SECRET

1P-I. O. 263g

2March 8, 1945.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURAL COOPERATION

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,

3Determined 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,

Recoganizing that cooperation in education, science and scholarship 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 – PURPOSES

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 extending and 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, scientific 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 talents, teachers, scientists, and other representatives of educational and cultural life; with special attention to exchange of information on major educational and cultural developments.
3. Encourage the growth, within each country and in its relations with other countries, of educational and cultural programs which give support to international peace and security and discourage any educational and cultural activities which threaten harmonious relations among nations.
4. Develop and make available educational and cultural plans and materials for such consideration and use as each country may deem appropriate.
5. Conduct and encourage research and studies on educational, scientific and cultural problems related to the maintenance of peace and the advancement of human welfare.
6. Assist countries that need and request help in developing their educational, scientific and cultural activities.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

1. Members of the general international organization shall automatically be granted the right of membership. Other nations may be admitted by the Conference, acting by a two-thirds vote, upon recommendation of the Executive Board.
2. Any member may withdraw from the Organization after two years’ notice of intention to do so, provided that its financial obligations shall have been fulfilled at the time of withdrawal.
3. Each member nation undertakes, subject to the requirements of its constitutional procedure, to contribute to the organization promptly its share of the expenses. The right of a member to vote in the Conference and the eligibility of its nationals to be elected to the Executive Board shall be automatically suspended for any member that fails for two successive years to meet its financial obligations to this Organization, with the proviso that the Conference may in exceptional circumstances waive such suspension.
4. Members of the Organization which are suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership in the general international organization shall automatically be suspended from the rights and privileges of this Organization.

ARTICLE IV – ORGANS

1. The Organization shall include a Conference, an Executive Board, and a Secretariat.
2. Within each member state, there shall be established a National Commission for Education and Cultural Cooperation to cooperate with the international organizations as provided for in Article VIII.

ARTICLE V – THE CONFERENCE

A. Composition

4The Conference shall consist of the representatives of the members of the Organization. Each member shall designate not more than five delegates, who shall be selected in agreement with the National Commission on Education and Cultural Cooperation.

B. Functions and Powers

1. The Conference shall determine the general policies and the program of the Organization.
2. The Conference is empowered to make recommendations to the members and to adopt for submission to the members agreements on educational, scientific and cultural programs designed to accomplish the purposes of the Organization.
3. The Conference shall advise the general international organization on the educational, scientific and cultural aspects of matters of concern to the latter in accordance with terms and procedures agreed upon between the appropriate authorities of the two organizations.
4. The Conference shall receive and consider reports submitted periodically by the members on educational, scientific and cultural developments within their respective territories and on the effect given to the recommendations of the Organization.
5. The Conference shall elect the members of the Executive Board. It shall admit new members to the Organization and elect the Director-General on recommendation of the Executive Board.
6. The Conference shall approve the budget of the Organization and the allocation of financial responsibility to the members.
7. Gifts and bequests may be accepted by the Conference and utilized under its direction provided the conditions of the gift or bequest are consistent with the purposes and policies of the Organization.

C. Voting

5Each member shall have one vote in the Conference. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of those present and voting, except where otherwise specified in this instrument.

D. Procedure

1. The Conference shall meet annually in regular session; it may meet in extraordinary session on the call of the Executive Board. The sessions shall be held from time to time within the territories of different members.
2. The Conference shall set up such committees and other subordinate bodies as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.
3. The Conference shall elect its own officers and adopt its own rules of procedure.

ARTICLE VI – THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

A. Composition

6The Executive Board shall consist of fifteen persons elected by the Conference from among the delegates. Not more than one delegate from any member state shall serve on the Board at any one time. The members of the Board shall serve for a term of three years and shall not be immediately eligible for re-election. At the first election, five persons shall be elected for a three-year term, five for two years, and five for one year. Thereafter, five persons shall be elected each year. Members elected to the Executive Board for a partial term shall be eligible for re-election.

B. Functions and Powers

1. The Executive Board shall be responsible within the competence of the Organization for giving effect to the program for the Organization adopted by the Conference.
2. The Executive Board shall supervise the administration of the Organization and prepare the agenda for meetings of the Conference.
3. The Executive Board shall recommend to the Conference the admission of new members to the Organization.
4. It shall be empowered to make appointments to fill vacancies in its membership, which appointments shall terminate at the next meeting of the Conference, when an election shall be held for the unexpired term.

C. Procedure

7The Executive Board shall elect its own officers and determine its own rules of procedure.

ARTICLE VII – THE 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 elected by the Conference under such conditions of tenor and compensation as the Conference may approve. He shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization, immediately responsible to the Executive Board, and the staff shall be responsible to him. He or a deputy designated by him, shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Conference, the Board, and all committees of the Organization. He shall formulate proposals for appropriate action by the Conference and the Board.
3. The Director-General shall appoint the staff of the Secretariat under regulations adopted by the Executive Board which shall provide for the approval of appointments in the higher administrative grades. Subject to the requirements of efficiency and technical competence, the staff shall be recruited on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
4. In the performance of their duties, the Director-General and the staff shall be responsible only to the Organization. Their responsibilities shall be exclusively international in character, and they shall not seek or receive instructions in regard to the discharge thereof from any authority external to the Organization. The members undertake to respect fully the international character of the responsibilities of the Secretariat and not to seek to influence any of their nationals in the discharge of such responsibilities.

ARTICLE VIII – NATIONAL COMMISSIONS

A. Composition

8Each member of the International Organization for Education and Cultural cooperation shall establish a National Commission on Education and Cultural Cooperation, broadly representative of the government and the group devoted to and interested in educational scientific and cultural matters. Delegates to the Conference shall, during their period of service, be included in the National Commission. Each member shall be free to adapt the size and scope of the National Commission to its own special conditions.

B. Functions and Powers

1. The National Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the government and to the national delegation to the Conference on matters related to the organization.
2. The national delegation to the Conference shall be appointed by the government in agreement with the National Commission.
3. The National Commission shall consider recommendations and reports made by the International Organization for Education and Cultural Cooperation and take such steps as it considers desirable to secure action on these matters within its own country and to further the general objectives of the Organization.
4. Each member may assign to the National Commission such additional functions as are consistent with the purposes of the Organization.

ARTICLE IX – REPORTS BY MEMBERS

1. 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.
2. Each member shall upon publication communicate to the Organization laws, regulations, official reports and statistics concerning its educational, scientific and cultural institutions and organizations.

ARTICLE X – JURIDICAL STATUS OF THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS PERSONNEL

1. The Organization shall possess international personality and legal capacity. The members of the Organization shall accord to the Organization the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities which they accord to each other, including, in particular (a) immunity from every form of legal process; (b) exemption from taxation and customs duties; and (c) inviolability of premises occupied by, and of the archives and communications of, the Organization.
2. The members of the Organization shall accord diplomatic privileges and immunities to persons appointed by other members as their representatives in or to the Organization, and to the higher officials of the Organization not being their own nationals. They shall accord to all officials and employees of the Organization (a) immunity from suit and legal process relating to acts performed by them in their official capacity; (b) exemption from taxation of their official salaries and emoluments; and, in general, (c) such privileges, exemptions and facilities as they accord under similar circumstances to officials and employees of foreign governments.

ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENTS

1. Proposals for amendments to this instrument shall require the approval of the Conference by a two-thirds majority, and amendments shall take effect on ratification by two-thirds of the member states. The draft texts of proposed amendments shall be communicated by the Director-General to the members at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Conference.
2. The Conference shall have power to adopt by a two-thirds majority rules prescribing the times within which proposed amendments must be accepted in order to become effective and other rules of procedure to carry out the provisions of this Article.

ARTICLE XII – INTERPRETATION

9Any question or dispute concerning the interpretation of this instrument shall be referred for determination to the international court of justice or to an arbitral tribunal as the Conference may determine.

ARTICLE XIII – RELATION WITH THE GENERAL INTER-NATIONAL ORGANIZATION

1. The Organization shall be brought into relationship with the general international organization, this relationship to be defined in an agreement approved by the appropriate organs of both bodies.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XI, such agreement may, if approved by the Conference by a two-thirds majority, involve modification of the provisions of this Constitution, provided that no such agreement shall modify the purposes and limitations of the Organization.

ARTICLE XIV – RELATIONS WITH OTHER SPECIALIZED INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1. The Organization may cooperate with other specialized international organizations, both public and private, whose interests and activities are related to and in harmony with its purposes.
2. The Executive Board, with the approval of the Conference, may enter into agreements with the competent authorities of such organizations defining the distribution of responsibilities and methods of cooperation, and maintain such joint committees with them as may be necessary to assure effective cooperation.
3. Whenever the Conference of this Organization and the competent authorities of any other organization whose purposes are similar deem it desirable to effect transfer of the resources and functions of the latter to this Organization, the Executive Board, subject to the approval of the Conference, may enter into mutually acceptable arrangements for this purpose.

ARTICLE XV – ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION

10This instrument shall come into effect when fifteen of the governments of the United Nations shall have filed with the Secretary of the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education or its successor official notice of their acceptance of it and adherence to the Organization. Thereupon, the Chairman of the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education or its successor shall convene the first Conference of the Organization, which shall proceed with the election of the Executive Board and the Director-General and shall make whatever other arrangements may be necessary to put the Organization into operation.

TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

1. For the first meeting of the Conference, the provision in Article IV, Section A, that the delegates designated by any member shall be selected in agreement with the national Commission on Educational and Cultural Cooperation, shall not apply, but in naming delegates to this meeting each member shall endeavour to provide for representation of the educational and cultural interests of the nation.
2. The following exceptional arrangements shall apply in respect of the financial year in which this constitution comes into force: the budget shall be the provisional budget set forth in Annex I to this constitution; and the amounts to be contributed by the member nations shall be in the proportions set forth in Annex II to this constitution.