a) harmonize and integrate their development plans;
b) promote and execute Community projects;
c) prepare sub-regional sectoral programmes in areas of common interest.
2. Accordingly, Member States shall:
a) inform one another and the Secretary-General of national economic data likely to foster trade, stimulate joint projects or facilitate the establishment of similar economic units in a Member State;
b) exchange their experiences in planning, statistics and demography and in the training and further training of cadres in these areas.
3. The Secretary-General shall formulate proposals for:
a) harmonizing and rationalizing routine statistics;
b) promoting, developing, improving and standardizing economic, demographic, social and cultural information, inter alia by preparing national and sub-regional statistical projects.
4. The Secretary-General shall prepare statistics on Inter-State trade and shall centralize statistical information about the Community.
Chapter XVII. Special Provisions In Respect of Landlocked, Semi-landlocked, Island, Part-island and/or Least Advanced Countries
Article 71.
1. Member States, aware of the special economic and social situation of landlocked, semi-landlocked, island and part-island countries, shall grant them special treatment in respect of the application of some provisions of this Treaty, and in accordance therewith.
2. Accordingly, Member States shall aid the efforts of landlocked, semi-landlocked, island and part-island countries in their desire to reduce the geographical handicaps as far as possible so as to improve and promote the establishment of an integrated transport and communications infrastructure, inter alia by facilitating their access to the sea.
Article 72.
1. Member States, aware of the economic and social situation of the least advanced countries, shall grant them special treatment in respect of the application of some provisions of this Treaty and in accordance with the said Treaty.
2. Accordingly, Member States shall support all measures likely to facilitate the promotion of their economic and social development.
Article 73.
The Council shall lay down appropriate measures to facilitate the application of Articles 71 and 72 above.
Article 74.
For the purposes of implementing this Chapter, Member States shall adopt a protocol on the situation of countries which are landlocked, semi-landlocked, island and part-island and/or belong to the category of least advance countries attached hereto as Annex XVIII.
Chapter XVIII. Means and Instruments of Cooperation
Article 75. Establishment of the Community Cooperation and Development Fund
A Community Cooperation and Development Fund is hereby established.
Article 76. Aims of the Fund
The aims of the Fund shall be inter alia as follows:
a) to provide financial and technical assistance to promote the economic and social development of Member States in the light of the various economic and other conditions within the Community;
b) to finance projects in Member States.
Article 77. Statutes of the Fund
1. The statutes of the Fund shall be determined by the Conference.
2. The statutes shall determine inter alia the share capital and the resources authorized for the Fund, members contributions, the rules governing the payment of contributions and the currencies in which they are payable, the functioning, organization and management of the Fund and any related and subsidiary questions.
Article 78. Members of the Fund
Membership of the Fund shall be open to Member States of the Community and to institutions permitted by the Conference to affiliate to it
Chapter XIX. Financial Provisions
Article 79. Budget of the Community
1. An annual budget of the Community is hereby established.
2. The Secretary-General shall prepare a draft budget for each financial year and submit it to the Council for consideration. The Council shall then submit it, together with its recommendations, to the Conference for adoption.
3. All the expenditure of the Community, except for the Fund-related expenditure shall be approved for each financial year by the Conference and charged to the budget.
4. Budget revenue shall come from the annual contributions of Member States and all the other sources determined by the Conference. The contributions of Member States shall be determined on the basis of the budget adopted by the Conference.
Article 80. Contributions of Member States
1. The Conference shall determine the contributions of Member States to the Community budget and the currencies in which the contributions shall be paid.
2. Where a Member State is in arrears for more than one year in the payment of its contributions for reasons other than public disturbances or natural disasters or any other exceptional circumstances that seriously affect its economy, such Member States may, by a decision of the Conference, be deprived of its right to take part in the activities of the Community and may cease to enjoy the benefits provided for under this Treaty.
Article 81. Financial Regulations
The Conference shall on the Councils proposal approve the financial regulations for the implementation of this Chapter including the terms and conditions of employment and the powers of the auditors.
Article 82. Board of Auditors
A board of three auditors of the Community shall be appointed and removed from office by the Conference on the Councils recommendation.
Chapter XX. Settlement of Disputes Article 83
Article 83. Procedure for the Settlement of Disputes
Any dispute regarding the interruption and implementation of the provisions of this Treaty shall in the first place be amicably settled by direct agreement between the parties concerned. If the parties concerned fail to settle the dispute, one of the parties may refer the matter to the Court of Justice.
Chapter XXI. General and Transitional Provisions
Article 84. Headquarters of the Community
The headquarters of the Community shall be determined by the Conference.
Article 85. Official Language
The official languages of the Community shall be English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Article 86. Relationships of Member States with other Groups and Third States
1. Member States may join other regional or sub-regional groups or conclude individual agreements with other Members or non-Member States provided that the joining of such groups or the agreements concluded with third States are not incompatible with the provisions of this Treaty.
2. Any Member State which is or becomes a member of other economic cooperation organizations shall inform the Secretary-General and transmit to him the instruments establishing such organizations. The Secretary-General shall notify the Council.
3. Rights and obligations under agreements concluded before the definitive entry into force of this Treaty, shall not be affected by the provisions hereof. However, in the event of such agreements being incompatible with this Treaty, the Member State(s) concerned shall make every appropriate effort to eliminate the incompatibilities. Member States shall, if necessary, assist one another to achieve this aim and shall, if necessary, adopt a common position.
4. In the implementation of the agreements referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, Member States shall take into account that the benefits granted in this Treaty by each Member State are an integral part of the establishment of the Community and are therefore indissolubly linked with the establishment of common institutions, the granting of powers to them and the granting of the same benefits by all the other Member States.
5. The Community shall maintain with the Organization of African Unity, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and other intergovernmental organizations of the sub-region relations likely to enhance the implementation of this Treaty.
Article 87.
1. The Community shall have legal capacity and be authorized to:
a) contract;
b) purchase and assign movable and immovable property essential for the achievement of its objectives;
c) borrow;
d) be a party to legal proceedings;
e) accept donations, legacies and gifts of every kind.
2. The Community shall be represented for this purpose by its Secretary-General. The authority to contract, purchase and dispose of movable and immovable property and to borrow shall be vested in the Secretary-General subject to the prior consent of the Conference.
3. The privileges and immunities granted to Community officials shall be the same as those enjoyed by diplomats in the country of the Community headquarters and in Member States. Similarly, the privileges and immunities granted to the General Secretariat shall be the same as those enjoyed by diplomatic missions in the country of the Community headquarters and in the Member States.
Article 88. Establishment of Institutions
The Conference shall at its first meetings:
a) appoint the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretaries-General;
b) determine where the Community headquarters shall be and, if necessary, take the necessary measures to set up a provisional secretariat;
c) give the Council and other Community institutions the directives needed for the rapid and effective implementation of this Treaty.
Article 89. Cooperation between the Community and Third States
1. Any African State wishing to conclude cooperation agreements with the Community shall make application to the Conference which, after seeking the Councils opinion, shall take a unanimous decision.
2. Such agreements shall be subject to ratification by Member States in accordance with their respective national legislations.
Article 90. Revision of the Treaty
1. Any Member State may submit proposals for the revision of this Treaty.
2. Revision proposals shall be submitted to the Secretary-General who shall transmit them to Member States within 30 days of receiving them.
3. The Conference shall examine the proposals at its next meeting.
4. Amendments shall be adopted by consensus and shall be subject to the ratification of all Member States in accordance with their respective national legislations. They shall enter into force 30 days after deposit of the instruments of ratification by the seventh Member State.
Article 91. Withdrawal and Dissolution
1. Any Member State wishing to withdraw for the Community shall give the Chairman-in-office of the Conference one years written notice of its intention to withdraw. At the end of such period, the Member State shall, if the notice is not withdrawn, cease to be a Member State of the Community.
2. During the period of one year referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, any Member State wishing to withdraw from the Community shall nevertheless comply with the provisions of this Treaty and shall be bound to discharge its obligations under the Treaty.
3. The withdrawal of one or more Member States shall not entail the dissolution of the Community.
4. Only the Conference may decide to dissolve the Community and decide on the terms and conditions for sharing assets or liabilities.
Article 92. Annexes to the Treaty
The annexes to this Treaty shall form an integral part thereof.
Article 93. Entry Into Force, Ratification and Accession
1. This Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective national legislations. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Gabonese Republic.
2. This Treaty shall enter into force thirty days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification by the seventh signatory State.
3. The terms and conditions of accession of a State and the adaptations of this Treaty caused by such accession shall be the subject of an agreement between the Community and the said State.
The agreement shall be subject to ratification by all Member States in accordance with their respective national legislations.
4. This Treaty shall enter into force in relation to an acceding State on such date as its instruments of accession are deposited.
Article 94. Depositary
1. This Treaty, drafted in a single original in the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish languages, all four texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the headquarters State, which shall transmit a certified true copy to the Government of every signatory State.
2. The depositary Government shall notify Member States of the dates of deposits of the instruments of ratification and accession and shall register this Treaty with the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, the Heads of State and Government of the States of Central Africa, have signed this Treaty and the annexed Protocols.
Done at Libreville on the eighteenth day of October nineteen hundred and eighty three in single original in the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish languages, the four texts being equally authentic.
President of the Peoples Republic of ANGOLA
President of the Republic of BURUNDI
President of the United Republic of CAMEROON
President of the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
President of the People's Republic of CONGO
President of the GABONESE REPUBLIC
President of the Republic of EQUATORIAL GUINEA
President of the RWANDESE REPUBLIC
President of the Democratic Republic of SAO TOME and PRINCIPE
President of the Republic of CHAD
President of the Republic of ZAIRE