Fred Thompson

Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. Now scientists are telling us that Mars is experiencing its own planetary warming: Martian warming. This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists.

American Politician

Roy Bennett

For decades, Robert Mugabe has thumbed his nose at the world. The long-time dictator has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist, repeatedly insulted foreign dignitaries, ignored regional and international agreements to which he was a signatory, and isolated the country from any legitimate international economic or political engagement.

Zimbabwean Politician

Charles C. Mann

Under the Paris agreement, every one of the 147 signatories issues what is called an 'intended nationally determined contribution' (INDC), which amounts to a promise that the nation will take certain actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by a certain date.

American Journalist

Barton Gellman

The United States, a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, destroyed the last of its stocks of VX and other chemical agents on the Johnston Atoll, 825 miles southwest of Hawaii, in November 2000.

Used in legal contexts where understanding who has agreed to terms is critical.

Legal Importance

Being a signatory often means the person is legally bound to an agreement.

Binding Commitment

Can refer to someone who signed a document of historical significance.

Historical Documents

Highlights the role of a nation or organization in entering a formal agreement.

Official Participation

Implies the signer has the authority to enter an agreement on behalf of a larger entity.

Authority Representation

Signatory status can affect a country's policies and how they interact with others.

Policy Implications

 to demonstrate leadership in meeting the challenge of climate change. Now that coalition is not represented formally at UN summits, we are not signatories to the treaties that emerge from these summits. But collectively, we represent two billion people across the world,