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IV. Procedure of the session

A. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Conference
B. Appointment of the General Committee and the Credentials Committee
C. Adoption of the Agenda
D. Arrangements for the Session and Allocation of Agenda Items
E. Admission of Observers

A. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Conference

12. The Council had nominated and the Conference elected Jean Baptiste Yonke (Cameroon) as Chairman of the Twenty-third Session of the Conference.

13. Upon recommendation of the Eighty-eighth Session of the Council, and in order to facilitate the election of the Vice-Chairmen, the Conference decided to suspend, during its Twenty-third Session, the application of the provision of Rule VIII of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO) which established at three the number of Vice-Chairmen of the Conference.

14. The Conference then approved the appointment of the four Vice-Chairmen of the Conference recommended by the Nominations Committee, as follows:

L.P. Duthie (Australia)
R.L. Cheltenham (Barbados)
S.B. Singh (India)
A.O. Dawarda (Libya)

B. Appointment of the General Committee and the Credentials Committee

15. The Nominations Committee recommended and the Conference approved the following appointments:

Members of the General Committee

Members of the Credentials Committee

C. Adoption of the Agenda

16. The Conference adopted its Agenda as amended by the General Committee, and as given in Appendix A to this report.

D. Arrangements for the Session and Allocation of Agenda Items

Establishment of Commissions and Appointment of their Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen
Resolutions Committee of the Conference
Right of Reply
Verbatim Records
Verification of Credentials
Voting Rights
Informal Meeting of Observers from International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

17. The Conference adopted the arrangements and Timetable proposed by the Eighty-eighth Session of the Council, as amended by the General Committee.

Establishment of Commissions and Appointment of their Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen

18. The Conference concurred with the Council's recommendations to establish three Commissions to consider and report upon Parts I, II and III of the Agenda.

19. In accordance with Rule VII-1 and Rule XXIV-5(b) of the General Rules of the Organization, the Eighty-eighth Session of the Council had nominated the following Chairmen of the Commissions:

20. The Conference appointed the foregoing officers and, taking into consideration the proposals of the General Committee, in accordance with Rule XIII-2 GRO, also appointed:

Resolutions Committee of the Conference

21. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the Eighty-eighth Session of the Council to establish a Resolutions Committee of seven members, one from each FAO region, and appointed the following:

22. The Conference agreed to the recommendation of the General Committee that the Resolutions Committee should be chaired by the current Chairman of the Programme Committee, in order to have the full benefit of his experience.

23. The Conference approved the functions of the Resolutions Committee and the criteria for the formulation of resolutions, as given in document C 85/12, Appendix D.

Right of Reply

24. The Conference confirmed the decision taken at its nine previous sessions to the effect that, when a member wished to reply to criticisms of his Government's policy, he should preferably do so on the afternoon of the day on which such criticism had been voiced after all those wishing to participate in the discussion had had an opportunity to speak.

Verbatim Records

25. As provided for in Rule XVIII GRO, verbatim records were kept of all Conference Plenary and Commission meetings. The Conference endorsed the recommendation of the General Committee that statements could be inserted in the verbatim records when time did not permit them to be delivered, taking into consideration, however, the conditions laid down by the General Committee.

Verification of Credentials

26. The credentials of delegations of 150 Member Nations were found valid. Eight Member Nations did not send a delegation to the Conference.

27. The credentials of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to FAO and of the Observer from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Sovereign Order of Malta were found valid.

28. The names of the representatives of the international organizations attending the Conference, including the United Nations and Specialized Agencies were duly deposited as prescribed under Rule 111-2 GRO.

Voting Rights

29. The Conference noted that, in accordance with Article III-4 of the Constitution, ten Member Nations at the beginning of the Session had no right to vote in the Conference as the amount of their arrears of contributions to the Organization exceeded the amount of the contributions due from them for the two preceding calendar years. Subsequently, seven of these Member Nations regularized their positions. In addition, the Conference decided to permit two Member Nations (Chad and Paraguay) to vote after having adopted resolutions 3/ permitting the liquidation of their arrears over a period of ten years. One Member Nation in arrears (Democratic Kampuchea) had no right to vote at the Conference.

Informal Meeting of Observers from International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

30. The Eighty-seventh Session of the Council had suggested that an informal meeting of representatives of international non-governmental organizations admitted as observers to the Twenty-third Session of the Conference should be convened on Tuesday 12 November. The meeting elected Mrs Sarojini Pillay (International Alliance of Women) as Chairman, and the report of its deliberations was communicated to the Conference.

E. Admission of Observers

Applicants for Membership
Observer from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Liberation Movements
Intergovernmental and International Non-Governmental Organizations
Fortieth Anniversary of FAO

Applicants for Membership

31. As was customary, the Director-General had provisionally invited the applicants for membership (Cook Islands and Solomon Islands) to be represented by observers until their admission to the Organization had been decided upon. The Conference approved the Director-General's action.

Observer from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

32. The Conference confirmed the invitation sent by the Director-General to the Government of the USSR to attend the session in an observer capacity.

Liberation Movements

33. The Conference approved the invitations issued by the Director--General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and those African Liberation Movements recognized by OAU (Organization of African Unity) to attend the session as observers.

Intergovernmental and International Non-Governmental Organizations

34. The Conference approved the list of international organizations to which the Director-General had extended a provisional invitation to the Conference session, and invited the representatives of those organizations to participate in the activities of the Conference as observers.

35. The Conference concurred with the recommendation of the General Committee that, in accordance with Rule XVII-3 GRO, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) should be granted speaking time to address Plenary.

Fortieth Anniversary of FAO

36. The Constitution of FAO was signed by the original Member Nations in Quebec City, Canada, on 16 October 1945, thereby bringing the Organization into existence. The date is commemorated annually as World Food Day, following a decision of the FAO Conference in 1979.

37. The Conference noted that the Fortieth Anniversary of FAO was celebrated worldwide on World Food Day 1985. Regional events were organized by the FAO Regional Offices for Africa in Buea (Cameroon), for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago (Chile); and for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok (Thailand), while national events took place in more than 140 countries.

38. At FAO Headquarters, a special ceremony was addressed by His Excellency Francesco Cossiga, President of the Italian Republic. Before the ceremony President Cossiga had unveiled a plaque to mark the start of work on an extension of the Headquarters buildings. These new buildings would permit all FAO staff in Rome to work at the Terme di Caracalla complex, and would avoid the need to rent accommodations in other parts of the city. The Conference was informed that the Italian Government had budgeted 25 000 million lire to finance the work.

39. Messages were sent to the Director-General by more than 80 Heads of State and Government, Ministers and other prominent personalities conveying their congratulations and good wishes on the occasion of the anniversary.

40. A series of exhibitions on the history and work of FAO were arranged on the FAO premises. One traced the founding of the International Institute for Agriculture established in Rome in 1905 at the instigation of David Lubin, and which was the precursor of FAO. A booklet entitled "FAO - the First Forty Years" was prepared, reviewing the main themes of the Organization's work in the past four decades. A special number of CERES, the FAO Review on Agriculture and Development, was devoted entirely to interviews with Heads of State or Government.

41. On 10 November, the first Sunday after the opening of the Conference, a special Mass was held at St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Organization and of the United Nations. In his homily on that occasion, His Holiness Pope John Paul II paid tribute to the work of FAO, and voiced his strong support for multilateral cooperation in the search for international social justice.

42. In the course of the Conference, the City of Rome inaugurated an FAO Park planted with trees chosen to represent different FAO regions. Member Nations were invited by the Mayor of Rome to contribute additional trees, both to beautify the park and to express its character as a symbol of global cooperation.

43. The Conference set aside one day - 14 November - to commemorate the anniversary. On that day, addresses were delivered by two specially invited Heads of State: His Excellency President Soeharto of Indonesia, and His Excellency President François Mitterrand of France.

44. President Soeharto, after congratulating FAO on its anniversary, described the way in which Indonesia had more than doubled its food production in 15 years, thus achieving self-sufficiency. He announced a gift of 100 000 tons of paddy rice to FAO, collected by Indonesian farmers for the benefit of families suffering from hunger in other countries, especially in Africa.

45. President Mitterrand recalled the origins of FAO, and reiterated the commitment of France to finding solutions for the problems of developing countries. He felt that three main directions should be followed: reform of the international monetary system; full participation by developing nations in multilateral trade negotiations; and a global approach to the problems of debt and development.

46. Following the addresses by the two Heads of State, statements were made by the Director-General and by Heads of Delegation on behalf of the various regions. It was generally stressed that substantial progress had been made toward the goals established in 1945, but that even more remained to be accomplished before the age-old scourges of hunger and malnutrition could be vanquished. The tasks ahead might well be even more difficult than those in the past, as a result of increasing pressure of population on land resources. FAO and its Member Nations, as well as all concerned with food problems, would need to intensify their efforts in the years to come.

47. The Conference extended its thanks to all who had commemorated the anniversary in ceremonies held round the world. The Conference expressed its deep appreciation to President Cossiga of Italy, President Soeharto of Indonesia and President Mitterrand of France for honouring the Organization by their participation in the anniversary celebrations at FAO Headquarters. The Conference also expressed its deep appreciation to President Alan Garcia Pérez of Peru, whose participation in the Conference as the McDougall Memorial lecturer represented an important contribution to the celebration of the fortieth anniversary.

48. The Conference expressed its appreciation to the Director-General and staff of the Organization for having taken the initiative for this celebration, and expressed its satisfaction with the way in which it had been organized.

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