[gnso-osc-ops] Re: GCOT Documents: Voting, Term Limits, and Absences

[Avri Doria <avri@xxxxxxx>]

Ken,

Are these the GCOT imperative/postions or your?

some comments:
On 31 Mar 2010, at 13:28, Ken Bour wrote:

> Ray and GCOT Members:
>  
> I would like to step through a few considerations to be sure that we are 
> looking at this absentee voting matter holistically. 
>  
> 1)  Two key principles underlying the GCOT's Abstentions procedures are:
>             a.  SG/Cs should not lose opportunities to have votes cast by 
> their Council representatives
>             b.  Voting denominators should never change; therefore, remedies 
> should always be available

a. is covered by the principle that all council members should attend all 
meetings and that the exception should be rare.

b. 'alwasy' is a strong word.  When was 'always' decided by this group?  i just 
saw that several of us agree that 'always' is not the requirement, using terms 
like legitimate reasons or dire circumstance.


>  
> 2)  The team went to great lengths to ensure that the above principles could 
> be honored for:
>             Volitional Abstentions
>            Obligational Abstentions
>             Absences (new Section 3.8)
>             Vacancies (raised by S. Metalitz in Nairobi and captured in the 
> revised Section 3.8)
>            

and isn't this far enough?  i think it goes too far now that you point it out 
this way.
...

>  
> 6)  Abstentions and associated remedies are permitted for all cases of 
> incidental absence.  If not, then each time a Councilor is absent, his/her 
> vote would not be cast and the SG/C's opportunity would be lost -- violating 
> a key principle.

it is not a key principle for this group.  it may be for you, but i do not 
believe the group has accepted it.  any argument that depends on this being a 
key principle is therefore not valid in my view.  

...

a.