Science Blog -- STATEMENTS TO THE SIXTH COMMITTEE

Background

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning to consider the Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization. It was also expected to take up the question of the development of international law relating to the new international economic order, as well as to take action on requests of organizations for observer status in the General Assembly.

Reports

Before the Committee was the Special Committee’s report on its current session, held at Headquarters from 7 to 16 April (document A/58/33); also, related reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (A/58/346) and Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council(document A/58/347).

According to the report, topics covered during the Special Committee’s session included maintenance of international peace and security; implementation of United Nations Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by sanctions; peaceful settlement of disputes; Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council;and working methods of the Special Committee.

On the question of maintaining international peace and security, the report states that the Special Committee had before it all related reports of the Secretary-General. Those included Implementation of the provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (documents A/57/165 and Add.1), and the 1998 report of the ad hoc expert group on sanctions (document A/53/312); also, related documents such as a proposal on sanctions by the Russian Federation and joint working papers from Belarus and the Russian Federation on Libya and Cuba.

During the perennial exchange of views on the future of the Trusteeship Council, the report says some delegations maintained that it would be premature to abolish the Council or to change its status as its existence did not entail any financial implications for the United Nations. In addition, assigning new functions to the Council would require an amendment to the Organization’s Charter. It was emphasized that abolishing the Council or changing its status should be considered in the overall context of reforming the Organization and the amendments to its Charter. The point was also made that the purpose for the Council being established was still relevant.

In conclusion, the report says the Special Committee recommended that the General Assembly, during its current session, continue to consider the results of the meeting of the ad hoc expert group which developed a methodology on assistance to third States affected by sanctions. It also recommended that the Assembly encourage the Secretary-General in efforts to eliminate the backlog in the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and in the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council. In particular, all versions of the Repertory should be made electronically available as soon as possible.

The Secretary-General’s report on the effects of sanctions on third States (document A/58/346) highlights the measures for further improvements of the procedures and working methods of the Security Council and its sanctions committees related to the issue. It reviews the capacity and modalities within the Secretariat for implementing intergovernmental mandates and the report of the expert group which studied the question. Finally, the report also reviews recent actions on the subject by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Committee for Programme and Coordination.

The Secretary-General’s report on repertory and repertoire (document A/58/347) outlines the efforts undertaken by the Secretariat this year to reduce the backlog in the publication of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, including consideration of alternative courses of action relating to the Repertory.

For theRepertoire, it also proposes a two-track approach, to address current developments in the procedure and practice of the Council, and at the same time expedite elimination of the backlog. The General Assembly is invited, in section IV (conclusions) of the report, in the context of the approval of the budget for the biennium 2004-2005, to take action in the light of the information presented. In its conclusions, the report also draws attention to the Repertory Web site. As a stopgap measure for eliminating the backlog, it could make available within existing resources both those volumes already published and individual studies finished and approved by the Review Committee.

(The Repertory is a legal publication containing analytical studies of the decisions of the principal organs of the United Nations under each of the Articles of the United Nations Charter).

On the question of the progressive development of the principles and norms of international law relating to the new international economic order, the Committee had the background information that the General Assembly had taken up the item in 1975 at the recommendation of its Second Committee (Economic and Financial) during the course of deliberations on the ECOSOC report. The 2000 Millennium Assembly had decided that consideration of legal aspects of international economic relations would be resumed at the current session.

Requests for Observer Status

The Committee has before it a draft resolution on the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (document A/C.6/58/L.6). By it, the Assembly would decide to invite the organization to participate in its work as an observer.

The draft is based on a Committee report (document A/58/232) stating the item was first included in the agenda of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly in 2000 at the request of Sweden on behalf of 18 States members of the organization which is based in Stockholm. The Sixth Committee considered the Institute's request on 19 and 26 October 2001. (At the Committee's recommendation, the General Assembly deferred action on the request to its fifty-seventh session and again to the current session. The Institute's overall mandate is to promote sustainable democracy and assist democratization worldwide.

A draft resolution on the GUUAM group (document A/C.6/58/L.4) would have the Assembly decide to invite the group to participate in its work as an observer. It is based on a letter (document A/58/231) from Georgia addressed to the Secretary-General concerning the group, which consists of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. An accompanying explanatory memorandum says GUUAM was founded on 10 October 1997 during the Council of Europe summit by a joint communiqué between the heads of State of those countries. The charter of the organization, adopted at a summit in June 2001 at Yalta, defined the organization’s objectives to include the promotion of social and economic development and the combating of international terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking. It is also interested in developing mutually beneficial cooperation with third countries and international organizations to achieve shared goals and principles.

A draft resolution requesting observer status in the General Assembly for the Eurasian Economic Community (document A/C.6/58/L.5) is also before the Committee. It is based on a letter from the representatives of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan (document A/58/143) conveying the request on behalf of an international organization composed of those five countries plus three observer States -– Ukraine, Armenia and the Republic of Moldova. A memorandum accompanying the letter says the status would help strengthen in practice the cooperation between the two bodies in efforts to ensure peace and security on a regional and global scale.

Finally, a similar draft resolution concerning the East African Community (document A/C.6/58/L3) is before the Committee, based on a letter (document A/58/232) from the representatives of Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania addressed to the Secretary-General. An explanatory memorandum annexed to the letter states the regional economic community was established by a 2000 treaty to foster cooperative arrangements with other regional and international organizations having a bearing on the community’s objectives, which are consistent with those of the United Nations.

Statement by Special Committee Chairman

GIUSEPPE NESI (Italy), Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee, introducing its report on behalf of the Chairman, reviewed the various proposals and working papers discussed at its session. He said that as requested by the General Assembly, the Special Committee considered, on a priority basis, the question of the implementation of the Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions. It recommended further consideration of the item during the current General Assembly session.

The Special Committee completed its first reading of a draft declaration proposed by the Russian Federation which was annexed to its revised working paper related to the implementation of sanctions and other coercive measures.

Other issues discussed by the Special Committee included proposals concerning the Trusteeship Council, and the Repertory of Practice of the United Nations and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council. The Special Committee agreed on a recommendation to encourage the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to eliminate the backlog in those publications.

A priority issue for the General Assembly addressed in the report, according to the Special Committee’s Vice-Chairman, was the Committee’s working methods for which Japan and the Republic of Korea submitted a revised working paper. Some provisions of that paper were adopted with the rest to be taken up at the Special Committee’s next session in 2004.

Statements

JUANA ELENA RAMOS RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said her delegation joined a vast majority of the Special Committee which called for the reform of the Organization and the democratization of its organs in conformity with the Charter. Cuba supported multilateralism and stressed the need for real reforms of the Organization to be carried out without delay. The General Assembly, as the principal deliberative body, must be revitalized, taking account of the principles set out in the Millennium Declaration. Mechanisms for collective security must be established. She stressed the need for the implementation of the Charter provisions for assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions.

She said that sanctions should be considered when there was a real threat to peace, and account taken of its impact. The application of sanctions must be a collective action, enjoying wide support of the membership. The sanctions regime must have clear objectives and precise terms. Any attempt to impose them to completely change the policies of the targeted States was inappropriate. Sanctions must be subject to periodic review, with the humanitarian situation in the target State taken account of. The application of sanctions must be transparent and the General Assembly must be involved in decisions to impose them. She recalled that the Non-Aligned Movement, whose membership constituted a majority of the United Nations, had on many occasions put forward proposals relating to sanctions.