AIUSA 2010-2011 Membership

Resolutions Process Guidelines &

Submission Form

AIUSA Members/Activists: March 2010

Amnesty International was founded as a grassroots organization for the purpose of securing basic
human rights for people worldwide. The resolutions process is one means by which you, as a
member of AIUSA, have the power to affect policy decision making at the regional, national and
international levels.

The National Resolutions Committee (NRC) coordinates the process and is composed of one
member from each region and a chair. The AIUSA Board Chair appoints the members to the
committee and the committee chair serves on the AGM Planning Committee.

AIUSA NATIONAL RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE MISSION STATEMENT:

We are committed to building an efficient and fair system of organizational policy making that is
open to all AIUSA members, providing sufficient information to make informed decisions and
time to study and discuss the issues; that broadens the pool of people participating in the
resolutions process; and that educates members on how to actively participate in the resolutions
process.

Membership awareness of and participation in policy-making will be encouraged through

training and publicity about the resolutions process and the individual resolutions. For more
information or training on resolution preparation, parliamentary procedure and problem solving
within AIUSA, please contact your regional NRC representative listed below.

STEPS FOR SUBMISSION OF RESOLUTIONS:

1. All sponsors are to consult their regional representatives on the National
Resolutions Committee (names and contact information listed below) before
submitting resolutions. The NRC representative can help in the drafting process of a
resolution, identify AIUSA staff and volunteer resources, and otherwise help ensure that
the process is as easy and painless as possible. This contact also helps NRC members
know what resolutions to expect so they can plan their work. Therefore, even
experienced sponsors are asked to inform their NRC representative of their intentions.

2. Sponsors should consult the Standing Rules of the Membership Resolutions Process and
the Membership Resolutions Process timeline in advance of submission, to best
understand the process and procedures of the Membership Resolutions Process. Both the

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 Standing Rules and timeline can be found at www.amnestyusa.org/members/resolutions.
Additionally, copies of the Membership Resolutions Process Manual can be obtained by
contacting the regional representatives on the NRC.

3. When drafting resolutions, sponsors should include brief, accurate WHEREAS

clauses as background to the issue the resolution addresses; these should describe the
current status/policies/procedures regarding the issue as well as why the current situation
is not ideal. The THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED and THEREFORE BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED clauses should provide proposed solutions to the problems
outlined in the WHEREAS clauses.

4. All sponsors (and presenters, if applicable) must be current members of AIUSA at

the time of resolution submission and through the dates of the sponsor’s respective
regional conference. The NRC will verify current membership status.

5. All resolutions must be submitted by September 1, 2010. If the sponsor is a member

of a registered student group, the deadline for submission is September 15, 2010.
Resolutions not submitted in complete and final form by the respective deadlines will not
be considered as properly submitted resolutions, and thus will not appear in the regional
resolutions packet or added to the agenda for consideration. Additionally, if the same
resolution is being presented in more than one region, the sponsor from each respective
region must submit the resolution individually, including sponsor (and presenter, if
applicable) information for that region, by the resolutions submission deadline applicable
to that region’s sponsor.

6. All resolutions must be submitted using the AIUSA Resolutions Submission Form
(attached below and available online at www.amnestyusa.org/members/resolutions). All
resolutions will be presented to regional conferences in a uniform style, accompanied by
explanatory notes that include a complete background on the issues, arguments for and
against the resolution, and accurate resource implications. Resolutions submitted not
using this form will be considered as not properly submitted, and therefore will not
appear in the regional resolutions packet, or be added to the agenda for consideration.

7. Sponsors must fill in all required fields on the Resolutions Submission Form,
including the “explanatory notes” field by the submission deadline. Sponsors are
required to provide what information they have about the issue at hand and the reasons
they feel the resolution is necessary. Submissions lacking any information in this
required field will be considered as not properly submitted, and thus will not appear in
the regional resolutions packet or added to the agenda for consideration. The NRC will
consider sponsor-provided information as input, along with the input of others in AI,
when drafting the background and arguments sections of the Resolutions Packets. Note
that the NRC considers explanatory notes submitted as input on the issue raised by the
resolution, and it should not be construed that sponsor or presenter-submitted text of
these explanatory notes will appear in the Resolutions Packets.

8. Resolutions must be submitted to the AIUSA Board Liaison Office and the National

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 Resolutions Committee via one of the following means:

A: As an email attachment (MS Word Document) sent to tatkins@aiusa.org AND

resol@aiusa.org.

B: As a mail submission sent to: AIUSA Resolutions

Amnesty International USA
5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Attn: Tamieka Atkins

C: As a fax sent to 212-627-1451, Attention: Tamieka Atkins, Board Liaison

Should you have any problems submitting your resolution, the Board Liaison Office can be
reached at 212-633-4295. Do not submit resolutions to regional offices, as they will get
delayed and may not be included in the regional resolutions packets. Once compiled, all
resolutions will be forwarded to the NRC members, who work together to develop
background material on the resolutions.

9. Sponsors must be available to work with the National Resolutions Committee

following the regional deadline. The NRC will review all submitted resolutions and
develop comprehensive background information in consultation with the sponsors and
others. The compiled resolutions will be formatted and distributed as Regional
Conference Resolutions Packets.

10. Sponsors should monitor and, when appropriate, post information pertaining to their
resolution on the Membership Resolutions Process Discussion Board.

11. Sponsors must be available to speak for their resolution at their Regional
Conference, or assign a presenter. Resolutions with neither a sponsor nor a presenter
present will not be debated or voted on. If assigning a presenter, sponsors inform their
NRC representative by the submission deadline as well as include the presenter’s contact
information in the “presenter” field on the Resolutions Submission Form at the time of
submission.

After the Regional Conferences, the NRC will review all passed resolutions to ensure that
amendments are included and that the background and arguments reflect the points debated.
This new resolutions packet will be presented to the membership in preparation for discussion
and voting at the Annual General Meeting.

The 2010-2011 National Resolutions Committee

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Chair:
Linda Veazey Mid-Atlantic Representative:
Email: lveazey@gmail.com Tony Lee
M: 323-839-3892 Email: tonyrlee@gmail.com
M: 202-390-7888
Western Representative:
Stephanie McKinney Southern Representative:
Email: smkinne@sbcglobal.net Lola Ibitoye
M: 626-840-6011 Email: fumilola_i@yahoo.com
M: 770-342-9610
Northeast Representative:
Oleh Tustaniwsky Midwest Representative:
Email: otustani@aol.com Angela Rapp
M: 347-451-1512 Email: ajrapp@vorys.com
M: 513-432-4259
Board Liaison to NRC:
Jeff Bachman
Email: jeffbachmanaiusa@gmail.com
M: 503-901-7497

AIUSA 2009-2010 Resolutions Submission Form—Internal (* indicates required field)

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*Resolution Title:

*Sponsor Name: Presenter Name:

Street Address: Street Address:
City, State/Providence: City, State/Providence:
Zip: Zip:
Home Phone: Home Phone:
Work Phone: Work Phone:
Mobile Phone: Mobile Phone:
Email: Email:
Fax Number: Fax Number:
Student Group (Sept 15th ONLY): Student Group (Sept. 15th ONLY):

*Resolution Text: (in standard resolution form, as follows)

WHEREAS…
These clauses should provide background speaking to the issue your resolution addresses and
why the current policy/procedure/etc. should be changed. (Insert here).

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED…
These clauses should provide what you are asking AI or AIUSA to do, the policy/procedure
change you are advocating. (Insert here).

*Explanatory Note:
Why is this resolution needed? Please provide a brief explanation of your reasons for
proposing this resolution and what would change if this resolution passes.

(Insert here).

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 RESOLUTIONS SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

To ensure your resolution was properly submitted did you…

 Contact your regional resolutions representative to inform him or her

of your intentions?

 Provide your resolution in its final text form?

 Complete all required fields on the Resolutions Submission Form,

including “Explanatory Note?”

 Provide on the submission form current contact information for

yourself as the sponsor, and the presenter if you are not presenting
the resolution yourself?

 Submit your resolution to the AIUSA Board Liaison Office by

September 1, 2010 (September 15, 2010 for students) through the
means outlined on the submission form?

 Submit separate copies with contact info for sponsors/presenters for

each region at which the resolution is to be considered?

 Confirm yourself as a current member of AIUSA?

 If someone other than yourself is presenting the resolution at the

regional conference, did you confirm your resolution’s presenter as a
current member of AIUSA?

***Please Note: If all of these steps are not completed by the deadline your resolution may be
considered as not properly submitted, and thus will not appear in the regional resolution packets
or be placed on the agenda for consideration.

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