Conference of Consultative Non-Governmental Organizations
Max Habicht and L Kopelmanas
Appendix 4.7 of the International Associations Statutes Series vol 1, UIA eds (1988)
At its second session in March 1949 the Study Committee created by the Conference, although renouncing for the moment the idea of establishing legal personality in international law for international organizations, was of the opinion that considerable progress could be made in stabilizing the legal status of the consultative international organizations if the various States could be induced to recognize on their respective territory the legal status which such an organization had acquired in the country where it was legally constituted, especially if certain facilities could be granted by all states to such international organizations (such as deliverance of passports, visas, travel facilities, foreign personnel, currency, customs regulations, etc). The Study Committee therefore proposed the following draft convention which was presented to the 2nd Conference of Consultative Non-Governmental Organizations in June 1949 at Lake Success (1, pp. 4-8).
Preliminary draft agreement designed to facilitate the work of non-governmental organizaitons having consultative or equivalent status with the organs of the United Nations
Whereas the development of the international activity of non-governmental organizations, in particular those having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations or an equivalent status with one or other of the Specialized Agencies, is of the highest interest for the progress of international relations, and
Whereas the lack of a firm and assured regime is at present making it difficult for such organizations to operate satisfactorily, it has been agreed as follows:
Art. 1 The Acceding States undertake to confer the benefit of the provisions of the present Agreement on non-governmental organizations which fulfill the following conditions:
(a) that they shall have been constituted in the territory of one of the Acceding States and in conformity with its laws; and
(b) that they shall have been granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council or an equivalent status with one or other of the Specialized Agencies.
Any of the Acceding States may extend the benefit of the present Agreement to any other non-governmental organization it wishes.
Art. 2 The organizations covered by [Article 1] shall be fully entitled to enjoy in the territories of the Acceding States the same rights as they enjoy in the country in which they were constituted.
Any of the Acceding States, may however, limit these rights to those which it grants in its own territory to the most favoured category of similar organizations.
The Acceding States reserve their right to grant the organizations covered by [Article 1] more favourable treatment than that resulting from the foregoing undertaking.
Art. 3 The Acceding States shall endeavour to facilitate, in so far as possible, the operation and activities of the organizations covered by [Article 1]. In particular, they shall consider with special favour, for example, any request for the issue of passports, visas and foreign exchange in connection with journeys made by the staff of the organizations in question on official business or by their members or appointed representatives traveling to attend meetings organized by the organizations or convened under the auspices of the United Nations.
Art. 4 The Acceding States shall endeavour to allow the organization covered by [Article 1] to benefit by the most liberal procedure and as favourable a rate of exchange as possible for the transfer from one country to another and for the utilisation on the spot of subscriptions and other funds belonging to them and intended to cover their operating expenses and the financing of their activity.
The above provision shall also apply in the case of the transfer of funds made necessary by the termination of the activity of such organizations in the territory of one or other of the Acceding States.
Art. 5 The Acceding States shall endeavour to exempt the organizations covered by [Article 1] from such restrictions relating to foreign labour as are laid down in their national laws.
Art. 6 The despatch by the organization covered by [Article 1] of their publications and documents to the territory of the Acceding States shall not give rise to payment of any Customs duty.
The Acceding States undertake to reduce and to expedite, in so far as possible, the administrative formalities to which despatches of publications and documents of the organizations covered by [Article 1] may be liable.
Art. 7 The present Agreement shall be open for the accession of all States whether members of the United Nations or not.
It shall come into force as regards each of the Acceding States, on the date of its depositing with the Secretary-General of the United Nations an instrument of accession issuing from organs duly empowered under its national constitutional law to enter into commitment binding the State concerned.
Art. 8 The Acceding States reserve the right to denounce the present Agreement at any time. Denunciation shall always require six months' notice.
The notice of denunciation shall be addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations who shall notify thereof the other Acceding States and all organizations having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council or an equivalent status with one or other of the Specialized Agencies.
Until the expiry of the period of notice, the organizations affected shall be entitled to liquidate all property belonging to them on the territory of the State entering the denunciation and to export all their funds without impediment from exchange restrictions.
On the date when the period of notice expires, the provisions of the present Agreement shall cease to apply in respect of the State which has denounced it. None the less, the denunciation shall have no retroactive effect. The acts of the organizations in question, performed before expiry of the notice of denunciation, shall remain valid and the organizations in question shall still be entitled to have recourse to the courts of the State which has denounced the present Agreement in connection with disputes over acts performed before the expiry of the notice of denunciation.
Art. 9 The Acceding States undertake to submit to the International Court of Justice any disputes over the interpretation or application of the present Agreement.
Avant-projet d'accord tendant à faciliter le fonctionnement des organisations non gouvernementales admises ay bénéfice d'un statut consultatif où équivalent auprès des organismes des Nations Unies
Vu que le développement de l'activité internationale des organisations non gouvernementales, notamment celles admises au bénéfice du statut consultatif auprès du Conseil Economique et Social ou d'un statut équivalent auprès d'une Institution spécialisée des Nations Unies, présente le plus haut intérêt pour le progrès des relations internationales.
Vu que l'absence d'un régime stable et certain entrave actuellement le fonctionnement satisfaisant de ces organisations,
Il a été convenu ce qui suit:
Art. 1 Les Etats adhérents s'engagent à accorder le bénéfice des dispositions du présent Accord aux organisations non gouvernementales répondant aux conditions suivantes:
(a) d'avoir été constituées sur le territoire d'un des Etats adhérents conformément à ses lois; et
(b) d'avoir obtenu le statut consultatif auprès du Conseil économique et social ou un statut équivalent auprès d'une Institution Spécialisée des Nations Unies.
Chacun des Etats adhérents peut étendre le bénéfice du présent Accord à toute autre organisation non gouvernementale de son choix.
Art. 2 Les organisations visées à l'article 1 jouissent de plein droit sur les territoires des Etats adhérents des droits qui leur sont reconnus dans le pays où elles ont été constituées.
Néanmoins; chacun des Etats adhérents peut limiter ces droits à ceux qu'il accorde sur son territoire à la catégorie la plus favorisée des organisations de la même nature.
Les Etats adhérents se réservent la faculté d'accorder aux organisations visées à l'article 1, un traitement plus avantageux que celui qui résulte de l'engagement précédent.
Art. 3 Les Etats adhérents s'efforceront de faciliter, dans la mesure du possible, le fonctionnement et l'activité des organisations visées à l'article 1. Elles examineront, en particulier, avec une faveur spéciale, toute demande tendant notamment à la délivrance de passeports, de visas et de devises, à l'occasion des voyages qui seraient entrepris par le personnel des organisations en cause pour les besoins du service ou par leurs membres ou représentants désignés pour assister aux réunions qu'elles organiseront ou qui seront organisées sous les auspices des Nations Unies.
Art. 4 Les Etats adhérents s'efforceront de faire bénéficier les organisations visées à l'article 1 pour le transfert de pays à pays et l'utilisation sur place des cotisations et autres fonds leur appartenant et destinées à couvrir les dépenses de leur fonctionnement et le financement de leur activité du régime le plus libéral et d'un taux de change aussi avantageux que possible.
Cette disposition s'appliquera également au transfert de fonds nécessité par la cessation de l'activité de ces organisations sur le territoire d'un des Etats adhérents.
Art. 5 Les Etats adhérents s'efforceront de ne pas appliquer aux organisations visées à l'article 1 les restrictions concernant la main-d'oeuvre étrangère édictées par leurs législations.
Art. 6 L'envoi par les organisations visées à l'article 1 de leurs publications et documents à destination du territoire des Etats adhérents ne donnera lieu au paiement d'aucun droit de douane.
Les Etats adhérents s'engagent à réduire et à accélérer au maximum les formalités administratives auxquelles pourront être soumis les envois des publications et documents des organisations visées à l'article 1.
Art. 7 Le présent Accord sera ouvert à l'adhésion de tous les Etats membres ou non de l'Organisation des Nations Unies.
Il entrera en vigueur, à l'égard de chacun des Etats adhérents, à la date du dépôt par celui-ci auprès du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, de l'instrument d'adhésion émanant des organes qui, d'après leur droit constitutionnel interne, sont compétents pour engager valablement leur Etat.
Art. 8 Les Etats adhérents se réservent le droit de dénoncer, à tout moment, le présent Accord. La dénonciation comportera toujours un préavis de six mois.
Le préavis de dénonciation sera adressé au Secrétaire général des Nations Unies qui en informera les autres Etats adhérents et toutes les organisations ayant un statut consultatif auprès du Conseil économique et social ou un statut équivalent auprès d'une Institution spécialisée des Nations Unies.
Jusqu'à l'expiration du délai de préavis, ces organisations auront la faculté de liquider tous les biens leur appartenant sur le territoire de l'Etat dont émane la dénonciation et d'exporter tous leurs fonds, sans que l'on puisse leur opposer les restrictions de change.
A la date de l'expiration du délai de préavis, les dispositions du présent Accord ceseront de valoir à l'égard de l'Etat qui l'a dénoncé. Toutefois, la dénonciation n'aura pas d'effet rétroactif. Les actes des organisations en cause, accomplis avant l'expiration du préavis de dénonciation, demeureront valables et il restera toujours possible aux organisations en cause de s'adresser aux tribunaux de l'Etat qui a dénoncé le présent Accord pour des contestations relatives aux actes commis avant l'expiration du préavis de dénonciation.
Comments
At the 3rd Conference (Geneva, 1950) a resolution was adopted recommending that non-governmental organizations should study carefully the above draft agreement and submit their views on the draft to the Bureau of the Conference within eight months. According to Rodgers, the replies revealed that few NGOs had made serious study of the draft and NGOs were unwilling to devote further effort to solving such general problems (2, p. 130-131). At the 7th Conference (Geneva, 1957), for example, a brief report by the President and Vice-President noted the unlikelihood of early international action on the questiuon and the more immediate concern of NGOs with practical problems of facilities for international operation of international NGOs (3). The Conference resolved to study further the questions of taxation, transfer of property, transfer of funds and transmission of property other than funds. Rodgers produced a report on these matters for the 8th Conference (Geneva, 1960), summarizing replies received to questionnaires, the relevance of certain conventions and facilities in particular locations (4).
With respect to the proposal itself, Rodgers points out that inasmuch as the title of the convention would include the limited number of national NGOs in consultative status, it would then intrude on essentially domestic jurisdiction (2, p. 129). He considers that [Article 2] does not adequately distinguish international NGOs from national NGOs, commercial organizations and some quasi-IGOs (2, p. 130).
Notes
1. Conference of Non-Governmental Consultative Organizations, Study Committee on Legal Status. Report by Max Habicht and statement by L Kopelmanas. Geneva, 1 June 1949 (MNGO/7/49)
2. Raymond Spencer Rodgers. Facilitation Problems of International Associations. Brussels, Union of International Associations, 1960
3. Conference of Consultative Non-Governmental Organizations. Facilities for International Operation of International NGOs. Geneva, 1957 (GC/57/4)
4. Raymond Spencer Rodgers. Facilities Accorded to International Non-Governmental Organizations. Geneva, Conference of Consultative Non-Governmental Organizations, 1960 (GC/60 59/60 - NGO - 69A)