COP4/15 Administration and financial management of the Carpathian Convention and its Protocols

DECISION COP4/15

Administration and financial management of the Carpathian Convention and its Protocols

The Conference of the Parties

Recalling its Decision COP3/14 of 27 May 2011, by which it, inter alia:

• Agreed to establish a Trust Fund to cover the cost of administering and meeting the objectives of the Carpathian Convention and related Protocols, including the functioning of its Secretariat (para 12)
• Adopted the terms of reference for the administration of the Trust Fund as annexed to the decision (para 12)
• Decided that the Convention’s Programme of Work and budget for 2012 – 2014 be used as the budget of the Trust Fund (para 14), and
• Requested the Executive Director of UNEP to assume responsibility for administering the Trust Fund, and to delegate the necessary administrative authorities to the Head of the Secretariat in line with the Rules and Regulations of the United Nations (para 15)

Recalling furthermore that in the terms of Reference of the Trust Fund, adopted by the COP, it was, inter alia, envisaged that it is for the COP and UNEP to agree on and administrative support charge to be paid to UNEP (para 13).

Aware that Trust Fund was established for a period of 3 years, i.e. formally to 27 May 2014, whereas the Trust Fund arrangement in UNEP ends in December 2014.

1. Expresses its gratitude to the Executive Director of UNEP for assuming responsibility for administering the Trust Fund for Administering and Meeting the Objectives of the Framework Convention for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians and related Protocols (Carpathian Convention);
2. Decides to extend the Trust Fund for three years until the fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention in 2017 and requests UNEP to continue to administer the Trust Fund until that date in accordance with the Terms of Reference adopted by the third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
3. Decides that the Programme of Work – Budget for 2015, 2016 and 2017 of the Carpathian Convention as approved in Decision  4/14 shall be used as the budget of the Trust Fund for these years;
4. Request the Executive Director of UNEP to inform the Contracting Parties of the measures taken in relation to its request to delegate the necessary administrative authorities to the Head of the Secretariat in Vienna in line with the Rules and Regulations of the United Nations (decision COP3/14, para 15);
5. Furthermore, taking into account para 13 of the approved terms of reference of the Trust Fund contained in Annex 4 of Decision COP3/14, requests the Executive Director of UNEP to maximize the use of the 13% PSC for the benefit of the Convention and the functioning of the Secretariat, and inform the Contracting Parties accordingly.