SIXTH COMMITTEE, REVIEWING UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, HEARS TRIBUTES AND RESERVATIONS

Press Release
GA/L/3112

SIXTH COMMITTEE, REVIEWING UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, HEARS TRIBUTES AND RESERVATIONS

The Cyprus problem would not have arisen if the relevant rules of international law had been applied, the representative of that country told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this afternoon as it continued discussion of the United Nations Decade of International Law.

The representative of Cyprus said if those rules were applied today, the international aspects of that long-standing problem could be resolved quickly and fairly for all the parties concerned, and in the interests of peace in that volatile region. Cyprus had accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and had repeatedly declared its willingness to have the Court adjudicate and pronounce upon the legal aspects of the problem, parallel to other methods of dispute resolution. That was in accord with the position put forward repeatedly by the Court itself, he said.

Speakers in the debate referred to the many legal instruments and protocols signed and ratified during the Decade and paid tribute to the work of a number of organizations within the United Nations system that were responsible for those achievements. The representative of the Solomon Islands, while acknowledging the achievements of the Decade, said activities carried out during the period should be continued and the millions around the world should be informed about international law. The representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said that although much effort had been expended on the Decade’s objectives of promoting respect for international law, the Decade had also witnessed events that ran counter to the acknowledged principles of international law. There had been attempts to interfere with the sacrosanct status of national sovereignty. Countries which rejected unjust directives in order to safeguard their sovereignty were labelled “rogue” States by those who sought to suffocate them.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Jamaica, San Marino, Costa Rica, Brazil, Russian Federation, Norway, China, New Zealand and Cote d’Ivoire.

The President of the Permanent Court of Arbitration also made a statement in which he noted that the organization, an intergovernmental body, last May celebrated its 100th anniversary.

The Sixth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, 19 October to continue its discussion of the United Nations Decade of International Law which concludes this year.

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to continue its discussion of activities organized under the auspices of the United Nations Decade of International Law (1990-1999).

Statements

GLADYS YOUNG (Jamaica), noting that over 70 conventions had been concluded during the Decade, said they were an indication of the developments made in international law, especially in the areas of environment, trade, criminal and maritime law. Jamaica attached great importance to keeping abreast of the tremendous developments in environmental law and playing an instrumental role in the further progression and codification of that law. The Convention on Biological Diversity was a fine example of the impact that international environmental law had on other areas of international law. The principles of “polluter pays” and the “precautionary principle” had been incorporated partially or completely into numerous environmental conventions.

Progress had also been made in the area of international criminal law, notably mutual legal assistance, illegal manufacturing and trafficking in arms, illicit drug trafficking and terrorism, she said, citing in particular the International Criminal Court. She noted developments in maritime law and the codification of international law through regional agreements. She thanked the governments of the Netherlands and Russia for their organization of the Centennial celebrations. The conferences organized were of benefit to the States that had participated. Speaking specifically of her country’s activities, she said Jamaica was in the process of establishing a comprehensive treaty registry.

ANDREAS JACOVIDES (Cyprus) said his country was convinced that if the relevant rules of international law had been applied, the Cyprus problem would not have arisen. If they were applied today, the international aspects of that longstanding problem could be resolved quickly and fairly for all parties concerned, and in the interests of peace in the volatile region.

Cyprus had accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, (ICJ) and had repeatedly declared its willingness to have the Court adjudicate and pronounce upon the legal aspects of the problem along the same lines as other methods of dispute resolution. That was in accord with the position put forward repeatedly by the Court itself, he said.

As part of a consistent pattern of relying on the law and judicial means of dispute settlement, Cyprus did not hesitate to resort to national and regional courts. Cyprus had made it a deliberate policy to participate in all United Nations legal conferences. With the conclusion of the Decade, it was important to look back for stocktaking. Satisfaction could be derived from the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Decade.

He observed that the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement offered fertile ground for promoting international law activities, as well as the objectives of the Decade. The substantial increase in the workload of the ICJ had been a feature of the Decade. It should be accompanied by an increase in the Court’s resources.

ENRICA TADDEI (San Marino) attached great importance to the promotion of arbitration for the peaceful settlement of disputes, and acknowledged the work carried out by the International Court of Arbitration. The increased number of its cases was a sign of its efficiency and expertise. Among other instruments, she noted the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which in accordance with the Convention on the Settlement of Disputes between States and Nationals of other States, provided facilities for the conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes between State Parties to the Convention and Nationals of other contracting States.

She said her country was also interested in attempts that States or legal entities might undertake to establish structures or facilities for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Her government had recently established a court of arbitration that it hoped would become an internationally recognized instrument for the impartial and reliable settlement of commercial and political disputes. The court was not a competitor to the existing international instruments but aimed to cooperate with them. The initiative had already been discussed with Member States last June.

TJACO T. VAN DEN HAUT, President of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, said the Centennial of the 1899 First International Peace Conference also coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Court, an intergovernmental organization. During the second conference of members of the Court on the occasion of the anniversary last May, the United Nations Secretary-General, in an opening address, referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration as the predecessor of the League of Nations with its Permanent Court of International Justice, and of the United Nations with its International Court of Justice.

The Observer said that both organizations, based at The Hague, were devoted to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Since 1996, the Permanent Court of Arbitration had administered as registry, six arbitral tribunals, one of which was a dispute between Eritrea and Yemen concerning sovereignty over a number of islands. Although the Court was not currently administering, as registry, international commercial arbitration, it was closely in touch with what happened in that field.

Since 1996 he said, the organization had also handled more than 50 complicated requests concerning the appointment of arbitrators where parties in dispute were unable to constitute the tribunals themselves. The International Council for Commercial Arbitration had in the last few years sought cooperation with the Court to issue important publications. He said he intended to inform the Sixth Committee during the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly on the progress made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, through the use of the most modern technology, towards being a true repository of information on alternative methods of peaceful dispute resolution. That was called for, he said, by the Conference of Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at their second conference in May.

He also announced that the Court was currently taking steps to equip itself to handle environmental disputes with an international dimension. It might well prove to be the appropriate forum for handling such sensitive problems

The proposal by San Marino to establish an arbitral institution under the name “Permanent Court of Arbitration” would not serve that objective, he said. On the contrary, if supported by Member States, the ensuing result would lead to great confusion with members of the international community seeking recourse to The Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration -– the legal titleholder of the name Permanent Court of Arbitration, and would put the integrity of the organization in jeopardy.

DR. BERND NIEHAUS (Costa Rica) expressed satisfaction at the numerous and diverse legal conventions which had been concluded. With the aim of consolidating the achievements of the Decade, he proposed a signing ceremony of the various instruments held in the context of the Millennium Assembly as an appropriate follow-up step to the activities undertaken during the Decade.

Citing the thirtieth and twentieth anniversaries of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the establishment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, respectively, he said those instruments formed the basis of the American system of international protection of human rights. They had made a worthy contribution to the development of international law both regionally and globally. Twenty-five States had ratified or adhered to the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, while twenty-one states had accepted the Court's jurisdiction over disputes. The anniversaries would be celebrated on 22 November in San Jose, Costa Rica.

MARCEL BIATO (Brazil) said the past ten years had also been a decade of international law for his country. Brazil had established a national plan for human rights, as provided for by the 1995 Vienna Convention, and adopted a refugee statute. Regionally, Brazil had accepted the obligatory jurisdiction of the Inter- American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. The study and practice of regional integration law had been fostered, and international law had become a core subject in law-school curricula. He thanked the Governments of the Netherlands and Russia for the centennial celebrations.

It was unfortunate, he said, that the legal international framework for arms control had not advanced at the desired pace. He supported the view that the Sixth Committee should give increased attention to discussion of the legal aspects of disarmament and arms control. In the field of humanitarian law, the moral imperative of further disseminating its philosophy and practical applications should be backed up by stronger and stricter rules for the prosecution of serious offenders. He concluded by suggesting that efforts be continued to generate public awareness of international law, to develop study programmes at the university level, and for governmental and non-governmental international law commissions to take an active part in organizing and promoting those initiatives.

ALEXANDRE ZMEEVSKI (Russia) said the Decade had made a serious contribution to strengthening the rule of international law in international relations. The past ten years had witnessed the enhancing of the universality of international law. Moreover, the judicial positions of States had steadily converged as well. He commended the activities of the United Nations aimed at encouraging respect for international law. Nevertheless, he said, the United Nations potential for action in that field was far from exhausted. Efforts were still needed in the area of peaceful settlement of disputes, improving the sanctions regime, and strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and international organizations.

International law must be adapted to the new realities. That adaptation must be realized with full respect for the provisions of the Charter. Recent developments worldwide made the formulation of norms and standards in international law imperative, he said, citing in particular emergency humanitarian situations.

Russia attached great significance to the objectives of the Decade, and had created a national committee which had organized a number of activities and sponsored seminars. He noted that the centennial celebrations of the first Hague Peace Conference had come about as a result of a proposal by the Russian Federation at the United Nations Jubilee Assembly in 1995. The purpose of the commemoration had been to focus the attention of the entire international community on the need to respect and observe the international rule of law. Governments and non- governmental organizations as well as regional organizations and specialized agencies had participated in the discussions and symposia of the conference.

Citing again a need to restore the capacity of the United Nations to respond to the challenges of the twentieth century, he said an appropriate follow-up to the Conference and the Decade would be the holding of new decentralized conferences on the subject. He called for the Sixth Committee to support such a project.

CHOE MYONG NAM (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) said much effort had been expended in the past ten years on the Decade’s objectives of promoting respect for international law, and its codification and promotion of methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes. The Decade had also sought to encourage the teaching, study and dissemination of international law. The activities undertaken were indicative of the aspirations of the international community. Unfortunately, the Decade had witnessed certain disappointing events which ran counter to the acknowledged principles of international law.

There had been attempts to interfere with the sacrosanct status of national sovereignty. Some countries had felt no scruples about encroaching upon the sovereignty of other countries and devastating the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people by undertaking military invasions. An example was the recent NATO air-strikes against the former Yugoslavia. “Such acts are an extreme instance of high-handedness and arbitrariness on the part of countries that have been pursuing a political and military strategy, backed by force, to subordinate or stifle small and independent countries in today’s world, following the disappearance of the East-West confrontation”, he said. Countries which rejected unjust directives in order to safeguard their sovereignty were labeled “rogue” States by those who sought to suffocate them politically, economically and militarily. Devoid of the principle of respect for national sovereignty, international law could serve no purpose.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said the issues that had been on the agenda of the Centennial celebrations were no less important today than they were one hundred years ago -- namely the issues of disarmament and demobilization, humanitarian law, laws of war, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. With respect to humanitarian law, he shared the view that priority should be given to promoting compliance with existing law rather than adopting a number of new instruments, although some development of existing law remained desirable in some important fields. At this stage, efforts should be directed at activating national signature and ratification procedures to secure an early establishment of the International Criminal Court.

He paid tribute to the efforts which had led to the completion of a United Nations project establishing a new electronic treaty base. That updated information promoted knowledge and respect for treaties. The promotion of means and methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, including resort to and full respect for the ICJ, was in his view, a core purpose of the Decade. The Court contributed significantly to the settlement of international disputes, as well as to the interpretation and development of international law. Noting that there had been an increase in the cases brought before the ICJ in the past ten years, he said Norway was pleased to learn that the Court’s budgetary requests had been favorably received.

SUN GUOSHUN (China) said his country was happy and excited to see that many of the Decade’s objectives had basically been achieved. Noting that China was one of the original 26 participants at the first Hague Peace Conference, he said that meeting had been a milestone in the history of the development of international law. He expressed congratulations and gratitude to the Governments of the Netherlands and the Russian Federation for the success of the commemorating conferences. During the Decade, China had sponsored several symposia. International law, as a legal means for adjusting international relations and promoting international cooperation, had developed continually and had steadily improved since its inception and had now become a fairly complete system of law. In recent years, mankind had succeeded in avoiding the calamities of large-scale war, but local conflicts had proliferated, severely constraining the healthy development of human civilization. The establishment of a just and equitable new international order should be based on the basic principles of contemporary international law. It was, therefore, necessary to vigorously promote the dissemination, understanding, acceptance and universal observance of international law, so that it could play its due role in the establishment of a new international order. China was willing to join other countries in a continued effort to promote the development and dissemination of international law in the spirit of the Decade.

ANDREW BEGG (New Zealand) said his country had been very active and supportive of the Decade domestically. A New Zealand branch of the International Law Association had been established in Wellington. New Zealand had also ratified several significant multilateral treaties, including the convention on the safety of United Nations personnel. He looked forward to a time when the convention enjoyed universal support, and urged States to become parties. He supported the call by Canada for an additional protocol to the Convention to extend legal protection to locally employed United Nations staff, citing the deaths of a number of East Timorese employed by the United Nations.

New Zealand had also ratified a number of counter-terrorism instruments, he said. He also cited his country’s participation in the nuclear test-ban treaty, the International Criminal Court treaty, and the ban on landmines. New Zealand was also in the process of updating publications in the treaty series. During the Decade, many significant milestones in the codification of international law had been achieved. Yet the more difficult challenge remained -- to ensure that the principles of those treaties were respected and enforced.

NOEL EMMANUEL. GUEBO AHIPEAUD (Cote d’ Ivoire) said the results of the Decade in the area of international law were a matter for great satisfaction. Many conventions and protocols had been signed and ratified, including those designed to safeguard the ozone layer, the international convention protecting the right of migrant workers and their families, and the framework convention on climate change.

However, special interests had too often influenced respect for international law, he said. Greater efforts were needed not to codify international law but to implement it. Only in that way could trust and confidence grow and establish itself between peoples, between the small and the great. He called for the creation of a mechanism to verify and assess the extent to which States respected international law. HAROLD FRUCHTBAUM (Solomon Islands) said there was a vital need to reach the millions who had not been touched by the work done in promoting international law. Very little reference had been made to the man or woman in the street in the statements commending the achievements of the Decade. He suggested the enlistment of the mass media, including films and television, to inform the excluded millions about international humanitarian law. The community of filmmakers and writers should be encouraged to produce materials on the theme. The work of the Decade should not be deemed to have come to an end. The struggle to bring international law to the mass of mankind had just begun.

* *** *