182. The Council took note with appreciation of the remarks made by the Director—General on the approach he had adopted in formulating his budgetary proposals for 1984—85. This approach comprised: a realistic and thorough appraisal of the world economic situation which was having severe consequences on all Member Nations, and the effects of which were particularly harsh on the most vulnerable low—income countries; a sober assessment of the prospects for external assistance to supplement development efforts in the developing world; the observance of earlier guidance provided by FAO Governing Bodies on strategies and priorities; and, while containing real programme growth down to an almost negligible percentage, a resolute further boost to the Organization’s most essential technical and economic programmes. The Council expressed unanimous praise that this had been achieved by vigorous and often painful curtailments of FAO’s administrative and support services, the resources thus freed being channelled to major programmes of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. In this connexion, it commended the efficiency and economy of the Organization.
183. The Council particularly commended the courage, rigour and lucid judgement demonstrated by the Director—General in striking a reasonable balance between so many conflicting requests.
184. The Council welcomed the introductory statements of the Chairmen of the Programme and Finance Committees covering the salient points of the deliberations of the Joint Session as well as of the Committees separately, which had reviewed in depth the Summary Programme of Work and Budget for 1984—85.
185. The Council agreed with both Committees in appreciating the further improvements in the format and presentation of the document.
186. The Council fully supported their views that the proposals for 1984—85 were framed to limit the request for additional resources while responding to the highest priorities of the Organization, that they provided a satisfactory basis for consideration by the Council and merited therefore full endorsement by the Council.
187. In particular, the Council agreed with the thorough and detailed review carried out by the Finance Committee of the methodology for calculating and presenting cost increases for 1984—85, which were in full agreement with previous practice as approved by the FAO Conference and Council.
188. The Council agreed with the assessment of the world economic and political situation made by the Director—General in the Summary Programme of Work and Budget, with particular attention to those aspects relevant to the current world food and agriculture situation. It concurred with his appreciation of the seriousness of this situation particularly in low—income food—deficit countries and commended his call that no relaxation of efforts be permitted in pursuing the goals of rapid increases in food production and improved world food security.
189. The Council emphasized, in this connexion, the unique role of FAO as the only inter-national organization dealing comprehensively with all food and agricultural problems. It stressed the importance of according it the necessary resources to tackle effectively the challenges posed to the world community of nations, particularly by persistent malnutrition and rural poverty.
190. The Council expressed therefore the hope that, with a general recovery and movement away from the currently depressed financial, commercial and economic situation, the application of budgetary restraint to FAO would only be transitory and that the momentum of action by the Organization would be resumed again with vigour.
191. The Council reiterated its concern at the downward trend of FAO’s field programme delivery due to the resource constraints of UNDP, which was only partly offset by encouraging signs of support under Trust Funds.
192. The Council recalled in this connexion the central contribution of FAO’s Special Action Programmes to the Organization’s objectives, in particular through their direct and indirect impact on increased food supplies where these were most needed. The Council endorsed the call made by the Programme and Finance Committees for adequate replenishment of the resources to enable the funding of pipeline projects awaiting implementation.
193. The Council singled out the importance of the Programme for the Control of African Animal Trypanosomiasis and Related Development, the Seeds Improvement and Development Programme, the Prevention of Food Losses and the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) programme as key elements of assistance to member countries. The Council recognized that, although the Summary Programme of Work and Budget had endeavoured to present the Regular Programme proposals in the light of closely related extra—budgetary activities, more quantitative and detailed information on the Field Programme would appear in the full Programme of Work and Budget document.
194. The Council unanimously endorsed the strategies and priorities proposed by the Director—General. It considered them in complete accordance with the long—term goals and medium—term objectives of the Organization and fully agreed that they faithfully reflected the guidance of the FAO Conference, Council and the recommendations of subsidiary committees and the last cycle of Regional Conferences.
195. The Council fully supported the special emphasis on the urgent requirements of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), particularly of Sub—Saharan Africa. It noted with satisfaction that this was also in agreement with priority—setting in other fora, in particular in the General Assembly, which had passed several resolutions relevant to Africa and its needs for increased assistance. This special priority was stressed as most timely since Sub—Saharan Africa’s agriculture suffered from both unremitting drought and outbreaks of endemic animal diseases, particularly rinderpest.
196. The Council also underlined with great satisfaction the emphasis on Economic Cooperation between Developing Countries and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries which was apparent throughout the proposals and commended the Director—General for his constant attention to the further permeation of these concepts into FAO’s pro-grammes and activities. The Council appreciated the new dimensions which the Organization had adopted infield projects, that is the utilization of the capacities of developing countries themselves, and hoped that these new dimensions would be further implemented in the 1984-85 programme of work.
197. The Council was favourably impressed by the selection of regional priorities adopted in the Summary Programme of Work and Budget which were in full accord with the specific requirements of each region. It considered moreover the balance between them to be satisfactory.
198. The Council noted that FAO’s policy of decentralization, implemented by the Director—General since 1976, would remain an essential instrument of FAO action and that it had entered a phase of stabilization with the network of already approved FAO country representations and a system of double accreditations. Some members stressed however that a need for flexibility in the future was necessary in this regard, in order to take into account actual requirements in member countries.
199. The Council endorsed the proposed activities as described in the Annex to the Summary Programme of Work and Budget. In the discussion references were made to a number of specific programmes and sub—programmes; some suggestions were made as to the strengthening of certain programme areas and varying perceptions of relative emphasis between them were offered.
200. In particular, the Council reiterated the central importance of the crops programme. The reinforcement of FAO work related to increased production of staple foods such as roots and tubers, plantains, oilseeds, and indigenous cereals such as sorghum and millet, especially in Africa, was singled out as a most direct contribution to enhanced food self—sufficiency in many developing countries.
201. The Council also stressed the multiple role of forestry in rural development, through inter alia its contribution to environmental stability and consequently increased food production, to meeting household energy needs of the poorest segments of the world population, to employment generation through small—scale wood—based industries, and to significant foreign exchange earnings in developing countries through tropical forest products trade. The importance of arid—zone forestry was particularly emphasized. Forestry programmes were therefore felt as deserving special attention, taking into account the recommendations of the forthcoming World Forestry Congress.
202. The Council fully endorsed the proposed broadening of the scope of farming systems activities (sub—programme 2.1.1.2) and considered it a most timely development, particularly in view of the focus on the small farm sector, which remained the mainstay of food production and main source of employment in most rural areas of the developing world.
203. The Council emphasized the importance of small—scale irrigation and improved on—farm management of water, particularly for the small farm sector and supported FAO’s international support programmes for farm water management and other irrigation-related activities; including equipment aspects.
204. The Council also commended the emphasis on research and technology development which it considered one of the basic goals of FAO and one of the areas where it expected the Organization to promote international efforts and exercise a major and permanent responsibility.
205. The Council fully supported therefore the proposed strengthening of programme 2.1.4 and a concomitant increase in resources, particularly for the development of and support to national research activities and capabilities. It noted with appreciation that the enlarged programme 2.1.4, retitled Research and Technology Development, would elicit a more comprehensive coverage and appraisal of FAO’s activities in the field of Science and Technology for Development, as repeatedly requested by FAO Governing Bodies. This was also fully in line with the emphasis placed throughout the United Nations System to the follow—up to the Vienna Programme of Action on Science and Technology for Development adopted in 1979.
206. The Council endorsed the proposed creation of the new Research and Technology Development Division, to ensure that most recent results in research and technology, and their application suitable to local conditions in all FAO technical programmes were placed at the benefit of Member Nations, and to enable improved supervision and control of complex and diverse activities. The Council noted with satisfaction that these important objectives would be achieved through a minimum addition of resources. It further noted that further details of the new Division would appear in the full Programme of Work and Budget.
207. Many members drew: attention to the crucial importance of FAO’s investment support activities and commended the recognized effectiveness and expertise of the Investment Centre. While noting that the reduction under the FAO/World Bank Cooperative Programme was due mostly to resources constraints of the International Development Association (IDA), the Council welcomed the renewed commitment of the World Bank, as well as of other multilateral lending institutions to channel sufficient resources to food and agriculture development.
208. The Council stressed the importance of marine fisheries development in the new context of extended jurisdiction over Exclusive Economic Zones. It mentioned also the growing and potential contributions to food supplies offered by aquaculture and inland fisheries. It recommended that they should receive adequate attention in national development plans and external assistance and funding programmes.
209. The Council endorsed the proposed strengthening of the Office of Internal Audit and Inspection, as earlier recommended by the Finance Committee and itself.
210. The Council noted that the full Programme of Work and Budget would contain considerably more information on proposed activities, programme changes, organizational changes, regional focus and extra—budgetary programmes to enable a more complete appraisal by member countries of proposals for 1984—85, satisfy their information requirements and elicit their more detailed and definite comments.
211. The Council supported the Technical Cooperation Programme as an essential instrument of FAO practical action in the field, which was meeting fully the purposes for which it had been established. Many members gave account of the very timely and most useful contributions made by TCP projects to their own development efforts and its role in meeting their urgent requirements for assistance. They considered therefore that the proposed increase under the Technical Cooperation Programme was barely acceptable and a higher increase would have been justified in view of the number of firm requests which could not be accommodated. The Council also recognized that an increase of the TCP had been requested by all Regional Conferences of FAO in view of its intrinsic value for thedevelopment efforts of member countries. Some members felt that the present share of TCP in the total budget should not be surpassed.
212. The Council noted with satisfaction the available information showing that the Technical Cooperation Programme, although shown as a separate budgetary chapter, was in act an extended arm of technical and economic programmes of agriculture, socio—economic development, fisheries and forestry contained in Chapter 2, which formed the backbone of FAO’s activities, and that additional information would be provided in the full Programme of Work and Budget to illustrate this further.
213. Concerning objects of expenditure, the Council noted with satisfaction that the percentage of staff costs had been further reduced to about 58 percent of the total budget, down from some 77 percent a decade ago. It was however concerned that this process of reduction might become a “limiting factor” in the delivery of FAO’s Regular Programme and in the provision of a satisfactory level of assistance and technical backstopping to the Field Programmes, and it considered that this process of reduction could not continue indefinitely.
214. The Council noted that, as usual, complete information on the changes in posts would be given in the full Programme of Work and Budget following the detailed review of all abolished and new posts and upgradings proposed.
215. The Council also appreciated that the relative movements, upwards or downwards, of other objects of expenditure were the result of a careful selection of the most effective means of action among possible alternatives.., In particular, the increase proposed under contractual services was a response to the Director—General’s policy to increase whenever feasible the use of national institutions in programme implementation and to the emphasis accorded by FAO Governing Bodies to the strengthening of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
216. Concerning cost increases, the Council commended the comprehensive and detailed approach adopted in the Summary to arrive at the most realistic estimate, which took into account all possible factors intervening in the process, and built up on either already known facts or the most prudent assessment of likely trends. It expressed full satis-faction in this regard for the Director—General’s unstinting pressure to contain costs.
217. The Council noted with appreciation that this realistic approach would be pursued further in the preparation of the full Programme of Work and Budget, to guarantee as far as possible an adequate programme delivery during the 1984—85 biennium coupled with efficiency and economy and that further information would appear in the final version of the document.
218. The Council generally expressed great concern at the “symbolic” percentage of real programme growth of 0.5 percent proposed for 1984—85, which amounted practically to “zero growth”, a principle which the majority of the members rejected categorically in the case of FAO, in view of the overriding priority given internationally to food and agriculture development and the magnitude of demands for assistance of most Members Nations. Some members, whilst recalling their position on real “zero growth” in the UN budgets as their general rule, regarded the Summary proposal as an acceptable basis for preparing the final document.
219. It was pointed out that this percentage amounted actually to a negative per capita growth.for the recipients and beneficiaries of FAO programmes, since world population was currently growing at about 1.7 — 1.8 percent annually and malnutrition and poverty showed no sign of abating.
220. Although the Director—General had managed to still ensure some positive growth of essential technical and economic programmes by 3.5 percent over their current level, by transferring resources from administrative and support services and shifts from low to higher priority, this had been achieved at the cost of deliberate sacrifice.
221. The Council felt that in view of the difficult world economic situation, the Director—General had presented the most reasonable proposals and therefore expressed unanimous appreciation for the way he had approached the difficult task of reconciling demands from member countries for more services and assistance from FAO, with the financial problems and difficulties in meeting external obligations being faced by all.
222. Many members drew attention in this connexion to the striking disparity between world expenditure on armaments and inadequate resources devoted to the achievement of humanitarian and developmental goals such as those pursued by FAO.
223. The Council reached a consensus in which it fully supported the Director—General’s approach and his choice of priorities and unanimously requested him to prepare the full Programme of Work and Budget for 1984—85 on the basis of the proposals he had submitted in the Summary Programme of Work and Budget.
224. The Council took note of the Director—General’s Annual Report on Budgetary Performance to Member Nations as attached to the Report of the Fifty—first Session of the Finance Committee (25 April — 6 May 1983).
225. The Council took note of the Budgetary Transfers effected in accordance with Financial Regulation 4.5 (a) for the purpose of covering some redistribution of activities within Chapter 5: Support Services.
(a)Status of Contributions to the Budget
226. The Council was informed of the status of contributions to the budget of the Organization at 20 June 1983, compared to the same date in 1982, as follows, and the details of outstanding contributions of Member Nations as shown in Appendix F to this report.
| (For comparison) | ||
| 1983 a | 1982 a | |
| $ | $ | |
|
Amounts outstanding at 1 January |
||
|
Current assessments |
177 690 000.00 |
177 690 000.00 |
|
Contributions in arrears |
23 380 254.77 |
15 063 604.59 |
|
Total |
201 070 254.77 |
192 753 604.59 |
|
Receipts 1 January to 20 June |
|
|
|
Current assessments |
83 981 738.99 |
54 688 047.05 |
|
Contributions in arrears |
12 468 672.13 |
5 781 858.43 |
|
Total |
96 450 411.12 b |
60 469 905.48 |
|
Amounts outstanding at 20 June |
||
|
Current assessments |
93 708 261.01c |
123 123 001 952.95 |
|
Contributions in arrears |
10 911 582.64 |
9 281 746.16c |
|
Total |
104 619 843.65c |
132 283 699.11 |
a Contributions in arrears include arrears payable by instalments due in 1983 (in 1982 in comparative figures) and in future years under Conference authorizations (on 1 January 1983, US$20875.79 due in 1983 and Us$102 931.42 due in future years).
b Receipts include release on 1 January 1983 of cash surplus of 1980—81 biennium;
US$345 595.00 applied to current assessments (1.19 percent) and Us$26 664.00 to arrears.
c See Appendix F for full details of amounts outstanding relating to each Member Nation.
227. The position at 20 June 1983 of Member Nations’ payments of current assessments (as well as the Members with arrears outstanding), with comparative figures at the same date during the previous three years, was as follows:
|
Current Assessment |
Arrears |
||||||
|
Number of Member Nations |
|||||||
|
% Received |
Paid in full |
Partpaid |
No payment |
Total |
|||
|
1983 a |
47.26 |
46 |
50 |
56 |
152 |
53 |
|
|
1982 |
30.78 |
47 |
32 |
73 |
152 |
44 |
|
|
1981 b |
39.43 |
50 |
60 |
37 |
147 |
34 |
|
|
1980 |
57.00 |
44 |
33 |
70 |
147 |
30 |
|
a Includes cash surplus distribution applied to current assessments of 54 Member Nations.
b Includes cash surplus distribution applied to current assessments of 91 Member Nations.
228. The following graph illustrates the cumulative monthly percentages of current assessments received during 1983, as compared with 1982 and 1981.
229. The Council observed that the rate of receipts of current assessments during 1983to date had been significantly more favourable than in 1982 and 1981, but was less favourable than the rate in 1980. Only 46 Member Nations had paid their 1983 assessments in full, while the Financial Regulations of the Organization provided that all Member Nations should pay in full before the end of February. Fifty—six Member Nations had made no payment during 1983 against their current assessments, while the remaining 50 Member Nations had paid only a part of their assessed contributions.
230. The Council noted with concern that the full assessments for 1983 continued to be outstanding for several of the larger contributors, including two of the largest. The Council recognized that many Member Nations in critical financial situations were endeavouring to meet their obligations to the Organization. The Council appealed to all Member Nations to remit amounts outstanding as soon as possible and made a special appeal to the largest contributors which were not facing critical foreign exchange problems.
(c)Contributions in Arrears - Voting Right Problems
231. The Council was pleased to observe that several Member Nations had remitted funds in payment of arrears outstanding, more than US$12 million of arrears having been received so far during 1983. The Council called on all of the 53 Member Nations with arrears outstanding to make every effort to pay these assessed contributions without further delay.
232. The Council noted with particular concern that nine Member Nations were in danger of losing their right to vote at the coming Session of the Conference in accordance with Article 111.4 of the Constitution.
233. The Director—General had informed these Member Nations accordingly in early May but had received no communication from them as to their intent.
234. The Council made a special appeal to those Member Nations in danger of losing their right to vote at the Conference and urged them to regularize their positions as soon as possible.
235. The Council was informed of the status at 20 June 1983 of the amounts due as advances to the Working Capital Fund. The amounts outstanding, totalling US$399 162 were included in the arrears listed in Appendix F.
236. The Council considered at length the Scale of Contributions recommended by the Finance Committee for submission by the Council to the Conference. Serious reservations were expressed by some members concerning this particular Scale and the changes therein, as against the current Scale, as well as the broad question of the appropriate criteria to he applied in developing a Scale for FAO.
237. The Council recalled that the practice of the Organization to derive its Scale of Contributions directly from the United Nations Scale of Assessments has always been followed since 1955, when it had been established by the Eighth Session of the Conference. It also recalled that the Eighteenth Session of the Conference in 1975 had reconfirmed the validity of FAO’s deriving its Scale directly from the UN Scale, following a very thorough and detailed review of the matter at that time by the Finance Committee and the Council.
238. Some members of the Council were opposed to the proposed Scale and felt that the Finance Committee should again review the matter and make recommendations to the autumn Session of the Council prior to the Conference. These members, in expressing concern and reservations on issues of principle, referred to a number of anomalies revealed in the changes in the new Scale, as against the current one, as follows:
It was considered inappropriate that assessment rates of certain developed countries should decrease while assessment rates of certain developing countries increased; the UN Scale, which was based on a ten years’ statistical period, did not reflect the current capacity to pay of many Member Nations related to actual financial conditions in the countries, the weakening of the currencies of many countries, and the availability of foreign exchange as a result of significantly lower commodity prices which represented the major factor in the export earnings of many developing countries, or where the country depended on a single source of income; while the fundamental basis for the UN Scale was intended to be statistics provided by Member Nations, only one third of the Member Nations had provided the required statistics and, therefore, the validity of the UN Scale could easily be questioned.
239. Other Member Nations recognized that neither the time nor the resources required to effectively review the Scale were available prior to the next Session of the Conference. These members, therefore, were prepared to accept a compromise by which they would support adoption of the proposed Scale, but would request the Finance Committee to look carefully into the matter as soon as possible.
240. One group of Member Nations had not supported the UN Scale in the General Assembly because they did not consider that the procedures used to attain this UN Scale were based on objective data or on real capacity to pay, but rather on a political basis. As a result of rejection by the General Assembly of the first Scale submitted by the Committee on Contributions, a compromise procedure had been followed which severly damaged the integrity of the basis for developing the UN Scale. Having registered at the General Assembly their serious concern and disapproval, they were, however, in the interest of cooperation with other Member Nations and in view of the overwhelming difficulties which would be encountered in FAO arriving at a more satisfactory Scale within the limited time prior to the Conference, able to fully support the Scale proposed by the Finance Committee.
241. Many members of the Council supported the recommendation of the proposed Scale to the Conference without reservations. They felt strongly that the UN Committee on Contributions, a Committee of the General Assembly of the UN, in which the governments of most of the Member Nations of FAO participated, was the most qualified body for assessing Member Governments’ ability to pay, as well as the other factors entering into the computation of an equitable Scale of Contributions. The departure from the practice of deriving the FAO Scale directly from the UN Scale would lead to duplication of the Work of the UN Committee on Contributions, would have undesirable repercussions throughout the UN System, and would lead to Governing Bodies of FAO dedicating an inordinate amount of time on this administrative matter, and looking for a viable alternative.
242. In conclusion, the Council proposed that the Conference adopt for 1984—1985 the Scale of Contributions given in Appendix G to this report, which was derived directly from the United Nations Scale of Assessments in force in 1983. The FAO Scale would, however, be subject to any adjustments arising from the admission of new members by the Twenty—second Session of the Conference.
243. The Council accordingly recommended the following draft resolution for adoption by the Conference:
THE CONFERENCE,
Having noted the recommendations of the Eighty—third Session of the Council,
Confirming that as in the past FAO should follow the United Nations Scale of Assessments subject to adaptation for the different membership of FAO,
1. Decides that the FAO Scale of Contributions for 1984—85 should be derived directly from the United Nations Scale of Assessments in force in 1983.
2. Adopts for use in 1984 and 1985 the Scale as set out in Appendix .... to this report.
244. The Council noted the reports of the Fiftieth and Fifty—first Sessions àf the Finance Committee 6. It noted in particular the underlying reasons for the gravity of the Headquarters accommodation problem, namely: (a) •the high cost of renting office accommoda-tion; (b) the cost of duplicating certain essential services; and (c) the cost of staff time lost in travelling between the two locations (estimated to exceed 2 500 man—days or US$200 000 per month).
245. The Council was informed of the latest developments since the last session of •the Finance Committee:
(a) On the question of constructing 70 rooms on the eighth floor of building D, theRegional Administration of Lazio had approved the project but despite prior assurances by the Ministry of the Treasury regarding the financing of the construction, the Organization had been advised that no funds were available.
(b) Regarding the proposal to construct a new wing adjacent to the main buildings, the excavations undertaken by the Super intendency of Archaeology had been suspended at the end of May 1983, again for lack of funds, and there was no indication whatever as to if and when they could be resumed and completed.
246. The Council also noted with dismay that no meeting had taken place yet between the President of the Council of Ministers and the Working Party appointed by the Conference (Resolution 14/81).
247. The Council endorsed the Director—General’s views on (a) the need for the Host Government to take immediate decisions on both the new wing and the 70 rooms so that these could become available for occupation within the next five to 10 years, (b) the fact that even if such accommodation became available, it would merely suffice to house only the existing numbers of FAO and WFP staff, without any reserve for the slightest future expansion by either, and (c) in view of unfavourable prospects regarding the archaeological excavations on the site proposed for the new wing, the Host Government should be requested to consider alternative solutions.
248. The Representative of the Host Government informed the Council that the necessary funds for the construction of the 70 rooms, as well as the completion of archaeological excavations on the proposed site for the new wing, were expected to be made available very shortly and that he therefore expected (a) the construction of the 70 rooms to be completed by the end of 1984 and (b) the archaeological excavations to be completed by the end of 1983.
249. The Council welcomed the indications by the Representative of the Host Government and urged the Government to expedite the construction of the 70 rooms and the timing and final clearance by the Superintendency of Archaeology of the new wing proposed.
250. In view of the pressing need for immediate action, the Council reiterated its request to the Host Government 7 for an early meeting of the Working Party appointed by the Conference and the President of the Council of Ministers. The Representative of the host country undertook to arrange for the meeting as soon as possible after the forthcoming general elections (26/27 June 1983).
251. The Council agreed to reappoint the Comptroller and Auditor-General of the United Kingdom for a further period of two years commencing with the audit of accounts for the year l984 The Counci]., whilst appreciating the excellent services of the present External Auditor, nevertheless considered that it was in the interest of the Organization to have the opportunity, if considered, appropriate, of recourse to the experience and knowledge of Auditors-General of other Member Nations. The Council adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 2/83
APPOINTMENT OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR
THE COUNCIL,
Noting that the Finance Committee recommends the reappointment of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of the United Kingdom as External Auditor of the Organization,
Recognizing the effective services of the External Auditor,1. Decides to reappoint the Comptroller and Auditor-General of the United Kingdom as External Auditor of the Organization for a further period of two years commencing with the audit of accounts for the year 1984,
2. Requests the Director-General to formulate and submit for consideration alterna-tives, including the present External Auditor, for future appointments.
252. The Council appreciated the consideration by the Programme and Finance Committees, in. response to its request at its Eighty-second Session, of the question of JIU documentation, the cost of its processing and distribution and the demands made on the time of the Council and the two Committees in reviewing JIU reports. It also noted that the present FAO practice in dealing with JIU reports cost approximately US$80 000 per biennium for processing and distribution, including some translation.
253. The Council noted that the Programme and Finance Committees’ recommendation would facilitate the work of the Council and reduce the present processing and distribution costs to about us$40 000perbienium. JIU reports could be submitted in their entirety to the two Committees together with the comments of the Director—General and/or the ACC, as appropriate (as at present). The comments of the two Committees could be submitted to the Council, as part of their reports to the Council (as at present) and JIU reports could be made available to the Council as INF documents.
254.The Council, after some discussion, agreed on the following:
255. The Council noted the relevant paragraphs of the Finance Committee report dealing with personnel matters and shared the views expressed therein.
256. The Council noted that by 31 December 1982 the total resources of the Special Account amounted to Us$18.3 million and that 72 projects had been approved for a total cost of US$14.5 million. In addition. 21 projects had been financed under Trust Fund arrangements for an amount of US$9.5 million and a further US$22.9 million had been pledged under Trust Funds for future approvals. The Council also noted that 69 projectrequests were currently under review requiring an estimated funding of US$44 million.
257. The Council was satisfied with the way the Programme was being implemented and welcomed the: proposed improvements resulting from the Programme’s evaluation, particularly with respect to increased emphasis on socio—economic aspects and project duration.
258. The Council was concerned however at the inadequate level of resources available and appealed to both traditional and new donors for contributions to meet the increasing demand under this Programme.
259. The Council noted that following meetings:held with senior officials of the Ministry of Finance last December, satisfactory arrangements were made with that Ministry under which all goods that had been lying at Customs for several months were released and new licences for equipment for official use were being issued regularly.
260. The Council noted with concern, however, that s a result of the previous negative attitude of the Ministry of Finance the Organization had suffered losses totalling approximately US$35 000. It requested that it be informed if new difficulties arose in future.
261. The Council approved the calendar as set out in Appendix H to this Report.
1 CL 83/3; CL 84/4; CL 83/PV/9; CL 83/PV/10; CL 83/PV/l7.
2 CL 83/4; CL 83/PV/12; CL 83/PV/17.
3 CL 83/4; CL 83/LIM/1; CL 83/PV/12.
4 CL 83/4; CL 83/PV/15; CL 83/PV/18.
5 CL 83/4; CL 83/PV/15; CL 83/PV/18.
6 CL 82/11 paras. 2.73 to 2.76; CL 83/4 paras. 3.83 to 3.92; CL 82/REP paräs. 152 to 158.
7 CL 82/REP para. 156.
8 CL 83/PV/12; CL 83/PV/l7.
9 CL 83/4, paras. 3.74 —3..82; CL 83/PV/12; CL 83/PV/l7.
10 CL 83/4, paras.2.l95 -2.198 and 3.127 - 3.131; CL 83/PV/l2; CL 83/PV/l7.
11 CL 83/4,paras. 3.118 to 3.121; CL 83/PV/l2; CL 83/PV/l7.
12 CL 83/8; CL 83/PV/16; CL 83/PV/l8.
