Euclid University

EUCLID
(Euclid University, Pôle Universitaire Euclide)
Logo of EUCLID (Euclid University, Pôle Universitaire Euclide)
Logo
HeadquartersGambia (2013-current) and Central African Republic (2011-current) and Belgium (temporary until 2011)
Working languagesEnglish
French
Membership12 Participating States
Leaders
• Secretary-General
Trinidad and Tobago Winston Dookeran
• Deputy-Secretary-General
Netherlands Robin van Puyenbroeck
• Oversight Council Chair
United States Laurent Cleenewerck
• High Steward (Historic)
Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra
• Founding Executive President (First Secretary-General)
Pakistan Syed Zahid Ali
Establishment
• Entry into force of Open Memorandum of Understanding I-49006
2008; 18 years ago (2008)
Website
www.euclid.int

EUCLID, also called Pôle Universitaire Euclide or Euclid University, is an international intergovernmental organization with a university charter established in 2008. It has official headquarters in The Gambia and in the Central African Republic, but also maintains an executive office in Washington, D.C. Its primary mandate is to train officials for its participating states, but its programs are also offered to the general public. The institution's current secretary-general is Winston Dookeran.

History

EUCLID's origins are connected with the creation of a group of universities called "Euclid Consortium" by the University of Bangui and the University of N'Djamena in 2006. The project was administered by the International Organization for Sustainable Development, an international non-governmental organization headed by Syed Zahid Ali. First conceived as an international extension for the University of Bangui, "Euclid" was redefined and constituted and a distinct institution in 2008 by an intergovernmental convention. The same year, the rector of the University of Bangui, Faustin-Archange Touadera was appointed as prime minister, and signed the convention formalizing his country's participation in EUCLID in 2010. In January 2008, Syed Zahid Ali, acting as Secretary-General of IOSD, presented to various government representative attending a conference of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry a new legal framework called EUCLID Phase 2. Soon after, several governments interested in using the Euclid programs to train their own staff approved the statutes of the new international university which entered into force in April 2008.

United Nations treaty publication

According to the United Nations Treaty Series records, the EUCLID Open Memorandum of Understanding is classified as a "multilateral treaty" and entered into force in April 2008. The "Updated Framework Agreement" entered into force in September 2009. The agreements signed by the Gambia were registered by the Permanent Mission of the Gambia to the United Nations in 2013.

Participating states

Country Joined Signatory name Signatory position Comment
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2008 Girlyn Miguel Minister of Education With treaty registration
 Sierra Leone, Republic of 2008 Zainab Bangura Minister of Foreign Affairs With treaty registration
 Eritrea, State of 2008 Osman Saleh Minister of Foreign Affairs With treaty registration
 Uganda, Republic of 2008 Sam Kutesa Minister of Foreign Affairs No treaty registration
 Vanuatu, Republic of 2008 Bakoa Kaltongga Minister of Foreign Affairs No treaty registration
 Senegal, Republic of 2009 Abdoulaye Faye Minister to the President With treaty registration
 Benin, Republic of 2009 Paulin Djakpo Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No treaty registration
 Comoros, Union of 2009 Mohamed Toihiri Permanent Representative to United Nations With treaty registration
 Burundi, Republic of 2010 Augustin Nsanze Minister of Foreign Affairs With treaty registration
 Central African Republic 2010 Faustin Touadera Prime Minister With treaty registration, only signed 49007
 Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of 2011 Joao Cancio Freitas Minister of Education With treaty registration
 Gambia, Republic of the 2012 Mamadou Tangara Minister of Education With treaty registration
 Djibouti, Republic of 2024 Mohamed Siad Doualeh Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Pending treaty registration

Headquarters

Euclid headquarters agreement signing

The initial 2008 agreement indicated that "The operational offices of EUCLID are allowed to remain in Brussels, Belgium and may be relocated or extended elsewhere upon recommendation of the Governing Board or by resolution of the Oversight Council" (Statutes II.3). In 2011, EUCLID signed a first headquarters agreement with the Central African Republic and obtained office space in the prime minister's building and on the campus of the University of Bangui. In 2013, owing to instability affecting Bangui and the Central African Republic, EUCLID signed a new headquarters agreement with the Republic of The Gambia, and leases offices in the Brusubi area of Banjul. Following the return of stability in the Central African Republic and the election of EUCLID's founding father and high steward Faustin-Archange Touadéra as president of the country in 2016, EUCLID signed an office sharing agreement with the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM). As of 2026, EUCLID maintains both headquarters locations and is registered in the UNESCO IAU World Higher Education Database under Central African Republic rather than Gambia.

EUCLID Gambia Headquarters in 2023
EUCLID flag as registered with WIPO

According to its constitutive text, EUCLID is defined as having an international legal personality, and it was granted a .int domain name under IANA regulations. As an "international intergovernmental organization", the institution also enjoys intellectual property protection under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Schools and academic programs

EUCLID is organized in five academic units or schools:

School of Diplomacy and International Affairs

EUCLID offers graduate programs in:

Eritrea LOT3 graduation ceremony 2012

Joint degree programs

EUCLID signed in 2015 a joint degree program agreement with CAFRAD, an intergovernmental organization dedicated to public administration in Africa, serving 36 member states. A similar joint degree program agreement was signed the COMESA Leather Product Institute. These agreements regulate the following programs:

Special programs

EUCLID was also involved in delivering distance-learning programs to civil servants in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Eritrea between 2008 and 2012.

Organizational structure

EUCLID's structure is spelled out in the statutes considered as an annex to the published treaties. Its administrative organs are:

Secretaries-general and high stewards

Former high stewards

Affiliated institutes

The EUCLID statutes mentions several "affiliated institutes":

Cooperation with other intergovernmental bodies

EUCLID has signed agreements with or is a member of:

EUCLID is an approved as an intergovernmental observer in the UNFCCC Climate Conference and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Institutional memberships

In his personal capacity, the EUCLID secretary general is a member of the International Association of University Presidents.

UN Interfaith Harmony Week prize

In 2016, EUCLID coordinated a series of events for the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week and was awarded first prize by the jury, with a gold medal to be presented to the EUCLID delegation in April 2016 by King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Accreditation and recognition

Central African Republic as headquarters state

EUCLID signed its initial headquarters agreement with the Central African Republic in 2011 which was updated with an additional protocol in 2018. The Permanent Delegation to UNESCO posted in 2016 its filing which includes EUCLID as "recognized / accredited". EUCLID is accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education of Central African Republic as its historic headquarters state.

Gambia as headquarters state

The National UNESCO Commission of Gambia posted in 2014 its "UNESCO Portal to Recognized Higher Education Institutions" documents which now include EUCLID (Euclid University) as "recognized / accredited". EUCLID holds full institutional accreditation from the country's National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) (renewed 2026 for 4 years).

UN statement

The Permanent Mission of the Central African Republic to the United Nations wrote to the UN Secretariat in October 2012 to complain that the world's five international universities were not included in the UN Inspira database. In December 2012, the United Nations replied that "both IAU/UNESCO and the UN Secretariat recognize Euclide- Pole Universitaire Euclide and the other four UN institutions ... as being accredited" in spite of not being included in Inspira. The UN also indicated that these institutions which are "regional or global in nature" would be included under their headquarters states in future editions of the IAU WHED database used by the United Nations. The transfer was completed in September 2017.

United States

EUCLID is not a US-based university and it not accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or Council on Higher Education Accreditation; but it maintains an address in Washington, DC "exclusively used for appointments and meetings either with or by government-sponsored and government affiliated staff". The letters sent in 2012 by the governments of Burundi, Central African Republic and Comoros to the US Department of State describe the institution as being "duly chartered to confer degrees by its Participating States and enjoys full academic accreditation according to its constitutive mandate under international law (Article I)." For US evaluation purposes, EUCLID degrees are evaluated by NACES agencies as accredited on the basis of the institution's NAQAA (Gambia) accreditation.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "ACUNS Euclid University". Academic Council of the United Nations System. March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "EUCLIDE et la République Centrafricaine". Permanent Mission of the Central African Republic. October 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Second BWF | Iccibian". Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "News for January 2008". International Organization for Sustainable Development. January 2008. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  5. ↑ "Intergovernmental body and ICCI partner fosters inter-religious dialogue and Islamic cooperation". Organization of Islamic Cooperation. August 2011.
  6. ↑ "UNTC". United Nations.
  7. ↑ "UNTC". United Nations.
  8. ↑ "Note Verbale 247/2013 of the Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations" (PDF). Permanent Mission of the Gambia to the United Nations. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Multilateral" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  10. ↑ HQ Agreement
  11. ↑ "EUCLID (Euclid University) - UNESCO : The Gambia National Commission : UNESCO : The Gambia National Commission". Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Amadou Jallow (28 June 2013), EUCLID to transfer headquarters to Gambia, Gambia Daily Observer, archived from the original on 17 September 2013, retrieved 19 July 2013
  13. ↑ "From failed governance to building a new future: the case of the Central African Republic". academicimpact.un.org. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "World Higher Education Database (WHED) Portal". whed.net.
  15. ↑ IANA (1 June 2008), IANA – .INT Policy & Procedures, IANA
  16. ↑ WIPO (June 2025), Article 6ter of the Paris Convention, WIPO
  17. ↑ Institut Fédéral de la Propriété Intellectuelle (19 May 2010), Exécution de la loi fédérale du 15 décembre 1961 concernant la protection des noms et emblèmes de l'Organisation des Nations Unies et d'autres organisations intergouvernementales (PDF), The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ "COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute - Euclid University". Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Shabait (1 July 2012), 58 civil servants obtain bachelors and masters degrees on the basis of distance learning, WIPO, archived from the original on 19 August 2012, retrieved 17 August 2012
  21. ↑ Shabait (1 July 2012), The LOT3 Project in Eritrea, EUCLID
  22. ↑ "Ambassador from Marshall Islands: Who is Banny deBrum?". AllGov.
  23. ↑ "OIC Journal Issue 18 English". ICCI. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  24. ↑ "EUCLID ECOWAS Partnership and Scholarships". euclid.int.
  25. ↑ Memorandum of Understanding
  26. ↑ "Sponsors & Partners | Idb". idb-bpcompetition.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
  27. ↑ Memorandum of Understanding
  28. ↑ "Parties & Signatories". iaca.int. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  29. ↑ "Admission of observers: organizations applying for admission as observers" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2024.
  30. ↑ "Category: Institutional Members". ACUNS. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  31. ↑ "Association of Africa Universities". Aau.org. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  32. ↑ "AUAP Directory". Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific | AUAP.
  33. ↑ "EUCLID University Joins IACA" (Press release). International Anti-Corruption Academy. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  34. ↑ "UNAI members list" (PDF). March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  35. ↑ "Eight entities ratified as new GUNi Members during the Executive Committee Meeting, held in February – Global University Network for Innovation". Guninetwork.org. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  36. ↑ "Academic Participants". Unglobalcompact.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  37. ↑ "PRME - Participants - Signatories -". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "EUCLID University | The GRLI".
  39. ↑ "Member List". Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  40. ↑ "HM King Abdullah II of Jordan Prize for WIHW 2016".
  41. ↑ "Documents - la RCA à l'UNESCO". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  42. ↑ "EUCLID University Accreditation and Recognition". euclid.int.
  43. ↑ The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO (June 2013), UNESCO Portal Documents, The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO, archived from the original on 19 July 2016, retrieved 5 August 2016
  44. ↑ "The Gambia National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA)". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  45. ↑ Martha Helena Lopez, United Nations, Director, Strategic Planning and Staffing Division (10 December 2012). "Reply to letter with reference 0218/RCA/MP/ONU-12" (PDF). Permanent Mission of the Central African Republic to the United Nations official website.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ↑ "EUCLID University Washington DC office". euclid.int.
  47. ↑ "Re: Transmission of Documents Regarding Euclide and Graduates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.

13°24′23″N 16°43′38″W / 13.4065°N 16.7271°W / 13.4065; -16.7271