General Assembly
Role
The role of the General Assembly is to:
- review HAP’s operations by approving the financial report, budget and auditor’s report
- receive and approves the Board’s annual report
- formulate fundamental policy principles and objectives and review policy-making
- review the HAP accountability principles
- appoint working groups and committee members, delegate tasks and review progress on delegated tasks
- elect board members.
Composition
The General Assembly comprises independent members of the Board and all HAP members. Members are either Full Members or Associate Members.
Full Members
Full members of HAP are entitled to attend, speak and vote at meetings of the General Assembly. Representatives of Full Members are also eligible for election to the Board. They can nominate others to the Board and lodge proposals with the Secretariat and participate in working groups and committees.
However, Full Members also have special duties:
- implementing HAP’s Accountability Principles
- preparing an Accountability Work Plan, with timescales, benchmarks, budget and support needs
- monitoring and annual reporting to the HAP Secretariat on activities and progress made vis-à-vis the Accountability Work Plan
- participation in HAP’s “New Emergencies Policy”
- reporting to HAP on the process and outcome of complaints handling procedures
- paying an annual membership fee (as assessed)
Moreover, Full Membership of HAP is limited to organizations:
- whose core activities, or whose members’ core activities, include operational relief and humanitarian assistance activities
- are legally registered or recognised as a not for profit organisation in the country where it has its Headquarters
- meets the requirements for financial accountability under the law in the country where it has its Headquarters.
Read the current list of
Full Members.
Associate Members
Agencies that do not meet these criteria for full membership, may nonetheless become Associate Members.
Associate Members have the same rights as full members except that they may not vote at general meetings and their representatives may not stand for the Board.
To be eligible for Associate Membership of HAP, an agency simply has to show that its activities and management practices are consistent with and supportive of the vision, purposes and objectives of HAP.
Read the current list of Associate Members.
Children at a Muslim Aid distribution point, Bangladesh March 2008
"The best thing of all is that the office of Tearfund is here. In some projects which have been coming to interview people and maybe give them some help, people normally don't know where to meet the staff, they only see them once when the project leaders come, conduct something, and then they go but with Tearfund the office is just near and people can contact then there and the feedback is normally very easy to receive - that's the best part of it."
Anna-Maria Aliaro lives in Korr, North Kenya, where Tearfund ran a programme from June 2006 to October 2007 in response to the drought.