Subject to a specific Cospas-Sarsat Council decision, administrations or agencies of States that have not completed the notification of their association with the Cospas-Sarsat Programme may be invited to attend Cospas-Sarsat meetings as observers.
Normally, observer status at a particular meeting will be granted to an agency or administration only if that agency or administration has formally stated a firm intention to implement the association procedure in the near future, or when confirmation has been provided to the Cospas-Sarsat Council that the formal notification procedure was in progress. Invitations may be issued on the Council’s instruction only.
The Cospas-Sarsat Council may also decide to invite national or international organisations as observers to specific Cospas-Sarsat meetings, where their competencies and expertise might assist the discussion of technical or operational matters.
Further information is available in documents C/S P.007, and C/S P.011, which can be accessed on the Professionals website (Pro/Documents/System Documents).