Important Conventions/Declarations/Agreements

(Please Note that I have tried to make an exhaustive list, though I might have missed some. Also note that you do not need to remember every detail about the treaties and conventions. Just remember - Where they were signed, When (year), Whether India is a signatory and Get a rough idea of what they are about. This is the first part of the list) 1. Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907: The Hague conventions were negotiated at The Hague, Netherlands. They are the first statements of laws of war and was crimes as part of International law. Aim was to create a court of compulsory arbitration for international disputes. The Decleration in 1899 banned use of modern technology in warfare like aerial bombing, chemical warfare. 1907 decleration further extended it.Geneva Protocol to the Hague convention permanently banned all forms of chemical and biological warfare. India is not a signatory to it. 2. Geneva Conventions, 1864, 1906, 1929,1949: International Law relating protection of those who are not or no longer taking part in the international conflict(wounded and sick soldiers, Prisoners of war, civilians, medical aid workers etc). Do not learn, just for more information: * First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the FIELD, 1864 * Second Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at SEA, 1906 * Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1929 * Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 1949 India has signed and ratified it. Followed after NUREMBERG TRIALS of Nazi war Criminals.

3. Berne Convention (September 9,1886 at Berne Switzerland): Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works usually called the Berne convention is International Law governing copyrights. It requires the signatories to recognize the copyright of the literary and artistic works of another country in the same way as they recognize their own. Also it makes copyright automatic without requiring any formal registration. Any work apart from photographic ( 25 years from creation) or cinematographic( 50 yrs from first showing), the protection is for at least 50 years after the death of author. India is a signatory. Do not confuse it with 1. Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, 1979. 2. Treaty of Bern (1874) which established the General Postal Union which today is the Universal Postal Union. India is a member. 4. United Nations Conference on Human Environment (June,1972): Held in Stockholm, Sweden. Protection of Ecology and Environment along with development (the concept of Sustainable Development) was the main focus. June 5 is World Environment Day as International Conference started on this day. Prime minister, Indira Gandhi represented India. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, headquartered at Nairobi, Kenya) was born out of this Conference. 5. Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer Held after a hole was observed in the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctica. Agreed upon at Vienna conference in 1985 and came into force in 1988. Control CFC production and consumption to save environment from pollution. Montreal Protocol (1987) to Vienna convention legally binding goals on the use of CFCs. 196 signatories (including India) 6. Earth Summit (1992) at Rio De Janeiro: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol. Agenda 21 (UN action plan for Sustainable development) drafted here. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) was created in this summit. Brundtland Commission provided the momentum to convene the earth summit.

7. United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change : Treaty formed at the Earth Summit held at RIO in 1992 aiming to stabilize the composition on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. India signed it in 1992 and ratified it in 1993. This did not have any binding Greenhouse Gas mitigation commitments for developing nations like India. The parties to the convention meet annually in the Conference of Parties. (COP15- Copenhagen, COP16- Cancun, Mexico COP17 Durban, South Africa.) 8. Kyoto Conference (1997): Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC was signed to reduce green house effect. Under this Protocol, 37 industrialized countries commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups PFCs (perfluorocarbons) and HFCs (Hydrofluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries give general commitments. It was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. India Acceded to it in 2002. 7. World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002): Concluded at Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002. The agenda was to discuss Sustainable growth plans by the member countries of the UN. Also called Earth summit 2002 and RIO +10( for obvious reasons). USA didnt attend this conference. Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development was adopted which focused on "the worldwide conditions that pose severe threats to the sustainable development of our people, which include: chronic hunger; malnutrition; foreign occupation; armed conflict; illicit drug problems; organized crime; corruption; natural disasters; illicit arms trafficking; trafficking in persons; terrorism; intolerance and incitement to racial, ethnic, religious and other hatreds; xenophobia; and endemic, communicable and chronic diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis." 9. Basel Convention : Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was designed to reduce the movement of hazardous wastes across borders esp. from Developed Countries lo Less Developed countries. Signed 1989. Ratified in 1992. Does not address the problem of radioactive wastes. India is a signatory.

10. Bonn Convention on the Migratory Species of wild animals, signed in 1979 in Bonn, Germany and came into force in 1983. 11.. Vienna Congress (1815): First treaty on International Law. 12. Vienna Convention (1961): Law relating to diplomatic relations among States. Talks about diplomatic immunities and privileges of a diplomatic mission. (Eg. Ambassadors and other diplomats posted in other countries have rights and privileges this is to protect them from any harm occurring due to conflict, etc) India has neither signed nor ratified.

13. Maastricht Treaty : The Maastricht Treaty( Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7th Feb, 1992 in Maastricht , Netherlands and entered into force in 1993. It created a single currency for the European Union Countries The Euro. It also created the Three pillared Structure of the EU. ( not important). 14. Treaty of Lisbon: It was signed by European Union member states in December, 2007. It amends the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht; 1992) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (Rome; 1957). Important changes are a more powerful European Parliament, a long term President of the European Council. It made the Charter of Fundamental Rights ( EUs own charter) legally binding.

P.S Others amending treaties were Amsterdam Treaty(1997) and Nice treaty (2001)

15. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: It is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted in 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002. Among other things, the statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction and structure. There are 113(Seychelles and Saint Lucia became parties on 1st Nov, 2010) parties as of now. Moldova will be be latest member to join on 1st Jan 2011. An additional 34 countries signed it but not ratified it. India is NOT a signatory to it.

16. Bretton Woods Agreement : Bretton woods conference was convened as an aftermath of the Great depression of the 1930s. 44 allied countries met at Hotel Mount Washington of New Hampshire resort town of Bretton Woods, USA foe the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. As a result the bretton woods agreement was signed in July, 1944 which established the rules,institutions and procedures for financial relations between major industrial nations. It established the International Bank for Reconstuction and Development( IBRD later divided into World Bank and Bank for International Settlements) and the International Monetary Fund(IMF).It also introduced the system of interconvertibility of currencies in terms of gold.

17. WIPO Copyright Treaty: It was adopted by member states of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 1996. It provides additional protections for copyright . Also covers Computer Programs and gives the author the right to control rental and distribution. India has not ratified it yet.

18. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT): The treaty was opened to signing on July 1, 1968 and came into force on 5 March 1970 .189 states are party to the treaty. Only 5 countries (permanent members of UN security council) - US, Russia, China, France, UK are allowed to possess Nuclear Weapons. Nonnuclear weapon States were prohibited from, inter alia, possessing, manufacturing or acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. All signatories were committed to the goal of nuclear disarmament. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003. Ireland and Finland were the first to propose and sign it. India, Pakistan and Israel are NON signatories.

19. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty : It bans all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilian purposes. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996. It opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996. As of May 2010, 153 nations have ratified it and another 29 have signed but not ratified it. India Is NOT a signatory to it. Not yet entered into force.

20. Biological Weapons Convention: Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction. This was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons. It entered into force on March 26, 1975. This convention prohibits to developing, production, stockpiling or otherwise acquiring or retaining microbial or other biological agents except for peaceful purposes. India is a signatory.

21. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade : It was negotiated at the UN Conference on Trade and Employment . GATT was formed in 1949 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995. But the original agreement is still in effect under WTO framework. India Signed it on 8th July, 1948.

22. General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS): It is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995. It was the formed after the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for merchandise trade. All WTO members are party to this agreement including India.

22. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification: It is a convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements. It entered into force in 1996. India is a signatory.

23. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): USA, Mexico and Canada are signatories. It creates a trilateral trade bloc in North America. This agreement superseded the previously existing Canada-United States Free

Trade Agreement . Signed at San Antonio, Texas on December 17,1992. Came into force on January 1, 1994.

24. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): It is an international legally binding treaty . Open for signing in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 at the United nations Conference on environment and development (UNCED). It came into force on 29 December 1993. Cartagena protocol was added 2000 and Nagoya protocol was added in 2010 at Nagoya, japan. 2010 is the international year of biodiversity. India ratified it in 1994 and has brought in its own Biological Diversity Act,2002.

TERMS

RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE: This means that when a State signs the treaty, the signature is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. The State has not expressed its consent to be bound by the treaty until it ratifies, accepts or approves it. In that case, a State that signs a treaty is obliged to refrain, in good faith, from acts that would defeat the object and purpose of the treaty. Signature alone does not impose on the State obligations under the treaty. For states this usually means that the international agreement has to be put before the national parliament for approval, thereby giving the people a direct say in the external activities of the state. http://europatientrights.eu/countries/signing_and_ratifying_a_treaty.html

Doubts, Clarifications and Suggestions on this piece can be directed at: aymen.mohd@gmail.com .

CG.