142. The Council in its Thirty-Fifth Session considered its functions and methods of work since 1947 when it was established. It decided that its methods of work could be made more efficient, and its role in the international agricultural field more effective, by adopting in future sessions the approaches and methods set forth in paragraphs 101 to 122 of the Report of its Thirty-Fifth Session.
143. At its Forty-Third Session, the Council having again examined its methods of work in the light of the experience gained since its Thirty-Fifth Session, recognized the benefits that had accrued from the earlier decisions on the subject, and, with a view to further increasing its efficiency and the significance of its role in the international food and agricultural field, amended the findings of its Thirty-Fifth Session to read as set forth in the following paragraphs 144 to 164.
144. It is essential that, in the limited time available during Council sessions, attention should be focused on matters of substance. Therefore, while reserving the right of Council Members to bring up any matters of importance, the Council should avoid redebating issues already fully discussed in subsidiary bodies. Neither should time be spent on repetitions of facts and general exhortations. Rather the Council should be in position to act expeditiously on those matters that require its attention.
145. Committees, working parties, and other subsidiary bodies or rapporteurs shall therefore set forth clearly in their reports:
matters of substance upon which Council action is required, indicating the measures the Council might take;
any subjects upon which some discussion in the Council might provide useful guidance for further consideration at the committee level;
problems of overlapping and inter-relationship between groups within FAO, and between FAO and other organizations, which require policy guidance or action to improve co-ordination and eliminate duplication.
Each report of a committee or other subsidiary body of the Council shall include all such matters in a concise list at the end, under the heading “Matters Requiring Attention of the Council,” with cross-reference to the sections of the report where details may be found.
146. Administrative, constitutional and legal matters arising from the work of committees, particularly the Finance Committee and the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters, which require action by the Council, shall also be set forth clearly, together with the reasons therefor. Insofar as practicable, noncontroversial matters shall be put before the Council in a form suitable for adoption and incorporation in its report, while, insofar as controversial matters are concerned, two or more alternative proposals shall be put before the Council for consideration and decision. The Independent Chairman of the Council in turn shall ensure that constitutional and legal matters are not acted upon separately from the subject-matter items to which they are related.
147. The chairmen of committees and other subsidiary bodies should discuss with the Independent Chairman of the Council, prior to the presentation of reports to the Council, the issues raised therein that require Council attention and the manner in which the discussion of such reports is to be conducted. The Director-General should ensure that secretaries of committees and other subsidiary bodies draft the reports in accord with the objectives set forth above.
148. The device of the committee-of-the-whole shall be used sparingly, since most matters arising from the work of committees can be dealt with promptly in plenary meetings, thus enabling all Members of the Council to be present for discussions and to participate in the final decisions. However, ad hoc groups may be set up as required to deal with controversial issues or with difficult drafting matters which would otherwise take up an undue amount of time in plenary.
149. In order to become more fully acquainted with the substantive work of the Organization, to keep abreast of developments in the various fields of work, and to lay a base for future planning, the Council shall, at each of its major sessions, undertake a general examination of the work of a few Divisions, Branches or Services. To this end, and with each subject-matter area coming up for review once in four years, the following order of rotation shall be followed:
Rural Institutions and Services Division
Public Information Service
Publications Service
Animal Production and Health Division
Plant Production and Protection Division
Land and Water Development Division
Joint FAO/IAEA Division for Atomic Energy in Agriculture
Fisheries Division
Forestry and Forest Products Division
Nutrition Division
Commodities Division
Economic Analysis Division
Statistics Division
150. As a basis for each general examination of the work of a Division, Branch or Service, the Director-General shall circulate in advance of the Council session a concise document summarizing the development of that particular phase of FAO's work, reviewing the major achievements and difficulties to date, indicating the major areas of emphasis in the current program, and estimating future trends. The whole exercise is still a preliminary one and it was proposed that the following outline be followed for the next set of reviews: (i) Objectives. (ii) Organization and main areas of work. (iii) Methods adopted to achieve objectives. (iv) Problems encountered. (v) Evaluation of results achieved. (vi) Trends of the work.
151. These examinations should not be regarded as accountability and program planning reviews, nor as defense by the staff of program proposals for a forthcoming biennium, but rather as joint evaluations by the staff and government representatives of the progress made in each subject-matter area and a review of the problems to be resolved in the particular field, so as to provide guidance to both governments and the Director-General in planning future programs, especially in relation to over-all policies, methods of work and scope of activities in each field covered by FAO.
152. In Conference years, the Council shall undertake a comprehensive preliminary study of the Program of Work and Budget as proposed by the Director-General for the ensuing biennium, with a view to pointing up questions that should be studied by the Technical Committees of the Conference, and subject-matter and financial issues that should come before Commission II of the Conference, and, where desirable, to establishing priorities. In this study, attention shall be given to:
the degree to which activities and methods proposed can be expected to meet the needs of Member Nations;
the balance as between fields of work and in the degree of attention to the needs of Member Nations;
the inter-relationship of activities within FAO and between FAO and other organizations, particularly with regard to problems of overlap and jurisdiction;
the identification of activities that may be reduced or discontinued;
the importance attached to program proposals in relation to the general level of the proposed Budget.
As a basis for this study the Council shall have before it the findings of the Program Committee on these and related points.
153. Also, as a basis for this preliminary study, the Council should have before it lists of questions and suggestions prepared by the Program Committee and the Finance Committee,
prior to the preparation of the draft Program of Work and Budget; and
on the basis of their review of the particular Program of Work and Budget.
154. The procedure set forth in the preceding paragraph should not result in any material change in the timing of the several steps in program preparation and review. Rather, the steps described should result in:
a review, in the first sessions of the Program and Finance Committees following a Conference session, of the program and financial problems that have arisen during the preceding biennium (including those discussed in the Conference) and in the preliminary consideration of the Program of Work and Budget for the ensuing biennium, leading to the listing of problems arising therefrom for consideration by the Director-General and the Council; and
a further listing, for Council consideration, by these Committees of problems and questions that emerge as a result of their consideration of the Program of Work and Budget early in the year in which the Conference meets.
155. Government's representatives should come prepared to raise any questions or to note any preoccupations which they have as a result of advance study of the proposed Program of Work and Budget. In addition, the Director-General should inform the Council of any special problems he has encountered in drafting the Program of Work for the ensuing biennium.
156. With such information in hand, the Council shall prepare lists of questions and problems that should be studied either by Technical Committees or by Commission II of the Conference, and shall forward in precise terms to the Conference such recommendations as it wishes to make in order to facilitate Conference action.
157. The Council will give major consideration to special short- and long-term problems in any subject-matter field within FAO's terms of reference, that are of such a nature or of sufficient current importance to world development that they should come before the Council. These discussions should include consideration of the future impact of such problems upon the work of FAO and of the Council. Therefore, at each major session, the Council shall include on its agenda an item, “Consideration of topics of major interest that may be discussed in the next or other subsequent sessions,” referring such topics, if advisable, either to the appropriate standing committee or to an ad hoc working party, or to a Council Member which would provide a rapporteur.
158. In addition to the preparations for Conference sessions that are of a procedural nature, the Council may propose agenda items under Rule II.2 (b) of the General Rules of the Organization, and shall submit a report on its work under Rule II.2 (c) (vi) and prepare a provisional agenda for the review of the state of food and agriculture in accordance with Rule XXIV.1 (c). This latter point includes the drawing of attention to policy issues that require Conference consideration or that could be the subject of a formal Conference recommendation. To ensure effective implementation of the intent of these rules, and to set the stage for useful Conference debates on subjects of major importance and current interest, the preparations for the Conference session shall be along the following lines:
The Council's report on its work should be a concise document setting out the specific points arising from the Council's work upon which Conference action or guidance is required, and, insofar as is practicable, indicating proposed solutions in forms suitable for Conference decision. This should result in a minimum of Conference time being spent on routine matters and leave a maximum amount of time for discussion of substantive matters.
The agenda for the review of the state of food and agriculture should be so drawn up that it obviates the need for a general statement by each delegate and permits delegates to concentrate upon a limited number of major points that are of concern to many countries and upon which all delegates wishing to comment should be invited to direct their attention.
In addition to issues arising in connection with the state of food and agriculture, at least one and usually not more than two or three major topics should be selected for consideration by each session of the Conference. Such topics would normally be assigned to Commission II if they relate to technical aspects of agriculture and agricultural economics or to the improvement of government services to agriculture, while topics related to broad governmental policies in the agricultural field or otherwise closely related to the state of food and agriculture would normally be assigned to Commission I. Topics so selected and placed on the Conference agenda should become the object of careful advance study by both Member Governments and the Director-General and the appropriate portions of FAO staff. In order to facilitate participation by Member Governments, one or more governments may be asked to prepare background material for circulation and to introduce items or portions of items.
159. The need for contacts with other bodies arises from two sets of circumstances:
where there is overlap of functions or interdependent relations requiring exchange of information or views to enable both bodies to carry out their functions most effectively; and
where there is no overlap of functions or interdependence of action, but where the work of one body is of sufficient interest to another or to its parent organization to justify regular exchange of information and the presence of observers from one body or secretariat in meetings of the other body.
160. In each of these sets of circumstances, the nature of the relationship naturally varies according to whether the other body is governmental or nongovernmental. Also, relationships between FAO and various other intergovernmental organizations vary according to the kind of agreement or formal understanding FAO has with them.
161. If there is clear and logical delineation of functions among intergovernmental organizations, questions of overlap of functions should not arise. Where such overlaps become apparent, every effort should be made by the Council, and more particularly by the governments that are members of the bodies concerned, to clarify their terms of reference so that duplication does not occur; that is to say, the effort should be concentrated on elimination of the causes of overlap, rather than on the setting up of new mechanisms or devices to accommodate the overlap.
162. Problems of overlap between intergovernmental and international nongovernmental organizations should not arise since, even though they or their governing bodies might be considering identical questions, the approaches would obviously be from different bases and efforts to achieve results would be pursued in different ways. The views of nongovernmental organizations on specific problems, however, are often of interest and value to the Council and may be presented from time to time by observers from such organizations.
163. Relationships arising from category (b) in paragraph 159 above, call for little other than the maintenance of contacts between staffs and reciprocal attendance at meetings on an observer basis. This should involve use of Council time to hear statements only in exceptional circumstances.
164. Observers from certain intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations have the right to submit memoranda to the Council. Observers may also be granted time to address the Council, in conformity with the existing rules, principles and agreements. In such cases, they should be prepared to make their remarks on the subject immediately in hand in relation to one or more of the following phases: (i) the nature of the observer's organization's interest in the subject, (ii) the action that organization is taking or proposes to take, (iii) the action it is believed FAO should take and the reasons therefor, (iv) any suggestions for co-ordination of effort, and (v) any specific information available to the organization which might have a bearing on Council decisions. Requests from observers to speak on topics not on the agenda should be considered first by the Chairman in consultation with the Council in order to determine whether the matter to be raised is such that it should be brought before the Council.
165. The reports of Council sessions shall be as concise as is compatible with full reporting of actions taken, together with essential background upon which the actions were based. In general, they shall contain:
A brief introduction indicating the date, place, and officers of the session and any special characteristics or circumstances pertaining to the session.
A report on the work of the Council arranged under headings corresponding to the items of the agenda. Under each heading, the nature of the matter under consideration shall be summed up only in such detail as is essential to indicate the reasons for the Council's consideration and action, and this shall be followed immediately by a report of the action taken or other disposition of the item. In general, actions shall be reported as concise statements of decisions. Resolutions shall be used only in very special circumstances requiring their formulation.
A summary of Council actions, in very concise form with cross references to corresponding pages and paragraphs in the report on the work of the Council. These factual summaries of action taken should be prepared by the secretariat and cleared with the Independent Chairman of the Council and these summaries will appear at the beginning of the Council reports.
166. The summary statements shall be arranged under appropriate subheadings such as the following:
167. When adopting the above conclusions regarding its methods of work, the Council recognized that it would not be easy to implement all these conclusions and, also, that after more experience was gained, it might be necessary to make some further adjustments.
The Council, therefore,
requested the chairmen and secretaries of committees and other subsidiary bodies to give special attention to the implementation of pertinent conclusions;
requested the Director-General to ensure that members of the secretariat co-operate fully with the chairmen of committees and other subsidiary bodies, and with the Council itself, in the implementation of the conclusions;
decided that, after sufficient experience is gained to test further the efficacy of the various methods of work, the Council might again re-examine the matter to see whether additional improvements could be brought about; and
decided that, in order to ensure that Members of the Council are fully informed of the action taken, this portion of the Council Report should be reprinted and distributed to governments with the agenda of Council sessions, and that it should be made available to all participants in subsidiary bodies at each of their sessions.
168. The Council also requested the Independent Chairman of the Council, as an integral part of his duties, to give particular attention to these findings and conclusions of the Council, with a view to ensuring their full and effective implementation. To this end, he should bring to the attention of the Council any laxity on its part, or on the part of its subsidiary bodies, in the implementation of these findings and conclusions.
169. At its Twelfth Session the Conference decided to increase the number of Council seats to a total of thirty or thirty-one, and requested that, before its Thirteenth Session, the Council, in the light of considerations set out in paragraphs 522–529 of the Report of its Twelfth Session, take measures:
to draft the necessary amendment to the Constitution and to instruct the Director-General to circulate it to Member Governments at least 120 days before the opening of the Conference session, and also to draft the consequential amendments to the General Rules of the Organization so that the increase in the number of Council seats could be effected at that session;
to recommend to the Conference whether the increase in the number of seats should be three or four;
to study and recommend to the Conference the allocation of the additional seats to the various regions of the Organization;
to study and recommend to the Conference the means by which in each region stricter application of the principle of rotation of Council membership laid down in Rule XXII.3 (c) could be ensured in the future.
170. Having given due consideration to all the various points which appear in the relevent paragraphs of the Conference report, the Council recommended that the number of seats be increased by four to a total of thirty-one, and that the following amendments to the Constitution and General Rules of the Organization be adopted: (Additions underlined; deletions in brackets)
Article V.1 of the FAO Constitution
“A Council of the Organization consisting of [twenty-seven] thirty-one Member Nations shall be elected by the Conference…”
Rule XXII.1 (b) of the General Rules of the Organization
“The Conference shall make such provisions as will ensure that the terms of office of [nine] ten Members of the Council shall expire in each of two successive calendar years and eleven in the third calendar year.”
171. With regard to the distribution of the four additional seats, the Council recommended that two be allocated to the African region, bringing the total number of Council seats for that region to six.
172. With regard to the two remaining seats, it was suggested by individual delegations that a further seat be allocated to Africa, that one seat be allocated to Asia and the Far East, that one seat be allocated to Latin America, that one seat be allocated to the Near East; and that one seat be allocated to Europe.
173. To assist its considerations, the Council had before it document CL 43/LIM/1110 (see Appendix E to this Report) showing the number of Member Nations in each region, the number of seats per region (for Council purposes) the total population in each region and the percentage contribution of each to the Organization's budget. Various views were expressed about the relative importance of these factors in determining the allocation of the additional Council seats. Some delegations suggested that weight should be given to the degree of dependence of the region upon agriculture.
174. Some Members of the Council recommended that for the next six year period the remaining two seats be not allocated to specific regions but be reserved on a non-regional basis for nations which had been Members of the organization for at least ten years and had not previously served on the Council. In other words any nation, irrespective of the region to which it belongs, could be nominated for election to one of the seats provided it had been a Member of the Organization for not less than ten years and had never held a seat on the Council. This would assist in implementing the principle of rotation. If this proposal was adopted by the Conference, the Council further recommended that at the Conference session immediately preceding the end of the six year period, the distribution of these latter two seats be re-examined.
175. Other Members of the Council, however, recorded opposition to the idea of unallocated seats and felt that it was the obligation of the Council to recommend a permanent allocation of these seats on the regional basis at this time.
176. In the circumstances the Council came to the conclusion that the Conference should decide between the proposal that the two seats be left unallocated to specific regions and the proposal that they be allocated to two of the regions.
177. The Director-General was requested to set out for the Conference at its Thirteenth Session the detailed implications of both the alternative distributions of these two seats in the light of the discussion at the Twelfth Session of the Conference and at the Forty-Third Session of the Council.
178. With regard to the problem of rotation of seats, the Council recommended that the Conference at its Thirteenth Session request the FAO regional conference at their sessions in 1966 to consider measures to achieve more effective implementation of the principle of rotation of Council membership as laid down in Rule XXII-3(c) of the General Rules of the Organization within their respective regions.
10 Increase in the number of Council seats: comparative statistics.
179. In accordance with Rule XV.3 of the General Rules of the Organization, the Council had to determine the time at which the six Technical Committees 11 of the Conference should meet in relation to the Thirteenth Session of the Conference (November 1965).
180. The Council recalled that in 1962 it had decided that these Technical Committees should convene two weeks before the formal inauguration of the Twelfth Conference Session (1963) and complete their work within these two weeks, in order not to overlap with the Conference Session itself.
181. In thus selecting the two weeks immediately before the Conference session, the Council had actually reached a compromise. Several Council members had argued that the Technical Committees should meet well ahead of the Conference session in order that governments might have ample time to analyse their reports and recommendations before their delegations to the Conference left for Rome: some of them thought that the proper time for the Technical Committees to meet would be June, in order to take advantage of the Council session held at least four months before the Conference session; others expressed a preference for September, even though they thought this would not leave the governments much time to analyse the Committee's reports.
182. On the other hand, several other Council representatives did not want the Technical Committees to be separated from the Conference session proper. To have the Technical Committees meet in June or September would mean sending sizeable delegations to Rome on two occasions instead of one, which would involve considerable additional expenditure.
183. After reaching this compromise decision, the Council had asked the Conference at its Twelfth Session to express its views on the desirable timing of the Technical Committees for future years. The Conference made no specific recommendation but invited the Council “to maintain, and if it deems advisable, to improve, as it has already done, the procedure whereby the Conference receives technical advice from these Committees” (Resolution No. 32/63).
184. Again at the Forty-Third Session of the Council when it discussed the timing of the Technical Committees' sessions for 1965, different proposals were put forward.
185. When the question of how to obtain maximum value from the work of the Technical Committees was considered, attention was drawn to the sequence of events in regard to the preparation of the biennial Program of Work and Budget. Early in the Conference year the Director-General's draft Program of Work and Budget for the ensuing biennium is circulated to Members of the Program and Finance Committees. These Committees meet in joint session in about April or May of that year to examine and submit their comments to the Council upon the Director-General's proposals. The Council, meeting usually in June of the Conference year, in turn examines the draft Program of Work and Budget in the light of the Committees' joint report, and its own comments are then circulated to all Member Governments.
186. Attention was also drawn to the terms of reference of each of the Technical Committees, which are to:
review the activities of the biennium coming to an end relating to the regular, technical assistance and other programs;
consider from a technical standpoint the different chapters of the draft Program of Work for the ensuing biennium;
consider the trends of the Program of Work beyond the ensuing biennium;
study such items as may be specifically referred to it by the Council.
187. The Council considered in what way the Technical Committees could most usefully intervene in the foregoing sequence of events. By meeting contemporaneously with, or immediately before, the Conference session, they could bring little influence to bear upon the formulation of the Program of Work for the ensuing biennium and this fact was in large measure responsible for the feeling of frustration so often complained of by the technicians attending the Technical Committees' sessions on behalf of their governments. The Technical Committee's proposals affecting the Program were received too late to be given adequate consideration by Commission II. This latter difficulty was not fully overcome at recent Conference sessions by the system of appointing a Rapporteur of Commission II whose role it was to extract and bring out the issues raised in the Technical Committees' reports and requiring Conference action or decision. The limited time allowed to the Rapporteur prevented him from making as thorough an analysis of the reports as they deserved. In any case, even the Rapporteur's report was circulated too late to be given full consideration by delegations prior to its coming up for discussion.
188. The convening of the Technical Committees several months before the Conference session (say immediately after the June Council session in a Conference year) would overcome the difficulty of late circulation of the reports of the Technical Committees, but even at that stage the Technical Committees could have only minor influence upon the content of the Program of Work. Furthermore, the question of additional expense to governments would inevitably arise, for the arrangement would require the attendance of delegates both at the Technical Committees in June and at the Conference session in November, which might prevent some governments from being represented at all of the sessions. The Council noted that participation by the maximum number of technicians of the national governments at the Technical Committees would be less likely if the Committees were divorced in time from the Conference session.
189. A third possibility would be to convene the Technical Committees in the non-Conference year before the Director-General had begun his preparation of the Program of Work for the ensuing biennium. This would give the Director-General the benefit of the advice of the technicians of national governments in drawing up his Program. It was noted that the FAO regional conferences which met in nonConference years had more influence upon the formulation of the Program of Work than the Technical Committees, precisely because they met just before or at the time of the formulation of the Director-General's plans for the Program of Work. However, with such a timetable the Conference would be deprived of a separate technical review of the Program as such, within the framework of the Conference itself, after it had been prepared, although the Conference would have before it the analyses of the Program Committee and the Council. Furthermore, this arrangement would also impose on governments the additional financial burden of sending delegations to Rome on two occasions instead of one, as stated in the preceding paragraph. If such a solution was to be adopted, Rule XV.3 of the General Rules of the Organization would require amendment.
190. In relation to the foregoing difficulties, it was noted that in the past ten or twelve years the Organization had developed other means of obtaining technical advice from technicians in national government service, notably through the large number of technical and regional bodies established under the aegis of FAO and meeting regularly or occasionally. In addition many ad hoc conferences are held through which technical and economic staff in government service participate actively in FAO's work and make suggestions regarding its Program of Work. They cover almost all aspects of the Organization's technical program and their reports and recommendations are a major source of guidance for the Director-General in preparing his draft Program of Work.
191. The Council recognized that it was practically impossible to relate the work of the Technical Committees to the programing and budgetary process for the immediately ensuing biennium and that this had led to much frustration on the part of participants in the Technical Committees. At the same time the Council recognized that the Technical Committees had devoted relatively little attention in the past to subparagraphs (a), (c), (d) of Rule XV.3 of the General Rules of the Organization, set out in paragraph 186 above. The Council also recognized that technical and economic representatives now had many opportunities of participating directly in the work of the Organization, through regional and other subsidiary bodies, ad hoc conferences, and in other ways, and that by such participation they could contribute effectively to its work. Further, the Council recognized that technical and economic staff in government service had full opportunity to participate in the respective national reviews of the Program of Work and Budget and to collaborate in the preparation of their governments' positions relating thereto.
192. The Council concluded that there should be a thorough re-examination of the problem by the Conference to determine whether, in fact, the Technical Committees have a role of sufficient importance to play in the programing and budgetary process to justify the considerable cost and time involved in convening them.
193. The Council therefore decided that so far as the Thirteenth Session of the Conference was concerned (November 1965), the timing should be the same as in 1963; and it recommended that the whole subject of the usefulness and timing of the Technical Committees should be reviewed by the Conference in 1965.
194. With regard to the arrangements for 1965, the Council specifically determined as follows:
The Technical Committees should convene between Monday 8 November and Thursday, 18 November 1965, the Conference session beginning on Saturday, 20 November. The Director-General was asked to make such arrangements for the Technical Committees to have more time to prepare and adopt their reports, on the understanding that no meeting of the Technical Committees could be held after Thursday, 18 November, and that all the Technical Committee reports would be in the hands of the Rapporteur not later than Friday, 19 November.
It was essential that the reports of the Technical Committees should be much shorter than in the past and be drawn up in strict conformity with the instructions issued by the Council, (Report of its Thirty-Ninth Session, paragraphs 194–196), as completed by Resolution No. 33/63 of the Twelfth Session of the Conference.
It was also essential to bear in mind that the responsibility of the Rapporteur was not to prepare a summary of the reports of the Technical Committees, as this would inevitably involve duplication. His role was to extract and present to Commission II, in an appropriate form, the issues upon which the Conference had to reach a decision or to provide guidance at policy level.
Therefore, in order to avoid any implication that the Conference had to consider and act upon the technical recommendations of the Technical Committees, the agenda of the Conference should henceforth include, in the section referred to Commission II an item reading “Report of the Rapporteur on the work of the Technical Committees,” instead of the list of subitems appearing, for example, under Item 10 of the agenda of the Twelfth Session.
195. With regard to the decisions to be made by the Conference concerning the role and, if they are to be continued, the optimum timing of the sessions of Technical Committees in future biennia, the Council decided that appropriate preparatory work should be carried out prior to its Forty-Fourth Session (June 1965).
196. The Council therefore requested the Director-General to arrange for a consultation of all Member Nations and Associate Members on the basis of a memorandum setting forth the various considerations set out in this Report, with an analysis of their implications.
197. Views and comments of Member Nations and Associate Members would then be analyzed by the Director-General and the result submitted to the Program Committee at its Ninth Session (Spring 1965) to enable it to report to the Council on the issues which the Conference should consider in determining the arrangements to apply in future biennia.
198. In accordance with Article VI.3 of the FAO Constitution, Commissions and Committees established under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article VI of the Constitution may adopt their own rules of procedure and amendments thereto which shall come into force upon approval by the Director-General subject to confirmation by the Conference or Council as appropriate.
199. The Council had before it document CL 43/43 setting forth rules of procedure and amendments to such rules adopted by the following Article VI bodies:
Near East Commission on Agricultural Planning
Regional Fisheries Advisory Commission for the Southwest Atlantic
Asia Pacific Forestry Commission
Near East Forestry Commission
200. The Fortieth Session of the FAO Council by Resolution No. 2/40 established under Article VI.1 of the FAO Constitution a regional commission called The Near East Commission on Agricultural Planning and adopted statutes for this Commission. Rules of procedure for the Near East Commission on Agricultural Planning were adopted by the Commission at its First Session in December 1963 and approved by the Director-General on 13 February 1964 subject to confirmation by the Council.
201. The Regional Fisheries Advisory Commission for the Southwest Atlantic was established by the Eleventh Session of the Conference by Resolution No. 25/61. The Conference authorized the Director-General in consultation with the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters to determine inter alia the statutes of the Commission which were promulgated by the Director-General on 17 May 1962. Rules of procedure for the Regional Fisheries Advisory Commission for the Southwest Atlantic were adopted by the Commission at its First Session in December 1962 and were approved by the Director-General on 11 June 1964 subject to confirmation by the Council.
202. At its Sixth Session held in September 1962 the Asia Pacific Forestry Commission adopted amendments to its rules of procedure. The Near East Forestry Commission amended its rules of procedure at its Third Session in May 1962.
203. The aforementioned amendments adopted by both Commissions are designed to increase the number of the vice-chairmen of the Commissions from 2 to 3 and to provide for the establishment of an executive committee.
204. Having taken cognizance of the rules of procedure of the Near East Commission on Agricultural Planning and of the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee for the South-west Atlantic, and of the amendments to the rules of procedure of the Asia Pacific Forestry Commission and the Near East Forestry Commission, the texts of which appear in document CL 43/43 and Appendix I thereto, the Council confirmed the aforementioned rules of procedure and amendments, in accordance with the requirements of Article VI.3 of the FAO Constitution.
205. The Second Regular Session of the Council of the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) decided “that the policy of the Council [of the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa] be directed toward the formation of DLCO as soon as possible into a Commission for Desert Locust Control established within the framework of FAO under the relevant provisions of the FAO Constitution, and that the Director of DLCO communicates to the Director-General of FAO the wish of the Council [of DLCO] that the Director-General, the Council and/or the Conference of FAO give due consideration to this matter with a view to taking appropriate action”.
206. The Conference, at its Twelfth Session, authorized the Director-General to negotiate, through the Council of DLCO-EA, with Member Nations of that Organization, in consultation with the Finance Committee and the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM), an Agreement under Article XV of the FAO Constitution for the purpose of establishing DLCO-EA within the framework of FAO. The Conference also delegated to the FAO Council its power of approving such an Agreement and authorized the Director-General to sign such an Agreement if it were approved by the FAO Council.
207. The principles governing agreements concluded under Article XV of the FAO Constitution provide for several methods of control which could be exercised by FAO over the bodies established under that Article.
208. At the request of the Council of DLCO-EA, the Director-General prepared a draft agreement which contained provisions reflecting the methods of control referred to above.
209. The Council for DLCO-EA considered the draft agreement at its Fourth Regular Session (4–5 May 1964) and amended a number of provisions contained therein, including the important provisions relating to the control to be exercised by FAO, such as approval by the Director-General of FAO of the program of work and budget, and of the appointment of the Director of DLCO-EA. The draft agreement was then considered by the Eleventh Session of the Finance Committee and the Eleventh Session of CCLM during the second half of May 1964, which Committees reported thereon to the Council (see CL 43/41 and CL 43/42).
210. The draft agreement was further considered by the Fifth Regular Session of the Council of DLCO-EA (30–31 July 1964). That session adopted alternative texts for the main provisions relating to control by FAO. (See CL 43/29 12 and CL/LIM/9 13.)
211. The Forty-Third Session of the Council referred consideration of this matter to an ad hoc committee whose report is contained in Document CL 43/LIM/9.
212. The Council heard a statement by the Director-General on this subject. The Director-General explained that it was essential, in view of the difficulties experienced by DLCO-EA which led that Organization to seek its establishment within the framework of FAO, that FAO should accept this request only if under the agreement it could exercise the necessary measure of control over the administration and activities of DLCO-EA.
213. The Council decided not to approve the draft agreement in the form adopted by the Council of DLCO-EA at its Fourth Regular Session nor the alternative drafts adopted by that Council at its Fifth Regular Session. This decision was made on the understanding that the matter would be referred back to the Council of DLCO-EA with a view to reaching an agreement on provisions which would, if DLCO-EA were to be brought within the framework of FAO under Article XV of the Constitution, ensure adequate control by FAO.
214. The Council further noted that the action to which reference is made in the preceding paragraph would mean that DLCO-EA could continue its operations under the Convention at present in force and that FAO would continue to co-operate with DLCO-EA in accordance with the Relationship Agreement in force between FAO and that Organization.
