UNASUR Constitutive Treaty
| Treaty establishing the Union of South American Nations | |
|---|---|
| Signed | May 23, 2008 |
| Location | Brasília, Brazil |
| Effective | March 11, 2011 |
| Condition | Ratified by 12 Member States |
| Signatories | 12 |
| Parties | |
| Depositary | Government of Ecuador |
| Languages | Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish |
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The Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations was signed on May 23, 2008 during the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held in Brasília, Brazil. It officially established the Union of South American Nations, a intergovernmental continental union of twelve South American nations.
The Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations came into force on March 11, 2011, thirty days after the date of receipt of the ninth instrument of ratification.
The treaty consists of 27 relatively short sections, and is the constitution of the new union. It outlines its structure and organs, and assumes that additional documents fill in the details.
The treaty declares the establishment and objects of the Union (in §§ 1-3), its organs (§§ 4-10 and 17), juridical foundation (§§ 11-13 and 22-27), and financial foundation (§ 16). It regulates the acceptance of new associate or full members and the right of cessation from the union in §§ 19, 20, 24, and 26, and the rules for adopting amendments to the treaty in § 25. Finally, §§ 14, 15, 18, and 21 declare the intent to employ dialogue among the member states, with its citizens, with third parties, and as the means for conflict resolution.
The 12 original signatories of the document have presented documentation of ratification to the Ecuadorian government. Other Latin American and Caribbean states may be admitted as associated members. An associated member may apply for and be granted full membership, but only after having been associated for at least four years, and only after five years have elapsed since the treaty came into force. This implies that no new full members outside the original twelve can be admitted before March 11, 2016.
A full or associated member state may unilaterally withdraw from the union. To do so, the state must deposit their cessation documentation in a similar manner as the ratification, and the cessation will take effect six months after the deposition. However, cessation of membership will not free states from any financial debts to the Union for unpaid membership fees or otherwise.
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