Treaty

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Parties with reservations, declarations and objections

Party Reservations / Declarations Objections
Argentina Yes No
Australia Yes No
Austria Yes No
Bahrain Yes No
Bangladesh Yes No
Belgium Yes No
Botswana Yes No
Canada Yes No
China Yes No
El Salvador Yes No
Estonia Yes No
EU (European Union) Yes No
Federated States of Micronesia Yes No
Guatemala Yes No
India Yes No
Israel Yes No
Japan Yes No
Liechtenstein Yes No
Mauritius Yes No
Moldova Yes No
Netherlands, the Kingdom of the Yes No
New Zealand Yes No
Palestine Yes No
Republic of Korea, the Yes No
Russian Federation Yes No
Serbia Yes No
Slovenia Yes No
Spain Yes No
Syria Yes No
Uzbekistan Yes No
Vanuatu Yes No
Venezuela Yes No

Argentina

25-01-2005

In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Republic of Argentina declares that any amendment to Annex A, B, or C shall enter into force for Argentina only after it has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

Australia

20-05-2004

In accordance with article 25 (4) [of the Convention], the Government of Australia declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of Australia's instrument of ratification with respect thereto.

Austria

27-08-2002

The Republic of Austria declares in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 2 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in paragraph 2 as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.

Bahrain

31-01-2006

1. Arbitration according to the procedures adopted by the Conference of States Parties is the only binding procedure for the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding resolving any dispute on the interpretation or implementation of the Convention.
2. Any amendment to the Convention annexes A, B and C will not be binding to the Kingdom of Bahrain unless it is ratified according to the constitutional rules.

Bangladesh

12-03-2007

Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Bangladesh hereby declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Bangladesh only upon the deposit by Bangladesh of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto.

Belgium

23-05-2001

This signature engages also the Waloon region, the Flemish region, and the Brussels-Capital region.

Botswana

28-10-2002

... the Republic of Botswana declares pursuant to article 25 (4) that, with respect to it, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for it only after it has deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect to such amendment.

Canada

23-05-2001

Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Canada hereby declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Canada only upon the deposit by Canada of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto.

China

13-08-2004

In accordance with the provisions of article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, with respect to the People's Republic of China, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

El Salvador

27-05-2008

With respect to the provisions of article 18 of this Convention, the Republic of El Salvador does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraph 2 of that article in that it does not recognize the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.

Estonia

07-11-2008

1) In accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, any amendment to Annex A, B and C of the Convention shall enter into force for the Republic of Estonia only after the Republic of Estonia has deposited its instrument of approval to the amendment;
2) As a Member State of the European Community the Republic of Estonia has transferred its competence to the European Community in fields governed by this Convention and listed in the declaration annexed to the Council Decision of 14 October 2004 concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2006/507/EC).


19-10-2016

Withdrawal of the declaration under Article 25, paragraph 4.

EU (European Union)

16-11-2004

Declaration in accordance with article 25 (3) :
The Community declares that, in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular article 175 thereof, it is competent for entering into international environmental agreements, and for implementing the obligations resulting therefrom, which contribute to the pursuit of the following objectives:
- Preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,
- Protecting human health,
- Prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources,
- Promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems.
Moreover, the Community declares that it has already adopted legal instruments, binding on its Member States, covering matters governed by this Convention, and will submit and update, as appropriate, a list of those legal instruments to the Conference of the Parties in accordance with article 15 (1) of the Convention.
The Community is responsible for the performance of those obligations resulting from the Convention which are covered by Community law in force.
The exercise of Community competence is, by its nature, subject to continuous development.

Federated States of Micronesia

15-07-2005

1. The Federated States of Micronesia declares in accordance with the provisions of article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of the Federated States of Micronesia's instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession thereto.
2. The Federated States of Micronesia declares in accordance with Article 18, paragraph 2 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.

Guatemala

30-07-2008

In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the aforementioned Convention, the Government of the Republic of Guatemala declares that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for Guatemala only after it has deposited its instrument of accession or ratification.

India

28-03-2006

Any amendment to Annex A, B, C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

Israel

29-03-2018

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 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, dated 22 May 2001, and has the honor to refer to the Palestinian request to accede to this Convention (Reference number C.N.808.2017.TREATIES-XXVII.15).
‘Palestine’ does not satisfy the criteria for statehood under international law and lacks the legal capacity to join the aforesaid Convention 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 Convention and regards the Palestinian request for accession as being without legal validity and without effect upon Israel’s treaty relations under the Convention.

Japan

24-10-2023

… the Government of Japan is currently unable to accept the amendment to Annex A [adopted by Decision] SC-10/13: Listing of perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the above Convention.

Liechtenstein

03-12-2004

The Principality of Liechtenstein declares in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 2 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.

Mauritius

13-07-2004

Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Republic of Mauritius declares that any amendments to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Republic of Mauritius only upon the deposit by the Republic of Mauritius of its instrument of Ratification, Acceptance, Approval or Accession with respect thereto.

Moldova

07-04-2004

In accordance with article 18, paragraph 2 of the Convention, the Republic of Moldova accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in this paragraph as compulsory in relation to any party that accepts the same obligation.
Pursuant to article 25, paragraph 4, of the Convention, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Republic of Moldova only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with respect thereto.

Netherlands, the Kingdom of the

17-02-2010

The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, that it accepts both means of dispute settlement referred to in that paragraph as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting one or both means of dispute settlement.

New Zealand

24-09-2004

[...] consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account the commitment of the Government of New Zealand to the development of self-government for Tokelau through an act of self-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, this ratification shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the Depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory.

Palestine

18-03-2019

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations 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.190.2018.TREATIES-XXVII.15, dated 4 April 2018, conveying a communication of Israel regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 22 May 2001.
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 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 22 May 2001, which entered into force on 29 March 2018 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.

Republic of Korea, the

25-01-2007

The Republic of Korea, in accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4 of the Convention, declares that, with respect to the Republic of Korea, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

Russian Federation

17-08-2011

1. The Russian Federation declares that in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 18 of the Convention, with respect to any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, it recognizes the means of dispute settlement indicated in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 of article 18 of the Convention as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation;
2. The Russian Federation declares that in accordance with paragraph 4 of article 25 of the Convention any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force for the Russian Federation only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

Serbia

31-07-2009

The Republic of Serbia declares in accordance with Article 18 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute settlement mentioned in paragraph 2.

Slovenia

04-05-2004

In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Convention, the Republic of Slovenia herewith declares, that any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification with respect thereto.

Spain

16-08-2011

In the event that the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants should in any way result in actions related to Gibraltar, Spain wishes to make the following declaration:
1. Gibraltar is a Non-Self-Governing Territory for whose international relations the United Kingdom is responsible and which is subject to a process of decolonization in accordance with the relevant decisions and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.
2. The Gibraltar authorities are local in character and exercise an exclusively domestic jurisdiction that originates in and is based on the powers allocated to and conferred on them by the United Kingdom, in accordance with its domestic law and in its capacity as the sovereign State upon which depends the said Non-Self-Governing Territory.
3. Consequently, any involvement by the Gibraltar authorities in the implementation of this Convention shall be understood to take place exclusively within the framework of the domestic jurisdiction 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 "Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar Authorities in the Context of Certain International Treaties (2007)", signed by Spain and the United Kingdom on 19 December 2007, together with the "Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar Authorities in the Context of EU and EC Instruments and Related Treaties", of 19 April 2000, shall be applicable to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted on 22 May 2001.

Syria

05-08-2005

The ratification of the Syrian Arab Republic to this Convention shall in no way signify the recognition of Israel or entail entry into any dealings with Israel in the context of the provisions of this Convention.

Uzbekistan

28-06-2019

In accordance with the Article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Republic of Uzbekistan declares that any amendment to Annex A, B, or C shall enter into force for the Republic of Uzbekistan only after it has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

Vanuatu

16-09-2005

That in relation to paragraph 4 of Article 25 of the Convention, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall bind the Republic of Vanuatu only upon its deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession with respect to such amendments.

Venezuela

19-04-2005

In accordance with article 25, paragraph 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela declares that any amendment to Annex A, B, or C shall enter into force for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela only after it has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

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