CONSTITUTION OF THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
Note; The Philippines was an original signatory to this Constitution. It entered into force, October 16, 1945.
Reference: This Constitution is also published in I DFA TS Xo 2r p. 1 and the Y.U.N., p. 693.
Preamble
The Nations accepting this Constitution, being determined to promote the common welfare by furthering separate and collective action on their part for the purposes of Raising levels of nutrition and standards of living of the peoples under their respective jurisdictions, Securing improvements in the efficiency of the production and distribution of all food and agricultural products,
Bettering the condition of rural populations, and thus Contributing toward an expanding world economy, hereby establish the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, hereinafter referred to as the “Organization,” through which the Members will report to one another on the measures taken and the progress achieved in the fields of action set forth above.
ARTICLE I
FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION
1. The Organization shall collect, analyse, interpret, and disseminate infor mation relating to nutrition, food and agriculture.
2. The Organization shall promote and, where appropriate, shall recommend national and international action with respect to.
(a) scientific, technological, social, and economic research relating to nutrition, food and agriculture;
(b) the improvement of education and administration relating to nutrition, food and agriculture, and the spread of public knowledge of nutritional and agricultural science and practice; 91
(c) the conservation of natural resources and the adoption of improved methods of agricultural production;
(d) the improvement of the processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products;
(e) the adoption of policies for the provision of adequate agricultural credit, national and international;
(f) the adoption of international policies with respect to agricultural commodity arrangements.
3. It shall also be the function of the Organization
(a) to furnish such technical assistance as governments may request;
(b) to organize, in cooperation with the governments concerned, such missions as may be needed to assist them to fulfill the obligations arising from their acceptance of the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture; and
(c) generally to take all necessary and appropriate action to implement the purposes of the Organization as set forth in the Preamble.
ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP
1. The original Members of the Organization shall-be such of the nations specified in Annex I as accept this Constitution in accordance with the provisions of Article XXI.
2. Additional Members may be admitted to the Organization by a vote con curred in by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Conference and upon acceptance of this Constitution as in force at the time of admission.
ARTICLE III
THE CONFERENCE
1. There shall be a Conference of the Organization in which each Member nation shall be represented by one member. 2. Each Member nation may appoint: an alternate, associates, and advisers to its member of the Conference.. The Conference may make rules concerning the participation of alternates, associates, and advisers in its proceedings, but any such participation shall be without the right to vote except in the case of an alternate or associate participating in the place of a member. .3. No member of the Conference may represent more than one Member nation.
4. Each Member nation shall have only one vote. A Member nation which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the conference if the amount of arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. The conference may, nevertheless, permit such a Member nation to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member nation.
5. The Conference may invite any public international organization which has responsibilities related to those of the Organization to appoint a representative who shall participate in its meetings on the conditions prescribed by the Conference. No such representative shall have the right to vote.
6. The Conference shall meet at least once in every year.
7. The Conference shall elect its own officers, regulate its own procedure, and make rules governing the convocation of sessions and the determination of agenda.
8. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Constitution or by rules made by the Conference, all matters shall be decided by the Conference by a simple majority of the votes cast.
ARTICLE IV
FUNCTIONS OF THE CONFERENCE
1. The Conference shall determine the policy and approve the budget of the Organization and shall exercise the other powers conferred upon it by this Con stitution.
2. The Conference may by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast make re commendations concerning questions relating to food and agriculture to be sub mitted to Member nations for consideration with a view to implementation by national action.
3. The Conference may by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast submit conventions concerning questions relating to food and agriculture to Member na tions for consideration with a view to their acceptance by the appropriate con stitutional procedure.
4. The Conference shall make rules laying down the procedure to be fol lowed to secure:
(a) proper consultation with governments and adequate technical preparation prior to consideration by the Conference of proposed recommendations and conventions; and
(b) proper consultation with governments in regard to relations between the Organization and national institutions or private persons.
5. The Conference may make recommendations to any public international organization regarding any matter pertaining to the purpose of the Organization.
6. The Conference may, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, agree to discharge any other functions consistent with the purposes of the Organization which may be assigned to it by governments or provided for by any arrangement between the Organization and any other public international organization.
ARTICLE V
COUNCIL OF FAO
1. The Conference shall elect a Council of the Food and Agriculture Organ ization consisting of eighteen Member nations, which will each be represented by one member. The Conference shall appoint an independent Chairman of the Council. The tenure and other conditions of office of the members of the Council shall be subject to rules to be made by the Conference.
2. The Conference may delegate to the Council such powers as it may deter mine, with the exception of powers set forth in paragraph 2 of Article II, para graphs 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Article IV, paragraph 1 of Article VII, Article XIII. and Article XX of this Constitution.
3. The Council shall appoint its officers other than the Chairman and, subject to any decision of the Conference, shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
4. The Council shall establish a Coordinating Committee to tender advice on the coordination of technical work and the continuity of the activities of the Organization undertaken in accordance with the decisions of the Conference.
ARTICLE VI
COMMITTEES AND CONFERENCES
1. The Conference may establish technical and regional standing committees and may appoint committees to study and report on any matter pertaining to-the purpose of the Organization.
2. The Conference may convene general, technical, regional, or ofher special conferences and may provide for the representation at such conferences, in such manner as it may determine, of national and international bodies :oncerned with nutrition, food and agriculture.
ARTICLE VII
THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
1. There shall be a Director-General of the Organization who shall be ap pointed by the Conference by such procedure and on such terms as it may deter mine.
2. Subject to the general supervision of the Conference and the Council, the Director-General shall have full power and authority to direct the work of the Organization.
3. The Director-General or a representative designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Conference and of the Council and shall formulate for consideration by the Conference and the Council proposals for appropriate action in regard to matters coming before them.
ARTICLE VIII
STAFF
1. The staff of the Organization shall be appointed by the Director-General in accordance with such procedure as may be determined by rules made by the Conference.
2. The staff of the Organization shall be responsible to the Director-General. Their responsibilities shall be exclusively international in character and they shall not seek or receive instructions in regard to the discharge thereof from any au thority external to the Organization. The Member nations undertake fully to respect the international character of the responsibilities of the staff and not to seek to influence any of their nationals in the discharge of such responsibilities.
3. In appointing the staff the Director-General shall, subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical com petence, pay due regard to the importance of selecting personnel recruited on as wide a geographical basis as is possible.
4. Each Member nation undertakes, insofar as it may be possible under its constitutional procedure, to accord to the Director-General and senior staff diplo matic privileges and immunities and to accord to other members of the staff all facilities and immunities accorded to non-diplomatic personnel attached to diplo matic missions, or alternatively to accord to such other members of the staff the immunities and facilities which may hereafter be accorded to equivalent members of the staffs of other public international organizations.
ARTICLE IX
SEAT
The seat of the Organization shall be determined by the Conference.
ARTICLE X
REGIONAL AND LIAISON OFFICES
1, There shall be such regional offices as the Director-General with the ap proval of the Conference may decide.
2. The Director-General may appoint officials for liaison with particular countries or areas subject to the government of the government concerned.
ARTICLE XI
REPORTS BY MEMBERS
1. Each Member nation shall communicate periodically to the Organization reports on the progress made toward achieving the purpose of the Organization set forth in the Preamble and on the action taken on the basis of recommenda tions made and conventions submitted by the Conference.
2. These reports shall be made at such times and in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Conference may request.
3. The Director-General 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 Conference together with any reports relating thereto adopted by the Conference.
4. The Director-General may request any Member nation to submit informa tion relating to the purpose of the Organization.
5. Each Member nation shall, on request, communicate to the Organization, on publication, all laws and regulations and official reports and statistics con cerning nutrition, food and agriculture.
ARTICLE XII
COOPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
1. In order to provide for close cooperation between the Organization and other public international organizations with related responsibilities, the Confer ence may, subject to the provisions of Article XIII, enter into agreements with the competent authorities of such organizations defining the distribution of re sponsibilities and methods of cooperation.
2. The Director-General may, subject to any decisions of the Conference, enter into agreements with other public international organizations for the main tenance of common services, for common arrangements in regard to recruitment, training, conditions of service, and other related matters, and for interchanges of staff.
ARTICLE XIII
RELATION TO ANY GENERAL WORLD ORGANIZATION
1. The Organization shall, in accordance with the procedure provided for in the following paragraph, constitute a part of any general international organization to which may be entrusted the coordination of the activities of international or ganizations with specialized responsibilities.
2. Arrangements for defining the relations between the Organization and any such general organization shall be subject to the approval of the Conference. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XX, such arrangements may, if approved by the Conference by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, involve modifica tion of the provisions of this Constitution: Provided that no such arrangements shall modify the purposes and limitations of the Organization as set forth in this Constitution.
ARTICLE XIV
SUPERVISION OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
The Conference may approve arrangements placing other public international organizations dealing with questions relating to food and agriculture under the general authority of the Organization on such terms as may be agreed with the competent authorities of the organization concerned.
ARTICLE XV
LEGAL STATUS
1. The Organization shall have the capacity of a legal person to perform any legal act appropriate to its purpose which is not beyond the powers granted to it by this Constitution.
2. Each Member nation undertakes, insofar as it may be possible under its constitutional procedure, to accord to the Organization all the immunities and facilities which it accords to diplomatic missions, including inviolability of pre mises and archives, immunity from suit, and exemptions from taxation.
3. The Conference shall make provision for the determination by an admin istrative tribunal of disputes relating to the conditions and terms of appointment of members of the staff.
ARTICLE XVI
FISH AND FOREST PRODUCTS
In this Constitution the term “agriculture” and its derivatives include fisheries, marine products, forestry, and primary forestry products.
ARTICLE XVII
INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION
Any question or dispute concerning the interpretation of this Constitution or any international convention adopted thereunder shall be referred for determination to an appropriate international court or arbitral tribunal in the manner prescribed by rules to be adopted by the Conference.
ARTICLE XVIII
EXPENSES
1. Subject to the provisions of Article XXV, the Director-General shall subrait to the Conference an annual budget covering the anticipated expenses of the Organization. Upon approval of a budget the total amount approved shall be allocated among the Member nations in proportions determined, from time to time, by the Conference. Each Member nation undertakes, subject to the require ments of its constitutional procedure, to contribute to the Organization promptly its share of the expenses so determined.
2. Bach Member nation shall, upon its acceptance of this Constitution, pay as its first contribution its proportion of the annual budget for the current finan cial year.
3. The financial year of the Organization shall be July 1 to June 30 unless the Conference should otherwise determine.
ARTICLE XIX
WITHDRAWAL
Any Member nation may give notice of withdrawal from the Organization at any time after the expiration of four years from the date of its acceptance of this Constitution. Such notice shall take effect one year after the date of its communication to the Director-General of the Organization subject to the Member nation’s having at that time paid its annual contribution for each year of its membership including the financial year following the date of such notice.
ARTICLE XX
AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION
1. Amendments to this Constitution involving new obligations for Member nations shall require the approval of the Conference by a vote concurred in by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Conference and shall take effect on acceptance by two-thirds of the Member nations for each Member nation accepting the amendment and thereafter for each remaining Member nation on acceptance by it.
2. Other amendments shall take effect on adoption by the Conference by a vote concurred in by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Conference.
ARTICLE XXI
ENTRY INTO FORCE OF CONSTITUTION
1. This Constitution shall be open to acceptance by the nations specified in Annex I.
2. The instruments of acceptance shall be transmitted by each government to the United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture, which shall notify their receipt to the governments of the nations specified in Annex I. Ac ceptance may be notified to the Interim Commission through a diplomatic rep resentative, in which case the instrument of acceptance must be transmitted to the Commission as soon as possible thereafter.
3. Upon the receipt by the Interim Commission of twenty notifications of acceptance the Interim Commission shall arrange for this Constitution to be signed in a single copy by the diplomatic representatives, duly authorized thereto, of the nations who shall have notified their acceptance, and upon being so signed on behalf of not less than twenty of the nations specified in Annex I of this Con stitution shall come into force immediately.
4. Acceptances the notification of which is received after the entry into force of this Constitution shall become effective upon receipt by the Interim Commis sion or the Organization.
ARTICLE XXII
FIRST SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE
The United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture shall convene the first session of the Conference to meet at a suitable date after the entry into force of this Constitution.
ARTICLE XXIII
LANGUAGES
Pending the adoption by the Conference of any rules regarding languages, the business of the Conference shall be transacted in English.
ARTICLE XXIV
TEMPORARY SEAT
The temporary seat of the Organization shall- be at Washington unless the Conference should otherwise determine.
ARTICLE XXV
FIRST FINANCIAL YEAR
The following exceptional arrangements shall apply in respect of the first-financial year in which this Constitution comes into force:
(a) The budget shall be the provisional budget set forth in Annex JI to this Constitution; and
(b) The amounts to be contributed by the Member nations shall be in. the proportions set forth in Annex II to this Constitution: Provided that each Member nation may deduct therefrom the amount already contributed by it toward the expenses of the Interim Commission.
ARTICLE XXVI
DISSOLUTION OF THE INTERIM COMMISSION
On the opening of the first session ot the Conference, the United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture shall be deemed to be dissolved and its records and other property shall become the property of the Organization.
ANNEX I
NATIONS ELIGIBLE FOR ORIGINAL MEMBERSHIP
| AUSTRIA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
| BELGIUM | ECUADOR |
| BOLIVIA | EGYPT |
| BRAZIL | EL SALVADOR |
| CANADA | ETHIOPIA |
| CHILE | FRANCE |
| CHINA | GREECE |
| COLOMBIA | GUATEMALA |
| COSTA RICA | HAITI |
| CUBA | HONDURAS |
| CZECHOSLOVAKIA | ICELAND |
| DENMARK | INDIA |
| IRAN | PERU |
| IRAQ | PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH |
| LIBERIA | POLAND |
| LUXEMBOURG | UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA |
| MEXICO | UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST |
| NETHERLANDS | REPUBLICS |
| NEW ZEALAND | UNITED KINGDOM |
| NICARAGUA | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA |
| NORWAY | URUGUAY |
| PANAMA | VENEZUELA |
| PARAGUAY | YUGOSLAVIA |
ANNEX II
BUDGET FOR THE FIRST FINANCIAL YEAR
The provisional budget for the first financial year shall be a sum of 2,500,000 U.S. dollars, the unspent balance of which shall constitute the nucleus of a capital fund.
The sum shall be contributed by the Member nations in the following proportions:
Australia Belgium Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia France Greece Guatemala Haiti Honduras Iceland India Iran Iraq Liberia Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Norway Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Union of South Africa U. S. S. R United Kingdom U. S. A Uruguay Venezuela Yugoslavia Provision for new Members Total
Done at Quebec, Canada, this sixteenth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and forty-five in the English language, in a single copy which will be deposited in the archives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and of which authenticated copies will be transmitted by the Director-General to the governments of the nations enumerated in Annex I to this constitution and of Members admitted to Organization by the Conference in accordance with the provisions of Article II.
| Parties to the Agreement as of December 31, 1965 | |
| Afghanistan | Brazil |
| Algeria | British Guiana[1] |
| Argentina | Burma |
| Australia | Burundi |
| Austria | Cambodia |
| Basotuland[1] | Cameroon |
| Bechuanaland[1] | Canada |
| Belgium | Central African Republic |
| Bolivia | Ceylon |
| Chad | Liberia |
| Chile | Libya |
| Colombia | Luxembourg |
| Congo (Brazaville) | Madagascar |
| Congo (Leopoldville) | Malawi |
| Costa Rica | Malaysia |
| Cuba | Mali |
| Cyprus | Malta |
| Dahomey | Mauritania |
| Denmark | Mauritius[1] |
| Dominican Republic | Mexico |
| Ecuador | Morocco |
| El Salvador | Nepal |
| Ethiopia | Netherlands |
| Finland | New Zealand |
| France | Nicaragua |
| Gabon | Niger |
| Gambia | Nigeria |
| Federal Republic of Germany | Norway |
| Ghana | Pakistan |
| Greece | Panama |
| Guatemala | Paraguay |
| Guinea | Peru |
| Haiti | Philippines |
| Honduras | Poland |
| Iceland | Portugal |
| India | Rumania |
| Indonesia | Rwanda |
| Iran | Saudi Arabia |
| Iraq | Senegal |
| Ireland | Sierra Leone |
| Israel | Somali Republic |
| Italy | Spain |
| Ivory Coast | Sudan |
| Jamaica | Sweden |
| Japan | Switzerland |
| Jordan | Syrian Arab Republic |
| Kenya | Tanzania |
| Korea | Thailand |
| Kuwait | Togo |
| Laos | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Lebanon | Tunisia |
| Turkey | Uruguay |
| Uganda | Venezuela |
| United Arab Republic | Viet-nam |
| United Kingdom | Yemen Arab Republic |
| United States of America | Yugoslavia |
| Upper Volta | Zambia |
[1] Associate Member.
Entry into Force: October 16, 1945