From COVID-19 to climate change, domestic violence to authoritarian regimes, and mass crimes against populations, human rights are essential tools for action and understanding that every political and social actor should be equipped with. While human rights are certainly not a magic wand that can alter reality through mere invocation, they are far more than just words in books.

The International Law of Treaties is a set of international principles and rules regulating the conclusion procedure of treaties, as well as the issues of operation, amendments and modifications, termination, suspension and invalidity of treaties. For those involved in the drafting, negotiation and conclusion of international treaties, a sound knowledge of the Law of Treaties is indispensable.

The United Nations and its related bodies, agencies and programmes convene thousands of formal and informal, official and unofficial, meetings and conferences each year. The Secretary-General meets with Heads of States and Governments and Ministers on an on-going basis either at Headquarters or during his travels.

In the context of developing bilateral contractual relations, negotiation has taken a prominent place as a decision-making and regulation process. Also, the challenge of renewed multilateralism is closely linked to the ability of the international community to foster truly productive negotiation processes in a rapidly evolving global context.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a principal training arm of the United Nations, working in every region of the world. We empower individuals, governments and organizations through knowledge and learning to effectively overcome contemporary global challenges. 

The subject of international law brings a lot of concepts to mind, from war and settlement of disputes between States, protection of the environment, responsibilities and obligations, to human rights protection between citizens, refugees of different States and corporations.

International organizations are playing an increasingly important role in the international legal order. They are active in virtually all fields of human activity, they regularly conclude international treaties and continuously interact with other actors of international law. Nowadays, they wield growing normative powers.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) are the predominant legal method for addressing transboundary environmental problems. Adopted by States, MEAs are standard-settings instruments for effective global environmental protection.

The International Law of Treaties is a set of international principles and rules regulating the conclusion procedure of treaties, as well as the issues of operation, amendments and modifications, termination, suspension and invalidity of treaties. For those involved in the drafting, negotiation and conclusion of international treaties, a sound knowledge of the Law of Treaties is indispensable.

For the adequate implementation of and compliance with MEAs at a national level, there is a need to raise awareness on International Environmental Law (IEL) and develop specific capacities for its implementation at the national level.