Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/CP/1997/4

12 November 1997

Original: ENGLISH

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES

Third session

Kyoto, 1-10 December 1997

Item 2 (e) of the provisional agenda

ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS

ADMISSION OF ORGANIZATIONS AS OBSERVERS

Admission of observers: intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations

Note by the secretariat

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 and second sessions have been invited to attend the third session, and the procedure for admission to the Conference of the Parties applies to new applicants only.

3. In this context, the secretariat has prepared a list of new applicant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that have expressed a wish to be admitted to COP 3 for consideration by the Conference at the start of the session. The list includes all new

GE.97-

applicant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that have requested and been accorded provisional admission to the work of the subsidiary bodies since COP 2. In drawing up the list, the secretariat has taken 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.

4. During the October sessions of the subsidiary bodies, the COP Bureau considered the list of applicants and authorized the secretariat to advise all applicants of their "pre-admittance status", on the understanding that the final authority for the admission of observers rests with the COP.

5. The Bureau did not express any objection to any of the organizations listed in the annex to this note. It further recommended that the non-governmental organizations with an asterisk against their names in that list be admitted only to the third session of the

Conference of the Parties (COP 3), provided that they be invited to re-apply after COP 3, should they wish to continue to participate in the Convention process.

6. In the light of the above, the Conference is invited, at its first plenary meeting, to admit as observers to the third session of the Conference of the Parties the non-governmental organizations which have an asterisk against their names in the list contained in the annex below and accord observer status to the intergovernmental and remaining non-governmental organizations in that list.

Asian Development Bank

Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM)

Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT)

Independent World Commission on Oceans

Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE)

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

South Pacific Permanent Commission (CPPS)

A SEED Europe (Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development) Groebenzell, Germany

A SEED Japan, Tokyo, Japan*

AIESEC Hitotsubashi Local Committee, Tokyo, Japan*

Alliance Internationale de Tourisme Brussels, Belgium

American Society of International Law, Washington, USA

American Portland Cement Alliance, USA

Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ), Tokyo, Japan*

Association of International Research Initiatives for Environment Studies (AIRIES), Tokyo, Japan*

Association pour la Recherche sur le Climat et l'Environnement (ARCE), Oran, Algeria

Association Tunisie Méditerranée Pour le Développement Durable, Tunis, Tunisia

Australian Coal Association, Sydney, Australia

Birdlife International, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (CVMA), Toronto, Canada

Canadian Global Change Program, Ottawa, Canada

CEDARENA (Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center) San José, Costa Rica

Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Geneva, Switzerland

Centre for Energy Policy (CEP), Moscow, Russia

Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement (CIRED), Paris, France

Centre for Sustainable Development in the Americas, Washington, USA

Citizens Environmental Foundation, Tokyo, Japan*

Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Tokyo, Japan*

Clean Centre of Environment Shimada, Shimada, Japan*

Climate Institute, Washington, USA

Columbia University, Columbia, USA

Committee For a Constructive Tomorrow, Washington, USA.

Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, USA

Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO), Madrid, Spain

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Sydney, Australia

CREUMHS (The Cohort for Research on Environment, Urban Management and Human Settlement), Nairobi, Kenya

E & Co (An Energy Investment Service), Bloomfield, USA

Earth Science and Technology Association, Tokyo, Japan*

Earth Action, Massachusets, USA

Ecosystem Conservation Society, Tokyo, Japan*

Emilia Romagna Technological Development Agency (ASTER), Bologna, Italy

Environment Information Center, Tokyo, Japan*

Environmental Investigation Agency, London, United Kingdom

European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Brussels, Belgium

European Science and Environment Forum, London, United Kingdom

European Association for Solar Energy (EUROSOLAR), Bonn, Germany

Forum Atomique Européen/FORATOM, Brussels, Belgium

Franciscans International, New York, USA

Fraunhofer Society, Karlsruhe, Germany

Friends of the Earth Japan, Tokyo, Japan*

German Physical Society Working Group on Energy Issues, Overath, Germany

Global Network Class "Gakkos",Tokyo, Japan*

Global Environmental Action, Tokyo, Japan*

Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC), Osaka, Japan*

Global Guardian Trust, Tokyo, Japan*

Global Environmental Forum - Kansai, Osaka, Japan

Globe Japan, Tokyo, Japan*

GMB- Britain's General Union, London, United Kingdom

Green Korea United, Seoul, Korea

Green City, Munich, Germany

Green Cross Japan, Saitama, Japan*

Green Earth Organization, Accra, Ghana

Green Fingers Society for Environment Protection, London, United Kingdom

GRIP Quebec - University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Harvard University, Harvard, USA

Industrial Union Department (IUD), AFL-CIO, Washington, USA

Information Agency of the German Power Plants (IZE), Frankfurt, Germany

Institute For Environmental Management (IEM), Palo Alto, California, USA

International NGO Forum for Ozone Layer Protection and Against Global Warming, Kobe City, Japan*

International Women's Year Liaison Group, Tokyo, Japan*

International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Union (ICEM) Brussels, Belgium

International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC), Kusatsu Shiga, Japan*

International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT), Yokkaichi, Japan*

International Education Resource and Innovation Centre, Tokyo, Japan*

International Union of Public Transport (IUTP), Brussels, Belgium

International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), Okinawa, Japan*

International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva, Switzerland

International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), Paris, France

IWMC World Conservation Trust, Dunedin, USA

Japan Environment Corporation (JEC), Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Environmental Technology Association, Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Center of International and Comparative Environmental Law, Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Association of Environment Assessment (JEAS), Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Gas Association, Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Environment Association, Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Save the Ozone Network, Gunma, Japan* (JASON)

Japan International Forestry Promotion and Cooperation Center (JIFPRO), Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN), Tokyo, Japan*

Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc., Tokyo, Japan*

Japanese Association of University Women, Toyota City, Japan*

Japanese Forum of Environmental Journalists, Tokyo, Japan*

JICHIRO (All Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers Union), Tokyo, Japan*

Joint Institute for Energy and Environment, Knoxville, USA

KIKO FORUM 97, Kyoto, Japan*

Kitakyushu International Techno-Cooperative Association (KITA), Kitakyushu, Japan*

Korea Institute of Science & Technology Europe (KIST Europe), Saarbrücken, Germany

Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan*

Kyoto Junior Chamber Inc., Kyoto, Japan*

Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

Loss Prevention Council, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Maruia Society, Nelson, New Zealand

Midwest Research Institute/National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, USA

National Wildlife Federation, Washington, USA

National Association of State Fire Marshals, Washington, USA

Nature Conservation Society of Japan, Tokyo, Japan*

Netherlands Committee for IUCN, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Netherlands Economic Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO), Kyoto, Japan*

Nord-Süd Forum e.V./Global Cooperation Council, Bonn, Germany

Northwest Pacific Area Environmental Cooperation Center, Toyama, Japan*

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Washington, USA

Öko Institut, (Institute for Applied Ecology), Darmstadt, Germany

Overseas Evaluation Cooperation Center (OECC), Tokyo, Japan*

Railway Technical Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan*

Real Link, Kyoto, Japan*

Redefining Progress, Washington, USA

Research Centre on Global Warming of the Japan Development Bank, Tokyo, Japan*

Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), Kyoto, Japan*

Research Institute for Environment and Society, Tokyo, Japan*

Resources for the Future, USA

Rockefeller Foundation, New York, USA

SAEI (SFC Alternative Energy Innovators), Fujisawa, Japan*

Saitama Forum for Environmental Education, Saitama, Japan*

Save the Earth! Action 97, Osaka, Japan*

Scientists for Global Responsibility, London, United Kingdom

Setogaku Kokusai Kaigi (Seto Identity Iternational Committee), Aichi, Japan*

Society of Electric Vehicle, Yokohama, Japan*

Solar Net, Tokyo, Japan*

SOROPTIMIST International of the Americas, Inc. of the Highashi Region, Tokyo, Japan*

Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, USA

Sovereignty International, Hollow Rock, USA

Technische Hochschule, Institute for Political Sciences-Darmstadt, Germany

TELLUS Institute, Boston, USA

Thailand Environment Institute, Bangkok, Thailand

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, Washington, USA

The Netherlands Energy Research Foundation, Petten, The Netherlands

The Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science & Technology/Human Ecology Group (EAWAG) Zurich, Switzerland

The David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver, Canada

The Business Roundtable, Washington, USA

The Pacific Rim Consortium for Energy Combustion and the Environment, California, USA

The Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPC), Tokyo, Japan

The European Association for the Promotion of Cogeneration (COGEN), Brussels, Belgium

The Solar Century, Oxford, United Kingdom

The Institute of Energy Economics (IEE), Tokyo, Japan*

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Tokyo, Japan*

The Japan Environmental Education Forum, Tokyo, Japan*

The Forum of Local Government Representatives for Contemplation on the Environment and Industry, Kyoto, Japan*

The Aozora Foundation, Osaka, Japan*

The Japan Network for Earth Environment and Prevention Pollution, Tokyo, Japan*

The Japan Economic Research Institute (JERI), Tokyo, Japan*

The Pollution Related Health Damage Compensation and Prevention Association, Tokyo, Japan*

The Japan Scientist Association, Tokyo, Japan*

The Global Environmental Forum, Tokyo, Japan*

The Association of Consumer Affairs Professionals (ACAP), Tokyo, Japan*

The Local Grassroots Network of Citizens, Tokyo, Japan*

Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), Brussels, Belgium

United Nations Environment & Development - UK Committee, London, United Kingdom

United Nations Student Association of Japan, Tokyo, Japan*

University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany

University of Surrey, Surrey, United Kingdom

University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Wild Bird Society of Japan, Tokyo, Japan*