HEADS OF STATE TO PARTICIPATE IN UN TREATY EVENT, 23-26 SEPTEMBER

Note to Correspondents

HEADS OF STATE TO PARTICIPATE IN UN TREATY EVENT, 23-26 SEPTEMBER

NEW YORK, 19 September -- From 23 to 26 September, beginning at 9 a.m. each day, heads of State and government are expected to sign and ratify treaties at special facilities set up for that purpose in the Kuwaiti Boat area of the Delegates Entrance to the General Assembly.  While action can be taken on any of the 500 treaties deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General, the focus will be on agreements on transnational organized crime, terrorism, the safety of United Nations personnel, tobacco control and torture. 

In his April letter of invitation asking heads of State or government to participate, Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminded them of the “adequate measures” they might need to take to bring their domestic legislation into line with the treaty obligations, and that, should they need it, assistance is available. 

For that purpose, the Treaty Section in the Office of Legal Affairs has developed a training programme that includes seminars at the regional level to provide technical assistance on treaty law and practice.  There is a compilation of the available programmes on the Internet at http://untreaty.un.org/ola-internet/Assistance/Section1.htm.

Transnational crime has grown exponentially in recent years as a result of new opportunities for criminal activity provided by globalization, technological advances, political change, ethnic and political conflicts, and the break-up of the former Soviet Union.  The Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, entering into force on 29 September 2003, requires States to cooperate with one another for the apprehension and conviction of criminals engaged in cross-border illicit activities.  It establishes four keynote offences:  participation in an organized criminal group, money laundering, corruption and obstruction of justice.  Attached to the Convention are three optional protocols:  on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; against smuggling of migrants; and against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms.  Additional protocols can be added.

Under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted on 9 December 1999, countries agreed to criminalize the act of providing or collecting funds with the intention or knowledge that those funds would be used to carry out a terrorist attack as defined by the Convention.  Also for the first time, countries agreed to regulate banking secrecy to enable investigators to trace funds moved internationally by terrorist organizations.  

This year, following the bombing of United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad, special emphasis is also being placed on the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, which entered into force on 15 January 1999 (43 signatures, 66 States Parties as of 19 September 2003). 

For reasons of timeliness, the Office of Legal Affairs is also calling attention to two new treaties:  the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted by the World Health Organization on 21 May 2003; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, adopted 18 December 2002 by the General Assembly.  When a convention is adopted and opened for signature, it typically may only be signed (after which a country may ratify) for a finite period of time.  A State that has not signed a convention during the time allotted may not thereafter ratify that particular convention; it may only “accede”.

Current information on United Nations Conventions can be found on the United Nations Treaty Web site at:  untreaty.un.org.  For additional information, please contact Palitha T.B. Kohona, Chief of the Treaty Section in the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, at (212) 963-5048.  

A daily list of participants, subject to change, will be made available the evening before by the Department of Public Information.  The list will be on the third floor, in the Spokesman’s office, and through the Media Liaison and Accreditation Unit. 

Members of delegations and other media representatives will be able to cover the signature and ratification of treaties from a special platform nearby.  There will be space for a limited number of photographers.  Please direct inquiries to the Media Liaison Desk at (212) 963-7756 or 963-3353. 

United Nations Television news will cover each signing, and the footage will be replayed on in-house TV twice a day:  after the last morning signing and after the last afternoon signing.  Announcements about the timing of these replays will be made through the Spokesman's Office.  Media or delegations can order videos from the video library, at (212) 963-0656 or 963-1561.

United Nations Photo will cover the event.  Copies of photos may be obtained from the Media Resources Unit, room S-805, tel. (212) 963-5637 or 963-0034. 

For additional information, please contact Ellen McGuffie at (212) 963-0499. 

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