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Entered into force July 29, 1957.

Article XXI, paragraph E of the Statute provides that “[t]his Statute . . . Shall come into force when eighteen States have deposited instruments of ratification . . . Provided that such eighteen States shall include at least three of the following States: Canada, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [Russian Federation], the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. Instruments of ratification and instruments of acceptance deposited thereafter shall take effect on the date of their receipt.”

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U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future