(a) the expression " FAO " means the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

(b) the expression "Regional Office" means the African Regional Office of FAO;

(c) the expression " The Government " means the Government of Ghana;

(d) the expression " Director - General means the Director - General of FAO, and during his absence from duty the Deputy Director - General of FAO, or any officer designated by him to act on his behalf;

(e) the expression " Regional Representative " means the Regional Representative for Africa of the Director - General of FAO and, in his absence, his duly authorized Deputy;

(f) the expression " appropriate Authorities of Ghana " means such national, or other authorities in Ghana as may be appropriate in the context and in accordance with the laws and customs applicable in Ghana;

(g) the expression " laws of Ghana " includes legislative acts and decrees, regulations or orders, issued by or under authority of the Government or appropriate authorities of Ghana;

(h) the expression " Member Nation " means a nation which is a member of FAO;

(i) the expression " Representatives of Member Nations" includes all representatives, alternates, advisers and technical experts and secretaries of delegations;

(j) the expression " meetings convened by FAO " means meetings of the Conference of FAO, the Council of FAO, any international conference or other gathering convened by FAO, and any commission, committee or subgroup of any of these bodies;

(k) the expression " Regional Office Scat means the premises occupied by the Regional Office;

(l) the expression " archives of FAO " includes records and correspondence, documents, manuscripts, still and moving pictures and films, and sound recordings belonging to or held by FAO;

(m) the expression " Officers of FAO means all ranks of the FAO Secretariat engaged by the Director - General or on
his behalf, other than manual workers locally recruited;

(n) the expression " property " as used in Article VIII, means ail property, including funds and assets, belonging to FAO or held or administered by FAO in furtherance of its constitutional functions, and all income of FAO.

(a) to contract;
(b) to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property;
(c) to institute legal proceedings.

(a) except in case of faults attributable to FAO, the Government shall be responsible for all charges of major repairs of a nonrecurring nature, in particular but without limitation by, reason of this enumeration, the repair of damage resulting from fire, force majeure, structural defects or deterioration; for the replacement, when and if necessary, of such installations, and for the replacement within a reasonable period, of any building or part thereof in the Regional Office Scat which may be totally or partially destroyed;

(b) FAO shall be responsible for all ordinary repairs, for the upkeep and maintenance of the premises and installations.

(a) The Government recognizes the inviolability, of the Regional Office Scat which shall be under the control and authority of FAO, as provided in this Agreement.

(b) No officer or official of the Government, whether administrative, judicial, military or police shall enter the Regional Office Seat to perform any official duties therein except with the consent of, and under conditions agreed to by the Director General or the Regional Representative.

(c) Without prejudice to the provisions of Article X, FAO shall prevent the Regional Office Scat from being used as a refuge by persons who are avoiding arrest under any law of Ghana, or who are required by the Government for extradition to another country, or who are endeavoring to avoid service of legal process or judicial proceedings.

(a) The appropriate authorities of Ghana shall exercise due diligence to ensure that the tranquillity of the Regional Office Scat is not disturbed by any person or group of persons attempting unauthorized entry or creating disturbances in the immediate vicinity of the Regional Office Seat.

(b) If so requested by the Regional Representative, the appropriate authorities of Ghana shall provide a sufficient number of police for the preservation of law and order in the Regional Office Seat and for the removal therefrom of offenders.

(a) The appropriate authorities of Ghana shall exercise, to the extent requested by the Director - General or the Regional Representative, their respective powers to ensure that the Regional Office Seat shall be supplied with the necessary public services, including, without limitation by reason of this enumeration, fire protection, electricity, water, sewerage, post, telephone, and telegraph, and that such public services shall be supplied on equitable terms. In case of any interruption or threatened interruption of any such services, the appropriate authorities of Ghana shall consider the needs of FAO as being of equal importance with those of essential agencies of the Government and shall take steps accordingly to ensure that the work of FAO is not prejudiced.

(b) Where electricity or water are supplied by appropriate authorities of Ghana or bodies under their control, FAO shall be supplied at special tariffs which shall not exceed the lowest rates accorded to governmental offices of Ghana.

(a) No censorship shall be applied to the official correspondence nor other communications of FAO. Such immunity shall extend, without limitation by reason of this enumeration, to publications, still and moving pictures, and films and sound recordings. In case of emergency requiring the enforcement of censorship in Ghana, the appropriate authorities of Ghana shall consult with the Regional Representative with a view to reaching agreement on appropriate steps to be taken by him or by the appropriate authorities of Ghana in order to avoid abuse of the immunity from censorship enjoyed by the official communications of FAO and its officers.

(b) FAO shall have the right to use codes and to dispatch and receive correspondence and other official communications by courier or in sealed bags, which shall have the same privileges and immunities as diplomatic couriers and bags.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the adoption of appropriate security precautions to be determined by supplemental agreement between FAO and the Government,

(a) from any form of direct taxation. FAO, however, will not claim exemption from taxes which are, in fact, no more than charges for public utility services;

(b) from customs duties and from prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles imported or exported by FAO for its official use, on the understanding that articles imported under such exemption will not be sold within the country except in accordance with conditions to be mutually agreed upon;

(c) from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions in respect of the import and export of its publications, still and moving pictures and films and sound recordings.

(a) FAO shall be exempt from levies and duties on operations and transactions, and from excise duties, sales and luxury taxes and all other indirect taxes when it is making important purchases for official use by FAO of property on which such duties or taxes are normally chargeable. However, FAO will not, as a general rule, claim exemption from excise duties, and from taxes on the sale of movable and immovable property which form part of the price to be paid, and cannot be identified separately from the sale price.

(b) The Government shall grant allotments of gasoline or other required fuels and lubricating oils for vehicles required for the official use of FAO in quantities and at rates prevailing for diplomatic missions in Ghana.

(a) Without an), financial controls, regulations or moratoria of any kind:

(b) FAO shall, in exercising its rights under this section, pay due regard to an), representations made by the Government insofar as effect can be given to such representations without detriment to the interest of FAO.

(c) The Government shall render to FAO the same privileges as accorded to diplomatic missions in respect of exchange facilities.

(a) Subject to Article IV, Section 6, clause (c), the appropriate authorities of Ghana shall impose no impediment to transit to or from the Regional Office Scat, or to residence of the following persons, irrespective of their nationalities, when on official FAO business, and shall afford them any necessary protection:

(b) This section shall not apply to general interruptions in transportation, which shall be dealt with as provided in Section 8(a) and shall not impair the effectiveness of generally applicable laws as to the operation of means of transportation.

(c) Visas which may be required for persons referred to in this section shall be granted without charge and as promptly as possible.

(d) No activity performed by any such person in his official capacity as described in subsection (a) shall constitute a reason for preventing his entry into Ghana or for requiring him to leave Ghana.

(e) In case of abuse of the privilege of transit or residence by any such person in activities in Ghana outside his official capacity, such privilege shall not be construed to grant him exemption from the laws of Ghana regarding residence of aliens, provided that:

(f) This section shall not prevent the requirement of reasonable evidence to establish that persons claiming the rights granted by this section come within the classes described in subsection (c), or the reasonable application of quarantine and health regulations.

(a) immunity from personal arrest or detention;

(b) immunity from seizure of their official baggage and, for officers who are not citizens of Ghana, immunity from seizure of their personal baggage;

(c) immunity from legal process of any kind with respect to words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity, such immunity, to continue notwithstanding the fact that the persons concerned might have ceased to he officers of FAO;

(d) exemption from any form of direct taxation on salaries and emoluments paid to them by, FAO;

(e) exemption, for officers other than citizens of Ghana, from any form of direct taxation on income derived from sources outside Ghana;

(f) exemption, with respect to themselves, their spouses and relatives dependent on them, from immigration restrictions and alien registration;

(g) exemption from national service obligations for officers of FAO who are not citizens of Ghana;

(h) for officers who are not citizens of Ghana, freedom to maintain in Ghana or elsewhere foreign securities and other movable and immovable property; and while employed by FAO and at the time of termination of such employment, the right to send or take out monies paid to them by reason of such employment in any foreign currency, subject to showing if necessary how they were acquired, and the right to take out of Ghana funds in the same currencies and up to the same amounts as they brought in through authorized channels;

(i) the same protection and repatriation facilities with respect to themselves, their families and other members of their households, as are accorded to diplomatic envoys in time of international crisis;

(j) for officers who are not citizens of Ghana, the right to import, free of duties and other levies, prohibitions and restrictions on import, their furniture and effects within six months after first taking up their posts in Ghana or, in the case of officers who have not completed their probationary periods, within six months after confirmation of their employment with FAO; the same regulations shall apply in the case of importation, transfer and replacement of automobiles as are in force for the resident members of diplomatic missions of comparable rank.

(a) The Government shall accord to the Regional Representative and senior officers of the Regional Office designated by the Director - General, diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(b) For this purpose the Regional Representative and senior officers of the Regional Office shall be incorporated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Director - General, into the appropriate diplomatic categories and, with the exception of citizens of Ghana, shall enjoy the customs exemptions granted to such diplomatic categories in Ghana.

(c) All officers of FAO shall be provided with a special identity card certifying the fact that they are officers of FAO enjoying the privileges and immunities specified in this Agreement.

(a) The privileges and immunities accorded by this Article are conferred in the interests of FAO and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves. The Director - General shall waive the immunity of any officer in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and could be waived without prejudice to the interests of FAO.

(b) FAO and its officers shall co - operate at all times with the appropriate authorities of Ghana to facilitate the proper administration of justice, to secure the observance of the laws of Ghana and to prevent the occurrence of any abuses in connection with the privileges and immunities accorded by this Article.

(a) The Director - General and the Regional Representative shall take every precaution to ensure that no abuse of a privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement shall occur, and for this purpose shall establish such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary and expedient for officers of FAO and persons performing missions for FAO.

(b) Should the Government consider that an abuse of privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement has occurred, the Director - General, or the Regional Representative shall, upon request, consult with the appropriate authorities of Ghana to determine whether any such abuse has occurred. If such consultations fail to achieve a result satisfactory to the Director General and the Government, the matter shall be determined in accordance with the procedure set out in Article XV.

(a) The Government and FAO may enter into such supplemental agreements as may be necessary within the scope of this Agreement.

(b) The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies and this Agreement shall, where they relate to the same subject matter, be treated as complementary.

(a) This Agreement shall enter into force upon approval by the FAO Conference and ratification by the Government.

(b) Consultations with respect to modification of this Agreement shall be entered into at the request of the Government or FAO. Any such modification shall be by mutual consent.

(c) This Agreement shall be construed in the light of its primary purpose to enable the Regional Office fully, and efficiently to discharge its responsibilities and fulfil its purpose.

(d) Where this Agreement imposes obligations on the appropriate authorities of Ghana, the ultimate responsibility for the fulfilment of such obligations shall rest with the Government.

(e) This Agreement and any supplemental agreement entered into by the Government and FAO pursuant to this Agreement shall cease to be in force six months after either the Government or FAO shall have given notice in writing to the other of its decision to terminate this Agreement, except for such provisions as may be applicable in connection with the orderly termination of the operations of FAO at its African Regional Office and the disposition of its property therein.