FAO COUNCIL

The 95th session of the FAO Council took place in Rome, June 19–30. The United States achieved all major objectives set for the 95th FAO Council with the exception of obtaining Council endorsement for official circulation to all FAO members of the experts' reports on the review of FAO. However, progress was made on that subject. It was anticipated that the reports would be officially circulated before the November Council/Conference. Program priorities advocated by the United States were supported by the Council and were to be incorporated into the full program of work and budget for 1990-1991. The Council maintained consensus on the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure which it recommended for adoption by the Conference and incorporation into the Code of Conduct on Distribution and Use of Pesticides. The Council supported having FAO hold an expert consultation in September on animal genetic resources.

Support for U.S.-sponsored budgetary reform procedures was stronger than expected, but the Council decided the Conference must take the final decision on budgetary reform. A proposed budget with one percent real growth was generally endorsed by the Council although five countries, including the United States, expressed support for zero real growth and several countries reserved their positions. A late addition to the agenda introduced the question of the possible membership of the European Community in FAO. After lengthy debate, the Council instructed the Director General to study all aspects of such a membership and report on it to the 98th Council in November 1990. The general atmosphere of the Council was constructive and noncontentious.

The 96th session of the Council took place in Rome, November 6-10 and was a forerunner to the Conference. A 1990-1991 biennial budget containing 1.1 percent real growth was proposed. The Group of 77 supported the Director General's call for additional funds for the technical cooperation program. Most of the OECD members, who are major donors, including the United States, United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Japan insisted on zero real growth.

The 97th session of the Council was held in Rome on November 30, the day following the FAO Conference. The session elected members of the Program and Finance Committees, the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM) and five members of the World Food Program's Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programs (CFA). The United States was elected to the Finance Committee and the CCLM.

FAO CONFERENCE

The 25th session of the Conference was held in Rome, November 11-29. The U.S. Delegation was led by Secretary of Agriculture Clayton Yeutter.

In his address, Secretary Yeutter complimented the organization on its work in helping improve nutrition worldwide and challenged it to play an increasingly important role in the future. He noted the valuable contributions FAO makes in the areas of the food sanitary standards, global early warning, pest and disease control, and statistical work in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, among others. He urged FAO to give greater attention to promoting the role of the market system and private enterprise in agricultural development. He also called for FAO to adopt a policy of zero real growth and to concentrate on setting priorities. He underscored the importance of an effective, ongoing review process.

Two major issues in the plenary were reform and the budget. A budget with 4 percent real program growth and 16 percent cost increases was approved. Seven states, including the United States, which were assessed nearly 50 percent of the contributions, voted against the budget; five abstained. The United States emphasized that in an era of budgetary restraint, zero real growth had obtained acceptance in major UN system organizations.

In response to the 2-year studies by experts and by the technical committees of FAO, the Conference passed by consensus a package of program and operational reform measures which contained specific recommended changes if FAO is to accomplish its objectives. In the negotiations leading up to the decision, it was clear that donor and recipient nations were drawing closer in their understanding of how FAO should function.

The Conference rejected by a small margin the North American candidate for independent chairman, a candidate from the United States, thus violating the principle of rotation of posts among member nations. Also, the Conference strayed from FAO's generally apolitical tradition by pushing through, over intense U.S. objections, an unbalanced Palestinian aid resolution. The Conference rejected a draft which called for technical assistance to the Palestine people in favor of one which instructs FAO to provide assistance "in cooperation with the PLO."

The Conference also adopted a resolution on an Agreed Interpretation of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources and a complementary resolution on Farmers' Rights. The resolutions preserved the principle of unrestricted availability of germplasm and recognized the rights of both donors of technologies and donors of germplasm to be compensated. The Conference adopted a resolution calling for FAO to intensify integration of environmental considerations in its activities, emphasizing especially the prevention of environmental degradation.

OTHER MEETINGS

The 10th session of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG) held its biennial meeting April 26-May 5. Meetings of the COAG primarily focus on

technical agricultural issues. They provide opportunities to review and examine a wide range of FAO technical program activities, as well as the FAO Summary Program of Work and Budget (SPWB).

In commenting on the SPWB, the U.S. Delegation stressed the importance of evaluation in future reviews and complimented the Secretariat on its priority setting in light of fiscal constraints. The Committee expressed unanimous support for greater FAO involvement in animal genetic issues. There was agreement that global animal genetic resource preservation had lagged behind what is being done on the plant side. The Committee decided to call an experts consultation to discuss the preservation of animal genetic resources. Agreement was reached on a prior informed consent (PIC) amendment to the FAO pesticide code.

THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM

Since its establishment in 1963, the World Food Program (WFP) has been the principal vehicle within the UN system for distributing food aid. The FAO and the United Nations jointly sponsor WFP. WFP distributes food commodities: (1) to support development projects (e.g., food-for-work projects) designed to produce social and economic progress; and (2) as emergency food assistance responding to natural and man-made disasters. Development projects make up approximately 75 percent of the total WFP program and emergency projects the remaining 25 percent. WFP's long-term goal is to help developing countries become capable of producing or purchasing their national food requirements.

One aspect of social and economic progress is human resources development, which involves construction of schools, libraries, hospitals, etc., and improving nutrition through feeding school children and especially vulnerable groups like pregnant and nursing mothers. The most common implementation mechanism for WFP projects is "food-for-work." Food-forwork projects mobilize the unemployed for such tasks as clearing land, planting forests, building roads and the other types of construction just mentioned. In general, the laborers are paid, at least in part, with food commodities. The majority of WFP projects involve and therefore stimulate small-scale private sector participation in support of the development process.

WFP uses food aid to assist people adversely affected by structural adjustment programs. For example, WFP has targeted feeding programs to reach population groups whose real income has declined because of adjustment policies. As food subsidies decline, so does the real purchasing power of the poor. In these instances, WFP has sought those most in need of assistance as targets for food aid.

Within the UN system, the resources delivered by WFP are exceeded in value only by those provided by the World Bank. For calendar year 1989,

(based on current estimates), WFP committed a total of $576 million to development projects, and resources valued at $94 million to emergency operations.

For the 1989-1990 biennium pledging period, WFP set an overall target of $1.4 billion, to include the value of commodities plus cash. As of December 31, 1989, pledges of $1,014 million had been received.

During fiscal year 1989, the United States contributed 471,000 metric tons of commodities worth $105 million and $50 million in transportation costs to the WFP regular program. The United States also contributed 26,550 metric tons of commodities worth $8.8 million and $5.8 million in transportation costs to the International Emergency Food Reserve (IEFR) for WFP emergency feeding programs. The United States contributed $964,000 to WFP for administrative expenses. WFP is the prime vehicle for U.S. multilateral food assistance efforts; WFP programs both complement and supplement U.S. bilateral efforts.

The Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programs

The Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programs (CFA) is the governing body of WFP. The CFA is composed of 30 members, elected for 3-year terms, with 10 members elected annually. ECOSOC elects half of the members, and the FAO Council elects the remaining half. The United States and some other major donors are regularly reelected to the CFA. At the November 1989 meeting of the FAO Council, the United States was reelected to the CFA for a 3year term beginning January 1, 1990.

The CFA meets twice a year to review WFP projects and resource commitments and to discuss WFP program and budgetary issues. WFP operates on a 2-year cycle for budgeting, programming and planning purposes. Donors pledge resources to WFP on a biennial basis. In 1987, for the 13th biennium (1989-1990), WFP established a pledge target of $405 million in cash and 3.25 million tons of food, making the total cash value of the pledge target $1.4 billion. Members contribute in cash, commodities or both. The United States has pledged $300 million in cash and commodities toward the WFP 1989-1990 biennium regular and emergency programs.

The second session of the Subcommittee on Projects met in Rome, May 22-24. Members expressed satisfaction with the new method of work. The 27th session of the CFA met in Rome from May 30 to June 9. The CFA approved 17 new and expanded projects and 5 budget increases recommended to it by the SCP for a total worth of $319 million.

In his address, Executive Director James Ingram noted the increasing needs for food aid and the urgent need to include a greater cash component in donations. He noted WFP plans to develop more projects that protect the environment, make more food purchases in less developed countries, and place

more emphasis on women's role in development. The CFA approved the target goal for the 1991–1992 pledging biennium at $1.5 billion.

During this meeting, new procedures were approved for feeding programs for refugees and displaced persons in protracted situations. Resources for such groups, who have been in feeding programs longer than a year, will be handled as a subset of the WFP regular program, and no longer under the IEFR.

The third session of the WFP Subcommittee on Projects met in Rome, December 4-8 followed by the 28th session of the CFA December 11-13. During the meetings, 14 regular development projects with a value of $226 million as well as 10 projects for protracted refugee and displaced person operations with a value of $124 million were recommended by the SCP and approved by the CFA. The total number of refugees being assisted by WFP was estimated at 2,634,000; of displaced persons, 830,000.

The CFA agreed to follow the suggestion of the United Nations and request the Secretary General of the United Nations and Director General of the FAO to appoint an "eminent person" to examine the overall relationship between WFP and its sponsoring organizations, the United Nations and Food and Agriculture Organization. The CFA also urged the United Nations and FAO to intensify negotiations to complete a headquarters agreement for WFP with the Italian Government.

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

As a founding member of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United States is committed to the principles embodied in the UNESCO constitution. Today, as in UNESCO's early years, the United States believes that international cooperation in education, science, culture and communications can be a positive element in building a peaceful world.

The United States maintained its observer status with UNESCO during 1989. The U.S. Observer Mission to UNESCO, located in Paris, promoted residual U.S. interests at UNESCO and worked with Secretariat officials and representatives of other countries to encourage reform within the Organization. During 1989, the United States sent observer delegations to the 131st, 132nd and 133rd sessions of UNESCO's Executive Board and to the 25th session of UNESCO's General Conference, which met October 17-November 16.

The United States continued an open dialogue with UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor during the second year of his term. Acting Secretary of State Michael Armacost and Acting Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs Penny Eastman met with Mayor during his courtesy call