CHAPTER XXVII
ENVIRONMENT15Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsStockholm, 22 May 200117 May 2004, in accordance with article 26(1)see article 26 which reads as follows: "1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification acceptance, approval or accession. 2. For each State or regional economic integration organization that ratifies, accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit by such State or regional economic integration organization of its instrument of rafification, acceptance, approval or accession. 3. For the purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2, any instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional to those deposited by member States of that organization.".17 May 2004, No. 40214Signatories152Parties1791United Nations, <i>Treaty Series</i>, vol. 2256, p. 119; Depositary notifications: C.N.531.2001.TREATIES-96 of 19 June 2001; C.N.1204.2002.TREATIES-63 of 19 November 2002 [Proposal of corrections to the original text of the Convention (authentic Spanish text)] and C.N.157.2003.TREATIES-6 of 21 February 2003 [Correction of the original text of the Convention (authentic Spanish text)]; C.N.242.2006.TREATIES-6 of 27 March 2006 [Adoption of Annex G] and C.N.1017.2007.TREATIES-14 of 31 October 2007 [Entry into force of Annex G]; C.N.618.2007.TREATIES-12 of 5 June 2007 [Proposal of corrections to the original text of the Convention (authentic Russian text) and to the Certified True Copies]; C.N.524.2009.TREATIES-4 of 26 August 2009 [Adoption of Amendments to Annexes A, B and C] and C.N.546.2010.TREATIES-7 of 27 August 2010 [Entry into force of amendments to Annexes A, B and C] re-issued on 11 January 2011; <superscript>2</superscript> C.N.811.2011.TREATIES-10 of 31 January 2012 (Proposal of corrections to the Chinese text of Amendments to Annexes A, B and C) and C.N.219.2012.TREATIES-XXVII.15 of 1 May 2012 (Corrections to the Chinese text of Amendments to Annexes A, B and C); C.N.703.2011.TREATIES-8 [Adoption of an amendment to Annex A] of 27 October 2011.The Convention was adopted on 22 May 2001 at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Stockholm, 22-23 May 2001. In accordance with its article 24, the Convention will be open for signature at Stockholm by all States and by regional economic integration organizations on 23 May 2001 at the Stockholm City Conference Centre/Folkets Hus, and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 24 May 2001 to 22 May 2002.
ParticipantSignature, Succession to signature(d)Ratification, Acceptance(A), Approval(AA), Accession(a)Afghanistan20 Feb 2013 aAlbania 5 Dec 2001 4 Oct 2004 Algeria 5 Sep 2001 22 Sep 2006 Angola23 Oct 2006 aAntigua and Barbuda23 May 2001 10 Sep 2003 Argentina23 May 2001 25 Jan 2005 Armenia23 May 2001 26 Nov 2003 Australia23 May 2001 20 May 2004 Austria23 May 2001 27 Aug 2002 Azerbaijan13 Jan 2004 aBahamas20 Mar 2002 3 Oct 2005 Bahrain22 May 2002 31 Jan 2006 Bangladesh23 May 2001 12 Mar 2007 Barbados 7 Jun 2004 aBelarus 3 Feb 2004 aBelgium23 May 2001 25 May 2006 Belize14 May 2002 25 Jan 2010 Benin23 May 2001 5 Jan 2004 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)23 May 2001 3 Jun 2003 Bosnia and Herzegovina23 May 2001 30 Mar 2010 Botswana28 Oct 2002 aBrazil23 May 2001 16 Jun 2004 Brunei Darussalam21 May 2002 Bulgaria23 May 2001 20 Dec 2004 Burkina Faso23 May 2001 31 Dec 2004 Burundi 2 Apr 2002 2 Aug 2005 Cambodia23 May 2001 25 Aug 2006 Cameroon 5 Oct 2001 19 May 2009 Canada23 May 2001 23 May 2001 Cape Verde 1 Mar 2006 aCentral African Republic 9 May 2002 12 Feb 2008 Chad16 May 2002 10 Mar 2004 Chile23 May 2001 20 Jan 2005 China<superscript>3</superscript>23 May 2001 13 Aug 2004 Colombia23 May 2001 22 Oct 2008 Comoros23 May 2001 23 Feb 2007 Congo 4 Dec 2001 12 Feb 2007 Cook Islands29 Jun 2004 aCosta Rica16 Apr 2002 6 Feb 2007 Côte d'Ivoire23 May 2001 20 Jan 2004 Croatia23 May 2001 30 Jan 2007 Cuba23 May 2001 21 Dec 2007 Cyprus 7 Mar 2005 aCzech Republic23 May 2001 6 Aug 2002 Democratic People's Republic of Korea26 Aug 2002 aDemocratic Republic of the Congo23 Mar 2005 aDenmark<superscript>4</superscript>23 May 2001 17 Dec 2003 Djibouti15 Nov 2001 11 Mar 2004 Dominica 8 Aug 2003 aDominican Republic23 May 2001 4 May 2007 Ecuador28 Aug 2001 7 Jun 2004 Egypt17 May 2002 2 May 2003 El Salvador30 Jul 2001 27 May 2008 Eritrea10 Mar 2005 aEstonia 7 Nov 2008 aEthiopia17 May 2002 9 Jan 2003 European Union23 May 2001 16 Nov 2004 AAFiji14 Jun 2001 20 Jun 2001 Finland23 May 2001 3 Sep 2002 AFrance23 May 2001 17 Feb 2004 AAGabon21 May 2002 7 May 2007 Gambia23 May 2001 28 Apr 2006 Georgia23 May 2001 4 Oct 2006 Germany23 May 2001 25 Apr 2002 Ghana23 May 2001 30 May 2003 Greece23 May 2001 3 May 2006 Guatemala29 Jan 2002 30 Jul 2008 Guinea23 May 2001 11 Dec 2007 Guinea-Bissau24 Apr 2002 6 Aug 2008 Guyana12 Sep 2007 aHaiti23 May 2001 Honduras17 May 2002 23 May 2005 Hungary23 May 2001 14 Mar 2008 Iceland23 May 2001 29 May 2002 India14 May 2002 13 Jan 2006 Indonesia23 May 2001 28 Sep 2009 Iran (Islamic Republic of)23 May 2001 6 Feb 2006 Ireland23 May 2001 5 Aug 2010 Israel30 Jul 2001 Italy23 May 2001 Jamaica23 May 2001 1 Jun 2007 Japan30 Aug 2002 aJordan18 Jan 2002 8 Nov 2004 Kazakhstan23 May 2001 9 Nov 2007 Kenya23 May 2001 24 Sep 2004 Kiribati 4 Apr 2002 7 Sep 2004 Kuwait23 May 2001 12 Jun 2006 Kyrgyzstan16 May 2002 12 Dec 2006 Lao People's Democratic Republic 5 Mar 2002 28 Jun 2006 Latvia23 May 2001 28 Oct 2004 Lebanon23 May 2001 3 Jan 2003 Lesotho23 Jan 2002 23 Jan 2002 Liberia23 May 2002 aLibya14 Jun 2005 aLiechtenstein23 May 2001 3 Dec 2004 Lithuania17 May 2002 5 Dec 2006 Luxembourg23 May 2001 7 Feb 2003 Madagascar24 Sep 2001 18 Nov 2005 Malawi22 May 2002 27 Feb 2009 Malaysia16 May 2002 Maldives17 Oct 2006 aMali23 May 2001 5 Sep 2003 Malta23 May 2001 Marshall Islands27 Jan 2003 aMauritania 8 Aug 2001 22 Jul 2005 Mauritius23 May 2001 13 Jul 2004 Mexico23 May 2001 10 Feb 2003 Micronesia (Federated States of)31 Jul 2001 15 Jul 2005 Monaco23 May 2001 20 Oct 2004 Mongolia17 May 2002 30 Apr 2004 Montenegro<superscript>5</superscript>23 Oct 2006 d31 Mar 2011 Morocco23 May 2001 15 Jun 2004 Mozambique23 May 2001 31 Oct 2005 Myanmar19 Apr 2004 aNamibia24 Jun 2005 aNauru 9 May 2002 9 May 2002 Nepal 5 Apr 2002 6 Mar 2007 Netherlands23 May 2001 28 Jan 2002 ANew Zealand<superscript>6</superscript>23 May 2001 24 Sep 2004 Nicaragua23 May 2001 1 Dec 2005 Niger12 Oct 2001 12 Apr 2006 Nigeria23 May 2001 24 May 2004 Niue12 Mar 2002 2 Sep 2005 Norway23 May 2001 11 Jul 2002 Oman 4 Mar 2002 19 Jan 2005 Pakistan 6 Dec 2001 17 Apr 2008 Palau28 Mar 2002 8 Sep 2011 Panama23 May 2001 5 Mar 2003 Papua New Guinea23 May 2001 7 Oct 2003 Paraguay12 Oct 2001 1 Apr 2004 Peru23 May 2001 14 Sep 2005 Philippines23 May 2001 27 Feb 2004 Poland23 May 2001 23 Oct 2008 Portugal23 May 2001 15 Jul 2004 AQatar10 Dec 2004 aRepublic of Korea 4 Oct 2001 25 Jan 2007 Republic of Moldova23 May 2001 7 Apr 2004 Romania23 May 2001 28 Oct 2004 Russian Federation22 May 2002 17 Aug 2011 Rwanda 5 Jun 2002 aSamoa23 May 2001 4 Feb 2002 Sao Tome and Principe 3 Apr 2002 12 Apr 2006 Saudi Arabia14 Mar 2002 25 Jul 2012 Senegal23 May 2001 8 Oct 2003 Serbia 2 May 2002 31 Jul 2009 Seychelles25 Mar 2002 3 Jun 2008 aSierra Leone26 Sep 2003 aSingapore23 May 2001 24 May 2005 Slovakia23 May 2001 5 Aug 2002 Slovenia23 May 2001 4 May 2004 Solomon Islands28 Jul 2004 aSomalia26 Jul 2010 aSouth Africa23 May 2001 4 Sep 2002 Spain23 May 2001 28 May 2004 Sri Lanka 5 Sep 2001 22 Dec 2005 St. Kitts and Nevis21 May 2004 aSt. Lucia 4 Oct 2002 aSt. Vincent and the Grenadines15 Sep 2005 aSudan23 May 2001 29 Aug 2006 Suriname22 May 2002 20 Sep 2011 Swaziland13 Jan 2006 aSweden23 May 2001 8 May 2002 Switzerland23 May 2001 30 Jul 2003 Syrian Arab Republic15 Feb 2002 5 Aug 2005 Tajikistan21 May 2002 8 Feb 2007 Thailand22 May 2002 31 Jan 2005 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia23 May 2001 27 May 2004 Togo23 May 2001 22 Jul 2004 Tonga21 May 2002 23 Oct 2009 Trinidad and Tobago13 Dec 2002 aTunisia23 May 2001 17 Jun 2004 Turkey23 May 2001 14 Oct 2009 Tuvalu19 Jan 2004 aUganda20 Jul 2004 aUkraine23 May 2001 25 Sep 2007 United Arab Emirates23 May 2001 11 Jul 2002 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland11 Dec 2001 17 Jan 2005 United Republic of Tanzania23 May 2001 30 Apr 2004 United States of America23 May 2001 Uruguay23 May 2001 9 Feb 2004 Vanuatu21 May 2002 16 Sep 2005 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)23 May 2001 19 Apr 2005 Viet Nam23 May 2001 22 Jul 2002 Yemen 5 Dec 2001 9 Jan 2004 Zambia23 May 2001 7 Jul 2006 Zimbabwe23 May 2001 1 Mar 2012
Declarations(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations were made upon ratification,acceptance, approval or accession.)ArgentinaDeclaration:In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Republic of Argentina declares that any amendment to Annex A, B, or C shall enter into force for Argentina only after it has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.AustraliaDeclaration:"In accordance with article 25 (4) [of the Convention], the Government of Australia declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of Australia's instrument of ratification with respect thereto."AustriaDeclaration:“The Republic of Austria declares in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 2 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in paragraph 2 as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.”BahrainDeclarations:1. Arbitration according to the procedures adopted by the Conference of States Parties is the only binding procedure for the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding resolving any dispute on the interpretation or implementation of the Convention.2. Any amendment to the Convention annexes A, B and C will not be binding to the Kingdom of Bahrain unless it is ratified according to the constitutional rules.BangladeshDeclaration"Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Bangladesh hereby declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Bangladesh only upon the deposit by Bangladesh of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto."BelgiumDeclaration made upon signature:“This signature engages also the Waloon region, the Flemish region, and the Brussels-Capital region.”BotswanaDeclaration:"... the Republic of Botswana declares pursuant to article 25 (4) that, with respect to it, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for it only after it has deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect to such amendment."CanadaDeclaration:“Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Canada hereby declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Canada only upon the deposit by Canada of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto.”ChinaDeclaration:In accordance with the provisions of article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, with respect to the People's Republic of China, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.El SalvadorReservation:With respect to the provisions of article 18 of this Convention, the Republic of El Salvador does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraph 2 of that article in that it does not recognize the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.EstoniaUpon accession:“1) In accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, any amendment to Annex A, B and C of the Convention shall enter into force for the Republic of Estonia only after the Republic of Estonia has deposited its instrument of approval to the amendment;2) As a Member State of the European Community the Republic of Estonia has transferred its competence to the European Community in fields governed by this Convention and listed in the declaration annexed to the Council Decision of 14 October 2004 concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2006/507/EC).”European Union<i>Declaration in accordance with article 25 (3) </i> :"The Community declares that, in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular article 175 thereof, it is competent for entering into international environmental agreements, and for implementing the obligations resulting therefrom, which contribute to the pursuit of the following objectives:- Preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,- Protecting human health,- Prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources,- Promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems.Moreover, the Community declares that it has already adopted legal instruments, binding on its Member States, covering matters governed by this Convention, and will submit and update, as appropriate, a list of those legal instruments to the Conference of the Parties in accordance with article 15 (1) of the Convention.The Community is responsible for the performance of those obligations resulting from the Convention which are covered by Community law in force.The exercise of Community competence is, by its nature, subject to continuous development."GuatemalaDeclaration:In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the aforementioned Convention, the Government of the Republic of Guatemala declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Guatemala only after it has deposited its instrument of accession or ratification.India<right>28 March 2006</right>Declaration:"Any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto."LiechtensteinDeclaration:"The Principality of Liechtenstein declares in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 2 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement."MauritiusDeclaration:"Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistant Organic Pollutants, the Republic of Mauritius declares that any amendments to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Republic of Mauritius only upon the deposit by the Republic of Mauritius of its instrument of Ratification, Acceptance, Approval or Accession with respect thereto."Micronesia (Federated States of)Declaration:1. The Federated States of Micronesia declares in accordance with the provisions of article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of the Federated States of Micronesia's instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession thereto.2. The Federated States of Micronesia declares in accordance with Article 18, paragraph 2 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.Netherlands<right>17 February 2010</right>Declaration:“The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, that it accepts both means of dispute settlement referred to in that paragraph as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting one or both means of dispute settlement.”Republic of Korea<i>Declaration:</i>The Republic of Korea, in accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4 of the Convention, declares that, with respect to the Republic of Korea, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.Republic of MoldovaDeclaration:In accordance with article 18, paragraph 2 of the Convention, the Republic of Moldova accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party that accepts the same obligation.Pursuant to article 25, paragraph 4, of the Convention, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Republic of Moldova only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto.Russian Federation1. The Russian Federation declares that in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 18 of the Convention, with respect to any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, it recognizes the means of dispute settlement indicated in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 of article 18 of the Convention as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligations;2. The Russian Federation declares that in accordance with paragraph 4 of article 25 of the Convention any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Russian Federation only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.SerbiaDeclaration:“The Republic of Serbia declares in accordance with Article 18 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in paragraph 2.”Slovakia<superscript>7</superscript>SloveniaDeclaration:"In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Convention, the Republic of Slovenia herewith declares, that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification with respect thereto."SpainDeclaration:Any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Spain only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.Declaration:In the event that the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants should in any way result in actions related to Gibraltar, Spain wishes to make the following declaration:1. Gibraltar is a Non-Self-Governing Territory for whose international relations the United Kingdom is responsible and which is subject to a process of decolonization in accordance with the relevant decisions and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.2. The Gibraltar authorities are local in character and exercise an exclusively domestic jurisdiction that originates in and is based on the powers allocated to and conferred on them by the United Kingdom, in accordance with its domestic law and in its capacity as the sovereign State upon which depends the said Non-Self-Governing Territory.3. Consequently, any involvement by the Gibraltar authorities in the implementation of this Convention shall be understood to take place exclusively within the framework of the domestic jurisdiction of Gibraltar and shall not be considered to affect in any way the content of the two preceding paragraphs.4. The procedure envisaged in the “Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar Authorities in the Context of Certain International Treaties (2007)”, signed by Spain and the United Kingdom on 19 December 2007, together with the “Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar Authorities in the Context of EU and EC Instruments and Related Treaties”, of 19 April 2000, shall be applicable to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted on 22 May 2001.Syrian Arab RepublicDeclaration:The ratification of the Syrian Arab Republic to this Convention shall in no way signify the recognition of Israel or entail entry into any dealings with Israel in the context of the provisions of this Convention.VanuatuDeclaration:"That in relation to paragraph 4 of Article 25 of the Convention, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall bind the Republic of Vanuatu only upon its deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession with respect to such amendments."Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)Declaration:In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela declares that any amendment to Annex A, B, or C shall enter into force for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela only after it has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.1For 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.2The following countries, pursuant to Article 25 (4), declared that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of their instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Canada, China, Estonia, Guatemala, India, Mauritius, Micronesia, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Vanuatu, Venezuela. On 9 May 2012, the Government of the Republic of Korea deposited its instrument of acceptance to the Amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Convention. On 9 November 2011, the Government of Argentina deposited its instrument of acceptance to the Amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Convention. On 16 August 2011, the Government of Spain deposited its instrument of acceptance to the Amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Convention. On 4 January 2011, the Government of Canada deposited its instrument of acceptance to the Amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Convention. On 23 August 2010, the Government of New Zealand notified the Secretary-General, in accordance with paragraphs 3 (b) and 3 (c) and paragraph 4 of article 22 of the Convention, that it is currently unable to accept the amendments to Annexes A, B and C, transmitted by depositary notification C.N.524.2009.TREATIES-4 of 26 August 2009.3With the following :In accordance with the provisions of article 153 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and article 138 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China decides that the Convention shall apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.4By a commmunication received on 10 February 2012, the Government of Denmark informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the declaration, made upon ratification, regarding the territorial exclusion in respect of the Faroe Islands. Upon ratification on 17 December 2003, Denmark had notified the Secretary-General of the following: With a territorial exclusion in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland.5See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.6With the following territorial exclusion:".....consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account the commitment of the Government of New Zealand the development of self-government for Tokelau through an act of self-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 By a commmunication received on 10 May 2013, the Government of the Slovak Republic informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the following declaration made upon ratification and deposited its instrument of acceptance to the Amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Convention: "Pursuant to article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Slovak Republic hereby declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Slovak Republic only upon the deposit by the Slovak Republic of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto."