SPEAKERS IN CHARTER COMMITTEE CALL FOR WORKING GROUP TO STUDY ASSISTANCE TO SANCTIONS-AFFECTED THIRD STATES

Committee on Charter

And United Nations Role

240^th & 241^st Meeting (AM & PM)

SPEAKERS IN CHARTER COMMITTEE CALL FOR WORKING GROUP TO STUDY

ASSISTANCE TO SANCTIONS-AFFECTED THIRD STATES

Member States this morning called on the Sixth Committee (Legal) to form a working group on ways to assist third States adversely affected by the application of United Nations sanctions.  Those calls came as the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on Strengthening the Role of the Organization began its two-week 2002 session.

In line with a request of the General Assembly, the Committee gave priority consideration to the question of how to implement Charter provisions to help third countries.  The Russian Federation was among those calling for a working group to study the issue.  Its representative said his country had proposed a way to make the sanctions system more balanced.  It called for measures to calculate the damage inflicted by sanctions, determine their indirect effects and establish a scale for assessing damage.  It also called for third parties to be consulted and for the Organization to bear core responsibility for helping third States.

Venezuela's representative, however, called for a review of the entire sanctions system, saying it needed to be updated.  Syria’s representative said impartiality was lacking in applying sanctions, which were imposed according to a double standard.  They were a last-resort measure being applied against Libya and Iraq but not against Israel, a country that disregarded Security Council resolutions and violated the Palestinian people’s rights.

Iraq’s representative said sanctions had severely hurt his country’s people.  Major Powers were attempting to bring back colonialism.  With nuclear weapons being transformed from weapons of deterrence to weapons of aggression, a third world war could be provoked.  To keep the United Nations from becoming an organization serving the interests of force rather than of people, he called for a strengthening of the Committee's role.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, Spain’s representative said sanctions had been increasingly used in the last decade.  “Targeted” or “smart” sanctions helped reduce negative effects of sanctions on non-targeted States, without undermining the effectiveness of the sanctions regime. 

India’s representative called for the Security Council to act on behalf of all States when calling for sanctions.  He said it should assist those adversely affected by sanctions against others, make timely exemptions for humanitarian purposes and consider a burden-sharing scheme for the cost of sanctions on developing countries.

Also in response to the Assembly's request, the Committee gave priority consideration to ways of improving its working methods.  In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Markiyan Kulyk (Ukraine) noted that after reaching a utilization factor of 86 per cent of conference services at the 2000 session, the Committee's utilization of resources during the 2001 session dropped to 69 per cent.  A total of 10 hours and 50 minutes had not been made use of, due to late commencements and early endings of meetings.

Several delegations said they looked forward to a discussion of a revised Japanese proposal, to be presented at the session that sets out conditions for the introduction of new proposals.  The aim of the proposal is to avoid duplication and overlapping with the work of other committees, as well as to provide for the option of postponing or ending discussion on proposals that do not achieve general agreement within a reasonable time-frame.    

In a brief meeting this afternoon, the Special Committee adopted a work programme for the session that allows working-group meeting time for examination of proposals concerning the following:  assistance to third States affected by sanctions; basic conditions and criteria for imposing sanctions; the impact and application of sanctions; fundamentals of peacekeeping operations; the peaceful settlement of disputes, including the establishment of a dispute settlement service offering its services at an early stage of disputes; an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the resort to the use of force; the role of the Assembly as the chief policy-making body of the Organization; the future of the Trusteeship Council; improvement of the Committee's working methods; and identification of possible new subjects for its agenda.

Established in 1974 to examine proposals concerning the United Nations Charter, the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in maintaining peace and security, cooperation among nations and promotion of the rule of international law, the Special Committee's current session will run from 18 to 28 March.

Opening the morning meeting, the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, recalled the Committee's mandate.  That was to consider proposals for strengthening the Organization's role in maintaining international peace and security, and to consider implementing Charter provisions to assist third States affected by United Nations sanctions.  The Committee was also to consider the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, proposals concerning the Trusteeship Council, ways and means of improving its work methods and finally, new subjects with a view to revitalizing the Organization's work.

The Committee then elected Mr. Kulyk as Chairman of the Special Committee.  Soumaia Zorai (Tunisia) and Annick Oestreicher (Luxembourg) were elected as Vice-Chairpersons, and Gaile Ann Ramoutar (Trinidad and Tobago) as Rapporteur.  A third Vice-Chairperson, Sarah Al Bakri Devadason (Malaysia), was elected at the afternoon meeting.

Also speaking in this morning's general debate were the representatives of Cuba, China, Turkey and Tunisia.

The Committee will meet again in plenary at a time to be announced.

Background

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, which will meet from 18 to 28 March, began its session this morning to consider various proposals concerning sanctions, including criteria for their imposition and assistance to third States adversely affected; dispute settlement; the future of the Trusteeship Council; and improving its own working methods. 

Among the documents before the Committee are two Assembly resolutions from last year.  The first, on the Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on Strengthening the role of the Organization (A/RES/56/86), requests the Special Committee to continue its consideration of all proposals relating to the maintenance of international peace and security in order to strengthen the role of the United Nations.  It further requests that the Special Committee consider on a priority basis the question of the implementation of the provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter.  In that endeavour, the Special Committee should consider reports of the Secretary-General, proposals submitted on the subject and the latest Sixth Committee (Legal) debate on the question, as well as previous General Assembly resolutions.

The Special Committee was also expected to continue considering proposals related to the peaceful settlement of disputes, including the proposal to establish a dispute settlement service, offering or responding with its services early in disputes as well as those proposals relating to the enhancement of the role of the International Court of Justice.  It would be requested to continue considering proposals related to the Trusteeship Council and to consider, on a priority basis, ways and means to improve its own working methods to enhance its efficiency to identify measures for future implementation.

In the resolution, the Assembly further commended the Secretary-General for continued efforts to reduce the backlog in the publication of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations organs, endorsing his efforts to eliminate delays in the publication of the repertory related to the Security Council.

By the second resolution, implementation of Charter provisions related to assisting third States affected by sanctions (A/RES/56/87), the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to expedite the study of the situation and to report on it, in particular on implementation of the ad hoc expert group’s findings and recommendations.  It took note of the Economic and Social Council’s decision to continue considering the question and would invite it to take up the question during its 2002 session.  Further, it invited States, the United Nations system, international financial institutions and other organizations, including regional ones, to continue holding meetings and dialogues on the issue.  It requested the Special Committee to consider the issue on a priority basis during its present session, deciding to consider the issue during the Assembly’s fifty-seventh session, either within the Sixth Committee or a working group of it. 

In its report to the Assembly on its session in April last year, the Committee recommended that the General Assembly 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, its subsidiary organs, and the Economic and Social Council.

During the Special Committee's debate on 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 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 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 own working methods, with some delegations calling for their 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.

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 the 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.

Statements

MANUEL GOMEZ-ACEBO (Spain), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, recalled the two priority issues before the Special Committee.  The first was the implementation of Charter provisions related to sanctions, and the second was discussion of ways and means of improving the Committee’s working methods and enhancing its effectiveness.  He further recalled that the purpose of sanctions was to bring about compliance with the Security Council’s decisions without needing to resort to force.  However, he said there had been an increase in the use of sanctions over the last decade.  The negative effects on non-targeted States must be reduced without undermining the effectiveness of the sanctions regime.

The use of “targeted” or “smart” sanctions had been an important step in that direction, he said.  The Secretary-General’s report on the Secretariat’s ability to implement the Committee’s views and recommendations was eagerly awaited.  The Security Council’s working group on sanctions should come to an agreement on its conclusions soon. 

With regard to the Committee’s methods of work, he said it was important to avoid duplicating the work of other bodies and that more should be done to streamline the Committee’s efforts.  The Committee should consider concentrating on a few preselected issues each session, and perhaps take up certain issues only every two or three years.  Also, a cut-off mechanism should be introduced to avoid ineffectual discussions of the same subjects for many years.  Finally, the Committee’s report should be adopted in a time-efficient manner similar to other committees dealing with legal issues.

He endorsed the proposal by Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom on peaceful settlement of disputes.  He said it reflected the Committee’s work during the last session and should be approved by consensus at the end of the next reading.  The question of the Trusteeship Council should be biannualized and taken up without urgency.  Finally, the Secretariat should expedite the issuance of the two publications on the practice of United Nations organs and on the practice of the Security Council.  Several European Union States had contributed to the Trust Fund established in 2000 for the purpose.   

NARINDER SINGH (India) reviewed the issues before the Special Committee and said that the effect of sanctions on third parties had been on the agenda for a number of years.  The Security Council, which imposed the sanctions, was charged with acting on behalf of all States.  It therefore had the responsibility to assist countries adversely affected by sanctions being applied against others.  The Council should also take care to make timely exemptions for humanitarian purposes.  It should also consider the costs imposed on developing countries by sanctions, and should consider making the matter a subject for burden-sharing in a way similar to the way peacekeeping operations were handled.

He said it was disappointing that the Secretary-General had not yet reported on the Secretariat’s ability to implement the expert group’s recommendations on sanctions.  The Sixth Committee should establish a working group to take up the matter of sanctions and third parties.  The Russian proposal on the matter was a good guideline for the Committee to follow, while Libya’s proposal on smart sanctions merited consideration.  Since peaceful settlement of disputes was a priority, the Special Committee should complete its work on the matter during the present session.

ABDUL MUNIM AL-KADHE (Iraq) said prevailing conditions made the work of the Committee very difficult.  Since its establishment almost three decades ago, the challenges facing the Committee had grown in gravity and importance, particularly given the actions of certain members of the Security Council which ran counter to international law and even the United Nations Charter itself.  The use of force and the threat of its use violated basic principles of international humanitarian law.  The threat of provoking war led to chaos.

The attempt by members of the Security Council to resolve international problems with further violence and reliance on more weapons was tantamount to regressing to the law of the jungle.  Self-serving misinterpretations of the right to self-defence were without a legitimate basis.  The possession of nuclear weapons was being transformed from their use as weapons of deterrence to actual weapons of aggression, he said.

As had been stressed before, economic sanctions imposed on his country had serious repercussions for the people of Iraq.  The world was being brought towards the abyss.  Major Powers, he said, citing in particular the United States, were trying to return the world to a state of colonialism and could end up provoking a third world war.  Another potential consequence could be the collapse of the United Nations as an organization which no longer served the interests of people but rather the interests of force.

The Committee's role must be strengthened and consolidated to counter those trends and to take into account the will of the entire world.  His country aspired to attain the purposes and goals of the United Nations.  He called for strengthening the rules of international law and respect for them.  He also called for a successful completion of consideration of the Russian and Libyan proposals on criteria for imposing sanctions, and for those recommendations to be sent to the Assembly.  However, any assistance to third States would be incomplete if the Security Council did not comply with international law and the provisions of the Charter, particularly in terms of its obligation to consult with third countries before the imposition of sanctions.

He agreed with the efforts to strengthen the working methods of the Committee.  The measures proposed, though, would come to naught if they were not accompanied by genuine political will to strengthen the Organization.

SORAYA ELENA ALVEREZ NUNEZ (Cuba) said last year's debate demonstrated the importance of the Committee and its efforts to strengthen the Organization.  She stressed that proposals must contribute to the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration.  Despite the fact that resolutions gave priority to the issue of assistance to third States affected by sanctions, progress had not been made on the subject.  The Committee must work in a constructive manner and avoid pretexts for not considering the issues.  The work of the Security Council and the Committee should complement one other.

Implementation of Charter provisions on assistance to third States could not be separated from the general issue of application of sanctions, she said.  Russia's proposal on criteria for the imposition of sanctions was of particular importance for the comprehensive study of the topic.  Also, the Libyan paper contained important concepts on the nature of sanctions which should be taken into account in the debate.

Turning to the issue of the competence of the General Assembly in the maintenance of peace and security, she said it was important to maintain the balance between the Assembly and the Security Council.  The task of improving coordination and cooperation between the two bodies could not be deferred.  She expressed the hope that the Cuban proposal on the topic would inspire the President of the Assembly and the Member States to consider the Assembly as the most appropriate forum for continuing debate on the subject.

As to the efficiency of the Committee, she attributed its difficulties more to the lack of political will than to its working methods.  Nevertheless, there remained room for improvement in those working methods, and she looked forward to a consideration of the Japanese proposal on the subject.

WEI SU (China) pointed out the negative effects of sanctions and said they should be imposed wisely.  Monitoring of both the sanctions and their effects should be precise and accurate.  Since any State could become a third State at any time, a special fund and a standing consultative mechanism should be set up to assist them.  The interests of all parties should be safeguarded.

He said the United Nations had accumulated enough experience through peacekeeping operations to be able to make recommendations on the peaceful settlement of disputes.  The proposals in the form of working papers before the Committee were all commendable.  There should be no rush to abolish or convert the Trusteeship Council, since any imprudent action could cause problems.  Its future should be carefully considered, in the context of strengthening the overall Organization. 

TEOMAN UYKUR (Turkey), saying that his country had suffered considerably as a third State from the consequences of sanctions, argued that a functional mechanism to offset those adverse effects and to provide assistance must be established without further delay.  The expert group's methodology, developed in 1998, for assessing the consequences incurred by third States provided a solid basis for achieving concrete results.  Noting that it was almost four years since the issuance of the expert group's findings, he said that despite the serious and urgent nature of the issue, the Special Committee still had not systematically elaborated on the report.  It was high time for an in-depth discussion of the report and for steps to be taken to alleviate the burden of third States affected by sanctions.

While calling on the Secretary-General to submit his report on the topic as requested, he said that the Special Committee should still begin substantive work without further delay.  The fact that the Secretary-General's views were not yet available should not deter the Committee from discussing the expert group's proposals.  A number of practical relief measures had already been presented, including according commercial exemptions or concessions to third States, directly consulting with those States, establishment of a fund, and giving priority to the contractors of affected third States for investments in the target State.  He also stressed the responsibility of the Security Council to act without delay in reply to the applications of States under Article 50.

On the dispute settlement proposal by Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, he believed the consent of the parties to a dispute should be required for referring the disagreement to the dispute-resolving board.  As to the Committee's working methods, he said the Japanese working paper contained useful elements.  It was important to start the meetings of the Special Committee on time and to better utilize conference services.  The duration of the Committee's sessions should be commensurate with the importance of the work it conducted, and that importance could not be overemphasized.

SOUMAIA ZORAI (Tunisia) said the issue of sanctions in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security was particularly important to her country.  The best way of avoiding conflict was to prevent it.  If sanctions needed to be imposed to achieve that goal, they should be clearly defined and should be specified for a limited time.  The impact on civilians and on third States must be carefully assessed.  Third States should also be consulted.

She said a permanent mechanism for dealing with the issue of third parties affected by sanctions should be established, along with a fund for assisting those States.  The Security Council’s working group should finalize its recommendations.  A working group within the Sixth Committee should be established.  That group should give special attention to humanitarian concerns.  It should follow the proposals put forward by the Russian Federation and Libya, both of which were useful.

VLADIMIR TARABRIN (Russian Federation) recalled that the United Nations was the global centre for maintaining peace and security.  The Charter was its

centrepiece, which made the Committee’s work a priority for the entire Organization.

He said the sanctions problem should be dealt with as a priority.  Sanctions were a powerful tool that should never be used for punishing people, as had been done in the past.  There was a consensus in the Committee that a more balanced approach to sanctions was needed.  His country’s proposal addressed the issues of making the regime more balanced.  It raised questions on the need to calculate the damage being done by sanctions, how to determine the indirect effects of the damage being inflicted, and what scale would be applied in assessing the damage.  Further, while financial institutions should be consulted with regard to rendering assistance to third parties, the Organization itself should bear the core responsibility for assistance.  A working group within the Sixth Committee should study the economic and social consequences of sanctions.

Today’s major hot points required major changes in the approach to peace-related actions, he said.  Recommendations for improving peacekeeping operations should include a look at the legal aspects of the operations.  The mandates of all such operations should be clearly defined, and all issues should be considered from the perspective of strengthening the Organization’s role in maintaining world peace and security.  Establishing trust funds and providing additional training for young professionals were ways to improve the Organization’s effectiveness.  The proposal submitted by Japan was the way to improve the Committee’s working methods.

ANGELA CAVALIERE DE NAVA (Venezuela) noted that the Committee’s work was ever more important because of the new challenges that the global situation presented to the United Nations.  While the proposals on the peaceful settlement of disputes and on working methods were important, the question of sanctions was urgent.  The entire sanctions system needed review.  The regime should be updated and the sanctions should be adjusted to the contemporary situation, in terms of both length of time and the measures being taken.

She said reform of the sanctions system was inevitable.  Otherwise, sanctions merely added to factors such as extreme poverty to create conflicts in areas where problems had been settled.  The Organization should continue to strengthen its role in responding to people’s problems.

MOHAMED HAJ IBRAHIM (Syria) recalled that sanctions were to be applied as a measure of last resort.  It was equally important to study the effects of sanctions on both third parties and on the targeted country itself.  At present, sanctions were not applied in an impartial manner and there was a double standard in imposing them.  Sanctions were applied against Libya and Iraq but not against Israel, in spite its disregard for Security Council resolutions and its violations of the Palestinian people’s rights.  Further, not enough attention was paid to the effects of sanctions on civilian populations, and there was irregularity in lifting them.  The latter should happen as soon as the threat to international peace and security was ended.  The importance of consequences to the third party should not be minimized, and funds should be provided to assist them.

On other matters, he said the Russian Federation’s recommendations on sanctions were noteworthy, as were Cuba’s paper on democratic restructuring of the Organization and Libya’s proposal on strengthening the Organization.  The Trusteeship Council should not be abolished.  The International Court should be strengthened to enable it take up all cases that came before it, and all issues before the Committee should be given equal importance.

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