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An interactive project of the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Peace Architecture: The Role of Intellectual and Moral Solidarity Centre for Peace Research and Strategic Studies, University of Leuven, and IPRA with the support of the UNESCO Flemish Commission and the Flemish Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Adopted in London on 16 November 1945 and amended by the General Conference at its 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 31st sessions.
The
Governments of the States Parties to this Constitution on behalf of
their peoples declare:
That
since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that
the defences of peace must be constructed;
That
ignorance of each other’s ways and lives has been a common cause,
throughout the history of mankind, of that suspicion and mistrust
between the peoples of the world through which their differences have
all too often broken into war;
That
the great and terrible war which has now ended was a war made
possible by the denial of the democratic principles of the dignity,
equality and mutual respect of men, and by the propagation, in their
place, through ignorance and prejudice, of the doctrine of the
inequality of men and races;
That
the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for
justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of man
and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfil in a
spirit of mutual assistance and concern;
That
a peace based exclusively upon the political and economic
arrangements of governments would not be a peace which could secure
the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the
world, and that the peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to
fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.
For
these reasons, the States Parties to this Constitution, believing in
full and equal opportunities for education for all, in the
unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of
ideas and knowledge, are agreed and determined to develop and to
increase the means of communication between their peoples and to
employ these means for the purposes of mutual understanding and a
truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives;
In
consequence whereof they do hereby create the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the purpose of
advancing, through the educational and scientific and cultural
relations of the peoples of the world, the objectives of
international peace and of the common welfare of mankind for which
the United Nations Organization was established and which its Charter
proclaims.
Purposes
and functions
1. The purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.
2. To realize this purpose the Organization will:
Collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image;
Give fresh impulse to popular education and to the spread of culture:
By
collaborating with Members, at their request, in the development of
educational activities;
By instituting collaboration among the nations to advance the ideal of equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinctions, economic or social;
By suggesting educational methods best suited to prepare the children of the world for the responsibilities of freedom;
Maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge:
By
assuring the conservation and protection of the world’s
inheritance
of books, works of art and monuments of history and science, and
recommending to the nations concerned the necessary international
conventions;
By
encouraging cooperation among the nations in all branches of
intellectual activity, including the international exchange of
persons active in the fields of education, science and culture and
the exchange of publications, objects of artistic and scientific
interest and other materials of information;
By
initiating methods of international cooperation calculated to give
the people of all countries access to the printed and published
materials produced by any of them.
3.
With a view to preserving the independence, integrity and fruitful
diversity of the cultures and educational systems of the States
Members of the Organization, the Organization is prohibited from
intervening in matters which are essentially within their domestic
jurisdiction.
Membership
1. Membership of the United Nations Organization shall carry with it the right to membership of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
2.
Subject to the conditions of the Agreement between this Organization
and the United Nations Organization, approved pursuant to Article X
of this Constitution, states not members of the United Nations
Organization may be admitted to membership of the Organization, upon
recommendation of the Executive Board, by a two-thirds majority vote
of the General Conference.
3.
Territories or groups of territories which are not responsible for
the conduct of their international relations may be admitted as
Associate Members by the General Conference by a two-thirds majority
of Members present and voting, upon application made on behalf of
such territory or group of territories by the Member or other
authority having responsibility for their international relations.
The nature and extent of the rights and obligations of Associate
Members shall be determined by the General Conference.
4.
Members of the Organization which are suspended from the exercise of
the rights and privileges of membership of the United Nations
Organization shall, upon the request of the latter, be suspended from
the rights and privileges of this Organization.
5.
Members of the Organization which are expelled from the United
Nations Organization shall automatically cease to be Members of this
Organization.
6.
Any Member State or Associate Member of the Organization may withdraw
from the Organization by notice addressed to the Director-General.
Such notice shall take effect on 31 December of the year following
that during which the notice was given. No such withdrawal shall
affect the financial obligations owed to the Organization on the date
the withdrawal takes effect. Notice of withdrawal by an Associate
Member shall be given on its behalf by the Member State or other
authority having responsibility for its international relations.
7.
Each Member State is entitled to appoint a Permanent Delegate to the
Organization.
8.
The Permanent Delegate of the Member State shall present his
credentials to the Director-General of the Organization, and shall
officially assume his duties from the day of presentation of his
credentials.
Organs
The
Organization shall include a General Conference, an Executive Board
and a Secretariat.
The
General Conference
A.
Composition
1. The General Conference shall consist of the representatives of the States Members of the Organization. The Government of each Member State shall appoint not more than five delegates, who shall be selected after consultation with the National Commission, if established, or with educational, scientific and cultural bodies.
B. Functions
2. The General Conference shall determine the policies and the main lines of work of the Organization. It shall take decisions on programmes submitted to it by the Executive Board.
3.
The General Conference shall, when it deems desirable and in
accordance with the regulations to be made by it, summon
international conferences of states on education, the sciences and
humanities or the dissemination of knowledge; non-governmental
conferences on the same subjects may be summoned by the General
Conference or by the Executive Board in accordance with such
regulations.
4.
The General Conference shall, in adopting proposals for submission to
the Member States, distinguish between recommendations and
international conventions submitted for their approval. In the former
case a majority vote shall suffice; in the latter case a two-thirds
majority shall be required. Each of the Member States shall submit
recommendations or conventions to its competent authorities within a
period of one year from the close of the session of the General
Conference at which they were adopted.
5.
Subject to the provisions of Article V, paragraph 6 (c), the General
Conference shall advise the United Nations Organization on the
educational, scientific and cultural aspects of matters of concern to
the latter, in accordance with the terms and procedure agreed upon
between the appropriate authorities of the two Organizations.
6.
The General Conference shall receive and consider the reports sent to
the Organization by Member States on the action taken upon the
recommendations and conventions referred to in paragraph 4 above or,
if it so decides, analytical summaries of these reports.
7.
The General Conference shall elect the members of the Executive Board
and, on the recommendation of the Board, shall appoint the
Director-General.
C.
Voting
8.
(a) Each Member State shall have one vote in the General Conference.
Decisions shall be made by a simple majority except in cases in which
a two-thirds majority is required by the provisions of this
Constitution, or the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference. A
majority shall be a majority of the Members present and voting.
(b)
A Member State shall have no vote in the General Conference if the
total amount of contributions due from it exceeds the total amount of
contributions payable by it for the current year and the immediately
preceding calendar year.
(c) The General Conference may nevertheless permit such a Member State to vote, if it is satisfied that failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member State.
9.
(a) The General Conference shall meet in ordinary session every two
years. It may meet in extraordinary session if it decides to do so
itself or if summoned by the Executive Board, or on the demand of at
least one third of the Member States.
(b)
At each session the location of its next ordinary session shall be
designated by the General Conference. The location of an
extraordinary session shall be decided by the General Conference if
the session is summoned by it, or otherwise by the Executive Board.
10.
The General Conference shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It
shall at each session elect a President and other officers.
11.
The General Conference shall set up special and technical committees
and such other subsidiary organs as may be necessary for its
purposes.
12.
The General Conference shall cause arrangements to be made for public
access to meetings, subject to such regulations as it shall
prescribe.
E.
Observers
13.
The General Conference, on the recommendation of the Executive Board
and by a two-thirds majority may, subject to its rules of procedure,
invite as observers at specified sessions of the Conference or of its
commissions representatives of international organizations, such as
those referred to in Article XI, paragraph 4.
14.
When consultative arrangements have been approved by the Executive
Board for such international non-governmental or semi-governmental
organizations in the manner provided in Article XI, paragraph 4,
those organizations shall be invited to send observers to sessions of
the General Conference and its commissions.
Executive
Board
A.
Composition
1.
(a) The Executive Board shall be elected by the General Conference
and it shall consist of fifty-eight Member States. The President of
the General Conference shall sit ex officio in an advisory capacity
on the Executive Board.
(b)
Elected States Members of the Executive Board are hereinafter
referred to as “Members” of the Executive Board.
2.
(a) Each Member of the Executive Board shall appoint one
representative. It may also appoint alternates.
(b)
In selecting its representative on the Executive Board, the Member of
the Executive Board shall endeavour to appoint a person qualified in
one or more of the fields of competence of UNESCO and with the
necessary experience and capacity to fulfil the administrative and
executive duties of the Board. Bearing in mind the importance of
continuity, each representative shall be appointed for the duration
of the term of the Member of the Executive Board, unless exceptional
circumstances warrant his replacement. The alternates appointed by
each Member of the Executive Board shall act in the absence of its
representative in all his functions.
3.
In electing Members to the Executive Board, the General Conference
shall have regard to the diversity of cultures and a balanced
geographical distribution.
4.
(a) Members of the Executive Board shall serve from the close of the
session of the General Conference which elected them until the close
of the second ordinary session of the General Conference following
their election. The General Conference shall, at each of its ordinary
sessions, elect the number of Members of the Executive Board required
to fill vacancies occurring at the end of the session.
(b)
Members of the Executive Board are eligible for re-election.
Re-elected Members of the Executive Board shall endeavour to change
their representatives on the Board.
5.
In the event of the withdrawal from the Organization of a Member of
the Executive Board, its term of office shall be terminated on the
date when the withdrawal becomes effective.
B.
Functions
6.
(a) The Executive Board shall prepare the agenda for the General
Conference. It shall examine the programme of work for the
Organization and corresponding budget estimates submitted to it by
the Director-General in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article VI and
shall submit them with such recommendations as it considers desirable
to the General Conference.
(b)
The Executive Board, acting under the authority of the General
Conference, shall be responsible for the execution of the programme
adopted by the Conference. In accordance with the decisions of the
General Conference and having regard to circumstances arising between
two ordinary sessions, the Executive Board shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the effective and rational execution of the
programme by the Director-General.
(c)
Between ordinary sessions of the General Conference, the Board may
discharge the functions of adviser to the United Nations, set forth
in Article IV, paragraph 5, whenever the problem upon which advice is
sought has already been dealt with in principle by the Conference, or
when the solution is implicit in decisions of the Conference.
7.
The Executive Board shall recommend to the General Conference the
admission of new Members to the Organization.
8.
Subject to decisions of the General Conference, the Executive Board
shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall elect its officers
from among its Members.
9.
The Executive Board shall meet in regular session at least four times
during a biennium and may meet in special session if convoked by the
Chairman on his initiative or upon the request of six Members of the
Executive Board.
10.
The Chairman of the Executive Board shall present, on behalf of the
Board, to the General Conference at each ordinary session, with or
without comments, the reports on the activities of the Organization
which the Director-General is required to prepare in accordance with
the provisions of Article VI.3 (b).
11.
The Executive Board shall make all necessary arrangements to consult
the representatives of international organizations or qualified
persons concerned with questions within its competence.
12.
Between sessions of the General Conference, the Executive Board may
request advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice on
legal questions arising within the field of the Organization’s
activities.
13.
The Executive Board shall also exercise the powers delegated to it by
the General Conference on behalf of the Conference as a whole.
Secretariat
1. The Secretariat shall consist of a Director-General and such staff as may be required.
2.
The Director-General shall be nominated by the Executive Board and
appointed by the General Conference for a period of four years, under
such conditions as the Conference may approve. The Director-General
may be appointed for a further term of four years but shall not be
eligible for reappointment for a subsequent term. The
Director-General shall be the chief administrative officer of the
Organization.
3.(a)
The Director-General, or a deputy designated by him, shall
participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the
General Conference, of the Executive Board, and of the Committees of
the Organization. He shall formulate proposals for appropriate action
by the Conference and the Board, and shall prepare for submission to
the Board a draft programme of work for the Organization with
corresponding budget estimates.
(b)
The Director-General shall prepare and communicate to Member States
and to the Executive Board periodical reports on the activities of
the Organization. The General Conference shall determine the periods
to be covered by these reports.
4.
The Director-General shall appoint the staff of the Secretariat in
accordance with staff regulations to be approved by the General
Conference. Subject to the paramount consideration of securing the
highest standards of integrity, efficiency and technical competence,
appointment to the staff shall be on as wide a geographical basis as
possible.
5.
The responsibilities of the Director-General and of the staff shall
be exclusively international in character. In the discharge of their
duties they shall not seek or receive instructions from any
government or from any authority external to the Organization. They
shall refrain from any action which might prejudice their positions
as international officials. Each State Member of the Organization
undertakes to respect the international character of the
responsibilities of the Director-General and the staff, and not to
seek to influence them in the discharge of their duties.
6.
Nothing in this Article shall preclude the Organization from entering
into special arrangements within the United Nations Organization for
common services and staff and for the interchange of personnel.
National
cooperating bodies
1.
Each Member State shall make such arrangements as suit its particular
conditions for the purpose of associating its principal bodies
interested in educational, scientific and cultural matters with the
work of the Organization, preferably by the formation of a National
Commission broadly representative of the government and such bodies.
2.
National Commissions or National Cooperating Bodies, where they
exist, shall act in an advisory capacity to their respective
delegations to the General Conference, to the representatives and
alternates of their countries on the Executive Board and to their
Governments in matters relating to the Organization and shall
function as agencies of liaison in all matters of interest to it.
3.
The Organization may, on the request of a Member State, delegate,
either temporarily, a member of its Secretariat to serve on the
National Commission of that state, in order to assist in the
development of its work.
Reports
by Member States
Each
Member State shall submit to the Organization, at such times and in
such manner as shall be determined by the General Conference, reports
on the laws, regulations and statistics relating to its educational,
scientific and cultural institutions and activities, and on the
action taken upon the recommendations and conventions referred to in
Article IV, paragraph 4.
Budget
1. The budget shall be administered by the Organization.
2.
The General Conference shall approve and give final effect to the
budget and to the apportionment of financial responsibility among the
States Members of the Organization subject to such arrangement with
the United Nations as may be provided in the agreement to be entered
into pursuant to Article X.
3.
The Director-General may accept voluntary contributions, gifts,
bequests and subventions directly from governments, public and
private institutions, associations and private persons, subject to
the conditions specified in the Financial Regulations.
Relations
with the United Nations Organization
This
Organization shall be brought into relation with the United Nations
Organization, as soon as practicable, as one of the specialized
agencies referred to in Article 57 of the Charter of the United
Nations. This relationship shall be effected through an agreement
with the United Nations Organization under Article 63 of the Charter,
which agreement shall be subject to the approval of the General
Conference of this Organization. The agreement shall provide for
effective cooperation between the two Organizations in the pursuit of
their common purposes, and at the same time shall recognize the
autonomy of this Organization, within the fields of its competence as
defined in this Constitution. Such agreement may, among other
matters, provide for the approval and financing of the budget of the
Organization by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Relations
with other specialized international organizations and agencies
1.
This Organization may cooperate with other specialized
intergovernmental organizations and agencies whose interests and
activities are related to its purposes. To this end the Director-
General, acting under the general authority of the Executive Board,
may establish effective working relationships with such organizations
and agencies and establish such joint committees as may be necessary
to assure effective cooperation. Any formal arrangements entered into
with such organizations or agencies shall be subject to the approval
of the Executive Board.
2.
Whenever the General Conference of this Organization and the
competent authorities of any other specialized intergovernmental
organizations or agencies whose purpose and functions lie within the
competence of this Organization deem it desirable to effect a
transfer of their resources and activities to this Organization, the
Director-General, subject to the approval of the Conference, may
enter into mutually acceptable arrangements for this purpose.
3.
This Organization may make appropriate arrangements with other
intergovernmental organizations for reciprocal representation at
meetings.
4.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
may make suitable arrangements for consultation and cooperation with
non-governmental international organizations concerned with matters
within its competence, and may invite them to undertake specific
tasks. Such cooperation may also include appropriate participation by
representatives of such organizations on advisory committees set up
by the General Conference.
Legal
status of the Organization
The
provisions of Articles 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United
Nations Organization concerning the legal status of that
Organization, its privileges and immunities, shall apply in the same
way to this Organization.
Amendments
1. Proposals for amendments to this Constitution shall become effective upon receiving the approval of the General Conference by a two-thirds majority; provided, however, that those amendments which involve fundamental alterations in the aims of the Organization or new obligations for the Member States shall require subsequent acceptance on the part of two thirds of the Member States before they come into force. The draft texts of proposed amendments shall be communicated by the Director-General to the Member States at least six months in advance of their consideration by the General Conference.
2.
The General Conference shall have power to adopt by a two-thirds
majority rules of procedure for carrying out the provisions of this
Article.
Interpretation
1. The English and French texts of this Constitution shall be regarded as equally authoritative.
2.
Any question or dispute concerning the interpretation of this
Constitution shall be referred for determination to the International
Court of Justice or to an arbitral tribunal, as the General
Conference may determine under its Rules of Procedure.
Entry
into force
1.
This Constitution shall be subject to acceptance. The instrument of
acceptance shall be deposited with the Government of the United
Kingdom.
2.
This Constitution shall remain open for signature in the archives of
the Government of the United Kingdom. Signature may take place either
before or after the deposit of the instrument of acceptance. No
acceptance shall be valid unless preceded or followed by signature.
However, a state that has withdrawn from the Organization shall
simply deposit a new instrument of acceptance in order to resume
membership.
3.
This Constitution shall come into force when it has been accepted by
twenty of its signatories. Subsequent acceptances shall take effect
immediately.
4.
The Government of the United Kingdom will inform all Members of the
United Nations and the Director-General of the receipt of all
instruments of acceptance and of the date on which the Constitution
comes into force in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
In
faith whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized to that effect, have
signed this Constitution in the English and French languages, both
texts being equally authentic.
Done
in London the sixteenth day of November, one thousand nine hundred
and forty-five, in a single copy, in the English and French
languages, of which certified copies will be communicated by the
Government of the United Kingdom to the Governments of all the
Members of the United Nations.
The Constitution of UNESCO, signed on 16 November 1945, came into force on 4 November 1946 after ratification by twenty countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.
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