LEGAL COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR CREATION OF BODY TO STUDY EFFECTS OF CHAPTER VII SANCTIONS ON THIRD STATES
Press Release
GA/L/3074
LEGAL COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR CREATION OF BODY TO STUDY EFFECTS OF CHAPTER VII SANCTIONS ON THIRD STATES
19981019 Future of Trusteeship Council also DiscussedThe representative of Ukraine this afternoon called for the establishment of a body by the Sixth Committee (Legal) to study the effects of the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on third States as the Committee continued consideration of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter, and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.
He also called for a system of fair distribution of unavoidable economic losses to be set up. There was merit in the creation of a standing Security Council sanctions committee, supplemented by the appointment of a special representative of the Secretary-General to study severe sanction cases, he said, adding that sanctions should not be a substitute for established and recognized measures for settling international disputes.
Also this afternoon, the representative of Brazil reiterated his Government's reservations on a proposal to turn the Trusteeship Council into a forum for dealing with global environmental issues, stressing that the international community had already established the appropriate forums for improving international cooperation on environmental questions. The representative of the Czech Republic said the debate on the future of the Trusteeship Council seemed to have exhausted itself, adding that there was no urgent need to take a decision on the Council's future at the moment. The focus should remain on updating the agenda of the Special Committee on the Charter.
Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia), Chairman of the Sixth Committee, announced that he would consult with the Committee's bureau on the establishment of a working group on the effects of sanctions on third States as proposed by the Ukraine.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Cameroon, Libya, Pakistan and Indonesia. The Sixth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow to continue consideration of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter.
Committee Work Programme
The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to continue consideration of its agenda item on the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization. (For background information, see Press Release GA/L/3073 of 16 October.)
Statements
VOLODYMYR YEL'CHENKO (Ukraine) said there was a need to further streamline the work of the Charter Committee to make it more effective and result-oriented. Referring to the Russian paper on sanctions, he said the Charter Committee was an appropriate body to undertake the elaboration of such approaches. He supported the idea of continuing next year, a paragraph by paragraph reading of the proposal to complete its first reading. The revised Cuban proposal provided an interesting legal context for discussion by drawing attention to the functions and powers of the General Assembly under Chapter VI and the need to ensure a better balance of powers between the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Any sanctions against any State resulted in economic losses to its neighbours and trade partners, he said. It was unfair that some States suffered while others -- being equally interested in the application of the sanctions regime -- did not have any substantial economic after-effects and some of them even derived benefits from the isolation of their competitors. A system of fair distribution of unavoidable economic losses should be created. The idea of applying funding procedures similar to those adopted for peacekeeping operations deserved an in-depth study and further implementation.
Sanctions should not substitute for established and recognized measures for settling international disputes, he said. An attempt to address the issue proceeding from the literal interpretation of "consult" in Article 50 or to charge the institutions outside the United Nations system with an exclusive responsibility to assist the third States, would not only make the provisions of the said Article inoperative, but would also undermine the ends pursued by the sanctions, as well as the principle of their strict observance. He found merit in the idea of creating a standing Security Council sanctions committee supplemented by a special representative of the Secretary-General in severe sanction cases.
MARCOS TROYJ0 (Brazil) said his country continued to favour multilateral efforts to avoid or minimize the adverse impact of sanctions on third States. Delegations should build upon existing consensus by which the United Nations would take effective, practical steps to help those States. The proposed draft declaration on the basic principles and criteria for United Nations peacekeeping missions and mechanisms was a useful contribution to the ongoing debate on peacekeeping operations. Brazil congratulated the Russian delegation for its other proposal on implementation of sanctions and the
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important dimension ascribed to principles of humanitarian law in that document. That dimension was relevant to both the application of sanctions and the organization of peacekeeping missions.
He said proposals on procedures and scope of the work of the International Court of Justice should be examined for codification efforts to be extended to cover issues relating to States and international organizations. He reiterated his country's reservations on a proposal to turn the Trusteeship Council into a forum for dealing with global environmental issues. The international community had already established, to a major extent, the appropriate regimen and forums for improving international cooperation on environmental questions, he concluded.
VICTOR TCHATCHOUWO (Cameroon) said the pre-eminent role of the Organization could not be disputed, and efforts should be made to ensure it met the needs of the times. He called for the rigorous application of the provisions of Article 50 of the Charter on assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. Sanctions should be imposed under clearly defined objectives, and should be applied only as a last resort. Humanitarian concerns should be considered in any such action. He supported the recommendations of the ad hoc expert group on the methods that should be considered in the application of sanctions.
He said the international community must, more than ever before, attain the means to find peaceful solutions to disputes. Cameroon had made peaceful settlement of disputes a central plank of its domestic and foreign policy. It supported a Sierra Leone proposal on peaceful settlement of disputes presented to the Special Committee, which deserved further study. The Special Committee must contribute actively to the reform process under way. His delegation supported the recommendation that the Special Committee meet in the first half of the year. He also called for more resources for the International Court of Justice to enable it to effectively discharge its functions.
ABDUL SALAM SERQUIAH (Libya) expressed his country's solidarity with third countries affected by the application of sanctions. The unjust sanctions imposed on Libya had caused untold suffering. Reform of the Organization could not be complete without the achievement of equality of its Member States and the abolition of the veto in the Security Council. The Russian proposal on the basic conditions and criteria for imposing and implementing sanctions and other enforcement measures deserved support. The proposal, among other things, urged that all means should be exhausted before sanctions were imposed. There should be a time-frame for its implementation. The International Court of Justice should be given more resources to enable it to carry out its increasing workload, he added.
He drew attention to his country's proposal presented to the Special Committee on the Charter. The proposals urged, among other things, that ways and means should be found to bolster the role of the General Assembly in the
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maintenance of international peace and security as a common responsibility of all Member States and that consideration should be given to the adverse consequences of the invocation of the rule of consensus of the permanent members of the Security Council. The proposal also urged the exploration of ways to limit the use made of that rule, he concluded.
MUHAMAD NAJM AKBAR (Pakistan) said the expert group meeting of the Charter Committee had fallen short of establishing a mechanism and a fund to cope with the problems of third States affected by the imposition of sanctions, a lacuna which had to be filled. He found several of the expert group's conclusions and recommendations feasible. In the context of the Russian proposal on criteria for sanctions, he said Pakistan strongly believed that the United Nations should not become a punitive organ. The Security Council should not frequently resort to sanctions without first exhausting all other means of resolving disputes. However, once imposed, sanctions should be time-limited with clearly stipulated conditions for lifting them.
On peacekeeping missions, he said they responded to threats to international peace and security. They were purpose-specific and could be time-limited. They could not be terminated unless they had fulfilled their purpose. He had no objection to the Charter Committee discussing criteria for United Nations peacekeeping missions, but he did share the view of those countries who had stressed that the Committee must not duplicate the work of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations.
MARTIN SMEJKAL (Czech Republic), referring to the issue of assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, said there was a need to elaborate a method for evaluating the repercussions of sanctions on third States and to search for innovative and practical ways to assist those States. He expressed regret that relatively little progress had been made on the proposal on establishment of a dispute prevention and early settlement service. The draft text on the matter had been on the agenda for several years. Several delegations, including his own, had voiced concern about the fate of the draft. Administrative and organizational aspects, as well as the costs involved justified concern. The Czech Republic considered the proposed mechanism an innovative approach, but he would welcome a draft statute on the matter to accompany the mechanism.
Concerning the working methods and future role of the Committee on the Charter in the process of reforming the United Nations, he said it should work toward concrete results. Duplication or overlapping with other entities was counterproductive. The debate on the future of the Trusteeship Council seemed to have exhausted itself. There was no urgent need to take a decision on the Trusteeship Council's future at the moment. The focus should remain on updating the agenda of the Special Committee.
HARRY HARYONO (Indonesia) said it was important that critical issues were clarified before punitive measures were imposed. Those questions should
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include the potential impact of the measures, the time-frame for their implementation, clearly defined objectives, as well as the humanitarian aspects to minimize the collateral damage to third States. He reiterated the call by the Non-Aligned Movement for the establishment of a mechanism, including a fund, to provide relief to third States affected by United Nations sanctions.
He said the proposal for the drawing up of a tentative list of potential effects of sanctions had considerable merit provided that it contained all the relevant facts. It would be useful for the Secretary-General, before a decision was made to impose sanctions, to submit an assessment of its potential impact on third States. An appraisal by the Security Council, including prior studies of the economies to be affected, would also be helpful. An impact assessment mission would be important for the evaluation of the full range of adverse effects and economic losses to be suffered by the third countries.
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