Resolutions of the Brisbane Conference

Resolution VI.8 on Secretary General matters

6th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
Brisbane, Australia
19-27 March 1996

Resolution VI.8: Secretary General matters

1. RECALLING the Resolution on Secretariat Matters of the 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (Regina, Canada, 1987), creating the position of the Head of the Bureau, the Secretary General;

2. FURTHER RECALLING the decision of the 4th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (Montreux, Switzerland, 1990), which defined the responsibilities of the Secretary General;

3. AWARE of the fact that the legal personality of the Ramsar Convention is vested in IUCN - The World Conservation Union, and that IUCN provides a number of administrative services to the Convention in addition to its technical expertise;

4. NOTING the delegation of authority to the Secretary General from the Director General of IUCN with respect to financial and budgetary matters, personnel management, and facility management; and

5. EMPHASIZING the leading and supervisory role of the Secretary General over the Ramsar Bureau in serving and servicing the Contracting Parties;

THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

6. PAYS TRIBUTE to the commitment and the remarkable contribution to the development of the Convention of the first Secretary General, Mr Daniel Navid, over the past 15 years;

7. EXPRESSES its support for the action taken by the Chair and members of the Standing Committee, following the resignation of Mr Navid, to appoint an Interim Secretary General and to develop procedures for the appointment of a new Secretary General;

8. EXPRESSES its appreciation of the important and effective personal role played by the Chair of the Standing Committee, Ms Louise Lakos (Hungary), in ensuring a smooth transition;

9. EXPRESSES special thanks to the Interim Secretary General, Mr James McCuaig, for his invaluable help and services over the period January-July 1995;

10. GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES the offer of the Canadian Wildlife Service to release Mr McCuaig to perform the duties of Interim Secretary General;

11. RECORDS its thanks to IUCN for providing extra services in a very efficient manner in connection with the selection of the new Secretary General; and

12. WELCOMES the new Secretary General, Mr Delmar Blasco, and assures him of its endorsement, wishing him at the same time success in his performance in the best interests of the Convention.

For further information about the Ramsar Convention, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 1 December 1996, updated 13 March 2000, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.