STATUS AS AT : 29-03-2024 09:15:35 EDT
CHAPTER XXVII
ENVIRONMENT
10 . United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa
Paris, 14 October 1994
Entry into force
:
26 December 1996, in accordance with article 36(1).
Registration :
26 December 1996, No. 33480
Status :
Signatories : 114. Parties : 197. 1
Text :
United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 1954, p. 3; depositary notification C.N.176.1995.TREATIES-6 of 27 July 1995  (procès-verbal of rectification of the authentic Chinese text); C.N.513.2000.TREATIES-9 of 19 July 2000 (procès-verbal of rectification of the authentic russian text); C.N.1490.2000.TREATIES-16 of 6 March 2001 (adoption of annex V) and C.N.866.2001.TREATIES-5 of 17 September 2001 (Entry into force of Annex V)2.
Note :
The Convention was adopted on 17 June 1994 by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the elaboration of an international convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (established pursuant to resolution 47/1883 of the General Assembly dated 22 December 1992), during its Fifth session held at Paris. The Convention was open for signature at Paris by all States and regional economic integration organizations on 14 and 15 October 1994. Thereafter, it remained open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until 13 October 1995.
Participant
Signature
Ratification, Accession(a), Acceptance(A)
Afghanistan
   1 Nov 1995 a
Albania
  27 Apr 2000 a
Algeria
14 Oct 1994
22 May 1996
Andorra
  15 Jul 2002 a
Angola
14 Oct 1994
30 Jun 1997
Antigua and Barbuda
 4 Apr 1995
 6 Jun 1997
Argentina
15 Oct 1994
 6 Jan 1997
Armenia
14 Oct 1994
 2 Jul 1997
Australia
14 Oct 1994
15 May 2000
Austria
   2 Jun 1997 a
Azerbaijan
  10 Aug 1998 a
Bahamas
  10 Nov 2000 a
Bahrain
  14 Jul 1997 a
Bangladesh
14 Oct 1994
26 Jan 1996
Barbados
  14 May 1997 a
Belarus
  29 Aug 2001 a
Belgium
  30 Jun 1997 a
Belize
  23 Jul 1998 a
Benin
14 Oct 1994
29 Aug 1996
Bhutan
  20 Aug 2003 a
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
14 Oct 1994
 1 Aug 1996
Bosnia and Herzegovina
  26 Aug 2002 a
Botswana
12 Oct 1995
11 Sep 1996
Brazil
14 Oct 1994
25 Jun 1997
Brunei Darussalam
   4 Dec 2002 a
Bulgaria
  21 Feb 2001 a
Burkina Faso
14 Oct 1994
26 Jan 1996
Burundi
14 Oct 1994
 6 Jan 1997
Cabo Verde
14 Oct 1994
 8 May 1995
Cambodia
15 Oct 1994
18 Aug 1997
Cameroon
14 Oct 1994
29 May 1997
Canada 4
  21 Dec 2016 a
Central African Republic
14 Oct 1994
 5 Sep 1996
Chad
14 Oct 1994
27 Sep 1996
Chile
 3 Mar 1995
11 Nov 1997
China
14 Oct 1994
18 Feb 1997
Colombia
14 Oct 1994
 8 Jun 1999
Comoros
14 Oct 1994
 3 Mar 1998
Congo
15 Oct 1994
12 Jul 1999
Cook Islands
  21 Aug 1998 a
Costa Rica
15 Oct 1994
 5 Jan 1998
Côte d'Ivoire
15 Oct 1994
 4 Mar 1997
Croatia
15 Oct 1994
 6 Oct 2000 A
Cuba
15 Oct 1994
13 Mar 1997
Cyprus
  29 Mar 2000 a
Czech Republic
  25 Jan 2000 a
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  29 Dec 2003 a
Democratic Republic of the Congo
14 Oct 1994
12 Sep 1997
Denmark
15 Oct 1994
22 Dec 1995
Djibouti
15 Oct 1994
12 Jun 1997
Dominica
   8 Dec 1997 a
Dominican Republic
  26 Jun 1997 a
Ecuador
19 Jan 1995
 6 Sep 1995
Egypt
14 Oct 1994
 7 Jul 1995
El Salvador
  27 Jun 1997 a
Equatorial Guinea
14 Oct 1994
27 Jun 1997
Eritrea
14 Oct 1994
14 Aug 1996
Estonia
   8 Feb 2012 a
Eswatini
27 Jul 1995
 7 Oct 1996
Ethiopia
15 Oct 1994
27 Jun 1997
European Union
14 Oct 1994
26 Mar 1998
Fiji
  26 Aug 1998 a
Finland
15 Oct 1994
20 Sep 1995 A
France
14 Oct 1994
12 Jun 1997
Gabon
   6 Sep 1996 a
Gambia
14 Oct 1994
11 Jun 1996
Georgia
15 Oct 1994
23 Jul 1999
Germany
14 Oct 1994
10 Jul 1996
Ghana
15 Oct 1994
27 Dec 1996
Greece
14 Oct 1994
 5 May 1997
Grenada
  28 May 1997 a
Guatemala
  10 Sep 1998 a
Guinea
14 Oct 1994
23 Jun 1997
Guinea-Bissau
15 Oct 1994
27 Oct 1995
Guyana
  26 Jun 1997 a
Haiti
15 Oct 1994
25 Sep 1996
Honduras
22 Feb 1995
25 Jun 1997
Hungary
  13 Jul 1999 a
Iceland
   3 Jun 1997 a
India
14 Oct 1994
17 Dec 1996
Indonesia
15 Oct 1994
31 Aug 1998
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
14 Oct 1994
29 Apr 1997
Iraq
  28 May 2010 a
Ireland
15 Oct 1994
31 Jul 1997
Israel
14 Oct 1994
26 Mar 1996
Italy
14 Oct 1994
23 Jun 1997
Jamaica
  12 Nov 1997 a
Japan
14 Oct 1994
11 Sep 1998 A
Jordan
13 Apr 1995
21 Oct 1996
Kazakhstan
14 Oct 1994
 9 Jul 1997
Kenya
14 Oct 1994
24 Jun 1997
Kiribati
   8 Sep 1998 a
Kuwait
22 Sep 1995
27 Jun 1997
Kyrgyzstan
  19 Sep 1997 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic
30 Aug 1995
20 Sep 1996 A
Latvia
  21 Oct 2002 a
Lebanon
14 Oct 1994
16 May 1996
Lesotho
15 Oct 1994
12 Sep 1995
Liberia
   2 Mar 1998 a
Libya
15 Oct 1994
22 Jul 1996
Liechtenstein
  29 Dec 1999 a
Lithuania
  25 Jul 2003 a
Luxembourg
14 Oct 1994
 4 Feb 1997
Madagascar
14 Oct 1994
25 Jun 1997
Malawi
17 Jan 1995
13 Jun 1996
Malaysia
 6 Oct 1995
25 Jun 1997
Maldives
   3 Sep 2002 a
Mali
15 Oct 1994
31 Oct 1995
Malta
15 Oct 1994
30 Jan 1998
Marshall Islands
   2 Jun 1998 a
Mauritania
14 Oct 1994
 7 Aug 1996
Mauritius
17 Mar 1995
23 Jan 1996
Mexico
15 Oct 1994
 3 Apr 1995
Micronesia (Federated States of)
12 Dec 1994
25 Mar 1996
Monaco
   5 Mar 1999 a
Mongolia
15 Oct 1994
 3 Sep 1996
Montenegro
   4 Jun 2007 a
Morocco
15 Oct 1994
 7 Nov 1996
Mozambique
28 Sep 1995
13 Mar 1997
Myanmar
   2 Jan 1997 a
Namibia
24 Oct 1994
16 May 1997
Nauru
  22 Sep 1998 a
Nepal
12 Oct 1995
15 Oct 1996
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 5
15 Oct 1994
27 Jun 1995 A
New Zealand 6
   7 Sep 2000 a
Nicaragua
21 Nov 1994
17 Feb 1998
Niger
14 Oct 1994
19 Jan 1996
Nigeria
31 Oct 1994
 8 Jul 1997
Niue
  14 Aug 1998 a
North Macedonia
   6 Mar 2002 a
Norway
15 Oct 1994
30 Aug 1996
Oman
  23 Jul 1996 a
Pakistan
15 Oct 1994
24 Feb 1997
Palau
  15 Jun 1999 a
Panama
22 Feb 1995
 4 Apr 1996
Papua New Guinea
   6 Dec 2000 a
Paraguay
 1 Dec 1994
15 Jan 1997
Peru
15 Oct 1994
 9 Nov 1995
Philippines
 8 Dec 1994
10 Feb 2000
Poland
  14 Nov 2001 a
Portugal
14 Oct 1994
 1 Apr 1996
Qatar
  15 Mar 1999 a
Republic of Korea
14 Oct 1994
17 Aug 1999
Republic of Moldova
  10 Mar 1999 a
Romania
  19 Aug 1998 a
Russian Federation
  29 May 2003 a
Rwanda
22 Jun 1995
22 Oct 1998
Samoa
  21 Aug 1998 a
San Marino
  23 Jul 1999 a
Sao Tome and Principe
 4 Oct 1995
 8 Jul 1998
Saudi Arabia
  25 Jun 1997 a
Senegal
14 Oct 1994
26 Jul 1995
Serbia
  18 Dec 2007 a
Seychelles
14 Oct 1994
26 Jun 1997
Sierra Leone
11 Nov 1994
25 Sep 1997
Singapore
  26 Apr 1999 a
Slovakia
   7 Jan 2002 a
Slovenia
  28 Jun 2001 a
Solomon Islands
  16 Apr 1999 a
Somalia
  24 Jul 2002 a
South Africa
 9 Jan 1995
30 Sep 1997
South Sudan
  17 Feb 2014 a
Spain
14 Oct 1994
30 Jan 1996
Sri Lanka
   9 Dec 1998 a
St. Kitts and Nevis
  30 Jun 1997 a
St. Lucia
   2 Jul 1997 a
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
15 Oct 1994
16 Mar 1998
State of Palestine
  29 Dec 2017 a
Sudan
15 Oct 1994
24 Nov 1995
Suriname
   1 Jun 2000 a
Sweden
15 Oct 1994
12 Dec 1995
Switzerland
14 Oct 1994
19 Jan 1996
Syrian Arab Republic
15 Oct 1994
10 Jun 1997
Tajikistan
  16 Jul 1997 a
Thailand
   7 Mar 2001 a
Timor-Leste
  20 Aug 2003 a
Togo
15 Oct 1994
 4 Oct 1995 A
Tonga
  25 Sep 1998 a
Trinidad and Tobago
   8 Jun 2000 a
Tunisia
14 Oct 1994
11 Oct 1995
Türkiye
14 Oct 1994
31 Mar 1998
Turkmenistan
27 Mar 1995
18 Sep 1996
Tuvalu
  14 Sep 1998 a
Uganda
21 Nov 1994
25 Jun 1997
Ukraine
  27 Aug 2002 a
United Arab Emirates
  21 Oct 1998 a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 7
14 Oct 1994
18 Oct 1996
United Republic of Tanzania
14 Oct 1994
19 Jun 1997
United States of America
14 Oct 1994
17 Nov 2000
Uruguay
  17 Feb 1999 a
Uzbekistan
 7 Dec 1994
31 Oct 1995
Vanuatu
28 Sep 1995
10 Aug 1999
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
  29 Jun 1998 a
Viet Nam
  25 Aug 1998 a
Yemen
  14 Jan 1997 a
Zambia
15 Oct 1994
19 Sep 1996
Zimbabwe
15 Oct 1994
23 Sep 1997
Declarations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations were made upon ratification,
accession or acceptance.)
Algeria

Algeria

Declaration:

       The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 28, paragraph 2, of the [said Convention], to the effect that any dispute must be submitted to the International Court of Justice.
       The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria declares that for a dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice, the consent of both parties will be necessary in each case.

Austria

Austria

Declaration:

       "The Republic of Austria declares in accordance with article 28 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute in paragraph 2 as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement."

Estonia

Estonia

Declaration:

             “In accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 34 of the Convention, any additional regional implementation annex or an amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force with respect to the Republic of Estonia only upon the deposit of its instrument of approval of such annex or amendment with the Depositary.”
Guatemala

Guatemala

Declaration:

       The Republic of Guatemala declares that, in respect of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, it recognizes arbitration in accordance with procedures adopted by the Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practicable as a means of dispute settlement, compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation. This declaration shall remain in force until three months after written notice of its revocation has been deposited with the Depositary.

Kuwait

Kuwait

Declaration:

       With respect to the State of Kuwait, any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession with respect thereto.

Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

Declaration:

       "The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 28 of [the said Convention] that it accepts both means of dispute settlement referred to in that paragraph as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting one or both of these means of dispute settlement."

New Zealand

New Zealand

Declaration:

       “Any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for New Zealand only upon the Government of New Zealand’s deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.”

United States of America

United States of America

Understandings:

       " (1) Foreign assistance.-- The United States understands that, as a "developed country," pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention and its Annexes, it is not obligated to satisfy specific funding requirements or other specific requirements regarding the provision of any resource, including technology, to any "affected country," as defined in Article 1 of the Convention.  The United States understands that ratification of the Convention does not alter its domestic legal processes to determine foreign assistance funding or programs.
       (2) Financial resources and mechanism.-- The United States understands that neither Article 20 nor Article 21 of the Convention impose obligations to provide specific levels of funding for the Global Environmental Facility, or the Global Mechanism, to carry out the objectives of the Convention, or for any other purpose.
       (3)  United States land management.-- The United States understands that it is a "developed country party" as defined in Article 1 of the Convention, and that it is not required to prepare a national action program pursuant to Part III, Section 1, of the Convention. The United States also understands that no changes to its existing land management practices and programs will be required to meet its obligations under Articles 4 or 5 of the Convention.
       (4) Legal process for amending the Convention.-- In accordance with Article 34 (4), any additional regional implementation annex to the Convention or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for the United States only upon the deposit of a corresponding instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
       (5) Dispute settlement.-- The United States declines to accept as compulsory either of the dispute settlement means set out in Article 28(2), and understands that it will not be bound by the outcome, findings, conclusions or recommendations of a conciliation process initiated under Article 28 (6).  For any dispute arising from this Convention, the United States does not recognize or accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice."

End Note
1.For the purpose of entry into force of the [Convention/Protocol] , any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional to those deposited by member States of that Organization.
2.At the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the above Convention, held in Bonn, Germany, from 11 to 22 December 2000, the Regional Implementation Annex for Central and Eastern Europe to the above Convention (Annex V) was adopted by decision 7/COP.4 of 22 December 2000 (12th Plenary meeting).

None of the Parties having submitted a notification in accordance with the provisions of article 31 (3) (a) or a declaration in accordance with the provisions of article 31 (3) (b) of the Convention, the adoption of annex V became effective for all Parties to the Convention on the expiry of six months from the date of its notification ( 6 March 2001) in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 31, i.e. on 6 September 2001.

3. Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 49 (A/47/49) (Vol.I), p. 137.
4.Canada had signed the Convention on 14 October 1994 and had ratified it subsequently on 1 December 1995. Thereafter, on 28 March 2013, in accordance with its article 38 (2), the Government of Canada had notified the Secretary-General of its decision to withdraw from the Convention. The withdrawal took effect on 28 March 2014.



On 21 December 2016, Canada deposited with the Secretary-General an instrument of accession to the Convention.


5.For the Kingdom in Europe.
6.With a declaration to the effect that “consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account its commitment to the development of self-government through an act of sef-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, this ratification shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the Depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory.”
7.For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , the British Virgin Islands, St. Helena and Ascension Island. Subsequently, on 24 December 1996, the Government of the United Kingdom notified the Secretary-General that the Convention would apply to Montserrat.