IN BRIEF:

EUCLID (Pôle Universitaire Euclide | Euclid University) is an international intergovernmental organization (IGO) established under international law by means of a charter approved by its Participating States and which has been duly registered and published in the United Nations Treaty Series (MOU/UFA).

As of 2011, EUCLID serves 11 Participating States (just over 5% of the UN membership) spanning 4 continents (Africa, North America, Asia, Australia-Pacific)

EUCLID's educational mandate and statutes are therefore defined and governed by a multilateral treaty (UNTS I-49006) approved by the Governments which are the Participating Parties.

Apart from EUCLID, the only other intergovernmental universities listed by UNESCO-IAU* in the "Regional / International" category are (1) the European University Institute (www.eui.eu), (2) the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (www.imli.org), (3) the United Nations University (www.unu.edu), and (4) the World Maritime University (www.wmu.se). Not included in this exclusive group but of similar status are (1) the University for Peace (www.upeace.org), and (2) the European Academy of Law (www.era.int) which served as a model for EUCLID.

* The UNESCO-based International Association of Universities publishes the authoritative International Handbook of Universities and the World Higher Education Database CD-ROM. Please note that the WHED database is extracted from the IAU/HEI database and does not include the "international / regional" institutions.

See IAU Web site under Services > IHU/WHED > List of HEIs
Note: The listing is under "Regional / International" Institutions

See Understanding the legal status of "International Universities"

EUCLID'S STATUS AS AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION:

EUCLID's International legal personality and not-for-profit status are granted and confirmed by Article 1a of the constitutional framework agreement(s): "EUCLID (also properly called Pôle Universitaire Euclide and Euclid University) already has and shall continue to have international legal personality, not-for-profit status, and such capacities as may be necessary to exercise its functions and fulfill its objectives." Other organizations having similar intergovernmental legal status (with various levels of scope and legal prerogatives) are the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, NATO, the European Space Agency, the Word Bank, etc. This status is indicated by the restricted .int top-level domain [1 ] and [2 ]. For this reason, EUCLID used a .int instead of a .org or .edu domain. International intergovernmental organizations enjoy special status and legal protection in most countries, notably intellectually property protection for their name and emblems under the provisions of Article 6 of the Paris Convention .

United Nations Treaty Section Certificate(s) of Registration

More information on IGOs: www.intergovernmentalorganizations.org

FROM UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM TO AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION:

As an autonomous institution, EUCLID is the result of the adoption by the Participating States of academic programs developed by the “Pôle d’Extension Universitaire Euclide,” a consortium of universities (led by the University of Bangui and the University of N’Djamena) established in 2005.

EUCLID's DEGREE GRANTING AUTHORITY:

EUCLID was established as an international educational framework with international legal personality (see above) and a charter or degree-granting authority by the governments of the Participating Parties (Article 1b):

"EUCLID is chartered to confer diplomas, degrees and completion certificates accredited by the ministries of Education of the Participating Parties."

With the complementary framework of the Euclid Consortium (with is a network of universities), select EUCLID programs may also qualify for joint-degree granting with UBRC (the University of Bangui) or UNDT (the University of N'Djamena), which is a full member of the International Association of Universities.

FOUNDING AND PARTICIPATING STATES:

See also: EUCLID's Participating States

The original participating States (participation in 2008) are St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Carribean - Commonwealth Member State), the State of Eritrea, the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Vanuatu. The signatories on behalf of the participating governments are:

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
Girlyn Miguel
Minister of Education (duly authorized thereto)
March 5, 2008

Sierra Leone:
Zainab Hawa Bangura
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
April 16, 2008

Eritrea:
Osman Saleh Mohammed
Minister of Foreign Affairs (former Minister of Education)
June 8, 2008

Uganda:
Sam Kutesa
Minister of Foreign Affairs
July 10, 2008

SUBSEQUENT PARTICIPATING STATES

Vanuatu:
Bakoa Kaltongga
Minister of Foreign Affairs
December 2, 2008

Benin:
Paulin Djakpo
For the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Director of the Cabinet duly authorized thereto
December 10, 2008 (for program participation but not for international legal effect)

Senegal:
Abdoulaye Faye
For the Government of Senegal
Minister of State to the President, duly authorized thereto
February 2, 2009

Comoros:
Mohamed Toihiri
For the Government of Comoros
Permanent Representative of Comoros to the United Nations, duly authorized thereto
April 10, 2009

Burundi:
Augustin Nsanze
For the Government of Burundi
Minister of External Affairs and International Cooperation
May 24, 2010

REVISED AND UPDATED FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

A revised agreement was introduced and adopted in 2009 (entry into force in September 2009) to confirm the constitution, international legal personality and WIPO Article 6ter eligibility for the organization.

This agreement was approved by the governments of Senegal, Comoros, Sierra Leone, Saint Vincent, Burundi, Central African Republic and Timor-Leste during the scheduled cycle of circulation.

OFFICES / ADMINISTRATION

The EUCLID Statutes approved by the founding agreement(s) approved the location of a transitional secretarial / administrative office in Brussels specifically. The Brussels executive office is maintained to facilitate liaison with B&S and the European Commission as part of the completion of the EU-funded ( EuropeAid/126931/D/SER/ER) project.

EUCLID's permanent headquarters agreement (with hosting at the university of Bangui) took effect in 2011.

Administrative Structure / Officials

OTHER BENEFICIARY STATES THROUGH THIRD-PARTY IGO PARTICIPATION

All ICCI and ECOWAS member states are de-facto beneficiaries on account of the agreements signed between EUCLID and these organizations. This applies to citizens and residents (but not government staff) of the following countries (for ICCI):

LEGAL DOCUMENTS:

Legal Documents page