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THE CONFERENCE,

Recalling its Resolutions 1/61, 4/65 and 22/75 concerning the establishment and continuation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, of the United Nations World Food Programme, its Resolution 9/91 concerning the revision of the General Regulations of the World Food Programme and membership of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes of the World Food Programme, and its Resolution 9/95 transforming the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes into an Executive Board of the World Food Programme and approving revised General Regulations for the World Food Programme,

Noting Resolution 48/162 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 December 1993, on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields,

Having considered the decision of the Hundred and Twelfth Session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, adopted on the recommendation of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme, concerning the revision of the General Regulations of the World Food Programme:

1. Decides to approve the revised General Regulations of the World Food Programme contained in Appendix F as endorsed by the FAO Council at the ninth meeting of its Hundred and Twelfth Session on 7 June 1997, and by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in its decision N. 1997/217 of 8 July 1997;

2. Decides further, subject to the concurrence of the General Assembly of the United Nations, that the revised General Regulations shall enter into force on 1 January 1998.

(Adopted on 17 November 1997)

126. The Conference noted that the proposed revision of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) was comprehensive and wide ranging. Its objective was to bring the Convention up to date with modem phytosanitary practices and technologies, to bring it into line with the new concepts introduced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (the SPS Agreement), and to establish a mechanism, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, for the formal setting of phytosanitary standards, which would be recognized under the SPS Agreement, as well as establishing formally the IPPC Secretariat.

127. The Conference noted that, at its Twenty-eighth Session (Rome, 20-31 October 1995), it had called for the revision of the IPPC on the recommendation of the Committee on Agriculture. Subsequently, the text was negotiated over a period of two years. The Council had unanimously endorsed the revised text, at its Hundred and Twelfth Session, (Rome, 2-7 June 1997), and had recommended that it be transmitted through the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM) and the Council, at its Hundred and Thirteenth Session (Rome, 4-6 November 1997), to the Conference for adoption.

128. The Council, at its Hundred and Thirteenth Session, approved the recommendations of the CCLM and agreed to transmit the amendments to the IPPC as modified by the CCLM, to the Conference for its consideration and approval.

129. The Conference took note of the statement of the Chairman of the WTO SPS Committee indicating that the SPS Committee and the SPS Secretariat had closely followed the revision of the Convention and had supported its results. The IPPC was distinct from the SPS Agreement and had its own scope and objectives, although with a common interest in the application of phytosanitary measures affecting trade. The revision was consistent with the SPS Agreement which included wild flora and forests in its definition of plants, thus allowing the use of phytosanitary measures to safeguard commercial, as well as non-commercial, plants. The adoption and implementation of the revised IPPC would be of great assistance in the application of the WTO SPS principles and objectives.

130. The Conference took note that the international standards for phytosanitary measures as adopted by the FAO Conference and, in future, by the Interim Commission and, once the revised IPPC enters into force, by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, would constitute international phytosanitary standards referred to in Article 3, paragraph 2 of the SPS Agreement.

131. The Conference agreed that the Secretariat of the IPPC should commence work on further standards that would include topics not covered by the current IPPC but that would become relevant under the revised text and that such standards would be considered for adoption by the Interim Commission.

132. The Conference took particular note of the views of the CCLM as to whether the amendments would involve new obligations for the contracting parties. In this connection, the Conference decided that the amendments would not involve new obligations for contracting parties. Consequently, once adopted, the amendments would come into force, for all contracting parties, after acceptance by two-thirds of the Contracting Parties.

133. The Conference commended the FAO Secretariat on the work accomplished and approved the amendments to the IPPC as reflected in the revised text of the Convention set out in Appendix G.

134. The Conference adopted the following explanatory statement: "With reference to Article III of this Convention, nothing in this Convention, and in particular in Articles VI or VII thereof, shall be interpreted as limiting the rights or the obligations of the contracting parties to this Convention under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).

135. The Conference adopted the following Resolution:

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