Proposed Revisions to the UNWA Constitution

Several UNWA members have proposed amendments to the Constitution. These were discussed at the Executive Board Meeting in May, and it was agreed that revisions would be drafted for review by the general membership. The aim of these amendments is to clarify the position of Bangladeshi ex-UN international staff and the UNWA Honorary President. The Board would like to discuss these revisions and put them to vote at the September GM or, if requests for subsequent revisions come up, at a later General Meeting. Please note that as stipulated in the UNWA Constitution the right to vote for constitutional amendments is granted only to Full Members. We would however welcome the comments and reactions of all members on the proposed changes. The amendments are underlined, below.

Article 2:

Definitions

Section 2.1.A.

UN Women:

UN women are defined as women who are professional staff or wives of the professional staff or dependent daughters of professional staff employed by the United Nations or one of its specialised agencies or United Nations affiliated organisations as defined in sections 2.5 and 2.6, provided that such women meet all of the following requirements:

  1. above eighteen (18) years of age

  2. are temporary residents in Bangladesh

  3. they, their spouses or parents are directly employed by the United Nations or its Specialised Agencies or Affiliated Organisations.

Section 2.1.A.

Former UN Women:

Former UN Women are defined as Bangladeshi nationals who meet at least one of the following requirements.

  1. United Nations professional women from Bangladesh who have worked abroad as professional staff of UN agencies for at least 10-15 years and are now settled in Bangladesh upon retirement.

  2. Wives or former wives of retired UN professional staff from Bangladesh who have worked abroad for at least 10-15 years and are now settled in Bangladesh.

Section 2.1.C.

Full members of UNWA:
Full Members of UNWA are women who meet the requirements of section 2.1.A. or 2.1.B. and have paid an annual membership fee to UNWA.

Section 2.2

Associate Members:
Associate Members are defined as women from the host country Bangladesh or women from the expatriate community in Bangladesh, as per the following categorisation and criteria:

Section 2.2.1.

Category 1: Associate Members are defined as Bangladesh nationals who can contribute to the objectives of UNWA.

Article 4

Membership

Section 4.2.

Honorary Members:

UNWA may elect or nominate Honorary members in exceptional circumstances. Honorary membership may be proposed by the UNWA Executive Board and shall be ratified by a simple majority of members at any general meeting of UNWA.

Honorary members shall normally not pay any membership fees or such other dues. Such members, however, will not be accorded any voting rights as set forth in Article 5. In cases where Honorary members wish to obtain voting rights, they will be requested to pay the established membership fees of the association.

Article 5

Voting and Voting Rights

Section 5.3.

The Honorary President and Honorary Members shall not be entitled to any voting rights unless they have obtained these rights through the payment of membership fees.

Article 6

Officers of UNWA and the Honorary President

Section 6.8.

The Executive Board of UNWA may invite and appoint an Honorary President who is the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations or the wife of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations, or in the absence of a Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative or the wife of the UNDP Resident Representative, so long as that person meets the qualifications for membership in UNWA. The Honorary President shall remain in office so long as she or her husband remains resident in Bangladesh as the Resident Co-ordinator of the United Nations.