MECHANISMS FOR ALLEVIATING SANCTIONS IMPACT ON THIRD STATES INSUFFICIENT, AUSTRALIA TELLS LEGAL COMMITTEE

13 November 1995

Press Release
GA/L/2888

MECHANISMS FOR ALLEVIATING SANCTIONS IMPACT ON THIRD STATES INSUFFICIENT, AUSTRALIA TELLS LEGAL COMMITTEE

19951113 Completes Discussion of Charter Committee Report

Mechanisms for alleviating the adverse economic effects of Security Council sanctions on innocent third States seemed insufficient, the representative of Australia told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning, as the Committee completed its discussion of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

Affected States had difficulty communicating with the Security Council, he said. Also, there did not seem to be an accepted standard of measuring economic damage incurred as a result of sanctions regimes.

The representatives of Greece and Belarus both stressed that they had suffered economically from the sanctions imposed against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Pakistan's representative said that if third States were not compensated for their losses resulting from sanctions, they might in future find it difficult to give full effect to the decisions of the Council. The representative of India said that assistance to third States should be an integral component of the sanctions regimes. He urged the establishment of a mechanism financed from assessed contributions.

The representative of Italy urged deletion of the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter. The decision to delete those clauses should not be put on hold pending a broader reform of the United Nations Charter, he said.

Also speaking this afternoon were the representatives of Ukraine, Slovenia, Cuba and Argentina.

When it meets again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 14 November, the Sixth Committee will begin consideration of the United Nations Decade of International Law.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning is expected to conclude its consideration of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter, containing recommendations concerning assistance to third States affected by the implementation of sanctions, the Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States and the deletion of the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter. The proposals also include the questions of the membership of the Security Council and of making the Special Committee an open-ended body. (For background information, see Press Release GA/L/2882 of 6 November.)

Statements

JAMES BAXTER (Australia) said that Committee debate on the application of sanctions under Chapter VII and their effects on third States had raised interesting questions of principle, such as whether the Security Council should be subject to procedural constraints, and whether Council actions gave rise to right to compensation. The discussion in the Charter Committee could not be the basis of resolving such questions of principle; rather it should focus on practical questions aimed at the improvement of practices.

Sanctions regimes had given rise to problems for a number of States, he continued. There seemed to be insufficient mechanisms available for innocent States to remedy the adverse economic effects flowing from the imposition of sanctions on States with which they had close economic relations. Affected States had difficulty communicating with the Security Council, and did not have a standard of measuring economic damage incurred as a result of sanctions regimes.

The Security Council had responded by modifying its procedures to improve the transparency of operations, he said. International financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, had increased levels of assistance available to specially affected States. A number of delegations had proposed that a trust fund be established, which would be devoted to assisting third States affected by sanctions. He had serious reservations about that proposal, as there was no authority under the Charter to set up such a fund. The proposal went beyond the scope of Article 50, which was concerned with the right of specially affected States to consult the Council.

VASSILIOS PATRONAS (Greece) said that his Government had a special interest in the question of economic problems encountered by third States as a result of the imposition of Chapter VII sanctions. Greece had felt severe repercussions from the applications of such sanctions. The report of the Secretary-General contained useful elements, including the possibility of

establishing a time period for the application of sanctions and adjusting that regime in order to accommodate the needs of affected third States. Economic

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assistance by international financial institutions was also of paramount importance.

He cited a recent letter to the Secretary-General from Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Greece (document S/1995/412) that had suggested accelerating applications in the Sanctions Committee for the transshipment and delivery of humanitarian goods under the regime concerning the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The letter had also proposed: facilitating the access of companies from the interested affected countries for orders placed by United Nations humanitarian organizations in order to render humanitarian assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; allocating additional resources in order to carry out long-term transport infrastructure projects; and providing for additional measures or special assistance projects in the fields of telecommunications, energy, water supply and the environment. The letter also proposed enhanced support of the international financial institutions in order to make objective estimates of losses by affected countries.

He said he supported the United Nations Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States submitted by Guatemala. Committee discussion of the proposal of Sierra Leone on the establishment of a dispute settlement service would be facilitated by the detailed commentary and clarification provided by that delegation.

JAMSHED HAMID (Pakistan) said that the Security Council should be expanded consistent with the principle of equitable geographic distribution, but any expansion of the Council should not include permanent membership. Inequities inherent in the concept of permanent membership ran counter to the principle of the sovereign equality of States and to the fundamental principles of the Charter. There should be no additional centres of privilege in the Organization.

The "enemy State" clauses were obsolete and should be deleted, he said. Pakistan endorsed the submission to the General Assembly of the Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States. Those flexible, non-binding rules would provide an additional mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States.

He was concerned over the effect of Security Council sanctions on third States. If third States were not compensated for their losses resulting from sanctions, they might find it difficult in future to give full effect to the Council's decisions. Case-by-case assessments should be made to ascertain the special economic problems of third States. Also, transparency in the work of the Special Committee was essential. Membership should be open to all Member States, but he was concerned by the effect of consensus on decisions of the Special Committee. Individual States should not be permitted to paralyse the

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Organization through that consensus rule. Consensus decision-making had been one of the great flaws of the League of Nations. Furthermore, greater recourse should be made to the International Court of Justice, both in the area of adjudicating settlements and in the area of providing advisory opinions.

HASHIM ABDUL HALIM (India) said he attached considerable importance to the question of assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. Assistance received from international financial institutions or from donor countries was not a substitute for United Nations assistance. Assistance to third States was a legal obligation under the Charter and should be treated as an integral component of the legal regime on sanctions.

The United Nations must establish appropriate mechanisms and provide financial resources to alleviate the impact of sanctions on third countries, he said. To ensure timeliness and adequacy of assistance, it must be, in some sense, automatic. The Security Council should establish a funding mechanism financed from assessed contributions on the basis of the scale applicable for peace-keeping operations. There could also be provisions for voluntary contributions. Regular consultations were necessary between the affected States and the Security Council to deal with the adverse consequences of sanctions and allow a proper assessment of the likely impact of sanctions.

Turning to the Model Rules of Conciliation, he said they should be flexible, voluntary and optional. As regards the proposal on the establishment of a dispute settlement service responding with its assistance early in disputes, he would like to understand it further. It might also run the risk of duplicating existing mechanisms of dispute settlement. It was necessary to assess whether the proposal would add significantly to the existing efforts in the area. He welcomed the recommendation to make the Charter Committee an open-ended body. It was consistent with the position of India that all the United Nations bodies must be transparent, democratic and representative of the changes in membership of the Organization.

MARKIYAN Z. KULYK (Ukraine) said the application of sanctions was a collective measure imposed by the Security Council. However, the adverse effects were borne primarily by neighbouring and other States that had close economic relationship with the sanctioned State. That was unacceptable. Article 50 of the Charter by itself provided no solution to the problem, due to the lack of a mechanism for its implementation.

The mechanism for providing assistance to third States could include consultations between the Security Council and potentially affected third States, he continued. Also, a preliminary assessment of the effect of sanctions should be done in order to enable the Council to maximize their impact on the intended State and minimize collateral damage. Consideration on

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a case-by-case basis of introducing some exceptions from the sanctions regime was also possible.

International financial institutions could play a useful role, since they possessed the capacity to assist adversely affected States, he continued. Special attention should be attached to the proposals to mobilize other possibilities to protect the economic interests of third States, especially those which did not require additional financial funding from the international community. Also, the time had come to delete the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter. In addition, the flexible and non-binding Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States would provide States with an effective instrument and facilitate recourse to conciliation procedures. He also fully supported the transformation of the Charter Committee into an open-ended body.

DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said that the Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States represented a welcome instrument. Also, the proposal by Sierra Leone for the establishment of an early dispute settlement service merited further study. The General Assembly had not done enough in the field of prevention of conflicts and for peaceful adjustment of potentially dangerous situations. That was not due to the lack of powers of the Assembly. However, a real answer to the basic question of how to develop a meaningful and non-duplicative mechanism for peaceful settlement would require a substantial amount of additional work.

The political nature of the majority of situations that were likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among nations should be kept in mind, he continued. Any institutional mechanism for dealing with those situations should be tied to the General Assembly. Good offices and mediation seemed appropriate in addressing such situations. Speaking about the effects of sanctions on third States, he said that one of the possible solutions might be the preparation of a preliminary assessment of the effects of the proposed sanctions by the Secretariat. The establishment of a "focal point" within the Secretariat could serve that purpose.

One of the most important achievements of the last session of the Charter Committee was its recommendation to delete the "enemy State" clauses, he continued. He also hoped that the work on the reform of the Security Council would be successful and provide an early occasion for the necessary revision of the Charter. The provisions related to the Trusteeship Council had also become obsolete and the Assembly should consider deleting them. Specific future situations that might merit involvement of the United Nations in a way that resembled international trusteeship should be considered on a case-by-case basis, he said. The nature of a possible future United Nations trusteeship over global commons would be different from the original trusteeship of the former Trust Territories.

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SYARGEI SYARGEEU (Belarus) said that a growing number of States were suffering the negative economic effects of the imposition of Security Council sanctions. The establishment of a permanent mechanism to address those problems would have a positive effect on international peace and security. Otherwise, the Security Council's authority would diminish. It was essential that the Security Council be able to act effectively and quickly in maintaining international peace and security, but an analysis of the negative effects of such actions should be carried out through consultations both before and after the imposition of sanctions.

He said proposals for strengthening the role of international financial institutions in that regard deserved attention, including proposals to expand damage assessment and the provision of compensation. Cooperation between regional organizations and the United Nations should also be enhanced. Regional bodies played a special role in preventive diplomacy and peacemaking, since they often had more complete information on the parties to conflicts. Cooperation between those organizations and the United Nations should always be consistent with the discretionary powers of the Security Council and under its authority as defined by the Charter.

He commended the revised Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States. The rules would enhance the role of the Organization as the most appropriate forum for the settlement of international disputes. He also supported deletion of the "enemy State" clauses from the Charter.

MAURO POLITI (Italy) said that every effort should be made to find equitable and adequate solutions to the economic problems encountered by third States affected by the imposition of Security Council sanctions. The Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States should be adopted by the General Assembly. Those rules would provide States with a valuable instrument in the field of conciliation procedures for settling disputes. The Special Committee should further consider the dispute settlement service proposed by Sierra Leone.

The deletion of the "enemy State" clauses would eliminate provisions of the Charter that had become totally obsolete, he said. The decision to delete those clauses should not be put on hold pending a broader reform of the United Nations Charter. He welcomed the decision to open the Special Committee on the Charter to all Member States of the United Nations.

YAMIRA CUETO MILIAN (Cuba) said the Special Committee had a mandate to review and perfect the instruments used to maintain international peace and security. The Committee had continued to consider the question of assistance to third States affected by the implementation of sanctions. There was a lack of jurisprudence on that matter, while the number of sanctions imposed by the Security Council was increasing. As a matter of urgency, appropriate machinery must be established to deal with that problem.

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As for peaceful settlement of disputes, she preferred direct negotiations between parties. Other machinery also existed in international law and could be used under certain conditions. The draft model rules could become a pertinent and useful document, bearing in mind its non-binding nature. The proposal of an early dispute settlement service by Sierra Leone required substantial consideration. The proposal for making the Special Committee an open-ended body should be addressed. All countries had the right to make recommendations on strengthening the role of the Organization.

SILVIA A. FERNANDEZ de GURMENDI (Argentina) said the Special Committee had completed its work on many matters of great importance and the proposal to shorten its session was wise. The model rules of conciliation would become an excellent instrument that would help settle disputes between States. The recommendation to delete "enemy State" clauses was actively supported by her country. She hoped that a balanced solution to the deletion would be supported by the Sixth Committee.

Regarding assistance to third States affected by sanctions, she said that concrete terms and provisions could come out of the work of the Special Committee. The only way to make progress was to take concrete steps in the desired direction. The nature of the topics discussed by the Special Committee were important to all States and she hoped that it would finally become open to all States.

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