Call for intergovernmental and international NGO’s to be admitted as members of the General Assembly

THE REGIONAL CENTRE FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF UNESCO ANNOUNCES A PROCEDURE FOR SELECTION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS TO BE ADMITTED AS MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTRE

The procedure is conducted in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and UNESCO, the United National Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), ratified by law and promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 32 from 13.04.2018, the acting Statutes of the Centre, the Rules of procedure for selection of Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations to be admitted as members of the General Assembly of the Centre, adopted by the General Assembly on 17.05.2018 and a decision of the Executive Board from 13.06.2018.

І.Legal ground

Pursuant to Art. 7 of the Agreement and Art 18, par. 1, sub-par. 6 from the acting Statutes of the Centre up to two representatives of Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations may be co-opted as members with voting rights of the General Assembly of the Centre after a decision of the General Assembly.

ІІ. General Eligibility Criteria

Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations applying for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre must satisfy possess expertise in areas with direct relevance to the activity of the Centre and must share its mission and ideas.

They shall:

1. share the core values of UNESCO, among which are teamwork, tolerance and solidarity, work in the interest of humanity and respect for cultural identities;
2. be active in spheres related to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, including in one or more specific areas of competence of UNESCO, as well as in promoting and supporting the implementation of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage;
3. be able, through their activities, to contribute to the fulfilment of the mission and the objectives of the Centre.

ІІІ. Ineligibility

Ineligible for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre are Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations that:

1. perform activities which are contrary to the mission and the objectives of UNESCO or the Centre;
2. participate in activities constituting violation of human rights, allowing forced labour or the use of child labour;
3. are directly involved in the manufacture or sale of weapons;
4. contravene sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council or otherwise violate valid obligations or responsibilities as required by the United Nations Organization.

ІV. Requirements to the status and membership of an Intergovernmental organization

Intergovernmental organizations nominating their representatives for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre must obligatory satisfy the following cumulative requirements:

1. to have been established under an international treaty, agreement or other official act of incorporation signed by governments of nation states in evidence of an accord reached between them;
2. to comprise three or more nation states as contracting parties to the act of incorporation;
3. to have a permanent secretariat running the day-to-day affairs of the organization.

The Intergovernmental organizations submit their official acts of incorporation, and their rules of operation in evidence of their compliance with these requirements.

V. Cumulative requirements to the status and membership of an International non-governmental organization

International non-governmental organizations nominating their representatives for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre must obligatory satisfy the following cumulative requirements as to their non-governmental nature:

1. have proven competence, expertise and experience in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (as defined in Article 2.3 of the 2003 Convention) belonging to one or more specific domains;
2. have objectives that are in conformity with the spirit of the 2003 Convention and, preferably, statutes or bylaws that conform with those objectives;
3. cooperate in a spirit of mutual respect with communities, groups, and, where appropriate, individuals that create, practise and transmit intangible cultural heritage;
4. possess operational capacities, including a regular active membership, which forms a community linked by the desire to pursue the objectives for which it was established; an established domicile and a recognized legal personality as compatible with domestic law; having existed and having carried out appropriate activities for at least four years when being considered;
5. have a recognized status of a non-governmental, not-for-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-trade-union organization in the country of registration.

VI. Alternative requirements to the status and membership of an International non-governmental organization

International non-governmental organizations nominating their representatives for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre must obligatory satisfy the following alternative requirements with respect to their international standing:

1. their non-profit objectives must be geared for attaining benefits at international level;
2. their activity must have an impact on the territories of at least three countries;
3. must operate in at least three countries;
4. must have members, branches, representatives or offices in at least three countries.

The International non-governmental organizations submit their official instruments of association, certificates of registration, and rules of operation, in evidence of their compliance with the cumulative requirements

The International non-governmental organizations submit a declaration of compliance with the alternative requirements, supported with any relevant evidence.

VІІ. Conducting the procedure

The check for eligibility of the Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations candidates for membership in the General Assembly is done by the members of the Secretariat of the Centre designated by the Executive Director who review the submitted proposals and nominations and the presented documents and draw up a list of the eligible organizations, i.e. those that satisfy the criteria and requirements for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre.  The list of eligible Intergovernmental organizations and International non-governmental organizations is submitted by the Executive Director to the Executive Board for review. The Executive Board adopts a decision approving the final list of applicant organizations to be submitted to the General Assembly of the Centre for a discussion and a vote.

The admitted organizations are informed in written in a due course about the day, hour and the place of the session of the General Assembly where their nomination is supposed to be voted.

The foreign organizations – candidates for membership in the General Assembly of the Centre present their documents in English.

Organizations having a seat in Bulgaria present their documents in Bulgarian and English.

Any data presented by the candidates will be treated in strict confidentiality only for the purposes of selection procedure.

VІІІ. Deadline and way of submittal of documents

Documents shall be submitted no later than 13.00 h. on 14.09.2018 to the following address: 7 Luchezar Stanchev Str., 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria /post stamp is considered valid/and by e-mail to: office@unesco–centerbg.org /date of receipt is considered valid/.

For contact: tel.: 02/444 21 03; 02/444 37 40. Contact person: Ms Diana Tokadzhieva