Tenth session. Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme

Transcription

1 IFAP-2018/COUNCIL.X/Inf.8 Paris, 26 April 2018 Original : English Distribution limited Tenth session Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme June 2018 UNESCO House, Paris (Fontenoy Building, Room XI) 9.30 a.m p.m. and p.m. Item 8 of the provisional agenda Proposed modification of the IFAP Statutes and Rules of Procedures This document includes the responses of the mentioned Permanent Delegations to UNESCO. The IFAP Chair sent on 2 April 2018 to IFAP Council a call for proposals for amendments to the Statues and Rules of Procedure. Modifications were proposed by the Delegations of Philippines, Russian Federation, Sweden and Turkey. In addition, Turkey sent a proposal for amendments to the IFAP Statutes and Rules of Procedure. It is suggested that a Working Group (WG) will deal with the numerous suggestions. The proposal of the WG will be sent to Legal Affairs Office of UNESCO.

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3 IFAP-2018/COUNCIL.X/Inf.8 Call for proposals for amendments to the Rules of Procedure by the IFAP Chair Proposed modifications 1. Philippines Rules of Procedure II. Officers a.at the beginning of the first session, following a session of the General Conference at which elections for the Council were held, the Council shall elect a Chairperson, three four Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur and three other members taking into consideration the geographic balance of the group; these shall form the Council s Bureau. The members of the Bureau who are representatives of Member States of UNESCO shall remain in office until a new Bureau has been elected. b.members of the Bureau are eligible for re-election that have served for two consecutive terms are ineligible for immediate re-election. (Note: The above changes will also apply to Article 6 - Bureau of the Statutes). The reduction in the number of Bureau members can be considered in light of the reform of the Council s thematic working groups. Statutes Article 2 Membership 5.Members of the Council shall be immediately eligible for re-election that have served for two consecutive terms are ineligible for immediate re-election. Alternately, the Council may wish to encourage voluntary term-limits of membership through appropriate decisions. As the recommendations of the Working Group on Governance do not deal solely with Rules of Procedure/Statutes, we recommend a broader discussion on implementation of relevant recommendations. 2. Sweden Sweden would like to thank the Chairperson for the call for proposals for amendments to the IFAP Rules of Procedure. We consider it an important step in the process leading up to the next Council meeting where we will discuss the issue with a view to deciding on amendments to the Rules of Procedure.

4 IFAP-2018/COUNCIL.X/Inf.8 Sweden also thanks the Philippines for presenting clear proposals for amendments, and would like to express our support for these suggestions. As expressed by the Philippines, not all recommendations require changes of the RoP, but merit further discussion and a separate decision. We thank the Secretariat in advance for preparing the documents to the IFAP Council meeting bearing this in mind. 3. Russian Federation The serious proposals by the Philippines should be seriously and thoroughly discussed over the next two years. IFAP is a very serious programme (perhaps the most serious one among all UNESCO intergovernmental programmes as well as a very complex in its understanding and implementation). That is why all changes in IFAP RoP must be very well elaborated. 4. Turkey In accordance with the decision adopted at the last Bureau meeting of the IFAP Council, the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to UNESCO has the pleasure to attach herewith Turkey s amendment proposals on the Statutes and the Rules of Procedures of IFAP, as reflected in track changes. Our proposals have been made taking into account the recommendations of the Working Group on Governance calling for more inclusivity and transparency and efficiency. In this regard, we support the amendments proposed by the Delegation of Philippines. We have also proposed to delete some paragraphs that are obsolete and made additional amendments with a view to harmonizing the rules within UNESCO, where possible. Our amendments have also been made to harmonize the wording between the two legal texts (see Annex 1 and Annex 2).

5 Turkey s amendment proposals on the Statutes and the Rules of Procedures of IFAP as reflected in track changes

6 Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme-Statutes Article 1 Establishment An Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme, hereafter called the Council, is hereby established within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Article 2 Membership 1. The Council shall be composed of twentysix Member States of UNESCO elected by the General Conference taking into account the need to ensure equitable geographical distribution and appropriate rotation. 2. The persons appointed by Member States as their representatives on the Council shall preferably be specialists in the fields covered by the Information for All Programme. 3. The term of office of members of the Council shall be four years, which shall start immediately after the elections at extend from the end of the ordinary session of the General Conference during which they are elected until the end of its elections at the second subsequent ordinary session. 4. Notwithstanding the provision of paragraph 2, the term of office of thirteen members designated at the first election shall cease at the end of the first ordinary session of the General Conference following that at which they were elected. These members shall be chosen by lot by the President of the General Conference after the first election. Each retiring member shall be replaced by a member belonging to the same regional group. 5. Members of the Council shall be immediately eligible for re-election that have served for two consecutive terms are ineligible for immediate re-election The Council may make recommendations to the General Conference concerning its own membership. Article 3 Sessions 1. The Council shall normally meet in regular ordinary plenary session at least once every two years..however, the Council may meet in extraordinary session at the request of the Director-General or of the majority of its members. 2. During the first three years of existence of the Information for All Programme, the Council should meet every year. 3. The Council will be entitled to hold virtual meetingssessions Article 4 The Council shall endeavor to arrive at its decisions by consensus. In the event of a vote being taken, each member of the Council shall have one vote. Article 4 - Rules of Procedure 1. The Council shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure including those for virtual meetingssessions. 2. Under its Rules of Procedure, the Council may establish whatever working groups it considers appropriate, provided that the necessary financial resources are available, the Bureau being considered as a subsidiary body of the Council. Article 5 Functions 1. Within the framework of the decisions of the General Conference concerning the Information for All Programme, the Council shall guide its planning and implementation. This shall, in particular, include: a. considering proposals on the development and adaptation of the Information for All Programme;

7 Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme-Statutes b. recommending the broad lines of action that the Information for All Programme could take; c. reviewing and assessing achievements and defining the basic areas requiring increased international co-operation and formulating recommendations to strengthen it in the framework of the Information for All Programme; d. promoting participation of Member States in the Information for All Programme ; e. providing, in its areas of specialization, its formal input to the Mid-term Strategy C/4 and the draft Programme and Budget C/5 documents of UNESCO. e.f. contributing, in its areas of specialization, to the drafting and implementation of C/4 and C/5 documents. the Regular Programmes and Budgets, and the Mid- Term Plans; f.g. making any necessary proposals for coordinating the Information for All Programme with those conducted by all the international organizations concerned; g.h. assisting in the development of regional and national projects related to the Information for All Programme; h. supporting all fund raising efforts for the implementation of the Information for All Programme. i. coordinating its work with the other Programs of UNESCO, as appropriate. 2. Article 6 Bureau 1. At the beginning of its first session, and subsequently wwhenever the membership of the Council is modified by the General Conference in accordance with Article 2 above, the Council shall elect a Chairpersonman, three four Vice-Chairpersonsmen, three other members and a Rapporteur, on the basis of equitable geographical representation and appropriate rotation; these shall form the Council s Bureau The election of the Bureau shall take place during an extraordinary session of the Council to be convened by the Director-General during the ordinary session of the General Conference at which the members of the Council are elected or as soon as possible thereafter The term of office of members of the Bureau who are representatives of Member Sates of UNESCO representing members of the Council shall remain in office until a new Bureau has been elected.expire in any event upon expiry of their term of office in the Council. 3. The Bureau shall discharge such duties as the Council may confer upon it. 4. Meetings of the Bureau may be convened between meetings sessions of the Council at the request of the majority of the members of the Council or of the Bureau, or at the request of the Director- General of UNESCO or of the majority of the members of the Bureau. In such case the reasons for convening the meeting of the Bureau shall be stated in the request therefor The Bureau will be entitled to hold virtual meetings. Article 7 Observers 1. Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO, which are not members of the Council, may send attend as observers to all meetings sessions of the Council or meetings of its Bureau or its working groups. 2. Representatives of the United Nations and other organizations of the United Nations system may be invited to take part as observers, without the right to vote, in all meetings sessions of the

8 Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme-Statutes Council and its working groups, except meetings of the Bureau The Council shall lay down the conditions under which other international governmental or nongovernmental organizations may be invited to participate in its proceedings sessions without the right to vote. The Council shall also lay down the conditions under which certain particularly well-qualified persons might be consulted on matters within their competence. Article 8 Secretariat 1. The Secretariat of the Council shall be provided by the Director-General of UNESCO, who shall place at the Council's disposal the staff and other means required for its operation. 2. The Secretariat shall provide the necessary services for the sessions of the Council, and meetings of its subsidiary bodiesbureau and its working groups. 3. The Secretariat shall fix the date of the Council's sessions in accordance with the Bureau s instructions, and shall take the steps required to convene such sessions. 4. The Secretariat shall assemble all suggestions and comments made by Member States of UNESCO and the international organizations concerned, with regard to UNESCO s Information for All Programme as a whole and the formulation of specific projects, and shall prepare them for examination by the Council. this purpose by the General Conference of UNESCO. 2. Member States shall bear the expenses of the participation of their representatives in sessions of the Council, its Bureau and working groups with the exception of representatives of Least Developed Countries (LDC) and small island developing states whose expenses shall be covered by an appropriation voted for this purpose by the General Conference of UNESCO. 3. Voluntary contributions to the Information for All Programme may be accepted and established as trust funds, in accordance with the Financial Regulations of UNESCO, and administered by the Director-General. Article 10 Reporting 1. The Director-General shall submit to the Council, at each of its sessions, a report on the implementation of the Information for All Programme. 2. The Director General shall submit to the General Conference at each of its sessions, through the Executive Board, a report on the implementation of the Programme particularly as it relates to the activities of other UNESCO programmes and of other members of the UN system, other intergovernmental organizations, as well as nongovernmental organizations. 3. The Council shall re submit to the General Conference, at each of its sessions, a report on its activities. Article 9 Funding 1. The servicing expenses of the Council, its Bureau and its working groups shall be covered by an appropriation voted for

9 Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme Rules of Procedure

10 2 Table of contents I. Sessions 3 1. Date and place 3 2. Provisional agenda 3 3. Adoption of the agenda 4 4. Amendments, deletion and new items 4 II. Officers 4 5. Election of the Bureau 4 6. General powers of the Chairperson Replacement of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons or Rapporteur 554 III. Observers Participation Conditions 665 IV. Working Groups Meetings Rules of Procedure 775 V. Secretariat Role 776 VI. Languages Working languages Use of other languages 776 VII. Reports and Documents Reports Working documents 886 VIII. Meetings Quorum Publicity of meetings 887 IX. Conduct of Business Right to speak Order of speeches Time-limit on speeches Points of order Suspension, adjournment, closure 997 X. Voting Voting rights Simple majority Show of hands and roll-call Voting on amendments Secret ballot Equally divided votes XI. Special Procedures Special consultation by correspondence Virtual Council and Bureau meetings XII. Amendment to the Rules Amendment Suspension 10109

11 I. Sessions 1. Date and place Article 3 of the Statutes (a) The Council shall hold ordinary sessions at least once and not more than twice every two years. (b) During the first three years of existence of the Information for All Programme, the Council should meet every year. (c) The first ordinary session of the Council shall be convened by the Director- General of UNESCO. The place and date of that session shall be communicated in advance to all States, members of the Council. (d) Other Oordinary sessions shall be convened by the Secretariat of the Council in accordance with the instructions of the Bureau of the Council s decisions. (e) The Council shall normally meet at the Headquarters of UNESCO. It may meet elsewhere if so decided by a majority of the members, subject to the availability of adequate resources. Whenever management-related matters such as modifications to the Statues or, the Rules of Procedure of the Council are on the agenda of a session of the Council, the session shall be held at the Headquarters of UNESCO. (f) Extraordinary sessions shall be convened by decision of the Council itself, or at the request of thirteen of its members. The place and date of extraordinary sessions shall be determined by the Chairperson, in consultation with the Director-General, unless these have been decided upon by the Council. (f)(g) All Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO shall be informed in good time of the place and date of the session of the Council. 2. Provisional agenda (a) The provisional agenda of the first session of the Council shall be prepared by the Director-General of UNESCO. (b) The provisional agenda of the following sessions of the Council shall be prepared by the Secretariat of the Council in consultation with the members of the Bureau, taking into account the UNESCO calendar of events to avoid overlap among meetings within UNESCO. (c) The provisional agenda shall be communicated to the members of the Council at least two months before the opening of each session. (d) The provisional agenda shall be communicated at the same time also to Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO, which are not members of the Council, to the organizations of the United Nations system with which UNESCO has concluded mutual representation agreements, and to the nongovernmental organizations and foundations selected according to the criteria and conditions established by the Council.

12 4 (e) The provisional agenda of a session of the Council shall include: all items the inclusion of which has been decided upon by the Council; all items proposed by States, members of the Council; all items proposed by the organizations of the United Nations system with which UNESCO has concluded mutual representation agreements; all items proposed by the Director-General of UNESCO; all items emanating from decisions of the Executive Board and the General Conference of UNESCO. 3. Adoption of the agenda At the beginning of each session, the Council shall adopt the agenda for that session. 4. Amendments, deletion and new items The Council may, during a session, modify the order of items on the agenda or add or delete such items. A majority of two-thirds shall be required for the addition or deletion of any item on the adopted agenda. II. OfficersBureau Article 6 of the Statutes 5. Election of the Bureau (a) At the beginning of the first session, following a session of the General Conference at which elections for the Council were held Whenever the membership of the Council is modified by the General Conference in accordance with Article 2 of the Statutes, the Council shall elect a Chairperson, three four Vice-Chairpersons and, a Rapporteur and three other members taking into consideration the need to ensure equitable geographical distribution and appropriate rotation geographic balance of the group; these shall form the Council s Bureau. (a)(b) The term of office of members of the Bureau who are representatives of Member States of UNESCO representing members of the Council shall remain in office until a new Bureau has been elected.expire in any event upon expiry of their term of office in the Council.

13 (c) Members of the Bureau are eligible for re-election. that have served for two consecutive terms are ineligible for immediate re-election. (b)(d) Members of the Bureau shall fulfil their roles and responsibilities in accordance with the Guidelines on Responsibilities of Representatives of Electoral Groups in Bureaus as adopted at the 39 th session of the General Conference, contained in document 39 C/ General powers of the Chairperson (a) In addition to exercising the powers conferred upon him/her elsewhere by these Rules, the Chairperson shall have the following powers: he/she shall declare the opening and closing of meetings, direct the discussions, ensure observance of these Rules, accord the right to speak, put questions to the vote and announce decisions; he/she shall rule on points of order and, subject to these Rules, shall control the proceedings and the maintenance of order. (a)(b) The Chairperson shall ensure close cooperation and coordination between other UNESCO Programmes, when the work of the Council relates to them. 7. Replacement of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons or Rapporteur (a) If the Chairperson ceases to represent a State, member of the Council or is so incapacitated that he/she can no longer hold office, the Bureau shall designate a Vice-Chairperson to serve as Temporary Chairperson for the unexpired portion of the term of office. If that Vice-Chairperson also ceases to represent a State, member of the Council or is so incapacitated that he/she can no longer hold office, another Vice-Chairperson shall be designated as Temporary Chairperson for the unexpired portion of the term of office. (b) In the absence of the Chairperson during a session or any part thereof, his/her functions shall be exercised by one of the three four Vice-Chairpersons appointed by the Chairperson to take his/her place.

14 6 (c) If the State, member of the Council whose representative is the Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson or the Rapporteur replaces that representative, the Council that State shall electappoint a new incumbent to that office. (d) If the Rapporteur, for any reason, is unable to complete her/his term of office, the Bureau shall designate one of the Vice-Chairpersons to become Rapporteur for the remainder of the term of office. (e) In the absence of the Rapporteur during the sessions of the Council and meetings of the Bureau, her/his functions shall instead be exercised by one of the Vice-Chairpersons. (f) Should the Rapporteur be unable to exercise his/her functions between sessions, the Bureau shall choose one of the Vice-Chairpersons to exercise the functions of the Rapporteur. 8. Working Modalities Formatted: Indent: Left: 0 cm (a) Members of the Council, which are not members of the Bureau, may attend Bureau meetings as observers. (b) Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO, which are not members of the Council, may attend Bureau meetings as observers. (c) the working documents of each Bureau meeting shall be communicated to all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO one month before the opening of each meeting and shall be made available online. (d) the reports of the Bureau meetings shall be communicated to all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO and shall be made available online. III. Observers Article 7 of the Statutes 9. Participation In addition to the Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO, which are not members of the Council and representatives of the United Nations and other organizations of the United Nations system, other international governmental and non-governmental organizations may be invited to participate in the proceedings sessions of the Council without the right to vote. The list of those governmental and non-governmental organizations to be invited will be revised by the Council as appropriate, or by the Bureau once the Council has established the conditions and criteria for such invitations. 8. Conditions The Council shall lay down the conditions under which other international governmental or non-governmental organizations may be invited to participate in its proceedings sessions without the right to vote. The Council shall also lay down the conditions under which certain particularly well-qualified persons might be consulted on matters within their competence

15 IV. Working Groups Article 4 of the Statutes 9. Meetings (a) Working Groups set up by the Council shall meet in accordance with the decisions of the Council, or those of the Bureau if the Council delegates authority to it. (b) These Working Groups shall elect their own Chairperson, one Vice- Chairperson and, if necessary, their own Rapporteur. (b)(c) These Working Groups shall function in between the ordinary sessions of the Council unless the Council decides otherwise and shall submit a report on the outcomes of its work to the Council and its Bureau. 10. Rules of Procedure These Rules of Procedure shall apply where appropriate to the proceedings of working groups unless the Council decides otherwise. V. Secretariat 11. Role (a) The Director-General of UNESCO or his/her representative shall participate in the work of the Council, without the right to vote. (b) The Director-General of UNESCO or his/her representative may at any time submit either oral or written statements to the Council or to any subsidiary body on any question under discussion. (c) The Secretary of the Council appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO shall attend all meetings of the Council and Bureau. VI. Languages 12. Working languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish shall be the working languages of the Council. The Council may nevertheless limit the number of working languages for any particular session of the Council without prejudice to the efficient conduct of the meeting. 13. Use of other languages Any speaker may speak in a language other than the working languages currently in use for a particular session of the Council or meeting of a Bureau or a working group on the condition that he/she provides for the interpretation of his/her speech into one or another of the said working languages. VII. Reports and Documents 14. Reports

16 8 Article 10 of the Statutes (a) The reports of the Council meetings shall be communicated to all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO and shall be made available online. (b) The Council shall submit strategic and results-oriented reports on its activities to the General Conference of UNESCO at each of its ordinary sessions and the reports shall be made available online. 15. Working documents In general, the working documents of each session of the Council shall be communicated to the members all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO one month before the opening of each session in the six working languages.and shall be made available online. VIII. Meetings 16. Quorum (a) A majority of the States, members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. (b) At meetings of subsidiary bodies of the Council a quorum shall be constituted by a majority of the States, members of the Council that are members of the body in question. 17. Publicity of meetings All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public unless the Council decides otherwise. IX. Conduct of Business 18. Right to speak Any representative of a State, member of the Council and any observer may, with the authorization of the Chairperson, make oral or written statements before the Council, and its Bureau and its working groups. Observers shall not be given the right to speak during the adoption of decisions and voting. 19. Order of speeches The Chairperson shall call upon speakers in the order in which they have expressed the desire to speak. Members of the Council shall be accorded precedence. 20. Time-limit on speeches The Council may limit the time to be allowed to each speaker.

17 21. Points of order During the discussion on any matter, a representative of a State, member of the Council, may at any time raise a point of order which shall forthwith be decided upon by the Chairperson. Any representative may appeal against the ruling of the Chairperson, which can only be overruled by a majority of the members present and voting. A representative may not, in raising a point of order, speak on the substance of the matter under discussion. 22. Suspension, adjournment, closure Any representative of a State, member of the Council may, at any time, propose the suspension or adjournment of a meeting or the adjournment or closure of a debate. Such a motion shall be put to the vote immediately. The order of priority of such motions shall be as follows: (a) suspension of the meeting; (b) adjournment of the meeting; (c) adjournment of the debate on the item under discussion; (d) closure of the debate on the item under discussion. X. Voting 23. Voting rights Each State, member of the Council, shall have one vote. 24. Simple majority (a) Unless otherwise provided in these Rules, decisions shall be taken by a majority of the members present and voting. (b) For the purpose of these Rules, the phrase members present and voting means members casting an affirmative or negative vote. Members who abstain from voting are considered as not voting. 25. Show of hands and roll-call Voting shall normally be by show of hands, except that any member may, before the voting starts, request a roll-call. The vote and abstention of each member participating in a roll-call shall be inserted in the report. 26. Voting on amendments (a) When an amendment to a proposal is moved, the amendment shall be voted on first.

18 10 (b) When two or more amendments to a proposal are moved, the Council shall first vote on the amendment deemed by the Chairperson to be the furthest removed from the original proposal and then on the amendment next furthest there from and so forth, until all amendments have been put to the vote. If one or more amendments are adopted, the amended proposal shall then be voted on. If no amendment is adopted, the proposal shall be put to the vote in its original form. (c) A motion is considered an amendment to a proposal if it merely adds to, deletes from or revises part of that proposal. 27. Secret ballot All elections shall be decided by secret ballot unless the Council decides otherwise. 28. Equally divided votes If a vote is equally divided on matters other than elections, the proposal shall be regarded as rejected. XI. Special Procedures 29. Special consultation by correspondence Should the approval of the Council be required for measures of exceptional urgency and importance while the Council is not in session, the Bureau, by means of its Chairperson, may, through the intermediary of the Secretariat, consult the members by correspondence. The proposed measure shall be adopted if it is approved by two-thirds of the members, i.e. by 18 of the 26 members. 30. Virtual Council and Bureau meetings Article 6 of the Statutes (a) The Council and the Bureau shall be entitled to hold virtual meetings. (b) The Bureau shall develop the Guidelines for virtual meetings. The Council shall adopt these Guidelines XII. Amendment to the Rules 31. Amendment These Rules of Procedure, except when they reproduce provisions of the Council Statutes or decisions of the General Conference, may be amended by a decision of the Council taken by a majority of the members present and voting, provided that the proposal for amendment has been placed on the agenda. 32. Suspension Suspension of any of these Rules shall require a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.