opened for signature - 1 December 1959
entered into force - 23 June 1961
objective - to ensure that Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes
only (such as international cooperation in scientific research); to
defer the question of territorial claims asserted by some nations and
not recognized by others; to provide an international forum for
management of the region; applies to land and ice shelves south of 60
degrees South latitude
parties - (45) Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,
Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Netherlands,
NZ, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia,
South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, US,
Uruguay, Venezuela
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and Their Disposal
note - abbreviated as Hazardous Wastes
opened for signature - 22 March 1989
entered into force - 5 May 1992
objective - to reduce transboundary movements of wastes subject to the
Convention to a minimum consistent with the environmentally sound and
efficient management of such wastes; to minimize the amount and
toxicity of wastes generated and ensure their environmentally sound
management as closely as possible to the source of generation; and to
assist LDCs in environmentally sound management of the hazardous and
other wastes they generate
parties - (149) Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin,
Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China,
Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote
d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, EU,
Finland, France, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,
Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea,
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco,
Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, NZ,
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New
Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania,
Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles,
Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden,
Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia,
Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, UAE, UK, Uruguay, Uzbekistan,
Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia
countries that have signed, but not yet ratified - (3) Afghanistan,
Haiti, US