VZCZCXRO3420
PP RUEHRN
DE RUEHRN #0030/01 1201435
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 301435Z APR 09
FM USMISSION UN ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1089
INFO RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0323
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0246
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 1159

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