On 6 and 10 June 1997, the Secretary-General received communications concerning the status of Hong Kong from the Governments of the United Kingdom and China. Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China notified the Secretary-General that the Convention with the reservation made by China will also apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The instrument of ratification specifies that the said Convention is ratified in respect of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Monserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Helena Dependencies, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and United Kingdom Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the island of Cyprus.
In this regard, the Secretary-General received, on 11 September 1987, from the Government of Argentina the following objection, which was reiterated upon its ratification of the Convention:
"The Argentine Republic rejects the ratification of the above-mentioned Convention by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with respect to the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and reaffirms its sovereignty over those Islands, which form a part of its national territory.
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 3160 (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12 and 39/6 in which it recognizes the existence of a sovereignty dispute concerning the question of the Malvinas and urges the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute and to their remaining differences relating to the question, through the good offices of the Secretary-General, who is to report to the General Assembly on the progress made. The United Nations General Assembly also adopted resolution 40/21 and 41/40, which again urge the two parties to resume the negotiations.
The Argentine Republic also rejects the ratification of the above-mentioned Convention by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with respect to what that country calls "British Antarctic Territory".
At the same time, it reaffirms its rights of sovereignty over the Argentine Antarctic Sector located between longitudes 25° and 74°W and latitude 60°S and the South Pole, including its maritime spaces.
It is appropriate to recall, in this connection, the provisions concerning rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica contained in article IV of the Antarctic Treaty."
Subsequently, on 1 August 1988, the Secretary-General received from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the following communication concerning the said objection by Argentina:
"The Government of the United Kingdom reject the objection made regarding the application of the Convention by the United Kingdom to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Government of the United Kingdom have no doubt as to British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and their consequent right to extend treaties to those territories.
With respect to the objection by the Argentine Republic to the application of the Convention to the British Antarctic Territory, the Government of the United Kingdom have no doubt as to British sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory, and note the Argentine reference to article IV of the Antarctic Treaty to which both the Government of Argentina and the Government of the United Kingdom are parties."
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Upon its ratification of the Convention, the Government of Argentina objected anew to the declaration of territorial applications in question by the Government of the United Kingdom, which in turn reiterated its position in an additional communication received on 6 July 1990.
Subsequently, the Government of Chile, upon ratification, declared the following:
"The Government of Chile [...] states that it rejects the declarations made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon ratification of the Convention and by the Argentine Republic in objecting to that declaration, inasmuch as both declarations affect Chilean Antarctic territory, including the corresponding maritime jurisdictions. It once again reaffirms its sovereignty over that territory, including its sovereign maritime spaces, in accordance with the definition established by Supreme Decree 1,747, of 6 November 1940."
By a communication received on 30 August 1990, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland notified the Secretary-General that the Convention and the Protocol shall extend to the Bailiwick of Guernsey for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom is responsible.
The Government of Mauritius, upon acceding to the Convention, made the following declaration:
"The Republic of Mauritius rejects the ratification of [the Convention] effected by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 15 May 1987 in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory namely Chagos Archipelago and reaffirms its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which form an integral part of its national territory."
Subsequently, on 27 January 1993, the Secretary-General received from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the following communication with respect to the declaration made by the Government of Mauritius:
"The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have no doubt as to British sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory and their consequent right to extend the application of the [said] Convention and Protocol to it. Accordingly, the Government of the United Kingdom do not accept or regard as having any legal effect the declarations made by the Government of the Republic of Mauritius."