ENB:04:55 [Next] . [Previous] . [Contents]

---

ADOPTION OF THE CONVENTION:

Kjell‚n first began an article-by-article review of the Convention. During this review, some countries expressed their reservations with regard to certain articles (see the description of the Convention above), but no one objected to the adoption of the Convention. When Kjell‚n arrived at Article 40, which reads that this Convention was adopted on the 17th day of June 1994, Benin and the US pointed out that it was the 18th. The Chair informed the delegates that the clock had officially stopped at midnight and, thus, it was still the 17th.

Delegates then adopted the African Annex, with little discussion. The Asian Annex proved to be more troublesome as the Philippines tried again to reopen the text to ensure that the language did not marginalize Asian countries who do not suffer from desertification. He had raised this issue during the meetings of the informal working group, but had not achieved the desired outcome. His tenacity was not appreciated and his last minute amendments were not accepted due to the late hour. He finally conceded, but indicated his delegation's "immense" dissatisfaction over the "exclusivity" of the Asian Annex. Delegates then finally adopted the Asian Annex, quickly followed by the Latin American and Caribbean Annex and the Northern Mediterranean Annex.