Report of the World Food Council.

35. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE
68. Report of the World Food Council

The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation, as well as the agreed conclusions of the Committee of the Whole Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 on some aspects concerning food and agriculture,[1] Recalling also its resolution 3348 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974, by which it established the World Food Council to serve as a co-ordinating mechanism to provide over-all integrated and continuing attention to the successful co-ordination and follow-up of policies concerning food production, nutrition, food security, food trade and food aid, as well as other related matters, by all organizations of the United Nations system, Recalling further the Programme of Action to Eradicate Hunger and Malnutrition, contained in the Manila Communiqué of the World Food Council,[2] which was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 32/52 of 8 December 1977, the Mexico Declaration of the World Food Council,[3] adopted by the Assembly in its resolution 33/90 of 15 December 1978, and Assembly resolution 34/110 of 14 December 1979 on the report of the Council on the work of its fifth ministerial session,[4] Bearing in mind Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/58 of 24 July 1980 on the report of the World Food Council on the work of its sixth ministerial session,[5] Expressing its concern about the unsatisfactory progress made by the international community towards achieving the general objectives of the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition,[6] Noting that the food outlook for many developing countries in the 1980s, particularly in Africa, is even more critical than in the past, Noting also the growing imbalances in the world food economy, Noting with concern the strong impact of imports of food-stuffs on the balance of payments of food-importing developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, Reaffirming the strong commitment of the international community to overcoming hunger and malnutrition everywhere and, in that context, the need for greater international action to improve the production and distribution of food, particularly in low-income countries with food deficits, Emphasizing the vital importance of increased benefits from international trade to the developing countries in accelerating their process of development, which is now endangered by growing protectionist pressures, Noting the conclusion of the new and more adequate Food Aid Convention, 1980 at almost double the level earlier achieved, although regrettably still short of the target of 10 million tons,[7] Acknowledging with satisfaction the increasing efforts and growing commitment by developing countries to accelerating the development of their food and agricultural sectors, in particular through integrated national planning,

1. Welcomes the conclusions and recommendations of the World Food Council at its sixth ministerial session,[8] and calls upon all Governments and appropriate international organizations to give earnest attention to their implementation;

2. Expresses its appreciation and thanks to the Government and people of the United Republic of Tanzania for the excellent facilities and the generous hospitality provided to the World Food Council at its sixth ministerial session;

3. Urges all developing countries with food deficits to implement, in accordance with their national development programmes and priorities, measures to increase substantially their national food and agricultural production;

4. Recognizes that to overcome hunger and malnutrition is the common responsibility of the international community and that immediate action should concentrate on the food problems of those developing countries with inadequate food production, and recognizes further that the solution of food problems requires, in the first instance, the determined action of developing countries and that in this context they need the increased support of the international community;

5. Calls upon all countries, particularly those with serious and growing food import deficits, to continue to implement their food production policies and, as appropriate, adapt them to their circumstances and needs within the framework of their over-all national development objectives and priorities;

6. Recognizes the role of food-sector strategies, which emerged from the World Food Council, as a means for interested developing countries to adopt an integrated approach towards increasing food production, improving consumption and attracting the necessary additional international resources;

7. Calls upon the international community to support the national efforts of developing countries to increase their food and agricultural production by increased technical and capital assistance, in particular for food-sector strategies that have already been adopted by interested developing countries, taking into account at the same time the fact that the existence of a food-sector strategy should not be a pre-condition for the granting of development assistance;

8. Strongly urges developed countries, international institutions and others able to provide development assistance to increase substantially their assistance on concessional terms to the food sector in order to facilitate for developing countries the achievement of the agreed target of a 4 per cent annual growth rate in agricultural production, for which an estimated necessary element of external assistance is $8.3 thousand million with $6:5 thousand million on concessional terms, at 1975 prices, as indicated in the Programme of Action to Eradicate Hunger and Malnutrition contained in the Manila Communiqué of the World Food Council;

9. Commends the World Food Council's appeal to all countries and international agencies to undertake, on a special emergency basis, additional food assistance to countries in Africa currently experiencing critical food shortages and commends the prompt action taken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme in convening a special meeting of donor countries and development and aid institutions to review the situation with a view to undertaking increased emergency assistance for that area;

10. Calls upon developed and other donor countries and international financial institutions to support, in recognition of their commitment to a world without hunger, the efforts of interested developing countries to initiate or expand food-entitlement programmes, within the context of their national plans and policies, as appropriate, and national food strategies, and looks forward to the results of the consultations envisaged in paragraphs 30 and 31 of the report of the World Food Council;

11. Expresses its concern over the increase in protectionist trade practices that affect the economic development of the whole international community, particularly since they reduce the export possibilities of developing countries, affect their economic potential and reduce their capacity to import the food they need and, therefore, urges all countries to use their best efforts to prevent the extension of protectionist policies;

12. Calls for the immediate renewal of the Food Aid Convention of 1980 on the expiry of the Convention on 30 June 1981 and strongly urges that every effort should be made both to enlist new contributors and to increase the commitments of existing ones, so that the Convention can be renewed by mid-1981 with a firm assurance that 10 million tons will be the absolute minimum flow of assistance, even in times of high prices and food shortage;

13. Welcomes the endorsement by the World Food Council, in paragraph 34 of its report, of the initiative of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes in proposing to examine at its next session the proposal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that the International Emergency Food Reserve be made the subject of a legally binding convention;

14. Stresses the urgent need for a new international wheat agreement, as mentioned in paragraphs 37 and 38 of the report of the World Food Council;

15. Calls for the further exploration by the secretariat of the World Food Council, in collaboration with the appropriate agencies, of possible modalities of an arrangement for a food-crisis contingency pledge, taking into account, inter alia, the work of the ad hoc working group established by the Committee on World Food Security, as stated in paragraph 40 of the report of the Council;

16. Welcomes the request of the World Food Council that the International Monetary Fund should consider, within the context of its financing facilities, the feasibility of providing additional balance-of-payments support to assist low-income, food-deficit countries to meet increases in their food-import bills and welcomes the decision by the Interim Committee of the Board of Governors of the Fund to urge prompt consideration of this matter by the Executive Board of the Fund;

17. Recommends that the international community should take the necessary steps for the immediate implementation of resolution 105 (V) of 1 June 1979 on international food trade of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;[9]

18. Recognizes the desirability of studying measures to promote increased and more regionally balanced food production and trade within the wider framework of trade and its impact on the food situation of developing countries;

19. Notes with deep concern that only limited progress has been achieved towards the solution of the long-standing problems of international trade in agricultural products which adversely affect exports, particularly of developing countries, and whose solution could make an important contribution to improving over-all food production in the world;

20. Recommends that the World Food Council, in accordance with its mandate, should give continuing attention to the impact of food trade on levels of food production in the world, in particular with reference to the economies of the developing countries, using to the maximum extent possible the necessary inputs which the different organs and. organizations of the United Nations system should provide;

21. Fully supports the call of the World Food Council, in paragraph 21 of its report, for the replenishment of the resources of the International Fund for Agricultural Development at a level sufficient to provide a realistic attainment of its operations, in accordance with the recommendations of its Governing Council.

83rd plenary meeting
5 December 1980

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[1]1 Ibid., Thirty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 34 (A/34/34), part two, sect. 11, para. 18. [2]2 Ibid., Thirty-second Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/32/19), part one, para. 1. [3] Ibid., Thirty-third Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/33/19 and Corr.1), part one, para. 1. [4] Ibid., Thirty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/34/19). [5] Ibid., Thirty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/35/19). [6]6 Report of the World Food Conference, Rome 5-16 November 1974 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.75.II.A.3), chap. I. [7] See Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/35/19), part one, para. 32. For the text of the Convention, see TD/WHEAT.6/13. [8] Ibid., part one. [9] See Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Fifth Session, vol. I, Report and Annexes (United Nations publication, Sales No, E.79.II.D.14), part one, sect. A.