WORLD COURT MUST HAVE RESOURCES TO MEET DEMANDS OF INCREASING WORKLOAD INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE PRESIDENT TELLS ASSEMBLY

27 October 1998

Press Release
GA/9487

WORLD COURT MUST HAVE RESOURCES TO MEET DEMANDS OF INCREASING WORKLOAD INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE PRESIDENT TELLS ASSEMBLY

19981027 Reviewing Implementation of New Agenda for African Development in 1990s European Union Pledges Greater Market Access to Least Developed States by 2000

For the International Court of Justice to function with full effectiveness and fulfil its potential as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, it must be afforded the resources to work as intensively and expeditiously as its increasing workload demanded, the President of the Court, Stephen M. Schwebel, told the General Assembly this morning.

While recourse to the Court had substantially increased and the range of issues before it was remarkable, the Court had not enjoyed a proportional growth in its resources, he told the Assembly as he introduced the annual report of the World Court. Today the Court's total budget was about $11 million a year, a smaller percentage of the Organization's budget than the Court was allotted. The Court was experiencing shortages in staff and funds, which had led to a backlog and delays in its work. While it might sound trite, he said it was equally true that "justice delayed, may be justice denied".

Several speakers this morning urged the General Assembly to give due consideration to the needs of the World Court, saying that failure to address its resource problems would have serious political and legal consequences by undermining its credibility and efficiency. Also it was noted that while the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda had been given adequate resources, the financial situation of the International Court of Justice did not appropriately reflect its importance.

The representative of Malaysia said that while there had been definite and often desperate action on the part of the Court to "cut its coat according to the size of the cloth given to it", it had to operate under financial constraints unbefitting its status. The representative of Guatemala suggested that as the question of the increased workload of the Court had financial implications, it should be also discussed in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Financial).

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Representatives of Argentina, Pakistan, Libya, Mexico, Uruguay and Ecuador also made statements in this morning's debate on the report of the Court.

The Assembly this morning also began its consideration of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Several speakers on the issue addressed the marginalization of African countries within an increasing global economy and the need to address the critical challenges facing African countries, including the proliferation of conflicts, the burden of external debt and the lack of access to world markets.

The representative of Malawi said that the international community could not make meaningful progress towards achieving the goals of the New Agenda in the absence of economic reforms directed at effective mobilization and utilization of domestic resources. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt- Initiative had proven to be seriously inadequate, and at only a miserly two per cent of world trade, Africa's share of the global market remained dauntingly low.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, the representative of Austria said that to facilitate the integration of African countries into the world economy, the European Union would improve market access for all least developed countries from the year 2000. By 2005, they would benefit from duty-free access on the European Economic Community markets for essentially all products. The European Union would also consider ways of providing countries not in a position to enter into economic partnership with a framework for trade equivalent to that which they currently enjoyed.

The representative of Japan said development actors needed to define the expected outcome of development activities and then monitor and evaluate performance against definite indicators. He also informed the Assembly that last week, during the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II), concrete proposals had been made to address the problems of Africa, including strengthening coordination, promoting regional integration and expanding South-South cooperation.

Representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China) and Bangladesh also spoke in the debate on that issue this morning.

The Assembly will resume its work at 3 p.m. today to continue consideration of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to consider the report of the International Court of Justice and the issue of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in 1990.

Report of the International Court of Justice

The report of the World Court (document A/53/4) covers the period from 1 August 1997 through 31 July 1998 and covers all aspects of the work of the Court. The 185 Members States of the United Nations, together with Nauru and Switzerland, are parties to the Statute of the Court, and 60 States have made declaration (many with reservations) recognizing as compulsory the jurisdiction of the Court. The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its independence and autonomy are recognized by the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the Court. The Court deals with cases submitted to it by States members of the United Nations and parties to the Statute and with requests for advisory opinions made by United Nations organs or specialized agencies.

According to the report, during the period under review, ten contentious cases were pending; the Court held 23 public sittings and a great number of private meetings. It delivered a judgement on the merits in the case concerning the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia) and three judgements on preliminary objections in the cases concerning the Lockerbie incident (Libya vs. United Kingdom; and Libya vs. United States) and the land and maritime boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria. Orders were made on a request for the indication of provisional measures in the case concerning consular relations between Paraguay and the United States; on the counter- claims in the case concerning crimes of genocide between Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and in the case on oil platforms between Iran and the United States. The Court also made orders fixing time-limits in four other cases and extending time-limits in three cases.

Attached to the report, as Annex I, is the response of the International Court of Justice requested by the General Assembly last year regarding the consequences of the Court's increased workload. The Court states that it has been sensitive to the budgetary problems of the United Nations, but in accordance with its statutory duties, none of its programmes may be cut or expanded at will. Since the beginning of the 1980s, it has been struggling to deal with a very heavy docket of cases with a relatively small increase in resources. The modest budget allotted to the Court is a minute and diminishing portion of the United Nations budget.

The Court states that its problems were compounded in 1996 when the Court lost posts and sustained a significant budgetary cut. Lately, the Registry and the Judges are sometimes being asked to perform tasks that are

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physically impossible under the present staffing and budgetary regime. The Court is also understaffed as far as its legal staff is concerned. The Court has tried to address the problems associated with the increased workload by imposing upon itself longer working hours and more rigorous working conditions and has taken every opportunity to improve its efficiency. It also started using electronic technology.

The Court created a sub-committee to examine the working methods in the Registry and to make proposals for their rationalization and improvement. The Rules Committee of the Court developed proposals to address the growing gap between the ending of the written phase of proceedings and the start of the oral phase. As a result, the Court has adopted a series of measures and identified ways in which States appearing before it could assist in the work of the Court.

The Court concluded that as all those efforts and improvements cannot alone achieve a tolerable professional environment to render judicial justice; the time has come for the General Assembly to provide the necessary increase in resources. According to the Court, there is a minimum required in order for it to make its full contribution to conflict prevention and dispute settlement. It listed certain unavoidable needs, as follows: the under staffed translation services require three extra posts, the tiny Press and Information Department requires a clerical and administrative officer, along with proper press facilities; and for computerization, appropriate scanning equipment, together with the transformation of a fixed-term post to a permanent post as well as one new additional post are needed. The Court is studying both how to clear the backlog in publications and how in the future its publications can be carried out in the most efficient way. Its budget application will reflect its conclusions, both with regards to personnel and to available contemporary technology.

For all the reasons described above, the Court regards it essential to expand the staff of the Archives Department, to engage two messenger/drivers and, at the very minimum, to upgrade a post within the Department of Legal Affairs. In addition, the Court will seek a pool of clerks to assist the Members of the Court, a pool of interns for the Registry, a secretary for each judge and a professional assistant for the President. These will be among the budgetary proposals to be advanced for the next biennium, elements of which may even be made in an earlier request should the situation so require.

The text of a note on the re-examination by the International Court of Justice of its working methods is attached to the report in Annex II. In it, the Court states that the measures directed towards accelerating its work were brought to the attention of the General Assembly by the President of the Court on 27 October 1997. The note further describes a series of decisions with regard to various administrative matters and offers guidance to the parties in connection with filing their pleadings.

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New Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990s

The Assembly also had before it a report of the Secretary-General (documents A/53/390 and Add.1) presenting progress made in the implementation of the New Agenda for Africa since the mid-term review in 1996.

Part one of the progress report provides a summary of various undertakings by the United Nations system to achieve the recommendations agreed upon at the mid-term review in key priority areas such as: economic reform; promotion of the private sector and foreign direct investment; intensification of the democratization process and the strengthening of civil society; solution to Africa's debt problem; trade facilitation and market access; regional cooperation and integration; environment and development; diversification of African economies; agriculture, rural development and food security; and the human dimension.

Part two of the report is about critical issues related to the implementation of the New Agenda. These include: globalization of the world economy; enhanced coordination and feedback between global and field levels; effective follow-up; monitoring and evaluation arrangements; mobilization of financial resources; and the harmonization of various multilateral and bilateral initiatives on Africa.

According to the Secretary-General, much has been done by the United Nations system during the period under review to advance the implementation of the New Agenda. However, several obstacles still impede its full implementation. These can be overcome if all parties concerned relaunch their efforts to sustain and expand the encouraging results achieved so far.

The Secretary-General notes that a major undertaking that will have a direct impact in the implementation of the agenda is the United Nations response to the Secretary-General's report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (document A/52/871). That report, under review by the Security Council and taken up by the Assembly earlier this session, goes far beyond the development concerns of the New Agenda, says the Secretary-General, since it highlights them and integrates them in a broader perspective of building durable peace and promoting sustainable development.

In that same report, the Secretary-General suggests three areas for particular attention. First, African nations must demonstrate the will to rely on political, rather than military responses to problems. Second, Africa must summon the will to take good governance seriously. Third, the continent must enact and adhere to the reforms needed to promote economic growth. In putting forth recommendations to resolve the African problem, the Secretary- General in his report on the causes of conflict in Africa, advances responses to key issues such as arms trafficking, sanctions, refugees, "peace-friendly"

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structural adjustment programmes, development assistance, bilateral debt and trade.

The Secretary-General states in his report on the New Agenda, that should those recommendations be effectively enacted by all concerned -- Member States and various United Nations and non-United Nations organizations -- they would bring the New Agenda to full fruition or accomplishment.

The Secretary-General also states that a major constraint to the implementation of the New Agenda is the inadequacy of financial resource flows to the Continent. In compliance with past practice, the addendum to the report on the New Agenda entitled mobilization of additional resources for African development; a study on overall resource flows to Africa, is devoted to the issue.

Against the backdrop of recent economic and financial developments in Africa, the addendum analyses trends in resource flows, as well as the prospects. Section 11 briefly reviews the growth experienced by African countries and discusses trends in savings and investment since 1992; factors affecting the savings rate; the widening gap between investment needs and domestic savings; and the increasing need for higher inflows of external resources to fill the gaps. Section III analyses trends in resource flows and their composition. Section IV advances some recommendations concerning ways and means to enhance resource flows, including domestic savings for African development.

According to the Secretary-General, the net flow of resources to Africa has been declining. Even more disconcerting is the fact that Africa's share in the shrinking pie has fallen when economic growth in the continent has picked up in response to strong policy reforms being implemented by African States. As the international community has tried to contain the spill-over of the South-East Asian crisis, aid funds and aid donors' attention have been diverted away from the African success story. Even the increase in private capital flows to developing countries has bypassed Africa so far, partly reflecting its underdeveloped financial system.

The international community cannot be complacent about the present African recovery, states the Secretary-General. Based as it is on stagnant investment rates, the recovery is very fragile and could well unravel despite policy reforms, if not sustained with higher investment rates. Furthermore, the growth rate of recent years is well below the target set in the New Agenda and is not sufficient to reduce poverty levels in Africa, which are unacceptably high. For all these reasons, Africa's growth rates need to be substantially higher than they are now. Therefore additional domestic and external resources must be mobilized.

The Secretary-General recommends that African countries look first to domestic sources, if the higher growth rates are to be sustainable.

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Governments should adopt specific savings targets and policies for promoting domestic savings as part of their overall macroeconomic policies and programmes. The domestic savings rate will, however, still fall short of the total investment requirement, and Africa could legitimately look to the international community to provide supplementary resources.

African governments must therefore take measures, including trade liberalization and accelerated privatization, to provide an environment of economic security and efficient financial system in order to attract foreign private investment, continues the Secretary-General. The international community should support those African initiatives by removing any remaining obstacles to capital migration and liberalizing their markets to allow free entry for African exports.

The Secretary-General says that in the future, nonetheless, private capital flows are unlikely to meet the residual financial requirements of African countries. Sectors such as social and infrastructure, where it is difficult to attract private capital, must be developed with public funds. Without appropriate infrastructure development, even private capital may not flow in. The international community must not only continue with its current assistance, but increase it and provide it on confessional terms -- preferably as grants. With a good track record and the continued implementation of "strong" policy measures, African countries have a legitimate claim on the international aid purse and on increasing its share of that purse.

Statements on International Court of Justice

The President of the International Court of Justice, STEPHEN M. SCHWEBEL, introducing the report of the World Court, said progress toward the establishment of the International Criminal Court -- a court to try individuals for grave, specified international crimes -- was an extraordinary step. The more than seventy year-old International Court of Justice -- the "father" of the international judicial family -- had proven that the World Court and other international tribunals could contribute significantly to the peaceful and just settlement of international disputes. He welcomed the creation of specialized and regional international courts, insofar as their jurisdiction did not duplicate that of pre-existing courts.

The International Court of Justice functioned as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations in several ways, he continued. First, the Court contributed to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Today, no longer viewed as "the last resort", the Court was integrated into the United Nations system supporting the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Reviewing past efforts of the Court in which political and judicial efforts to resolve disputes worked in parallel, he noted the current case of the dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula between Cameroon and Nigeria. Second, the Court operated as the most authoritative interpreter of the legal obligations of States in disputes between them. Third, the Court acted as the supreme

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interpreter of the United Nations Charter and the legal obligation of States under the Charter.

Challenging questions of the interpretation of the Charter were currently before the Court, he continued. The case brought by Libya against the United Kingdom and the United States arising out of the Lockerbie atrocity raised issues of the relationship between the Security Council resolutions adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter and the judicial role of the Court. While the Court and other principal organs of the United Nations could work together, he said it was vital that the judicial independence of the Court be maintained. While giving due weight to the power and practices of other United Nations organs, in deciding on the law the Court was and must remain free of political influence of the United Nations, as it was bound to remain free of the political influence of any of its members.

The Court was the only truly universal judicial body of general jurisdiction, he noted. Unlike specialized judicial and arbitral bodies, the Court enjoyed comprehensive jurisdiction in inter-State disputes. The Court was available to all States of the international community, on all aspects of international law. While it was possible that various courts might arrive at different interpretations of the law, in practice there were various views on issues of law, as set out in principle by a single system of international law. In practice, international courts could be expected to respect opinions of other international courts. The World Court looked forward to working harmoniously with other international tribunals.

Noting that the Assembly had requested last year that the Court comment on the consequences of the increased volume of cases before it, he said that under the Court's statutory duties, they did not have programmes which could be cut or expanded at will. To illustrate the increase in cases before the Court, he said that compared with the few cases that were pending before the Court during the 1960s and 1970s, today there were a dozen cases pending. In addition, the range of issues before the Court was remarkable. While the caseload had significantly increased, the Court had not enjoyed a proportional growth in its resources. The budget of the Court today -- in the order of $11 million -- accounted for a smaller percentage of the United Nations budget than it had in 1946.

The financial situation of the Court had resulted in an enlarging gap between the conclusion of the written, and the opening of the oral phase of a case, he said. While it might sound trite, he continued, it was true that justice delayed might be justice denied. Nonetheless, the Court had responded quickly when the situation demanded. He noted that last April, the Court had unanimously adopted an order of provisional measures in the case concerning the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, brought by Paraguay against the United States, within five days of receipt of the Application. He noted inadequate translation and clerical staff as specific difficulties confronting

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the Court. In addition, he reviewed measures that had been undertaken to make the Court more efficient within its limited resources.

Nonetheless, for the Court to fulfil its potential as the Organizations's principal judicial organ, he said it must be afforded the resources to work as intensively and expeditiously as burgeoning international resources to the Court demanded. Those resources would be effectively employed to promote the settlement of international disputes and further the first purpose of the United Nations.

ORLANDO REBAGLIATI (Argentina) said he was satisfied with the work done by the International Court of Justice in interpreting and applying international law. He drew particular attention to cases significant to his country, such as the land and maritime dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria. Argentina was also following with interest the case on fisheries in the North West Atlantic. Both cases showed that the Court was the forum where complex and pressing issues of international law were being analyzed. Argentina had a deeply rooted legal tradition and so could never feel disinterested in the activities of the International Court of Justice. It felt satisfied with the Court's efforts to improve and rationalize the way it carried out its activities.

International relations were increasingly marked by a growing legal dimension, he said. The organs dealing with the application of international law as well as the volume of cases to be dealt with had grown. The Court would continue to be the focal point for applying and interpreting international law, taking into account its record and the experience of its Judges. The 77 contentious cases and 23 requests for advisory opinions being considered by the Court and the doctrine derived from them were proof of that. In some spheres, such as economic international law, there was a growing trend towards progress in development. The work of the Court was key in setting the basic criteria that should be followed. Argentina was confident, with the renewed importance that international law was acquiring, that it would be a guiding factor in international relations. For that reason, the World Court would face more intense and complex work in the future. He was sure it was capable of addressing those demands. Lastly, Argentina was gratified with the peaceful settlement of the dispute between Peru and Ecuador.

KHALID AZIZ BABAR (Pakistan) said the International Court of Justice had made two important judgements on 27 February in the cases submitted by Libya under the 1971 Montreal Convention for Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation. In the Court's opinion, it had the necessary jurisdiction to deal with the merits of the two cases since a single legal dispute of general nature existed between the parties: Libya, Scotland and the United States. That dispute was due to differences on whether the destruction of the Pan Am aircraft was governed by the Convention or not.

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Following the two judgements, Member States in a debate in the Council in March had raised questions relating to the sanctions imposed on Libya, he said. Those views ranged from demands to lift sanctions to the need for the Council to objectively examine the implications of the International Court of Justice judgements. The Council was also asked to give serious consideration to the question of whether the sanctions it had imposed in 1992 on a State party to the Montreal Convention were still required.

Pakistan had suggested that, in accordance with the Court's judgements, the parties to the disputes should take recourse to the legal framework provided by the Montreal Convention and extend their full cooperation to the Court to decide the case on merit, he said. The judgements provided a viable way to address the issue.

Turning to a separate issue, he said, the Court had conveyed the difficulties it faced in coping with increased work load due to budgetary constraints. Pakistan fully endorsed the Court's recommendation for increase in the allocation of financial resources to enable it to fully carry out the tasks before it.

SHAMSUDIN ABDULLAH (Malaysia) noted that 60 countries had made a declaration recognizing as compulsory the jurisdiction of the Court. That was a positive development which augured well for the Court as a dispute- settlement mechanism. However, the workload of the International Court of Justice had steadily and relentlessly increased over recent years, and the Court had no influence over the number of cases brought before it.

The non-restoration of lost posts and budgetary cuts sustained by the Court in 1996 had compounded the problems facing the Court, he said. The Registry of the Court was stretched to its limits by demands for research and legal, documentary, translation and secretarial services. While there had been definite and often desperate action taken on the part of the Court to "cut its coat according to the size of the cloth given to it", the situation had placed an undue hardship on the World Court. He commended the Court for implementing recommendations made by its sub-committee on rationalization on working methods, management questions and the structure of the Registry. The Court's re-examination of its working methods had also led to some recommendations to the parties to disputes.

Malaysia was gratified that the Court had kept abreast of the developments in technology by increasingly utilizing computers and in particular, e-mail, Internet and intranet, he continued. The Court's website was not only popular, but well used. His delegation was confident that the continued use of computer technology by the Court would enhance its operational efficiency even further.

Despite all the measures taken by the Court, there were limitations on what it could realistically achieve, he continued. The Court had to operate

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under financial constraints unbefitting of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The status of the Court and its capacity to act had to be maintained. It would be very regrettable if the Court's status and efficiency were compromised by the factors beyond its control. Unless the Court's problems were adequately addressed, it would lose its credibility, which would have serious political and legal consequences. He called upon the General Assembly to give serious consideration to the very reasonable requests made by the Court and to restore it to its rightful position as the only court to be known as "The World Court".

ISA BABAA (Libya) said that the report of the International Court of Justice enabled the international community to judge the important role that essential body played within the Organization in settling disputes peacefully and in cooperation with other specialized agencies. Since its creation in 1946, the Court's noteworthy workload demonstrated the increased confidence among States in the Court's ability to preserve peace. His country was dedicated to the peaceful resolution of disputes and had entirely submitted itself to the Court.

The judgement in the Lockerbie case, he said, had increased confidence in the Court's ability to find a just settlement that would take into account the interests of all parties to the dispute. The sanctions imposed against Libya for the past six years, however, had done harm to Libya without any legal foundation and should be immediately lifted until the Court rendered a decision. Finally, the question of the increased workload of the Court, coupled with inadequate human and financial resources, should be addressed as soon as possible to provide the Court ample resources to enable it to discharge its duties.

MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said that this year's report was particularly substantive. In view of the growing workload and the increased frequency of recourse to the Court, his country was especially concerned about its inadequate financial situation. The volume of cases before the Court was steadily growing. Practical ways of bolstering the role of the Court without undermining its authority must be found. Comments from the Court on its needs received by the General Assembly should be duly taken into account.

He said that Mexico was convinced that as a principal judiciary organ of the United Nations, the Court should be able to work without undue delay, for it was participating in the peaceful settlement of disputes and maintaining international peace and security. The Court was trying to streamline its working methods, and time had come for States to lend it more support, not only in terms of financing, but also in the way of presenting their cases. He also noted that in recent years, the number of countries recognizing the obligatory jurisdiction of the Court remained unchanged and he urged all States to consider making use of the mechanism provided for by the Statute of the Court. Any decision of the Court should be complied with by the parties to the dispute, without delay.

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The situation regarding publications of the Court was also a source of concern, he continued, as pleadings, arguments, decisions and opinions of the Court could not be published on a timely basis because of lack of funds. In conclusion, he said that Latin American countries were especially gratified to have learned of the solution to the dispute between Ecuador and Peru and expressed satisfaction over the triumph of dialogue and negotiations in that case.

JORGE PEREZ-OTERMIN (Uruguay) said Uruguay had been honoured to contribute to the work of the International Court of Justice through the activities of two of its eminent jurists. As a founding member of the United Nations, from the outset, his country had accepted the jurisdiction of the world's principal legal organ. That recognition was a reaffirmation of the primacy of international law and Uruguay's devotion to the maintenance of peace, which were pillars of its foreign policy. He thanked the Court's President, its members and the secretariat for the detailed summary contained in the report. As a whole, the report reaffirmed the far-reaching importance of the Court for all States.

The initiative mentioned in the report served to preserve the autonomy and hierarchical position of the Court and optimize the use of human and financial resources, he said. The level of financial resources could not be allowed to hinder the work of the Court. Uruguay was prepared to work together with delegations to endow the Court with an adequate budget for its functions. The special tribunals set up had been given a larger budget than the Court. The International Court of Justice had to be given a budget consistent with the high level of respect given to it by the international community. He hoped that would be accepted by the Organization. Finally, his country was satisfied with the historic event which took place yesterday, when two fraternal countries of his region, Peru and Ecuador, achieved peace through dialogue and bringing an end to a lengthy boundary dispute. They had once again proved how beneficial it was to settle disputes by peaceful means, rather than resorting to violence.

ROBERTO LAVALLE-VALDES (Guatemala) said the volume of cases and complexity of problems before the International Court of Justice in recent years should impress anyone. He expressed astonishment and admiration for the valuable contribution of that institution's work. There was not a single judgement or advisory opinion of the Court that had not had far-reaching significance. The jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice covered a tremendous range of cases, such as physical damage to States caused by armed forces; the application of humanitarian law; terrorism; land and maritime boundaries between States; and environmental law, namely the high-seas and fisheries. The fact that those cases came from all the geographical areas was a healthy development. The fact that Court had its hands full was a positive sign.

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Guatemala, he said, had proposed two long-term initiatives in regard to the International Court of Justice. It had presented a proposal submitted in 1997, supported by Costa Rica, which would extend the Court's jurisdiction to conflicts between States and intergovernmental organizations. The proposal had been received favourably in international legal literature. He noted that, for the first time in history, the Court would have to address the Organization and the Economic and Social Council to settle a dispute of a State member in regards to the international privileges and immunities. The second initiative was related to the two Annexes of the report before the Assembly which concerned the consequences of the Court's increased workload. Guatemala proposed that the issue be referred to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) which would help to underscore and better focus on the serious problems the Court faced with a view to finding remedies. He affirmed his country's full support for the International Court of Justice.

LUIS VALENCIA RODRIGUEZ (Ecuador) said that the Court was effectively carrying out its responsibilities. It had a number of cases before it, which showed the trust Member States had in it. Progressive development of international law by the judgements of the Court was of particular significance. The Court was facing a notable increase in its workload, and its financial resources were inadequate. The General Assembly should give special consideration to that matter. The supreme purpose of the Court was to promote and consolidate peace.

Continuing, he expressed gratitude for remarks by previous speakers regarding the peaceful solution of the dispute between Ecuador and Peru, which had resulted in the signing of an agreement between those countries. That signified an end to a confrontation that had kept those two countries apart. The promising future of cooperation and benefit now allowed hope for those two nations. Now was not a time to look back, but a time to support future peace.

DIDIER OPERTTI (Uruguay), Assembly President, congratulated Ecuador and Peru on the agreement signed yesterday. He added that a number of States, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the United States, had facilitated the conclusion of that agreement.

Implementation of New Agenda for African Development

ERNST SUCHARIPA (Austria), and on behalf of the European Union and the associated Central and Eastern European and Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Cyprus, said member States of the European Union would participate in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt-Initiative in order to alleviate the debt burden of the poorest countries. The Union would also strengthen its support to the HIPC by targeting more of its resources for structural adjustment support and by reinforcing its support for debt management.

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He then turned to the negotiations between the European Economic Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific States on trade and financial and economic cooperation regarding successor arrangements to replace the Lome Convention after 2000. He said the Union had made proposals for a new global partnership with Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific which included three components: political dialogue; support for development; and economic and trade cooperation. Reducing poverty had to be the central concern. That had to be achieved through more sustained development and greater competitiveness, as well as the development of the private sector, and improved access to social services.

Regarding trade and economic cooperation, he continued, the main objective of the European Union's proposals was to facilitate the progressive integration of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries into the world economy. The Union was also proposing to negotiate economic partnership agreements covering free-trade areas, and enhanced cooperation in trade- related matters with such groupings, engaged in a regional integration process. The Union was also ready to undertake commitments to protect infant industries, and to look at the application of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to take into account the special socio-economic needs of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

He said all least developed countries would see their market access regime improving from the year 2000. By 2005, they would benefit from duty- free access on the European Community market for essentially all products. For those African, Caribbean and Pacific countries not in a position to enter economic partnerships, the Union would consider ways of providing them with a framework for trade which was equivalent to that which they currently enjoyed. Still, not enough support was given to local economies or to encourage innovative entrepreneurial attitudes, with women as key players. It was imperative that women be involved in all development measures on an equal basis, he added.

HERIJANTO SOEPRAPTO (Indonesia), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said two years ago the mid-term review of the New Development Agenda for Africa had taken place. The review had been designed to evaluate the progress achieved in reaching the goals of the New Agenda and agree on further measures to ensure their attainment. At that time, the Assembly recorded its disappointment with the progress achieved and the international community reiterated its support for Africa's efforts to reach their objectives. Since the review, two significant trends had emerged. First, the two-decade long decline in per capita income of African nations was reversed in 1995 and the upturn was maintained up to last year. Though the recovery was not robust enough to reverse marginalization and the economies remained vulnerable to the external environment, the improved performance, including a positive trend in domestic savings, clearly indicated that the commitments undertaken in the Agenda were having a positive impact and the continent was back on a path toward sustained development. While those trends

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were encouraging, given the constraints facing African economies, such progress was difficult to maintain and it was difficult to reach the target levels necessary to achieve the Agenda's objectives under current external conditions.

Those conditions resulted from the second trend; that of globalization and the global financial crisis, he said. Coupled with conflict and disease, the darkening external environment was again exacting a heavy toll and hampering the rehabilitation and development of the continent. A major dilemma loomed for Africa in the wake of the Asian crisis. With the reality of Africa's exports narrowly based on commodities and the recent plunge in commodity prices, an already difficult situation had been further complicated. It was vitally important that international markets be opened to African exports and their share of the global market increased. Moreover, the international community had to strive to help the African economies to diversify into non-traditional exports.

One of the most critical constraints facing Africa was severe shortage in financial resources, he said. Given its general level of development, it was difficult to generate domestic savings for development. Also, Africa's debt burden was a strain on domestic savings. Thus, domestic savings had to be supplemented by additional resources from outside. The reality was that in an era of globalization it was difficult to attract sound investment to economies in the early stages of development. Moreover, the official development assistance (ODA) that many African economies had come to depend on had declined. It was paradoxical that at a time when Africa was recovering, the additional sources of external funding had dried up. It was imperative that the international community not squander the opportunity to help Africa maintain its new found growth and development.

Regarding the HIPC Debt-Initiative, there was room for revision to enhance its effectiveness, he said. The eligibility criteria had to be more flexible and there was an urgent need for increased resources to ensure speedier implementation. Another issue to be addressed for successful implementation of the New Agenda for Africa was improving coordination and feedback between the global political process and the operational levels in the field.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that in the seven years since new agenda was adopted, severe setbacks had been witnessed in many African countries and the target of six per cent growth had not yet been achieved by a large number of them. While globalization and liberalization ushered in economic dynamism, their negative consequences took a heavy toll on African economies. African economies could hardly absorb the shocks of the fast changes, as they were unable to increase exports and attract investment within a short period of time. Regarding Africa's external debt problem, the HIPC Debt-Initiative would have some effect but more needed to be done, not only for the low-income countries of Africa but also for its highly indebted

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middle-income countries. Bangladesh supported the Secretary-General's proposal that all remaining official debt of the poorest African countries be converted into grants by the creditor countries.

Bangladesh found that poverty eradication was not treated by the mid- term review as a key area, but as a cross-cutting issue addressed within economic reforms, environment and development, and human dimension, he said. He underlined the important role microcredit could and had been playing in poverty eradication and empowerment of women. Also, the issue of effective mobilization of financial resources continued to be a critical development issue for Africa and had to be addressed seriously by the international community. No domestic efforts could be successful in developing countries unless they were matched by equally robust and positive international support. In that context, Bangladesh urged the international community to use at least 50 per cent of donor aid to Africa in Africa. It welcomed the Secretary- General's call for the Bretton Woods institutions to provide "peace-friendly" structural adjustment programmes. It also welcomed the outcome of the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development, hosted by Japan last week, which had identified critical development issues in Africa, specified goals and objectives, and called on the international community to come forward to support Africa's efforts.

MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said that since the adoption of the New Agenda, awareness of the serious plight and urgent needs of African countries had grown. In supporting African development, a wide range of multilateral and bilateral initiatives had been proposed. The progress achieved so far and the remaining tasks should be fully analyzed. Japan had been trying to realize the goals and objectives of the New Agenda through the process of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. The primary theme of TICAD II, which had taken place last week, was poverty reduction through accelerated economic growth and sustainable development, as well as effective integration of African economies into the global economy. The Conference concluded with the adoption of the Tokyo Agenda for Action.

The principal approach of the Tokyo Agenda for Action was output- oriented and based on common goals and measurable indicators, he continued. Development actors needed to define the expected outcome of development activities and then monitor and evaluate performance against benchmarks and indicators. The results should be fed back into new activities. The Tokyo Agenda also singled out three areas as critical development issues: social development, economic development and basic foundation for development. It also enunciated the goals to be pursued and the action to be taken by African countries and their development partners. Strengthening coordination, promoting regional integration and expanding South-South cooperation were the main concrete approaches laid out at the Conference. Emphasis was also placed on capacity-building, gender mainstreaming and environmental management. Japan was determined to play a leading role in development cooperation in Africa and believed that Africa had a bright future, provided the necessary

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political will was demonstrated on the part of both Africa and the international community.

DAVID RUBADIRI (Malawi) said the international community could not make meaningful progress on the New Agenda in the absence of economic reforms towards effective mobilization and efficient utilization of domestic resources. Legislation, taxation and export diversification were some of the areas Africa was looking into. The problem of external debt, which many African States faced, was also a well known impediment in implementation of the New Agenda. The HIPC Debt Initiative, though a move in the right direction, had proven to be seriously inadequate. Malawi, therefore, supported the position of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) that an international agreement was needed to clear the entire debt stock of the continent's poorest countries.

He said that at only a miserly two per cent of world trade, Africa's share of the global market remained dauntingly low. Ongoing efforts by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the WTO towards trade facilitation and improving market access for African countries deserved the strong support of the international community. His Government was actively engaged in the implementation of the various aspects of the New Agenda. It had instituted bold macro-economic reforms which included the structural adjustment programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Reforms undertaken in legislation, taxation and banking, among other areas, had created a climate which was conducive to foreign investment. In addition, Malawi was pursuing a steady programme of privatization in recognition of the role of the private sector as the engine of economic growth.

He said the Secretary-General in his report, had observed that globalization had tended to marginalize countries which lacked the capacity to increase exports or attract investment. In that regard, the African continent was said to have been significantly marginalized in the short-term, as its exports remained narrowly based on primary commodities. It was distressing to learn that Africa was expected to lose $1.2 billion every year while the benefits accruing to the non-Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations were expected to be between $30 billion and $90 billion in 2002. "We therefore call on the international community to address squarely the critical areas identified in the report in order to move further ahead with the implementation of the New Agenda", he said.

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