10 The provisions of this section of the eManual apply only to the languages of publications and documents issued at headquarters. The use of other languages may be authorized at regional offices.
20 Documents are normally issued in English and/or French only. Documents intended for submission to the World Health Assembly and Executive Board are also issued in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish, in line with the Rules of Procedure of the Board that designate those six languages as the official and working languages of both bodies. Resolution WHA50.32 also calls for respect for equality among the official languages. The official records volumes containing the resolutions and decisions of the Health Assembly and the Board are published in the six official languages. The Rules of Procedure of some Regional Committees identify other languages as official and/or working languages, e.g. Portuguese in the Regional Committee for Africa and German in the Regional Committee for Europe. In those cases, resolutions, decisions, official documents and official records are also issued in those languages.
30 Publications of the Organization are issued in English and French, and in other languages when needed. Exceptionally, publications may be issued in English only or in French only if the expense of translation does not appear to be justified because of the restricted interest in the subject in areas where the other language is spoken, because of the technical problems involved, or because there is already an equivalent publication in the other language.
40 Official publications, such as the Basic Documents are published in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish in addition to English and French. Periodicals and other publications may also be published in languages other than English and French.
50 The Office of Language Services is responsible for interpretation and for the translation of WHO publications, documents and communications, as appropriate, from and into Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Interpretation
60 Requests for interpretation services for WHO meetings should be made on form WHO37 (see section III.13.3).
Translation
70 All texts to be translated should be channelled through the Office of Language Services. A text that has already been translated should not be changed or amended without first consulting that Office (see sections VIII.2.11 and VIII.2.12).
80 Requests for translation of non-governing body documents are submitted through the online document tracking system. The date for which the work is required must be realistically calculated. For advice on this, the Office of Language Services may be contacted. Wherever possible, all parts of a text that already exist in translation - whether in WHO documents, in documents of other United Nations bodies or in any other form - should be attached. Delays may be caused if supporting material is not attached. If a technical department preparing a WHO document intends to quote from documents that are not readily available at headquarters, the Office of Language Services should be informed in advance and given precise references.
90 Translation from or into a language other than an official language should not be requested. If, in exceptional circumstances, it is thought essential to request the translation of material that is not in an official language, a request, together with the necessary justification, must be submitted for approval to the Director of the Office of the Governing Bodies. A PTAEO should also be provided to cover the cost of the translation.
100 The Office of Language Services accepts material for translation and deals with it in the following order:
- documents for the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board, and publications in the Technical Report Series that are to be reviewed by the Executive Board;
- circular letters to Member States and other letters to governments or to members of the Executive Board;
- public information received from the Department of Communication
- emergency materials (in coordination with WHE)
- official publications (see paragraph 40 above);
- periodicals;
- other documents and publications.
