Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer

Parties with reservations, declarations and objections

Party	Reservations / Declarations	Objections
Argentina	Yes	No
Chile	Yes	Yes
China	Yes	No
EU (European Union)	Yes	No
Holy See	Yes	No
Israel	Yes	No
Mauritius	Yes	Yes
Palestine	Yes	No
Spain	Yes	No
United States of America	Yes	No

Argentina

18-09-1990

The Argentine Republic rejects the ratification of the above-mentioned Convention by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with respect to the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and reaffirms its sovereignty over those Islands, which form a part of its national territory.
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 3160 (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12 and 39/6 in which it recognizes the existence of a sovereignty dispute concerning the question of the Malvinas and urges the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute and to their remaining differences relating to the question, through the good offices of the Secretary-General, who is to report to the General Assembly on the progress made. The United Nations General Assembly also adopted resolution 40/21 and 41/40, which again urge the two parties to resume the negotiations.
The Argentine Republic also rejects the ratification of the above-mentioned Convention by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with respect to what that country calls "British Antarctic Territory".
At the same time, it reaffirms its rights of sovereignty over the Argentine Antarctic Sector located between longitudes 25o and 74o W and latitude 60o S and the South Pole, including its maritime spaces.
It is appropriate to recall, in this connection, the provisions concerning rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica contained in article IV of the Antarctic Treaty

Chile

26-03-1990

[Chile] rejects the declaration made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon ratification, as it concerns the Chilean Antarctic Territory, including the corresponding maritime zones: [Chile] reaffirms once more its sovereignty over the said territory including its maritime areas, as defined by Supreme Decree No. 1747 of 6 November 1940.

Objection United Kingdom, 02-08-1990

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have no doubt as to British sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory. In this respect, the Government of the United Kingdom would draw attention to the provisions of Article IV of the Antarctic Treaty of 1 December 1959, to which both Chile and the United Kingdom are parties.
For the above reasons, the Government of the United Kingdom reject the Chilean declaration.

China

10-06-1997

Provisions of article 5 of the [said Protocol] will not be applied to the Hong Kong Special Region.

19-10-1999

Provisions of Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of 16 September 1987 will not be applied to the Macau Special Administrative Region, and provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of 29 June 1990 will not be applied to the Macau Special Administrative Region.

EU (European Union)

16-09-1987

Upon signature:
In the light of article 2.8 of the Protocol, the Community wishes to state that its signature takes place on the assumption that all its member states will take the necessary steps to adhere to the Convention and to conclude the Protocol.

23-05-1989

1. On behalf of the European Community, it is hereby declared that the said Community can accept arbitration as a means of dispute settlement within the terms of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
It cannot accept submission of any dispute to the International Court of Justice.
2. According to the customary procedures within the European Community, the Community's financial participation in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and in the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone Layer may not involve the Community in expenditure other than administrative costs which may not exceed 2.5 % of the total administrative costs.
Declaration by the European Economic Community in conformity with Article 13 (3) of the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer concerning the extent of its competence with respect to the matters covered by the Convention and by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer: In accordance with the relevant Articles of the EEC Treaty, the Community has competence to take action relating to the preservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment.
The Community has exercised its competence in the area covered by the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol in adopting Council Decision 80/372/EEC of 26 March 1980 concerning chlorofluorocarbons in the environment (1), Council Decision 82/795/EEC of 15 November 1982 on the consolidation of precautionary measures concerning chlorofluorocarbons in the environment (2) and Council Regulation (EEC) N 3322/88 of 14 October 1988 on certain chlorofluorocarbons and halons which deplete the ozone layer. The Community may well exercise its competence in the future by adopting further legislation in this area.
In the field of research in the environment, as referred to by the Convention, the Community has a certain competence by virtue of Council Decision 86/234/EEC of 10 June 1986 adopting multiannual R& D programmes in the field of the environment (1986 to 1990).
(1) OJ N L 90, 3. 4. 1980, p. 45.
(2) OJ N L 329, 25. 11. 1982, p. 29.

Holy See

05-05-2008

In acceding to the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as well as its four Amendments: London (1990), Copenhagen (1992), Montreal (1997) and Beijing (1999), the Holy See desires to encourage the entire International Community to be resolute in promoting authentic cooperation between politics, science and economics. Such cooperation, as has been shown in the case of the ozone regime, can achieve important outcomes, which make it simultaneously possible to safeguard creation, to promote integral human development and to care for the common good, in a spirit of responsible solidarity and with profound positive repercussions for present and future generations.

In conformity with its own nature and with the particular character of Vatican City State, the Holy See, by means of the solemn act of accession, intends to give its own moral support to the commitment of States to the correct and effective implementation of the Treaties in question and to the attaining of the mentioned objectives. To this end, it expresses the wish that by recognizing 'the signs of [an economic growth] that has not always been able to protect the delicate balances of nature' (Homily of Pope Benedict XVI at Loreto, 2 September 2007), all actors will intensify the aforesaid cooperation and strengthen 'the alliance between man and the environment, which must mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and to whom we are bound'(Benedict XVI, After the Angelus, 16 September 2007).

Israel

10-05-2019

The Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations presents its compliments to the Secretary General of the United Nations, in his capacity as depositary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, dated 16 September 1987, and has the honor to refer to the Palestinian request to accede to this Convention (Reference C.N.94.2019.TREATIES-XXVII.2.a).
‘Palestine’ does not satisfy the criteria for statehood under international law and lacks the legal capacity to join the aforesaid Protocol both under general international law and the terms of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
The Government of Israel does not recognize ‘Palestine’ as a State, and wishes to place on record, for the sake of clarity, its position that it does not consider ‘Palestine’ a party to the Protocol and regards the Palestinian request for accession as being without legal validity and without effect upon Israel’s treaty relations under the Protocol.

Mauritius

18-08-1992

The Republic of Mauritius rejects the ratification of [the Protocol] effected by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 16 December 1988 in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory namely Chagos Archipelago and reaffirms its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which form an integral part of its national territory.

Objection United Kingdom, 27-01-1993

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have no doubt as to British sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory and their consequent right to extend the application of the [said] Convention and Protocol to it. Accord ingly, the Government of the United Kingdom do not accept or regard as having any legal effect the declarations made by the Government of the Republic of Mauritius.

09-01-2020

(…) has the honour to register its strong objection against the extension by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the socalled ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’, of the Agreements listed at Annex and in respect of which the Secretary-General is the depositary.
The Government of the Republic of Mauritius considers that by extending these Agreements to the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’, the United Kingdom purported to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago - a claim which is untenable under international law.
The Government of the Republic of Mauritius wishes to reiterate in emphatic terms that it does not recognize the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’. The fact that the Chagos Archipelago is, and has always been, part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius, and that the United Kingdom has never had sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, has been authoritatively established by the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 25 February 2019, on the Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.
In this authoritative legal determination, the Court declared that the decolonization of the Republic of Mauritius had not been lawfully completed in 1968, since the Chagos Archipelago had been unlawfully detached in 1965, in violation of the right of self-determination of peoples and the Charter of the United Nations, as applied and interpreted in accordance with UN General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, resolution 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965, resolution 2232 (XXI) of 20 December 1966 and resolution 2357 (XXII) of 19 December 1967. Accordingly, it went on to hold that the United Kingdom’s ongoing administration of the Chagos Archipelago, as the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’, was an internationally wrongful act, of a continuing nature, that engaged the State responsibility of the United Kingdom. It determined that the United Kingdom is under a legal obligation to terminate its unlawful colonial administration ‘as rapidly as possible’.
The Court further determined that all UN Member States have an obligation to cooperate with the United Nations in facilitating the completion of the decolonization of the Republic of Mauritius as rapidly as possible, including an obligation not to support the continuing wrongful conduct of the United Kingdom in maintaining its colonial administration in the Chagos Archipelago.
On 22 May 2019, the General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority of 116 votes to 6, adopted resolution 73/295. By this resolution, it endorsed the Court’s Advisory Opinion, affirmed that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius, and demanded that the United Kingdom terminate its unlawful colonial administration within a maximum of six months, that is, by no later than 22 November 2019. That deadline has now expired.
Moreover, the General Assembly in its resolution called upon Member States to ‘cooperate with the United Nations to ensure the completion of the decolonization of Mauritius as rapidly as possible’ and to refrain from conduct that might impede or delay the completion of decolonization. It further called upon the United Nations and all its specialized agencies to recognize that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius, to support the decolonization of the Republic of Mauritius as rapidly as possible, and to refrain from impeding that process by recognizing the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’. Lastly, the resolution also called upon ‘all other international, regional and intergovernmental organizations, including those established by treaty,’ to recognize that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius, to support its speedy decolonization, and to ‘refrain from impeding that process’ by recognizing the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’.
The Republic of Mauritius has, over the years, consistently asserted, and hereby reasserts, its full sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. The Government of the Republic of Mauritius therefore unequivocally protests against the extension by the United Kingdom of the Agreements listed at Annex to the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’ and against the purported exercise by the United Kingdom of any sovereignty, rights or jurisdiction within the territory of the Republic of Mauritius.
For the above stated reasons, which arise from established principles of international law as authoritatively interpreted and applied by the International Court of Justice and endorsed by the UN General Assembly, the Government of the Republic of Mauritius does not recognize the extension by the United Kingdom of the Agreements listed at Annex to the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’, reserves all its rights in this regard, and calls upon all States Parties to the Agreements listed at Annex to reject the United Kingdom's extension of these Agreements to the so-called ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’.
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See depositary notification no. C.N.48.2020.TREATIES-XXVII.2.a for the Annex (list of Agreements).

Palestine

07-09-2020

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine presents his compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as Depositary, and has the honor to refer to depositary notification C.N.165.2019.TREATIES-XXVII.2.a dated 10 May 2019, conveying a communication of the United States regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, dated 16 September 1987.
The Government of the State of Palestine regrets the position of the United States and wishes to recall the United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012 according to which Palestine was accorded a ‘Non-member Observer State status in the United Nations’. In this regard, Palestine is a State recognized by the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the international community.
As a State Party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, dated 16 September 1987, which [entered] into force on 16 June 2019 for the State of Palestine, the State of Palestine will exercise its rights and honor its obligations with respect to all States Parties. The State of Palestine trusts that its rights and obligations will be equally respected by its fellow States Parties.

07-09-2020

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine presents his compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as Depositary, and has the honor to refer to depositary notification C.N.167.2019.TREATIES-XXVII.2.a dated 10 May 2019, conveying a communication of Israel regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, dated 16 September 1987.
The Government of the State of Palestine regrets the position of Israel and wishes to recall the United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012 according to which Palestine was accorded a ‘Non-member Observer State status in the United Nations’. In this regard, Palestine is a State recognized by the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the international community.
As a State Party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, dated 16 September 1987, which [entered] into force on 16 June 2019 for the State of Palestine, the State of Palestine will exercise its rights and honor its obligations with respect to all States Parties. The State of Palestine trusts that its rights and obligations will be equally respected by its fellow States Parties.

Spain

07-04-2015

1. Gibraltar is a Non-Self-Governing Territory for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom is responsible and which is subject to a process of decolonization in accordance with the relevant decisions and resolutions of the General Assembly.
2. The authorities of Gibraltar are local in character, and exercise competences exclusively over internal affairs that originate in and are based on the powers allocated to and conferred on them by the United Kingdom, in accordance with its domestic legislation and in its capacity as the sovereign State upon which depends the said Non-Self-Governing Territory.
3. Consequently, any involvement by the Gibraltarian authorities in the implementation of this Protocol shall be understood to take place exclusively within the framework of the internal affairs of Gibraltar and shall not be considered to affect in any way the content of the two preceding paragraphs.
4. The procedure envisaged in the "Arrangements relating to Gibraltar authorities in the context of certain international treaties (2007)", which were agreed to by Spain and the United Kingdom on 19 December 2007 together with "Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar authorities in the context of European Union and European Community Instruments and Related Treaties" of 19 April 2000 applies to the present Protocol.
5. The application to Gibraltar of the present Protocol cannot be interpreted as recognition of any rights or situations involving matters not included in Article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht of 13 July 1713, signed by the crowns of Spain and Great Britain.

United States of America

10-05-2019

The United States Mission to the United Nations presents its compliments to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and refers to the U.N. Secretary-General’s depositary notification C.N.94.2019.TREATIES-XXVII.2.a, dated March 19, 2019, regarding the purported accession of the ‘State of Palestine’ to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987 (the Protocol), for which the Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary.
The Government of the United States of America does not believe the ‘State of Palestine’ qualifies as a sovereign State and does not recognize it as such. Accession to the Protocol is limited to sovereign States and regional economic integration organizations. Therefore, the Government of the United States of America believes that the ‘State of Palestine’ is not qualified to accede to the Protocol and affirms that it will not consider itself to be in a treaty relationship with the ‘State of Palestine’ under the Protocol.