final PRESENT RULE 38, PARAGRAPH 1: “ 1. The Secretary General shall be appointed by the Standing Committee, on the proposal of the Bureau. The appointment shall be for five years from the adoption of this Rule and it shall be renewable by a majority vote of the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee will set his or her duties, remuneration and conditions of employment consistent with the annual budget.” PROPOSED NEW TEXT OF RULE 38, PARAGRAPH 1: “ The  Secretary  General  shall  be  appointed  or  dismissed  by  the  Standing  Committee  by  a majority vote of its Members, on the proposal of the Bureau. The Secretary General shall be appointed for a five years’ term and may be re-appointed only once (in this calculation all past terms are included). Upon the proposal of the Bureau, on the basis of real and well-grounded reasons, the Standing Committee can extend only once the expiring second term of the Secretary General for no more than two years. Each appointment or extension shall follow the procedure laid down in paragraph 1. Staff Regulation in line with the provisions set for the OSCE personnel shall be adopted for the Secretary General and the Secretariat staff.” Reasons: The current wording was influenced by contingent requirements at the time of its drafting. It  carries  a  provisional  connotation,  not  in  line  with  present  circumstances,  and  appears therefore to be obsolete (“ The appointment shall be for five years from the adoption of this Rule”). The current wording is ambiguous and gives rise to doubts, namely as to the interpretation of the required majority for the appointment of the Secretary General (does the expression “ by  a  majority  vote  of  the  Standing  Committee”  refer  to  the  appointment  or  only  to  the renewal?) and the duration of his term of office (if the five years start “ from the adoption of this rule”, how about the following terms?). Moreover, there are contradictory opinions in the interpretation of the current Statute on the need for the proposal of the Bureau for every appointment  or  only  for  the  first  term.  Solving  preventively  these  issues  will  avoid  any dispute. We  need  to  set  a  maximum  term  of  office  for  the  Secretary  General:  a  body  whose President changes every 1 to 2 years and with a changing membership does need an element of  stability;  yet  an  indefinite  term  may  lead  to  excessive  concentration  of  power  and  to identifying  the  institution  with  an  individual.  A  5-year  term,  renewable  for  5  years  and extendible  for  two  more  years  in  special  cases,  reconciles  the  need  for  stability  with  the need to avoid the above mentioned risk. It is in line with corresponding provisions of other international Assemblies, such as the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

final It is unfair and unreasonable to require different majorities for the selection of candidates to the  same  position  (a  simple  majority  for  the  incumbent,  consensus  minus  one  for  the others), as envisaged by current Rule 38 according to the Presidency’s interpretation. Such different majorities are not found in the Statutes of any other international organisation. It ought therefore to be made clear that voting procedures are the same for all candidates. In  order  to  recruit  highly  qualified  staff  and  to  avoid  disputes,  clear  and  transparent employment  regulations  are  necessary,  which  should  be  determined  in  advance  and  be nondiscretionary.   It  is  deemed  appropriate  to  make  reference  to  corresponding  OSCE provisions, which are very similar to those of the major international organisations. PRESENT RULE 38, PARAGRAPH 3: “ 3.  The  Standing  Committee  shall  confirm  the  senior  appointments  made  by  the  Secretary General  to  the  two  posts  of  Deputy  Secretary  Generals,  one  of  whom  shall  be  designated  as Finance Officer” PROPOSED NEW RULE 38, PARAGRAPH 3: “ 3. A geographic and gender balance shall be ensured with respect to the Secretariat staff. The  Standing  Committee  shall  confirm,  by  a  majority  vote  of  its  Members,  the  appointments made by the Secretary General to the two posts of Deputy Secretary General, one of whom shall be designated as Finance Officer. ” Reasons: Since current Rule 38, paragraph 3, does not lay down anything on the majority required for the confirmation of the Deputy Secretaries General, it has to be assumed that a consensus minus  one  is  needed,  according  to  Rule  33,  paragraph  6.  Two  different  majorities  would therefore  be  required  to  appoint  the  Secretary  General  and  the  Deputies,  which  is  not reasonable  and  could  lead  to  possible  conflicts. Therefore,  the  rule  has  to  be  amended    in order to have Secretary  General and his or her Deputies appointed/confirmed by the same majority. A total discretion should be avoided in choosing the Secretariat staff. Principles of national and gender balance are fundamental in the OSCE.

OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY RULE 38, par. 1 and  3 Amendment Proposal NAME COUNTRY SIGNATURE PLEASE SEND TO FAX NR +39 06 6796116