Open-Ended Meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government United Nations Headquarters, New York, 25 September 2014 NOTE ON ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS UK 09 September 2014
1. Date and Venue Two open-ended meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government will be held on Thursday, 25 September 2014, from 15:00 to 18:00 hours, in Committee Room 8 of the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA. Both meetings will be chaired by the President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. 2. Provisional Timetable Date: Thursday 25 September 2014 Venue: Committee Room 8, United Nations Building, New York 15:00 16:00 Meeting 1: Open-ended Meeting of Heads of Government on CHOGM Reform 16:15 18:00 Meeting 2: Open-ended Meeting of Heads of Government on the Post-2015 Development Agenda 3. Provisional Agendas Provisional Agendas for the two meetings are attached at Annexes 1 and 2. 4. Meeting Website The website for the two open-ended meetings can be found at: http://thecommonwealth.org/open-ended-meetings-commonwealth-headsgovernment The website will provide a link to the Online Registration Form. 5. Registration Meeting on CHOGM Reform Please note that the meeting on CHOGM Reform, is strictly limited to participation by Heads of Government only, with one accompanying official. Should a Head of Government be unable to attend, the Secretariat would welcome receiving a written response to the Discussion Paper on CHOGM Reform (circulated on 29 August 2014 vide Circular Letter no. 34), which would be duly considered at the meeting. The written response to the Discussion Paper may kindly be sent no later than Tuesday 16 September 2014 to a.banerji@commonwealth.int.
Please register for the meeting using the online registration form on the aforementioned website. Meeting on Post-2015 Global Development Agenda For the meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, should a Head of Government be unable to attend personally, he/she may nominate an Alternate Representative, with one accompanying official. In accordance with customary CHOGM practice, the Alternate should be of ministerial rank. Please register for the meeting using the online registration form on the aforementioned website. The completed Registration Forms for each meeting should be submitted no later than Friday 19 September 2014. Should confirmation of attendance not be received by that date from any member state, it will be assumed that the said member state will not be attending the open-ended meetings. 6. Accreditation Access to the United Nations Headquarters will require the necessary accreditation for all delegates, including Heads of Government, granted by the United Nations. This should be obtained directly from the United Nations Secretariat, through relevant diplomatic missions in New York. 7. Documentation Meeting documents have been circulated or will be circulated, to member governments in advance of the meetings. Delegations are requested to bring all necessary meeting documentation with them to the meetings, as copies of documents previously released will not be available in New York. 8. Directories of Delegations Provisional Directories of Delegations and the Secretariat will be issued for the two meetings. The completed Online Registration Forms will serve as the basis for compiling the Provisional Directories. Delegates are requested to verify names, designations and other information in the Provisional Directories, which will be circulated, and to inform the Conference Officer of any amendments as soon as possible. The final amended version of the Directories will be made available on Commonwealth Connects. 9. Meeting Secretariat a) The Commonwealth Secretary-General, HE Kamalesh Sharma, has overall responsibility for the general organisation and conduct of the meetings. He will be assisted by Deputy Secretary-General Mr Deodat Maharaj at the meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
b) The Director of the s Political Division, Mr Amitav Banerji, is the Conference Secretary and will be responsible for substantive matters, including preparation of notices and documents. He will be supported by Ms Nishana Jayawickrama, Deputy Conference Secretary. c) The Head of the s Conference Section, Mrs Samantha Curling, is the Conference Officer for the meetings and will be responsible for the administrative arrangements and will coordinate logistics for the meetings. Further information about the meetings may be obtained from the in London as follows: Conference Secretary Mr Amitav Banerji Director, Political Division Pall Mall Tel: + 44 20 7747 6401 Email: a.banerji@commonwealth.int Deputy Conference Secretary Ms Nishana Jayawickrama Adviser and Head of Asia/Europe Section Pall Mall Tel: + 44 20 7747 6123 Email: n.jayawickrama@commonwealth.int Conference Officer Mrs Samantha Curling Head, Conference Section Pall Mall Tel: + 44 20 7747 6137 Email: s.curling@commonwealth.int 10. Hotel Accommodation and Local Transport Hotel accommodation and local transport in New York are the responsibility of individual delegations. 11. Mobile Telephones Delegates are requested to switch their mobile phones off or to silent mode before entering the Meeting room.
12. No Smoking A No Smoking policy applies at United Nations Headquarters and at all Commonwealth meetings.