184. The second progress report of the FAO/WHO Consultative Group for the FAO/WHO Project and Fund for Participation in Codex was presented to the Commission by Dr Wim van Eck, Chairman of the Group. The Group had reviewed all the comments made by the Commission at its 25th Session and at an informal meeting held with interested parties on that occasion, and had revised the criteria for eligibility in that light, attempting to balance the sometimes conflicting wishes of both potential donor and potential recipient countries. He clarified that the activities targeted in Output level III did not relate to the Joint scientific bodies (i.e. JECFA, JMPR and JEMRA), but to ensuring that developing countries were able to participate in the elaboration of Codex standards.
185. The high level of interest in the objectives of the Project and Fund on the part of the Commission was illustrated by the large number of delegations which took the floor to express their views on the proposed criteria for eligibility and indicative distribution of financial resources. The list of eligible countries was the object of lengthy debate, as the World Bank list was not found satisfactory by a number of delegations, who felt that it did not adequately capture the reality of their current situation and appeared to discriminate against some countries. Other delegations were of the opinion that the Trust Fund should essentially be for the benefit of the least developed countries.
186. The efforts made by the Consultative Group to refine the criteria and provide regular reports were generally appreciated, and the need for a minimum threshold acknowledged. Thanks were expressed to those donors who had already made contributions, and it was recognized that only by having sufficient funding could the needs of all countries be met, without obliging difficult choices to be made among potential recipients. Several potential donor countries expressed their desire to contribute, and to undertake appropriate steps with their relevant national authorities.
187. The issue of private sector funding was raised, with some delegations supporting the need to obtain funding from private philanthropic foundations whose activities did not represent a conflict of interest with the objectives of Codex. There was however strong opposition to this approach from several nongovernmental organizations. In that connection it was hoped that sufficient government funding would be forthcoming to avoid the need to resort to any private sector contributions. Dr van Eck reported that the WHO Committee on Private Sector Collaboration has made the following recommendation, which was endorsed by WHO Senior Management:
“The Committee agreed that it would not recommend at this stage any company funding for the Trust Fund. It was necessary to determine the extent of government support for the Fund and only then address whether any means could be considered for some relatively minor percentage of total assets to be of company origin.”
188. In answering the points raised by Member countries, Dr van Eck on behalf of the Consultative Group undertook to try to identify acceptable solutions to determine which countries should be eligible for funding, although no clear-cut solution was currently available. The Group would continue its work in a way that was flexible, pragmatic and in line with the goal and objectives of the Project and Fund and of Codex. Now that the views of the Commission and interested parties had been heard, the Consultative Group could take these into account and proceed with the next steps in finalizing a call for applications which could be issued as soon as the minimum operational threshold of US$500 000 was reached.
189. The Commission welcomed the progress made and expressed the hope that the Trust Fund would achieve the desirable threshold before the end of 2003, so that it would be operational by the time of the next Session of the Commission.
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[80] ALINORM 03/26/12.
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