CONFIDENTIAL
HONG KONG: PARTICIPATION IN GENEVA-BASED UN SPECIALISED AGENCIES
AND OTHER AUTONOMOUS ORGANISATIONS WITHIN THE UN SYSTEM
(I) World Health Organisation (WHO)
1. WHO's relations with the UK and its dependent territories, of whatever legal status, are governed by the Basic Agreement between the Organisation and the UK, dated 7 February 1952. Article I of this agreement reads, in part, as follows:
2.
"The WHO shall
assistance as shall be set out in agreements to be made pursuant to the Basic Agreement to those governments of the Territories for whose international relations the government of the UK are responsible, hereinafter referred to as governments of the Territories. Such supplementary agreements shall be made between the WHO and the government of the Territory concerned acting with the authority of the government of the UK and the government of the UK will assume international responsibility for such supplementary agreements in the same manner as if they had been concluded in the name of the government of the UK".
render such technical advisory
Hong Kong therefore has no separate status within the Organisation. All dealings and correspondence, such as the submission of statistics, are conducted through the UK Government.
(II) World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)
1.
This
Hong Kong is a long-standing member of the WMO in accordance with Article 3 of the WMO Convention. Article defines the categories of state and territory eligible for membership and reads (at 3(d)) in part as follows:-
2.
"Any territory or group of territories maintaining
its own Meteorological Service, and listed in Annex II attached hereto, upon application of the present Convention on its behalf, in accordance with paragraph (a) of Article 34, by the State or States responsible for its international relations
Hong Kong therefore has the status of a full member of the WMO, except that in certain circumstances its voting privileges are limited. These are set out in Article 11 of the WMO Convention which states that the Convention, WMO Membership, relations with the UN, and senior elections are subjects on which only Members which are States are entitled to vote (emphasis added).
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