TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL PROPOSALS RANGE FROM DISBANDMENT TO NEW MANDATE, AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES COUNCIL'S FUTURE

Press Release
GA/9008

TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL PROPOSALS RANGE FROM DISBANDMENT TO NEW MANDATE, AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES COUNCIL'S FUTURE

Assembly Also Elects 29 Members of UNEP Governing Council, Seven Members of World Food Council; Appoints Five to Committee on Conferences

The future of the Trusteeship Council deserved further study, speakers in the General Assembly agreed this morning, although recommendations on its future ranged from complete disbandment to a new role of holding in trust the common heritage of mankind.

"In our view, the Secretary-General was right when he recommended last year that the Trusteeship Council should be quietly put to sleep forever", New Zealand's representative said, while recommending the issue be dealt with by the high-level working group of the Assembly on strengthening the Organization, rather than by the Sixth Committee (Legal).

The representative of Malta had proposed that the Council take on the new role of holding in trust humanity's common heritage and had submitted a draft resolution, now in the Sixth Committee, by which the Secretary-General would be requested to seek the views of Member States on the future of the Council and report to the Assembly's fifty-first session. The representative said it would be of no gain to adopt a course of action which could appear to bypass the views of Member States.

The representative of Afghanistan offered a new proposal; that the Council be mandated to raise the Organization's awareness of genocide and its prevention, as well as ensure its preparedness in response to such acts.

Also speaking on this issue were the representatives of Italy, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.

In addition, the Assembly this morning elected 29 members to four-year terms on the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and seven members to three-year terms on the World Food Council. It also appointed five members to serve three-year terms on the Committee on Conferences. All terms will commence on 1 January 1996.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. Monday, 27 November, to consider the return or restitution of cultural properties to countries of origin and the zone of peace and cooperation in the South Atlantic.

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Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to hold elections to fill vacancies on the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Food Council. It will also appoint members to fill vacancies on the Committee on Conferences. In addition, the Assembly will begin its review of the role of the Trusteeship Council.

With respect to the elections to the World Food Council, the Assembly has before it a note by the Secretary-General (document A/50/208), which states that the Assembly is due to elect 12 members to three-year terms on that body to fill the seats being vacated by Ecuador, France, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Peru and Tunisia.

The note states that the Economic and Social Council, by its decision 1995/224, nominated the following to fill seats according to their respective regional groupings: Algeria, Mali, Togo, Iran, Japan, India and Hungary. The Council postponed nominations for two members from Latin American and Caribbean States and three members from Western European and Other States. In addition, the Council postponed nominations for two members from Western European and Other States whose elections had been postponed by the Assembly at its 1994 session, and one member from Western European and Other States whose election was postponed by the Assembly at its 1993 session.

Concerning appointments to the Committee on Conferences, the Assembly has before it a note by the Secretary-General (document A/50/106) which states that since the terms of office of Austria, Fiji, Grenada, Jordan, Morocco, Niger and the United States will expire on 31 December, it will be necessary for the President of the General Assembly to appoint seven members to fill those vacancies. The new members would serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 1996. The President of the Assembly appoints members according to the pre-determined geographical distribution of seats following consultations with the chairmen of the regional groups.

Elections

The Assembly began by conducting elections to the Governing Council of UNEP. Since the number of candidates endorsed by the respective regional groups corresponded to the number of vacancies in each region, the following were elected without balloting: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia (from the African Group); India, Iran, Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa and Thailand (from the Asian Group); Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia (from the Eastern European Group); Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Peru (from the Latin American and Caribbean Group); Australia, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom (from the Western European and Other States). Those States will serve a four-year term beginning on 1 January 1996.

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The following States were previously elected to the UNEP Governing Council: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Guinea- Bissau, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Nicaragua, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United States, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Next, elections were held for the World Food Council. Again, the number of candidates nominated by the regional groups corresponded to the number of vacancies, so the following were elected without balloting: Algeria, Mali and Togo (from the African Group); Iran, Japan and India (from the Asian Group); and Hungary (from the Eastern European Group). Those countries will serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 1996.

The other members of the World Food Council are Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda and United States.

The Acting President of the Assembly, ALEX REYN (Belgium), noted that five nominations had been postponed by the Economic and Social Council.

Next, the Assembly turned to the Committee on Conferences. The Acting President announced that, following consultations with the chairmen of the regional groups, the following had been appointed: Austria, Jamaica, Jordan, Morocco and the United States. Those States will serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 1996.

The following other countries are members of the Committee on Conferences: Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Egypt, France, Gabon, Ghana, Iran, Japan, Latvia, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Senegal.

The ACTING PRESIDENT noted that two seats remained to be filled following further consultations with the chairmen of the regional groups.

Statements on Trusteeship Council

JOSEPH CASSAR (Malta) reiterated the suggestion his country had made during the forty-fifth session of the Assembly that, in addition to its role under the Charter, the Trusteeship Council hold in trust for humanity its common heritage and common concerns. There was broad acceptance of the principle of common heritage and there was a need to protect that heritage against fragmentation. His Government had encountered broad support for the idea of the need to establish a focus for coordination of preservation efforts, though some did not concur that such a role should be entrusted to the Trusteeship Council.

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His Government was aware that any proposal which related to a principal organ of the Charter required very serious consideration before it could be acted upon, he said. To that end, Malta had proposed draft resolution A/C.6/50/L.6, which was to be discussed in the Sixth Committee (Legal). That resolution requested the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on the future of the Council and report to the fifty-first session. It would be of no gain to anyone to adopt a course of action which could appear to by- pass the views of Member States. That was why Malta was asking the Secretary- General to invite written comments from Member States.

LORENZO FERRARIN (Italy) said the proposal to transform the Trusteeship Council into a guardian and trustee of the "global commons" resources was consistent with Malta's tradition on such matters of universal concern. The concepts of "global commons" and "common heritage of mankind" were well known in modern legal doctrine. They had been applied in such multilateral conventions as the 1967 Treaty of Principles Governing the Use of Outer Space, the 1979 Agreement Governing Activities of States on the Moon and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The idea of a common responsibility of all States to protect the environment also underlay other international instruments.

He said Malta's proposal followed that of the President of the forty- fifth General Assembly to enhance the Trusteeship Council's mandate to include responsibility for safeguarding the "common heritage of mankind". The Malta proposal represented an opportunity to review the role of the Council, but did not prejudice the other options available to the Assembly of abolishing the Council or maintaining its present mandate.

COLIN KEATING (New Zealand) said the issue of what should be done with the Trusteeship Council should be addressed by the policy machinery of the United Nations, not as a legal issue. Thus, it should not be dealt with in the Sixth Committee. The high-level working group of the Assembly on strengthening the Organization was already mandated to deal with the task. Thus, there was no reason for the Assembly to adopt a draft resolution on the item.

While agreeing that the United Nations machinery in the area of the environment warranted review, he expressed some reservations about what he termed the narrow focus of Malta's proposal, which he said was limited to only one part of the environmental agenda. "In our view, the Secretary-General was right when he recommended last year that the Trusteeship Council should be quietly put to sleep forever."

MARIO CASTELLON DUARTE (Nicaragua) said Malta's proposal was of great importance. The Council had played an important role in the decolonization era and could play an important one in the future. The Council's new mandate should harmonize with the reforms of the United Nations currently under way and it should not compromise the efforts of other organs of the United Nations

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or its specialized agencies. A resolution should be adopted calling for comments and suggestions. He favoured having the high-level open-ended working group study the issue, since it was able to consult with other bodies, such as universities and non-governmental organizations.

RAVAN A.G. FARHADI (Afghanistan) expressed support for Malta's proposal. The Trusteeship Council should not be put to sleep. In the past 50 years, many acts of genocide had been committed and the United Nations must be aware of and prepare for such dangers. It could be said that that matter fell under the purview of the Third Committee, the Sixth Committee or the Security Council, but that was not the case. Therefore, while supporting Malta's proposal, he proposed that, in the future, the Trusteeship Council have a mandate to raise the Organization's awareness of genocide and its prevention.

NGONI FRANCIS SENGWE (Zimbabwe) paid tribute to the valuable role played by the Trusteeship Council in the decolonization process, which had been especially critical in Africa, notably in Namibia. The review of the role of the Trusteeship Council, rather than being allocated to the Sixth Committee, should be dealt with by having the Assembly invite Member States to submit their views on the matter to the Secretary-General. The review of the role of the Trusteeship Council should receive the focused attention of Member States, and should not fall to the Assembly's open-ended high-level working group on strengthening the Organization's work. At the current stage, the Assembly should not include the proposals of any State in its decisions on the matter.

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