CFS:2002/5-Sup.1


COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY

Twenty-eighth Session

Rome, 6-8 June 2002

DRAFT RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: Five Years Later

Table of Contents



I. REPRESENTATION AND CREDENTIALS

Composition of Delegations

Rule 1

1. The World Food Food Summit: five years later, hereinafter referred to as the Summit, shall be open to Members of FAO or of the United Nations, of its Specialized Agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

2. Each State or Member Organization of FAO participating in the Summit shall be represented by a head of delegation and such other accredited representatives, alternate representatives and advisers as may be required. The head of delegation may designate an alternate representative or adviser to act as a representative.

Submission of Credentials

Rule 2

The credentials of delegates, alternates and advisers shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Summit. The credentials of delegates, alternates and advisers shall be issued by, or on behalf of, the Head of State, the Head of Government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister concerned, or in the case of a Regional Economic Integration Organization that is a Member of FAO (Member Organization) by the head of the executive body of the Member Organization concerned.

Examination of Credentials

Rule 3

A Credentials Committee of seven members shall be designated by the Committee on World Food Security of FAO from representatives of States participating in the Summit, subject to confirmation by the Summit. The Credentials Committee shall examine and decide upon the credentials submitted in accordance with Rule 2 and report to the Summit without delay. The Committee shall elect its own Chairperson.

Provisional Participation

Rule 4

Pending the report of the Credentials Committee, representatives shall be entitled to participate provisionally in the Summit.

II. OFFICERS

Election

Rule 5

The Summit shall elect from representatives of participating States the following officers: a Chairperson of the Summit and six Vice-Chairpersons. The Summit shall also elect from representatives of participating States two co-Chairpersons for each of the three Round Tables.

General Powers of the Chairperson

Rule 6

1. In addition to executing such powers as are conferred upon him/her by these Rules, the Chairperson shall preside at the plenary meetings of the Summit, declare the opening and closing of each meeting, direct the discussions, ensure observance of these Rules, accord the right to speak, put questions to the vote and announce decisions. The Chairperson shall rule on points of order and may propose to the Summit the adjournment or the close of the debate and the suspension or adjournment of a meeting.

2. The Chairperson, in the exercise of his/her functions, remains under the authority of the Summit.

3. The Chairperson shall not vote but may appoint another member of his/her delegation to vote in his/her place.

Vice-Chairpersons

Rule 7

1. If the Chairperson is absent from a meeting or any part thereof, he/she shall designate one of the Vice-Chairpersons to take his/her place.

2. A Vice-Chairperson acting as Chairperson shall have the same powers and duties as the Chairperson.

III. GENERAL COMMITTEE

Composition

Rule 8

There shall be a General Committee consisting of the Chairperson and Vice- Chairpersons of the Summit. The Chairperson of the Summit, or in his /her absence one of the Vice-Chairpersons designated by him/her, shall serve as Chairperson of the General Committee.

Substitute Members

Rule 9

If the Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson is to be absent during a meeting of the General Committee, he/she may designate a member of his/her delegation to sit and vote in the Committee.

Functions

Rule 10

In addition to exercising such duties as are specified elsewhere in these Rules, the General Committee shall assist the Chairperson in the general business of the Summit and, subject to the decisions of the Summit, shall ensure the coordination of its work.

IV. SECRETARIAT OF THE SUMMIT

Duties of the Secretary-General

Rule 11

1. The Secretary-General of the FAO Conference and Council shall act as Secretary-General of the Summit in all meetings of the Summit and its subsidiary bodies. He/she shall be assisted by the Deputy Secretary-General of the FAO Conference and Council.

2. The Director-General of FAO shall provide such Secretariat and other staff and facilities as may be required by the Summit and its subsidiary bodies.

Duties of the Secretariat

Rule 12

In accordance with these Rules, the Secretariat of the Summit will:

  1. interpret speeches made at meetings;
  2. receive, translate and circulate the documents of the Summit;
  3. publish and circulate the official documents and records of the Summit;
  4. make and arrange for the keeping of sound recordings of meetings;
  5. arrange for the custody of the documents of the Summit in the archives of FAO; and
  6. generally perform all other work that the Summit may require.

Statements by the Secretariat

Rule 13

The Director-General of FAO, or any member of the Secretariat designated for that purpose, may make oral, as well as written statements concerning any question under consideration.

V. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

Opening of the Summit

Rule 14

At the opening of the Summit, the Director-General of FAO or, in his absence, his representative, shall preside until the Summit has elected its Chairperson.

Quorum

Rule 15

1. A quorum of the Summit shall be constituted by the representatives of at least one-third of the States participating in the Summit. The presence of representatives of a majority of the States participating in the Summit shall be required for any decision to be taken.

2. For the purpose of determining a quorum, as specified in paragraph 1 above, the delegation of a Member Organization shall be counted to the extent that it is entitled to vote in the meeting in respect of which the quorum is sought.

Report

Rule 16

The Director-General of FAO shall prepare and issue after the Summit a report recording the attendance of participants, the form of the proceedings and office holders, and appending the final text adopted by the Summit, as well as other relevant documents.

Statements

Rule 17

1. No one may address the Summit without having previously obtained the permission of the Chairperson. The Chairperson shall give the floor to a speaker to make his/her statement in the order approved by him/her or by the General Committee, taking into account, in so far as may be possible, the wishes of the speaker concerned.

2. Statements shall be confined to the question before the Summit and the Chairperson may call a speaker to order if his/her remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion.

3. Statements shall be limited to seven minutes in the case of representatives of States and Member Organization participating in the Summit and four minutes in the case of observers. When a representative or observer has spoken his/her allotted time, the Chairperson shall call him/her to order without delay.

Points of Order

Rule 18

During the discussion of any matter, a representative may raise a point of order and the point of order shall be decided immediately by the Chairperson. A representative may appeal against the ruling of the Chairperson, in which event the appeal shall be put to the vote immediately and the Chairperson's ruling shall stand unless overruled by a majority of the representatives present and voting. A representative rising to a point of order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion.

Closing of List of Speakers

Rule 19

During the course of the proceedings, the Chairperson may announce the list of speakers and, with the consent of the Summit, declare the list closed.

Right of Reply

Rule 20

1. Notwithstanding Rule 19, the Chairperson shall accord the right of reply to a representative of any State or Member Organization participating in the Summit who requests it. Any other representative may be granted by the Chairperson the opportunity to make a reply.

2. Statements made under this Rule shall normally be made at the end of the last meeting of the day or at the conclusion of the consideration of the relevant item if that is sooner.

3. A Representative of a State or Member Organization may make no more than two statements under this Rule at any given meeting on any item. The first shall be limited to five minutes and the second to three minutes; representatives shall in any event attempt to be as brief as possible.

Adjournment of Debate

Rule 21

A representative of any State or Member Organization participating in the Summit may at any time move the adjournment of the debate on an item under discussion. Permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded only to two representatives in favour of and two opposing the adjournment, after which the motion shall, subject to Rule 24, be immediately put to the vote.

Closure of Debate

Rule 22

A representative of any State or Member Organization participating in the Summit may at any time move the closure of the debate on an item under discussion, whether or not any other representative has signified his/her wish to speak. Permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded only to two representatives opposing the closure, after which the motion shall, subject to Rule 24, be immediately put to the vote.

Suspension or Adjournment of the Meeting

Rule 23

Subject to Rule 33, a representative of any State or Member Organization participating in the Summit may at any time move the suspension or the adjournment of the meeting. No discussion on such motions shall be permitted, and they shall, subject to Rule 24, be immediately put to the vote.

Order of Motions

Rule 24

The following motions shall have precedence in the following order over all the proposals or motions before the meeting, except a point of order:

  1.  to suspend the meeting;
  2.  to adjourn the meeting;
  3.  to adjourn the debate on the item under discussion;
  4.  to close the debate on the item under discussion.

Submission of Proposals and Substantive Amendments

Rule 25

Proposals and substantive amendments shall normally be submitted in writing to the Secretary-General of the Summit, who shall circulate copies to all delegations. Unless the Summit decides otherwise, substantive proposals shall be discussed or put to the vote no earlier than twenty-four hours after copies have been circulated in all languages of the Summit.

Withdrawal of Proposals and Motions

Rule 26

A proposal or a motion may be withdrawn by its sponsor at any time before voting on it has commenced, provided that it had not been amended. A proposal or a motion thus withdrawn may be reintroduced by any representative.

Decisions on Competence

Rule 27

Subject to Rule 24, any motion calling for a decision on the competence of the Summit to adopt a proposal submitted to it, shall be put to the vote before a vote is taken on the proposal in question.

Reconsideration of Proposals

Rule 28

When a proposal has been adopted or rejected, it may not be reconsidered unless the Summit, by a two-thirds majority of the representatives present and voting, so decides. Permission to speak on a motion to reconsider shall be accorded only to two speakers opposing reconsideration, after which the motion shall be immediately put to the votes.

VI. VOTING AND ELECTIONS

General Agreement

Rule 29

The Summit shall make its best endeavours to ensure that its work is accomplished by general agreement.

Voting Rights

Rule 30

1. Each State participating in the Summit shall have one vote.

2. Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, a Member Organization participating in the Summit may exercise on matters within its competence in any meeting of the Summit in which it is entitled to participate, a number of votes equal to the number of its Member States entitled to vote in such meeting. Whenever a Member Organization exercises its right to vote, its Member States shall not exercise theirs, and conversely.

3. Except as provided in Rule 39, the Summit shall normally vote by show of hands, except that a representative of a State or a Member Organization participating in the Summit, may request a roll call, which shall then be taken in the English alphabetical order of the States and Member Organization participating in the Summit, beginning with the State whose name is drawn by lot by the Chairperson. The representative of each State or Member Organization called shall reply "Yes", "No" or "Abstention". At the conclusion of any roll call, the name of any State or Member Organization whose representative failed to reply shall be called again.

4. When the Summit votes by electronic means, a vote without recording names shall replace a vote by show of hands and a nominal vote shall replace a roll call. In the case of a nominal vote, the procedure of calling out the names of the States and Member Organization shall not be applicable, unless the Summit otherwise decides. The vote of each State or Member Organization participating in a nominal vote shall be inserted in the record.

Majority Required

Rule 31

1. Subject to Rule 29 and unless the Summit decides otherwise, decisions of the Summit on all matters of substance shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the representatives present and voting.

2. Unless the Summit decides otherwise and except as otherwise provided in these Rules, decisions of the Summit on all matters of procedure shall be taken by a simple majority of the representatives present and voting.

3. If the question arises whether a matter is one of procedure or of substance, the Chairperson shall rule on the question. An appeal against such a ruling shall be immediately put to the vote, and the Chairperson's ruling shall stand unless overruled by a majority of the representatives present and voting.

Meaning of the Phrase "Representatives Present and Voting"

Rule 32

For the purpose of these rules, the phrase "representatives present and voting" means representatives casting an affirmative or negative vote. Representatives who abstain from voting shall be regarded as not voting.

Conduct during Voting

Rule 33

After the Chairperson has announced the commencement of voting, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting.

Explanation of Vote

Rule 34

The Chairperson may permit representatives to explain their votes, either before or after the voting except when the vote is taken by secret ballot. He/she may limit the time to be allowed for such explanations. The representative of a State or Member Organization sponsoring a proposal or motion shall not speak in explanation of the vote thereon, except if it has been amended.

Division of Proposals

Rule 35

A representative may move that parts of a proposal be voted on separately. If a representative objects, the motion for division shall be voted upon. Permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded only to two representatives in favour of and to two opposing the division. If the motion is carried, those parts of the proposal that are subsequently approved shall be put to the vote as a whole. If all operative parts of the proposal have been rejected, the proposal shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole.

Amendments

Rule 36

A proposal is considered an amendment to another proposal if it merely adds to, deletes from or revises part of that proposal. Unless specified otherwise, the word "proposal" in these rules shall be considered as including amendments.

Order of Voting on Amendments

Rule 37

When an amendment is moved to a proposal, the amendment shall be voted on first. When two or more amendments are moved to a proposal, the Summit shall vote first on the amendment furthest removed in substance from the original proposal and then on the amendment next furthest removed therefrom, and so on until all the amendments have been put to the vote. Where, however, the adoption of one amendment necessarily implies the rejection of another amendment, the latter shall not be put to the vote. If one or more amendments are adopted, the amended proposal shall then be voted upon.

Order of Voting on Proposals

Rule 38

1. If two or more proposals, other than amendments, relate to the same question, they shall, unless the Summit decides otherwise, be voted on in the order in which they were submitted. The Summit may, after each vote on a proposal, decide whether to vote on the next proposal.

2. Revised proposals shall be voted on in the order in which the original proposals were submitted unless the revision substantially departs from the original proposal. In that case, the original proposal shall be considered as withdrawn and the revised proposal shall be treated as a new proposal.

3. A motion requiring that no decision be taken on a proposal shall be put to the vote before a vote is taken on the proposal in question.

Elections

Rule 39

All elections shall be held by secret ballot, unless, in the absence of any objection, the Summit decides to proceed without taking a ballot when there is an agreed candidate or slate.

Rule 40

1. If, when only one elective place is to be filled, no candidate obtains in the first ballot the majority required, a second ballot shall be taken, confined to the two candidates having obtained the largest number of votes. If in the second ballot the votes are equally divided, the Chairperson shall decide between the candidates by drawing lots.

2. In the case of a tie in the first ballot among the candidates obtaining the second largest number of votes, a special ballot shall be held among such candidates for the purpose of reducing the number of the candidates to two; similarly, in the case of a tie among three or more candidates obtaining the largest number of votes, a special ballot shall be held; if a tie again results in the special ballot, the Chairperson shall eliminate one candidate by drawing lots and thereafter another ballot shall be held in accordance with paragraph 1.

Rule 41

1. When two or more elective places are to be filled at one time under the same conditions, those candidates in a number not exceeding the number of such places, obtaining in the first ballot the majority required and the largest number of votes, shall be elected.

2. If the number of candidates obtaining such majority is less than the number of places to be filled, additional ballots shall be held to fill the remaining places, provided that if only one place remains to be filled the procedures in Rule 40 shall be applied. The ballot shall be restricted to the unsuccessful candidates having obtained the largest number of votes in the previous ballot, but not exceeding twice the number of places remaining to be filled. However, in the case of a tie between a greater number of unsuccessful candidates, a special ballot shall be held for the purpose of reducing the number of candidates to the required number: if a tie again results among more than the required number of candidates, the Chairperson shall reduce their number to that required by drawing lots.

3. If such a restricted ballot (not counting a special ballot held under the conditions specified in the last sentence of paragraph 2) is inconclusive, the Chairperson shall decide among the candidates by drawing lots.

Equally Divided Votes

Rule 42

If a vote is equally divided on a matter other than an election, the proposal or motion shall be regarded as rejected.

VII. SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE SUMMIT

Subsidiary Bodies

Rule 43

The Summit shall include three Round Tables, open to representatives of States or Member Organization of FAO. The Summit may establish such other subsidiary bodies as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.

Officers, Conduct of Business and Voting in Subsidiary Bodies

Rule 44

The Rules contained in Chapters II (Rules 5-7), V (Rules 14-28) and VI (Rules 29-42) above shall be applicable, mutatis mutandis, to the proceedings of subsidiary bodies of the Summit.

VIII. LANGUAGES AND RECORDS

Languages of the Summit

Rule 45

Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish shall be the languages of the Summit.

Interpretation

Rule 46

1. Speeches made in one language of the Summit shall be interpreted into the other languages of the Summit.

2. A representative may speak in a language other than a language of the Summit if he/she provides for interpretation into a language of the Summit.

Languages of Official Documents

Rule 47

Official documents of the Summit shall be made available in all of the languages of the Summit.

Records of Meetings

Rule 48

Sound recordings of meetings of the Summit shall be made and kept.

IX. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MEETINGS

General Principles

Rule 49

The plenary meetings of the Summit shall be held in public unless the Summit decides otherwise. Meetings of subsidiary bodies of the Summit shall be held in private.

X. OBSERVERS

Representatives of organizations

Rule 50

Representatives designated by organizations that have received a standing invitation from the General Assembly of the United Nations to participate in the sessions and work of international conferences convened under its auspices shall have the right to participate as observers, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Summit.

Representatives of United Nations and Agencies

Rule 51

Representatives designated by the United Nations, or its interested organs, the Specialized Agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Trade Organization may participate, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Summit on questions within the scope of their activities.

Observers of Other Intergovernmental Organizations

Rule 52

Representatives of observers designated by other intergovernmental organizations invited to the Summit may participate, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Summit on questions within the scope of their activities.

Observers of Non-Governmental Organizations

Rule 53

1. Non-governmental organizations invited to the Summit may designate representatives to sit as observers at public meetings of the Summit on questions within the scope of their activities.

2. The Chairperson shall invite such non-governmental organizations to form themselves into a limited number of constituencies. Upon the invitation of the Chairperson, and subject to its approval, such constituencies may, through spokespersons, make oral statements on questions within the scope of their activities.

XI. WRITTEN STATEMENTS

Written Statements

Rule 54

1. Written statements submitted by the designated representatives of States and Member Organizations participating in the Summit shall be made available by the Secretariat in the quantities and in the languages in which the statements are provided to the Secretariat.

2. Written statements submitted by the designated representatives of observers referred to in Rules 50 to 53 shall be made available by the Secretariat in the quantities and in the languages in which the statements are submitted to the Secretariat, provided that such statements are on subjects in which they have special competence and are related to the work of the Summit.

XII. AMENDMENT AND SUSPENSION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

Method of Amendment

Rule 55

These Rules of Procedure may be amended by a decision of the Summit taken by a two-thirds majority of the representatives present and voting, after the General Committee has reported on the proposed amendment.

Method of Suspension

Rule 56

Any of these Rules may be suspended by the Summit provided that twenty-four hours' notice of the proposal for the suspension has been given, which notice may be waived if no member objects. Any such suspension shall be limited to a specific and stated purpose, and to a period required to achieve that purpose.

General Rules of the Organization

Rule 57

Any matters not dealt with in these Rules shall be dealt with in accordance with the General Rules of the Organization.