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1. The Meeting of the Parties shall be the
decision-making body of this Agreement.
2. The Depositary shall, in consultation with
the Convention Secretariat, convene a session of the Meeting
of the Parties not later than one year after the date of
the entry into force of this Agreement. Thereafter, the
Agreement secr etariat shall convene, in consultation with
the Convention Secretariat, ordinary sessions of the Meeting
of the Parties at intervals of not more than three years,
unless the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise. Where
it is possible to do so, such sessions should be held in
conjunction with the ordinary meetings of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention.
3. On the written request of at least one
third of the Parties, the Agreement secretariat shall convene
an extraordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties.
4. The United Nations, its Specialized Agencies,
the International Atomic Energy Agency, any State not a
Party to the Agreement, and the secretariats of international
conventions concerned inter alia with the conservation,
including protection and management, of migratory waterbirds
may be represented by observers in sessions of the Meeting
of the Parties. Any agency or body technically qualified
in such conservation matters or in research on migratory
waterbirds may also be represented at sessions of the Meeting
of the Parties by observers, unless at least one third of
the Parties present object.
5. Only Parties have the right to vote. Each
Party shall have one vote, but regional economic integration
organizations which are Parties to this Agreement shall,
in matters within their competence, exercise their right
to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of their
Member States which are Parties to the Agreement. A regional
economic integration organization shall not exercise its
right to vote if its Member States exercise theirs, and
vice versa.
6. Unless provided otherwise in this Agreement,
decisions of the Meeting of the Parties shall be adopted
by consensus or, if consensus cannot be achieved, by a two-thirds
majority of the Parties present and voting.
7. At its first session, the Meeting of
the Parties shall:
(a) adopt its rules of procedure by
consensus;
(b) establish an Agreement secretariat within the Convention
Secretariat to perform the secretariat functions listed in
Article VIII of this Agreement;
(c) establish the Technical Committee provided for in Article
VII of this Agreement;
(d) adopt a format for the reports to be prepared according
to Article V, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c), of this Agreement;
and
(e) adopt criteria to define emergency situations which require
urgent conservation measures, and determine the modalities
for assigning responsibility for action to be taken.
8. At each of its ordinary sessions, the
Meeting of the Parties shall:
(a) consider actual and potential changes
in the conservation status of migratory waterbirds and the
habitats important for their survival, as well as the factors
which may affect them;
(b) review the progress made and any difficulty encountered
in the implementation of this Agreement;
(c) adopt a budget and consider any matters relating to
the financial arrangements for this Agreement;
(d) deal with any matter relating to the Agreement secretariat
and the membership of the Technical Committee;
(e) adopt a report for communication to the Parties to this
Agreement and to the Conference of the Parties of the Convention;
and
(f) determine the time and venue of the next session.
9. At any of its sessions, the Meeting
of the Parties may:
(a) make recommendations to the Parties as
it deems necessary or appropriate;
(b) adopt specific actions to improve the effectiveness
of this Agreement and, as the case may be, emergency measures
as provided for in Article VII, paragraph 4, of this Agreement;
(c) consider and decide upon proposals to amend this Agreement;
(d) amend the Action Plan in accordance with Article IV,
paragraph 3, of this Agreement;
(e) establish such subsidiary bodies as it deems necessary
to assist in the implementation of this Agreement, in particular
for coordination with bodies established under other international
treaties, conventions and agreements with overlapping geographic
and taxonomic coverage; and
(f) decide on any other matter relating to the implementation
of this Agreement.
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