Charter of the Union of Central African States
States of the Union;
(h) The establishment of an appropriate procedure to make
possible the expansion of trade between the Member
States;
(i) The establishment of an Investment Bank to facilitate the
economic expansion of the Union through the creation of
new resources.PART THREE
Title VII CULTURAL COOPERATION
Article 27. In order to bring about closer cooperation and to
develop cultural exchanges between them, the Member States
consider it necessary to expand their cultural relations both in
the literary and artistic field and in the scientific and technical
field.
Article 28. To that end the Member States shall endeavor, in
so far as their means permit:
To encourage the exchange of professors, research workers,
or any other persons engaged in the various fields of culture,
science, and the arts;
To promote artistic, theatrical, and sports exchanges and to
encourage the exchange of students and grantees.
Article 29. To that end, the various academic establishments,
institutes, and research centers now existing or to be created in
each State shall be open to the nationals of the other States of
the Organization.
The Union shall facilitate such exchanges, particularly by
granting fellowships and training grants.
PART FOUR — SECURITY
Article 30. In order to ensure the security of their territories
and to safeguard their sovereignty, the Member States hereby
proclaim their solidarity and their willingness to furnish mili-
tary assistance to each other in the event of foreign aggression.
Article 31. To that end, each of the Contracting States hereby
promises to take all practical measures necessary to ensure the
security of the borders of the Member States, particularly
through a mutual exchange of information regarding anything
that might constitute a threat to the internal and external secu-
rity of any Member State or to the Union as a whole, through
the transmission of reports or data making it possible to extra-
dite persons sought in their countries for crimes or offenses
against ordinary law committed in their country of origin or in
any other Member State, and all measures intended to stamp
out subversion in the territory of any Member State or of the
Union as a whole.
PART FIVE — TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
Article 32. Upon the entry into force of this Charter, the
Contracting States shall send to the Executive Secretariat of the
Union all laws, regulations, and decisions on customs and eco-
nomic matters, including decisions concerning the granting of
preferential treatment. The Executive Secretary shall distribute
them to the Member States.
Article 33. Specialized technical commissions shall meet as
soon as possible in order to submit to the Conference of Chiefs
of State for decision regulations of execution on the following
points:
Customs legislation and regulations;
Guidelines for the allocation of import and export duties;
The coordination of investment codes or the establishment
of a common Investment Code;
The coordination of the internal taxation systems;
The procedure for the approval and allocation of industri-
alization projects and the industrial cooperation policy;
The system for taxation of local products;
The coordination of development plans, and of the trans-
portation and telecommunications policies;
The establishment of a Compensation and Investment
Fund;
The system of port, rail, river, highway, and air infrastruc-
ture services;
The free movement of persons, services, and capital, and
the right of establishment.
Article 34. These regulations of execution shall form an inte-
gral part of this Charter.PART SIX — GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 35. This Charter shall enter into force upon ratifica-
tion in accordance with the constitutional formalities of each of
the Contracting States.
The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Central African Republic, designated the depositary State.
Upon receipt of the instruments of ratification, the deposi-
tary Government shall so inform all the Contracting Parties and
the Executive Secretariat of the Union.
Article 36. Amendments to this Charter must be ratified by
each Member State in the manner specified by its internal legis-
lation.
Article 37. This Charter may be denounced by any Member
State. The denunciation shall not enter into force, as regards the
State denouncing it, until January 1 following notification of
denunciation to the Chairman of the Conference and six
months after such notification at the earliest.
Denunciation by one or more Contracting States shall not
entail the dissolution of the Union.
The Conference of Chiefs of State alone may decide upon
such dissolution and fix the terms and conditions for distribu-
tion of the assets and liabilities.
However, the Conference shall establish the principle and the
terms and conditions for indemnification if the Contracting
State withdraws from the Union.
Article 38. This Charter, duly ratified, shall be registered with
the Secretariat of the United Nations by the depositary Govern-
ment pursuant to Article 102 of the United Nations Charter.
Done at Fort-Lamay, April 2, 1968