For information only – not an official document
UNIS/L/320
6 September 2021
VIENNA, 6 September (UN Information Service) – With the deposit of the instrument of ratification at the UN Headquarters in New York, Honduras becomes the seventh State Party to the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the "Singapore Convention on Mediation". The ratification by Honduras was effected on 2 September 2021 and the Convention will enter into force for Honduras on 2 March 2022.
The Singapore Convention on Mediation facilitates international trade and promotes mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving commercial disputes by providing an effective mechanism for the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.
The deposit of the instrument of ratification by Honduras comes shortly before the UNCITRAL Academy takes place in Singapore on 7 and 8 September 2021 with more than 1,000 participants (both online and in-person) from over 85 different countries (https://www.singaporeconventionweek.sg/programme.html). The UNCITRAL Academy covers not only the Singapore Convention, but the comprehensive UNCITRAL Mediation framework, which also includes the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation with its accompanying Guide to Enactment and Use, the Mediation Rules, and the Notes on Mediation.
The Convention is open for signature, ratification, and accession by States and regional economic integration organizations. In addition to Honduras, 53 States have signed the Convention since it opened for signature on 7 August 2019. Up-to-date information on the Convention and its status is available on the UNCITRAL website: https://uncitral.un.org/.
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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria, and maintains a website at uncitral.un.org.
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For information, please contact:
José Angelo Estrella Faria
Principal Legal Officer and Head, Legislative Branch
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: joseangelo.estrella-faria[at]un.org
