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Act 1347 2009

Original Language Title: LEY 1347 de 2009

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1347 OF 2009

(July 31)

Official Journal No. 47.427 of 31 July 2009

CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

By means of which the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), concerning the establishment of the Regional Center on Management, is approved of Water in Urban Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean, under the auspices of UNESCO, " signed in Paris on September 28, 2007.

Effective Case-law

THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

Having regard to the text of the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) concerning the establishment of the Regional Center on Water Management in Urban Areas Latin America and the Caribbean, under the auspices of Unesco ", signed in Paris on September 28, 2007, which says:

(To be transcribed: photocopy of the full text of the international instrument mentioned).

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF COLOMBIA AND THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REGIONAL CENTER ON WATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN AREAS LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, UNDER THE AUSPICES OF UNESCO

The Government of Colombia, on the one hand, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, on the other, hereinafter referred to as the "Government" and "Unesco" respectively,

Having present the revised Basic Agreement between Colombia, the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Organization of the United Nations for Agriculture and Food, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization, signed on December 7, 1954, Recital Intergovernmental of the International Hydrological Program (PHI) at its 15th Meeting approved in June 2002 Resolution XV-11 welcoming the proposal of the establishment in the Republic of Colombia, under the auspices of Unesco, of the Regional Center on Water Management in Urban Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean (hereinafter referred to as the 'Centre')

Considering that the Executive Council at its 174th Meeting has authorized the Director General, in accordance with the Resolution of the General Conference 33 C/ Res. 33, to sign with the Government of Colombia an Agreement on the establishment of the Centre in accordance with the project it has submitted to it,

Desiring to define in this Agreement the modalities of the contribution to be granted to the said Center,

Agree to the following:

ARTICLE 1. OBJECTIVES OF THE AGREEMENT.

This Agreement aims to define the modalities of collaboration between Unesco and the Government, as well as the corresponding rights and obligations of the parties.

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ARTICLE 2. CREATION.

The Government will take all necessary measures, in accordance with the laws and regulations of Colombia, to establish the Regional Water Management Center in Urban Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean, in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Agreement.

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ARTICLE 3. PARTICIPATION.

1. The Centre shall be an autonomous entity at the service of the Member States and Associate Members of Unesco who wish to cooperate with it, due to the interest they provide to their objectives.

2. The States of the Region, Members and Associate Members of Unesco who wish to participate in the activities of the Center as provided for in this Agreement shall, through the National Committees of the PHI or their respective focal points, send a notification to the Director-General of Unesco in this regard. The Director-General of the Organization shall acknowledge receipt of this notification to the Center, as well as to the Member States and Associate Members concerned.

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ARTICLE 4. LEGAL PERSONALITY.

The Center will be constituted in Colombia in accordance with the National Legislation and will have the necessary legal capacity to exercise its functions, to hire, receive grants, to act in justice, to receive remuneration for services provided and acquire any good, service or other means that it needs, in accordance with the existing Colombian rules.

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ARTICLE 5. CONSTITUTION.

The establishment of the Centre shall include the following provisions:

(a) A legal status that confers on the agency, in accordance with Colombian legislation, the autonomous legal capacity necessary to exercise its functions, receive grants, receive remuneration for services provided and acquire any good, service, or other means you need;

(b) A management structure of the Centre to enable Unesco to be represented in its governing body.

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ARTICLE 6. OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS.

1. The general objective of the Center is to promote and develop participatory research and action processes, to strengthen the exchange and transfer of technology, to generate mechanisms for the exchange of information in science and technology and capacity building in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, to contribute to the integrated management of water resources, under approaches that can be replicable and adaptable to the needs of the countries of the region.

2. The specific objectives are:

a) Promote research on the various aspects related to water management in urban areas, taking into account the needs of the countries of the region;

b) Provide Member States with technical and scientific assistance in the field of integrated water resources management in urban areas;

c) Establish communication channels for the exchange of knowledge, technology and information among the countries of the region, given that this exchange represents a key factor in improving the operational capabilities of management;

d) Promote the creation of institutional capacities in the countries of the region through education, training and scientific and technical research;

e) Strengthening cooperation and networking at international and regional level;

f) Improving local capacities, promoting the participation of national, regional and international institutions and networks in the Centre's activities, and

g) Develop and implement regulations, as well as economic and financial instruments and mediation mechanisms that can contribute to conflict resolution and sustainable development in the region.

3. The functions of the Centre shall be:

a) Act as a focal point of specialized knowledge on integrated water management in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean;

b) Facilitate research and cooperation activities within the Latin American and Caribbean region on integrated management of water resources in urban areas, taking advantage of existing networks, especially the Network of the Program International Hydrologic;

c) Systematising knowledge and information for the production of educational and training materials considering the specific context of the region;

d) Develop a capacity-building program in the field of integrated water management in urban areas, taking advantage of existing academic programs at universities and institutions in the region;

e) Providing advisory and technical assistance services in the region in the countries that require it, especially in the formulation of public policies, regulations, and conflict management in the Center's field of work.

4. The Centre shall meet its objectives and shall carry out the tasks set out in close cooperation with the national and regional entities in charge of the matter and the Member States and Associated Members of the Organization and other entities. You want to cooperate with the.

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ARTICLE 7. ADMINISTRATION COUNCIL.

l. The activity of the Centre shall be directed and supervised by a Management Board which shall be composed of:

(a) The Deputy Minister of Environment of the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, representative of the Colombian Government, who will officiate as President of the Board of Directors;

b) Two representatives of the National Hydrological Program Committees for each of the three subregions (South America, Mexico, and Central America and the Caribbean) of the Member States and Associated Members of the Organization that have sent a notification to the Director General of Unesco, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3or supra, numeral 2. The election and renewal of these representatives shall be perform according to the procedure decided by the Board of Directors;

c) A representative of the Director General of Unesco;

(d) A representative of an Intergovernmental or International Non-Governmental Organization making substantial contributions to the Center's annual budget. This representation shall be defined and renewed by decision of the Board of Directors.

2. The Director of the Centre shall participate in the meetings of the Management Board with a voice but no vote.

3. The Management Board shall have the following functions:

a) Approve the Center's medium-and long-term programs and activities;

b) Approve the annual plan and budget submitted to you by the Director of the Center, in accordance with article 9or infra , and make to the latter all the guidelines you judge required;

c) Approve the annual activity execution reports presented by the Director of the Center;

(d) Establish the relevant rules and regulations and determine the procedures to which the Centre's financial, administrative and personnel management needs to be adjusted, and

e) Deciding on the participation of Regional and International Intergovernmental Organizations in the work of the Center.

4. The Management Board shall meet in ordinary session at least once a year and in an extraordinary session convened by the President, on the initiative of the President or the Director-General of Unesco or at the request of at least half of its members.

5. The government does not acquire budgetary obligations to finance the travel expenses of the members of the Board of Directors.

6. The Management Board shall establish its own rules of procedure. The first meeting will follow the procedure established by the Government and Unesco.

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ARTICLE 8. SECRETARIAT.

1. The Secretariat of the Centre shall be composed of a Director and the staff necessary for its proper functioning.

2. The Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, after consultation with the Director-General of Unesco.

3. The Secretariat may be composed of other members:

(a) Members of Unesco staff temporarily attached to the Centre, in accordance with the regulations and rules of the Centre and the decisions of its decision-making bodies;

(b) Any person appointed by the Director in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Board of

;

(c) Government officials assigned to the Center by the Government, in accordance with the national regulations in force. Initially, an official from the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development and an official from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies;

d) Researchers and/or professionals invited by the Director to contribute to the Centre's activities.

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ARTICLE 9. DIRECTOR FUNCTIONS.

The Director will perform the following functions:

a) Lead the Center's work in accordance with the programs, budgets, and guidelines established by the Board of Directors;

b) Propose program and budget projects to be submitted for approval by the Board of Directors;

c) Prepare the provisional agenda of the meetings of the Board of Directors and submit to its consideration all proposals that it deems useful, relating to the administration of the Center;

d) Prepare the reports of the activities of the Center for the approval of the Board of Directors, and

e) Represent the Center in the courts and in any civil action.

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ARTICLE 10. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS.

1. The Centre shall finance its own administrative expenditure.

2. The Centre shall receive resources from the Member States of Unesco, from intergovernmental or non-governmental organisations, both national and international, and from remuneration for the services provided by the Centre.

3. The Center may also receive donations and bequests, after approval by the Board of Directors, which may not compromise its social mission or its objectives.

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ARTICLE 11. GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION.

The government will take, in accordance with the laws and regulations of Colombia, how many measures are necessary for the Center to receive sufficient financial resources for its operation. Government officials may also be temporarily assigned to support the Centre.

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ARTICLE 12. UNESCO CONTRIBUTION.

1. Unesco shall provide assistance in the form of technical assistance and/or financial contribution to specific projects and activities in accordance with the objectives and strategic objectives of the Organization, although it does not provide economic support for administrative or administrative purposes. institutional.

2. Unesco commits to:

a) Provide technical support for the establishment and operation of the Centre, inter alia, by supporting the formulation of its programmes in the short, medium and long term;

b) Provide technical assistance through its experts in the fields of specialty of the Center;

c) Temporarily subscribe to members of your staff. This exceptional attachment shall only be authorised by the Director-General when it is justified by the implementation of an activity or a joint project with the Centre in a priority area which has been the subject of approval by the decision-making bodies of the Centre. Organization;

d) Promote and facilitate the training of officials and staff members of the Center;

(e) Subcontracting the Centre, in accordance with the rules of procedure applied by the Intergovernmental Council of the PHI, the implementation of its own activities and providing support within each programme and budget, in particular for accompany it at its inception;

f) Facilitate the Center's publications of the PHI and other materials of interest and make known the activities of the Center on the website of the PHI and by other means available to it;

g) Participate, where appropriate, in the scientific, technical or training meetings organised by the Centre;

h) To promote to governmental and non-governmental financial institutions of an international nature, as well as to its Member States, technical and financial assistance to the projects and activities formulated by the Center in its programs annual and four-yearly, and

i) Associate the Center with the various programs it carries out and in which it considers necessary the participation of the Center.

3. In all cases listed above, the contribution will be entered in the Unesco programme and budget.

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ARTICLE 13. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.

The privileges and immunities would be given when circumstances warrant it in the framework of the revised Basic Agreement between Colombia, the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization, signed on December 7, 1954.

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ARTICLE 14. RESPONSIBILITY.

Given that the Center has its own legal personality, Unesco has no legal liability or any obligation, whether administrative, financial or otherwise, except as expressly provided for in the present Agreement.

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ARTICLE 15. ASSESSMENT.

1. Unesco may, at any time and after notification to the Centre, carry out an assessment of its activities to verify:

a) If the Center contributes appreciably to the achievement of the UNESCO's strategic objectives;

(b) If the activities actually carried out by the Center are in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

2. Unesco undertakes to present to the Government, as soon as possible, a report on any evaluation carried out.

3. Each Contracting Party shall reserve the right to terminate this Agreement or to request a review of its content, taking into account the results of an assessment.

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ARTICLE 16. USE OF THE UNESCO NAME AND LOGO.

1. The Centre may mention its relationship with Unesco. It may therefore enter under its name the words 'under the auspices of Unesco'.

2. The Centre shall be authorised to use the Unesco logo or a version of the Unesco logo on the letterhead of its correspondence and documents in accordance with the conditions laid down by the UNESCO decision-making bodies.

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ARTICLE 17. ENTRY INTO FORCE.

This Agreement shall enter into force once the Unesco has received from the Colombian authorities a copy of the legal texts established by the Centre and Unesco has notified in writing that the establishment of the Centre is in conformity with the terms of this Agreement.

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ARTICLE 18. VALIDITY.

This Agreement shall be for a period of six years from its entry into force and may be renewed by a tacit Agreement for a similar period of six years, unless either party has given notice to the other party. written, six months in advance of the termination of the Agreement, of its decision to terminate the Agreement.

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ARTICLE 19. COMPLAINT.

1. Each party shall have the right to unilaterally denounce this Agreement, upon written notification to the other party.

2. The complaint shall be effective 90 days after one of the contracting parties receives the notification sent by the other party.

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ARTICLE 20. REVIEW AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.

1. This Convention may be reviewed if the Government and the Unesco agree to it.

2. Any dispute arising between the parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by direct negotiations between the parties.

3. The obligations assumed by Unesco and the Government under this Agreement shall be respected after the end of the period of validity, in so far as the commitments entered into in respect of the withdrawal of staff so require. Unesco funds and assets and the settlement of accounts between the parties.

IN FE OF THE CUAL, the representatives who subscribe to it, duly authorized to do so, sign two original copies of this Agreement in English and Spanish, both texts being equally authentic.

Paris, September 28, 2007.

By the Colombian Government,

Luis Guillermo Angel Correa,

Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Colombia to UNESCO.

By the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,

Koichiro Matsuura,

Director General.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF PUBLIC POWER

PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC

Bogotá, D. C., November 2, 2007

Authorized.

Submit to the honorable Congress of the Republic for constitutional effects.

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ

The Foreign Minister,

(Fdo.) Fernando Araujo Perdomo.

DECRETA:

Article 1o. Approve the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) concerning the establishment of the Regional Center on Water Management in Urban Areas for America Latin and the Caribbean, under the auspices of Unesco ", signed in Paris on 28 September 2007.

Article 2o. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1 of Law 7ª of 1944, the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) concerning the establishment of the Center for the Development of the Regional on Water Management in Urban Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean, under the auspices of Unesco ", signed in Paris on September 28, 2007, which is approved by article 1or this law, shall be binding on the country from the date on which the international link with respect to the country is perfected.

Article 3o. This law governs from the date of its publication.

Dada en Bogotá, D. C., 2 November 2007.

Presented to the honorable Congress of the Republic by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development.

The Foreign Minister,

Jaime Bermudez Merizalde.

The Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development,

Juan Lozano Ramirez.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF PUBLIC POWER

PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC

Bogotá, D. C., November 2, 2007

Authorized.

Submit to the honorable Congress of the Republic for constitutional effects.

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ

The Foreign Minister,

(Fdo.) Fernando Araujo Perdomo.

DECRETA:

Article 1o. Approve the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) concerning the establishment of the Regional Center on Water Management in Urban Areas for America Latin and the Caribbean, under the auspices of Unesco ", signed in Paris on 28 September 2007.

Article 2o. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1 of Law 7ª of 1944, the " Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) concerning the establishment of the Center Regional on Water Management in Urban Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean, under the auspices of Unesco ", signed in Paris on September 28, 2007, which is approved by article 1or this law, shall be binding on the country from the date on which the international link with respect to the country is perfected.

Article 3o. This law governs from the date of its publication.

The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

HERNAN FRANCISCO ANDRADE SERRANO.

The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

EMILIO OTERO DAJUD.

The President of the honorable House of Representatives,

GERMAN MALE COTRINO.

The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,

JESUS ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ CAMARGO.

COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

Communicate and comply.

Execute, upon revision of the Constitutional Court, pursuant to article 241-10 of the Political Constitution.

Dada en Bogotá, D. C., at 31 July 2009.

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ

The Foreign Minister,

JAIME BERMUDEZ MERIZALDE.

The Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development,

CARLOS COSTA POSADA.

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