The Bureau of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region, was elected to :

1. exercise decision-making powers on substantive issues related to implementation of the Convention and its protocols between ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties, with a view, inter alia, to promoting the active participation of the Eastern African States in the Convention;
2. to reviewing preparations for the ordinary and extraordinary meeting;
3. and to providing guidance to the secretariat of the Convention and making adjustments in the programme and budget as necessary within the framework of the decisions made by the meetings;

At the commencement of the first sitting of each ordinary meeting, a President, a Vice-President and a Rapporteur are to be elected from among the representatives of the Contracting Parties.

The President, Vice-President and Rapporteur shall constitute the Bureau of the meeting. The Bureau shall assist in the general conduct of the business of the meeting and shall serve in that capacity at any intervening extraordinary meeting or conference. The Bureau shall also perform the responsibilities set out in the Terms of Reference of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties.

In electing the members of the Bureau the following criteria will be taken into account:

1. Equitable geographical distribution; and
2. Contributions to the Regional Seas Trust Fund for the Eastern African Region and their regular payment.

The President, Vice-President and Rapporteur elected at an ordinary meeting shall remain in office until their successors are elected at the next ordinary meeting. A maximum of two of these officers may be re-elected for only one further consecutive term.

The President, or Vice-President acting as President, shall participate in the meeting or the conference in that capacity and shall not at the same time exercise the rights of a representative of a Contracting Party. In such a case, the Contracting Party concerned may designate another representative who shall be entitled to represent the Contracting Party in the meeting or the conference and to exercise the right to vote.

Terms of Reference of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties of the Nairobi Convention

1. The Bureau shall consist of the President, Vice President and Rapporteur elected at the beginning of each ordinary meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region (Nairobi Convention).
2. The members of the Bureau will be elected for a two-year term and up to two of them may be re-elected for one additional term.
3. The President of the ordinary meeting elected in accordance with rule 16 of the rules of procedure of the meetings and conferences of the Contracting Parties shall serve as President of the Bureau.
4. The functions of the Bureau shall be:
   1. To represent the interests of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention during the interval between ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention;
   2. To review and evaluate the progress of implementation of the Nairobi Convention between ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention;
   3. To provide guidance to the Organization on all matters relevant to the implementation of the Nairobi Convention between the ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention and to make adjustments in the programme and budget as necessary, within the framework of the decisions made by the meeting;
   4. To promote the active participation of the Eastern African countries in the Nairobi Convention and to urge Governments to fulfil their financial and other commitments;
   5. To review the preparations for the ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention and any extraordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties or Conferences of Plenipotentiaries of the Nairobi Convention or intergovernmental meetings of the Action Plan;

   6. To make recommendations to the ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention and to any extraordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties or Conferences of Plenipotentiaries of the Nairobi Convention
      or intergovernmental meetings of the Action Plan on all programme, financial and institutional matters related to the Action Plan and the Nairobi Convention;
   7. To carry out such other tasks as may be determined by the ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties of the Nairobi Convention or any extraordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties or Conferences of Plenipotentiaries of the Nairobi Convention or intergovernmental meetings of the Action Plan.
5. The work of the Bureau will normally be carried out by correspondence. There may, however, be need for a meeting of the Bureau in mid-term between the ordinary meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention and/or immediately prior to the subsequent ordinary meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention.
6. Such meetings of the Bureau will be convened by the Executive Director of UNEP, organized by the Organization and chaired by the President of the Bureau.
7. Invitations to attend meetings of the Bureau shall be issued to the members of the Bureau. All States participating in the Action Plan which are not members of the Bureau shall be invited to attend such meeting as observers.
8. The working languages of the meetings of the Bureau will be English and French.
9. The reports of the Bureau will be prepared by the Rapporteur and will be made available for meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention.

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