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Resolution 76/120 on Strengthening and Promoting the International Treaty Framework (U.N.G.A.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2022

Nathaniel Yong-Ern Khng
Nathaniel Yong-Ern Khng*
Affiliation:
LL.B. (Hons.) (Melb.), LL.M. (Yale), Advocate and Solicitor (Singapore), Australian Lawyer (Victoria, Australia), Foreign Legal Consultant (New York, United States), Counsellor (Legal) at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to the United Nations in New York. Nathaniel Khng is the legal adviser at the Permanent Mission of Singapore. All views expressed in this note are personal.
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Extract

On December 9, 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 76/120, “Strengthening and Promoting the International Treaty Framework,” by consensus. The resolution had been forwarded to the General Assembly for consideration after having been adopted by the General Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee on November 18, 2021 by consensus, in line with its traditional approach to decision-making. The negotiations of the resolution were coordinated (chaired) by Brazil and Singapore.

Information

Type
International Legal Documents
Information
International Legal Materials , Volume 61 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 841 - 850
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The American Society of International Law

Introduction

On December 9, 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 76/120, “Strengthening and Promoting the International Treaty Framework,” by consensus. The resolution had been forwarded to the General Assembly for consideration after having been adopted by the General Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee on November 18, 2021 by consensus, in line with its traditional approach to decision-making. The negotiations of the resolution were coordinated (chaired) by Brazil and Singapore.Footnote 1

The resolution is significant as it made substantive updates to the regulations to give effect to the treaty registration and publication regime under Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, which provides that “[e]very treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations after the present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it.” The resolution also established a biennial thematic debate in the Sixth Committee to foster a technical exchange of views on practice relating to the strengthening and promoting of the international treaty framework.

Background and Context

In 2018, the item “Strengthening and Promoting the International Treaty Framework” was included in the agenda of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the request of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Italy, and Singapore,Footnote 2 and allocated to the Sixth Committee for consideration. The request for this item had several objectives. The first was to create a dedicated platform for the Sixth Committee to review the regulations to give effect to Article 102. A review of the regulations to ensure that they were useful and relevant, and thereby promote the implementation of Article 102 of the Charter, was long overdue at that point in time, as the regulations had only been amended three times since their adoption in 1946: in 1949, 1950, and 1978. The second was to provide an opportunity for the Sixth Committee to consider how shortcomings in treaty registration could be addressed. The third was to have an exchange of views on treaty-making practice and to identify trends and share best practices in treaty-making, as well as discuss other treaty-related topics.

The resolution that was adopted at the 73rd session made a number of amendments to the regulations that brought them in line with developments in treaty registration practice and information technology. This included recognition of the treaty registration role of depositaries other than the United Nations, the codification of established practices of the UN Secretariat—specifically, the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs, which has charge over the UN treaty registration and publication regime—regarding requirements for the registration of treaties, and updating the regulations to accept the submission of treaties in electronic format for registration.Footnote 3 Amendments were also made to the regulations to discontinue practices that were no longer necessary in view of developments in information technology, such as the publication of monthly statements on treaties that were registered, or filed and recorded.

There were, however, a number of UN member states that felt there continued to be issues where the regulations could require further consideration or possible updating.Footnote 4 The understanding was that the regulations would be further reviewed the next time the item was on the agenda, which was to be the 75th session of the General Assembly as the resolution placed the item on a biennial cycle.Footnote 5 However, at the 75th session, due to limited meeting facilities and other restrictions arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Sixth Committee decided to defer the review of the regulations to the 76th session.Footnote 6 While the pandemic continued to pose challenges to negotiations at the 76th session, Sixth Committee delegates came prepared to engage constructively on proposals to amend the regulations. Following discussions and negotiations over the course of ten meetings, there was consensus on a resolution that made a number of substantive updates in relation to both the regulations, with an annex to the resolution setting out the amended regulations in full, and the resolution's main text.

Notable Updates

There was broad support for the insertion of a line at the end of Article 1 paragraph 2 of the regulations to state that a treaty or international agreement that is being provisionally applied before its entry into force could be registered as provisionally applied. This was a proposal from Mexico that was first tabled during the 73rd session of the General Assembly, but was not agreed during that session.Footnote 7 The rationale for the proposal was to set out and clarify the basis for the registration of treaties being provisionally applied. Such treaties were being registered on the basis of the Sixth Committee's 1946 report that recommended the adoption of the regulations by the General Assembly, in which “it was recognized that, for the purposes of article 1 of the regulations, a treaty comes into force when, by agreement, it is applied provisionally by two or more of the parties thereto.”Footnote 8 The proposal sought to address this de facto equating of provisional application with entry into force, which was arguably not in line with Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.Footnote 9

There was also broad support for amendments to Article 5 to encourage states, when submitting a treaty for registration, to also submit courtesy translations in any of the six UN official languages to expedite the translation of the treaty into English and French for publication in the UN Treaty Series.Footnote 10 This was proposed by Spain on behalf of a group of UN member states.Footnote 11 It built on a similar proposal from Spain during the negotiations for the resolution at the 75th session, which was not agreed.Footnote 12 Spain highlighted that the delay in the translation of treaties into English and French, which was required by the regulations, was the main cause of the backlog in the publication of the Treaty Series. The General Assembly had previously encouraged the submission of courtesy translations in English and French;Footnote 13 however, courtesy translations in any of the official languages would be helpful in expediting translations of treaties into English and French, given existing UN Secretariat capacity in the official languages.

There was also consensus on the coordinators' proposal to amend Article 12 paragraph 2 to broaden the limited publication policy,Footnote 14 which gives the UN Treaty Section the option of not publishing in extenso certain categories of treaties.Footnote 15 Broadening the limited publication policy by widening the categories of treaties to which it applies was one measure that the UN Secretariat said could help to alleviate the backlog in the publication of the UN Treaty Series.Footnote 16 At the 73rd session, there was no consensus on a proposal to broaden the limited publication policy to multilateral agreements that are to be published in a “widely available format” as that phrase was viewed as lacking in clarity. The coordinators addressed this concern at the 76th session with their proposal, which was based on how “widely available format” would be construed in practice, to broaden the limited publication policy to multilateral agreements that are to be published in a “format similar to the [UN Treaty Series].”

There was also consensus on amending Article 12 paragraph 2 to provide that the UN Treaty Section has the option of not publishing in extenso technical annexes to treaties that are frequently amended.Footnote 17 This reflected an existing practice of the Treaty Section. In addition, there was consensus on amending Article 13 to reflect the Treaty Section's existing practice of early web publishing of the text of treaties submitted for registration and available unofficial translations into English and French.

In relation to the resolution's main text, there was broad support for a new paragraph to provide for a thematic debate in the Sixth Committee to foster a technical exchange of views on practice relating to the strengthening and promoting of the international treaty framework. A number of subtopics for the debate at the 78th session, the next session where the item would be on the agenda, were proposed by the coordinators. There was consensus on the subtopic “Best practices of depositaries of multilateral treaties.”Footnote 18

Concluding Observations

The resolution was welcomed at its adoption by a number of delegations. Colombia, on behalf of the Group of Friends of Spanish, comprising 20 Spanish-speaking UN member states,Footnote 19 said the updated regulations advanced the fundamental values of the United Nations as they put multilingualism at the service of the UN system. Having referred to the amendments to Articles 5 and 13 of the regulations. Colombia added that the resolution provided an example of the value of multilingualism to the United Nations in terms of improving its functioning, saving resources and time, and enriching internal processes.

The updated regulations, which have been applicable with effect from February 1, 2022, are expected to promote and facilitate the implementation of Article 102 of the Charter. While certain states maintained that the regulations could require further consideration,Footnote 20 the establishment of a thematic debate has signalled that the focus of this agenda item has shifted to include its other objectives. Overall, the resolution, which was the result of delegates' constructiveness, flexibility, and commitment to consensus-building, also represented a significant contribution to ongoing efforts to revitalise the Sixth Committee.

RESOLUTION 76/120 ON STRENGTHENING AND PROMOTING THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY FRAMEWORK (U.N.G.A.)

This text was reproduced and reformatted from the text available at the United Nations website (visited April 19, 2022), https://daccess-ods.un.org/tmp/2901482.28406906.html.

General Assembly

Distr.: General

17 December 2021

Seventy-sixth session

Agenda item 88

Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework

_________________________________________________________________________

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 2021

[on the report of the Sixth Committee (A/76/496, para. 8)]

76/120. Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 23 (I) of 10 February 1946, 97 (I) of 14 December 1946, 364 B (IV) of 1 December 1949, 482 (V) of 12 December 1950, 32/144 of 16 December 1977, 33/141 A of 19 December 1978, 51/158 of 16 December 1996, 73/210 of 20 December 2018 and 75/144 of 15 December 2020,

Recalling also its resolutions 71/328 of 11 September 2017 and 73/346 of 16 September 2019, which reaffirm that multilingualism is a core value of the Organization that contributes to the achievement of the goals of the United Nations, and requesting the Secretary-General to continue to make efforts to ensure that multilingualism is not undermined by the measures taken in response to the liquidity situation and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),

Conscious of the obligations resulting from Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations and the importance of treaties in the development of international law and the international legal order,

Noting with appreciation the role of the Secretariat, in particular the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs, in the implementation of Article 102 of the Charter,

Noting that the considerable increase in the number of treaties submitted for registration over the past years has led to the growth in the volume of work carried out by the Treaty Section, contributing to the accumulation of unpublished treaties,

Noting also that, while the authentic texts of registered treaties are promptly made available online through the electronic treaty database, there is currently a significant backlog in the publication of the United Nations Treaty Series due to growing delays in the translation of treaties related, inter alia, to the limited resources available for the publication process,

Recognizing the importance of the expeditious processing, registration and publication of treaties and treaty-related actions,

Supporting the efforts of the Secretary-General to increase the efficiency of the registration and publication process within available resources and to enhance the role played by the Treaty Section in assisting Member States in this area,

Welcoming the measures taken by the Treaty Section to expedite the publication of the United Nations Treaty Series and to provide electronic access to all of its publications on the website of the United Nations Treaty Collection, and recognizing the role that new technology can play in the accessibility of the United Nations Treaty Series

Recognizing that practice and technology have developed considerably over the past years, and acknowledging the importance of maintaining consistency with treaty-making practice in the international community,

Bearing in mind the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,Footnote 1 and considering its adoption on 22 May 1969 by the United Nations Conference on the Law of Treaties,

Convinced of the need to further gather and exchange views on practice relating to the strengthening and promoting of the international treaty framework,

1. Recalls Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirms the importance of the registration and publication of treaties, as well as their accessibility, and stresses that the regulations to give effect to Article 102 should be useful and relevant to Member States and should be kept updated to assist States in implementing their obligations thereunder;

2. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Review of the regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations”,Footnote 2 submitted pursuant to its resolution 73/210, and of the recommendations contained therein for consideration by the General Assembly;

3. Amends the regulations as detailed in the annex to the present resolution, which, as amended, will apply as from 1 February 2022;

4. Notes that some Member States continue to consider that there remain outstanding issues where the regulations may need further consideration;

5. Reaffirms its support for the annual treaty event organized by the Secretary-General;

6. Welcomes the organization of workshops on treaty law and practice by the Treaty Section at Headquarters and at the national and regional levels as an important capacity-building initiative, encourages the Treaty Section to continue to organize these workshops as regularly as possible, including through the use of information and communications technology when necessary owing to extraordinary circumstances, and invites States and interested international organizations and institutions to continue to support this activity;

7. Notes that workshops on treaty law and practice at the national and regional levels could not be organized since 2016, including owing to a lack of funds, and invites States and interested organizations and institutions to make voluntary contributions to the trust fund established by the Secretary-General for the Office of Legal Affairs to support the promotion of international law, towards the financing of such workshops, or otherwise to assist in their implementation and possible expansion, as a complement to workshops on treaty law and practice held at Headquarters;

8. Welcomes efforts to build the capacity of States in treaty law and practice, and invites Member States to consider providing targeted technical assistance, upon request, at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, in particular to developing countries, in order to develop and enhance their treaty practice, including in the use of information and communications technology;

9. Also welcomes the efforts made to develop and enhance the United Nations electronic treaty database, which provides online access to comprehensive information on the depositary functions of the Secretary-General and the registration and publication of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter, and encourages the continuation of such efforts in the future, while bearing in mind the challenges that many developing countries face in accessing information and communications technology;

10. Notes that most submissions of treaties for registration are in electronic format, and encourages the Secretary-General to develop, in consultation with and on the basis of feedback from Member States and within existing resources, an online treaty registration system to facilitate submissions of treaties for registration, as an additional option to the existing ways of submission in electronic or hard-copy format;

11. Recognizes the importance of the legal publications prepared by the Treaty Section, and stresses the need to update the Summary of Practice of the Secretary- General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties in the light of new developments and practices;

12. Acknowledges the efforts of the depositaries in the registration of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter, and encourages the continuation of such efforts in the future;

13. Calls upon the Secretary-General to ensure the expedited publication of the United Nations Treaty Series, in accordance with the regulations, through the prompt provision of editorial and translation services, to enable effective dissemination of and access to treaties;

14. Decides to undertake a thematic debate in the Sixth Committee to foster a technical exchange of views on practice relating to the strengthening and promoting of the international treaty framework, and in that regard invites Member States to focus their comments during the debate at the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly on the subtopic “Best practices of depositaries of multilateral treaties”;

15. Also decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-eighth session the item entitled “Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework”.

49th plenary meeting

9 December 2021

Annex

Regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations

Part One Registration

Article 1

1. Every treaty or international agreement, whatever its form and descriptive name, entered into by one or more Members of the United Nations after 24 October 1945, the date of the coming into force of the Charter, shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat in accordance with these regulations.

2. Registration shall not take place until the treaty or international agreement has come into force between two or more of the parties thereto. A treaty or international agreement that is being provisionally applied prior to its entry into force may be registered as provisionally applied.

3. Such registration may be effected by any party or in accordance with article 4 of these regulations. Without prejudice to the right of a party to a treaty or international agreement to submit it for registration, if a treaty or international agreement designates one or more depositaries, any of the depositaries is encouraged to effect registration unless otherwise provided in the treaty or international agreement or agreed by its parties.

4. The Secretariat shall record the treaties and international agreements so registered in a register established for that purpose.

Article 2

1. When a treaty or international agreement has been registered with the Secretariat, a certified statement regarding any subsequent action which effects a change in the parties thereto, or the terms, scope or application thereof, shall also be registered with the Secretariat.

2. The Secretariat shall record the certified statement so registered in the register established under article 1 of these regulations.

Article 3

1. Registration by a party, in accordance with article 1 of these regulations, relieves all other parties of the obligation to register. Registration by a depositary, in accordance with article 1 of these regulations, relieves all parties of the obligation to register.

2. Registration effected in accordance with article 4 of these regulations relieves all parties of the obligation to register.

Article 4

1. Every treaty or international agreement subject to article 1 of these regulations shall be registered ex officio by the United Nations in the following cases:

  1. (a) Where the United Nations is a party to the treaty or international agreement;

  2. (b) Where the United Nations has been authorized by the treaty or international agreement to effect registration;

  3. (c) Where the United Nations is the depositary of a multilateral treaty or international agreement.

2. A treaty or international agreement subject to article 1 of these regulations may be registered with the Secretariat by a specialized agency in the following cases:

  1. (a) Where the constituent instrument of the specialized agency provides for such registration;

  2. (b) Where the treaty or international agreement has been registered with the specialized agency pursuant to the terms of its constituent instrument;

  3. (c) Where the specialized agency has been authorized by the treaty or international agreement to effect registration.

Article 5

1. Any submission for registration under article 1 or 4 of these regulations shall include a certified copy of the treaty or international agreement, either in electronic or hard-copy format, together with a statement certifying that the text is a true and complete copy thereof.

2. The certified copy shall reproduce the text in all the languages in which the treaty or international agreement was concluded, including all annexes or attachments constituting an integral part of the treaty or international agreement. In the case of multilateral treaties or agreements, it shall also include the text of all reservations or declarations made or confirmed by the parties at the time of deposit of their instruments of consent to be bound, in all authentic languages in which these reservations or declarations were made.

3. In addition to a certified copy and the statement referred to, any submission may also include, where available, courtesy translations of the text into any of the official languages of the United Nations, in order to expedite translations into English and French for the purpose of publication in accordance with article 12 of these regulations.

4. The certifying statement shall set forth:

  1. (a) The full title of the treaty or international agreement;

  2. (b) The date(s) and place(s) of conclusion of the treaty or international agreement;

  3. (c) The date on which the treaty or international agreement has come into force;

  4. (d) The method whereby it has come into force (for example: by signature, by ratification, approval or acceptance, by accession, etcetera);

  5. (e) The authentic languages in which it was concluded and, when applicable, the language or languages in which courtesy translations are provided;

  6. (f) When applicable, the names and official titles of the persons that have signed the treaty or international agreement on behalf of each party.

5. In the case of multilateral treaties or agreements, the certifying statement shall include, in addition to the information described in paragraph 4 of this article:

  1. (a) A list of all the parties to the treaty or international agreement, indicating the date of deposit of each party's instrument of consent to be bound, the nature of such instrument (ratification, approval, acceptance, accession, etcetera) and the date of entry into force of the treaty for each party; and

  2. (b) A certification that it includes all reservations or declarations made by parties thereto.

6. The requirements set forth in this article shall also apply to subsequent actions submitted pursuant to article 2 of these regulations.

Article 6

The date of receipt by the Secretariat of the United Nations of the treaty or international agreement registered shall be deemed to be the date of registration, provided that the date of registration of a treaty or agreement registered ex officio by the United Nations shall be the date on which the treaty or agreement first came into force between two or more of the parties thereto.

Article 7

A certificate of registration signed by the Secretary-General, or his or her representative, shall be issued to the registering party, or specialized agency or depositary, and also, upon request, to any party to the treaty or international agreement registered. Certificates of registration shall also be made public through electronic means.

Article 8

1. The register shall be kept in the English and French languages. The register shall comprise in respect of each treaty or international agreement, a record of:

  1. (a) The serial number given in the order of registration;

  2. (b) The title given to the instrument by the parties;

  3. (c) The names of the parties between whom it was concluded;

  4. (d) The dates of signature, ratification, approval or acceptance, exchange of ratification, accession, and entry into force;

  5. (e) The duration, where appropriate;

  6. (f) The language or languages in which it was drawn up;

  7. (g) The name of the party, specialized agency or depositary which registers the instrument and the date of such registration;

  8. (h) Particulars of publication in the treaty series of the United Nations.

2. Such information shall also be included in the register in regard to the statements registered under article 2 of these regulations.

3. The texts of registered treaties or international agreements, together with the certifying statements, shall remain in the custody of the Secretariat.

Article 9

The Secretary-General, or his or her representative, shall ensure that the register is publicly accessible, including through electronic means.

Part Two

Filing and recording Article 10

The Secretariat shall file and record treaties and international agreements, other than those subject to registration under article 1 of these regulations, if they fall in the following categories:

  1. (a) Treaties or international agreements entered into by the United Nations or by one or more of the specialized agencies;

  2. (b) Treaties or international agreements transmitted by a Member of the United Nations which were entered into before the coming into force of the Charter, but which were not included in the treaty series of the League of Nations;

  3. (c) Treaties or international agreements transmitted by a party not a member of the United Nations which were entered into before or after the coming into force of the Charter which were not included in the treaty series of the League of Nations.

Article 11

The provisions of articles 2, 5 and 8 of these regulations shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to all treaties and international agreements filed and recorded under article 10 of these regulations.

Part Three Publication

Article 12

1. The Secretariat shall publish as soon as possible in a single series every treaty or international agreement which is registered or filed and recorded, in the original language or languages, followed by a translation in English and in French. The certified statements referred to in article 2 of these regulations shall be published in the same manner.

2. The Secretariat will, however, have the option not to publish in extenso a treaty or international agreement, or a technical annex to a treaty or international agreement, belonging to one of the following categories:

  1. (a) Assistance and cooperation agreements of limited scope concerning financial, commercial, administrative or technical matters;

  2. (b) Agreements relating to the organization of conferences, seminars or meetings;

  3. (c) Agreements that are to be published otherwise than in the series mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article by the United Nations Secretariat, or by a specialized or related agency;

  4. (d) Multilateral agreements that are to be published in a format similar to the series mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article by their depositaries;

  5. (e) Technical annexes to treaties or agreements where technical annexes are frequently amended.

3. In deciding whether or not to publish in extenso a treaty or international agreement belonging to one of the categories mentioned in paragraph 2 of this article, the Secretariat shall duly take into account, inter alia, the practical value that might accrue from in extenso publication. Treaties and international agreements that the Secretariat intends not to publish in extenso shall be identified as such in the register, it being understood that a decision not to publish in extenso may be reversed at any time.

4. Any State or intergovernmental organization may obtain from the Secretary- General a copy of the text of any treaty or international agreement which it has been decided, pursuant to paragraph 2 of this article, not to publish in extenso. The Secretariat shall likewise make a copy of any such treaty or agreement available to private persons against payment.

5. In respect of each treaty or international agreement registered or filed and recorded, the series referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall include at least the following information: the registration or recording number, the names of the parties, the title, the date and place of conclusion, the date and method of entry into force, the duration (where appropriate), the languages of conclusion, the name of the State or organization that has registered it or transmitted it for filing and recording, and, if appropriate, references to publications in which the complete text of the treaty or international agreement is reproduced.

Article 13

The Secretariat shall make available the series referred to in article 12 of these regulations through any electronic means that may be available. The text of a registered treaty or international agreement, as submitted, and unofficial translations into English and French prepared by the Secretariat shall also be made available online, as soon as possible after registration and prior to publication in the series. The Secretariat shall send printed copies of the series to Members of the United Nations, upon request.

Footnotes

1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1155, No. 18232.

2 A/75/136.

References

ENDNOTES

1 Maitê de Souza Schmitz of Brazil and Nathaniel Khng of Singapore served as coordinators for the negotiations of the resolution.

2 Permanent Reps. of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Italy, and Singapore to the U.N., letter dated Jun. 7, 2018, from the Permanent Reps. of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Italy and Singapore to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/73/141 (Jun. 7. 2018).

3 U.N. GAOR. 75th Sess., 6th Sixth Comm. mtg., ¶ 85, U.N. Doc. A/C.6/75/SR.6 (Oct. 15, 2020).

4 G.A. Res. 73/210, ¶¶ 4, 12, U.N. Doc. A/RES/73/210 (Dec. 20, 2018).

5 The resolution requested the UN Secretary-General to provide a report, following broad consultations with member states, with information on practice and possible options to review the regulations. G.A. Res. 73/210, ¶ 12, U.N. Doc. A/RES/73/210 (Dec. 20, 2018).

6 See G.A. Res. 75/136, ¶ 12, U.N. Doc. A/RES/75/136 (Dec. 15, 2020).

7 See U.N. GAOR. 75th Sess., 7th Sixth Comm. mtg., ¶ 28, U.N. Doc. A/C.6/75/SR.7 (Oct. 19, 2020).

8 U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 12, U.N. Doc. A/75/136 (Jul. 6, 2020), citing U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Sixth Comm., Registration and Publication of Treaties and International Agreements, ¶ 7(b), U.N. Doc. A/266 (Dec. 13, 1946).

9 See Special Rapporteur on the Provisional Application of Treaties, Fourth Rep. on the Provisional Application of Treaties, Int'l Law Comm'n, ¶ 114, U.N. Doc. A/CN.4/699 (Jun. 23, 2016) (by Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo).

10 See G.A. Res. 76/120, Annex, art. 5, ¶¶ 3, 4(e), U.N. Doc. A/RES/76/120 (Dec. 9, 2021).

11 Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

12 See U.N. GAOR. 75th Sess., 19th Sixth Comm. mtg., ¶ 37, U.N. Doc. A/C.6/75/SR.19 (Nov. 19, 2020).

13 U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 31, U.N. Doc. A/72/86 (May 11, 2017) (“[T]he General Assembly has encouraged States to provide, where available, … courtesy translations in English or French or both … However, courtesy translations are rarely received, which often has an impact on the amount of time needed for registration and publication.”)

14 See G.A. Res. 76/120, supra note 10, Annex, art. 12, ¶ 2(d). The chapeau, at paragraph 2, was also amended, through a deletion of the word “bilateral” before the phrase “treaty or international agreement”. This was to reflect what was provided for in General Assembly resolution 52/153, in accordance with which the limited publication policy has been applicable to both bilateral and multilateral treaties.

15 See U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 39, U.N. Doc. A/72/86 (May 11, 2017) (“With respect to a treaty subject to limited publication, the series omits its text, but indicates its full title in English and French, as well as information on the parties, date and mode of entry into force and authentic texts, as well as the number and date of registration and the registering entity.”); U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 50, U.N. Doc. A/75/136 (Jul. 6, 2020) (“The Secretariat makes decisions on whether or not to publish a treaty in extenso taking into account, inter alia, the practical value that might accrue from in extenso publication, as indicated in article 12, paragraph 3.”)

16 U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 44, U.N. Doc. A/72/86 (May 11, 2017); U.N. G.A. Rep. of the Secretary-General, Review of the Regulations to Give Effect to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, ¶ 54, U.N. Doc. A/75/136 (Jul. 6, 2020).

17 See G.A. Res. 76/120, supra note 10, Annex, art. 12, ¶¶ 2, 2(e).

18 Id. ¶ 14.

19 Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

20 See G.A. Res. 76/120, supra note 10, ¶ 4.