GENERAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS AGENDA ITEMS ON WORLD TELEVISION DAY, OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR LAW OF THE SEA
Press Release
GA/9191
GENERAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS AGENDA ITEMS ON WORLD TELEVISION DAY, OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR LAW OF THE SEA
19961209 The General Committee this morning recommended that the General Assembly include in its current agenda an item on the proclamation of 21 November as World Television Day. As part of that recommendation, the Committee decided that while it would be left to the Plenary to schedule its consideration of the matter, the item would not be taken up before next year.Also this morning, the Committee recommended the inclusion of another Assembly agenda item on granting observer status for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the General Assembly, as orally revised. It recommended that the item be considered in Plenary.
Prior to the Committee's decision on World Television Day, the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States questioned the need to address the matter on an urgent basis, with the Assembly session nearing its end. The representative of the United Kingdom, noting her delegation's difficulty with the Assembly's recent establishment of International Aviation Day, said the rule of procedure should be observed which called for a one-year waiting period between the request for establishment of an international day and its proclamation. The representative of the United States, asking if the Assembly would continue to proclaim international days until they totalled 365, suggested the item be included on the provisional agenda of the Assembly's next session.
The representative of the Netherlands, speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), cautioned that the inclusion of such new items worked against efforts to streamline and rationalize the agendas of the Main Committees.
The representative of Italy, introducing the request for the proclamation of World Television Day, said that the first World Television Forum held at Headquarters in November, had been an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the United Nations and the world media. Italy, having borne all the expenses for holding the Forum, would join with other
Member States to finance the future observance of World Television Day. However, he urged the Committee not to defer its recommendation on the matter as Governments would need to begin the process of allocating funds to ensure the availability of resources.
The representatives of Burundi, Philippines and Andorra supported the request for the item's inclusion. France, also speaking in support of Italy's position, called upon the Committee to make its recommendation today and then allow the General Assembly to schedule for itself when the item would be considered, possibly during a resumed session in 1997. That suggestion was supported by India, Honduras, Niger and Italy. The representative of the United Kingdom said she could accept that proposal if it was also decided that the matter would be considered next year.
The inclusion of the item on the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was proposed by the representative of Germany, who noted granting the Tribunal observer status would greatly enhance the useful exchange of information between the two bodies. The representative of Burundi supported the inclusion of the item.
Background
The request for the inclusion of the item on the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is contained in a letter of 26 November from Germany to the Secretary- General (document A/51/234). Three addenda to the request (Add.1, Add.2 and Add.3) note that the following Member States have joined Germany as signatories to the request for the item's inclusion: Argentina, Belize, Finland, Jamaica, Lebanon, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.
According to the explanatory memorandum, States parties to the Convention decided at their August meeting that the Tribunal should be appropriately represented at the meetings of the General Assembly and should apply for observer status. At the Tribunal's first session in October, it agreed to seek observer status, as that relationship would assist in establishing and consolidating mutually beneficial links between the Tribunal and the United Nations.
The explanatory memorandum reviews the functions of the Tribunal which was established by the 1992 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for settlement of disputes regarding sovereignty over the territorial sea in accordance with the dispute settlement provisions of the Convention. Among other functions, the Tribunal serves to encourage States parties to the Convention, to fulfil obligations relating to sovereignty extended to the air
General Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/9191 4th Meeting (AM) 9 December 1996
tspace of territorial waters and to the sea bed and subsoil. Its Seabed Disputes Chamber has exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes on the exploitation of resources of the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil beyond national jurisdiction.
The request for the inclusion of the proclamation of World Television Day is contained in a 5 December letter from Italy. The explanatory memorandum attached to the letter notes that during the November World Television Forum held at Headquarters, broadcasters supported the idea of establishing an annual day to be marked through the global exchange of television programmes focusing on issues such as peace and security, economic and social development and the enhancement of cultural exchange. Also annexed to the letter is a draft resolution by which the General Assembly would establish 21 November as World Television Day.
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