STATUS AS AT : 29-03-2024 03:15:34 EDT
CHAPTER VII 1
TRAFFIC IN PERSONS
11 .a Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
Lake Success, New York, 21 March 1950
Entry into force
:
25 July 1951, in accordance with article 24.
Registration :
25 July 1951, No. 1342
Status :
Signatories : 25. Parties : 82
Text :
United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 96, p. 271.
Note :
The Convention was approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in resolution 317 (IV)2 of 2 December 1949.
Participant 3, 4
Signature
Accession(a), Succession(d), Ratification
Afghanistan
  21 May 1985 a
Albania
   6 Nov 1958 a
Algeria
  31 Oct 1963 a
Argentina
  15 Nov 1957 a
Azerbaijan
  16 Aug 1996 a
Bangladesh
  11 Jan 1985 a
Belarus
  24 Aug 1956 a
Belgium
  22 Jun 1965 a
Benin
25 Sep 2003
 
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
   6 Oct 1983 a
Bosnia and Herzegovina 5
   1 Sep 1993 d
Brazil
 5 Oct 1951
12 Sep 1958
Bulgaria
  18 Jan 1955 a
Burkina Faso
  27 Aug 1962 a
Cambodia
27 Sep 2004
 
Cameroon
  19 Feb 1982 a
Central African Republic
  29 Sep 1981 a
Congo
  25 Aug 1977 a
Côte d'Ivoire
   2 Nov 1999 a
Croatia 5
  12 Oct 1992 d
Cuba
   4 Sep 1952 a
Cyprus
   5 Oct 1983 a
Czech Republic 6
  30 Dec 1993 d
Denmark
12 Feb 1951
 
Djibouti
  21 Mar 1979 a
Ecuador
24 Mar 1950
 3 Apr 1979
Egypt 7
  12 Jun 1959 a
Ethiopia
  10 Sep 1981 a
Finland
27 Feb 1953
 8 Jun 1972
France
  19 Nov 1960 a
Ghana
24 Sep 2003
 
Guatemala
  13 Dec 2007 a
Guinea
  26 Apr 1962 a
Haiti
  26 Aug 1953 a
Honduras
13 Apr 1954
15 Jun 1993
Hungary
  29 Sep 1955 a
India
 9 May 1950
 9 Jan 1953
Indonesia
25 Sep 2003
 
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
16 Jul 1953
 
Iraq
  22 Sep 1955 a
Israel
  28 Dec 1950 a
Italy
  18 Jan 1980 a
Japan
   1 May 1958 a
Jordan
  13 Apr 1976 a
Kazakhstan
17 Nov 2004
24 Jan 2006
Kuwait
  20 Nov 1968 a
Kyrgyzstan
   5 Sep 1997 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic
  14 Apr 1978 a
Latvia
  14 Apr 1992 a
Lesotho
24 Sep 2003
24 Sep 2004
Liberia
21 Mar 1950
 
Libya
   3 Dec 1956 a
Luxembourg
 9 Oct 1950
 5 Oct 1983
Madagascar
 1 Oct 2001
 
Malawi
  13 Oct 1965 a
Mali
  23 Dec 1964 a
Mauritania
   6 Jun 1986 a
Mauritius
24 Sep 2003
 
Mexico
  21 Feb 1956 a
Micronesia (Federated States of)
23 Sep 2003
 2 Jun 2011
Montenegro 8
  23 Oct 2006 d
Morocco
  17 Aug 1973 a
Myanmar
14 Mar 1956
 
Nepal
  10 Dec 2002 a
Niger
  10 Jun 1977 a
Nigeria
25 Sep 2003
 
North Macedonia 5
  18 Jan 1994 d
Norway
  23 Jan 1952 a
Pakistan
21 Mar 1950
11 Jul 1952
Paraguay
26 Mar 2007
 
Philippines
20 Dec 1950
19 Sep 1952
Poland
   2 Jun 1952 a
Portugal 4
  30 Sep 1992 a
Republic of Korea
  13 Feb 1962 a
Romania
  15 Feb 1955 a
Russian Federation
  11 Aug 1954 a
Rwanda
  26 Sep 2003 a
Senegal
  19 Jul 1979 a
Serbia 5
  12 Mar 2001 d
Seychelles
   5 May 1992 a
Sierra Leone
26 Sep 2003
 
Singapore
  26 Oct 1966 a
Slovakia 6
  28 May 1993 d
Slovenia 5
   6 Jul 1992 d
South Africa
16 Oct 1950
10 Oct 1951
Spain
  18 Jun 1962 a
Sri Lanka
  15 Apr 1958 a
Syrian Arab Republic 7
  12 Jun 1959 a
Tajikistan
  19 Oct 2001 a
Togo
  14 Mar 1990 a
Ukraine 1
  15 Nov 1954 a
Uzbekistan
  27 Feb 2004 a
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
  18 Dec 1968 a
Yemen 9
   6 Apr 1989 a
Zimbabwe
  15 Nov 1995 a
Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made
upon ratification, accession or succession.)
Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Reservation:

       "Whereas, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan does not agree with the procedure of referring disputes arising between the Parties to the Convention relating to its interpretation of application, to the International Court of Justice, at the request of any one of the Parties to the dispute, therefore, it does not undertake any commitment regarding ob- servation of article 22 of the present Convention."

Albania

Albania

Declaration:

       Thanks to the conditions created by the popular democratic régime in Albania, the offences covered by this Convention do not find favourable ground for development there, since the social conditions which give rise to such offences have been elim- inated.  Nevertheless, in view of the importance of the campaign against these offences in the countries where they still exist and the international importance of that campaign, the People's Republic of Albania has decided to accede to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others adopted on 2 December 1949 at the fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Reservation to article 22:

       The People's Republic of Albania does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 22 which stipulates that any dispute between the parties to the Convention relating to its interpretation, application or execution shall, at the request of any one of the parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice.  The People's Republic of Albania declares that with respect to the competence of the International Court in that connexion, it will continue to maintain as in the past that for any dispute to be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision the agreement of all the parties to the dispute shall be necessary in each individual case.

Algeria

Algeria

       The Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 22 of the Con- vention, which provides for the compulsory competence of the International Court of Justice and declares that the agreement of all the parties to the dispute shall be necessary in each individual case for any dispute to be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision.

Belarus 10, 11, 12

Belarus10,11,12


Bulgaria 12

Bulgaria12

Declaration:

       The offences referred to in the Convention are unknown under the socialist régime of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, for the conditions favouring them have been eliminated.  Nevertheless, since it is important to counteract these offences in the countries where they still exist, and since it is important to the international community that such action should be taken, the People's Republic of Bulgaria has decided to accede to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others adopted by the fourth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 2 December 1949.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Reservation:

       "Socialist Ethiopia does not consider itself bound by article 22 of the Convention."

Finland

Finland

Reservation to article 9:

       "Finland reserves itself the right to leave the decision whether its citizens will or will not be prosecuted for a crime committed abroad to Finland's competent authority;"

France 13

France13


Hungary 11, 12, 14

Hungary11,12,14


Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Reservation:

       The Republic of Kazakhstan will implement provisions of articles 1 and 18 of the Convention within the bounds of prevention and suppression of crimes and administrative offences provided by the Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Lao People's Democratic Republic

       The Lao People's Democratic Republic does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 22 which state that disputes between the Parties to the Convention relating to its interpretation or application shall, at the request of any one of the Parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice. The Lao People's Democratic Republic declares that, with respect to the competence of the International Court concerning disputes relating to the interpretation and application of the Convention, for any dispute to be referred to the International Court of Justice the agreement of all the parties to the dispute is necessary.

Malawi

Malawi

       "The Government of Malawi accedes to this Convention with the exception of article 22 thereof, the effects of which are reserved."

Romania 12, 15

Romania12,15


Russian Federation 10

Russian Federation10

Declaration:

       In the Soviet Union the social conditions which give rise to the offences covered by the Convention have been eliminated. Nevertheless, in view of the international importance of suppressing these offences, the Government of the Soviet Union has decided to accede to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others adopted on 2 December 1949 at the fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ukraine 10

Ukraine10

Declaration:

       In the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic the social condi- tions which give rise to the offences covered by the Convention have been eliminated.  Nevertheless, in view of the international importance of suppressing these offences, the Government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic has decided to accede to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others adopted on 2 December 1949 at the fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

End Note
1.On 20 October 2015, the Government of Ukraine made a communication. The text can be found here: C.N.611.2015.TREATIES-VII.11.a of 20 October 2015.
2.Official Records of the General Assembly, Fourth Session, Resolutions (A/125 and Corr.1 and 2), p. 33.
3.The German Democratic Republic had acceded to the Convention on 16 July 1974 with a reservation and a declaration. For the text of the reservation and declaration see United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 943, p. 339.  See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
4.On 7 July 1999, the Government of Portugal informed the Secretary-General that the Convention would apply to Macao.

Subsequently, on 18 November and 3 December 1999, the Secretary-General received communications regarding the status of Macao from Portugal and China (see note 3 under “China” and note 1 under “Portgual” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume).  Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, China notified the Secretary-General that the Convention will also apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region.

5.The former Yugoslavia had signed and ratified the Convention on 6 February 1951 and 26 April 1951, respectively. See also note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina", "Croatia", "former Yugoslavia", "Slovenia", "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and "Yugoslavia" in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
6.Czechoslovakia had acceded to the Convention on 14 March 1958. See also note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
7.Accession by the United Arab Republic. See also note 1 under “United Arab Republic” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
8.See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.
9.The formality was effected by the Yemen Arab Republic.   See also note 1 under “Yemen” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
10.In communications received on 8 March 1989, 19 April 1989 and 20 April 1989, respectively, the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Belarus and Ukraine, notified the Secretary-General that they had decided to withdraw the reservations relating to article 22 made upon accession.  For the texts of the reservations see United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 196, p. 349, vol. 1527 and vol. 201, p. 372, respectively.
11.The Government of the Philippines informed the Secretary-General that it objects to the reservations made by the Governments of Belarus and Hungary because it feels that the reference to the International Court of Justice of any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of the Convention should not be made dependent on the consent of all parties.
12.In a communication received on 13 May 1955, the Government of Haiti informed the Secretary-General that it considers that in case of dispute it should be possible for either of the Contracting Parties concerned, without previous agreement between them, to refer a dispute to the International Court of Justice and that consequently it does not accept the reservation entered into by Bulgaria.

On that same date, the Government of South Africa informed the Secretary-General that it regards article 22 as fundamental to the Convention and cannot, therefore, accept the reservation entered into by Bulgaria.

Similar communications were received by the Secretary-General from the Governments of Haiti and South Africa in respect of the reservations made by the Governments of Belarus, Hungary and Romania.

On 24 June 1992, the Government of Bulgaria notified the  Secretary-General its decision to withdraw the reservation to article 22 of the Convention made upon accession which reads as follows:

The People's Republic of Bulgaria declares, with respect to the competence of the International Court of Justice in disputes relating to the interpretation or application of the Convention, that the consent of all the parties to the dispute is necessary in each particular case before any dispute whatsoever can be referred to the Court.

13.On 11 March 2005, the Government of France informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw its declaration made upon accession, which reads as follows:

The Government of the French Republic declares that, until further notice, this Convention will only be applicable to the metropolitan territory of the French Republic.

14.In a communication received on 8 December 1989, the Government of Hungary notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw its reservation relating to article 22 made upon accession.  For the text of the reservation see United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 1427, p. 407.
15.In a communication received on 2 April 1997, the Government of Romania notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw its reservation relating to article 22 made upon accession.