Distr.
GENERAL
FCCC/CP/1998/14
2 October 1998
Original: ENGLISH
CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES
Fourth session
Buenos-Aires, 2 - 13 November 1998
Item 2 (e) of the provisional agenda
1. The admission of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations as observers is governed by Article 7, paragraph 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), further to a 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 previous sessions (with the exception of those which were admitted to the third session of the Conference of the Parties only) have been invited to attend the fourth 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 the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 4), for consideration by the Parties at the start of the
GE.98
session. The list includes all new applicant intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations that have requested and been accorded pre-admittance status to COP 4.
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. The Bureau of the Conference of the Parties has considered the list of applicants and raised no objections to the organizations listed in the attached annex. These organizations have been advised of their "pre-admittance status" on the understanding that the final authority for the admission of observers rests with the Conference of the Parties. The Bureau further recommended that the non-governmental organizations with an asterisk against their names in the list be admitted only to COP 4, provided that they be invited to re-apply after that session of the Conference, should they wish to continue to participate in the Convention process.
5. In the light of the above, the Conference is invited, at its first plenary meeting to accord observer status to the intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in the attached list.
admitted as observers at the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties