Sixth Committee

With the increasing complexity of international law and a growing need for legal education, the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law – funded by the United Nations regular budget - was fulfilling its important mandate by offering high‑quality legal training through its Regional Courses, publications and the Audiovisual Library, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today as it began its consideration of the Programme.

Protection of diplomatic and consular representatives — as well as the security and inviolability of diplomatic and consular missions, their archives, documents and communications — is one of the pillars upon which international relations rests, speakers stressed while voicing concern at rising attacks on missions and personnel around the world, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the matter today.

As international and non-international armed conflict becomes more complex, the universal ratification of the three Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions remains vital for the promotion of international humanitarian law, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today.

The Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, with delegates commending the progress of the various Working Groups and highlighting the finalization and adoption of a number of important legal texts.

While deciding to defer action on four observer status requests, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today concluded its consideration of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations, with delegates stressing the work of that Committee in the context of the Organization’s ongoing reforms.

Taking up the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on Strengthening the Role of the United Nations, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today debated ways to better ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes, highlighting the important knowledge held by regional organizations that might aid the abatement of conflicts.

A fair and effective administration of internal justice not only enables staff to perform their best, but also ensures that the Organization becomes a better employer, retains the best employees and, more importantly, upholds its ideals, delegates stressed as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up that topic.

Engaging in a vigorous debate over the definition of universal jurisdiction, as well as its scope and application when fighting impunity and achieving judicial justice, delegates cautioning that without clear limitations, the principle was open to misuse and abuse, as the Sixth Committee continued its consideration of the topic today.

There is no universal model for the rule of law, speakers underscored, spotlighting differences of opinion and country initiatives, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its consideration of the principle at the national and international levels and the Organization’s activities in that sphere.

The undermining of independent judiciaries, along with other trends impacting access to justice, has been increasing around the world, a top United Nations official warned, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the matter of the rule of law at the national and international levels today.