WCRLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL COMMITTEE Seventh Session Manila 7-13 September 1956 Agenda Item 16.5
REGIONAL OFFI CE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC WP/RC 7/14
19 July 1956 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ASSOCIATE MEMBERS AND OTHER TERRITORIES IN THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A~ THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, AND IN THE REGIONAL ORGANIZATION The Ninth World Health Assembly considered the question of the rights and obligations of Associate Members and other Territories in the World Health Assembly" the Executive Board and Regional Organizations and decided in resolution WHA9.52 to: (a) defer to the Tenth World Health Assembly re-examination of the rights and obligations of Associate Members, and (b) to request the regional committees to study the subject of the rights and obligations of Associate Members in the regional organizations and to report thereon. Articles 8 and 47 of the Constitution establish the rights of Associate Members and resolutions WHAl.80 adopted by the First World Health Assembly and WHA2.103 adopted by the Second World Health Assembly lay down the rights and obligations of the Associate'Members at the World Health Assembly and at Regional Committees respectively. (Annex I) A comprehensive resume of developments was submitted at the fourth session of the Regional Committee l and included all references to the subject up to, and including, the Sixth World Health Assembly which had invited the regional committees to comment on the advisability of any change in the rights and obligations of Associate Members. The two points particularly rai sed at that time werG the question of voting r::Lghts of Associate Members at regional committee meetings and whether with the additional rights there should fOllow an increase in the financial contribution to the Organization. The Committee discussed the problem at length and there was general agreement that Associate Members should be given voting rights. Doubts were, however, expressed on the question of increased financial contribution and the result was that the Committee adopted a resolution2 recommending that "Associate Members be given full voting rights at regional committee meetings." The majority was five in favour, three against, with three abstentions.
lUnpublished document WP/RC4/14 2aesolution WP/RC4/Rl7
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WP/RC7/l4 Page 2 In the same year the ot~r regional. committees also studied the question. Another region recommended the grnnting of full voting rights, one had no comments to offer and two suggested that it was premature to make any changes. The Seventh World Health Assembly decided, therefore, "to make no change in the rights and obligations at the present time", but requested the Executive Board to continue its study of the question. l 'The amendment proposed by the Government of Viet Nam to resolution WHAl.80 which will be further discussed at the Tenth World Health Assembly, is as follows: Paragraph 1 (1) (iii) replace the words "without vote- by the words .with voting rights·; delete the words n subject to the limitation on voting in sub-paragraph (i) above n •
The amendment proposed with respect to resolution WHA2.103 is as follows: Paragraph 3 (2) delete and replace by: -Associate Members shall have, in the regional organizations, all the rights and obligations of Member States in the regiondj (4) delete and replace by: "'l!erritories and groups of territories which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and which are not Associate Merri:>ers shall have, in the regional organizations, all rights and obligations with the exception of voting rights in plenary meetings of the regional. oommi ttee or in any sub-divi si on dealing with fi nance or co nsti tutional matters. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned rights and obligations shall not be applicable until after consultation wi th the Member States of the region in question - as defined in paragraph 1. of this Resolution and with the Member States or other authority responsible for the conduct of the international relations of such territories". Paragraph 5 - replace the words "submit to the Fifth World Heal. th Assembly at the'latest" by II submi t to the next World Health Assemblyt'. laesolution WHA7.28, Off. Rec. Wld nth Drg.
21,
27
WP/RC?/14 Page 3 The first of these proposed amendments deals with the procedure in the World Health Assembly and can l therefore, only be dealt with by the Tenth World Health Assembly. The Committee's attention l therefore l is directed only to the proposals relating to the regional organizations which the Ninth World Health Assembly has referred to all regional committees for stuqy and comment. In Annex II will be found a comparison of the two texts.·
WP/RC7/l4
ANNEX I Article 8 of the Constitution Territories or groups of territories which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations may be admitted as Associate Members by the Health Assembly upon application made on behalf of such territory or group of territories by the Member or other authority having responsibility for their international relations. Representatives of Associate Members to the Health Assembly should be qualified by their technical competence in the field of health and should be chosen from the native population. The nature and extent of the rights and obligations of Associate Members shall b determined by the Health Assembly. Article 47 of the Constitution Regional committees shall be composed of representatives of the Member States and Associate Members in the region concerned. Territories or groups of territories within the region, which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and which are not Associate Memers, shall have the right to be represented and to participate in regional committees. The nature and extent of the rights and obligations of trese territories or groups of territories in regional committees shall be determined by the Health Assembly in consultation with the Member or other authority having responsibility for the international relations of these territories and with the Member States in the region. Resolution WEAl.80 Whereas Article 8 of the Constitution of the World Health Organization provides that the na ture and extent of the rights and obligations of Associate Members shall be determined by the Health Assembly, and Whereas there is need for furtrer study in connexion with Articles 8 and 47 of the Constitution of the rights and obligations in regional organizations of Associate Members and of territories or groups of territories which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and which are not Associate Members, The First World Health Assembly RESOLVES
1.
that Associa te Members shall have the right: (i) (ii)
to participate without vote in the deliberations of the Health Assembly and its main committees;
to participate with vote and to hold office in other committees or sub-committees of the Assembly, except the General Committee, the Committee on Credentials, aJ;).d the Nominations Committee;
WP/RC7/l4 Annex I Page 2 (iii) to participate equally with Members, subject to the limitation on voting in paragraph (i) above, in matters pertaining to the conduct of business of meetings of the Assembly and its committees, in accordance with Rules 39 to 53, and 62 to 63, of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly;l to propose items for inclusion in the provisional agenda of the Assembly; to receive equally with Members all notices, documents, reports and records; to participate equally with Members in the procedure for convening special sessions;
(iv) (v) (vi)
2. that AS'sociate Members shall have the right, equally with Members, to submit proposals to the Executive Board, and to participate, in accordance with regulations established by the Board, in committees established by it, but they shall not be eligible for membership on the Board; 3. that Associate Members shall be subject to the same obligations as Members, except that the difference in their status shall be taken into account in determining the amount of their contribution to the budget of the Organization; that the Executive Board be requested to submit a report with recommendations to the next Health Assembly, taking into account Article 47 of the Constitution and any comments or recommendations from Members and from regional organizations concerning the rights and obligations in regional organizations of Associate Members and of territories or groups of territories which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and which are not Associate Members, the report to be transmitted to the Members at least two months in advance of the convening of the Assembly. 4.
Resolution WHA2.103 The Second World Health Assembly, Having regard to Articles 8 and 47 of the Constitution; and Having regard to paragraph 4 of the resolution of the First World Health Assembly concerning the rights and obligations of Associate Members; and 1
Off. Rec. WId Hlth Org.
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Annex 6
WP/RC7/14 Annex I Page 3 Having regard to the reports of the Executive Board at its second and third session; and Having rerard to a statement concerning the Pan American Sanitary Organization, RESOLVES as follows: 1. ~'or the purposes of Article 47 of the Constitution, States Members in a region shall be deemed to be those States Members having their seat of government within the region; Those States Members not having their seat of government within the region, which (a) either by reason of their Constitu~ tion consider certain territories or groups of territories in the region as part of their national territory, or (b) are responsible for the conduct of the international relations of territories or groups of territories within the region, shall participate as Members of the regional committee, in which case they shall have all the rights, privileges and obligations of Member States in the region, bUt with only one vote for all the territories or groups of territories in the region, as defined in (a) and (b) above; 2.
3.
(1)
Territories or groups of territories in the region which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations, whether Associate Members or otherwise, may participate in regional committees, in accordance with Articles 8 and 47 of the Constitution; Associate Members shall have all rights and obligations in the regional organizations, with the exception that they will have no vote in plenary meetings of the regional committee, nor in subdivisions dealing with finance or constitutional matters; Representatives of Associate Members should be qualified by their technical competence in the field of health and should be chosen from the native population in accordance with Article 8 of the Constitution; In the case of territories not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and not Associate Members, the rights and obligations in (2) above shall apply subjsot to consultation between the States Members in a region as defined in 1 above and the Members or other authority having responsibility for the international relations of these territories;
(2)
(3)
(4)
1
Off. Rec. Wld ffi.th Org.
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Annex 14
WP/RC?/14 Annex I Page 4 (5)
In recommending any additional appropriation under Article 50 (f) of the Constitution, the regional committee shall take account of the difference in status between States Members on the one hand and Associate Members and other territories or groups of territories not responsible for the conduct of their international relations on the other;
4. In view of the statement made by the Director of tre Pan American Sanitary Organizationl and of the fact that integration between PASO and WHO is still in process, tm application of the above recommendation in the American Region shall await the com.. pletion of these negotiations for such integration;
5. The Executive Board should keep under review the implementation of these decisions and submit to the Fifth World Health Assembly at the latest a report thereon in order that that Assembly might determine what, if any, modifications might 'be required in the above decisions in the light of experience.
lOff. Rec. WId IUth Org,
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Armex 14
W P/RC 7/14 ANNEX II
moPOSJi)
AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTION WHA2.103 (Comparative Statement) EXISTI NG TlUT
I
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PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
WHA2.103
The Second World Health Assembly,
·.............................. RESOLVES as follows: 3. (2) Associate Members shall have z
·........ ................... ,
in the re~ional or~anizationsz all the ri~hts and obli~ations of Member States in the re~on;
(2) Associate Members shall have all rights and obligations in the regional organizations, with the exception that the,y will have no v ate in plenary meetings of the regiona1 committee, nor in subdivisions dealing with finanoe or constitutional matters;
·.............................. (4) Territories and ~rouEs of territories which are not resEonsible for the conduct of their international relations and which are not Associate Members shall have,! in the regional or~anizationsz all rights and obli~ations with the exceEtion of votin~ ri~hts in Elenarl meetin~s of the re~ional Committee or in any sub-division dealin~ with finance or constitutional matters. Neverthele s s~ the above-mentioned rights and obligations shall not be aEElicable until after consultation with the Member States of the re~ion in question ~ defined in Eara~raEh 1. of this Resolution and with the Member States or other authoritl resEonsible for the conduct of the international relations of such territories; (4) In the case of territories not responsible for the conduct of their international relations and not Associate Members" the rights and obligations in (2) above shall apply subject to consultation between the States Members in a regi on as defined in I above and the Member or other authority having responsi bility for the international relations of these territories;
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Note:
Amendments are indicated by plaCing parts to be omitted in parontheses and by underlining parts to be added.
WP/RC7/l4 Annex II Page 2 ~--------------------------------~-----------------------------.----
PROPCBED Al£NDMENT
EXISTING TEXT
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5. The Executive Board should keep under review the implementation of these decisions and submit to the L!ift~ ~ World Health Assembly ~t the lates!f a report thereon in order that that Assembly might determine what, if any, modifications might be required in the above decisions in the light of experience.
5. The Executive Board should keep under review the implementation of these decisions and submit to the Fifth World Health Assembly at the latest a report thereon in order that that Assembly might determine what, if any, modifications might be required in the above decisions in the light of experience.
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