INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, TRADE COULD ASSIST THIRD STATES AFFECTED BY SECURITY COUNCIL SANCTIONS, UNITED STATES TELLS LEGAL COMMITTEE

Press Release
GA/L/2885

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, TRADE COULD ASSIST THIRD STATES AFFECTED BY SECURITY COUNCIL SANCTIONS, UNITED STATES TELLS LEGAL COMMITTEE

Third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter might benefit from enhanced information flows with international bodies and the channelling of special assistance through international financial institutions or through trading preferences, the representative of the United States told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning.

Also concerning those States, the representative of France said that the European Union would table a draft resolution which sought to facilitate such assistance without altering the political balance of the United Nations. There was no provision in the Charter which granted a right to compensation, he added.

The representative of Sierra Leone said the proposal made by his Government on the establishment of an early dispute settlement mechanism had been based on the peace-making provisions contained in Article 33 of the Charter. The proposed service could provide good offices, conciliation or mediation. The representative of Egypt endorsed the proposal of Sierra Leone. He also said that the United Nations Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes Between States, originally proposed by Guatemala, had been prepared and should be applied.

Several delegations expressed misgivings about the proposed dispute settlement mechanism. The representative of China said that it overlapped with existing machinery and was not concrete enough in its financial and administrative arrangements.

The representative of Portugal said that, as a former observer in the Special Committee, she appreciated its transformation into an open-ended body. Most delegations agreed that expansion of the Special Committee into an open- ended body would strengthen and revitalize it.

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All speakers this morning endorsed the elimination of the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter. Those clauses are a series of references in the Charter to any State "which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory of the present Charter."

Also speaking this morning were the representatives of Sudan, Guatemala and Morocco.

When it meets again at 3 p.m. today, the Sixth Committee is expected to take action on four draft proposals.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning 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 1995.)

Statements

ROBERT ROSENSTOCK (United States) said that the Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States, originally proposed by Guatemala, would be a welcome addition to other mechanisms aimed at the peaceful resolution of disputes. The voluntary dispute settlement service proposed by Sierra Leone was an interesting and potentially helpful proposal that deserved more attention.

The report of the Secretary-General on assistance to third States affected by the application of Chapter VII of the Charter report indicated that a substantial amount of assistance had been made, but that additional options should be explored. The working group on that topic had achieved broad consensus on such ideas as enhanced information flows between affected States and international bodies, and the exploration of innovative steps to channel special assistance, such as through international financial institutions or through trading preferences. The working group on assistance to third States should be careful to not duplicate the efforts of the working group on the Agenda for Peace.

The United States endorsed the proposed deletion of the "enemy States" clauses from the Charter at the earliest possible time, he said. The former enemy States should be recognized for their important contributions to the Organization. Furthermore, the Trusteeship Council had served its purpose well and had finished its valuable work. As the Council had no further role, the Charter Committee should consider its elimination by drafting a resolution along the lines of the draft on the elimination of the enemy States clauses. As to the creation of new bodies, the United States had listened with interest to the proposal of Malta to create a body to monitor the environment. In any case, the Trusteeship Council should first be eliminated.

HUBERT LEGAL (France) said that in the declaration adopted on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary, the international community agreed that the United Nations should be strengthened in order to improve its capacity to

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serve the people in whose name it was created. The last session of the Special Committee had been fruitful. The proposals on assistance to third States affected by Chapter VII sanctions had been interesting. After several years of consideration of views, what was now needed were concrete results for those suffering from the application of sanctions. A draft resolution on that topic proposed by the European Union had sought to facilitate assistance to affected third States without altering the political balance of the United Nations.

The European Union had rejected any proposals which would slow down or impede the ability of the Security Council to apply sanctions, he continued. The Council should take into account the situation of third States, but no provision of the Charter indicated any inherent right to compensation. The establishment of a trust fund would only create an impasse. At a time when the Organization was in an acute financial crisis, it was difficult to imagine the miracle by which such funds could be found. Would such a fund have to take into account only economic factors, or would it also have to factor in political and social factors? he asked. Would it have to take into account the rigor with which States were cooperating in the application of sanctions?

He said France endorsed the creation of a new focal point in the Secretariat to better gather and analyze information on the impact of sanctions on third States. More precise rules would also help guide the work of such a focal point. Given that work on Security Council reform was proceeding in various fora, the well-known proposals of Libya and Cuba on that topic were no longer timely. The Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States, originally proposed by Guatemala, could offer useful and positive solutions to disputes between States. Understanding that such mechanisms were strictly voluntary, France would endorse a draft resolution that drew them to the attention of the General Assembly.

As to the dispute settlement mechanism proposed by Sierra Leone, he said that the proposed mechanism would be only marginally useful, given that other bodies for similar purposes already existed. He endorsed the elimination of the "enemy States" clauses from the United Nations Charter in recognition of the positive role played by those States in the work of the Organization.

He said he would be somewhat reluctant to consider re-structuring the Special Committee into an open-ended body. The Special Committee had never been a decision-making body. It was a technical body composed of 47 States representing diverse regions, with 27 other States participating as observers. The Special Committee should transcend sterile political confrontations and reform was being sought for purely ideological regions. It was not a matter of precluding anyone's participation, but of encouraging consensus and should the Special Committee be made open-ended, it should continue to adopt decisions by consensus.

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He had reservations about altering the mandate of the Trusteeship Council. That subject should be discussed in detail prior to any amendment of the Charter. The existence of provisions on trusteeship in the Charter did not entail any additional costs to the Organization.

HUSSEIN MUBARAK (Egypt) said the Special Committee had made progress on several items. Regarding the assistance to third States affected by the implementation of sanctions, a number of constructive ideas had been submitted. It was necessary to reach a solution on the implementation of Article 50 of the Charter regarding assistance to third States. The matter should be addressed in a holistic, rather than selective manner. The effects of sanctions should be evaluated before their implementation. Mitigation of economic damage should take into consideration the dimensions of the damage and the question of equitable compensation, without placing an unnecessary burden on Member States.

The proposals on strengthening the Security Council should also be addressed, he continued. On the question of peaceful settlement of disputes, Model Rules for the peaceful settlement of disputes had been prepared and should be applied. Further, he expressed hope that a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes at an early stage could be established in the near future. He also reaffirmed his view that the "enemy States" clauses should be deleted from the Charter within the framework of the comprehensive review of the United Nations system. Time was ripe to adopt a number of provisions to reaffirm the role of the Special Committee. Its membership should be open to all Member States and there should be no conflict between the composition of the Committee and its mandate. If the Committee was made open-ended, it should no longer be called the Special Committee.

NIKITA KHYNE-SAM (Sierra Leone) said the proposal made by his country on the establishment of a dispute settlement mechanism responding with its services early in disputes was based on the peace-making provisions contained in Article 33 of the Charter. The service would offer to resolve disputes through good offices, conciliation or mediation.

He said he was convinced that the schematic structure of the service could be accepted within a reasonable time period, leaving remaining adjustments to the relevant committee and working group, without destroying the basic concept of the proposal. The Special Committee, to which the item of the peaceful settlement of disputes was assigned, also had the responsibility to consider the rationalization of existing procedures in the United Nations system.

ELFATIH RAHMAN (Sudan) said that the Special Committee had departed from the mandate originally given to it. It had played only a minor role in strengthening the role of the Organization. Assistance to third States affected by the application of Chapter VII sanctions was a critical issue.

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The application of sanctions was clearly necessary, but the effects on non- targeted States could be minimized by bilateral and multilateral assistance, and by the establishment of new mechanisms. That was particularly true when negative effects took the form of balance of payment deficits. One could not depend solely on sanctions as a tool for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Sanctions should affect only the States targeted, and they should be terminated when their objectives were met.

Reform of the Security Council should democratically review the right to veto and bring about transparency in the Council's work, he said. He welcomed progress made on the Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States. As to the proposal of Sierra Leone for a dispute settlement mechanism, he noted that many States had proposed that better use be made of existing mechanisms. The "enemy States" clauses were anachronisms which should be deleted. That action should not require a substantial re- formulation of the Charter and the draft resolution being prepared for the General Assembly was an acceptable way to bring about that object. The decision to expand Special Committee membership into an open-ended body was welcome, but the Special Committee should limit itself to the items on its agenda.

GAO YANPING (China) said that this year the Committee had not made much progress on the question of assistance to third countries affected by the implementation of sanctions, owing to the fact that the Secretary-General's report had not been submitted on time. China was not in favour of using sanctions as a major means of solving international disputes. Sanctions could lead to further complications of the disputes under certain circumstances, thus possibly hindering their peaceful resolution and final settlement.

To establish a trust fund, it was necessary to evaluate the affected countries and apportion expenses, which involved various complex problems, she continued. A solution to the problem could be found through sincere and pragmatic discussions and studies.

The text of the Model Rules for peaceful settlement of disputes in its second reading showed much improvement, she said. It could give countries concerned more room for different options. The proposal on the establishment of an office for the settlement of disputes, put forward by Sierra Leone, overlapped with the existing mechanism and was not concrete enough in its financial and administrative arrangements. Further discussions were needed on that draft next year on the basis of detailed explanations to be submitted by Sierra Leone.

She agreed with the recommendations of the Special Committee regarding the deletion of clauses on "enemy States" and added that the articles that were no longer valid went beyond those concerning enemy States. In view of the sensitivity and complexity of the question, it was more appropriate to

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link that issue with other issues related to the revision of the Charter. In that way, a package solution could be found through careful study and discussion. The suggestion that the Special Committee be made open-ended was acceptable in principle, but expansion of the membership should not affect its efficiency and consensus should remain the basis of its work.

FRANCISCO VILLAGRAN KRAMER (Guatemala) said that the proposal regarding the expansion of participation in the Special Committee was useful. Concerning the peaceful settlement of disputes, he said that there was a trend to consider the regimes for peaceful settlement of disputes under Article 33 of the Charter. The adoption of specific regimes for specific cases could also be used and had been codified by relevant conventions and treaties.

The range of general measures under Article 33 of the Charter included several proposals concerning conciliation and establishment of a service for early settlement of disputes, he continued. The appropriate framework for addressing the problem would be a committee entrusted specifically with that matter. Also, he expressed approval for the deletion of the "enemy State" clauses.

ABDELOUAHAB BELLOUKI (Morocco) said that the United Nations must adapt to a new reality and bring its Charter into alignment with that reality. Therefore, the role of the Special Committee was of particular importance. The Security Council should be more representative and effective, and the expansion of the Special Committee would further strengthen it.

Innovative ideas had been presented on assistance to third States affected by implementation of sanctions, he continued. Any solution regarding the economic problems of third States should not affect the role of the Security Council as established by the Charter. More frequent recourse to sanctions had highlighted a number of problems involved in their implementation. It was necessary to adopt measures to address the questions envisaged in Article 50 of the Charter. The cost resulting from the application of sanctions should be equitably shared by all Member States, and not just by the partners of affected States.

He supported the proposal for the establishment of a mechanism to evaluate the damage incurred by third countries and was also in favour of evaluating the effects of sanctions to assess objectively the damage sustained. A trust fund would theoretically be an ideal solution, he said. International financial institutions could also alleviate the burden of third States. Some measures involving bilateral assistance could and had been adopted. A consultative mechanism would help regulate the provision of assistance. Regarding the peaceful settlement of disputes, he said that he had misgivings about the proposal made by Sierra Leone. However, he supported deletion of the "enemy State" clauses.

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PAULA ESCARAMEIA (Portugal) said that, as a former observer in the Special Committee, she appreciated its transformation into an open-ended body. Portugal endorsed the deletion of the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter, as those provisions were obsolete. Further, Articles 53 and 107 of the Charter would allow for the "surrealistic legality" of the use of force against the States mentioned in the clauses. The United Nations Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States would be a valuable addition to existing procedures. They could contribute significantly to the increasing use of that method for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

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