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1.
Administrative Decision
on Selection, Engagement, and Operation
of a Kimberley Process Administrative Support Mechanism
Section VI of the Kimberley Process Core Document recognizes the necessity of
administrative support for the effective administration of the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme (KPCS). Pursuant to the 3 November 2011 “Amendment to the 2010 Administrative
Decision on the Establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee for Exploring the Modalities of
Enhancing the Efficiency of the Kimberley Process with a View to Provide Administrative
Support for its Activities “(AD 005/2011), and the Amendment to the AD of August 20,
2012 (AD 005/2012), the ad-hoc Committee on KPCS Review (CKR) explored possibilities
for providing administrative support to the KP in the form of an Administrative Support
Mechanism (ASM). The CKR engaged with international institutions, KP Participants and
KP Observers willing to perform the tasks identified by Plenary. Nothing in this AD
infringes upon the terms of reference for the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Kimberley
Process.
Engagement of the KP ASM
1. Plenary welcomes the CKR report on the outcome of its discussions with potential
ASMs.
2. Plenary instructs the KP Chair to sign with the host organization selected by the Plenary a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The purpose of the MOU is to set out the
mutual expectations of the KP and the ASM host organization, including with regard to
the services to be provided that are listed in the Work Description attached as Annex 1.
3. The MOU should specify that the ASM does not perform any policy work and that the
services provided are strictly administrative in nature, in line with Section VI of the
KPCS Core Document. The ASM does not carry out its own initiatives; it merely carries
out instructions and implementation of tasks as directed by the KP Chair or Working Group
Chairs. The KP Chair, Vice-Chair, and Working Group Chairs cannot assign the ASM any
other tasks than those described in Work Description attached as Annex 1.
4. The MOU would not be a legally binding instrument under either international or
domestic law and should be drafted to reflect that status. The substance of the MOU
should be the same as that in the draft text attached as Annex 2.
5. The MOU was circulated to all KP Participants and has been reviewed and approved by
consensus by the Plenary. The KP Chair and Vice-Chair, as representative[s] of the
Kimberley Process, should sign the MOU with the host organization. The KP Chair or
Vice-Chair may sign alone if the other is unable to sign the MOU, or if no Vice-Chair has
been selected. Should the KP Chair and Vice-Chair be unable to sign such a MOU, the
Plenary and/or the KP Chair may delegate to the Chair of a KP Working Group, Ad-Hoc,
or any other Committee the task of signing the MOU.

2.
6. This MOU would document the respective roles and expected responsibilities of the KP
representative(s) that sign the MOU and the host organization. The MOU should
include a transition provision to prevent any lapse between MOUs should Plenary decide
to extend the arrangement identified with the host organization for an additional year and
the KP Vice-Chair was not able to be a participant to the MOU for any reason.
Operation and Supervision of the KP ASM
7. The host organization is expected to appoint staff and operate according to the standard
operating procedures of that organization, including provisions addressing conflicts of
interest.
8. Staffing of the ASM would be the independent responsibility of the host organization
without the participation of the KP Chair, Vice-Chair, or any other KP Participant or
Observer.
9. The selected ASM host organization is expected to report to the KP Chair on an ongoing
basis and to the Working Group Chairs regarding tasks relevant to those Chairs on an as-
needed basis.
10. The selected ASM host organization is expected to provide all Participants and
Observers, through the KP Chair, a preliminary report of its activities at Intersessional
and a comprehensive report at Plenary of the relevant year.
Review, Renewal and End of the KP ASM
11. The MOU should provide that the original appointment of the ASM should be for an
expected one calendar year, subject to extension or discontinuation at the end of that
period. The Plenary may review the operation and necessity of the ASM after this initial
period and decide to renew the ASM arrangement for the following year(s).
12. The Plenary should instruct the KP Chair on whether to renew or end the ASM
arrangement with the host organization.
13. Should the Plenary instruct the KP Chair to renew the ASM arrangement and the KP
Vice-Chair is a participant to the MOU, the MOU should remain operative between the
Vice-Chair, as incoming Chair, and the host of the ASM, if the host has consented to
continuing the arrangement. The MOU should be modified accordingly and the
incoming Vice-Chair should become a participant to the MOU if they are able.
14. Should a new MOU be required for any reason, it should be the same in substance as the
previous MOU with the host organization unless changes are decided by Plenary.
15. To respond to identified needs of the KP, the Plenary may modify the Work Description
attached at Annex 1 or recommend that the KP Chair seek particular modifications to the
MOU arrangement.
16. In the event Plenary modifies the Work Description attached to the AD, the KP Chair
should get the consensus of the host organization to modify the Work Description

3.
attached to the MOU to incorporate the changes decided by Plenary, so that the ASM
would begin to provide any new services.
17. Should the Plenary instruct the KP Chair to end the MOU arrangement with the host
organization, the KP Chair should give the host organization [30] days advance written
notice.
18. Should the arrangement with the host organization end, Plenary would instruct the CKR
or another KP working body (hereafter “the Working Body charged with the selection
procedure”) to initiate the procedure described in the section below (Selection of the KP
ASM), which is based on the CKR’s methodology and process for selecting the first KP
ASM, to identify a suitable new host for an ASM.
Selection of a new KP ASM
19. The Working Body charged with the selection procedure, on instructions from Plenary,
would develop a Work Description for the ASM, based on the lessons learned from the
previous ASM’s implementation of the Work Description attached in Annex 1 and any
further modifications identified by Plenary.
20. The Working Body charged with the selection procedure would develop a Request for
Proposals (RfP) to solicit offers from international organizations, Participants and
Observers who can house the ASM. The RfP should include: the purpose of the RfP;
timelines for the key steps in the proposal and selection process (such as deadlines for the
submission of proposals, shortlisting of candidates, and interview dates); information
regarding confidentiality of the proposal and an overview of the evaluation process. The
Work Description should be included as an Annex to the RfP.
21. The Working Body charged with the selection procedure should undertake a suitable
means for soliciting proposals such as a closed or open bidding process.
22. The Working Body charged with the selection procedure should develop Evaluation
Criteria to standardize the evaluation of proposals and interviews.
23. The Working Body charged with the selection procedure should use this Evaluation
Criteria to undertake a review process to assess the potential Host Organizations and their
proposals and may require further information, in order to assess the suitability of the
proposal.
24. Based on the review process the Working Body charged with the selection procedure
should present a qualified candidate(s) to the Plenary for consideration.
Funding of the KP ASM
25. Any ASM budget proposal that would require an up-front payment that exceeds one year
of compensation should not be entertained;
26. Should a host organization require funding for hosting the KP ASM, the KP Chair would
circulate the proposed budget to KP Participants and Observers and:

4.
a. KP Participants and Observers would provide, on a voluntary basis, payments to
address the funding requirement;
b. The KP Chair should establish a threshold level of funding commitments that
should be met before the KP Chair enters into an MOU arrangement with the host
organization and before any payments are provided in order to avoid the parceling
off of tasks or incomplete tasks. The threshold should not be less than 50% of the
funds the host institution requires to provide services for a year;
c. Those Participants and Observers willing to provide funding for the ASM should
notify the KP Chair of the amount of funding they would provide. Once these
pledges have reached the identified threshold, those Participants and Observers
would provide the funding to the ASM through a suitable mechanism, such as a
multi-donor trust fund;
d. Provisions concerning funding and accountability to Plenary for use of funds
should be included in the MOU; and
e. The host organization should be accountable to Plenary for the funds they have
received and how they have been allocated to provide the services described in
the Work Description.
27. The above reflects the expectations of the Plenary regarding how funding of an ASM
could be organized. However, Plenary would need to revisit this issue in the event an
ASM seeks funding.
28. Should the host organization not require funding to host the KP ASM, the MOU should
reflect the fact that the host organization’s services to the KP would be provided free of
charge.

5.
Annex 1: Work Description for the Kimberley Process Administrative Support Mechanism
Introduction:
The Administrative Decision on the Administrative Support Mechanism (ASM) for the
Kimberley Process (November 2011) lists four tasks for the ASM. The following work
description is based on the tasks identified therein, with further detailed descriptions of the work
required.
The responsibilities of the ASM would be to support the KPCS through the maintenance of a
user-friendly and updated web site; facilitating communications to and among KP Participants,
Observers and other stakeholders, as assigned; providing logistical support to the KP Chair and
Working Group and Ad-Hoc Committee Chairs in planning intercessional, Plenary or other
working meetings (including support for the Working Group on Monitoring in administering the
peer review system), but not as a substitute for the KP Chair’s role in hosting and staffing the
intercessional and Plenary meetings; any other appropriate tasks as agreed by the Plenary or
requested by the KP Chair or a WG Chair (including responding to special requests for technical
support, training, etc.)
The ASM would operate under the direction of the KP Chair and the Chairs of all KP Working
Groups and Ad Hoc Committees. An annual report by the selected host organization to the KP
Chair and Plenary on how it has delivered the work assigned to it under the tasks indicated below
would be expected to be provided. Depending on logistical arrangements for the ASM, there
could be additional reporting by the ASM, as specified in a later decision by the Plenary,
including with regard to financial and budgetary results.
Task: Knowledge Management and Institutional Memory (on web site and otherwise; for
public view or for KP only view):
a. Collection and maintenance of all finalized KP documents reflecting decisions and
actions taken by the KP Chair, Plenary, working groups or Ad Hoc Working Groups.
This includes maintaining identification and contact information of all members of all
Working Groups and Ad Hoc Working Groups.
b. Collection and maintenance of all minutes of meeting of all Working Groups, Ad Hoc
Working Groups.
c. Collection and maintenance of all KP reports, including Participants Annual Reports,
Reports of Review Visits and Missions.
d. Collection and maintenance of all Participants’ implementing legislation, and a specimen
of KP Certificates with updated authorized signatures.

6.
e. Collection and maintenance of data pertaining to Participants’ contact/focal point for
import/ export confirmations and all other KP matters, including the submission of
statistical data to the KP statistics web site.
Task: Communications
a. Update and maintain KPCS web site, including by archiving and publishing meeting
communiqués and other public facing communications from the KP Chair.
b. Distribute notices from the KP Chair, other relevant information to Participants and
Observers regarding meetings (telephonic or in person).
c. Under the clear direction of the KP Chair, and for his use, prepare communications on
behalf of the KP Chair in response to inquiries from members of the public and the
media. The
ASM
would
not
serve
as
a
spokesperson
for
the
KP,
KP
Chair,
or
any
other
component
of
the
KP.
d. Facilitate communications between and among members of Working Groups and Ad Hoc
Working Groups.
Task: Logistical Support for KP Chair, Chairs of Working Groups and Ad Hoc
Committees
a. Assist KP Chair is planning Intercessional and Plenary meetings and any other meetings
organized to accomplish the work of the KPCS.
b. Assistance to the Chair of the Working Group on Monitoring in organizing review visits
or missions and any other logistical arrangements requested by the Chair of the Working
Group on Monitoring.
c. Encouraging the finalization and submission of annual reports, review visit reports,
review mission reports, or any other required reports or other written reports on activities
of any working body of the KPCS.
d. Follow up on implementation of agreed upon actions, decisions or any other undertakings
of any KPCS working body or the KP Chair.
Task: Requests for Technical and Professional Assistance
a. Receipt and analysis of requests for training, data, technical assistance or support,
research.
b. Referral of such requests to appropriate KP bodies for response or for provision of such
technical research or support.
c. Follow up of such referrals, with results provided and published, as appropriate.

7.
Additional considerations – criteria for personnel, appointment of personnel, budget
During the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee, discussions indicated that a “light,” simple
structure was contemplated. Experienced administrative professionals and the ability to interact
with a variety of stakeholders are required. Fluency in English and French is preferred.
Computer literacy required, and attention to detail and follow up is essential. A policy role for
this ASM is not envisaged.
This administrative support mechanism may be required to comply with procedures originating
in the host organization. Staffing of the ASM would be the independent responsibility of the
entity housing the ASM without the participation of the Ad Hoc Committee or any other KP
Participant of Observer. Confidentiality of data or other information pertaining to the KP or its
Participating Countries collected or maintained by the ASM is a high priority.

8.
Annex 2: Draft MOU between the KP Chair/Vice-Chair and the host of the ASM
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
[INSTITUTION X]
AS THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT MECHANISM,
AND [COUNTRY X] AND [COUNTRY Y]
AS [YEAR] CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR OF THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS
Section 1. Purpose
1. The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between [Institution X] as
host of the Administrative Support Mechanism (“ASM”) of the Kimberley Process
(“KP”) and [Country X] and [Country Y] as [year] Chair and Vice-Chair of the
Kimberley Process ( “KP Chair” or “KP Vice-Chair” respectively) is to set forth their
intentions regarding the provision of administrative support services to the KP and their
respective roles and responsibilities.
2. This MOU expresses the intentions of [Institution X] and the KP Chair and Vice-Chair
with respect to the matters addressed herein. It is not legally binding and does not
impose, and is not intended to impose, any legal obligations on [Institution X], the KP
Chair, the KP Vice-Chair or on any KP Participant. It does not infringe upon the terms of
reference for the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Kimberley Process.
Section 2. Cooperation
The operation of the ASM depends on full cooperation from the KP Chair, Working Groups, Ad
Hoc working groups, KP Participating Countries and Observers or any other working body of the
KP in order to perform its functions successfully.
Section 3. ASM Services
1. [Institution] X, as the ASM of the KP, intends to provide to the KP the services indicated in
the Work Description attached as Annex 1 to this MOU, in line with Section 6 of the Core
Document.
2. [Institution X] intends to favorably consider requests by the KP Chair, who would be acting
on instruction of the KP Plenary, to modify the Work Description attached at Annex 1 and
thus alter the services provided to better meet the needs of the KP.
3. [Institution X] will not make policy decisions in its role as ASM to the KP. Such decisions
are solely for the Plenary. The ASM does not carry out its own initiatives; it merely carries

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out instructions and implementation of tasks as directed by the KP Chair or Working Group
Chairs. The services it provides should be strictly administrative in nature.
Section 4. Administration
1. [Institution X] intends to provide sufficient staffing, funding, and other support to the
ASM as necessary to perform the services identified in Annex 1.
2. [Institution X] intends to provide a single ASM point of contact for communication with
the KP Chair and Working Group Chairs. This would not prevent direct communication
by Working Group Chairs, the KP Chair or Chairs of Ad hoc working groups to agencies
performing specific tasks pursuant to the job description.
3. [Institution X] intends to appoint staff for the ASM and operate the ASM according to the
already existing standard operating procedures of [Institution X], including provisions
addressing conflicts of interest.
4. Staffing of the ASM would be the independent responsibility of [Institution X].
5. [Institution X] intends to follow the principles and procedures set out in the 2010
Administrative Decision on Procedures for Respecting Confidentiality within the KP
when providing services as the ASM.
Section 5. Reporting and Oversight
1. Prior to the Intersessional meeting of the relevant calendar year, [Institution X] intends to
submit to the KP Chair and circulate to KP Participants and Observers an interim report
of its activities as ASM. The format of this interim report is addressed in [Annex X].
2. Prior to the Plenary meeting of the relevant calendar year, [Institution X] intends to
submit to the KP Chair and circulate to KP Participants and Observers a full report of
ASM activities since the previous Plenary meeting. Institution X may be asked to present
its report to Plenary. The format of this report is addressed in [Annex X].
3. [Institution X] intends to report regularly to the KP Chair regarding ASM activities and
take into account feedback from the KP Chair on the service the ASM is providing.
Section 6. Funding the ASM
[In the event [Institution X] does not require funding, the following provisions would be included:

10.
1. [Institution X] intends to provide the ASM services, as detailed in an Annex, to the KP free
of charge.
2. It is not the intention of [Institution X] or the KP Chair or Vice-Chair to create, and
nothing herein creates legal rights, or legal or monetary obligations. [Institution X] is
solely responsible for any and all monetary obligations relating to or arising from its
activities pursuant to this MOU.]
[If funding is required, the KP would take a decision on how that would be arranged and what
can be reflected in the MOU on this subject, including with regard to the need to provide Reports
to Plenary regarding funds received and how they have been allocated to provide the ASM
services.]
Section 7. General Terms and Conditions.
A. Duration
1. The MOU becomes operative [on DATE]. ASM services are expected to commence on
this date.
2. The MOU is discontinued on [DATE], unless [Institution X] and the KP Chair and Vice-
Chair, acting on the direction of Plenary, decide by consensus that the ASM arrangement
should continue for another year, in which case the MOU continues between [Institution X]
and the KP Vice-Chair with the understanding that the KP Vice-Chair has taken over the
role of KP Chair. Should the MOU continue in this manner, [Institution X] and the KP
Vice-Chair would modify the MOU to:
a. Remove the former KP Chair as a participant to the MOU;
b. Reflect the former KP Vice-Chair’s new role as KP Chair; and,
c. Allow the new KP Vice-Chair to become a participant in the MOU if they are
willing and able.
d. It is understood that in case of unforeseen circumstances or due to causes beyond
control, even after exertion of best efforts to prevent such failure, which failure may
include, but is not limited to, acts of God, fire or floods, war, riots, embargos,
strikes, or lock-outs, neither [Institution X] nor the KP Chair nor the KP Vice-Chair
would be expected to perform the tasks set out in the MOU or work description.
3. Should [Institution X] and the KP Representatives decide by consensus that the ASM
arrangement should continue for additional years, the MOU would continue in the manner
set out in the paragraph 2 (Duration) directly above where possible. In the event there is no
KP Vice-Chair participating in the MOU, or a new MOU is necessary for any reason, the

11.
existing MOU should continue until the date that a new MOU between a representative of
the KP and [Institution X] commences.
B. Modification
The MOU may be modified at any time by written consensus of the [Institution X] and the
KP Chair and Vice-Chair.
C. Consultations
[Institution X] and the KP Chair and Vice-Chair intend to resolve any disagreements
arising under this MOU in good faith through consultations. Should the ASM not act in
accordance with this MOU, the KP Chair and Vice-Chair may discontinue the MOU
according to Section E.
D. Discontinuation
[Institution X] and the KP Chair and Vice-Chair may discontinue this MOU at any time
and should endeavor to provide thirty (30) days’ advance written notice to the other side of
their intent to end the arrangement.
E. Non-disclosure
Each of the participants to this MOU understands that all writings, discussions, documents,
information of any kind to which they gain access through the operation of the ASM are
not to be disclosed to any third party outside the ASM or the KP.