1. This publication, the twenty-sixth
of the series Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General
(ST/LEG/SER/E/ - a supplement to the second volume was issued to cover actions from 1 January
to 31 December 1983 under reference ST/LEG/SER.E/22/add.1),
consolidates all information on treaty actions (i.e.,signatures,
ratifications, accessions, denunciations, miscellaneous notifications,
reservations, declarations and objections) undertaken relating to
the multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General covered
up to 1 April 2009.
A. Treaties covered by this publication
2. This publication contains:
- All multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General
(presently 507 treaties);
- The Charter of the United Nations, in respect of which certain
depositary functions have been conferred upon the Secretary-General
(although the Charter itself is deposited with the Government of
the United States of America);
- Multilateral treaties formerly deposited with the Secretary-General
of the League of Nations, to the extent that formalities or decisions
affecting them have been taken within the framework of the United
Nations;1 and
- Certain pre-United Nations treaties, other than those formerly
deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, which
were amended by protocols adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations.
B. Division into parts and chapters
3. The publication is comprised of two volumes, and is divided
into two parts. Volume I includes Part I, Chapters I to XI. Volume
II includes Part I, Chapters XII to XXVIII, and Part II. Part I
contains information relating to United Nations treaties,2 and
Part II contains information relating to League of Nations treaties.
Part I, in turn, is divided into chapters and each chapter relates
to a given theme. The treaties within each chapter are listed in
the chronological order of their conclusion. Part II lists the first
26 treaties in the order in which they appear in the last League
of Nations publication of signatures, ratifications and accessions.3 Thereafter,
the treaties are listed in the order in which they first gave rise
to formalities or decisions within the framework of the United Nations.
C. Information provided in respect of each treaty
(a) United Nations treaties
4. Chapter headers
The following information is typically provided for each
treaty in the header of each chapter:
- The full title, place and date of adoption or conclusion;
- Entry into force;
- Registration date and number, pursuant to Article 102
of the Charter (where appropriate);
- The number of signatories and parties;
- References to the text of the treaty as published in
the United Nations, Treaty Series (UNTS) or, if it has not yet been published
in the Treaty Series, the reference to the United Nations documentation
where its text may be found; and
- A brief note on the adoption of the treaty.
5. Status tables
Participants are listed in the status tables in alphabetical
order. Against each participant's name, the relevant treaty
action is entered, i.e., the date of signature, the date of deposit
of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, accession,
or succession.4 The names of participants that
have denounced the treaty appear between brackets, and the date
of deposit of the notification of denunciation is indicated in a
footnote. Additional information on denunciation of treaties appears
in footnotes.
Entries in status tables pertaining to formalities effected
by a predecessor State in respect of treaties to which the successor States
have notified their succession are replaced by the names of the
relevant successor States with the corresponding date of deposit
of the notification of succession. A footnote indicates the date
and type of formality effected by the predecessor State, the corresponding
indicator being inserted next to the successor States in the table
as the case may be. As regards treaties in respect of which formalities
were effected by a predecessor State and not listed in the notifications
of succession of the successor States, a footnote indicating the
date and type of formality effected by the predecessor State is
included in the status of the treaties concerned, the corresponding
footnote indicator appearing next to the heading "Participant".
Treaties which have been terminated are denoted by an asterisk.
For those treaties, the particpant tables have been removed.
6. Declarations, reservations, objections
The texts of declarations and reservations generally appear in
full immediately following the status tables. Objections, territorial
applications and communications of a special nature, for example,
declarations recognizing the competence of committees such as the
Human Rights Committee, also appear in full. Related communications,
for example, communications with regard to objections, and other
information appear in footnotes.
(b) League of Nations treaties
7. The information provided is essentially based on the
official records of the League of Nations. This accounts for the difference
in format as compared with treaties deposited with the Secretary-General
of the United Nations.
8. The list of signatures, ratifications, acceptances,
approvals, accessions, and successions in respect of each of the
League of Nations multilateral treaties covered by this publication
is divided into two sections. The first section reflects the status
as at the time of the transfer of those treaties to the custody
of the United Nations, without implying a judgement by the Secretary-General
of the United Nations on the current legal effect of those actions.
The second section provides the status following the assumption
of the depositary functions by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations in relation to these treaties.
D. Information of a general nature
9. On the occasion of undertaking treaty formalities,
issues of a general character are sometimes raised (mostly with regard
to representation, succession or territorial application). An effort
has been made to group all explanatory notes relevant to such issues
as they pertain to the States concerned in the "Historical
Information" section in the front matter of this publication
as well as in chapters I.1 and I.2. Similarly, Part I, Chapters
I.1 and I.2 contain information transmitted by communications from
Heads of States or Governments or Ministers for Foreign Affairs
informing the Secretary-General of changes in the official denomination
of States or territories. In the case of States that are not members
of the United Nations or in the case of intergovernmental organizations,
the information appears in notes corresponding to the formalities
that gave rise to the issue. Cross-references are provided as required.
Progressively, all information of a historical and political nature
will be moved to the "Historical Information" section in the front
matter of the publication.
Suggestions for corrections or modifications
should be communicated to:
Office of Legal Affairs
Treaty Section
United Nations
New York, N.Y. 10017
United States of America
e-mail: depositaryCN@un.org
Fax: (212) 963-3693
For the regularly updated electronic version
of this publication, please visit the United Nations Treaty Collection
on the Internet at:
http://treaties.un.org
NOTES
1. Multilateral treaties formerly deposited
with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, by virtue of
General Assembly resolution 24 (I) of 12 February 1946,
and of a League of Nations Assembly resolution of 18 April 1946
(League of Nations, Official Journal, Special Supplement No. 194,
p. 57) were transferred, upon dissolution of the League of Nations,
to the custody of the United Nations.
2. For ease of reference, those League
of Nations treaties and other pre-United Nations treaties that were
amended by protocols adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations are included in Part I, so that the list of States which
have become parties to the amending protocol and to the treaty,
as amended, are followed immediately by a list showing the status
of the treaty at the time of its transfer to the custody of the
United Nations.
3. See League of Nations, Official Journal,
Special Supplement No.195, Supplement to the Twenty-First
List, Geneva, 1946.
4. The following main symbols are used:
a, accession; A, acceptance; AA, approval; c, formal confirmation;
d, succession; P, participation; s, definitive signature; and n,
notification (of provisional application, of special undertaking,
etc.). Unless otherwise indicated the date of effect is determined
by the relevant provisions of the treaty concerned.