In progress at UNHQ

GA/L/2889

LEGAL COMMITTEE CONSIDERS ACTIVITIES OF CURRENT DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

14 November 1995


Press Release
GA/L/2889


LEGAL COMMITTEE CONSIDERS ACTIVITIES OF CURRENT DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

19951114

The proposed 1999 third international peace conference should focus on the peaceful settlement of disputes and the prevention of armed conflict, the representative of the Russian Federation told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning as it began consideration of the United Nations Decade of International Law. His country had sponsored the earlier 1899 and 1907 Hague Peace Conferences, he recalled.

Reiterating the proposal made by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin at the fiftieth anniversary commemorative session of the General Assembly, he said that the conference should address legal norms of peace enforcement, international sanctions, international humanitarian law and the establishment of an international criminal justice system. The year 1999 would mark the end of the Decade of International Law and would be the one hundredth anniversary of the first international peace conference, he noted.

Also this morning, the representative of Romania said that the recent Congress on Public International Law, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 17 March 1995, at the Decade's midpoint, offered an excellent opportunity for all participants to exchange views on the codification, teaching, dissemination, progressive development and implementation of public international law.

United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell introduced the report of the Secretary-General on the matter.

The Sixth Committee is scheduled to continue discussion of the Decade of International Law tomorrow, 15 November, at a time to be announced in the Journal.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning to begin consideration of issues related to the United Nations Decade of International Law (1990-1999).

The Decade was declared by General Assembly resolution 44/23 of 17 November 1989. Its purposes are to promote the principles of international law and methods for the peaceful settlement of inter-State disputes; encourage the progressive development and codification of international law; and encourage the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law.

The Committee had before it a Report of the Secretary-General (document A/50/368 and Adds.1 and 2) in which he states that the programme for the third term (1995-1996) of the Decade was adopted by Assembly resolution 49/50 of 9 December 1994. By that resolution, the Assembly invited all States and international organizations to provide information on activities connected with the Decade to the Secretary-General for transmission to the General Assembly.

According to the same resolution, the United Nations Congress on Public International Law was to be held in 1995. All States were invited to disseminate the guidelines for military manuals and instructions on the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict and to incorporate them into their military manuals and instructions. The International Committee of the Red Cross was invited to continue to report on activities undertaken with regard to the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict.

Following requests by the Secretary-General expressed in his note dated 26 January 1995 and letters dated 20 and 27 January 1995, two States (the Cook Islands and Cyprus) and numerous United Nations bodies, international and regional organizations and institutions submitted information on the implementation of the programme and/or their views on possible activities for the next term of the Decade.

Replies from States and international organizations are analytically summarized in section II of the report under headings corresponding to the main goals of the Decade. They address such issues as promotion and acceptance of multilateral treaties; assistance and technical advice to States in treaty-making; implementation of multilateral treaties; and methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes and suggestions for their promotion. They also deal with progressive development and codification of international law; training in international law; and publication of the instruments and practice by States and international and regional organizations in the field of international law.

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The report states that the United Nations Congress on Public International Law was held to assist the legal profession, the international community and States that had recently joined the United Nations, and the general public in meeting the challenges and expectations of the present-day world. The Congress took place at United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 17 March 1995 under the general theme: "Towards the twenty-first century: international law as a language for international relations".

Diplomats, government officials, judges, arbitrators, practising lawyers and professors of international law representing all geographical regions of the world took part in the Congress. The gathering gave its participants an opportunity to exchange views on the codification, progressive development and implementation of public international law, both in theory and in practice, as well as on its teaching and dissemination.

Part III of the report is devoted to United Nations activities relating to the progressive development and codification of international law. It presents an analysis of work in the field of law relating to human rights; disarmament; outer space; economic development; international trade; crime prevention and criminal justice; environment; and the law of the sea. The work of the International Law Commission and that of the Sixth Committee are described separately.

Addendum 1 to the report, dated 4 October 1995, contains an analytical presentation of replies received from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Council of Europe.

Addendum 2 contains information from Nicaragua.

Introduction of Report

HANS CORELL, the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, said the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization had provided an opportunity to reaffirm that international relations were based on the rule of law. This year also marked the mid-point of the United Nations Decade of International Law.

The United Nations Congress on Public International Law, held last March, was a historic gathering of international lawyers from a wide range of countries representing all branches of the legal profession, he said. The Secretariat was currently in the process of compiling the proceedings of the Congress.

The Congress was, however, only one of the varied and numerous activities undertaken this year in implementation of the Programme of the Decade. Replies from States and international organizations on their activities were analytically summarized in the report of the Secretary- General. However, they had not been exhaustively reported in the document,

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which was based on a relatively limited number of replies. Thus, unfortunately, many useful initiatives might not have been given the publicity they deserved.

The question of what kind of manifestation should take place at the end of the Decade and what role the United Nations should play was a matter for the Member States, he said. The Secretariat would provide support to activities decided upon by the General Assembly.

Statements

DUMITRU MAZILU (Romania) said he was pleased to note that the Decade had been marked by concrete activities. The Romanian Congress on Public International law, which marked the Decade's midpoint, had offered an excellent opportunity for all participants to exchange views on the codification, teaching, dissemination, progressive development and implementation of public international law.

Romania encouraged the teaching and wide appreciation of international law and national programmes for the study of that branch of law that had been updated in accordance with the recommendations of the General Assembly. New institutions and associations had been created. Useful contributions had been made by non-governmental organizations, which had sponsored conferences, roundtables and symposia on different aspects of international law.

The Romanian Institute for Human Rights had organized conferences and had published documents adopted by United Nations bodies working in the field, he continued. In May of this year, Romania had hosted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) seminars on tolerance and on tourism.

Romania supported the initiative of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice regarding the elaboration of a convention on transnational crimes not covered by existing documents, and of a convention against illicit trafficking in children.

The Sixth Committee should request the wider publication of all United Nations documents in the field of international law, he said. Wider publication of judgements and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and other international tribunals would be very useful. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) could do more in the area of international legal education and training. It could also support broader publication of United Nations documents and opinions in the field.

SERGEY V. LAVROV (Russian Federation) said that half-way through the United Nations Decade of International Law, the United Nations was

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successfully promoting the progressive development and the supremacy of law. President Boris Yeltsin, at the fiftieth anniversary commemorative session of the General Assembly, had proposed the holding of a third peace conference in 1999. At that meeting, the basis of the peaceful settlement of disputes for the post-cold war period could be established. Russia had taken the initiative of convening the earlier Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907, he recalled.

The proposed conference could improve "peace technology", he said. Different States saw peacemaking from different perspectives. A goal of the conference should be to find common denominators which have a universal significance for securing world peace. The conference would focus on the peaceful settlement of disputes, with emphasis on preventing armed conflict, legal norms of peace enforcement, the legal foundations of international sanctions, filling lacunae in international humanitarian law and establishing an international criminal justice system. It might also adopt new legal documents.

The conference would play an important political as well as legal role, he said. It could work out a new philosophical approach to prevention of a "new generation" of conflicts. The conference would be a good way to mark the "century milestone" of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference, and to celebrate the culmination of the Decade of International Law.

In today's environment, it was impossible to differentiate international peace from the activities of the United Nations, he continued. The United Nations could use the conference as a reference point for future efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution of disputes. The Russian Federation was open to dialogue on a third peace conference, including the levels of representation. It would be useful to conduct a series of expert meetings for those interested in the Russian initiative.

The most important indication that the ideas of the Decade of International Law were taking hold could be seen in national activities. The Russian Federation committee on the Decade was chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and included parliamentarians, academics and representatives of the private sector. In 1996 the Russian committee would conduct legal courses for barristers, judges and police officials. It would also sponsor, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a seminar on international humanitarian law. In 1996 and 1997, the national committee would conduct conferences on contemporary international law in three Russian cities. Russia had begun publishing the Moscow International Law Review in English. An all-Russian legal conference on legal reform would be held next year for representatives of the Federal Government, local administrations, political parties, academics and non-governmental organizations.

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For information media. Not an official record.