Issued by the International Coordinating Committee
November 18, 2015
With 20 out of 27 members of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the ILPS present, Malcolm Guy, outgoing General Secretary opened the first meeting of the newly elected ICC on November 17, 2015. After the roll call of those present, Malcolm handed over the chairing of the meeting to Lyn Meza, the outgoing Auditor of the ICC.
Rafael Mariano, ICC member from the Philippines, volunteered to step down as regular member to become an alternate member instead in order to fulfill the rule that there can only be three full members to the ICC from the same country. Following the same rules, Bill Dores from the US automatically becomes a full member having the next most number of votes from among the newly elected alternate members.
Malcolm then explained the roles and responsibilities of the officers of the ICC. This was followed by the election of new officers to comprise the International Coordinating Group (ICG). They are as follows:
Prof. Jose Maria Sison, Chairperson
Len Cooper, Vice Chairperson
Florentino Lopez Martinez, Vice Chairperson for External Affairs
Antonio Tujan, Jr. ,Vice Chairperson for Internal Affairs
Malcolm Guy, General Secretary
Liza Maza, First Deputy General Secretary,
Bill Dores, Second Deputy General Secretary,
Veerle Verscheuren, Treasurer
Lyn Meza, Auditor
The ICC members assessed the substantive, technical and financial aspects of the assembly. The ICC was unanimous in describing the assembly as a resounding success, noting especially how it combined well with mobilizations and resistance actions. It was also highlighted that this is the first time the ILPS Assembly was widely covered by media.
The ICC members cited the large number of delegates and countries represented with a solid delegation from Latin America, and notable participation of delegates and guests from Palestine and Kurdistan. But the ICC also noted the smaller number of participants from the African region compared to the previous Assembly.
The ICC was informed by Ramon Bultron, ICC member from Hong Kong and Macau and part of the Host Country Committee, that not only were the expenses for the assembly well covered by the registration fees but a surplus was acquired that can then be added to the ILPS central fund. The ICC members also shared the positive feedback from delegates and guests about the Assembly. The ICC members were one in commending the Host Country Committee – the Philippines with support from Hong Kong and Macau — for a tremendous job of organizing the Assembly.
The ICC discussed possible issues and dates for internationally coordinated actions in the coming months; noted the need to better project ILPS; and discussed tools and mechanisms for campaign coordination. Malcolm presented the changes to the ILPS website, highlighting its multi-lingual and social media features. The ICC requested the secretariat to develop a plan for translation work to be presented at the next meeting.
The ICC examined, amended and approved the draft of the General Declaration and the Communiqué on the Fifth International Assembly (5IA) by way of summing up the Assembly from November 14 to 16.
The ICC approved the publication of the proceedings of the Fifth International Assembly, including the program of the assembly; keynote speeches; reports of the outgoing officers; the reports of the commissions; the regular and special resolutions; the General Declaration; the Communiqués on the assembly and ICC meeting; the lists of the outgoing and incoming members of the International Coordinating Committee, the International Coordinating Group, the commissions; the list of delegates, their organizations and countries; and Charter of the ILPS.
Two new applications for membership were approved.
The ICC decided that its next meeting would be in the first quarter of 2016 in The Netherlands.###