process rather than an end in themselves'. It was his `strong personal belief' that
a WFC, reformed in accordance with the proposals of Council members, and the
additional considerations he had to offer, could `more than adequately fulfil its
mandate'.
in a different perspective. The die was cast. Ominously, no successor had been
appointed in place of Gerald Trant whose term of office as WFC executive director
expired on 30 June 1992. The UN secretary-general recognized that the functions
entrusted to the WFC when it was established `were indeed far reaching'. It seemed
evident that the Council `has not been able to accomplish this ambitious mandate',
even though members had explored the possibilities for improving it's functioning
on several occasions. Meanwhile, the UN system had established or strengthened
structures and made advances in directing the world's attention to the problem
of hunger and enhancing understanding of issues relating to food security. The
functions of the Council were being reviewed within the overall framework of
the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations. This
`revitalization process' aimed to enhance the role of ECOSOC as a `central forum'
for major economic, social and related issues and to strengthen its coordinating
functions relating the UN system as well as promoting an integrated approach to
the policy and programme aspects of the economic and social issues. It also aimed
at making the `most cost-effective use' of the resources available to the UN.
He was also seeking ways to strengthen the role and contributions of the UN
agencies and to enable the United Nations to draw more systematically on them.
The role of the United Nations in relation to food issues should be viewed in that
light. The best course would be to centre the co-ordination of food issues more
closely around the newly-restructured ECOSOC, which would include procedures
for regular reporting from FAO, WFP and IFAD. Drawing on the demonstrated
capabilities of those agencies would ensure coherent management of the policy
and operational aspects of the world food problem. This would advance the
original objectives of the 1974 World Food Conference and enhance the effect-
iveness of the restructuring process. `A primary objective will be more effective
[UN] organization-wide distribution of responsibilities, based on a clear under-
standing of our priorities'. The UN secretary-general was also seeking to enhance
interagency coordination through the ACC.
members (Canada, Denmark, Japan and the United States) supported the dissolu-
tion of the Council and a distribution of its functions and responsibilities along
the lines indicated by the UN secretary-general. In the ensuing debate in the
ECOSOC and the UN General Assembly, with no fanfare or ceremony, after almost
two decade, the Council was disbanded, one of the few UN bodies to be closed