The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.
The Convention, the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference's Agenda 21, was adopted in Paris, France on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in December 1996. It is the first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification. The Convention is based on the principles of participation, partnership and decentralization—the backbone of Good Governance and Sustainable Development. It has 196 parties, making it truly global in reach. In 2013, Canada became the first country to announce its intention to withdraw from the convention.
To help publicise the Convention, 2006 was declared "International Year of Deserts and Desertification" but debates have ensued regarding how effective the International Year was in practice.
The UNCCD has been ratified by 195 states plus the European Union. All member states of the UN are parties to convention. The convention does not apply to Aruba, Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands), or to Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, or Jersey (United Kingdom).
One ratifying state-Canada-has announced its denunciation the convention. The non-UN member states that have ratified the convention are the Cook Islands and Niue. The Holy See and the states with limited recognition are non-parties.
The permanent Secretariat of the UNCCD was established during the first Conference of the parties (COP 1) held in Rome in 1997. It has been located in Bonn, Germany since January 1999, and moved from its first Bonn address in Haus Carstanjen to the new UN Campus in July 2006.
The functions of the secretariat are to make arrangements for sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies established under the Convention, and to provide them with services as required. One key task of the secretariat is to compile and transmit reports submitted to it.
The secretariat also provides assistance to affected developing country Parties, particularly those in Africa. This is important when compiling information and reports required under the Convention. UNCCD activities are coordinated with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies and conventions, like those of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
| United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa | |
|---|---|
Global desertification vulnerability
| |
| Context | Environment |
| Drafted | 17 June 1994 |
| Signed | 14 October 1994 |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Effective | 26 December 1996 |
| Condition | 50 ratifications |
| Parties | 196 (195 states + the European Union) |
| Depositary | Secretary-General of the United Nations |
| Languages | Arabic, Chinese, English, French,Russian and Spanish |
