Council

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

AGENDA AND SCHEDULING OF ITEMS

COMPOSITION OF DELEGATIONS

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE CONFERENCE

Admission of New Members
Appointment of the Independent Chairman of the Council
Election of Council Members

OFFICERS OF THE CONFERENCE

PLENARY MEETINGS

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

INVITATIONS

DRAFT DECISION

APPENDIX A: PROVISIONAL AGENDA

APPENDIX B: TENTATIVE TIMETABLE OF THE CONFERENCE – DETAILED SCHEDULE

APPENDIX C: EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF FAO

APPENDIX D: CRITERIA FOR CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS AND FUNCTIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

INTRODUCTION

1. At its Thirtieth session (November 1999) the Conference decided that its Thirty-first session should be held in Rome from 2 to 13 November 2001¹.

2. The Council at its Hundred and Nineteenth Session supported the principle, the objective and the general orientation of the Director-General's proposal to use the forthcoming session of the FAO Conference as a forum for a review of Progress in Implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, five years after the Summit. Accordingly, it endorsed the inclusion of this item on the Provisional Agenda of the Thirty-first Session of the Conference in 2001². The special arrangements proposed for the handling of this item are contained in a document on Arrangements for the World Food Summit: five years later (CFS/2001/5), which the Committee on World Food Security will consider and report on to the Council.

AGENDA AND SCHEDULING OF ITEMS

3. A provisional agenda for the Conference session containing only matters for which action by the Conference is required is found in Appendix A, that also lists subjects for which information documents will be tabled during the session.

4. Two Commissions will be established: Commission I (substantive and policy matters in food and agriculture) and Commission II (programme and budgetary matters). Subjects formerly dealt with by Commission III, abolished by the Conference at its 30^th Session, will now be considered during the Plenary meetings.

5. A tentative timetable of the Conference session is given in Appendix B. The timetable has been compiled on the assumption that the work of each Commission will take up no more than four days. Meetings will normally last from 09.30 to 12.30 hours and from 14.30 to 17.30 hours.

6. The votes foreseen are scheduled during the period 2 to 9 November for the benefit of Members that may find it difficult to maintain full delegations in Rome throughout the entire Conference period.

COMPOSITION OF DELEGATIONS

7. In deciding the composition of their delegations, Members will wish to bear in mind the need for effective participation in the work of the commissions as well as in Plenary. Delegations are normally headed by Ministers. The Council at its Hundred and Nineteenth Session decided that Heads of State or Government should be invited to lead their delegations to the Conference to examine Item 5 - Review of Progress in the Implementation of the WFS Plan of Action.

8. In accordance with Article III of the Constitution, each Member of the Organization may be represented by one delegate, who may be accompanied by alternates, associates and advisers (see Appendix C).

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE CONFERENCE

9. In addition to adopting amendments to the Constitution, Rules and Regulations of the Organization, approving conventions and agreements etc., the Conference has the following specific constitutional duties:

Admission of New Members

10. The Conference, as the supreme authority of the Organization, admits new Members and deals with all matters relating to membership. At the date of preparing this document one application for membership had been received (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Under Rule XIX-2 of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO) applications are receivable up to 30 days before the opening of the Conference Session, i.e. 2 October 2001. The admission of new Members is carried out by secret ballot and requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, provided that the total number of affirmative and negative votes cast shall be more than one half of the Member Nations of the Organization. Membership becomes effective on the date on which the Conference approves the application. This item of the Agenda is scheduled for Friday 2 November 2001.

Appointment of the Independent Chairman of the Council

11. In accordance with Article V-2 of the Constitution and Rule XXIII-I GRO, the Conference appoints the Independent Chairman of the Council.

12. Rule XXIII-l(b) GRO lays down that the Council shall determine the closing date for submission of nominations for the Office of Independent Chairman of the Council by Member Nations to the Secretary-General of the Conference. Likewise, the Council also sets the date by which the Secretary General shall circulate these nominations to all Members of the Organization. Taking into consideration past practice the Council may wish to establish 12.00 hours on Friday 17 August 2001 as the closing date for submission of nominations for this appointment, and Friday 24 August 2001 as the date by which such nominations are circulated by the Secretary General.

13. The election of the Independent Chairman of the Council is scheduled for Friday 9 November 2001.

Election of Council Members

14. In accordance with Article V-l of the Constitution, the Conference elects the Members of the Council. A separate paper on the election of Council Members, including Nomination Forms, will be circulated as Conference document C 2001/11. In accordance with Rule XXII-10(a) GRO, the Conference decides the date of the election and the date by which nominations for election to the Council must be submitted. The attached Timetable (Appendix B) proposes that the election be held on Friday 9 November. As laid down in Rule XXII-10(c) GRO, nominations must be supported in writing by the delegates of two Member Nations to the Conference, other than the delegate of the Member Nation nominated, and must be accompanied by a formal written acceptance of the nomination by the delegate of the Member Nation nominated. Rule XXII-10(d) further specifies that the General Committee shall communicate the valid nominations received to the Conference at least three working days before the date selected for the election. In the light of those requirements the Council may wish to recommend that the deadline for the receipt of nominations be set at 12.00 hours on Saturday 3 November 2001.

OFFICERS OF THE CONFERENCE

15. In accordance with Rule XXIV-5(b) GRO, the Council, at its Hundred and Twentieth Session (June 2001) will propose candidates for the offices of Chairperson of the Conference and Chairperson of the commissions of the Conference. It will also, following the abolition of the Nominations Committee, propose nominations for the Credentials Committee consisting of nine Member Nations (Conference Res. 4/99 of November 1999, operative paragraph (a) refers). At its Hundred and Twenty-first Session, immediately preceding the Conference, the Council will confirm the nominations of the Chairperson of the Conference and Chairpersons of the Commissions. Following the abolition of the Nominations Committee, the Hundred and Twenty-first session of the Council will also propose nominations for the offices of the three Vice-Chairpersons of the Conference, and for the seven elected Members of the General Committee to the Conference.

PLENARY MEETINGS

16. The first two Plenary meetings of the Conference on Friday 2 November 2001 will consist entirely of procedural matters.

17. At its first Plenary meeting on the morning of Friday 2 November, the Conference will elect its Chairperson and its three Vice-Chairpersons, appoint the seven members of the General Committee and the Credentials Committee (Rule VIII GRO) and the Twenty-second McDougall Memorial Lecture will be delivered. The Plenary meeting will then adjourn to enable the Credentials Committee and the General Committee to hold their first meetings.

18. At its second Plenary meeting in the afternoon, the Conference, acting on the first report of the General Committee, will adopt the Agenda, establish the Commissions, appoint a Resolutions Committee (see paragraphs 22 and 23 below) and deal with the admission of observers and other procedural matters. The vote on the admission of new Members is scheduled for the same afternoon, to be followed by the ceremony of admission of the new Members. While the votes are being counted, the presentation of the B.R. Sen Awards for 2000 and 2001, the A.H. Boerma Award, the Edouard Saouma Award and the Margarita Lizarraga Medal will take place.

19. The third Plenary meeting on the morning of Saturday 3 November, will start with the adoption of the report of the Credentials Committee. The morning will conclude with the Director-General's Statement to the Conference on the work of the Organization and the Statement of the Independent Chairman of the Council. The fourth meeting will be dedicated to the examination of the items previously dealt with in Commission III.

20. The Plenary meetings from 5 to 8 November will be devoted to Item 5 of the Agenda. The Council may wish to recommend that the morning of Friday 9 November be set aside for the vote on the Programme of Work and Budget 2002-2003, and the afternoon for the election of the Independent Chairman and Members of the Council.

21. The last Plenary meetings on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 November will be used to conclude the remaining items on the Agenda, including those formerly dealt with by Commission III, and to adopt the report of the Conference. The Council may wish to recommend that the Conference designate a Rapporteur to prepare the draft report of Plenary items for adoption on the final day of the Conference.

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

22. The Council may wish to recommend the establishment of a Resolutions Committee of the Conference composed of seven members, one from each FAO region.

23. The Council may also wish to reiterate the view, expressed on previous occasions, that resolutions should be kept to a minimum, and be confined to matters requiring a formal decision by Conference. Appendix D sets out the criteria for Conference resolutions and the functions and operating procedures of the Resolutions Committee, as adopted since 1975 by the Eighteenth and subsequent sessions of the Conference.

INVITATIONS

24. In keeping with the decision of the Hundred and Nineteenth Session of the FAO Council, Members of FAO and States which, while not Member Nations of FAO, are Members of the United Nations, or of its Specialized Agencies, or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have been invited to participate in the World Food Summit: five years later. Non-FAO Members will participate in the remainder of Conference proceedings in an observer capacity.

25. The United Nations, its Specialized Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency are entitled to be represented at sessions of the Conference, without the right to vote. Other intergovernmental organizations having agreements with FAO that contain specific provisions to this effect have a right to attend as observers. Those non-governmental organizations which have consultative status are also entitled to send observers to Conference sessions.

26. Other intergovernmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations having specialized consultative status or liaison status, may be invited on a provisional basis by the Director-General, subject to Conference approval. Accordingly, the Provisional Agenda of the Session contains an item entitled "Admission of Observers".

27. The above provisions are set out in Rule XVII GRO and also in the "FAO Policy Concerning Relations with International Non-Governmental Organizations"(FAO Basic Texts, Volume II, Section P).

28. Observers from non-governmental organizations will be invited to attend informal meetings.

29. The Council may wish to note the Director-General's suggestion that the Palestine Liberation Organization be invited to attend the Thirty-first Session of the Conference in an observer capacity.

DRAFT DECISION

30. The Council decided to establish the deadline for the receipt of nominations for Independent Chairman of the Council at 12.00 hours on Friday 17 August 2001.

31. The Council agreed to submit to the Conference for approval the Provisional Agenda, the Tentative Timetable and the arrangements outlined in the draft document, and in particular recommended that:

1. Two Commissions be established to examine respectively Parts I and II of the Agenda;
2. The deadline for the receipt of nominations for election to the Council be set at 12.00 hours on Saturday 3 November;
3. The statements of Heads of Delegation be limited to a maximum of 7 minutes each;
4. The vote to decide on the budget level be scheduled for the morning of Friday 9 November; and the votes to elect Members of the Council and to appoint the Independent Chairman of the Council be held on the afternoon of Friday 9 November.

APPENDIX A

PROVISIONAL AGENDA

* Delegates wishing to comment on Information Documents will be given an opportunity to do so under Item 22: Any Other Matters.

APPENDIX B

TENTATIVE TIMETABLE OF THE CONFERENCE - DETAILED SCHEDULE

Friday 2 November

Saturday 3 November

Monday 5 November

Tuesday 6 November

Wednesday 7 November

Thursday 8 November

Friday 9 November

Monday 12 November

Tuesday 13 November

SUMMARY TIMETABLE

APPENDIX C

EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF FAO

THE CONFERENCE
(provisions regulating composition of delegations)

1. There shall be a Conference of the Organization in which each Member Nation and Associate Member shall be represented by one delegate. Associate Members shall have the right to participate in the deliberations of the Conference but shall not hold office nor have the right to vote.

2. Each Member Nation and Associate Member may appoint alternates, associates and advisers to its delegate. The Conference may determine the conditions for the participation of alternates, associates and advisers in its proceedings, but any such participation shall be without the right to vote, except in the case of an alternate, associate, or adviser participating in the place of a delegate.

3. No delegate may represent more than one Member Nation or Associate Member.

4. Each Member Nation shall have one vote. A Member Nation which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the Conference if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the Contributions due from it for the two preceding calendar years. The Conference may, nevertheless, permit such a Member Nation to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member Nation.

APPENDIX D

CRITERIA FOR CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS AND FUNCTIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

1.     Criteria for the Formulation of Resolutions

Resolutions should be confined essentially to the following normal matters:

1. Amendments to the Constitution, the General Rules of the Organization, and the Financial Regulations.
2. Approval or confirmation of conventions or agreements and of amendments thereto.
3. Establishment of bodies under Article VI of the Constitution and adoption or amendment of the Statutes of such Bodies.
4. Adoption of the Programme of Work and Budget for the ensuing biennium.
5. Decisions regarding financial matters such as the Working Capital Fund, the scale of contributions, and adoption of audited accounts.
6. Major programme and policy matters,
7. Recommendations to Member Nations or to international organizations.
8. Matters relating to the appointment of the Director-General and the Chairman of the Council.
9. Tributes and commemorations of special importance to FAO.

2.     Functions of the Resolutions Committee

1. The Resolutions Committee shall examine all draft resolutions, with the exception of those submitted to the Conference by the Council, unless determined otherwise by the General Committee.
2. The Resolutions Committee shall endeavour to keep the number of resolutions to a minimum, and to ensure that resolutions conform to the criteria set forth above. It shall also draw attention to any significant constitutional programme or budgetary implications of draft resolutions proposed for adoption.
3. The Resolutions Committee may make editorial or similar amendments not affecting the substance of draft resolutions. The Committee may recommend such other amendments as it may deem appropriate. With the consent of the sponsors, the Committee may amend draft resolutions moved from the floor in the course of the Conference session.

3.     Operating Procedures of the Resolutions Committee

1. Meetings of the Resolutions Committee shall be convened, as often as necessary, by its Chairman or by the General Committee. Except as provided in paragraph (e) below, meetings of the Committee shall be held in private. The Committee shall maintain close liaison with the General Committee on both substantive and procedural matters.
2. Draft resolutions shall be transmitted to the Resolutions Committee before they are submitted to a Commission or a Plenary meeting of the Conference for discussion and approval.
3. If a draft resolution does not meet the criteria set forth above, the Resolutions Committee will suggest that the substance be incorporated into the narrative text of the Conference Report.
4. If the Resolutions Committee has doubts regarding the likelihood of agreement in the substance of a draft resolution, the Committee may decide that the substance be debated in the appropriate forum, and that after this debate and a decision on the substance, the draft resolution be returned to the Resolutions Committee for consideration.
5. The Resolutions Committee may invite the sponsors of a draft resolution to participate in its deliberations and, subject to the consent of such sponsors, may make such amendments to draft resolutions as it may consider appropriate.
6. The Resolutions Committee may delegate its Chairman or one or more of its members to attend the debate where a draft resolution is discussed, either to explain the Committee's views and reasons for any proposed changes, or to follow the debate so as to be able to inform the Committee of the background when the text of the draft resolution is submitted to the Committee.
7. The Resolutions Committee shall submit reports on all draft resolutions which have been referred to it, and such reports shall be circulated as Conference documents. Amendments to draft resolutions recommended by the Committee in its reports shall be deemed to be amendments within the meaning of Rule XI-3 GRO and, if necessary, shall be considered by the appropriate Commission or at a Plenary meeting on the day on which the relevant report is circulated.

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1 C 99/REP para 168.

2 CL 119/REP para 25.