International Opium Convention
Signed at The Hague, January 23, 1912
Introduction
The International Opium Convention was signed in The Hague on 23 January 1912. It marked a major turning point in the international regulation of narcotic substances, part of a series of efforts to limit the abuse of drugs such as opium, morphine, cocaine and other derivatives. The convention aimed to establish common rules and standards for the international control of trade and use of these substances.
Signatories of the Convention
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Germany: His Excellency Mr. Felix von Müllehr, current Private Advisor, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague.
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United States of America: Bishop Charles H. Brent, Mr. Hamilton Wright, Mr. H. A. Finney.
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China: His Excellency Mr. Liang Ch'i Ch'ang, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Berlin.
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France: Mr. Henri Breme, Inspector-Advisor of the Agricultural and Commercial Services of Indo-China.
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United Kingdom: Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G., Lord of the Privy Council; Sir William Stevenson Meyer, K.C.I.E., Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras; Mr. William Grenfell Max Müller, C.M.G., M.V.O., Counsellor of the Embassy; Sir William Job Collins, M.D., Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of London.
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Italie: His Majesty the King of Italy.
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Japan: His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
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Netherlands: Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands.
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Persia: His Imperial Majesty the Shah of Persia.
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Portugal: The President of the Portuguese Republic.
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Russia: His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias.
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Siam: His Majesty the King of Siam.
Goals
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Progressive Abuse Reduction : The Convention aimed to progressively reduce the abuse of opium, morphine, cocaine, and derivative drugs.
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International Agreement : It aimed to establish an international agreement on the regulation of these substances, to prevent similar abuses.
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Humanitarian Collaboration : The signatories were convinced that this humanitarian effort would be supported by the unanimous support of the nations concerned.
Closing Protocols
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First Protocol : Signed on January 23, 1912.
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Second Protocol : Signed July 9, 1913.
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Third Protocol : Signed on June 25, 1914.
Closing Meeting (June 25, 1914)
The Third International Opium Conference was held from 15 to 25 June 1914 in The Hague. This conference addressed several important issues concerning the implementation and entry into force of the convention.
Important Decisions
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Entry into Force :
- The Convention was to come into force when the signatory Powers had ratified the agreement.
- The deadline for ratification was 31 December 1914.
- The signatories could bring the Convention into force even if not all the Powers had yet ratified.
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Access to the Convention :
- Powers which had not yet signed could still adhere to the Convention.
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Ratification Procedure :
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A protocol was opened to allow the signatory Powers to express their intention to bring it into force la Convention.
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Urgent Procedures :
- The Conference invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands to take urgent steps with the signatory Powers to speed up the ratification process.
In faith whereof, the delegates have signed the closing protocol at The Hague on 25 June 1914, in a single copy..
Historical Significance
The International Opium Convention of 1912 is a crucial milestone in the fight against drug abuse worldwide. It laid the foundation for subsequent agreements and marked the beginning of stricter international regulation of narcotic substances.
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Table of signatures to the Convention, of signatures to the Protocol of Signature of the Powers not represented at the First Opium Conference, referred to in the penultimate paragraph of Article 22 of the Convention, of ratifications of the Convention and of signatures to the Protocol relating to the entry into force of the Convention, referred to under B of the Closing Protocol of the Third Opium Conference.
In accordance with paragraph 1 of its Article 44, the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 of 8 August 1975, repeal and replace, as between the Parties, the provisions of the said Convention. See Chapter VI.18.
[Ratifications and signatures under Article 295 of the Treaty of Versailles or a similar article of another peace treaty are marked with an asterisk (*)
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Participant
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Signatures of the Convention
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Signatures of the Protocol of the Powers not represented at the Opium Conference
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Ratifications of the Convention and accessions
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Signatures of the Protocol relating to the entry into force of the Convention (dates of entry into force)
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Afghanistan
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5 mai 1944
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Albania
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3 feb 1925
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3 feb 1925
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3 feb 1925
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Germany
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23 jan 1912
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Saudi Arabia
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19 feb 1943
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Argentina
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17 oct 1912
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23 apr 1946
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Austria
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16 jul 1920*
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16 jul 1920*
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Belgium
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18 jun 1912
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18 jun 1914
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14 mai 1919
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Myanmar
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Bolivia
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4 jun 1913
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Brazil
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16 oct 1912
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23 dec 1914
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10 jan 1920*
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Bulgaria
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2 mar 1914
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9 aug 1920*
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9 aug 1920*
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Chile
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2 jul 1913
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16 jan 1923
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18 mai 1923
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China
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23 jan 1912
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9 feb 1914
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11 feb 1915
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Colombia
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15 jan 1913
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26 jun 1924
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30 jun 1924
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Belgian Congo and mandated territory of Ruanda-Urundi (a)
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29 jul 1942
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Costa Rica
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25 apr 1912
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1 aug 1924
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29 jul 1925
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Cuba
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8 mai 1913
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8 mar 1920*
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8 mar 1920*
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Danemark
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17 dec 1912
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10 jul 1913
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21 oct 1921
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Egypt
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5 jun 1942
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Ecuador
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2 jul 1912
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25 feb 1915
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23 aug 1923
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Spain
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23 oct 1912
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25 jan 1919
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11 feb 1921
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Estonia
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9 jan 1923
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20 apr 1923
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21 jan 1931
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USA
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23 jan 1912
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15 dec 1913
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11 feb 1915
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Finlandia
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24 apr 1922
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16 mai 1922
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1 dec 1922
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France
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23 jan 1912
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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UK
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23 jan 1912
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15 jul 1914
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10 jan 1920*
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Greece
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30 mar 1920*
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30 mar 1920*
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Guatemala
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17 jun 1912
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27 aug 1913
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10 jan 1920*
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Haïti
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21 aug 1912
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30 jun 1920*
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30 jun 1920*
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Honduras
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5 jul 1912
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29 aug 1913
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3 apr 1915
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Hongria
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26 jul 1921*
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26 jul 1921*
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Iran
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23 jan 1912
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Italia
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23 jan 1912
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28 jun 1914
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10 jan 1920*
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Japan
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23 jan 1912
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Lettonia
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6 fev 1922
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25 mar 1924
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18 jan 1932
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Liberia
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30 jun 1920*
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30 jun 1920*
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Liechtenstein
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Lituania
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7 apr 1922
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Luxembourg
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18 jun 1912
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21 aug 1922
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21 aug 1922
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Mexico
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15 mai 1912
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2 apr 1925
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8 mai 1925
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Monaco
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1 mai 1923
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20 feb 1925
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26 mai 1925
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Nicaragua
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18 jul 1913
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10 nov 1914
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3 nov 1920
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Norway
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2 sep 1913
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12 nov 1914
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20 sep 1915
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Panama
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19 jun 1912
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25 nov 1920*
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25 nov 1920*
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Paraguay
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14 dec 1912
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17 mar 1943
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Holland
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23 jan 1912
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28 jul 1914
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11 feb 1915
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Peru
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24 jul 1913
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Polska
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Portugal
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23 jan 1912
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15 dec 1913
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8 apr 1920*
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Dominican Republic
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12 nov 1912
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7 jun 1923
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14 apr 1931
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Roumania
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27 dec 1913
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14 sep 1920*
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14 sep 1920*
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Russia
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23 jan 1912
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Salvador
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30 jul 1912
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19 sep 1922
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29 mai 1931
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Sweeden
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27 august 1913
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17 apr 1914
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13 jan 1921
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Switzerland
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29 dec 1913
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15 jan 1925
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15 jan 1925
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Czechoslovakia
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10 jan 1920*
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10 jan 1920*
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Thailand
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23 jan 1912
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10 jul 1913
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10 jan 1920*
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Turkey
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15 sep 1933
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15 sep 1933
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15 sep 1933
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Uruguay
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9 mar 1914
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3 apr 1916
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10 jan 1920*
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Venezuela
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10 sep 1912
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28 oct 1913
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12 jul 1927
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Yugoslavia (ex)
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10 feb 1920*
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10 feb 1920*
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Participant
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Membership(a), Succession(d)
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Bahamas
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13 aug 1975 d
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Camdodia
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3 oct 1951 d
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Cameroon
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20 nov 1961 d
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Cyprus
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16 mai 1963 d
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Congo
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15 oct 1962 d
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Ivory Coast
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8 dec 1961 d
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Ethiopia
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28 dec 1948 a
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Fiji
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1 nov 1971 d
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Ghana
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3 apr 1958 d
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Indonésie
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29 mai 1958 a
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Israel
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12 mai 1952 a
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jamaica
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26 dec 1963 d
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Jordan
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12 mai 1958 a
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Lesotho
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4 nov 1974 d
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Liban
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24 mai 1954 d
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Malaisia
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21 aug 1958 d
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Malawi
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22 jul 1965 d
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Malte
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3 jan 1966 d
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Mauritius
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18 jul 1969 d
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Niger
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25 aug 1961 d
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Nigeria
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26 jun 1961 d
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Papua New Guinea
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28 oct 1980 d
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Philippines
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30 sep 1959 d
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Syrian Arab Republic
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20 jan 1954 d
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Central African Republic
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4 sep 1962 d
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Congo
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31 mai 1962 d
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loas
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7 oct 1950 d
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Czech Republic
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30 dec 1993 d
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Senegal
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2 mai 1963 d
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Serbia
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31 jul 2002 d
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Sierra Leone
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13 mar 1962 d
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Slovakia
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28 mai 1993 d
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Sri Lanka
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4 dec 1957 d
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Trinité-and-Tobago
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11 apr 1966 d
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Zambia
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9 apr 1973 d
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I certify that the attached document is a true copy of the English and French texts of the International Opium Convention done at The Hague on 23 January 1912, the original of which is deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations..
Head of the Treaties Section,
Office of Legal Affairs
Palitha T. B. Kohona
United Nations, New York, July 2005
PDF : HERE
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