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| Convention for Cooperation in the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northeast Pacific | |||
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Antigua Guatemala, 18 February 2002
Not yet in force
The Contracting Parties,
Mindful of the need to protect and preserve the marine and coastal environment
of the Northeast Pacific against all kinds and sources of environmental
pollution and degradation.
Convinced of the ecological, economic, social and cultural value of the
Northeast Pacific as a means of bonding between the countries of the region,
Considering the need to establish a regional cooperation framework to support
and complement the coastal States of the Northeast Pacific in the effective
implementation of the various international instruments relating to marine
pollution and other forms of environmental degradation,
Mindful that, in conformity with the provisions of chapter 17 of Agenda 21 of
the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the conservation
and sustainable use of the marine and coastal environment and its natural
resources in the Northeast Pacific is a joint responsibility of both national
and municipal authorities and of civil society in its various organized
manifestations,
Recognizing that the financial and human resources to implement the measures set
out in this Convention will come, inter alia, from the public and private
sectors, and that it is important to ensure the participation of the latter as
associates,
Recognizing also the importance of international and non-governmental bodies
responsible for facilitating funding giving priority in their general policies
to the activities and projects aimed at implementing the Convention,
Recognizing further the benefits of cooperation at a regional level, directly or
with the assistance of the competent international organizations and the rest of
the international community, for the protection and preservation of the marine
environment and the coastal areas mentioned,
Mindful that they share various ecosystems and resources of the marine
environment in the Northeast Pacific,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Purpose
The principal purpose of the Convention is to establish a regional cooperation
framework to encourage and facilitate the sustainable development of marine and
coastal resources of the countries of the Northeast Pacific for the benefit of
present and future generations of the region.
Article 2
Scope of application of this Convention
1. The scope of application of this Convention comprises the maritime areas of
the Northeast Pacific, defined in conformity with the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea.
2. No provision of this Convention or its protocols shall be considered as
affecting the rights, present or future claims or legal opinions of any
Contracting Party relating to the boundaries of its maritime areas or maritime
jurisdiction. No Party shall be entitled to call upon the norms and conduct
agreed as generating rights or precedents.
Article 3
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) “Sustainable development” means the process of progressive change in the
quality of life of human beings, which places it as the centre and primordial
subject of development, by means of economic growth with social equity and the
transformation of methods of production and consumption patterns, and which is
sustained in the ecological balance and vital support of the region. This
process implies respect for regional, national and local ethnic and cultural
diversity, and the full participation of people in peaceful coexistence and in
harmony with nature, without prejudice to and ensuring the quality of life of
future generations;
(b) “Economic assessment” means the assignment of monetary value to
environmental goods and services for which no market values exist, so that their
value may be explicitly reflected in every decision-making process based on
monetary benefits and costs;
(c) “Environmental services,” means the services provided by the functions of
nature itself (for example, the protection of soil by trees, the natural
filtration and purification of water, the protection of habitat for
biodiversity, etc.);
(d) “Pollution of the marine environment” means the introduction by man,
directly or indirectly, of substances or of energy into the marine environment
(including estuaries and wetlands) which cause or may give rise to harmful
effects such as damage to living resources or marine life, risks to human
health, obstacles to maritime activities including fisheries and other
legitimate uses of the sea, deterioration of sea water quality for their use,
and impairment of leisure and aquaculture areas;
(e) “Other forms of environmental deterioration” means activities of man-made
origin that may alter the quality of the marine environment and its resources
and affect them in such a way as to reduce their natural recovery and
regeneration capacity, such as erosion, the introduction of exotic species,
protection capacity against natural phenomena, etc.;
(f) The term “discharges” refers to the pollution of the marine and coastal
environment deriving from spills, disposal or dumping of wastes and hazardous
substances from ships, aircraft, the atmosphere or land-based sources of
pollution;
(g) “Dumping” means the deliberate discharge of substances or other materials
into the sea or from ships or aircraft;
(h) “Monitoring” means the periodic measurement of environmental quality
indicators;
(i) “National authority” means the authority designated by each Contracting
Party in accordance with article 9, paragraph 2, and article 11, paragraph 1,
subparagraphs (a), (b) and (d) of this Convention;
(j) “Executive Secretariat” means the body indicated in article 14 of this
Convention.
Article 4
General provisions
The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the rights and obligations
that the Contracting Parties may have assumed pursuant to special Conventions
and accords that they may have concluded in respect of the protection of the
marine and coastal environment of the region.
Article 5
General obligations
1. The Contracting Parties shall, unilaterally, bilaterally or multilaterally,
adopt appropriate measures pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, to
prevent, reduce, control and avoid pollution of the marine and coastal
environment of the Northeast Pacific, as well as other forms of deterioration
that may affect these, and ensure sustainable environmental management of the
marine and coastal areas and an effective development of their natural
resources.
2. The Contracting Parties shall collaborate in the drafting, adoption and
implementation of other protocols and Conventions that may establish effective
rules, norms, practices and procedures for the implementation of this
Convention.
3. Each Contracting Party shall adopt and bring into force the necessary
legislative and administrative measures to make this Convention and its
protocols effective.
4. The Contracting Parties shall collaborate as necessary at a regional level,
directly or in cooperation with competent international organizations, in the
drafting, adoption and implementation of rules, norms, practices and procedures
for the effective protection and development of the marine and coastal
environment of the Northeast Pacific against all types and sources of pollution,
and for the sound planning and development of that environment and those areas
and their appropriate environmental management, taking into account the special
characteristics of the region. Such rules, norms, practices and procedures shall
be communicated to the Executive Secretariat of the Convention.
5. The Contracting Parties shall adopt all necessary measures so that activities
under their jurisdiction or control shall be carried out in such a way as not to
cause detriment through pollution or other forms of environmental deterioration
to other Parties or their environment, and so that pollution caused by accidents
or activities under their jurisdiction or control may not, as far as possible,
extend beyond the areas over which the Contracting Parties exercise sovereignty
and jurisdiction. In cases where it is foreseen that such transboundary effect
may cause harm, other interested Parties should be informed and consulted in the
course of planning the activity.
6. In order to protect the environment and contribute to the sustainable
management, protection and conservation of the marine environment of the region,
the Contracting Parties shall:
(a) Apply, in accordance with their capacity, the precautionary principle, by
virtue of which, when confronted with serious or irreversible threats to the
environment, the absence of complete scientific certainty should not serve as a
pretext for delaying the adoption of effective measures to prevent environmental
degradation, because of the costs involved;
(b) Promote the application of the “polluter pays” principle, by virtue of which
those responsible for pollution should pay the full costs of measures to
prevent, control, reduce and remedy such pollution, with due regard for the
public interest;
(c) Encourage cooperation between States with respect to environmental impact
procedures related to activities under their jurisdiction or control that may
have adverse effects on the marine environment of other States or in areas
outside the boundaries of their national jurisdiction, by means of
notifications, exchange of information and consultations;
(d) Encourage the integrated development and management of coastal areas and
shared water basins, taking into account the protection of areas of ecological
and scenic interest and the sustainable use of natural resources;
(e) Promote the participation of local authorities and civil society in the
processes of adopting decisions that affect the marine environment or their
livelihood;
(f) Make available to civil society and local authorities information on the
status of the marine environment of the region, on the measures adopted or about
to be adopted to prevent, control, reduce and remedy adverse effects and the
effectiveness of such measures;
(g) Exchange, through the competent authorities, the available data and
information on the management of the use of the marine and coastal environment
and on the implementation of this Convention.
Article 6
Measures to prevent, reduce, control and remedy pollution and other forms of
deterioration of the marine and coastal environment
1. The Contracting Parties shall adopt measures to prevent, reduce, control and
remedy pollution and other forms of deterioration of the marine and coastal
environment, including:
(a) Discharge of toxic, injurious or harmful substances into the sea and coastal
areas, especially those that are persistent, originating from sources or
activities including:
(i) Land-based sources;
(ii) Atmospheric, including those effected through the atmosphere, and
(iii) Dumping;
(b) Pollution caused by ships and any other arrangement or installation that
operates in the marine environment; in particular, measures to avoid discharges,
accidental or not, addressing emergencies in accordance with generally accepted
international standards;
(c) Biophysical modifications, including alteration and destruction of habitats.
2. Without prejudice to the foregoing, the Contracting Parties shall adopt
measures aimed at:
(a) The planning and environmental management of uses and activities in marine
and coastal areas;
(b) Improvement as necessary of the environmental impact assessment of
installations and activities that it is thought may affect marine and coastal
areas;
(c) The identification of areas to be protected and the rehabilitation of
degraded habitats and ecosystems;
(d) The identification and protection of endangered species of flora and fauna,
and those that may possibly require protection measures;
(e) The application of prevention and precaution criteria to the uses and
development of activities that may affect the marine and coastal resources of
the region;
(f) The identification of marine coastal areas that are vulnerable to the action
of extreme natural phenomena or events and a rise in sea level;
(g) The identification of marine coastal areas vulnerable to man-made
activities.
Article 7
Erosion of coastal areas
The Contracting Parties shall adopt all appropriate measures to prevent, reduce,
control and remedy erosion in coastal areas resulting from man-made activities
and reduce the vulnerability of coasts to a rise in sea level and to sea-air and
climatic interaction phenomena.
Article 8
Cooperation in cases of pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration
resulting from emergency situations
1. The Contracting Parties shall cooperate, bilaterally, regionally or
multilaterally in the prevention, containment, mitigation and restoration of
damage resulting from:
(a) Pollution and/or environmental deterioration resulting from accidents;
(b) Pollution and/or environmental deterioration resulting from natural
disasters, and
(c) Pollution and/or environmental deterioration resulting from deliberate
man-made activities.
2. To this end, the Contracting Parties shall develop, individually or jointly,
emergency and/or contingency plans, and shall adopt other measures where
appropriate to respond to naturally caused or man-made disasters, including the
probable effects of climate change and a rise in sea level.
3. The Contracting Parties shall provide the relevant timely information in
cases of risk to coastal communities and infrastructure and of damage to the
marine environment originating from pollution derived from man-made activities.
4. The Contracting Parties shall develop, individually or jointly, where
appropriate, rehabilitation plans for fisheries that may require such, because
of being affected by natural phenomena or pollution, and plans for the
restoration of coastal habitats that may have suffered damage or been lost as a
result of man-made activities or natural phenomena.
5. The Contracting Parties affected by pollution or other forms of deterioration
of the environment resulting from emergency situations shall:
(a) Assess the nature, magnitude and scope of the emergency;
(b) Adopt appropriate measures to avoid or reduce the effects of pollution and
other forms of environmental deterioration;
(c) Immediately provide information on the measures adopted or about to be
adopted to combat pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration of
the marine and coastal environment;
(d) Continue to observe the emergency situation while it lasts, and any changes
thereto, and, in general, the changes in the pollution or other forms of
environmental deterioration of the marine and coastal environment that may
provoke emergency situations;
(e) Communicate to the other Contracting Parties and the Executive Secretariat
of the Convention the information obtained as a result of those observations;
and
(f) Initiate, once the emergency is over, a review of the effectiveness of the
operation of the response mechanism to the crisis situation, as appropriate.
6. The Contracting Parties that may require assistance in combating,
controlling, mitigating, diagnosing and forecasting the pollution and other
forms of environmental deterioration resulting from emergency situations may
request, directly or through the Executive Secretariat, in cooperation with the
other Contracting Parties, especially those that may be affected by the
pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration.
7. Such cooperation may include assessment by experts and the provision of
equipment and materials to combat pollution and other forms of environmental
deterioration.
8. The Contracting Parties from whom assistance may have been requested shall
consider that request as soon as possible, and, in the light of their
capabilities, immediately inform the requesting Contracting Party of the form,
scope and conditions of the cooperation they might provide.
Article 9
Monitoring of pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration
1. The Contracting Parties shall, directly or in collaboration with the relevant
international bodies, establish and implement a regional monitoring programme
for pollution in the marine and coastal environment of the Northeast Pacific.
2. To this end, the Contracting Parties shall designate the authorities
responsible for the monitoring of pollution and other forms of environmental
deterioration in their respective areas of sovereignty and jurisdiction, in
conformity with international law.
3. In particular, when transboundary areas are involved, the Contracting Parties
shall participate in bilateral and multisectoral projects and missions to assess
marine pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration, in conformity
with international law.
Article 10
Integrated management and sustainable development of the marine and coastal
environment
1. As part of the implementation of their policies and strategies for integrated
management and sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment,
the Contracting Parties shall incorporate into their economic development
projects in marine and coastal areas those environmental criteria that provide
sustainability in the use of resources and in the maintenance of the integrity
of ecosystems.
2. Also as part of these policies, the Contracting Parties shall strive to
implement integrated management and bring about sustainable development of the
marine and coastal environment. To this end, the Contracting Parties shall
endeavour to:
(a) Formulate and implement plans and programmes at appropriate levels for the
integrated management and sustainable development of the marine and coastal
environment;
(b) Use environmental assessment and systematic observation as preventative and
precautionary measures in the planning and implementation of projects;
(c) Encourage the preparation and use of methods of economic assessment of
ecosystems and of marine and coastal ecosystems and of environmental goods and
services at a national level;
(d) Integrate into a national plan and/or programme of integrated management and
sustainable development sectoral plans in relation to coastal human settlements,
aquaculture, industry, tourism, fisheries and ports that use or affect the
coastal area;
(e) Adopt the use of an ecosystem approach in fisheries management measures;
(f) Promote the use of the best available techniques, including cleaner
technologies appropriate to the conditions of the region, taking socio-economic
factors into account;
(g) Promote the education, sensitization and participation of civil society and
also the development of environmental information programmes regarding the
marine and coastal environment;
(h) Establish protected coastal areas with the objective of maintaining
biological integrity and diversity;
(i) Identify the habitats of living marine resources that contribute to the food
security of coastal people and are of major socio-economic and ecological
importance;
(j) Establish mechanisms, where appropriate, within their policies, plans and
programmes for the integrated management of coastal areas, to review the
problems arising from the assignation of uses and access to resources, from the
coastal area, or from uses in which proper management is not observed.
3. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to include an assessment of possible
environmental effects when planning any activity that involves the
implementation of projects inside their territory that may, especially in
coastal areas, cause pollution in the area within the scope of this Convention
or cause significant or harmful environmental alterations to it.
4. The Contracting Parties shall, in cooperation with the Executive Secretariat,
work out methods for disseminating information on the assessment of the
activities mentioned in the previous paragraph of this article.
5. The Contracting Parties shall adopt appropriate measures to protect and
preserve rare or vulnerable ecosystems in the area within the scope of this
Convention, as well as the habitats of species with low populations or that are
threatened or endangered. To this end, the Contracting Parties shall endeavour
to establish protected areas. The establishment of such areas shall not affect
the rights of the other Contracting Parties or of third party States. In
addition, the Contracting Parties shall exchange information regarding the
administration and management of such areas.
Article 11
Information exchange
1. The Contracting Parties commit themselves, subject to their respective
national legislation, to exchange with each other and transmit to the Executive
Secretariat information regarding:
(a) The organization or competent national authorities responsible for the
monitoring and control of pollution and other forms of environmental
deterioration of the marine and coastal environment;
(b) The competent national authorities responsible for receiving information on
marine pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration of the marine
and coastal environment, and those responsible for carrying out assistance
programmes or adopting assistance measures for the benefit of the Contracting
Parties;
(c) Programmes being developed for research into pollution and other forms of
environmental deterioration, with the objective of creating new methods and
techniques to avoid, reduce and/or eliminate pollution or the deterioration of
the marine and coastal environment, together with the results of such programmes
and research;
(d) The competent national authorities responsible for planning the uses of
marine and coastal areas.
2. The Contracting Parties shall coordinate the use of the available
communication media so as to ensure the opportune reception, transmission and
diffusion of the information that needs to be exchanged.
Article 12
Scientific and technological information
1. The Contracting Parties shall cooperate among themselves or through the
Executive Secretariat or another competent international organization, where
appropriate, in the fields of science and technology related to the marine and
coastal environment, and shall exchange data and other scientific information
relevant to the purposes of this Convention. To this end, the Contracting
Parties shall, among themselves or through the Executive Secretariat or another
competent international organization, undertake the following activities:
(a) Encouraging scientific, technological and educational assistance programmes,
and those of any other kind, for the protection and sustainable development of
marine and coastal areas, and for the prevention, reduction and control of
pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration in such areas. This
assistance shall comprise, inter alia:
(i) The training of scientific and technical staff;
(ii) Participation in relevant international programmes;
(iii) Capacity-building of the Contracting Parties to train teams and adopt
those techniques and methods;
(iv) The supply of equipment and installations for research, monitoring and
educational and other programmes;
(b) Extending the appropriate assistance to reduce to a minimum the effects of
incidents or accidents that may cause pollution and other forms of environmental
deterioration in the marine and coastal environment;
(c) Extending the assistance needed for the preparation of programmes related to
environmental assessment; and,
(d) Cooperating in the preparation of appropriate assistance programmes for
environmental management, including monitoring and supervision of the marine and
coastal environment.
2. The Contracting Parties, where appropriate, shall encourage and coordinate
their national research programmes on all kinds and sources of marine and
coastal pollution and other forms of environmental deterioration that exist
within the geographical scope of application of this Convention, and shall
cooperate in the establishment of regional research programmes and in the
supervision and monitoring of marine and coastal area pollution and other forms
of environmental deterioration in those areas.
Article 13
Liability and compensation
The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to adopt a protocol in respect of
liability and compensation for damage resulting from pollution in the area of
application of the Convention.
Article 14
Institutional provisions
For the purposes of the administration and implementation of this Convention,
the Contracting Parties shall designate the organization responsible for
carrying out the functions of the Executive Secretariat of the Convention. The
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shall carry out such functions until
such designation is formalized. In the meeting held for that purpose, the
geographical seat of the Executive Secretariat shall be designated, as well as
the procedure and funding for the execution of that function.
Article 15
Meetings of the Contracting Parties
1. The Contracting Parties shall hold ordinary and extraordinary meetings.
2. The first meeting of the Contracting Parties shall be convened by the
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme not later than
one year after the entry into force of this Convention.
3. Ordinary meetings shall be held every two years, in conjunction with the
Intergovernmental Meeting (General Authority) of the Action Plan for the
Protection and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of
the Northeast Pacific. The Executive Secretariat shall convene such meetings
sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting.
4. Extraordinary meetings shall be convened by the Executive Secretariat at the
request of any Contracting Party, provided that within six months of such a
request being communicated to the Contracting Parties, it is supported by at
least one third of them. The Executive Secretariat may also request the
convening of extraordinary meetings, conditional on receiving the unanimous
agreement of the Contracting Parties.
5. In their first meeting, the Contracting Parties shall adopt the rules of
procedure for meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Convention.
(a) Decisions of the Contracting Parties shall be adopted by consensus, except
in cases where the rules of procedure for meetings of Contracting Parties
establish voting as the form of adopting decisions.
6. The meetings of the Contracting Parties shall have the function of keeping
under continuous review the implementation of this Convention and its protocols,
and in particular:
(a) The extent to which the Contracting Parties implement the provisions of the
Convention, the effectiveness of the measures adopted and the need to undertake
any additional action that may be required for the achievement of the purposes
of this Convention and its protocols, including their institutional and
financial aspects;
(b) To assess periodically the status of the environment in the area of
application of the Convention;
(c) To revise and amend this Convention;
(d) To consider, adopt, revise and amend the protocols and their annexes;
(e) To establish such working groups as are deemed necessary to review any
question related to this Convention, its protocols and annexes;
(f) The undertaking of any other function that may contribute to the achievement
of the purposes of this Convention.
Article 16
Approval and entry into force of protocols
1. The Contracting Parties may adopt by consensus, in a meeting of the
Contracting Parties, additional protocols to this Convention, pursuant to
paragraph 2 of article 5. Such protocols shall enter into force once the
Depositary has received the fourth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. Subsequently, protocols shall enter into force in respect of any of the
States or regional integration organizations at the moment when they deposit
their respective instruments of ratification or accession with the Depositary.
Article 17
Amendments of the Convention or its protocols
1. Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to this Convention or its
protocols. Such amendments shall be adopted at a meeting of the Contracting
Parties convened by the Executive Secretariat at the request of a Contracting
Party.
2. Amendments to this Convention and its protocols shall be adopted by consensus
of the Contracting Parties.
3. Amendments shall be subject to ratification or accession and shall enter into
force in the form established for the Convention and its protocols respectively
to enter into force.
Article 18
Special exercise of the right to vote by economic integration organizations
In areas of their competence, economic integration organizations that have
acceded to this Convention and its protocols shall exercise their right to vote
with a number of votes equal to the number of its member States absent, with
prior consent of the Contracting Parties to this Convention and its
corresponding protocols. Such organizations shall not exercise their right to
vote if it is exercised by their member States.
Article 19
Reports
The Contracting Parties shall transmit reports to the Executive Secretariat
about the measures adopted for the implementation of this Convention and its
additional protocols, in the form and with the frequency determined in its
meetings. The Executive Secretariat shall circulate these reports to the
Contracting Parties.
Article 20
Relationship between the Convention and its protocols
1. No State or economic integration organization may be a Contracting Party to a
protocol that may be established in the future unless it is, or at the same time
becomes a Contracting Party to this Convention.
2. Protocols to this Convention shall be obligatory only for the Contracting
Parties to the protocol in question.
3. Decisions relating to any protocol pursuant to articles 15 and 17 of this
Convention may only be adopted by the Contracting Parties to the protocol in
question.
Article 21
Signature
This Convention shall be open for signature in the city of Antigua Guatemala on
February 18th, 2002 and in Guatemala City from February 19th, 2002 to February
18th, 2003 for States invited to participate in the Conference of
Plenipotentiaries for the Adoption of the Convention for Cooperation in the
Protection and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Areas of the
Northeast Pacific and its respective Action Plan.
Article 22
Ratification, acceptance and approval
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by
the signatory States. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall
be deposited with the Depositary.
2. This Convention shall be subject to compliance with the internal procedures
of each Contracting Party.
Article 23
Accession
1. This Convention shall be open for accession by any State from the date on
which the Convention is closed for signature, and once the Convention enters
into force, it shall be open for accession by the economic integration
organizations that have been invited to form part of this Convention. The
instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Depositary, who shall
inform the Contracting Parties thereof.
2. In their instruments of accession, the organizations referred to in paragraph
1 above shall declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters
governed by the Convention. These organizations shall also inform the Depositary
of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
Article 24
Reservations
Reservations to this Convention shall only be allowed in respect of matters
concerning the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Contracting Parties
and interpretative statements to the Convention.
Article 25
Settlement of disputes
In the event of a dispute between Contracting Parties concerning the
interpretation or application of this Convention, the Contracting Parties
concerned shall seek solution by negotiation or any other mechanism for the
peaceful settlement of disputes established by international law.
Article 26
Entry into force
This Convention shall enter into force sixty (60) days after the date of deposit
of the fourth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with
the Depositary. Subsequently, this Convention shall enter into force with
respect to States or regional integration organizations at the moment when they
deposit their respective instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession with the Depositary.
Article 27
Withdrawal
1. At any time after two years from the date on which this Convention has
entered into force for a Contracting Party, that Party may withdraw from the
Convention.
2. Such withdrawal shall be made by giving written notification to the Executive
Secretariat, which shall immediately inform the Contracting Parties thereof.
3. Any such withdrawal shall take effect six (6) months after the date of
notification of the Depositary.
Article 28
Depositary
1. The Depositary of this Convention and its protocols shall be the Government
of the Republic of Guatemala.
2. The Depositary shall inform the signatories and the Contracting Parties, as well as the Secretariat, of the signature of this Convention and its protocols and the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval and accession; the date on which the Convention or a protocol enters into force for each Contracting Party; notification of any withdrawal and the date on which it becomes effective; amendments to the Convention or any protocol, their acceptance by the Contracting Parties and their date of entry into force; all matters relating to new annexes and changes to any annex; notifications by regional economic organizations of the extent of their competence with respect to matters governed by this Convention and relevant protocols, and any modification thereof.
3. The original of this Convention shall be deposited with the Depositary, who shall send certified copies of it to the signatories and the Secretariat.
4. As soon as the Convention and its protocols enter into force, the Depositary shall forward a certified copy of the relevant instrument to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration and publication, pursuant to article 102 of the United Nations Charter, and to the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Plenipotentiaries duly authorized to that effect by their respective governments, have signed this Convention drawn up in one single original in Spanish and English, both texts of which are equally authentic.
Done at the city of Antigua Guatemala, Repubic of Guatemala, on the eighteenth
day of February two thousand and two.