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Congress noted that the IMO Prize was the most prestigious prize offered by WMO and that the awarding ceremony being held in the country of the winner was an excellent opportunity for the Member concerned to publicize meteorology and hydrology as well as to improve the visibility of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and WMO.

11.2 QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE CONVENTION OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (agenda item 11.2)

Possible changes to the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization

11.2.1 Congress considered the proposal submitted by Germany in the light of Resolution 40 (Cg-XIV) – Questions concerning the WMO Convention, and the discussions held thereafter at the sessions of the Executive Council. Congress also noted with satisfaction that Members had been involved in the discussion, the Secretary-General having sent out the proposal to all Members in October 2005 asking for their comments. Furthermore, the matter was on the agenda of the sessions of regional associations and Members were able to give their input to the further refinement of the proposal.

11.2.2 Congress was convinced of the necessity of having adequate wording in the Convention and regarded the proposal to change the preamble as appropriate, as the proposed text followed closely the Geneva Declaration, which Congress had adopted unanimously in 1999.

11.2.3 Congress was convinced that the proposal did not contain new commitments for the Members and that the amendment could therefore be adopted according to Article 28 (c) of the Convention.

11.2.4 Congress recalled that the Executive Council Task Team was requested to study and analyse the possible use of protocols. Congress was informed that legal experts had drawn the attention of the Council to the fact that Congress currently had the possibility to adopt protocols, even without a respective Article in the Convention. Congress noted that interested Members had the possibility to develop respective proposals for discussion by the Executive Council and eventual consecutive submission to Congress.

11.2.5 Congress agreed with the proposed changes to the Preamble of the Convention and accordingly adopted Resolution 44 (Cg-XV) – Amendment to the Preamble of the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization.

The WMO emblem and flag

11.2.6 On the recommendation of the Executive Council at its fifty-seventh session in 2005, Congress considered a proposal to review the WMO emblem. The proposal aimed at changing the colour of the wind rose to gold, and at adding the acronym of the Organization below the emblem in the official language concerned (English, French, Russian and Spanish), or the full name of the Organization in the two other official languages (Arabic and Chinese) in which no abbreviations were used. That proposal was intended to symbolize the seniority of the Organization after its fiftieth anniversary in 2000, and to enhance the visibility and distinctiveness of the Organization’s logotype. In addition to WMO stationary, publications and the website, the new emblem was to be used in the WMO flag.

11.2.7 Having regard to the increasing demand for the use of the WMO emblem, Congress also considered the need to enhance the protection against possible misuse or abuse of the Organization’s name, emblem and image. As requested by Resolution 2 (EC-X) – Legal protection of the name and the emblem of the World Meteorological Organization, such protection was mainly to be ensured at the national level under article 6ter – Marks: Prohibitions concerning State Emblems, Official Hallmarks, and Emblems of Intergovernmental Organizations, of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Therefore, in addition to reiterating the call on all Members, including those that were not a party to the Paris Convention, to ensure appropriate protection to the name and emblem of the Organization, Congress considered the need for precise guidelines on the use of the name and logo, similar to the Flag Code and regulations adopted by the Secretary-General in 1968.

11.2.8 Congress agreed with the proposed changes to the emblem and accordingly adopted Resolution 45 (Cg-XV) – Emblem and flag of the World Meteorological Organization. By that resolution, in addition to the adoption of a new emblem, Congress requested the Secretary- General to keep in force mutatis mutandis the WMO Flag Code and Regulations and to develop detailed guidelines concerning the use and protection of the WMO emblem. In order to minimize the financial implications of the introduction of the new emblem, Congress also decided that the emblem would continue to be reproduced in black and white in non-coloured documents and publications, such as the working documents for WMO constituent bodies and WMO technical documents.

11.3 REVISION OF THE GENERAL REGULATIONS (agenda item 11.3)

Period for conducting elections by correspondence of certain offices of constituent bodies 11.3.1 On the recommendation of the Executive Council at its fifty-eighth session in 2006, Congress reviewed the practice concerning the period required for conducting an election by correspondence of certain vacant officer positions, namely the Third Vice-President of the Organization and the president or vice-president of a regional association or technical commission. Such a period was set at 225 days since Twelfth Congress with a view, in particular, to permitting Members in arrears to settle their financial obligations prior to the call for nomination of candidates. To that effect, whenever a vacancy occurred, the Secretary-General informed Members in arrears at least 45 days before sending the invitation for the nomination of candidates. Congress noted, however, that in the 11 years in which the practice had been in force, there had been no case where a Member in arrears had paid its dues in that context. Congress accordingly agreed to suppress that stage in the process for elections by correspondence, thus gaining 45 days in the overall time required to conduct the elections.

11.3.2 In the same spirit of efficiency, Congress also considered possible reductions in the minimum time foreseen for subsequent steps in the electoral procedure by correspondence, in particular for the nomination of candidates (45 days), the determination of eligibility of candidates and their willingness (30 days), as well as the actual voting (90 days), set out respectively in General Regulations 91, 92 and 71. Congress was of the view that such periods could be shortened by taking advantage of modern communication facilities to 30, 20 and 60 days respectively.

11.3.3 As a result, Congress decided that the overall minimum period for conducting an election by correspondence should be brought from 225 days to 130 days and accordingly adopted Resolution 46 (Cg-XV) – Amendments to General Regulations 15, 16, 71, 91 and 92. In endorsing those amendments, Congress also noted that the Executive Council at its fifty-eighth session in 2006 had adopted Resolution 17 (EC-LVIII) – Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council, amending its own Rules of Procedure in line with the amendments to the General Regulations, and that such amendments would enter into force upon Congress adopting the corresponding amendments to the General Regulations.

Terms of reference of the technical commissions

11.3.4 Congress had before it two sets of proposed changes to the terms of reference of the technical commissions: one concerning the Commission for Atmospheric Sciences proposed by the Executive Council at its fifty-eighth session in 2006 on the recommendation of the fourteenth session of that Commission, and the other relating to the Commission for Climatology as adopted at its fourteenth session. Recognizing the need to respond to recent developments in the fields of responsibility of those Commissions, Congress adopted Resolution 47 (Cg-XV) – Terms of reference of technical commissions, containing revised terms of reference for the two Commissions to be included in Annex III to the General Regulations.

11.3.5 Congress also noted an inconsistency between the various linguistic versions of the terms of reference of the Commission for Hydrology, as amended by Thirteenth Congress in 1999. It agreed to bring all versions in line by removing the word “operational” in paragraph (d) of the terms of reference of the Commission contained in Annex III to the General Regulations when applicable.

Establishment of a Subcommittee on Hydrology

11.3.6 Congress considered the request made by the Commission for Hydrology at its twelfth session to amend General Regulation 29 (b). Under that provision, introduced by Tenth Congress in 1987, at each session Congress had to establish a Subcommittee on Hydrology composed of the Hydrological Advisers of Permanent Representatives and other representatives of hydrological services included in the delegations of Members. The Commission felt that the automatic establishment of a Subcommittee on Hydrology was not conducive to close interaction between hydrological and meteorological services. The Commission therefore recommended to provide for the optional establishment of the subcommittee based on its views as to the need and the agenda for such a subcommittee. Congress endorsed the proposal of the Commission for Hydrology and adopted Resolution 48 (Cg-XV) – Amendments to General Regulation 29 (b).

11.4 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS (agenda item 11.4)

In accordance with General Regulation 135 (17), Congress examined its previous resolutions in order that those which no longer had a purpose or which had been replaced by new decisions should not remain in force. Congress accordingly adopted Resolution 49 (Cg-XV) – Review of previous Congress resolutions.

11.5 REQUESTS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE ORGANIZATION (agenda item 11.5)

11.5.1 Congress noted that as from 6 June 2006, the Republic of Serbia had continued the membership in WMO of the former Republic of Serbia and Montenegro following Montenegro’s declaration of independence.

11.5.2 Congress also noted with appreciation that the Republic of Montenegro, which became a member of the United Nations on 28 June 2006, had deposited an instrument of accession to the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization with the Government of the United States of America on 6 December 2006 in accordance with Articles 3 (b) and 33 of the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization. In accordance with Article 35 of the Convention, the Republic of Montenegro became a Member of the Organization on 5 January 2007.

11.5.3 Congress congratulated and warmly welcomed the Republic of Montenegro as a new Member of the Organization, bringing the total Membership of WMO to 188, comprising 182 Member States and 6 Member Territories. The delegations of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro looked forward to benefiting from and contributing actively to the Programmes and activities of the Organization.