisions:

1. participating in the implementation of any common policy of desert locust prevention and control previously approved by the Commission;
2. establishing a national body charged with the permanent monitoring and control of the desert locust and given maximum autonomy;
3. formulating, regularly updating and implementing, with its own resources or with the support of the Commission, contingency action plans corresponding to the different foreseeable locust situations, and making these available to the Commission and to any government concerned;
4. facilitating the free movement of desert locust monitoring and control teams of the other Member Nations within its own borders, in support of its own units and in accordance with procedures to be determined by the Commission;
5. procuring and maintaining intervention equipment and supplies for implementation of the plans of action envisaged in sub-paragraph (c);
6. facilitating the storage of all equipment and supplies for desert locust control belonging to the Commission and authorizing their duty-free import or export, and their free movement within the country;
7. encouraging and supporting, within the limits of available national resources, the activities advocated by the Commission with regard to training, survey and research, including the maintenance of national or regional stations for the study of the desert locust; stations that, in agreement with the Commission, shall be accessible to regional and international research teams.

2. Each Member Nation of the Commission undertakes to provide the other Members of the Commission and its Secretary and FAO, using standard procedures and the quickest channels, all information on the locust situation and on the progress of surveys and control operations on its respective territory.

3. The Member Nations undertake to provide the Commission with periodic reports on the measures they have taken to fulfil the obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2, and to provide the Commission with any information that it may request for the satisfactory performance of its functions.

ARTICLE VII
Functions of the Commission

The functions of the Commission shall be as follows:

1. Joint Action and Assistance

The Commission shall:

1. promote, in any manner that it considers appropriate, any national, regional or international action relating to the survey and control of the desert locust and to research activities to be conducted in the Region;
2. organize and promote joint action for the survey and control of the desert locust in the Region whenever this is deemed necessary and, to this end, arrange for the necessary resources to be made available;
3. determine, in consultation with the Members concerned, the nature and extent of the assistance they need to implement their national programmes and to support the regional programmes; more specifically, the Commission will help the Nations to formulate and implement contingency action plans;
4. assist, at the request of any Member facing a desert locust situation beyond the capacity of its control and survey services, in any measure jointly decided to be necessary;
5. maintain at strategic points determined by the Commission, in consultation with the Members concerned, reserves of equipment and supplies for desert locust control, to be used in cases of emergency and to serve in particular to supplement the resources of any Member.

2. Information and coordination

The Commission shall:

1. communicate regularly to all the Member Nations updated information on the development of locust situations, research conducted, results obtained and programmes implemented at national, regional and international level in connection with desert locust control. The Commission shall take special care to ensure that an effective communication network is established among the Member Nations, and with the International Desert Locust Information Service at FAO, in Rome, so that all parties may promptly receive any information requested;
2. support national locust research institutions and coordinate and develop research programmes in the Region;
3. encourage and coordinate joint survey programmes in the Region.

3. Cooperation

The Commission may:

1. enter into arrangements or agreements with Nations that are not Members of the Commission, with national institutions and with regional or international organizations that are directly concerned for common action in connection with the survey, research and control of locusts in the Region;
2. enter into or encourage arrangements, through the Director-General of the Organization, with other Specialized Agencies of the United Nations system for common action on the study of locusts and desert locust control and for the mutual exchange of locust-related information.

4. Functioning

La Commission shall:

1. adopt its own Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations, in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII(3) and (7), and any other standing regulations it considers necessary for the performance of its functions;
2. examine and approve the report of the Executive Committee on the activities of the Commission and adopt its programme of work and its autonomous budget, and the accounts of the previous financial period;
3. forward to the Director-General of the Organization (hereinafter "the Director-General") reports on its activities, programme, accounts and autonomous budget, and on any matter likely to require action on the part of the Council or Conference of FAO;
4. create any working groups it considers necessary for implementation of this Agreement.

ARTICLE VIII
Sessions of the Commission

1. Each Member shall be represented at the sessions of the Commission by a single delegate, who may be accompanied by an alternate, experts and advisers. The alternates, experts and advisers may take part in the proceedings of the Commission but may only vote if duly authorized by the delegate.

2. Each Member of the Commission shall have one vote. The decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast, except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement. A majority of the Members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

3. The Commission may, by a two-thirds majority of its Members, adopt and amend its own Rules of Procedure, which shall be consistent with this Agreement and with the FAO Constitution. The Rules of Procedure and any amendment thereto shall come into force upon their adoption by the Commission.

4. In accordance with the provisions of Article XIV (6) of this Agreement, any Member with arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Commission equal to or exceeding the amount of the contributions due from it for the two preceding financial years shall lose its right to vote.

5. The Commission shall elect, at the beginning of each regular session, a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson from amongst the delegates. The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall hold office until the beginning of the next regular session, and shall be eligible for re-election.

6. The Chairperson shall convene a regular session of the Commission every two years. Special sessions of the Commission may be convened by the Chairperson if so requested by the Commission in regular session, by the Executive Committee or by at least one third of the Members during intervals between two regular sessions.

7. The Commission may adopt and amend, by a two-thirds majority vote, its Financial Regulations which shall be consistent with the principles laid down in the Financial Regulations of FAO. The Financial Regulations and amendments thereto shall be communicated to the Finance Committee of the Organization which shall have the power to disallow them on the grounds of incompatibility with the principles set out in the Financial Regulations of FAO.

8. The Director-General, or a representative designated by the Director-General, shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Commission and the Executive Committee.

9. The Commission may invite consultants and experts to participate in its proceedings.

ARTICLE IX
Emergency Situations

When the situations referred to in Article VII(1)(d) and (e) require that urgent measures be taken during the interval between two sessions of the Commission, the Chairperson, upon the proposal of the Secretary, shall take the necessary measures, after consultation with the Members of the Commission by mail or any other rapid means of communication for a vote by correspondence.

ARTICLE X
Observers

1. The Member Nations and the Associate Members of the Organization that are not members of the Commission may, upon their request, be invited to be represented by an observer at the sessions of the Commission. The observer may present memoranda and participate, without the right to vote, in the proceedings of the Commission.

2. Nations which, without being Members of the Commission or Members or Associate Members of the Organization, are Members of the United Nations, of any of its Specialized Agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency may be invited to attend sessions of the Commission as observers, upon their request and subject to the concurrence of the Executive Committee and to the provisions relating to the granting of observer status to Nations adopted by the Conference of FAO.

3. The Commission may invite intergovernmental organizations and, at their request, non-governmental organizations with specific expertise in its area of activity to attend its sessions.

ARTICLE XI
Executive Committee

1. An Executive Committee shall be established comprising locust experts of five of the Member Nations of the Commission elected by the Commission according to modalities that it shall determine. The Executive Committee shall elect its Chairperson and its Vice-Chairperson from amongst its members. The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall hold office until the beginning of the regular session of the Committee subsequent to that during which they were elected. They shall be eligible for re-election.

2. The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice during the interval between two regular sessions of the Commission; one of these two sessions of the Executive Committee shall be held immediately prior to each regular session of the Commission. The Chairperson of the Executive Committee shall, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Commission, convene the sessions of the Committee.

3. The Secretary of the Commission shall act as the Secretary of the Executive Committee.

4. The Executive Committee may invite consultants and experts to participate in its proceedings.

ARTICLE XII
Functions of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall:

1. make proposals to the Commission concerning policy matters and the Commission's programme of activities;
2. submit to the Commission the draft programmes of work and budget and the annual accounts of the Commission;
3. ensure the implementation of the policies and programmes approved by the Commission and take related necessary measures;
4. prepare the draft annual report of the activities of the Commission;
5. carry out such other functions as the Commission may delegate.

ARTICLE XIII
Secretariat

1. The Organization shall provide the Secretary and the staff of the Commission, who shall be administratively responsible to the Director-General. Their terms and conditions of employment and status shall be the same as those of the other members of staff of the Organization. While respecting qualification requirements, action shall be taken for the staff of the Commission to be nationals of the Member Nations of the Commission.

2. The Secretary shall implement the policies of the Commission, carry out its appointed actions and give effect to all its other decisions. The Secretary shall also act as Secretary of the Executive Committee and of any working groups established by the Commission.

ARTICLE XIV
Finances

1. Each Member Nation of the Commission undertakes to contribute annually to the autonomous budget, in accordance with a scale of contributions to be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the Commission.

2. At each regular session, the Commission shall adopt its autonomous budget by consensus, it being understood, however, that should a consensus not be achievable during the session despite every effort to the contrary, the matter shall be put to a vote and the budget shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of its Members.

3. The contributions shall be payable in freely convertible currencies, unless the Commission decides otherwise with the concurrence of the Director-General.

4. The Commission may also accept donations and other forms of assistance from Nations, organizations, private persons and other sources for purposes linked to the performance of any one of its functions.

5. The contributions, donations and other forms of financial assistance received shall be placed in a Trust Fund administered by the Director-General in conformity with the Financial Regulations of the Organization.

6. A Member of the Commission in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Commission equal to or exceeding the amount of the contributions due from it for the two preceding financial years shall lose its right to vote. The Commission may, nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of that Member.

ARTICLE XV
Expenses

1. The expenses of the Commission shall be paid out of its budget, except those relating to staff, facilities and services made available by the Organization. The expenses to be borne by the Organization shall be determined and paid within the limits of an annual budget prepared by the Director-General and approved by the Conference of the Organization, in accordance with the Constitution, the General Rules and the Financial Regulations of the Organization.

2. The expenses relating to the attendance of the delegates of the Members of the Commission and of their alternates, experts and advisers at the sessions of the Commission and the expenses of the observers shall be borne by the government or organization concerned. The expenses relating to the attendance of the representative of each Member of the Commission at the sessions of the Executive Committee shall be borne by the Commission.

3. The expenses of consultants or experts invited to participate in the work of the Commission or the Executive Committee shall be borne by the Commission.

4. The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the Organization.

ARTICLE XVI
Amendments

1. This Agreement may be amended by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the Commission.

2. Proposals for amendments may be made by any Member of the Commission or by the Director-General. The former should be communicated both to the Chairperson of the Commission and to the Director-General, and the latter to the Chairperson of the Commission not later than 120 days before the opening of the session at which they are to be considered. The Director-General shall immediately notify all the Members of the Commission of all proposals for amendment.

3. Any amendment to this Agreement shall be transmitted to the Council of FAO which shall have the right to repudiate it if it is clearly inconsistent with the objectives and aims of the Organization or with the provisions of the FAO Constitution.

4. Amendments not involving new obligations for Members of the Commission shall take effect for all the Members from the date of their approval by the Commission, subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 above.

5. Amendments involving new obligations for Members of the Commission shall, after their adoption by the Commission and subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 above, only come into effect for each Member of the Commission that has accepted them from the date on which three-quarters of the Members have accepted them. The instruments of acceptance of amendments involving new obligations shall be deposited with the Director-General. The Director-General shall inform all Members of the Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of such acceptance. The rights and obligations of any Member of the Commission that has not accepted an amendment involving new obligations shall continue to be governed by the provisions of the Agreement in force prior to the amendment.

6. The Director-General shall inform all the Members of the Commission, all the Members and Associate Members of the Organization and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the entry into force of any amendment.

ARTICLE XVII
Acceptance

1. Acceptance of this Agreement by any Member of the Organization shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Director-General and shall take effect on the date of deposit.

2. Acceptance of this Agreement by non-Member Nations of the Organization as provided for under Article V(2) above shall be effective from the date on which the Commission approves the application for membership.

3. The Director-General shall inform all the Members of the Commission, all the Members and Associate Members of the Organization and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of all acceptances that have become effective.

ARTICLE XVIII
Reservations

Acceptance of this Agreement may be accompanied by reservations in conformity with the general rules of public international law as reflected in the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Part II, Section 2) adopted in 1969.

ARTICLE XIX
Entry into Force

1. This Agreement shall enter into force as soon as five of the Member Nations of the Organization referred to in Article V(1) above have become parties to it by depositing an instrument of acceptance in accordance with the provisions of Article XVII.

2. The Director-General of the Organization shall notify all the Nations listed in Article III of the Agreement, the Members and Associate Members of FAO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the date on which this Agreement comes into force.

ARTICLE XX
Withdrawal

1. Any Member of the Commission may withdraw from this Agreement after the expiration of one year from the date on which its acceptance took effect by giving written notice to the Director-General, who shall forthwith inform all the Members of the Commission, all the Members and Associate Members of FAO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The withdrawal shall become effective at the end of the calendar year successive to the year during which the Director-General receives such notification.

2. Any Member of the Commission that gives notice of its withdrawal from FAO shall be deemed to have simultaneously withdrawn from the Commission.

ARTICLE XXI
Termination of the Agreement

1. This Agreement shall automatically be considered terminated if, as a result of withdrawals, the number of Members of the Commission falls below five, unless the remaining Members of the Commission unanimously decide otherwise. The Director-General shall inform all the Members of the Commission, all the Members and Associate Members of the Organization and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of such termination.

2. On termination of the Agreement, the Director-General shall liquidate all the assets of the Commission and, after settlement of the liabilities, shall distribute the balance proportionately amongst the Members on the basis of the scale of contributions in force at the time of the liquidation.

ARTICLE XXII
Interpretation of the Agreement and Settlement of Disputes

Any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement not settled by the Commission shall be referred to a Committee composed of one member appointed by each of the parties to the dispute and an independent Chairperson chosen by the members of this Committee. The recommendations of the Committee, while not binding in character, shall serve as the basis for renewed consideration by the parties concerned of the matter that occasioned the dispute. If this procedure fails to lead to settlement, the dispute shall be referred to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the Statute of the Court, unless the parties to the dispute agree to another method of settlement.

ARTICLE XXIII
Depositary

The Director-General of FAO shall act as the depositary of this Agreement. The depositary shall:

1. transmit authenticated copies of this Agreement to each Member and each Associate Member of FAO and to the non-Member Nations of the Organization that can become parties to the Agreement;
2. register this Agreement, as soon as it comes into force, with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations;
3. inform each Member and each Associate Member of FAO that has accepted the Agreement and any non-Member Nation that has been admitted as a Member of the Commission:

1. of requests for admission as a Member of the Commission submitted by non-Member Nations of FAO; and
2. of proposals for amendment to this Agreement;

4. inform each Member and each Associate Member of FAO and the non-Member Nations of the Organization that can become parties to this Agreement:

1. of the deposit of an instrument of acceptance in conformity with Article XVII;
2. of the date of entry into effect of this Agreement in conformity with Article XIX;
3. of reservations to the provisions of this Agreement in conformity with Article XVIII;
4. of the adoption of amendments to this Agreement in conformity with Article XVI;
5. of withdrawals to this Agreement in conformity with Article XX; and
6. of the termination of this Agreement in conformity with Article XXI.

ARTICLE XXIV
Authentic Languages

The English, Arabic, French and Spanish texts of this Agreement shall be equally authentic.

APPENDIX II

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSAL

The Draft Agreement makes provision for an autonomous budget of the Commission, that it intends to establish, to be financed from the annual contributions by all the Members of the new Commission. The Organization expects to provide the same level of support as was provided thus far under the Regular Programme to the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in North-West Africa, the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region and the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Eastern Region of its Distribution Area in South-West Asia.