Fifty-sixth General Assembly

Sixth Committee

6^th Meeting (AM)

UNITED STATES EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO FAMILIES OF UN-SUPPORTED

AFGHAN PERSONNEL KILLED IN OPERATIONS AGAINST KABUL

Legal Committee Told Safety of Civilians Has High Priority;

Debate On Protection of Peacekeepers, Other Mission Members is Concluded

The United States this morning expressed condolences to the families and friends of the four Afghan employees of Afghan Technical Consultants, a United Nations-supported organization, who were killed in Kabul yesterday, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its debate of legal protection for personnel involved in United Nations peacekeeping and other missions.

The representative of the United States told the Committee that investigations were currently under way into the circumstances of their deaths.  He said the United States placed a very high priority on the safety of all civilians and non-combatants, including humanitarian workers and other innocent people.  In ongoing operations the United States was committed to minimizing casualties, and damage to civilian property, in actions against terrorism.  It was taking every precaution to avoid injury to those who were not in targeted groups.

The Sixth Committee is discussing ways of strengthening protection under the 1994 Convention on the Safety to United Nations and Associated Personnel and to broaden it to cover humanitarian workers not associated with the Organization in missions in the field.  It had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the subject.

Also speaking in the debate –- which was concluded this morning –- were the representatives of Liechtenstein, Ecuador, Cuba, Israel, Iran, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Poland, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Sixth Committee also began 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.

Introducing the report, Mirza Cristina Gnecco of Colombia, Chairperson of the 2001 session of the Special Committee, said since 1975, the Special Committee had played a decisive role in the maintenance of international peace and security, and in the development of friendly relations among States.  It had also contributed to the promotion of international law and the rule of law in international relations.

Statements on the reports were made by the representatives of Chile (on behalf of the Rio group), Belarus and Belgium (on behalf of the European union and associated States).

The Sixth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, 11 October, to continue its debate of the report of the Charter Committee on the work of its 2001 session which took place at Headquarters from 2 to 12 April.

The Sixth Committee (Legal) meets this morning to conclude its debate on the scope of legal protection under the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.  It will immediately take up the report of the 2001 session of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization which was held at Headquarters from 2 to 12 April (document A/56/33).

The Special Committee's recommendations to the General Assembly, embodied in the report, covered, among other issues, assistance to third countries affected by sanctions imposed under Chapter VII of the Charter and the strengthening of the Organization’s role in the maintenance of international peace and security.

The Special Committee said that during its current session the General Assembly should consider, “in an appropriate substantive manner and framework”, the results of the meeting of the ad hoc expert group which worked on the methodology for assisting third countries affected by sanctions.  It strongly encouraged the Secretary-General to expedite the preparation of his report -– requested by the General Assembly last year -– on the same topic, taking into account work undertaken by the Security Council, the General Assembly itself, and its subsidiary organs, and the Economic and Social Council.

In his report (document A/56/303), the Secretary-General states that a temporary, informal working group of the Security Council had examined the issue of unintended impact of sanctions on third countries and assistance to them, but had been unable to reach a consensus on the recommendations.  Following an exchange of views, members of the Council had decided to consider the issue again at a later stage.

The relevant intergovernmental bodies were still reviewing questions about the Secretariat’s ability to implement the intergovernmental mandates and recommendations of the ad hoc expert group, the report states.  It also deals with recent developments related to the role of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the question of assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions.

During the Special Committee's debate of the sanctions question in its working group of the whole at the session, support was expressed for so-called “smart sanctions” or targeted sanctions to mitigate or eliminate the undesired negative effects.  Some delegations favoured the establishment of monitoring mechanisms, as well as the creation of exemptions and mechanisms for ending sanctions at an appropriate time.

The Special Committee recognized the value of continuing the consideration of measures to ensure the revitalization of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations, to exercise effectively and efficiently the functions assigned to it under the Charter.  It recognized the important efforts being undertaken by the President of the General Assembly to improve the Assembly’s working methods.

On assistance to and coordination between the Special Committee and working groups on the revitalization of the Organization, the report recommends that the General Assembly should express the readiness of the Special Committee to provide, within its mandate, such assistance as may be sought by the Assembly’s subsidiary bodies.

During its session, the Special Committee's working group of the whole examined a number of proposals relating to the following:  maintenance of international peace and security; peaceful settlement of disputes between States; the Trusteeship Council; ways and means of improving working methods of the Special Committee and the identification of new subjects.

The Special Committee considered two papers submitted by the Russian Federation on the “Basic conditions and standard criteria for the introduction of sanctions and other coercive measures and their implementation” and the fundamentals of the legal basis for United Nations peacekeeping operations in the context of Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter.

The Special Committee considered a number of working papers again submitted by Libya, Cuba and jointly by Belarus and Russian Federation.

Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom jointly submitted a further revised draft resolution on dispute prevention and settlement.  While welcoming it, some delegations said it could be further enriched by recent developments as well as previous resolutions and declarations on the subject.  Owing to lack of time, there was no paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the operative paragraphs of the revised working paper.

On the question of the future of the Trusteeship Council, some delegations said it would be premature to abolish it or to assign new functions to it.  Its retention had no financial implications.  Another view was that it should be removed from the books of the United Nations.

The ongoing efforts by the Secretary-General to reduce the backlog in the publication of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council were commended.  The two publications were seen as important sources of information on implementation of the United Nations Charter and the work of its organs.  It was noted that a Trust Fund for updating the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council had been established in May 2000, to which the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Finland had already contributed.

As in previous sessions, the Charter Committee discussed its working methods, with some delegations calling for its streamlining.  They said the Special Committee should concentrate at each session on a few selected topics, closely coordinating its work with other United Nations bodies to avoid unnecessary duplication.  They also suggested that time limits should be set for consideration of proposals.

Statements

JONATHAN HUSTON (Liechtenstein) said the efficacy of the United Nations, as a guarantor of peace and provider of humanitarian assistance, was seriously diminished if the safety of its staff could not be ensured.  Strengthening the protection of those personnel saved individual lives and the Organization.

He said the Convention, in its current form, suffered from an inadequate mechanism for the protection of personnel engaged in non-peacekeeping United Nations operations.  He welcomed means to facilitate the triggering of a declaration under article 1 c (ii) of the Convention.  He also agreed with the Secretary-General that the relevant provisions of the Convention should be included in status-of-forces and status-of-mission agreements concluded between the United Nations and States in whose territories peacekeeping operations were deployed.

To improve the implementation of the Convention, he would support the elaboration of new mechanisms to enhance the protection of personnel already covered and those not covered by the Convention.  Similarly, humanitarian personnel operating in a neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory manner should also enjoy the protection envisaged in the Convention, whether or not such personnel were technically linked to the United Nations.  No humanitarian personnel, irrespective of United Nations affiliation, should be subject to the crimes enumerated in the Convention, he added.

MARCELO VAZQUEZ (Ecuador) said it was disquieting and of grave concern to see the increase in hostage-taking, rapes, illegal detentions and other assaults in United Nations operations that were so fundamental to the work of the Organization.  He paid homage to those who continued to make such heroic efforts despite the risks in the field.  There was no doubt that strengthening international law in this area would play an important role in deterring such attacks.

He said the adoption of the 1994 Convention was a key step.  Ecuador had acceded to the Convention in December 2000 and hoped the ratifications would continue to increase rapidly.  Nevertheless, there were clearly gaps left in the coverage of the Convention.  Several of the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report would help bolster the protective regime, such as the incorporation of key provisions of the Convention into status-of-forces and status-of-mission agreements.

Also, it was a good idea to provide protection to personnel who were not participating in peacekeeping missions and to conclude a specific agreement with the host country.  When there were indications of exceptional risk, the Secretary-General was the one most aware and who had access to the necessary information.  Therefore it was only right that he be the one who to determine when such a declaration should be made.  He also noted that locally recruited personnel were increasingly the target of attacks.

SORAYA ELENA ALVAREZ-NUNEZ (Cuba) said a debate on the scope of the Convention at this time was of undeniable importance and urgency.  The Secretary-General’s report was an important frame of reference for discussion of the issue. Cuba considered the text of the Convention a delicate balance between the rights and obligations of parties, as well as for those who should benefit from its protection.

She stressed the importance of countries adopting timely and effective measures to bring the perpetrators of attacks to justice.  It was also of key importance for the parties to a conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to cooperate actively with the United Nations and other organizations to protect United Nations and associated personnel.  Some of the Secretary-General’s recommendations could help strengthen the protective regime.

She said she was aware of the need, for United Nations personnel, in carrying out their functions, to respect the laws of host countries and to uphold the principle of impartiality.  The General Assembly might wish to consider related proposals on that issue that had been presented in other forums.  Cuba was convinced that the current impunity for some of those appalling crimes must be brought to an end.

ARTHUR LENK (Israel) said that because of difficulties caused by the violence in the Middle East over the past year, and the continuing humanitarian concern in the region brought on by terrorism and Palestinian violence, Israel recognized the great need for the important efforts of United Nations organizations and other international personnel.  Israel did its best to facilitate those efforts within the continuing concerns of security for its citizens, for other residents of the region and for those international personnel working there.

While Member States must make every effort to protect United Nations and associated personnel, there should also be a recognition of security obligations by the humanitarian and peacekeeping missions themselves.  It was impossible to comprehend how schools or work projects run by the United Nations could be permitted to be used as bases, firing areas, or hiding places for terrorists.  Those terrorists endangered not only their targets –- such as Israeli civilians or military personnel -— but consciously put at risk many of their own countrymen, especially children and refugees, as well as -- in the context of today’s discussion -- United Nations personnel and the symbols and reputations of vital international organizations.

He said the United Nations must stand up clearly to hosts, such as the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon, and clearly challenge those who allowed for such dangers in areas under their jurisdiction.  Additionally, United Nations and associated personnel must allow those States which took responsibility for the protection of the personnel to undertake that responsibility without recrimination and with understanding.  Over the past year, Israel had actually been criticized by certain United Nations organizations for making efforts to protect its own people and others in the region, including United Nations personnel.  It was true that such activity sometimes caused limitations to access for aid workers or officials.  Sometimes roads and borders could be closed, but Israel made every effort to keep those limitations to a minimum.

Especially now, only a month after the horrific attack in New York, the international community must work together not to allow the continued threatening of the security of civilians or of international personnel.

SAEID MIRZAEE-YENGEJEH (Iran) said the first problem concerning the application of the Convention was that, except for Croatia, host countries to United Nations operations were not among the 54 States which were party to it.  It was a matter of concern that United Nations personnel were dispatched to such areas.  The second problem was that the Convention did not automatically apply to United Nations political missions and the United Nations humanitarian, development and human rights presence.

He said the application of the Convention to those types of missions was conditional upon a declaration by the General Assembly or the Security Council that there existed an exceptional risk to the safety of the personnel participating in the operations.  The third problem, as stated by the Secretariat, was the question of application of the Convention with respect to humanitarian non-governmental organizations and locally recruited personnel, which was in doubt.

He said measures proposed by the Secretariat to strengthen the Convention were useful and practical, and did not require it being amended.  Another practical measure proposed was the incorporation of the Convention’s key provisions into the status-of-forces or status-of-missions agreements.  The obligations contained in the Convention would also be binding upon the State in whose territory United Nations peacekeeping operations or other missions were deployed.  The proposal about a protocol to the Convention to extend its scope of protection required careful attention and consideration.

ARNOLDO M. LISTRE (Argentina) said his Government was concerned about the safety of United Nations and associated personnel on missions.  The real state of affairs went beyond the scope of the Convention.  The starting point for protecting such personnel could be found in the primary obligation of the host country to peacekeeping operations.  The application of that principle had not been sufficient, he said.

Argentina believed there was need for a protocol to the Convention to cover all other personnel, including local staff, on United Nations missions.  It therefore supported the Secretary-General’s proposal on the subject which should be discussed in a working group.  The grave situation posed by attacks on local personnel had to be tackled realistically.  He noted that international staff enjoyed a different status, and that protection provided by the Convention did not appear to cover “locals” as well.

More effective means, including severe penalties, should be employed to deal with attacks on local personnel.  The application of international humanitarian law fell outside the scope of the Convention.  Every avenue and point of view should be explored.  There was need for a frank and open dialogue on the issue. States that had not signed or ratified the Convention should be given the opportunity to explain their failure to do so.  He urged the establishment of the working group.

ALLIEU I. KANU (Sierra Leone) said his country, which hosted United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) with a troop strength of 16,664 as of 5 September, was committed to support any measure that would accord greater protection to United Nations operations.  It welcomed the Secretary-General’s recommendations on measures to strengthen the existing regime of the Convention.

It also supported the proposal to include key provisions of the Convention in the status-of-forces and status-of-mission agreements.  It was important that peacekeeping operations were granted at least minimum protection, regardless of whether the host State was party to the Convention, he said.

The adoption of a protocol to the Convention would offer the proper means to establish a more comprehensive protection regime, and particularly extend the scope of the Convention to cover all United Nations operations.  It would ensure its application to additional categories of personnel.  Sierra Leone supported the convening of an ad hoc committee to consider the matter.

PRINCE ZEID RA’AD ZEID AL-HUSSEIN (Jordan) said his country had not acceded to the Convention for reasons stated in previous discussions, though Jordan was and had been consistently one of the largest contributors of personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations and had incurred numerous casualties over time.

Since 1994, the nature of United Nations peacekeeping operations had changed, he said.  Difficult dual personality mandates, where the enabling resolution was wrapped in Chapter VI language and then supplemented in later resolutions with tasks mandated under Chapter VII, had now become the norm, particularly in those operations where risk of death or injury to United Nations peacekeepers was higher than normally was the case.  “We have reached a point today where we no longer know whether the United Nations peacekeeper, serving in many of today’s more complicated and dangerous operations, is a combatant or non-combatant”, he said.

He said the Convention did not resolve the confusion over where international humanitarian law ended and where the legal regime of the Convention began.  While he agreed that host governments had a special responsibility for the safety and security of United Nations personnel, the Committee, in focusing on that so exclusively in discussions, must not blind itself to the reality that non-State actors, neighbouring States, as well as the Security Council itself, also had responsibilities in that regard.  He cautioned that the recommendation to extend the scope of the Convention might inhibit further accession to the Convention.  He supported the establishment of a separate ad hoc committee to address those and other issues during the current session of the Assembly.

NARINDER SINGH (India) said his country was a major troop contributor and had participated in some of the most difficult and complex peacekeeping missions. More than 100 Indian peacekeepers had lost their lives while serving.  The agenda item was therefore of particular interest.  The Secretary-General’s report noted that a number of United Nations operations, though not peacekeeping, were deployed in a highly volatile and dangerous environment, and in spite of attacks against United Nations personnel resulting in death or injury, no declaration extending the Convention to such operations had been made so far, either by the Assembly or the Council.

While the proposal for a procedure for initiating such a declaration, either by the Assembly or the Council, needed to be discussed in greater detail, the scope of the Convention already covered all United Nations personnel and India supported proposals to ensure that that was translated into practice.

The proposals to designate the Secretary-General as a certifying authority for the existence of highly risky situations or for an agreement on the status of personnel of humanitarian non-governmental organizations not belonging to the United Nations family, needed to be examined.  To include humanitarian non-governmental organizations within the scope of the Convention not only impaired their neutrality and independence, but also placed an unavoidable burden on United Nations peacekeepers.  India had no problem with the proposal to incorporate key provisions of the Convention into status-of-forces or status-of-mission agreements.  However, it must be kept in mind that in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law, all parties to a conflict where a United Nations operation was deployed, including non-State actors, and bordering States, bore special responsibility for the safety and security of United Nations and associated personnel engaged in that operation.  The procedural measures recommended by the Secretary-General and the elaboration of a protocol to extend the scope of the Convention should be discussed in an open-ended ad hoc committee.

WILLIAM HYBL (United States) expressed condolences to the families and friends of the Afghani employees of Afghan Technical Consultants who were killed in Kabul.  The United States was currently looking into the circumstances of those deaths.  The United States placed a very high priority on the safety of all civilians and non-combatants, including humanitarian workers and other innocent people.  The United States was committed to minimizing casualties, and damage to civilian property in actions against terrorism, and was taking every precaution to avoid injury to those who were not in targeted groups.

Turning to the report of the Secretary-General, he said the United States had no objection to a study of possible procedures for initiating a declaration of exceptional risk in the Security Council, which he believed was the appropriate venue for consideration of the issue.  As to the designation of the Secretary-General as a certifying authority for the existence of exceptional risk to United Nations and associated personnel, such a certification would provide the basis for the Council’s declaration, thus bringing the Convention into effect.

As to status of “United Nations and Associated Personnel”, the presence or absence of a determination by the Secretary-General should not be the deciding factor in whether a victim was covered under the Convention.  Parties to the Convention were currently free to call on the assistance of the Secretary-General if they so desired, to provide information relevant to their determination whether the Convention was applicable.  He said he supported including key provisions of the Convention into status-of-forces and status-of-mission agreements.  While it was not yet a party, the United States had sent the Convention to the Senate for advice and consent for ratification.  The United States supported the elaboration of a protocol although it had not yet made a determination on what it believed should be the precise parameters.  A working group of the Committee should be established.

T. M. HAMZAH THAYEB (Indonesia) said he concurred with the Secretary-General’s statement on the deaths of United Nations workers in Afghanistan.  The lives of innocent civilians in a conflict situation must be protected at all costs.

The recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report on the subject under discussion by the Committee required careful examination within the framework of an ad hoc group, he stated.  A proposal on the extension of the scope of the Convention by a protocol would raise more problems with the instrument than it would solve.

Non-governmental organizations could not be determined to be associated with the United Nations without an agreement.  In line with provisions of the Convention, they were to refrain from any action or activity that was incompatible with the impartial and international nature of the operations of the United Nations and its associated personnel.  In those circumstances, a separate legal regime should be established to govern them.

PIOTR OGONOWSKI (Poland) said that as one of the major troop contributors to the United Nations, with 1,035 personnel currently serving in 10 missions, Poland attached particular importance to efforts to strengthen the legal basis of protection for such personnel.  It welcomed progress made in the ratification of the Convention and said more efforts should be made to ensure its universal character.

The inclusion of a provision criminalizing attacks against personnel involved in humanitarian or peacekeeping missions in the Statute of the future International Criminal Court was another important addition which would significantly enhance the protection afforded to members of United Nations operations once the Statute entered into force.

The incorporation of the basic provisions of the Convention into status-of-forces or mission agreements, as proposed in the Secretary-General’s report, might help address some of the serious shortcomings in the scope of legal protection offered by existing international legal instruments, he said.  Serious consideration should be given to suggestions about ways to enhance the safety of United Nations and associated personnel, as well as extending the scope of the Convention to organizations and operations not presently covered by its provisions.

He announced that Poland had decided to contribute $10,000 to the Trust Fund for Security of Staff members of the United Nations System.   

ANACLETO REI LACANILAO (Philippines) said her country was a party to the Convention, and a contributor of both military and civilian personnel to United Nations peacekeeping and other operations.  Commending measures suggested by the Secretary-General, she said the Convention was “young” and required much fine-tuning, through a network of rules and regulations for its implementation.

There was a divergence of opinions on the proposal for a protocol to extend the application of the Convention to all United Nations operations, whether specifically mandated or not, and to extend its scope to cover all United Nations personnel, including locally recruited staff and to other personnel of humanitarian non-governmental organizations.

She said the Convention had not been in operation long enough to provide a fair judgement.  The issue of a declaration did not need an amendment to the Convention, but could be resolved through an interpretative resolution by the States Parties or any other procedural modality.  She said she had no objection to the establishment of a working group as long as it was clear that the purpose was not necessarily to take action, but to review, consider and debate.

IM HAN-TAEK (Republic of Korea) said the Secretary-General’s report identified some shortcomings of the Convention and offered ways to remedy the inadequacies.  His coming welcomed the report and believed it could serve as the basis for further deliberations.  The Convention, which the Republic of Korea had ratified in 1997, had turned out to be impractical in some aspects and limited in scope.  None of the countries in which United Nations operations were taking place had ratified the Convention.  The Convention failed to provide protection to personnel not closely linked to a United Nations operation.  He believed local staff should be treated as part of United Nations personnel.

He said the proposal to incorporate key provisions of the Convention into status-of-forces and status-of-mission agreements was a useful interim measure to

strengthen the safety and security of personnel until an effective mechanism was put in place.  Although it would be ideal to have a protocol to ensure the automatic application of the Convention to all United Nations operations and to extend its scope to cover all categories of personnel, including locally recruited personnel, the legal ramifications of that recommendation needed to be fully examined in order to avoid any potential legal conflict.

He supported setting up an ad hoc group to examine the recommendations and work out a more effective protective mechanism under the Convention.

ALFONSO ASCENCIO (Mexico) said events since the adoption of the Convention in 1994 suggested that it was insufficient to achieve the objective of protecting personnel working in United Nations operations.  There was a need for a thorough analysis of the suggestions in the report of the Secretary-General.  The fact that only 54 countries had ratified the Convention indicated that the Committee should focus not only on the provisions of the Convention but also seek ways to achieve its universality.  He noted some of the recommendations from the report, such as those referring to the lack of coverage for humanitarian assistance personnel, and also to situations where an exceptional risk is present.

The expansion of the scope of the Convention would only be binding on parties to the Convention, he said.  A declaration would required in the case of a non-State party.  It was necessary to have more information on reasons why additional coverage was necessary before actually seeking to extend the scope of the Convention.  Perhaps the scope could be extended in specific situations, or on a case-by-case basis.  He stressed the importance of studying the reasons why the Convention had not achieved universality.

GAIL ANN RAMOUTAR (Trinidad and Tobago) said every effort should be made to provide the United Nations and associated personnel with protection.  The international community was regularly reminded about the risks they faced.  Her delegation supported the Secretary-General’s report.  It also supported his recommendations about the incorporation of the key provisions of the Convention in the status-of-forces or mission agreements signed between the United Nations and host countries.  That action would be the most tangible way of making the Convention operational.

Host countries had a fundamental obligation to ensure the protection of the personnel, including criminalizing attacks against them.  The declaration concerning exceptional risks to the safety of the personnel or escalation of conflict -– also recommended by the Secretary-General -- should be made in a timely fashion, she said.

Trinidad and Tobago appreciated and valued the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in conflict areas.  NGOs often operated in extremely difficult situations.  She welcomed the Secretary-General’s interest to extend legal protection to humanitarian personnel.  The scope of legal protection under the Convention should be extended to cover them, including those not associated with the United Nations.  There must be a contractual link between them and the United Nations.  Trinidad and Tobago would support a separate legal regime for humanitarian workers.

She said her delegation was committed to the strengthening of the scope of legal protection under the Convention, but did not think a protocol to the Convention was required at present.

      Charter Committee report

The Sixth Committee then turned to a report of the Secretary-General (document A/56/330) on the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.  The report states that the Secretariat has continued the implementation of General Assembly resolutions on the preparation of supplements to the Repertory.

On the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, the report says progress has been made in the preparation of the eleventh Supplement (1989-1992), which should be complemented by the end of 2002 or in the first part of 2003. Contributions to the Trust Fund for the Updating of the Repertoire have been received from six Member States and one Permanent Observer, allowing for the recruitment of two additional officers.  An associate expert was also provided by a Member State.  Further support was needed to eliminate the backlog in a reasonable period of time.

MIRZA CRISTINA GNECCO (Colombia), Chairperson of the 2001 session of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, introduced its report.

She said genuine progress was made on a number of issues discussed by the Special Committee during its session.  She drew attention to recommendations it made which were contained in paragraph 57 and 58 of its report.  They covered the question of the maintenance of international peace and security, in particular, the implementation of Charter provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter.

She also referred to the various working papers submitted to the Special Committee for discussion from the Russian Federation, Cuba, Libya, and Belarus and Russian Federation (jointly), and also a joint paper on dispute prevention and settlement from Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom.

Other topics covered included the future of the Trusteeship Council and the Special Committee’s working methods.

She recalled that her country, Colombia, was the first to propose the need for a revision of the Charter.  Since 1975, the Special Committee had played a decisive role in the maintenance of international peace and security, and in the development of friendly relations among States as well as the promotion of international law and the rule of law in international relations.

She said the world had changed and the Organization faced new challenges and dangers.  The events of 11 September (the terrorist attacks on the United States) confirmed that, and also underscored the pressing need for the strengthening of the Organization.  In doing that, she said, the Special Committee must play a key role and its discussions must be open to all States.

Statements on Charter

CRISTIAN MAQUIEIRA (Chile), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group of Central and Latin American countries, cited a passage from the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Organization, in which he said that one of the greatest virtues of the United Nations was its capacity to adapt to the changing international conditions.  The Special Committee, because of its primary function, must place itself in the vanguard of those changes.

The Committee was in a position to make a valuable contribution to that debate, he said, particularly in giving priority to the effect of sanctions on third States.  The Committee should begin an in-depth review of the recommendations of the expert group established by the Secretary-General in 1998, while the report which was requested of the Secretary-General on the political, financial and administrative feasibility of the proposed measures was being prepared.

He said the Rio Group also looked forward to the results of the Security Council’s ad hoc working group which was to examine ways to enhance the effectiveness of sanctions, including all aspects related to assistance to third States.  He expressed the hope that the Council would adopt the working group’s recommendation, which he was confident would effectively contribute to better formulation, application and administration of sanctions.  Given the urgency of the matter, he appealed to Council members to overcome their differences which had so far prevented consensus.

The Rio Group was following with interest developments in the concept of selective or smart sanctions which sought to minimize the humanitarian impact of sanctions and their negative effects on third States.  Determining uniform standards and criteria for the imposition and maintenance of sanctions that would minimize their undesired effects was a fundamental aspect of the strengthening of the role of the Organization.

As to the working methods of the Committee, he cited the proposal by Mexico on the need to coordinate the Committee’s work with that of other working groups dealing with reform, and the Chilean proposal for the Assembly to encourage its subsidiary organs to require the legal assistance of the Committee on questions related to the items within its competence.

SERGEI LING (Belarus) said that given the obvious problems with sanctions, the introduction of sanctions as a priority issue was appropriate.  While experience had shown that sanctions could be a useful tool, it was equally known that their use had led to serious consequences in terms of humanitarian and financial harm on people who were not responsible for their being imposed.  No effective mechanism had yet been developed to overcome those adverse consequences.  Until such time, the questions of sanctions should remain a priority item.

He supported the discussions on the working paper submitted by Russia and the one submitted by Libya.  He was convinced that clear, standard criteria for the imposition of sanctions needed to be articulated.  Sanctions were a form of an extreme coercive measure and should be applied only after all other peaceful measures have been exhausted.  They should not be punitive and third States had the right to compensation.  The Special Committee should take into account the conclusions drawn by the International Law Commission on overcoming the negative consequences of sanctions and on assistance to third States.  Serious work had already been done on developing a methodology to assess damage in order to minimize the negative consequences.  Greater focus on the matter was needed from the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the financial institutions of the United Nations.  It was possible to reduce material losses and at the same time enhance the sanctions regime by encouraging the support of third States for sanctions.

He believed that an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, a legitimate, authoritative source, on the legality of the resort to the use or threat of use of force would help resolve some ambiguous provisions of the Charter on the use of armed force.  In the opinion of Belarus, the Charter provided for the use or threat of use on only two conditions:  the first, in self-defense; and the second, at the behest of the Security Council in the case of a breach or threat of breach of the peace.

As to the Cuban proposal on removing the imbalance in powers between the Assembly and the Council in the maintenance of international peace and security, he said consideration of the issues would be especially useful if the Council were not able to take a decision because of the threat of a veto by one of the permanent Members.

EVERT MARECHAL (Belgium) spoke for the European Union and its associated States –- Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.  He said Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, as well as Norway, aligned themselves with the statement.

On the question of the implementation of Charter provisions related to the assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, he said all efforts should be made to reduce the negative effects of the sanctions on them, without affecting the efficiency of the sanctions regimes.

The time was ripe for an in-depth discussion of the sanctions issue by the Charter Committee, he said.  He observed that over the last few years, the Secretary-General had produced useful reports that together provided a rich basis for that discussion.  He cited the report of the Ad Hoc Expert Group containing recommendations and proposals for innovative and practical measures of international assistance to third States.  He said the European Union also awaited the conclusions and recommendations of the working group on sanctions of the Security Council.  The Sixth Committee could also benefit from drawing upon the important work already done on target sanctions or smart sanctions.

The European Union thanked the Secretary-General for his ongoing efforts to reduce the substantial backlog in the publication of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.  As a unique record of applications of the United Nations Charter, the two publications were of great value to United Nations Member States.  Additional resources to the Trust Fund established for the publications should enable the Secretariat to further accelerate the updating of the Repertoire.

On the Charter Committee’s working methods, he said it had in its more recent past suffered from an inability to arrive at concrete results.  That lack of productivity had led to fading interests of delegations for the work of the Special Committee.  The list of items it had been charged with was long and

fragmented, and could be discussed once in two or three years.  There should be a cut-off mechanism to prevent continued and repetitious discussion of topics for many years without concrete results.  It would be desirable to subject new proposals to a preliminary examination by the Committee before they were inscribed on its agenda.  The General Assembly, which adopted the Committee’s mandate, must also reflect on the proposal, he said.

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