UN Treaties set in place rules which make our world humane place to live. Whether individual states consent or not to these treaties affects the life of every person on Planet Earth.
Download list of states which have failed to ratify United Nations Treaties. The list displays ratification status as of January 1, 2020.
Signing a treaty
By signing the treaty the state just expresses the willingness to proceed to ratification, acceptance or approval of the treaty. Signing does not represent the consent of the state to be bound by the treaty.
Ratification, Acceptance and Approval
Ratification, acceptance, or approval are the international act expressing the consent of the state to be bound by a treaty.
In most states constitutional law require the treaty to be approved by a parliament, and be ratified by the head of state. In some states, acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification.
24 states have signed UN treaties in 1967 which they did not ratify until today. 20 states did the same in 1971, and 14 states in 1977. Details are available for download.
Entry into Force
The provisions of the treaty determine the date on which the treaty enters into force. It is common to provide for a fixed number of states to express their consent for entry into force. Some treaties provide for additional conditions to be satisfied, e.g., by specifying that a certain states must be among the consenters (see Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty). A treaty enters into force for those states which gave the required consent.
When a State becomes party to a treaty, it is obligated under international law to uphold and implement the provisions of the treaty. This implies that the domestic legislation of the State must be brought into conformity with the provisions of the treaty. State may declare a reservation to a particular article of a treaty that it has ratified. If the reservation is deemed admissible, then the State is no longer considered bound to fulfill that particular provision.
Monitoring
Compliance with treaties is monitored. The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor their implementation. Currently, 10 treaty bodies have been established. The treaty bodies are composed of independent experts of recognized competence in human rights, who are nominated and elected for fixed renewable terms of four years.
UN Environmental Treaty Monitoring Body monitors multilateral environmental agreements.
All United Nations member states, except for the United States of America, have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The rights include civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and set out in detail what every child needs to have a safe, happy and fulfilled childhood. The Convention is enforced through ongoing monitoring by an independent team of experts called the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Governments that ratify the Convention must report to the Committee, which is made up of 18 experts in the field of children’s rights from different countries and legal systems. They are nominated and elected by States but act in a personal capacity, not as representatives of their countries. Reports are submitted within two years of ratification and every five years thereafter. They outline the situation of children in the country and explain the measures taken by the State to realize their rights.
