Working methods of the Committee on Conferences

Working methods

Every year, the relevant Regional Groups engage informally to select a Chair and Bureau members for that particular year.

The Chair and Bureau members are appointed during the organizational session of the CoC.

In cases involving a request for ad hoc requests, such as extension/addition of meetings and an intersessional departure from the approved calendar of conferences and meetings or a request for exception to meet during the General Assembly regular session, the CoC usually reaches consensus through electronic circulation of the necessary documentation.

Within its mandate, the CoC during the year performs the following functions, as appropriate:

To review the proposed strategic framework for the following biennium (referred to as programme 1, which focuses on the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management) and transmits its recommendations to the Chair of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. As the Secretariat transitions to an annual budget cycle starting from 2020, as per General Assembly , the work of the Committee in this regard is yet to be defined.
To approve on behalf of the General Assembly any deviation from the approved calendar of conferences and meetings regarding the venue of a meeting. A change of dates or venue may have financial implications. Therefore, secretaries should immediately contact the Secretary of the Committee on Conferences whenever any question of changing dates or venues is raised.
To ensure the optimum utilization of conference services by setting a benchmark of 80 per cent for the last six years of the body’s sessions. When that mark is not reached, the Committee consults the body in question, as appropriate, as requested by the Assembly. The results are reported to the Assembly in the report of the Committee. It is therefore in the interest of the body itself to achieve the highest utilization possible.