BASIC RULES OF PROCEDURE AND

IMPLEMENTATION PRINCIPLES

of the Approval Board of the CORE Programme

"Co-operation for Rehabilitation of Living Conditions

in Chernobyl Affected Areas in Belarus"

1. The role of the Approval Board (AB)

The AB is the part of the CORE Programme, which validates and approves projects, recommended by the Preparation and Assessment Committee; provides strategic priorities and advice to the CORE partnership community. All work in the AB is based on the Declaration of Principles (DP) and Basic Rules of Procedure and the implementation principles below.

2. Composition of the AB

The founding members of the Approval Board are the Signatories of the Declaration of Principles of the CORE Programme as of October/December 2003.

Constituent AB members are heads of Agencies listed as Signatories in the Declaration of Principles of the CORE Programme as of October/December 2003.

The AB is made up of representatives of organisations signatories of the Declaration of Principles, including international organisations, national, foreign and international non-governmental organisations, embassies of foreign countries, national authorities of the Republic of Belarus, and administrations of the affected districts.

3. New CORE Declaration Participants

The AB welcomes new signatories to the Declaration of Principles, including representatives of the civil society, on the basis of a brief application letter explaining the activities that the participant wishes to undertake within the framework of the CORE Programme.

Any new candidate can be invited to an AB session for an open discussion of this candidate's participation in the CORE Programme.

4. New AB members

Signing the Declaration of Principles of the CORE Programme does not mean automatic membership of the AB. A decision on accession of new members to the AB is initiated and made by existing AB members. The decision-making process is done through open discussion, which considers and evaluates the demonstrated commitment of the candidate, and the new added value and quality that this candidate brings to the Programme.

5. Tasks and duties of the AB

The AB:

• Nominates the AB and Preparation and Assessment Committee (PAC) Chair, and the Programme Coordinator.
• Approves projects, recommended by the PAC and considers their progress according to the qualitative priorities of the Programme.
• Considers application dossiers and agrees on new members acceding to the Declaration of Principles.
• Considers application dossiers and agrees on new members acceding to the Approval Board.
• Approves and modifies (if needed) Basic Rules of Procedure and Implementation Principles of the AB and PAC.
• Initiates mid-term and final independent international evaluation of the CORE Programme.
• Approves new priority areas, new project territories, and assessment criteria.

6. AB Chair selection

The AB Chair is chosen from among AB members by consensus for a one-year term, which can be prolonged.

7. Selection criteria for the AB Chair

1. Political, national and international, regional, and local legitimacy.
2. Capacity to coordinate administrative work.
3. Sufficient knowledge of and commitment to Chernobyl issues and the CORE Programme approach.
4. Familiarisation with the international context of Chernobyl-related issues.
5. Capacity to represent CORE at the international level and to channel international initiatives into the Programme.

8. AB Chair:

1. Chairs AB sessions and plays a key part in the consensus process, acting as moderator, avoiding deadlock, and proposing to other members of the AB, if needed, amendments to decisions.
2. Approves the Co-ordination Team workplan and guides the Co-ordination Team (CT) activities.
3. Organises consultations with AB members on problem issues (maintaining communication with AB members, arranging talks, etc.).
4. Initiates extraordinary AB sessions or convene them upon the request of AB members.
5. Assists in solving external problem issues.
6. Approves minutes of sessions.
7. Reports to the AB at the end of the term of office.
8. Specifies dates of AB and PAC sessions in consultation with other members.
9. Convenes AB and PAC sessions.

9. PAC Chair Selection

PAC Chair is selected by consensus for a one-year term, upon a proposal of the AB Chair. Alternatively any other member may volunteer for the position. Selection should be on the basis of the following criteria:

• Membership in the AB.
• Practical understanding and experience of territorial rehabilitation in the contaminated areas.
• Knowledge of the Programme's priority areas and topical projects of the Programme.

10. Agenda of AB sessions

• A provisional agenda is to be sent to all AB members at least four weeks before the session.
• Within one week of receiving the provisional agenda, a member of the AB can request the inclusion of new points. The AB member wishing to add a new point is required to submit supplementary documents and an estimate of the time needed to discuss it.
• The Chair of the AB issues the final version of the agenda and sends it to all AB members two weeks before the session.

11. Decision taking in the AB

According to the Declaration of Principles, decisions are reached by consensus, which implies that:

• In the beginning of the decision process, members of the AB must identify the points of mutual agreement.
• Each member of the AB who disagrees must clearly state the reasons for his/her disagreement.

These points of disagreement are discussed and commented on by AB members. If consensus cannot be reached, the decision is postponed, in order to give time to the members to reconsider their position, and modify the decision for subsequent discussion.

12. Decision taking between AB sessions

To ensure flexibility, the AB can make decisions any time between sessions. Members of the AB can submit points for discussion to the Chair of the AB, who can send them to all AB members for approval. If the Chair does not receive a written negative answer from any of the members within three weeks of submitting the request, the decision goes into effect. If at least one negative answer is received, the issue is to be discussed at the next AB session.

13. AB session attendance

AB sessions are attended by the heads of agencies listed as Signatories of the Declaration of Principles of the CORE Programme - members of the Approval Board.

If a member of the AB cannot attend the session due to exceptional reasons, this person may nominate a representative to participate in the AB session on his behalf.

Members of the AB must confirm their participation at latest two weeks before the session. Absence of confirmation in due time will be considered as an intention no to participate.

14. AB functioning

The AB meets every six months or more frequently if necessary. The venue for the next meeting is specified at the preceding session.

Extraordinary AB sessions can be held more frequently if needed.

15. Minutes of AB sessions

Within one week after an AB session, the Coordination Team issues a clear and precise list of decisions taken during the AB and approved by the Chair. It is then sent to every AB member for validation. If no disagreement is expressed within one week regarding the conformity of this list with the decisions taken during the session, this list will be regarded as valid.

To ensure continuous feedback, PAC session participants regularly receive this list of decisions.

Draft minutes of AB sessions are prepared by the Coordination Team within two weeks and approved by the Chair within one month after the session. The minutes are then sent to all AB members for approval. AB members can propose amendments to the minutes within two weeks of their reception. Final minutes are approved by the Chair.

16. Working languages of AB sessions and documents: Russian and English.

17. Revision clause

These rules will be re-examined after twelve months in the light of practical experience.

All Rights Reserved, CORE, 2004