Delegates from around 140 countries have agreed to adopt a treaty limiting the use of hazardous mercury. The world’s first legally-binding treaty on mercury, reached Saturday after a week of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, aims to reduce global emission levels of the toxic heavy metal, which pose risks to human health and the environment. In […]
Global Treaty Reached on Cutting Mercury Emissions
Posted January 19th, 2013 at 4:30 am (UTC-5)
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UN Votes to Re-Open Arms Treaty Debate
Posted December 25th, 2012 at 1:05 am (UTC-5)
The U.N. General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to restart talks on a treaty regulating the global trade of conventional arms, after a similar effort failed in July. The assembly has agreed to hold a conference in March to try to reach a consensus on a plan that would set global standards for the international transfer […]
US, Europe Object to Global Telecom Treaty
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 6:35 pm (UTC-5)
The United States and many European countries have refused to sign an international telecommunications treaty that they say opens the door to greater government control of the Internet. Eighty-nine countries signed the U.N. treaty in Dubai Friday while 55 states objected, revealing a deep divide about the oversight of cyberspace. The U.S.-led bloc advocated a […]
US Senate Rejects UN Disabilities Treaty
Posted December 4th, 2012 at 10:25 pm (UTC-5)
Opposition Republicans in the U.S. Senate have blocked passage of a United Nations treaty protecting people with disabilities from discrimination. Most lawmakers voted in favor of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Tuesday. But a two-thirds’ majority was required for passage, and the final was five votes short . The treaty failed […]
European Foreign Ministers Want ‘Decisive’ Effort to Regulate Arms Trade
Posted July 2nd, 2012 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
Britain, France, Germany and Sweden are urging United Nations members to support a “decisive effort” to regulate conventional weapons trade. Delegates from more than 150 countries are gathering in New York Monday to begin a month-long meeting to draft a global arms trade treaty. Ahead of the conference, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, French Foreign […]
Clinton, US Military Leaders Urge Senate to Approve Sea Treaty
Posted May 23rd, 2012 at 12:05 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top U.S. military leaders are urging Senate lawmakers to approve signing on to an international sea treaty that has long faced opposition out of concern it would undermine U.S. sovereignty. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, Secretary Clinton called joining the U.N. Convention on the Law […]
EU Leaders Sign Treaty Requiring Its Governments to Constrain Spending
Posted March 2nd, 2012 at 1:25 pm (UTC-5)
European Union leaders signed a treaty in Brussels Friday to require their individual governments to balance their budgets or face economic sanctions if they do not. The treaty is the latest response by Europe’s leaders to contain the continent’s two-year debt crisis that twice has forced Greece, and Ireland and Portugal once apiece, to secure […]
EU Leaders Sign Treaty Requiring Its Governments to Constrain Spending
Posted March 2nd, 2012 at 9:50 am (UTC-5)
European Union leaders signed a treaty in Brussels Friday to require their individual governments to balance their budgets or face economic sanctions if they do not. The treaty is the latest response by Europe’s leaders to contain the continent’s two-year debt crisis that twice has forced Greece, and Ireland and Portugal once apiece, to secure […]
European Union Leaders Sign Treaty Requiring Member Countries be Solvent
Posted March 2nd, 2012 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
European Union leaders signed a treaty in Brussels Friday, requiring member states to balance their budgets or face a fine. The Treaty for Stability Coordination and Governance is a response to crushing debt that forced Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek bailouts. EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy was quoted as saying the treaty will […]
