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THE SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

The Second Extraordinary Session of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-EX2) was held at FAO Headquarters in Rome from 22-27 April 1996. During the week-long meeting, delegates addressed several issues in preparation for Leipzig, including the first comprehensive Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (RSW), to be forwarded to the Conference, as well as a heavily bracketed Global Plan of Action. By the session's close, the GPA had been reviewed by a drafting group that met nine times, but completed only a partial reading.

The AFRICAN GROUP, the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) and the EU each tabled their own version of a draft declaration, and these regional drafts were consolidated into a new draft declaration for consideration in the Plenary. By the session's close, the draft text of the Leipzig Declaration had undergone a paragraph-by- paragraph review, but remained subject to substantial negotiation. The Chair invited delegations to make written submissions to the Secretariat, to be taken up as bracketed text in Leipzig.

Delegates also agreed to hold the Commission's next extraordinary session on the revision of the IU in early December 1996, immediately preceded by a meeting of a working group that will prepare a simplified text to serve as a basis for the Commission's negotiations.