Reply to the 7th report on the activities of the World Food Programme of the United Nations / FAO
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 4545, report of the Committee on Agriculture. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 3 July 1980.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Having taken note of the 7th report on the activities of the World Food Programme of the United Nations/FAO (
Doc. 4502), covering the years 1978 and 1979, and of the report of its Committee on Agriculture (
Doc. 4545) ;
2. Recalling its
Resolution 692 (1979), in reply to the 10th biennial report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations ;
3. Recalling, in particular,
Resolution 3/79, on world food security, adopted on 28 November 1979 by the 20th Session of the Conference of FAO
4. Noting that each year millions of people, many of whom are children, die from hunger, and that an estimated 400 million will suffer serious malnutrition, often with irreparable physiological consequences ;
5. Observing that, while some of these people starve as a result of population growth, deterioration of the soil and economic distress in the developing world, others are the indirect victims of armed conflicts which reduce agricultural production in affected areas for years ;
6. Recalling that a minor redistribution of the world's food supplies would suffice to provide these starving millions with adequate nourishment ;
7. Noting that world-wide contributions of cereals fall considerably short of the 10 million ton target set by the 1974 World Food Conference, and that the International Emergency Food Reserve, foreseen to amount to a minimum of 500 000 tons of grain, at present holds only slightly more than 300 000 tons ;
8. Observing that while some Council of Europe member states- and in particular Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden- make particularly generous contributions to the WFP, others give much less in relation to their population and agricultural wealth, or lag behind in fulfilling pledges made for the period 1979-80 ;
9. Noting that the WFP has, since its inception, provided assistance to Council of Europe member states in 51 development projects and 13 emergency operations, worth a total of about US $187 million,
10. Pronounces itself in favour of the conclusion of an international convention on emergency food aid by which ratifying states would, inter alia, be formally bound to fulfil pledges made ;
11. Calls on the WFP to increase the proportion of its resources intended for emergency relief, if need be at the expense of some of its projects for long-term agricultural development ;
12. Supports recent proposals, such as that of the "Brandt Commission", for a massive aid effort in favour of agriculture in developing countries, and in particular welcomes the call of Austria's Federal Chancellor for a " new Marshall Plan" to be drawn up and financed by the industrialised world ;
13. Approves the WFP system of "triangular transactions"- implying food purchases in one developing country for delivery to another- provided that such measures can stimulate regional self-reliance and co-operation, and that they do not lead to distortions in the domestic agriculture of the countries concerned ;
14. Approves the WFP policy of using, for its transports, vessels flying the flags of developing countries, provided that this practice is compatible with sound economic management of its scarce resources ;
15. Calls upon its members to urge national parliaments and their governments :
15.1 to adhere strictly to pledges made to the WFP and to increase their contributions as rapidly as possible, especially in view of the present shortfall from the WFP's target for the period 1979-80 ;
15.2 to ratify promptly the new and enlarged Food Aid Convention, which is planned to enter into force in the course of 1980 and following which food aid commitments in cereals will be raised to 7.6 million tons per year ;
15.3
15.4 to channel a more significant portion of their total food aid through multilateral institutions, and in particular the WFP, in view of the latter's potential role as a co-ordinator of food aid efforts world-wide, especially in emergency operations ;
15.5 to inform the WFP, for the above purpose, of any aid not delivered through its intermediary, thus allowing it to adapt its own operations to the new conditions ;
15.6 to facilitate in all other ways the activities of the WFP, and to work in favour of a more general international recognition of the role it has to play in reducing hunger in the world ;
15.7 Expresses the wish that, in order to protect the life of all children, certain basic foods (proteins, calories, etc.) be withdrawn from the commercial markets, and that all children be entitled to a certain free ration thereof.
