EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD) WRITTEN AND EDITED BY: Elisabeth Corell. Wagaki Mwangi Lynn Wagner Managing Editor Langston James Goree VI "Kimo" Vol. 4 No. 88 Thursday, 5 September 1996 INCD-9 HIGHLIGHTS WEDNESDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 1996 Delegates to the ninth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the Convention to Combat Desertification (INCD-9) met in Working Groups I and II during the morning to consider the Global Mechanism and the rules for procedure, respectively. Delegates to Working Group I met in regional caucuses during the afternoon, while Working Group II began consideration of the Rules of Procedure. WORKING GROUP I Chair Mahmoud Gould El Gaouth (Mauritania) opened the meeting at 12:30 pm and presented the agenda of the Working Group as contained in Annex II of document A/AC.241/53, Adoption of the Agenda and Organization of Work. The Group adopted their agenda and then discussed the schedule. El Gaouth suggested that the Working Group deal with the Global Mechanism (GM) as contained in document A/AC.241/56, on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. He noted that following substantive discussions in previous INCD sessions on the issue, the Group should negotiate the procedural text for the criteria to identify the organization to host the GM and agree on the functions of the Mechanism. He noted that in view of the progress made on the issue at INCD-7, few disagreements are anticipated in the discussion on criteria. He added that the Secretariat had compiled a draft text on the functions of the GM based on INCD-8 discussions, following which the INCD Chair had organized a meeting in June 1996 in New York to find out whether these positions were faithfully reflected. He urged the Group to consider the text as a guiding document to facilitate the negotiations without being regarded a definitive text because the negotiations on the functions of the GM are expected to evolve, and what is agreed to now may be changed later. He proposed that the Group discuss the criteria first, then the functions of the GM, and later return to the discussion on the criteria in order to reach a definitive decision on what to propose to the Conference of the Parties. The US sought clarification regarding whether the functions should not be determined before deciding on the criteria. Lesotho concurred, pointing out that this is the procedure the African Group had followed during their discussions. Following the Chair's clarification, the US agreed to the procedure. However, it was agreed that the regional groups should consult on the preferred procedure and report to the Chair. With regard to the designation of a Permanent Secretariat and arrangements for its functioning, as contained in A/AC.241/54 and Add. 1-3, the Chair proposed that the Group discuss the location Thursday afternoon, with presentations from the three bidding countries, Canada, Germany and Spain. A minister from Spain will make the first presentation, followed by the Mayor of Montreal, Canada, and the head of the delegation of Germany. The floor will then be opened for delegates to ask questions and seek clarification. He suggested that a closed committee be set up after that, including the representatives from the three countries and the Chair of the Bureau, to deal with the issue. The results of this committee would then be reported to the Working Group and Plenary. If there is time Thursday afternoon, the Group will also discuss the designation of the Permanent Secretariat (A/AC.241/55 and Add.1-3) based on the proposals from the three institutions. During the discussion UNEP will make a statement. With respect to financial rules as contained in A/AC.241/45/ Rev.1, El Gaouth noted that with the exception of the voting procedures and decision-making, the other outstanding issues have precedent in the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, thus it should be easy to reach consensus. The Chair suggested that if the Working Group completes discussion of an item within the time allocated, it should move on to the next issue on its agenda. In the event that an issue is not completed within the time allocated, the agenda item allocated that time shall be withheld until the preceding issue is completed. However, the time allocated to the discussion on the location of the Permanent Secretariat will not be changed. WORKING GROUP II Chair Takao Shibata (Japan) called the meeting to order at 12:30 pm and reviewed the group's tentative schedule. Working Group II will consider: rules of procedure (A/AC.241/48/Rev.1); scientific and technological cooperation (A/AC.241/57); and communication of information and review of implementation (A/AC.241/49/Rev. 1 and 58). He suggested that the Group leave unresolved as little as possible for consideration at future sessions of the INCD. A report will be made available to participants on Thursday, 5 September, regarding benchmarks and indicators. RULES OF PROCEDURE: During the afternoon meeting, the Group suspended discussion for one hour to allow the G-77 and China to develop a common position. The Chair suggested that delegates begin with consideration of Rule 23 (powers of the President). Benin reminded delegates that brackets remain in Rules 5 (notification of sessions) and 6 (participation of UN and specialized agencies). The Chair reminded delegates that Rule 22 (election of officers) has brackets because there was no decision on the size of the Bureau. The heading for Rule 23 was changed to "general" powers of the President. Rules 24 to 30 were agreed as drafted in A/AC.241/48/Rev.1. In Rule 31 (election of officers of subsidiary bodies), Benin, on behalf of the G-77 and China, proposed adding a reference to officers of "subsidiary bodies" in the heading and deleting the reference to election of the chairperson by the COP "unless the COP decides otherwise." The UK supported the flexibility that the "unless" phrase added, and proposed extending the clause to the election of vice-chairs, but the G-77 and China objected. The US proposed qualifying the text by adding "without prejudice to Rule 22" (election of officers). The Chair proposed adding a sentence prior to the draft text noting that the chair of the Committee on Science and Technology will be decided by the COP and retaining the Rule as drafted. Delegates agreed. RATIFICATION STATUS As Mongolia became the 42nd country to ratify the Convention on 4 September 1996, the goal of 50 ratifications in order for the Convention to enter into force has come closer. The speed with which instruments are turned in is picking up and additional instruments of ratification are expected during this session. It seems plausible that the 50th ratification may be submitted as early as October 1996. According to Article 36, paragraph 1 of the CCD, the Convention shall enter into force on the 90th day after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification, so the CCD may enter into force as early as February 1997. The following is a list of ratifications by region. Africa: Nineteen ratifications (Cape Verde, Egypt, Senegal, Lesotho, Togo, Tunisia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Sudan, Niger, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Algeria, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Eritrea, Benin, Libya) Asia: Eight ratifications (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Micronesia, Israel, Lebanon, Oman, Mongolia) Europe: Nine ratifications (The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Norway) North America: One ratification (Canada) Latin America and the Caribbean: Five ratifications (Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Bolivia) IN THE CORRIDORS I Many delegates from all the regions agree that the Secretariat's document on the Global Mechanism forms a good basis for negotiations because it reflects the interests of all groups. Others welcomed some of the proposals made by the NGOs that were carried in their ECO bulletin of Tuesday, 3 September. However, some note that it is unlikely agreement will be reached during this session regarding the functions of the GM. Many expect that the delegations will only have preliminary exchanges on the issue and save substantive negotiation until later. IN THE CORRIDORS II The discussion on the issues of location and host for the Permanent Secretariat continues. The linkage made by some delegates of institutions and locations mentioned in Tuesday's issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (Vol. 4 No. 87) triggered reactions by others. Bidding agencies and governments noted that the institutional presence of the bidding agencies is not confined to one city. The designation of the permanent location for the Secretariat will be discussed in Working Group I Thursday afternoon. THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY WORKING GROUP I: The Working Group is expected to meet in Conference Room 1 to consider the Global Mechanism during the morning session. In the afternoon the Group will hear presentations from the countries bidding to host the Permanent Secretariat. It may also begin considering the designation of the Permanent Secretariat. WORKING GROUP II: The Working Group is expected to meet in Conference Room 2 to resume consideration of the rules of procedure, followed by scientific and technical cooperation. Morning and afternoon meetings are expected. BACKGROUND PAPERS: Look for the background papers on Friday's panel regarding women and desertification to be distributed today. This issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (c) is written and edited by Elisabeth Corell. , Wagaki Mwangi and Lynn Wagner . The Managing Editor is Langston James "Kimo" Goree VI . French translation by Mongi Gadhoum. The sustaining donors of the Bulletin are the International Institute for Sustainable Development , the Dutch Ministry for Development Cooperation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. General support for the Bulletin during 1996 is provided by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) of the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Swedish Ministry of Environment, the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment, the Ministry of the Environment of Iceland, and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Specific funding for coverage of this meeting has been provided by the UNEP Desertification PAC and the US Department of Agriculture. The authors can be contacted at their electronic mail addresses or at tel: +1- 212-644-0204; fax: +1-212-644-0206. IISD can be contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-204-958-7710. The opinions expressed in Earth Negotiations Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and other funders. 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