LEGAL COMMITTEE HEARS SPECIFIC PROPOSALS ON WAYS TO AID ‘THIRD STATES’ AFFECTED BY IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Sixth Committee

5^th Meeting (AM)

LEGAL COMMITTEE HEARS SPECIFIC PROPOSALS ON WAYS TO AID

‘THIRD STATES’ AFFECTED BY IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

Debate Concluded on Report of Special Committee on UN Charter

Voicing concerns about unilateral actions that threatened international peace and security, delegations called for the Special Committee on the United Nations Charter to assume its role in strengthening the Organization to make it responsive to international needs, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) concluded its consideration of the Special Committee’s report this morning.  

The report of the Special Committee on the Charter and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization covers its 2003 April session, at which international peace and security, assistance to third States affected by sanctions, and peaceful settlement of disputes were among the topics discussed.

Tunisia’s representative said maintaining peace and security was among the most important issues before the Special Committee, and sanctions had priority in that area.  International financial institutions should be consulted before sanctions were imposed, and a Trust Fund should be established for third States whose economies were affected by sanctions.  The Special Committee was the right forum for revitalizing the Organization.  It should also contribute to democratizing it.

Nepal’s representative called for the Special Committee to focus on its role in United Nations reform, so all organs could assume their role in contributing to peace, democracy and the rule of law.

The representative of Nigeria called for relief mechanisms to address the special economic problems of third States more specifically and directly.  Dialogue should be maintained.  Innovative practical measures should be adopted to alleviate the hardship, such as commercial concessions, preferential treatment, and priority for investment and post-conflict rehabilitation.

Overall, during the two-day debate, the Special Committee’s role in the revitalization of the Organization was a major theme.  Delegates called for affirming the General Assembly’s role as the principal deliberative body for international peace and security questions.

The imposition of sanctions was also a focus of the debate.  Speakers called for smart, targeted sanctions with a limited time frame, and effects on third countries taken into account.  Some referred to double standards in the application of the sanctions regime, and the need to involve the General Assembly in decisions on applying sanctions.

Other issues covered during the debate included the Special Committee’s work methods, the future of the Trusteeship Council, and the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the SecurityCouncil, on which many urged continued efforts to reduce the backlog in their publication.

Also speaking this morning were the representatives of Belarus, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Morocco and Syria.

The Committee will meet again in plenary at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 October, to take up its consideration of measures to eliminate international terrorism.

Background

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning to continue 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 (document A/58/33).  Also before the Committee is the Secretary-General’s report on assistance to third States affected by sanctions (document A/58/346) and his report on Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council (document A/58/347)  (For background on the reports, see Press Release GA/L/3231 dated 9 October.)

Statements

ANDREI POPKOV (Belarus) said today’s environment was characterized by weakened multilateralism and increased unilateralism, with regard to matters of urgency to international peace and security.  The Special Committee’s work impacted immediately on strengthening the Organization to make it more effective.  Why was there a concern with achieving general consensus on the Russian proposal on basic criteria?  The Special Committee had a number of proposals for strengthening the Charter.  They should all be considered.  Sanctions were an overall effective way of dealing with States that didn’t comply with the Council’s decisions.  The Russian proposal on basic criteria should be adopted.

Libya’s proposals on elements should also be adopted, he continued, adding that he hoped Libya would present its document at the Special Committee’s special session in 2004.  The Special Committee should give priority to the question of assisting third States affected by sanctions.  An in-depth analysis of the matter should be undertaken, as well a study of the major thrust of what has been learned so far.  The Committee should give consideration to all documents dealing with international peace and security.  There should be a nonconfrontational approach to the Russian proposal.  A research element should be added to the Repertoire, while the role of the Secretariat was maintained as at present.

KOMALA DEVI (Malaysia) said the United Nations must remain the primary forum for ensuring the maintenance of international peace and security based on the principles of the Charter and international law.  Sanctions must be cautiously used.  She said their imposition must be carried out in an evenhanded and equitable manner, and also applied as a last resort.  Sanctions should also have clearly defined mandates, with limited duration, and be subject to periodic review.  Malaysia welcomed the Russian Federation working paper on sanctions which raised, she said, important issues concerning their adverse effects.  Agreed principles governing the application of sanctions would enhance their legitimacy.  The Russian paper was worthy of further consideration in the Special Committee, she said.

She said peacekeeping operations should be strictly guided by the Charter, taking account of the principle of non-interference in the affairs of States and respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity.  The initiative of the Russian Federation on the subject deserved consideration by the Special Committee which was the appropriate forum.  Continuing, she said the Committee had its own significant role, in accordance with its mandate, to contribute to the strengthening of the United Nations and ensuring its effectiveness.  Deliberations in the Special Committee on a Cuban proposal on strengthening the role of the Organization should be continued.  She said creative input and flexibility should enable further progress to be made on the subject.

SABRI CHAABANI (Tunisia) said the maintenance of peace and security was among the most important issues before the Special Committee.  Of priority within that area was the question of sanctions.  Little progress had been made and the work should be expedited.

Reviewing basic principles such as the need to use sanctions only as a last resort and the need to make them specific and “time-bound”, he said financial institutions should be consulted before sanctions were imposed.  The proposals of Egypt, Liberia and Russia should all be considered.  Also, provisions to alleviate negative effects of sanctions should be implemented as a priority.  A Trust Fund should be established for third States whose economies had been affected by sanctions.

He said the Special Committee was the appropriate forum for revitalizing the Organization and making its organs effective.  The Special Committee should contribute to democratizing the Organization, as laid down in the Millennium Declaration, by making the General Assembly the principal deliberative body on international peace and security.

ALLIEU I. KANU (Sierra Leone) said his country accorded priority to the implementation of the Charter provisions relating to assistance to third States affected by the imposition of sanctions.  It welcomed measures taken in recent years by the Security Council to improve sanctions regimes, and to limit their negative impact on third States.  He said establishing criteria and procedures for that purpose would greatly contribute to the effectiveness of some sanctions.  Cooperation of third States would also be required to ensure the effectiveness of those procedures, he said.  Sierra Leone supported the proposal of the Russian Federation on the subject.  It supported the view that a balance should be struck between sanctions regimes and humanitarian assistance.  Sanctions should not be perpetual.  Further consideration of the issue was warranted.

On the future of the Trusteeship Council, he said that Sierra Leone, like China, believed that although the Council had almost completed its historic mandate, it should continue as a United Nations organ.  

Statement by Sixth Committee Secretary

VACLAV MIKULKA, Director of the Codification Division of the Department of Legal Affairs and Secretary of the Sixth Committee, made a statement in response to a question raised yesterday by the representative of Costa Rica about the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs.

He recalled an earlier statement by the Legal Counsel to the Special Committee on the Charter last April that the Office of Legal Affairs had approached some academic institutions to seek their views on the possibility of preparing the equivalent or a substantially comparable legal publication to assist Member States and outside researchers alike in questions of application and interpretation of the United Nations Charter.

The views of those institutions were also sought on the feasibility of having such a publication issued by them in three languages (English, French and Spanish).  An outline of the practical and operational aspects of the effort currently under way within the Secretariat to update the Repertory was also presented to them, he said.  All the institutions approached declined to take over the preparation of the Repertory.

While the modalities of such collaboration were on the agenda of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Charter Repertory, no further steps had been taken pending the decision of the General Assembly on the future of the Repertory.

The representative of Costa Rica requested copies of the updated charts being prepared, to which the Committee Secretary said some time would be needed to provide them.

KARIM MEDREK (Morocco) said sanctions should be imposed when there were clear threats to international peace and security and conditions for lifting them should be clearly defined.  Their impact and effects on innocent citizens should be assessed.  He said the working paper provided by the Russian Federation on the subject of sanctions was a solid basis for further work in the Special Committee.  On the question of peaceful settlement of disputes, he welcomed a resolution on the topic adopted by the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session in 2002, on the basis of a text provided by Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom.

He noted the divergence of views on the future role of the Trusteeship Council and said there was need to retain the Council.  On the work methods of the Special Committee, he said it had done commendable work, the results of which had helped to consolidate international peace and security.  He welcomed the proposals by Japan and the Republic of Korea on improving the Committee’s work methods.  He welcomed the efforts and steps taken by the Secretary-General to reduce the backlog of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.  He noted the substantial progress made, and reiterated Morocco’s support for their continued publication.

MOHAMMED HAJ IBRAHIM (Syria) said he was concerned with the political concerns that prevented the application of sanctions in a fair manner.  Some countries were targeted while others flouted the Council.  Some States were occupying other people’s territory and killing their people without being subject to sanctions.  The sanctions regime was imposed without any fairness criteria.  It must be applied fairly, including by considering long-term effects as well as the conditions that would allow them to be lifted.  The danger that could strike third States as a result of applying sanctions should also be considered and appropriate measures to combat the adverse effects of sanctions must be implemented.  The Russian Federation’s proposal on criteria was an extremely important work.  The General Assembly should decide whether a working group on the matter should be established.

Further, he said the General Assembly should be the lead body on matters of international peace and security.  The Trusteeship Council should not be abolished since that would require a change of the Charter.  Finally, the Special Committee was the appropriate forum to consider all the issues before it.

KASHINATH ADHIKARI (Nepal) said the Special Committee had been known as the Charter Committee since its founding in 1974.  It was the body that considered matters related to international peace and security.  The Special Committee was committed to strengthening the Organization to make it more effective.  Sanctions were an extreme measure whose effects must be measured.  Sanctions must never be used to punish States or to destabilize regions.  It was up to the Council to decide the sanctions regime, whether in the form of smart sanctions, arms embargoes or travel restrictions.  The recent lifting of sanctions imposed on Libya was welcome.

He said existing procedures must be implemented for the maintenance of international peace and security.  The Special Committee must focus on its role and tackle the topics on its agenda, before embarking on new ones.  There was an imperative need for reform in the United Nations so that all organs could assume their role in contributing to peace, democracy and the rule of law.

O.A. ASHIRU (Nigeria) said targeted sanctions could help protect vulnerable groups and third States but they didn’t always produce the desired result.  The need to create relief mechanisms could not be overemphasized.  The entirety of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, other international institutions, regional organizations and Member States should be mobilized to address the special economic problems of third States more specifically and directly.

First, he called for dialogue to be maintained with third States.  Then, he said, innovative practical measures should be adopted to alleviate the hardship.  Those could take the form of commercial exemptions or concessions; special or preferential treatment to the States or their suppliers; priority being given for investment in the target State to contractors of affected third States; providing for participation in supplying peacekeeping operations or post-conflict rehabilitation; direct consultations by the Security Council.

In the area of peacefully settling disputes, he continued, priority should be given to the principle of free choice and consent by parties to dispute settlement mechanisms.  General Assembly resolution 57/26 of last November -- on declaring acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice -- was a useful tool for preventing and settling disputes.  States should avail themselves of all procedures and methods in this regard, including fact-finding missions, goodwill missions, special envoys, observers, good offices, mediation, conciliation and arbitration.  Regional and subregional peace initiatives as demonstrated by the Economic Community of West African States and Southern African Development Community were noteworthy. 

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