Bureau of the Conference of the Parties
The
Conference of the Parties elects at each regular session its President as well
as five Vice-Presidents. These officers, each representing a WHO region,
constitute the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties. According to Rule 21 of
the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties, they shall commence their term of office at
the closure of the session and shall serve until the closure of the following
regular session of the Conference of the Parties, including for any intervening
extraordinary session.
The
current Bureau of the Conference of the Parties, elected by the Conference at
its Tenth Session on 5-10 February 2024 in Panama City, Panama, can be found
below. The order of the Vice-Presidents was drawn by lot at COP10.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties, the regional coordinators shall be allowed to observe the Meetings of the Bureau and perform the following functions:
liaise with the officer of the Bureau representing the region and facilitate consultations with the Parties in the region between the sessions of the Conference of the Parties with a view to informing the work of the Bureau and keeping Parties informed of the Bureau’s work;
receive working documents or proposals of the Bureau and ensure that they are circulated to the Parties in the region;
collect and send comments on such documents or proposals to the officer of the Bureau; and
act as a channel for the exchange of information, including a copy of invitations to the meetings for the implementation of the Convention, and coordination of activities with other regional coordinators.