CHOICE MUST BE MADE BETWEEN MULTI-POLAR SYSTEM OF WORLD ORDER AND CHAOS OF UNILATERAL APPROACHES, LEGAL COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/L/3108*

CHOICE MUST BE MADE BETWEEN MULTI-POLAR SYSTEM OF WORLD ORDER AND CHAOS OF UNILATERAL APPROACHES, LEGAL COMMITTEE TOLD

Committee Takes up Report of Special Committee on UN Charter

A choice had to be made between a multi-polar system of world order and the chaos of unilateral approaches, the representative of the Russian Federation told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this afternoon as it began its examination of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

Referring to a working paper submitted by his delegation and Belarus seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice about the legal consequences of the recourse to the use of force by States, either without the prior authorization of the Security Council or outside the context of self-defence, he said the proposal envisaged the involvement of the International Court of Justice in resolving problems related to the right of States to use force in bypassing the Charter. The representation of Mexico, on behalf of the Rio Group, said that given the importance of the issue, the Assembly should carefully examine certain aspects of the proposal.

On the issue of sanctions, another topic covered in the report, the representative of Malaysia said the concept of “smart sanctions” -- whereby sanctions were applied within a definite time-frame and were formally lifted as soon as the intended objective had been met -- should be strongly supported. Furthermore, he described assistance to third States affected by sanctions as ad hoc at best, ineffective and inadequate at worst. Before imposing sanctions on a State, the Security Council should request an advance assessment of the possible effects of sanctions on both the targeted country and third States.

The representative of Finland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, agreed that greater use of targeted sanctions might help meet the twin objectives of improving the effectiveness of sanctions while minimizing their humanitarian and economic impact including on third States.

Several delegations pointed to a need to take a look at the working methods of the Special Committee. While the purpose of the Charter Committee was to

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Sixth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/L/3108 5th Meeting (PM) 13 October 1999

strengthen the role of the United Nations, it was necessary for the Committee itself to be strengthened, the representative of Japan said. For two years, Japan had strongly advocated a review of working methods to enhance efficiency. In that context, the representative of the Republic of Korea cited a proposal for a cut-off mechanism in the Committee that would prevent discussions from dragging on without yielding any tangible outcome.

The Charter Committee, which was established in 1974, has the task of examining in detail observations received from governments on suggestions and proposals regarding such issues as the Charter, the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in terms of the maintenance of peace and security, cooperation among nations and the promotion of the rules of international law in relation between States.

Also speaking in the debate were the representatives Colombia, Guatemala and Egypt. The Chairman of the Special Committee introduced the Committee’s report.

The Committee will meet again tomorrow, 14 October, at 10 a.m. to continue its discussion of the reports.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to begin its examination of the report of The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (A/54/33).

The Committee also had before it a report from the Secretary-General on the implementation of provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (A/54/383), and a progress report from the Secretary-General on the publication of supplements to the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council (A/54/363).

The Charter Committee, which was established in 1974, has the task of examining in detail observations received from governments on suggestions and proposals regarding issues relating to the Charter, the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in terms of the maintenance of peace and security, cooperation among nations and the promotion of the rules of international law in relations between States. The Committee held its latest session at Headquarters from 12 to 23 April.

The report summarizes Charter Committee discussions on several proposals, most of which appear in working paper form, including ones related to the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions and the future role of the Trusteeship Council.

Also included in the report is a draft resolution on the International Court of Justice, whereby the General Assembly would express its appreciation to the International Court of Justice for the measures it adopted to operate on an increased workload with maximum efficiency. The Court would be invited to keep its working methods under periodic review and to adopt additional measures to expedite its proceedings.

Under the topic of maintenance of international and peace and security, the Charter Committee examined proposals related to sanctions, peacekeeping operations and enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization.

In its discussion on the implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by sanctions, delegations noted that, although the Charter empowered the Security Council to impose sanctions, it was not intended that adverse consequences to those States remain unattended. Therefore, the Special Committee was responsible for making proposals to address the issue.

All delegations welcomed the Secretary-General's report on the matter and some stressed the importance of the recommendation whereby the Security Council would request an advance assessment of the potential effect of sanctions, both on the target country and third States, before adopting any resolution relating to sanctions. Support was also voiced for entrusting the Secretariat with the task of monitoring the consequences of those sanctions once they had been imposed.

The Committee welcomed the report of the Secretary-General summarizing the deliberations and the findings of the ad hoc expert group convened to develop a methodology for assessing the consequences incurred by the third States as a result of preventive or enforcement measures and to explore innovative and practical measures of international assistance to be provided to the affected third States. The Committee recommended that the Assembly invite the Secretary-General to present a report on the findings of the ad hoc group and, where appropriate, on other developments on the issue, particularly on the work of the Security Council sanctions committees.

On the same topic, the Charter Committee continued a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of a working paper submitted by the Russian Federation on “basic conditions and criteria for the introduction of sanctions and other coercive measures and their implementation”. In light of reservations questioning the usefulness and appropriateness of the proposal, the Charter Committee proceeded with the understanding that the reading was in the nature of a preliminary discussion only. The report contains an overview of that discussion.

Concerning peacekeeping operations, the report describes the discussion of a proposal for a draft declaration on basic principles and criteria for those operations. The report quotes the sponsoring delegation as pointing out that recent attempts by some Member States to bypass the Charter obligations concerning peacekeeping operations proved the necessity of reaffirming the importance of the Charter as a basis for peacekeeping operations.

Other delegations said the work of the Special Committee should not duplicate that of other established bodies in the Organization, such as the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) and the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). Several questioned the usefulness of the proposal, saying that while the issue might have had some relevance during the cold war period, such an undertaking, at the current time, could not be justified, since various questions raised had been largely dealt with through international practice.

Others agreed that the proposal was useful and timely, given the new conditions of a multipolar world. They favoured detailed consideration and said the proposal was entirely within the Committee's mandate. The proposal is expected to be considered further during the Committee’s next session.

The report cites a working paper submitted by Cuba which deals with the respective powers of the General Assembly and the Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security. Also mentioned is a revised proposal by Libya that draws attention to three elements that, it states, are paralysing the Organization, and especially the Security Council. The first is the ineffectiveness of the Council in fulfilling its mandate under the Charter. The others are the reactivation of the role of the General Assembly and the necessity to establish certain rules in cases where the Security Council has failed to perform its mandate by not taking a balanced approach, especially in the area of the application of sanctions.

The Russian Federation and Belarus introduced a working paper whereby an advisory opinion would be sought from the International Court of Justice about the legal consequences of the recourse to the use of force by States, either without the prior authorization of the Security Council or outside the context of self- defence, as well as the role of the United Nations in guaranteeing collective security.

Some delegations expressed misgivings that, since the proposal related to several sensitive matters concerning international peace and security before the Security Council, that body was the proper forum for discussions on the issue. Others were of the view that it was not useful to refer a generic question to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion.

Nonetheless, although some delegations expressed preference for the removal of the proposal from the Committee's agenda, others felt that it was time to re- examine the principles governing the question of territorial sovereignty. It was suggested that the Charter be amended to allow for humanitarian intervention and that there be guidelines for regulation of that action.

According to the report, a revised version was later presented but again its consideration was protested as being inappropriate under the provisions of the Charter. However, the point was made that the decision on whether the issue should be discussed at the next session of the Special Committee should be taken up by the General Assembly.

A revised proposal by Sierra Leone on the establishment of a dispute prevention and early settlement service urges States to make effective use of existing methods of dispute prevention and requests the Secretary-General to encourage States to designate suitably qualified persons for the Panel of Inquiry and Conciliation. Support was expressed for incorporating the informal paper into the Committee report to facilitate its further consideration in either the Sixth Committee or the General Assembly, or at future sessions of the Special Committee.

A proposal by Guatemala concerning the amendment of the Statute of the International Court of Justice to extend its competence was withdrawn for lack of support.

Under the discussion on the Trusteeship Council, the report notes the proposal by Malta to have that body reconstituted as a guardian and trustee of the global commons or the common heritage of mankind. Some delegations said duplication of work could occur, as other forums dealt with many aspects of the common heritage of mankind and that obviated the need for a new oversight mechanism. Views were reiterated that the Trusteeship Council should be abolished, while others said doing so would entail unnecessary amendments to the Charter.

Since the Committee could not agree on the basic concept of the proposal, the delegation of Malta decided that, if authorized by the Committee, it would be prepared to discuss the underlying principles of the proposal, as well as practical aspects of its future implementation.

Concerning the working methods of the Committee, it was suggested that, with regard to proposals being considered by the Committee for two or three years, the Secretariat could be invited to assist it in identifying those provisions on which no agreement had been reached, so that its deliberations might be more focused. The Committee decided to consider possible changes to the nature of its report.

The officers of the Special Committee are as follows: Chairman, Marja-Liisa Lehto (Finland); Vice-Chairmen, Josko Klisovic (Croatia), Saeid Mirzaee Yengejeh (Iran) and Augusto Cabrera (Peru); and Rapporteur, Henry Hanson-Hall (Ghana).

The report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (A/54/383) contains replies from Belarus, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine on their views on the report from the ad hoc expert group meeting on assistance to third States affected by sanctions. Also included are comments from nine United Nations specialized agencies and programmes, regional commissions, and several other regional organizations. Replies from Bulgaria, Turkey and Yemen have also been received and will be issued as an addendum to the report.

[The ad hoc expert group, convened by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, met in New York from 24 to 26 June 1998. It 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 sanctions 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.

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 Secretary-General's progress report on Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council (A/54/363), recommends that the General Assembly might wish to:

-- note that volume VI of Supplement No. 6 to the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs was published in August 1999 (English version);

-- note that volumes III (Articles 55-72) and IV (Articles 73-91) of Supplement No. 5 of the Repertory will be completed and published in 2000;

-- note that work has started on volumes I, II and V of Supplement No. 6 to the Repertory, which will be completed in the next biennium (2000-2001), while work on volumes III and IV will begin at that time;

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

-- note that the eighth and ninth Supplements to the Repertoire have now been published in French and that the tenth Supplement is scheduled to be published in English by the beginning of 2000 and in French in the second half of 2000;

-- note that studies for the eleventh Supplement to the Repertoire are under preparation;

-- consider ways and means of eliminating the backlog in the Repertoire, taking into account the requirements for training, experience and continuity;

-- note the efforts of the Secretary-General to reduce the backlog of the Supplements to the Repertory and the Repertoire.

Statements

MARJA-LIISA LEHTO (Finland), Chairman of the Special Committee, in introducing the report (document A/54/33), said the Committee had adopted three recommendations, two of which related to assistance to third States affected by sanctions. The Committee recommended that the General Assembly continue to examine the subject in a substantive manner and invited the Secretary-General to present a report on the subject including information on the work of the Security Council sanctions committees. The Committee also recommended a draft resolution expressing appreciation to the International Court of Justice for the measures adopted so far to increase its efficiency.

SOCORRO FLORES LIERA (Mexico), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said the question of assistance to third States affected by sanctions was very important. Extensive analysis should be given to the subject. Recourse to sanctions was still frequent, yet their repercussions on third States were not always taken into consideration. The Group had received the results of the ad hoc expert group meetings with great interest. The Group remained convinced of the need for follow up at the next session and supported continued study of the question. Concerning the substance of a proposal by the Russian Federation and Belarus on the immutability of the provisions of the Charter in the area of peace and security, she said that in view of its importance, the Assembly should examine certain aspects of the proposal during its discussion on related topics.

The International Court of Justice should be endowed with the necessary tools to fulfil its mandate, she said. She expressed appreciation for the measures taken by the Court to rationalize its work and urged it to continue on the same path. She supported the call for increased resources for the Court.

She took note of the measures to reduce the backlog in the publications of the Repertory and Repertoire and the fact that the project had not been sufficiently budgeted for earlier. She was concerned that languages other than English appeared years later and said the situation should be corrected in the near future. She added that the broad range of topics on the agenda of the Committee should be tightened in order to achieve more pragmatic results.

ANNA-MAIJA KORPI (Finland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Organization continued to take great interest in the subject of mitigating the adverse impact of sanctions on third States. She said the consideration of the conclusions of the ad hoc expert group would certainly benefit from the many insightful remarks contained in the Special Committee’s report. As the European Union had noted last year, the Secretary-General should examine the feasibility of the measures proposed. The proposals by the President of the Security Council -- referred to in the report -- formed a good basis for further efforts to develop standards and rules to minimize the humanitarian impact of sanctions on vulnerable groups within the target State, as well as their economic impact on third States. The European Union agreed that greater use of targeted sanctions might help meet the twin objectives of improving the effectiveness of sanctions while minimizing their humanitarian and economic impact, including on third States.

On the topic of maintenance of international peace and security, she said duplication of work with other bodies was a persistent problem of the Charter Committee, especially regarding the proposals on peacekeeping and United Nations reform. On the question of peaceful settlement of disputes, she said the European Union supported the draft resolution on the means to strengthen the International Court of Justice. It believed that the legitimate demands of the Court for budgetary resources ought to be honoured, consistent with the importance the General Assembly attached to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through law. The Union welcomed the new approach of placing more emphasis on existing methods of dispute prevention and encouraging States to make greater use of such mechanisms.

The European Union was concerned about the long delays in the publication of the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, she said. It commended the Secretary-General for his efforts to reduce the backlog on the publication of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs by making more effective use of resources. The establishment of a specific training and internship programme to expedite the work on the Repertoire as proposed in the report could be usefully complemented by the creation of a trust fund for voluntary contributions.

She said the Union strongly believed that the Special Committee’s work ought to be further streamlined and more focused. On the Special Committee’s working methods, she said that clear priorities should be established. The matter should also be reflected upon by the General Assembly, which adopted the Special Committee’s mandate. She trusted that an open-ended informal consultation would be held to address the issue. The Union welcomed the Special Committee’s decision to consider ways and means to improve the procedure for the adoption of its report, as well as possible changes to the report’s nature, at its next session.

She said two-week sessions for the Special Committee were not justified as a rule, and that a case-by-case approach would seem to be more appropriate. In view of the heavy schedule of legal meetings in the year 2000, including the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court, she said the duration of the next session of the Special Committee should not exceed five working days.

HIROSHI KAWAMURA (Japan) said that by Article 25 of the Charter, United Nations Member States agreed to carry out decisions of the Security Council. They therefore had an obligation to implement sanctions imposed by the Council. Although that might affect some countries, particularly large trading countries, each Member State was obliged to bear such costs individually. It was important that the question of implementation of Charter provisions on assistance to third States affected by sanctions be dealt with from the political point of view.

The prompt submission by the Secretary-General of an advance assessment of the potential impact of sanctions on the target country and, in particular, on third States, would be very useful, he said. Measures taken to help third States affected by sanctions should not hamper the effective application of the sanctions themselves, he stressed.

On the question of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, he stressed the importance of those publications not only for delegations but also for the general public. Japan commended the efforts of the Secretariat to expedite their preparation, although it was still concerned over the delay in publishing them, especially the Repertory.

Japan endorsed the recommendation of the Special Committee on strengthening the International Court of Justice. The rationalization of the Court’s registry, utilization of electronic technology and streamlined work procedures were truly commendable. While the purpose of the Charter Committee was to strengthen the role of the United Nations, it was necessary that the Committee itself be strengthened. His delegation had in the past two years strongly advocated a review of its working methods to enhance its efficiency. The Charter Committee should hold its next session in the first half of next year, just as had been done last year. He asked the Secretariat to provide concrete information on how the Charter Committee was wasting conference services. Any information on the matter would be useful for delegations to consider the issue seriously. He also proposed that the Charter Committee should next year identify measures widely acceptable to delegations and implement them.

PARK HEE-KWON (Republic of Korea) stressed that the Special Committee should coordinate more effectively with other United Nations bodies in order to prevent duplication and maximize efficiency. His Government considered it necessary to find a permanent solution to the question of assistance to third States affected by sanctions. There had been an increase in recent years in resorting to sanctions and a consequent increase in the number of adversely affected third States. The question now required prompt action and an appropriate mechanism should be prepared. He agreed with the expert group findings that the actual impact of sanctions on individual third States might differ substantially from case to case. As the report entrusted the Secretary-General with a series of tasks, such as assessment of the potential impact of sanctions, monitoring their effect and appointing a Special Representative, the Secretary-General should be invited to present his views on the report and, in particular, the feasibility of its recommendations.

Concerning the Russian proposal on the legal basis for United Nations peacekeeping operations, he said that as an active contributor, his Government believed that the creation of an additional legal framework might enable peacekeeping activities to be carried out in a more orderly and efficient manner. However, such guidelines should be flexible enough to accommodate the specific circumstances of each conflict.

Turning to the Trusteeship Council, he said that although his Government supported, in principle, the proposal that the Council be abolished, he noted with interest the proposal by the Secretary-General that the Council be reconstituted as a forum for Member States to exercise collective trusteeship of the global environment and common areas. He also noted with interest the proposal for a cut- off mechanism in the Committee that would prevent discussions from dragging on for years without yielding any tangible outcome.

ANDRES FRANCO (Colombia) stressed the need to deal effectively with the question of assistance to third States affected by sanctions. The ad hoc expert group’s recommended measures for minimizing collateral damage of sanctions should be carefully examined by the Special Committee. The open-ended nature of sanctions regimes should also be closely looked at. The effects of sanctions on innocent populations of the target country, and consequences to non-target third States, should receive due attention. He supported the recommendation that a special representative be appointed in severe cases.

Concerning the working methods of the Committee, he said that any overlap with aspects within the mandate of other United Nations bodies should be avoided. There was no need to shorten the Committee’s session, nor should any proposal be rejected from the outset because of its contents.

ASMAT NUNGKA (Malaysia) said the negative effects of sanctions on human lives and property should be continuously addressed. He supported a re-examination of the sanctions regime as a whole. The concept of “smart sanctions”, whereby sanctions were applied within a definite time-frame and were formally lifted as soon as the intended objective had been met, should be strongly supported. Noting that there was a distinction being drawn between Charter-based sanctions and sanctions imposed unilaterally, he endorsed the position of the Non-Aligned Movement which condemned such unilateral application by certain Powers as contradicting the norms of international law and running counter to the principles and practices of the United Nations.

Assistance to third States affected by sanctions had been ad hoc at best, ineffective and inadequate at worst, he said. He welcomed the move by the ad hoc expert group to continue its work in finding ways and means to deal with the adverse impact of sanctions on third States. Before imposing any sanctions on any State, the Security Council should request an advance assessment of the possible effects of sanctions on both the targeted country and third States. In that way, sanctions that could cause unnecessary and indiscriminate harm to human lives and the loss of property beyond its targeted intent could be avoided. There was also a need for the provision of non-financial measures to alleviate the effects of sanctions on third States.

Concerning proposals on peacekeeping operations, he said it was imperative that interventions in support of humanitarian actions within States not be taken in violation of the principles of the Charter. On the Trusteeship Council, he said that as the Council had already completed its mandate, there was no purpose in giving it a new role as a guardian of the common heritage of mankind.

SERGEY LAVROV (Russian Federation) said that at the turn of the millennium, the task of assuring international peace and security on the basis of strict observance of the United Nations Charter was particularly topical. A choice had to be made between a multi-polar system of world order and the chaos of unilateral approaches. Russian President Boris Yeltsin had suggested collective development of the Concept of the World in the Twenty-first Century. Its objective was to assure the security of States and peoples through cooperation on the basis of the Charter and principles and norms of international law. The Charter served as the foundation for the Concept of the World in the Twenty-first Century, he said. At the same time, it was necessary not only to increase the Organization’s capacity and preserve the principal responsibility of the Security Council for maintenance of peace, but also to strengthen the Council’s control over prevention and settlement of conflict situations.

He said that only by joint efforts on a universal basis would it be possible to assure further development of commonly acceptable international legal principles. Those principles would guarantee individual protection exclude armed encroachments on sovereign States and voluntary military measures bypassing the Charter and the Security Council under any pretext. It was necessary for additional criteria to be elaborated on the use of force under the Charter, including in humanitarian emergencies. A clear interpretation of humanitarian crises based on international law must also be developed.

The working paper seeking to safeguard the key provisions of the Charter, submitted to the Special Committee by the Russian Federation and Belarus, followed the same trend. It reaffirmed the immutability of the Charter provisions regulating the use of force and stressed the tasks of strengthening the role of the United Nations in the area of maintenance of international peace and security. The proposal envisaged the involvement of the International Court of Justice in resolving problems related to the right of States to use force in bypassing the Charter.

He said the Special Committee members had taken a more balanced approach to the introduction and implementation of sanctions and the necessity of a comprehensive analysis of their humanitarian impact. That approach should be maintained in the consideration of the Russian paper on the subject at the Special Committee’s next session. Approval of additional recommendations regarding principles of application of sanctions would considerably help the Security Council.

He stressed the importance of continuation of work on implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions. Without rejecting the role of the international financial institutions in the assessment of impact on sanctions, he believed that it was the Charter which had a decisive influence on decisions concerning the distribution of aid to those third States. He supported the recommendation that the General Assembly consider during its current session the report of the expert group on methods of assessing the impact of sanctions.

He said the well known Russian initiatives on the development of a legal basis for peacekeeping operations were aimed at improving United Nations peacekeeping operations. Any such operation should be linked to efforts for political settlement of conflicts, he stressed, placing emphasis on the role of the Security Council in that regard.

His delegation supported the Special Committee’s draft resolution concerning provision of adequate conditions for the functioning of the International Court of Justice, he said. The measure would allow the Court not only to preserve its current dynamism in the settlement of disputes but would also stimulate its efforts to protect basic principles and norms of international law. Noting that the Special Committee played a significant role in the consideration of various legal aspects of United Nations activity as well as processes related to increasing its efficiency, he said the Russian Federation supported the preservation of its activities in their present format.

ROBERTO LAVALLE (Guatemala) said his country’s proposal to have the Statute of the International Court of Justice amended for its competence to be extended with respect to disputes between States and intergovernmental organizations had been supported by 18 United Nations Member States since 1971. Giving a further account of his country’s initiative, he said scholars in international law, including a late member of the Court itself, had advocated a similar proposal. He further pointed out that in 1990, the Court had tended to favour it, while in 1995 a former President of the Court had voiced similar sentiments.

He said that since the Special Committee’s opposition to the proposal was not based on technical grounds but lack of political will, Guatemala had withdrawn the proposal at the Special Committee’s last session. He stressed, however, that Guatemala did not regret proposing the initiative in the first place. The fact that reaction of States to the proposal was not to be found in official United Nations records would encourage scholars to continue exercising the power of persuasion for the proposal’s adoption. For that reason, in the longer term, there was a chance that Guatemala’s initiative would be accepted in the future.

Looking back on the work of the Special Committee for the past five years, he said its contribution to consideration of the issue of assistance to third States affected by the imposition of sanctions might not be absolutely indispensable. In that respect, he drew attention to the fact that the Secretary-General’s annual report on the subject went to the General Assembly before the Special Committee took up the matter. Peaceful means should be sought to resolve disputes, before sanctions were imposed, he added. Sanctions should be subject to a deadline but must, in principle, remain in place until their objectives were achieved.

On the Special Committee’s work procedures, he said that many of the items on its agenda were deadlocked. He emphasized that the topics should be action- oriented and that efforts should be made to avoid duplication.

MOHAMMED GOMAA (Egypt) said sanctions should only be resorted to in exceptional circumstances and only after all other measures had been exhausted. Moreover, there should be strict adherence to certain criteria in the application of sanctions. Citing the consequences of sanctions on the people of Iraq and Libya, he said his country was also being affected by those sanctions. Sanctions imposed on certain countries had resulted in considerable harm and damage to third States such as Egypt, he stressed.

He welcomed the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by sanctions, and called upon the Security Council to devise a solution to the problem. He noted the merits of the proposal by the Russian Federation and Belarus which requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the resort to the use of force by States that have not consulted the Security Council.

He supported the Secretary-General’s efforts to publish and translate the remaining supplements of the Repertory and Repertoire. He expressed concern that despite the increased activity in the Security Council, its staff had been reduced -- this in turn affected the problem of trying to catch up on the backlog. Appealing to the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to complete the project, he expressed concern that there was no mention of translation into a language other than English or French.

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