# Agreement for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications

The Agreement for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications is a multilateral anti-pornography treaty that was initially negotiated and concluded in Paris in 1910. It was amended by a 1949 Protocol. As of 2013, the treaty has 57 state parties.
The treaty was concluded on 4 May 1910 in Paris and was initially entitled the Agreement for the Repression of Obscene Publications. The treaty was initially agreed to by a number of states, including France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Great Britain. Through the treaty, the states agreed to designate a government authority tasked with sharing with the other states information regarding obscenity offences "where the various acts constituting the offence have taken place in different countries". The treaty applied to "obscene writings, designs, pictures or objects". In 1923, states agreed to criminalise the creation, distribution, and trade of obscene works via the Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of and Traffic in Obscene Publications.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to a Protocol which would amend the 1910 treaty. On 4 May 1949 at Lake Success, New York, the Protocol was signed by a number of states. Ultimately, the Protocol was ratified by 35 states, which caused the revised treaty to come into force on 1 March 1950. One of the changes made by the Protocol was the name of the treaty. As of 2013, the 1949 version of the treaty remains in force and has 57 state parties.

## Signatures and ratifications of the 1910 treaty

The following states ratified the 1910 treaty:
| State | Date signed | Date ratified, acceded or succeeded |
| Principality of Albania | – | |
| Austria-Hungary | 1910 | 1910 |
| Belgium | 1910 | 1910 |
| Brazil | 1910 | 1910 |
| Kingdom of Bulgaria | – | |
| Republic of China | – | |
| Czechoslovakia | – | |
| Czech Republic | – | 1993 |
| Denmark | 1910 | 1910 |
| Kingdom of Egypt | – | |
| Estonia | – | |
| Fiji | – | 1971 |
| Finland | – | |
| French Republic | 1910 | 1910 |
| German Empire | 1910 | 1910 |
| Irish Free State | – | |
| Kingdom of Italy | 1910 | 1910 |
| Latvia | – | |
| Liberia | – | 2005 |
| Luxembourg | – | |
| Monaco | – | |
| Netherlands | 1910 | 1910 |
| Norway | – | |
| Poland | – | |
| Kingdom of Portugal | 1910 | 1910 |
| Kingdom of Romania | – | |
| San Marino | – | |
| Slovakia | – | 1993 |
| Spain | 1910 | 1910 |
| Switzerland | 1910 | 1910 |
| Thailand | – | |
| United Kingdom | 1910 | 1910 |
| Zimbabwe | – | 1998 |

## Ratifications of the 1949 treaty

| State | Date ratified, acceded or succeeded | Notes |
| Australia | 1949 | |
| Austria | 1950 | |
| Belarus | 1998 | |
| Belgium | 1952 | |
| Burma | 1949 | |
| Cambodia | 1959 | |
| Canada | 1949 | |
| Republic of China | 1949 | This ratification is currently in force for the People's Republic of China. Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the China declared that the agreement would continue to be in force in Hong Kong. |
| Cuba | 1983 | |
| Cyprus | 1963 | |
| Czechoslovakia | 1951 | |
| Czech Republic | 1993 | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1962 | Ratified as "Republic of the Congo". |
| Denmark | 1950 | |
| Kingdom of Egypt | 1949 | |
| Fiji | 1971 | |
| Finland | 1949 | |
| France | 1949 | |
| Ghana | 1958 | |
| Haiti | 1953 | |
| Iceland | 1950 | |
| India | 1949 | |
| Iran | 1959 | |
| Iraq | 1950 | |
| Ireland | 1952 | |
| Italy | 1952 | |
| Jamaica | 1964 | |
| Jordan | 1959 | |
| Lesotho | 1975 | |
| Liberia | 2005 | |
| Luxembourg | 1955 | |
| Madagascar | 1963 | |
| Malawi | 1965 | |
| Ireland | 1952 | |
| Federation of Malaya | 1957 | This ratification is currently in force for Malaysia. |
| Malta | 1967 | |
| Mauritius | 1969 | |
| Mexico | 1952 | |
| Montenegro | 2006 | |
| Netherlands | 1950 | |
| New Zealand | 1950 | |
| Nigeria | 1961 | |
| Norway | 1949 | |
| Pakistan | 1951 | |
| Romania | 1950 | |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2001 | Ratified as the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". This ratification is currently in force for Serbia. |
| Sierra Leone | 1962 | |
| Slovakia | 1993 | |
| Solomon Islands | 1981 | |
| South Africa | 1950 | |
| Soviet Union | 1949 | This ratification is currently in force for the Russian Federation. |
| Sri Lanka | 1949 | Ratified as "Ceylon". |
| Switzerland | 1949 | |
| Tanganyika | 1962 | This ratification is currently in force for Tanzania. |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1966 | |
| Turkey | 1950 | |
| United Kingdom | 1949 | |
| Yugoslavia | 1953 | |
| Zambia | 1974 | |