Strengthening and Promoting the International Treaty Framework

A/RES/76/120View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 88 Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2019–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/170

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/170	Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework	1,542	79%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/236	Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework	1,392	34%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/120	Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework	3,042	34%Compare
2020	A/RES/75/144	Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework	1,089	30%Compare
2019	A/RES/73/210	Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework	2,626	–

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2020–2025

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/132	The role of technology in shaping treaty-making practice report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/78/236
2020	A/75/136	Review of the regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/73/210

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Publications Rules and Regulations Translation Treaties Treaty Registration

What’s in this document?

69 operative paragraphs

Recalls Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirms the importance of the registration and publication of treaties, as well as their accessibility, and stresses that the regulations to give effect to Article 102 should be useful and relevant to Member States and should be kept updated to assist States in implementing their obligations thereunder;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Review of the regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations”,² submitted pursuant to its resolution 73/210, and of the recommendations contained therein for consideration by the General Assembly;

²A/75/136.

Amends the regulations as detailed in the annex to the present resolution, which, as amended, will apply as from 1 February 2022;

Notes that some Member States continue to consider that there remain outstanding issues where the regulations may need further consideration;

Reaffirms its support for the annual treaty event organized by the Secretary-General;

Welcomes the organization of workshops on treaty law and practice by the Treaty Section at Headquarters and at the national and regional levels as an important capacity-building initiative, encourages the Treaty Section to continue to organize these workshops as regularly as possible, including through the use of information and communications technology when necessary owing to extraordinary circumstances, and invites States and interested international organizations and institutions to continue to support this activity;

Notes that workshops on treaty law and practice at the national and regional levels could not be organized since 2016, including owing to a lack of funds, and invites States and interested organizations and institutions to make voluntary contributions to the trust fund established by the Secretary-General for the Office of Legal Affairs to support the promotion of international law, towards the financing of such workshops, or otherwise to assist in their implementation and possible expansion, as a complement to workshops on treaty law and practice held at Headquarters;

Welcomes efforts to build the capacity of States in treaty law and practice, and invites Member States to consider providing targeted technical assistance, upon request, at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, in particular to developing countries, in order to develop and enhance their treaty practice, including in the use of information and communications technology;

Also welcomes the efforts made to develop and enhance the United Nations electronic treaty database, which provides online access to comprehensive information on the depositary functions of the Secretary-General and the registration and publication of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter, and encourages the continuation of such efforts in the future, while bearing in mind the challenges that many developing countries face in accessing information and communications technology;

Notes that most submissions of treaties for registration are in electronic format, and encourages the Secretary-General to develop, in consultation with and on the basis of feedback from Member States and within existing resources, an online treaty registration system to facilitate submissions of treaties for registration, as an additional option to the existing ways of submission in electronic or hard-copy format;

Recognizes the importance of the legal publications prepared by the Treaty Section, and stresses the need to update the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties in the light of new developments and practices;

Acknowledges the efforts of the depositaries in the registration of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter, and encourages the continuation of such efforts in the future;

Calls upon the Secretary-General to ensure the expedited publication of the United Nations Treaty Series, in accordance with the regulations, through the prompt provision of editorial and translation services, to enable effective dissemination of and access to treaties;

Decides to undertake a thematic debate in the Sixth Committee to foster a technical exchange of views on practice relating to the strengthening and promoting of the international treaty framework, and in that regard invites Member States to focus their comments during the debate at the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly on the subtopic “Best practices of depositaries of multilateral treaties”;

Also decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-eighth session the item entitled “Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework”.

Regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations

Part One

Registration

Article 1

Every treaty or international agreement, whatever its form and descriptive name, entered into by one or more Members of the United Nations after 24 October 1945, the date of the coming into force of the Charter, shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat in accordance with these regulations.

Registration shall not take place until the treaty or international agreement has come into force between two or more of the parties thereto. A treaty or international agreement that is being provisionally applied prior to its entry into force may be registered as provisionally applied.

Such registration may be effected by any party or in accordance with article 4 of these regulations. Without prejudice to the right of a party to a treaty or international agreement to submit it for registration, if a treaty or international agreement designates one or more depositaries, any of the depositaries is encouraged to effect registration unless otherwise provided in the treaty or international agreement or agreed by its parties.

The Secretariat shall record the treaties and international agreements so registered in a register established for that purpose.

Article 2

When a treaty or international agreement has been registered with the Secretariat, a certified statement regarding any subsequent action which effects a change in the parties thereto, or the terms, scope or application thereof, shall also be registered with the Secretariat.

The Secretariat shall record the certified statement so registered in the register established under article 1 of these regulations.

Article 3

Registration by a party, in accordance with article 1 of these regulations, relieves all other parties of the obligation to register. Registration by a depositary, in accordance with article 1 of these regulations, relieves all parties of the obligation to register.

Registration effected in accordance with article 4 of these regulations relieves all parties of the obligation to register.

Article 4

Every treaty or international agreement subject to article 1 of these regulations shall be registered ex officio by the United Nations in the following cases:

Where the United Nations is a party to the treaty or international agreement;

Where the United Nations has been authorized by the treaty or international agreement to effect registration;

Where the United Nations is the depositary of a multilateral treaty or international agreement.

A treaty or international agreement subject to article 1 of these regulations may be registered with the Secretariat by a specialized agency in the following cases:

Where the constituent instrument of the specialized agency provides for such registration;

Where the treaty or international agreement has been registered with the specialized agency pursuant to the terms of its constituent instrument;

Where the specialized agency has been authorized by the treaty or international agreement to effect registration.

Article 5

Any submission for registration under article 1 or 4 of these regulations shall include a certified copy of the treaty or international agreement, either in electronic or hard-copy format, together with a statement certifying that the text is a true and complete copy thereof.

The certified copy shall reproduce the text in all the languages in which the treaty or international agreement was concluded, including all annexes or attachments constituting an integral part of the treaty or international agreement. In the case of multilateral treaties or agreements, it shall also include the text of all reservations or declarations made or confirmed by the parties at the time of deposit of their instruments of consent to be bound, in all authentic languages in which these reservations or declarations were made.

In addition to a certified copy and the statement referred to, any submission may also include, where available, courtesy translations of the text into any of the official languages of the United Nations, in order to expedite translations into English and French for the purpose of publication in accordance with article 12 of these regulations.

The certifying statement shall set forth:

The full title of the treaty or international agreement;

The date(s) and place(s) of conclusion of the treaty or international agreement;

The date on which the treaty or international agreement has come into force;

The method whereby it has come into force (for example: by signature, by ratification, approval or acceptance, by accession, etcetera);

The authentic languages in which it was concluded and, when applicable, the language or languages in which courtesy translations are provided;

When applicable, the names and official titles of the persons that have signed the treaty or international agreement on behalf of each party.

In the case of multilateral treaties or agreements, the certifying statement shall include, in addition to the information described in paragraph 4 of this article:

A list of all the parties to the treaty or international agreement, indicating the date of deposit of each party’s instrument of consent to be bound, the nature of such instrument (ratification, approval, acceptance, accession, etcetera) and the date of entry into force of the treaty for each party; and

A certification that it includes all reservations or declarations made by parties thereto.

The requirements set forth in this article shall also apply to subsequent actions submitted pursuant to article 2 of these regulations.

Article 6

The date of receipt by the Secretariat of the United Nations of the treaty or international agreement registered shall be deemed to be the date of registration, provided that the date of registration of a treaty or agreement registered ex officio by the United Nations shall be the date on which the treaty or agreement first came into force between two or more of the parties thereto.

Article 7

A certificate of registration signed by the Secretary-General, or his or her representative, shall be issued to the registering party, or specialized agency or depositary, and also, upon request, to any party to the treaty or international agreement registered. Certificates of registration shall also be made public through electronic means.

Article 8

The register shall be kept in the English and French languages. The register shall comprise in respect of each treaty or international agreement, a record of:

The serial number given in the order of registration;

The title given to the instrument by the parties;

The names of the parties between whom it was concluded;

The dates of signature, ratification, approval or acceptance, exchange of ratification, accession, and entry into force;

The duration, where appropriate;

The language or languages in which it was drawn up;

The name of the party, specialized agency or depositary which registers the instrument and the date of such registration;

Particulars of publication in the treaty series of the United Nations.

Such information shall also be included in the register in regard to the statements registered under article 2 of these regulations.

The texts of registered treaties or international agreements, together with the certifying statements, shall remain in the custody of the Secretariat.

Article 9

The Secretary-General, or his or her representative, shall ensure that the register is publicly accessible, including through electronic means.

Part Two

Filing and recording

Article 10

The Secretariat shall file and record treaties and international agreements, other than those subject to registration under article 1 of these regulations, if they fall in the following categories:

Treaties or international agreements entered into by the United Nations or by one or more of the specialized agencies;

Treaties or international agreements transmitted by a Member of the United Nations which were entered into before the coming into force of the Charter, but which were not included in the treaty series of the League of Nations;

Treaties or international agreements transmitted by a party not a member of the United Nations which were entered into before or after the coming into force of the Charter which were not included in the treaty series of the League of Nations.

Article 11

The provisions of articles 2, 5 and 8 of these regulations shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to all treaties and international agreements filed and recorded under article 10 of these regulations.

Part Three

Publication

Article 12

The Secretariat shall publish as soon as possible in a single series every treaty or international agreement which is registered or filed and recorded, in the original language or languages, followed by a translation in English and in French. The certified statements referred to in article 2 of these regulations shall be published in the same manner.

The Secretariat will, however, have the option not to publish in extenso a treaty or international agreement, or a technical annex to a treaty or international agreement, belonging to one of the following categories:

Assistance and cooperation agreements of limited scope concerning financial, commercial, administrative or technical matters;

Agreements relating to the organization of conferences, seminars or meetings;

Agreements that are to be published otherwise than in the series mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article by the United Nations Secretariat, or by a specialized or related agency;

Multilateral agreements that are to be published in a format similar to the series mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article by their depositaries;

Technical annexes to treaties or agreements where technical annexes are frequently amended.

In deciding whether or not to publish in extenso a treaty or international agreement belonging to one of the categories mentioned in paragraph 2 of this article, the Secretariat shall duly take into account, inter alia, the practical value that might accrue from in extenso publication. Treaties and international agreements that the Secretariat intends not to publish in extenso shall be identified as such in the register, it being understood that a decision not to publish in extenso may be reversed at any time.

Any State or intergovernmental organization may obtain from the Secretary-General a copy of the text of any treaty or international agreement which it has been decided, pursuant to paragraph 2 of this article, not to publish in extenso. The Secretariat shall likewise make a copy of any such treaty or agreement available to private persons against payment.

In respect of each treaty or international agreement registered or filed and recorded, the series referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall include at least the following information: the registration or recording number, the names of the parties, the title, the date and place of conclusion, the date and method of entry into force, the duration (where appropriate), the languages of conclusion, the name of the State or organization that has registered it or transmitted it for filing and recording, and, if appropriate, references to publications in which the complete text of the treaty or international agreement is reproduced.

Article 13

The Secretariat shall make available the series referred to in article 12 of these regulations through any electronic means that may be available. The text of a registered treaty or international agreement, as submitted, and unofficial translations into English and French prepared by the Secretariat shall also be made available online, as soon as possible after registration and prior to publication in the series. The Secretariat shall send printed copies of the series to Members of the United Nations, upon request.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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