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Art.3 |
Article III |
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Art.3.1 |
1. The Meeting of the Parties shall be the decision-making body of this Agreement. |
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Art.3.2 |
2. The Depositary shall convene, in consultation with the Secretariat of the Convention, a session of the Meeting of the Parties to this Agreement not later than one year after the date of its entry into force. Thereafter, the Agreement secretariat shall convene, in consultation with the Secretariat of the Convention, ordinary sessions of the Meeting of the Parties at intervals of not more than three years, unless the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise. |
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Art.3.3 |
3. The Agreement secretariat shall convene an extraordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties on the written request of at least two thirds of the Parties. |
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Art.3.4 |
4. The United Nations, its Specialized Agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency, any State not a Party to this Agreement, secretariats of other global and regional conventions or agreements concerned inter alia with the conservation of cetaceans, and regional or subregional fisheries management organizations with competence for species found temporarily or permanently resident in the Agreement area may be represented by observers in sessions of the Meeting of the Parties. Any other agency or body technically qualified in the conservation of cetaceans may be represented at sessions of the Meeting of the Parties by observers, unless at least one third of the Parties present object. Once admitted to a session of the Meeting of the Parties, an observer shall continue to be entitled to participate in future sessions unless one third of the Parties object at least thirty days before the start of the session. |
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Art.3.5 |
5. Only Parties have the right to vote. Each Party shall have one vote. Regional economic integration organizations which are Parties to this Agreement shall exercise, in matters within their competence, their right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States which are Parties to the Agreement. A regional economic integration organization shall not exercise its right to vote if its member States exercise theirs and vice versa. |
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Art.3.6 |
6. All decisions of the Meeting of the Parties shall be adopted by consensus except as otherwise provided in Article X of this Agreement. However, if consensus cannot be achieved in respect of matters covered by the annexes to the Agreement, a decision may be adopted by a two thirds majority of the Parties present and voting. In the event of a vote, any Party may, within one hundred and fifty days, notify the Depositary in writing of its intention not to apply the said decision. |
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Art.3.7 |
7. At its first session, the Meeting of the Parties shall: |
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Art.3.7.a |
a) adopt its rules of procedure; |
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Art.3.7.b |
b) establish an Agreement secretariat to perform the secretariat functions listed in Article IV of this Agreement; |
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Art.3.7.c |
c) designate in each subregion, within an existing institution, a Co-ordination unit to facilitate implementation of the measures prescribed in Annex 2 to this Agreement; |
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Art.3.7.d |
d) elect a Bureau as provided for in Article VI; |
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Art.3.7.e |
e) establish a Scientific Committee, as provided for in Article VII; and |
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Art.3.7.f |
f) decide on the format and content of Party reports on the implementation of the Agreement, as provided for in Article VIII. |
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Art.3.8 |
8. At each of its ordinary sessions, the Meeting of the Parties shall: |
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Art.3.8.a |
a) review scientific assessments of the conservation status of cetaceans of the Agreement area and the habitats which are important to their survival, as well as the factors which may affect them unfavourably; |
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Art.3.8.b |
b) review the progress made and any difficulties encountered in the implementation of this Agreement on the basis of the reports of the Parties and of the Agreement secretariat; |
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Art.3.8.c |
c) make recommendations to the Parties as it deems necessary or appropriate and adopt specific actions to improve the effectiveness of this Agreement; |
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Art.3.8.d |
d) examine and decide upon any proposals to amend, as may be necessary, this Agreement; |
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Art.3.8.e |
e) adopt a budget for the next financial period and decide upon any matters relating to the financial arrangements for this Agreement; |
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Art.3.8.f |
f) review the arrangements for the Agreement secretariat, the Co-ordination units and the Scientific Committee; |
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Art.3.8.g |
g) adopt a report for communication to the Parties to this Agreement and to the Conference of the Parties of the Convention; |
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Art.3.8.h |
h) agree on the provisional time and venue of the next meeting; and |
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Art.3.8.i |
i) deal with any other matter relating to implementation of this Agreement. |
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Art.4 |
Article IV |
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Art.4.1 |
1. 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. If the Secretariat of the Convention is unable, at any time, to provide this function, the Meeting of the Parties shall make alternative arrangements. |
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Art.4.2 |
2. The functions of the Agreement secretariat shall be: |
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Art.4.2.a |
a) to arrange and service the sessions of the Meeting of the Parties; |
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Art.4.2.b |
b) to liaise with and facilitate co-operation between Parties and non-Party Range States, and international and national bodies whose activities are directly or indirectly relevant to the conservation of cetaceans in the Agreement area; |
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Art.4.2.c |
c) to assist the Parties in the implementation of this Agreement, ensuring coherence between the subregions and with measures adopted pursuant to other international instruments in force; |
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Art.4.2.d |
d) to execute decisions addressed to it by the Meeting of the Parties; |
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Art.4.2.e |
e) to invite the attention of the Meeting of the Parties to any matter pertaining to this Agreement; |
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Art.4.2.f |
f) to provide to each ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties a report on the work of the Agreement secretariat, the Co-ordination units, the Bureau, and the Scientific Committee, and on the implementation of the Agreement based on information provided by the Parties and other sources; |
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Art.4.2.g |
g) to administer the budget for this Agreement; |
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Art.4.2.h |
h) to provide information to the general public concerning this Agreement and its objectives; and |
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Art.4.2.i |
i) to perform any other function entrusted to it under this Agreement or by the Meeting of the Parties. |
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Art.4.3 |
3. The Agreement secretariat, in consultation with the Scientific Committee and the Co-ordination units, shall facilitate the preparation of guidelines covering inter alia: |
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Art.4.3.a |
a) the reduction or elimination, as far as possible and for the purposes of this Agreement, of adverse human-cetacean interactions; |
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Art.4.3.b |
b) habitat protection and natural resource management methods as they relate to cetaceans; |
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Art.4.3.c |
c) emergency measures; and |
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Art.4.3.d |
d) rescue methods. |
