Eight States Take Part In 16 Treaty Actions As Annual UN Event Continues
New York, Sep 29 2008 8:10PM
Marking the fifth day of the United Nations treaty event to encourage collective participation in multilateral pacts,
eight Member States today took 16 treaty actions by ratifying or signing separate conventions, agreements, treaties and
optional protocols.
The Foreign Minister of Tanzania and the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos today signed the Convention on Enforced
Disappearances.
Tanzania additionally signed the Optional Protocol to the Disabilities Convention, while Laos ratified the Convention on
the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods as well as the Financing of Terrorism Convention, making them the 166th
State Party to the latter Convention.
The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs also attended the event to personally ratify the UN Convention on Jurisdictional
Immunities of States and Their Property.
Switzerland ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Discrimination Against Women, which was also signed
today by the Republic of Congo and Zambia.
Endorsing three treaties in total, the Republic of Congo also signed the Optional Protocol to the Torture Convention and
the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers.
Zambia also signed two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and an additional Optional
Protocol to the Disabilities Convention.
Following in the footsteps of Romania, Australia, Spain and the Czech Republic, the Philippines signed the International
Tropical Timber Agreement.
In the meantime, Belarus ratified the Optional Protocol to the Conventional Weapons Convention in relation to explosive
remnants of war.
In total so far 38 Member States have supported the UN event ethos of “Universal Participation and Implementation –
Dignity and Justice for All of Us,” with 73 treaty actions over five days.
ENDS