CONVENTION OF THE AFRICAN MIGRATORY LOCUST ORGANIZATION Kano, 25 May 1962 The Governments of: Cameroon Central African Republic Congo (Brazzaville) Congo (Kinshasa) Ivory Coast Dahomey Gambia Ghana Upper Volta Kenya Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Uganda Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Tanzania Chad Togo Zambia Determined to continue on as wide an international basis as possible the preventive control of the African Migratory Locust undertaken in Africa in accordance with the Convention of 15 May 1952; Determined to extend this preventive control to any species of migratory acrididae, other than the African Migratory locust, likely to appear in the Outbreak area on the Niger River; Taking note that, in order to facilitate the necessary reorganization, the Governments party to the Convention of 15 May 1952, have declared themselves ready to terminate it on the date of entry into force of this Convention; Have agreed as follows: Part I DEFINITION Article 1 By this Convention there is established an Organization called: "International African Migratory Locust Organization" or in French: "Organisation Internationale contre le Criquet Migrateur Africain" O.I.C.M.A. hereinafter referred to as the "Organization" Article 2 The Organization established by this Convention succeeds to the assets and assumes the obligations of the Organization set up under the Convention of the l5 May 1952. Article 3 The seat of the Organization shall be at Bamako. It may be transferred to any other place in the Republic of Mali by a decision of the Administrative Council. Part II FUNCTIONS Article 4 The functions of the Organization shall be as follows: 1. To exercise continuous surveillance and preventive control of the African Migratory Locust in the outbreak area already recognized on the River Niger. Such control operations shall include in particular the destruction of all concentrations of this locust which threaten to develop into incipient bands and swarms. 2. To undertake research on the African Migratory Locust in order to determine the ecological factors involved in its multiplication and behaviour. 3. To devise and develop the most economic and effective methods for its control. 4. The Organization may also be entrusted with surveillance, research and preventive control relating to all other species of migratory Acrididae of which incipient bands or swarms may be found in the outbreak area on the River Niger. 5. The Organization may, subject to approval by the Council, extend its operations to any other outbreak areas of the African Migratory Locust that may be recognized. Part III STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION Article 5 The Organization shall comprise: an Administrative Council (hereinafter referred to as the "Council") an Executive Committee a Directorate Article 6 1. The Organization shall be administered by an Administrative Council composed of Representatives designated by the Contracting Governments. 2. The Council shall meet once each year in Ordinary Session at a place to be decided at its previous meeting. 3. The Council shall elect a President from among its members. He shall hold office for three years, and may be re-elected. 4. Each Contracting Government shall have one vote on the Council. It may delegate its vote to any other Contracting Government and shall notify such delegation of vote formally to the President of the Council. 5. The decisions of the Council, if taken by vote, will be taken by a simple majority of votes cast. 6. The Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall nominate an Executive Committee and determine its composition and competence. 7. An extraordinary Session of the Council may be convened by the President at the request of at least one third of the Contracting Governments. 8. The Council at its annual meeting shall examine the report and the accounts of the Organization and shall adopt plans and draft estimates for the operations of the following financial year. 9. The Council shall have the right: a) to invite any international or regional Organization with an interest in Locust Control to appoint observers to attend the meetings of the Council; and: b) to invite any individual or representative of an Anti- locust research Organization to attend its meetings as a consultant. Part IV DIRECTORATE Article 7 1. The Council shall appoint the Director of the Organization subject to the approval of the authorities of the State in which its Headquarters are situated. 2. The duties of the Director, in addition to those necessary to ensure the discharge of the Organization's main functions outlined in Article 4, shall include: a) the transmission by means of periodic reports to Contracting Governments, and to such Organizations as are concerned with anti-locust research, of full information on the nature of the locust infestation, the progress of research and the operation of control measures, b) the maintenance of permanent contact and cooperation with all other Organizations concerned with the locust problem; c) Responsibility for the collection of the contributions of Contracting Governments; d) Responsibility for the maintenance of the accounts of the Organization. 3. The Director shall also submit to the Council a report for the past financial year as well as the programmes of work and estimates for the next year. He shall submit annually to the Council duly audited accounts. He shall transmit copies of these documents to the Contracting Governments not later than one month before the annual meeting of the Council. 4. The Director shall send a report for the preceding year, approved by the Council, to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Africa (E.C.A.). Part V INSPECTIONS Article 8 The Council may arrange for inspections to be made of the activities of the Organization. Each Contracting Government may, with the prior approval of the Council, undertake similar inspections at its own expense. Part VI OBLIGATIONS OF CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS Article 9 Each Contracting Government shall contribute in money, supplies or services to the expenses of the equipment and operations of the Organization on the basis of the proportions indicated in the annex to the present Convention. These proportions may be revised by the Contracting Governments: a) in the event of new accessions in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 14; b) in the event of denunciation or withdrawal from this Convention in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 15; c) by a decision of the Administrative Council approved by three-quarters of the Contracting Governments. Article 10 Each Contracting Government shall facilitate the construction on its own territory of the buildings necessary to the operation of the Organization. Article 11 The Contracting Governments shall, when necessary, give every possible assistance requested by the Organization for the destruction of incipient swarms. Article 12 Each Contracting Government shall bear the cost of the attendance of its delegation at the Council except that the Organization will bear the transport expenses of one delegate per country which has fulfilled its financial obligations during the previous financial year. Article 13 The Contracting Governments shall accord to the staff of the Organization operating in their countries the same privileges and immunities as they accord or would accord to the staff of a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. Part VII ADHESIONS, RATIFICATIONS AND DENUNCIATIONS Article 14 1. This Convention shall be ratified or approved by the Signatory Governments in accordance with their respective constitutional practice, and the instruments of ratification or approval shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Republic of Mali. 2. The Government of any State may accede to the present Convention by depositing an instrument of accession with the Government of the Republic of Mali. The deposit of this instrument must in all cases be preceded by an agreement between the acceding Government and all the contracting Governments in order to determine a new apportionment of the contributions laid down in Article 9 of this Convention. Subject to the conclusion of such an agreement accession shall take effect from the date of deposit of the instrument of accession with the Government of the Republic of Mali. 3. Each Contracting Government shall if it sees fit, specify in its instrument of ratification, approval or accession, the geographical area to which this Convention shall apply in so far as it is concerned. Article 15 1. This Convention shall enter into force on the date of deposit of an instrument of ratification or approval by the sixth Signatory Government and shall enter into force in respect of the other signatory Governments on the date of deposit of their instruments of ratification or approval. 2. At the expiration of a period of five years from the 1 July 1962 and every five years thereafter, the Contracting Governments shall consult to decide whether the Convention requires modification. 3. After the expiration of a period of five years from ratification any Contracting Government may denounce the Convention by means of a written notification addressed to the Government of the Republic of Mali. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the depositary Government. 4. The Government of the Republic of Mali shall inform all Contracting Governments of the deposit of each instrument of ratification, approval or accession, and of each notification of denunciation made in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. Article 16 In the event that the Organization is dissolved, the distribution of its property shall be effected in the following manner: The Council shall designate a Board of liquidators who shall have the widest powers to collect the assets, pay off the liabilities, carry out all necessary operations and in particular, distribute the assets among the Contracting Governments to the Organization in proportion to their paid-up contributions. In the event of deficit, this shall be met by Contracting Governments in proportion to their contribution as assessed for the financial year then current. Article 17 In the event of litigation, the competent Court shall be the one having jurisdiction over the domicile of the plaintiff, if the said domicile is in the territory of one of the Member States. Failing this the Court having jurisdiction over the Headquarters of the Organization shall be competent. The Organization shall have the legal competence conferred by internal law in each Member State. Part VIII AMENDMENTS Article 18 1. Any Contracting Government may propose amendments to the present Convention. 2. Any proposal shall be submitted in the two official languages of the Organization to the Council for consideration. 3. Any amendment approved by the Council shall come into force immediately after notice of approval of the amendment by three-quarters of the Contracting Governments. 4. The depositary Government shall inform all the Contracting Governments of the coming into force of the amendments. Part IX REGISTRATION Article 19 The Government of the Republic of Mali shall cause this Convention to be registered with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In Witness Whereof the undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention. Done at Kano (Nigeria) on the 25th May 1962 and amended in Accra (Ghana), on the 25th July 1968, in the French and English languages, both texts being equally authentic in a single copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the Republic of Mali which shall transmit duly certified copies thereof to all Signatory and acceding Governments.