Agreement between the European Union and the Gabonese Republic on the status of the European Union-led forces in the Gabonese Republic
Date: 2006-06-16
Institutions: European Union, Gabon
Subjects: EU military mission, Gabon, agreement (EU), forces abroad, military cooperation, military personnel, the EU's international role

8.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 187/43

TRANSLATION

AGREEMENT

between the European Union and the Gabonese Republic on the status of the European Union-led
forces in the Gabonese Republic

THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU),

of the one part, and

THE GABONESE REPUBLIC, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Host State’,

of the other part,

Together hereinafter referred to as the ‘Parties’,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:

— United Nations Security Council Resolution 1671 (2006) of 25 April 2006,

— Council Joint Action 2006/319/CFSP of 27 April 2006 on the European Union military operation in support of the
United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) during the election
process (1) (EUFOR RD Congo),

— that this Agreement will not affect the Parties' rights and obligations under international agreements and other
instruments establishing international courts and tribunals, including the Statute of the International Criminal Court,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Scope and definitions

This Agreement shall apply to the European Union-led

1.
Forces and to their personnel.

This Agreement shall apply only within the territory of

2.
the Host State.

3.

For the purpose of this Agreement:

(a)

‘European Union-led Forces
shall mean EU
military headquarters and national contingents contributing
to the operation,
their equipment and their means of
transport;

(EUFOR)’

(e)

(f)

(b) ‘operation’

shall mean the preparation,

establishment,
execution and support of the military mission further to
the mandate
arising out of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1671 (2006) of 25 April 2006;

(c)

‘EU Force Commander’ shall mean the Commander in the
theatre of operations or in the Host State;

(d)

‘EU military headquarters’ shall mean the military head-
quarters and elements thereof in the cantonments under

(1) OJ L 116, 29.4.2006, p. 98.

the authority of EU military commanders exercising the
military command or control of the operation;

contingents’

‘national
and elements
belonging to the Member States of the European Union
and to other States participating in the operation;

shall mean units

assigned to EUFOR as well
the preparation of

‘EUFOR personnel’ shall mean the civilian and military
as personnel
personnel
the operation and
deployed for
personnel on mission for a Sending State or an EU insti-
tution in the framework of the operation, present, except as
otherwise provided in this Agreement, within the territory
of the Host State, with the exception of personnel employed
locally and personnel employed by international commercial
contractors;

(g)

‘personnel employed locally’ shall mean personnel who are
nationals of or permanently resident in the Host State;

(h) ‘facilities’ shall mean all premises, accommodation and land

required for EUFOR and EUFOR personnel;

(i)

‘Sending State’ shall mean a State providing a national
contingent for EUFOR.

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Article 2

General provisions

1.
EUFOR and EUFOR personnel shall respect the laws and
regulations of the Host State and shall refrain from any action
or activity incompatible with the objectives of the operation.

EUFOR shall regularly inform the government of the Host
2.
State of the number of EUFOR personnel stationed within the
Host State's territory.

Article 3

Identification

EUFOR personnel must carry passports or military identity

1.
cards with them at all times.

EUFOR personnel may drive motor vehicles, navigate
4.
vessels and operate aircraft within the Host State's territory
provided they have valid national,
international or military
driving licences, ship master's certificates or pilot licences, as
appropriate.

For the purpose of the operation, the Host State shall
5.
freedom of movement
grant EUFOR and EUFOR personnel
and freedom to travel within its territory, including its territorial
sea and its air space. Freedom of movement within the terri-
torial sea of the Host State shall include stopping and anchoring
under any circumstances.

6.
For the purpose of the operation, EUFOR may carry out
within the Host State territory, including its territorial sea and
its air space, any exercise or practice with weapons as well as
the launching,
landing or taking on board of any aircraft or
military device.

EUFOR vehicles, aircraft, vessels and other means of
2.
transport shall carry distinctive EUFOR identification markings
and/or registration plates, of which the relevant Host State
authorities shall be notified.

7.
For the purpose of the operation, EUFOR submarines are
not required to navigate on surface and to show their flag in the
territorial sea of the Host State.

3.
EUFOR shall have the right to display the flag of the
European Union and markings such as military insignia, titles
and official symbols, on its facilities, vehicles and other means
of transport. The uniforms of EUFOR personnel shall carry a
distinctive EUFOR emblem. National flags or insignia of the
constituent national contingents of
the operation may be
displayed on the EUFOR facilities, vehicles and other means
transport and uniforms, as decided by the EU Force
of
Commander.

Article 4

Border crossing and movement within the Host State's
territory

EUFOR personnel shall enter the Host State's territory
1.
only on presentation of the documents provided for in Article
3(1) or, in the case of first entry, of an individual or collective
movement order issued by EUFOR. They shall be exempt from
immigration inspections and
passport and visa regulations,
leaving or within the
customs control thereafter on entering,
Host State's territory.

EUFOR personnel shall be exempt from the Host State's
2.
regulations on the registration and control of aliens, but shall
not acquire any right to permanent residence or domicile within
the Host State's territory.

8.
For the purpose of the operation, EUFOR may use public
roads, bridges, ferries, airports and ports without the payment
of duties, fees, tolls, taxes and similar charges. EUFOR shall not
be exempt from reasonable charges for services requested and
received.

Article 5

Privileges and immunities of EUFOR granted by the Host
State

EUFOR's facilities shall be inviolable. The Host State's
1.
agents shall not enter them without the consent of the EU
Force Commander.

facilities,

EUFOR's

2.
therein as well as its means of
from search, requisition, attachment or execution.

furnishings and other assets
transport shall be immune

their

3.
EUFOR, its property and assets, wherever located and by
whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of
legal process.

EUFOR's archives and documents shall be inviolable at

4.
any time, wherever they may be.

3.
EUFOR assets and means of transport entering, transiting
or exiting the Host State's territory in support of the operation
shall be exempt from any requirement to produce inventories or
other customs documentation, and from any inspection.

5.
The official correspondence of EUFOR shall be inviolable.
Official correspondence means all correspondence relating to
the operation and its functions.

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In respect of purchased and imported goods, services
6.
provided and facilities used by it
the
operation, EUFOR shall be exempt from all national, regional
and communal dues,
taxes and charges of similar nature.
EUFOR shall not be exempt from dues, taxes or charges that
represent payment for services rendered.

for the purposes of

7.
The Host State shall permit the entry of articles for the
operation and grant them exemption from all custom duties,
fees, tolls, taxes and similar charges other than charges for
storage, cartage and other services rendered.

Article 6

Privileges and immunities of EUFOR personnel granted by
the Host State

EUFOR personnel shall not be liable to any form of arrest

1.
or detention.

2.
Papers, correspondence and property of EUFOR personnel,
shall enjoy inviolability, except in case of measures of execution
which are permitted pursuant to paragraph 6.

EUFOR personnel shall enjoy immunity from the criminal

3.
jurisdiction of the Host State under all circumstances.

The immunity from criminal jurisdiction of EUFOR personnel
may be waived by the Sending State or EU institution
concerned, as the case may be. Such waiver must always be
express.

4.
EUFOR personnel shall enjoy immunity from the civil and
administrative jurisdiction of the Host State in respect of words
spoken or written and all acts performed by them in the
exercise of their official functions.
If any civil proceeding is
instituted against EUFOR personnel before any Host State
court, the EU Force Commander and the competent authority
of the Sending State or EU institution shall be notified imme-
diately. Prior to initiation of the proceeding before the court, the
EU Force Commander and the competent authority of
the
Sending State or EU institution shall certify to the court
whether
in question was committed by EUFOR
personnel in the exercise of their official functions.

the act

If the act was committed in the exercise of official functions, the
proceeding shall not be initiated and the provisions of Article
15 shall apply. If the act was not committed in the exercise of
official functions, the proceeding may continue. The certification
by the EU Force Commander and the competent authority of
the Sending State or EU institution is binding upon the juris-
diction of the Host State which may not contest it.

The initiation of proceedings by EUFOR personnel
shall
preclude them from invoking immunity from jurisdiction in

respect of any counter-claim directly connected with the
principal claim.

EUFOR personnel are not obliged to give evidence as

5.
witnesses.

No measures of execution may be taken in respect of
6.
EUFOR personnel, except in the case where a civil proceeding
not related to their official functions is instituted against them.
Property of EUFOR personnel, which is certified by the EU
Force Commander to be necessary for the fulfilment of their
official functions, shall be free from seizure for the satisfaction
of a judgement, decision or order. In civil proceedings EUFOR
personnel shall not be subject
to any restrictions on their
personal liberty or to any other measures of constraint.

7.
The immunity of EUFOR personnel from the jurisdiction
of the Host State does not exempt them from the jurisdictions
of the respective Sending States.

8.
EUFOR personnel shall with respect to services rendered
for EUFOR be exempt from social security provisions which
may be in force in the Host State.

EUFOR personnel shall be exempt

from any form of
9.
taxation in the Host State on the salary and emoluments paid
to them by EUFOR or the Sending States, as well as on any
income received from outside the Host State.

The Host State shall, in accordance with such laws and
10.
regulations as
it may adopt, permit entry of and grant
exemption from all customs duties, taxes, and related charges
other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services, on
articles for the personal use of EUFOR personnel.

are
it contains articles

The personal baggage of EUFOR personnel shall be exempt
for
from inspection, unless
there
presuming that
the
personal use of EUFOR personnel, or articles the import or
export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the
quarantine regulations of the Host State. Such inspection shall
be conducted only in the presence of the concerned EUFOR
personnel or of an authorised representative of EUFOR.

serious
that are not

grounds
for

Article 7

Personnel employed locally

Personnel employed locally shall enjoy privileges and immu-
nities only to the extent admitted by the Host State. However,
the Host State shall exercise its jurisdiction over that personnel
in such a manner as not
to interfere unduly with the
performance of the functions of the operation.

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Article 8

Criminal jurisdiction

Article 12

Deceased EUFOR personnel

to exercise on the territory of

The competent authorities of a Sending State shall have the
the
right
jurisdiction and disciplinary powers conferred on
criminal
them by the law of
the Sending State with regard to all
EUFOR personnel subject to the relevant law of the Sending
State.

the Host State all

Article 9

Uniform and arms

The wearing of uniform shall be subject to rules adopted

1.
by the EU Force Commander.

2.
EUFOR military personnel may carry arms and ammu-
nition on condition that they are authorised to do so by their
orders.

Article 10

Host State support and contracting

The Host State agrees,

1.
finding suitable facilities.

if requested, to assist EUFOR in

The Host State shall, as far as it is able to, provide, free of
2.
charge,
insofar as such
facilities are requested for the conduct of administrative and
operational activities of EUFOR.

facilities of which it

is the owner,

3. Within its means and capabilities, the Host State shall
assist in the preparation, establishment, and execution of and
support for the operation.

The law applicable to contracts concluded by EUFOR in

4.
the Host State shall be determined by the contract.

The contract may stipulate that

5.
the dispute settlement
procedure referred to in Article 15(3) and (4) shall be applicable
to disputes arising from the application of the contract.

Article 11

Change to facilities

1.
EUFOR shall be authorised to construct, alter or otherwise
modify facilities as requested for its operational requirements.

1.
The EU Force Commander shall have the right to take
charge of and make suitable arrangements for the repatriation
of any deceased EUFOR personnel, as well as that of their
personal property.

2.
No autopsy shall be performed on any deceased member
of EUFOR without the agreement of the State concerned and
the presence of a representative of EUFOR and/or the State
concerned.

3.
The Host State and EUFOR shall cooperate to the fullest
extent possible with a view to early repatriation of deceased
EUFOR personnel.

Article 13

Security of EUFOR and military police

EUFOR is hereby authorised to take

1.
necessary to protect its installations,
its training, against any external attack or intrusion.

the measures
including those used for

The EU Force Commander may establish a military police

2.
unit in order to maintain order in EUFOR facilities.

The military police unit may also,

3.
in consultation and
cooperation with the military police or the police of the Host
State, act outside those facilities to ensure the maintenance of
good order and discipline among EUFOR personnel.

Article 14

Communications

as well

EUFOR may install and operate radio sending and
1.
shall
as
receiving stations,
cooperate with the Host State's competent authorities with a
view to avoiding conflicts in the use of appropriate frequencies.
The Host State shall grant access to the frequency spectrum free
of charge.

systems.

satellite

It

telephone,

2.
EUFOR shall enjoy the right to unrestricted communi-
cation by radio (including satellite, mobile and hand-held
facsimile and other means, as
radio),
well as the right to install the equipment necessary for the
maintenance of such communications within and between
EUFOR facilities, including the laying of cables and land lines
for the purpose of the operation.

telegraph,

2.
No compensation shall be requested from EUFOR by the
Host State for those constructions, alterations or modification.

3. Within its own facilities
the
arrangements necessary for the conveyance of mail addressed
to and from EUFOR and/or EUFOR personnel.

EUFOR may make

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Article 15

Article 16

Claims for death, injury, damage and loss

Liaison and disputes

1.
EUFOR and EUFOR personnel shall not be liable for any
damage to or loss of civilian or government property which are
caused by activities related to the protection of EUFOR.

All

1.
issues arising in connection with the application of
this Agreement shall be examined jointly by representatives of
EUFOR and the Host State's competent authorities.

2. With a view to reaching an amicable settlement, claims for
damage to or loss of civilian or government property not
covered by paragraph 1, as well as claims for death of or
injury to persons and for damage to or
loss of EUFOR
property, shall be forwarded to EUFOR via the competent
authorities of the Host State, as far as claims brought by legal
or natural persons from the Host State are concerned, or to the
competent authorities of the Host State, as far claims brought
by EUFOR are concerned.

2.
Failing any prior settlement, disputes concerning the inter-
pretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled exclu-
sively by diplomatic means between the Host State and EU
representatives.

Article 17

Other provisions

3. Where no amicable settlement can be found, the claim
shall be submitted to a claims commission composed on an
equal basis of representatives of EUFOR and representatives of
the Host State. Settlement of claims shall be reached by
common agreement.

1. Whenever this Agreement refers to the privileges, immu-
the
nities and rights of EUFOR and of EUFOR personnel,
Government of the Host State shall be responsible for their
implementation and for compliance with them on the part of
the appropriate Host State local authorities.

4. Where no settlement can be reached within the claims
commission, the dispute shall:

(a)

for claims up to and including EUR 40 000, be settled by
diplomatic means between the Host State and EU represen-
tatives;

Nothing in this Agreement

2.
intended or may be
construed to derogate from any rights that may attach to an
EU Member State or to any other State contributing to EUFOR
under other agreements.

is

Article 18

Implementing arrangements

(b) for claims above the amount referred to in point (a), be
the decisions of

submitted to an arbitration tribunal,
which shall be binding.

For purposes of the application of this Agreement, operational,
administrative and technical matters may be the subject of
separate arrangements to be concluded between the EU Force
Commander and the Host State's administrative authorities.

5.
The arbitration tribunal shall be composed of three arbi-
trators, one arbitrator being appointed by the Host State, one
arbitrator being appointed by EUFOR and the third one being
appointed jointly by the Host State and EUFOR. Where one of
the parties does not appoint an arbitrator within two months or
where no agreement can be found between the Host State and
EUFOR on the appointment of the third arbitrator, the arbi-
trator in question shall be appointed by the President of the
Court of Justice of the European Communities.

Article 19

Entry into force and termination

1.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the day on
which it is signed and shall remain in force until the date of
departure of the last EUFOR element and of the last EUFOR
personnel, as notified by EUFOR.

arrangement

An administrative

concluded
6.
between EUFOR and the administrative authorities of the Host
State in order to determine the terms of reference of the claims
commission and the tribunal, the procedure applicable within
these bodies and the conditions under which claims are to be
lodged.

shall be

2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the provisions contained in
Articles 4(8), 5(1-3), 5(6), 5(7), 6(1), 6(3), 6(4), 6(6), 6(8-10),
10(2), 11 and 15 shall be deemed to have applied from the date
on which the first EUFOR personnel were deployed if that date
was earlier than the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

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3.

This Agreement may be amended by written agreement between the Parties.

Termination of this Agreement shall not affect any rights or obligations arising out of the execution of

4.
this Agreement before such termination.

Done at Libreville, on 16 June 2006 in four original copies in French,

For the European Union

For the Host State