Depositary
STATUS AS AT : 12-12-2024 12:17:35 EDT
CHAPTER IV
HUMAN RIGHTS
7. International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
New York, 30 November 1973
Entry into force
:
18 July 1976, in accordance with article XV(1).
Registration :
18 July 1976, No. 14861
Status :
Signatories : 31. Parties : 110
Text : Certified true copy
United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 1015, p. 243.
Note :
The Convention was opened for signature at New York on 30 November 1973.
Participant 1
Signature
 Ratification, Accession(a), Succession(d)
Afghanistan
    6 Jul 1983 a
Algeria
 23 Jan 1974
26 May 1982
Antigua and Barbuda
    7 Oct 1982 a
Argentina
  6 Jun 1975
 7 Nov 1985
Armenia
   23 Jun 1993 a
Azerbaijan
   16 Aug 1996 a
Bahamas
   31 Mar 1981 a
Bahrain
   27 Mar 1990 a
Bangladesh
    5 Feb 1985 a
Barbados
    7 Feb 1979 a
Belarus
  4 Mar 1974
 2 Dec 1975
Benin
  7 Oct 1974
30 Dec 1974
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
    6 Oct 1983 a
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2
   1 Sep 1993 d
Bulgaria
 27 Jun 1974
18 Jul 1974
Burkina Faso
  3 Feb 1976
24 Oct 1978
Burundi
   12 Jul 1978 a
Cabo Verde
   12 Jun 1979 a
Cambodia 3
  28 Jul 1981 a
Cameroon
    1 Nov 1976 a
Central African Republic
    8 May 1981 a
Chad
 23 Oct 1974
23 Oct 1974
China
   18 Apr 1983 a
Colombia
   23 May 1988 a
Congo
    5 Oct 1983 a
Costa Rica
   15 Oct 1986 a
Croatia 2
  12 Oct 1992 d
Cuba
    1 Feb 1977 a
Czech Republic 4
  22 Feb 1993 d
Democratic Republic of the Congo
   11 Jul 1978 a
Ecuador
 12 Mar 1975
12 May 1975
Egypt
   13 Jun 1977 a
El Salvador
   30 Nov 1979 a
Estonia
   21 Oct 1991 a
Ethiopia
   19 Sep 1978 a
Gabon
   29 Feb 1980 a
Gambia
   29 Dec 1978 a
Georgia
   21 Mar 2005 a
Ghana
    1 Aug 1978 a
Guatemala
   15 Jun 2005 a
Guinea
  1 Mar 1974
 3 Mar 1975
Guyana
   30 Sep 1977 a
Haiti
   19 Dec 1977 a
Honduras
   29 Apr 2005 a
Hungary
 26 Apr 1974
20 Jun 1974
India
   22 Sep 1977 a
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
   17 Apr 1985 a
Iraq
  1 Jul 1975
 9 Jul 1975
Jamaica
 30 Mar 1976
18 Feb 1977
Jordan
  5 Jun 1974
 1 Jul 1992
Kenya
  2 Oct 1974
 
Kuwait
   23 Feb 1977 a
Kyrgyzstan
    5 Sep 1997 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic
    5 Oct 1981 a
Latvia
   14 Apr 1992 a
Lesotho
    4 Nov 1983 a
Liberia
    5 Nov 1976 a
Libya
    8 Jul 1976 a
Madagascar
   26 May 1977 a
Maldives
   24 Apr 1984 a
Mali
   19 Aug 1977 a
Mauritania
   13 Dec 1988 a
Mexico
    4 Mar 1980 a
Mongolia
 17 May 1974
 8 Aug 1975
Montenegro 5
  23 Oct 2006 d
Mozambique
   18 Apr 1983 a
Namibia 6
  11 Nov 1982 a
Nepal
   12 Jul 1977 a
Nicaragua
   28 Mar 1980 a
Niger
   28 Jun 1978 a
Nigeria
 26 Jun 1974
31 Mar 1977
North Macedonia 2
  18 Jan 1994 d
Oman
  3 Apr 1974
22 Aug 1991
Pakistan
   27 Feb 1986 a
Panama
  7 May 1976
16 Mar 1977
Paraguay
    2 Dec 2005 a
Peru
    1 Nov 1978 a
Philippines
  2 May 1974
26 Jan 1978
Poland
  7 Jun 1974
15 Mar 1976
Qatar
 18 Mar 1975
19 Mar 1975
Republic of Moldova
   28 Oct 2005 a
Romania
  6 Sep 1974
15 Aug 1978
Russian Federation
 12 Feb 1974
26 Nov 1975
Rwanda
 15 Oct 1974
23 Jan 1981
Sao Tome and Principe
    5 Oct 1979 a
Senegal
   18 Feb 1977 a
Serbia 2
  12 Mar 2001 d
Seychelles
   13 Feb 1978 a
Slovakia 4
  28 May 1993 d
Slovenia 2
   6 Jul 1992 d
Somalia
  2 Aug 1974
28 Jan 1975
South Africa
   14 May 2024 a
Sri Lanka
   18 Feb 1982 a
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
    9 Nov 1981 a
State of Palestine
    2 Apr 2014 a
Sudan
 10 Oct 1974
21 Mar 1977
Suriname
    3 Jun 1980 a
Syrian Arab Republic
 17 Jan 1974
18 Jun 1976
Togo
   24 May 1984 a
Trinidad and Tobago
  7 Apr 1975
26 Oct 1979
Tunisia
   21 Jan 1977 a
Uganda
 11 Mar 1975
10 Jun 1986
Ukraine
 20 Feb 1974
10 Nov 1975
United Arab Emirates
  9 Sep 1975
15 Oct 1975
United Republic of Tanzania
   11 Jun 1976 a
Uruguay
   19 Apr 2012 a
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
   28 Jan 1983 a
Viet Nam
    9 Jun 1981 a
Yemen 7
  17 Aug 1987 a
Zambia
   14 Feb 1983 a
Zimbabwe
   13 May 1991 a
Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made
upon ratification, accession or succession.)
Argentina

Declaration:

       It is the understanding of the Argentine Republic that article XII of the Convention should be interpreted to mean that its express consent shall be required in order for any dispute to which it is a party and which has not been settled by negotiation to be brought before the International Court of Justice.
Bahrain 8

Egypt 9

India

       "The Government of the Republic of India accede to the said Convention with effect from 17 August 1977."
Iraq

       Ratification by the Republic of Iraq of the above Convention shall in no way imply recognition of Israel, or be conducive to the establishment of such relations therewith as may be provided for in the Convention.
Kuwait 10

       "It is understood that the Accession of the State of Kuwait [. . .] does not mean in any way recognition of Israel by the State of Kuwait."
Mozambique

       The People's Republic of Mozambique interprets article 12 of the Convention as to mean that the submission of any dispute concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention to the International Court of Justice shall be at the previous consent and request of all the parties to the dispute.
Nepal

       "The Constitution of Nepal contains provisions for the protection of individual rights, including the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form unions and associations not motivated by party politics and the right to freedom of professing his/her own religion; and nothing in the Convention shall be deemed to require or to authorize legislation or other action by Nepal incompatible with the provisions of the Constitution of Nepal.

       "His Majesty's Government interprets article 4 of the said Convention as requiring a Party to the Convention to adopt further legislative measures in the fields covered by sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of that article only insofar as His Majesty's Government may consider, with due regard to the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that some legislative addition to, or variation of, existing law and practice in those fields is necessary for the attainment of the end specified in the earlier part of article 4.

       "His Majesty's Government does not consider itself bound by the provision of article 12 of the Convention under which any dispute between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation or application of the Convention is, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, to be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision."
Republic of Moldova

Reservation:

       Until the full establishment of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, the provisions of the Convention will be applied only on the territory effectively controlled by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova.
United Arab Emirates

       "The ratification of the United Arab Emirates to this Convention shall in no way amount to recognition of nor the establishment of any treaty relations with Israel."
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

       With a reservation excluding the provisions of article XII of the Convention.
Yemen 7, 10

       The accession of the Government of the Yemen Arab Republic to this Convention shall in no way imply recognition of Israel or the establishment of such relations therewith as may be provided for in the Convention.
End Note
1The German Democratic Republic had signed and ratified the Convention on 2 May 1974 and 12 August 1974 (See C.N.216.1974.TREATIES-9), respectively. See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
2The former Yugoslavia had signed and ratified the Convention on 17 December 1974 and 1 July 1975, 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.
3The Secretary-General received, on 10 September 1981 from the Government of Viet Nam, the following objection with regard to the accession of Democratic Kampuchea:
"The accession to the above-mentioned international Convention on behalf of the so-called `Government of Kampuchea' by the genocidal clique of Pol Pot-Ieng Sary-Khieu Samphan, which was overthrown on 7 January 1979 by the Kampuchean people, is completely illegal and has no legal value.  Only the Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, which is actually in power in Kampuchea, is empowered to represent the Kampuchea people and to sign and accede to international agreements and conventions.
As a party to that Convention, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is of the opinion that the accession of the so-called `Government of Democratic Kampuchea' constitutes not only a gross violation of the standards of law and international morality, but also one of the most cynical affronts to the three million Kampucheans who are the victims of the most despicable crime of contemporary history, committed by the Pol Pot régime which is spurned by the whole of mankind."
Thereafter, similar communications objecting to the signature by Democratic Kampuchea were received by the Secretary-General on 14 September 1981 from the Government of the German Democratic Republic, on 12 November 1981 from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, on 19 November 1981 from the Government of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, on 3 December 1981 from the Government of Hungary, on 5 January 1982 from the Government of Bulgaria, on 13 January 1982 from the Government of Mongolia, and on 17 May 1982 from the Government of Czechoslovakia.
4Czechoslovakia had signed and ratified the Convention on 29 August 1975 and  25 March 1976, respectively. See also note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
5See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.
6See note 1 under “Namibia”  in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
7Democratic Yemen had signed the Convention on 31 July 1974 (See, C.N.203.1974.TREATIES-8 of 19 August 1974).  See also note 1 under “Yemen” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
8On 8 July 2021, the Government of Bahrain notified the Secretary-General of its withdrawal of the following reservation made upon accession:

“The accession by the State of Bahrain to the said Convention shall in no way constitute recognition of Israel or be a cause for the establishment of any relations of any kind therewith.”
9Upon accession, the Government of Egypt had formulated a declaration concerning Israel. For the text of the declaration, see United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 1045, p. 397.  In this regard, the Secretary-General received, on 30 August 1977, a declaration from the Government of Israel identical in essence,  mutatis mutandis , as the one made with regard to the accession by Kuwait (see note 9 ).
Subsequently, in a notification received on 18 January 1980, the Government of Egypt informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the declaration.  The notification indicates 25 January 1980 as the effective date of the withdrawal.
10The Secretary-General received, on 12 May 1977 from the Government of Israel, the following communication:
"The instrument deposited by the Government of Kuwait contains a statement of a political character in respect to Israel.  In the view of the Government of Israel, this is not the proper place for making such political pronouncements,  which are, moreover, in flagrant contradiction to the principles, objects and purposes of the Organization.  That pronouncement by the Government of Kuwait cannot in any way affect whatever obligations are binding upon Kuwait under general international law or under particular treaties.  The Government of Israel will, insofar as concerns the substance of the matter, adopt towards the Government of Kuwait an attitude of complete reciprocity."
A communication identical in essence,  mutatis mutandis , was received by the Secretary-General from the Government of Israel, on 15 December 1987, in respect of the declaration made upon accession by Yemen.
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