Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Distribution: General

C/01-00/RES/04/Rev. 2

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

Guadalajara, 29 June 2001

Terms of Reference for the Expert Advisory Board on Children’s Health and the Environment in North America

THE COUNCIL:

Reaffirming its commitment to work to better protect children’s health from environmental threats;

Encouraged by the outcomes of Mexico’s First National Workshop on Children’s Health and the Environment, organized jointly by Semarnat and Mexico’s Ministry of Health and held in Mexico City on 21-22 June 2001;

ALSO ENCOURAGED by the priority accorded to the interrelationship between environment and human health by the environment ministers of the Americas at their meeting in Montreal on 29-30 March 2001;

Looking ahead to the trilateral workshop in fall 2001 as a key step to further develop the cooperative agenda for action on children’s health and the environment in North America;

Committed to continuing to build a children’s health perspective into key areas of the CEC work program, in order to advance the protection of children’s health from lead and other toxic substances, air pollution and its effects, including asthma, and other environmental threats;

Recognizing the important linkages between environmental improvement and public health protection, and the necessity of enhancing those linkages;

Taking note of the directions set forth in Council Resolution 00-10, in particular, the decision to form an expert advisory board composed of environmental and health experts to advise Council on issues concerning children’s health and the environment;

HEREBY:

APPROVES the attached Terms of Reference to guide the work of the Expert Advisory Board on Children’s Health and the Environment in North America (Expert Advisory Board); and

WELCOMES the involvement and advice of the Expert Advisory Board in guiding the further development and implementation of the cooperative agenda to protect children in North America from environmental threats to their health.

APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL:

________________________________

Victor Lichtinger
Government of the United Mexican States

________________________________

Karen Redman
Government of Canada

________________________________

Christine Todd Whitman
Government of the United States of America

Expert Advisory Board on

Children’s Health and the Environment in North America

Terms of Reference

1. Official Designation (Title):

Expert Advisory Board on Children’s Health and the Environment in North America

2. Mandate:

As called for in Council Resolution 00-10, and for a period of two years following its establishment, the Expert Advisory Board on Children’s Health and the Environment in North America (“Expert Advisory Board”) is to provide the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Council with advice and recommendations on issues related to environmental threats to children’s health in North America.

3. Description of Expert Advisory Board Work:

§         Develop options and recommendations and provide advice to the Council on children’s environmental health issues, including priority areas for the CEC work program.

• Participate in CEC events related to children’s environmental health.

4. Reporting Structure

The Expert Advisory Board will officially report to the Council and will maintain regular contact with the Trilateral Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) Team, an ad hoc group of government representatives from each Party to the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), tasked with the implementation of Council Resolution 00-10.

5. Membership

a. Composition

The Expert Advisory Board will have nine members, consisting of three members from each country that is a Party to the NAAEC.

b. Criteria for Membership

• Members of the Expert Advisory Board will have expertise relevant to children’s health and the environment, from one or more relevant disciplines such as: pediatrics, oncology, neuro-behavioural science, genetics, toxicology, epidemiology, environmental sciences, biology, law, policy, Aboriginal issues, etc.
• Members will be recognized authorities in their field.

c. Chair

The Chair will be selected and will serve by consensus among Expert Advisory Board members. A member may be selected to serve as Chair for the entire two year period or on a rotating basis, as mutually agreed upon by Expert Advisory Board members.

d. Compensation

Members of the Expert Advisory Board will serve on a voluntary basis.

6. Operating Principles

• The Expert Advisory Board will seek to make recommendations on substantive issues by consensus. In cases where consensus cannot be reached, the Expert Advisory Board may put forth options for consideration. Differences of opinion, and the reasons for those differences, will be duly noted in meeting summaries and other Expert Advisory Board documents.
• Expert Advisory Board members will carry out their duties in their capacity as individual experts, and will not represent or act on behalf of their organizations or governments, to the extent permissible under any applicable domestic laws.
• All documents generated by, recommendations and other outputs of the Expert Advisory Board will be made publicly available. Members of the public will be given the opportunity to provide comments on Expert Advisory Board recommendations and outputs, as appropriate.

7. Meetings

• The Chair, assisted by the CEC Secretariat, will convene Expert Advisory Board meetings.
• The Expert Advisory Board will meet at least twice per year, and should meet prior to the annual Regular Session of Council.
• Meetings may take place in person or via teleconference.
• Minutes will be kept for all Expert Advisory Board meetings.
• A quorum of at least two of the three members from each country must participate in Expert Advisory Board meetings.

8. Languages

The three official languages of the CEC are English, French, and Spanish. Interpretation and translation will be provided in accordance with CEC policies.

9. Travel

The CEC Secretariat will arrange for official travel of Expert Advisory Board members, taking into account budgetary constraints and in accordance with the CEC Travel Policy, the domestic laws of the Parties and to the extent authorized by each Party.

10. Task Groups

The Expert Advisory Board may establish task groups comprised of its members for the purpose of focusing the work of the board on specialized topics of children’s health and the environment.

11. Standards of Conduct

• Expert Advisory Board members shall not directly or indirectly solicit or accept gifts from any source that would compromise their independence and integrity as Expert Advisory Board members.
• Expert Advisory Board members shall safeguard from public disclosure any information received in their capacity as Expert Advisory Board members, where the information is designated by its source as confidential or proprietary.
• Expert Advisory Board members shall not use for personal gain information acquired in their role as Expert Advisory Board members, unless such information is in the public domain or unless authorized by the Council.

Terms of Reference for the Expert Advisory Board on Children’s Health and the Environment in North America