DESPITE INCREASING ACCEPTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, SERIOUS BREACHES OF SUCH PRINCIPLES CONTINUE, ITALY TELLS SIXTH COMMITTEE

Press Release
GA/L/3097

DESPITE INCREASING ACCEPTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, SERIOUS BREACHES OF SUCH PRINCIPLES CONTINUE, ITALY TELLS SIXTH COMMITTEE

Despite the increasing acceptance of international humanitarian law, the world was witnessing a series of grave and systematic breaches of the principles of those laws, the representative of Italy told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this afternoon as it concluded its review of the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflict.

The "grave breaches" of the four Geneva Conventions, and many violations of the two Protocols were included among the war crimes falling within the competence of the International Criminal Court, he said. Italy was convinced that the establishment of the Court would greatly contribute to deterring future breaches of international humanitarian law and to ending impunity for those responsible of such heinous crimes.

The time had come for international humanitarian law to be mobilized to protect victims of armed conflicts, the representative of the Russian Federation said, also citing the importance of the International Criminal Court in that regard.

The 1949 Geneva Conventions updated the basic rules governing the protection of war victims. Its two 1977 Protocols cover victims of international and non-international conflicts, respectively. Protocol I established a 15-member International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission whose primary task was not only to establish facts, but also to facilitate, through its good offices, respect for the Geneva Conventions.

Also speaking in the discussion were the representatives of Yemen, Republic of Korea, Ukraine and Egypt. The observer for Palestine also spoke. A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also made a statement.

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Two draft resolutions were also introduced this afternoon, one on the Preparatory Commission for the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the other on centennial celebrations of the first International Peace Conference held in 1899.

The Committee will meet again Monday morning, 16 November, at 10 a.m. to take up consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to review the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflict.

The 1949 Geneva Conventions updated the basic rules governing the protection of war victims. Its two 1977 Protocols cover victims of international and non-international conflicts, respectively. Protocol I established a 15-member International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission whose primary task was not only to establish facts, but also to facilitate, through its good offices, respect for the Geneva Conventions.

By its resolution 51/55 of 16 December 1996, the General Assembly asked the Secretary-General to submit at its fifty-third session a report on the status of the additional Protocols based on information received from Member States. In his report (document A/53/287), the Secretary-General states that as of 31 July 1998, only Uruguay had provided relevant information as requested. The report also includes a list of States parties to the Protocols as at 31 July 1998.

In its response, Uruguay states that it was party to the four Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols. It had accepted the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission established under Protocol I. A standing inter-ministerial commission had been set up to promote the development of international humanitarian law in Uruguay's domestic law. The Commission's priority task was to contribute to the dissemination of international humanitarian law among members of the armed forces, specialist schools, lawyers, teachers and the general public.

Statements

ABDALLA SALEH AL-ASHTAL (Yemen) said his country had acceded to the Geneva Conventions and the two Additional Protocols. It was deplorable that the rights of people in occupied lands were being violated almost daily, with the most recent examples being events in occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan. He said Palestinians in the occupied areas were being subjected to brutalities and their homes destroyed to make way for Israeli settlements. Those acts were illegal under international humanitarian law and the perpetrators should be punished. He asked why all United Nations resolutions on Palestine, as well as agreements reached between Palestine and Israel since the Madrid conference, had not been implemented. It was in Israel's interest to reach a settlement with Palestinians.

Yemen urged States to take advantage of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission, created under Protocol I of the Additional Protocols, he said. He called for the convening of a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, as stated in the resolution adopted at the tenth special session of the General Assembly.

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PARK HEE-KWON (Republic of Korea) said the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two Additional Protocols of 1977, in terms of their scope and application, represented the most important sources in international humanitarian law. They had effectively contributed to diminishing the impacts of armed conflicts, he said. Welcoming the adoption of the Statute for the establishment of an International Criminal Court, he said an international judicial system that deterred the commission of war crimes and ended impunity could serve as an effective guarantor for the provisions of the two Additional Protocols. His Government, which had worked actively for the creation of the Court, would continue to play that role in the Court's preparatory commission.

As an original signatory to the two Protocols, he said his Government had promoted the dissemination of humanitarian law, including the provisions of the Protocols at the national level. Military personnel sent by the country on United Nations peacekeeping missions were trained to respect humanitarian law.

IGOR K. PANEVKIN (Russian Federation) underlined the importance of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. He said Russia favoured the implementation of their provisions by States. The time had come for international humanitarian law to be mobilized to protect victims of armed conflicts, he said. He commended the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and noted that the recent adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court was an important achievement.

Russian Federation had taken steps to incorporate the provisions of the Additional Protocols into domestic law. Some of the actions included banning the recruitment, training and support of mercenaries and paramilitary activities. The Russian Red Cross had also moved to strengthen cooperation with the ICRC. Efforts were being made to create an inter-agency commission to further disseminate international humanitarian law in the country. He called upon States which had not done so to ratify the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.

MAURO POLITI (Italy) said Italy had ratified both the Protocols and was among the States which had made a declaration recognizing the competence of the Fact-Finding Commission. Despite the increasing acceptance of relevant international instruments the world had witnessed, and continued to witness, a series of grave and systematic breaches of the principles of humanitarian law. Therefore, it was essential to prevent the violations of those principles, to devise mechanisms to guarantee compliance, and to bring to justice the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.

The "grave breaches" of the four Geneva Conventions, and many violations of the two Protocols were included among the war crimes falling within the competence of the International Criminal Court, he said. Italy was convinced that the establishment of the Court would greatly contribute to deterring

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future breaches of international humanitarian law and to ending impunity for those responsible of such heinous crimes.

He emphasized the important role of the ICRC in offering protection and in promoting and disseminating the knowledge and application of international humanitarian law. He particularly welcomed the activities of its Advisory Service in supporting States' efforts to implement international humanitarian law in their domestic legal systems, and facilitating the exchange of information between Governments on those efforts.

MOHAMMED GOMAA (Egypt) attached great importance to the two Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, which now had more than 150 parties. He reminded delegates that the provisions of the protocols were applicable to situations of armed conflict, including in the occupied Palestinian territories. An important meeting to consider the application of the Conventions to the occupied territories had been held at the initiative of Switzerland. Important though the meeting was, it was no substitute for a meeting of the High Contracting Parties. Egypt wished to draw attention to the provision that called upon the Contracting Parties to meet.

VICTOR KAECHURENKO (Ukraine) said the growing number of civil wars called for an adequate response. He stressed the need for wider dissemination of the Additional Protocols. The Ukraine supported respect for international humanitarian law in armed conflicts and had ratified the Additional Protocols. It had also recognized the competence of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission created under Additional Protocol I. Information about the Commission deserved wider dissemination. His delegation favoured the role of the ICRC in offering protection for victims of armed conflict.

FEDA ABDELHADY-NASSER, observer for Palestine, said the two Protocols to the Geneva Conventions represented a valuable and needed addition to international humanitarian law. Indeed, they filled some gaps that existed within the four Conventions. Protocol I could be applied in the same situations of international armed conflict and occupation as the Conventions. Paragraph 4 of Protocol I added that those situations included wars of national liberation. Moreover, like the Conventions, the Protocol also obliged the parties "to respect and ensure respect for this Protocol in all circumstances". He was pleased to note the number of States that had become parties to the Protocols additional to the Conventions. It was a step towards complete achievement of universality of the two Protocols.

The Secretary-General's report noted the accession of Palestine to the Conventions and the Additional Protocols, she said. The report also affirmed that Israel had not acceded to the Additional Protocols. That was all the more unfortunate given the fact that Israel was the only High Contracting Party designated by the Security Council as an occupying Power. In October, a meeting of experts had been convened at the initiative of Switzerland to consider general problems concerning the application of the Convention. It had also reviewed, in particular, their application in occupied territories.

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Palestine participated as an observer, although it had objected to the Swiss formulation for such participation. While the meeting was undoubtedly useful, the exact relationship, if any, between that meeting and the resolutions of the tenth special session of the General Assembly was ambiguous. She emphasized the central importance of implementing the recommendations of that special session with regard to the convening of a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to address measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory.

PATRICK ZAHND, representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said as civilians continued to be the main victims in present day conflicts, it was vital for States to treat international humanitarian law as an urgent priority. It was encouraging to see that the number of States bound by the Additional Protocols continued to rise. The Protocols must acquire the same universality as the Geneva Conventions. Effective protection for the victims of armed conflicts could be provided only through rigorous implementation of the rules of international humanitarian law in time of war but, also, in peacetime.

States must adopt criminal legislation that made it possible to punish those who committed serious violations, he said. In addition, misuse of the red cross/red crescent emblem must be repressed. That emblem was the visible sign of the protection conferred by law. Finally, there was an urgent need to promote knowledge of the rules of humanitarian law among all those who carried weapons. The ICRC's Advisory Service was available to support States by providing legal advice and technical documentation.

Introduction of draft on ICC

HENDRIKUS G.J. VERWEIJ (Netherlands) introduced a draft resolution on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court (document A/C.6/53/L.9). By the text, submitted by the Bureau of the Sixth Committee, the General Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to convene the Preparatory Commission -- established under a resolution adopted by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court -- on the following dates: from 16 to 26 February 1999; 26 July to 13 August; and 29 November to 17 December.

(By resolution F adopted at the Rome Conference, the preparatory commission would take all possible measures to ensure the coming into operation of the International Criminal Court, without undue delay, and to make the necessary arrangements for the commencement of its functions. Such measures include preparation of rules of procedure and evidence; elements of crimes; a relationship agreement between the Court and the United Nations; basic principles governing a headquarters agreement to be negotiated between the Court and host country (Netherlands); and a budget for the first financial year. The draft texts of the rules of procedure and evidence and of the elements of crimes shall be finalized before 30 June 2000.

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By today's draft text, the Secretary-General would be asked to invite, as observers to the preparatory commission, representatives of organizations and other entities that have received a standing invitation from the General Assembly pursuant to its relevant resolutions to participate, as observers, in its sessions and work. He would also be asked to invite, as observers, representatives of interested regional intergovernmental organizations and other interested bodies, including the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

By other terms of the draft, the General Assembly would note that non-governmental organizations might participate in the work of the preparatory commission, including attending its plenary and its other open meetings in accordance with the rules of procedure to be adopted by the commission, receiving copies of official documents and making available their materials to delegates.

Furthermore, the Secretary-General would be requested to take steps to expand the mandate of the trust funds established in Assembly resolutions 51/207 and 52/160 for voluntary contributions towards meeting the costs of participation in the work of the preparatory commission of the least developed countries and specified developing countries, respectively.

The Assembly would decide to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled "Establishment of the International Criminal Court". It would ask the Secretary-General to report to that session on the implementation of the present draft resolution.

Draft on Decade of International Law (1990-1999)

Mr. PANEVKIN (Russian Federation), speaking on behalf of his country and the Netherlands, introduced a draft resolution on action dedicated to the 1999 centennial of the first International Peace Conference and to the closing of the United Nations Decade of International Law (document A/C.6/53/L.12). By that draft, the General Assembly would welcome the progress made in realization of the programme of action, presented by the Governments of the Netherlands and the Russian Federation, which aims at contributing to the further development of the themes of the first and second International Peace Conference (held in 1899 and 1907, respectively) and could be regarded as the third international peace conference.

The draft would encourage the two Governments to continue with implementation of the programme of action and encourage other States to participate in the activities set out. It also would encourage United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations, groups and individuals to contribute to the discussion on the themes of the commemoration of the first International Peace Conference on the basis of the preliminary report and to consider participation in the activities.

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It would request that the two Governments prepare reports on the conclusion of the centennial celebrations at The Hague and St. Petersburg for submission to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to consider activities to promote the outcome of the United Nations Decade of International Law, including the possibility of releasing by the United Nations a set of jubilee postage stamps and post cards in commemoration of the centennial of the first International Peace Conference. The draft is sponsored by the Netherlands and the Russian Federation.

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