General
Assembly 1995 Resolutions(Resolution adopted at the ninth plenary session, held on June 9, 1995)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Report of the Permanent Council on Revision of the Statutes of the Inter-American Emergency Aid Fund (FONDEM) (AG/doc.3209/95); and
CONSIDERING:
That, in resolution AG/RES. 1230 (XXIII-O/93), "Program-Budget of the Organization for the 1994-95 Biennium, 1994 Quotas and Pledges to the Voluntary Funds," the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to study, together with the General Secretariat, the possibility of giving FONDEM additional resources for logistic support related to natural disasters;
That, in resolution CP/RES. 607 (962/93), "Funding of Specific Nonrecurring Costs," the Permanent Council ordered a review and updating of the FONDEM Statutes; and
That Article XII of the Statutes currently in force establishes that amendments to the present Statutes may be proposed by the Inter-American Emergency Aid Committee, through the Permanent Council, or by the latter, to the General Assembly for approval,
RESOLVES:
STATUTES OF THE INTER-AMERICAN EMERGENCY AID FUND (FONDEM)
Article I. In accordance with resolution VIII of the Second Special Inter-American Conference, an Inter-American Emergency Aid Fund is created, hereinafter to be called the Fund.
Article II. The primary objective of FONDEM is to support the political role of the OAS in matters pertaining to emergency aid, and to demonstrate the solidarity of the member states of the Organization by participating in the coordination of aid in the face of natural disasters in the Hemisphere.
Article III. The Fund shall provide available social, humanitarian, material, technical, and financial aid, both in kind and in services, to any member state of the Organization that is threatened by, has suffered from, or is in an emergency situation caused by natural disasters.
Article IV. The Fund shall be made up of:
a. Voluntary contributions from the governments of the member states, permanent observer states, or other states, international organizations, foundations, nongovernmental entities, public or private enterprises, or individuals; and
b. Financial resources approved by the General Assembly of the Organization charged against unused appropriations from previous biennia.
Article V. The Secretary General is authorized to grant emergency aid of up to US$25,000 per case from unused appropriations from previous biennia and shall immediately notify the Permanent Council thereof.
Article VI. An inter-American committee for emergency situations shall be established. It shall comprise the Chair of the Permanent Council, the Secretary General of the OAS, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, and, in due course, the Chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, or their respective representatives.
Article VII. The Fund shall operate under the authority of the Permanent Council which shall set its general policy. The Secretary General shall be responsible for its management and shall report annually to the Permanent Council on the Fund's operations.
Article VIII. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States shall be responsible for carrying out the decisions of the Permanent Council with respect to the Fund and shall report to the Council on implementation of each decision. The Secretary shall also perform the following functions:
a. Receive donors' contributions and establish in the General Secretariat, in coordination with the Permanent Council, the machinery and procedures required for the operation of the Fund;
b. Receive requests for assistance submitted by affected member states, establish the admissibility of those requests, and present them to the Permanent Council for approval;
c. Ask the member states and other entities mentioned in Article IV.a for the contributions required by the Fund;
d. Establish cooperative relations and coordinate resources and emergency plans with the United Nations Emergency Fund, the World Food Programme of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Pan American Health Organization, the League of Red Cross Societies, and other international and national institutions whose activities and experiences may further the best possible achievement of the Fund's objectives, and report to the Permanent Council thereon;
e. Determine in each case the specific mechanisms for granting aid, with the urgency that the situation demands; and
f. Keep separate books for the accounts of the Fund.
Article IX. The Secretary General shall request each member state to designate an official or agency to coordinate that country's participation in the Fund. Wherever possible, this official or agency shall be the same one entrusted with responsibility for plans to remedy national emergencies and for receiving external aid in these cases.
Article X. Administrative expenses and operational costs of emergency missions incurred by the General Secretariat in connection with the operation of the Fund shall be covered by the Fund's existing resources. The Secretary General is empowered to analyze the financial aspects of the Fund's operation and to submit any recommendations he may deem appropriate to the Permanent Council of the Organization.
Article XI. Amendments to these Statutes may be proposed by the Permanent Council to the General Assembly for approval.