Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials

Opened for signature at Lake Success, New York, on 22 November 1950

Afghanistan 8 Oct 1951 19 Mar 1958

Belgium 22 Nov 1950 31 Oct 1957

Bolivia 22 Nov 1950 22 Sep 1970

Chinac,5

Colombia 22 Nov 1950

Dominican Republic 22 Nov 1950

Ecuador 22 Nov 1950

Egypt 22 Nov 1950 8 Feb 1952

El Salvador 4 Dec 1950 24 Jun 1953

France 14 May 1951 14 Oct 1957

Greece 22 Nov 1950 12 Dec 1955

Guatemala 22 Nov 1950 8 Jul 1960

Haiti 22 Nov 1950 14 May 1954

Honduras 13 Apr 1954

Iran (Islamic
Republic of) 9 Feb 1951 7 Jan 1966

Israel 22 Nov 1950 27 Mar 1952

Liechtenstein1

Luxembourg 22 Nov 1950 31 Oct 1957

Netherlands 22 Nov 1950 31 Oct 1957

New Zealand 16 Mar 1951 29 Jun 1962

Pakistan 9 May 1951 17 Jan 1952

Peru 8 Jul 1964

Philippines 22 Nov 1950 30 Aug 1952

Sweden 20 Nov 1951 21 May 1952

Switzerlandc 22 Nov 1950 7 Apr 1953

Syrian Arab Republic 7 Aug 1979 16 Sep 1980

Thailand 22 Nov 1950 18 Jun 1951

United Kingdom 22 Nov 1950 11 Mar 1954

United States of America 24 Jun 1959 2 Nov 1966

Uruguay 27 Apr 1964

germany

(1) "Until the expiration of the interim period as defined in article 3 of the Treaty between France and the Federal Republic of Germany of 27 October 1956 on the Settlement of the Saar Questions, the above-mentioned Agreement does not apply to the Saar Territory;

(2) "In accordance with the aims of the Agreement, as outlined in its preamble, the Federal Republic's interpretation of the provisions contained in article 1 of the Agreement is that the granting of customs exemption is intended to serve the promotion of a free exchange of ideas and knowledge between the States Parties; that, however, this provision does not aim at furthering the shifting of production to a foreign country if such shifts are made chiefly for commercial reasons."

hungary

The Hungarian People's Republic calls attention to the fact that articles XIII and XIV of the Agreement are at variance with resolution 1514 on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its XVth session on 14 December 1960.

iraqc

Accession by the Republic of Iraq to the Agreement shall [. . .] in no way imply recognition of Israel or lead to entry into any relations with it.

kenya

"1. Annex B (vi) of the Agreement requires free admission for `Antiques, being articles in excess of 100 years of age'. Under the relevant laws in force in Kenya, such items are admitted free of duty only if-

"(a) They can be classified as `Works of Art'; and

"(b) They are not intended for resale and are admitted as such by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise; and

"(c) They are proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Customs and Excise to be `over 100 years old'.

"If the above conditions are not fulfilled, such articles attract appropriate duty under the Tariff.

"3. With respect to Annex C (iii), sound recordings of an educational or scientific character for use under conditions specified in the Agreement are admitted into Kenya free of duty. However, no special provision exists for the admission of sound recordings of a cultural character and these attract duty under the relevant items of the Tariff."

libyan arab jamahiriya

The acceptance of the Libyan Arab Republic to this Agreement does not imply recognition of Israel or the assumption towards Israel of any commitments arising out of this Agreement.

romania

The State Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania considers that the maintenance of the state of dependence of certain territories to which the provisions of articles XIII and XIV of the Agreement refer is inconsistent with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 14 December 1960, by resolution 1514 (XV), which proclaims the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.

The State Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania considers that the provisions of paragraph 1 of article IX are inconsistent with the principle that all multilateral treaties whose aim and purpose concern the international community as a whole should be open to universal participation.

swiTzerland

The Government of Switzerland reserves the right to resume its freedom of action with regard to contracting States which unilaterally apply quantitative restrictions and exchange control measures of a nature to render the Agreement inoperative.

Furthermore, [the signature by the Government of Switzerland] is appended without prejudice to the attitudes of the Government of Switzerland in regard to the Havana Charter for an International Trade Organization signed at Havana on 24 March 1948.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The ratification is subject to the reservation contained in the Protocol annexed to the Agreement.

Territorial Application

Territorial Application (cont'd)

NOTES:

cc Including Liechtenstein. On 16 June 1975, the Government of Switzerland declared that the provisions of the Agreement apply to the Principality of Liechtenstein so long as it is linked to Switzerland by a customs union treaty.

c The Republic of Viet-Nam had acceded to the Agreement on 1 June 1952. See also note in chapter I.2 and note in chapter III.6.

c Signed on behalf of the Republic of China on 22 November 1950. See note concerning signatures, ratifications, accessions, etc. on behalf of China (note in chapter I.1).

On depositing the instrument of acceptance of the Agreement, the Government of Romania stated that it considered the above-mentioned signature as null and void, inasmuch as the only Government competent to assume obligations on behalf of China and to represent China at the international level is the Government of the People's Republic of China.

In a letter addressed to the Secretary-General in regard to the above-mentioned declaration, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of China to the United Nations stated:

"The Republic of China, a sovereign State and member of the United Nations, attended the Fifth Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, contributed to the formulation of the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials and duly signed the said Agreement on 22 November 1950 at the Interim Headquarters of the United Nations at Lake Success. Any statement relating to the said Agreement that is incompatible with or derogatory to the legitimate position of the Government of the Republic of China shall in no way affect the rights and obligations of the Republic of China as a signatory of the said Agreement."

c On 6 and 10 June 1997, respectively, the Governments of China and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland notified the Secretary-General of the following:

In addition, the notification made by the Government of China contained the following declaration:

The signature by the Taiwan authorities on 22 November 1950 by urusping the name of "China" of the said Agreement is illegal and therefore null and void.

c A communication was received, on 25 September 1957 from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, stating that "the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials also applies to Land Berlin".

c In a communication received by the Secretary-General on 20 October 1972, the Government of Israel made the following declaration:

"The Government of Israel has noted the political character of a reservation made by the Government of Iraq on that occasion. In the view of the Government of Israel, this Agreement is not the proper place for making such political pronouncements. Moreover, that declaration cannot in any way affect whatever obligations are binding upon Iraq under general international law or under particular treaties. The Government of Israel will, in so far as concerns the substance of the matter, adopt towards the Government of Iraq, an attitude of complete reciprocity."