Article 1 - Name

The name of the Committee shall be "The Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns " (henceforth referred to as the "Committee")

The Committee is established under the auspices of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative relationship with the United Nations and these By-Laws and Rules are consistent with the Rules of the NGO Conference.

Article 2 – Mission

The Committee seeks to make a contribution to the spiritual dimension, values and rights based perspective of the work of the United Nations agenda.

Article 3 - Aims

To participate in the work of the United Nations and in international conferences;

To encourage a spiritual perspective within the international community, facilitating written and oral submissions for inclusion in United Nations declarations and programmes of action relating to spirituality, values, justice and peace at all levels;

To promote the right to lead a spiritual or religious way of life in full respect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

To support and exploring the link between science and spirituality, by presenting evidence-based knowledge to demonstrate the causal effect of the spiritual dimension on personal and global change;

To advocate for a global Forum on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns;

To provide for the exchange of views on matters relating to spirituality, values and global concerns and wishes to facilitate dialogue by convening and promoting programmes and events in order to offer solutions which stem from responsible cooperation and integrity. We acknowledge the sacred in all traditions, cultures and religions.

To publish a series of documents on seminars and meetings, thereby demonstrating a commitment to keep the knowledge and wisdom of the spiritual perspective alive and transmitted throughout time.  

Article 4 - Structure

The Committee consists of

a) Membership

b)  Annual General Meeting

c)  Officers   

d)  Sub-committees or Working Groups

Article 5 – Membership

Full Membership in the Committee consists of NGOs having consultative status with the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and who are willing to include the spiritual and values dimension in their work and policies.  

Only NGOs who have paid their annual membership fee shall be eligible to send delegates to the General Assembly. No delegation may represent more than three representatives of the same organisation.

Full Member organisations (henceforth referred to as the "Member") having paid their yearly fee have the right to one vote.

Members
having consultative status with the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and having full membership status with CONGO can appoint a delegate to stand for office.

No Member is to hold more than one office in the Council.

Associate Membership consists of organisations without ECOSOC accreditation or CONGO membership.

Associate Members and absentee Members shall not be eligible to hold office.

Associate Members and absentee Members who have paid their annual membership fees shall have one vote.

Observers at the AGM or to Meetings may be allowed to take the floor and may be invited by the Officers from:
• NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, which are not Members of the CSVGC • the United Nations system • governments • and civil society organisations

Yearly Membership Fees: CHF 50

Article 6 – Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (henceforth referred to as the ‘AGM’) is the sovereign organ of the Committee.

The AGM shall meet at least once a year.

The AGM shall elect its officers, with due attention to the need for a balanced representation of gender, organisations, having regard to the geographical basis or political or other orientation of the membership and their various fields of action.

No Member may represent more than 10 Member organisations.

The Treasurer shall present the previous year’s account for approval.

The Sub-Committees / Working Groups report on their activities.

Propose and present ideas for new events.

Article 7 – The Officers

The CSVGC shall be made up of the following Officers:

a Chair  -   a Secretary   -   a Treasurer   -   a Programme Coordinator

The Committee has flexibility in terms of choosing to have other officers.

Officers serve in their personal capacity and are eligible for re-election, subject to the provision that membership of the Council shall be limited to two consecutive periods of three years.

In the event that an Officer being unable to complete his/her term of office, the Officers shall appoint his/her successor from among its members by an absolute majority.

Any immediate out-going officers may remain members in their personal capacities for the remainder of the year.

The officers meet at least 4 times a year.

Meetings of the Officers shall be open to Members of the Committee. Such members shall be entitled to speak with the consent of the Chairperson. Under exceptional circumstances the Officers may decide to hold a closed meeting.

Article 8 – Responsibilities of the Officers

Responsibilities of the Chair

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Knowledge of the French language (spoken)
• Local residency or able to attend at least 80% of CSVGC Meetings in any calendar year
• Provide leadership to accomplish aims of CSVGC
• Act as the principal spokesperson responsible for conveying the views and  
position of the CSVGC membership, as expressed through the G A and the
Council, to ECOSOC, the UN Secretariat, other UN organs (CONGO) and  
representatives of UN Member States
• Write official letters  
• Calling Meetings, set place & time and reserve appropriate room
• Liaise with Officers and prepare Agenda of Meeting based on previous minutes, unfinished and new business
• Send draft Agenda to Officers for verification/changes/addition before sending to Secretary who will then send it to the membership
• Attend Meetings or represent CSVGC as required by officers / members)  
• Working Group liaison: together with all other officers

Responsibilities of the Secretary

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Knowledge of the French language (spoken)
• Local residency or able to attend at least 80% of CSVGC Meetings in any  
calendar year
• Chairing Meetings in absence of the Chair    
• Drafting of official letters
• Taking Minutes (this could rotate between Secretary / Members)
• Draft minutes to be sent to Officers for review before sending to   Membership once corrected
• Circulate papers to officers, members, organisations
• Record keeping and filing
• Preparation and printing of official communications:
• Organisation of mailings with Officers and group members  
• Follow up of meetings administratively and maintenance of an accurate and regularly updated membership list
• As an elected Officer partakes in other Officer responsibilities and tasks  
• Attend Meetings or represent CSVGC as required by officers / members  
• Working Group liaison: together with all other officers.
• Liaison with the Webmaster after changes are agreed by the Officers.

Responsibilities of the Programme Coordinator

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Knowledge of the French language (spoken)
• Local residency or able to attend CSVGC Meetings in Geneva at least 80% of the meetings in any calendar year
• Proposes and organises events as decided by Members and Officers
• Reservation of appropriate rooms for such events
• Provides a Report of such events
• As an elected Officer partakes in other Officer responsibilities and tasks
• Working Group liaison with all other officers
• Attend Meetings or represent CSVGC as required by officers / members
• Working Group liaison: together with all other officers

Responsibilities of the Treasurer

• to deal with annual Membership subscriptions
• to hold the accounts with invoices, receipts and account statements
• to regularly report to the Officers on income and outflow
• to pay CSVGC bills
• to prepare, mails out and monitors annual membership fees
• to prepare an annual budget
• to prepare an annual financial report for the Officers and CONGO
• to propose fundraising ideas
• as an Elected official partakes of Officers responsibilities and tasks
• Attend Meetings or represent CSVGC as required by officers / members  
• Working Group liaison: together with all other officers

Article 9 - Sub-Committees or Working Groups

Sub-Committees (C-S) or Working Groups (WG) may be established to further a particular area/focus under the auspices of the CSVGC either at the AGM or by the Officers at the request of ten or more Members, which shall specify whether the sub-committee is to be a standing or fixed- term S-C or WG. When a decision has been taken to establish such a S-G/WG, the Officers shall notify the Members of the CSVGC and invite all Members to an initial meeting. Individuals chairing a S-C/WG do so in their personal capacity.

Groups of NGOs in consultative status that have already been established outside the framework of the CSVGC may be accepted by decision of the Officers as S-G/WG of the CSVGC, provided they agree to accept the rules applying to the CSVGC.

A S-C/WG set up under the auspices of the CSVGC is required to establish rules and procedures for membership, for voting, for the periodic election of officers among members of the S-C/WG who are representatives of organisations in consultative status with ECOSOC, for the keeping of meeting records, for the handling of monies which will include an annual financial report to be made available to its membership and to the CSVGC Officers, and for the conduct of their work, in a manner consistent with the rules of the CONGO.

Sub-committees / Working Groups shall not act, nor claim to act, in the name of the CSVGC, or of the Officers.

S-C/WG Conveners shall report regularly to the Programme Coordinator of the CSVGC, who will then brief the Officers.

The S-C/WG Conveners are fully responsible for the group, for the reservation of rooms and for submitting all required reports to the CSVGC through the Programme Coordinator.

According to the funds at its disposal, the Officers may give financial assistance to a S-C/WG, which may also levy an annual subscription from its member or participating organisations

In order to give more guidance in practice the Officers have agreed to the following:

• All suggestions for the establishment of a S-C/WG must be approved by the Officers in agreement with the general terms of CONGO and CSVGC as above.
• A paper on the philosophy, motivation and background for setting up a S-C/WG must be submitted for prior approval to the Officers. No proselytization will be allowed.
• The S-C/WG must have at least three members, meet at least four times a year and report regularly to the Officers and submit an annual report to the Annual General Meeting.
• In case of conflicts and major disagreements the S-C/WG Convener will be responsible to establish a mediation procedure, but the CSVGC cannot be held responsible for specific theological or spiritual practice or financial arrangement not previously approved by the Officers;
• In the case of major disagreements which are not being resolved by the S-C/WG Conveners the S-C/WG can appeal to the CSVGC Officers
 • The Officers reserve the right at any time to take steps to dissolve any S-C/WG for actions that they believe are not compatible with the aims of the CSVGC.

Article 10 – Administrative and Operational Support

The officers may, subject to available finance, establish an office or offices and engage staff for the purpose of assisting the elected officers.

The staff shall report to the officers, who shall be responsible for its supervision and shall report accordingly to the Officers.

Engagement or contracting of staff, subject to available finance, shall be the responsibility of the officers, subject to the laws applicable at the site of United Nations Headquarters or other UN Centres.

Article 11 - Finance

Membership Fee: Each Member of the CSVGC shall pay an annual membership fee, to be established by the AGM. Annual membership shall be from January 1 to December 31. If an alteration in economic or financial circumstances makes it impossible for the CSVGC to continue operating at its anticipated level without an increase in the annual membership fee, the Officers shall be entitled to revise the annual membership fee for a future year or years.

In order to be eligible to vote at the General Assembly, an organisation in consultative status that is a member of the CSVGC, must have paid annual membership dues for each year since the previous AGM. An organisation newly admitted to consultative status that has paid annual membership dues during the year of admission shall be eligible to vote.

Donations: The CSVGC, its sub-committees and working groups, may accept donations, subject to the approval by the Officers, and will be accountable for the disbursements, and will provide an annual financial statement to the CONGO Board and to its own Members in a clear and transparent fashion on the utilisation of such funds;

Fundraising: The Officers may take steps to facilitate the raising of funds, including support for the establishment in accordance with national laws applicable at UN centres, or elsewhere as appropriate, for the purpose of promoting its aims within the United Nations system

To this end the Officers may decide to establish a Fundraising Group composed of a chairperson appointed by the Officers, the Treasurer, and at least two other members, for the purpose of:

To prepare guidelines for the raising of funds in the name of the Committee, the sub-committees or the working groups, and for reporting to the Officers and to the Members in a clear and transparent fashion on the utilization of such funds; 

The Fundraising Group shall arrange for a record to be maintained of in-kind contributions to the work of the Committee by officers and other members of the Committee.

Bank Accounts: The Committee shall maintain bank accounts in Geneva or other centres, as deemed necessary by the Officers.

The Treasurer shall prepare an annual financial report and an annual budget and submit report thereon to the Officers, to the next AGM and to CONGO. It is the Treasurer’s responsibility to hold the accounts of the Committee with receipts and account statements, regularly report to the Officers on income and outflow, pay CSVGC bills, prepare, mail out and monitor annual membership fees and to propose fundraising ideas.

Article 12 – Elections

Not less than 2 months before an AGM, and when elections are due, the Officers shall appoint 2 persons to serve as the Election Group, of whom not more than one shall be representatives of members of the Board. A member of the Election Group may not be a candidate and may not vote.

Not less than 2 months before an AGM, the Election Group shall invite nominations for election to the Officers from the Members (Art 5). Nominations must be proposed by a member organisation. The written consent of the nominated organisation must be received by the Election Group not later than the deadline set by the officers for nominations. No member organisation may propose a maximum of more than 5 organisations.  The Election Group shall prepare a list in alphabetical order of the organisations that have validly nominated candidates. To be valid each candidate must specify their willingness to serve.

The list of nominations shall be circulated to all Members at least 1 month prior to the AGM, and the Election Group shall at the same time draw attention to the interests which appear to them to be under-represented or not represented at all among the nominations received by the due date.  

Votes need to be received 14 days prior to the Election date

Members having consultative status with the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), having full membership status with CONGO and having paid their annual membership fees until the end of the previous financial year can appoint a delegate to stand for office and have one vote.  

Associate Members and absentee Members that have paid their annual membership fees until the end of the previous financial year shall not be eligible to hold office but have one vote.  

No Member is to hold more than one office on the Committee Board.

Article 13 - Voting

The Election Group shall:

a) By letter or e-mail  
• write to the Members giving date of AGM  
• asking for nomination of candidates for office of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Programme Coordinator. The Board, out of its own choice or asked by its membership, has flexibility in terms of choosing to have other officers.
• give all Members information on Officers’ duties, on Election and Voting procedures or make this available via the Committee’s website (http://www.csvgc-geneva.org/congo_rules.html)
• set date by which nominations have to be received by the Election Group
 
b) When nominations have been received, prepare and send by letter or e-mail the list of candidates for the position of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Programme Coordinator and any other office that might have been requested. This list shall give the names and member organization to which the candidate belongs.

c) Set date by which votes have to be received by the Election Group.

d) On receipt of votes prepare a list of candidates for the position of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Programme Coordinator and any other office which might have been requested. This list shall give the names and member organisation to which the candidate belongs together with the names of the nominating and supporting organisations.

e) Send not later than 7 days before the AGM a letter or e-mail to all members with the final list of the candidates that have been voted for.

i) At AGM: ask if there are any objections from the floor with regards voting procedures, votes or candidates and deal with them as required.

j) Files, archives, documents and all accounts inclusive of invoices and receipts  to be handed over to newly elected Officers.

Article 14 - Amendments

These Rules shall be binding on the AGM and may not be waived or otherwise departed from. The Rules can be amended only as provided hereunder.

A proposal to amend these Rules may be made by a Full Member. Only the AGM can decide upon any such proposal.
 
Proposed amendments shall be notified to the Council and shall be circulated to all Members of the CSVGC Committee at least three months before the AGM. In order to take effect a proposed amendment must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in the AGM.