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
RRatified (full agreement from country’s legistlature)
SSigned (only consent from country’s head of state, non-binding)
NNeither ratified, nor signed
WSignature and/or ratification withdrawn
 AUSCANDENFRAGERITAJAPNETNORSWEUKUS
Anti-Ballistic Missile TreatyW
Anti-Personnel Land Mine TreatyRRRRRRRRRRRN
Arms Trade TreatyRRRRRRRRRRRS
Basel ConventionRRRRRRRRRRRN
Chemical Weapons ConventionRRRRRRRRRRRR
Comprehensive Test Ban TreatyRRRRRRRRRRRS
Convention on Abolition of Forced Labour (ILO C 105)RRRRRRNRRRRR
Convention on Bacteriological and Toxin WeaponsRRRRRRRRRRRS
Convention on Biological DiversityRRRRRRSSRRRN
Convention on Cluster MunitionsRRRRRRRRRRRR
Convention on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (ILO C111)RRRRRRNRRRRN
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenRRRRRRRRRRRS
Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO C182)RRRRRRRRRRRR
Convention on Equal Remuneration (ILO C100)RRRRRRRRRRRN
Convention on Forced Labour (ILO C29)RRRRRRRRRRRN
Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (ILO C87)RRRRRRRRRRRN
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)RRRSRRSRRRRR
Convention on Minimum Age (ILO C138)NRRRRRRRRRRN
Convention on the Rights of the ChildRRRRRRRRRRRS
Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRRRRRRRRRRRS
Convention on the Right to Organize & Collective Bargaining (ILO C 98)RRRRRRRRRRRN
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)RRRRRRRRRRRS
International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural RightsRRRRRRRRRRRS
International Criminal CourtRRRRRRRRRRRN
Kyoto ProtocolRWRRRRRRRRRS
Minamata Convention on MercurySRRRRSRRRRRR
Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyRRRRRRRRRRRR
United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)RRRRRRRRRRRN
 
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treatyhttps://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/abmtreatyBilateral 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 Treatyhttps://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 Treatyhttps://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 Conventionhttps://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1271/Default.aspxThe Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, in response to a public outcry following the discovery, in the 1980s, in Africa and other parts of the developing world of deposits of toxic wastes imported from abroad.
Chemical Weapons Conventionhttps://www.armscontrol.org/treaties/chemical-weapons-conventionMaintained 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 Treatyhttps://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclear-Testing-and-Comprehensive-Test-Ban-Treaty-CTBT-TimelineThe 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:C105International 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 Weaponshttps://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/bwcThe 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 Biological Diversity
Convention on Cluster Munitionshttp://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:NOC 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 Womenhttps://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:C182A 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:C100C100 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:C029C29 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:312232C87 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 International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)https://cites.org/eng/disc/what.php0
Convention on Minimum Age (ILO C138)https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C138C138 (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 Childhttps://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 Disabilitieshttps://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.htmlAims 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:C098Like C87, C98 promotes employee organization while fighting anti-union discrimination. C98 was adopted in 1949.
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)https://fctc.who.int/who-fctc/overviewThe WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has since become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history.
International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rightshttps://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rightsThe International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 1976.[1] It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to the Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories and individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. As of July 2020, the Covenant has 171 parties.[3] A further four countries, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Covenant.
International Criminal Courthttps://asp.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/asp/states%20parties/pages/the%20states%20parties%20to%20the%20rome%20statute.aspx
Kyoto Protocolhttps://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-7-a&chapter=27&clang=_enThe 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 Mercuryhttp://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 Treatyhttps://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.htmIn 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.

Page updated on 6/6/2023.

NOTES

Thirty years ago, on June 27, 1989, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, to facilitate the development of dialogue between a country’s government and the Indigenous Peoples who live in that country. Its central aim is to protect the human rights of Indigenous Peoples and acknowledge “the aspirations of these peoples to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development and to maintain and develop their identities, languages and religions, within the framework of the States in which they live.”
Chris Swartz
June 5, 2019.