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COMMITTEE ON COMMODITY PROBLEMS |
INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON BANANAS AND ON TROPICAL FRUITS |
First Session |
Gold Coast, Australia, 4-8 May 1999 |
RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON BANANAS AND ON TROPICAL FRUITS1 |
1. The Group shall elect at each of its sessions a Chairperson, a first Vice-Chairperson and a second Vice-Chairperson from among the representatives of its eligible Members who shall remain in office until the election of a new Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons.
2. The Chairperson, or in his absence one of the Vice-Chairpersons, shall preside at meetings of the Group and exercise such other functions as may be required to facilitate its work. In the event of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons not being able to preside at a meeting, the Group shall appoint the representative of one of its eligible Members to take the chair.
3. The Director-General of the Organization shall appoint a Secretary who shall perform such duties as the work of the Group may require and prepare the records of the proceedings of the Group.
1. The Group shall normally hold its sessions every two years and shall only hold such sessions in each biennium as are listed in the Programme of Work of the Organization for the relevant period. However, the Director-General may, if requested by the Group or by its Chairperson, or on his own initiative, exercise his authority to hold sessions not provided for in the current Programme of Work when in his view such action is necessary for the fulfilment of the Programme of Work as approved by the Conference. The Director-General shall report any such unscheduled sessions to the next Session of the Council.
2. Any number of separate meetings may be held during each session of the Group.
3. The sessions of the Group shall be held at places to be decided, in consultation with the Director-General, by the Group or by the Chairperson.
4. Notice of the date and place of each session shall be communicated to all Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations at least two months in advance.
5. Each Member of the Group shall have one representative. Such Member may appoint an alternate and advisers to its representative on the Group.
6. Presence of the representatives of a majority of the Members of the Group entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum for any formal action by the Group.
1. Participation of international organizations in the work of the Group shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization as well as by the rules on relations with international organizations.
2. Attendance in an observer capacity by Non-Member States of the Organization at sessions of the Group shall be governed by the principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference.
3. Meetings shall be held in private, unless the Group decides otherwise.
4. Any Member Nation or Associate Member of the Organization which is not a Member of the Group, or any non-member state invited to attend a session of the Group in an observer capacity, may submit memoranda on any item on the agenda of the Group and participate without vote in any discussion at a public or private meeting of the Group, unless in exceptional circumstances the Group decides that it is necessary, in the interest of the Organization, to restrict attendance to the representative of each Member Nation and Associate Member of the Organization.
5. Members of the Group that have been unrepresented at three consecutive sessions of the Group shall no longer be considered members of the Group, unless they notify the Director-General in writing of their wish to remain Members of the Group.
1. The Director-General, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Group shall prepare a provisional agenda and circulate it at least two months in advance of the session to all Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations.
2. Any Member of the Group or any Member Nation of the Organization or Associate Member acting within the limits of its status may propose to the Director-General the insertion of an item on the provisional agenda. The Director-General shall thereupon circulate the proposed item to Members of the Group and to participating observer nations, Associate Members and organizations together with any necessary papers.
3. The Group in session may by general consent amend the agenda by the deletion, addition or modification of any item provided that no matter referred to it by the Committee on Commodity Problems or on the request of the Council or Conference may be omitted from the agenda.
4. Documents not already circulated shall be dispatched with the provisional agenda or as soon as possible thereafter.
1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Rule, each Member of the Group shall have one vote.
2. Associate members participating in the work of the Group as Members of the Group shall not hold office nor have the right to vote.
3. The decisions of the Group shall be ascertained by the Chairperson. If it does not prove possible to reach a decision by general consent, the Chairperson shall resort, upon the request of one or more representatives of Members of the Group, to a vote, in which case the pertinent provisions of Rule XII of the General Rules of the Organization shall apply mutatis mutandis.
1. Each session of the Group shall report to the Committee on Commodity Problems. The report of the Group shall embody its views, recommendations and decisions, including, when requested, a statement of minority views.
2. Reports of sessions shall be circulated to all Members of the Group and shall be made available for information to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization and to Non-Member States invited to attend the session as well as to interested international organizations entitled to be represented at the session.
3. Subject to Rules III.4 above and VI.4 below, records of sessions shall be circulated to all Members of the Group and observer nations, Associate Members and organizations having attended the session.
4. Whenever a meeting of the Group is restricted to representatives of each Member Nation and Associate Member of the Organization in accordance with the provisions of Rule III.4 above, the Group shall at the beginning of that meeting decide whether a record of the meeting shall be kept, and, if so, what circulation, not exceeding that provided for in Rule VI.3 above, shall be given to it.
5. The Group shall determine the procedures in regard to press communiqués concerning its activities.
1. The Group may when necessary establish subsidiary bodies subject to the necessary funds being available in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization, and may include in the membership of such subsidiary bodies Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization that are not members of the Group.
2. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the establishment of subsidiary bodies, the Group shall have before it a report from the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications thereof. The Sub-Group on Bananas and the Sub-Group on Tropical Fruits shall operate under the Terms of Reference of the Intergovernmental Group on Bananas and on Tropical Fruits and under these Rules of Procedure, mutatis mutandis.
Any of the foregoing Rules of Procedure of the Group may be suspended by the Group provided that twenty-four hours' notice of the proposal for the suspension has been given and that such action is consistent with the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization. Such notice may be waived if no Member objects.
The Group may decide, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, to amend its Rules of Procedure, provided that such amendments be approved by the Committee on Commodity Problems and are consistent with the Rules of Procedure of the Committee.
1. The Group shall provide a forum for consultations on and studies of the economic and technical aspects of production, marketing, trade and consumption of bananas and tropical fruits.
2. The field of competence of the Group shall include:
a) Improvement of statistical services and provision of information regarding the supply and demand position both in the short and long term;
b) Studies on the economic aspects of consumption, with special reference to the relations between consumption and prices, population, income, market access, trade barriers, and studies of the possibilities of increasing world consumption;
c) Studies of the efficiency and social aspects of the banana and tropical fruit industries with particular reference to the improvement of living standards of those engaged in the banana and tropical fruit industries;
d) Studies of economic problems of production, processing, transportation, marketing and distribution of bananas and tropical fruits, including those of improvement of quality, with a view to developing recommendations for promoting the marketing of high quality bananas and tropical fruits at prices that are fair to both producers and consumers.
3. The Group shall consider how best to deal with any special difficulties which may exist or may be expected to arise and shall submit reports and/or recommendations on the subject.
4. Membership in the Group shall be open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization that are substantially interested in the production or consumption of and trade in bananas and/or tropical fruits. So far as participation of dependent territories is concerned, the provisions of Article 69 of the Havana Charter shall apply. In order to be considered as a member of the Group, eligible Member Nations or Associate Members shall communicate to the Director-General a formal expression of intention. Interested non-Member States of the Organization that are members of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency may be admitted by the Council of the Organization to membership in the Group.
5. Attendance by non-Member States of the Organization at sessions of the Group shall be governed by the principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference.
6. In order to ensure the effective discharge of the functions of the Group, governments shall, as far as practicable, furnish all the information required for the work of the Group.
7. The Group shall report to the Committee on Commodity Problems, it being understood that copies of its reports and/or copies of reports of the Sub-Groups on Bananas and on Tropical Fruits, including any conclusions, will be circulated to interested governments and international organizations for their information as soon as they become available.
8. The Group shall make arrangements for close liaison in its activities with other organizations especially interested in bananas and/or tropical fruits and shall avoid duplication of work being undertaken by such other organizations.
9. The Director-General shall keep the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Economic and Social Council informed of the activities of the Group.
10. The Group, in consultation with the Director-General, shall determine the dates and places of its sessions, keeping in mind the character and importance of the subjects under review, the large number of governments interested in bananas and tropical fruits, and the need for economy in the cost of meetings and travel.
11. The Group may adopt and amend its own rules of procedure, which shall be approved by the Committee on Commodity Problems and shall be consistent with the rules of the Committee.
1 The Terms of Reference of the Group, as adopted by the CCP at its 62nd Session, are appended.