The 1997 United Nations Convention on International Watercourses

The Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on May 21, 1997. It was negotiated in the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the General Assembly, convening for this purpose as a “Working Group of the Whole,” on the basis of draft articles adopted by the International Law Commission (ILC). The negotiations in the working group were open to participation by all UN member states, as well as states that are members of specialized agencies of the United Nations. The Convention is divided into seven parts containing thirty-seven articles: Introduction; General Principles; Planned Measures; Protection, Preservation and Management; Harmful Conditions and Emergency Situations; Miscellaneous Provisions; and Final Clauses. An annex sets forth procedures to be used in the event the parties to a dispute have agreed to submit it to arbitration. This Note will focus on key provisions of the Convention and on those that were the subject of controversy during the working group’s deliberations. It assumes that the reader has access to the text.