and to lay the foundations for the establishment as soon as practicable of a continuing international organization dedicated to the proposition that the free and unrestricted education of the peoples of the world, and the free and unrestricted interchange between them of ideas and knowledge are essential to the preservation of security and peace. II. FUNCTIONS The functions of the United Nations Organization for Educational and Cultural Reconstruction shall be: 1. to investigate the character and extent of the destruction of cultural and educational facilities, materials and personnel; to determine what remedial action is most urgently necessary to reestablish essential educational and cultural services upon an emergency basis, particularly for the reopening of schools for the children and youth of the war-torn countries; and to develop a program to deal with these emergency needs; 2. to determine what assistance in materials and personnel will be required in the liberated areas to restore their educational systems and institutions, and to develop programs to meet these needs by international action, insofar as they can not be met by the liberated nations themselves; 3. to investigate the looting and destruction of basic cultural resources including books, archival materials, works of art and scientific apparatus in the liberated areas and to develop programs for the restoration insofar as possible of these resources through international action and particularly through the cooperation and assistance of the libraries, archives, sources of supply of scientific equipment, educational institutions and similar agencies of those nations able and willing to assist and to seek the cooperation of other bodies having similar purposes; 4. to investigate and to provide for the interchange between nations of information concerning educational and cultural matters including scientific research; 5. to assist in the exchange between governments, through bilateral arrangements and otherwise, of such direct educational and cultural aid from one country to another as may appear mutually desirable; 6. to determine, upon the basis of the work of reconstruction and rehabilitation, the nature of the continuing cultural and educational matters which may warrant international consideration and activity; to recommend to the member governments for their action at the appropriate time the responsibilities and functions which a continuing international organization should undertake; and meanwhile to provide for such development of its own activities in the direction determined and within the limits suggested by experience as may seem to its members advisable. III. MEMBERSHIP Membership shall be open to all of the governments and authorities of the United Nations and the nations associated with them in the war. Other nations may be admitted to membership on application to the Executive Board and approval by the Conference. 1. The Conference IV. STRUCTURE a. There shall be a Conference of the Organization in which each member shall have not more than five delegates representative of the government and of the educational and cultural interests of the nation, selected in such manner as each member shall determine. b. Each member shall have one vote. c. The Conference shall meet at least once each year. d. The Conference shall elect annually a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and such other officers as it may determine, shall regulate its own procedure, authorize necessary committees and other subordinate bodies, and make rules governing the convocation of sessions and the adoption of agenda. e. Functions (1) The Conference shall determine the general policies of the Organization, make necessary regulations governing its operation, approve the budget and exercise the other powers conferred upon it by this instrument. (2) The Conference may adopt recommendations concerning educational and cultural matters to be submitted to the governments of the members for consideration with a view to national action. (3) The conference may establish such committees and other subordinate bodies as may be necessary to achieve the purposes of the Organization. (4) The Conference shall elect an Executive Board and delegate to it such powers as it may determine with the exception of the appointment of the Director, the definition of the functions of the Conference and amendment of this instrument, which powers are reserved to the Conference. The Conference in selecting the Executive Board shall give due consideration to the desirability of having personnel with varied experience in educational and cultural fields, taking account also of geographic distribution. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Conference shall serve as Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively, of the Executive Board. Additional personnel shall be elected from among the delegates in the Conference to constitute a Board of not more than fifteen. Not more than one delegate from any member shall serve as an officer or member of the Board. (5) The Conference shall elect a Director of the Organization by such procedure and on such terms as it may determine. 2. The Executive Board a. Acting under the general policies determined by the Conference the Executive Board shall: (1) establish regulations governing appointments to the staff of the Secre tariat by the Director; (2) prepare the agenda for the meetings of the Conference; (3) exercise the powers delegated to them by the Conference on behalf of the whole Conference and not as representatives of their respective governments; b. Between the meetings of the Conference the Executive Board may appoint standing committees subject to subsequent approval by the Conference. 3. The Director and the Staff a. The Director, subject to the supervision of the Executive Board, shall administer the work of the Organization. b. The Director, or a deputy designated by him, shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Conference and of the Board and shall formulate for consideration by the Conference and the Board proposals for appropriate action. c. The staff of the Organization shall be appointed by the Director under regulations established by the Executive Board. d. The staff of the Organization shall be responsible to the Director who himself shall be responsible to the Executive Board. The Director and the staff in the performance of these duties shall be responsible exclusively to the Organization and they shall not seek or receive instructions in regard to the discharge thereof from any authority external to the Organization. 1. Administrative V. FINANCE a. The administrative expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the members in proportions to be determined by the Conference. b. Each member shall, upon its acceptance of this instrument, undertake in accordance with its constitutional procedures to contribute its proportion of the annual administrative budget for the remainder of the current financial year. 2. Emergency Restoration Fund For the reconstruction of the educational and cultural facilities of war-devastated countries which are unable with their own resources to provide the minimum requirements there shall be created an Emergency Restoration Fund provided by the nations able to contribute to it. The total amount of this fund and the proportion of it to be recommended as the contribution of each nation deemed able to contribute shall be determined by the Conference on the basis of a report prepared by an Emergency Restoration Fund Committee, subject to any such contribution being approved and provided for pursuant to the constitutional processes of the respective members. The Committee shall be composed of one representative from each of the three members which make the largest contributions to the administrative budget of the Organization and three additional members selected by the Executive Board. The Committee shall also be responsible for allocating this fund for use in the respective war-devastated countries which are unable to meet their minimum requirements for restoration. VI. ADOPTION, AMENDMENT AND INTERPRETATION OF THE INSTRUMENT 1. Adoption of the Instrument When twenty of the governments and authorities of the United Nations and the nations associated with them in the war file with the Secretary of the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education official notice of their acceptance of this instrument, the Conference of the Organization shall be convened by call of the Chairman of the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education for the purpose of taking such action with respect to policies and plans as may seem desirable under the provisions of the instrument. 2. Amendment of the Instrument a. Amendments to this instrument involving new obligations for members shall require the approval of the Conference by a vote concurred in by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Conference present and voting and shall take effect on acceptance by two-thirds of the members for each member accepting the amendment and thereafter for each remaining member on acceptance by it. b. Other amendments shall take effect on adoption by the Conference by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. 843388-49-42 3. Interpretation of the Instrument Any question or dispute concerning the interpretation of this instrument shall be referred for determination to an international court or arbitral tribunal in the manner prescribed by rules to be adopted by the Conference. 1. Reports by Members VII. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS a. Each member shall report periodically to the Organization in a manner to be determined by the Conference, on activities and developments related to the functions of the Organization and on the action taken on the recommendations by the Conference. b. The Director shall submit these reports, together with analyses thereof, to the Conference and shall publish such reports and analyses as may be approved for publication by the Executive Board. c. Each member shall upon publication communicate to the Organization laws, regulations, official reports and statistics concerning its educational and cultural institutions. 2. Cooperation with International Organizations and Agencies a. The Organization shall wherever feasible cooperate with other international organizations and agencies with related interests. b. The Conference may enter into agreements with the competent authorities of such organizations and agencies defining the distribution of responsibilities and methods of cooperation and may maintain such joint committees with such organizations and agencies as may be necessary to assure effective cooperation. 3. Relation to the General International Organization This Organization or any permanent organization established in continuance, transformation, or supersession of the present Organization shall be brought into relationship with the general international organization by action of the appropriate organs of both bodies. 4. Legal Status a. The Organization shall have legal capacity to conclude contracts, to acquire, to hold, and to convey property, to accept endowments or gifts and in general to assume and discharge obligations and perform any legal act appropriate to its purpose within this instrument. The acquisition of real property by the Organization within the territory of any member shall be governed by the law of that nation. b. The Government of each member undertakes, insofar as may be possible under its constitutional procedures, to accord to Delegates to the Conference, to the Director and senior staff diplomatic privileges and immunities and to accord the other members of the staff all facilities and immunities accorded to nondiplomatic personnel attached to diplomatic missions. APPENDIX 50 March 8, 1945 64 International Organization for Education and THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, Determined that all possible steps shall be taken to further the attainment of international security and peace and to advance the welfare of the peoples of the world, Recognizing that cooperation in education and the furtherance of cultural interchange among the peoples of the world will promote the freedom, the dignity and the well-being of all and therefore assist in the attainment of security and peace, and Dedicated to the proposition that the free and unrestricted education of the peoples of the world, and the free and unrestricted exchange among them of ideas and knowledge are essential to the preservation of security and peace, Hereby establish the International Organization for Education and Cultural Cooperation and agree to support its broad purposes and functions as expressed in this constitution through their participation in the activities of this international agency and through their respective national educational and cultural programs. ARTICLE I The purposes of the International Organization for Education and Cultural Cooperation shall be: 1. To develop and maintain mutual understanding and appreciation of the life and culture of the peoples of the world as a basis for effective international organization and world peace. 2. To cooperate in making available to all peoples for the service of common human needs, the world's full body of knowledge, and in assuring the constructive contribution of educational, cultural, and scientific interchange to the economic stability, political security, and the general well-being of the peoples of the world. ARTICLE II Principal Functions To achieve these purposes the Organization shall: 1. Facilitate consultation among leaders in the educational and cultural life of all peace-loving countries. 2. Assist the free flow of ideas and information among the peoples of the world through schools, universities, libraries, publications, the press, the radio and motion picture, international conferences, and exchange of students, teachers, scientists, and other representatives of educational and cultural life; with special attention to exchange of information on major educational and cultural developments. 64 Final United States draft, communicated to Conference of Allied Ministers of Education in London. The two annexes to which this document refers were not presented with it and are not printed here. |