24th UNWTO General Assembly | Procedure for proxies
30 November - 3 December 2021, Madrid - Spain
In light of the currently evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related worldwide restrictions of gatherings, the access to the venue of the session is limited to the Head of Delegation plus 2 persons.
If a Full Member is unable to participate in the General Assembly, it can be exceptionally represented by a member of another State’s delegation, provided it submits a formal letter or fax signed by the competent authority designating the individual who will represent it and, if applicable, giving him/her the power to vote on its behalf. Please note that, unless the items for which the power to vote is given are clearly specified, it will be understood that the delegate has full powers to cast a vote on behalf of the government he/she is representing by proxy on any agenda item.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the General Assembly, at its twentieth session, adopted resolution 633(XX), which stipulates the following regarding mandates for representation:
- A mandate for representation can be given only in exceptional circumstances, duly explained in writing by the State giving the mandate;
- The Credentials Committee will assess the validity of these explanations;
- Only one mandate for representation may be given to a delegate representing another State;
- A mandate for representation may not be given to the Head of Delegation of another State; and
- The mandate for representation is valid for the whole session of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly, at its twenty-first session in Medellín, Colombia, in 2015 (resolution 649(XXI)) decided the following:
- The Credentials Committee will consider as invalid credentials in breach of the principle of secrecy of the vote;
- Once the Report of the Credentials Committee is issued, no further credentials or proxy letters will be considered by the Committee except:
- When the Committee itself has invited the Full or Associate Member concerned to regularize its credentials or its proxy; and
- When a State whose credentials have been accepted by the Committee does not have a representative for the remaining part of the session for reasons duly explained in writing by the State giving the mandate; in such case, the Committee will assess the existence of the exceptional circumstances justifying the proxy;
- The Chairs of the Regional Commissions will verify that the credentials and proxy letters comply with the applicable rules.
