REPORT
22ndSESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION AND
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ICC)
PALAIS DES NATIONS
GENEVA, 23-27 MARCH 2009
Monday 23 March 2009 – Pre-ICC General Meeting SessionsIn the morning, regional meetings of NHRIs were held
Parallel Lunch Event: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Detention Monitoring, HarvardLawSchool, Human Rights ProgramFor more information, please see the section below with the presentations at the plenary session, reflecting the discussions at the parallel event.
Meeting of the ICC Bureau
Record of Decisions1.1The Working Group on Sustainable Funding (WGSF) is transitioned into a standing Finance Committee.
1.2The current individual members of the WGSF will become members of the new Finance Committee.
1.3The new Finance Committee will formulate clear and comprehensive guidelines for the determination of fee waivers.
2.1The ICC Chairperson is authorized to make decisions regarding expenditures, in consultation with the Finance Committee.
2.2Payment of the fees of the ICC Geneva Representative is the first priority, translation is the second priority and travel by ICC Chair is a third priority.
3.The General Observations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation will be amended as necessary in order to incorporate correct references to the ICC Statute articles.
4.1The recruitment process for a permanent representative in Geneva will be postponed until funding for one year’s income, benefits and operational expenditures is secured.
4.2A third member of the selection committee will be nominated at the next Bureau meeting in fall 2009.
5.1The focus of the next ICC Bureau meeting will be on ICC priorities and strategic planning.
5.2Where practicable, the second ICC Bureau meeting will be held on a geographic rotational basis. Morocco has offered to host the ICC Bureau meeting in the second half of 2009.
6.The ICC Bureau will consult with ICC members during the ICC General Meeting on the contents of the statement to be delivered by the ICC Working Group on the Durban Review Conference at the March 2009 Human Rights Council session.
- Welcome and Adoption of Agenda
The ICC Chairperson, Ms. Jennifer Lynch Q.C., expressed her gratitude to Mr. David Langtry, Mr. Gianni Magazzeni (OHCHR NI Unit) and to Ms. Katharina Rose (interim ICC Geneva Representative) for their work and support, as well as Dr. Moctezuma for his outstanding work as outgoing Regional Americas Chair. She welcomed incoming Americas Regional Chair Dra. Gabriela del Mar Ramírez Pérez and new Bureau members Dr. Oscar Humberto Luna (Procurador of El Salvador), Mr. Fernando Gutiérrez Vera (Defensor of Ecuador), Mr. Jurica Malcic (Ombudsman of Croatia) and Prof. Jean-Pierre Lehners (President of the Commission consultative des droits de l’homme of Luxembourg).
The ICC Chairperson stated that the ICC is now a non-profit association under Swiss law with a new Statute and a separate bank account, enabling it to retain a permanent representative in Geneva. She flagged that the ICC22 will reflect on a range of issues central to members’ work and ICC priorities, as well as allow members to continue to share experiences.
- ICC Bureau Committee Reports
a) Governance Working Group - ICC Statute and ICC incorporation
The ICC Chairperson expressed thanks to the Hon. John von Doussa, Special Advisor to the ICC Chair, for his work on the Statute and his ability to consolidate the submissions received. She noted that as the ICC Statute was adopted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 2008, and amended in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2008, ICC22 is the first annual meeting of the newly incorporated association.
The Hon. John von Doussa presented the report of the ICC Governance Working Group (GWG). He apologized for the translation challenges faced and stated that the NHRIs of the Americas Group will have the opportunity to put their suggestions forward at this ICC22 meeting. The ultimate goal is that the ICC Statute carries consensus.
He explained that at the ICC20 meeting, the future governance of the ICC was discussed with the assistance of an expert on governance. A governance model was agreed upon at the closure of that meeting. It was agreed at that time that the Hon. John von Doussa would take the lead in consolidating the existing rules and introduce changes necessary to reflect the incorporated structure and to give efficiency to the new entity (with day to day management vested with ICC Bureau). A preliminary Statute was circulated and adopted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 2008. Further reflection on the content of the Statute was necessary and it was hoped that this would be achieved at ICC21. However, as the Hon. John von Doussa explained, the Spanish speaking NHRI members received the documents belatedly, leading to a request to comment on its contents after the Nairobi meeting.
The GWG was tasked with considering proposals received following the ICC21 in Nairobi, which it subsequently carried out. The Hon. John von Doussa also explained that any NHRI could still raise concerns and would have an opportunity to put them forward for discussion at ICC22.
The Hon. John von Doussa mentioned that two batches of proposals were received; one from a group of four Latin American NHRIs (‘the Four Americas’); some from other institutions; the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA); and the OHCHR. He commented that many of the Four Americas’ proposals would require revisiting the governance structure as agreed upon at ICC20 and ICC21. The other proposals included: (i) to art 12 (the mechanism for challenging recommendations by the SCA) and (ii) to introduce a rule making power.
The ICC Chairperson asked Bureau members whether consensus existed within the Bureau on the GWG report. All regional groups supported the report and its recommendations, except the Americas Regional Group, which was working on identifying areas of common ground, so that areas of disagreement could be debated and resolved.
b) Working Group on Sustainable Funding - strategy proposal
The ICC Chairperson welcomed the setting up of a UBS bank account for the ICC Association and reported that invoices have been sent for members to pay their yearly fees of 5,000 USD or 3,200 EUR.
Dr. Maurice Manning presented the strategy proposal and welcomed the set up of the bank account and noted that member subscriptions had started to flow in the account. Dr. Manning gave an overview of the proposed budget. He mentioned that several budget lines for 2009 had been removed, to be reinserted in 2010 once a permanent ICC representative is recruited. The priorities identified by the Working Group on Sustainable Funding (WGSF) for 2009 are: (1) payment of fees for the interim ICC representative, and (2) translation and interpretation. He noted that it is proposed not to proceed with recruitment of the ICC representative until sufficient (i.e. one full year of income, benefits and operational expenses minimum) unencumbered funds are secured by the ICC.
He flagged that the issue of annual subscription fees, as provided by the ICC statute, is likely to require consideration soon following requests from individual institutions for a waiver. The WGSF offered to undertake the task of drafting criteria for fee waivers.
On the composition of the WGSF, he proposed that, while the regional chairmanship had changed since the WGSF was constituted, its individual membership continue. Dr. Manning concluded by proposing that the WGSF become the ICC Finance Committee (mandated to oversee and manage finances of the ICC and report back to the ICC on sources and spending of resources). Dr. Manning acknowledged that terms of reference of a Finance Committee would need to be developed.
The German Institute for Human Rights flagged that it could not extend the contract of the interim ICC representative beyond June 2009. The ICC Chairperson responded that following its incorporation, the ICC was now in a position to take over the contract and expressed gratitude to the German Institute for their support.
Decisions:1.1 The Working Group on Sustainable Funding (WGSF) is transitioned into a standing Finance Committee.
1.2 The current individual members of the WGSF will become members of the new Finance Committee.
1.3 The new Finance Committee will formulate clear and comprehensive guidelines for the determination of fee waivers.
The ICC Chairperson furthermore stated that at present the ICC had received 2 payments in its account, that 2 more payments were forthcoming and that some requests for waivers had been received. She also noted that in December 2007 it was determined that the fees of the interim ICC representative should be augmented. This was implemented for January-March 2008 but not subsequently. The ICC Chairperson stated that the ICC may have a legal or moral responsibility to pay part or all of the unpaid increase and will look into the matter and make a recommendation. She confirmed that ICC priorities are first, the payment of the fees of a Geneva Representative; second, translation; and added as a third priority, ICC Chair travel (always to be distinguished from travel undertaken by an ICC Chair in their capacity as Chair of their relevant NHRI).
Decisions:2.1The ICC Chairperson is authorized to make decisions regarding expenditures, in consultation with the Finance Committee.
2.2Payment of the fees of the ICC Geneva Representative is the first priority, translation is the second priority and travel by ICC Chair is a third priority.
c) Sub-Committee on Accreditation
The ICC Chairperson praised the work of Prof. Heiner Bielefeldt as Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation.
Prof. Bielefeldt mentioned that the work of the Sub-Committee is done in a spirit of collegial cooperation. He praised the role of David Langtry and the indispensable and highly professional support of the OHCHR NI Unit. He noted that in Santa Cruz it was decided to periodically review all “A status” NHRIs, and that within 2 years the Sub-Committee has completed the cycle. The rules of procedure have been refined with key guiding principles being rigour, fairness and transparency. The final decision on the status accorded lies with the ICC Bureau. He mentioned that all summaries are shared with the applicant NHRIs, that summaries are posted on nhri.net after the process, and that civil society information is taken into account and shared with the applicant NHRIs. Regional Coordinating Committees are invited to attended the Sub-Committees sessions. He mentioned the good experience with the participation of the Asia Pacific Forum of NHRIs (APF) at its November 2008 session. The General Observations from the November 2008 session have been approved, with some minor technical amendments.
Decision:- The General Observations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation will be amended as necessary in order to incorporate correct references to the ICC Statute articles.
- Selection Process for ICC Geneva Representative
The ICC Chairperson mentioned that since April 2007, various interim representatives have succeeded each other, with Ms. Katharina Rose for the last two years. ICC Secretary Professor Ahn was tasked with developing an application process for recruiting and selecting a permanent ICC Geneva Representative. A Selection Committee was set up to recruit a permanent representative, chaired by Professor Ahn of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) with the ICC Chair as member and supported by the OHCHR NI Unit. Progress on this was pending the finalization of the finance and incorporation issues.
Mr. Anselmo Lee of the Korean NHRC, speaking on behalf of Professor Ahn, made two proposals: (1) that given current financial limitations, the hiring of the permanent representative is postponed until enough funding has been received for one year; and (2) that an additional person be added to the Selection Committee, and that this be decided at the next Bureau meeting in the second half of 2009.
Decisions:4.1The recruitment process for a permanent representative in Geneva will be postponed until funding for one year’s income, benefits and operational expenditures is secured.
4.2A third member of the selection committee will be nominated at the next Bureau meeting in fall 2009.
- Preparations for ICC22 General Meeting
The ICC Chairperson presented the agenda of the ICC22 meeting to the Bureau. She highlighted that business and human rights may be a possible theme for the next international conference. She also highlighted the agenda item on ICC action planning and commented that Bureau will have responsibility for implementing these priorities;and thus recommended that the next Bureau meeting focus on this issue.
Decision:5.1The focus of the next ICC Bureau meeting will be on ICC priorities and strategic planning.
5.2Where practicable, the second ICC Bureau meeting will be held on a geographic rotational basis. Morocco has offered to host the ICC Bureau meeting in the second half of 2009.
- Durban Review Conference
Prof. Heiner Bielefeldt stressed the need to avoid fragmentation between the human rights agenda and the race relations agenda. He noted that the ICC Working Group on the Durban Review Conference (WG) had circulated a draft statement and received input. The draft statement was then read out for Bureau members.
Decision:5.6. The ICC Bureau will consult with ICC members during the General Meeting on the contents of the statement to be delivered by the ICC Working Group on the Durban Review Conference at the March 2009 Human Rights Council session.
(N.B. In the end, the statement was read out in the Human Rights Council as a statement by the German Human Rights Institute, mentioning that it carried the support of many NHRIs, meeting in Geneva at the ICC22. This was decided, given that suggested amendments to the text could not be incorporated due to time limitations.)
Tuesday 24 March 2009 – ICC General MeetingRecord of Decisions
- The recommendations of the Governance Working Group to retain the governance structure, roles, responsibilities and decision making authorities of the Bureau and of the ICC as currently described in the Statute, are accepted.
- The recommendations of the Governance Working Group to retain the levying of subscriptions and the waiver of fees as currently described in the Statute, are accepted.
- The Spanish version of the Statute, Article 2, is amended to include the translation of “non-profit organization”).
- The Spanish version of the Statute, Article 5 is amended to include the translation of “so that they may be” in accordance with.
- Article 15 of the Statute is amended to insert in the first sentence “five years” before “cyclical basis”; and the rest of the second sentence is deleted.
- Article 30 of the Statute is amended at line three after ‘mandates’ by adding “and its participation in the different international fora on human rights”.
- Articles 31.4, 34 and 44 are amended so that appointment of Bureau members would be made by regional groups, not the General Assembly. Amended provisions are as follows:
- Art 31.4: “nominates” becomes “appoints”.
- Art 34: “elects” becomes “ratifies the appointment of” and “elects the chairperson and the secretary; which have been appointed by their regional groups under art 31”.
- Art 43: reference to election procedure removed.
- Art 44: “nomination” becomes “appointment”
- Article 45 of the Statute is amended to add “non-renewable” to the term of the ICC Chairperson, with the clarification that the non renewability relates to consecutive terms, not subsequent terms that follow another Chair.
- Articles 42 and 50.1 are amended to add comment on availability of documentation.
- The ICC Bureau will explore the possibility of including Arabic as an ICC working language.
5.The draft ICC Statement at the Durban Review Conference will be finalized by 1 April 2009 in the three working languages of the ICC. Regional distribution will be done by 3 April and input received by 7 April. The next draft will be finalized by 9 April 2009. The ICC Regional Chairs are responsible for the translation and distribution of the text within their regions.
6.The proposals of the ICC Steering Committee on Business and Human Rights are accepted as follows:
6.1An ICC Working Group on Human Rights and Business is established with the following mandate:
-Strategic planning (facilitate the inclusion of business and human rights issues and provide for joint NHRI programming);
-Capacity building and resource sharing (facilitate skills development of staff and provide a platform for NHRIs to exchange best practices and tools);
-Agenda setting and outreach (facilitate the participation of the ICC and NHRIs in key debates at the international, regional and domestic levels in relation to business and human rights).
6.2The Working Group composition will initially consist of 2 NHRIs per region, in time raised to 3, for a 2-year term, as well as a representative of the ICC Chairperson.
6.3It would hold one annual meeting and additional ad hoc meetings. The annual meeting would coincide with the annual ICC meeting.
6.4It would report to the ICC Bureau twice per year.
6.5Projects and programmes such as training of NHRI staff would be funded on a stand-alone basis.
6.6Costs of NHRIs participating in the WG would need to be reimbursed on a needs-basis.
6.7The DIHR will coordinate the establishment of the WG in collaboration with existing Steering Committee members, the ICC Chairperson and regional chairs.
6.8The first meeting of the WG will be no later than 30 June 2009.
- The Asia Pacific Forum proposals on NHRI participation in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be translated into French and Spanish for further consideration by the ICC Bureau or ICC23, as appropriate, for approval.
1.Welcome and Opening