B38

The FATF definition of International organisations includes three criteria: [R1.1][R2.1] (1) the entity must be established by an international agreement which has the status of a treaty; (2) the entity's existence is recognised by law; (3) the entity is not treated as a resident institutional unit of the countries in which it is located. The headquarters agreement confirms that International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center has legal personality together with privileges and immunities. This means it satisfies parts (2) and (3) of the definition. This leaves only part (1) to consider. The Center was founded by an agreement between the Mexican Government and the Rockefeller Foundation rather than a treaty and may at first glance appear to fail the first part of the definition. This is however a special case because subsequent agreements give the founding agreement the functional status of a treaty. It is important to note that the FATF definition includes the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in its list of examples[R1.1][R2.1]. The OSCE's founding documents are statements of intent rather than treaties and this supports the view that FATF intended the definition to be applied in a functional way and in a way that can include some entities not formed by treaties. Accordingly, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center has been assessed as meeting the FATF definition of International organisation.