The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

 

*  As adopted by the Council of ACP Ministers on 11 July 1980 and as modified by decisions No. 6/LVI/93 and No. 9/LVII/93.

FIRST YEAR OF DEFAULT [1]

1)From the very first year of default of its contributions to the Budget of the Secretariat, the appropriate Head of Mission of the country concerned shall be regularly notified of this state of affairs by the ACP Secretariat and ultimately by the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors.  This action is not considered by the Council to be a sanction, but as a necessary and indispensable precondition which in the nature of the ACP Group, and against the background of the objectives of the measures being considered, must be resorted to before any penalties can be considered.

2)All sums in default shall attract the appropriate interest charges equivalent to the rate of interest chargeable on an overdraft of that amount for the entire period involved.

3)From the first full year of default, the country concerned shall, in addition, be subject to a series of disabilities.  These will include:

(a)the non-receipt of documents;

(b)ineligibility for Chairmanship at the level of the Committee of Ambassadors or any of its bodies;

The Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors shall be charged with the responsibility for implementing these sanctions.

SECOND YEAR OF DEFAULT

In addition to earlier sanctions, Member States in the second year of default shall not be permitted to speak on matters concerning financial contribution to the Secretariat.

THIRD YEAR OF DEFAULT

During the third year of default, in addition to the earlier sanctions, no new nationals of that defaulting country can be employed within the Secretariat.

OVER THIRD YEAR OF DEFAULT

Where a country is in arrears of over three years, its representative shall, in addition to the earlier sanctions, be excluded from participating in all ACP meetings including those of Council.

The Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors and the President of the Council of Ministers shall be charged with the responsibility for implementing these sanctions.