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Directed to the Parties

Regarding regional representation in the Standing Committee

11.5

The following guidelines should be implemented.

A. Selection of regional members and alternate regional members

a) The membership of the Standing Committee is determined in Resolution Conf. 11.1 Annex 1. In the selection of regional members and alternate regional members, the following considerations should be taken into account:

i) for regions with one member and one alternate member, a rotation in the selection is recommended; and

ii) for regions with more than one member and one alternate member, the selection should try to achieve a balanced representation (geopolitical, cultural, ecological).

b) The regional candidatures should be officially submitted by the interested Parties through a governmental channel, at least 120 days before a meeting of the Conference of the Parties. These candidatures should be communicated to all the Parties of the region through the Secretariat.

c) If more candidatures are submitted than there are positions available for any region, a vote should take place in a session of the Parties of that region to be held during the meeting of the Conference of the Parties. To be elected, a candidate should obtain an absolute majority (i.e. more than half the votes). Only the delegations duly accredited by the Conference should have the right to vote. The election should take place during the second week of the meeting.

d) The election of a member and of the alternate should take place at the end of the term of office of their predecessors, in accordance with the above-mentioned procedure, through successive votes during a single process.

B. Timing of replacement of members and alternate members

In accordance with Resolution Conf. 11.1, the terms of office of the regional members shall commence at the close of the regular meeting at which they are elected and shall expire at the close of the second regular meeting thereafter. The Resolution does not refer to alternate members but it may be assumed that the same rule applies. It is followed in the paragraphs below:

a) for regions with one member and one alternate member, the selection may be conducted as it has been so far, taking into account however the recommendation made in paragraph A a) i); and

b) for regions with more than one member and one alternate member, to guarantee some continuity, not all members and alternate members should be changed at the same meeting.