SIXTH COMMITTEE ELECTS BUREAU, APROVES SCHEDULE OF WORK

Press Release
GA/L/3142

SIXTH COMMITTEE ELECTS BUREAU, APROVES SCHEDULE OF WORK

The Chairman of the Sixth Committee (Legal) called for a reaffirmation of the importance of legal principles and values in international relations, as the Committee met this morning to organize its schedule for the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly.

Noting that the Committee agenda was particularly full this year, Chairman Mauro Politi (Italy) pointed out that the central priority of those values were prominent features of both the annual report on the work of the Organization as well as of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

He identified the establishment of the International Criminal Court, and measures to eliminate international terrorism, as two of the Committee’s more pressing items.

The adoption of the Rome Statute marked a fundamental step and a revolutionary innovation in the development of international law, he said, adding “Our task is to allow the Preparatory Commission to complete its mandate and to adopt the remaining documents to make the Court fully operational upon entry into force of the Statute.”

On the question of international terrorism, he said the Committee would examine a draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, the convening of a high-level conference on terrorism, as well as a draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

The work schedule for the 14 items assigned to it by the General Assembly this session is as follows:

-- Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), 9 to 10 October;

-- Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Organization, 11 to 13 October;

-- Progressive development of the principles and norms of international law relating to the new international economic order, 16 October;

-- Review of the statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations, 16 to 17 October;

Sixth Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/L/3142 2nd Meeting (AM) 25 September 2000

-- Establishment of the International Criminal Court, 18 to 20 October;

-- Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives, 18 October;

-- Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, 20 October;

-- Report of the International Law Commission, 23 October to 3 November;

-- Observer Status of the Inter-American Development Bank in the General Assembly, 10 November;

-- Observer Status for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in the General Assembly, 10 November;

-- Measures to eliminate international terrorism, 13 to 15 November;

-- Report of the Committee on the Relations with the Host Country, 15 November;

-- Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property, 17 November;

-- Nationality of natural persons in relation to succession of States, 16 November.

The Committee elected as its three Vice-Chairmen: Salah Suheimat (Jordan), Marcelo Vazquez (Ecuador), and Kenjika Ekedede (Nigeria). Drahoslav Stefanek (Slovakia) was elected Rapporteur.

Also elected as chairmen of two of the Committee’s working groups were: Rohan Perera (Sri Lanka) for the ad hoc Committee on international terrorism, in the framework of a working group of the Sixth Committee; and, Gerhard Hafner (Austria) for the open-ended working group on jurisdictional immunities.

After the adjournment of the meeting, the Committee’s working group on international terrorism began its work.

The Committee will meet again in plenary on 9 October to begin consideration of the report UNCITRAL.

Statement by Chairman

MAURO POLITI (Italy), Chairman of the Sixth Committee, in his opening statement, called for a reaffirmation of the importance of legal principles and values in international relations. He said the central priority of those values had been underlined by the Secretary-General in his most recent report on the work of the Organization, and permeated the text of the United Nations

Sixth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/L/3142 2nd Meeting (AM) 25 September 2000

Millennium Declaration. “We, as members of the Sixth Committee, cannot but welcome and support such a proposition”, he said.

This year, the Committee’s agenda was particularly full, with 14 items to be discussed. Since 1994, the establishment of the International Criminal Court had been at the centre of the Committee’s debates, he continued. In six years, the process had come a long way. The adoption of the Rome Statute marked a fundamental step and a revolutionary innovation in the development of international law. The Preparatory Commission had done an outstanding job in finalizing, last June, the rules of procedure and evidence and the elements of crimes. So far 113 States had signed the Statute and 21 had deposited their instrument of ratification. “Our task is to allow the Preparatory Commission to complete its mandate and to adopt the remaining documents to make the Court is fully operational upon entry into force of the Statute”, he said.

The question of international terrorism was also of the utmost importance. While tangible results had been achieved in the past few years, much remained to be done. The Committee would continue to examine outstanding aspects of the draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, and the convening of a high-level conference on terrorism under the auspices of the United Nations. The Committee would also begin consideration of a draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

He noted that the debate on the report of the International Law Commission would, as usual, represent one of the high moments of the session and give rise to an extremely valuable exchange of views on the process of codification and progressive development of international law. In that debate, it would be crucial during the debate for Member States to advance clear and articulated positions on the various subjects as well as concrete answers to key questions submitted to them.

In conclusion, he quoted from Aristotle’s Politics: “Law is order, and good law is good order.” The Committee’s objective, he said, should be to advance international law according to that simple but quite challenging standard.

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