Annual UN treaty event kicks off with endorsements of disability rights pact

Eight Member States today signed or ratified 11 separate conventions, agreements and treaties on issues ranging from migrant workers’ rights to the protection of tropical timber during the annual United Nations event designed to increase participation in global pacts.

Eight Member States today signed or ratified 15 separate conventions, agreements, treaties and optional protocols on issues ranging from migrant workers’ rights to the protection of tropical timber during the annual United Nations event designed to increase participation in global pacts.

The Solomon Islands signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is designed to protect the rights of the estimated 650 million people worldwide who have disabilities. France signed its Optional Protocol while Togo signed both the convention and its protocol.

France also ratified the Convention on Enforced Disappearance, Guatemala acceded to the Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel and the Czech Republic ratified the Optional Protocol of this convention. Paraguay ratified the Migrant Workers Convention, as well as depositing three instruments of accession to other treaties.

Meanwhile, Tunisia ratified the Convention against Corruption and acceded to the Optional Protocol on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as withdrew reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Spain and the Czech Republic signed the International Tropical Timber Agreement on the first day of this year’s treaty event, which centres on the theme “Universal Participation and Implementation – Dignity and Justice for All of Us.”

The annual treaty event, held at UN Headquarters in New York since 2000, seeks to promote the increased participation of countries in the more than 500 multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and by so doing, to strengthen the rule of law.