VII. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

7.1 General Assembly

The General Assembly meeting of the GFMD shall take place every year.

7.2 Sovereign body

The General Assembly is the sovereign body of the GFMD and brings together all members, as well as partners and supporters, provided that only general members have the right to vote at General Assembly meetings.

The General Assembly:

• Receives a report on GFMD activities of the Steering Committee and Secretariat and the activities of subcommittees

• Approves annual financial report, including remuneration of members of the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee, the appointment of auditors or representatives and their fees, and the annual budget

• Deals with appeals from decisions of the Steering Committee

• Is the only body that has the power to amend this Constitution

• Confirms the election of the members of the Steering Committee at the fourth annual General Assembly meeting to take place since the incumbent Steering Committee was elected

7.3 General Assembly meetings

The timing and programme of the General Assembly will be prepared by the Steering Committee in consultation with the GFMD membership and with support from the Secretariat.

Notice of the timing and location of a General Assembly meeting will be provided to members, partners and supporters at least 60 days before the meeting.

The programme for a General Assembly meeting will be circulated at least 14 days before the meeting and all general members will be able to comment on it.

When a General Assembly occurs in a year when the Steering Committee is not up for election, the meeting will be held online.

The Chairperson shall chair the General Assembly meeting.

The Deputy Chairperson chairs the General Assembly in the absence of the Chairperson.

Meetings of the General Assembly require no attendance quorum and decisions are made by a simple majority of votes.

7.4 Attendance and participation

All general members have the right to attend and participate in the General Assembly meeting.

When a General Assembly falls on a year when the Steering Committee is up for election, every effort shall be made to ensure that all interested general members are able to attend in person.

When a General Assembly falls on a year when the Steering Committee is not up for election, provision shall be made for an online meeting to enable general members to participate and vote virtually.

Affiliate members, partners, institutional and individual supporters shall be invited to attend and participate in any additional programming - conferences, meetings or other activities - that may take place around a General Assembly meeting but they are not able to take place in the functions of the General Assembly as outlined in this Constitution.

7.5 Voting at General Assembly meetings

Where a matter is put to a vote at a General Assembly meeting, unless otherwise provided for by this Constitution, each general member shall be entitled to one vote and the matter shall be decided by a simple majority vote.

The above shall also apply to any matter which is appealed to the General Assembly. All decisions of the General Assembly are communicated to members through the GFMD member-only mailing list.