These statutes were amended, on the proposal of the Management Committee of the Fund, by a two-thirds majority of Fund members, on 31 January 2008.
ARTICLE I
Nature – Status – Headquarters – Purpose
1. The 1% for Development Fund, hereinafter referred to as “the Fund”, is a development-aid association voluntarily established in 1976 by individual staff members of organizations belonging to the United Nations system. It has been registered with the Geneva cantonal authorities on 8 December 2006.
2. The Headquarters of the Fund is in Geneva, Switzerland.
3. The objective of the Fund is to contribute to the international community’s efforts in favour of development and progress throughout the developing world. To that end, the Fund is to offer international civil servants an opportunity to involve themselves personally in development issues by regularly contributing 1% or more of their net salary or pension to development activities and by taking part in the identification and oversight of the implementation of the projects supported by the Fund. The creation of the Fund reflects the desire of its members to put into practice, at their level, UN General Assembly resolution 2626 (XXV) of 24 October 1970.
ARTICLE II
Membership
1. The following persons may become members of the Fund:
- staff members or former staff members, of an organization belonging to the United Nations system;
- staff members or former staff members of any other international intergovernmental organization;
- members of the family of persons mentioned in subparagraph (a) or (b);
- individuals who do not belong to the above categories but share the same objectives, if the Management Committee accepts their membership application.
2. Membership is subject to the contribution by each member of at least 1% of his/her monthly net salary or pension to the Fund.
3. Any member shall have the right to withdraw from the Fund on the understanding that amounts already contributed at the time of withdrawal will not be reimbursed.
ARTICLE III
Income – Expenditure
1. The income of the Fund will be derived from contributions of members and such donations as the Management Committee may decide to accept.
2. The funds thus received shall be used to support development activities in pursuance of the Fund’s objectives. Such activities will be selected by the Management Committee and approved by the General Assembly of members.
3. The custody of any and all the funds and the maintenance of accounts thereof shall be the joint responsibility of the Treasurer and two other signatories of the Fund’s accounts. Unless otherwise decided by the Management Committee, the President and the Secretary shall be the other two signatories.
4. The financial year of the Fund shall be from 1 January to 31 December.
ARTICLE IV
Administrative and supervisory organs
The administrative and supervisory organs of the Fund are:
- The General Assembly of members;
- The Management Committee;
- The Polling Officers;
- The Auditors.
ARTICLE V
The General Assembly
1. The General Assembly, composed of all members, is the governing body of the Fund.
2. An ordinary General Assembly shall be convened by the Management Committee twice a year, in January and June. Each ordinary General Assembly shall decide which projects submitted by the Management Committee shall be funded within the funds available and discuss any other business as appropriate.
3. At the June General Assembly each year the Management Committee will provide audited accounts and a report on the activities of the Fund for the preceding calendar year.
4. Convocations to the General Assembly, including the provisional agenda for the meeting, shall be sent to all members of the Fund by the Management Committee not later than two calendar weeks before the date of the meeting.
5. At the request of the Management Committee, or of at least one tenth of the members of the Fund, an extraordinary General Assembly to discuss one or more urgent item shall be convened by the Management Committee within one month of the initial request. The Management Committee shall send convocations to an extraordinary General Assembly to all members of the Fund not later than two calendar weeks before the date of the meeting.
6. Proposals or recommendations concerning financial expenditure by the Fund and management issues shall be circulated to all members of the Fund by the Management Committee at least two calendar weeks before the meeting.
7. A member who is absent from the General Assembly may give a proxy to a member who attends which includes the right to vote on his of her behalf. No member may receive more than three proxies for any General Assembly.
8. One-tenth of the registered members of the Fund shall constitute a quorum for General Assembly meetings. Proxies count for this purpose. If there is no quorum, a new General Assembly, for which no quorum requirement will apply, shall be convened within one month.
9. The General Assembly shall take its decisions by a simple majority of members present or represented and voting. Each member shall be entitled to one vote, regardless of the size of his/her contribution.
10. The President of the Management Committee shall open the meeting of the General Assembly and proceed immediately to the election of a Chairperson of the Assembly among members, other than Management Committee members, attending the meeting. The Chairperson of the Assembly shall direct the debates and settle any point of order.
ARTICLE VI
The Polling Officers
1. The June ordinary General Assembly foreseen under Article V paragraph 2 shall elect two Polling Officers, who shall serve a two-year term and be eligible for re-election.
2. The Polling Officers shall not concurrently be members of the Management Committee.
3. The Polling Officers shall accept candidacies from members of the Fund willing to serve on the Management Committee. The list of candidates shall be closed two weeks before the first General Assembly foreseen under Article V paragraph 2. The Polling Officers shall distribute such a list of candidates to all Fund members at least three days before the meeting. They shall also ensure that paper copies of the list are available at the General Assembly meeting for voting purposes.
4. The Polling Officers may be called upon to organize votes on matters placed before a General Assembly, as described in Article V paragraphs 7 and 8, or to perform other voting functions at the request of the Management Committee.
5. In the event of resignation of one or both Polling Officers, the Management Committee may appoint members, outside the Committee, to fill out these vacancies, subject to confirmation by the subsequent General Assembly. The same procedures shall apply in the absence of candidacies to serve as Polling Officers.
ARTICLE VII
The Management Committee
1. The Management Committee shall consist of at least 12 members, who shall designate from among themselves a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, a Secretary and any other officers that the Management Committee may deem necessary for its terms of office.
2. The members of the Management Committee shall be elected for a two-year term in accordance with Article VI, paragraph 3, and they may be re-elected. The election shall take place at the General Assembly of January of the year in which renewal of members of the Management Committee is due. Members of the Fund, within the meaning of Article II of the Statutes, may stand for election to the Management Committee.
3. The Management Committee shall meet at least quarterly. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. In its deliberations, the Management Committee shall endeavour to reach its decisions by consensus. In the absence of a consensus, decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority of members present and voting. Each member shall have one vote.
4. The provisional agenda of each Management Committee meeting shall be circulated to members of the Committee in advance of the meetings.
5. A record of decisions of the meetings shall be submitted to Committee members for approval, and the approved records shall be made available to all members.
6. The Management Committee shall be responsible to the General Assembly. The Management Committee will collect and administer funds, make proposals to the General Assembly for the distribution of such funds, implement the decisions of the General Assembly, organize fund-raising activities and promote the 1% for Development Fund objectives.
7. The Management Committee may designate committees or working groups, composed of Management Committee members and, as judged advisable, other members of the Fund, with the mandate to carry specific tasks (project evaluation, follow up of funded projects, promotional activities, etc.) and report back to the Management Committee.
8. Furthermore, the Management Committee may allocate funds to a project without prior approval by the General Assembly under the following conditions:
- An allocation covering an extension of a project already approved by the General Assembly, the implementation of which is considered urgent by the Management Committee prior to the next General Assembly;
- The allocation may not be made less than one month before any General Assembly;
- The total amount that may be allocated to such a project shall not exceed SFR 20,000; and
- The General Assembly shall be informed about the new allocations at its following session.
9. The President shall be the principal officer and the legal representative of the Fund. He/She shall chair all meetings of the Management Committee, shall supervise and control all Fund’s activities and, in general, shall perform all duties incident to the office and such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the Management Committee, by the General Assembly or by these Statutes.
10 The Vice-President shall replace the President in the latter’s absence and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President or by the Management Committee.
11. The Treasurer shall maintain accounts, make them available to the Auditors as directed by the Statutes and provide quarterly written reports to the Management Committee. He/she shall deposit all funds in accounts approved by the Management Committee, and shall maintain a reserve amounting to at least 8,000 Swiss francs to cover extraordinary expenses not related to the funding of projects or other regular expenses of the Fund. The individuals responsible for custody of the funds, as described in Article III.3, shall be authorised to make payments. The signatures of two cosignatories shall be required for any disbursement of funds.
12. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings and the official book of records, shall maintain a roster of the Fund’s members and in general perform all duties incident to his/her office and such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President or by the Management Committee.
13. If a member of the Management Committee resigns, a new member may be co-opted to complete the term of office, unless the Management Committee falls below a total membership of at least 7, in which case an extraordinary General Assembly will be convened to hold general elections. The Polling Officers will organize the elections following the process set out in Article VI.3.
ARTICLE VIII
The Auditors
1. The June General Assembly of the year shall elect from among the members of the Fund two auditors to audit its accounts. The auditors, elected for a period of two years, shall be eligible for re-election. Members of the Management Committee shall not be eligible as auditors.
2. Audits shall take place once every year and their results shall be reported in writing to the June General Assembly of the Fund.
ARTICLE IX
Amendment of the Statutes
The General Assembly may amend the Statutes. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the members of the Fund at least two weeks before the meeting at which they are to be discussed. Amendments of the Statutes shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of members present or represented and voting, and shall enter into force immediately.
ARTICLE X
Dissolution of the Fund
1. The Dissolution of the Fund, on the proposal of the General Assembly or the Management Committee, shall be decided at an Extraordinary General Assembly in accordance with the procedure described in Article IX.
2. In the event of dissolution of the Fund, the Extraordinary General Assembly that approves the dissolution shall direct the Management Committee to liquidate the Fund, to wind up its current business and to report to a final General Assembly. Any remaining assets shall be used for development purposes, as directed by the General Assembly, provided that available assets shall be fully allocated to a not-for-profit institution, pursuing an objective similar to that of the association and benefitting from an income tax exoneration. The assets shall not, under any circumstance, be given back to the founding members of the association or to members, nor used, in part or in totality, for their profit in whatever manner.