Sixth Committee

As the Sixth (Legal) Committee today considered the law of transboundary aquifers, delegates said that the elaboration of sound international principles that provide guidelines for the proper stewardship of cross-border aquifers was ever more relevant given the growing global demand for freshwater.

After years of deliberation on the nationality of persons in the case of the “succession of States”, delegates of the Sixth Committee (Legal) urged that a decision finally be made as to what form draft articles relating to the issue should take.

For more than four decades the United Nations had advanced the rule of law through its Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, delegates told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today, as it discussed the Programme’s work. A continued shortage of financial resources, however, might impede the Organization’s ability to continue the process in the future.

The principle of universal jurisdiction — how and to what extent it should be applied — was the central concern of the Sixth Committee (Legal) today as it reviewed the report of the Secretary-General on the matter and deliberated on its possible misuse and imposition on State sovereignty. Delegates from a large number of Member States took part in the all-day discussion.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) considered the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), delegates expressed strong concerns on impending budget cuts and the restructuring of plenary meeting locations being proposed for the Commission. In particular, it was said that if meetings were held only in Vienna instead of alternating with New York, it might be difficult for some poorer countries to afford to send representatives.

Jurisdictional fissures that allowed United Nations staff on mission to go unprosecuted for committing criminal acts threatened the reputation of the United Nations, some delegates told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today, as it addressed the issue of holding United Nations staff on mission accountable for criminal offences.

After ending its debate on the rule of law, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today considered the reports of the Special Committee on the Charter and the Repertory and Repertoire, and continued to review the outstanding requests for Observer Status in the General Assembly, on both of which topics there were extensive discussions on efficient working methods.

A new democracy based on the rule of law and the will of the people had sprung from the recent revolution in Tunisia, instituting deep-seated reforms that would guarantee Tunisian citizens the right to a dignified life, the delegate of Tunisia told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today as it took up its agenda item: the rule of law at the international and national levels.

During the concluding discussion in the Sixth Committee (Legal) on the subject of measures to eliminate international terrorism, delegates today repeatedly illustrated that no country or State in the world was immune from terrorism, and that it now was imperative to finalize the draft articles of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) today considered measures to eliminate international terrorism, delegates commemorated the tenth anniversary of the events of 11 September 2001, and urged a conclusion to the draft articles of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that would clearly define terrorism and address its root causes.