Conference

1. Rule XXII of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO) sets out the provisions for the nomination and election of Member Nations to the FAO Council.

2. The term of office is for three years.

3. The Council has forty-nine seats, of which sixteen fall vacant in each of two calendar years and seventeen in the third calendar year.

4. The seats to be filled at the Thirtieth Session of the Conference include 16 which fall vacant at the conclusion of that Session, 16 which fall vacant on 31 December 2000, and one for the period November 1999 to November 2001 following the resignation of a country in accordance with Rule XXII-7 GRO.

5. The present composition of the Council is listed below and the seats in the first two columns will come up for election as indicated in (b) and (c).

(a) As provided by Rule XXII paras 6 and 9 GRO, the seat vacated by Congo (Democratic Republic of) should be filled for the period November 1999 to November 2001 (the remainder of the term of office 1 January 1999 to November 2001).

(b) For the period November 1999 to 31 December 2002 the distribution of the 16 seats to be filled by region is given below along with the Member Nations currently occupying those seats:

1/ Deemed to have resigned in accordance with Rule XXII-7 of the General Rules of the Organization.

(c) For the period 1 January 2001 to November 2003 the distribution of the 16 seats to be filled by region is given below along with the Member Nations currently occupying those seats:

6. Under the terms of Rule XXII-10 GRO, each nomination for election to a seat on the Council must be made in writing and supported by the delegates of two Member Nations other than the delegate of the Member Nation nominated, and the nomination must be for a specific region. Rule XXII-10(a) GRO specifies that the Conference, as soon as possible after the opening of its session and in any case before the end of the third day of the session (i.e. 14 November 1999) shall, on the recommendation of its General Committee, "decide the date of the election and the date by which nominations for election to the Council must be submitted". The procedure to be followed in submitting these nominations is outlined in Rule XXII-10(b) and (c) GRO. Rule XXII-10(d) GRO further specifies that the General Committee shall communicate the valid nominations received to the Conference at least three working days before the date selected for the election.

7. The 116^th Session of the Council is expected to recommend that the Conference establish 19 November 1999 as the date for the election with 12.00 hours on 13 November 1999 as the deadline by which nominations should be submitted.

8. The distribution of FAO Member Nations by region for Council election purposes as at 14 June 1999, is provided in Appendix A hereto.

9. Appropriate nomination forms are contained in Appendix B hereto.

APPENDIX A

FAO MEMBER NATIONS BY REGION FOR COUNCIL ELECTION PURPOSES

(As at 14 June 1999)

I. AFRICA

(Member Nations: 48 - Council seats: 12)

II. ASIA

(Member Nations: 21 - Council seats: 9)

III. EUROPE

(Members: 41 - Council seats: 10)

MEMBER ORGANIZATION: European Community

IV. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

(Member Nations: 33 - Council seats: 9)

V. NEAR EAST

(Member Nations: 21 - Council seats: 6)

VI. NORTH AMERICA

(Member Nations: 2 - Council seats: 2)

CANADA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

VII. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC

(Member Nations: 9 - Council seat: 1)

AUSTRALIA COOK ISLANDS FIJI NEW ZEALAND PAPUA NEW GUINEA SAMOA SOLOMON ISLANDS TONGA VANUATU

APPLICANT MEMBER: NIUE

APPENDIX B

NOMINATION FORM FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

(to be submitted by 12.00 hours on 13 November 1999)

To: Secretary-General of the Conference Date: ..........................................

B-202

The Delegate of ........................................... and the Delegate of ................................................

(signature) ........................................... (signature) .........................................................

wish to nominate

...................................................

for election to a seat on the Council for the Region of ....................................................................

for the following term of office:

(a) November 1999 - November 2001 (for Region of Africa only)*

(b) November 1999 - 31 December 2002*

(c) 1 January 2001 - November 2003*

The Delegate of ............................................................... accepts this nomination

(signature) ...........................................

_________________________________

* Delete if not applicable. Candidates who are unsuccessful in the election to fill the vacancy or vacancies occurring in the first calendar year shall be included among the candidates for election to the vacancy or vacancies occurring at the end of the second calendar year, except where they voluntarily withdraw.

RULE XXII-10 OF THE GENERAL RULES OF THE ORGANIZATION

10 (a) As soon as possible after the opening of the Conference session, and in any case before the end of the third day of the session, the Conference, on the recommendation of its General Committee, shall decide the date of the election and the date by which nominations for election to the Council must be submitted, in accordance with subparagraph (c) below.

(b) Each nomination shall be made for a specific region as determined by the Conference, indicating the term of office to which it applies, subject to the provisions of subparagraph (g) of this paragraph. No nomination shall be made for a term that includes a period for which the Member Nation concerned is already in office.

(c) Each nomination shall be supported, in writing, by the delegates of two Member Nations to the Conference other than the delegate of the Member Nation nominated and shall be accompanied by a formal written acceptance of the nomination by the delegate of the member Nation nominated. Any nomination reaching the Secretary-General of the Conference and Council after the date and time determined by the Conference for the submission of nominations shall not be valid.

......

(g) The election of Council Members shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 8 (b) and 11 of Rule XII, one election being held to fill simultaneously all the vacancies occurring in each region in each of the calendar years referred to in paragraph 1 of this Rule. Should the number of Member Nations standing for election in a particular region be equal to the total number of vacancies occurring in both calendar years, one election may be held to fill simultaneously all these vacancies, and the allocation of candidates to the vacancies occurring in each year may be settled, where necessary, by mutual agreement or by the Conference by such methods as it may decide to adopt. Candidates who are unsuccessful in the election to fill the vacancy or vacancies occurring in the first calendar year shall be included among the candidates for election to the vacancy or vacancies occurring at the end of the second calendar year, except where they voluntarily withdraw.