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IV. Procedure of the session

A. Election of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the conference
B. Appointment of the general committee and the credentials committee
C. Adoption of the agenda
D. Arrangements for the session and allocation of agenda items
E. Admission of observers

A. Election of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the conference

13. The Council nominated and the Conference elected John Charles Kerin (Australia) as Chairman of the Twenty-fifth Session of the Conference.

14. The Conference approved the appointment of the three Vice-Chairmen of the Conference recommended by the Nominations Committee, as follows:

B. Appointment of the general committee and the credentials committee

15. The Nominations Committee recommended and the Conference approved the following appointments:

Members of the General Committee

Members of the Credentials Committee

C. Adoption of the agenda

16. The Conference adopted its Agenda as amended by the General Committee, and as given in Appendix A to this report.

D. Arrangements for the session and allocation of agenda items

Establishment of commissions and appointment of their chairmen and vice-chairmen
Resolutions committee of the conference
Right of reply
Verbatim records
Verification of credentials
Voting rights
Informal meeting of observers from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

17. The Conference adopted the arrangements and timetable proposed by the Ninety-sixth Session of the Council, as amended by the General Committee.

Establishment of commissions and appointment of their chairmen and vice-chairmen

18. The Conference concurred with the Council's recommendations to establish three Commissions to consider and report upon Parts I, II and III of the Agenda.

19. In accordance with Rule VII-1 and Rule XXIV-5(b) of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), the Ninety-sixth Session of the Council had nominated the following Chairmen of the Commissions:

20. The Conference appointed the foregoing officers and, taking into consideration the proposals of the General Committee, in accordance with Rule XIII-2 GRO, also appointed:

Resolutions committee of the conference

21. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the Ninety-sixth Session of the Council to establish a Resolutions Committee of seven members, one from each FAO region, and appointed the following:

22. The Conference agreed to the recommendation of the General Committee that the Resolutions Committee be chaired by the Representative of the Asia region, Mr V.K. Sibal (India).

23. The Conference approved the functions of the Resolutions Committee and the criteria for the formulation of resolutions, as given in document C 89/12, Appendix D.

Right of reply

24. The Conference confirmed the decision taken at its eleven previous sessions to the effect that, when a member wished to reply to criticisms of his Government's policy, he should preferably do so on the afternoon of the day on which such criticism had been voiced after all those wishing to participate in the discussion had had an opportunity to speak.

Verbatim records

25. As provided for in Rule XVIII-1 GRO, Verbatim Records were kept of all Conference Plenary and Commission meetings. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the General Committee that statements could be inserted in the verbatim records when time did not permit them to be delivered, taking into consideration, however, the conditions laid down by the General Committee.

Verification of credentials

26. The credentials of delegations of 150 Member Nations were found valid. Seven Member Nations did not send a delegation to the Conference. One Member Nation had not registered.

27. The credentials of the United Nations and other Organizations of the United Nations (UN) System were found in order as prescribed under Rule III-2 GRO.

Voting rights

28. The Conference noted that, in accordance with Article III-4 of the Constitution, 14 Member Nations at the beginning of the session had no right to vote in the Conference, as the amount of their arrears of contributions to the Organization exceeded the amount of the contributions due from them for the two preceding calendar years. Subsequently, four of these Member Nations regularized their position. Information had been received from nine Member Nations indicating that their failure to pay was due to conditions beyond the control of each of these Member Nations. Therefore, the Conference agreed that voting rights should be restored to nine Member Nations (Antigua and Barbuda, Burundi, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Romania, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone) for the duration of the Twenty-fifth Conference Session. In the case of the other Member Nation (Democratic Kampuchea) it had not registered to attend the Conference and had not responded to correspondence sent to it concerning the payment of arrears, consequently the Conference had no basis on which to restore its right to vote. Furthermore, the Conference emphasized the need for all Member Nations to pay their contributions and any arrears as soon as possible.

Informal meeting of observers from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

29. The Ninety-sixth Session of the Council had suggested that, as was the practice at previous sessions of the Conference, an informal meeting of representatives of international non-governmental organizations admitted as observers to the Twenty-fifth Session of the Conference should be convened on Tuesday 14 November 1989. The Conference accepted this proposal. The meeting elected Mrs Giuseppina Pelà (International Federation of Agricultural Producers) as Chairman, and the report of its deliberations was communicated to the Conference.

E. Admission of observers

Observer from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Liberation movements
Intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations

Observer from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

30. The Conference confirmed the invitation sent by the Director-General to the Government of the USSR to attend the session in an observer capacity.

31. The Conference expressed its satisfaction at the presence of the USSR as an observer at its session. It further recognized that this was a step forward in the right direction and hoped that the USSR would move from the status of a founding member to becoming a full Member Nation of FAO. The Conference supported the current contacts on this subject with the authorities of that State and requested the Director-General to continue and intensify his efforts.

Liberation movements

32. The Conference approved the invitations issued by the Director-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and those African Liberation Movements (African National Congress of South Africa and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania) recognized by the OAU (Organization of African Unity) to attend the session as observers.

Intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations

33. The Conference approved the list of international organizations to which the Director-General had extended a provisional invitation to the Conference session, and invited the representatives of those organizations to participate in the activities of the Conference as observers.

34. The Conference concurred with the recommendation of the General Committee that, in accordance with Rule XVII-3 GRO, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the International Cooperative Alliance, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, the International Federation of Plantation, Agricultural and Allied Workers, the World Confederation of Labour and the World Federation of Trade Unions should be granted speaking time to address the Plenary.

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