Dear Claire,
reviewing the document submitted, there is one point in the INDIVIDUAL USER paragraph, beginning in the second page, that says "
Not be a member of an accredited ALS;". This contradicts the Individual Users Working Party suggested rules for Individual users already approved by ALAC almost two years ago. The suggested text is now "individuals in the Region who are not in a leadership position in an existing At-Large Structures (ALS)."
I have three other comments about the document, the first one concerning the same eligibility for INDIVIDUAL USER, and its: Be permanent residents in one of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean;In other RALOS they are accepting individuals of the Region, or permanent residents of the Region.
Second one, is about the IM ALS election, "Elect their representatives, incumbent and substitute, on an annual basis,", Most of the ALSs didn't change their representative in a yearly basis (i might say, none of the ALSs change the representative yearly), a two year term seems well enough to have rotation.
Final comment is about the weight of the vote, "Individual Member ALS vote is exercised by its representative and shall have a weighting equivalent to that of the ALS in LACRALO with the lowest weighting", this is equivalent to 1/8 or 1/10 (can't remember how many ALS does Argentina or Brazil actually have). As of now, this seems fair, considering there are less than 10 observers, but if you look at other regions, the individual users are now proportionally more involved than regular ALSs.
Sorry for these last minute comments, and also sorry for not entering the LACRALO meeting (is a very awkward time for me these days).
Regards
Ricardo Holmquist
EURALO Individual Members Association
Chair of the Board