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FINAL REPORT
Version 5, May 2012
by the Constitution Committee of the World Blind Union
This 5th version is to be discussed by all national members and within the regional unions of the World Blind Union prior to the Union’s 8th General Assembly to take place in Bangkok, Thailand, 12 - 16 November 2012
The report is supported by three documents:
1)Proposed Revised Constitution to be taken before the General Assembly in Bangkok for approval.
2)Notes to the proposed revised constitution that explain the proposed amendments
3)Current constitution as approved at the 7th General Assembly in Geneva in 2008
The report has been prepared by the Constitution Committee during a process that included a total of 5 meetings, face-to-face and by teleconference. Furthermore, numerous exchanges of emails have taken place in between meetings dealing with selected issues.
Subsequently the report has been amended following discussions amongst committee members and Officers of the Union which took place on November 17-18, 2011, and on May 9, 2012.
The main changes had likewise been discussed at the meeting of the WBU Executive held in Melbourne, Australia on November 11-13, 2010.
REPORT
by the Constitution Committee of the World Blind Union
This report will be presented to all members of the World Blind Union for perusal and deliberations before the 8th General Assembly.
In my capacity as Chairman of the Constitution Committee I would like to thank all Committee members for their very active participation, as well as all members of the WBU Executive Committee for their contributions. In particular, I want to express my gratitude to our CEO, Penny Hartin, and to John Heilbrunn, for their excellent handling of the secretarial functions of this Committee.
I believe that the outcome of this report fully reflects the suggestions and contributions made by the WBU Officers as well as by the different WBU Regions represented by our Executive Committee. All of this will help us to update, improve and make our Constitution more clear and comprehensive and thus, effective for our members.
Enrique Pérez
Chairman
1: Introduction
This report is the result of the work of the Constitutions Committee set up by the Board of Officers at their meeting in Louisville, Kentucky on December 1-32009.
The time schedule for the work of the Constitutions Committee was set up at that meeting and the first Tele-conference meeting called by The Committee Chair on May 31, 2010.
By complying with this plan the Committee assumes that the proposed amendments, both the editorial ones and the more political ones, will be subject to thorough examination and discussions at all relevant levels, regionally and nationally. The preparatory work by all World Blind Union members should ensure that everybody be well equipped for a fruitful and constructive debate at the eight General Assembly, giving this important issue the sufficient time to be dealt with in a business session.
The Constitution of the World Blind Union is not very old, adopted first time in 1984 and amended several times since, recently at the 6th and 7th general Assemblies in 2004 in South Africa and in Switzerland.However, the Constitutions Committee believes that with the steady development of the political, technological and social environment, with the growth of the World Blind Union, the important introduction of the WBU Secretariat and the trend towards customising and simplifying rules and regulations, the proposed constitutional revision is justified and will hopefully offer an added value to everybody involved in the work of the Union.
2: Composition of the Constitutions Committee.
In composing the Constitutions Committee it was important to ensure that the following principles were taken into account:
The Committee should ensure the presence of
Administrative, organisational and legal competence.
Representation by persons that have detailed knowledge about the proposal on Constitutional amendments tabled at the 6th and 7th General Assembly of the World Blind Union.
The Committee consists of the following members:
Enrique Pèrez, Chairperson (WBU Secretary General, ONCE, Spain)
James Sanders, (CNIB, Canada)
John Heilbrunn (Vice-Chair, Danish Association of the Blind).
Penny Hartin, Chief Executive Officer, World Blind Union
Maryanne Diamond has participated in a number of the Committee meetings as ex officio member, and the Committee has furthermore had the privilege of making use of the knowledge and competence of Lord Colin Low, (RNIB and EBU president up until November 2011) and Mr. Poul Lüneborg, (Danish Association of the Blind, Honorary Life member of the World Blind Union and former Chair of the Constitutions Committee 2001-2004).
The Committee has held face-to-face deliberations during meetings of the board of officers in Amman, Jordan, April 4, 2011, Rabat, Morocco, May 8, 2012. Moreover, tele-conference meetings have taken place on May 31, 2010 and November 4, 2011.
3. Recommendations from the Constitutions Committee:
The Committee recommends that
1. The amendments proposed in the following draft Constitution be adopted by the 8th Assembly.
2. That the amended Constitution if adopted by the 8th Assembly be brought into force after the closing of the Assembly
4. Endorsement of the Report by WBU National Members
The following WBU National Members have given their endorsement to the Constitutional Report and recommend it to the General Assembly:
-Spain
-Denmark
-Malaysia
-India
-Norway
-Canada
Australia