Laos becomes party to two more UN treaties

The government has become a party to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for International Sales of Goods, hoping to use the law to protect its international trade interests.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith on September 26 presented the letter from the government to the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares, confirming Laos’ membership of the convention.

Mr Saleumxay led a Lao delegation attending the 74th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The theme of the conference was “Galvanising multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”.
A large number of representatives of UN member states attended the annual UN event to discuss global development challenges and opportunities. 
According to a press statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the international convention was established in 1980 in Vienna, Austria, and became effective in 1988. The purpose of the convention is to define international trading rules and the obligations of buyers and sellers.
So far, 89 countries have become parties to this convention. The Lao government views membership as an opportunity to use this international law as a reference in drawing up trade deals.
One of the main advantages of the convention is that it minimises the risk of unfair treatment at the hands of trading partners because all treaty members must use the same international legal standards. In addition, Mr Saleumxay presented Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares with the government’s ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The treaty was adopted at the 72nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2017 following seven years of debate. 
The United Nations has been allowing member states to sign the treaty since September 20, 2017. So far, 79 countries have signed the treaty and 32 countries have ratified it.
As soon as 50 member states ratify the treaty, it will become effective after 90 days. The main goal of the treaty is to ban member states from developing, trialling, processing, collecting and and accommodating nuclear weapons.
The Lao government’s decision to ratify the treaty demonstrates its commitment to free the world from nuclear weapons as well as support the international community to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons, which pose a serious threat to all mankind.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update October 1, 2019)