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Conventions Law 26.305 Adopt the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted in Paris - French Republic, on 20 October 2005. Sanctioned: November 14 of 2007 Enacted: December 17 of 2007

The Senate and Chamber of Deputies

of the Argentine Nation gathered in Congress, etc.

forcefully sanctioned

Law:

ARTICLE 1 Approve the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the DIFFERENCE OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS, adopted in Paris .REPUBLICA FRANCESA . on 20 October 2005, consisting of TREINTA and CINCO (35) articles and UN (1) annex, whose authenticated photocopy is part of the present law.

ARTICLE 2 Contact the national executive branch.

IN THE SESSION OF THE ARGENTINE CONGRESS, IN GOOD AIRES, TO CATORCE DIAS DEL MES DE NOVIEMBRE DEL YEAR DOS MIL SIETE.

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ALBERTO E. BALESTRINI. . JOSE J. B. PAMPURO. . Enrique Hidalgo. . Juan H. Estrada.

CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS

Paris, 20 October 2005

The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its thirty-third meeting, held in Paris from 3 to 21 October 2005,

Affirming that cultural diversity is an essential characteristic of humanity,

Aware that cultural diversity is a common heritage of humanity that must be valued and preserved for the benefit of all,

Aware that cultural diversity creates a rich and varied world that enhances the range of possibilities and nurtures human capacities and values, and therefore constitutes one of the main engines of the sustainable development of communities, peoples and nations,

Recalling that cultural diversity, as it prospers in a framework of democracy, tolerance, social justice and mutual respect among peoples and cultures, is indispensable for peace and security at the local, national and international levels,

Commending the importance of cultural diversity for the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other universally recognized instruments,

Stressing the need to incorporate culture as a strategic element into national and international development policies, as well as international development cooperation, taking into account also the United Nations Millennium Declaration (2000), with its particular emphasis on poverty eradication,

Considering that culture acquires diverse forms through time and space and that this diversity is manifested in the originality and plurality of identities and in the cultural expressions of the peoples and societies that form humanity,

Recognizing the importance of traditional knowledge as a source of immaterial and material wealth, in particular indigenous peoples ' knowledge systems and their positive contribution to sustainable development, as well as the need to ensure their protection and promotion adequately,

Recognizing the need to take measures to protect the diversity of cultural expressions and their contents, especially in situations where cultural expressions may be endangered or seriously impaired,

Stressing the importance of culture for social cohesion in general and, in particular, the possibilities for improving the status of women and their role in society,

Aware that cultural diversity is strengthened through the free movement of ideas and nourishes constant exchanges and interactions among cultures,

Reiterating that freedom of thought, expression and information, as well as the diversity of social media, enable the flourishing of cultural expressions in societies,

Recognizing that the diversity of cultural expressions, including traditional cultural expressions, is an important factor that enables peoples and individuals to express and share with others their ideas and values,

Recalling that linguistic diversity is a fundamental element of cultural diversity and reaffirming the fundamental role of education in the protection and promotion of cultural expressions,

Taking into account the importance of the vitality of cultures for all, especially for persons belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples, as manifested in their freedom to create, disseminate and distribute their traditional cultural expressions and their right to have access to them in order to take advantage of them for their own development,

Underlining the essential role of cultural interaction and creativity, which nurture and renew cultural expressions, and strengthen the role played by those involved in the development of culture for the advancement of society at large,

Recognizing the importance of intellectual property rights to support those involved in cultural creativity,

Persuaded that cultural activities, goods and services are both economic and cultural in nature, because they are carriers of identities, values and meanings, and therefore should not be treated as if they only had a commercial value,

Noting that the processes of globalization, facilitated by the rapid evolution of information and communication technologies, while creating unpublished conditions for increased interaction among cultures, are also a challenge to cultural diversity, especially with regard to the risks of imbalances between rich and poor countries,

Aware that UNESCO has the specific task of ensuring respect for the diversity of cultures and recommending international agreements it deems appropriate to facilitate the free movement of ideas through word and image,

Taking into account the provisions of the international instruments adopted by UNESCO on cultural diversity and the exercise of cultural rights, in particular the 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity,

Adopts the present Convention on 20 October 2005.

I. Objectives and guiding principles

Article 1 - Objectives

The objectives of this Convention are:

(a) To protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions;

(b) To create conditions so that cultures can prosper and maintain interactions freely in a mutually beneficial manner;

(c) Promoting intercultural dialogue in order to ensure wider and more balanced cultural exchanges in the world for intercultural respect and a culture of peace;

(d) To promote interculturality in order to develop cultural interaction, in the spirit of building bridges among peoples;

(e) To promote respect for the diversity of cultural expressions and to raise awareness of their value at the local, national and international levels;

(f) To reaffirm the importance of the link between culture and development for all countries, especially developing countries, and to support activities at the national and international levels to recognize the true value of that link;

(g) Recognize the specific nature of cultural activities and goods and services as carriers of identity, values and meaning;

(h) To reiterate the sovereign rights of States to preserve, adopt and implement such policies and measures as they deem necessary to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in their respective territories;

(i) To strengthen international cooperation and solidarity in a spirit of collaboration, in order to strengthen, in particular, the capacities of developing countries to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions.

Article 2 - Guiding principles

1. Principle of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms

Cultural diversity can only be protected and promoted if human rights and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression, information and communication are guaranteed and that people may choose their cultural expressions. No one may invoke the provisions of this Convention to infringe on human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and guaranteed by international law, or to limit their scope of application.

2. Principle of sovereignty

In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, States have the sovereign right to take measures and policies to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in their respective territories.

3. Principle of equal dignity and respect for all cultures

The protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions presuppose recognition of the equal dignity of and respect for all cultures, including the cultures of persons belonging to minorities and those of indigenous peoples.

4. Principle of international solidarity and cooperation

International cooperation and solidarity should be aimed at enabling all countries, especially developing countries, to create and strengthen their cultural means, including their cultural, emerging or established industries, at the local, national and international levels.

5. Principle of complementarity of the economic and cultural aspects of development

Since culture is one of the main engines of development, the cultural aspects of it are as important as its economic aspects, with respect to which individuals and peoples have the fundamental right to participate and enjoy.

6. Principle of sustainable development

Cultural diversity is a great wealth for people and societies. Protection, promotion and maintenance of cultural diversity are an essential condition for sustainable development for the benefit of current and future generations.

7. Principle of equitable access

Equitable access to a rich and diversified range of cultural expressions from all parts of the world and the access of cultures to the means of expression and diffusion are important elements for the value of cultural diversity and foster mutual understanding.

8. Principle of openness and balance

When States take measures to support the diversity of cultural expressions, they will seek to promote adequately the openness of other cultures in the world and ensure that such measures are directed towards achieving the objectives pursued by this Convention.

II. Scope of application

Article 3 - Scope of application

This Convention shall apply to policies and measures taken by Parties in relation to the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.

III. Definitions

Article 4 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Convention:

1. Cultural diversity

"cultural diversity" refers to the multiplicity of ways in which the cultures of groups and societies are expressed. These expressions are transmitted within and between groups and societies.

Cultural diversity is manifested not only in the various forms in which the cultural heritage of humanity is expressed, enriched and transmitted through the variety of cultural expressions, but also through different modes of artistic creation, production, dissemination, distribution and enjoyment of cultural expressions, whatever the means and technologies used.

2. Cultural content

The "cultural content" refers to symbolic meaning, artistic dimension and cultural values emanating from or expressing cultural identities.

3. Cultural expressions

The "cultural expressions" are expressions resulting from the creativity of people, groups and societies, which possess cultural content.

4. Cultural activities, goods and services

"cultural activities, goods and services" refer to the activities, goods and services that, considered from the point of view of their specific quality, use or purpose, incarnate or transmit cultural expressions, regardless of the commercial value they may have. Cultural activities can be a purpose of themselves, or contribute to the production of cultural goods and services.

5. Cultural industries

"cultural industries" refer to all industries that produce and distribute cultural goods or services, as defined in paragraph 4 above.

6. Cultural policies and measures

The "cultural policies and measures" refer to policies and measures relating to culture, whether local, national, regional or international, which focus on culture as such, or whose purpose is to exert a direct effect on the cultural expressions of individuals, groups or societies, in particular the creation, production, dissemination and distribution of cultural activities and goods and services and access to them.

7. Protection

"Protection" means the adoption of measures aimed at preserving, safeguarding and enriching the diversity of cultural expressions.

"Proteger" means taking such measures.

8. Interculturalism

"interculturality" refers to the presence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural expressions, acquired through dialogue and an attitude of mutual respect.

IV. Rights and obligations of the parties

Article 5 - General rule on rights and obligations

1. The Parties, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law and universally recognized human rights instruments, reaffirm their sovereign right to formulate and implement their cultural policies and to take measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, as well as to strengthen international cooperation to achieve the objectives of this Convention.

2. Where a Party implements policies and takes measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in its territory, such policies and measures must be consistent with the provisions of this Convention.

Article 6 - Rights of the Parties at the national level

1. Within the framework of their cultural policies and measures, as defined in Article 4, paragraph 6, and taking into account their particular circumstances and needs, Parties may take measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in their respective territories.

2. These measures may include:

(a) Regulatory measures aimed at the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions;

(b) Measures that provide opportunities, appropriately, to national cultural activities and goods and services, among all cultural activities, goods and services available within the national territory, for their creation, production, distribution, dissemination and enjoyment, including language provisions used for such activities, goods and services;

(c) Measures to provide independent national cultural industries and informal sector activities with effective access to the means of production, dissemination and distribution of cultural goods and services;

(d) Measures to grant public financial assistance;

(e) Measures to encourage non-profit organizations, as well as public and private entities, artists and other cultural professionals, to promote and promote the free exchange and circulation of ideas, cultural expressions and activities, cultural goods and services, and to encourage in their activities the creative spirit and the spirit of business;

(f) Measures to create and adequately support relevant public service institutions;

(g) Measures to support and support artists and others involved in the creation of cultural expressions;

(h) Measures to promote the diversity of social media, including the promotion of the public broadcasting service.

Article 7 - Measures to promote cultural expressions

1. The Parties shall endeavour to create an environment within their territory that incites individuals and groups to:

(a) To create, produce, disseminate and distribute their own cultural expressions, giving due attention to the special circumstances and needs of women and different social groups, including persons belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples;

(b) Access to various cultural expressions from their territory and from other countries of the world.

2. The Parties will also seek to recognize the important contribution of artists, all persons involved in the creative process, cultural communities and organizations supporting them in their work, as well as the fundamental role they play, which is to nurture the diversity of cultural expressions.

Article 8 - Measures to protect cultural expressions

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 5 and 6, a Party may determine whether there are special situations in which cultural expressions in its territory are at risk of extinction, or are subject to a serious threat or require some urgent safeguard measure.

2. The Parties may take all necessary measures to protect and preserve cultural expressions in the situations referred to in paragraph 1, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

3. The Parties shall inform the Intergovernmental Committee referred to in Article 23 of all measures taken to deal with the situation, and the Committee may make appropriate recommendations.

Article 9 - Exchange of information and transparency

The Parties:

(a) Provide appropriate information on the measures taken by UNESCO to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in their respective territories and at the international level every four years;

(b) Designate a contact point for the exchange of information relating to this Convention;

(c) communicate and exchange information on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.

Article 10: Education and public awareness

The Parties shall:

(a) To promote and promote understanding of the importance of the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions through, inter alia, education programmes and increased public awareness;

(b) To cooperate with other Parties and international and regional organizations to achieve the objectives of this article;

(c) To strive to encourage creativity and strengthen production capacities through the establishment of education, training and exchange programmes in the field of cultural industries. These measures should be implemented in a manner that has no negative impact on traditional forms of production.

Article 11 - Participation of civil society

The Parties recognize the fundamental role of civil society in protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions. The Parties shall encourage the active participation of civil society in their efforts to achieve the objectives of this Convention.

Article 12 - Promotion of international cooperation

The Parties shall seek to strengthen their bilateral, regional and international cooperation in order to create conditions that facilitate the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, taking especially into account the situations envisaged in Articles 8 and 17, in particular with a view to:

(a) To facilitate dialogue among Parties on cultural policy;

(b) Strengthen strategic and public sector management capacities in public cultural institutions, through international professional and cultural exchanges and sharing best practices;

(c) Strengthen partnerships with civil society, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and among all these entities, to promote and promote the diversity of cultural expressions;

(d) To promote the use of new technologies and encourage collaboration to expand the exchange of information and cultural understanding, and to promote the diversity of cultural expressions;

(e) Encourage the signature of co-production and co-distribution agreements.

Article 13 - Integration of culture in sustainable development

The Parties shall endeavour to integrate culture into their development policies at all levels in order to create conditions conducive to sustainable development and, in this context, to promote aspects related to the protection and promotion of diversity of cultural expressions.

Article 14 - Development cooperation

Parties will strive to support cooperation for sustainable development and poverty reduction, especially with regard to the specific needs of developing countries, in order to foster the emergence of a dynamic cultural sector through the following means:

(a) Strengthening cultural industries in developing countries:

(i) Building and strengthening the capacities of developing countries in cultural production and dissemination;

(ii) facilitating wide access to the global market and international distribution networks of its cultural activities, goods and services;

(iii) Encouraging the emergence of viable local and regional markets;

(iv) Adopting, where possible, appropriate measures in developed countries to facilitate access to their territory from cultural activities, goods and services from developing countries;

(v) Supporting creative work and facilitating, to the extent possible, the mobility of artists in the developing world;

(vi) Encouraging appropriate collaboration between developed and developing countries, in particular in the areas of music and film;

(b) Capacity-building through the exchange of information, experiences and competencies, as well as human resources training in developing countries, both in the public and in the private sector, especially in the areas of strategic and management capacities, policy development and implementation, promotion of the distribution of cultural goods and services, promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises, technology use and skills development and transfer;

(c) Transfer of skills and skills through the introduction of appropriate incentives, especially in the field of cultural industries and enterprises;

(d) Financial support through:

(i) The establishment of an International Fund for Cultural Diversity in accordance with Article 18;

(ii) The provision of official development assistance, as appropriate, including technical assistance, to stimulate and support creativity;

(iii) Other forms of financial assistance, such as low-interest loans, grants and other financing mechanisms.

Article 15 - Modalities of collaboration

The Parties shall encourage partnerships between the public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as within each of them, to cooperate with developing countries in strengthening their capacities to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. These innovative partnerships will emphasize, depending on the practical needs of developing countries, the development of infrastructure, human resources and policies, as well as the exchange of cultural activities, goods and services.

Article 16 - Preferential treatment of developing countries

Developed countries will facilitate cultural exchanges with developing countries by providing, through appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, preferential treatment to artists and other cultural professionals in developing countries, as well as cultural goods and services from them.

Article 17 - International cooperation in situations of grave danger

for cultural expressions

The Parties shall cooperate in providing mutual assistance, giving special attention to developing countries, in situations covered by Article 8.

Article 18 - International Fund for Cultural Diversity

1. An International Fund for Cultural Diversity is established, henceforth called "the Fund".

2. The Fund shall consist of trust funds, in accordance with the Financial Regulations of UNESCO.

3. The resources of the Fund shall consist of:

(a) Voluntary contributions by Parties;

(b) the financial resources allocated to that end by the UNESCO General Conference;

(c) Contributions, donations or legacies that may be made by other States, agencies and programmes of the United Nations system, regional or international organizations, public or private entities and individuals;

(d) any interest earned by the Fund ' s resources;

(e) the product of collections and the collection of events organized for the benefit of the Fund;

(f) All other resources authorized by the Fund Regulations.

4. The use of the resources of the Fund by the Intergovernmental Committee shall be decided on the basis of the guidance provided by the Conference of the Parties referred to in Article 22.

5. The Intergovernmental Committee may accept contributions or other assistance for general or specific purposes that are linked to specific projects, provided that they are approved.

6. Contributions to the Fund may not be subject to political, economic or other conditions that are incompatible with the objectives pursued by this Convention.

7. The Parties shall make regular voluntary contributions for the implementation of this Convention.

Article 19 - Exchange, analysis and dissemination of information

1. The Parties agree to share information and expertise on the collection of information and statistics on the diversity of cultural expressions, as well as on best practices for their protection and promotion.

2. UNESCO will facilitate, through the use of existing mechanisms in the Secretariat, the collection, analysis and dissemination of all relevant information, statistics and best practices.

3. In addition, UNESCO will create and update a database on the various government, private and non-profit sectors and agencies, which operate in the field of cultural expressions.

4. In order to facilitate the collection of information, UNESCO will pay special attention to building specialized capacities and competencies in Parties that make a request for assistance in this regard.

5. The collection of information referred to in this article will complement the information referred to in Article 9.

V. Relations with other instruments

Article 20 - Relations with other instruments:

mutual empowerment, complementarity and non-subordination

1. The Parties recognize that they must comply in good faith with their obligations under this Convention and other treaties to which they are a party. Accordingly, without subordination to the other treaties:

(a) Promote mutual empowerment between this Convention and the other treaties to which they are a party;

(b) When interpreting and implementing the other treaties to which they are party or contravene other international obligations, they shall take into account the relevant provisions of this Convention.

2. No provision of this Convention may be construed as an amendment to the rights and obligations of Parties emanating from other international treaties to which they are a party.

Article 21 - International consultations and coordination

The Parties undertake to promote the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums. To this end, Parties shall consult, where appropriate, bearing in mind those objectives and principles.

VI. Convention bodies

Article 22 - Conference of the Parties

1. A Conference of the Parties shall be established. The Conference of the Parties shall be the plenary and supreme organ of this Convention.

2. The Conference of the Parties shall hold a regular meeting every two years in concomitance, as long as possible, with the UNESCO General Conference. It may meet on an extraordinary basis when it so decides, or when the Intergovernmental Committee receives a request for at least one third of the Parties.

3. The Conference of the Parties shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

4. The Conference of the Parties shall, inter alia, carry out the following functions:

(a) To elect members of the Intergovernmental Committee;

(b) To receive and consider the reports of the Parties to this Convention transmitted by the Intergovernmental Committee;

(c) Adopt practical guidance prepared by the Intergovernmental Committee at the request of the Conference;

(d) To take any other action it deems necessary to achieve the objectives of this Convention.

Article 23 - Intergovernmental Committee

1. An Intergovernmental Committee on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will be established at UNESCO, which will henceforth be called "the Intergovernmental Committee", which will comprise representatives of 18 States Parties to the Convention, elected by the Conference of the Parties to carry out a four-year mandate following the entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Article 29.

2. The Intergovernmental Committee will hold an annual meeting.

3. The Intergovernmental Committee shall operate under the authority of the Conference of the Parties, in accordance with its guidance and in accounting for its activities.

4. The number of members of the Intergovernmental Committee will be 24 when the number of Parties to the Convention reaches 50.

5. The election of members of the Intergovernmental Committee should be based on the principles of equitable geographical representation and rotation.

6. Without prejudice to the other powers conferred upon it in this Convention, the functions of the Intergovernmental Committee shall be as follows:

(a) To promote and monitor the objectives of the Convention;

(b) To prepare and submit to the Conference of the Parties practical guidance, where requested, for the implementation and implementation of the provisions of the Convention;

(c) To transmit to the Conference of the Parties reports of the Parties, together with their observations and a summary of the content;

(d) Make appropriate recommendations where Parties to the Convention submit their attention in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, and in particular Article 8 thereof;

(e) Establish procedures and other consultative mechanisms to promote the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums;

(f) perform any other tasks that may be requested by the Conference of the Parties.

7. The Intergovernmental Committee, in accordance with its Rules of Procedure, may at all times invite public or private entities and individuals to participate in its meetings to consult them on specific issues.

8. The Intergovernmental Committee shall develop its own rules of procedure and submit it to the Conference of the Parties for approval.

Article 24 - Secretariat of UNESCO

1. Convention bodies will be supported by the UNESCO Secretariat.

2. The Secretariat shall prepare the documents of the Conference of the Parties and of the Intergovernmental Committee, as well as the draft agendas of its meetings, and shall assist in the implementation of its decisions and report on such implementation.

VII. Final provisions

Article 25 - Dispute settlement

1. In the event of a dispute regarding the interpretation or application of this Convention, the Parties shall endeavour to resolve it through negotiations.

2. If the parties concerned did not reach agreement through negotiations, they could jointly resort to good offices or mediation of one third.

3. Where good offices or mediation have not been resorted to or a solution has not been achieved through negotiations, good offices or mediation, a party may resort to conciliation in accordance with the procedure contained in the Annex to this Convention. The Parties shall consider in good faith the proposal of the Conciliation Commission to resolve the dispute.

4. At the time of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, each Party may declare that it does not recognize the conciliation procedure provided above. Any Party that has made such a declaration may withdraw it at any time through a notification addressed to the Director-General of UNESCO.

Article 26 - Ratification, acceptance,

approval or accession by Member States

1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by UNESCO Member States, in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures.

2. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO.

Article 27 - Accession

1. The present Convention shall be open to accession by any State which is not a member of UNESCO, but which belongs to the United Nations or to one of its specialized agencies and which has been invited by the General Conference of the Organization to accede to the Convention.

2. The present Convention shall also be open to the accession of the territories which enjoy full internal autonomy recognized by the United Nations but which have not attained full independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and which have jurisdiction over the matters governed by this Convention, including the accession of treaties to them.

3. The following provisions shall be applied to regional economic integration organizations:

(a) The present Convention shall also be open to the accession of any regional economic integration organization, subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs, which are bound by the provisions of this Convention in the same manner as States parties;

(b) to be one or more Member States of such an organization Parties to this Convention, that organization and that or those Member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities with regard to the fulfilment of their obligations under this Convention. Such division of responsibilities shall take effect once the notification procedure provided for in subparagraph (c) below is completed. The organization and its Member States shall not be entitled to exercise the rights arising from this Convention concomitantly. In addition, in order to exercise the right to vote in its areas of competence, the regional economic integration organization shall have a number of votes equal to that of its Member States which are a party to this Convention. The organization shall not exercise the right to vote if its Member States exercise it and vice versa;

(c) The regional economic integration organization and the Member States of the same that have agreed on the sharing of responsibilities provided for in subparagraph (b) above shall report to the Parties, as follows:

(i) in its instrument of accession, the organization shall state with precision what is the sharing of responsibilities in respect of matters governed by this Convention;

(ii) If there is a further modification of the respective responsibilities, the regional economic integration organization shall inform the depositary of any proposal to modify such responsibilities, and the latter shall, in turn, inform the Parties;

(d) It is assumed that Member States of a regional economic integration organization that have become parties to the Convention remain competent in all areas that have not been subject to a transfer of competence to the organization, expressly declared or designated to the depositary;

(e) " Regional economic integration organization " means any organization constituted by sovereign States members of the United Nations or one of its specialized agencies, to which those States have transferred their competence in areas governed by this Convention and which has been duly authorized, in accordance with their internal procedures, to be a party to the Convention.

4. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO.

Article 28 - Contact point

When it becomes a party to this Convention, each Party shall designate the contact point referred to in Article 9.

Article 29 - Entry into force

1. This Convention shall enter into force three months after the date of deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, but only for States or regional economic integration organizations that have deposited their respective instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession on that date or earlier. For the other Parties, it shall enter into force three months after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

2. For the purposes of this article, instruments of any kind deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be deemed to be added to the instruments already deposited by its Member States.

Article 30 - Federal or non-unitary constitutional regimes

Recognizing that international agreements also link Parties, irrespective of their constitutional systems, shall apply the following provisions to Parties having a federal or non-unitary constitutional regime:

(a) With regard to the provisions of this Convention whose application does not comply with the federal or central legislature, the obligations of the federal or central government shall be identical to those of non-Federal States Parties;

(b) With regard to the provisions of this Convention which are within the competence of each of the constituent units, whether States, counties, provinces or cantons, which, under the constitutional regime of the federation, are not empowered to take legislative measures, the federal government shall, if necessary, inform the competent authorities of the constituent units, whether States, counties, provinces or cantons;

Article 31 - Complaint

1. Any Party to this Convention may denounce it.

2. The complaint shall be notified through a written instrument, which shall be deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO.

3. The complaint will take effect 12 months after the receipt of the complaint instrument. It shall in no way modify the financial obligations to be assumed by the complaining Party until the date on which its withdrawal from the Convention is effective.

Article 32 - Functions of the depositary

The Director-General of UNESCO, in his capacity as depositary of this Convention, shall inform Member States of the Organization, non-member States, regional economic integration organizations referred to in Article 27 and the United Nations of the deposit of all instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession provided for in Articles 26 and 27 and of the complaints provided for in Article 31.

Article 33 - Amendments

1. Any Party to this Convention may propose amendments to the Convention through written communication to the Director-General. The communication shall be transmitted to all other Parties. If in the six months following the date of submission of the communication at least half of the Parties responds favourably to that request, the Director-General shall submit the proposal for consideration and eventual approval of the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

2. The amendments shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of Parties present and voting.

3. Once approved, the amendments to this Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by the Parties.

4. For Parties that have ratified, accepted or adopted amendments to or acceded to this Convention, the amendments shall enter into force three months after two thirds of the Parties deposited the instruments referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. Since then, the corresponding amendment shall enter into force for each Party ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to it three months after the date on which the Party deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

5. The procedure provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall not apply to the amendments to Article 23 concerning the membership of the Intergovernmental Committee. These amendments shall enter into force at the very moment of their adoption.

6. States or regional economic integration organizations referred to in Article 27, which become parties to this Convention after the entry into force of amendments in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article and which do not manifest an intention in the opposite direction shall be considered:

(a) Parties to this Convention as amended; and

(b) Parties to this Convention not amended with respect to any Party that is not bound by the amendments thereto.

Article 34 - Authentic texts

This Convention is drafted in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, the six equally authentic texts.

Article 35 - Registration

In accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, this Convention shall be registered with the United Nations Secretariat at the request of the Director-General of UNESCO.

Annex Conciliation procedure

Article 1 - Conciliation Commission

A Conciliation Commission shall be established at the request of one of the Parties to the dispute. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the Commission shall consist of five members, two appointed by each Party concerned and one President elected jointly by those members.

Article 2 - Members of the Commission

In disputes between more than two Parties, those sharing the same interest shall jointly appoint their respective members to the Commission. Where two or more Parties have different interests or disagreement with respect to Parties with the same interest, they shall appoint their members separately.

Article 3 - Appointments

If, within two months of the submission of a request for the establishment of a Conciliation Commission, the Parties would not have appointed all members of the Commission, the Director-General of UNESCO, at the request of the Party that has submitted the request, shall make the necessary appointments within a further two-month period.

Article 4 - Chairman of the Commission

If the Chairman of the Conciliation Commission had not been appointed by the Commission within two months of the appointment of the last member of the Commission, the Director-General of UNESCO, at the request of one of the Parties, shall proceed to his appointment within two months.

Article 5 - Judgements

The Conciliation Commission shall issue its rulings by a majority of its members. Unless the parties to the dispute decide otherwise, it shall determine its own procedure. The Commission shall make a proposal for settlement of the dispute, which shall be considered by the Parties in good faith.

Article 6 - Agreements

Any disagreement regarding the competence of the Conciliation Commission shall be settled by the Commission itself.