UNTC

Declarations and Reservations

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

Holy See

Declaration:
�In acceding to the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as well as its four Amendments: London (1990), Copenhagen (1992), Montreal (1997) and Beijing (1999), the Holy See desires to encourage the entire International Community to be resolute in promoting authentic cooperation between politics, science and economics. Such cooperation, as has been shown in the case of the ozone regime, can achieve important outcomes, which make it simultaneously possible to safeguard creation, to promote integral human development and to care for the common good, in a spirit of responsible solidarity and with profound positive repercussions for present and future generations.
In conformity with its own nature and with the particular character of Vatican City State, the Holy See, by means of the solemn act of accession, intends to give its own moral support to the commitment of States to the correct and effective implementation of the Treaties in question and to the attaining of the mentioned objectives. To this end, it expresses the wish that by recognizing �the signs of [an economic growth] that has not always been able to protect the delicate balances of nature� (Homily of Pope Benedict XVI at Loreto, 2 September 2007), all actors will intensify the aforesaid cooperation and strengthen �the alliance between man and the environment, which must mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and to whom we are bound�(Benedict XVI, After the Angelus, 16 September 2007).�

End Note

1.In this regard, the Secretary-General received the following objection:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (20 December 1999):

"With regard to the authentic English text, the Government of the United Kingdom considers the original text of both article 3 (1) and article 3 (3) of the Amendment to be correct. The Government therefore objects to the proposal to correct the text of these two paragraphs by the addition of the words 'or accession'.

The Government of the United Kingdom respectfully draws the attention of the Secretary-General to article 9, paragraph 5, of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and to article 14 of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The effect of these provisions is that amendments to the Protocol are subject to ratification, approval or acceptance. There is no provision for accession to amendments. The Government therefore believes that the addition of the words proposed by the Secretary-General would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol which apply to the entry into force of amendments to the Protocol.

The Government of the United Kingdom also notes that the existing wording of the authentic English text of article 3 (1) and article 3 (3) of the 1997 Amendment is consistent with the wording used in previous amendments to the Montreal Protocol, namely article 2 of the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol adopted at London in 1990 and article 3 of the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol adopted at Copenhagen in 1992.

The Secretary-General's Depositary Notification refers to errors in the first sentence of article 3 (1) (except French version). The Government of the United Kingdom has not seen the authentic French version ofarticle 3 (1), which was not attached to the Depositary Notification, but would respectfully suggest that the Secretary-General may wish to consider whether there are errors in the French version."

2.In a communication received on 3 December 2009, the Government of Denmark notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the declaration, made upon ratification to the Amendment, relating to the territorial exclusion in respect of the Faroe Islands.

3.See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.

4.See also note 1 under "New Zealand" regarding Tokelau in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.