SIXTH COMMITTEE OPENS REVIEW OF REPORT OF CHARTER COMMITTEE DISCUSSING EFFECT OF SANCTIONS ON THIRD STATES

Press Release
GA/L/3073

SIXTH COMMITTEE OPENS REVIEW OF REPORT OF CHARTER COMMITTEE DISCUSSING EFFECT OF SANCTIONS ON THIRD STATES

The issue of sanctions and other enforcement measures and their effects on third States dominated the start of discussions this afternoon in the Sixth Committee (Legal) on the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

The representative of India called for a permanent mechanism, including a fund, to provide relief to third countries affected by sanctions imposed by the Security Council. The responsibility for dealing with adverse consequences of sanctions rested with the Council and could not be passed on to international financial institutions or bilateral aid programmes.

China had never favoured the use of sanctions as a primary means to resolve international disputes, its representative said. The United Nations should take practical and effective measures to address the losses suffered by third States.

Speakers also addressed the International Court of Justice's shortage of human and financial resources. The representative of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, noted the Court's conclusion that the rise in the number of cases appearing before it represented a fundamental change, which was likely to endure and perhaps increase further. Failure to provide the necessary resources to the Court would diminish the importance the General Assembly had always attached to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through law, she said.

Trevor Pascal Chimimba, Chairman of the Special Committee, introducing its report, said it had recommended that the General Assembly look at the question of implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. It had also made recommendations on the question of identification of new subjects, assistance to working groups on the revitalization of the work of the Organization and coordination between the Special Committee and other working groups dealing with the Organization's reform.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Malaysia and Cuba.

The Sixth Committee will meet next on Monday, 19 October, at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the report of the Charter Committee.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to consider the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

In addition to the report of the Special Committee work at its meeting 26 January to 6 February in New York (document A/53/33) the committee had before it reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (document A/53/312) and on the consequences that the increase in the volume of cases before the International Court of Justice has on its operation (document A/53/326). Progress reports on the publications of supplements to the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and on that of the Security Council (document A/53/386), both by the Secretary-General, are also before the Committee.

At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly asked the Special Committee to continue to consider, on a priority basis, the question of the implementation of the Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions. The Special Committee examined the question during its session and recommended that the Assembly, at its current session, should consider, in substantive manner, the Secretary-General's report on the matter which contains the results of the work of an ad hoc expert group which was to develop a possible methodology for assessing the effects of the sanctions on third States.

It also requested the Assembly address further the question of the implementation of Charter provisions relating to the effects of sanctions on third States; the Assembly's own resolutions on the subject; and views expressed during the Special Committee's debate of the subject.

During its session, some delegations stressed that since sanctions were adopted collectively, their consequences should also be borne equitably by all States. Given their grave consequences, sanctions should only be imposed after other peaceful measures had failed. Furthermore, recourse to Chapter VII of the Charter should only be contemplated as a last resort and only when there was a threat to international peace and security.

At the Special Committee's request, the Secretariat prepared and distributed several information papers, including some related to the operational aspects of Article 50 of the Charter, which deals with the right of States affected by sanctions to consult with the Security Council on their problems.

A Russian Federation working paper, considered by the Special Committee, called for the development of clear criteria for the imposition, implementation and lifting of sanctions in order to establish a proper

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normative basis for taking decisions on such matters. Another proposal, an update on one the Russian Federation presented last year, dealt with the fundamentals of the legal basis for United Nations peacekeeping operations in the context of Chapter VII of the Charter. A revised proposal by Libya, presented to the Special Committee, stressed the need for expanding and enlarging the responsibilities and the jurisdiction of the General Assembly in the maintenance of international peace and security.

During its session, the Special Committee also began a paragraph-by- paragraph consideration of a revised Sierra Leone proposal for the establishment of a dispute prevention and early settlement service which would coordinate activities both of the United Nations and of relevant regional organizations.

The Special Committee also examined working papers submitted by Guatemala and Costa Rica on "possible amendments to the Statute of the International Court of Justice to extend its competence with respect to contentious matters to disputes between States and international organizations".

Proposals concerning the Trusteeship Council continued to elicit conflicting views, according to the Special Committee's report, and, consequently, no recommendations were made on them.

Following deliberations on its working methods, the Special Committee recommended to the General Assembly that its sessions should be scheduled, to the extent possible, later in the first half of any given year.

In his report on the implementation of provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, the Secretary-General states that the ad hoc expert group convened in June to study the subject had outlined a set of general guidelines for the whole process of assessing and alleviating the adverse effects of sanctions on third States. To facilitate the process of impact assessment, the expert group recommended drawing up a tentative list of potential effects of sanctions and grouping them into three broad categories: economic, trade and financial effects; social and humanitarian effects, with particular reference to the most vulnerable social groups; and secondary effects, usually associated with the problems of sanction enforcement.

The group recommended that the Security Council, when considering the imposition of a sanctions regime, might wish to request the Secretary-General to submit, within a short period, an advance assessment of the potential impact of sanctions on the target country, particularly on third States. Following the imposition of sanctions, the Secretariat should be entrusted with the task of monitoring its effects in order to advise the Security Council and its Sanctions Committee on specific needs and problems of those third States and present possible options.

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With regard to States invoking Article 50 of the Charter, the expert group said the Secretariat should be prepared to provide technical assistance to such States at their request, in preparing the explanatory materials to be attached to their requests for consultations with the Security Council. The group strongly recommended that in the most severe cases, the Secretary- General should appoint a Special Representative to undertake, in collaboration with the Governments concerned, a full assessment of the consequences actually incurred by the countries and to identify appropriate and adequate measures of assistance to such States.

The report of the Secretary-General on consequences that the increase in the volume of cases before the International Court of Justice had on its operation contains a comment from the Court on the matter. Responding to an invitation from the General Assembly to Member States, States parties to the Statute of the Court, and the Court to present their views on the question, the Court submitted a response in which it discusses its current workload. It examines the effects of the increase in the volume of its work and the budgetary difficulties that it faces. The Court states that since its establishment in 1946, it had had to deal with 76 disputes between States and 22 requests for an advisory opinion. Of those, 28 of the contentious cases were brought before the Court since the 1980s. Whereas in the 1970s the Court characteristically had one or two cases at a time on its docket, since the early 1980s there has been a marked increase in recourse to the Court. Throughout the 1990s the figures have been large, standing at nine in 1990, 12 in 1991, 13 in the years 1992-1995, 12 in 1996, and nine in 1997. Ten cases were currently pending. The report points out that, in reality, there was a still larger number of matters awaiting the Court's decision. "This is because, the jurisdiction of the Court being based on consent, there are often 'cases within cases' to determine questions of jurisdiction and admissibility when this is contested by one of the parties."

The Court asserts that the time had come for the General Assembly to provide the necessary increase in resources to match the internal efforts it had already made, so that it could carry out the task allocated to it under the Charter. In failing to do so, the General Assembly was diminishing the importance it attached to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through law. In the meantime, the Court observes that it would continue its judicial work "with dedication and vigour".

According to the Secretary-General's progress report on Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, the Interdepartmental Committee on Charter Repertory, reconvened since 1997, considered such matters as the proposed revision of the cycles of the Repertory supplements and the redistribution of studies allocated to Secretariat units. It also considered the identification, within the programme budget 1998-1999, of the necessary resources needed to implement the programme outlined in the Secretary-General's report of last year (document A/52/317), as endorsed by the General Assembly.

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In the period under review, the Secretariat focused on the preparation of volumes III and IV of Supplement No.5 and volume VI of Supplement No.6 and continued to review the question of the preparation of volumes of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. Volume VI of Supplement No.6 will be published in the first part of 1999. In the current biennium, the Secretariat will continue to monitor closely the progress achieved in the preparation of the relevant Supplement to the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, covering the period 1989 to 1992.

The Secretary-General's report recommends that the General Assembly might wish to:

-- take note of the difficulties faced by the Secretariat in bringing, on the basis of existing resources, the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council up to date in a sustained manner;

-- note that volumes III (Articles 55-72) and IV (Articles 73-91) of Supplement No.5 (covering the years 1970 to 1978) of the Repertory will be completed by the end of 1999, subject to the continued availability of resources to do so;

-- note that the Repertoire supplement covering the period 1985-1988 will be published before the end of the biennium 1998-1999 and that work on the eleventh supplement, covering the period 1989-1992, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2001;

-- note that, upon completion of the eleventh supplement, there will still be a backlog of the Repertoire for the period 1993 to date, and that it will be necessary to include adequate resources in the programme budgets for future bienniums to bring the Repertoire up to date;

-- request the Secretary-General to continue to undertake efforts to identify resources to complete the work required to issue the two remaining volumes of Supplement No.5; and

-- take note that Repertory-related tasks will be included as distinct activities within relevant sections of future programme budgets of the Organization, starting with the biennium 2000 to 2001.

Statements

TREVOR PASCAL CHIMIMBA (Malawi), Chairman of the Special Committee on the Charter, introducing its report, drew attention to recommendations submitted by that body for consideration by the General Assembly during its current session. The first referred to the question of the implementation of the Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter.

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The second recommendation, he said, concerned the question of identification of new subjects, assistance to working groups on the revitalization of the work of the Organization and coordination between the Special Committee and other working groups dealing with the Organization's reform. In that regard, the Special Committee requested that its future sessions be scheduled in the first half of any given year.

He drew attention to a section of the Special Committee's report in which it recommended that the General Assembly consider, in an appropriate substantive manner, the Secretary-General's report on the results of the ad hoc expert group meeting contained in document A/53/312. On the recommendation concerning assistance to third States affected by sanctions, the Special Committee said the Assembly should also consider the implementation of the provisions of its own relevant resolutions on the subject, as well as the proposals presented and the views expressed in the Special Committee during its session.

LILLY SUCHARIPA (Austria), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, commenting on the working methods of the Committee, said that any overlap with the work of other bodies ought to be avoided as well as any duplication of work, particularly as it concerned United Nations reform and peacekeeping. The Committee should concentrate more on the documents and proposals which had been before it for years rather than step into new areas.

The European Union had given ample proof of its determination to minimize the detrimental effects of sanctions suffered by third States, not only by supporting the measures stipulated in the relevant resolutions, but also by providing substantial practical support through economic and humanitarian assistance, she said. The expert group studying the matter had stressed the principle of burden-sharing and concluded that the cost of preventive or enforcement measures, such as economic sanctions, should be borne by the international community at large "on a more equitable basis". While that might be a valid consideration, it would not be easy to define what was meant by "equitable". Since many of the measures proposed concerned mostly the Secretariat, she said the Secretary-General should be invited to present his views on the suggestions of the experts, in particular, their political, financial and administrative feasibility.

The financial and personnel resources of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had not kept pace with the increased number of cases with which the Court was seized, she said. The Court had concluded that the rise in the number of cases coming to it represented a fundamental change, which was likely to endure and perhaps expand. Any failure to provide the necessary resources to the Court would diminish the importance which the General Assembly had always attached to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through law.

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DINANATH MISHRA (India) stressed the need for a permanent mechanism, including a fund, to provide relief to third countries affected by sanctions imposed by the Security Council. The responsibility for dealing with the adverse consequences of sanctions rested with the authority that had the competence to impose them. That responsibility could not be passed on to other bodies or institutions such as the international financial institutions or bilateral aid programmes. He suggested that the issue be considered in the framework of a working group in the Sixth Committee and the focus should be on the substance and translation of the term "appropriate mechanisms or procedures".

He considered the revised proposal by the Russian Federation on basic conditions and criteria for imposing sanctions and implementing measures as a useful basis for further consideration of the topic. He fully endorsed the position of the Non-Aligned Movement on the question of sanctions, that they should only be used as a measure of last resort and should take into account humanitarian needs. They should be defined in time and not used as punishment or retribution.

Concerning a proposal to broaden the jurisdiction of the ICJ to cover disputes between international organizations and Member States, he felt such disputes were best settled in accordance with the constituent provisions of international organizations so that the functioning of those organizations were not affected, and if necessary, by reference to the advisory jurisdiction of the ICJ in accordance with its Statute. The Court's requirement of more staff and budgetary resources to deal with its increased workload needed to be considered urgently.

GAO FENG (China) said his Government had never been in favour of using sanctions as the primary means in the resolution of international disputes. The United Nations should take practical and effective measures to address the special economic difficulty and losses of third States. China felt that the working paper submitted by Russia on criteria for imposing sanctions could contribute to regulating and reducing the application of sanctions and reducing the adverse impact upon the civilian population.

Concerning the draft declaration on criteria for the work of United Nations peacekeeping missions and mechanisms for the settlement of crises and conflict, he said it would be useful to have a comprehensive document. However, while working on the document, consideration should be given to the special features of various missions as the mandate of different kinds of peacekeeping operations varied.

In connection with the proposal on extending the competence of the World Court, he said that given the shortage in human and financial resources as well as the heavy workload facing the Court, it would be undesirable to add more burden to the ICJ in the near future. Turning to the Trusteeship Council, he said China believed there was an urgent need to abolish it and

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that the issue could be resolved together with other questions related to the amendment of the Charter.

JOHN O'HARA (Malaysia) said imposition of sanctions should be approached with great care. Their scope and content should be defined beforehand, and a time-frame provided for their application. His delegation supported the re- examination of the sanctions question as a whole and the equitable burden- sharing resulting from their application. It also commended the recommendations of an ad hoc expert group which studied the methodology for determining the consequences of sanctions on third States. Those recommendations were contained in a report of the Secretary-General (document A/53/312).

Malaysia supported the proposal for a re-examination of the functions and responsibilities of the General Assembly and the Security Council, he said. It also reiterated its call for the abolition of the Trusteeship Council. The Special Committee should give priority to the question at its next session. The decision to make the Special Committee an open-ended body had facilitated the active participation of Member States in its work. The Special Committee could, however, enhance its efficiency further if it modified its working methods by establishing a time-frame for its decision- making mechanism. Malaysia supported the recommendation to schedule the Special Committee's session later in the first half of any given year.

CARIDAD YAMIRA CUETO MILIAN (Cuba) said the work done by the Special Committee and the range of proposals discussed at its last session showed that it was operating in a manner which enabled Member States to make effective contribution to the Organization's reform. Cuba believed that the institutional responsibilities of the Security Council should be analyzed. It supported the proposal that the General Assembly consider the recommendations of the ad hoc expert group which examined the methodology for dealing with the consequences of sanctions on third States.

She also called for further discussion of the various proposals brought before the Special Committee, including two from the Russian Federation on the criteria for imposing and implementing sanctions and a draft declaration on the basic principles and criteria for United Nations peacekeeping operations. Likewise, she said a Libyan proposal on the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security should be considered further.

Cuba could be flexible, she said, on a Sierra Leone proposal on the establishment of a dispute prevention and early settlement service. It had some problems with the scope and viability of the proposals. It, however, had no problems with proposals from Costa Rica and Guatemala on the possible amendments to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.

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On Cuba's own proposal, concerning the strengthening of the Organization's role and enhancing its effectiveness, she said democratization of the United Nations was a severe challenge. The proposal was not meant in any way to usurp the work being done by other bodies on the Organization's reform. It echoed the Secretary-General's statement that Member States should better define the Organization's institutional practices.

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