US embassy cable - 04ROME4186

UNCLAS  ROME 004186 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
USDA FAS FOR MCHAMBLISS, LREICH, RHUGHES; 
STATE FOR IO DAS MILLER, IO/EDA, OES/E, E, EB; 
AID FOR EGAT, DCHA/OFDA, DCHA/FFP 
 
FROM THE U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC, EAGR, EAID, SENV, KUNR, KPAO, FAO 
SUBJECT:  127TH FAO COUNCIL, 22-27 NOVEMBER 2004: LOOKING 
AHEAD 
 
REF:  (A) ROME 2436;  (B) ROME 3841;  (C) ROME 4106 
 
1.  (U)  Summary:  The upcoming FAO Council will provide 
an opportunity principally for members to review the 
world's food and agricultural situation, to track 
progress in the activities of FAO and the World Food 
Program (WFP), and to discuss FAO program, budget and 
administrative issues.  The weak financial health of the 
organization is likely to be emphasized.  A key USG 
objective for the upcoming FAO Council will be to obtain 
members' endorsement in principle -- and establishment in 
practice -- of a mechanism to conduct an external 
evaluation of the organization.  The election for FAO 
Director General in November 2005 will be much on 
delegates' minds, although it features on the agenda only 
as a narrow item regarding the April 2005 nomination 
deadline.  The U.S. Mission intends to organize a side 
event highlighting science and technology to promote more 
efficient use of water resources.  End summary. 
 
OVERVIEW 
 
2.  The 127th meeting of the FAO Council -- the 
organization's 49-member executive body -- will be held 
in Rome on 22-27 November.  USDA Deputy Under Secretary 
James Butler will head the US delegation.  Below we 
highlight items that will be of particular importance to 
the USG. 
 
EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF FAO 
 
3.  On 21 October, the US and Canada submitted to the 
Secretariat a request that an item entitled 
 
SIPDIS 
"Comprehensive External Evaluation" be added to the 
agenda for the Council.  We have been working with other 
permanent representatives in Rome on a draft concept 
paper and draft Council resolution that were submitted to 
the Secretariat shortly for translation and circulation 
on 28 October.  Details are forthcoming in septel. 
 
WORLD FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SITUATION 
(AGENDA ITEMS 3, 4, 5) 
 
4.  Delegations will have the opportunity to comment the 
Secretariat's report on the State of Food and Agriculture 
 
SIPDIS 
(SOFA) 2004.  The document for the Council covers trends 
in food security (undernourishment, food emergencies, 
food aid), the current agricultural situation 
(production, cereal supply, price trends, trade, 
fisheries, forestry), and resources to agriculture 
(external assistance, capital stock).  In addition, there 
is an opportunity for delegates to comment on FAO's  2003- 
4 SOFA report, published in mid 2004, and which this year 
focused on agricultural biotechnology (ref A).  The 2003- 
04 SOFA report marks a departure from previous reports by 
focusing on a single theme.  The next two reports will 
focus on international trade and food aid, respectively. 
In our view, the new report format and the willingness to 
tackle timely and potentially controversial issues are 
welcome developments.  We should speak favorably about 
both the substance of the 2003-04 report and the new 
direction for SOFA.  The basis for substantive comments 
on the report should be the review already conducted by 
Washington agencies. 
 
5.  Committee on World Food Security (CFS):  The Report 
of the September 2004 CFS meeting will be considered. 
The CFS reached consensus on the key issues (ref B), and 
although these are not likely to be re-opened in Council, 
they are worth highlighting here: (1) the creation of a 
working group of experts to discuss options for improving 
the World Food Summit (WFS) follow-up reporting format, 
(2) the decision to hold a stakeholder dialogue at the 
next CFS meeting (in May 2005) to prepare for a 2006 
Special Forum to review WFS progress, and (3) progress in 
the development of the International Alliance Against 
Hunger.  The CFS also will transmit to the Council the 
finalized "Voluntary Guidelines to Support the 
Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in 
the Context of National Food Security."  The U.S. joined 
consensus on the Guidelines document, which we believe 
constitutes a useful toolkit of policy measures and other 
steps countries may consider as part of their efforts to 
address national food insecurity, but we explained that 
acceptance of the guidelines does not change the 
 
 
longstanding USG position on the right of access to food. 
 
6.  The CFS is the only one of the large governing 
committees of FAO -- i.e., those open to all interested 
members -- that meets twice per biennium.  Holding annual 
meetings is costly and allows only limited time for 
intersessional work.  The US delegation will want to 
explore with other delegates the idea of moving to 
biennial CFS meetings.  This could also be discussed as 
an efficiency measure aimed at streamlining the cost 
effectiveness of the organization and making more funding 
available for work in the field. (Note: interpretation 
costs, alone, for such meetings run somewhere in the 
neighborhood of $10,000 a day.) 
 
7.  Committee on Agriculture (COAG):  The Council will 
consider the Report of the February 2004 COAG session, 
concerning FAO's proposed follow-up to the work of the 
Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and 
Chronic Diseases.  At the February session, the US 
delegation expressed support for a global effort to fight 
non-communicable diseases attributable to poor diet and 
lack of exercise.  We welcomed FAO's follow up statement, 
and suggested that its proposals be fine-tuned and 
examined with an eye to efficacy in disease reduction, 
cost-effectiveness, avoiding unintended side effects, and 
fostering strong world food markets and economic 
development.  In its statements and in its role as chair 
of the drafting committee, the USG served as a bridge 
between some developed countries favoring a more activist 
FAO approach to diet and health issues, and many 
developing countries that were concerned about potential 
economic and societal impacts, particularly for sugar 
producers.  The resulting COAG recommendations called for 
continued FAO work with WHO on this area, but also 
stressed that this work should not divert resources from 
FAO's core mandate with regard to malnutrition.  This 
recommendation seems to have struck a balance among 
member states, and we see no need to reopen the debate in 
the Council. 
 
ACTIVITIES OF FAO AND WFP 
(AGENDA ITEMS 6, 7, 8) 
 
8.  WFP:  The Council will elect six members to the WFP 
Executive Board to fill seats to be vacated by Canada, 
China, Germany, Eritrea, Haiti and Mauritania.  As 
previously agreed among "List D" countries, Canada and 
Germany will be renominated by their group.  Other groups 
will nominate successors to their members whose terms are 
expiring.  Delegations also will have the opportunity to 
discuss the Annual Report of the WFP Executive Board on 
its Activities in 2003.  The USG has strongly supported 
closer coordination among the UN agencies in Rome, but we 
do not believe the FAO Council is the appropriate and 
cost-effective forum for detailed discussion of WFP's 
activities.   Wherever opportunity arises we should push 
for reforms that will remove remaining vestiges of FAO's 
operational oversight of WFP, such as in the Finance 
Committee.  Devoting meeting time, and often entire 
Finance Committee sessions, to WFP budget issues (as done 
twice over the past 15 months) is a large waste of 
resources that could be better used accomplishing the 
organization's primary objectives. 
 
9.  Food Safety Regulation:  There will be reports on the 
Second FAO/WHO Forum of Food Safety Regulators and on 
progress of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food 
and Agriculture.  The Council meeting would be an 
appropriate time for the USG to signal its position on 
continuation of the Food Safety Regulators Forum.  To 
date, FAO has been very supportive of the Forum and 
international support for continuing the Forum appears to 
be strong.  If the forum is to continue, issues such as 
its mandate and funding, the provision of secretariat 
support by FAO, and the relationship with Codex and other 
established bodies need to be addressed in an inclusive 
and transparent process.  We encourage Washington 
agencies to consider whether the USG should participate 
in future meetings of Food Safety Regulators and, if so, 
how to ensure that the process has a proper home with 
adequate oversight and control within FAO. 
 
10.  Genetic Resources:  The report from the Commission 
on Genetic Resources should address two key issues.  The 
 
 
first is the progress on implementation of the 
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food 
and Agriculture (IT), including the development of the 
Material Transfer Agreement (MTA).  The meeting of the 
Interim Committee for the IT will occur the week before 
the Council.  There should be progress to report on both 
the implementation of the IT and the development of the 
MTA.  The second significant issue will be the 
recommendations from the Commission on Genetic Resources 
for further work on animal genetic resources.  The 
Commission will decide on those recommendations at its 
meeting the week of November 8-12.  There has been 
support from some quarters for embarking on negotiations 
for an international treaty on animal genetic resources 
for food and agriculture.  The USG view is that such a 
treaty would be premature at this point. 
 
PROGRAM, BUDGET, FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 
(AGENDA ITEMS 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) 
 
11.  Among the issues to be considered are: 
 
-- Medium Term Plan 2006-2011:  The MTP covering the next 
three biennia envisions the following allocation of 
resources to the five corporate strategies: (A) food 
security and rural poverty - 21%, (B) regulatory 
frameworks - 18%, (C) food supply and availability - 22%, 
(D) conservation and sustainable use of natural resources 
- 8%, and (E) knowledge and assessment - 31%.  This 
reflects minor increases in A and C, and slight decreases 
in B and D, compared to the 2004-09 plan period.  The MTP 
includes a priority-setting effort linking changes in 
resources for specific program entities to their relative 
priority, where priority is assessed according to three 
criteria: conformity to FAO's mandate, expressed priority 
by members or governing bodies, and FAO's comparative 
advantage.  The MTP's assumptions of 2.2 percent per 
annum real growth in resources will be problematical for 
the US and other major contributors, as they deviate from 
what we consider politically likely and reasonable, and 
thus distort program planning over the medium term (see 
ref C). 
 
-- Report of the Finance Committee, including status of 
contributions and arrears, budgetary performance, 
methodology for equitable geographic distribution.  The 
organization's serious financial problems will likely be 
an important area of discussion.  These issues are 
discussed in ref C; 
 
-- Report of the Program Committee; and 
 
-- Program Implementation Report 2002-2003. 
 
DG ELECTION AND OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL/LEGAL MATTERS 
(AGENDA ITEMS 14, 15) 
 
12.  The election of the Director General, to take place 
at the FAO Conference in November 2005, will be on the 
minds of many delegations and the subject of many 
corridor conversations.  This issue will only come up 
formally at the upcoming Council when members approve the 
proposed nomination deadline of 8 April 2005. 
 
13.  The report of the Committee on Constitutional and 
Legal Matters includes discussion of a proposed change to 
the rules of procedure for Codex Alimentarius regarding 
NGO participation.  Under this agenda item we may wish to 
voice our disappointment with the slow pace for approving 
applications for NGO status in FAO bodies.  The 
International Grain Trade Coalition, in which the U.S.- 
based North American Export Grain Association is a 
member, has been waiting for over two years for a 
decision on its application for NGO status in Codex. 
 
OTHER MATTERS 
(AGENDA ITEMS 16, 17) 
 
14.  The Secretariat is presenting information documents 
on various issues, which delegations may address under 
"Any Other Matters" on the Agenda.  Among the topics upon 
which the US delegation might wish to comment are: 
 
-- implementation of the International Code of Conduct on 
the Distribution and Use of Pesticides; 
 
 
-- entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention on the 
Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous 
Chemicals and Pesticides; 
 
-- the International Year of Rice; 
 
-- the upcoming (March 2005) Ministerial Meetings on 
Forests and Fisheries 
 
Canada is slated to represent North America on the 
Drafting Committee. 
 
USG-SPONSORED EVENTS 
 
15.  US Mission is planning a side event, likely to take 
place late on the afternoon of 23 November, on "Making 
Use of Best Practices, Emerging Techniques and Technology 
to Conserve Water Resources Needed for Agriculture." 
This event will build on a side event on water management 
done at the FAO Conference in December 2003.  The program 
will feature US, FAO, and developing-country experts who 
will present practical examples in several areas, e.g., 
use of domestic wastewater for agricultural purposes, 
reuse of irrigation return flows and runoff, 
desalinization techniques, diminishing freshwater demands 
through agricultural biotechnology, integrated water 
resource management techniques, and eliminating 
disincentives for water conservation. 
 
16.  The Ambassador intends to host a representational 
event for key delegates on the eve of Thanksgiving. 
Instead of the conventional canapes and cocktails, this 
event would dramatize global inequalities in access to 
food. 
 
HALL 
 
 
NNNN 
	2004ROME04186 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED