TREATY EVENT 

The Millennium Summit Treaty Event took place from 6 to 8 September 2000 in a special room adjacent to the Delegates’ entrance at the UN Headquarters.  A total of 84 delegations (of which 59 were at the level of Head of State and Government) signed or deposited instruments of ratification or accession to 40 multilateral agreements, deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.  Appointments were scheduled from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm during the Summit.

 A total of 273 treaty actions took place during the three days (187 signatures and 86 ratifications or accessions).  The treaties, which attracted the most attention, included:

• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
  – 59 signatures/2 ratifications;
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
  – 57 signatures/1 ratification;
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  – 18 signatures/4 ratifications;
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
  – 12 signatures/4 ratifications;
• International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism
  – 10 signatures/2 ratifications; and
• Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel
  – 7 ratifications and accessions.

Treaty Actions by day: 6 September | 7 September | 8 September

BACKGROUND

  On 15 May 2000, further to a proposal contained in his Millennium Report (A/54/2000), the Secretary-General addressed a letter to all Heads of State and/or Government informing that special facilities would be provided at the Millennium Summit for Heads of State or Government or their duly authorised representatives to sign, ratify, or accede to the multilateral conventions deposited with him. 

By so doing, the Secretary-General invited Heads of State or Government to make use of this unique opportunity to express support for, and re-dedicate themselves to the international legal framework consisting, as of 15 May 2000, of 514 multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General (http://untreaty.un.org/). The majority of these treaties have been adopted by the General Assembly or concluded at plenipotentiary conferences convened by the organs of the United Nations. In connection with the Millennium Summit, the Secretary-General has urged, in particular, the universal participation in a core group of 25 multilateral treaties.