UNTC

STATUS AS AT : 18-09-2024 03:15:27 EDT

CHAPTER XXVII

ENVIRONMENT

10. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa

Paris, 14 October 1994

Entry into force

26 December 1996, in accordance with article 36(1).

Registration

26 December 1996, No. 33480

Status

Signatories : 114. Parties : 197. ¹

Text

Certified true copy

United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 1954, p. 3; depositary notification C.N.176.1995.TREATIES-6 of 27 July 1995 (procès-verbal of rectification of the authentic Chinese text); C.N.513.2000.TREATIES-9 of 19 July 2000 (procès-verbal of rectification of the authentic russian text); C.N.1490.2000.TREATIES-16 of 6 March 2001 (adoption of annex V) and C.N.866.2001.TREATIES-5 of 17 September 2001 (Entry into force of Annex V)².

Note

The Convention was adopted on 17 June 1994 by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the elaboration of an international convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (established pursuant to resolution 47/188³ of the General Assembly dated 22 December 1992), during its Fifth session held at Paris. The Convention was open for signature at Paris by all States and regional economic integration organizations on 14 and 15 October 1994. Thereafter, it remained open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until 13 October 1995.

Participant	Signature	Ratification, Accession(a), Acceptance(A)
Afghanistan		1 Nov 1995 a
Albania		27 Apr 2000 a
Algeria	14 Oct 1994	22 May 1996
Andorra		15 Jul 2002 a
Angola	14 Oct 1994	30 Jun 1997
Antigua and Barbuda	4 Apr 1995	6 Jun 1997
Argentina	15 Oct 1994	6 Jan 1997
Armenia	14 Oct 1994	2 Jul 1997
Australia	14 Oct 1994	15 May 2000
Austria		2 Jun 1997 a
Azerbaijan		10 Aug 1998 a
Bahamas		10 Nov 2000 a
Bahrain		14 Jul 1997 a
Bangladesh	14 Oct 1994	26 Jan 1996
Barbados		14 May 1997 a
Belarus		29 Aug 2001 a
Belgium		30 Jun 1997 a
Belize		23 Jul 1998 a
Benin	14 Oct 1994	29 Aug 1996
Bhutan		20 Aug 2003 a
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	14 Oct 1994	1 Aug 1996
Bosnia and Herzegovina		26 Aug 2002 a
Botswana	12 Oct 1995	11 Sep 1996
Brazil	14 Oct 1994	25 Jun 1997
Brunei Darussalam		4 Dec 2002 a
Bulgaria		21 Feb 2001 a
Burkina Faso	14 Oct 1994	26 Jan 1996
Burundi	14 Oct 1994	6 Jan 1997
Cabo Verde	14 Oct 1994	8 May 1995
Cambodia	15 Oct 1994	18 Aug 1997
Cameroon	14 Oct 1994	29 May 1997
Canada ⁴		21 Dec 2016 a
Central African Republic	14 Oct 1994	5 Sep 1996
Chad	14 Oct 1994	27 Sep 1996
Chile	3 Mar 1995	11 Nov 1997
China	14 Oct 1994	18 Feb 1997
Colombia	14 Oct 1994	8 Jun 1999
Comoros	14 Oct 1994	3 Mar 1998
Congo	15 Oct 1994	12 Jul 1999
Cook Islands		21 Aug 1998 a
Costa Rica	15 Oct 1994	5 Jan 1998
Côte d'Ivoire	15 Oct 1994	4 Mar 1997
Croatia	15 Oct 1994	6 Oct 2000 A
Cuba	15 Oct 1994	13 Mar 1997
Cyprus		29 Mar 2000 a
Czech Republic		25 Jan 2000 a
Democratic People's Republic of Korea		29 Dec 2003 a
Democratic Republic of the Congo	14 Oct 1994	12 Sep 1997
Denmark	15 Oct 1994	22 Dec 1995
Djibouti	15 Oct 1994	12 Jun 1997
Dominica		8 Dec 1997 a
Dominican Republic		26 Jun 1997 a
Ecuador	19 Jan 1995	6 Sep 1995
Egypt	14 Oct 1994	7 Jul 1995
El Salvador		27 Jun 1997 a
Equatorial Guinea	14 Oct 1994	27 Jun 1997
Eritrea	14 Oct 1994	14 Aug 1996
Estonia		8 Feb 2012 a
Eswatini	27 Jul 1995	7 Oct 1996
Ethiopia	15 Oct 1994	27 Jun 1997
European Union	14 Oct 1994	26 Mar 1998
Fiji		26 Aug 1998 a
Finland	15 Oct 1994	20 Sep 1995 A
France	14 Oct 1994	12 Jun 1997
Gabon		6 Sep 1996 a
Gambia	14 Oct 1994	11 Jun 1996
Georgia	15 Oct 1994	23 Jul 1999
Germany	14 Oct 1994	10 Jul 1996
Ghana	15 Oct 1994	27 Dec 1996
Greece	14 Oct 1994	5 May 1997
Grenada		28 May 1997 a
Guatemala		10 Sep 1998 a
Guinea	14 Oct 1994	23 Jun 1997
Guinea-Bissau	15 Oct 1994	27 Oct 1995
Guyana		26 Jun 1997 a
Haiti	15 Oct 1994	25 Sep 1996
Honduras	22 Feb 1995	25 Jun 1997
Hungary		13 Jul 1999 a
Iceland		3 Jun 1997 a
India	14 Oct 1994	17 Dec 1996
Indonesia	15 Oct 1994	31 Aug 1998
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	14 Oct 1994	29 Apr 1997
Iraq		28 May 2010 a
Ireland	15 Oct 1994	31 Jul 1997
Israel	14 Oct 1994	26 Mar 1996
Italy	14 Oct 1994	23 Jun 1997
Jamaica		12 Nov 1997 a
Japan	14 Oct 1994	11 Sep 1998 A
Jordan	13 Apr 1995	21 Oct 1996
Kazakhstan	14 Oct 1994	9 Jul 1997
Kenya	14 Oct 1994	24 Jun 1997
Kiribati		8 Sep 1998 a
Kuwait	22 Sep 1995	27 Jun 1997
Kyrgyzstan		19 Sep 1997 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic	30 Aug 1995	20 Sep 1996 A
Latvia		21 Oct 2002 a
Lebanon	14 Oct 1994	16 May 1996
Lesotho	15 Oct 1994	12 Sep 1995
Liberia		2 Mar 1998 a
Libya	15 Oct 1994	22 Jul 1996
Liechtenstein		29 Dec 1999 a
Lithuania		25 Jul 2003 a
Luxembourg	14 Oct 1994	4 Feb 1997
Madagascar	14 Oct 1994	25 Jun 1997
Malawi	17 Jan 1995	13 Jun 1996
Malaysia	6 Oct 1995	25 Jun 1997
Maldives		3 Sep 2002 a
Mali	15 Oct 1994	31 Oct 1995
Malta	15 Oct 1994	30 Jan 1998
Marshall Islands		2 Jun 1998 a
Mauritania	14 Oct 1994	7 Aug 1996
Mauritius	17 Mar 1995	23 Jan 1996
Mexico	15 Oct 1994	3 Apr 1995
Micronesia (Federated States of)	12 Dec 1994	25 Mar 1996
Monaco		5 Mar 1999 a
Mongolia	15 Oct 1994	3 Sep 1996
Montenegro		4 Jun 2007 a
Morocco	15 Oct 1994	7 Nov 1996
Mozambique	28 Sep 1995	13 Mar 1997
Myanmar		2 Jan 1997 a
Namibia	24 Oct 1994	16 May 1997
Nauru		22 Sep 1998 a
Nepal	12 Oct 1995	15 Oct 1996
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) ⁵	15 Oct 1994	27 Jun 1995 A
New Zealand ⁶		7 Sep 2000 a
Nicaragua	21 Nov 1994	17 Feb 1998
Niger	14 Oct 1994	19 Jan 1996
Nigeria	31 Oct 1994	8 Jul 1997
Niue		14 Aug 1998 a
North Macedonia		6 Mar 2002 a
Norway	15 Oct 1994	30 Aug 1996
Oman		23 Jul 1996 a
Pakistan	15 Oct 1994	24 Feb 1997
Palau		15 Jun 1999 a
Panama	22 Feb 1995	4 Apr 1996
Papua New Guinea		6 Dec 2000 a
Paraguay	1 Dec 1994	15 Jan 1997
Peru	15 Oct 1994	9 Nov 1995
Philippines	8 Dec 1994	10 Feb 2000
Poland		14 Nov 2001 a
Portugal	14 Oct 1994	1 Apr 1996
Qatar		15 Mar 1999 a
Republic of Korea	14 Oct 1994	17 Aug 1999
Republic of Moldova		10 Mar 1999 a
Romania		19 Aug 1998 a
Russian Federation		29 May 2003 a
Rwanda	22 Jun 1995	22 Oct 1998
Samoa		21 Aug 1998 a
San Marino		23 Jul 1999 a
Sao Tome and Principe	4 Oct 1995	8 Jul 1998
Saudi Arabia		25 Jun 1997 a
Senegal	14 Oct 1994	26 Jul 1995
Serbia		18 Dec 2007 a
Seychelles	14 Oct 1994	26 Jun 1997
Sierra Leone	11 Nov 1994	25 Sep 1997
Singapore		26 Apr 1999 a
Slovakia		7 Jan 2002 a
Slovenia		28 Jun 2001 a
Solomon Islands		16 Apr 1999 a
Somalia		24 Jul 2002 a
South Africa	9 Jan 1995	30 Sep 1997
South Sudan		17 Feb 2014 a
Spain	14 Oct 1994	30 Jan 1996
Sri Lanka		9 Dec 1998 a
St. Kitts and Nevis		30 Jun 1997 a
St. Lucia		2 Jul 1997 a
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	15 Oct 1994	16 Mar 1998
State of Palestine		29 Dec 2017 a
Sudan	15 Oct 1994	24 Nov 1995
Suriname		1 Jun 2000 a
Sweden	15 Oct 1994	12 Dec 1995
Switzerland	14 Oct 1994	19 Jan 1996
Syrian Arab Republic	15 Oct 1994	10 Jun 1997
Tajikistan		16 Jul 1997 a
Thailand		7 Mar 2001 a
Timor-Leste		20 Aug 2003 a
Togo	15 Oct 1994	4 Oct 1995 A
Tonga		25 Sep 1998 a
Trinidad and Tobago		8 Jun 2000 a
Tunisia	14 Oct 1994	11 Oct 1995
Türkiye	14 Oct 1994	31 Mar 1998
Turkmenistan	27 Mar 1995	18 Sep 1996
Tuvalu		14 Sep 1998 a
Uganda	21 Nov 1994	25 Jun 1997
Ukraine		27 Aug 2002 a
United Arab Emirates		21 Oct 1998 a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ⁷	14 Oct 1994	18 Oct 1996
United Republic of Tanzania	14 Oct 1994	19 Jun 1997
United States of America	14 Oct 1994	17 Nov 2000
Uruguay		17 Feb 1999 a
Uzbekistan	7 Dec 1994	31 Oct 1995
Vanuatu	28 Sep 1995	10 Aug 1999
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)		29 Jun 1998 a
Viet Nam		25 Aug 1998 a
Yemen		14 Jan 1997 a
Zambia	15 Oct 1994	19 Sep 1996
Zimbabwe	15 Oct 1994	23 Sep 1997

Declarations

(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations were made upon ratification,
accession or acceptance.)

Algeria

Declaration:

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 28, paragraph 2, of the [said Convention], to the effect that any dispute must be submitted to the International Court of Justice.

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria declares that for a dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice, the consent of both parties will be necessary in each case.

Austria

Declaration:

"The Republic of Austria declares in accordance with article 28 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute in paragraph 2 as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement."

Estonia

Declaration:

“In accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 34 of the Convention, any additional regional implementation annex or an amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force with respect to the Republic of Estonia only upon the deposit of its instrument of approval of such annex or amendment with the Depositary.”

Guatemala

Declaration:

The Republic of Guatemala declares that, in respect of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, it recognizes arbitration in accordance with procedures adopted by the Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practicable as a means of dispute settlement, compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation. This declaration shall remain in force until three months after written notice of its revocation has been deposited with the Depositary.

Kuwait

Declaration:

With respect to the State of Kuwait, any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession with respect thereto.

Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

Declaration:

"The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 28 of [the said Convention] that it accepts both means of dispute settlement referred to in that paragraph as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting one or both of these means of dispute settlement."

New Zealand

Declaration:

“Any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for New Zealand only upon the Government of New Zealand’s deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.”

United States of America

Understandings:

" (1) Foreign assistance.-- The United States understands that, as a "developed country," pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention and its Annexes, it is not obligated to satisfy specific funding requirements or other specific requirements regarding the provision of any resource, including technology, to any "affected country," as defined in Article 1 of the Convention. The United States understands that ratification of the Convention does not alter its domestic legal processes to determine foreign assistance funding or programs.

(2) Financial resources and mechanism.-- The United States understands that neither Article 20 nor Article 21 of the Convention impose obligations to provide specific levels of funding for the Global Environmental Facility, or the Global Mechanism, to carry out the objectives of the Convention, or for any other purpose.

(3) United States land management.-- The United States understands that it is a "developed country party" as defined in Article 1 of the Convention, and that it is not required to prepare a national action program pursuant to Part III, Section 1, of the Convention. The United States also understands that no changes to its existing land management practices and programs will be required to meet its obligations under Articles 4 or 5 of the Convention.

(4) Legal process for amending the Convention.-- In accordance with Article 34 (4), any additional regional implementation annex to the Convention or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for the United States only upon the deposit of a corresponding instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

(5) Dispute settlement.-- The United States declines to accept as compulsory either of the dispute settlement means set out in Article 28(2), and understands that it will not be bound by the outcome, findings, conclusions or recommendations of a conciliation process initiated under Article 28 (6). For any dispute arising from this Convention, the United States does not recognize or accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice."

End Note

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.
2At the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the above Convention, held in Bonn, Germany, from 11 to 22 December 2000, the Regional Implementation Annex for Central and Eastern Europe to the above Convention (Annex V) was adopted by decision 7/COP.4 of 22 December 2000 (12th Plenary meeting). None of the Parties having submitted a notification in accordance with the provisions of article 31 (3) (a) or a declaration in accordance with the provisions of article 31 (3) (b) of the Convention, the adoption of annex V became effective for all Parties to the Convention on the expiry of six months from the date of its notification ( 6 March 2001) in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 31, i.e. on 6 September 2001.
3 Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 49 (A/47/49) (Vol.I), p. 137.
4Canada had signed the Convention on 14 October 1994 and had ratified it subsequently on 1 December 1995. Thereafter, on 28 March 2013, in accordance with its article 38 (2), the Government of Canada had notified the Secretary-General of its decision to withdraw from the Convention. The withdrawal took effect on 28 March 2014. On 21 December 2016, Canada deposited with the Secretary-General an instrument of accession to the Convention.
5For the Kingdom in Europe.
6With a declaration to the effect that “consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account its commitment to the development of self-government through an act of sef-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.”
7For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , the British Virgin Islands, St. Helena and Ascension Island. Subsequently, on 24 December 1996, the Government of the United Kingdom notified the Secretary-General that the Convention would apply to Montserrat.

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