CHAPTER IX

HEALTH1Constitution of the World Health OrganizationNew York, 22 July 1946Entry into force7 April 1948, in accordance with article 80.Registration7 April 1948, No. 221StatusSignatories59Parties194TextUnited Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 14, p. 185 (with regard to the text of subsequent amendments, see further under each series of amendments).The Constitution was drawn up by the International Health Conference, which had been convened pursuant to resolution l (I)<superscript>1</superscript> of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, adopted on 15 February 1946. The Conference was held at New York from 19 June to 22 July 1946. In addition to the Constitution, the Conference drew up the Final Act, the Arrangements for the Establishment of an Interim Commission of the World Health Organization and the Protocol concerning the Office international d'hygiène publique , for the text of which, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 9, p. 3.

Participant<superscript>2,3,4</superscript>SignatureDefinitive signature(s), Acceptance(A)Afghanistan19 Apr 1948 AAlbania22 Jul 1946 26 May 1947 AAlgeria 8 Nov 1962 AAndorra15 Jan 1997 AAngola15 May 1976 AAntigua and Barbuda12 Mar 1984 AArgentina22 Jul 1946 22 Oct 1948 AArmenia 4 May 1992 AAustralia22 Jul 1946 2 Feb 1948 AAustria22 Jul 1946 30 Jun 1947 AAzerbaijan 2 Oct 1992 ABahamas 1 Apr 1974 ABahrain 2 Nov 1971 ABangladesh19 May 1972 ABarbados25 Apr 1967 ABelarus22 Jul 1946 7 Apr 1948 ABelgium22 Jul 1946 25 Jun 1948 ABelize23 Aug 1990 ABenin20 Sep 1960 ABhutan 8 Mar 1982 ABolivia (Plurinational State of)22 Jul 1946 23 Dec 1949 ABosnia and Herzegovina10 Sep 1992 ABotswana26 Feb 1975 ABrazil22 Jul 1946 2 Jun 1948 ABrunei Darussalam25 Mar 1985 ABulgaria22 Jul 1946 9 Jun 1948 ABurkina Faso 4 Oct 1960 ABurundi22 Oct 1962 ACambodia17 May 1950 ACameroon 6 May 1960 ACanada22 Jul 1946 29 Aug 1946 ACape Verde 5 Jan 1976 ACentral African Republic20 Sep 1960 AChad 1 Jan 1961 AChile22 Jul 1946 15 Oct 1948 AChina<superscript>4,5,6</superscript>22 Jul 1946 sColombia22 Jul 1946 14 May 1959 AComoros 9 Dec 1975 ACongo26 Oct 1960 ACook Islands 9 May 1984 ACosta Rica22 Jul 1946 17 Mar 1949 ACôte d'Ivoire28 Oct 1960 ACroatia11 Jun 1992 ACuba22 Jul 1946 9 May 1950 ACyprus16 Jan 1961 ACzech Republic<superscript>7</superscript>22 Jan 1993 ADemocratic People's Republic of Korea19 May 1973 ADemocratic Republic of the Congo24 Feb 1961 ADenmark22 Jul 1946 19 Apr 1948 ADjibouti10 Mar 1978 ADominica13 Aug 1981 ADominican Republic22 Jul 1946 21 Jun 1948 AEcuador22 Jul 1946 1 Mar 1949 AEgypt22 Jul 1946 16 Dec 1947 AEl Salvador22 Jul 1946 22 Jun 1948 AEquatorial Guinea 5 May 1980 AEritrea24 Jul 1993 AEstonia31 Mar 1993 AEthiopia22 Jul 1946 11 Apr 1947 AFiji 1 Jan 1972 AFinland22 Jul 1946 7 Oct 1947 AFrance22 Jul 1946 16 Jun 1948 AGabon21 Nov 1960 AGambia26 Apr 1971 AGeorgia26 May 1992 AGermany<superscript>8,9</superscript>29 May 1951 AGhana 8 Apr 1957 AGreece22 Jul 1946 12 Mar 1948 AGrenada 4 Dec 1974 AGuatemala22 Jul 1946 26 Aug 1949 AGuinea19 May 1959 AGuinea-Bissau29 Jul 1974 AGuyana27 Sep 1966 AHaiti22 Jul 1946 12 Aug 1947 AHonduras22 Jul 1946 8 Apr 1949 AHungary19 Feb 1947 17 Jun 1948 AIceland17 Jun 1948 AIndia22 Jul 1946 12 Jan 1948 AIndonesia23 May 1950 AIran (Islamic Republic of)22 Jul 1946 23 Nov 1946 AIraq22 Jul 1946 23 Sep 1947 AIreland22 Jul 1946 20 Oct 1947 AIsrael21 Jun 1949 AItaly22 Jul 1946 11 Apr 1947 AJamaica21 Mar 1963 AJapan16 May 1951 AJordan22 Jul 1946 7 Apr 1947 AKazakhstan19 Aug 1992 AKenya27 Jan 1964 AKiribati26 Jul 1984 AKuwait 9 May 1960 AKyrgyzstan29 Apr 1992 ALao People's Democratic Republic17 May 1950 ALatvia 4 Dec 1991 ALebanon22 Jul 1946 19 Jan 1949 ALesotho 7 Jul 1967 ALiberia22 Jul 1946 14 Mar 1947 ALibya16 May 1952 ALithuania25 Nov 1991 ALuxembourg22 Jul 1946 3 Jun 1949 AMadagascar16 Jan 1961 AMalawi 9 Apr 1965 AMalaysia24 Apr 1958 AMaldives 5 Nov 1965 AMali17 Oct 1960 AMalta 1 Feb 1965 AMarshall Islands 5 Jun 1991 AMauritania 7 Mar 1961 AMauritius 9 Dec 1968 AMexico22 Jul 1946 7 Apr 1948 AMicronesia (Federated States of)14 Aug 1991 AMonaco 8 Jul 1948 AMongolia18 Apr 1962 AMontenegro29 Aug 2006 AMorocco14 May 1956 AMozambique11 Sep 1975 AMyanmar 1 Jul 1948 ANamibia23 Apr 1990 ANauru 9 May 1994 ANepal 2 Sep 1953 ANetherlands22 Jul 1946 25 Apr 1947 ANew Zealand<superscript>10</superscript>22 Jul 1946 10 Dec 1946 ANicaragua22 Jul 1946 24 Apr 1950 ANiger 5 Oct 1960 ANigeria25 Nov 1960 ANiue 5 May 1994 ANorway22 Jul 1946 18 Aug 1947 AOman28 May 1971 APakistan23 Jun 1948 APalau 9 Mar 1995 APanama22 Jul 1946 20 Feb 1951 APapua New Guinea29 Apr 1976 AParaguay22 Jul 1946 4 Jan 1949 APeru22 Jul 1946 11 Nov 1949 APhilippines22 Jul 1946 9 Jul 1948 APoland22 Jul 1946 6 May 1948 APortugal22 Jul 1946 13 Feb 1948 AQatar11 May 1972 ARepublic of Korea17 Aug 1949 ARepublic of Moldova 4 May 1992 ARomania 8 Jun 1948 ARussian Federation22 Jul 1946 24 Mar 1948 ARwanda 7 Nov 1962 ASamoa16 May 1962 ASan Marino12 May 1980 ASao Tome and Principe23 Mar 1976 ASaudi Arabia22 Jul 1946 26 May 1947 ASenegal31 Oct 1960 ASerbia28 Nov 2000 ASeychelles11 Sep 1979 ASierra Leone20 Oct 1961 ASingapore25 Feb 1966 ASlovakia<superscript>7</superscript> 4 Feb 1993 ASlovenia 7 May 1992 ASolomon Islands 4 Apr 1983 ASomalia26 Jan 1961 ASouth Africa22 Jul 1946 7 Aug 1947 ASouth Sudan27 Sep 2011 ASpain28 May 1951 ASri Lanka 7 Jul 1948 ASt. Kitts and Nevis 3 Dec 1984 ASt. Lucia11 Nov 1980 ASt. Vincent and the Grenadines 1 Sep 1983 ASudan14 May 1956 ASuriname25 Mar 1976 ASwaziland16 Apr 1973 ASweden13 Jan 1947 28 Aug 1947 ASwitzerland22 Jul 1946 26 Mar 1947 ASyrian Arab Republic22 Jul 1946 18 Dec 1946 ATajikistan 4 May 1992 AThailand22 Jul 1946 26 Sep 1947 AThe former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia22 Apr 1993 ATimor-Leste27 Sep 2002 ATogo13 May 1960 ATonga14 Aug 1975 ATrinidad and Tobago 3 Jan 1963 ATunisia14 May 1956 ATurkey22 Jul 1946 2 Jan 1948 ATurkmenistan 2 Jul 1992 ATuvalu 7 May 1993 AUganda 7 Mar 1963 AUkraine22 Jul 1946 3 Apr 1948 AUnited Arab Emirates30 Mar 1972 AUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland22 Jul 1946 sUnited Republic of Tanzania15 Mar 1962 AUnited States of America<superscript>11</superscript>22 Jul 1946 21 Jun 1948 AUruguay22 Jul 1946 22 Apr 1949 AUzbekistan22 May 1992 AVanuatu 7 Mar 1983 AVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)22 Jul 1946 7 Jul 1948 AViet Nam<superscript>12</superscript>17 May 1950 AYemen<superscript>13</superscript> 6 May 1968 AZambia 2 Feb 1965 sZimbabwe16 May 1980 A

1Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, First Session, Supplement No. 1 , p. 86.2The former Yugoslavia had signed and accepted the Constitution on 22 July 1946 and 19 November 1947, respectively. See also note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina", "Croatia", "former Yugoslavia", "Slovenia", "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and "Yugoslavia" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.3Accepted for Tanganyika on 15 March 1962 and for Zanzibar on 29 February 1964. See also note 1 under “United Republic of Tanzania” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.4See note concerning signatures, ratifications, accessions, etc., on behalf of China (note 1 under “China” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume).5See note 3 under “China” regarding Macao in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.6See note 2 under “China” regarding Hong Kong in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.7Czechoslovakia had signed and accepted the Convention on 22 July 1946 and 1 March 1948, respectively. See also note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.8See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.9The German Democratic Republic had accepted the Constitution on 8 May 1973. See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.10See note 1 under “New Zealand” regarding Tokelau in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.11Accepted subject to the provisions of the joint resolution of the Congress of the United States of America approved 14 June 1948 (Public Law 643, 80th Congress), section 4 of which reads as follows: "In adopting this joint resolution the Congress does so with the understanding that, in the absence of any provision in the World Health Organization Constitution for withdrawal from the organization, the United States reserves its right to withdraw from the organization on a one-year notice, provided, however, that the financial obligations of the United States to the organization shall be met in full for the organization's current fiscal year.""The World Health Assembly adopted unanimously on 2 July 1948 the following resolution: "The Assembly recognized the validity of the ratification by the United States of America and resolved that the Secretary-General of the United Nations be advised of this decision."12By a letter dated at Hanoi on 12 July 1976, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet-Nam notified the Director-General of the World Health Organization that the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the Republic of South Viet-Nam had united to form the Socialist Republic of Viet-Nam, and that the latter would continue to exercise the official membership in the World Health Organization of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the Republic of South Viet-Nam. The above-mentioned communication from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet-Nam was brought to the attention of the Member States of the World Health Organization by a circular letter from the Director-General of that Organization dated 30 August 1976. The Thirtieth World Health Assembly took note of the said notification in its resolution WHA 30.13 dated 10 May 1977. The Constitution of the World Health Organization had been accepted on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam on 22 October 1975 and on behalf of the Republic of Viet-Nam (later replaced by the Republic of South Viet-Nam) on 17 May 1950.13Democratic Yemen had accepted the Constitution on 6 May 1968. See also note 1 under “Yemen” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.