UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEWED BY SIXTH COMMITTEE

Press Release
GA/L/3111

UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEWED BY SIXTH COMMITTEE

Faithful adherence to present international law rather than codification of new ones would yield the best results, the Sixth Committee was told this morning as it began debate on activities marking the end of the United Nations Decade of International Law.

The representative of the Netherlands, introducing a report on the conclusions of a conference to mark the centennial of the first Hague Peace Conference which formed part of the activities of the Decade, said the participating legal experts agreed that no new codification would be needed. International rule of law should be advanced instead, they said.

The Netherlands and Russia served as co-hosts of the Centennial celebrations because of their historical connection to the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

The General Assembly declared 1990-1999 the Decade of International Law with the intention of promoting acceptance of and respect for the principles of international law; promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, including resort to and full respect for the International Court of Justice; encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification; and, encouraging the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law. Speaking on the Decade of International Law, were the representatives of Finland (on behalf of the European Union), Mexico (on behalf of the Rio Group), Republic of Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Algeria and the Philippines.

The Committee had earlier concluded its consideration of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, and the report of the Secretary-General on assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions against a target State.

The representatives of Syria, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia and Cote d’Ivoire spoke on those reports.

The representatives of Israel and Syria exercised rights of reply.

The Committee will meet again this afternoon at 3 p.m. to continue its discussion of the Decade of International Law.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning to conclude 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 (document A/54/33).

The Committee also has before it a report from the Secretary-General on assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (document 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 (document A/54/363).

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

For further details, see Press Release GA/L/3108 of 13 October.

The Committee also began its discussion of the United Nations Decade of International Law. The Committee is considering a report from the Secretary- General on the Decade (A/54/362), a report from the Netherlands and Russia on the Centennial Celebrations of the First International Peace Conference (A/54/381), and a letter from Bangladesh on the agenda adopted by the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference (A/54/98).

The General Assembly declared 1990-1999 the Decade of International Law with the intention of promoting acceptance of and respect for the principles of international law; promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, including resort to and full respect for the International Court of Justice; encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification; and, encouraging the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law.

The Secretary-General’s report analyzes the information on activities in connection with the Decade received from the Cook Islands, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Jamaica, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom as well as updates received from numerous international organizations, including United Nations bodies, international courts and tribunals and non-governmental organizations working in the field of international law.

The report also includes an overview of specific United Nations activities relevant to the progressive development of international law. Among those are the law as it relates to human rights, disarmament, outer space, economic development, international trade, crime prevention, the environment and the sea. The work on the International Criminal Court is also cited. Annexed to the report is a list of major international conventions adopted under the auspices of the United Nations during the Decade.

The letter submitted by the Netherlands and Russia presents a report on the outcome of the celebrations of the centennial of the First International Peace Conference of 1899. Because of their historical connection to the first Peace Conference, those two countries served as co-hosts of the centennial celebrations. Expert reports were prepared on each of the three Centennial themes: disarmament questions, humanitarian law and laws of war, and peaceful settlement of disputes. Those papers served as the basis for discussions by experts. The report presents brief conclusions from the expert discussions and provides a list of Centennial reports and comments that have been posted on the Internet.

The letter from Bangladesh describes The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the Twenty-first Century which was the result of consultations among the 72 members of The Hague Appeal for Peace Organizing and Coordinating Committees as well as organizations and individuals who had participated in the process. The agenda reflects the four major strands of the Hague Appeal: root causes of war and a culture of peace; international humanitarian and human rights law and institutions; prevention, resolution and transformation of violent conflict; and, disarmament and human security.

Statements

GHASSAN OBEID (Syria) said impositions of sanctions in the past few years had become a habit more than ever before. Sanctions should be confined to the targeted State and efforts made to ensure there were no negative effects on third States. They should be imposed with caution and without favouritism or biases. Sanctions should be imposed after in-depth study and a determination that international peace and security was threatened. Previous sanctions had led to negative consequences on third States with serious humanitarian dimensions. Sanctions must be imposed for a specified period and must be lifted as soon as the targeted State had fulfilled its obligations.

He expressed support for the Russian working paper on the examination of the basic principles and criteria for the introduction of sanctions and other coercive methods, describing it as important and worthy of further study. He also supported the joint proposal by the Russian Federation and Belarus reaffirming the immutability of provisions of the Charter, as well as strengthening the role of the United Nations in the area of peace and security. Similarly, Syria supported the proposals of Cuba and Libya on the strengthening of the role and effectiveness of the Organization in the area of international peace and security. Member States should also support those proposals, he said, adding that the Charter Committee was the appropriate body for those discussions.

He said there was no need to do away with the Trusteeship Council, which should be kept in its present form, adding that it posed no financial burden on the Organization.

He thanked the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for the work on the publications of the Repertory and Repertoire, adding that the language in which they were published should be expanded to include all other official United Nations languages.

Drawing attention to a complaint by a representative that her country had not been assigned to a regional group, the Syrian delegate said the Sixth Committee was not the forum for such a subject. The State concerned must live up to its obligations under the Charter before requesting to be assigned to a specific geographic group.

O. AKINSANYA (Nigeria) said sanctions were an extreme measure which should be used with caution and only after all other means of peaceful settlement had been exhausted. They should not be open-ended and they should have concrete goals and be lifted as soon as those goals were achieved. A distinction must be drawn between Charter-based sanctions and unilateral sanctions. He supported Charter- based sanctions which, he said, had international legitimacy.

Concerning assistance to third States, he said it was obvious that those States were entitled to some sort of relief. He could not accept any interpretation of Article 50 which did not support that right. He urged the sanctions committees to embrace several of the suggestions made in the ad hoc expert group’s report and to apply them on a case-by-case basis. After citing examples from the Secretary-General’s report on the positive response from international organizations and specialized agencies to mitigating the effects of sanctions on third States, he said they were evidence of the commitment by the international community to render assistance to third States. However, he noted the views expressed in the report that financial assistance might need to be supplemented by non-financial measures of trade promotion, including special trade preferences, adjustment of tariffs and allocation of quotas.

He noted with concern the increased workload of the International Court of Justice. He complimented the efforts of the Court to achieve operational efficiency and said the international community should complement those internal efforts by increasing the resource base of the Court through increased budgetary allocation. The Repertory and Repertoire were primary sources of information on United Nations activities and useful for research. Future generations were, therefore, bound to benefit from them. He welcomed the proposal for a trust fund for voluntary contributions to facilitate the regular publication of the documents and said Nigeria would contribute to such a fund. He expressed the hope that if junior professionals were recruited for the publishing project, preference would be given to junior professionals from developing countries. On the Trusteeship Council, he said it should not be abolished. It should be reconstituted with a new role that avoided duplication or encroachment into areas already being handled by other bodies. Finally, he added that he expected the Charter Committee to come to terms with the criticisms directed at its working methods.

FARES M. KUINDWA (Kenya) said that while it was true that individual States and regional organizations played an important role in preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping, it remained the primary responsibility of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security as stipulated in the Charter. He thus called for support of the efforts of individual States and regional bodies in the search for maintenance of peace and security. Kenya was located in a region where conflicts had been frequent and indiscriminate. His sub-region was in the unique position of imposing sanctions on a country with which it had strong economic links. Kenya and other countries had suffered profoundly as a result of those sanctions. Economically, its losses were astronomical; psychologically, the experience was intense; and politically, it had been very demanding. He did not favor the imposition or prolongation of sanctions for anything other than the original reasons they were imposed. Sanctions should be targeted, short-term, and lifted immediately after their intended purpose had been achieved.

The mandate of the International Court of Justice could only be successfully achieved if the Court were given the support it urgently required. He expressed the hope that its budgetary requests would be favorably considered. A cautious approach should be taken concerning the Trusteeship Council, so that a relevant and workable mandate could be assigned to the Council. Stating that he would like to see the Charter Committee continue to discuss and examine important questions related to the Charter, he emphasized the importance of coordination between the Committee and other United Nations bodies.

FERRY ADAMHAR (Indonesia) reiterated his Government’s view that the United Nations should reflect the democratic spirit of equality, equity and transparency in representation as well as in the process of decision-making. It was imperative that the Organization should continue to be reviewed and revitalized to ensure its adaptation to the evolving realities of international life. Indonesia had consistently maintained that the role of the General Assembly should be strengthened as a forum for deliberation, negotiation and decision-making on all issues of global concern. It welcomed the revised proposal on the establishment of a dispute prevention and early settlement service.

The working paper on basic conditions and criteria for the introduction of sanctions was a useful background for further work on the subject. The document called for the exclusion of humanitarian as well as medical supplies from the sanctions regime, and reaffirmed the principles of impartiality and non- discrimination as a basis for distribution of those supplies.

Indonesia remained confident that the efforts undertaken to review the working methods of the Charter Committee would enhance its efficiency and the effectiveness. The Charter Committee should continue its work on the questions entrusted to it. The submission of proposals in advance of meetings of the Charter Committee would facilitate their in-depth study and would be cost- effective.

OBOU OURAGA (Cote d’Ivoire) said there was a need to define pragmatic and consistent principles with regard to the impositions of sanctions. Measures needed to be taken to counter the damaging effects such coercive methods as sanctions could have on third States. It was important also though to see that the legitimate interests of the international community in terms of peace and security were preserved. There should be a rationalizing of the humanitarian aspects of sanctions. Their impact on third States should be limited, as should their duration. There should be a just distribution of the burden of sanctions; third States should not bear the consequences alone. A methodology to assess the impact of sanctions should clearly define what constituted a crisis and should identify acceptable exceptions as a way of mitigating the damage sanctions could sometimes cause, particularly in terms of humanitarian aspects.

Concerning peaceful settlement of disputes, his country attached great importance to early prevention and dispute settlement machinery. However, he noted that it was not always possible to get the agreement of antagonists to participate in dispute settlement. Therefore, any machinery should take into account the specific nature of a conflict, as well as cultural considerations that might be relevant. He cautioned that it was difficult to develop miracle recipes for dispute settlement.

Right of Reply

ESTHER EFRAT-SMILG (Israel), speaking in right of reply to the statement of Syria, said she agreed that the same conditions set for other member States concerning regional groups, including Syria, should apply to Israel as well. Unfortunately, that was not the case nor was the situation consistent with the provisions of the Charter. For the record, she said she wanted to repeat the full commitment of Israel to the Charter and all its commitments.

GHASSAN OBEID (Syria), also speaking in right of reply, expressed regret that he had to answer. He reaffirmed that Syria was a peace-loving country. It had been a founding member of the United Nations. Syria did not occupy territory by force. Israel occupied the territory of others by force and did not respect the provisions of the Charter, he said.

ESTHER EFRAT-SMILG (Israel), again exercising right of reply, said the Sixth Committee was not the place to discuss the situation the Middle East. Nevertheless, she said it made her happy to hear that the state of Syria was a peaceful country. She reiterated her country’s call to Syria and Lebanon to resume talks to resolve outstanding bilateral issues. She expressed regret at having to mention that the possibility of peace along the Syrian border was being undermined by Syria. Israel reiterated its position that it was willing to come to peace with its neighbours and looked forward to the future and not the past, she said.

GHASSAN OBEID (Syria), again exercising a right of reply, apologized for taking the floor again but said he felt obligated to comment. The United Nations resolutions were quite clear. Any claim that Syria was against peace was contrary to facts. A United Nations resolution existed which called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories. Syria was ready for peace and wanted to resume negotiations where they had broken off. Syria did not want to start negotiations at ground zero each time. “They create obstacles and force us to come back each time to the beginning”, he said.

United Nations Decade of International Law

THIJS BUCHLI (The Netherlands) introduced the report on the outcome of the conferences held at The Hague and St. Petersburg to commemorate the Centennial of the First International Peace Conference. Speaking on behalf of his country and the other co-host, the Russian Federation, he said present day developments were often quoted during the conference as warranting a shift of the focus of attention away from reactive law and diplomacy, and towards a more preventive, or even pre- emptive interpretation of international obligations and policies.

Entering into the next millenium, implementation of existing international laws and regulations should be more forward-looking, focusing on emerging situations that called for international attention, rather than waiting for such situations to grow out of all proportions before engaging in reactive damage control. A number of speakers at the conferences had called for a study of such preventive international actions. One way of conducting it, he said, would be to call for a global and open debate at expert level. The co-hosts considered it appropriate to inform the General Assembly of the general tenor of the centennial conclusions. Experts had agreed that on the whole no new codification would be need and that there should be faithful and full adherence to present international law.

The co-sponsor of the conferences proposed that the General Assembly should request the Secretary-General to draw the attention of the relevant international forums to the expert conclusions of the Centennial debates and should invite suggestions on them.

KARI HAKAPAA (Finland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said international law was far from being fully developed and implemented despite the goals of the Decade. There were areas in which much remained to be done to secure peaceful settlement of international disputes and full respect for the rules of humanitarian law or the realization of effective disarmament.

The European Union deplored the tragic events in the course of the Decade which showed disrespect for international law. That had been the case in armed conflicts, and the waves of violence had not been left unanswered. The years of the Decade had also witnessed the determination of States to respond to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, and to put an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The establishment of international criminal tribunals highlighted the pursuit of a rule of law integral to the Decade’s objectives. The adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998 was a quantum leap in efforts not only to develop rules of international law but also to make them work as they should.

While the functions of the International Criminal Court would cover accountability for acts already committed, it would no doubt also prove to be a deterrent to future violations. It would be worthy of the Decade’s goals to ensure that the Court was established and fully functioning as soon as possible and that it secured the support and participation of all States. The goal of wider knowledge of international law should also apply to the young generation still forming its vision of the world-to-be. In that educational process, recognition of the importance of international law for the promotion of peace and security should assume a central role. Member States of the European Union had contributed substantially to the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law. The Secretariat should ensure complete and speedy publication of relevant international instruments.

While the European Union commended the expert work of the International Law Commission, it wished that the Commission would keep adjusting its working methods and procedural preferences to the practical demands of changing times. One of the major challenges for the closing of the Decade, as well as for the future, was the protection and preservation of the environment. The growing recognition of the threat posed by man to nature had led to new demands on international law to address global environmental concerns and for new instruments to regulate activities with adverse environmental consequences. An encouraging development during the Decade was the increased confidence shown in the International Court of Justice. One of the responsibilities of Member States was to ensure that adequate resources and working conditions for the Court responded to the confidence shown in its activities. The European Union also noted the contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea concerning the settlement of disputes.

SOCORRO FLORES LIERA (Mexico), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said that despite the difficulties inherent in international law, encouraging results had been achieved during the Decade, particularly concerning codification and promotion of international law. Nevertheless, much remained to be done in terms of respect for international law. The objectives of the Decade were not time- limited and should be considered permanent goals.

One of the concrete achievements of the Decade had been the depositing with the United Nations of the Vienna Convention of 1986 concerning treaties between States and international organizations. She expressed the hope that in addition to the Organization for International Migration (OIM) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), other international organization agencies would consider becoming parties to the Convention. She said that the Secretary- General’s report described the impressive amount of activities undertaken in the Americas during the Decade. A number of judicial instruments had been introduced that dealt with issues such as forced disappearances, violence against women, illicit traffic in minors, corruption, illicit arms trafficking, and discrimination against the disabled. All those topics had been considered with very positive results and many other legal instruments had been introduced as well during the Decade.

She noted that to commemorate the anniversaries of the American Convention on Human Rights as well as the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, official ceremonies would be held in November in Costa Rica. In conclusion, she said the General Assembly should establish foundations for the international community so that its work with respect to international law could continue and achieve further results in the near future.

PARK HEE-KWON (Republic of Korea) said that throughout history, peace conferences had usually been held after a war. The first Hague Conference was unique, however, as it was convened to elaborate instruments for the pacific settlement of international crises, the prevention of war and the codification of the rules of warfare. Its purpose was to design a road map for maintaining international peace and security, and the 1899 Hague Conference had indeed heralded the beginning of what was known as open-ended multilateral diplomacy. Of the three themes of the 1899 Conference, it failed mainly in the area of disarmament. The participants were unable to reach agreement on three key issues; whether to reduce the number of effective armed forces or the military budget or both; how to guarantee verification of an agreement; and, what effect such an agreement would have on the development of arms technology.

The Hague Conference’s contribution to peaceful settlement of international disputes was undeniable in terms of defining the nature of arbitration and in codifying rules of procedure. Its important promotion of the concept of codification had contributed significantly to the development of international law. Furthermore, the idea of a permanent international court was born at the Conference, and today’s International Court of Justice was a descendent of that movement. He credited the first Hague Conference for the impressive array of international legal achievements over the past 100 years, saying that was where the international community first began to explore the development of international law and its codification.

The international scene had taken on a fundamental new dimension thanks to the active and participatory presence of international organizations, non- governmental organizations and civil society. The dramatic industrial and technological advances as well as the information revolution also contributed to a tremendous evolution. The maintenance of international peace and security remained one of humanity’s most important obligations in the coming era. He echoed the Secretary-General’s call for the “creation of a culture of peace” to meet that challenge in the next millennium. “The ideals and visions that lay at the heart of the first Hague Peace Conference must endure as a beacon of light illuminating the path to a global culture of peace based on the international rule of law”, he said.

The conclusion of the Decade should not mean an end to efforts for advancing the rule of international law but rather it should mark a new beginning to renewed and determined efforts by the international community. He supported the idea that the programmes of the Decade continue beyond the year 1999.

HIROSHI KAWAMURA (Japan) said his country hoped that substantive and early progress would be made in disarmament and arms control in the light of the conclusions of the centennial conferences. Efforts should be made to work out concrete measures to promote compliance with international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict. Japan believed that the existing mechanisms for dispute settlement would encourage States to make greater efforts to use them.

The International Court of Justice was playing a very important role in peaceful settlement of disputes and States should accept its compulsory jurisdiction. He announced that Japan had recently contributed $24,000 to assist States in the judicial settlement of disputes through the Court. Japan’s annual contributions to a trust fund for that purpose were a clear expression of its support of the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes.

The main purposes of the Decade of International Law had largely been achieved and Japan was pleased that many multilateral conventions on various fields were adopted under the auspices of the United Nations during the Decade. He recalled in particular, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on the Safety of the United Nations and Associated Personnel. In addition, he said considerable achievement had also been made in the progressive development of international law and its codification.

Japan had made a contribution for the promotion of the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.

MARCELO VAZQUE (Ecuador) said the results of the Decade had been positive for the progressive development and codification of international law. Many instruments of international law had been approved by organizations within the United Nations system and regional bodies. He also referred to the increasing recourse by States to the International Court of Justice, and he noted the strong participation of developing countries in all those activities. The United Nations had been able to take up the challenge in providing responses to international disputes. But it was not enough to create norms of international law; States had to respect them. The United Nations must make renewed efforts to ensure that that was done.

Ecuador always supported and contributed to the work of the United Nations to attain those objectives. His country was committed to norms of international law and had become a party to a number of international instruments. He mentioned a bilateral agreement between his country and Peru whose provisions could be an example to other States in the peaceful settlement of disputes. It contained provisions on confidence-building measures. Ecuador believed that the noble themes of the first Hague Peace Conference, including disarmament and peaceful settlement of disputes, were still applicable today.

M. AHCENE KERMA (Algeria) expressed satisfaction that the various activities undertaken during the Decade had contributed so much to the objectives that had been set out. In light of the fact that so many more States, including Arab and African States, were seeking recourse to the International Court of Justice for the resolution of disputes between them, he said the international community should listen more closely to the Court’s need for greater financial and human resources. The recent significant progress that had been achieved in terms of codification and promotion of international law was evidenced by the conventions on banning landmines, on terrorist bombings and the establishment of the International Criminal Court. He also cited the Law of Sea and the numerous legal texts on trade law that had been adopted. He said he was pleased to note that the tribunal of the Law of Sea had begun to function.

All the efforts undertaken on behalf of the objectives of the Decade, would have been in vain without the help of the Legal Office in assisting with conferences and seminars, he said. Furthermore, relevant publications had made it possible to promote the aim of the dissemination of international law. Among the most important achievements of the Decade, was the convening of a centennial celebration of the First Hague Peace Conference. The commemoration was justified because of the enormous contribution that conference had made to international law. It was interesting to note that the subjects discussed back then revolved around the very issues that were being discussed in current times. He congratulated the Russian Federation and The Netherlands as well as all those who contributed to the formulation of the Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice.

Concerning the progressive development of international law, he said sovereignty was a fundamental principle of international law. While codification of international law was a noble task, the universality of international law necessarily required the participation of numerous states. Particular attention should be paid to the diversity of states and their legal and social cultures. The various legal regimes should all have the opportunity to participate in the formulation of new laws. Such laws would then have greater legitimacy and universality, he said. Algeria was committed to the attainment of the objectives set out for the Decade. Despite the significant progress, though, much remained to be done to provide a definitive foundation for the primacy of international law.

RENATO L. CAYETANO (Philippines) said the principles of international law had become an indispensable tool in the achievement of global security and stability. The Southeast Asia region had established a regional dispute settlement mechanism for that purpose, the Regional Forum of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Forum had made significant progress during the past five years. The ASEAN officials were currently preparing a paper on the concept and principles of preventive diplomacy for discussion by the Forum.

The work of the International Law Commission should be strengthened in the area of codification and progressive development of international law, taking account of the changing international reality. He commended the various organizations that had furthered the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law. Those activities were important to the legal empowerment programme which he had introduced in the Philippines Senate. It helped the empowerment of people, guaranteeing full respect for human rights, and eventually the betterment of society and the strengthening of society as a whole. He supported the continuation of the activities of the Decade. * *** *