AFR/RC62/3 19 September 2012
REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Sixty-second session Luanda, Republic of Angola, 19–23 November 2012 Provisional agenda item 3
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEES A AND B OF THE SIXTY-SECOND SESSION OF THE WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA (The Regional Director’s Proposal)
1. The Sixty-second session of the Regional Committee is expected to discuss an exceptionally large number of agenda items, some of which have been referred to the Regional Committees by WHO Governing Bodies at the global level. In this context, the World Health Assembly advised Regional Committees to discuss very important matters on the global health agenda such as the Draft 12th General Programme of Work; Proposed Programme Budget 20142015; The Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: financing and coordination; and Implementation of International Health Regulations. Furthermore this session of the Regional Committee should consider other new important items such as the implementation of the World Health Assembly Resolution on Noncommunicable Diseases and, Reassignment of Member States to the African Region. In consultation with the Chairperson of the Sixty-first session of the Regional Committee and in accordance with Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee for Africa, the Regional Director has included those items in the Provisional Agenda of the Sixty-second Session of the Regional Committee. 2. It would be very difficult for the Regional Committee to address in a thorough and substantive manner all the proposed 27 agenda items in plenary sessions during five working days. 3. In this context, the Regional Director proposes for consideration by the Regional Committee the application of Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure which reads as follows: ‘The Committee may establish such Subcommittee(s) as it may deem necessary to study, and report on, any item on its agenda. The Committee shall, from time to time, but at least once a year, reassess the need to maintain any Subcommittee(s) established under its authority.’ 4. In the light of the foregoing, the Regional Director proposes to the Sixty-second session of the Regional Committee the establishment of Subcommittee A to deal with agenda items10, 12, 14, and 16 and Subcommittee B to deal with agenda items 11, 13, 15 and 17. The remaining agenda items will be dealt with in plenary sessions. The two subcommittees will meet at the same time and the plenary of the Regional Committee will not meet while the two subcommittees are meeting.
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5. It is proposed that the Subcommittees be chaired by the two elected Vice-Chairs of the Regional Committee. The Chairperson of the Regional Committee will chair the plenary sessions that will receive the reports and endorse the deliberations and the resolutions proposed by the plenary and the Subcommittees. Two rapporteurs will be designated for each of the Subcommittees. 6. This arrangement is made for the present session of the Regional Committee, without prejudice to any future arrangement that the Committee may wish to discuss for the organization of the work of future sessions, and the Regional Committee is invited to endorse it.