This Working Paper has been prepared to provide the basis for the establishment of the RCA Regional Office (RCARO or simply the Office) in the Republic of Korea.

Korea offered to host the RCARO at the 22nd RCA National Representatives Meeting (NRM) in Mumbai, India, in March 2000. RCA Member States (MSs) welcomed Korea’s offer and supported their proposal. The establishment and opening of the RCARO was agreed upon in principle and adopted by consensus of the MSs at the 23rd National RCA Representatives Meeting (NRM) at Dhaka, Bangladesh in March 2001 and also the 30th RCA General Conference Meeting (GCM) in Vienna in September 2001.

The Office was officially opened on 27 March 2002 in Korea on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the RCA Agreement and the 24th Meeting of National RCA Representatives.

In the RCA records, it is noted that there was a suggestion to establish an RCA Office in the region during the National RCA Representatives Meeting in Vienna in 1978. However, it did not gain support then because the level of the RCA programmme was too small to warrant it.

At the 19th RCA NRM in Yangon, Myanmar in March 1997, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the RCA Agreement, the establishment of an RCA Regional Office was strongly proposed as one of the measures to increase ownership of the programme by the RCA MSs. This was clearly reflected in the RCA Vision Statement that also recommended other new initiatives such as the introduction of the Lead Country (LC) concept, the implementation of a thematic sector programme, the utilization of Regional Resource Units (RRUs), and the adoption of the RCA Guidelines and Operating Rules.

The issue of an RCARO has been revisited at each of the RCA NRMs since the Yangon meeting. At the 22nd RCA NRM in Mumbai in March 2000 and at the 29th RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2000, Korea proposed to host the RCARO, if established in that country, and promised to provide necessary operating budget, including the salary of the Director, if he/she is a Korean. The RCA MSs welcomed Korea’s generous offer. However, the role and functions of the Director needed amplification, and also the issue of the financial support for the Director, if he/she is not a Korean, needed additional consideration.

At the 29th RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2000, MSs requested Korea to draft a Working Paper together with Australia that would provide a basis for the establishment and operation of an RCARO in Korea.

At the 23rd RCA NRM in Dhaka, Bangladesh in March 2001, the RCA MSs again expressed their support for the Korean proposal and the 30th RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2001 formed a Task Force to prepare a Working Paper for its adoption in September 2001.

At the 30th RCA GCM, MSs agreed in principle on the establishment of the RCARO in Korea in early 2002 but as an interim operation, until necessary legal provisions were prepared. The 30th RCA GCM requested Korea to prepare for the opening of the RCARO during the 24th RCA NRM, particularly as Korea would host this at the time of the 30th Anniversary of the RCA.

A Task Force consisting of the seven RCA MSs (Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines) was constituted at the 23rd RCA NRM in Dhaka, Bangladesh in March 2001. It was tasked to prepare a Working Paper on the Establishment of the RCARO. Australia and Korea were again requested to take the lead. The IAEA/RCA Coordinator was requested to provide advice. However, at the 30th RCA GCM, a further review of the Working Paper was requested so that several other comments made at the 24th RCA NRM in Korea could be addressed.

Until a Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) could be constituted, an interim Advisory Committee (AC) has been established at the 24th RCA NRM in Korea to support the RCARO entering into its mandated functions. IAC members are the three Chair MSs (India, Bangladesh, Korea) at the time for the establishment of the RCARO was in principle agreed (23rd RCA NRM, Dhaka, March 2001). Australia and Korea were requested to be the lead members for the AC and China was requested to be a member representing all other MSs. In addition, the IAEA/RCA Coordinator was also requested to be a member but without voting rights.

The AC had its first meeting in Vienna during 31 July ? 2 August 2002 and amended the Working Paper with relevant Guidelines for reporting to the 31st RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2002.

‘Guidelines on the Operation of the Advisory Committee of the RCARO’ are attached as Annex ? 1.

However, regarding the legal provisions for the RCARO, it was agreed at the 31st RCA GCM that a Resolution by the National RCA Representatives with the administrative arrangement by the IAEA would be more practical instead of having a Supplementary Agreement as previously suggested. The IAC again reviewed the Working Paper to reflect them.

Since the inception of the RCA in 1972 and until recently, most of the RCA programmes and projects have been formulated and implemented by the IAEA. It is noted that the IAEA is not a signatory to the RCA but provides assistance ranging from secretariat duties to technical support and project funding. Since 1996, the IAEA has been strongly encouraging MSs to take on more ownership of the RCA programmes. The RCARO is considered to be a particularly good vehicle for increasing ownership of the RCA programme by the MSs.

It is important to have a clear separation between the responsibilities of the IAEA’s RCA Coordinator and the Director of the RCARO. As a staff member of the Agency, the IAEA/RCA Coordinator continues to be the primary point of liaison with the IAEA. The roles and functions of the RCARO as agreed upon at the 23rd RCA NRM in Dhaka in March 2002 and at the 30th GC in Vienna in September 2001 are:

- Organization: The RCARO shall be composed of the following staff.

- Selections and Appointment: A Selection Committee shall be composed to recommend the most suitable candidate(s) to the National RCA Representatives Meetings, either NRM or GCM, for the appointment. The NRM will decide the appointment of the Director. However, leading up to this approval, appropriate guidelines on the selections and appointment of the Director shall be prepared and a job description for the Director’s position shall be drafted. The documents will require approval by an NRM. The process of selections and appointment of a Director will be open and transparent.
- Qualifications and Experience: The exact qualifications and experience required for the selected candidate(s) shall be clearly explained in the job description (JD) and a Vacancy Notice (VN). It is expected that the candidate(s) shall have a proven record of achievement.

- Duration of Appointment: Fixed term 3 years (extendable).
- Salary: It is recommended the salary be at a level similar to P-5 staff in the UN organization’s P-5 staff. Unless otherwise provided for, the originating MS shall provide the salary including a reserve for retirement allowance for the Director. If the Director’s origin is Korea, the salary shall be paid subject to the Korean government’s guidelines. Likewise, the supporting agency of the originating MS or other fund source may pay the salary and other fringe benefits on its own guidelines.
- Fringe Benefits: The supporting agency shall be responsible for any settlement and resettlement expenses when the Director moves from his/her home country to Korea. This does not apply to a Director originating from Korea. Other fringe benefits such as medical insurance and children's educational tuition fees may also be provided in accordance with the guidelines of the supporting agency.
- Privileges and Immunities: Unless there is a separate agreement on the privileges and immunities concluded between the host government and the originating government of the Director, the Director shall observe Korean laws and regulations including taxation. Unless otherwise agreed, the income tax may be compensated for from the budget of the RCARO. The MSs, particularly the host country, shall try to offer every possible support to the Director in the exercise of his/her functions. This may require additional separate agreement between the originating MS and Korea.
- Reporting: Since the Director is responsible to RCA MSs, he/she shall report directly to them through the presiding Chair of the NRM and the SAC about his/her performance. The Chair will act as the interface between the Director and the National RCA Representatives. In preparing reports of the activities of the RCARO, the Director is expected to liaise with the IAEA/RCA Coordinator.
- Relationship with Lead Countries: The Director is required to have an involvement with LCs with regard to the RCA thematic sector progremmes. In the pursuit of the objectives of the Regional Office, the Director shall maintain appropriate communications with the LCs.
- Relationship with the IAEA/RCA Coordinator: The Director may communicate directly with the IAEA/RCA Coordinator on a regular basis for consultations and feedback with regard to RCA matters.
- Relationship with IAEA Technical Officers: The Director may communicate with the Agency's Technical Officer(s) with respect to technical matters of the RCA programmes with copies to the IAEA/RCA Coordinator. To ensure effective coordination, the IAEA/RCA Coordinator’s Office should also copy all relevant communications between the IAEA/RCA Coordinator and the Director to the Technical Officer(s) of RCA programmes.
- Performance Evaluation: Because the performance of the Director is critical to the future of the RCA, there will be close scrutiny of the Director’s performance against agreed performance criteria set by the Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) on at least on an annual basis and failure to perform may result in early termination. The SAC shall be constituted by the RCA

- Programme Officer: To report to the Director in his/her function of increasing RCA awareness, developing new projects, and seeking other partners in order to increase fund sources to achieve RCA visibility.
- Administration Officer: To report to the Director in his/her function of operating and managing the RCARO and coordinating with the host government.
- Secretary: To support the project related as well as administrative works of the Office. The RCARO may hire additional temporary staff to support administrative works.
- Employment: The Director is responsible for hiring the supporting staff according to the guidelines set forth by the RCARO. The Director, by consultation with the host government, shall regulate the terms and conditions of employment of the staff members of the RCARO.
- Payment: The host government shall provide salaries and other remunerations including fringe benefits to the staff members of the RCARO subject to local regulations. The payment shall be made in the local currency.

- RCA GC Resolution: The present RCA Agreement is valid until June 2007 after being extended for another 5 years as of June 2002. Legal advice is being sought means to facilitate the establishment of the RCARO through amendment of the RCA Agreement. In general, amendment of the existing RCA Agreement requires additional ratification from the parliaments of the MSs, which will be a time consuming process.
- The 31st RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2002 agreed that a Resolution by the NRM containing basics of the establishment and management of the RCARO would be sufficient without the amendment of the RCA Agreement. The IAEA shall facilitate the Resolution in its administrative capacity. This would seem to be a practical approach, since any amendment of the existing RCA Agreement or concluding a Supplementary Agreement to the RCA Agreement will take time and the continuity of the present RCA Agreement would not be impacted.

However, in order to give the RCARO an appropriate legal entity in the regional and international society, the Government of the Republic of Korea together with other MSs and also with the Agency shall seek additional legal provisions as necessary.

- Commitments by the IAEA and ROK: Any necessary documentation will be developed as required.
- MOU between the Director’s Origin Country and ROK: An MOU that defines the commitments from the originating country of the Director, if he/she is a non-Korean national and the Government of Korea as the host government shall be concluded in order to support the activities and living conditions of the Director in Korea.

- Initially an interim period of two years was agreed at the 30th RCA GCM in Vienna in September 2001. However, this may be extended for another year to enable more proper preparations to be achieved.
- During the interim period, the RCARO will continue to be located in Daejeon, Korea.
- During the interim period, a Korean appointed Director would discharge the assigned duties, including management and administration of the RCARO.