ENB @ ITPGR GB-1; 12-16 June 2006; Madrid, Spain; Highlights for Monday, 12 June 2006

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"> ENB @ ITPGR GB-1; 12-16 June 2006; Madrid, Spain; Highlights for Monday, 12 June 2006

First Meeting of the Governing Body of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

12-16 June 2006| Madrid, Spain

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SUMMARY

Highlights for Monday, 12 June 2006

The first session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty or ITPGR) opened on Monday, 12 June 2006 in Madrid, Spain. Delegates attended an opening ceremony and then addressed organizational matters in plenary. In the afternoon, delegates broke into two working groups to discuss the standard Material Transfer Agreement in Working Group I and the financial rules in Working Group II. A contact group on financial rules met in the evening.

OPENING CEREMONY

From left to right: José Esquinas Alcázar (FAO), Elena Espinosa (Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), Maria Fernández de la Veja (Deputy Prime Minister, Spain), Jacques Diouf (Director General, FAO), and Josep Puxeu (Secretary General of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Spain).



Maria Fernández de la Veja (Deputy Prime Minister, Spain) noted that the Treaty is a tool to guarantee food security and quality, and to combat hunger and poverty.	Elena Espinosa (Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) encouraged delegates to achieve consensus on outstanding matters.	Jacques Diouf (FAO Director-General) called upon delegations to work together to build policy synergies.



	Local guitar players Iliana Matos (left) and Ricardo Gallén (right) play spanish traditional music.

PLENARY

From left to right: Luis M. Bombín (Legal Office, FAO), Clive Stannard (Senior Liason Officer, CGRFA), José Esquinas Alcázar (Secretary, CGRFA), and Martin Smith (Senior Treaty Support Officer, CGRFA).



	José Esquinas Alcázar (Secretary, CGRFA) underscored the meeting’s important task of making the Treaty operational.		Delegates elected Francisco Mombiela Muruzábal (Spain) as Chair.

Status of Ratification



	Auguste Richard Paraina (Madagascar, on behalf of the Africa Group - right), supported by Modesto Fernández (Cuba, on behalf of GRULAC - middle) and Rolando Estrada (Peru - left) requested that countries that have ratified the Treaty, but are not yet parties at the present session of the Governing Body, should still be able to participate fully as parties in the meeting.



	Albert Likunde Li-Botayi (Congo)		Kassahun Embaye (Ethiopia)



	Campbell G. Davidson (Canada - left), supported by John Madden (Australia - middle) and Martyn Ibbotson (UK, on behalf of the European Region - right) proposed allowing countries that have ratified the Treaty but are not yet parties, as contracting States, to participate in discussions as parties, but not allowing them to vote, block consensus or hold office.

Working Group I: MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT

From left to right: Eng Siang Lim (Chair of Contact Group for the Drafting of the Standard MTA), Bryan Harvey (Working Group I Chair), Martin Smith (CGRFA), and Dan Leskien (FAO).



	Working Group I Chair Bryan Harvey (Canada).		Eng Siang Lim (Chair of Contact Group for the Drafting of the Standard MTA) highlighted suggestions regarding substantive revisions to the text of the draft Standard MTA.



Javad Mozafari (Iran, on behalf of the Near East Region) called for using the draft MTA as the basis for negotiations.	Campbell G. Davidson (Canada, on behalf of the North American Region) cautioned against an onerous MTA that could limit the use of the multilateral system’s plant genetic resources.	Bert Visser (the Netherlands, on behalf of the European Region) stressed that the MTA should be a transparent, free-standing document consistent with the Treaty.

Working Group II: FINANCIAL RULES

Ahmad Dimyati (Working Group II Chair), Clive Stannard (CGRFA), Kent Nnadozie (CGRFA) and Luis M. Bombín (Legal Office, FAO).



	Ahmad Dimyati (Working Group II Chair) established a contact group to further discuss financial rules, which will meet in the evening and report back to WG-II on Tuesday.		Clive Stannard (CGRFA).



	Cosima Hufler (Austria, on behalf of the EU) suggested wording to allow contributions from States that are not parties, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations, among other entities.		Ousman Oumar (Central African Republic) expressed doubts as to the budget structure, asking for clarification on how researchers will be able to use any ITPGR funds.