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U.S. Department of State  Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Charter of the Department of State's Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy I. Purpose The purpose of the Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee") shall be to serve the Secretary of State (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") in an advisory capacity with respect to the U.S. Government's labor diplomacy programs administered by the Department of State. The committee will provide advice to the Secretary and the President. The Department of State will work in close partnership with the Department of Labor to enhance the Committee's work and U.S. labor diplomacy activities. Specifically, the Committee shall advise the Secretary on the resources and policies necessary to implement labor diplomacy programs efficiently, effectively and in a manner that ensures U.S. leadership before the international community in promoting the objectives and ideals of U.S. labor policies now and in the 21st century. The Committee shall be comprised of prominent persons with expertise in the area of international labor policy and labor diplomacy who shall provide advice and recommendations on how to strengthen the Department of State's ability to respond to the many challenges facing the United States and the federal government in international labor matters. These challenges include the protection of worker rights, the elimination of exploitative child labor, and the prevention of abusive working conditions, all of which have assumed even greater importance within the context of increasingly globalized and interdependent economic and labor markets. The creation of this Committee emphasizes the vital importance to the U.S. national interest of international labor issues and their impact on global social and political stability. These issues require a commensurate national response, first and foremost including the strengthening and institutional enhancement of U.S. labor diplomacy. II. Authority The Committee is established under the general authority of the Secretary and the Department of State as set forth in Title 22 of the United States Code ("U.S.C."), in particular Sections 2651a of that Title. The approval of this Charter by the Under Secretary of State for Management constitutes a determination by the Secretary that establishment of this Committee is in the public interest. III. Membership and Organization A. Membership The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor shall be ex-officio members of the Committee, who shall work in close partnership to assure the success of the Committee. The Committee membership shall include no more than eight (8) U.S. public members, to be appointed by the Secretary of State. The term of membership shall be for the duration of its Charter, except that the Secretary may, at her or his sole discretion, remove or replace members at any time. The public members shall be representatives of organizations and institutions having an interest and expertise in the subject and a commitment to seeing that sufficient resources and effective attention are devoted to international labor policy and labor diplomacy. Federal officials with an interest in and responsibility for the conduct of labor diplomacy will be able to attend Committee meetings as non-voting participants. The composition of the public members on the Committee shall be balanced in terms of the points of view represented and may include representatives of labor unions; representatives of employer and business groups; representatives of non-Governmental institutions and private organizations; and representatives of academic and public institutions. B. Designation of Officers The Secretary shall appoint a Chairperson, who will chair Committee meetings when the Secretary is unable to attend a meeting. The Chairperson can designate any other Committee member to chair temporarily Committee proceedings. The Secretary shall appoint a Designated Federal Officer ("DFO"), who shall be an employee of the bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and labor and who will attend and keep records of all meetings. C. Establishment of Study Groups The secretary, the Chairperson, or the DFO may establish study groups composed of Committee members to provide assistance to the Committee as necessary. The study groups may also include federal employees with specialized knowledge who are not members of the Committee. The Secretary, the Chairperson, or the DFO may terminate any study group established pursuant to this Charter. D. Support Functions Support functions for the operation of the Committee and its study group shall be provided by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the Department of State, and other offices as required. IV. Operations A. Functions of Officers In addition to the responsibilities specified above, the DFO shall serve in accordance with Sections 10(e) and (f) of the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. II Sections 1-15, as amended ("FACA"), must approve or call the meetings of the Advisory Committee, must prepare and approve the agenda, must attend the meetings, and shall adjourn the meetings when such adjournment is in the public interest. The DFO shall also arrange for the keeping of minutes of each meeting of the Committee. The Chairperson shall certify to the accuracy of the minutes and provide a copy to the Department of State's Committee Management Officer ("CMO"). The minutes shall include the following items: the time, date, and place of the meetings; a listing of Committee and subsidiary group members and agency employee present at the meeting; a description of matters discussed and conclusions reached by the Committee; copies of all reports received, issued or approved by the Committee; a description of the extent to which the meeting was open to the public; an explanation of the extent of public participation, including a list of members of the public who presented oral or written statement; and an estimate of the number of members of the public who attended the meeting. The last three items will not be included when the determination to close or partially close the meeting (as described in Article IV. B of this Charter) has been made. B. Meetings It is anticipated the Committee will meet as necessary -- approximately twice a year -- to provide the advice requested by the Secretary of Chairperson and that its study groups will meet as necessary. No quorum is required. All committee meetings will be open to the public up to the limits of the capacity of the meeting room, unless a determination has been made in accordance with Section 10 (d) of FACA that a meeting or a portion of a meeting should be closed to the public. Such determination shall be forwarded to and signed, as delegated, by the Department of State's Chief Financial Officer and maintained by the Department's CMO. Timely notice of each Committee meeting, stating the name of the Committee, the time, place, and purpose of the meeting, a summary of the agenda, and whether the meeting is open to the public shall be published in the Federal Register. Such notice shall be given at least 15 days in advance of the meeting date except when shorter notice is authorized in exceptional circumstances. C. Reporting The Committee shall report to the secretary of State. The DFO, through appropriate channels, will provide the President with a report of the Advisory Committee's activities as required by the FACA. D. Records The records of the Committee will consist of all papers and documents pertinent to its establishment and activities, including its Charter, agenda, determinations, for closed meetings, minutes, reports and all documents related to its proceedings. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying to the extent required by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552b, at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the Department of State. E. Functions of the Committee The Functions of the Committee shall be advisory, and any determination or action to be taken on the basis of Committee recommendations shall be made by appropriate officers of the United States Government. The Committee shall offer recommendations on issues agreed upon by the Committee with regard to strengthening U.S. labor diplomacy and promoting the international labor policies of the United States. V. Funding A. All funding necessary for the organization and operation of the Committee shall be provided by the Department of State. B. The members of the Committee shall serve without compensation, but may be allowed travel expenses to the extent authorized by 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5703. C. The estimated operation costs of the Committee during the duration of this Charter are approximately $42,000 in Fiscal Year 1999 and $57,000 in Fiscal Year 2000 and the cost of 0.5 FTE (full time equivalent). VI. Termination The Committee shall terminate two years from the date this Charter is filed, unless it is renewed or extended by appropriate action prior to the date. The Secretary of State will consider the views of the Committee members in making a renewal or extension determination. NOW, THEREBY, this Charter shall be considered approved by the Department of State as of this date and shall be provided to the appropriate standing committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives having legislative jurisdiction for the Department of State and to the Library of Congress pursuant to the provisions of the FACA. Approved: _____________________________ Bonnie R. Cohen Under Secretary Of State for Management Date: May 20, 1999 [end of document] Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy | Labor Homepage | Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |