Conventions and declarations
Striving to uphold the principles set forth in the Charter, the United Nations has adopted numerous declarations and resolutions.
Principles of the United Nations
The aim of the United Nations is to achieve the objectives stated in the Charter. Among these we find
- peace and security
- social and economic development
- respect for human rights
- international law.
To approach these goals, the UN has adopted a number of declarations and resolutions.
Article 102 of the UN Charter states that all treaties entered into force by member states of the United Nations are registered and published by the UN Secretariat.
Declarations
Declarations are not legally binding but carry considerable moral force and serve as a clear indication of the commitments of the international community. Declarations often originate from resolutions adopted by the General Assemby. Some declarations later become conventions.
Conventions
Conventions are binding formal agreements. When a convention is ratified in sufficient numbers, it enters into force and becomes legally binding on the states that have ratified and signed it.
- To sign indicates the preparations for ratification.
- To ratify confirms an agreement to be legally bound by the convention, with legislative changes taking place within a member state to adhere to the agreement at the domestic level. The process between signing and ratification may take several years.
- To accede means that a state accepts to become a party to a convention already negotiated and signed by other states.
More UN, conventions and declarations
- United Nations Treaty Collection. Information regarding the activities of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs including multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and those formerly deposited with the League of Nations. Their latest status and a link to the full texts.
- United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) is a collection of treaties and international agreements, published since 1946, in accordance with Article 102 of the UN Charter.
- Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General. All signatures and ratifications are updated annually.
- An explanatory Glossary of terms relating to Treaty actions. Published by the UN Office of Legal Affairs.
- UN Treaty Collection : Overview.
- Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Law. Human rights conventions and declaration with links to full texts and ratification information.
Key UN documents
- UN Charter in Swedish | in English
- UN System Chart
- Yearbook of the United Nations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Swedish | in English
- Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
- Statue of the International Court of Justice
Human rights, conventions and declarations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Swedish | in English
- Resolution 217 A (III) / A/RES/217(III) adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 during its 183rd plenary meeting
- The Core International Human Rights Instruments and their monitoring bodies
- Universal Human Rights Index - UHRI. Human rights recommendations from all parts of the UN system: the UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies, the Human Rights Council mechanisms Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures. Each document links to other related information in the database
- Charter-based Body Database. Documents and reports of the Human Rights Council, its predecessor and their subsidiaries and parent organs. Maintained by OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights).
- Treaty Body Database. Full text documents from the UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies
- Yearbook on Human Rights 1946-1988
- OHCHR website for background information, documents and reports.
- Research guides by the UN library Dag Hammarskjöld Library: