| CCP: HF 00/7 - JU 00/7
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| CCP: HF 00/7 - JU 00/7
|
COMMITTEE ON COMMODITY PROBLEMS |
JOINT MEETING OF THE
THIRTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON HARD FIBRES AND THE THIRTY-THIRD
SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON JUTE, KENAF AND ALLIED FIBRES
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Rome, 12-15 December 2000 |
AMENDED TERMS OF REFERENCE
AND
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I. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON HARD FIBRES
II. RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON HARD FIBRES
1. The Group shall provide a forum for consultation on and studies of the economic aspects of production, marketing, local processing, trade, research and consumption of abaca, sisal, henequen, coir and other hard fibres, individually, and as a group.
2. The Group shall carry on consultations and promote action with respect to the above hard fibres, including in particular the following functions:
a) the recommendation to individual countries of measures designed to bring greater stability to the world sisal, henequen, abaca and coir markets and viability to the sisal, henequen, abaca and coir industries;
b) the assembly and examination of information on current and prospective supplies, requirements, foreign trade and prices of sisal, henequen, abaca and coir and their manufactures in both exporting and importing countries on the basis of all available data on areas, including years of planting; production; exports; imports; consumption; stocks and prices of these fibres and their manufactures;
c) in the light of the current and prospective situation regarding global demand and supply, the recommendation to exporting countries of levels of exports which would bring global demand and supply more closely into balance, within an indicative price range acceptable to both importing and exporting countries;
d) the consideration and, where necessary, recommendation of all other measures which could contribute to the greater effectiveness of its work under (a) above.
3. The field of competence of the Group shall also include the following:
a) the promotion of improvements in statistical services and the provision of information regarding prices, the supply and demand position, and their probable development in the short term;
b) the study of costs of production and ways of stimulating efforts to reduce them, including the possibilities for improving research facilities and other relevant technical matters;
c) the study of marketing practices and ways to stimulate the improvement of such practices (including the promotion of standardization in grading and the improvement of quality) and to reduce marketing costs;
d) the collection of information on and the analysis of national policies relating to the production, marketing, trade and consumption of fibres specified in 1, and their international effects, and examination of the possibilities of facilitating the adjustment of those policies;
e) the study of problems affecting the long-term equilibrium between production and consumption of fibres specified in 1, including competition between these fibres and synthetics;
f) the study of measures designed to promote expansion in the consumption of fibres specified in 1, and the stimulation of efforts to develop new uses, including relevant technical matters;
g) the study of the causes and effects of short-term fluctuations affecting fibres specified in 1 and of ways of reducing them;
h) the study of measures designed to deal with any special difficulties which may exist or may be expected to arise and the submission of reports and/or recommendations on the subject.
4. The Group shall take into account matters concerning manufactures of fibres specified in 1 insofar as this is necessary for carrying out its mandate.
5. FAO rules on membership of Intergovernmental Groups shall apply, namely, membership of the Group shall be open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization that are substantially interested in the production or consumption of and trade in hard fibres. So far as participation of dependent territories is concerned, the provisions of Article 69 of the Havana Charter shall apply. In order to be considered as a member of the Group, eligible Member Nations or Associate Members shall communicate to the Director-General a formal expression of intention. Interested non-Member States of the Organization that are members of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency may be admitted by the Council of the Organization to membership of the Group.
6. Attendance by non-Member States of the Organization at sessions of the Group shall be governed by the principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference.
7. In order to ensure the effective discharge of the functions of the Group, governments shall, as far as practicable, furnish all the information required for its work.
8. The Group shall report to the Committee on Commodity Problems, it being understood that copies of its reports, including its findings and recommendations, shall be made available to all members of the Group as soon as possible after each session of the Group.
9. The Group shall make arrangements through the Director-General for close liaison in its activities with other organizations interested in hard fibres and shall avoid duplication of work being undertaken by such other organizations.
10. The Director-General shall keep the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Economic and Social Council informed of the activities of the Group.
11. The Group, in consultation with the Director-General, shall determine the dates and places of its sessions, keeping in mind the character and importance of the subjects under review, the number of governments interested in hard fibres, and the need for economy in the cost of meetings and travel.
12. The Group shall adopt and amend its own rules of procedure, which shall be approved by the Committee on Commodity Problems and shall be consistent with the rules of the Committee.
a) The Group shall elect at each of its sessions a Chairperson, a first Vice-Chairperson and a second Vice-Chairperson from among the representatives of its eligible Members who shall remain in office until the election of a new Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons.
b) The Chairperson, or in his absence one of the Vice-Chairpersons, shall preside at meetings of the Group and exercise such other functions as may be required to facilitate its work. In the event of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons not being able to preside at a meeting, the Group shall appoint the representative of one of its eligible Members to take the chair.
c) The Director-General of the Organization shall appoint a Secretary who shall perform such duties as the work of the Group may require and prepare the records of the proceedings of the Group.
a. The Group shall normally hold its sessions annually, and shall only hold such sessions in each biennium as are listed in the Programme of Work of the Organization for the relevant period. However, the Director-General may, if requested by the Group or by its Chairperson, or on his own initiative, exercise his authority to hold sessions not provided for in the current Programme of Work when, in his view, such action is necessary for the fulfilment of the Programme of Work as approved by the Conference. The Director-General shall report any such unscheduled sessions to the next Session of the Council.
b. Any number of separate meetings may be held during each session of the Group.
c. The sessions of the Group shall be held at places to be decide, in consultation with the Director-General, by the Group or by the Chairperson.
d. Notice of the date and place of each session shall be communicated to all Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations at least two months in advance.
e. Each Member of the Group shall have one representative. Such Member may appoint an alternate or advisers to its representative on the Group.
f. Presence of the representatives of a majority of the Members of the Group entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum for any formal action by the Group.
a. Participation of international organizations in an observer capacity in the work of the Group shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization as well as by the rules on relations with international organizations.
b. Attendance in an observer capacity by non-Member States of the Organization at sessions of the Group shall be governed by the principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference.
c. Meetings shall be held in private, unless the Group decides otherwise.
d. Any Member Nation or Associate Member of the Organization which is not a Member of the Group, or any non-Member State invited to attend in an observer capacity a session of the Group, may submit memoranda on any item on the agenda of the Group and participate without vote in any discussion at a public or private meeting of the Group, unless in exceptional circumstances the Group decides that it is necessary, in the interests of the Organization, to restrict attendance to the representative of each Member Nation and Associate Member of the Organization.
e. Members of the Group that have been unrepresented at three consecutive sessions of the Group shall be requested by the Director-General to state whether they intend to maintain membership in the Group or whether they would wish to be considered as observers.
a. The Director-General, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Group, shall prepare a provisional agenda and circulate it at least two months in advance of the session to all Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations.
b. Any Member of the Group or any Member Nation of the Organization or Associate Member acting within the limits of its status may propose to the Director-General the insertion of an item on the provisional agenda. The Director-General shall thereupon circulate the proposed item to Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations together with any necessary papers.
c. The Group in session may by general consent amend the agenda by the deletion, addition or modification of any item, provided that no matter referred to it by the Committee on Commodity Problems, or on the request of the Council or Conference, may be omitted from the agenda.
d. Documents not already circulated shall be dispatched with the provisional agenda or as soon as possible thereafter.
a. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Rule, each Member of the Group shall have one vote.
b. Associate Members participating in the work of the Group as Members of the Group shall not hold office nor have the right to vote.
c. The decisions of the Group shall be ascertained by the Chairperson. If it does not prove possible to reach a decision by general consent, the Chairperson shall resort, upon the request of one or more representatives of Members of the Group, to a vote, in which case the pertinent provisions of Rule XII of the General Rules of the Organization shall apply mutatis mutandis.
a. Each session of the Group shall report to the Committee on Commodity Problems. The report of the Group shall embody its views, recommendations and decisions, including, when requested, a statement of minority views.
b. Reports of sessions shall be circulated to all Members of the Group and shall be made available for information to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization and to non-Member States invited to attend the session as well as to interested international organizations entitled to be represented at the session.
c. The Group shall determine the procedures in regard to press communiqu�s concerning its activities.
a. The Group may when necessary establish subsidiary bodies subject to the necessary funds being available in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization, and may include in the membership of such subsidiary bodies Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization that are not members of the Group.
b. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the establishment of subsidiary bodies, the Group shall have before it a report from the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications thereof.
c. The Group shall determine the terms of reference of its subsidiary bodies which shall report to the Group.
a. The Sub-Group on Intersessional Matters has the following membership: the Chairperson and the two Vice-Chairpersons.
b. The Sub-Group may confer whenever in the opinion of the Chairperson it is considered necessary to do so.
c. The Sub-Group shall have the following terms of reference:
Any of the foregoing rules of Procedure of the Group may be suspended by the Group provided that twenty-four hours' notice of the proposal for the suspension has been given and that such action is consistent with the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization. Such notice may be waived if no Member objects.
The Group may decide, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, to amend its Rules of Procedure, provided that such amendments be approved by the Committee on Commodity Problems and are consistent with the Rules of Procedure of the Committee.
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1 Approved by the 29th Session of the Group and endorsed by the 61st Session of the CCP.
