INTERNATIONAL TREATY HOLDS FIRST EXTRAORDINARY SESSION TO APPROVE INTERIM BUDGET
06/12/2021
Continuing Global Pandemic Necessitates Virtual Gathering
06 December 2021, Rome, Italy – Tomorrow marks the beginning of the First Special Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which will take place in virtual mode on 7 and 8 December 2021.
“The Special Session of the Governing Body (GB) has been called in light of the fact that the Ninth Session of the Governing Body (GB-9) had to be postponed to May 2022, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty. “Consequently, a Special Session was needed to ensure the continued functioning of the International Treaty and its Secretariat,” he explained.
The Special Session will decide on an interim budget for 2022 to enable the continued support to government and users of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, pending the review by the Ninth Session of the programme of work for the 2022-2023 biennium.
The virtual meeting of the First Special Session will be chaired by Yasmina El-Bahloul and proceedings will be conducted in all six UN official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The Provisional Agenda for the Special Session is available on the International Treaty website at: https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/meetings/meetings-detail/en/c/1397828
The Government of India has re-affirmed its commitment to hosting the Ninth Session from 9 to 14 May 2022, at which time the regular budget and all other issues and activities of the International Treaty will be discussed amongst the Contracting Parties of the International Treaty.
The International Treaty currently has 148 Contracting Parties, including the European Union, all of whom are committed to the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). The International Treaty has a number of robust global mechanisms to this end, including the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing, which provides access to over 2.3 million PGRFA; the Global Information System, providing access to vital data about PGRFA; a Benefit-sharing Fund that supports farmers, plant breeders and scientists involved in taking care of the plants that feed the world; and a commitment to promoting and protecting Farmers’ Rights.
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