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APPENDIX G

PLANT PROTECTION AGREEMENT FOR THE
[SOUTH EAST] ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION *

The Contracting Governments,
desiring to prevent, through concerted
action, the introduction into and spread
within the [South East] Asia and Pacific
Region of destructive plant diseases and
pests, have concluded the following
Agreement, which is a supplementary-
agreement under Article III of the
International Plant Protection
Convention of 1951:

ARTICLE I

Definitions

In this Agreement and in the appendices hereto, the following terms shall have the meaning hereby assigned to them, save as otherwise provided:

  1. "The [South East] Asia and Pacific Region, hereinafter called "The Region" comprises all territories in [South East] Asia east of the western border of Pakistan and south of the Himalayas, the southern border of China and west of the eastern coast of Viet-Nam, together with all those territories in the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean situated wholly or partly in the area bounded by longitude 100° East, latitude 45° South, longitude 130 West, latitude 38° North to the point of its intersection with the western coast of the Republic of Korea, and from that point a straight line to Taipei, and thence a straight line to the point of intersection of the eastern coast of Viet-Nam and latitude 15° North. For the purpose of implementing ' the objectives of this Agreement Hong-Kong shall also be considered as being in the Region."
  2. "plant" or "plants" means all species of plants or parts thereof, whether living or dead (including stems, branches, tubers, bulbs, corms, stocks, budwood, cuttings, layers, slips, suckers, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, and any other parts of plants);
  3. "territory" means a State or Territory within the Region defined in (a) above;
  4. "the Organization" means the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;
  5. "the [Committee] Commission means the [Plant Protection Committee for the South East Asia and Pacific [Region] Plant Protection Commission established in pursuance of Article II of this Agreement.

ARTICLE II

Regional [Committee] Commission

  1. The Contracting Governments hereby establish a regional [Committee] Commission to be known as the [Plant Protection Committee for] the [South East] Asia and Pacific [Region] Plant Protection Commission, whose functions shall include:
    1. the determination of procedures and arrangements necessary for the implementation of this Agreement and the making of recommendations to the Contracting Governments accordingly;
    2. the review of reports submitted by the Contracting Governments of progress in the implementation of this Agreement;
    3. the consideration of problems requiring co-operation on a regional basis and of measures for mutual assistance.
  2. Each Contracting Government shall be represented on the [Committee] Commission and shall have one vote. A majority of the Contracting Governments shall constitute a quorum. Decisions of the [Committee] Commission shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast except as otherwise provided in this Agreement.
  3. The [Committee] Commission shall meet whenever convened by the Director-General of the Organization after consultation with the Chairman of the [Committee] Commission. The Director- General of the Organization shall convene the /Committee/Commission at least once every two years or when so requested by at least one third of the Contracting Governments.
  4. The [Committee] Commission shall elect from amongst the delegates a Chairman who shall serve for a period of two years or until the first session of the [Committee] Commission held after the expiration of the period of two years. The Chairman shall be eligible for re-election.
  5. Expenses incurred by delegates of Contracting Governments in attending sessions of the [Committee] Commission shall be determined and paid by their respective Governments. The Director-General of the Organization shall appoint and provide the secretariat of the [Committee] Commission from the staff of the Organization who shall serve only during the sessions of the [Committee] Commission. The expenses of the secretariat of the [Committee] Commission shall be determined and paid by the Organization.
  6. The [Committee] Commission shall establish its own rules of procedure.

ARTICLE III

Measures regarding the Importation of Plants
from Outside the Region

For the purpose of preventing the introduction into its territory or territories of destructive diseases and pests, and in particular those listed in Appendix A to this Agreement, each Contracting Government shall use its best endeavours to apply, with respect to the importation of any plants, including their packings and containers, and any packings and containers of plant origin, from anywhere outside the Region, such measures of prohibition, certification, inspection, disinfection, disinfestation, quarantine, destruction or other measures as may be recommended by the [Committee] Commission taking into consideration the provisions of Articles V and VI of the International Plant Protection Convention.

Appendix A to this Agreement may be modified by a decision of the [Committee] Commission.

ARTICLE IV

Measures to Exclude South American Leaf Blight of
Hevea from the Region

In view of the importance of the Hevea rubber industry in the Region, and of the danger of introducing the destructive South American leaf blight (Dothidella ulei) of the Hevea rubber tree, the Contracting Governments shall take the measures specified in Appendix B to this Agreement. Appendix B to this Agreement may be modified by a decision of the[Committee] Commission taken unanimously.

ARTICLE V

Measures Regarding Movement of Plants within the
Region

For the purpose of preventing the spread within the Region of destructive diseases and pests, each Contracting Government shall use its best endeavours to apply, with respect to the importation into its territory of any plants, including packings and containers, and any packings and containers of plant origin, from another territory within the Region, such measures of prohibition, certification, inspection, desinfection, desinfestation, quarantine, destruction or other measures as may be recommended by the [Committeee] Commission, in addition to measures already adopted by each Contracting Government.

ARTICLE VI

General Exemption

This Agreement shall not apply to the following plants and plant products except insofar as any such plants or plant products are explicitly made subject to specific measures of control provided in this Agreement or recommended by the [Committee] Commission:

  1. any plants imported for food or for analytical, medicinal or manufacturing purposes;
  2. all seeds of annual or biennial field crops or vegetables, and all seeds or cut flowers of annual, biennial or perennial ornamental plants which are essentially herbaceous in character; and
  3. any processed plant products.

ARTICLE VII

Settlement of Disputes

If there be any dispute regarding the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement, or regarding action taken by any Contracting Government under this Agreement, and such dispute cannot be resolved by the [Committee] Commission, the Government or Governments concerned may request the Director-General of the Organization to appoint a committee of experts to consider such dispute.

ARTICLE VIII

Rights and Obligations of Contracting Governments not
Parties to the International Plant Protection Convention

Nothing in the International Plant Protection Convention shall affect the rights and obligations of Contracting Governments which are not parties to the Convention.

ARTICLE IX

Amendment

  1. Any proposal by a Contracting Government for the amendment of this Agreement, except Appendices A and B, shall be communicated, through the [Committee] Commission to the Director-General of the Organization.
  2. Any proposed amendment of this Agreement received by the Director-General of the Organization shall be presented to a session of the Council of the Organization for approval.
  3. Notice of any proposed amendment of this Agreement shall be transmitted to the Contracting Governments by the Director-General of the Organization not later than the time when the agenda of the session of the Council at which the matter is to be considered is despatched.
  4. Any such amendment of this Agreement, approved by the Council of the Organization, shall come into force with respect to all Contracting Governments as from the thirtieth day after acceptance by two thirds of the Contracting Governments. Amendments involving new obligations for Contracting Governments, however, shall come into force in respect of each Contracting Government only on acceptance by it and as from the thirtieth day after such acceptance.
  5. The instruments of acceptance of amendments shall be deposited with the Director- General of the Organization. The effective date of acceptance shall be the date of such deposit. The Director-General of the Organization shall inform all Contracting Govern-ments of the receipt of acceptances and the entry into force of amendments.

ARTICLE X

Signature and Adherence

  1. The Government of any State situated in the Region, or any Government which is responsible for the international relations of a territory or territories in the Region, may become a party to this Agreement, by either
    1. signature; or
    2. signature subject to ratification followed by such ratification; or
    3. adherence.
    Governments may not subject their signature, ratification or adherence to any reservation.
  2. This Agreement, the text of which was approved by the Council of the Organization on 26 November 1955, shall be open for signature until 30 June 1956 or until the date of its entry into force in conformity with the provisions of Article XI, paragraph 1, which- ever date is the later. The Director-General of the Organization shall immediately inform all signatory Governments of the signature of this Agreement by any other Government. Ratification shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of ratification with the Director-General of the Organization and shall become effective as from the date of deposit.
  3. This Agreement shall be open for adherence as from 1 July 1956 or from the date of its entry into force in conformity with the provisions of Article XI, paragraph 1, whichever date is the later. Adherence shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of adherence with the Director-General of the Organization and shall become effective as from the date of deposit.
  4. The Director-General of the Organization shall immediately inform all signatory and adhering Governments of the deposit of an instrument of ratification or of adherence.

ARTICLE XI

Entry into Force

  1. This Agreement shall come into force as soon as three Governments have become parties to it, either by signature, or by signature subject to ratification followed by such ratification.
  2. The Director-General of the Organization shall notify all signatory Governments of the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

ARTICLE XII

Denunciation and Termination

  1. Any Contracting Government may, at any time after the expiration of one year from the date on which it became a party to the Agreement, or from the date on which the Agreement entered into force, whichever is the later, denounce this Agreement by notifi-cation addressed to the Director-General of the Organization, who shall at once inform all signatory and adhering Governments of the denunciation.
  2. The denunciation shall take effect one year from the date of receipt of the notifi-cation by the Director-General of the Organization.
  3. This Agreement shall automatically be terminated should the parties to it become fewer than three as the result of denunciations.

    4. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Agreement on behalf of their respective Governments on the dates appearing opposite their signatures.

    Done at Rome on the twenty-seventh day of February one thousand nine hundred and fifty six in two copies in the English, French and Spanish languages, which languages shall be equally authoritative. The text of this Agreement shall be authenticated by the Chairman of the Council of the Organization and the Director-General of the Organization. After expiry of the period during which the Agreement is open for signature, in accordance with Article X, paragraph 2, one copy of the Agreement shall be deposited with the Secretary- General of the United Nations and the other in the archives of the Organization. Additional copies of this text shall be certified by the Director-General of the Organization and furnished to all Governments parties to the Agreement, with the indication of the date on which it has come into force.

    APPENDIX A

    LIST OF DESTRUCTIVE PESTS AND DISEASES NOT YET ESTABLISHED IN THE [SOUTH EAST] ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION AS AMENDED BY THE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD AND SIXTH SESSIONS OF THE [COMMITTEE[ COMMISSION

    The above amendments to Appendix A were decided by the Committee in accordance with Article III of the Agreement.

    * Words underlined to be added; words between square brackets to be deleted.

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