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Structure and institutions of La Francophonie
The Conference of Heads of State and Government, the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF), and the Permanent Council of la Francophonie (CPF), are La Francophonie’s two political bodies. At the top of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) is the Conference of Heads of State and Government.OIF is managed by the Secretary General.The Ministerial Conference of la Francophonie (CMF) regroups Ministers responsible for La Francophonie. It organises the Conference and makes recommendations on multitaleral action.Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF) is in charge of preparing the Conference under the authority of the Ministerial Conference.OIF also relies on four operating agencies to carry out its mandate – l’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Senghor University, l’Association internationale des maires francophones (AIMF), and TV5.
The International Organization of La Francophonie operates under the authority of political bodies that intervene at various decision-making levels:
Conference of Heads of State and Government of Countries Using French as a Common Language (commonly referred to as the Summit of La Francophonie)
The idea of holding a summit meeting of francophone heads of state and government took shape long before the first meeting was held in Paris in 1986 under the auspices of France. In the early 1960s, the then president of Senegal was among the first promoters. The idea was then taken up by leaders of Tunisia, Mauritania, Niger, and Cambodia.
The Summit of La Francophonie, the highest authority in La Francophonie, is held every two years. It is chaired by the Head of State or Government of the host country, who assumes that responsibility until the next summit.
The Summit rules on admission of new full-fledged members, associate members and observer members to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
It helps define the policies and goals of La Francophonie to ensure the organization has an influence on the world scene.
It adopts any resolution it deems necessary to ensuring that La Francophonie runs smoothly and meets its objectives. It elects the Secretary General.
The Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF)
Meets between the Summits to ensure political continuity. Since the Chaillot Summit in 1991, the foreign or francophone affairs ministers of member states and governments have met at the annual Ministerial Conference of la Francophonie.
The mission of the Conference is to ensure that the decisions made during the previous summit are carried out and to plan the next summit. The Conference is also responsible for recommending new members and observers to the summit and for deciding the nature of their rights and obligations.
The Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF)
Plans summits and ensures that its decisions are followed up. Chaired by the Secretary General of La Francophonie, it consists of the personal representatives of the heads of state and government participating in the summit. If need be, the Secretary General convenes an extraordinary session of the Council.
The CPF ensures that the decisions made by the Ministerial Conference are carried out, reviews allocation proposals for the Fonds multilatéral unique [single multilateral fund] (FMU), and carries out its facilitation, coordination and adjudication role. To that end, it calls on the following commissions: political commission, economic commission, cooperation/programming commission, and administrative/financial commission.
The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF)
is an institution founded on a shared language and set of common values. It brings together 55 member States and governments and has admitted 13 observers. It is active in the fields of international politics and multilateral cooperation.
The OIF was founded in Niamey, Niger on March 20, 1970, under the name of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation, later becoming the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie, which was succeeded in turn by the International Organization of La Francophonie in November 2005.
The International Organization of La Francophonie has two subsidiary bodies: the Energy and Environment Institute of La Francophonie, whose head office is in Quebec City in accordance with an agreement signed in 1988, and the New Information Technology and Distance Training Institute, in Bordeaux, created in 1999. The first body administers training, information and appropriate technology transfer programs related to energy and the environment, while the second looks after the OIF's new information and communications technology and distance training programs and initiatives.
The OIF has three regional offices: in Lomé, Togo, for West Africa; in Libreville, Gabon, for Central Africa; and in Hanoi, Vietnam, for the Asia-Pacific region.
The OIF is also responsible for the Games of La Francophonie, an initiative based on a suggestion made at the Quebec Summit. The Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers set up an international committee responsible for organizing the games every four years.
The Games of La Francophonie adopted an original format involving both sports and cultural events in order to create a genuine forum for exchanges between participants from member countries. The first games were held in Morocco (1989), followed by France (1994) and Madagascar (1997). Canada was privileged to host the fourth Games of La Francophonie, which took take place in the Ottawa-Hull region from July 14 to 24, 2001. The fifth Francophonie Games were held in Niger in 2005.
The Secretary General
, the keystone of the Francophonie's institutional structure, leads the OIF. Elected for a four-year term, he spearheads the Francophonie's political actions as well as serving as its spokesperson and official representative internationally.
Establishing this position was one of the most noteworthy acts of the reform started at the Cotonou Summit (1995) and concluded at the Hanoi Summit (1997). The Secretary General carries out his four-year mandate under the authority of the three main institutions of La Francophonie: the Summits, the Ministerial Conference and the Permanent Council. In addition to chairing the Permanent Council, the Secretary General is secretary to the three institutions and reports to the Summit of La Francophonie on the execution of his mandate.
The Secretary General is La Francophonie's international political spokesperson and official representative. In the event of an emergency, the Secretary General can refer crisis or conflict situations involving members of the organization to the Permanent Council and to the chairperson of the Ministerial Conference.
The Secretary General proposes to the Francophonie institutions priority areas for multilateral action. His job is to facilitate Francophone multilateral cooperation and to ensure that programs and activities of all operating agencies work in harmony.
The first Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, political spokesperson and official representative of the Francophonie internationally, was elected at the Hanoi Summit. Senegal's former President, Abdou Diouf, succeeded to this position in 2002 and was re-elected on September 29, 2006 for a second term by the 11th Francophonie Summit, held in Bucharest, Romania.
Consultative Assembly
The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie [Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie] [APF], created in Luxembourg in 1967, was given the status of Consultative Assembly of the Francophonie [Assemblée consultative de la Francophonie] at the Mauritius Summit in 1993. Consequently, it takes part in Summit proceedings, as well as those of the Ministerial Conference and the Permanent Council dealing with specific subjects.
The APF was founded at the instigation of countries like Canada, which wanted to expand the Francophonie' influence while demonstrating their cultural plurality. It brings together parliamentarians from 73 parliaments or interparliamentary organizations on the five continents. The Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario sections have independent status, as does the Canadian section.
Cooperation, stronger solidarity, democracy and human rights are the focal points of APF activity. Concrete initiatives include electoral observation missions, seminars, parliamentary internships and the Program to Support the Organization of Parliamentary Services in the Parliaments of Southern Countries, in which Canada takes an active part.
It chiefly works to promote and defend democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, the international influence of the French language, and cultural diversity. The APF does important work studying such subjects as political rights and freedoms, parliaments and communication, economics in the French-speaking world and decentralized cooperation, as well as education, the obstacles to dissemination of knowledge in Francophone countries, and the place of French in international organizations. The Assembly issues statements based on reports produced by its commissions.
The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) also adopts resolutions on subjects of interest to the French-speaking community in the political, economic, social and cultural fields. It also adopts opinions and recommendations intended for the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie and the Permanent Council of La Francophonie, and recommendations for the heads of state and government of countries using French as a common language.
The APF is chaired by Dr. Bernard Patry, a Canadian member of Parliament. The Honourable Andrée Champagne, Senator, chairs the Canadian section of the APF.
