Article 1 - Characteristics, connections and location

1.1 The Regional Centre for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRESALC) is hereby converted into the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) (hereinafter referred to as 'the Institute'), whose legal, administrative and operational framework is defined herein.

1.2 As an integral part of UNESCO, the Institute shall enjoy the intellectual, administrative and functional autonomy necessary to achieve its objectives, in accordance with the present Statutes.

1.3 The Institute's headquarters shall be in Caracas, Venezuela.

Article 2 - Mission

The essential mission of the Institute shall be to contribute to the development of higher education in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (hereinafter referred to as 'the Region') and its national higher education institutions and systems, on the basis of sustainable development of human resources, helping also to guarantee the relevance, quality, efficiency and equity of all higher education activities in the context of a new approach to regional and international co-operation fostering a proportional partnership of all the actors involved.

Article 3 - Objectives and functions

3.1 In order to accomplish its mission, in the context of the Region, the Institute shall set itself the following general objectives: 3.1.1 To foster closer co-operation among Member States in the Region, their institutions and specialists in the field of higher education.

3.1.1 To help improve mutual knowledge of the higher education systems in the Region with a view to facilitating its comparison with other regions of the world and thereby contributing to its development.

3.1.2 To help any Member State requesting the Institute's co-operation to improve and develop higher education systems and institutions within the reform process upon which it is engaged.

3.1.3 To encourage and support in the context of regional integration greater mobility of higher education professionals, especially those in relatively less developed countries, with a view to making better use of human and educational resources and helping to facilitate greater flexibility in regard to the recognition of higher education studies, diplomas and degrees between the countries of the Region and other parts of the world.

3.1.4 To facilitate the exchange of information and experience among the institutions, centres and specialists in the Region and those in other parts of the world.

3.1.5 To promote national and regional mechanisms for strengthening the quality of higher education through evaluation and accreditation.

3.2 The Institute shall contribute to the planning, evaluation and follow-up of UNESCO's programmes as they concern higher education, in co-operation with the units of UNESCO and the programmes approved by the Organization, and also with its various institutes, governmental and non-governmental organizations and other organizations of the United Nations system active in this field, at the national, subregional, regional and international levels. To that end, the Institute's responsibilities shall be:

3.2.1 To prepare and organize at least once every two years a session of the Governing Board of the Institute, pursuant to decisions of the General Conference of UNESCO and in accordance with the Organization's standards in force and applicable.

3.2.2 To further the dissemination and implementation of the recommendations of the Governing Board.

3.2.3 To encourage the regular holding of conferences and meetings on higher education in the Region, which will be forums for co-operation and debate among institutions at this level of the education system as a means of supporting the preparation and implementation of action plans to modernize those institutions. To record, organize and disseminate the recommendations and action plans resulting from those conferences and meetings and provide technical co-operation for the higher education activities requested by the Member States of the Region, and to carry out actions within its competence.

3.2.4 To carry out studies, analyses, projects and research contributing to the formulation of policies, strategies and other regional initiatives relating to higher education in the Region, which may serve as the basis for the formulation of policies, plans and strategies at the national and institutional levels, as deemed appropriate by the Member States of the Region and their higher education institutions.

3.2.5 To serve as a forum for the discussion of short-, medium- and long-term issues, challenges and opportunities on the basis of forward-looking studies carried out in support of action plans for the development of higher education in the Region.

3.2.6 To promote and encourage training, research and service provision programmes in the Region leading to the transformation and modernization of higher education, the education system as a whole and its environment.

3.2.7 To strengthen its Information and Documentation Centre and its Publications Unit so that they can facilitate, support and disseminate the work of research groups and academic communities involved in higher education in the Region, and convey their findings to governments, public and private production sectors and other interested social agents, through an effective information and communication system. To develop procedures for the exchange and circulation of documents and information among higher education institutions, specialists and national bodies representing higher education in the Region and in other regions.

3.2.8 To provide assistance designed to produce a favourable impact on the quality of education and on research into higher education, while helping to secure the permanence, sustained quality and replenishment of the Region's intellectual capacity.

3.2.9 To encourage the development of programmes fostering the mobility of students, higher education academic staff and professionals in the Region, especially those in relatively less developed countries.

3.2.10 To formulate and follow up action plans to encourage the creation of new forms and styles of international co-operation permitting the intensification of South-South, North-South and South-North co-operation with favourable implications for the Region.

3.2.11 To constitute an expanded regional consultative forum for organizations, associations, networks and co-operation programmes, so as to contribute to their establishment and development, while asserting its status as a forum for the discussion of the long-term themes, problems, challenges and opportunities inherent in higher education in the Region.

3.2.12 To act as a support centre in the Region for accreditation and evaluation procedures, by setting up data banks on higher education systems and scientific and technological systems, relating to both institutions and the individuals who work in them (managers, administrators, teachers, lecturers, researchers, students, civil servants and public service employees) and specialists in the above-mentioned procedures.

3.2.13 To promote and undertake practical action to support and set in motion programmes for student and academic mobility in order to attain common quality standards that will make possible the recognition of courses and qualifications. To provide the secretariat of the Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

3.2.14 To co-ordinate the projects and activities of UNESCO's programmes for higher education in the Region, with particular emphasis on training and research Chairs and co-operation networks in higher education and the academic world in general.

3.2.15 To reinforce and promote, within its field of competence, UNESCO's activities and presence in the Region and to step up interaction with other agencies of the United Nations system and with subregional, regional and international co-operation bodies, endeavouring to ensure that those measures are synergetic and complementary.

3.2.16 To support the holding of academic events organized by the national bodies representing higher education institutions in the Region by sending experts in specific aspects of higher education.

3.3 So as to be able to respond to the multifunctional and multidimensional nature of higher education, the Institute shall, in close collaboration with the Member States, exercise its functions on the basis of intersectoral and interdisciplinary co-operation both within UNESCO and outside it.

Article 4 - Membership of the Governing Board

4.1 The Institute shall be administered by a Governing Board, hereinafter called 'the Board', which shall be governed by the present Statutes and by its own Rules of Procedure, which it shall adopt at its first meeting.

4.2 The Board shall consist of thirteen (13) members distributed as follows: nine (9) shall be official representatives of the Member States of the Region chosen by these states at a plenary meeting of the Heads of Delegation of GRULAC at the UNESCO General Conference; of these nine (9) governmental representatives, six (6) shall be from countries of Latin America, one (1) of whom shall be from the host country of the Institute and three (3) from countries of CARICOM; three (3) members shall be appointed by the Director-General from the list submitted by the councils of rectors of the Region or their equivalents, of whom two (2) shall be from countries of Latin America and one (1) from a country of CARICOM; one (1) member representing the NGOs shall be appointed by the Director-General from among the NGOs collaborating with UNESCO in the field of higher education.

4.3 The members of the Board shall exercise their functions ad honorem for a period of four (4) years, without being immediately re-elected, so as to foster rotation between the countries of the Region. In the event of the resignation or death of one of the members, the corresponding government or the Director-General, as the case may be, shall appoint a new incumbent for the remainder of the term of office of the outgoing member.

Transitional provision

4.4 For the purpose of forming the first Governing Board of the Institute, five (5) governmental representatives and two (2) members appointed by the Director-General shall be chosen for a period of three (3) years. The remainder shall be chosen or appointed for a period of five (5) years. The end of their respective terms of office will accordingly coincide with the 31st and 32nd sessions of the General Conference of UNESCO.

4.5 In addition to the 13 members mentioned above, the Director of the Institute, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Board, may invite to Board meetings, with observer status, individuals who, by virtue of their responsibilities, are in a position to assist the Board in its work and who come from governmental or non-governmental organizations, the United Nations system or higher education, scientific or academic establishments in the Region. The Director shall endeavour to make a choice among those bodies that is as representative as possible.

4.6 The Board shall choose a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson from among its members. The Director of the Institute shall perform the duties of Secretary. The Chair shall be held on an alternating basis, for two (2) terms by Latin America and one (1) term on behalf of CARICOM. Whenever Latin America provides the Chairperson, CARICOM shall provide the Vice-Chairperson and vice versa.

Article 5 - Functions of the Governing Board

5.1 The Board shall lay down the general policy and the nature of the Institute's activities, within the framework of the general policy approved by the General Conference of UNESCO and with due regard to the obligations inherent in the fact that the Institute is an integral part of UNESCO. 5.2 The specific functions of the Board shall be the following:

5.2.1 To decide how the funds allocated to the Institute for its operation are to be used and to adopt its annual budget, the draft of which shall be drawn up by the Director of the Institute in close collaboration with the Director-General of UNESCO and the Chairperson of the Board.

5.2.2 To submit to the General Conference of UNESCO, once every two years, corresponding to the UNESCO budgetary cycle, a report on the activities of the Institute covering the same period as the report of the Director-General on the activities of UNESCO.

5.2.3 To receive for approval the annual report on the programme and budget of the Institute, drawn up by the Director, the proposals on the structure and programming of the Institute and the reports on the evaluation of its activities.

5.2.4 To advise the Director-General of UNESCO and the Director of the Institute on the formulation, execution, evaluation and follow-up of the Institute's work programme, so that its activities respond to the needs for development and improvement of higher education in the Region.

5.2.5 To take any decisions of a general nature that it considers necessary for the preparation and execution of the Institute's programme. 5.2.6 To contribute to the exchange and dissemination of experience, information and knowledge, by participating in the Institute's activities and projects.

5.2.7 To advise the Director of the Institute on the appointment of its principal officers, in accordance with the stipulations of Article 7.1 of these Statutes. 5.2.8 To ensure that the Institute is soundly managed in accordance with UNESCO principles.

Article 6 - Methods of work of the Governing Board

10.1 The Secretary of the Board, on behalf of the Chairperson of the Board, shall convene the ordinary session of the Board at least once every two years; extraordinary sessions may nevertheless be convened at the request of the Chairperson of the Board or at the request of at least seven (7) of its members or one third of the countries of the Region.

10.2 The Board shall adopt its Rules of Procedure at its first meeting and shall revise them whenever it deems necessary.

10.3 The Board shall establish an Executive Committee, which shall be convened by its Chairperson and shall meet as often as required by the needs of the programme. It shall consist of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and three (3) of the members of the Board. In order to ensure proportional geographical distribution among the countries of the Region, one member shall be from a country of Latin America, one member from a country of CARICOM and one member from the councils of rectors or their equivalents or the NGOs. These latter three members shall be chosen in accordance with the provisions of the Board's Rules of Procedure. The Executive Committee shall perform the functions assigned to it by the Board.

10.4 Travel costs and subsistence allowances of the members of the Board shall be assumed by the Institute, in accordance with the relevant regulations of UNESCO.

10.5 The Executive Committee shall draw up the provisional agenda and the schedule of meetings of the Board and of its committee.

10.6 The Director-General and the Director of the Institute shall participate in the Board's debates without the right to vote.

10.7 The Board may choose to hold any of its meetings in private without observers. The Director-General and the Director of the Institute shall have the right to attend all private meetings of the Board.

Article 7 - Staff

7.1 The Director of the Institute shall be appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO for a term of office of four (4) years from a list presented by the Board, on the basis of the candidacies submitted by the Member States to the Board. The Director of the Institute, by virtue of the authority delegated to him by the Director-General, shall appoint the officers of the Institute and the other members of its staff, having due regard to the provisions of the

7.2 The Director and all the Institute's staff shall be subject to the Organization's Staff Regulations and Staff Rules.

7.3 The Director of the Institute shall be responsible for the technical, institutional, budgetary, financial and administrative functioning of the Institute and shall report on the execution of the annual programme and budget of the Institute to the Board and to the Director-General, who shall submit those reports to the Executive Board of UNESCO.

7.4 The Director, in close collaboration with the Director-General of UNESCO and the Executive Committee, shall draw up the draft programme and budget of the Institute, which shall be submitted to the Board for approval.

7.5 The Director of the Institute, with the consent of the Board and the approval of the Director-General, may promulgate special regulations, compatible with the relevant UNESCO provisions, concerning the Institute's staff or finances.

7.6 A proportional distribution of professional staff from the countries of Latin America and of CARICOM shall be established.

Article 8 - Programme and budget

8.1 The funds allocated for the administration of the Institute shall come from the budget approved by the General Conference, in addition to any gifts, subventions and extrabudgetary voluntary contributions and other income accruing from the sale of publications, the Institute's activities and the provision of services to other institutions, which shall be deposited in a Special Account to be established by the Director-General of UNESCO, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Organization, and with the Financial Regulations applicable to the account in question. The Special Account shall be administered by the Director of the Institute pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions.

8.2 In the framework of the programme and budget approved by the General Conference, the Institute may establish and/or maintain direct relations with governmental and non-governmental organizations so as to facilitate the execution of its programmes.

Article 9 - Amendment of the Statutes

The present Statutes may be amended by the Executive Board of UNESCO at the request of the Board and in consultation with the Director-General of UNESCO.

Article 10 - Administrative regulations

With the consent of the Board and the approval of the Director-General of UNESCO, the Director of the Institute shall draw up administrative regulations, on condition that they are compatible with the provisions of the present Statutes and UNESCO practices.

Article 11 - Transitional and special provisions

11.1 The Director-General of UNESCO shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the Institute and its Board function in a satisfactory manner. The Institute shall commence its functions with the resources which were approved for that purpose by the General Conference at its 29th session.

11.2 The Director of the Institute, with the approval of the Director-General, shall draw up the provisional agenda and schedule of the first session of the Board.

11.3 The Director of CRESALC shall remain in office as Director of IESALC until the first meeting of the Governing Board following the 30th session of the General Conference.

Article 12 - Entry into force of the Statutes

The present Statutes shall enter into force on the date of their approval by the Executive Board of UNESCO.