No.

52

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANISATION
Signed at London, on 16 November 1945
Came into force on 4 November 1946 by acceptance.

English and French official texts communicated by the Minister for Foreign
Affairs of the Netherlands. The registration took place on 12 June 1947.

CONVENTION CREANT UNE ORGANISATION DES

NATIONS UNIES POUR L'EDUCATION,
LA SCIENCE ET LA CULTURE
Sign e Londres, le 16 novembre 1945
Entr e en vigueur le 4 novembre 1946 par acceptation.

Textes officiels anglais et français communiqués par le ministre des Affaires

étrangères des Pays-Bas. L'enregistrement a eu lieu le 12 juin 1947.
276 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

No. 52. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS EDU

CATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISA
TION. SIGNED AT LONDON ON 16 NOVEMBER 1945

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 pos
sible 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 there
fore 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 Educa
tional, Scientific and Cultural Organisation 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 Organisation was established and which its Charter
proclaims.
278 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

Article I.
Purposes and Functions.
1. The purpose of the Organisation 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 realise this purpose the Organisation will:
(a) collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and under
standing 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;
(b) give fresh impulse to popular education and to the spread of culture;

by collaborating with Members, at their request, in the development of edu

cational activities;
by instituting collaboration among the nations to advance the ideal of
equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinc
tions, economic or social;
by suggesting educational methods best suited to prepare the children of
the world for the responsibilities of freedom;
(c) 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 co-operation among the nations in all branches of intel

lectual 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 co-operation 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 this
Organisation, the Organisation is prohibited from intervening in matters which
are essentially within their domestic jurisdiction.
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280 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

Article II.
Membership.
1. Membership of the United Nations Organisation shall carry with it the
right to membership of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation.
2. Subject to the conditions of the agreement between this Organisation and
the United Nations Organisation, approved pursuant to Article X of this Con
stitution, States not members of the United Nations Organisation may be ad
mitted to membership of the Organisation, upon recommendation of the Execu
tive Board, by a two-thirds majority vote of the General Conference.

3. Members of the Organisation which are suspended from the exercise of

the rights and privileges of membership of the United Nations Organisation shall,
upon the request of the latter, be suspended from the rights and privileges of this
Organisation.
4. Members of the Organisation which are expelled from the United
Nations Organisation shall automatically cease to be members of this Organisa
tion.
»

Article III.
Organs.
The Organisation shall include a General Conference, an Executive Board
and a Secretariat.

Article IV.
The General Conference.
A. Composition.
1. The General Conference shall consist of the representatives of the
States Members of the Organisation. 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 Organisation. It shall take decisions on programmes drawn up
by the Executive Board.
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282 United Nations — Treaty Series 194 7

3. The General Conference shall, when it deems it desirable, summon inter

national conferences on education, the sciences and humanities and the dissemi
nation of knowledge.
4. The General Conference shall, in adopting proposals for submission to
the Member States, distinguish between recommendations and international con
ventions 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 Gen
eral Conference at which they were adopted.

5. The General Conference shall advise the United Nations Organisation

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 Organisations.
6. The General Conference shall receive and consider the reports submitted
periodically by Member States as provided by Article VIII.
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. 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. A majority
shall be a majority of the Members present and voting.

D. Procedure.
9. The General Conference shall meet annually in ordinary session; it
may meet in extraordinary session on the call of the Executive Board. At each
session the location of its next session shall be designated by the General Con
ference and shall vary from year to year.
10. The General Conference shall, at each session, elect a President and
other officers and adopt rules of procedure.
11. The General Conference shall set up special and technical committees
and such other subordinate bodies 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.
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284 , United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

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 commission
representatives of international organisations, such as those referred to in Article
XI, paragraph 4.

Article V.
Executive Board.
A. Composition.
1. The Executive Board shall consist of eighteen members elected by the
General Conference from among the delegates appointed by the Member States,
together with the President of the Conference who shall sit. ex officio in an
advisory capacity.
2. In electing the members of the Executive Board the General Conference
shall endeavour to include persons competent in the arts, the humanities, the
sciences, education and the diffusion of ideas, and qualified by their experience
and capacity to fulfil the administrative and executive duties of the Board. It
shall also have regard to the diversity of cultures and a balanced geographical
distribution. Not more than one national of any Member State shall serve on
the Board at any one time, the President of the Conference excepted.

3. The elected members of the Executive Board shall serve for a term of
three years, and shall be immediately eligible for a second term, but shall not
serve consecutively for more than two terms. At the first election eighteen mem
bers shall be elected of whom one-third shall retire at the end of the first year
and one-third at the end of the second year, the order of retirement being-
determined immediately after the election by the drawing of lots. Thereafter six
members shall be elected each year.
4. In the event of the death or resignation of one of its members, the
Executive Board shall appoint, from among the delegates of the Member State
concerned, a substitute, who shall serve until the next session of the General
Conference which shall elect a member for the remainder of the term.

B. Functions.
5. The Executive Board, acting under the authority of the General Con
ference, shall be responsible for the execution of the programme adopted by the
Conference and shall prepare its agenda and programme of work.

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286 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

6. The Executive Board shall recommend to the General Conference the

admission of new Members to the Organisation.
7. 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 mem
bers.
8. The Executive Board shall meet in regular session at least twice a year
and may meet in special session if convoked by the Chairman on his own initia
tive or upon the request of six members of the Board.
9. The Chairman of the Executive Board shall present to the General Con
ference, with or without comment, the annual report of the Director-General
on the activities of the Organisation, which shall have been previously submitted
to the Board.
10. The Executive Board shall make all necessary arrangements to consult
the representatives of international organisations or qualified persons concerned
with questions within its competence.
11. The members of the Executive Board shall exercise the powers delegated
to them by the General Conference on behalf of the Conference as a whole and
not as representatives of their respective Governments.

Article VI.
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 six years, under such con
ditions as the Conference may approve, and shall be eligible for reappointment.
He shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organisation.
3. 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 Organisation. He shall formulate
proposals for appropriate action by the Conference and the Board.
4. The Director-General shall appoint the staff of the Secretariat in ac
cordance 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.
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288 __ United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

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 Organisation. They shall refrain from any action which might
prejudice their position as international officials. Each State Member of the
Organisation undertakes to respect the international character of the responsi
bilities 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 Organisation from entering
into special arrangements within the United Nations Organisation for common
services and staff and for the interchange of personnel.

Article VII.
National Co-operating Bodies.
1. Each Member State shall make such arrangements as suit its particular
conditions for the purpose of associating its principal bodies interested in educa
tional, scientific and cultural matters with the work of the Organisation, preferably
by the formation of a National Commission broadly representative of the Gov
ernment and such bodies..
2. National Commissions or national co-operating bodies, where they exist,
shall act in an advisory capacity to their respective delegations to the General
Conference and to their Governments in matters relating to the Organisation and
shall function as agencies of liaison in all matters of interest to it.

3. The Organisation may, on the request of a Member State, delegate,

either temporarily or permanently, a member of its Secretariat to serve on the
National Commission of that State, in order to assist in the development of its
work.
Article VIII.
Reports by Member States.
Each Member State shall report periodically to the Organisation, in a man
ner to be determined by the General Conference, on its laws, regulations and
statistics relating to educational, scientific and cultural life and institutions, and
on the action taken upon the recommendations and conventions referred to in
Article IV, paragraph 4.

Article IX.
Budget
1. The budget shall be administered by the Organisation. .
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290 United Nations — Treaty Series __ 1947

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 Organisation 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, with the approval of the Executive Board, may

receive gifts, bequests, and subventions directly from Governments, public and
private institutions, associations and private persons.

Article X.
Relations with the United Nations Organisation.
This Organisation shall be brought into relation with the United Nations
Organisation, as soon as practicable, as one of the specialised 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 Organisation under
Article 63, of the Charter, which agreement shall be subject to the approval of the
General Conference of this Organisation. The agreement shall provide for effec
tive co-operation between the two Organisations in the pursuit of their common
purposes, and at the same time shall recognise the autonomy of this Organisation,
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 Organisation by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Article XI.
Relations with other specialised international Organisations
and agencies.
1. This Organisation may co-operate with other specialised intergovern
mental organisations 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
organisations and agencies and establish such joint committees as may be
necessary to assure effective co-operation. Any formal arrangements entered into
with such organisations or agencies shall be subject to the approval of the
Executive Board.
2. Whenever the General Conference of this Organisation and the com
petent authorities of any other specialised inter-governmental organisations or
agencies whose purposes and functions lie within the competence of this Organi
sation, deem it desirable to effect a transfer of their resources and activities to this
Organisation, the Director-General, subject to the approval of the Conference,
may enter into mutually acceptable arrangements for this purpose.
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292 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

3. This Organisation may make appropriate arrangements with other inter

governmental organisations for reciprocal representation at meetings.

4. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation,

may make suitable arrangements for consultation and co-operation with non
governmental international organisations concerned with matters within its com
petence, and may invite them to undertake specific tasks. Such co-operation may
also include appropriate participation by representatives of such organisations
on advisory committees set up by the General Conference.

Article XII.
Legal status of the Organisation.
The provisions of Articles 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United Nations
Organisation concerning the legal status of that Organisation, its privileges and
immunities shall apply in the same way to this Organisation.

Article XIII.
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 Organisation 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.
* ' 2w -The General Conference shall have power to adopt by a two-thirds
majority rules of procedure for carrying out the provisions of this Article.

Article XIV.
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.
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294 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

Article XV.
Entry into force.
1. This Constitution shall be subject to acceptance. The instruments 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.
3. This Constitution shall come into force when it has been accepted by
twenty of its signatories.1 Subsequent acceptances shall take effect immediately.

4. The Government of the United Kingdom will inform all members of

the United Nations 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 authorised 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, 1945, in a single copy,
in the English and French languages, of which certified copies will be commu
nicated by the Government of the United Kingdom to the Governments of all
the Members of the United Nations.

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
Conrado Traverse
AUSTRALIA

BELGIUM
A. Buisseret
BOLIVIA
C. Salamanca
BRAZIL
Moniz de Aragao
THE BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

1 See list, page 300 of this Volume.

Ne. 52
296 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

CANADA
Vincent Massey
CHILE
Francisco Walker Linares
CHINA
Hu Shih
COLOMBIA
J. J. Arangc
COSTA RICA

CUBA
Luis Marino Ferez
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Jan Opocensky
DENMARK
Alb. Michelsen
THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
A. Pastoriza
ECUADOR
Alb. Puig
EGYPT
A, Fattah Ah. Amr.
EL SALVADOR

ETHIOPIA

FRANCE

GREECE
Th. Aghnides
GUATEMALA
M. Galich
HAITI
L on Laleau
HONDURAS

INDIA
John Sargent
IRAN
A. A. Hekmat
IRAQ
Naju Al Asil .
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298 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

LEBANON
Camille Chamoun
LIBERIA
J. W. Pearson
LUXEMBOURG
A. Als
MEXICO
J. T. Bodet
THE NETHERLANDS
v. d. Leeuw
NEW ZEALAND

NICARAGUA
Ernesto Selva
NORWAY
Nils Hjelmtveit
PANAMA
E. A. Morales
PARAGUAY

PERU
A. Letts
THE PHILIPPINES
Maximo M. Kalaw
POLAND
Bernard Drzewieski
SAUDI ARABIA
Hafiz Wahba
SYRIA
N. Armanazi
TURKEY
Yucel
THE UKRAINIAN SOVIET
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

G. Heaton Nicholls
THE UNION OF SOVIET
SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

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300 United Nations — Treaty Series 1947

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT

BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Ellen Wilkinson
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

URUGUAY
R. E. Maceachen
VENEZUELA
A. Rodriguez Aspurua
YUGOSLAVIA
Dr. Ljubo Leontic

LIST OF ACCEPTANCES
United Kingdom ..................................... 20 February 1946
New Zealand ........................................ 6 March 1946
Saudi Arabia ......................................... 30 April 1946
Union of South Africa ................................ 3 June 1946
Australia ............................................ 11 June 1946
India and Pakistan ................................... 12 June 1946
Mexico .............................................. 12 June 1946
France .............................................. 29 June 1946
Dominican Republic .................................. 2 July 1946
Turkey .............................................. 6 July 1946
Egypt ............................................... 16 July 1946
Norway ............................................. 8 August 1946
Canada ............................................. 6 September 1946
China ............................................... 13 September 1946
Denmark ............................................ 20 September 1946
United States of America .............................. 30 September 1946
Czechoslovakia ....................................... 5 October 1946
Brazil ................................................. 14 October 1946
Lebanon ............................................. 28 October 1946
Greece ............................................... 4 November 19-16
Poland .............................................. 6 November 1946
Bolivia .............................................. 13 November 1916
Syria ............................................... 16 November 1946
Haiti ............................................... 18 November 1946
Peru ................................................ 21 November 1946
Philippines .......................................... 21 November 1946
Venezuela ........................................... 25 November 1946
Belcriura ............................................. 29 November 1946
Netherlands .......................................... 1 January 1947

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