ACL 8/2016

IHB File No. S1/6000/2017 ASSEMBLY CIRCULAR LETTER N° 8 23 August 2016 1st SESSION OF THE IHO ASSEMBLY Monaco, 24-28 April 2017 ______ REVISION OF THE TIMELINE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE 1st SESSION OF THE IHO ASSEMBLY (A-1) References: A. IHO CL 41/2016 dated 23 August - Date of Entry Into Force of the Amendments to the Convention on the IHO and Its Supporting Basic Documents B. Rules of Procedure of the IHO Assembly C. Conference Circular Letter No. 1 dated 21 April 2016 - Announcement and General Arrangements D. Conference Circular Letter No. 2 dated 22 April 2016 - Submission of Proposals to the Conference / Assembly Dear Hydrographer, 1. Reference A announced that the Government of Monaco had informed the Directing Committee that the Protocol of Amendments to the Convention on the IHO was formally ratified by the IHO Member States on 8 August 2016. In accordance with the terms of the Protocol, this means that the Amended Convention on the IHO and its supporting Basic Documents will enter into force three months later, this being on 8 November 2016. 2. The Directing Committee is now pleased to confirm that the next ordinary meeting of the Organization will take place as the First Session of the IHO Assembly (A-1) and will be held in Monaco from Monday 24 April to Friday 28 April 2017. 3. Taking into account the new rules and regulations that will be in force from 8 November 2016 and in particular the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly (see Reference B), and as anticipated in Reference C, this Assembly Circular Letter informs the Member States and observer organizations of the consequential revision of the timeline for the preparations for A-1 and the adjustments to the planned schedule for Assembly Circular Letters. Annex A contains a revised list of the Assembly Circular Letters that are planned to be issued together with the relevant target dates for action. Member States are requested to observe the deadlines for replies so that the Assembly preparations can proceed as smoothly as possible. 4. The revised timeline takes into account the provisions of the new Basic Documents which are summarized in Annex B for ease of reference. The main changes relate to the establishment of the Council, in accordance with the new General Regulations of the IHO, and to the deadlines for submission of proposals to be considered by the Assembly. 5. Reference B allows for proposals to be submitted up to four months before the opening of the session of the Assembly, the closing date being 15 December 2016 for the next Assembly. In response to Reference C, the IHO Secretariat has already received eight proposals from Member States. The IHO Secretariat has also prepared one proposal. These are listed in Annex C to this letter for information. 6. The Directing Committee notes that Reference B does not contain any specific provision for inviting and circulating comments on proposals submitted to the Secretariat, as has been the case for all previous Conferences. In order to ensure that any comments to proposals raised by Member States can be circulated in advance of the Assembly, the Directing Committee will shortly circulate the Proposals received so far and invite comments on those proposals. The Directing Committee will also invite additional proposals to be submitted, if any, up until 15 December. Any additional proposals received will be circulated as soon as they are received so as to allow for the submission and subsequent circulation of any comments on those proposals from Member States, as indicated in Annex A. 7. The Directing Committee takes this opportunity to remind Member States and observer organizations that the on-line registration for the Assembly will be available online via the IHO website (www.iho.int) at: (Home > IHO Assembly > Registration for Assembly) from 1 September 2016 to 1 March 2017 (see Reference C). 8. The Directing Committee stands ready to provide any additional information or assistance that may help Member States in implementing the new arrangements. On behalf of the Directing Committee, Yours sincerely, Robert WARD President Distribution: - IHO Member States - Pending Applicants: Bulgaria, Congo, Haiti, Malta, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu - IHO Committee Chairs: IRCC, HSSC, FC - Observer Organizations Annexes: A. Planned Assembly Circular Letters (Revised) B. Provisions Applicable to the Preparation of an Ordinary Session of the IHO Assembly C. List of Current Proposals Submitted by Member States and the IHO Secretariat (as of 23 August 2016) 2  Annex A to ACL 8 PLANNED ASSEMBLY CIRCULAR LETTERS (ACL) 1st SESSION OF THE IHO ASSEMBLY Monaco, 24-28 April 2017 (Revised) Target date for Target date for CCL / ACL TITLE Issue replies from MS 21 April 2016 01 March 2017 CCL 1 Announcement and General Arrangements (DONE) 22 April 2016 15 August 2016 CCL 2 Invitation to Member States (MS) to submit Proposals to the Conference / Assembly (DONE) 29 April 2016 Observers at the XIXth International Hydrographic Conference / (DONE as of CCL 3 15 August 2016 1st Session of the IHO Assembly 25 April 2016 ) 10 May 2016 (DONE as of CCL 4 Ships' Visits and Receptions 01 November 2016 3 May 2016 ) 20 May 2016 13 April 2017 (DONE as of CCL 5 Invite Nomination of Candidates for Secretary-General and Directors of the IHO 14 June 2016) As replies arrive New eligibility CCL 5bis- (on-going) Nominations of Candidates for Secretary-General and Directors of the IHO requirements are nn in force Invitation to the Member States Exhibition held on 24-28 April 2017. Deadlines for MS are: 20 June 2016 - intention to participate: 01 October 2016 (DONE as of CCL 6 - input form: 01 February 2017 16 June 2016) - provision of display materials at the IHB: 20 March 2017 30 June 2016 (DONE as of CCL 7 Call for Tonnage Figures 30 October 2016 1 July 2016) 23 August 2016 ACL 8 Revision of the Timeline for the Preparation of the 1st Session of the IHO Assembly (A-1) 25 August 2016 ACL 9 Responses to CCL 3 - Proposed Observers for MS approval (Voting) 21 October 2016 Responses to CCL 2 - Proposals submitted by MS and by the IHB. 2 September 2016 ACL 10 15 December 2016 Call for comments and additional proposals A-1 Target date for Target date for CCL / ACL TITLE Issue replies from MS As additional ACL 10bis- Call for comments on additional proposals submitted by MS (if any) 30 January 2017 proposals arrive nn 23 October 2016 ACL 11 Invite Candidates for Chair of the 1st Session of the IHO Assembly 30 December 2016 25 October 2016 ACL 12 Responses to CCL 6 - “Member States’ Exhibition” 28 October 2016 ACL-13 Response to ACL 8 – Observers. (Result of Voting process) Announcement of the number of seats on the Council allocated to each RHC and of the list of MS 2 December 2016 ACL 14 that are eligible for selection by each RHC 3 February 2017 Invitation to the Chairs of RHC to report on the allocation of the seat(s) allocated to each RHC 15 January 2017 ACL 15 Response to ACL 11 - Election of the Chair of the 1st Session of the IHO Assembly (Voting) 24 February 2017 Distribution of Assembly Document: - draft revised IHO Strategic Plan 01 February 2017 ACL 16 - draft 3-year Work Programme & Budget of the IHO 2018-2020 - Finance Report 2012-2017 - provisional list of candidates for Secretary-General and Directors of the IHO Distribution of Assembly Documents: - provisional Agenda and Programme 10 February 2017 ACL 17 - consolidated list of proposals and comments from MS (Red Book) - Committee Reports and - provisional List of Assembly Documents 15 February 2017 ACL 18 Participations at the Industry Exhibition (24-28 April 2017) Distribution of Assembly Documents: - Table of Tonnages, Shares and Votes 20 February 2017 ACL 19 - 2018 Work Programme and Budget (detailed) - Provisional List of Participants Response to ACL 15 – Election of the Chair of the 1st Session of the IHO Assembly 28 February 2017 ACL 20 (Result of Voting process) Distribution of Assembly Documents: 01 March 2017 ACL 21 - revised provisional Agenda and Programme (if required) - Catalogues for the Industry and Member States’ Exhibitions 24 March 2017 ACL 22 Provisional List of members of the Council 14 April 2017 ACL 23 Final List of candidates for Secretary-General and Directors of the IHO A-2  Annex B to ACL 8 PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE PREPARATION OF AN ORDINARY SESSION OF THE IHO ASSEMBLY Notes: - T: date of opening of the ordinary session of the Assembly - FR: Financial Regulations of the IHO - GR: General Regulations of the IHO - RoP: Rules of Procedure Provision Source T-7 months: the Secretary-General shall ask Member States (MS) to supply FR - Article 6 their tonnage figures as of 1 July of the year preceding that of the session T-6 months (at least): the Secretary-General convenes the session with a RoP Assembly provisional agenda Rule 4 T-6 months: deadline for transmitting to the Secretary-General proposals of IHO Convention amendments to the Convention Article XXI T-6 months (at least): MS apply to the appropriate Regional Hydrographic GR - Article 16 Commission (RHC) for the purpose of allocating Council seats T-6 months (at least): the Secretary-General invites MS to submit candidates RoP Assembly for election as Chair of the Assembly Rule 14 6 months before the meeting of the Finance Committee (FC): the Secretary- RoP FC General convenes the regular meeting of the FC with a provisional agenda Rule 3 T-4 months: deadline for proposals to be discussed at the Assembly RoP Assembly Rule 9 T-4 months: the Secretary-General asks MS to provide the details of the heads RoP Assembly of delegations and names of alternative delegates Rule 6 4 months before the meeting of the FC: the Secretary-General ask MS to RoP FC provide the details of the heads of delegations and names of alternative Rule 5 delegates T-3 months: the Secretary-General inform all MS of the number of Council GR - Article 16 seats allocated to each RHC and those MS eligible for selection by each RHC T-3 months (at least): the Secretary-General shall circulate a list of nominated RoP Assembly candidates (for election as Chair of the Assembly) and, if necessary, request Rule 14 MS to vote by correspondence T-3 months (at least – if possible): nominations of candidates for Secretary- GR - Article 19 General and Directors should reach the Secretary-General 3 months before the meeting of the FC: deadline for proposals to be discussed RoP FC B-1 by the FC Rule 6 T-2 months: the Secretary-General notifies to Member States a table of FR - Article 6 current national flag tonnages T-2 months: the Secretary-General submit to Members the revised provisional RoP Assembly agenda with supporting documents Rule 9 2 months before the meeting of the FC: the Secretary-General submit the FR - Article 8 financial statements and the estimated 3-year budget 2 months before the meeting of the FC: the Secretary-General submit to RoP FC Members the revised provisional agenda with supporting documents Rule 6 T-10 days: closing date for the list of candidates for Secretary-General and GR - Article 19 Directors B-2  Annex C to ACL 8 PROPOSALS SUBMITTED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE 1st SESSION OF THE IHO ASSEMBLY (AS OF 23 AUGUST 2016) LIST OF CURRENT PROPOSALS Proposal Object of the Proposal Submitted by No. 1 Discuss a way forward for the publication of a 4th Democratic People’s Republic Edition of IHO Publication S-23 and include it in the of Korea next “5-Year Work Programme” (“3-Year Work Programme”, in case that the amended IHO Convention will come into force) 2 Development of IHO E-Learning Capacity France 3 Revision of the Resolution on Response to Disasters Japan 4 Rewrite of the IHO Strategic Plan UK 5 Development of an IHO Satellite-Derived Canada, France, USA Bathymetry Assessment and Charting Programme for as yet Uncharted or Poorly Charted Areas 6 Proposed Amendment to the IHO Resolution Republic of Korea 2/2007 for Improving the Validation Procedure of Making Changes to Specifications Based on S-100 7 National Hydrographic Office implications regarding USA the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Shared Guiding Principles for Geospatial Information Management 8 Revise the Standards of Competence for Italy Hydrographic Surveyors 9 Revise IHO Publication M-3 – Repertory of IHO IHO Secretariat Resolutions ______ C-1