SPECIAL CHARTER COMMITTEE CONCLUDES 2003 SESSION, ADOPTS REPORT STRESSING FAIR CRITERIA FOR SANCTIONS USE AND STRONGER UN ROLE IN SETTLING DISPUTES

Committee on Charter

and United Nations Role

244^th Meeting (AM)      

SPECIAL CHARTER COMMITTEE CONCLUDES 2003 SESSION, ADOPTS REPORT STRESSING FAIR

CRITERIA FOR SANCTIONS USE AND STRONGER UN ROLE IN SETTLING DISPUTES

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization this morning considered and adopted, as orally amended, its draft report, as it concluded its session for 2003.

Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Council Hans Corell opened the session on 7 April.  The general debate that followed centered largely on the impact of sanctions on affected third States.  The Special Committee was established in 1974 to examine proposals to enhance the Charter, strengthen the role of the Organization in maintaining peace and security, develop cooperation among nations and promote the rules of international law.

The seven-chapter report (document A/AC.182/2003/CRP.1-CRP.12), introduced by Committee Rapporteur Mohammed Haj Ibrahim, focused on such issues as:  maintenance of international peace and security; assistance to third States affected by sanctions; basic conditions and standard criteria for introducing and implementing sanctions, as well as other coercive measures; and strengthening principles on the impact and application of sanctions.

The report also covered the legal basis for:  United Nations peacekeeping operations; strengthening the United Nations’ role and enhancing its effectiveness; strengthening the Organization’s role in maintaining international peace and security; the peaceful settlement of disputes; and working methods of the Special Committee, as well as its coordination with other United Nations bodies.

Regarding sanctions, several delegations stressed in the report that those were an extreme measure of last resort, which should not be used as a punitive measure.  They also observed that the frequency with which sanctions had been used in recent years had given rise to concerns about their credibility.

Further to the report, delegations called on the Security Council to be fair and equitable in applying sanctions.  It should objectively evaluate the short-, medium- and long-term impact of sanctions on third Sates, as well as on targeted States.  Sanctions should be clearly defined, targeted, imposed for a specific time frame, periodically reviewed and lifted as soon as the reason for them had ceased to exist.

Delegations also underlined in the report the importance of judicial settlement of disputes, stressing the vital role of the International Court of Justice as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.  Pointing to its

increased workload, they emphasized the need to ensure that the Court had adequate resources.

Oral amendments to the report were proposed by Committee Chairman
Jagdish Koonjul (Mauritius), as well as representatives of the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Russian Federation, Libya, Cuba, Greece (on behalf of the European Union), Costa Rica, and United States.

The representatives of Sierra Leone, Germany, Tunisia, Uganda, Syria, Egypt (in its national capacity and on behalf of the Arab Group), Colombia, Mauritania (on behalf of the African Group) and Gambia also commented on the report.

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