Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
- UNESCO. Conseil exécutif
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The first session of the Executive Board took place in 1946, from 26 November to 10 December.
At the outset, the Executive Board had 18 members, elected in their personal capacity, they were intellectuals chosen for their outstanding abilities and their independent outlook. While not representing their respective governments, they exercised collectively the powers delegated to them by the General Conference on behalf of the Conference as a whole.
Since 1952 five important amendments have been made to the constitutional provisions governing the Executive Board:
1954: Conferment on each member of the Board the status of representative of the government of the state of which (s)he was a national. Meanwhile, the Members of the EXB were still not states but persons designated by name. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 6)
1968: New method of election of members by the General Conference and modification of the duration of their term of office. In order to correct an imbalance in the distribution of seats on the Board, a system of electoral groups was introduced. Member States of the EXB were thus divided into five groups. In order to speed up the rotation of seats among nationals of the different Member States, the term of office of the members of the Board would be reduced to six years and would not be renewable. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 8)
1972: Reduction of the term of office from six to four years (without immediate re-eligibility). (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 9)
1976: Change of Article V.A.4 of the Constitution, relating to the procedure for replacing members of the Board during their term of office. From now on, in exceptional circumstances, in the opinion of the represented state, it would be indispensable for its representative to be replaced even if that representative did not tender his resignation. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 10)
1991: Modification of Article V of the Constitution, with respect to the status of members of the Board, which with effect from the 27th session of the General Conference (1993) consists of Member States rather than of persons. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 11)
The number of Members of EXB has also increased. It rose from 20 in 1952 to 40 twenty years later and then to 58 in 1995. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 1)
Places
Legal status
It is elected by the General Conference.
Functions, occupations and activities
In particular the EXB examines the programme of work and budget estimates of UNESCO and submits them to the General Conference with its recommendations (Const. Article V. B. 6a);
It makes recommendations on the admission of new States that are not members of the United Nations (Const. Article II.2);
It further makes recommendations to the General Conference vis-à-vis the appointment of the DG (Const. Article IV.7);
Beside that, the EXB supervises the execution of the Programme and, in this connection, considers the reports on activities submitted by the Director-General (Const. Article V.B.10, V.B.6.b);
Finally, it summons extraordinary session of the General Conference (Const. Article IV.9) and non-governmental conferences on education, the sciences and humanities or the dissemination of knowledge, in accordance with regulations adopted by the General Conference. (Const. Article IV.3).
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
Each State Member appoints one representative and may also appoint alternates. However non-Member States of the EXB, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and movements are invited as observers.
General context
English and French since 1946, Spanish and Russian since 1954, Arabic since 1974 and Chinese since 1977.