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Paragraphs in "International Tropical Timber Agreement" coded as

Label Provision
Pre.1 PREAMBLE
Pre.2 The Parties to this Agreement,
Pre.3 Recalling the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of A New International Economic Order; the Integrated Programme for Commodities; A New Partnership for Development; the Cartagena Commitment and the relevant objectives contained in the Spirit of Cartagena,
Pre.4 Recalling the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983, and recognizing the work of the International Tropical Timber Organization and its achievements since its inception, including a strategy for achieving international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed sources,
Pre.5 Recalling further the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests, and the relevant Chapters of Agenda 21 as adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992, in Rio de Janeiro; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; and the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Pre.6 Recognizing the importance of timber to the economies of countries with timber producing forests,
Pre.7 Further recognizing the need to promote and apply comparable and appropriate guidelines and criteria for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of timber-producing forests,
Pre.8 Taking into account the linkages of tropical timber trade and the international timber market and the need for taking a global perspective in order to improve transparency in the international timber market,
Pre.9 Noting the commitment of all members, made in Bali, Indonesia, in May 1990, to achieve exports of tropical timber products from sustainably managed sources by the year 2000 and recognizing Principle 10 of the Non Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests which states that new and additional financial resources should be provided to developing countries to enable them to sustainably manage, conserve and develop their forests, including through afforestation, reforestation and combating deforestation and forest and land degradation,
Pre.10 Noting also the statement of commitment to maintain, or achieve by the year 2000, the sustainable management of their respective forests made by consuming members who are parties to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 at the fourth session of the United Nations Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor Agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 in Geneva on 21 January 1994,
Pre.11 Desiring to strengthen the framework of international cooperation and policy development between members in finding solutions to the problems facing the tropical timber economy,
Pre.12 Have agreed as follows:
Sect.1 CHAPTER I: OBJECTIVES
Art.1 Article 1
Art.1.1x Recognizing the sovereignty of members over their natural resources, as defined in Principle 1 (a) of the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests, the objectives of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as "this Agreement") are:
Art.1.1x.a (a) To provide an effective framework for consultation, international cooperation and policy development among all members with regard to all relevant aspects of the world timber economy;
Art.1.1x.b (b) To provide a forum for consultation to promote non-discriminatory timber trade practices;
Art.1.1x.c (c) To contribute to the process of sustainable development;
Art.1.1x.d (d) To enhance the capacity of members to implement a strategy for achieving exports of tropical timber and timber products from sustainably managed sources by the year 2000;
Art.1.1x.e (e) To promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainable sources by improving the structural conditions in international markets, by taking into account, on the one hand, a long-term increase in consumption and continuity of supplies, and, on the other, prices which reflect the costs of sustainable forest management and which are remunerative and equitable for members, and the improvement of market access;
Art.1.1x.f (f) To promote and support research and development with a view to improving forest management and efficiency of wood utilization as well as increasing the capacity to conserve and enhance other forest values in timber producing tropical forests;
Art.1.1x.g (g) To develop and contribute towards mechanisms for the provision of new and additional financial resources and expertise needed to enhance the capacity of producing members to attain the objectives of this Agreement;
Art.1.1x.h (h) To improve market intelligence with a view to ensuring greater transparency in the international timber market, including the gathering, compilation, and dissemination of trade related data, including data related to species being traded;
Art.1.1x.i (i) To promote increased and further processing of tropical timber from sustainable sources in producing member countries with a view to promoting their industrialization and thereby increasing their employment opportunities and export earnings;
Art.1.1x.j (j) To encourage members to support and develop industrial tropical timber reforestation and forest management activities as well as rehabilitation of degraded forest land, with due regard for the interests of local communities dependent on forest resources;
Art.1.1x.k (k) To improve marketing and distribution of tropical timber exports from sustainably managed sources;
Art.1.1x.l (l) To encourage members to develop national policies aimed at sustainable utilization and conservation of timber producing forests and their genetic resources and at maintaining the ecological balance in the regions concerned, in the context of tropical timber trade;
Art.1.1x.m (m) To promote the access to, and transfer of, technologies and technical cooperation to implement the objectives of this Agreement, including on concessional and preferential terms and conditions, as mutually agreed; and
Art.1.1x.n (n) To encourage information-sharing on the international timber market.
Sect.2 CHAPTER II. DEFINITIONS
Art.2 Article 2
Art.2.0x For the purposes of this Agreement:
Art.2.1 1. "Tropical timber" means non-coniferous tropical wood for industrial uses, which grows or is produced in the countries situated between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The term covers logs, sawnwood, veneer sheets and plywood. Plywood which includes in some measure conifers of tropical origin shall also be covered by this definition;
Art.2.2 2. "Further processing" means the transformation of logs into primary wood products, semi-finished and finished products made wholly or almost wholly of tropical timber;
Art.2.3 3. "Member" means a Government or an intergovernmental organization referred to in article 5 which has consented to be bound by this Agreement whether it is in force provisionally or definitively;
Art.2.4 4. "Producing member" means any country with tropical forest resources and/or a net exporter of tropical timber in volume terms which is listed in annex A and which becomes a party to this Agreement, or any country with tropical forest resources and/or a net exporter of tropical timber in volume terms which is not so listed and which becomes a party to this Agreement and which the Council, with the consent of that country, declares to be a producing member;
Art.2.5 5. "Consuming member" means any country listed in annex B which becomes a party to this Agreement, or any country not so listed which becomes a party to this Agreement and which the Council, with the consent of that country, declares to be a consuming member;
Art.2.6 6. "Organization" means the International Tropical Timber Organization established in accordance with article 3;
Art.2.7 7. "Council" means the International Tropical Timber Council established in accordance with article 6;
Art.2.8 8. "Special vote" means a vote requiring at least two thirds of the votes cast by producing members present and voting and at least 60 per cent of the votes cast by consuming members present and voting, counted separately, on condition that these votes are cast by at least half of the producing members present and voting and at least half of the consuming members present and voting;
Art.2.9 9. "Simple distributed majority vote" means a vote requiring more than half of the votes cast by producing members present and voting and more than half of the votes cast by consuming members present and voting, counted separately;
Art.2.10 10. "Financial year" means the period from 1 January to 31 December inclusive;
Art.2.11 11. "Freely usable currencies" means the deutsche mark, the French franc, the Japanese yen, the pound sterling, the United States dollar and any other currency which has been designated from time to time by a competent international monetary organization as being in fact widely used to make payments for international transactions and widely traded in the principal exchange markets.
Sect.3 CHAPTER III. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
Art.3 Article 3
Art.3.1 1. The International Tropical Timber Organization established by the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 shall continue in being for the purposes of administering the provisions and supervising the operation of this Agreement.
Art.3.2 2. The Organization shall function through the Council established under article 6, the committees and other subsidiary bodies referred to in article 26 and the Executive Director and staff.
Art.3.3 3. The headquarters of the Organization shall be in Yokohama, unless the Council, by special vote, decides otherwise.
Art.3.4 4. The headquarters of the Organization shall at all times be located in the territory of a member.
Art.4 Article 4
Art.4.1x There shall be two categories of membership in the Organization, namely:
Art.4.1x.a (a) Producing; and
Art.4.1x.b (b) Consuming.
Art.5 Article 5
Art.5.1 1. Any reference in this Agreement to "Governments" shall be construed as including the European Community and any other intergovernmental organization having responsibilities in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements, in particular commodity agreements. Accordingly, any reference in this Agreement to signature, ratification, acceptance or approval, or to notification of provisional application, or to accession shall, in the case of such intergovernmental organizations, be construed as including a reference to signature, ratification, acceptance or approval, or to notification of provisional application, or to accession, by such intergovernmental organizations.
Art.5.2 2. In the case of voting on matters within their competence, such intergovernmental organizations shall vote with a number of votes equal to the total number of votes attributable to their member States in accordance with article 10. In such cases, the member States of such intergovernmental organizations shall not be entitled to exercise their individual voting rights.
Sect.4 CHAPTER IV. INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER COUNCIL
Art.6 Article 6
Art.6.1 1. The highest authority of the Organization shall be the International Tropical Timber Council, which shall consist of all the members of the Organization.
Art.6.2 2. Each member shall be represented in the Council by one representative and may designate alternates and advisers to attend sessions of the Council.
Art.6.3 3. An alternate representative shall be empowered to act and vote on behalf of the representative during the latter's absence or in special circumstances.
Art.7 Article 7
Art.7.1 1. The Council shall exercise all such powers and perform or arrange for the performance of all such functions as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Agreement.
Art.7.2 2. The Council shall, by special vote, adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Agreement and as are consistent therewith, including its own rules of procedure and the financial rules and staff regulations of the Organization. Such financial rules shall, inter alia, govern the receipt and expenditure of funds under the Administrative Account, the Special Account and the Bali Partnership Fund. The Council may, in its rules of procedure, provide for a procedure whereby it may, without meeting, decide specific questions.
Art.7.3 3. The Council shall keep such records as are required for the performance of its functions under this Agreement.
Art.8 Article 8
Art.8.1 1. The Council shall elect for each calendar year a Chairman and a Vice Chairman, whose salaries shall not be paid by the Organization.
Art.8.2 2. The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman shall be elected, one from among the representatives of producing members and the other from among the representatives of consuming members. These offices shall alternate each year between the two categories of members, provided, however, that this shall not prohibit the re-election of either or both, under exceptional circumstances, by special vote of the Council.
Art.8.3 3. In the temporary absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall act in his place. In the temporary absence of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, or in the absence of one or both of them for the rest of the term for which they were elected, the Council may elect new officers from among the representatives of the producing members and/or from among the representatives of the consuming members, as the case may be, on a temporary basis or for the rest of the term for which the predecessor or predecessors were elected.
Art.9 Article 9
Art.9.1 1. As a general rule, the Council shall hold at least one regular session a year.
Art.9.2 2. The Council shall meet in special session whenever it so decides or at the request of:
Art.9.2.a (a) The Executive Director, in agreement with the Chairman of the Council; or
Art.9.2.b (b) A majority of producing members or a majority of consuming members; or
Art.9.2.c (c) Members holding at least 500 votes.
Art.9.3 3. Sessions of the Council shall be held at the headquarters of the Organization unless the Council, by special vote, decides otherwise. If on the invitation of any member the Council meets elsewhere than at the headquarters of the Organization, that member shall pay the additional cost of holding the meeting away from headquarters.
Art.9.4 4. Notice of any sessions and the agenda for such sessions shall be communicated to members by the Executive Director at least six weeks in advance, except in cases of emergency, when notice shall be communicated at least seven days in advance.
Art.10 Article 10
Art.10.1 1. The producing members shall together hold 1,000 votes and the consuming members shall together hold 1,000 votes.
Art.10.2 2. The votes of the producing members shall be distributed as follows:
Art.10.2.a (a) Four hundred votes shall be distributed equally among the three producing regions of Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The votes thus allocated to each of these regions shall then be distributed equally among the producing members of that region;
Art.10.2.b (b) Three hundred votes shall be distributed among the producing members in accordance with their respective shares of the total tropical forest resources of all producing members; and
Art.10.2.c (c) Three hundred votes shall be distributed among the producing members in proportion to the average of the values of their respective net exports of tropical timber during the most recent three-year period for which definitive figures are available.
Art.10.3 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article, the total votes allocated to the producing members from the African region, calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, shall be distributed equally among all producing members from the African region. If there are any remaining votes, each of these votes shall be allocated to a producing member from the African region: the first to the producing member which is allocated the highest number of votes calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the second to the producing member which is allocated the second highest number of votes, and so on until all the remaining votes have been distributed.
Art.10.4 4. For purposes of the calculation of the distribution of votes under paragraph 2 (b) of this article, "tropical forest resources" means productive closed broadleaved forests as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Art.10.5 5. The votes of the consuming members shall be distributed as follows: each consuming member shall have 10 initial votes: the remaining votes shall be distributed among the consuming members in proportion to the average volume of their respective net imports of tropical timber during the three-year period commencing four calendar years prior to the distribution of votes.
Art.10.6 6. The Council shall distribute the votes for each financial year at the beginning of its first session of that year in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such distribution shall remain in effect for the rest of that year, except as provided for in paragraph 7 of this article.
Art.10.7 7. Whenever the membership of the Organization changes or when any member has its voting rights suspended or restored under any provision of this Agreement, the Council shall redistribute the votes within the affected category or categories of members in accordance with the provisions of this article. The Council shall, in that event, decide when such redistribution shall become effective.
Art.10.8 8. There shall be no fractional votes.
Art.11 Article 11
Art.11.1 1. Each member shall be entitled to cast the number of votes it holds and no member shall be entitled to divide its votes. A member may, however, cast differently from such votes any votes which it is authorized to cast under paragraph 2 of this article.
Art.11.2 2. By written notification to the Chairman of the Council, any producing member may authorize, under its own responsibility, any other producing member, and any consuming member may authorize, under its own responsibility, any other consuming member, to represent its interests and to cast its votes at any meeting of the Council.
Art.11.3 3. When abstaining, a member shall be deemed not to have cast its votes.
Art.12 Article 12
Art.12.1 1. The Council shall endeavour to take all decisions and to make all recommendations by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, the Council shall take all decisions and make all recommendations by a simple distributed majority vote, unless this Agreement provides for a special vote.
Art.12.2 2. Where a member avails itself of the provisions of article 11, paragraph 2, and its votes are cast at a meeting of the Council, such member shall, for the purposes of paragraph 1 of this article, be considered as present and voting.
Art.13 Article 13
Art.13.1 1. The quorum for any meeting of the Council shall be the presence of a majority of members of each category referred to in article 4, provided that such members hold at least two thirds of the total votes in their respective categories.
Art.13.2 2. If there is no quorum in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article on the day fixed for the meeting and on the following day, the quorum on the subsequent days of the session shall be the presence of a majority of members of each category referred to in article 4, provided that such members hold a majority of the total votes in their respective categories.
Art.13.3 3. Representation in accordance with article 11, paragraph 2, shall be considered as presence.
Art.14 Article 14
Art.14.1 1. The Council shall make arrangements as appropriate for consultations and cooperation with the United Nations and its organs, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), intergovernmental organizations, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and non-governmental organizations.
Art.14.2 2. The Organization shall, to the maximum extent possible, utilize the facilities, services and expertise of existing intergovernmental, governmental or non-governmental organizations, in order to avoid duplication of efforts in achieving the objectives of this Agreement and to enhance the complementarity and the efficiency of their activities.
Art.15 Article 15
Art.15.1x The Council may invite any non-member Government or any of the organizations referred to in article 14, article 20 and article 29, interested in the activities of the Organization to attend as observers any of the meetings of the Council.
Art.16 Article 16
Art.16.1 1. The Council shall, by special vote, appoint the Executive Director.
Art.16.2 2. The terms and conditions of appointment of the Executive Director shall be determined by the Council.
Art.16.3 3. The Executive Director shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization and shall be responsible to the Council for the administration and operation of this Agreement in accordance with decisions of the Council.
Art.16.4 4. The Executive Director shall appoint the staff in accordance with regulations to be established by the Council. The Council shall, by special vote, decide the number of executive and professional staff the Executive Director may appoint. Any changes in the number of executive and professional staff shall be decided by the Council by special vote. The staff shall be responsible to the Executive Director.
Art.16.5 5. Neither the Executive Director nor any member of the staff shall have any financial interest in the timber industry or trade, or associated commercial activities.
Art.16.6 6. In the performance of their duties, the Executive Director and staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any member or from any authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might reflect adversely on their positions as international officials ultimately responsible to the Council. Each member shall respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Executive Director and staff and shall not seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Sect.5 CHAPTER V. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES
Art.17 Article 17
Art.17.1 1. The Organization shall have legal personality. It shall in particular have the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property, and to institute legal proceedings.
Art.17.2 2. The status, privileges and immunities of the Organization, of its Executive Director, its staff and experts, and of representatives of members while in the territory of Japan shall continue to be governed by the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Japan and the International Tropical Timber Organization signed at Tokyo on 27 February 1988, with such amendments as may be necessary for the proper functioning of this Agreement.
Art.17.3 3. The Organization may conclude, with one or more countries, agreements to be approved by the Council relating to such capacity, privileges and immunities as may be necessary for the proper functioning of this Agreement.
Art.17.4 4. If the headquarters of the Organization is moved to another country, the member in question shall, as soon as possible, conclude with the Organization a headquarters agreement to be approved by the Council. Pending the conclusion of such an agreement, the Organization shall request the new host Government to grant, within the limits of its national legislation, exemption from taxation on remuneration paid by the Organization to its employees, and on the assets, income and other property of the Organization.
Art.17.5 5. The Headquarters Agreement shall be independent of this Agreement. It shall, however, terminate:
Art.17.5.a (a) By agreement between the host Government and the Organization;
Art.17.5.b (b) In the event of the headquarters of the Organization being moved from the country of the host Government; or
Art.17.5.c (c) In the event of the Organization ceasing to exist.
Sect.6 CHAPTER VI. FINANCE
Art.18 Article 18
Art.18.1 1. There shall be established:
Art.18.1.a (a) The Administrative Account;
Art.18.1.b (b) The Special Account;
Art.18.1.c (c) The Bali Partnership Fund; and
Art.18.1.d (d) Such other accounts as the Council shall deem appropriate and necessary.
Art.18.2 2. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the administration of these accounts and the Council shall make provision therefor in the financial rules of the Organization.
Art.19 Article 19
Art.19.1 1. The expenses necessary for the administration of this Agreement shall be brought into the Administrative Account and shall be met by annual contributions paid by members in accordance with their respective constitutional or institutional procedures and assessed in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this article.
Art.19.2 2. The expenses of delegations to the Council, the committees and any other subsidiary bodies of the Council referred to in article 26 shall be met by the members concerned. In cases where a member requests special services from the Organization, the Council shall require that member to pay the costs of such services.
Art.19.3 3. Before the end of each financial year, the Council shall approve the administrative budget of the Organization for the following financial year and shall assess the contribution of each member to that budget.
Art.19.4 4. The contribution of each member to the administrative budget for each financial year shall be in the proportion which the number of its votes at the time the administrative budget for that financial year is approved bears to the total votes of all the members. In assessing contributions, the votes of each member shall be calculated without regard to the suspension of any member's voting rights or any redistribution of votes resulting therefrom.
Art.19.5 5. The initial contribution of any member joining the Organization after the entry into force of this Agreement shall be assessed by the Council on the basis of the number of votes to be held by that member and the period remaining in the current financial year, but the assessment made upon other members from the current financial year shall not thereby be altered.
Art.19.6 6. Contributions to administrative budgets shall become due on the first day of each financial year. Contributions of members in respect of the financial year in which they join the Organization shall be due on the date on which they become members.
Art.19.7 7. If a member has not paid its full contribution to the administrative budget within four months after such contribution becomes due in accordance with paragraph 6 of this article, the Executive Director shall request that member to make payment as quick
Art.19.8 8. A member whose rights have been suspended under paragraph 7 of this article shall remain liable to pay its contribution.
Art.20 Article 20
Art.20 Special Account
Art.20.1 1. There shall be established two sub-accounts under the Special Account:
Art.20.1.a (a) The Pre-Project Sub-Account; and
Art.20.1.b (b) The Project Sub-Account.
Art.20.2 2. The possible sources of finance for the Special Account may be:
Art.20.2.a (a) The Common Fund for Commodities;
Art.20.2.b (b) Regional and international financial institutions; and
Art.20.2.c (c) Voluntary contributions.
Art.20.3 3. The resources of the Special Account shall be used only for approved pre projects or projects.
Art.20.4 4. All expenditures under the Pre-Project Sub-Account shall be reimbursed from the Project Sub-Account if projects are subsequently approved and funded. If within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement the Council does not receive any funds for the Pre-Project Sub-Account, it shall review the situation and take appropriate action.
Art.20.5 5. All receipts pertaining to specific identifiable pre-projects or projects under the Special Account shall be brought into that Account. All expenditures incurred on such pre-projects or projects, including remuneration and travel expenses of consultants and experts, shall be charged to the same Account.
Art.20.6 6. The Council shall, by special vote, establish terms and conditions on which it would, when and where appropriate, sponsor projects for loan financing, where a member or members have voluntarily assumed full obligations and responsibilities for such loans. The Organization shall have no obligations for such loans.
Art.20.7 7. The Council may nominate and sponsor any entity with the consent of that entity, including a member or members, to receive loans for the financing of approved projects and to undertake all the obligations involved, except that the Organization shall reserve to itself the right to monitor the use of resources and to follow up on the implementation of projects so financed. However, the Organization shall not be responsible for guarantees voluntarily provided by individual members or other entities.
Art.20.8 8. No member shall be responsible by reason of its membership in the Organization for any liability arising from borrowing or lending by any other member or entity in connection with projects.
Art.20.9 9. In the event that voluntary unearmarked funds are offered to the Organization, the Council may accept such funds. Such funds may be utilized for approved pre-projects and projects.
Art.20.10 10. The Executive Director shall endeavour to seek, on such terms and conditions as the Council may decide, adequate and assured finance for pre projects and projects approved by the Council.
Art.20.11 11. Contributions for specified approved projects shall be used only for the projects for which they were originally intended, unless otherwise decided by the Council in agreement with the contributor. After the completion of a project, the Organization shall return to each contributor for specific projects the balance of any funds remaining pro rata to each contributor's share in the total of the contributions originally made available for financing that project, unless otherwise agreed to by the contributor.
Art.21 Article 21
Art.21.1 1. A Fund for sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests is hereby established to assist producing members to make the investments necessary to achieve the objective of article 1 (d) of this Agreement.
Art.21.2 2. The Fund shall be constituted by:
Art.21.2.a (a) Contributions from donor members;
Art.21.2.b (b) Fifty per cent of income earned as a result of activities related to the Special Account;
Art.21.2.c (c) Resources from other private and public sources which the Organization may accept consistent with its financial rules.
Art.21.3 3. Resources of the Fund shall be allocated by the Council only for pre projects and projects for the purpose set out in paragraph 1 of this article and approved in accordance with article 25.
Art.21.4 4. In allocating resources of the Fund, the Council shall take into account:
Art.21.4.a (a) The special needs of members whose forestry sectors' contribution to their economies is adversely affected by the implementation of the strategy for achieving the exports of tropical timber and timber products from sustainably managed sources by the year 2000;
Art.21.4.b (b) The needs of members with significant forest areas who establish conservation programmes in timber producing forests.
Art.21.5 5. The Council shall examine annually the adequacy of the resources available to the Fund and endeavour to obtain additional resources needed by producing members to achieve the purpose of the Fund. The ability of members to implement the strategy referred to in paragraph 4 (a) of this article will be influenced by the availability of resources.
Art.21.6 6. The Council shall establish policies and financial rules for the operation of the Fund, including rules covering the settlement of accounts on termination or expiry of this Agreement.
Art.22 Article 22
Art.22.1 1. Contributions to the Administrative Account shall be payable in freely usable currencies and shall be exempt from foreign-exchange restrictions.
Art.22.2 2. Financial contributions to the Special Account and the Bali Partnership Fund shall be payable in freely usable currencies and shall be exempt from foreign-exchange restrictions.
Art.22.3 3. The Council may also decide to accept other forms of contributions to the Special Account or the Bali Partnership Fund, including scientific and technical equipment or personnel, to meet the requirements of approved projects.
Art.23 Article 23
Art.23.1 1. The Council shall appoint independent auditors for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Organization.
Art.23.2 2. Independently audited statements of the Administrative Account, of the Special Account and of the Bali Partnership Fund shall be made available to members as soon as possible after the close of each financial year, but not later than six months after that date, and be considered for approval by the Council at its next session, as appropriate. A summary of the audited accounts and balance sheet shall thereafter be published.
Sect.7 CHAPTER VII. OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Art.24 Article 24
Art.24.1x In order to achieve the objectives set out in article 1, the Organization shall undertake policy work and project activities in the areas of Economic Information and Market Intelligence, Reforestation and Forest Management and Forest Industry, in a balanced manner, to the extent possible integrating policy work and project activities.
Art.25 Article 25
Art.25.1 1. Bearing in mind the needs of developing countries, members may submit pre-project and project proposals to the Council in the fields of research and development, market intelligence, further and increased wood processing in producing member countries, and reforestation and forest management. Pre projects and projects should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the objectives of this Agreement.
Art.25.2 2. The Council, in approving pre-projects and projects, shall take into account:
Art.25.2.a (a) Their relevance to the objectives of this Agreement;
Art.25.2.b (b) Their environmental and social effects;
Art.25.2.c (c) The desirability of maintaining an appropriate geographical balance;
Art.25.2.d (d) The interests and characteristics of each of the developing producing regions;
Art.25.2.e (e) The desirability of equitable distribution of resources among the fields referred to in paragraph 1 of this article;
Art.25.2.f (f) Their cost-effectiveness; and
Art.25.2.g (g) The need to avoid duplication of efforts.
Art.25.3 3. The Council shall establish a schedule and procedure for submitting, appraising, and prioritizing pre-projects and projects seeking funding from the Organization, as well as for their implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The Council shall decide on the approval of pre-projects and projects for financing or sponsorship in accordance with article 20 or article 21.
Art.25.4 4. The Executive Director may suspend disbursement of the Organization's funds to a pre-project or project if they are being used contrary to the project document or in cases of fraud, waste, neglect or mismanagement. The Executive Director will provide to the Council at its next session a report for its consideration. The Council shall take appropriate action.
Art.25.5 5. The Council may, by special vote, terminate its sponsorship of any pre project or project.
Art.26 Article 26
Art.26.1 1. The following are hereby established as Committees of the Organization:
Art.26.1.a (a) Committee on Economic Information and Market Intelligence;
Art.26.1.b (b) Committee on Reforestation and Forest Management;
Art.26.1.c (c) Committee on Forest Industry; and
Art.26.1.d (d) Committee on Finance and Administration.
Art.26.2 2. The Council may, by special vote, establish such other committees and subsidiary bodies as it deems appropriate and necessary.
Art.26.3 3. Participation in each of the committees shall be open to all members. The rules of procedure of the committees shall be decided by the Council.

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