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RULES OF PROCEDURE


Preamble

The present Statutes are to be submitted to the Organisation of African First Ladies Against AIDS. In case there should be any contradiction between a clause of the Rules of Procedure and a clause in the Constitution of the Organisation, it is the Constitution that shall prevail.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY


Meetings of the General Assembly

Article 1 : The President of the Organisation convenes the General Assembly to the annual ordinary session;

Article 2 : After consulting with the Vice-Presidents, the President convenes extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly when necessary

Article 3 : The proposed agenda for the General Assembly is prepared by the Steering Committee;

Article 4 : The Secretariat is responsible for the organisation of the General Assembly

Article 5 : The sessions of the General Assembly are held in public, unless the First Ladies decide otherwise;

Article 6 : As defined in Article 13 of the Constitution, two-thirds of the members or their Representatives shall constitute the quorum required for the holding of the General Assembly;

Article 7 : The minutes of the sessions of the General Assembly are to be written up by the Executive Secretariat assisted by 2 or 3 people recognised for their competencies and designated by the Steering Committee.

Membership and Attendance

Article 8 : In conformity with Article 13 (a) of the Constitution, those attending the General Assembly as members are :

  • The First Ladies and the representatives designated by the Heads of State and Government, who fulfil the conditions stipulated in Articles 8 and 10 of the Constitution;
  • The representatives duly mandated by active members who are absent.
  • The Executive Secretary, reporter for the General Assembly, is in charge of recording and verifying the mandates of the representatives of active members who are absent, and introducing them to the General Assembly before beginning the debates and when determining the number of people present for the quorum.

Article 9 : The African First Ladies or their Representatives who have not fulfilled all the conditions for becoming an active member according to Articles 8 and 10 of the Constitution, can attend the debates as consultants.

Article 10 : In conformity with Article 13 of the Constitution, those who can also attend the General Assembly on invitation by the Steering Committee are:

  • Honorary Members and Benefactors;
  • Any person who may contribute to the meeting.

When meeting together, the Steering Committee identifies individuals or entities who may be invited: organisms, partners, facilitators.

On an individual basis, the Steering Committee shall authorise each active member to be assisted by one or several resource people, advisors or experts. For this purpose, these people intervene as consultants.

The Board of the General Assembly

Article 11 : The Board is made up of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Organisation. They are assisted by the Executive Secretary who is the reporter of the Board.

Decision-Making

Article 12 : When decisions are to be made, the Board of the General Assembly must encourage open debate, make every effort to reach a consensus. If this is impossible, decisions shall be put to a vote such as laid down in Article 13 of the Rules of Procedure;

Article 13 : In conformity with Article 12 of the Rules of Procedure, decisions of the General Assembly are made:

a) with a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting for

      1. the adoption of the budget,
      2. the dissolution of the Organisation,
      3. the modification of the Constitution,
      4. the modification of the Executive Secretariat,
      5. the loss of membership.

b) a simple majority for all other decisions;

Article 14 : Each member represents one vote when voting in the General Assembly. For the purposes of this ruling, the phrase "member who is present and voting" concerns members as defined in Article 8 of the Constitution.

Languages

 

Article 15 :The working languages of the Organisation shall be those of the African Union.

Resources

Budget and Finances

Article 16

a) The General Assembly creates a fund that shall receive the contributions of the various donors;

b) Among others, the Resources of the Organisation come from:

  1. obligatory dues paid up by members,
  2. donations,
  3. voluntary contributions from member Governments, from the private sector,
  4. philanthropic organisations, trusts, bilateral or multilateral organisations and others,
  5. activities for mobilising funds,
  6. subsidies,
  7. endowments.

c) The funds of the Organisation are deposited in a First-rank international bank of the country hosting the Organisation;

d) The General Assembly:

  1. adopts provisional expenses for the budget of the following year,
  2. examines auditor reports on the receipts and expense accounts of the preceding year, carried out by an international public accounting firm chosen and designated by the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee

Article 17

a) It is composed of the following members:

  1. The President
  2. The four Vice-Presidents;

b) The President of the Board of the General Assembly is automatically the President of the Steering Committee;

  1. The Vice Presidents of the Board of the General Assembly are de facto the Vice Presidents of the Steering Committee;
  2. If a member of the Board cannot be present at the General Assembly, she designates another First Lady from her sub-region to represent her;
  3. If the President of the Steering Committee cannot be present at a session, she shall designate one of the four Vice Presidents as President of that session. The order in which the Vice Presidents are to be designated is based on drawing lots at the General Assembly wherein the election took place;
  4. If for one reason or another, the President cannot finish her mandate, the sub-region that she represents, shall designate another First Lady who then becomes President until the next General Assembly;
  5. The Steering Committee can appoint ad hoc members for special missions, included therein in an unlimited way, the First Lady of the host country of the General Assembly;
  6. The Executive Secretariat is the reporter of the Steering Committee;

Meetings

Article 18 : The Steering Committee holds at least three ordinary sessions per year. However, extraordinary sessions can be convened by the President or upon the request of two-thirds of the members of the Board.

Article 19: The President convenes the meetings of the Steering Committee;

Article 20 : The meetings of the Steering Committee are held privately, except if otherwise stipulated by the Committee;

Article 21: In consultation with his four Vice Presidents and Executive Secretary, the President prepares the agenda of each session;

Article 22 : Three-fifths of the members of the Committee constitute a quorum.

Article 23 : Decisions of the Steering Committee are based on a general consensus.

Functioning of the Steering Committee

Article 24

a) The President of the Organisation represents and promotes the Organisation at the national, regional and international levels;

b) In consultation with the Vice Presidents, the President convenes the extraordinary sessions of the Steering Committee;

c) The Vice Presidents carry out the missions confided in them by the President;

d)The Vice Presidents represent and promote the Organisation at the sub-regional level;

e) The functions of the Steering Committee are as follows:

Apply the decisions of the General Assembly;

 

  1. Submit recommendations or proposals to the General
  2. Assembly;
  3. Prepare the agenda for the General Assembly;
  4. Co-ordinate the work in the sub-regions;
  5. Give policy directives to the Permanent Secretariat;
  6. Supervise the work of the Permanent Secretariat;
  7. Co-ordinate the mobilisation of resources and supervise the carrying out of the activities program;
  8. Promote the Organisation;

Relations with Partners

Article 25 : Under the control of the Steering Committee, the Executive Secretary establishes protocol agreements with different partners, clearly defining the areas of common interest, the expected results, the commitments of the various parties, as well as their responsibilities.

The Secretariat can, after receiving the authorisation of the Steering Committee, reject any protocol agreement that does not respect the original agreement, and retains the right to stop relations with any partner with whom the protocol agreement has been denounced.

The Permanent Secretariat

Article 26

a) The Secretariat includes:

  1. An Executive Secretary,
  2. An Assistant Secretary who is the accountant
  3. Two or three administrative agents.

b) The Executive Secretary, as defined in Appendix B, fulfils the following functions:

  1. Direct the Secretariat;
  2. Prepare the meetings of the Steering Committee and the General Assembly;
  3. Be the reporter for the General Assembly as well as for the Steering Committee;
  4. Prepare the budget and present it to the Steering Committee for the approval of the General Assembly;
  5. Manage the budget and finances of the Organisation under the control of the Steering Committee.

c) The Executive Secretary is assisted by the Financial Administrator, as defined in Appendix C.

d) The Assistant Secretary is to:

  1. Establish a sound financial system for the Organisation;
  2. Assure the keeping of the accounting and finances of the
  3. Organisation;
  4. Prepare the draft financial reports.

e) The role of the Permanent Secretariat, under the supervision of the Steering Committee, is to:

  1. Enact the decisions of the General Assembly;
  2. Support the Executive Committee in the promotion of the Organisation on the regional and international levels;
  3. Support the mobilisation of resources for setting up the activities program;
  4. Promote the writing of reports and work in narrow collaboration with the Secretariat of the African Union;
  5. Promote a partnership with donors, Non-Governmental Organisations and other organisations;
  6. Administer and manage the finances and resources of the Organisation under the control of the Steering Committee;
  7. Support and control the development of activities in the various sub- regions;
  8. Co-ordinate the carrying out of the activities of the Organisation;
  9. Elaborate an annual activities report for the Organisation at the national, sub-regional and regional levels, and submit it to the Steering Committee for approval by the General Assembly;
  10. Present a technical and financial report of the Organisation to the Steering Committee to be approved by the General Assembly;
  11. Assure the follow-up and evaluation of the OAFLA activities.

Dissolution and Liquidation

Article 27

a) The dissolution of the Organisation can only be pronounced during an Extraordinary General Assembly meeting convened for this purpose. The decision must be made in a consensual way by at least three-fourths of the active members present or represented.

b) The decision shall be shared with the African Union, other countries who have recognised the OAFLA, as well as with OAFLA’s partners.

c) The patrimony of the OAFLA shall be liquidated by an accounting office recognised in one of the member countries of the Organisation.This patrimony shall be passed on to NGO’s or to other organisms pursuing the same goals.

Article 28 : The present Rules of Procedure shall be effective as soon as they have been adopted by the General Assembly.

Done in Libreville, November 9th, 2002

APPENDIX A

The Five Regions of Africa

I – Central Africa

      1. Burundi
      2. Cameroon
      3. Congo
      4. Gabon
      5. Equatorial Guinea
      6. Central Africa
      7. Sao Tomé & Principe
      8. Chad

II – East Africa

      1. The Comoro Islands
      2. Djibouti
      3. Eritrea
      4. Ethiopia
      5. Kenya
      6. Madagascar
      7. Somalia
      8. Sudan
      9. Uganda

III – North Africa

      1. Algeria
      2. Egypt
      3. Libya
      4. Democratic Sahara Republic
      5. Tunisia
      6. Mauritania

IV – South Africa

      1. Angola
      2. South Africa
      3. Botswana
      4. Mauritius Islands
      5. Lesotho
      6. Malawi
      7. Mozambique
      8. Namibia
      9. Democratic Republic of Congo
      10. Rwanda
      11. Seychelles
      12. Swaziland
      13. Tanzania
      14. Zambia
      15. Zimbabwe

V – West Africa

  1. Benin
  2. Burkina
  3. Cap Verde
  4. Ivory Coast
  5. Gambia
  6. Ghana
  7. Guinea
  8. Guinea Bissau
  9. Liberia
  10. Mali
  11. Niger
  12. Nigeria
  13. Senegal
  14. Sierra Leone
  15. Togo

  

APPENDIX B

Profile for the Executive Secretariat

1 – Nationality:

Must be from one of the Member States of the Organisation

2– Gender:

Man or Woman (special attention shall be given to a candidate who is a woman)

3– Qualifications

a) Diploma in management,

b) Diploma in public health or in epidemic diseases is necessary,

c) Diploma in finance or management is desirable.

4- Experience

A minimum of five years experience in a position of responsibility at the national or international level.

5- Languages

Must master French and English.

6- Other requirements

      1. Good knowledge of Africa,
      2. Good knowledge of computer usage and software.

APPENDIX C

 

Profile of the Financial Administrator

1 – Nationality:

Must come from one of the Member countries of the Organisation, preferably from a different region than that of the Executive Secretary.

2– Gender:

Man or woman (special attention shall be given to a candidate who is a woman)

3– Age:

A minimum of 35 years old

4- Qualifications

Doctorate Degree in Finance or management and accounting,

Diploma in Management necessary.

5– Experience

Five years minimum in the area of finance and/or management and accounting in the public or private domain, or in an international organisation.

6– Other Requirements

      1. Good knowledge of Africa,
      2. Good knowledge of computer usage and software.

 

 

 

 

 
 
   
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