The General Assembly confirmed the Resolutions adopted by IAF and ILAC at the 18th IAF-ILAC Joint General Assembly as listed in Annex 1 to this document.

The Joint General Assembly notes the signing of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The World Bank, IAF and ILAC.

The Joint General Assembly notes the signing of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), IAF and ILAC.

The Joint General Assembly received with appreciation the presentations and reports from the following organisations:

• • International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• • International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) and in particular the activities of CASCO
• • International Organisation for Legal Metrology (OIML)
• • United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• • World Trade Organisation (WTO)
• • World Bank

The General Assembly received and accepted the list of apologies for non-attendance and accepted the notifications of proxies by Members.

The General Assembly adopted the draft Agenda (ref IAF GA31_3).

The General Assembly approved the draft Minutes as a true record of the Thirtieth Annual Meeting, held in New Delhi, India on 02 and 04 November 2016 (ref IAF GA31_4).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Chairman as presented (ref IAF GA31_5).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report on progress of the Database for Accredited Management Systems Certifications and approved proceeding with the IAF database and the formation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to manage said database (ref IAF GA31_5.2A, IAF GA31_5.2B).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Quality Manager (ref IAF GA31_5.3).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report on the Financial Affairs of IAF and the Report of the Financial Auditor on the Financial Operations of IAF, December 31, 2016 as presented.

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report of the Financial Oversight Committee (ref IAF GA31_6.2), as presented and endorsed the recommendation and agreed that the 2016 financial accounts be accepted.

The General Assembly approved the IAF Budget for 2018, as submitted by the Treasurer (ref IAFGA_6.3A, IAFGA31_6.3B).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report by the Secretary on the current IAF membership as of October 2017.

The General Assembly received the Secretary’s report on the admission to the IAF MoU, since the 2016 Annual meeting, of the following Members (in order of the date of membership approval) :

• • IOAS, Inc. (IOAS)
• • National Accreditation Agency of the Ukraine (NAAU)
• • National Accreditation Authority (NAH)
• • Foundation FSSC 22000 (FSSC 22000)

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report (ref IAFGA31_9) from the Chairman of the Technical Committee and noted the Technical Committee Program.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that at the end of the transition period, 15 September 2018, all ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications shall expire or be withdrawn. As of 15 March 2018, CABs shall conduct all ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 initial, surveillance, and recertification audits to the new versions (ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015). The outcomes of such audits shall be considered by the CAB for further decision on accredited certifications to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 as deemed appropriate.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that the Transitional Arrangement for the Revision of ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems – Requirements with guidance for use, be three years from the date of publication of the revised standard. All ISO 50001:2011 certifications shall expire or be withdrawn at the end of the transition period. Within this transition timeline:

• • ABs shall be ready to carry out transition assessments for ISO 50001:2018 within 6 months from the date of publication of the revised standard.
• • CABs shall complete the transition with ABs for ISO 50001:2018 within 18 months from the date of publication of the revised standard.
• • CABs shall cease conducting audits, including initial, surveillance and recertification to the ISO 50001:2011 18 months from the date of publication of the revised standard. The outcomes of such audits to the revision of ISO 50001:2011 shall be considered by the CAB for further decision on accredited certifications to ISO 50001:2011 as deemed appropriate.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that the Transitional Arrangement for the Revision of ISO 14064-1:2006 Greenhouse gases -- Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, and ISO 14064-2:2006 Greenhouse gases -- Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements be three years from the date of publication of the revised standard.   Within this transition timeline:

• • ABs shall be ready to carry out transition assessment for ISO 14064-1:2018 and ISO 14064-2:2018 within 6 months from the date of publication of the revised standard. Note: If there is an exception to the above, the AB shall justify the exception based on valid reasons.
• • CABs shall complete the transition with ABs for ISO 14064-1:2018 and ISO 14064-2:2018 within 3 years from the date of publication of the revised standard.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that the period for transitioning of accredited certifications to the next revision of ISO 22000:2005 Food safety management systems -- Requirements for any organization in the food chain be three years from the date of publication.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that the transition period for ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems — Part 3: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of quality management systems, be two years from the date of publication of the revised standard (i.e. 31 March 2019).

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved to endorse ISO/IEC 20000-6:2017 Information technology – Service management – Part 6: Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of service management systems and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 Information technology – Service management -- Part 1: Service management system requirements as normative documents. The General Assembly further resolved that the transition period for the implementation of ISO/IEC 20000-6:2017 be two years from the date of publication, i.e. 06 June 2017. After the transition period, IAF MD18:2015 Application of ISO/IEC 17021:2011 in the Service Management Sector (ISO/IEC 20000-1) will be withdrawn.

The General Assembly acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee resolved that IAF Accreditation Body members shall have legally enforceable arrangements with their accredited CABs for personnel certification that prevents the CAB from issuing non-accredited persons certificates in scopes for which they are accredited. The enforceable arrangements shall require full implementation within three years from 30 October 2017. Additionally, CABs for personnel certification shall transition certification documentation to include the accreditation symbol and/or shall make reference to the accreditation status of the CAB including the identification of the AB, at the time of recertification decision; no later than 30 October 2020. When granted initial accreditation (for ISO/IEC 17024), after 30 October 2017, a CAB shall transition (re-issue) previous unaccredited certification documents and/or make reference to the accreditation status including identification of the AB, within one year of the accreditation decision.   Note: If there is an exception to the above, the CAB must justify the exception to the AB, and if accepted by the AB, the certification is still considered accredited.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that there will not be any accredited certification to ISO 31000:2009, Risk management – Principles and guidelines (publication date 13 November 2009). ISO 31000 explicitly states that it is not intended or appropriate for certification, and any certification would be a misuse of the standard. Therefore CABs are strongly urged not to promote or provide certification to ISO 31000 and ABs and CABs are requested to report any misuse or need for certification to the ISO Secretariat.

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Chairman of the MLA Committee (ref IAF GA31_10) and noted the MLA Committee program.

IAF MLA Signatories The General Assembly noted the admission to the IAF MLA, since the 2016 General Assembly, of the following IAF Regional Accreditation Group member:

• • ARAC Arab Region - Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scope: Level 4: ISO/TS 22003; Sub-Scopes: Level 5: ISO 22000; ISO 9001, ISO 14001

The General Assembly noted the admissions to the IAF MLA, since the 2016 General Assembly, of the following IAF Accreditation Body Members:

• • IOAS United States of America - Main Scope: Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065 (PAC)
• • NAAU Ukraine - Main Scope: Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065; Main Scope: Certification of Persons - ISO/IEC 17024; Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scopes: Level 5: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 (EA)
• • NAH Hungary - Main Scope: Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065; Main Scope: Certification of Persons - ISO/IEC 17024; Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scopes: Level 5: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 (EA)
• • KENAS Kenya - Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scope Level 4: ISO/TS 22003; Sub-Scopes Level 5: ISO 22000, ISO 9001, ISO 14001

The General Assembly noted the MLA scope extensions, since the 2016 General Assembly, of the following IAF Accreditation Body Members:

• • NCA Kazakhstan – Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 9001 (PAC)
• • NACI Iran, SAC Singapore – Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 14001 (PAC)
• • EA-BAS Bulgaria – Main Scope: Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-Scopes: Level 5: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 (EA)
• • EA-BAS Bulgaria – Main Scope: Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065 (EA)
• • PNAC Pakistan – Main Scope: Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065 (PAC)
• • DAC United Arab Emirates, HKAS Hong Kong, China, NACI Iran, NSC Thailand, Standards Malaysia Malaysia – Sub-Scope Level 4: ISO/TS 22003; Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 22000 (PAC)
• • EGAC Egypt – Sub-Scope Level 4: ISO/TS 22003; Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 22000
• • TUNAC Tunisia – Sub-Scope Level 4: ISO/TS 22003; Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 22000 (ARAC)
• • CNAS China, EMA Mexico, Standards Malaysia Malaysia – Sub-Scope Level 4: ISO/IEC 27006; Sub-Scope Level 5: ISO 27001 (PAC)

The General Assembly noted that the IAF-GFSI Agreement had been approved by letter-ballot. This Agreement facilitates IAF endorsement of GFSI benchmarked schemes under the Main Scopes of Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1 and Product Certification – ISO/IEC 17065 of the IAF MLA in accordance with IAF PL3 Policies and Procedures for the Expansion of the Scope of the IAF MLA.

The General Assembly noted that the IAF-FAMI-QS Asbl MLA Agreement had been approved by letter-ballot. In accordance with this Agreement and IAF PL3 Policies and Procedures for the Expansion of the Scope of the IAF MLA, the FAMI-QS Certification Scheme has been endorsed as an IAF MLA sub-scope under the Main Scope of Management Systems Certification – ISO/IEC 17021-1 and the Level 4 Sub-scope – ISO/TC 22003.

The IAF General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, approved the IAF-IPC MLA Agreement and thereby endorsed the IPC Certification Scheme as an IAF MLA Sub-scope under the Main Scope of Certification of Persons – ISO/IEC 17024.

The IAF General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the MLA Committee, noted that IAF/ILAC A1:03/2017 and IAF/ILAC A2:03/2017 supersede IAF Resolution 2016-24.

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report of the User Advisory Committee (ref IAF GA31_13).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Conformity Assessment Body Advisory Committee (ref IAF GA31_14).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Co-Chairs of the Accreditation Body Information Exchange Group (ref IAF GA31_15).

The General Assembly congratulated the following Directors on their election to the IAF Board for three-year terms ending at the 2020 General Assembly:

• - Mr Peter Kronvall (SWEDAC) elected as Director Representing High Income Economies for an initial three-year term.
• - Mr Marcus Long (IIOC) elected as Director Representing CAB Association Members for an initial three-year term.

Notes:

1. Ms Sheronda Jeffries (QuEST Forum) will complete her first term as Director Representing Industry and User Association Members at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
2. Mr Xiao Jianhua (CNAS) will complete his first term as IAF Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
3. Mr Emanuele Riva (ACCREDIA) will complete his first term as IAF Vice-Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
4. Mr Randy Dougherty (ANAB) will complete his first term as IAF Treasurer at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.

The General Assembly congratulated the following members elected as IAF Committee Chairs for three-year terms ending at the 2020 General Assembly Meeting:

• - Mr Peter Kronvall (SWEDAC) elected as Accreditation Body Information Exchange Group Co-Chair for an initial three-year term.
• - Mr Marcus Long (IIOC) elected as Conformity Assessment Body Advisory Committee Chair for an initial three-year term.

Notes:

1. The Director Representing High Income Economies is automatically a Co-Chair of the Accreditation Body Information Exchange Group (ABIEG) as per IAF PL5.
2. The Director representing CAB Association Members is automatically the Chair of the Conformity Assessment Body Advisory Committee (CABAC) as per IAF PL5.
3. Mr Ekanit Romyanon (NSC) will complete his second term as Technical Committee Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
4. Mr Norman Brunner (AA) will complete his first term as MLA Committee Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
5. Mr Jon Murthy (UKAS) will complete his second term as Communications and Marketing Committee Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
6. Ms Andrea Barroso Melo Monteiro de Queiroz (CGCRE) will complete her first term as Development Support Committee Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
7. Ms Sheronda Jeffries (QuEST Forum) will complete her first term as User Advisory Committee Chair at the 2018 General Assembly Meeting.
8. The Director representing Industry and User Association Members is automatically the Chair of the User Advisory Committee (UAC) as per IAF PL5.

The General Assembly noted the following regarding FOC Members’ terms:

1. Mr Jan van der Poel (RvA) will complete his first term as Financial Oversight Committee AB Member and Chair at the end of the 2018 calendar year.
2. Dr Eric Janssens (EOQ) will complete his third term as Financial Oversight Committee Association Member at the end of the 2018 calendar year.

The General Assembly expressed its appreciation to Trevor Nash (Director Representing CAB Association Members, Conformity Assessment Body Advisory Committee Chair) and Geir Samuelsen (Director Representing High Income Economies, Accreditation Body Information Exchange Group Co-Chair) for their dedicated service to IAF.

The General Assembly confirmed the Resolutions adopted by IAF and ILAC at the 17th IAF-ILAC Joint General Assembly as listed in Annex 1 to this document.

The Joint General Assembly endorses the recommendation of the Joint Executive Committee to recognise the APAC MRA when APAC is established on 1 January 2019, to allow the continued signatory status in the IAF MLA for all PAC MLA signatories and continued signatory status in the ILAC MRA for all APLAC MRA signatories. This recognition is conditional on the successful outcome of a series of evaluation activities. The evaluation activities will be managed and conducted by the JMC and will include a review of the APAC management documentation in late 2018 and an evaluation of the APAC Secretariat and the APAC MRA decision making process in 2019. A decision will be made following these activities on the recognition of the APAC MRA to the IAF MLA and ILAC MRA respectively and therefore the ongoing signatory status of the APAC MRA signatories to the IAF MLA and the ILAC MRA as applicable.   The full evaluation of APAC will be scheduled to commence in 2021.

The Joint General Assembly endorses the recommendation of the Joint Executive Committee, to ensure JGA Delhi Resolution 1 – Transition to ISO/IEC 17011:2017 is fully implemented, that all peer evaluation activities carried out from 1 July 2018 will use ISO/IEC 17011:2017 as the requirements document. Details of this transition plan are described in the document entitled “ISO/IEC 17011:2017 Transition Plan” dated 29 October 2017.

The Joint General Assembly received with appreciation the presentations and reports from the following organisations:

• • International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• • International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) and in particular the activities of CASCO
• • International Organisation for Legal Metrology (OIML)
• • United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• • World Trade Organisation (WTO)

The Joint General Assembly received with appreciation the reports provided by APLAC, ARAC, EA, IAAC, PAC, AFRAC and SADCA.

The General Assembly received and accepted the list of apologies for non-attendance and accepted the notifications of proxies by Members.

The General Assembly adopted the draft Agenda (ref IAF GA 30_3).

The General Assembly approved the draft Minutes as a true record of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting, held in Milan, Italy on 4 and 06 November in Milan, Italy (ref IAF GA30_4).

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Chairman as presented.

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report on progress of the Database for Accredited Management Systems Certifications and endorsed inclusion of $60,000 USD in the IAF draft 2017 budget for completion of the business case.

The General Assembly received with appreciation the report from the Quality Manager (ref IAF GA30_5.3).