INTERNATIONAL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS APPROVED BY THIRD COMMITTEE

31 October 1996

Press Release
GA/SHC/3372

INTERNATIONAL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS APPROVED BY THIRD COMMITTEE

19961031 Resolutions Also Approved Concerning Role of Cooperatives, UN Crime Prevention, African Institute, Transnational Crime

The General Assembly would adopt an International Code of Conduct for Public Officials and recommend that States use it as a tool to guide their efforts against corruption, under the terms of a draft resolution approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon. The draft was one of five texts approved by the Committee without a vote.

The code, attached as an annex to the text, defines the roles and responsibilities of public officials and includes provisions on conflicts of interest, disclosure of assets, acceptance of gifts, disclosure of confidential information and political activity.

By the terms of another draft, Member States would be asked by the Assembly to submit their views on the elaboration of an international convention against transnational organized crime before the sixth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Commission would report through the Economic and Social Council to the Assembly's fifty-second session.

The Secretary-General would be requested to provide resources to strengthen the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme according to the terms of another draft approved this afternoon. He would also be asked by the Assembly to strengthen cooperation between the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, particularly in the area of money laundering.

The Assembly would also ask the Secretary-General to provide the necessary funding and technical support to the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, according to the terms of a fourth text on crime-related issues. He would also be asked to make concrete proposals on strengthening the Institute's programmes and activities and to report on those proposals at the Assembly's next session.

The Assembly would urge governments, international organizations and specialized agencies to utilize and develop cooperatives' potential contributions to sustainable development, particularly poverty eradication, full and productive employment, and social integration, according to terms of the fifth draft resolution.

Also this afternoon, the Committee continued its general debate on refugees, displaced persons and humanitarian questions.

Statements were made by Ireland (speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Iceland), Argentina, Ethiopia and Iraq. Representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also addressed the Committee.

Rwanda spoke in exercise of its right of reply.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 1 November, to continue its consideration of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions.

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Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this afternoon to take action on draft resolutions on social development issues, crime prevention and criminal justice, and on the elaboration of an international convention against transnational organized crime. It will also continue its examination of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons, and humanitarian questions.

An annex to a draft resolution on action against corruption (document A/C.3/51/L.2), contains an international code of conduct for public officials which the General Assembly would recommend to States as a tool to guide their efforts against corruption. The code states that public office is a position of trust, and public officials' ultimate loyalty is to their country's public interests, as expressed through the democratic institutions of government. It says public officials shall administer public resources effectively and efficiently and perform their functions impartially, without preferential treatment or discrimination.

The code requires public officials to declare business, commercial and financial interests or activities that might raise a possible conflict of interest and, on leaving office, not to take advantage of their previous position. A section on disclosure of assets requires them to declare or disclose personal assets and liabilities and, where possible, those of their spouses and/or dependants. It prohibits the acceptance of gifts or other favours which may influence functions, performance or judgement. The code also covers the disclosure of confidential information and political activity.

By the terms of a draft on the role of cooperatives in the light of new economic and social trends (document A/C.3/51/L.4), the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to continue to support the goals and objectives of the cooperative movement and to submit to the fifty-fourth session, a report on countries' legislative and administrative initiatives.

The Assembly would urge Governments, international organizations and specialized agencies, in collaboration with cooperative organizations, to consider the role and contribution of cooperatives in implementing follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen 1994), the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995), and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held this year in Istanbul. Governments and organizations should accomplish that end by July, utilizing and developing cooperatives' potential contribution to sustainable development, particularly poverty eradication, full and productive employment, and social integration. Governments should encourage and facilitate the development of cooperatives, including measures to enable poor people and vulnerable groups to develop them.

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The text is sponsored by Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Krygyz Republic, Mongolia, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, Myanmar and Nigeria.

By the terms of a draft on the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (document A/C.351/L.6), the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to provide the necessary financial and technical support to enable the Institute to effectively follow- up, monitor and evaluate the implementation of all operational aspects of the decisions of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, as well as other relevant decisions of the General Assembly. It would also ask him make concrete proposals on strengthening the Institute's programmes and activities and to report on those proposals at the Assembly's next session.

The Assembly would appeal to all Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies, to adopt concrete, practical measures to support the Institute in the elaboration and implementation of programmes and activities aimed at strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice systems in Africa.

The draft is sponsored by Burundi on behalf of the African Group of States.

A draft resolution on strengthening the United Nations Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, particularly its technical cooperation capacity (document A/C.3/51/L.8), would request the Secretary-General to further strengthen the Programme by providing it with resources to fully implement its mandates, including follow-up action to the Naples Political Declaration and Global Action Plan against Organized Transnational Crime, as well as the Ninth Crime Congress. It would also ask him to continue to strengthen cooperation between the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, particularly in the area of money laundering. Further, it would ask him to help the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice -- as the principal policy-making body in the field -- to cooperate and coordinate with other relevant bodies, such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women.

The Assembly would call upon States and United Nations funding agencies to make significant financial contributions for the Programme's operations and encourage them to make voluntary contributions to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Trust Fund, taking into account the activities required for the implementation of the Naples Declaration and Action Plan. It would also call on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and other international and regional funding agencies to support the Programme's technical operations and include them in their programmes, to

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utilize its expertise and cooperate closely on technical assistance projects and advisory missions. It would call on the Commission to give full effect to its resolutions on the Programme's strategic management, particularly the ones on reporting requirements, the submission of proposals and resources mobilization.

The text is sponsored by Austria, Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

By the terms of a draft resolution on the question of the elaboration of an international convention against organized transnational crime (document A/C.3/51/L.10), the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to invite Member States to submit their views on the elaboration of an international convention against organized transnational crime not later than two months before the start of the sixth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. It would ask the Commission, as a matter of priority, to consider the question of the elaboration of a convention against organized transnational crime, taking into account the views of Member States views, with a view to finalizing its work as soon as possible. The Commission would be asked to report through the Economic and Social Council to the Assembly's fifty-second session, which would decide to continue its consideration of the question under the appropriate agenda item.

The text is sponsored by Argentina, Cambodia, Italy, Morocco, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

In connection with the discussion on refugee questions, the documents it will consider include: the UNHCR report and the report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner (document A/51/12 and Add.1); a report of the Secretary-General on the new international humanitarian order (document A/51/454); a report of the Secretary-General on assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa (document A/51/367); the Secretary-General's report on assistance to unaccompanied refugee minors (document A/51/329); and, the Secretary-General's report on the problems on refugees, returnees, displaced persons and related migratory movements (document A/51/341). (For complete background, see Press Release GA/SHC/3371 of 31 October.)

PETER SCHATZER, Director for External Relations, International Organization for Migration (IOM), said over recent years cooperation between UNHCR and IOM had grown in quality, and the complimentary mandates and competencies of the two organizations were being applied to the benefit of persons in need of humanitarian assistance. The return of refugees and internally displaced in Mozambique was one of the recent examples of multilateral success and a good illustration of such cooperation. However,

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the results of inter-agency cooperation in the Great Lakes had been less than satisfying, but the causes often lay outside the influence of humanitarian actors. Recent developments in the Kivu provinces of Zaire had not only added a further dimension to a conflict characterized by an insane quest for ethnic division, but had also once more exposed the limits of humanitarian aid in a highly politicized environment, where even the strictest impartiality is cynically misconstrued as siding with the opponent.

Many Governments not only sought and needed advice on how to handle complex migration situations, but they also found themselves faced with various types of migrants -- forced and voluntary -- whose predicament was not amongst the priorities for national resource allocations, he said. They required timely financial support to contain and help solve problems that otherwise might have serious humanitarian and politically destabilizing connotations. Continued donor attention to such problems remained a priority in a number of world regions. Assisting government and non-governmental organizations to develop their capacities to deal with migration issues in an innovative way had many facets, including human rights and refugee legislation, technical assistance, information management, integration measures and assisted voluntary reform.

JOHN D. BIGGAR (Ireland), spoke on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Iceland. He said the absence of any large scale repatriation in both the former Yugoslavia and the Great Lakes region of Africa underlined the continuing need for a durable political and economic solution to the problems of refugees and the internally displaced. The situation in the Great Lakes region had become untenable and threatened the stability of the entire region. The present conflict in Kivu, with massive movements of people driven by panic and fear, made a resolution to the two year old refugee problem very urgent.

The Union strongly supported the UNHCR's comprehensive approach to the problem, which included addressing the root causes of the conflict, he continued. A regional conference on peace, security and stability in the Great Lakes region under the auspices of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had a central role to play in establishing a settlement. He welcomed yesterday's appointment of the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Raymond Chretien. The Union's Special Envoy would work closely with him. He called for an early resumption of negotiations between Rwanda and Zaire.

The hopes that the Dayton Peace Agreement would lead to an early return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in the former Yugoslavia had not been realized, he continued. The UNHCR's operational plan of March 1996, was the basis for a durable solution. The Union was also concerned with the situation in Eastern Slavonia, where continuing efforts must be made to

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promote the return of displaced persons, while allowing those who wish to stay to do so. He called attention to the Secretary-General's report on the impact of armed conflict on children, and the call for refugee and displaced persons camps to be designed to improve security for women and girls. Women should be involved in all aspects of the camps' administration, especially in organizing distribution and security systems.

MARTIN GARCIA MORITAN (Argentina) said the reforms in the working methods of the Executive Committee, as well as the restructuring of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were appropriate measures. They should lead to a more effective Organization with less costly solutions to the refugee problem. It was for those reasons that he welcomed Project Delphi.

Many Governments continued to consider asylum as the solution to refugee problems, he said. His Government had continued to offer asylum, in accordance with tradition, and it looked forward to cooperating with UNHCR in that area. Argentina had always espoused a policy of providing international humanitarian cooperation in emergency humanitarian situations. The problem of refugees was a problem that affected developing countries and States should not loose sight of the burden placed upon developing countries when they undertook those activities. Therefore, the burden of offering asylum to refugees should be undertaken by countries of both origin and destination.

FESSEHA ASGHEDOM TESSEMA (Ethiopia) said Africa had shown continuous generosity throughout the years in assisting refugees, even though the financial and material ability to continue their assistance was limited. The African countries that provided asylum were the world's poorest and sudden influxes caused devastating costs to their economic, social and environmental situations. In some cases the refugee problem had even started to affect peace and security. The refugee problem in the horn of Africa had been overshadowed by events in other parts of Africa. However, the refugee problem in his country's region seemed to defy a solution. It still required the international community's attention.

He said the politicization and, in some cases, militarization of refugee camps was a serious concern. Harassment and intimidation of refugees by politically motivated groups had affected repatriation efforts and basic assistance activities. The responsibility of asylum countries for the physical safety of refugees was a concern to all. The entire burden of guaranteeing the continuation of assistance could not be put on the shoulders of UNHCR alone. The UNHCR's activities in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Angola deserved much credit. However, the continued support by donors and the international community was essential for continued success and other United Nations humanitarian and development agencies must cooperate closely with UNHCR.

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KHALID S.H. AL-HITTI (Iraq) said the refugees and displaced persons were an international responsibility. He was particularly interested in the number of Iraqi refugees in other countries. That was new phenomenon for Iraq, because it had always been a refuge for others. Never before had large numbers of its citizens sought refuge. That situation was due primarily to the excessive economic embargo, motivated by the allied aggression against Iraq, which continued to cause great suffering. While Iraq had continued to comply with all United Nations resolutions, the embargo continued to cause shortages and had forced many of the Iraq's sons and daughters to flee. The bloody war in the north between factions had also caused many Iraqis to seek refuge elsewhere.

One of the negative effects of the sanctions was the exodus of manpower, in particular individuals who had a high level of expertise or skills, he said. The United Nations must investigate the economic affects of sanctions and look into alternative methods. The United Nations should also consider the problem of migration and its relationship to development. Programmes of assistance, involving aid from developed countries to underdeveloped countries, should be established to help developing countries meet their basic needs.

JEAN-PHILIPPE LAVOYER, representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said humanitarian action could not in itself create the conditions conducive to the return of refugees and displaced persons. The involvement of the international community in the search for solutions remained indispensable. Yet, humanitarian action must be conducted independently from political action, and political responsibilities must not be passed on to those involved in humanitarian tasks.

The crux of the international refugee problem lay not in the lack of legal provisions, but in a manifest failure to implement the existing rules of humanitarian rights law, he said. Respect for that law should make it possible to prevent a large number of population movements, since the many violations of humanitarian rules were the principal cause of the exodus of entire populations. Humanitarian law also expressly prohibited forced displacement.

The link between emergency action and rehabilitation and development work needed to be strengthened, he said. Those different types of activity did not necessarily have to follow each other. They could be conducted simultaneously. The ICRC tried to render the people it assisted as self- sufficient as possible, while respecting local customs. For example, the ICRC's health and agricultural programmes and its projects for fishing tackle distribution and livestock vaccination were all directed towards that objective.

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Action on Draft Resolutions

The Committee took action on the draft resolution on the role of cooperatives in the light of new social and economic trends.

Bangladesh, Burkino Faso, Cuba, Estonia, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and Sudan joined as co-sponsors.

The Secretary of the Committee read the following revisions:

-- In the third preambular paragraph, fourth and fifth lines, the words "increasingly provide" are replaced by the words "are increasingly providing";

-- In operative paragraph five, the first line, after the words "Secretary-General", the words "within existing resources" are added.

The representative of Mongolia read out the following revisions:

-- In operative paragraph 2(b), third line, the words "on a voluntary basis" should be inserted before the words "in the creation and development of cooperatives";

-- In operative paragraph five, the words "through the Committee on Social Development" should be inserted before "to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session" and "bearing in mind possible measures to improve reporting procedure;" should be added at the end of the paragraph.

The Committee approved the resolution, as orally amended, without a vote.

It then took action on the draft resolution entitled Action against corruption.

The Committee Secretary said that at the request of the Committee on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice the phrase "to developing countries and countries with economies in transition" should be deleted from the fourth preamubular paragraph.

The text was approved without a vote.

Speaking after action on the text the representative for Syria said he was pleased with the revisions to the fourth preambular paragraph, because in the original text it had appeared that corruption only occurred in third world countries and developing countries. His delegation would have preferred that the definition of public servant in the code of conduct state that public service was for the benefit of all, as defined by public law. There should be

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more accuracy in such important documents, which could be achieved by more democratic dialogue. He wished to register his delegation's reservation about the inaccurate language.

The Committee then took action on the draft resolution on the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.

The following revisions were read out by the Secretary of the Committee:

-- in operative paragraph 3, third line, after the words "to enable it to", add the words "fulfil its mandate" and delete the rest of the paragraph;

-- Insert a new operative paragraph 4 bis which reads as follows:

Further requests the Secretary-General to enhance regional cooperation, coordination and collaboration in the fight against crime, especially in its transnational dimensions which could not be adequately dealt with by national action alone."

c) In operative paragraph 5, on the first line, delete the words "intergovernmental and".

The representative for Egypt said when substantial paragraphs were added sponsors should be notified and his delegation had not been notified.

The representative for Burundi apologized to those delegations that had not been contacted. However, the resolution was not much different from the one approved last year. He added that the last line of paragraph 6 should read "every possible effort", instead of "every effort".

The Committee approved the text, as orally, revised without a vote.

The Committee then took action on a draft resolution on strengthening the United Nations Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, particularly its technical cooperation capacity.

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Cape Verde, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Georgia, Guatemala, Egypt, Lesotho, Malta, Marshall Islands, Philippines, Rumania, Russian Federation, Spain, Togo and Tunisia joined as co-sponsors.

The Secretary of the Committee read out the following amendments to the text:

-- In the title of the draft resolution, the word "crime" should be added after the words "United Nations";

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-- Insert a new third preambular paragraph as follows:

"Convinced of the desirability of closer coordination and cooperation among States in combatting crime, including drug related crimes such as terrorist crimes, illicit arms trade and money-laundering, and bearing in mind the role that could be played by both the United Nations and regional organizations in this respect".

The Committee then approved the draft resolution without a vote.

The representative for Syria referred to a statement by Egypt, that new paragraphs should not be introduced at the last moment, but during negotiations on the text. If it happened in future, he might have to ask for a vote.

The Chairman said all the amendments, read out by the Secretary, except for the slight alteration suggested by Burundi, had been made formally some days ago when the text was formally introduced.

The Committee approved the draft as orally amended without a vote.

The representative for the United States joined in the consensus on the draft resolution on the strengthening of the United Nations Crime Prevention Programme, but noted that operative paragraph 10 encouraged the Secretary-General to recommend the inclusion of the re-establishment and reform of criminal justice systems in peace-keeping operations. That might not be appropriate in all peace-keeping operations, such as cease-fire operations and demobilization. The Security Council should decide on such inclusions on a case-by-case basis. The implication of the present language could be that all peace-keeping operations needed that inclusion.

The Committee then took action on a draft resolution on the question of the elaboration of an international convention against organized transnational crime.

The Secretary read out the following revisions:

-- In the first line of operative paragraph 1, the word "Member" should be replaced with "all";

-- In the first line of operative paragraph 2, the word "Member" should be replaced with "all".

Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cape Verde, Croatia, France, Guatemala, Ireland, Macedonia, Malaysia, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Spain and the United States joined as co-sponsors.

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The Committee approved the draft resolution as orally revised without a vote.

Right of Reply

The representative for Rwanda speaking in exercise of the right of reply, referred to a statement by Zaire at the Committee's morning meeting and appealed to the country to alleviate the suffering of refugees. Seeking a scapegoat for the problem only undermined stability and the assistance of the international community. Faced with the responsibility of protecting its citizens, last Tuesday his Government had recognized the right of its citizens to self-defence following the bombing of the border areas. Rwanda had no interest in the conflict in Zaire. The Zaire army had taken part in the fighting in 1994 in Rwanda.

Rather than perpetuating the conflict, it was natural that Rwanda would appeal to the Great Lakes countries to discover what had happened to its people, he said. Zaire's insults were further provocations against Rwanda and its citizens. Rwanda would respect the Charters of the United Nations and the OAU, but it would defend its population and its borders as long as the refugee situation persisted. The cease-fire should help those who were persecuted. The regional conference should be studied and an internal matter should be resolved in Zaire.

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