According to this survey of international treaties, the United States has not agreed to many of the most important international treaties.
International Treaties
| KEY CODE | |
|---|---|
| R | Ratified (full agreement from country’s legistlature) |
| S | Signed (only consent from country’s head of state, non-binding) |
| N | Neither ratified, nor signed |
| W | Signature and/or ratification withdrawn |
| AUS | CAN | DEN | FRA | GER | ITA | JAP | NET | NOR | SWE | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | W |
| Anti-Personnel Land Mine Treaty | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Arms Trade Treaty | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Basel Convention | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Chemical Weapons Convention | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Convention on Abolition of Forced Labour (ILO C 105) | R | R | R | R | R | R | N | R | R | R | R | R |
| Convention on Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Convention on Cluster Munitions | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Convention on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (ILO C111) | R | R | R | R | R | R | N | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO C182) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Convention on Equal Remuneration ((ILO C100) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on Forced Labour (ILO C29) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (ILO C87) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on Minimum Age (ILO C138) | N | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Convention on the Right to Organize & Collective Bargaining (ILO C 98) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| International Criminal Court | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Kyoto Protocol | R | W | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S |
| Minamata Convention on Mercury | S | R | R | R | R | S | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on Biological Diversity | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | R | R | R | N |
| Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) | R | R | R | S | R | R | S | R | R | R | R | R |
| SOURCE | DESCRIPTION | |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty | https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/abmtreaty | Bilateral treaty between the Soviet Union and United States in 1972 created to limit anti-ballistic missiles. The United States withdrew from the treaty in 2002. |
| Anti-Personnel Land Mine Treaty | https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/ottawa | “The Ottawa Convention” seeks to eliminate the use of land mines. Adopted in 1997, 164 states are party to the treaty as of 2018. |
| Arms Trade Treaty | https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/att/ https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/arms_trade_treaty | Limits illicit arms trade of everything from tanks and helicopters to small and light arms from being dealt to nation states involved in human rights violations. The treaty was passed in the UN April 2, 2013. |
| Basel Convention | http://www.basel.int/ | Objective is to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes including household waste and incinerator ash. Plastic Waste amendments effective as of January 1, 2021. |
| Chemical Weapons Convention | https://www.armscontrol.org/treaties/chemical-weapons-convention | Maintained independently by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the 1992 treaty has reduced the world’s stock of chemical weapons by with the participation of 193 countries. |
| Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty | https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclear-Testing-and-Comprehensive-Test-Ban-Treaty-CTBT-Timeline | The CTBT has been ratified by 168 countries. This effort is to ban all nuclear explosion tests for any reason. The treaty does not go into effect until after 44 prescribed countries ratify it. 8 of 44 of these countries (including the U.S.) have yet to ratify it. |
| Convention on Abolition of Forced Labour (ILO C 105) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C105 | International Labor Organization (ILO) effort to completely eradicate slavery and forced labor was drafted in 1957. The U.S. has only signed two of the eight ILO treaties considered fundamental for the preservation of human rights. This is one of them. |
| Convention on Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons | https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/bwc | The BWC went into force in 1975. As of 2018, 182 countries are committed to banning bacteriological weapons. This represents the first multilateral treaty to disarm a category of weaponry. |
| Convention on Cluster Munitions | http://www.clusterconvention.org/ | This recent treaty (entered force August 2010) seeks to eliminate the use of cluster munitions, bombs which carry smaller bomblets in order to disperse harmful material such as land mines or chemicals. 120 states have committed, 106 of which are state-parties. |
| Convention on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (ILO C111) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312256:NO | C 111 (1958) is an effort to increase opportunity and fair treatment for employees by terminating discrimination of all kinds. |
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women | https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ | Taken into effect in 1981, CEDAW is integral in providing a foundation to the women’s rights movement as a human rights issue. CEDAW has prioritized empowering women to vote and a woman’s right to run for elected positions. |
| Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO C182) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 | A fairly recent treaty (1999), this convention focuses on child labor issues such as children’s role in the services of slavery, trafficking, or pornography. C182 is the second of the two treaties the ILO considers fundamental to human rights. |
| Convention on Equal Remuneration ((ILO C100) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C100 | C100 strives to make even the compensation for a particular job regardless of sex. Since it was adopted in 1951, 173 countries have ratified it as of 2018. |
| Convention on Forced Labour (ILO C29) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C029 | C29 urges for the immediate elimination of all compulsory labor, save for exceptions specified within the treaty. The 1930 conventions has had 178 ratifications. |
| Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (ILO C87) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312232 | C87 is concerned with the rights of employees to associate themselves in organizations that promote employee rights. Since 1948, 155 countries have ratified the convention. |
| Convention on Minimum Age (ILO C138) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C138 | C138 (1976) is a treaty complimentary to the other ILO agreements to help eliminate child labor. It urges countries to progressively raise the age required to enter employment. |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child | https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention | Promotes protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; participation in family, cultural and social life; non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html | Aims to guarantee people with a broad range of disabilities share the same basic human rights as everyone else. It was negotiated in five years (open to signatures in 2007), making it the fastest developed human rights treaty. |
| Convention on the Right to Organize & Collective Bargaining (ILO C 98) | https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C098 | Like C87, C98 promotes employee organization while fighting anti-union discrimination. C98 was adopted in 1949. |
| International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights | https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en | The preamble to this 1966 treaty appends civil and political rights to the rights in the title. The treaty represents a fight against the exploitation of cultures or regions and an attempt to reinforce the recognition of their rights. 169 countries have ratified it. |
| International Criminal Court | https://asp.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/asp/states%20parties/pages/the%20states%20parties%20to%20the%20rome%20statute.aspx | The Rome Statute of the ICC is the statute associated with the adoption of the ICC and was drafted in 1998. As it’s preamble claims, the ICC shall be “complimentary” to each country’s national jurisdictions, yet uphold international values as an international community. |
| Kyoto Protocol | https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-7-a&chapter=27&clang=_en | The Kyoto Protocol is a commitment to decrease greenhouse gases in 37 industrialized nation by an average target of 5%. The 1997 agreement places the most responsibility on industrialized nations for having contributed the most to the climate crisis. 192 countries have ratified it. |
| Minamata Convention on Mercury | http://www.mercuryconvention.org/ | Named after the Japanese city that befell victim to several decades of mercury pollution to illegal dumping of chemical waste. 128 countries have signed the treaty to limit mercury polution, while 110 countries have ratified it. |
| Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty | https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/ | The NPT allows for peaceful use of the development of nuclear energy, yet vehemently urges the disarmament of nuclear weapons and development of nuclear war technology. 191 parties have ratified the NPT, more than for any other disarmament treaty. |
| United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) | https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsIII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXI-6&chapter=21&Temp=mtdsg3&clang=_en https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm | In 1982, UNCLOS agreed to a treaty that would establish country’s rights concerning the use and protection of the world’s oceans. The 1982 treaty went into effect in 1994. 168 countries total have ratified it. |
| Convention on Biological Diversity | https://www.cbd.int/convention/ | The main objectives of the CBD include the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of the components of biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. Created in 1992, the United States helped to develop this treaty but never ratified it, being the only country listed here to not have done so. |
| Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) | https://cites.org/eng/disc/what.php | CITES entered into force in 1975 and aims to protect and safeguard the survival of wild animal and plant specimen in international trade. 184 parties have agreed to the convention, among the conservation agreements with the largest membership. |
Page updated on 2/6/2023.