Laos has become a party to two more United Nations treaties, namely the United Nations Convention on Contracts for International Sales of Goods (CISG) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The term “party” refers to a state that gives its explicit consent to be bound by the treaty. A party is legally bound by the provisions within the treaty and generally accepts all the treaty’s obligations, subject to legitimate reservations, understandings, and declarations.
CISG
The Lao 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 CISG, Vientiane Time reported.
CISG is a treaty that codifies uniform international sales law. One of the main advantages of the convention is that it minimizes the risk of unfair treatment at the hands of trading partners because all treaty members must use the same international legal standards.
It has been ratified by 92 states, which account for a significant proportion of world trade, making it one of the most successful international uniform laws. Laos was the most recent state to adopt the convention.
TPNW
In addition, Mr Saleumxay presented Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares with the government’s ratification of TPNW, Vientiane Times added.
TPNW, or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons comprehensively. The main goal of the treaty is to ban member states from developing, trialling, processing, collecting and accommodating nuclear weapons.
In order to come into effect, signature and ratification by at least 50 countries are required. So far, 79 countries have signed the treaty, and 32 countries have ratified it.
“The Lao government’s decision 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,” Vientiane Times noted.
