RECOMMENDATION TO PAY UN FAO ARREARS; GENEVA GROUP UPDATE ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 UN ROME 000030

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN UN FAO EAID AMGT
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION TO PAY UN FAO ARREARS; GENEVA GROUP UPDATE ON
FAO'S INTERNAL REFORM PLAN

REF: USUN ROME 11


1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Please
handle accordingly.

2. (SBU) The major internal reform plan agreed last November by
member states of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) is under way and appears at this early juncture to be
progressing well, along a positive and constructive trajectory
(reftel). Several items related to its implementation remain to
be negotiated by members and management, but are expected to be
finalized in the coming months during meetings of FAO governing
bodies. The paper at paragraph four summarizes progress to date
on this three-year reform plan, and some of the challenges
remaining to ensure FAO management and membership remains on the
reform path in a manner consistent with our interests. This
paper was drafted and negotiated by members of the Rome chapter
of the Geneva Group, for presentation to expert and
consultative-level meetings of the Geneva Group on April 22 and
24, respectively.

3. (SBU) While challenges to reform remain, the commitment by
FAO management and its membership to broad institutional reform
appears genuine and meaningful. In that light, we strongly
recommend as a further show of our commitment to FAO reform that
we pay as much as possible of any remaining pre-CY'08 arrears
owed the FAO and also make a payment of USD 20 million toward
our CY'08 assessment. Ideally, we would make such a payment
before the next meeting of the Finance Committee (May 11-15) to
maximize its political impact and before FAO is obligated to
seek external commercial loans to pay its bills.

4. (SBU) Rome GG Report for April 2009 Geneva Group ELM/CLM
Meetings:
Begin text of report:
--------------
Key Developments - General:
--------------

-- FAO management and staff, with the approval and guidance of
the member states, have begun to implement the Immediate Plan of
Action (IPA) from which stem many of the other major
developments.

-- Half of the IPA recommended actions have already started and
3 percent have been concluded. The Reform Support Group assures
coordination between the 14 identified projects.

-- To fund the changes, an extra-budgetary trust fund was
established, which is currently under-funded. While the
estimated needed contributions amount to USD 18.6 million for
2009, only USD 3.4 million have been received and USD 6.4
million pledged. The FAO Finance Committee had identified IPA
funding as a top priority and asked Management to propose
possible internal sources of funds.

-- As part of the IPA, FAO has begun to restructure its
headquarters to include new offices for oversight and to delayer
many administrative functions. FAO contracted Ernst and Young to
complete a Root and Branch Review, to recommend restructuring
and policy actions to effectively further the reform process and
save money.

-- In an effort to strengthen system-wide consultation and
collaboration, regional offices are being consulted more
frequently on policy and program issues.

-- The FAO Director General (DG),the Bureau Chair of the
Committee on World Food Security (CFS),and member states have
begun a dialogue with major stakeholders, including the
Coordinator of the UN High Level Task Force on Food Security, to
revitalize the CFS.

-- The FAO DG is advocating for a summit of world leaders at FAO
in November, 2009, to discuss global food security, despite
split support from member states and a lack of funding.

--------------
Challenges for the Coming Year:
--------------

-- Member states will have to continue to closely monitor IPA
implementation to ensure it is implemented openly, efficiently,
and apolitically.

-- Member states should advocate an early discussion concerning
the 2010-2011 FAO budget in order to avoid a dead-end discussion
such as in 2007. The Independent External Evaluation (IEE)
concept of "Reform With Growth" will be a major issue in
upcoming budget debate.

-- Reform of the CFS will be greatly debated during 2009 in the
context of the proposed Global Partnership for Agriculture and

UN ROME 00000030 002 OF 002


Food Security, and with a view toward coordinating major global
food security issues with major stakeholders. Support for this
idea has been growing across the membership on the premise that
the CFS can potentially provide an inclusive forum and can
reform itself to become policy-relevant, effective, and
efficient.

-- There will be continued debate over the DG's proposal to hold
a summit on the margins of the FAO November Conference with
implications on FAO budget and reform momentum. This should be
decided at the June FAO Council meeting. The proposed summit
should not divert resources nor slow the momentum of IPA
implementation.

-- A legal solution must be agreed to address possible
overlapping terms of office for the current and next DG as a
result of advancing Conference dates from November to June, 2011.

-- The precise roles, responsibilities, and authorities of FAO
field offices remain to be clarified.

--------------
Recommendations for Future Geneva Group Action:
--------------

-- The Geneva Group should remain heavily engaged in promoting
the funding and full implementation of the IPA as an integrated
reform program aimed at strengthening human resource and
financial management, audit and evaluation capabilities, and
other oversight mechanisms. Such a commitment should include
reform of CFS which is to begin in 2009.

-- The Geneva Group should also seek to focus attention on
operational outcomes at country and regional level based upon
agreed strategic objectives and objective indicators of results.
This will require careful preparation of agendas for CoC/IEE,
Council, and Conference to ensure they are results-oriented,
contribute to greater coherence with other parts of the
international system (UN and the IFIs),and support partnerships
with civil society and the private sector.

-- The Geneva Group should continue to support FAO in its
efforts to address the growing global food crisis, and ensure
that it remains focused on delivering quality programs at the
field, country, national, and international levels.
BRUDVIGLA