Conference

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

AGENDA AND SCHEDULING OF ITEMS

COMPOSITION OF DELEGATIONS

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE CONFERENCE

Admission of New Members
Appointment of the Director-General
Appointment of the Independent Chairman of the Council
Election of Council Members

OFFICERS OF THE CONFERENCE

PLENARY MEETINGS

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

INVITATIONS

APPENDIX A: TENTATIVE TIMETABLE OF THE CONFERENCE -
DETAILED SCHEDULE

APPENDIX B: EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF FAO

APPENDIX C: CRITERIA FOR CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS AND FUNCTIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

INTRODUCTION

1. At its Twenty-ninth session (November 1997) the Conference decided that the Thirtieth session should be held in Rome from 12 to 23 November 1999¹.

2. Subsequently the 115^th Council Session (November 1998) reviewed the procedures and methods of work of Conference sessions in the light of proposals from the Joint Meeting of the Programme and Finance Committees and the comments of the CCLM. The Council further agreed for the 1999 Conference Session that Commission III be abolished, the number of Commissions being reduced to two, and that the Resolutions Committee be maintained with its present Terms of Reference. Plenary should continue to deal with the State of Food and Agriculture and Heads of Delegation should be invited to focus on this item. These arrangements do not require amendments to the Basic Texts and are, therefore, reflected in the present document.

3. The Council further requested that CCLM continue its examination of the Basic Texts and submit to the Council a Draft Resolution on amendments to the General Rules of the Organization for onward transmission to the Conference which would permit:

• Abolition of the Nominations Committee.
• Introduction of an electronic voting system.
• Election of Council members by clear general consent whenever the number of candidates was equal to the number of vacancies.

4. Arrangements under paragraph 3 above require formal action by Conference to amend the Basic Texts. Adoption of the relevant Resolution has been scheduled for the second day of the Conference so that its provisions may be implemented, to the extent possible, during the present session, at least in so far as the second and third bullets above are concerned.

5. As regards the statements by Heads of Delegation, the Council had requested that a paper on the financial and scheduling implications of arranging for separate but simultaneous meetings at which Ministers could address selected topics be submitted to the Joint Meeting of the Programme and Finance Committees at its Spring 1999 Session. The results of the Joint Meeting discussion on this topic were examined by the Council which referred the issue back to the Joint Meeting and recognized that it would not be possible to implement at the Thirtieth Conference Session..

AGENDA AND SCHEDULING OF ITEMS

6. A provisional agenda for the Conference session containing only matters for which action by the Conference is required is found in document C 99/1 which also lists subjects for which information documents will be tabled during the session.

7. Two Commissions would be established: Commission I (substantive and policy matters in food and agriculture) and Commission II (programme and budgetary matters). Subjects formerly dealt with by Commission III will now be considered by the Plenary.

8. A tentative timetable of the Conference session is given in Appendix A. The timetable provides that the work of each Commission would take up no more than four days. Meetings would normally last from 09.30 to 12.30 hours and from 14.30 to 17.30 hours.

9. All foreseen votes are scheduled during the first week of the Conference, for the benefit of Members that may find it difficult to maintain full delegations in Rome throughout the entire Conference period.

COMPOSITION OF DELEGATIONS

10. Delegations are normally headed by Ministers. In deciding on the composition of their delegations, Members will wish to bear in mind the need for effective participation in the work of the Commissions as well as in Plenary.

11. In accordance with Article III of the Constitution, each Member may be represented by one delegate, who may be accompanied by alternates, associates and advisers (see Appendix B).

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE CONFERENCE

12. In addition to adopting amendments to the Constitution, Rules and Regulations of the Organization, approving conventions and agreements, etc., the Conference has the following specific constitutional duties.

Admission of New Members

13. The Conference, as the supreme authority of the Organization, admits new Members to the Organization and deals generally with all matters relating to membership. At the date of preparing this document, one application for membership (Niue) had been received. Under Rule XIX-2 of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO) applications are receivable up to 30 days before the opening of the Conference Session, i.e. 12 October 1999. The admission of new Members is carried out by secret ballot and requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, provided that the total number of affirmative and negative votes cast shall be more than one half of the Member Nations of the Organization. Membership becomes effective on the date on which the Conference approves the application. This item of the Agenda is scheduled for Friday 12 November 1999.

Appointment of the Director-General

14. In accordance with Article VII of the Constitution and Rule XXXVI GRO, the Conference appoints the Director-General. In accordance with Rule XXXVI-l(a) GRO the Hundred and Fifteenth Council Session (November 1998) had established 8 April 1999 as the closing date for receipt of nominations for the Office of Director-General. The nominations received by that date are given in document C 99/18.

15. The last sentence of Rule XXXVI-l(a) GRO specifies that "As soon as possible after the opening of the Conference Session, the General Committee shall determine and announce the date of the election, it being understood that the appointment of the Director-General at a regular session shall begin and be effected within three working days following the opening date of such session". It is proposed that balloting begins on the morning of Saturday 13 November.

Appointment of the Independent Chairman of the Council

16. In accordance with Article V-2 of the Constitution and Rule XXIII-I GRO, the Conference appoints the Independent Chairman of the Council.

17. Rule XXIII-l(b) GRO lays down that the Council shall determine the closing date for submission, by Member Nations to the Secretary-General of the Conference, of nominations for the Office of Independent Chairman of the Council. Likewise, the Council also sets the date by which the Secretary General shall circulate these nominations to all Members of the Organization. Taking into consideration past practice the Council established 12.00 hours on Friday 20 August as the closing date for submission of nominations, and 27 August as the date by which such nominations are circulated by the Secretary General.

18. The election of the Independent Chairman of the Council is scheduled for Friday 19 November.

Election of Council Members

19. In accordance with Article V-l of the Constitution, the Conference elects the Members of the Council. A separate paper on the election of Council Members, including Nomination Forms, has been circulated as Conference document C 99/11. In accordance with Rule XXII-10(a) GRO, the Conference decides the date of the election and the date by which nominations for election to the Council must be submitted. The attached Timetable (Appendix A) proposes that the election be held on Friday 19 November. As laid down in Rule XXII-10(c) GRO, nominations must be supported in writing by the delegates of two Member Nations to the Conference, other than the delegate of the Member Nation nominated, and must be accompanied by a formal written acceptance of the nomination by the delegate of the Member Nation nominated. Rule XXII-10(d) 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. In the light of those requirements the Council recommended that the deadline for the receipt of nominations be set at 12.00 hours on Saturday 13 November.

OFFICERS OF THE CONFERENCE

20. In accordance with Rule XXIV-5(b) GRO, the Council, at its Hundred and Sixteenth Session (June 1999) proposed candidates for the Offices of Chairman of the Conference and Chairmen of the Commissions of the Conference. At its Hundred and Seventeenth Session, immediately preceding the Conference, the Council will confirm these nominations and, in addition, will elect the Nominations Committee of the Conference, consisting of eleven Member Nations.

21. In accordance with Rule VII-2 GRO, the Nominations Committee, which reports directly to the Conference, proposes to the Conference nominations for the offices of the three Vice-Chairmen of the Conference, for the members of the Credentials Committee consisting of nine Member Nations, and for the seven elected Members of the General Committee.

PLENARY MEETINGS

22. The first two Plenary meetings on Friday 12 November 1999 should dispose of the opening procedures.

23. At the first Plenary meeting in the morning, the Conference will elect its Chairman and three Vice-Chairmen, appoint the General Committee and the Credentials Committee (Rule VII GRO) and hear the Twenty-First McDougall Memorial Lecture. The Plenary will then adjourn to permit the General Committee and the Credentials Committee to hold their first meetings.

24. At the second Plenary meeting in the afternoon, the Conference, acting on the first report of the General Committee, will adopt the Agenda, establish the Commissions, appoint a Resolutions Committee (see paragraphs 29 and 30 below) and deal with the admission of observers and other procedural matters. The vote on the admission of new Members is scheduled for the same afternoon, to be followed by the ceremony of admission of these new Members. While the votes are being counted, the presentation of the B.R. Sen Awards for 1998 and 1999, the A.H. Boerma Award, the Edouard Saouma Award and the Margarita Lizarraga Medal will take place.

25. The third Plenary meeting on the morning of Saturday 13 November, will start with the adoption of the report of the Credentials Committee, followed by the vote for election of the Director-General. The morning would conclude with the Director-General’s Statement to the Conference on the work of the Organization and the Statement of the Independent Chairman of the Council.

26. The fourth Plenary meeting in the afternoon will start with three legal and constitutional items, including the draft Resolution for amending the Basic Texts with a view to streamlining the working procedures of the Conference. Should there be time available in the afternoon, the first speakers listed for the general debate on Monday will have the opportunity to deliver their statements at this meeting.

27. The general debate by Heads of Delegation on the State of Food and Agriculture in the world will commence on Monday 15 November and will continue until Thursday 18 November. The Council suggested that statements focus on the world food situation or on a thematic issue related to that subject. However, as only four days are available for statements, and as the great majority of Heads of Delegation present at the Conference will no doubt want to make statements, the Council recommended that statements be limited to a maximum of 5 minutes each.

28. The Council also recommended that Friday 19 November be set aside for the election of the Chairman and Members of the Council (by secret ballot), and for the vote on the budget level (by roll call vote).

29. The last Plenary meetings on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 November would be used to conclude the remaining items on the Agenda, including those formerly dealt with by Commission III, and to adopt the report of the Conference. As was the case with the report of Commission III, the Council recommended that the Conference designate a Rapporteur to prepare the draft report of Plenary items for adoption on the final day of the Conference.

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

30. The Council recommended the establishment of a Resolutions Committee of the Conference composed of seven members, one from each FAO region.

31. The Council also reiterated the view, expressed on previous occasions, that resolutions should be kept to a minimum, and be confined to matters requiring a formal decision by Conference. Appendix C sets out the criteria for Conference resolutions and the functions and operating procedures of the Resolutions Committee, as adopted since 1975 by the Eighteenth and subsequent sessions of the Conference.

INVITATIONS

32. The United Nations and the other organizations in the UN system are entitled to be represented at sessions of the Conference, without the right to vote. Other intergovernmental organizations having agreements with FAO that contain specific provisions to this effect have a right to attend as observers. Those non-governmental organizations which have consultative status are also entitled to send observers to Conference sessions.

33. Other intergovernmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations having specialized consultative status or liaison status, may be invited on a provisional basis by the Director-General, subject to Conference approval. Accordingly, the Provisional Agenda of the Session contains an item "Admission of Observers".

34. The above provisions are set out in Rule XVII GRO and also in the "FAO Policy Concerning Relations with International Non-Governmental Organizations"(FAO Basic Texts, Volume II, Section P).

35. Observers from non-governmental organizations will be invited to attend informal meetings to be held on Saturday 13 November in order that their views and suggestions on the activities and programmes of the Organization may be reported to the Conference.

36. The Council noted the Director-General’s suggestion to invite the Palestine Liberation Organization to attend the Thirtieth Session of the Conference in an observer capacity.

APPENDIX A

TENTATIVE TIMETABLE OF THE CONFERENCE – DETAILED SCHEDULE

Saturday 13 November

Monday 15 November

Monday 22 November

SUMMARY TIMETABLE

APPENDIX B

EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF FAO

THE CONFERENCE
(provisions regulating composition of delegations)

1. There shall be a Conference of the Organization in which each Member Nation and Associate Member shall be represented by one delegate. Associate Members shall have the right to participate in the deliberations of the Conference but shall not hold office nor have the right to vote.

2. Each Member Nation and Associate Member may appoint alternates, associates and advisers to its delegate. The Conference may determine the conditions for the participation of alternates, associates and advisers in its proceedings, but any such participation shall be without the right to vote, except in the case of an alternate, associate, or adviser participating in the place of a delegate.

3. No delegate may represent more than one Member Nation or Associate Member.

4. Each Member Nation shall have one vote. A Member Nation which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the Conference if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the Contributions due from it for the two preceding calendar years. The Conference may, nevertheless, permit such a Member Nation to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member Nation.

APPENDIX C

CRITERIA FOR CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS AND FUNCTIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

1.         Criteria for the Formulation of Resolutions

Resolutions should be confined essentially to the following normal matters:

1. Amendments to the Constitution, the General Rules of the Organization, and the Financial Regulations.
2. Approval or confirmation of conventions or agreements and of amendments thereto.
3. Establishment of bodies under Article VI of the Constitution and adoption or amendment of the Statutes of such Bodies.
4. Adoption of the Programme of Work and Budget for the ensuing biennium.
5. Decisions regarding financial matters such as the Working Capital Fund, the scale of contributions, and adoption of audited accounts.
6. Major programme and policy matters,
7. Recommendations to Member Nations or to international organizations.
8. Matters relating to the appointment of the Director-General and the Chairman of the Council.
9. Tributes and commemorations of special importance to FAO.

2.    Functions of the Resolutions Committee

1. The Resolutions Committee shall examine all draft resolutions, with the exception of those submitted to the Conference by the Council, unless determined otherwise by the General Committee.
2. The Resolutions Committee shall endeavour to keep the number of resolutions to a minimum, and to ensure that resolutions conform to the criteria set forth above. It shall also draw attention to any significant constitutional programme or budgetary implications of draft resolutions proposed for adoption.
3. The Resolution Committee may make editorial or similar amendments not affecting the substance of draft resolutions. The Committee may recommend such other amendments as it may deem appropriate. With the consent of the sponsors, the Committee may amend draft resolutions moved from the floor in the course of the Conference session.

3.    Operating Procedures of the Resolutions Committee

1. Meetings of the Resolutions Committee shall be convened, as often as necessary, by its Chairman or by the General Committee. Except as provided in paragraph (e) below, meetings of the Committee shall be held in private. The Committee shall maintain close liaison with the General Committee on both substantive and procedural matters.
2. Draft resolutions shall be transmitted to the Resolutions Committee before they are submitted to a Commission or a Plenary meeting of the Conference for discussion and approval.
3. If a draft resolution does not meet the criteria set forth above, the Resolutions Committee will suggest that the substance be incorporated into the narrative text of the Conference Report.
4. If the Resolutions Committee has doubts regarding the likelihood of agreement in the substance of a draft resolution, the Committee may decide that the substance be debated in the appropriate forum, and that after this debate and a decision on the substance, the draft resolution be returned to the Resolutions Committee for consideration.
5. The Resolutions Committee may invite the sponsors of a draft resolution to participate in its deliberations and, subject to the consent of such sponsors, may make such amendments to draft resolutions as it may seem appropriate.
6. The Resolutions Committee may delegate its Chairman or one or more of its members to attend the debate where a draft resolution is discussed, either to explain the Committee’s views and reasons for any proposed changes, or to follow the debate so as to be able to inform the Committee of the background when the text of the draft resolution is submitted to the Committee.
7. The Resolutions Committee shall submit reports on all draft resolutions which have been referred to it, and such reports shall be circulated as Conference documents. Amendments to draft resolutions recommended by the Committee in its reports shall be deemed to be amendments within the meaning of Rule XI-3 GRO and, if necessary, shall be considered by the appropriate Commission or at a Plenary meeting on the day on which the relevant report is circulated.

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1  C 97/REP para 173.