United Nations Convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and / or desertification, particularly in Africa

Parties with reservations, declarations and objections

Party	Reservations / Declarations	Objections
Algeria	Yes	No
Austria	Yes	No
Estonia	Yes	No
Guatemala	Yes	No
Israel	Yes	No
Kuwait	Yes	No
Netherlands, the Kingdom of the	Yes	No
New Zealand	Yes	No
Palestine	Yes	No
United States of America	Yes	No

Algeria

22-05-1996

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 28, paragraph 2, of the [said Convention], to the effect that any dispute must be submitted to the International Court of Justice.
The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria declares that for a dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice, the consent of both parties will be necessary in each case.

Austria

02-06-1997

The Republic of Austria declares in accordance with article 28 of the Convention that it accepts both of the means of dispute in paragraph 2 as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting an obligation concerning one or both of these means of dispute settlement.

Estonia

08-02-2012

In accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 34 of the Convention, any additional regional implementation annex or an amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force with respect to the Republic of Estonia only upon the deposit of its instrument of approval of such annex or amendment with the Depositary

Guatemala

10-09-1998

The Republic of Guatemala declares that, in respect of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, it recognizes arbitration in accordance with procedures adopted by the Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practicable as a means of dispute settlement, compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation. This declaration shall remain in force until three months after written notice of its revocation has been deposited with the Depositary.

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 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, dated 14 October 1994, and has the honor to refer to the Palestinian request to accede to this Convention (Reference number C.N.806.2017.TREATIES-XXVII.10).
‘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.

Kuwait

27-06-1997

With respect to the State of Kuwait, any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession with respect thereto.

Netherlands, the Kingdom of the

27-06-1995

The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 28 of [the said Convention] that it accepts both means of dispute settlement referred to in that paragraph as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting one or both of these means of dispute settlement.

New Zealand

07-09-2000

Any additional regional implementation annex or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for New Zealand only upon the Government of New Zealand's deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.

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.188.2018.TREATIES-XXVII.10, dated 4 April 2018, conveying a communication of Israel regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, 14 October 1994.
The Government of the State of Palestine regrets the position of Israel and wishes to recall 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 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, 14 October 1994, 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.

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.175.2018.TREATIES-XXVII.10, dated 4 April 2018, conveying a communication of the United States of America regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, 14 October 1994.
The Government of the State of Palestine regrets the position of the United States of America and wishes to recall 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 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, 14 October 1994, 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.

United States of America

17-11-2000

Understandings:
(1) Foreign assistance.-- The United States understands that, as a "developed country," pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention and its Annexes, it is not obligated to satisfy specific funding requirements or other specific requirements regarding the provision of any resource, including technology, to any "affected country," as defined in Article 1 of the Convention. The United States understands that ratification of the Convention does not alter its domestic legal processes to determine foreign assistance funding or programs.
Financial resources and mechanism.-- The United States understands that neither Article 20 nor Article 21 of the Convention impose obligations to provide specific levels of funding for the Global Environmental Facility, or the Global Mechanism, to carry out the objectives of the Convention, or for any other purpose.
(3) United States land management.-- The United States understands that it is a "developed country party" as defined in Article 1 of the Convention, and that it is not required to prepare a national action program pursuant to Part III, Section 1, of the Convention. The United States also understands that no changes to its existing land management practices and programs will be required to meet its obligations under Articles 4 or 5 of the Convention.
(4) Legal process for amending the Convention.-- In accordance with Article 34 (4), any additional regional implementation annex to the Convention or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for the United States only upon the deposit of a corresponding instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
(5) Dispute settlement.-- The United States declines to accept as compulsory either of the dispute settlement means set out in Article 28(2), and understands that it will not be bound by the outcome, findings, conclusions or recommendations of a conciliation process initiated under Article 28 (6). For any dispute arising from this Convention, the United States does not recognize or accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice

29-03-2018

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.806.2017.TREATIES-XXVII.10, dated January 2, 2018, regarding the purported accession of the ‘State of Palestine’ to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, done at Paris October 14, 1994 (the Convention), 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 Convention 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 Convention and affirms that it will not consider itself to be in a treaty relationship with the ‘State of Palestine’ under the Convention.