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Establishment of an Economic Commission for Africa

E/RES/671(XXV)View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, published in 1958.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

A dot marks an entity citing this document in its “Mandates and background” narrative rather than only its Legislative mandates list. Many do both.

iExtracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics
AfricaEconomic CooperationEconomic DevelopmentEstablishmentMembersTerms of Reference

What does this mandate say?

28 operative paragraphs
1
The Economic Commission for Africa, acting within the framework of the policies of the United Nations and subject to the general supervision of the Economic and Social Council, shall, provided that the Commission takes no action with respect to any country without the agreement of the Government of that country:
a
Initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic development of Africa, including its social aspects, with a view to raising the level of economic activity and levels of living in Africa, and for maintaining and strengthening the economic relations of countries and territories of Africa, both among themselves and with other countries of the world;
b
Make or sponsor such investigations and studies of economic and technological problems and developments within the territories of Africa as the Commission deems appropriate, and disseminate the results of such investigations and studies;
c
Undertake or sponsor the collection, evaluation and dissemination of such economic, technological and statistical information as the Commission deems appropriate;
d
Perform, within the available resources of its secretariat, such advisory services as the countries and territories of the region may desire, provided that such services do not overlap with those rendered by other bodies of the United Nations or by the specialized agencies;
e
Assist the Council at its request in discharging its functions within the region in connexion with any economic problems, including problems in the field of technical assistance;
f
Assist in the formulation and development of co-ordinated policies as a basis for practical action in promoting economic and technological development in the region;
g
In carrying out the above functions, deal as appropriate with the social aspects of economic development and the interrelationship of economic and social factors.
2
The Commission is empowered to make recommendations on any matter within its competence directly to the Governments of the members or associate members concerned, to Governments admitted in a consultative capacity, and to the specialized agencies. The Commission shall submit for prior consideration by the Economic and Social Council any of its proposals for activities that would have important effects on the economy of the world as a whole.
3
The Commission may, after discussion with any specialized agency concerned and with the approval of the Economic and Social Council, establish such subsidiary bodies as it deems appropriate for facilitating the carrying out of its responsibilities.
4
The geographical scope of the Commission’s work shall be the whole continent of Africa, Madagascar and other African islands.
5
Membership of the Commission shall be open to: Belgium, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Italy, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia, the Union of South Africa, the United Arab Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to any State in the area which may hereafter become a Member of the United Nations, provided that States which shall cease to have any territorial responsibilities in Africa shall cease to be members of the Commission.
6
Any territory, or part or group thereof, within the geographical scope of the Commission’s work may, on presentation of its application to the Commission by the Member responsible for the international relations of such territory, part or group of territories, be admitted by the Commission as an associate member of the Commission. If it has become responsible for its own international relations, such territory, part or group of territories, may be admitted as a member of the Commission on itself presenting its application to the Economic and Social Council through the Commission.
7
The following territories are admitted as associate members of the Commission in accordance with paragraph 6 above, without prejudice to applications which may be presented on behalf of other territories: the Federation of Nigeria, Gambia, Kenya and Zanzibar, Sierra Leone, Somaliland Protectorate, Tanganyika, Uganda.
8
Representatives of associate members shall be entitled to participate without vote in all meetings of the Commission, whether sitting as commission or as committee of the whole.
9
Representatives of associate members shall be eligible to be appointed as members of any committee or any other subordinate body which may be set up by the Commission, and to hold office in such bodies.
10
The Commission shall invite any Member of the United Nations not a member of the Commission to participate, in a consultative capacity, in its consideration of any matter of particular concern to that non-member, following the practices of the Economic and Social Council.
11
The Commission shall invite representatives of specialized agencies to attend its meetings and to participate, without vote, in its deliberations with respect to items on its agenda relating to matters within the scope of their activities; and it may invite observers from such other inter-governmental organizations as it may consider desirable, in accordance with the practices of the Economic and Social Council.
12
The Commission shall take measures to ensure that the necessary liaison shall be maintained with other organs of the United Nations and with the specialized agencies, with special attention to the avoidance of a duplication of effort. The Commission shall establish appropriate liaison and co-operation with other regional economic commissions in accordance with the resolutions and directives of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.
13
The Commission may establish such liaison as it deems appropriate with inter-governmental organizations in Africa operating in the same field.
14
The Commission shall make arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which have been granted consultative status by the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with the principles approved by the Council for this purpose.
15
The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of selecting its chairman and other officers.
16
The administrative budget of the Commission shall be financed from the funds of the United Nations.
17
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall appoint the Executive Secretary of the Commission. The staff of the Commission shall form part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.
18
The Commission shall submit to the Economic and Social Council once a year a full report on its activities and plans, including those of any subsidiary bodies.
19
The headquarters of the Commission and its secretariat shall be located in Africa. The site of the headquarters shall be decided by the Economic and Social Council in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.7 The Commission may in due course also establish such sub-regional offices as it may find necessary.
20
The first session of the Commission shall be called by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as soon as practicable, but not later than the end of 1958. The Commission shall at each session decide upon the locality of the meeting of its next session, due consideration being given to the principle that the Commission should meet at its headquarters or in the different countries of Africa.
21
The Economic and Social Council shall, from time to time, make special reviews of the work of the Commission.

iParagraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

Table of contents

No headings found in this document.