INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS

 

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

It was signed in 1968, and came into force in 1970. Its major features are as follows:

i) The nuclear powers have agreed not to transfer nuclear weapons or control over them to any recipient, or to provide assistance in producing weapons to a non-nuclear country.

ii) The non-countries have agreed neither to receive the weapons nor manufacture them/

iii) However, the nuclear powers agreed to make available their nuclear know-how to the non-nuclear states for using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

iv) It was signed for a period of 25 years.

 

A global conference on the extension of the NPT held on May 11, 1995 in New York decided to extend the NPT indefinitely. The conference approved a US backed plan to make the 25 year old pact permanent, perpetuating an international system in which only five nations can legitimately possess nuclear weapons.

Some countries like India, Pakistan and Israel, have not signed the treaty. India has not joined the NPT protesting against its discriminatory nature. Pakistan insists that it would do so only if New Delhi signs the document.

 

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

The UN General Assembly on September 10, 199, approved the CTBT, by adopting an Australian resolution. India, Iraq, Iran and Libya voted against it.

By not signing the treaty India has kept its nuclear options open. Indian wanted the following:

i) A non-discriminatory treaty;

ii) Adoption of a time bound programme for elimination of the nuclear weapons; and

iii) Elimination of the clause on Entry into Force (EIF) which stipulates that India, as one of the 44 countries possessing nuclear reactors, must sign and ratify and treaty.

 

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

It was signed in 1963 by USA, Britain and former USR. All test on the ground, in the atmosphere and under the sea have been banned, but no ban has been imposed on underground tests. France and China refused to sign the treaty, though more than 105 nations approved of it.

 

Biological Weapons Convention

It was signed by the two global powers (USA and the former USSR) in 1972 and since then co-signed by 88 other countries. It bans production and stockpiling of biological weapons. No breaches have been alleged so far.

 

Intermediate- range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty

It was signed by the USA and the former USSR in 1987 at Washington. It provides that both the sides are to destroy all their land based medium range nuclear missiles capable of travelling between 500 and 5000 kms. It aims to eliminate medium range weapons from Europe.

 

Outer Space Treaty

It was signed in 1967, at the instance of UN General Assembly. It bans military activities in outer space and prohibits states from placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the earth and installing such weapons on the moon and other celestial bodies.

 

Antarctic Treaty

This was signed on December 1, 1959 among 12 nations with an interest in the Antarctic. These countries are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the formers USSR, UK and the US.

In all, 39 countries became party to it by 1990 when Austria, Brazil,  Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, South Korea, North Korea. Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay also acceded to the treaty.

The treaty provides the following:

i) Reserves the Antarctic area south of 60° south latitude for peaceful purposes;

ii) Provides for international cooperation in scientific investigation and research; and

iii) Preserves, for the duration of the treaty, the status quo with regard to territorial sovereignty, rights and claims.

 

Sea-bed Treaty

It was signed as a result of a resolution passed in December, 1970, by the UN General Assembly. It provides that the signatories to the treaty undertake not to implant or emplace on the sea-bed and the ocean floor and in the subsoil thereof beyond the outer limit of a sea-bed zone, any nuclear weapon or any other type of weapons of mass destruction as well as structures, launching installations or any other facilities specifically designed for storing, testing or using such weapons.

 

Maastricht Treaty

In December 1991, the representative on the 132 EEC (The European Economic Community) countries met in Maastricht, Netherlands, to decide on the shape of Europe in the twenty-first century. The treaty is designed to unite the EC (European Community) with common economic, foreign and defence policies and a common currency by 1999.

 

Izmir Treaty

It was signed on November 28, 1992 by the five former USSR republics (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzhistan, Pakistan and Turkey to create a huge economic block linking Europe and Asia along the ancient Silk Road. Iran, Pakistan and Turkey are the founding members, having signed it more than 25 years ago.

 

Simla Agreement

It was signed by the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India on July 2, 1972. The following are its provisions:

i) It aimed at normalization of relationship between the two countries after the 1971 War.

ii) The principle of bilateralism agreed to by both the countries and they decided to withdraw from the territories seized during the 1971 conflict.

iii) There was no agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war or the Kashmir dispute.

 

Panchsheel

It was announced in 1954, after a meeting held at New Delhi by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India Chou-en-Lai, Prime Minister of China as a basis of relations between the two countries. Its principles are:

i) Mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty;

ii) Mutual pledge of non-aggression;

iii) Non=interference in each other's internal affairs

iv) Equality and mutual benefit' and

v) Peaceful co-existence

 

These five principles of peaceful co-existence came to be popularly known as Panchsheel. These principles were first enunciat4ed in the preamble to the Indo-China Agreement to April 29, 1954. Th4ese principles also find place in the United Nations Charter.

 

Indo-Soviet Treaty

It was signed between India and former USSR in 1971. It was initially valid for a period of 20 years. It is called the Treaty of Friendship, Peace and Cooperation. It provides the following:

i) The two countries will keep in touch with each other on major international problems affecting the interests of both the parties.

ii) They will not enter into the participate in military alliance which is directed against anyone of them.

iii) They will abstain from providing assistance to any third party that engages in armed conflict with one of them.

iv) If any of the two parties attacked, both will hold mutual consultation to remove such as threat and take appropriate effective measures to ensure peace and security of the countries

v) Neither of the parties shall enter into alliance secret or public, which is incompatible with the treaty.

 

Indo-Russian Friendship Treaty

The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between India and Russia was signed at New Delhi on January 28, 1993 by the Russian President and the Indian Prime Minister. Its main provision are:

i) Development of cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, cultural and other fields;

ii) To promote better relations in all spheres, including defence, commerce, science and technology and culture;

iii) To work together for achieving a world without armaments including nuclear weapons; and

iv) To support the territorial integrity of the two countries and to refrain from interference in each other's internal affairs.

 

Montreal Protocol

This was signed at Montreal in September, 1987 under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to prevent further depletion of the ozone layer, which shields the earth's surface from the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. the protocol provides that the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are the main cause of depletion of ozone layer, should be stopp4ed by 2000 by developed countries and by 2005 by developing countries.

 

Sea Law Treaty

It was signed by 119 countries including India at Monetago on December 10, 1982. It provides for

i) 19 km (12 nautical miles territorial sea, 320 km of exclusive economic zone and 560 km continental shelf for coastal countries;

ii) Regulation of virtually all conceivable uses of ocean including navigation, fisheries, mineral resources development and scientific research;

iii) Efficient management of hidden treasures of sea, so that benefits may be available to all human beings.

 

Start-I Treaty

It stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. It was signed al Moscow in July 1991 by the USA and Russia. It provides for the reduction of their strategic arms by 30 per cent.

 

Start-II Treaty

It was signed by the Russian and American Presidents at Moscow on January 3, 1993. It provides for the reduction of their nuclear stockpiles by two thirds within ten years.

The main terms of the treaty are:

i) Reduction of nuclear warheads on strategic offensive armaments to 3000-3500 units;

ii) elimination of all Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with independently targeted functioning warheads.

iii) Reduction of nuclear-warheads at submarine-based ballistic missiles to the level of 1700-1750 units; and

iv) Limiting nuclear warheads with which heavy bombers by Pakistan belongs to India.

 

Landmines Treaty

On September 17, 1998, an international treaty eliminating the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines has become international law after it was ratified by 40 countries.

The treaty will force countries to destroy all stockpiles within four years, remove mines from the ground within 10 years and bind governments to compensate their victims.

 

Chemical Weapons Convention

On April 29, 1997, Weapons Convention (CWC) came into force. It provides that after they year 2007, every state party to the convention will never.

1) develop, produce, stockpile or retain chemical weapons;

2) transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to anyone;

3) use chemical weapons; and

4) assist, encourage or induce, in any way, any one to engage in any activity prohibited to a state party by CWC.

The signatory states have undertaken to destroy existing stock of chemical weapons by 2007.

164 countries have signed the Convention, which was first opened to signature in Paris on January 13, 1993. About 75 countries including the USA, China and India have ratified it. A technical secretariat headquartered at Hague will be responsible for verifying its provisions.

 

Human Cloning Agreement

On January 12, 1998, Nineteen European nations – Denmark, Latvia, Luxembourg, France, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey – signed an agreement banning human cloning. On January 17, 186 members states of UNESCO adopted a declaration denouncing human cloning.

 

China-Russia Treaty

On November 10, 1997, China and Russia signed a historic demarcation treaty ending their 300-year-old dispute along their 4,300 km long eastern border. Russian President, Boris Yeltsin signed a joint declaration with his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin. The two leaders signed the declaration immediately after the Sino-Russian fifth summit, aimed at boosting political, military and Trade relations between the two neighbours.

 

Rotterdam Convention

On September 13, 1998, At Rotterdam (Netherlands) the representative from 57 countries signed a convention limiting the use of toxic chemicals in an effort to protect developing countries from the unscrupulous trade in hazardous substances and pesticides.

The Rotterdam convention, sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), prevents the export of known hazardous chemicals to a second country without the express agreement of the receiving nation. The legally binding treaty will protect the environment and millions of farmers, workers, and consumers from the misuse and accidental release of toxic substances.

 

Accord to Check Bribery

Members states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD) and five other countries have signed a binding convention to help eradicate bribery in international business. The accord was signed by 34 countries in Paris on December 17, 1997 and makes bribery to foreign public officials an extraditable offence, and is the first international effort to halt corporate kickbacks as a way of winning foreign contracts. Besides the 29-OECD members, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bulgaria and Slovakia signed the accord.

 

Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

On February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol, which requires the industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), came into force. India ratified the protocol in 2002. The industrialized countries would have to accelerate the introduction of renewable to meet these requirements, as well as reduce energy consumption by promoting efficiency of energy and use, and enhance the absorption of carbon dioxide through greater afforestation. Under the protocol, the developed countries are required to reduce emissions of GHGs by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The Kyoto protocol was adopted in 1997 by the countries that ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The convention seeks to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at the level that would minimize interference with the climate system.

 

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a human rights treaty setting out the civil. Political, economic, social, and cultural rights of children. The Convention generally defines a child as any human being under the age of eighteen.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on 20 November 1989. It came into force on 2 September 1990.

The Convention acknowledges that every child has certain basic rights, including the right to life, his or her own name and identify, to be raised by his or her parents within a family or cultural grouping and have a relationship with both parents, even if they are separated.

The Convention also acknowledges that children have the right to express their opinions and to have those opinions heard and acted upon when appropriate, to be protected from abuse or exploitation, to have their privacy protected and requires that their lives not be subject to excessive interference.