# United States Treaty Series/Volume 1/Pan American Union (1910)

This is the official United States government version published in the first volume of the United States Treaty Series (Bevans).
PAN AMERICAN UNION
* Resolution adopted by the Fourth International American Conference at Buenos Aires August 11, 1910
* Amended by resolution of May 1, 1923, of the Fifth International Conference of American States, as amended
* Termination: Became obsolete December 13, 1951, upon entry into force of the Charter of the Organization of American States of April 30, 1948
Report of the Delegates of the United States to the Fourth International Conference of American States, Held at Buenos Aires, July 12 to August 30, 1910 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1911), p. 156; Senate document 744, 61st Congress, 3d session
Resolution
Reorganization of the "Union of American Republics"
The undersigned, Delegates of the Republics represented in the Fourth International American Conference, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have approved the following resolution:
The Fourth International American Conference resolves:
Article I
To maintain, under the name of "Union of American Republics," the International Union created by the First, and confirmed by the Second and Third Conferences, and under the name of "Pan American Union" the institution serving as its Agent and having its seat in the Building of the American Republics in the City of Washington, D.C.
The purposes of the "Pan American Union" are the following:
1. To compile and distribute commercial information and prepare commercial reports. ​2. To compile and classify information respecting the treaties and Conventions between the American Republics, and between these and other States, and their legislation in force.
3. To supply information on educational matters.
4. To prepare reports on questions assigned to it by resolutions of the International American Conferences.
[5. To assist in obtaining the ratification of the resolutions and conventions adopted by the different Conferences.]
6. To carry into effect all resolutions, the execution of which may have been assigned or may hereafter be assigned to it by the International American Conference.
7. To act as a Permanent Committee of the International American Conferences, recommending topics to be included in the programme of the next Conference; such projects must be communicated to the various Governments forming the Union, at least six months before the date of the meeting of the next Conference.
8. To submit within the same period a report to the various Governments on the work of the "Pan American Union" during the term covered since the meeting of the last Conference, and also special reports on any matter which may have been referred to it for report.
9. To keep the records of the International American Conferences.
Article II
The control of the "Pan American Union" is vested in a Governing Board consisting of the diplomatic representatives of all the Governments of said Republics accredited to the Government of the United States of America, and the Secretary of State of the United States, on whom the American Republics have conferred the presidency of the Governing Board.
Article III
Any diplomatic representative unable to attend the meetings of the Board may transmit his vote, stating his reason therefor in writing. Representation by proxy is prohibited. Any Republic having no representative accredited before the Government of the United States of America may designate a member of the Governing Board to represent it in the "Union of American Republics," and in this case said representative will have a vote for each representation.
Article IV
The Governing Board shall meet in regular session the first Wednesday of every month, excepting the months of June, July, and August; and in special ​session at the call of the President issued on his own initiative, or at the request of two members of the Board.
The attendance of five members at any ordinary or special session shall be sufficient to permit the Board to proceed with Business.
Article V
In the absence of the Secretary of State of the United States, one of the diplomatic representatives in Washington then present, shall preside according to rank and seniority, with the title of Vice-Chairman.
Article VI
At the regular session to be held in November the Governing Board shall fix by lot the order of precedence among all the representatives of the American Republics forming the Union in order to create a Supervisory Committee. The first four on this list and the Secretary of State of the United States of America will constitute the first Supervisory Committee; and the four members of the Committee shall be replaced in turn, one every year, so that the Committee shall be totally renewed in four years. The outgoing members shall always be replaced by those following on the list, the same method being observed in event of resignation. The Secretary of State of the United States of America shall always be the Chairman of the Committee.
The Supervisory Committee shall hold their regular session the first Monday of every month, and three members shall be sufficient to constitute a quorum.
Article VII
There shall be a Director General appointed by the Governing Board and an Assistant Director who shall also act as Secretary to the said Board.
Article VIII
The Director General shall have charge of the administration of the "Pan American Union" in accordance with these fundamental rules, the regulations, and the resolutions of the Governing Board.
He shall have charge of the correspondence with the Governments of the Union through their diplomatic representatives in Washington, or directly in the absence of such representatives, and with the Pan-American Committees. He shall attend in an advisory capacity the meetings of the Governing Board, of the Committees, and of International American Conferences, except in the case of resolution to the contrary.
Article IX
The personnel of the "Pan American Union," the number of employees, their appointment, duties and everything pertaining thereto, shall be determined by the Regulations.
Article X
There shall be in the Capital of each of the Republics of this Union a Pan-American Commission responsible to the Minister of Foreign Affairs consisting, if possible, of persons who have been Delegates to some International American Conference, their functions being:
* a) To obtain the approval of the resolutions adopted by these Conferences.
* b) To furnish accurately and without delay to the "Pan American Union" all the data needed in the preparation of its work.
* c) To submit of their own initiative any projects they may deem proper to foster the interest of the Union, and to exercise such further functions as the respective Governments may entrust to them.
These Commissions may correspond with the "Pan American Union" either directly or through the diplomatic representatives in Washington.
The Governments represented shall be entitled to send, at their own cost, to the "Pan American Union" a special agent of the respective Commission, charged with the supplying of such data and information as may be asked from him and at the same time to secure such as may be needed by his Government.
Article XI
The Director General of the "Pan American Union" shall submit at the regular meeting in November a detailed budget of the expenses for the following year. This Budget, after approval by the Governing Board shall be transmitted to the various Signatory Governments with a statement of the annual quota which each is to contribute, this quota being fixed in proportion to the population of the country.
Article XII
The "Pan American Union" shall issue such publications as the Governing Board may determine, and shall publish a Bulletin at least once amonth.
All geographical maps published by the "Pan American Union" shall bear a statement thereon that they do not constitute documents approved by the Government of the country to which they apply, nor by the Governments of the countries whose boundaries appear thereon, unless the former and the latter Governments shall have expressly given their approval, which shall in each case also be stated on the map. A similar statement shall be made on the other publications of the Union, save those which are of an official nature.
All these publications, with the exceptions determined by the Governing Board, shall be distributed gratuitously.
Article XIII
In order to assure the greatest possible accuracy in the publications of the "Pan American Union," each of the Signatory States shall transmit directly ​to the Union two copies of all official documents or publications relating to matters connected with the purposes of the Union; and with the same object they shall also send one copy to each of the Pan American Commissions.
Article XIV
All correspondence and publications of the "Pan American Union" shall be carried free of charge by the mails of the American Republics.
Article XV
The "Pan American Union" shall be governed by the regulations prepared by the Governing Board in accordance with the Statutes.
Article XVI
The American Republics bind themselves to continue to support the "Pan American Union" for a term of ten years from this date, and to pay annually into the Treasury of the "Pan American Union" their respective quotas. Any of the Republics may cease to belong to the Union of American Republics upon notice to the Governing Board, two years in advance. The "Pan American Union" shall continue for successive terms of ten years unless twelve months before the expiration of such term a majority of the members of the Union shall express the wish, through the Secretary of State of the United States of America, to withdraw therefrom on the expiration of the term.
Article XVII
All rules contrary to the present Resolution are hereby repealed.
Made and signed in the city of Buenos Aires on the eleventh day of the month of August in the year one thousand nine hundred and ten in the Spanish, English, Portuguese and French languages, and filed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic, in order that certified copies may be taken to be forwarded through the Diplomatic Channels to each one of the Signatory States.
* ↑ Post, vol. 2.
* ↑ 2 UST 2394; TIAS 2361.
* ↑ Resolution dated Apr. 14, 1890, ante, p. 129.
* ↑ Resolution dated Jan. 29, 1902, ante, p. 344.
* ↑ Resolution dated Aug. 7, 1906, ante, p. 535.
* ↑ Paragraph 5 has been inserted here although not contained in the English text of a certified copy of the original filed in the U.S. archives. The paragraph does appear in the Spanish, Portuguese, and French texts.
Footnotes
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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