Which treaty came into force on January 4, 1969?

• A. Emancipation Act 1833
• B. International Covenant on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination
• C. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• D. Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery (1926)

Answer: (B)

Entry into force marks when an international treaty’s obligations become binding on participating states. The treaty that came into force on January 4, 1969 opened for signature in 1965 and, once enough states ratified it, became legally binding on that date. This instrument focuses on eliminating all forms of racial discrimination and established mechanisms to monitor compliance, making it a foundational anti-discrimination treaty in the UN system. The other items either are not treaties in the same sense (a domestic act in a member state) or did not enter into force on that date: a British emancipation act from 1833 is national legislation, the child rights convention was adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1990, and the 1926 convention on suppressing the Slave Trade and Slavery entered into force in 1927.