ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Transcription

1 Distr.: GENERAL wunited NATIONS E/FCA/CM.14/11 3 March 1988 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL Original: ENGLISH ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR Africa Ninth meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole Niamey, Niger 5-12 April 1988 ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA Twenty-third session of the Commission/ fourteenth meeting of the Conference of Ministers Niamey, Niger April 1988 Item 6 of the provisional agenda* Item 6 of the provisional agenda** REPORT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AFRICAN ORGANIZATION FOR CARTOGRAPHY AND REMOTE SENSING * E/ECA/TPCW.9/l/Rev.l. ** E/ECA/CM.14/1. M88-535

2 A. BACKGROUND 1. At the ninth meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in April 1983 an ad hoc Committee of 10 member States was established by resolution 477 (XVIII) to evaluate the multinational institutions established under the aegis of the Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization of African Unity and to make proposals concerning their continued usefulness and effectiveness and ways in which their activities could be better rationalized, co-ordinated, harmonized and/or integrated. The Committee submitted its first report to the tenth meeting of the Conference of Ministers in April 1984 which called upon the Committee to make a more comprehensive study than the one it had just submitted and to make positive specific suggestions for the co-ordination, harmonization and/or merger of the activities of the ECA- and OAU-sponsored institutions, including the possible dissolution of some of those institutions, and, before finalizing its report, to hold discussions with the Chief Executives of the institutions. 2. The Committee sumbitted its final report to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of Ministers, held in Addis Ababa from 25 to 29 April 1985 and adopted its resolution 550 (XX) on the institutions which approved, among others, the recommendation of the Committee that the African Remote Sensing Council and the African Association of Cartography should be merged, as the two institutions were performing complementary role of co-ordinating the cartographic and remote sensing activities of the member States and were doing so without much success because of the lack of political and financial support by the member States of the institutions. 3. The Executive Committee of the African Association of Cartography held its tenth session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 28 October to 1 November 1985 and supported the merger and mandated its second Deputy Chairman to represent it at the meeting of an ad hoc Committee established by the African Remote Sensing Council which met also in Addis Ababa from 10 to 13 March The ad hoc Committee of the African Remote Sensing Council was charged with the responsibility of considering the legal implications of the merger of the two institutions and to prepare the provisional rules of the hew institution emerging from the proposed merger. It was also to work out the modalities of the implementation of the merger, including the administrative, social and financial implications. The meeting of the Committee was substantively serviced by the secretariats of ECA and the OAU and provided such technical services which made it possible for it to accomplish its task. It recommended that a joint meeting of the plenipotentiaries of the two institutions should meet and finalize the arrangements for the merger. At that meeting, the representative of Zaire indicated the willingness of his Government to host the meeting. 5. All formalities concerning the hosting of the meeting were finalized by the secretariats of ECA and the OAU, including the preparation of working documents and letters of invitation to the participating members of the two institutions.

3 Page 2 6. The joint meeting of plenipotentiaries which took place on 13 and 14 March 1987 in Kinshasa 9 Zaire was preceded by a joint meeting of experts in the two disciplines. It debated exhaustively the draft constitution for the new institution which it called the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing (AOCRS). Among the other activities undertaken by the meeting of experts were the following: (a) The preparation of a declaration on the merger for the consideration and approval by the meeting of plenipotentiaries; (b) The establishment of two inventory committees to take stock of the property of each institution before the merger is effected; (c) Submission of a report for the consideration of and approval by the plenipotentiaries. 7. The meeting of plenipotentiaries adopted the report of the experts and approved the document on the declaration on the merger. Sixteen out of the 17 member States who attended the meeting initialled the draft constitution and requested ECA to put the adopted draft constitution into proper legal language, without any change in its substance. The constitution was to be prepared in the four working languages of the OAU, namely Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. ECA was also requested to prepare the job description of the post of Secretary-General of the new organization and circulate it among the African member States. 8. The sixth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa, which was held in Addis Ababa from 10 to 17 November 1986, submitted its report to the ECA Conference of Ministers which was also held in Addis Ababa in April The Regional Cartographic Conference adopted a resolution on the merger of the two institutions. With the endorsement of the report of the Cartographic Conference by the ECA Conference of Ministers in its resolution 602 (XXII), the Executive Secretary was requested in operative paragraph 3 of the resolution to take appropriate measures towards the effective establishment of the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing on the basis of the agreement reached between the African Remote Sensing Council and the African Association of Cartography at their joint meeting held in Kinshasa, Zaire from 9 to 14 March 1987 and to submit a progress report to the ECA Conference of Ministers at its fourteenth meeting in Actions on the requests of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries were completely and satisfactorily accomplished by the secretariat of the Economic Commission for Africa before the meeting of plenipotentiaries in February Towards the implementation of this resolution, the Executive Secretary convened the first session of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the AOCRS at the headquarters of the Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 11 to 17 February The meeting took due note of the request of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Kinshasa, Zaire in March 1987.

4 Page Tha Conference of Plenipotentiaries, which was preceded by the meeting of officials which undertook the technical preparations of the Conference from 11 to 14 February 1988, was attended by participants from 25 member States of ECA, namely Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'lvoire, the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ethiopia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, the Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, the Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zaire and Zambia. 12. The Organization of African Unity and the following institutions attended the meeting: the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Ile-Ife, Nigeria; the Regional Centre for Services in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (RCSSMRS), Nairobi, Kenya; and the Regional Remote Sensing Centre, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. 13. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries adopted a 12-item agenda which, inter.alia, included the following: signing of the constitution of the Organization, appointment of the Executive Board, selection of the headquarters of the Organization, consideration and approval of the budget for 1988 and the appointment of the Secretary-General. 14. At the end of the meeting, the Conference of Plenipotentiaries adopted its report which is annexed to this document highlighting the following: (a) Sixteen member States signed the Constitution of the Organization which remains open for more signatures at the secretariat of the Economic Commission for Africa which is the depository; (b) Establishment of the Executive Board of the Organization and the appointment of its members; the (c) Selection of Algeria as the host country for the secretariat of Organization; (d) Approval of the Organization's budget for 1988; and (e) Appointment of the Secretary-General of the Organization in ad interim capacity for a fixed period of one year. 15. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries decided to hold its next meeting at the headquarters of the Organization in February 1989.

5 REPORT OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF PLENIPOTENTIARIES OF THE AFRICAN ORGANIZATION FOR CARTOGRAPHY AND REMOTE SENSING A. ATTENDANCE AND ORGANIZATION OF WORK 1. The first meeting of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing which was preceded by the preparatory meeting of officials, was held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15 and 16 February The meeting was convened by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa to implement resolution 602 (XXII) of the ECA Conference of Ministers adopted at its thirteenth meeting on 27 April The meeting was attended by representatives of the following member States of ECA: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'ivoires the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ethiopia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, the Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, the Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zaire and Zambia. 3. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the following institutions also attended the meeting: the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (EECTAS), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, the Regional Centre for Services in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (RCSSMRS), Nairobi, Kenya and the Regional Remote Sensing Centre, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. 4. The preparatory meeting of officials had prepared a draft agenda and programme of che meeting of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries. The agenda item coming soon after the official opening of the meeting was the signature of the Constitution of the Organization. The Constitution was signed by 16 member States at a ceremony which took place at the Plenary Hall of Africa Hall, headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 16 February Therefore, the Organization was effectively launched by the signature of its Constitution by the following member States: Algeria, Burkina Faso, the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, the Niger, Senegal, the United Republic of Tanzania, Tunisias Uganda and 2aire. Election of the bureau 5. In accordance with article 9 of the Constitution of the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing, the Conference elected the following for a period of three years: Central region: Chairman, Zaire, Northern region: First Vice-Chairman, Tunisia Western region: Second Vice-Chairman, Mali Eastern region: Rapporteur, Madagascar Southern region: No signatory member State from the region was represented at the meeting

6 Page 2 of the conference of First rh C mrade Taddesse Kidane Marian,, Ethiopia Second VicI Phlrnan! H-E- Mr- M Uldi H" Harafflami' Tu""ia S? B8! Mr- Michel Nguema-Mengome, Gabon " ' TMr- "< «"'* A"ad *»* Tanzania Mr. Jean ch Rakcltoaryi Madagascar B. AGENDA of omcuuf118 ad0pt6d the f 11OWln8 draft 38enda " P^Po-e-»y the meeting 1. Opening of the meeting. 2. Signature of the Constitution nf n,a a* - he Constituti Cartography and Remote Sens "ng MriCan Or«"i""» 3. Election of the bureau. 4. Adoption of the agenda and programme of work. 5. Consideration and adoption of the report of the meeting of officials 6. Selection of the headquarters of the Organization. 7. Appointment of the Secretary-General. C Appointment of members of the Executive Board. of- 10. Any other business. 11. Adoption of the report. 12. Closure of the meeting. Opening addresses C. ACCOUNT OF PROCEEDINGS ^^JiSt.^^50TtSrirnln the office of the "»*»* (PDRE), extended h" -.^.^.rltll^nd" 1Dem Cratic RePublic»«Ethiopia his address, he observed that th.ll WelC me to au Pa«icipants. In the continent of A ri«tj T, ng WaS taking Place at a "me when food shortage dtought;dese"mcaotral """^ br Ught ab Ut ^ ChrOnic deterioration of the living^ standard of thf0""8 indebtedne8s and derail r Jt'"t =^:

7 Page 3 of remote sensing technology in conjunction with other conventional methods of resources surveyings mapping, monitoring and management. Concerning the substantive matters to be dealt with by the meeting, he warned that the agenda items required objective and careful assessment. Before declaring the meeting open, he thanked the officials whose work in the preceding days, he said, would be instrumental to the deliberations and success of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries. 9. Mr. M. Tchouta Moussa, Deputy Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the first session of the Organization, expressed pleasure at the sense of commitment of the Economic Commission for Africa to host the meeting as one of the steps to launch the African Organization of Cartography and Remote Sensing in pursuance of the decisions of the Kinshasa joint meeting of Plenipotentiaries, and those of ECA Conference of Ministers resolution 602 (XXII) which was being implemented. He emphasized the need to keep in view the ills which bedevilled the effectiveness of many institutions which should not be allowed to resurface and maintain the conceptualized need for a modestsized structure of the Organization. He stressed the fact that the meeting was not an end in itself. Turning to substantive matters referred to the Conference by the meeting of officials, he urged the plenipotentiaries to be mindful of the importance of appointing the most qualified person as Secretary-General for the good of the institution. For the Organization to take off, he appealed to all member States to make special efforts to pay their initial contributions at the earliest convenience. Consideration and adoption of the report of the meeting of officials (agenda item 5) 10. The Chairman of the meeting of officials presented the report of the meeting of officials which contained the decisions and recommendations taken on the issues following the order of the agenda of the meeting of officials which took place from 11 to 13 February The highlights of these t*ere confirmation of adopting the Kinshasa version of the Constitution as the legal document of the Organization, the proposal to approach the OAU for a possible gold medal award to Dr. Chedly Fezzani for the outstanding scientific accomplishments in the field of cartography and of a part of national laboratories be named in honour of Dr. Chedly Fezzani in appreciation of his outstanding work. On hosting the Organization, he said that Mali had withdrawn from being a candidature to host the Organization in favour of Algeria. The officials then recommended that Algeria be recommended to host the Organization. 11. The Chairman of the meeting of officials reported that the meeting of officials recommended to the Conference of Plenipotentiaries that consideration of those documents, relating to the staff rules and financial regulations be deferred until a later date for the Executive Board to deal with and that during the interim period the staff and financial rules of the AAC should be used by the new Organization. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries accepted this recommendation.

8 Page The Chairman of the meeting of officials reiterated the appeal of the Deputy Executive Secretary of ECA that member States of the AAC and ARSC should pay their arrears of contributions in order to reduce the financial burden of the new Organization. 13. He equally thanked Algeria and Mali, the host countries of AAC and ARSC respectively for continued support during the life of the two institutions. 14. After discussing various items in the report, the Conference of Plenipotentiaries took note of the report. Selection of the headquarters of the Organization (agenda item 6) 15. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries considered the recommendation of the meeting of officials that Algeria should host the Organization, After some debate on this agenda item, the meeting approved the recommendation that Algeria should host the secretariat of the Organization. The representative of Algeria thanked the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the confidence placed in his country and pledged that Algeria will live up to the expectations of the member States in providing adequate facilities for the Organization. Appointment of the Secretary-General (agenda item 7) 16. The plenipotentiaries took note of, and considered the recommendation of the meeting of officials that the appointment of a Secretary-General be deferred for a period of not more than one year, and that during that period one of the two Secretaries-General of the two institutions should be appointed on an interim basis. 17. During the discussions two proposals emerged, namely the recommendation of the officials be adopted or that the Conference should proceed and appoint a substantive Secretary-General during the meeting. After further debate, the meeting decided to adopt the recommendation of the meeting of officials, that is to appoint one of the Secretaries-General on an interim basis. 18. Having adopted the recommendation, the Conference appointed Dr. Chedly Fezzani as the interim Secretary-General of the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing for a period not exceeding one year. Appointment of members of the Executive Board (agenda item 8) 19. The following member States were appointed to the Executive Board by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries: Northern region: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, member Western region: Burkina Faso, member Eastern region: Ethiopia, member Central region: Gabon, member Southern region: There being no representation from the region, no nomination was made.

9 E/ECA/CM,14/11 Page 5 Date and place of the next meeting of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries (agenda item 9) 20. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries agreed to meet in a year's time in Algeria in an extraordinary session subject to results of consultation with the host Government. Any other business (agenda item 10) 21. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries considered the budget of the new Organization under this agenda Item. In presenting the provisional budget for 1983, the interim Secretary-General explained that the contributions of the member States of the Organization would be based on the current scale of assessment of the AAC. After discussing the budget, the Conference adopted the budget and recoranwndod that the Executive Board should re-examine the budget saction by section as early as possible. 22. The Conference also took up the issue of transitional arrangements and arrived at the following decisions: (a) Staff rules and regulations operated by the defunct African Association of Cartography as a result of the merger should be used during the interim period of one year: (b) In view of the above, the Execu t ive Board should look into the salaries of the staff and the Secretary-General with a view to reviewing these accordingly; (c) As the two institutions merged are no longer corporate entities and the ARSC ceased to function with effect from the establishment of the Organization, the host Government of ARSC (Mali) should be relieved of any financial obligations with immediate effect; the period for the termination of the host government agreement and the immunities and privileges should be determined by the Executive Board. 23. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries accepted the recommendation of the Committee of Officials that the national institutions for cartography and remote sensing should name a room in their facilities after "Fezzani" for his services in the field of cartography. Adoption of the report (agenda item 11) 26. After the necessary amendments, the Conference adopted the report. Closure of the meeting (agenda item 12) 25. Before the Conference closed its business, H.E. Mr. A.D. Ntagazwa, Minister for Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, head of the Tanzanian delegation, in his capacity as the outgoing President of the ARSC, retraced the work carried out by Mr. Kabiyona, Secretary-General of the ARSC. His speech was echoed by Mr. B.L. Kabiyona who thanked the host Government, Mali and wished the new Organization to continue the efforts to promote the profession. Mr. M. Essid Tijani, on behalf of the Tunisian delegation, expressed appreciation to all participants for their contributions to the deliberations of the meetings. Finally, Mr. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, in his capacity as Chairman of the AAC, thanked the Government of Algeria for the support and facilities provided for the operations of the AAC during its lifetime.

10 E/ECA/CM. 14/11 Page The Chairman of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, before declaring the Conference closed, thanked all the participants for the valuable contributions throughout the deliberations both at the level of officials and of plenipotentiaries. He wished the new Organization a good lease of life. Then he formally declared the meeting closed.