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Frequently Asked Questions


What can I find on this website?

The United Nations Treaty Collection (https://treaties.un.org) contains information regarding the activities of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, as follows:

  • Depositary of Treaties

Information relating to the depositary functions of the Secretary-General in respect of over 560 multilateral treaties, including participation, communications and entry into force.

  • Registration and Publication of Treaties

Information relating to the registration and publication of treaties in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, including data regarding each treaty registered with the Secretariat and the full text of the United Nations Treaty Series.

  • Resources

Publications and documents prepared by the Treaty Section aimed at providing guidance and information with regard to participation in multilateral treaties, the drafting of treaties, the depositary practice of the Secretary-General, and the registration and publication of treaties.

  • Training

Information on trainings and legal technical assistance provided by the Treaty Section.

  • Treaty Events

Information on the annual Treaty Event organised by the Secretary-General, held in parallel with the general debate of the General Assembly, as well as on special events on specific treaties. Such events are intended to facilitate the participation of States in the multilateral treaty framework.

More detailed information on what is available in each of these sections can be found below or on the Overview page.


What kind of information does the site provide with respect to multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General?

You can access information relating to the depositary functions of the Secretary-General in respect of over 560 multilateral treaties in the Depositary section of this website.

The Status of Treaties page within the Depositary section, which replaces the prior annual publication entitled Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General, provides authoritative and up-to-date information on the status of each of the treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, including:

  • Title, date and place of conclusion;
  • Certified true copies;
  • Participants;
  • Date and method of entry into force;
  • Reservations, objections and other communications relating to the treaty;
  • Corrections and amendments

In the Depositary section, you can also access Certified True Copies of each treaty deposited with the Secretary-General, photos of treaty ceremonies and model instruments to be used by Member States when completing actions in relation to those treaties. This section also provides information on treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations.


How can I receive the depositary notifications circulated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations?

In order to receive depositary notifications relating to actions (i.e. signatures, ratifications, accessions, declarations, etc.) effected in relation to treaties deposited with the Secretary-General you need to sign up to the Automated Subscription Services. To learn more about the Automated Subscription Services, please refer to the information given below.


What are the Automated Subscription Services? How can I sign up?

The Automated Subscription Services allow any individual or organization to register to automatically receive depositary notifications issued in relation to treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and other notifications relating to the work of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs.

Once registered, you can select to receive either all depositary notifications circulated by the Secretary-General or only specific categories of depositary notifications (e.g. notifications relating to actions effected by a specific State or in relation to a specific treaty or treaties in a specific area). These notifications are sent to the e-mail address you provided and, in most cases, will be sent on the day on which the relevant action is effected.

To register to receive depositary notifications:

1. Visit the Automated Subscription Services page;
2. Select 'New User Registration';
3. Complete and Submit the Registration Form;
4. Following successful submission of the Registration Form, log into the Automated Subscription Services using your chosen username and password;
5. Select the type of subscription you would like to receive.

For a more detailed overview of how to register for Automated Subscription Services please access the user guide.


How can I find depositary notifications already circulated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations?

Depositary notifications that have already been circulated are available on the website, on the Depositary Notifications page. Select the tab 'Search Notifications' and search for specific depositary notifications using a variety of fields including date, notification number, participant, or the code of the treaty to which the notification relates.


How can I get a list of all multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations to which one specific State is a signatory or a party?

To obtain a list of all multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General to which a specific State is a signatory or party:

1. Visit the 'Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General' page in the Depositary Section of this website;
2. Select the 'Participant Search' tab;
3. Select the relevant Participant from the drop-down menu and click 'Search'.

Having followed these steps, you will be presented with a full list of the treaties to which the selected State is a signatory or party. You can export this information to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the 'Export to Excel' link in the top right of the page.


Where do I get photos of treaty ceremonies?

You can access photos of treaty ceremonies conducted in relation to treaties deposited with the Secretary-General by visiting the Photos of Treaty Ceremonies page in the Depositary section of this website. On this page, you can see the photos of the most recent treaty ceremonies or you can use the search functions to find photos of earlier ceremonies.


Where can I get model instruments of full powers, ratification, accession, etc.?

You can access model instruments of full powers, ratification, accession etc. by visiting the Model Instruments page in the Resources section of this website. On that page, each model instrument is provided in each of the six official languages of the United Nations.


Does the site contain information regarding multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations?

Yes. You can access information on multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations by visiting the League of Nations Treaties page in the Depositary section of this website. On that page, you can access information on the thirty-three multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, including information on actions effected by States subsequent to the assumption of depositary functions by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.


What kind of information does the site provide with respect to the registration and publication of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter?

You can access information relating to the registration and publication of treaties in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations in the Registration and Publication section of this website.

On the United Nations Treaty Series page, you can access information on all treaties and treaty actions published in the United Nations Treaty Series volumes, as well as information on treaties and treaty actions that have been registered but not yet published in the Treaty Series. In total, the database contains information on over 250,000 treaties and treaty actions and includes the texts of treaties in their authentic language(s), along with translations into English and French. In the same section, you can also access issues of the Monthly Statement prepared by the Treaty Section and offering details on the treaties registered each month, checklist and technical guidelines to be used by Member States when submitting treaties for registration, and a summary of the limited publication policy applicable to some categories of treaties.


How do I find a specific treaty that has been registered with the Secretariat?

You can find a specific treaty registered with the Secretariat by going to the United Nations Treaty Series page in the Registration and Publication section of this website. On this page, you can search for a specific treaty by applying a wide range of search criteria including date of conclusion, participant, title, registration number, or subject term.


What are the Monthly Statements and how do I find them?

Monthly Statements provide a summary of all treaties and treaty actions registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations within a specific calendar month. You can access all Monthly Statements produced by the Secretariat by visiting the Monthly Statements page in the Registration and Publication section of this website.


What kind of publications and resources of the Treaty Section are available on the website?

You can access a range of resources and publications produced by the Treaty Section to assist States and other actors to better understand and participate in the international treaty framework by going to the Resources section of this website. The publications and resources available include:

  • The Treaty Handbook;
  • The Handbook on Final Clauses;
  • The Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties;
  • Notes Verbales from the Legal Counsel of the United Nations relating to the depositary practice and the registration of treaties pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter;
  • The General Assembly Regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations;
  • Model Instruments (i.e. full powers, ratification, accession, reservations and declarations) ;
  • Model Certifying Statement for the Registration of Treaties

How do I get information regarding capacity-building and training provided by the Treaty Section?

You can access information regarding the capacity-building and training provided by the Treaty Section by visiting the Training section of this website.

In that section, you will find information on the training activities of the Treaty Section, both at United Nations Headquarters in New York and at the regional level. In addition, information is provided in this section on the legal technical assistance activities conducted by the Treaty Section including assistance provided to States and international organizations in the submission of key legal instruments to the Secretary-General such as instruments of ratification and accession, the submission of treaties for registration and the drafting of final clauses to multilateral treaties.


Where do I get information about the annual Treaty Event? What should a State do to participate in the Event?

You can access information regarding the annual Treaty Event by visiting the Treaty Events section of the website. In this section, you will find a summary of the upcoming annual treaty event with additional documentation including the letter sent by the Secretary-General to the Heads of States and Government inviting them to participate in the Event, procedural information by the United Nations Legal Counsel to Permanent Representatives in New York, and a list of treaties highlighted in the Treaty Event.

In the Treaty Events section, you can also find information on past annual treaty events and on the special events facilitated by the Treaty Section in relation to specific treaties (i.e., opening for signature).


How do I cite a document obtained electronically from this site?

  • Information obtained from the Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General online format should be cited as follows:"Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General, United Nations, New York , as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ParticipationStatus.aspx on [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • The full text of a treaty in PDF obtained from the United Nations Treaty Series database should be cited as follows: "Title of the Agreement, United Nations, New York (UNTS volume and page number), as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/AdvanceSearch.aspx?tab=UNTS [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • "Titles of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General in the UN official languages should be cited as follows: "List of titles of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General in e.g. English, United Nations, New York, as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/DB.aspx?path=DB/titles/page1en.xml&menu=MTDSG [date on which the materil was accessed]";

  • Photographs of Treaty Actions should be cited as follows: "Title of the Agreement, Action type, Name of the State, United Nations, New York, as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/PhotoList.aspx [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • "Depositary Notifications issued by the Secretary-General should be cited as follows: " CN Reference, Title of the Agreement, Action type, Name of the State, United Nations, New York, as available on /Pages/CNs.aspx?cnTab=tab2 [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • UNTS Cumulative Index should be cited as follows: "Issue number, Language version, United Nations, New York, as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/CumulativeIndexes.aspx/Pages/CumulativeIndexes.aspx [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • Monthly Statement of Treaties and International Agreements should be cited as follows: "Document symbol, page number, United Nations, New York, as available on https://treaties.un.org/Pages/MSDatabase.aspx [date on which the material was accessed]";

  • Certified True Copies (CTCs) of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General should be cited as follows: "Title of the Agreement, United Nations, New York, as available on http://treaties.un.org/Pages/CTCs.aspx [date on which the material was accessed]".

How often is the website updated?

The website is updated on a daily basis.

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