Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/CP/1996/3

28 June 1996

ENGLISH ONLY

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES

Second session

Geneva, 8 to 19 July 1996

Item 4 (e) of the provisional agenda

1. The admission of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations as observers is governed by Article 7.6 of the Convention, which provides, inter alia, that "any body or agency, whether national or international, governmental or non-governmental, which is qualified in matters covered by the Convention, and which has informed the secretariat of its wish to be represented at a session of the Conference of the Parties as an observer, may be so admitted unless at least one third of the Parties present object."

2. At its first session, the Conference of the Parties (COP), on the proposal of the President, agreed that the secretariat should invite to the future sessions of the Conference and of its subsidiary bodies all intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations admitted at that session and at future sessions, unless an objection was raised to any particular organization in accordance with the Convention and the rules of procedure (FCCC/CP/1995/7, para. 22). Consequently, all the organizations admitted to the first session have been invited to attend the second session, and the procedure for admission to the Conference of the Parties applies to new applicants only.

3. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), at its second session, requested that, following the precedent of COP 1, the secretariat would prepare a list of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that had expressed a wish to be invited to COP 2 for

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consideration by the Conference at the start of the session (see FCCC/SBI/1996/9, para. 80 and FCCC/SBI/1996/8, para. 18). In drawing up the list, the secretariat was to take due account of the provisions of Article 7.6 and of the established practice whereby non-governmental organizations are required to furnish proof of their non-profit (tax-exempt) status in a State Member of the United Nations or of a specialized agency or of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The list would also include all organizations that had requested and been accorded provisional admission to the work of the subsidiary bodies since COP 1.

4. Furthermore, the SBI requested the Bureau of the COP to consider the list of applicants prior to the second session of the COP, with a view to identifying which organizations contained in the list met all requirements, and it authorized the secretariat to advise those applicants of their "pre-admittance status", on the understanding that the final authority for the admission of observers rests with the COP.

5. In this connection, in his notification of COP 2 to those intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations admitted at COP 1, the Executive Secretary encouraged such organizations to share the above information with any eligible organization interested in participating in COP 2 in an observer capacity. A deadline of 30 May was established for the Executive Secretary to receive, in writing, any such requests from new applicants.

6. Accordingly, the list that is contained in the annex to this note was brought to the attention of the Bureau by the Executive Secretary. The Bureau did not express any objection to any of the organizations listed. The Conference is invited to admit, at its first plenary meeting, the intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations included in the list.

1. Central American Commission on the Environment and Development, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1. Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute, Arlington, USA

2. American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Washington D.C., USA

3. Association pour un développement durable, Nouakchott, Mauritania

4. Atmosphere Action Network in East Asia (AANEA), Seoul, Korea

5. Australian Aluminium Council, Manuka, Australia

6. Business Council of Australia, Canberra, Australia

7. Centre for Energy, Environment, Science and Technology (CEEST), Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

8. Center for International and European Environmental Research (ecologic), Berlin, Germany

9. Climate Change Association of the Insurance Industry in Support of the UNEP Initiative, Köln, Germany

10. Comisión Interparlementaria Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CICAD), Panama City, Panamá

11. Energy 21,* Boulogne, France

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* Non-governmental organization provisionally admitted at the sessions of subsidiary bodies.

12. Energy Efficiency Center / SEVEn7, Prague, Czech Republic

13. European Business Council For a Sustainable Energy Future, Velp, Netherlands

14. European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT Environment Watchdog Group) Brussels, Belgium

15. European Wind Energy Association, Hemel Hempstead, UK

16. Foundation Joint Implementation Network, Groningen, Netherlands

17. Global Dynamics Institute, Rome, Italy

18. International Youth and Student Movement For the United Nations (ISMUN), Geneva, Switzerland

19. International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC)-Europe,* London, UK

20. International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), Washington, D.C., USA

21. Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, Tokyo, Japan

22. NGO Liaison Forum on Environment and Sustainable Development of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with ECOSOC, Geneva, Switzerland

23. OISCA-International / Organization for Industrial Spiritual and Cultural Advancement-International, Tokyo, Japan

24. Ozone Action, Washington, D.C., USA

25. Palestinian Institute for Arid Land and Environmental Studies, Hebron, Palestine

26. Peoples' Forum 2001, Tokyo, Japan

27. Réseau Action Climat France (RACF),* Paris, France

28. Sierra Club of Canada, Ottawa, Canada

29. Solar Electric Light Fund, Washington, D.C., USA

30. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), Penang, Malaysia

31. Southern Center for Energy and Environment, Harare, Zimbabwe

32. The Energy Conservation Center, Tokyo, Japan

33. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute,* Lysaker, Norway

34. The Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association (JEMA), Tokyo, Japan

35. The World Conservation Union (IUCN),* Gland, Switzerland

36. University of the Pacific, Stockton, USA