SECURITY COUNCIL SHOULD TAKE ACCOUNT OF POTENTIAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FOR THIRD STATES WHEN FORMULATING SANCTIONS, LEGAL COMMITTEE TOLD
Press Release
GA/L/2884
SECURITY COUNCIL SHOULD TAKE ACCOUNT OF POTENTIAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FOR THIRD STATES WHEN FORMULATING SANCTIONS, LEGAL COMMITTEE TOLD
19951108 When formulating sanctions regimes, the Security Council should take due account of their potential effects on third States, the Sixth Committee (Legal) was told this afternoon.The representative of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that third States confronted with special economic problems resulting from sanctions had a right to consult the Security Council with a view to their resolution. The Committee was continuing its examination of the report of Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the strengthening of the role of the United Nations.
The representative of Romania said that sanctions imposed against Iraq in August 1990 and on the former Yugoslavia in 1991 were still in force, but the appeals of third States affected by them had not yet been answered; sanctions should not be conceived as a prolonged process.
Zambia's representative recommended that a mechanism be established to evaluate the effects of sanctions before they were imposed. She said a fund should be set up to compensate affected States. Additional credits from international financial institutions would not resolve the situation -- they would only increase indebtedness.
On another aspect of the Special Committee's report, Tunisia's representative said that the "enemy clauses" of the Charter had lost their relevance and should be deleted.
The representative of New Zealand said that the Charter Committee had become a "twilight zone" in which creativity had been extinguished, and welcomed new ideas to invigorate the Committee's work. She recommended that the Secretary-General be encouraged to exercise more frequently his right under Article 99 of the Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council matters that may threaten international peace and security.
When the Sixth Committee meets again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 9 November, it will continue its discussion of the report of the Charter Committee. It is also scheduled to take action on four draft resolutions introduced in the Committee yesterday.
Committee Work Programme
The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (document A/50/33). At its 27 February to 10 March session, the Special Committee approved recommendations dealing with the question of the deletion of the "enemy State" clause from the Charter, the Committee's membership, assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter and Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States. (For detailed background see Press Release GA/L/2882 of 6 November.)
Statements
ENGYLA T. SINJELA (Zambia) supported the establishment of a permanent mechanism for consultations between the Security Council and potentially affected third States. Such consultations would lead to more effective ways of addressing special economic problems arising from the implementation of sanctions. They would also prevent such sanctions from coming as a shock to the third countries and allow those countries to fully appreciate the reasons for the imposition of sanctions.
She also supported the setting up of a mechanism to evaluate the effects of sanctions before they were imposed, in order to mitigate them and to assess the level of assistance to be given to adversely affected States. A fund should be established to provide compensation to those States. It would be supplemented by other sources, including bilateral assistance.
The involvement of international financial institutions through opening special windows of credit would not be a good solution to assisting the affected States, she said, for it would merely increase their debt burden. As her country had experienced the effects of sanctions, she supported the view that the countries that carried the burden of sanctions should be able to rely on identifiable resources for alleviating their negative impact.
The Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes would serve a useful purpose for peaceful settlement of disputes, she continued. They should be annexed to a decision or resolution to be adopted at this session. Also, after 50 years of existence, the United Nations should move forward by removing any reference to "enemy States". Her delegation went along with the recommendation that the Special Committee be open to all Member States of the United Nations and that it should continue to operate on the basis of consensus in its decision-making process.
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SAMIA LADHAM (Tunisia) said the time had come to deal with the problem of assistance to third countries affected by sanctions. All aspects of the question should be addressed, and it was necessary to act before the sanctions were imposed, as well as after. Permanent consultation machinery would most likely soften the effects of sanctions, and special consultations should take place before their imposition. A preliminary evaluation of effects of sanctions on the economy of third countries was also necessary.
The question of economic assistance from international financial institutions needed to be explored, she continued, but such assistance remained in the form of loans. The creation of an international fund would allow resources to be channelled more effectively. Other international organizations could also provide assistance, but their actions could not replace assistance on the part of the United Nations.
The "enemy State clauses" had lost their object, she said, and she agreed to their deletion. Also, she did not oppose opening the membership of the Special Committee to all Member States, but questioned the need to do so, for the participation in the Committee was open and its work was conducted with the greatest possible transparency.
DUMITRU MAZILU (Romania) said there should be a practical response to requests for assistance of third States affected by the imposition of Chapter VII sanctions. If all Member States that were negatively affected had a right to consult the Security Council, it was logical that those consultations should result in practical solutions. In his "Agenda for Peace", the Secretary-General had recommended that the Council devise measures involving financial institutions and other components of the United Nations system in order to insulate States from such difficulties.
Sanctions imposed against Iraq in August 1990 and against the former Yugoslavia in 1991 were still in place, resulting in continuing problems for third States, but their appeals had not evoked commensurate responses, he said. The universal application of economic sanctions was a necessity, but they should not be conceived as a prolonged process which created dramatic economic problems for third States.
He said an evaluation of damages suffered by third States should be periodically prepared and an element of cost recovery should be introduced in the administration of sanctions regimes. Countries which carried the burden of sanctions implementation should have access to resources for alleviating their negative economic impact and effective ways should be sought to address special economic problems.
JORGE SANCHEZ (Spain), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said he was aware of the special economic problems confronting certain States as a
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result of preventive or enforcement measures taken by the Security Council against others. The Union was also aware of the obligations of Member States, under article 49 of the Charter, to afford mutual assistance.
Third States confronted with special economic problems resulting from sanctions had a right to consult the Security Council with regard to a solution, he said. In the formulation of sanctions regimes, due account should be taken of the potential effects of sanctions on third States without prejudice to the overall effectiveness of the sanctions regimes. The European Union welcomed measures taken by the Security Council to increase the effectiveness and transparency of the sanctions committees and considered that the Council must continue its efforts to enhance the functioning of those committees.
In a working group on that topic, he continued, the European Union had proposed that the Secretary-General, within existing resources, ensure that the sanctions committees were able to carry out their work. The Union also proposed that a "focal point" be created in the Secretariat to analyse information on the effects of sanctions regimes on third States and keep the Security Council informed. That focal point could ensure that the Security Council make appropriate adjustments to sanctions regimes with a view to mitigating the effects on such States. International financial institutions, other international organizations, regional organizations and Member States should take the special needs of third States into account.
FELICITY WONG (New Zealand) welcomed the Charter Committee's recommendation that its membership be open to all Member States. She noted the Committee's intention to continue the practice of working by consensus and said that the recommendation deserved wholehearted collective endorsement as a tangible contribution to the fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Another important contribution was the development of a draft resolution relating to the deletion of the "enemy States" clauses of the Charter.
The Charter Committee had certainly made some significant contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security, she continued, but sometimes it was also used as a convenient dumping ground for proposals that some found troublesome. It had become a twilight zone in which creativity and intellectual effort became trapped and extinguished. Accordingly, she welcomed new ideas which might invigorate the debate and contribute to charting future work.
The proposal to develop an institutional mechanism to assist in carrying out the peace-making provisions of the Charter deserved close consideration as a contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security, she said. She was also attracted to the idea of broadening of the Secretary- General's peacemaking efforts by recognizing the role he might play in
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submitting, on his own initiative, reports on individual issues relating to the maintenance of peace and security, including disarmament, for consideration by the Security Council. The Charter Committee must also play a role in encouraging the Secretary-General to exercise more frequently his right under Article 99 of the Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matters that might threaten international peace and security.
On the assistance to third States, she said it was important that the work of the sanctions committees be professionalized and conducted in a transparent manner. Those committees must be accountable to the wider membership of the United Nations, as well as the Security Council. The application of the existing provisions of the Charter having direct relevance to third States affected by sanctions, and the rights of non-members of the Security Council to participate in its discussions and to consult the Council about economic problems resulting from sanctions was important for the Security Council's role.
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