79–115

106TH CONGRESS EXEC. REPT.

2d Session " ! SENATE 106–17

FOOD AID CONVENTION 1999

SEPTEMBER 5, 2000.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. HELMS, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,

submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany Treaty Doc. 106–14]

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred the

Food Aid Convention 1999, which was open for signature at the

United Nations Headquarters, New York, from May 1 through

June 30, 1999, and signed by the United States on June 16, 1999,

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with three

declarations and one proviso, and recommends that the Senate give

its advice and consent to the ratification thereof as set forth in this

report and the accompanying resolution of ratification.

CONTENTS

Page

I. Purpose ........................................................................................................... 1

II. Background .................................................................................................... 2

III. Summary ........................................................................................................ 3

IV. Entry Into Force and Termination ............................................................... 6

V. Committee Action .......................................................................................... 7

VI. Committee Recommendation and Comments .............................................. 7

VII. Explanation of Proposed Convention ........................................................... 7

VIII. Text of the Resolution of Ratification .......................................................... 7

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Food Aid Convention 1999 (‘‘the Convention’’),

which replaces the Food Aid Convention 1995, is to establish a

level of food aid commitments that would cover as wide a range of

donors and donative foodstuffs as possible in order to meet the legitimate needs of developing countries. The Convention provides an

international, donors-only forum to discuss food assistance. Donor

members make minimum annual commitments which can be designated either by quantity or, pursuant to a new provision, the

value of the food aid they will provide to developing countries.

Under the 1999 Convention, the United States will continue to be

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committed to donate or sell on favorable terms at least 2.5 million

tons of food aid annually.

Innovations in the new Convention include broadening of the list

of eligible commodities beyond grains and legumes to include such

critical food products as edible oils and milk powder; encouragement of parties to fortify contributed food and to provide dietary

supplements such as vitamins by counting these products toward

a party’s annual contribution; encouragement of parties to provide

food aid to difficult-to-reach destinations by permitting transport

and other operational costs to be counted toward a party’s contribution; promoting local agricultural development and markets in recipient countries; and improving information-sharing and coordination among members.

II. BACKGROUND

The Food Aid Convention 1999 replaces the Food Aid Convention

1995, which expired on June 30, 1999. The Convention was signed

by the United States on June 16, 1999. It entered into force on July

1, 1999, and will remain in force until June 30, 2002, unless extended further.

Under Article XXII(b) of the Convention, each signatory state

was given until June 30, 1999, to deposit its instrument of ratification for the Convention. At the June 12–13, 2000, meeting of the

Food Aid Committee in Regina, Alberta, Canada, the United States

obtained an extension until June 30, 2001, to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Convention. In the interim, the United

States has continued to participate provisionally in the Food Aid

Convention.

Under the Convention, parties will continue to commit themselves to minimum levels of food aid to developing countries. All

parties to the 1995 Convention (see Senate Exec. Rept. 105–16), including the United States, the European Community and its member states, Japan, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland and Argentina, are either already parties to the 1999 Convention or intend to become parties. Under the 1999 Convention, the United

States will continue to be committed to donate or sell on favorable

terms at least 2.5 million tons of food aid annually.

The foreign food aid programs of the United States are either authorized in permanent statute under the Agricultural Act of 1949,

as amended, or through fiscal year 2002 under the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, and appropriations are

made each year through the Agricultural appropriations legislation.

Other food aid is in the form of loan programs operated under the

Commodity Credit Corporation. There is no apparent conflict between the requirements of the Convention and U.S. programs.

Prior Food Aid Conventions have been adopted simultaneously

with the Grains Trade Agreement. However, because of 1996 developments at the Singapore Ministerial on food and the World Food

Conference in Rome, the parties decided to update the Food Aid

Convention independently of the Grains Trade Agreement, and accordingly adopted the 1999 Food Aid Convention. The Grains Trade

Agreement remains in effect, and separating the two agreements

for the purpose of updating the Food Aid Convention has no adverse operational or legal effect on either.

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III. SUMMARY

A. IN GENERAL

In submitting the Convention to the Senate, the Executive

Branch stated that the Convention will not require United States

implementing legislation. Further discussion of the Convention’s

objectives is set forth in Treaty Doc. 106–14.

The Convention consists of a preamble and four main parts, including a total of twenty seven articles.

Part I—Objectives and Definitions (Articles I and II)

Part I of the Convention sets out the Convention’s objectives, and

contains definitions of terms used in the Convention. As stated in

Article I, the main objectives of the agreement are to ‘‘contribute

to world food security and to improve the international ability to

respond to food emergencies and other food needs of developing

countries by making food aid available on a predictable basis.’’ The

Convention defines a ‘‘developing country’’ as ‘‘any country or territory eligible to receive food aid under Article VII.’’ (Art. II(a)(vii)).

Article II defines ‘‘eligible products’’ as a product which may be

counted as food aid by a donor as part of its commitment under the

Convention (Art. II(a)(viii)).

Part II—Contributions and Needs (Articles III–XIV)

Part II of the Convention sets out the basic food aid commitments of the parties, and the guidelines for the types of aid which

fulfill the commitments of each party (Art. III). Donor countries

listed in the Convention are Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Community and its member States, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and the United States (Art. III(e)).

Permitting party commitments to be expressed in terms of value

is one of the innovations in the 1999 Convention. Article III establishes the commitment of each of the members, which may be expressed in terms of either tons of wheat equivalent or in value,

where ‘‘value’’ means the commitment in convertible currency, or a

combination of tonnage and value. Donors expressing a commitment in value must also specify a guaranteed annual tonnage.

Permitting some transport and operational costs to count toward

fulfillment of a commitment is a new feature of the 1999 Convention, intended to encourage parties to contribute food aid to remote

destinations. Annex A lists the types of costs permitted to count as

part of a commitment.

Under Article IV, the basic list of eligible products to be included

as food aid under the commitments of this Convention has been expanded beyond the grains, grain products, and pulses/legumes on

the list in the 1995 Convention. The new Convention’s basic list

now includes edible oil, root crops (potatoes, yams, taro, cassava)

provided through triangular transactions or in local purchases,

skimmed milk powder, sugar, seed for eligible products, and products which are a part of the traditional diet of the recipients or are

part of a supplementary feeding program.

Another new Article IV feature of the 1999 Convention permits

parties to count vitamins and minerals toward their commitments,

and encourages parties to provide fortified food aid products. ArtiVerDate 11-MAY-2000 05:12 Sep 12, 2000 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\WAISREPT\ER017.106 ATX006 PsN: ATX006
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cle V provides that food aid contributions shall be counted in terms

of their wheat equivalent, as calculated in accordance with Rules

of Procedure established by the Food Aid Committee. A Food Aid

Committee Rule will also determine the wheat equivalent of micronutrients and products fortified with micro-nutrients.

Article VI provides guidelines for the permissible carry- over of

annual commitments from year-to-year. Article VII defines which

countries are eligible for food aid under the Convention. Article

VIII sets out the general principles for distributing food aid, according to the greatest need, and provides for more consultation and

better communication among parties with respect to needs evaluation and prioritization. These guidelines are new in the 1999 Convention.

Article IX prescribes the forms and terms of food aid in greater

detail than the previous Convention. Aid may be in the form of (1)

grants of food or of cash to purchase food; (2) sales of food in exchange for the currency of the recipient country, which is not transferable nor convertible into currency, goods or services for use by

the donor; and (3) sales of food on credit, with payment extended

over 20 or more years and at interest rates below the prevailing

commercial rates.

Article X sets out food aid transportation and delivery guidelines.

Transportation costs beyond the free on board (f.o.b.) stage shall as

far as possible be covered by the donors. Article XI provides that

parties may channel their food aid bilaterally, through intergovernmental or other international organizations, or non-governmental

organizations. Article XII provides for the promotion of local agricultural development, local markets, and long-term food security

through triangular transactions.

Article XIII sets out principles and guidelines intended to maximize the effectiveness and positive impact of food aid, while minimizing potential negative impact on local markets. Article XIV provides for regular reporting by the parties to the Food Aid Committee on every aspect of their food aid contributions and operations, including, among other things, amount, content, transportation costs, cash contributions, any local purchases or triangular

transactions, and any arrangements for the future supply of food

aid.

Part III—Administration (Articles XV–XX)

Part III of the Convention establishes the Food Aid Committee,

its functions, composition, meetings, and the settlement of disputes.

Article XV provides that every party to the Convention is a member of the Committee and that each shall designate a representative who shall reside at the seat of the Committee and to whom all

Committee communications may be addressed. Article XVI authorizes the Committee to make decisions and establish Rules of Procedure necessary to implement the Convention. Article XVII provides

for the appointment of a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman for the

following year at the last session held each year and describes the

duties of the Chairman in presiding over the sessions, with the

Vice-Chairman serving in place of the Chairman when the Chairman is absent.

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Article XVIII provides for biannual sessions in conjunction with

the statutory sessions of the International Grains Council. The

Committee shall also meet at such other times as the Chairman

shall decide, at the request of three members, or as otherwise required by the Convention. The seat of the committee shall be in

London. Article XIX provides that the Committee shall rely on the

Secretariat of the International Grains Council for administrative

support, and an Executive Director shall perform other duties established by the Convention and the Rules of Procedure.

Under Article XX, the Committee shall meet to take appropriate

action in any dispute concerning the interpretation and application

of the Convention and any ‘‘default’’ in meeting commitments

under the Convention. The members shall ‘‘take account of’’ any decisions and conclusions reached by consensus by the Committee in

disputes. The Committee on Foreign Relations understands that

such decisions and conclusions are not mandatory or binding upon

the United States.

Part IV—Final Provisions (Articles XXI–XXVII)

Part IV provides for the terms of signature, ratification, accession, entry into force, and withdrawal and duration.

Under Article XXV, the Convention shall remain in force until

and including June 30, 2002, unless extended or terminated earlier, provided that the Grains Trade Convention remains in force.

Article XXVI provides that this 1999 Convention shall replace the

1995 Convention, as extended, and shall be one of the constituent

instruments of the International Grains Agreement, 1995. Article

XXVII provides that the English, French, Russian and Spanish

texts of the Convention shall be equally authentic.

B. KEY PROVISIONS

The heart of the Convention is Article III, which defines donor

contributions in detail.

Article III establishes the minimum contribution commitment of

each of the parties, which may be expressed in terms of either

tonnes of wheat equivalent, where a ‘‘tonne’’ means a metric ton of

1,000 kilograms, or in value, where ‘‘value’’ means the commitment

in convertible currency, or as a combination of both. Donor parties

expressing their commitment in value must also specify a guaranteed annual tonnage. Permitting party commitments to be expressed in terms of value is one of the innovations in the 1999 Convention.

Where the party commitment is expressed wholly or in part as

value, the value may include the transport and other operational

costs related to food aid operations. A party may include an indicative value representing its total estimated cost, including the

transport and other costs associated with food aid operations. Permitting transport and operational costs to count toward fulfillment

of a commitment is a new feature of the 1999 Convention, intended

to encourage parties to contribute food aid to remote destinations.

Annex A lists the types of costs which may be credited as part of

a commitment.

Transport and other costs credited as part of a party’s commitment must be associated with a food aid operation which is also eliVerDate 11-MAY-2000 05:12 Sep 12, 2000 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\WAISREPT\ER017.106 ATX006 PsN: ATX006
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gible to be counted towards a party’s commitment. A party cannot

count transport and other operational costs in excess of the acquisition cost of eligible products towards its commitment, except for

internationally recognized emergencies. Food aid products must

meet international quality standards, be compatible with the dietary habits and nutritional needs of the recipients and be suitable

for human consumption.

In the 1999 Convention, the commitment of each country which

was a party to the 1995 Convention is specified; the United States

is committed to 2.5 million tons (as in the previous Convention)

with a total indicative value of $900 million to $1 billion. As in the

case of the 1995 Convention, under the 1999 Convention the

United States is the largest donor nation, followed by the European

Community. Minimum party commitments (in tons) are set forth in

Article III(e) as follows:

Argentina ...................................................................... 35,000

Australia ....................................................................... 250,000

Canada .......................................................................... 420,000

European Community and its member states ........... 1,320,000

Japan ............................................................................ 300,000

Norway ......................................................................... 30,000

Switzerland .................................................................. 40,000

United States of America ............................................ 2,500,000

As noted above, parties ‘‘shall, to the extent possible,’’ bear the

costs of transporting and delivering food aid beyond the f.o.b. stage,

particularly in the case of emergency food aid or food aid provided

to priority recipient countries (Art. X(a)).

New parties acceding to the 1999 Convention who were not parties to the 1995 convention shall be deemed to be listed under Article III with their respective commitments, which shall be not less

than 20,000 tons, applicable in full from the first year of accession.

However, to facilitate accession of new parties, the Food Aid Committee may agree that a new party’s commitment shall be phased

in over a period of not more than three years, provided that the

commitment is at least 10,000 tons in the first year and increases

by at 5,000 tons yearly thereafter. The Food Aid Committee may

approve an appropriate value other than the amounts specified as

the minimum commitment for new parties.

IV. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND TERMINATION

A. ENTRY INTO FORCE

The Convention entered into force on July 1, 1999. On October

13, 1999, the President submitted the Convention to the Senate for

advice and consent. The Convention limits accession until June 30,

2000, unless extensions are granted. The United States has been

granted an extension until June 30, 2001, and may accede to the

Convention by submitting its instrument of accession to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

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1On the day the Committee was scheduled to conduct a hearing on the treaty, permission to

do so pursuant to Senate Rule 26(5)(a) had not been granted. Therefore, the Committee proceeded in informal session. A transcript is appended to Executive Report 106–16.

B. WITHDRAWAL

Parties may withdraw from the Convention at the end of any calendar year by giving written notice of withdrawal to the Secretary

General of the United Nations at least ninety days prior to the end

of that year. However, the party’s unfulfilled obligations under the

Convention continue through the end of the withdrawal year.

V. COMMITTEE ACTION

The Committee on Foreign Relations held an informal public

meeting on the Convention on July 20, 2000 (a transcript of the

session and questions for the record can be found in the appendix

to Executive Report 106–16, Convention (No. 176) Concerning Safety and Health in Mines, also filed this day).1 The Committee considered the Convention on July 26, 2000, and ordered it favorably

reported by voice vote, with the recommendation that the Senate

give its advice and consent to the ratification of the proposed Convention subject to three declarations and one proviso.

VI. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND COMMENTS

The Committee on Foreign Relations recommends favorably the

proposed Convention. On balance, the Committee believes that the

proposed Convention is in the interest of the United States and

urges the Senate to act promptly to give its advice and consent to

ratification.

VII. EXPLANATION OF PROPOSED CONVENTION

For the Executive’s description of the proposed Convention, see

the corresponding Letter of Submittal from the Secretary of State,

which is set forth at pages V–VI of Senate Treaty Doc. 106–14.

VIII. TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION OF RATIFICATION

Resolved, (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein),

That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the Food

Aid Convention, 1999, which was open for signature at the United

Nations Headquarters, New York, from May 1 through June 30,

1999, and signed by the United States on June 16, 1999 (Treaty

Doc. 106–14), referred to in this resolution of ratification as ‘‘The

Convention,’’ subject to the declarations of subsection (a) and the

proviso of subsection (b).

(a) DECLARATIONS.—The advice and consent of the Senate is subject to the following declarations:

(1)NO DIVERSION.—United States contributions pursuant to

this Convention shall not be diverted to government troops or

security forces in countries which have been designated as

state sponsors of terrorism by the Secretary of State.

(2)PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS.—To the maximum

feasible extent, distribution of United States contributions

under this Convention should be accomplished through private

voluntary organizations.

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(3) TREATY INTERPRETATION.—The Senate affirms the applicability to all treaties of the constitutionally based principles

of treaty interpretation set forth in Condition (1) of the resolution of ratification of the INF Treaty, approved by the Senate

on May 27, 1988, and Condition (8) of the resolution of ratification of the Document Agreed Among the State Parties to the

Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, approved by

the Senate on May 14, 1997.

(b) PROVISO.—The advice and consent of the Senate is subject to

the following provisos:

(1) SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION.—Nothing in the Convention requires or authorizes legislation or other action by the

United States of America that is prohibited by the Constitution

of the United States as interpreted by the United States.

Æ