About the Assembly
The Assembly of the IBCA is the apex decision-making body which comprises of representatives from each Member Country. The Assembly deliberates matters of substance such as the selection of the Director General, achievement of IBCA objectives, its functioning, approval of operating budget and more
Composition, Meetings & Decision-making
- The Assembly shall be comprised of the Representatives of all Member Countries.
- Each Party shall appoint one (1) Representative to the Assembly. The Assembly shall elect its President for a term of three years, to make decisions concerning the implementation of this Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.
- The Assembly shall have an annual/biannual meeting at the seat of the IBCA. The Assembly may also meet under special circumstances either virtually or physically at the request of a simple majority of the Parties, depending upon the need and nature of the circumstance(s).
- The Assembly shall, at its first meeting, adopt the internal Regulations of the Organization.
- The Assembly shall, at its first meeting, elect and appoint the Director General of the Secretariat.
- The Assembly shall:
- Adopt and, if necessary, amend the internal regulations of the Organization;
- Appoint the Director General of the Secretariat;
- Approve the establishment of subsidiary bodies necessary to achieve the Organization’s objectives;
- Approve the program and budget for the Organization’s activities;
- Review reports submitted by the Director General and any subsidiary bodies and provide guidance;
- Promote and strengthen relationships with other relevant organizations;
- Deliberate and adopt amendments to the Agreement in accordance with Article XIX;
- Approve applications for Observer status; and
- Exercise other functions necessary to achieve the Organization’s objectives.
- Amendments to the Agreement shall be adopted by the Assembly by two-thirds majority of the Parties present and voting.
- The Assembly shall make every effort to reach decisions by consensus. If a consensus cannot be achieved, decisions on procedural issues are made by a simple majority of the Parties present and voting, while decisions on substantive issues are made by two-thirds majority of the Parties present and voting.
- Each Party has one vote in the Assembly. Observers may participate without having the right to vote.
- Break-out sessions of the Assembly may be held in order to take stock of the Programmes at Ministerial level and make decisions regarding their further implementation, in furtherance of Article V(4) of this Agreement.
- The Assembly assesses the aggregate effect of the Programmes and other activities under the IBCA, in particular in terms of implementing protection and conservation programme for big cats, performance, reliability, as well as cost and scale of finance. Based on this assessment, Parties take all necessary decisions regarding the further implementation of the objectives of the IBCA.