United Nations Treaty

Revised and updated, this handbook by the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs is intended as a contribution to UN efforts to assist States in becoming parties to the international treaty framework. It is written in simple language and, with the aid of diagrams and step-by-step instructions, touches upon many aspects of treaty law and practice. This handbook is designed for use by States, international organizations and other relevant entities. In particular, it is intended to provide some degree of assistance to States that may have scarce resources and limited technical proficiency in treaty law and practice to participate fully in the multilateral treaty framework.

The United Nations is a vital part of the international order. Yet this book argues that the greatest contribution of the UN is not what it has achieved (improvements in health and economic development, for example) or avoided (global war, say, or the use of weapons of mass destruction). It is, instead, the process through which the UN has transformed the structure of international law to expand the range and depth of subjects covered by treaties. This handbook offers the first sustained analysis of the UN as a forum in which and an institution through which treaties are negotiated and implemented. Chapters are written by authors from different fields, including academics and practitioners; lawyers and specialists from other social sciences (international relations, history, and science); professionals with an established reputation in the field; younger researchers and diplomats involved in the negotiation of multilateral treaties; and scholars with a broader view on the issues involved. The volume thus provides unique insights into UN treaty-making. Through the thematic and technical parts, it also offers a lens through which to view challenges lying ahead and the possibilities and limitations of this understudied aspect of international law and relations.

The Charter of the United Nations was signed in 1945 by 51 countries representing all continents, paving the way for the creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice forms part of the Charter. The aim of the Charter is to save humanity from war; to reaffirm human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person; to proclaim the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small; and to promote the prosperity of all humankind. The Charter is the foundation of international peace and security.

Human rights treaties are at the core of the international system for the promotion and protection of human rights. Every UN member state has ratified at least one of these treaties, making them applicable to virtually every child, woman or man in the world - over six billion people. At the same time, human rights violations are rampant. The problem is that the implementation scheme accompanying the core human rights standards was drafted during a period of history when effective international monitoring was neither intended nor achievable. Today there is a gap between universal right and remedy that is inescapable and inexcusable, threatening the integrity of the international human rights legal regime. There are overwhelming numbers of overdue reports, untenable backlogs, minimal individual complaints from vast numbers of potential victims, and widespread refusal of states to provide remedies when violations of individual rights are found. This landmark Report prepared by Professor Bayefsky envisions a wide-ranging number of reforms, most of which can be accomplished without formal amendment. The recommendations generally assume a six treaty body regime, and focus primarily on offering concrete suggestions for improvements in working methods of the treaty bodies and procedures at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Professor Bayefsky details numerous proposals for bolstering national level partnerships, and for following-up the output of the treaty monitoring system as a key missing component of the implementation regime. One major reform requiring amendment is ultimately recommended, namely, consolidation of the human rights treaty bodies and the creation of two permanent committees, one for the consideration of state reports and one for complaints. All individuals, agencies, and organizations involved in the promotion, implementation, review, analysis, and study of human rights protection for all peoples will find this Report an indispensable resource for their work. It contains a unique overview of all the working methods of the six human rights treaty bodies, a detailed and thorough statistical analysis of the operation of the human rights treaty system, and a number of additional annexes which together provide a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the treaty system. The international human rights legal system is at a crossroads, with the ideal of universality threatened by the fundamental shortfalls in effective implementation. This Report offers a clear and substantive path to moving universality beyond rhetoric and towards a treaty regime meaningful and effective in the lives of everyday people.

This in-depth text goes beyond the rhetoric of the debate on children’s rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular, to provide a detailed examination of the impact that U.S. ratification of the Convention would have on U.S. law. The chapters have been written by leading children’s advocates and scholars with a general audience in mind, as the authors believe that it is important for all Americans to become informed about the Convention and about children’s rights in general. With a greater understanding of the substance of the Convention and children’s rights, readers will be better positioned to determine what the real issues are, what is simply rhetoric without any basis in fact or law, and how they can address the real issues in an effective manner in order to provide a better world for all children.

In accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and the relevant General Assembly Resolutions, every treaty and international agreement registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat since 1946 is published in the United Nations Treaty Series. At present, the collection includes about 30,000 treaties reproduced in their authentic languages, together with translations into English and French, as necessary. The Treaty Series, where treaties are published in the chronological order of registration, also provides details about their subsequent history (i.e., participation in a treaty, reservations, amendments, termination, etc.). Comprehensive Indices covering 50-volume-lots are published separately. A Standing Order service is available for the Series and out-of-print volumes are available on microfiche.

A collection of United Nations documents associated with the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these volumes facilitate research into the scope of, meaning of and intent behind the instrument's provisions. It permits an examination of the various drafts of what became the thirty articles of the Declaration, including one of the earliest documents – a compilation of human rights provisions from national constitutions, organised thematically. The documents are organised chronologically and thorough thematic indexing facilitates research into the origins of specific rights and norms. It is also annotated in order to provide information relating to names, places, events and concepts that might have been familiar in the late 1940s but are today more obscure.