CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE DEFERS DECISION ON AFGHANISTAN

11 October 1996

Press Release
GA/9127

CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE DEFERS DECISION ON AFGHANISTAN

19961011 The Credentials Committee this morning deferred a decision on accepting credentials from Afghanistan, following a statement from the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, that two communications had been received challenging the formal credentials submitted for the representatives of that country, although neither communication was adequate for that purpose, under the General Assembly rules of procedure.

The Committee approved the credentials of 123 Member States to the fifty-first session of the General Assembly, as listed in a memorandum of the Secretary-General. The Committee's decision on Afghanistan will be reflected in its report to the General Assembly.

Mr. Corell explained to the Committee that formal credentials had been submitted for Afghanistan on 15 September 1996 by Professor Burhan-u-ddin Rabbani, President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. On 3 October, a note verbale had been received by the Secretariat from the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic State of Afghanistan", stating that the credentials issued by President Rabbani were "not authoritative and legally valid". However, the note verbale did not list purported new representatives nor did it provide the name or title of the person who initialled the note. Mr. Corell emphasized that the note verbale did not, therefore, constitute either formal or provisional credentials of representatives within the meaning of rule 27 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly.

Mr. Corell noted that no representative of a Member State challenged the presence or credentials of Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, who spoke in the General Assembly's general debate on 7 October. However, on 10 October, the Secretariat in New York received copies of two identical letters addressed to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly and signed by "Haji Mula Mohammad Ghaus Akhund, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs". In those letters, the author stated that "at the top of diplomatic mission of Afghanistan there are individuals and personnel who belong to the previous regime, who are not acceptable to the new ruling Government of Taliban". However, again, such letters did not list purported new representatives of Afghanistan and, thus, did not constitute either formal or provisional credentials of representatives.

Credentials Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/9127 1st Meeting (AM) 11 October 1996

The representative of the United States called for the deferral of action of Afghanistan's credentials. Statements were also made by the representatives of the Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Paraguay and the Russian Federation.

Also this morning, the Committee elected Denis Dangue Rewaka (Gabon) as its Chairman and recommended that the Assembly adopt a draft resolution approving the first report of the Credentials Committee.

Credentials Approved

Credentials issued by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as provided for in rule 27 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, were approved today for the following 123 Member States in respect of their representatives to the fifty-first session of the General Assembly: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali and Malta.

Also, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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