Credentials to the General Conference

Practical information for the submission of credentials to the 42nd session of the General Conference

By letter CL/4439 sent on 25 July 2023, the Director-General invited the Ministers responsible for relations with UNESCO to be represented at the 42nd session of the General Conférence, scheduled to take place from 7 November to 22 November 2023.

In the letter, the Director-General recalled Rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, which stipulates that the credentials of the delegates and alternate delegates must be communicated to the Director-General, and requested that the names and the credentials of the members of the delegations for the General Conference be submitted to her by 30 October 2023.

The envelope should be marked "Delegates credentials" in order to facilitate the process and be addressed to the Secretariat of the Legal Committee (Mr Guillermo Trasancos, Office of International Standards and Légal Affairs, Office 5. 106, Tel. 33(1)45. 68. 14.32; email: g.trasancos@unesco.org).

The credentials must be issued by the Head of State or Government or the Minister of Foreign Affairs of your country, unless the Minister of Foreign Affairs has filed with UNESCO a statement to the effect that another appropriate Minister is authorized to issue the credentials.

Member States' voting rights at the General Conference are conditional upon their credentials having been found by the Legal Committee to be in order. Compliance with the above-mentioned deadline would greatly facilitate the proceedings of the Conference, therefore.

Applicable Framework

Rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference



"Submission of credentials

1. The credentials of delegates and alternate delegates shall be issued by the head of the state, the head of the government or the Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, the Organization shall accept as valid credentials which have been signed by some other appropriate Minister when the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Member State concerned has filed with the Director-General a statement that such Minister is authorized to issue credentials. 



2. The credentials of delegates and alternate delegates of Associate Members shall be issued by the competent authorities. 



3. These credentials shall be communicated to the Director-General. The names of the head of the delegation, delegates and alternate delegates shall be communicated to the Director-General one week before the date of opening of the session. 



4. The names of experts and advisers attached to delegations shall also be communicated to the Director-General." 



Rule 24 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference



"Names of representatives and observers

1. The United Nations and the specialized agencies shall forward to the Director-General the names of their representatives, if possible one week before the date fixed for the opening of the session. 



2. Members of the United Nations which are not Members of UNESCO, states which are not Members of the United Nations nor of UNESCO, intergovernmental organizations invited to the session and non-governmental and semi-governmental organizations approved for consultative arrangements, shall forward to the Director-General the names of their observers, if possible one week before the date fixed for the opening of the session." 



Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference

"Provisional admission to a session 

Any delegate, alternate delegate, observer or representative to whose admission a Member State or Associate Member has made objection shall be seated provisionally with the same rights as other delegates, alternate delegates, observers or representatives until the Credentials Committee has reported and the General Conference has given its decision."



Rule 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference

"Functions of the Legal Committee

(...)

3. Acting as a credentials committee, the Committee shall also examine and report to the Conference without delay on the credentials of the delegations of Member States and Associate Members, of representatives of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and of observers sent by non-Member States and other intergovernmental organizations. 



4. The Committee shall inform the Conference whenever credentials are presented by delegations representing states that have not formally accepted the Constitution in accordance with Article XV thereof. 



5. It shall also examine and report on the credentials of observers designated by international non-governmental or semi-governmental organizations admitted to the Conference in accordance with Rule 6, paragraph 6, and Rule 7."

42nd session (November 2023)

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