Amnesty International USA

WHEREAS making available to our membership minutes of our AIUSA Board and its committees increases the transparency of the Board and our governance process; and

WHEREAS although the Board posts the minutes of full Board meetings on the Members page of our AIUSA website, it does not do so promptly and it does not post either committee minutes or documents that its minutes reference, making it difficult to understand certain Board decisions; and

WHEREAS notice of meetings and their agendas is necessary to give members the opportunity to exercise their rights to attend such meetings;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board publish its minutes and all minutes of its standing Committees (including the Executive Committee), on the Members page of the AIUSA website, within thirty (30) days in draft form and within seven (7) days of their approval in final form; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Directors be required to fulfill their stated responsibility to review and amend minutes as is currently required under Board policy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Secretary of the Board shall post on the Members page of the AIUSA website, and make available in written form upon request, the time, place, and agenda of every meeting (including the call-in number for those by conference call) of the Board and any Board committee at least 7 days in advance of such meeting; in an emergency situation, the General Secretary (with the concurrence of the Board Chair) may post such information less than 7 days prior to the meeting, as long as the announcement includes an explanation of the reasons for the short notice; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT any member will receive paper copies of minutes, agendas, and referenced documents upon request to the Board Office; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a broadcast-only listserv be created before the end of fiscal year 2004 for the sole purpose of informing members of board activity. This includes, but is not limited to, meeting notices, agendas and minutes. Board activity means full Board, Executive Committee and Standing Committees.