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A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE INCD

At 3:00 am on 18 June 1994 it appeared as though the negotiations on the Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, were on the verge of collapse. It was the third day that the contact group on financial resources and mechanisms met all night. The negotiators were exhausted and tension permeated through the corridors of UNESCO. The negotiations were deadlocked and no one was sure what would happen next. When the final Plenary meeting convened at 4:00 am and the compromise text was announced and accepted, many were too exhausted to celebrate or even analyze the results of their work. Despite certain concrete gains, the set-backs and shortcomings in the Convention and four regional annexes resulted from the North-South chasm and intra-regional divisions that separated the negotiators on issues of substance, expectations and objectives.