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(Spanish)
Unión Latina
(Portuguese) União Latina (French) Union Latine (Italian) Unione Latina (Romanian) Uniunea Latină (Catalan) Unió Llatina Latin Union |
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| Headquarters | Paris, France 48°46′N 2°11′E / 48.767°N 2.183°E |
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| Official languages | Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian and Catalan | |||
| Membership | 37 (plus 3 observers) |
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| Leaders | ||||
| - | Secretary-General | Jose Luis Dicenta | ||
| Establishment | Madrid, 15 May 1954 | |||
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Website http://www.unilat.org |
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The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use a Romance language. Its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world. It was created in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, and it has existed as a functional institution since 1983. Since that time its member states have risen from 12 to 37, and its membership now includes countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and a small number in the Asia-Pacific region.[1]
The official names of the Latin Union are (ordered by total speaking population): Unión Latina in Spanish, União Latina in Portuguese, Union Latine in French, Unione Latina in Italian, Uniunea Latină in Romanian, and Unió Llatina in Catalan.[2]
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According to the Latin Union's website, membership is open to any nation that meets the following criteria:
The Latin Union currently has members from five continents (listed by the Romance language that is spoken there):
The official languages of the Latin Union are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese are used as working languages. All the texts of general diffusion are translated into these four languages, with some also going into Romanian and Catalan.
The Union is composed of three main bodies, namely, the Congress, the Executive Council and the General Secretariat.
The Congress, which is consisted of the representatives of all Member States, meets in ordinary assembly every two years. Its main functions are
A President and two Vice-Presidents are also elected by the Congress. Mr. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar from Peru is the current President.
There are also two auxiliary bodies of the Congress, namely, the Commission of Adhesions and the Commission of Candidacies.
The Executive Council is the executive branch of the Union. It is consisted of 12 Member States, which are elected by the Congress every 4 years, and led by a President and two Vice-Presidents, which are also elected by the Congress. Currently, Brazil, Cape Verde, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Moldova, Romania and Uruguay are the members of the council, while Uruguay is the President and Portugal and Romania are the Vice-Presidents.
There are also two auxiliary commissions sub-ordinated to the Executive Council.
The Latin Union is directed by a Secretary-General appointed every 4 years by the Congress. The Secretary is in charge of the execution of the programmes and implement the decisions made by the Congress and the Executive Council in the matter of budget and general directions. Mr. Ambasciatore Bernardino Osio is currently the Secretary-General of the Union.
Sub-ordinated to the Secretary-General, there are 4 directors:
The finance of the Union is mainly supported by the obligatory contributions from the Member States. For some activities, the Union may collaborate with other public or private institutions.
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