Resolutions of the Fifth Meetingof the Conference of the PartiesRESOLUTION 5.1 CONCERTED ACTIONS FOR APPENDIX I SPECIES Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Recalling Resolution 3.2 (Geneva, 1991) regarding Appendix I species; Recognising that Resolution 3.2 decided inter alia that at each meeting of the Conference of the Parties a formal review process be established for a selected number of species listed in Appendix I; Recalling further that Resolution 3.2, as updated by Resolution 4.2 (Nairobi, 1994), instructs the Secretariat and the Scientific Council to encourage and assist Parties to take concerted actions to implement the provisions of the Convention; and Noting the recommendation
of the seventh meeting of the Scientific Council that Falco naumanni,
Phoenicoparrus andinus, Phoenicoparrus jamesi and Anser
erythropus should be the subject of concerted actions, subject to their
inclusion in Appendix I, as should Gorilla gorilla beringei, already
listed in Appendix I; The Conference of the Parties
to the 1. Resolves that the concerted actions and preparation of review reports envisaged within the framework of Resolution 3.2 be carried out for all of the above-mentioned species, as well as for Pontoporia blainvillei and for Hippocamelus bisulcus, during the 1998-2000 triennium, and that the Conference of the Parties review the results at its next meeting; 2.Resolves further, in keeping with the Council's recommendation, that concerted actions should be carried out for Ciconia boyciana, subject to the condition that at least one of that species' Range States has become a Party to the Convention; and 3.Endorses the recommendation of the seventh meeting of the Scientific Council that activities for species already listed in Resolution 4.2 should be continued for a further triennium (1998-2000). RESOLUTION 5.2 GUIDELINES FOR THE HARMONISATION OF FUTURE AGREEMENTS Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Recalling that Resolution 4.3 (Nairobi, 1994) instructed the Standing Committee to submit a proposal to the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties regarding Guidelines for the Harmonisation of Future Agreements; Welcoming the circulation of draft Guidelines on the Harmonisation of Agreements concluded under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), April 1997, submitted by the Secretariat; Recognising that these 'Guidelines' are a valuable compendium of Agreement practices which will enable parties to make considered choices in framing future Agreements; Acknowledging that treaty practice is subject to some variance between Parties, that some flexibility is desirable and that the range and type of possible Agreements, the best and most achievable means of conservation and management under the framework of the CMS, and other circumstances may not render a single form of Agreement optimal for all cases; Recognising the non-binding legal nature of international guidelines and that these Guidelines on the Harmonisation of Agreements concluded under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals only described existing provisions, resolutions and existing Agreements; Desiring to harmonise, as far as possible, the form of Agreements and to avoid unnecessary and unintended divergence in form and effect, with its consequent uncertainty; Recognising that the 'Guidelines' need to be examined further by Parties and progressively refined; and Noting the importance of
the first summary of Parties' comments produced by the Secretariat; Instructs the Secretariat: a. to distribute copies of the 'Guidelines' together with this resolution to Parties for their further consideration; b. to produce, with the assistance of a consultant and an open working group of the Parties, a comprehensive summary of all comments for timely distribution to Parties seeking further views; and c. to produce an updated draft of the 'Guidelines', taking account of comments received from Parties, for submission to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.. RESOLUTION 5.3 INTERPRETATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF THE CONVENTION Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Noting that the Scientific Council reached consensus on a definition of "endangered", which would achieve maximum compatibility with the IUCN "Categories of Threat", whilst still keeping within the definition given in Article I, paragraph 1 (e), of the Convention text; and Considering that the
Standing Committee concluded that the Council's recommendation regarding the
term "endangered" should be submitted to the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties for its consideration; 1. Decides to interpret the term "endangered" in Article I, paragraph 1(e), of the Convention, as meaning "facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future"; and 2. Shall be guided, in assessing the endangered status for the purposes of listing in Appendix I, by the findings of the 40th Meeting of the IUCN Council or by an independent assessment by the Scientific Council based on the best available data.. RESOLUTION 5.4 STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONVENTION Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Noting that Article VII, paragraph 5, of the Convention requires the Conference of the Parties to review the implementation of the Convention and, in particular, to decide on any additional measure that should be taken to implement its objectives; Recalling that, at its fourth meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted, in principle, the Strategy for the Future Development of the Convention (documents UNEP/CMS/Conf. 4.11 and UNEP/CMS/Res.4.4); Noting the efforts made by the Parties and the Secretariat, under the guidance of the Standing Committee and the Scientific Council, to implement the Convention's priorities, as embodied in the Strategy, during the triennium 1994-1997; Conscious of the need to review priorities set out in the Strategy in order to ensure that they correspond to the most pressing requirements which the Convention needs to address; Conscious also of the need to maintain clear priorities for the guidance of the work of the Standing Committee, the Scientific Council, the Secretariat and individual Parties in implementing the Convention; and Considering the usefulness of having available a comprehensive document outlining the Convention's strategic plan for the short- to medium-term; The Conference of the Parties
to the 1. Decides that, pending a comprehensive review of the Strategy for the Future Development of the Convention prior to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the objectives and activities listed in the annex to the present resolution shall be the first priorities of the Convention for the triennium 1998-2000, according to the following categories: High Priority Objectives 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 Medium Priority Objectives 1.2, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, and 6.1 Ongoing Objectives 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 In so doing, the Conference of the Parties considers the key priorities for the success of the Convention to be: Recruitment of new members, and assisting new and existing members; Promotion of the Convention and its objectives; Concerted action for Appendix I species; Development of and assistance to regional Agreements; and Scientific work to keep the CMS Appendices under review. 2. Requests the Parties and all the institutions of the Convention actively to pursue these and priorities as far as possible; 3. Also requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to take full account of the Strategy and priorities in determining the support to be provided for the Convention by UNEP; and 4. Instructs the Standing Committee and the Secretariat to report to the Conference of the Parties on the progress in implementation of the objectives and activities, and to present a revised version of the Strategy to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting. Annex OBJECTIVES AND ACTION POINTS FOR
THE 1998-2000 TRIENNIUM OBJECTIVE 1: ENHANCE MEMBERSHIP IN CMS THROUGH TARGETED PROMOTION OF THE CONVENTION'S AIMS 1.1 Parties, UNEP and the Standing Committee, with the active support of the Secretariat, should intensify efforts to persuade potential Parties to join the Convention and related Agreements. First priority should be given, but efforts not necessarily limited, to the key countries for which "country profiles" have been already been developed according to biological criteria. (Parties, UNEP, Standing Committee, Secretariat) 1.2 The Secretariat should expedite preparation and updating of information material, including brochures, posters, videos, mobile displays, a Convention Directory, and regular bulletins. Parties are encouraged to provide technical assistance and funds if the core budget does not suffice. Such material should be used both to promote awareness and implementation of CMS in existing Party States and to promote the Convention to potential new Parties. Individual Parties should produce information materials for national or regional audiences. Consideration should be given to undertaking a major information campaign, in concert with non-governmental organizations, well in advance of the Convention's 20th anniversary in 1999. (Secretariat, Parties, NGOs) OBJECTIVE 2: INTENSIFY CONSERVATION INITIATIVES IN REGIONS UNDER REPRESENTED IN CMS 2.1 The Convention's presence in Africa and Asia-Oceania should be strengthened with a view to encouraging regional co-operation for migratory species conservation. As in the case of Latin America, where the appointment of a Programme Officer from the region has helped to stimulate regional initiatives, Parties should be encouraged to second personnel to CMS in order to facilitate governmental and non-governmental contacts and to improve programme delivery within Africa and Asia-Oceania. The Secretariat should be more pro-active in its efforts to promote conservation initiatives in co-operation with regional bodies. (Parties, Secretariat) 2.2 In Africa, the emphasis should be on supporting activities that are just getting off the ground, such as the recently concluded African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, as well as preliminary work on marine turtles and cetaceans in coastal waters. (Parties, Secretariat) 2.3 In Asia-Oceania, CMS should continue to support and provide input to the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy (1996-2000), which may lead in the future to a more formal multilateral agreement among States of the region, and to take an active role in the development of a conservation initiative for migratory waterbirds of the Central Asian-Indian flyway. In addition, CMS should play a more prominent role in regional co-operation for marine turtle conservation, where other bodies are not already active, and should continue to support essential research on cetaceans. (Parties, Secretariat) 2.4 The Convention shall contribute to ensure that advances achieved in the neotropics by way of the CMS South American workshop (Proceedings, Valdivia, Chile, 1-3 December 1996) and whose conclusions were recognized and endorsed by the seventh meeting of the Scientific Council are followed up, and recommends that this type of meeting should also be organized for other regions of the world. (Parties, Secretariat) OBJECTIVE 3: FACILITATE AND IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION 3.1 The Secretariat should work together with each new Party, as soon as possible after their accession to CMS, to advise, answer queries and offer suggestions as regards implementation of the Convention. It should, through a consultancy, develop guidelines on legislation and implementation and other useful material, in order to give guidance to new Parties on CMS and its associated Agreements. (Secretariat, individual Parties) 3.2 Parties as well as non-Party States, including regional economic integration organisations, should provide sufficient funds for the implementation of the Convention and of Agreements concluded under its auspices, both domestically and for transboundary co-operation and concerted action. Developed countries should channel adequate funds to projects for the implementation of CMS and Agreements in developing countries and countries in economic transition. Also, they should encourage non-governmental organisations to target their project work, inter alia, towards the implementation of CMS and Agreements. (Parties, non-Parties, NGOs) 3.3 All Parties should be encouraged to submit reports on their implementation of CMS well before each meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP). An analysis of reports submitted by Parties should be prepared before each meeting. The Secretariat should engage a specialised organisation on a permanent basis to review and evaluate the reports and to prepare a comprehensive report for the COP on the status and population trends for the relevant species, and conservation measures undertaken by the Parties and non-Party Range States, using also information from other sources. A proposal should be developed and submitted to the COP6, as well as to the Meetings of the Parties of the Agreements concluded under CMS, to harmonise the various reports with a view to a) making those reports more substantial, b) providing the COP with appropriate information on the implementation of the Convention and c) making an input to the Convention on Biological Diversity with respect to the conservation of migratory species. (Parties, Secretariat) OBJECTIVE 4: DEVELOP AGREEMENTS ACCORDING TO REGIONAL PRIORITIES 4.1 Activities to lay basis for the identification and development of new Agreements should be continued and intensified, as far as resources are available. Parties, including regional economic integration organisations, should take the lead in developing and/or sponsoring Agreements and in hosting interim secretariats; sponsors should specify clearly to the Standing Committee how they intend to proceed in this regard. Developed Party States, whether or not they are Range States, should be encouraged to facilitate initiatives of developing countries by providing technical, scientific and financial assistance on request. The Secretariat's capacity to assist in the development of new Agreements should be strengthened. (COP, Parties, Scientific Council, Secretariat) 4.2 Support to existing Agreements (including Memoranda of Understanding) should be provided by the Secretariat to the extent these activities contribute significantly to the conservation of the species concerned and help to raise the profile of the Convention. (Secretariat) OBJECTIVE 5: PRIORITIZE CONSERVATION ACTIONS FOR MIGRATORY SPECIES 5.1 Priority should continue to be given to actions for Appendix I species (or populations). The Scientific Council should recommend to the Conference of the Parties or Standing Committee, as appropriate, concerted measures to be taken by Parties in respect of selected species. The Secretariat, in consultation with the Scientific Council, should promote the development of cost-effective projects, in particular those intended to have a direct benefit for Appendix I species. (Scientific Council, Secretariat) 5.2 In the case of critically endangered species listed in Appendix I, Parties should designate protected areas, in close co-operation with other Range States and taking into account commitments under other international instruments, so that a network of critical sites is established throughout the migration route of the species concerned. (Parties) 5.3 The CMS Appendices should be reviewed and improved continually in order to assure their scientific integrity and value for conservation purposes. (Scientific Council) OBJECTIVE 6: MOBILIZE FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR CONSERVATION INITIATIVES 6.1 The Secretariat, with the assistance of the Standing Committee, should develop closer relations with multilateral agencies operating on a global and/or regional level that provide development assistance for projects which: a) may affect migratory species covered by CMS or b) could include migratory species as a component of a broader conservation strategy. (Secretariat, Standing Committee) OBJECTIVE 7: RATIONALIZE INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS 7.1 Secretariats for individual Agreements should be financed entirely by their Parties, except when the membership is such that financial support from the Convention is essential in the early stages of development. In addition, Parties to the respective Agreements should provide substantial voluntary support to facilitate the administration and effective implementation of the Agreement. (Parties to Agreements, Secretariat, Standing Committee) 7.2 In keeping with the model adopted for Europe, Parties to Agreements developed in other regions should consider consolidating secretariat functions for one or more Agreements in regional centres which would facilitate links to the CMS Secretariat and, where appropriate, to existing organisations specialised in the conservation of migratory species. (Parties to Agreements) 7.3 The personnel of the Secretariat should be augmented as far as financial resources permit to improve delivery of services in relation to technical and scientific matters, developmental and organizational activities, and liaison with other biodiversity-related conventions and organisations. The geographic and linguistic balance within the Secretariat should be improved in order to strengthen its capacity in regions not adequately represented. Regional officers for Africa and Asia should be recruited through secondment. Parties should assign to the Secretariat, at their own cost for periods of at least one year, personnel capable of undertaking specialized tasks that would otherwise not be possible to carry out. (Parties, Secretariat, UNEP) OBJECTIVE 8: STRENGTHEN INSTITUTIONAL LINKAGES 8.1 CMS should strengthen or establish new partnerships with the institutions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and with other biodiversity-related conventions, regional agreements and programmes inter alia by: (a) implementing the MoU concluded between the secretariats of CBD and CMS(Secretariat, Parties); (b) intensifying communication and consultations with other conventions and institutions, relevant for, inter alia, the conservation of migratory species (Secretariat); (c) intensifying, as a priority, the linkages with CBD and GEF in order to implement the relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to CBD, as well as developing pilot projects which demonstrate (i) the complementarity of CMS in the implementation of CBD and (ii) the basic need to fill the gap in the funding mechanism of GEF for biodiversity-related projects; and (d) nominating a focal point from both the Standing Committee and the Scientific Council to communicate with the respective bodies of the institutions mentioned above, to participate in their meetings and to report back to the CMS bodies (Standing Committee, Scientific Council). For this reason, it is proposed that the COP provide for the establishment of a Programme Officer post to assist with the Secretariat's liaison with CBD, other biodiversity-related conventions and post-UNCED organisations (e.g. the CSD, UNFCCC, and Desertification Convention) and with other UN organisations, in a broader sense, in matters of common concern where until now there has been minimal interaction. 8.2 The Standing Committee should negotiate with UNEP (through its Governing Council) on support for the implementation of CMS (as already promised in 1994) and the inclusion of some of the strategy action points in its programme of work. UNEP should also actively support the recruitment of new Parties and the establishment of partnerships with the institutions mentioned above. (Parties, Standing Committee, Secretariat). 8.3 Specialized non-governmental organizations should be encouraged to play a more active role in the Convention, particularly by providing scientific advice, assisting in promotional activities and implementing projects for migratory species. The Secretariat should hold at least one intersessional meeting with NGOs, and individual Parties should also consult and, where appropriate, make use of NGOs in implementing the Convention. (NGOs, Secretariat, Parties). RESOLUTION 5.5 CO-LOCATION OF AGREEMENT SECRETARIATS Adopted by the Conference of the
Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Recalling the action points 17, 18 and 19 contained in Resolution 4.4, adopted by the fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Nairobi, June 1994), which read as follows: "17. Secretariats for individual Agreements should be financed entirely by their Parties, except when the membership is such that financial support from the Convention is essential in the early stages of development. 18. Parties to Agreement should be invited to consider consolidating secretariat functions for one or more Agreements in regional centres which would facilitate links to the CMS Secretariat. 19. The Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe, the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) and other European Agreements under the Convention should be invited to consolidate secretariat functions in a special Agreements Unit co-located with the Secretariat of the Convention." Confirming that the question of the location of the secretariat for any particular Agreement, and of all other relevant questions, is a matter to be determined solely by a decision of the Meeting of the Parties to that Agreement; Expecting that mutual benefit will be derived from the co-location of the Secretariat of the Convention with Agreement secretariats through cost savings and the pooling of resources and by strengthening the organisational and administrative potentials and increasing the efficiency of the secretariats, in implementing the aims of the Agreements; Guided by a common will to maintain the mutually independent and autonomous functioning of each secretariat according to the instructions of their relevant bodies; Acknowledging that the Final Act of the Negotiating Meeting on the adoption of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (The Hague, 12 to 16 June 1996) provides in Article VI, paragraph 7 (6), that "at its first session, the Meeting of the Parties shall establish an Agreement Secretariat within the Convention Secretariat"; Acknowledging the decision of the First Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe (Bristol 18-20 July 1995), to establish a permanent secretariat in co-location with the Convention Secretariat; Acknowledging that the resolution of the First Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (Stockholm, 26-28 September 1994) provides that "the permanent secretariat be established at the Sea Mammal Research Unit in the United Kingdom, and remain there for the triennium; and that this arrangement be reviewed at the next ordinary Meeting of the Parties, taking into account Resolution 4.4 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (Nairobi, 7-11 June 1994) as well as further development with regard to other agreements"; Acknowledging that the Final Act of the Negotiating Meeting on the adoption of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (Monaco, 19 to 24 November 1996) provides in Article IV that, "subject to the approval of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, an Agreement secretariat shall be established within the Secretariat of the Convention"; and Appreciating that the Host
Government has made excellent facilities available to the Convention
Secretariat, the other Agreement secretariats as well, and has allocated
increased financial means to the Convention budget as of 1997; The Conference of the Parties
to the 1. Approves the establishment of an Agreements Unit within the Convention Secretariat on the basis of the attached Terms of Reference; 2. Is willing to establish on the basis of the attached Terms of Reference a Common Administrative Unit for the UNEP/CMS Secretariat and the Agreements Unit and to contribute to the financial means needed for these arrangements within the limits of the existing budget; 3. Requests UNEP to provide the financial means for an Administrative and Fund Programme Management Officer for this Common Administrative Unit; 4. Also requests UNEP, in accordance with Resolution 4.4 to approve the consolidation of Secretariat functions of the Convention and the Agreements on the basis of the Terms of Reference attached hereto; 5.Confirms the invitation made at the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Nairobi, 1994) for the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and the North Seas (ASCOBANS) to relocate their secretariat with the Secretariat of the Convention; 6. Recommends that the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and the North Seas and to the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe request the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to become the secretariat; 7. Invites the Contracting Parties of ASCOBANS and EUROBATS, as well as ACCOBAMS and AEWA, to consider, in accordance with their procedures, the offer to consolidate secretariat functions in the Agreements Unit at their own expense and in line with the Terms of Reference attached hereto; 8. Invites, in accordance with Resolution 4.4, contracting Parties to future Agreements to consider co-location of their Agreement secretariats with the UNEP/CMS Secretariat; 9. Commissions the Standing Committee to develop, where necessary, further terms of reference for the co-location and integration of Agreement Secretariats, and to submit them to the administrative/scientific bodies of the Agreements; and 10. Invites the Meetings of the Parties which accept the invitation under paragraph 7, above, to empower their administrative/scientific bodies to negotiate any further terms of reference for co-location and integration, as may be needed. Annex TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR SECRETARIAT
ARRANGEMENTS For the Establishment of the Agreements Unit the following terms of reference will apply: 1. The Agreements Unit will comprise personnel according to the budgets of the respective Agreements. 2. The Professional Staff members will report to the Co-ordinator for internal administrative matters, as well as temporal co-ordination of the work programme and communication with UNEP. 3. Staff members of the Agreements Unit will function independently and will report to their respective Agreements. When the need arises, reciprocal staff assistance might be accommodated for short periods of time as authorized by the Co-ordinator. 4. Apart from the cost of the Administrative and Fund Management Officer, which is borne by UNEP, the cost of personnel for common administrative support and of common secretarial services will be funded on a cost-sharing basis by budgets of the Convention and the Agreements. 5. Recruitment of all staff members will be carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme on the basis of job descriptions prepared under the direction of the Co-ordinator. UNEP will be responsible for ensuring classification of all posts. The advertisement for any executive officer post for a given Agreement, as well as the subsequent appointment of a candidate, will normally be limited to the Contracting Parties to the Agreement concerned. Secondment of staff members from Governments should be encouraged, subject to mutually acceptable arrangements between UNEP and the Government concerned. 6. Primary screening of candidates for all posts will be conducted by a
panel of three, selected by the Co-ordinator in accordance with set
recruitment procedures and consisting of staff including officers and from
United Nations agencies in Bonn. Preliminary screening of general service
staff applications and interviews will be organized by the responsible
executive officer(s), in consultation with senior UNEP/CMS staff. Current staff
of the respective Agreements will be eligible to compete for the available
posts. Recommendations of short-listed candidates for professional and
general service staff posts will be submitted to UNEP through the
Co-ordinator. Financial arrangements 7. Parties to each Agreement will request the Executive Director of UNEP to establish separate Trust Funds for each Agreement. A separate budget will continue to be adopted for each Agreement and for the Convention, by the respective Meeting of the Parties (MOP) or Conference of the Parties (COP), as appropriate. 8. The operating costs of the secretariats (e.g. telephone usage, postage,
photocopying, special printing cost, etc.) will be computed and budgeted
separately for each of the constituent Agreements. Where it is impracticable
to compute actual costs separately (e.g. for common office supplies), the
Agreements are expected to agree a contributing figure to the overall costs
for these items. Trust Fund contributions 9. Contributions from Parties will continue to be calculated separately for each Agreement and for the parent Convention, and paid annually according to the UN scale of assessment. However, a rationalized system will be developed allowing Parties to the Convention and to one or more of the Agreements concerned to pay subscriptions in a single instalment, giving clear instructions as to how the funds are to be allocated. Requests for payment will continue to be sent by UNEP in the form of an invoice, detailing the contributions to be made towards the Convention and any applicable Agreements. UNEP will administer one or more trust funds which will supply CMS and each of the Agreements concerned, according to contributions received and the overall budgets by the respective MOPs/COP. 10. Every effort should be made by the Parties to ensure adequate and timely contributions. Nevertheless, in the event of insufficient funds for salaries of Agreements Unit staff, the Executive Director of UNEP will be authorized, through a provision in the terms of reference of the CMS Trust Fund, to make special provision to cover these salaries on a re-imbursable basis from the CMS Trust Fund if its resources allowed. UNEP will liaise with the UNEP/CMS Secretariat on such temporary transfers of funds from the parent Convention to any Agreement. Any such movements, however temporary, will be communicated to the respective Standing/Advisory Committee of the Convention and Agreement(s) concerned, and reported upon at the next session of the Meeting/Conference of the Parties.. RESOLUTION 5.6* FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Fifth Meeting (Geneva, 10-16 April 1997) Recalling Article VII, paragraph 4, of the Convention which states: "The Conference of the Parties shall establish and keep under review the financial regulations of this Convention. The Conference of the Parties shall, at each of its ordinary meetings, adopt the budget for the next financial period. Each Party shall contribute to this budget according to a scale to be agreed upon by the Conference"; Acknowledging with appreciation the financial and other support provided by the United Nations Environment Programme, the depositary Government, and the Parties to the Convention; Appreciating especially the announcement of the depositary Government that they will allocate annually the sum of DEM 100,000 as an additional voluntary contribution to the Trust Fund, to cover special measures and projects aimed at the improvement of the implementation of the Convention and the effectiveness of its Secretariat, designation of the measures to be decided by the Standing Committee on the basis of proposals of the Secretariat and, as appropriate, the advice of the Scientific Council, and to be approved by the Conference of the Parties at its subsequent meeting; Recognizing the need to strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat of the Convention to enable it to better serve the Parties in all regions; Appreciating the importance of all Parties being able to participate in the implementation of the Convention and related activities; and Noting the considerable number of Parties as well as organizations attending the meeting of the Conference of the Parties as observers, and the resulting additional expenditure to Parties so incurred; The Conference of the Parties
to the 1. Confirms that all Parties shall contribute to the budget adopted at the scale agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties in accordance with Article VII, paragraph 4, of the Convention; 2. Adopts the budget for 1998-2000 attached as Annex 1 to this resolution; 3. Agrees to the scale of contributions of Parties to the Convention as listed in Annex 2 to this resolution and to the application of that scale pro rata to new Parties; 4. Requests all Parties to pay their contributions promptly as far as possible but in any case not later than the end of the year to which they relate; 5. Takes note of the medium-term plan for 1998-2003 attached as Annex 3 to this resolution and of the priorities agreed in Resolution 5.4; __________ * The original draft of this resolution, considered by the Conference of the Parties, was numbered 5.8. 6. Urges all Parties to make voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund to support requests from developing countries to participate in and implement the Convention throughout the triennium; 7. Invites States not Parties to the Convention, governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other sources to consider contributing to the Trust Fund referred to below or to special activities; 8. Decides that the standard participation fee for all non-governmental organizations shall be fixed at USD 100 and urges such organizations to make a greater contribution if possible; 9. Requests the Executive Director of UNEP to extend the duration of the Trust Fund to 31 December 2000; and 10. Approves the terms of reference for the administration of the Trust Fund as set out in Annex 4 to the present resolution, for the period 1998-2000. Annex 1 BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR 1998-2000 (Budget lines correspond to standard UNEP budget codes)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||