REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
GANHRI General Meeting
Geneva, Switzerland
7 March 2017
1
Content
Presentation / 11. Finance update of 2016 / 2
2. Status of subscription fees payment of 2016 / 3
2.1 Subscription fee payment / 3
2.2 Fee waiver/reduction requests / 5
3. Finance update of 2017 / 6
4. Status of subscription fees payment of 2017 / 7
4.1 Subscription fee payment / 7
4.2 Fee waiver/reduction requests / 8
5. Final comments / 9
1
REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
GANHRI General Meeting
Geneva, Switzerland
7 March 2017
PRESENTATION
The Finance Committee presented its most recent reports at the 29th General Meeting held on 22 March 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the meeting of the GANHRI Bureau held on 12 October 2016 in Berlin, Germany.
The aim of this report is to provide updated data on the finances of GANHRI from March 2016 to date.
The Finance Committee is composed of the NHRIs of Great Britain, India, Morocco and Mexico, chaired by the latter.
The NHRI of Great Britain replaced the NHRI of Germany in the Committee, on behalf of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, after the National Institution of Germany assumed the Chair of GANHRI in March 2016.
Our appreciation to the Committee members for their willingness to support the work carried out by this Chair.
The Chair of the Finance Committee also appreciates the collaboration of the GANHRI Chairperson and her team in carrying out its activities.
1. FINANCE UPDATE OF 2016
According to the financial information provided by the GANHRI Chair, in 2016, revenues were obtained for CHF 437,053.18, an amount greater than that received in 2015.
These revenues came from:
Payment of 2016 subscription fees / Payment of subscription fees from previous years / Donations(UNDP, OHCHR, Danish Institute)
291,000.00 CHF / 20,000.00 CHF / 126,053.18 CHF
In accordance with the bank statements, at December 31, 2016, the GANHRI accounts presented the following balances:
Swiss francs / US dollars / Euros186,163.81 / 129,311.16 / 139,029.75
And the capital of the association was:
Swiss francs323,195.47
Expenses in 2016 amounted to CHF 424,413.93, an increase of CHF 125,505.92 higher than that of 2015 and 47.6% higher than that foreseen in the budget, which was CHF 287,500.00.
The expenses that showed the largest increases were:
Personnel expenses / Operating expenses / General expenses214,798.47 CHF / 141,705.09 CHF / 5,840.56 CHF
The report by the Auditor on the financial year ended December 31, 2016, states that the examined information is in conformity with GANHRI Statute.
The Balance Sheet and the Statement of Profit and Loss prepared by the accountant of the association, corresponding to the year 2016, are attached (Annex 1).
2. STATUS OF SUBSCRIPTION FEES PAYMENT OF 2016
2.1 Subscription fee payment
According to available information, at February 15, 2017, of 74 NHRIs with an A status that currently integrate GANHRI, 59, ie, 79.7%, have paid the membership fee corresponding to 2016.
It should be noted that the amount received for the payment of subscription fees was higher than that obtained in 2015.
Payments by region were presented as follows:
Europe
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2016 * / Percentage25 / 25 / 100%
* The NHRIs of Azerbaijan and Ukraine were granted reduction of payment.
Asia-Pacific
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2016* / Percentage15 / 14 / 93.3%
* The NHRI of Samoa requested a fee waiver.
Americas
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2016* / Percentage15 / 10 / 66.6%
* The NHRIs of Colombia and Peru requested a fee waiver and the NHRI of
Bolivia was granted reduction of payment.
Africa
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2016* / Percentage19 / 10 / 52.6%
* No NHRI requested a fee waiver/reduction of payment.
The Finance Committee notes with concern that the regions of America and Africa are those that pay the least membership. Accordingly, the Chair of the Finance Committee proposes two immediate actions to try to remedy this situation:
1. Strengthen the participation of the Regional Coordinators in order to encourage NHRIs to comply with the payment of the membership or to request the corresponding fee waiver or reduction within the period established by the Guidelines for the determination of fee waivers.
2. Consolidate the independence of the National Institutions, since the lack of payment of the membership evidences the lack of sufficient economic resources to carry out their activities.
2.2 Fee waiver/reduction requests
During 2016, the Finance Committee presented to the GANHRI Bureau the recommendations on fee waiver/reduction requests from Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Ukraine.
The GANHRI Bureau approved those recommendations at its two meetings in Geneva and Berlin, as follows:
NHRI / Fee waiver for the year / Fee reduction for the yearAzerbaijan / 2016
Bolivia / 2016
Colombia / 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016
Costa Rica / 2014 and 2015
Peru / 2012, 2013 and 2016
Ukraine / 2016
In November 2016, the Finance Committee Chair received a fee waiver request for 2016 of the NHRI of Samoa.
The Finance Committee considered the above request and yesterday, at the meeting of the Bureau of GANHRI, presented its recommendation in favor of granting the fee waiver.
3. FINANCE UPDATE OF 2017
At the last meeting of the Bureau of GANHRI in Berlin, Germany, it was approved the budget of the association for 2017.
According to the bank statements, at February 16, 2017, the GANHRI accounts presented the following balances:
Swiss francs / US dollars / Euros212,587.80 / 135,123.98 / 126,584.49
4. STATUS OF SUBSCRIPTION FEES PAYMENT OF 2017
4.1 Subscription fee payment
Until February 15, 2017, of 74 NHRI with A accreditation, 17, or 22.9%, have paid the membership fee corresponding to 2017.
Since we are at the beginning of the year, this Finance Committee is confident that it will be possible for most of the members of GANHRI to comply with the payment of 2017.
Payments by region have been presented as follows:
Asia-Pacific
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2017* / Percentage15 / 7 / 46.6%
* The NHRI of Samoa requested a fee waiver on February 15.
Africa
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2017 / Percentage19 / 4 / 21.05%
Europe
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2017 / Percentage25 / 5 / 20%
Americas
Members with an A status / They paid subscription 2017 / Percentage15 / 1 / 6.6%
* The NHRI of Colombia requested a fee waiver.
4.2 Fee waiver/reduction requests
At its last meeting in October 2016, the GANHRI Bureau approved the recommendation proposed by the Finance Committee for the GANHRI Chair to send a communication to the Presidency of the Republic and to the Congress of Colombia in order to raise awareness of the need for the NHRI to have a budget to meet its international commitments.
In compliance with the recommendation, the Chair of GANHRI addressed a letter in January 2017 to the Director of International Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, requesting the signing of a protocol of understanding to enable Colombia to carry out the payment of the GANHRI membership from the budget of the NHRI.
This Finance Committee will be attentive to the information of the GANHRI Chair on the subject.
In December 2016, the Chair of the Finance Committee received the request for a waiver of the membership fee of 2017 of the NHRI of Colombia.
Since the NHRI of Colombia did not attach the complete documentation to support its request, this Chair of the Finance Committee required the NHRI to provide the necessary information to process its request. The NHRI of Colombia provided the information.
The Finance Committee considered the above request and submitted a recommendation in favor of the fee waiver before the GANHRI Bureau, at its meeting held yesterday.
5. FINAL COMMENTS
During the preparation of this report, the Chair of the Finance Committee noted the difficulties represented by the transition to a new administration in GANHRI. Therefore, it suggests that the Bureau analyze the possibility of establishing mechanisms within the association that facilitate this transition every change of Chair.
The Chair of the Finance Committee encourages the participation of NHRIs from all regions in the activities of GANHRI, and therefore suggests that, through the Regional Coordinators, this participation of different NHRIs from each region be promoted in each position of our association. Plurality is an asset of our association.
The National Human Rights Commission of Mexico is honored to chair the Finance Committee and to contribute to the strengthening of NHRIs in the world.
The Chair of the Finance Committee reaffirms its commitment to continue collaborating with the Chair of GANHRI, in compliance with the mandate it has received from the Bureau and the General Assembly.
Mr. Luis Raul Gonzalez-Perez
Chairman of the Finance Committee
1