ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and sixtieth Session 160 EX/37 PARIS, 8 August 2000 Original: French/English Item 8.3 of the draft provisional agenda RELATIONS WITH THE SAHARA AND SAHEL OBSERVATORY (OSS) AND DRAFT COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN UNESCO AND THAT BODY SUMMARY In response to the request by the Executive Director of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and in accordance with Article XI, paragraph 1, of the Constitution of UNESCO, the Director-General submits to the Executive Board, for its approval, a draft cooperation agreement with the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS). Decision required: paragraph 6. 1. In a letter dated 22 June 2000, Mr Chedli Fezzani, Executive Director of OSS, referring to the solid cooperation between UNESCO and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and the positive role UNESCO had played in the expansion of the Observatory since its creation, expressed a wish to give concrete expression to such cooperation in the form of a cooperation agreement between OSS and UNESCO. 2. The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) was set up in May 1992 under the French law of 1901 on non-profit associations. UNESCO was one of the Observatory s founding members and accommodated the OSS secretariat in the Miollis building from the time it was set up until March 2000. On 18 June 1999 an agreement was signed between UNESCO and the Tunisian Government on the transfer of OSS to Tunis (Tunisia) and its establishment and operation there. In March 2000 the General Assembly of OSS adopted the organization s international statutes.
- page 2 3. OSS carries out its work within the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Agenda 21. Its primary objective is to promote the development and optimization of its partners wealth of information, and hence use resources for combating desertification as effectively as possible. Twenty-one Saharan and Sahelian countries are members of OSS, together with four European countries (France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland), which provide most of the organization s funding. The subregional organizations, the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA) are also members of OSS, as is the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). 4. At its seventh session (March 1998) the OSS Executive Board accepted the Tunisian Government s offer to accommodate the OSS secretariat in Tunis. At the request of OSS Member States an agreement was signed on 18 June 1999 between the Government of the Republic of Tunisia and UNESCO, which specified the independence of OSS and granted it legal status allowing it to enjoy the benefits and privileges enjoyed by intergovernmental organizations in Tunisia. This agreement also meets the conditions laid down by the OSS General Assembly at its 1997 session. The agreement and the new statutes were approved by the OSS Executive Board at its ninth session, which was held in Tunis in April 1999. At the OSS extraordinary General Assembly (6-7 March 2000, Rabat, Morocco), OSS became an independent international organization. 5. UNESCO, in the context of its contribution to the implementation of the UNCCD, works with OSS mainly through its MAB and IHP programmes. The OSS programme Network of Observatories for Long-Term Ecological Monitoring (ROSELT) is making use of several MAB Biosphere Reserves in the Sahelian region to set up a mechanism for the observation and evaluation of desertification. IHP works in close cooperation with OSS in connection with the programme Aquifers of the Major Basins. In arid and semi-arid regions, where renewable water resources are rare and irregular, the extensive non-renewable water resources are of great economic importance. These resources are limited in the long term but are not at the mercy of climatic fluctuations; harnessing them can compensate for breakdown of conventional resources, particularly in the event of drought. 6. In view of the above, the Executive Board may wish to adopt the following decision: TheExecutiveBoard, 1. Having examined document 160 EX/37, 2. Considering the desirability of establishing a framework for cooperation between UNESCO and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) in areas of mutual interest concerning action to combat desertification, 3. Approves the draft cooperation agreement set out in Annex II to this document; 4. Authorizes the Director-General to establish formal relations with OSS and to sign the cooperation agreement on behalf of UNESCO.
Annex I ANNEX I INFORMATION NOTE The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) 1. Headquarters Tunis (Tunisia) 2. Date of foundation The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) was founded in May 1992 as an association under the French law of 1901. At the extraordinary General Assembly of OSS held in Rabat (Morocco) in March 2000 the OSS became an independent international organization. 3. Scope of work OSS carries out its work in the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Saharan countries. Its primary objective is to harness information of use in combating desertification. Its work consists in: helping African States to implement the UNCCD; helping to set up a mechanism for the observation, monitoring and evaluation of desertification; facilitating the dissemination of information relevant to the implementation of the Action Programmes; facilitating technical and scientific cooperation between the countries concerned by the aquifers of the major water basins; helping to develop an African forum for research and development on the subject of combating desertification and reducing the effects of drought. 4. Members The founding members of OSS are: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uganda, and the African subregional organizations CILSS, IGAD and UMA. 5. Bodies The organization s statutory bodies are: the General Assembly, which meets every four years; the Executive Board, which meets once a year; the Bureau, which is made up of a Chairman, three Vice-Chairmen, and a Rapporteur. The Bureau meets once a year, before the Executive Board;
Annex I - page 2 the Scientific and Technical Council, set up by the Executive Board, which meets every two years. This body is involved in the scientific and technical work carried out under the OSS programme of activities; the Executive Director is appointed by the Executive Board for a period of four years. His or her main task is to coordinate OSS activities and run the secretariat. The current Executive Director is Mr Chedli Fezzani. 6. Budget The operational budget is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States and is used essentially to pay the staff costs of the secretariat. This budget is separate from the budgets for OSS programmes, which are mostly funded by the European countries. The European countries, Tunisia and Morocco are the main sources of OSS funding, although the organization also manages to obtain funding from other sources. 7. Official languages The official languages of OSS are Arabic, French and English. 8. Relations with United Nations organizations OSS works in close cooperation with several United Nations organizations, in particular UNCCD (secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research), WMO (World Meteorological Organization), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 9. Cooperation with UNESCO OSS was founded in May 1992 under the French law of 1901 on non-profit associations. UNESCO was one of its founding members and housed the OSS secretariat in the Miollis building from the time the organization was set up until March 2000. On 18 June 1999, an agreement was signed between UNESCO and the Tunisian Government on the transfer of OSS to Tunis (Tunisia) and its establishment and operation there. UNESCO works with OSS mainly within the scope of its MAB (Man and the Biosphere) programme and IHP (International Hydrological Programme).
Annex II ANNEX II COOPERATION AGREEMENT between THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION and THE SAHARA AND SAHEL OBSERVATORY (OSS) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (hereinafter referred to as UNESCO ), represented by its Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura and The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (hereinafter referred to as OSS ), represented by its Executive Director, Mr Chedli Fezzani, Considering the existing cooperation between OSS and UNESCO in the implementation of scientific programmes in such areas as long-term ecological monitoring, the study of the water resources of the major Saharan aquifers, the structures for the monitoring and evaluation of action programmes to combat desertification, and indicators to monitor the implementation of the CCD, Bearing in mind the agreement of 18 June 1999 between UNESCO and the Tunisian Government relating to the establishment and operation of OSS in Tunisia, Recalling that the UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy for 1996-2001 addresses the problems, inter alia desertification, of arid and semi-arid zones within the framework of the Convention to Combat Desertification, with special emphasis on responses based on rigorous scientific knowledge and assessment and capacity-building, Recognizing that the OSS Strategy 2000 defined Agenda 21 and the Convention to Combat Desertification as strategic frameworks of action for fulfilling its basic objectives, namely to facilitate the sustainable management of natural resources through the optimization of information for users, and to help develop the capacity of African countries in this area, Have agreed on the following: Article I Purpose 1. The purpose of the present Cooperation Agreement is to set up a framework for collaboration between UNESCO and OSS in areas of mutual concern relating to the combating of desertification, in a spirit of partnership and synergy.
Annex II - page 2 2. The present Cooperation Agreement covers all areas of mutual concern to OSS and UNESCO. Within this general framework, specific agreements on particular aspects may be concluded between the two organizations. Article II Institutional aspects of cooperation UNESCO shall participate in the statutory bodies of OSS, within the framework of the agreement of 18 June 1999 between UNESCO and the Government of Tunisia relating to the establishment and operation of OSS in Tunisia. Article III The Parties agree: Information access and dissemination (a) to cooperate in the production, exchange and dissemination of relevant information gained from the implementation of their joint scientific and technical programmes to combat desertification and promote the sustainable management of natural resources. (b) (c) to inform one another of all work programmes and activities envisaged in areas of mutual concern and exchange publications which could be of interest to one or other of the Parties. That OSS website shall continue to be housed on the UNESCO server, and shall be regularly updated by OSS headquarters in Tunis. Article IV Coordination of activities 1. OSS and UNESCO shall continue and step up, as far as possible, the coordination of their programmes with a view to making them complementary and mutually beneficial. 2. OSS and UNESCO shall consolidate their joint activities in the following, nonexhaustive list of fields: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Inventory, evaluation and monitoring of desertification, Long-term ecological monitoring, The study of the water resources of the major Saharan aquifers, The development of systems to assist the monitoring and evaluation of actions to combat desertification, and the production of decision-making tools such as indicators, Capacity-building, particularly through training courses and workshops held in the framework of joint scientific projects,
Annex II - page 3 (f) (g) The promotion of research programmes for development in Africa at subregional and regional levels, furthering exchanges of experience between regions, The promotion of systems for the dissemination of information on desertification. 3. The forms of, and arrangements for, cooperation between OSS and UNESCO in any of the above-mentioned fields shall be defined in the specific agreements provided for under Article I, paragraph 2, of the present Agreement. Article V Consultation and orientation OSS and UNESCO agree to hold regular consultative meetings concerning the implementation of the present Agreement. Article VI Focal points OSS and UNESCO shall each specify a focal point for the purpose of monitoring the application the present Agreement. Article VII Amendment This Agreement may be amended by mutual agreement. Article VIII Entry into force and termination This Agreement shall come into force upon signature by both Parties. It may be terminated by either Party by giving six months notice in writing to the other Party. In the event of termination, the Parties shall consult with each other in order to ensure the orderly settlement of their mutual obligation, including in particular the orderly completion of any projects or programmes in the process of implementation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, who have been duly authorized to that effect, have signed two copies of this Agreement in the [French] language. Signed this day of 2000 at. For UNESCO For OSS The Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura The Executive Director Chedli Fezzani