APPENDIX D

GENERAL REGULATIONS
Arrangements and Procedures for the Establishment and Operation of the UN/FAO World Food Programme

In pursuance of the provisions of the United Nations General Assembly resolutions 1714 (XVI), 2095 (XX), 3348 (XXIX) and 3404 (XXX) and resolutions Nos. 1/61, 4/65 and 22/75 of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the follow­ing are the detailed procedures and arrangements for the World Food Programme as approved by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the Council of FAO ¹.

PART A

GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA

1. In accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and FAO Conference, the World Food Programme (hereinafter referred to as ''the Programme'') which was established on an experimental basis in 1962 and extended on a regular basis in 1966, shall continue its activities on the basis of the present regulations and in the light of the periodic reviews which will take place before the end of the successive pledging periods.
2. Having regard to the functions of the United Nations in the general field of economic and social development, and the special responsibilities of FAO in securing improvements in nutrition and in the efficiency of food production and distribution, the Programme is under­ taken jointly by the United Nations and FAO in cooperation with other interested United Nations agencies and appropriate intergovernmental bodies.

Contributions

(3). (a)

1. All contributions to the Programme shall be on a voluntary basis. They shall generally be pledged at conferences convened jointly by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO approximately one year before the commencement of the pledging period to which they relate, and shall aim at such total as may from time to time be set by the General Assembly of the United Nations and the FAO Conference for such pledging periods as may be determined by the aforementioned bodies. They may be pledged by countries in the form of appropriate commodities, acceptable services (including transport and other services) and cash, aiming at cash and services components amounting in the aggregate to at least one third of the total contributions. Contri­butions may also be accepted from intergovernmental bodies, other public sources as well as appropriate non-governmental sources, in commodities, services or cash.
2. Countries participating in the international emergency reserve should, pending the establishment of a world food grain reserve, indicate to the Programme, over and above their regular pledges to the Programme, availabilities of primarily food grains or of cash contributions which might be called upon for emergency food aid purposes, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resol­ution 3362 (S-VII). Developing countries not in a position to make contri­butions in cash or in kind to the reserve should, where possible, indicate their willingness to make interest-free loans of commodities to be used by the Programme.
3. Appropriate commodities and acceptable services shall be determined from time to time by discussions between contributors and the Executive Director in the light of operational needs.

(3).(b)Commodity pledges may be made either in monetary terms or in terms of fixed physical quantities of specified commodities. In the latter case, a nominal value will be placed on the commodity pledge by the Executive Director at the time of pledging, based on world market prices or the nearest approximation to the world market prices at the time. This nominal value will be adjusted at the time of each delivery of a commodity to conform to the world market price, or the nearest approximation to the world market price, at the time. All commodities delivered to the Programme will be valued at world market prices, or the nearest approxi­mation to world market prices, at the time of delivery. Contributions of acceptable services shall be valued either at world market prices, or the nearest approxi­mation to the world market prices, or, where a service is of a local character, at the price contracted for by the Executive Director.

1. Pledged contributions of commodities and services shall be held available for commitment for the purposes of the Programme until the end of the pledging period. Should unforeseen circumstances, such as domestic crop failure, arise, a donor country may, in consultation with the Executive Director, defer delivery of any part of the commodities pledged, or substitute other commodities therefor, provided that the commodities concerned have not yet been committed to recipient countries. After appropriate notice has been given, cash in convertible currencies of equal value to the portion of the commodity pledge withdrawn may be substituted therefor. , The Executive Director shall keep donor countries informed of contemplated and final commitments of com­modities and services pledged by them. Pledged commodities which have been committed shall be held in the contributing country until called for by the Executive Director, and then delivered at export ports free on board at the cost of the contributing country. Any committed commodities remaining un­delivered by the end of the period for which they have been pledged shall remain available for delivery for such extended period as may be agreed upon in consultation between the Executive Director and the donor country. Committed services shall be treated in the same manner.
2. In Agreement with the Executive Director, cash in convertible currencies may be substituted for pledged services which have not been committed by the Programme.
3. Any participating government which initially pledges more than one third of its total contributions in cash and/or services may, in agreement with the Executive Director, at any time during the pledging period offer appropriate commodities up to a value limit of two thirds of its total initially pledged contributions. To the extent that such additional commodities are utilized by the Executive Director, their value at prevailing world market prices, or the nearest approximation to world market prices, shall be offset against any unpaid portion of the country's initial pledge.

(3).(d) Cash contributions to the Programme shall be made in convertible currencies. In exceptional circumstances, however, developing countries may, with the agreement of the Executive Director, make cash contributions in nonconvertible currencies.

(3).(e) Countries shall, with regard to each pledging period, pay their cash contributions in equal annual installments, except as otherwise agreed with the Executive Director.

(3).(f) The annual installment of cash pledges shall be paid for each year of the pledging period to which it relates within 60 days after the beginning of the country's fiscal year. Countries which for domestic, legal and budgetary reasons are not in a position to meet this time limit may announce at the Pledging Conference the times at which they intend to make their cash contributions available to the Programme.

PART B

TYPES AND FIELDS OF ACTIVITY

4. The Programme shall, on request, provide assistance for:

1. implementing projects, using food as an aid to economic and social development, particularly when related to feeding and improving the nutritional condition of the most vulnerable and neediest groups, increasing agricultural production and productivity, fostering labour-intensive projects and promoting rural employment and welfare, and human resources development; and such other projects, including regional projects, as may be approved by the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes referred to in paragraph 6(a). Special emphasis should be given to projects in the neediest countries.
2. meeting emergency food needs; and
3. promoting world food security in accordance with the recommendations made to it by the United Nations and FAO.

5.

1. For meeting emergency food needs, a portion of the resources of the Programme shall be reserved each year for use by the Director-General of FAO. The amounts to be reserved shall be determined by the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes from time to time in accordance with changing circumstances. In cases of special needs, the Committee may, at the request of the Executive Director, in consultation with the Dix"ector-General of FAO, allocate further amounts for use by the Director-General to meet emergency food needs. Any unused balance of the emergency allocation shall return to the general resources of the Programme at the end of each year.
2. The Programme shall, within the framework of emergency assistance in the United Nations system and in accordance with appropriate recommendations of the United Nations and FAO, seek to ensure coordination of emei^-gency food assistance.

PART C

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

6. The organs of the World Food Programme shall be:

1. Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes (hereinafter referred to as ''the Committee'') jointly established by the United Nations and FAO and composed of 30 States Members of the United Nations or Member Nations of FAO;
2. Secretariat located at FAO Headquarters in and reporting to both the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO.

Powers and functions of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes

7.

1. Intergovernmental supervision of the Programme shall be exercised by the Committee.

8.(a) The Committee shall help evolve and coordinate short-term and longer-term food aid policies recommended by the World Food Conference. It shall, in particular:

1. provide general guidance on the policy, administration and operation of the World Food Programme;
2. provide a forum for intergovernmental consultations on national and inter­national food aid programmes and policies;
3. review periodically general trends in food aid requirements and food aid availabilities;
4. recommend to governments, through the World Food Council, improvements in food aid policies and programmes on such matters as programme priorities, commodity composition of food aid and other related subjects;
5. formulate proposals for more effective coordination of multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental food aid programmes, including emergency food aid;
6. review periodically the implementation of the recommendations made by the World Food Conference on food aid policies.

8.(b) With regard to the operation of the Programme, the Committee shall examine and approve projects submitted to it by the Executive Director. In respect of the approval of projects, however, it may delegate to the Executive Director such authority as it may specify. It shall examine and approve the administrative and project budgets of the Programme. It shall review the administration and execution of approved projects and other activities of the Programme.

9. The Committee shall report annually to the Economic and Social Council and the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization. It shall also submit periodic and special reports to the World Food Council.

10.

1. The Committee shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure. These Rules shall, inter alia, provide that decisions of the Committee on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting. Important questions shall include questions of policy, the approval of projects and the allocation of resources. Doubts, if any, as to what are important questions shall be resolved through a majority vote of the Members present and voting. Similarly, decisions of the Committee on questions other than important questions shall be made by a majority of the Members present and voting.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 10 (a) above, the Rules of Procedure may, with respect to the approval of projects, make provision for such approval being obtained by correspondence between sessions of the Committee.
3. The Rules of Procedure shall also make provision for inviting States Members of the United Nations or Member Nations of FAO that are not members of the Committee to participate in its deliberations.

11.The Committee shall normally hold regular sessions twice a year and such special sessions as it considers necessary, or on the call of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO in consultation with the Executive Director of the Programme, or on request submitted in writing by at least one-third of the members of the Committee.

12.The Committee shall ensure, in the programmes under its supervision, that;

1. In accordance with the FAO Principles of Surplus Disposal and with the consultative procedures established by the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP), and in conformity with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 1496 (XV), particularly paragraph 9, commercial markets and normal and developing trade are neither interfered with nor disrupted.
2. The agricultural economy in recipient countries is adequately safeguarded with respect both to its domestic markets and the effective development of food production.
3. Due consideration is given to safeguarding normal commercial practices in respect of acceptable services.

WFP Secretariat

13.

1. The Programme shall be administered by a Secretariat, headed by an Executive Director.
2. The Executive Director shall be appointed, for a term of five years, by the Secretary- General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO after consultation with the Committee.
3. The Executive Director shall be responsible for servicing the Committee.
4. The Executive Director shall operate through three divisions, subject to such modifications as may from time to time be approved by the Committee.
5. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the staffing and organization of the Secretariat. The selection and appointment of senior officials shall be made in agreement with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director- General of FAO.
6. Every effort shall be made to keep the cost of management and administration of the Programme to a minimum consistent with the maintenance of efficiency.
7. General financial and administrative services shall be provided on a reimbursable basis through the regular FAO administration service, and to this end the Executive Director shall rely to the fullest extent possible on the existing staff and facilities of FAO within the context of sub-paragraph (f) above.
8. For other services the Programme shall rely to the maximum extent feasible on the existing staff and facilities of FAO, the United Nations and other intergovernmental agencies within the context of sub-paragraph (f) above. The additional cost involved shall be reimbursed from the Programme's resources.
9. The representative of the Programme in each recipient country shall be the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme or the Regional Representative of theUnited Nations Programme, as the case may be. The Programme field staff stationedin a recipient country shall form part of his office.
10. The Executive Director shall administer the staff of the Programme in accordance with FAO Staff Regulations and Rules and such special rules proposed by the Executive Director as may be approved by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO.²
11. The Programme may, upon request, arrange for the purchase and the transport of food and for the monitoring of its distribution, on behalf of bilateral donors or UN agencies, for emergency relief and other food aid operations.The Programme should be reimbursed for such services according to procedures agreed upon with the donors or agencies concerned on the basis of criteria approved by the Committee.

PART D

PROCEDURES

Eligibility for Assistance

15.

1. The Executive Director shall be responsible for assuring that projects to be implemented are sound, carefully planned and directed toward valid objectives, for assuring the mobilization of the necessary technical and administrative skills, and for assessing the ability of recipient countries to carry out the projects. He shall be responsible for assuring supply of Commodities and acceptable services as agreed. However, he has the responsibility to seek, in consultation with the recipient government, correction of any inadequacies in project operation, and may withdraw assistance in the event essential corrections are not made.
2. In order to enable the Committee to obtain a comprehensive view of the development of the Programme, the Executive Director, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, shall prepare once a year a report indicating activities under way, new activities to be undertaken, priorities and results of completed projects and their evaluation, and.shall submit this report for the consideration and approval of the Committee.
3. To assure a prompt response to request for emergency assistance, the Executive Director may, as appropriate, borrow commodities from other projects assisted by the Programme in the country or in neighbouring countries, or from other sources such as cooperating non-governmental programmes.
4. The Executive Director shall be responsible for making the optimum use of available resources in commodities, cash and acceptable services. To this end he may use cash resources to purchase commodities to the maximum extent possible from developing countries, and shall report such purchases to the Committee.

Cooperation of the Programme with the United Nations and FAO and with other agencies and organizations

16.

1. In all stages of the development of its activities, the Programme shall, as appropriate, consult with and seek advice and cooperation from the United Nations and FAO. It shall also operate in close liaison with appropriate United Nations agencies and United Nations operating programmes, as well as with regional intergovernmental organizations and bilateral programmes. Interested and cooperat­ing international agencies and bodies shall be invited to send representatives to attend meetings of the Committee. The Executive Director, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, shall give special attention to developing these and other means of cooperation with these agencies and organizations, and shall report to the Committee on the progress made.
2. The Programme shall ensure that its assistance be associated with material, financial and technical assistance provided through other multilateral programmes and shall seek similar coordination with bilateral programmes.
3. Non-governmental organizations shall be encouraged, where and as appropriate, to cooperate with the Programme and to support its activities.

Development and operation of projects, and emergency operations Initiation of projects

17.

1. Governments desiring to establish food aid programmes or projects assisted by the Programme shall present their requests in the form indicated by the Executive Director. Prior to the submission of the project application, the knowledge, skills and experience of locally available technicians, including those of the United Nations, FAO, the Programme and other United Nations organizations, should be drawn on to the extent feasible and necessary for the purpose of assuring maximum refinement and improvement in the project plans at the earliest possible stage, particularly with reference to the administrative and technical aspects thereof. Requests shall normally be presented through the UNDP Resident Representatives, who shall keep the FAO Country Representatives and, as appropriate, the representatives of other United Nations agencies fully informed.
2. All projects should have a clear relationship with the recipient country's development plans and/or priorities and should include, as appropriate, a significant input of the recipient government's resources. The Programme should also be assured that all efforts will be made, as feasible and appropriate, to have the objectives of the projects pursued once the operations of the Programme have been phased out.
3. The Executive Director shall, upon receipt of requests, proceed to appraise them, and, in doing so, consult with and seek advice and cooperation from the United Nations, FAO and other interested and cooperating international agencies and bodies according to their respective fields of competence.
4. The Executive Director may also, if necessary, dispatch a survey team to examine the project on the spot in consultation with the country concerned. Such a team should normally include officers of the United Nations and FAO and, where appropriate, also officers of such other United Nations agencies as may be directly concerned and agree to participate in the field investigation.
5. Recipient countries should, as far as feasible, provide the Executive Director with any relevant information on other aid programmes that would assist the Programme in coordinating its activities with such other programmes. When this is not possible, the donor countries or organizations may supply the relevant information.

Initiation of Emergency Operations

18. Governments desiring food assistance to meet emergency food needs shall present a request to the Director-General of FAO. Such requests should contain the basic information required about the situation. The Director-General of FAO will request the Executive Director of the Programme to examine it. The Director-General of FAO will decide upon the request, taking into account the recommendation of the Executive Director of the Programme.

Project Agreements

19.

1. Upon approval of a proposed project by the Committee or by the Executive Director on its behalf, an agreement shall be prepared by the Executive Director in consultation with the government concerned. All such agreements shall indicate the terms and conditions on which the proposed activities are to be carried out; the supplementary aid to be provided by other agencies or institutions; the obligations of the government with respect to the utilization of the commodities supplied, including the use and control of any local currencies generated from their sale, and with respect to the arrangements made for their storage, internal transportation and distribution; the responsibility of the government for all expenses incurred from the point of delivery, including the cost of import duties, taxes, levies, dues and wharfage; and such other relevant terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon as necessary for the execution and subsequent evaluation of the project. Such agreement shall safeguard the Programme's right to observe all phases of project operation from the receipt of commodities in the country to final utilization; provide for audits as necessary; and allow the Programme to suspend or withdraw assistance in case of serious noncompliance. It shall also provide for the collection of data on the manner of food distribution and its effects on the improvement of the nutritional status and the economic and social development of the country on a longer-term basis; for the maintenance of complete records, including transport and storage documents, concerning the utilization of assistance from the Programme; and for the communication of such records to the Programme upon request.
2. Agreements may provide for projects under which assistance from the Programme would be available for a maximum period of five years, provided that such agreements also carry the qualification that their full execution beyond the relevant pledging period is conditional upon resources becoming available.
3. Project agreements shall be signed by the representative of the recipient country and by the Executive Director, or his representative, on behalf of the Programme.

Emergency Operation Agreements

20. Upon approval of an emergency operation by the Director-General of FAO, an agreement, which may be in the form of an exchange of letters, shall be concluded forthwith between the Executive Director and the recipient government.

Implementation of Projects

21.

1. The primary responsibility for project execution shall rest with the recipient country, in accordance with the provisions of the project agreement. The Executive Director shall, however, be responsible for supervision and assistance in execution, shall take the necessary measures for this purpose and shall utilize the services of the United Nations and FAO and, where appropriate, other organizations, under such arrangements as may be agreed upon.
2. Costs of unloading and internal transport, and of any necessary technical and administrative supervision, shall be borne by the recipient government. However, this condition may be waived by the Executive Director in exceptional cases, where he is satisfied that a government is unable to meet these costs out of its own resources, or to arrange that they be met from sources other than the Programme.
3. Commodities shall be delivered to the recipient country as grants without payment. If such commodities are sold internally for local currency, the proceeds thereof shall be used for the particular purposes and activities specified in the agreement.
4. Before accepting a project which requires additional external technical or financial assistance to make such a project feasible, the Executive Director shall assure himself that such assistance is available. It shall be the responsibility of the recipient country to obtain and arrange for such additional assistance as may be available from multilateral and other sources.
5. As agreements are carried into effect, recipient governments shall give full cooperation so as to enable authorized personnel of the Programme to observe operations from time to time, to ascertain their effects, and to carry out evaluations of the results of the projects. Any final reports prepared shall be submitted to the recipient countries concerned for their comments, and subsequently to the Committee, together with any such comments.
6. The Programme, in making arrangements for the evaluation of projects, shall seek the assistance of the United Nations and FAO and, as appropriate, of other interested and cooperating agencies and bodies to carry out an analytical review of the implementation of projects, including an assessment of the technical progress made and, when practicable, of the effect of assistance from the Programme on the economic and social development of the country.

Implementation of Emergency Operations

22.

1. Paragraphs 21(a), (b) and (c) above are applicable to the implementation of emergency operations.

2. The recipient government shall report as may be provided for in the agreement between the Executive Director and the government on the progress of distribution of WFP commodities.

3. As agreements are carried into effect, recipient governments shall give full cooperation so as to enable authorized personnel of the Programme to observe operations from time to time, to ascertain their effects, and to carry out evaluations of the results. The Executive Director shall submit reports to the CFA on emergency operations.

Safeguarding, exporters, international trade, and producers in recipient countries

23. In the assessment of prospective economic and social development projects, and in their implementation and subsequent evaluation, full consideration shall be given to the prospective and actual effect of the project upon local food production, including possible ways and means of increasing such production, and upon the markets for agricultural products produced in the country.

24. Adequate consideration shall also be given to safeguarding commercial markets and the normal and developing trade of exporting countries in accordance with the FAO Principles of Surplus Disposal, as well as safeguarding normal commercial practices in respect of acceptable services used by the Programme.

25. As a means of safeguarding commercial markets, the Executive Director shall comply with the following requirements:

1. At an early stage in the preparation of a project which may be of such significance as to threaten to interfere with or disrupt commercial markets or normal and developing trade, he shall consult with the countries likely to be affected.
2. He shall also inform the chairman of the Consultative Subcommittee on Surplus Disposal of the FAO Committee on Commodity Problems of such preparations.
3. If questions concerning any proposed project are raised before the Consultative Subcommittee, its views should be promptly reported to the Executive Director, who shall take them into account before proceeding with the project.
4. To facilitate the consideration of policies within the field of surplus disposal, he shall make available to theConsultative Subcommittee documents relevant to these subjects, prepared by the Programme.

PART E

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

26. The Director-General of FAO shall establish a Trust Fund under Financial Regulation6.7 of FAO, to which all contributions to the Programme shall be credited and from which thecost of administration and operation of the Programme shall be met.

27. The financial operations of the Programme shall be carried out insofar as possible under the existing Financial Regulations of FAO. The Director-General of FAO, in consulta­ tion with the Executive Director, the FAO Finance Committee and the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), shall develop, for the approval of the Committee, such additional financial procedures as are necessary to meet the special needs for the administration of the Programme.

28. The biennial budget of the Programme shall be reviewed by the FAO Finance Committee and by the ACABQ, and submitted together with their reports to the Committee for approval.Supplementary budget estimates may, in exceptional circumstances, be prepared and reviewedto the extent feasible under the same procedure before submission to the Committee for approval. The financial reports of the Programme shall be- submitted to the FAO FinanceCommittee and to the ACABQ. After review by the FAO Finance Committee and by the ACABQ,if the latter so desires, they shall be submitted with any comments which these committees might wish to make to the Committee for approval.

PART F

STUDIES

29. The Executive Director may undertake, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, studies of problems related to the effective operations of the Programme and such other functions as may be given to it.

30. The Executive Director, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of FAO, shall arrange for expert studies to be undertaken, as needed, to aid in the consideration of the future development of multilateral foodprogrammes. In developing these studies, he shall arrange for as much as possible of theinvestigations to be made as part of the regular staff activities of FAO and the United Nations, and of other interested and competent intergovernmental organizations.

¹ In the final version a footnote will appear indicating the resolutions of ECOSOC and the ~ FAO Council by which the revised General Regulations will have been finally approved.

²The Committee decided that paragraph 13 (k) should be transferred to Part B and become paragraph 6 and all the subsequent paragraphs be renumbered.

³The Committee could not reach a decision on the text of paragraph 14 and postponed its further consideration until its Fourth Session in the autumn of 1977.