Curated playlist

Treaties of the United States

Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsOne Chinese verb in the 1978 US-China communiqué did not match its English version. Both texts went out anyway.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeIn June 1992, 154 countries signed a treaty to limit human interference with the climate.
Montreal ProtocolThe Montreal Protocol is the only UN treaty ratified by all 198 parties. It phased out spray-can chemicals.
Paris AgreementThe Paris Agreement nearly unraveled over the word "shall". The French called it a typo and used "should".
START IISTART II was signed in 1993 but declared dead without ever taking effect. It aimed to ban missiles with many warheads.
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsA UN human rights treaty adopted in 1966 took nearly ten years to take effect.
Convention on Certain Conventional WeaponsThe 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons has no way to check whether states obey it.
Outer Space TreatyNo country can claim the Moon, Mars or any asteroid under the Outer Space Treaty. Rivals signed it in 1967.
Potsdam AgreementThe Potsdam Agreement was a communiqué, not a peace treaty, yet it shaped Germany until 1990.
Washington Naval TreatyAmerican codebreakers secretly read Japan's cables during the Washington Naval Treaty talks.
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear WeaponsNorth Korea became the first state ever to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in April 2003. It had joined in 1985.
North Atlantic TreatyThe North Atlantic Treaty sat unseen in the bottom drawer of a diplomat's safe.
Antarctic Treaty SystemTwelve rival nations signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, the first arms control deal of the Cold War.
Trust Territory of the Pacific IslandsThe Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands split into four separate jurisdictions between 1986 and 1994.
Partial Nuclear Test Ban TreatyIn 1957, underground nuclear tests could not be told apart from earthquakes. That complicated a full test ban.