WHA3 46 Eng.Pdf (‎439.8Kb)

UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

WORLDHEALTH ORGANISATION MONDIALE ORGANIZATION DE LA SANTÉ

THIRD WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A3/46 5 May 1950

ORIGINAL :FRENCH

THE POSITION AS REGARDS THE OFFICE INTERNATIONAL D'HYGIENE PUBLIQUE (Provisional Agenda, Item A.F. & L.25)

In October 1946, the last occasion on which the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hgyiéne Publique met, it adopted thereport1of its Commission of Investigation into the Transfer of Duties of the Office and its Liquidation; attention is drawn to the following' passage from this report:

tithe Permanent Committee authorizes the President, in association with the Commission of Finance and Transfer, or any two of its members acting on behalf of that Commission,

(a) to make temporary arrangements with the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization whereby that Commission acting as temporary agent of the Office shall receive notifications of the occurrence cf outbreaks of disease and of epidemics as required by the Sanitary Conventions, shall transmit such information to Governments which are parties to the Rome Agreement and to such Sanitary Conventions, and shall prepare and issue the publications of the Office,

(b) to take the steps necessary to effect the transfer to the World Health Organization or its Interim Commission of the duties and functions which are assigned to the Office as soon as the Protocol of 22 July1946; has entered into force,

(c) to take any action and make any arrangements which may appear necessary in anticipation of the transfer of the assets and liabilities of the Office to the World Health Organization or its Interim Commission, and in anticipation of the dissolution of the Office, in accordance with the terms of the above mentioned Protocol and of the Arrangement of 22 July. 1946.

1 Report of the Commission of Investigation of the OIHP to the tenth meeting of the Permanent Committee, 31 October 1946 A3/46 page 2

a.R. Furthermorethe Permanent Committee instructs the President and the Commission of Finance and Transfer or, acting on behalf of that Commission, the President and any two of its members to effect the transfer of assets and liabilities of the Office to the World Health Organization and to dissolve the Office when the Protocol of 22nd July, 1946, has entered into force for all parties to thé Rome Agreement of 1907, or upon the termination of the Rome Agreement as a consequence of its denunciation by all parties to the Rome Agreement, Before these actions are completed, the President may if he deems it necessary convene a meeting of the Permanent Committees',.

This resolution should be compared with that adopted by the First World Health

Assembly on 17 July19481by which the World Health Organization decided to continue to carry on the duties and functions which had been tranof *rred to it by the Office International diHygiéne Publique and requested the Director --General '?to continue such arrangements with OIHP as may be necessary to ensure .co- -opere ion in matters of common interest pending the termination of the Rome Agreement oí':_907 and the dissolution of OIHP as provided for in the Protocol of 22 July 1946" ,>

In point of fact all the duties of the Office International d0Fygiêne Publique have been taken over and carried out by the World Health Organization both in its own name and in that of the Office, as regards governments who are parties to the latter institution but not members of the Organization which has succeeded its

To make this collaboration effective and to facilitate the denunciaticn of the Rome Agreement of 1907 and the liquidation of the Office International diHyg 6ne Publique, the Second World Health Assembly, during a meeting held. in F.oi,le on 25 June 1949y voted aresolution2requesting the various States Members to denounce the Agreement concerned. For its part, the Office has taken similar measures and, by 15 November 1949 -- which is the date marking the end of the present seven. -,year period as' referred to in Article S of the Rome Agreement of 1907-- the great majority of the governments who were Members of the Office International d;-Hygiène Publique had proceeded to 4Ahis denunciation.

During the meeting which took place on 2 as;d 3- December 1949 and nt which the

World Health Organization was invited to be represented, the Commission on F'. nance and Transfer of the Office International d'Hygiéne Publique gave 2. list of the

1 Off., Rec, World Hith p" 13, 325 2 Off, Rec. World H1th Org. 21, 50, WHA2.83 A3/46 page 3

denunciations received by the date mentioned above. It was then observed that only a few governments - 8 out of 57 at that time had not carried out this formality, but since then many of them have regularized their position and at present it appears that only three governments have not yet denounced the Agreement two of them for reasons beyond their control.

So as to draw the conclusions arising from the position which has just been explained, the Chairman of the Permanent Committee, in accordance with the resolution of the said Committee cited at the beginning of this document, has convened the Committee in question for 5 and 6 may 1950 in Geneva in order to request it to take the necessary decisions with a view to dissolving the Office International d'Hygiène Publique, and providing for the transfer of its assets and liabilities to the World Health Organization.

The Permanent Committee of the Office has chosen the date of this session so that the decisions to be taken by the Office International d'Hygiène Publique will be available in sufficient time for appropriate action to be taken by the Third World Health Assembly.

As soon as these decisions are arrived at, they will be brought to the knowledge of the Assembly. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

WORLDHEALTH ORGANISATION MONDIALE ORGANIZATION DE LA SANTÉ

THIRD WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A3/46 Add .1V' 18 May 1950 ORIGINAL: FRENCH

THE POSITION AS REGARDS THE OFFICE INTERNATIONAL D'HYGIENE PUBLIQUE

( Agenda Item A.F. & L. 25 )

At the last session of the Office International dHygiène Publique which was held on 5 and 6 May 1950 at Geneva, the Permanent .Committee of that body noted that none of the Member Governments which belonged to it had expressly and formally manifested their intention of opposing the definitive transfer of the duties and functions of the Office to the World Health Organization or to the transfer of its assets. The governments of Germany, Japan and Libya alone were not in a position to express their intentions.

That being the case the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène publique was led to recognize that, in the absence of unanimity in the anticipated agreement, it was unable to pronounce the de, jure dissolution of the

Office; on the other hand, owing to the small number of governments which were still to remain members of the Office the latter could not continue to operate.

Accordingly, the Permanent Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution on 6 May 1950:

The Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique,

Taking into consideration the provisions of the Protocol of 22 July 1946 concerning the Office International d'Hygiène Publique, Parties to which agree

(a) to the performance by the World Health Organization or its Interim Commission of the duties and functions conferred on the Office International d'Hygiène Publique by the Rome Agreement of 1907 and by international agreements listed in the Annex to the Protocol; A3/46 Add.l page 2

(b) to the dissolution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique when all the Parties to the Rome Agreement have consented to terminate itll;

(c) to the denunciation of the Rome Agreement of 1907 in the event of all the Parties to that Agreement not having given their consent before 15 November 1949 to the termination of that Agreement2;

"Taking into consideration the provisions of paragraph 2(e) of the Arrangement of 22 July 1946 by which the parties to it agree to the transfer of the assets and the duties of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to the World Health Organization when the Rome Agreement expires;

"Considering that, on 15 November 1949 as stipulated in the Rome Agreement Governments may denounce the terms of the Agreement, a certain number of States have not denounced the Agreement, and therefore it is not possible to pronounce the immediate dissolution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique;

' "Considering, on the other hand, that the number of Parties to the Rome Agreement who have not denounced it would not allow the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to fulfil the purposes for which it'was set up;

"Considering, finally, that it is in the general interests of all countries' Parties to the Office International d'Hygiène Publique that all Governments having contributed to the setting up of a Library of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique should be allowed to continue to benefit from it

DECIDES

"1. To request the World Health. Organization :to continue to assume

the functions and duties pertaining to the Office International

1 The original English text says "(b) to the dissolution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique "; the rest of the sentence is translated

_ from the original French text,

2 The original English text says ë "(c) to the denunciation of the Rome Agreement of 1907 "9 the rest of the sentence is translated from the original French text, A3/46 Add.l page 3

d'Hygiene Publique through the Rome Agreement of 1907 and the international agreements included in the appendix to the Protocol of 22 July 1946 for the period during which those agreements are to remain in force;

"2. That on 15 November 1950 and without waiting for the legal dissolution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique, the Chairman and the Director shall terminate the activities of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and thereafter take all necessary steps in order to terminate the lease of the premises and dismiss the staff;

" . That on 15 November 1950 the whole of the Library and the archives of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique shall be transferred to the World Health Organization, which shall take all measures to enable the nationals of the countries having participated in the constitution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to use the books and documents.

"4 That the Chairman and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique shall immediately proceed to the liquidation of the assets of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and the sums thus liberated as well as the sums due to the said Office shall be transferred to the World Health Organization in order to be used for epidemiological work according to the terms of the Rome Agreement (Article 4 of the Statutes of the Office). The programme of these studies shall be set up before 15 November 1950 through an agreement between the World Health Organization on the one hand and the Chairman of the Permanent Committee and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique on the other hand.

5 That the Chairman and the Director shall convene, if necessary, before 15 November 1950 the Committee of Finance and Transfer in order to examine the questions which might have arisen since the present session of the Permanent Committee and to take by mandate of the Permanent Committee all necessary decisions."

The resolution reproduced above is evidence of the Permanent Committee's high sense of its responsibilities. The Assembly will certainly wish to pay a solemn tribute to an institution which has rendered the greatest ser..ces in the past and also to the distinguished men who have guided it and worked for it.

The World Health Assembly, confirming its previous policy, will undoubtedly desire to continue the activities and functions of the Office; these correspond A3/46 Add.l page 4 to the conditions laid down in Article 72 of the Constitution. The resolution adopted by the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique stipulates in particular that the sums liberated by the liquidation of the assets of the Office "shall be transferred to the World Health Organization in order to be used for epidemiological work according to the terms of the Rome Agreement (Article 4 of the Statutes of the Office). The programme of these studies shall be set up before 15 November 1950 through an agreement between the World Health Organization on the one hand and the Chairman of the Permanent Committee and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique on the other handy.

To comply with this stipulation the Director- General and the above- mentioned representatives of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique have prepared this programme as set out below. It constitutes purely and simply a continuation of the world already carried out under the joint auspices of the two organizations.

During the years 1948 to 1950 the work of the World Health Organization in the sphere of international epidemiology and quarantine were promoted by the creation jointly by the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and the World Health Organization, of a series of joint expert groups dealing with cholera, smallpox, plague and typhus, as well as trachoma, bilharziasis and African rickettsioses.

The Committee of Finance and Transfer of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique'voted the necessary credits for the meeting of these expert groups and for field epidemiological studies dealing on the one hand with the persistance factors of cholera in its endemic foci:. in India and on the other with the determination of the southern limit of the area of yellow fever endemicity in

Africa.

Since the World Health Organization inherits both the assets and the functions of the Office, it cannot employ these assets better than by devoting them to tho continuation and, if possible, the completion of the epidemiological work it has A3/46 Adds. page 5 undertaken jointly with the Office.

Thus, all States Parties to the Rome Agreement of 1907 would have the satisfaction of seeing their contributiorE to. the Office actually employed in carrying out the tasks for which they were intended.

In order to regularize the situation which has been set out above, the following resolution is submitted to the Assembly for its approval:

Considering the resolution adopted on 6 May 1950 by the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique;

Considering that the transfer of the duties and functions referred to in the above- mentioned resolution confirms the various measures previously decided and approved by the Assembly;

Considering that the transfer of the various assets which the Office has decided to carry out in favour of WHO is not made subject to any unacceptable condition;

Considering that the proposed employment of the funds transferred to WHO by the Office satisfies fully certain aims and activities of WHO and that, in addition, no special condition is attached to the manner of their employment;

Considering also that the stipulation of free access to the library and archives which was laid down by the Office when deciding to transfer its assets to WHO satisfies the principle of universality laid down in the Charter of the World Health Organization;

Considering the provisions of Article 72 of the Constitution, of the Protocol concerning the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and of the arrangement creating the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization, these last twc instruments having been signed A3/46 Add.l page 6

at New York on 22 July 1946;

The Third World Health Assembly,

1. AGREES to continue to assume the functions and duties pertaining to the Office International d'Hygiène Publique through the Rome Agreement of 1907 and the international agreements included in the appendix to the Protocol of 22 July 1946 for the period during which these agreements are to remain in force and subject to budgetary limitations;

2. NOTES the measures decided upon by the Office for the termination of its activities,, and in particular those relating to the termination of the lease of the premises of that body and the dismissal of its staff;

3. ACCEPTS with gratitude

(1) the transfer on 15 November 1950 of the whole of the library and the archives of the Office, to which nationals of all countries may have unhindered access;

(2) the transfer of the sums to be derived from the liquidation of the assets of the Office as well as the sums due to the latter, the said assets to be devoted to epidemiological work to be carried out in accordance with the programme set out in the present document;

4. APPROVES, to the extent that it can be provided from the transferred assets and subject to future budgetary limitations, the said programme which, in faét, continues the epidemiological work undertaken during past years under the joint auspices of WHO and the OIHP, being work the value of which has been proved;

5. DECIDES that the use of the funds of the Office for the purposes for which they are intended shall be effected without the necessity of s A3/46 Add.l page 7

keeping a separate account to distinguish such funds from those of the World Health Organization, since no request for the establishment of a special fund has been made;

6. DESIRES TO PAY a solemn tribute to the remarkable work carried out by the Office International d1Hygiéne Publique during the forty -three years of its existence, work which was rendered possible by close international co- operation in the sphere of health and by the ability, wisdom and devotion of the men of goodwill who took part in that work. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

WORLD H E A L T H ORGANISATION MONDIALE ORGANIZATION DE LA SANTÉ

THIRD WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A3/46 Add.i Rv.1/,// 18 May 1950 ORIGINAL: FRENCH

THE POSITION AS REGARDS THE OFFICE' INTERNATIONAL D'HYGIENE PUBLIQUE

( Agenda Item A.F. & L. 25 )

At the last session of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique which was held on 5 and 6 May 1950 at Geneva, the Permanent Committee of that body noted that none of the Member Governments which belonged to it had expressly and formally manifested their intention of opposing the definitive transfer of the duties and functions of the Office to the World Health Organization or to the transfer of its assets. The. governments of Germany,. Japan and Libya alone were not in a position to express their intentions.

Office; on the other hand, owing to the small number of governments which were still to remain members óf the Office the latter could not continue to operate.

Accordingly, the Permanent Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution on 6 May 1950:

"The Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique,

Taking into consideration the provisions of the Protocol of 22 July 1946 concerning the Office International d'Hygiène Publique, Parties to which agree

page 2 .

(b) to the dissolution of the Office International dTHygiène Publique when all the Parties to the Rome Agreement have consented to terminate it';

(e) to the denunciation of the Rome Agreement of 1907 in the event of all the Parties to that Agreement not having given their consent before 15 November 1949 to the termination of that Agreement2;

"Taking into consideration the provisions of paragraph 2(e) of the Arrangement of 22 July 1946 by which the parties to it agree to the transfer of the assets and the duties of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to the'World Health Organization when the Rome Agreement expires;

't "Cónsidering, on the other hand, that the number of Parties to the Rome Agreement who have not denounced it would not'allow the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to fulfil the purposes for which it 'was set up;

"Considering, finally, that it is in the general interests of all countries Parties to the Office International d'Hygiène Publique that all Governments having contributed to the setting up of a Library of the Office International d1Hygiène Publique should be

allowed to continue to benefit from it

DECIDES

"1. To request the World Health Organization to continue to assume

the functions'and duties pertaining to the Office International

1 The original English text says : "(b) to the dissólution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique" ;, the rest of the sentence is translated from the original French text.

2 The original English text says : 't(c) to the denunciation of the Rome Agreement of 1907 ";'the rest of the sentence is translated from the original French text. .A3/46 Add .1 Rev,1 page 3

t'Z. That on 15 November 1950 and without waiting for the legal dissolution of the Office International'd'Hygiène Publique, the Chairman and the Director shall terminate the activities of the Office international d'Hygiène Publique and thereafter take all necessary steps in order to terminate the lease of the premises and dismiss the staff;

"3. That on 15 November 1950 the whole of the Library and the archives of the Office International d'H,yrgièues Publique shall be transferred to the World Health Organization, which shall take all measures to enable the nationals of the countries having participated in the constitution of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique to use the books and documents.

n4 That the Chairman and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique shall immediately proceed to the liquidation of the assets of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and the sums thus liberated as well as the sums due to the said Office.shall be transferred to the World Health Organization in order to be used for' epidemiological work according to the terms of the Rome Agreement (Article 4 of the Statutes of the Office). The programme of these studies shall be set up before 15 November 1950 through an agreement between the World Health Organization on the one hand and the Chairman of the Permanent Committee and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique on the other hands

t'5 That the Chairman and the Director shall convene, if necessary, before 15 November 1950 the Committee cf Finance and Transfer in order to examine the questions which might have arisen since the present session of the Permanent Committee and to take by mandate of the Permanent Committee all necessary decisions."

The resolution reproduced above is evidence of the Permanent Committee's high sense of its responsibilities. The. Assembly will certainly wish to pay a solemn tribute to an institution which has rendered the greatest services in the past and also to the distinguished men who have guided it and worked for it.

The World Health Assembly, confirming its previous policy, will undoubtedly desire to continue the activities anrifunrrt4,ons of tho Office;- these correspond A3/46 Add.l Rev,1 page 4 to the conditions laid down in Article 72 of the Constitution. The resolution adopted-by the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique stipulates in particular that the sums liberated by the liquidation of the assets of the Office 'shall be transferred to the World Health Organization in order to be used for epidemiological work according to the terms of the Rome Agreement (Article 4 of the statutes of the Office). The programme of these studies shall be set up before 15 November 1950 through an agreement between the World Health Organization on the one hand and the Chairman of the Permanent Committee and the Director of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique on the other handu1

To comply with this stipulation the Director- General and the above- mentioned representatives of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique have prepared this programme as set out below. It constitutes purely and simply a continuation of the work already carried out under the joint auspices of the - two organizations.

During the years 1948'to 1950 the work of the World Health Organization in the sphere of international epidemiology and quarantine were promoted by the creation jointly by the Office International d1Hygiène Publique and the World Health Organization, of a series of joint expert groups dealing with cholera, smallpox, plague'and typhus, as well as trachoma, bilharziasis and African rickettsioses.

The Committee of Finance and Transfer of the Office International d'Hygiéne ..Publique voted the necessary credits for the meeting of these expert groups and for field epidemiological studies dealing on the one hand with the persistance 'factors of cholera in its endemic foci:. ln India and on the other with'the determination of the southern limit of the area of yellow fever endemicity in

Africa. .

Since the World Health Organization inherits both the assets and the, function$ of the Office, it cannot employ these assets better than by devoting them to the continuation and, if possible, the completion of the epidemiological work it has A3/46 Add .1 Rev. 1 page 5 undertaken jointly with the Office.

Thus, all States Parties to the Rome Agreement of 1907 would have the satisfaction of seeing their contributions to the Office actually employed in carrying out the tasks for which they were intended.

In order to regularize the situation which. has been set out above, the following resolution is submitted to the Assembly for its approval:

Considering the resolution adopted on 6 May 1950 by the Permanent Committee of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique;

considering that the, transfer of the duties and functions referred to in the above -mentioned resolution confirms the various measures previously decided and approved by the Assembly;.

Considering that the transfer of the various assets which the Office has decided to carry out in favour of WHO is not made subject to any unacceptable condition;

Considering the provisions of Article 72 of the Constitution, of the Protocol concerning the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and of the arrangement creating the InterimCommission of the World Health Organization, these last two instruments having been signed A3/46 Add.' Rev.l page 6

at',New York on 22 July 1946;

The Third World Health Assembly

1. AGREES to continue to assume the functions and duties pertaining to the Office International drHygiéne Publique through the Rome Agreement of 1907 and the international agreements included in the appendix to the Protocol of 22 July 1946 for the period during which these agreements are to remain in force and subject to budgetary limitations;

2. NOTES the measures decided upon by the Office for the termination of its activities, and in particular those relating to the termination of the lease of the premises of that body and the dismissal of its staff;

3. ACCEPTS with gratitude (1) the transfer -on 15 November 1950 of the whole Of the library and the archives of the Office, to which nationals-of all countries may have unhindered access;

4. APPROVES, to the extent that it can be provided from the transferred

assets, the said programme which, in fact, continues the epidemiological work undertaken during past years under the joint auspices of WHO and the OIHP, being work the value of which has been proved;

5. DECIDES that the use of the funds of the Office for the purposes for which they are intended shall be effected without the necessity of A3/46 Add.l Rev.l page 7 keeping a separate account to distinguish such funds from those of the World Health Organization, although ax indi.eation shall be provided of the budget items earmarked against these funds;

6. DESIRES TO PAY a solemn tribute to the remarkable work carried out by the Office International dtHygiêne Publique during the forty -three years of its existence, work which was rendered possible by close international co- operation in the sphere of health and bar the ability, wisdom and devotion of the men of goodwill who took part in that work.