WORLD FOOD SUMMIT FIVE YEARS LATER: INFORMAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 002487 SIPDIS USDA FOR FAS/LYNN REICH AND DICK HUGHES STATE FOR IS/EDA ROSE BERSTEIN USAID FOR RALPH CUMMINGS FROM US MISSION ROME E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC EAID FAO AGR EAIDAORC FAO AGR SUBJECT: WORLD FOOD SUMMIT FIVE YEARS LATER: INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS 5/17/02 ON WFS5YL DECLARATION UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ROME 02487 01 OF 02 210856Z REF: ROME 2188 ¶1. SUMMARY: AN INFORMAL MEETING WAS HELD AT THE FAO TO EXCHANGE VIEWS ON THE DRAFT DECLARATION FOR THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: FIVE YEARS LATER MEETING (WFS5YL) TO BE HELD IN ROME JUNE 10-13, 2002. PARTICIPANTS AGREED TO START FROM THE DRAFT LEFT UNFINISHED BY THE OPEN ENDED WORKING GROUP (OEWG) IN JUNE 2001. WHEN REQUESTED TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF CONCERN OR INTEREST, SOME DELEGATES HIGHLIGHTED THE DIRECTOR GENERAL'S REPEATED REFERENCES TO A "GLOBAL COALITION," THE ISSUE OF DEFINING A FIXED PERCENTAGE OF OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) GOING TO AGRICULTURE AND A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO HUNGER. WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA, THERE WAS STRONG SUPPORT FOR A VOLUNTARY CODE OF CONDUCT ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD. THE U.S. STATEMENT WAS WELL RECEIVED, ALTHOUGH CANADA LAUNCHED A VIGOROUS ATTACK ON THE US FARM BILL. THE GROUP WILL MEET AGAIN MAY 24 FOR FURTHER DISCUSSIONS AND POSSIBLY AGAIN IN EARLY JUNE BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOOD SECURITY (CFS) RECONVENES ON JUNE 6. END SUMMARY ¶2. THE INFORMAL MEETING ON THE WFS5YL DECLARATION TOOK PLACE ON MAY 17 CHAIRED BY THE IRANIAN PERMREP AS REQUESTED BY THE INDEPENDENT CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL. THERE WAS NO OECD CO-CHAIR. DESPITE EARLIER EFFORTS TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS BY REGIONAL GROUPS, IN THE END THE MEETING WAS OPEN-ENDED. APPROXIMATELY 50 PERMREPS WERE PRESENT. ¶3. MOST OF THE TIME WAS SPENT DISCUSSING PROCEDURAL MATTERS RATHER THAN EXCHANGING VIEWS AS ORIGINALLY HOPED. THE GROUP AGREED TO USE THE HEAVILY BRACKETED DRAFT DECLARATION THAT UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ROME 02487 01 OF 02 210856Z HAD BEEN LEFT UNFINISHED BY THE OEWG DURING THE CFS AND FAO COUNCIL MEETINGS LAST JUNE. PROPOSALS TO LIMIT THE DISCUSSION TO BRACKETED TEXT WERE NOT ACCEPTED. PARTICIPANTS WANTED TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE LANGUAGE THAT RECOGNIZES THE MANY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE LAST JUNE, INCLUDING MEETINGS IN NEW YORK, DOHA AND MONTERREY (AND THE RECENTLY-SIGNED U.S. FARM BILL, PER CANADA AND AUSTRALIA). ¶4. THE LATIN AMERICAN GROUP (GRULAC) PRESSED HARD TO EXAMINE THE DOCUMENT PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH BUT THE EU IN PARTICULAR RESISTED. THE EU STRESSED THAT IT WAS WORKING ACCORDING TO THE SCHEDULE AGREED AT THE FAO CONFERENCE LAST NOVEMBER, AND WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE TEXT UNTIL AFTER THE EUROPEAN REGIONAL GROUP MEETING (MAY 28-30). AUSTRALIA ALSO STRONGLY OPPOSED DEVIATING FROM THE AGREED SCHEDULE, BUT CANADA JOINED THE LATINS IN PRESSING FOR MORE FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS. THE AFGHAN DELEGATE PROPOSED AN EXCHANGE OF POSITION PAPERS AMONG THE REGIONAL GROUPS, BUT MOST MEMBERS WERE NOT READY TO PUT THEIR POSITIONS INTO WRITING. THERE SEEMED TO BE GENERAL AGREEMENT, HOWEVER, ON IDENTIFYING AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE TEXT. ¶5. SEVERAL OF THESE CONCERNS SLOWLY EMERGED. POLAND ASKED HOW THE CONCEPT OF THE "GLOBAL ALLIANCE" WOULD FIT INTO THE DECLARATION (CURRENTLY DISCUSSED IN AN ANNEX TO THE DOCUMENT.) COMMENT: WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOME (IN THE EU) HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING SETTING UP A SMALL SECRETARIAT TO IMPLEMENT THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE, ALTHOUGH IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHAT SUCH A BODY WOULD DO AND HOW IT WOULD BE FUNDED. END COMMENT. PERU SAID THE COALITION SHOULD INVOLVE CSO'S AND UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 ROME 02487 01 OF 02 210856Z NGO'S. ¶6. NORWAY SUPPORTED A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO FOOD SECURITY AND WAS JOINED BY OTHERS CALLING FOR A VOLUNTARY CODE OF CONDUCT (PARAGRAPH 8). PERU SUPPORTED NORWAY AND ASKED WHETHER THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS OR FAO WOULD HAVE THE LEAD. ¶7. CANADA EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADE ISSUES AND SHARPLY CRITICIZED U.S. FARM SUBSIDIES CONTAINED IN THE RECENTLY ADOPTED FARM BILL. AUSTRALIA JOINED HIM IN CRITICIZING THE UNITED STATES. AUSTRALIA ALSO ASKED WHAT CONCRETE PROGRESS IN REFERENCE TO WSSD MEANT. ¶8. NEW ZEALAND ASKED WHAT WAS MEANT BY LANGUAGE CALLING FOR AN INCREASED SHARE OF ODA, LENDING BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, AND BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS OF LDC'S. HE ALSO SUGGESTED DROPPING ALTOGETHER THE PARAGRAPH ON THE VOLUNTARY TRUST FUND, WHICH WAS SO CONTROVERSIAL WHEN ADOPTED LAST JUNE. ¶9. JAPAN NOTED THAT FISHERIES AND FORESTRIES HAD BEEN OMITTED AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN NEW LANGUAGE. PROPOSALS TO INCLUDE GENDER BALANCE, HIV/AIDS, AND NEPAD WERE NOT UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PTQ4309 PAGE 01 ROME 02487 02 OF 02 210856Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DODE-00 ITCE-00 SRPP-00 EB-00 EXME-00 UTED-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 ITC-01 NSAE-00 OES-01 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 SS-00 STR-00 TEST-00 TRSE-00 SAS-00 /006W -------------- B16935 210925Z /38 R 210816Z MAY 02 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3837 INFO USDA FAS WASHDC 2141 USMISSION USUN NEW YORK USMISSION GENEVA UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 002487 SIPDIS USDA FOR FAS/LYNN REICH AND DICK HUGHES STATE FOR IS/EDA ROSE BERSTEIN USAID FOR RALPH CUMMINGS FROM US MISSION ROME E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC EAID FAO AGR EAIDAORC FAO AGR SUBJECT: WORLD FOOD SUMMIT FIVE YEARS LATER: INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS 5/17/02 ON WFS5YL DECLARATION UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ROME 02487 02 OF 02 210856Z DISPUTED. ¶10. THE STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES (BASED ON DRAFT TALKING POINTS) WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED. SEVERAL DELEGATES, NOTABLY ITALY, ASKED FOR COPIES FOR FURTHER STUDY. THE U.S. PERMREP ALSO STATED THE U.S. POSITION OPPOSING A VOLUNTARY CODE OF CONDUCT ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, LANGUAGE ON RIGHT TO FOOD, AND FIXING A NUMERICAL PERCENTAGE OF ODA FOR AGRICULTURE. AFTER THE U.S. PERM REP HAD MADE THESE POINTS, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA TOOK THE FLOOR TO STATE THEIR COUNTRIES' OPPOSITION TO A VOLUNTARY CODE OF CONDUCT ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD. AUSTRALIA ALSO STATED THAT IT COULD NOT SUPPORT LANGUAGE DEFINING A FIXED PERCENTAGE OF ODA GOING TO AGRICULTURE. ¶11. THE GROUP DECIDED TO MEET AGAIN ON MAY 24 TO DISCUSS AREAS OF CONCERN AND AGREED TO CONVENE INFORMALLY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE PRIOR TO THE OPENING OF THE CFS. THE U.S. PERMREP ASKED FOR A REPORT ON THE EXPENSES GENERATED BY THESE MEETINGS WHICH ARE NOT PART OF THE REGULAR BUDGET. HEILEMAN UNCLASSIFIED > 2002ROME02487 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED