Statutes of the International Forum of national NGO platforms (IFP)

Transcription

1 Statutes of the International Forum of national NGO platforms (IFP) Preamble The International Forum of national NGO platforms (IFP) was founded in October 2008 by 82 representatives of national NGO platforms and 7 representatives of regional NGO coalitions, gathered in Paris. It was decided to give it a more formal structure and statutes after a 2-year transitory period. Its functioning is based on the guiding principles stated in the IFP s Charter of values. Its governance is democratic, participative and inclusive. IFP members also share principles related to: Advocacy and non-governmental diplomacy - Convinced of the need to act according to a joint strategy at national, regional and international levels to promote the defense of human rights in all its aspects (political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights), humanitarian emergency relief, development assistance, sustainable environmental management, international solidarity, peace; - Acknowledging that globalization made necessary the interaction at regional and international level of NGOs and national NGO platforms, and the strengthening of their cooperation, their alliances and their advocacy, to act both locally and at global level to tackle global challenges; - Acknowledging the strategic importance of developing regional and international coalitions of associations and the initiatives to strengthen this dynamic ; - Acknowledging the role of «non-governmental diplomacy» at international level as a form of advocacy based on the synergy of national and regional associations' dynamics; - Acknowledging that this non-governmental diplomacy aims to enable international NGOs to participate in international public debate and to promote their interaction with governmental authorities and international organizations in charge of international negotiations; IFP membership and strengthening - Acknowledging the initiatives of national platforms that contribute to building and strengthening the IFP, through the national and regional platforms' own capacity- and operational capacity-building, and based on the full respect of each IFP member's identity and independence; - Acknowledging the IFP statutes and founding documents as an independent structure with regard to member platforms and respecting membership requirements and IFP values. IFP's alliance strategy - The IFP should build on existing processes, networks and initiatives and strive to recognize and strengthen the existing ones, instead of duplicating them. 1

2 I.Name and mission of the IFP This associations is known under the name of the International Forum of national NGO platforms (IFP), and its mission is the international coordination of national NGO platforms (NPFs). The goal of the IFP is to facilitate and to promote exchange and cooperation between national platforms and regional coalitions of NGOs, at regional, inter-regional and international level, through advocacy and capacity-building actions. II. Objectives The IFP aims : 1. To promote exchange and collaboration between national platforms through strengthened strategic relationships, collaborative partnerships and alliances. 2. To foster the participation of organized non governmental actors in international debate. 3. To promote or/and organize dialogue between organized non governmental actors and the various international actors. 4. To promote the positions of national and regional NGO platforms with public authorities and international organizations and other relevant actors, in order to positively influence policy at national, regional and international levels impacting in particular on civil society, on just and equitable development goals, and on people living in poverty 5. To build the skills, capacities and effectiveness of our organisations and those of our members in both organisational and development practice. III. Composition of the IFP III.1 Types of membership The IFP is composed of full members (national platforms), associated members (regional platforms, national platforms before their membership is validated) and observer members (networks, movements, etc.). In order to become a full member, applicants should be national NGO platforms and meet the requirements of the membership application file such as defined in the Rules and procedures (Article 1). Only one national platform per country can be accepted. To be an associated member, applicants should subscribe to the IFP Charter of values and meet one of the following requirements: - Be a regional coalition of national NGO platforms. - Be a national platform wishing to apply for IFP membership, but which does not meet all requirements yet such as defined in the Rules and procedures (Article 1). Observer members should subscribe to the IFP Charter of values. III.2 Application for membership See the Rules and procedures and the membership application form. 2

3 III.3 Termination of membership Membership is terminated in case of: - Resignation. - Exclusion stated by the Council (for breaching the present statutes or rules and procedures; non-payment of dues or on any serious motive noted by the Council), the suspected member being invited to explain himself to the Council beforehand. III.4 Membership fees Membership fees are detailed in the Rules and Procedures and the membership application form. Full and associated members should pay these fees. Observer members should pay a financial contribution depending on the activities in which they take part. Paying is compulsory. However, in case of financial difficulties, the concerned member has to address an official demand of reduction of fee to the Council (see details in Rules and Procedures). IV. Functioning/ Organization / Decision-making authorities The IFP relies primarily on its members, gathered collectively within the General Assembly, which defines and validates the general directions and long-term objectives of the organization, on the Council which guarantees the respect of decisions made by the platforms and on the Secretariat in charge of implementation. The working languages of the IFP are English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Other languages may be used depending on means and needs. IV.1 Ordinary General Assembly a) Nature and role The General Assembly (GA) is the ultimate decision-making authority within the IFP, it : - Decides on general policy directions for the IFP; - Validates triennial activity and financial reports presented by the Council; - Elects Council members; - Deals with any other issue suggested on the agenda by the Council; - Votes the amount of membership fees suggested by the Council ; - Validates the list of regions from which representatives are elected to the Council and the number of seats at the Council for each of them. b) Composition of the General Assembly The GA is composed of one representative for each full, associated and observer member. Only full members have the right to vote at the GA. Each full member has one vote regardless of the number of its representatives at the GA. A full member cannot receive more than one proxy besides its own vote. 3

4 Representatives of full, associated and observer members must belong to their organization's Board or hold a written political mandate enabling them to take part in all the decisions made at the GA. c) Functioning procedures The ordinary GA convenes every 3 years and Extraordinary GAs can be convened whenever necessary (see IV.2) The quorum required for the deliberations of the ordinary GA is a half of full members (those with voting right at the GA) plus one. General Assembly decisions are taken upon consensus or with a simple majority of all votes cast (present or represented). IV.2 Extraordinary General Assembly An Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) can be convened at all time.it is convened upon request by two thirds of Council members, or upon request by one half of active members plus one. It is also automatically convened in case of resignation of 3/4 of Council members. The quorum requested for its deliberations is 3/4 of members with voting right at the GA. The EGA makes decisions with a simple majority of all votes cast (present or represented). IV.3 The IFP Council a) Nature and role The Council is a representative body of the IFP and gets its legitimacy from the GA. The Council is responsible for: - Implementing the decisions and strategic and political directions approved at the GA; - Ensuring the coordination of activities within the IFP; - Ensuring the adequate running of the secretariat; - Accounting for its activities and governance every year and at the GA. Its prerogatives and functions are detailed in the Rules of procedure (Article 2). b) Composition The Council composition meets representativeness and diversity criteria to represent IFP full members. Council members are primarily at the service of the IFP and not of their platform or coalition. Representation must be institutional and not intuiti personae. The IFP has adopted a regional division, in which each region has a certain number of seats in the Council (see Appendix to the Statutes). The GA elects Council members according to the number of seats allocated for each region. c) Duration of the Council's mandate The mandate of Council members is of 3 years, renewable once. 4

5 d) Functioning procedures The Council meets at least twice a year, more often if necessary, physically or by videoconference, and may also convene an Extraordinary General Assembly. It convenes and chooses the place and time of the ordinary GA. Decisions within the Council are made by consensus. When a consensus cannot be reached, the Council can carry out a simple majority vote. Any decision approved by the Council binds all Council members. The Council's prerogatives and functioning procedures are developed in the Rules and procedures. IV.4 Implementation of cross cutting functions The implementation of IFP activities should be ensured by the full members. According to available resources implementation of cross cutting functions will be done by the full members or associated members when asked by the full members. Whenever necessary and in accordance with regional coalitions, the latter can support and facilitate working dynamics, both at operational and organizational level. A Secretariat dedicated to the IFP secretariat facilitates and coordinates the implementation of the IFP project. It is directly placed under the responsibility of the Council. The Secretariat has an international dimension. The hosting, tasks and functioning procedures of the Secretariat are developed in the Rules and procedures (Article 2). V. Adopting positions Joint positions can be taken upon proposal by IFP members and/or the Council. They shall be adopted by each platform, yet the Council can seek the approval of the largest number of members and suggest the IFP that a position be carried through on its name (Article III of Rules and procedures). The site is a space for position sharing and consultation. VI. Rules and procedures The Statutes are completed by a document on Rules and procedures, which is adopted by the Council. It regards in particular the functioning of the Council and the Secretariat. VII. Dissolution A proposal to dissolve the IFP may be presented to the Council by at least 2/3 of the IFP's full members in order of their commitments. Should the Council consider the request to be acceptable and justified, it may take the decision to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly. This decision must be taken by ¾ of all Council members. The resignation of two-thirds of Council members will lead to an immediate call for an Extraordinary General Assembly. Dissolution of the IFP may only be declared by a 2/3 majority vote of the active members who paid their fees at the Extraordinary General Assembly. In case of dissolution the means will be given/donated to an organization with the same prupose or objectives. 5

6 Appendix to the Statutes: Representation at the Council Regional division* Regions Number of representatives at the Council Latin America 3 North America 1 Pacific 1 Asia 3 Europe 3 Africa 3 Maghreb (North Africa) Middle East 1 Total 15 *In case 2 or more representatives are nominated by a regional coalition, at least one of them has to be a woman. 6