| United Nations | A/50/368 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
30 August 1995
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
Fiftieth session
Item 143 of the provisional agenda*
UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION ............................................1 - 84
II. ANALYTICAL PRESENTATION OF THE REPLIES RECEIVED FROM
STATES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS..................9 - 1006
A. Promotion of the acceptance of and respect for
the principles of international law.................9 - 306
1. Promoting the acceptance of multilateral treaties 9 - 126
2. Assistance and technical advice to States to
facilitate their participation in the process of
multilateral treaty-making......................13 - 237
3. Ways and means of implementation of multilateral
treaties........................................24 - 3011
B. Promotion of means and methods for the peaceful
settlement of disputes between States, including
resort to and full respect for the International
Court of Justice....................................31 - 3913
________________________
* A/50/150.
95-26667 (E) 260995/...
*9526667*
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
1. Suggestions by States for the promotion of means
and methods for the peaceful settlement of
disputes between States.........................3113
2. Suggestions by international organizations and
bodies and national societies for the promotion
of means and methods for the peaceful settlement
of disputes between States......................32 - 3914
C. Encouragement of the progressive development of
international law and its codification..............40 - 4718
D. Encouragement of the teaching, study, dissemination
and wider appreciation of international law.........48 - 9320
1. Promotion of the United Nations Programme of
Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination
and Wider Appreciation of International Law.....4820
2. Promotion of the teaching of international law
for students and teachers at schools and at
higher education levels and international
cooperation for that purpose....................49 - 5321
3. Organization of and participation in
international and regional seminars and symposia
for experts on international law................54 - 6122
4. Training in international law for legal
professionals and government officials organized
by States and international organizations.......62 - 7124
5. Publication of the practice of States and
international and regional organizations in the
field of international law......................72 - 7827
6. Publication by States and international
organizations of international legal instruments
and legal studies...............................79 - 8628
7. Wider publication of the judgements and advisory
opinions of international courts and tribunals
and summaries thereof.........................8730
8. Publication by international organizations of
treaties concluded under their auspices,
publication of the United Nations Treaty Series
and the United Nations Juridical Yearbook.......88 - 9330
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
E. Procedures and organizational aspects..............94 - 10031
1. Role of the Sixth Committee of the General
Assembly of the United Nations.................9431
2. The United Nations Congress on Public
International Law..............................95 - 9832
3. Establishment of national, subregional and
regional committees for implementation of the
programme......................................9933
4. Question of the provision of adequate financing
for the implementation of the programme for the
Decade.........................................10033
III. ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS RELEVANT TO THE
PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ITS
CODIFICATION...........................................101 - 13534
A. The law relating to human rights...................101 - 10334
B. The law relating to disarmament....................104 - 10534
C. The law relating to outer space....................10635
D. The law relating to economic development...........107 - 10835
E. The law relating to international trade............10935
F. The law relating to crime prevention and criminal
justice ............................................11036
G. The law relating to environment....................111 - 11436
H. The law of the sea.................................115 - 12336
I. Work of the International Law Commission...........124 - 12938
J. Work of the Special Committee on the Charter of the
United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role
of the Organization................................13039
K.Work of the Sixth Committee........................131 - 13539
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. By its resolution 44/23 of 17 November 1989, the General Assembly
declared the period 1990-1999 the United Nations Decade of International
Law. The main purposes of the Decade, according to paragraph 2 of the
resolution, should be, inter alia:
(a) To promote acceptance of and respect for the principles of
international law;
(b) To promote means and methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes
between States, including resort to and full respect for the International
Court of Justice;
(c) To encourage the progressive development of international law and
its codification;
(d) To encourage the teaching, study, dissemination and wider
appreciation of international law.
2. On 28 November 1990, the General Assembly adopted resolution 45/40,
entitled "United Nations Decade of International Law", to which was annexed
the programme for the activities to be commenced during the first term
(1990-1992) of the Decade. On 25 November 1992, the Assembly adopted
resolution 47/32, to which was annexed the programme for the activities for
the second term (1993-1994) of the Decade.
3. On 9 December 1994, the General Assembly adopted resolution 49/50,
entitled "United Nations Decade of International Law", to which was annexed
the programme for the activities to be commenced during the third term
(1995-1996) of the Decade. In that resolution, the Assembly, inter alia,
invited all States and international organizations and institutions
referred to in the programme to undertake the relevant activities outlined
therein and to provide information in this respect to the Secretary-General
for transmission to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session or, at the
latest, its fifty-first session; requested the Secretary-General to submit,
on the basis of such information as well as new information on the
activities of the United Nations relevant to the progressive development of
international law and its codification, a report to the General Assembly at
its fiftieth session; also requested the Secretary-General to proceed with
the organization of the United Nations Congress on Public International
Law, to be held from 13 to 17 March 1995, within existing resources and
assisted by voluntary contributions, taking into account the guidance
provided at the forty-eighth and forty-ninth sessions of the General
Assembly, and to keep the Member States informed of the status of the
preparations; invited all States to disseminate widely the revised
guidelines for military manuals and instructions on the protection of the
environment in times of armed conflict (A/49/323, annex) received from the
International Committee of the Red Cross and to give due consideration to
the possibility of incorporating them into their military manuals and other
instructions addressed to their military personnel; and invited the
International Committee of the Red Cross to continue to report on
activities undertaken by the Committee and other relevant bodies with
regard to the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, so
that the information received may be included in the above report of the
Secretary-General.
4. By a note dated 26 January 1995, the Secretary-General invited
Governments to submit information on the implementation of the programme or
any views on possible activities for the next term of the Decade. A
similar request was transmitted by letters dated 20 and 27 January 1995 to
intergovernmental organizations, United Nations bodies, international
courts and tribunals, and non-governmental organizations working in the
field of international law.
5. As at 10 August 1995, replies had been received from two States, the
Cook Islands and Cyprus. Relevant information had also been received from
the following United Nations bodies, international and regional
organizations and institutions: International Institute of Humanitarian
Law, Court of First Instance of the European Communities, United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), United Nations Institute for Training and
Research (UNITAR), International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL),
International Labour Organization (ILO), Institute of International Law,
United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), Permanent
Court of Arbitration (PCA), International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health
Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC),
International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Court of
Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and United
Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
6. The replies from States and international organizations are
analytically summarized in section II of the present report under five
headings, corresponding to the five main sections into which the programme
is divided. As a rule, the specific paragraphs of the sections of the
programme containing requests to States and international organizations
have provided the subheadings for the organization of the material under
each heading of section II of the report.
7. The supplementary information on recent activities of the United
Nations in the field of the progressive development of international law
and its codification is presented in section III, on a topic-by-topic
basis, following the format of the analysis presented in the last report of
the Secretary-General on this item (A/49/323 and Add.1 and 2). The work of
the International Law Commission and that of the Sixth Committee are dealt
with separately.
8. The full texts of the replies, in the original language of submission,
are available in the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs.
II. ANALYTICAL PRESENTATION OF THE REPLIES RECEIVED
FROM STATES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
A. Promotion of the acceptance of and respect for the
principles of international law
1. Promoting the acceptance of multilateral treaties Under paragraph 2 of
this section of the programme, States are invited to consider, if they have
not yet done so, becoming parties to existing multilateral treaties, in
particular those relevant to the progressive development of international
law and its codification. International organizations under whose auspices
such treaties are concluded are invited to indicate whether they publish
periodic reports on the status of ratifications of and accessions to
multilateral treaties, and if they do not, to indicate whether in their
view such a process would be useful. Consideration should be given to the
question of treaties which have not achieved wide participation or entered
into force after a considerable lapse of time and the circumstances causing
the situation.
9. UNDCP reported that, on the basis of information provided by the Office
of Legal Affairs, it was preparing a monthly report on the status of
adherence to the United Nations drug control treaties as well as an annual
report on the status of reservations, declarations and understandings
entered under those treaties.
10. UNEP observed that, with a view to promoting wider adherence to the
existing international environmental agreements, it had continued wide
dissemination of information on international law in the field of the
environment. Its Executive Director has been submitting to each regular
session of the Governing Council a report on the status of international
conventions and protocols in the field of the environment for its
consideration and subsequent transmission to the General Assembly. The
report contains information on new international environmental agreements
and changes to the status of existing instruments. Most recently, the
report was submitted to the Governing Council at its eighteenth session in
May 1995, and should, in accordance with Council decision 18/25 of 25 May
1995, be transmitted to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session. In
the same decision, the Council called on States that had not yet done so to
sign, ratify or accede to those conventions and protocols in the field of
the environment to which they were eligible to become parties. Meetings of
the contracting parties to the conventions concluded under UNEP auspices
have similarly invited Governments to become parties to the respective
conventions. In the same decision, the Governing Council noted with
appreciation the quality and usefulness of the Register of International
Treaties and Other Agreements in the Field of Environment, requested the
Executive Director to continue regular publication of the Register and
invited her to consider the possibility of updating and disseminating it
more frequently. UNEP has been issuing and distributing the Register
biennially
since 1977. The 1993 version of the Register, which was issued in the six
official languages of the United Nations, was sent to all Governments and
relevant organizations. The preparation of its 1995 version is to start
soon.
11. IISL reported that its Standing Committee on the Status of Space Law
Treaties monitored the signature, ratification and accession or adherence
to the United Nations space treaties.
12. AALCC reported that, pursuant to the mandate of the 1995 session, its
secretariat was to continue to urge member States which had not already
done so to consider ratifying or acceding to relevant multilateral
codification conventions. In the sphere of international economic and
trade law matters, AALCC at its 1995 session, held at Doha, Qatar, urged
member States to consider the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods,
Construction and Services as they reformed or enacted their legislation on
procurement. The Committee also urged member States to consider adopting,
ratifying or acceding to other texts prepared by UNCITRAL, including the
United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 1978 (the Hamburg
Rules).
2. Assistance and technical advice to States to facilitate their
participation in the process of multilateral treaty-making
Under paragraph 3 of this section of the programme, States and
international organizations are encouraged to provide assistance and
technical advice to States, in particular to developing countries, to
facilitate their participation in the process of multilateral treaty-
making, including their adherence to and implementation of such
multilateral treaties, in accordance with their national legal systems.
13. OSCE observed that, primarily through its Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, it was pursuing an active policy of
consolidating its norms and standards through the monitoring of their
implementation and the assistance offered to States in carrying out the
OSCE provisions.
14. UNITAR indicated that, in collaboration with UNEP and in association
with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), it had
organized the second Training Programme in Environmental Law and Policy at
Nairobi. The training programme was designed for government officials from
developing countries and countries with economies in transition working in
the field of environmental law and policy and related institutions. The
programme was developed to enhance endogenous capacity-building for
improved sustainable development. Its aim was to provide participants with
information about legal and institutional developments at the international
and national levels in the field of environmental law; to inspire greater
interest in and commitment to the use of environmental law as an instrument
for translating sustainable development policies into action; and to enable
participants to take initiatives regarding the development and
implementation of environmental law on a more informed basis in their
respective home countries. UNITAR also organized, inter alia, a workshop
on international legal instruments for Geneva-based
diplomats aimed at providing them with a sound knowledge of the
techniques regarding the drafting and interpretation of international legal
instruments.
15. The International Institute of Humanitarian Law stated that in 1995 it
had organized five military courses on the law of armed conflict for
officers of national armed forces. It also organized two refugee law
courses for government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
16. ILO reported that its multidisciplinary teams, whose mandate includes
assistance to developing and transition countries to facilitate their
adherence to and implementation of international labour standards, had
become regularly established and operational. The Organization also stated
that its activities directly addressed, inter alia, such issues raised in
the programme for the third term of the Decade as the problem of ILO
Conventions that had not achieved wide ratification, institutional means of
action regarding the implementation of international labour standards, the
ILO programme of work relevant to the progressive development of such
standards and future trends in this regard in ILO's specialized field.
17. UNDCP pointed out that it was providing a wide range of legal services
to requesting States to assist them in becoming parties to and in
effectively implementing the international drug control conventions. It
was advocating the adoption of adequate drug control legislation, advising
on adjusting national laws as well as policies and infrastructure to
implement the requirements of the conventions, helping to draft new or
amended laws and providing post-adoption advice for implementation. In
1994-1995, UNDCP provided legal assistance to 27 African States, 17 States
of Europe and the Near and Middle East and 9 States in the Asia and the
Pacific region. A set of model laws covering all requirements of the three
drug control treaties has been prepared to support legal assistance to
States from both the common-law and the Roman-German systems. UNDCP was
also collecting national drug control laws and regulations, publishing them
to ensure mutual disclosure among parties and preparing an annual
analytical index of that legislation to allow for the easy retrieval of the
laws' contents. Tools prepared by UNDCP for the implementation of the
conventions also included an annual directory listing national authorities
competent to take action under specific articles of the conventions, such
as article 7 (on mutual legal assistance) or article 17 (on illicit traffic
by sea) of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The directory assisted
Governments in identifying their counterparts and in communicating directly
with them. Pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1993/42
entitled "Measures to assist in the implementation of the United Nations
Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances of 1988", UNDCP was working at the preparation of a commentary
to that Convention, in order to provide States with a uniform
interpretation as well as with practical recommendations for the
implementation of the Convention.
18. PCA reported that it was making available modern procedural rules and,
by providing its International Bureau's administrative support at minimal
cost, ensuring the cost-effectiveness of the arbitral process. As a
further step in that direction, the International Bureau has adopted
measures aimed at decentralizing the functioning of PCA. The new measures
facilitate the convening of a tribunal, or other dispute settlement
mechanism, at any location agreed upon by the disputing parties because of
cost-effectiveness or for any other reason, and for the provision there of
administrative support, arranged in collaboration with the Members of PCA.
The International Bureau continued to encourage States to become parties to
The Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes of
1907, by sending information on PCA to Governments, raising the matter with
representatives attending meetings of the Sixth Committee of the General
Assembly and inviting interested Governments to be represented at its
Steering Committee meetings.
19. ICRC considered that the dissemination and promotion of the guidelines
for military manuals and instructions on the protection of the environment
in times of armed conflict prepared by it were part of its activities,
including the appropriate representations which it planned to make to
States. Specialized publications such as the International Review of the
Red Cross and the American Journal of International Law were to report on
them in 1995. ICRC emphasized that international humanitarian law remained
an area of particular relevance and pointed out that humanitarian
instruments should be promoted worldwide and effectively implemented. In
this connection, ICRC noted that the meeting of intergovernmental experts
for the protection of war victims (Geneva, January 1995) had adopted a
number of recommendations for the exploration of practical means of
promoting full respect for international humanitarian law. These included
the provision by ICRC of advisory services to help States in their efforts
to implement and disseminate international humanitarian law. The States
and organizations concerned were invited to assist ICRC in this new task,
for which the appropriate structure was being set up. ICRC further stated
that all necessary attention should be given to the strengthening of means
to implement instruments on the protection of cultural property in the
event of armed conflict. Efforts to this effect were being monitored and
encouraged by ICRC. The agenda of the seminar on the implementation of
international humanitarian law, jointly organized by ICRC and UNESCO, to be
held in September 1995 for the countries of Central Asia, also included the
protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. To
contribute towards efforts to promote respect for international
humanitarian law, the 90th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(Canberra, September 1993) had adopted a resolution recommending the
setting up of an ad hoc committee which was mandated to follow, with the
help of ICRC, the issue of respect for international humanitarian law,
particularly the ratification status of the relevant international
instruments and the implementation of measures at the national level, as
well as to disseminate information and make observations with a view to
promoting respect for international humanitarian law. The work of the 26th
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, to be held at
Geneva in December 1995, is to be centred on problems of implementation of
humanitarian law and a search for appropriate solutions to put the
humanitarian rules into full effect. It will provide an opportunity for
the international community as a whole to demonstrate its support for the
universally recognized humanitarian principles and its commitment to
improved protection for the victims of armed conflicts.
20. UNEP reported that it had been carrying out activities in order to
enhance the capacity and capabilities of developing countries and countries
with economies in transition to enhance their participation in the
development of, adherence to and implementation of international
environmental agreements. UNEP continued to provide such countries, upon
request, with technical assistance for developing national environmental
policy, legislation and institutions. It also provided government
officials with training through seminars and workshops at the regional and
global levels. UNEP, jointly with UNITAR and the United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements, had organized a second global environmental law training
programme at Nairobi in March/April 1995 that aimed, among other things, at
promoting the effective implementation of international environmental
agreements. UNEP also noted that it had been utilizing various meetings
convened under its auspices for promotion of, adherence to and
implementation of international environmental agreements. Thus it had,
together with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization
of African Unity (OAU), convened an African subregional ministerial meeting
of conventions at Nairobi from 6 to 8 March 1995, in conjunction with the
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment. At the meeting a number
of recommendations had been made relating to the implementation of
international environmental agreements, including a coordinated strategy
for strengthening Africa's preparedness for effective participation in
environmental conventions, and strategic elements for enhancing national
capacity for participating in such conventions. Furthermore, UNEP provided
financial support for government officials of developing countries and
countries with economies in transition to participate in international
meetings relevant to the development and implementation of international
environmental agreements convened by UNEP or UNEP-supported convention
secretariats. UNEP had continued to contribute to the effective
implementation of a number of international environmental agreements
concluded under its auspices by providing administrative support to the
secretariats of such agreements. Those agreements included: 1992
Convention on Biological Diversity; 1973 Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; 1985 Vienna Convention for
the Protection of the Ozone Layer and 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer; the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal; 1979 Bonn
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals;
regional seas conventions and related protocols concluded in nine regions
of the world. Regarding the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
Conference of the Parties at its first meeting, held at Nassau from 28
November to 9 December 1994, decided to designate UNEP to carry out the
functions of the secretariat of the Convention. That decision of the
Conference of the Parties was welcomed by the UNEP Governing Council in its
decision 18/36 (A) of 26 May 1995. In order to facilitate the task of the
secretariats of the conventions concluded under its auspices, UNEP convened
the Second Meeting on Coordination of Secretariats of Environmental
Conventions at Nairobi on 14 and 16 May 1995. The third meeting was to
take place at Geneva from 3 to 5 July 1995. UNEP further noted that,
according to Governing Council decision 18/9 of 26 May 1995, it was to
monitor the implementation of international legal instruments in the field
of the environment, to elaborate and recommend, where necessary, means to
enhance their effectiveness and to provide support, as agreed, to the
convention secretariats.
21. AALCC stated that its secretariat was to continue to furnish
assistance to the States members of the Committee to facilitate their
participation in the process of multilateral treaty-making, their adherence
thereto and the implementation thereof in accordance with their national
legal systems.
22. IISL observed that one of its standing committees was providing
clarity in the definitional questions of legal terminology presented by
space activities.
23. FAO reported that, in support of its technical advisory assistance to
member countries in the field of water law and its administration, it had
issued in 1994 a publication entitled "Preparing national regulations for
water resources management: principles and practice" (FAO Legislative
Study Series, No. 52), which consisted of a manual providing conceptual
material for use in the preparation of national regulations for the
management, development, use and protection of freshwater resources.
Particular attention was being devoted to the link between policy and
legislation, and to the interface between the two. Country experiences in
the review and formulation of water resources policy and supporting
legislation have been surveyed and published as "Water policy and
legislation review and reform: selected country experiences (Australia
(State of Victoria), Chile, England and Wales, France (occasional paper
FAO/WPL/2))". An approach was being developed to technical assistance to
FAO member countries, whereby policy advice in the field of water resources
and advice on water legislation are mutually complementary. Research was
also in progress on the legal aspects of privatization of water services,
with emphasis on irrigation water use, and on customary water rights in
African countries. This research was expected to result in two separate
publications in the Legislative Studies series. FAO also noted that its
development of the International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing
had progressed during 1994 through wide-ranging consultation and review.
The Code of Conduct was to provide comprehensive guidance to States and
promote responsible behaviour among all those involved in fisheries. It
was to implement and complement the 1982 United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea, as well as other international instruments on the
conservation and development of fisheries. A revised version of the draft
Code was subsequently prepared by the FAO secretariat, taking account of
discussions at the technical level. It was to be submitted in March 1995,
for further consideration and endorsement to the FAO Committee on
Fisheries, and subsequently to the Organization's governing bodies - to the
Council in June and to the Conference in November.
3. Ways and means of implementation of multilateral treaties Under
paragraph 4 of this section of the programme, States are encouraged to
report to the Secretary-General on ways and means provided for in the
multilateral treaties to which they are parties, regarding the
implementation of such treaties. International organizations are similarly
encouraged to report to the Secretary-General on ways and means provided
for by the multilateral treaties concluded under their auspices, regarding
the implementation of such treaties. The Secretary-General is requested to
prepare a report on the basis of that information and to submit it to the
General Assembly.
24. OSCE indicated that, indirectly or directly, it was the political
guardian of far-reaching arms control agreements which could form the basis
of a new order of military security in Europe, such as the Treaty on
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and the CFE 1 A Act on
Personnel. These instruments had
introduced strict limits on key military equipment and personnel held by
the States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the States
in the area of the former Warsaw Treaty Organization. It also indicated
that Europe, which had for many years been the area of the most tense
confrontation and highest concentration of weapons, had embarked on an
unprecedented demilitarization process, resulting in the liquidation of
tens of thousands of pieces of equipment. A very intensive system of
information exchange and intrusive verification had been put in place. The
Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-building Measures had created
an elaborate system of politically binding confidence-building measures.
It allowed control of military activities and provided at the same time for
a number of early warning indicators.
25. ILO reported that it had sponsored, jointly with FAO, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA), the Pan-
American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO, the International Basic Safety
Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of
Radiation Sources (BSS) which had recently been published by IAEA (interim
edition). The BSS were relevant to the implementation of the ILO-Radiation
Protection Convention (No. 115) (article 3) and Recommendation (No. 114),
1960, which provided in particular that: "Every member should have due
regard to the recommendations made from time to time by the International
Commission on Radiological Protection and standards adopted by other
competent organizations" (para. 3).
26. UNESCO reported that, under article 26 of the 1954 Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, States are
required to report to the Director-General every four years on the
implementation of the Convention. The most recent report on this subject
was issued in 1989; the next was scheduled to be published at the end of
1995. The strengthening of the Convention and ways of improving its
implementation were on the agendas of two meetings of experts held at The
Hague in July 1993 and at Lauswolt in February 1994 at the request of the
Government of the Netherlands. After studying the results of those
meetings, the Director-General proposed that a meeting of States parties to
the Convention should be convened during the twenty-eighth session of the
General Conference in November 1995. The purpose of the meeting should be
to consider measures to be taken in order to improve the implementation of
the Convention. The Executive Board approved the proposal at its 145th
session.
27. FAO reported that, in order to facilitate international cooperation
and coordination in the wake of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED), it had been designated Task Manager
for various chapters of Agenda 21 and had provided chairmanship for
relevant subcommittees, with the Commission on Sustainable Development
providing guidance and monitoring progress in implementing the Rio
agreements. Besides its role as task manager, FAO contributed actively to
the implementation of the UNCED agreements, in particular by providing
technical and legal advice to the interim secretariat of the 1992
Convention on Biological Diversity and to the Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee of the 1994 International Convention to combat desertification.
FAO acted as technical secretariat and provided documentation for the three
sessions of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. It also contributed to the United Nations
Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States (Bridgetown, Barbados, 26 April-6 May 1994). In addition, the
Organization prepared a monograph on capacity-building in agriculture,
forestry and fisheries, to assist in the development of the UNDP Capacity
21 programme in these sectors.
28. UNDCP pointed out that it was closely monitoring implementation of the
drug control treaties. It was issuing annual questionnaires to States on
the legislative, administrative and operational steps taken by them to
implement the treaties. The results were summarized and reviewed by the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
29. UNEP reported that a Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, which was expected to be
adopted at an intergovernmental conference on the subject to be held in
Washington from 23 October to 3 November 1995, would provide norms,
principles and certain procedures for Governments to protect the marine
environment from land-based activities. After its adoption, the document
could contribute to the effective implementation of relevant provisions of
the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and various
regional maritime conventions and protocols.
30. AALCC reported that it had directed its secretariat to monitor the
implementation of recent multilateral instruments relating to the
environment.
B. Promotion of means and methods for the peaceful settlement
of disputes between States, including resort to and full
respect for the International Court of Justice Under
paragraph 1 of this section of the programme, States, the United Nations
system of organizations and regional organizations, including AALCC, as
well as the International Law Association, the Institute of International
Law, the Hispano-Luso-American Institute of International Law and other
international institutions working in the field of international law, and
national societies of international law, are invited to study the means and
methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, including
resort to and full respect for the International Court of Justice, and to
present suggestions for the promotion thereof to the Sixth Committee.
1. Suggestions by States for the promotion of means
and methods for the peaceful settlement of
disputes between States
31. No comments to be reported under this heading.
2. Suggestions by international organizations and bodies
and national societies for the promotion of means and
methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes
between States
32. OSCE pointed out that it had made available to the participating
States instruments for peaceful settlement of disputes. At their Valletta
meeting (January-February 1991), experts of CSCE - as the Organization was
then known had adopted a report containing principles for dispute
settlement and provisions for a CSCE procedure for the peaceful settlement
of disputes. The procedure, also known as the Valletta Mechanism, may be
applied in any dispute between participating States, with a few exceptions.
The Valletta Mechanism provided for political instruments for the
settlement of disputes between participating States in the form of the
establishment of so-called dispute settlement mechanisms. These mechanisms
consist of one or more independent members which may be selected from a
list of experts. At their December 1992 meeting at Stockholm, the Foreign
Ministers of the participating States further developed the machinery for
the peaceful settlement of disputes. In order to further and strengthen
their commitment to settle disputes exclusively by peaceful means, and in
accordance with the Helsinki Decisions of 1992 to develop a comprehensive
and coherent set of measures available within CSCE for the peaceful
settlement of disputes, the Ministers have:
(a) Adopted measures to enhance the Valletta Mechanism through
modification of the procedure for selecting a dispute settlement mechanism;
(b) Adopted the text of a Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration
within CSCE 1/ providing for general conciliation and for arbitration on
the basis of agreements ad hoc or, in advance, on the basis of reciprocal
declarations, and declared it open for signature by interested
participating States;
(c) Adopted a conciliation procedure as an option available to
participating States on the basis of agreements ad hoc or, in advance, on
the basis of reciprocal declarations;
(d) Decided that the Council or the Committee of Senior Officials of
CSCE may direct any two participating States to seek conciliation to assist
them in resolving a dispute that they have not been able to settle within a
reasonable period of time.
None of the procedures for the peaceful settlement of disputes have been
used thus far.
33. UNITAR stated that a long-term goal of the UNITAR-Interpress Agency
(IPA) Fellowship Programme on Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy was to
develop an institutional capacity for debriefing and the retrieval of
United Nations practices and experience in peacemaking and preventive
diplomacy in order to strengthen the United Nations potential for
institutional learning and memory. Case material presented by staff and
assembled by fellows is to serve as the basis for further research and
study to develop a collection of case histories which document important
lessons and issues. The goal is to develop a repository of knowledge for
use within the fellowship programme and, more widely, within the United
Nations and the international community as a whole. Development of
materials, such as a Case Handbook on Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy,
was planned. The coordinator of the fellowship programme was given an 18-
month grant by the Ford Foundation to carry out research on the topic of
"The United Nations as a dispute settlement system: improving mechanisms
for the prevention and resolution of conflict". The project involved a
review of the causes of contemporary disputes and dispute escalation; an
analysis of the mechanisms available within the United Nations system for
preventing and resolving disputes; and proposals for making the system more
effective. It also made a number of specific suggestions for strengthening
pre-conflict peacebuilding and preventive diplomacy. The project was to be
presented in the form of a book, for which publication was pending.
34. The Institute of International Law observed that its Eleventh
Committee (Rapporteur: Mr. Rudolf Bernhardt) was working on the topic "The
settlement of international disputes involving more than two States by
judicial means and through arbitration".
35. The Permanent Court of Arbitration emphasized that the beginning of
the Decade, in 1990, had coincided with the start of an extensive effort to
revitalize the Court. That effort, which took many forms, including a
programme of research and publication in the field of international
arbitration, and participation in international conferences and symposia,
was aimed at increasing awareness of, and ultimately recourse to, the
various dispute resolution mechanisms offered by the Court. In the past
year, PCA had made further progress in a number of areas previously
reported on and undertaken activities in new areas. Thus its Financial
Assistance Fund established on 3 October 1994, to which contributions were
made on a voluntary basis, was aimed at providing financial assistance to
qualifying States to enable them to meet, in whole or in part, the costs
involved in international arbitration or other means of dispute settlement
offered by The Hague Conventions. As a result of a generous initial
contribution of the Government of the Netherlands, the Fund had already
become operational. Other countries had indicated their readiness to
contribute to the Fund in the near future. The Court further noted that
its Steering Committee, in analysing the historical development and
practical application of methods of dispute settlement, had explored, inter
alia, at a meeting held on 28 March 1995, the issue of the form of
potential changes to the Hague system of dispute resolution. Reserving at
that stage any decision with respect to formal amendment of the existing
treaty provisions, the Steering Committee considered making recommendations
in three specific areas:
(a) The development of rules of procedure for international commissions
of inquiry;
(b) The inclusion of international organizations as parties having
"standing" in PCA dispute settlement proceedings;
(c) The establishment of an express basis for conciliation.
At the same meeting, the Steering Committee exchanged views on these draft
recommendations and on first drafts prepared by two of the three
rapporteurs: draft rules for arbitration involving international
organizations, and provisions concerning commissions of inquiry. At the
end of the meeting, the members of the Steering Committee were invited to
submit written comments on the draft texts and draft recommendations. The
Court noted that new drafts, including draft rules for conciliation, should
be circulated among the members of the Steering Committee as they became
available. The Steering Committee was scheduled to meet again in the fall
of 1995. The Court also reported that, as part of a continuing programme
aimed at promoting awareness of the Court and its services, the
International Bureau had sent copies of the PCA Optional Rules to the legal
advisers of the ministries of foreign affairs of all States Members of the
United Nations, as well as to the legal advisers of the major international
organizations and a large number of private lawyers. The proceedings of
the First Conference of Members of the PCA (September 1993), published
early in 1994, had also been widely distributed. The Secretary-General of
the Court had participated in several international conferences, including
meetings of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly (New York, November
1994) and the United Nations Congress on Public International Law (New
York, March 1995). Participating in the debates of the Sixth Committee of
the General Assembly, on behalf of the International Bureau as Permanent
Observer on 15 November 1994, the Secretary-General made a statement on
agenda item 136 (United Nations Decade of International Law). In his
statement, the Secretary-General summarized the innovative measures adopted
by the Court; emphasized that, by providing facilities and procedures for a
broad range of methods of settling international disputes, the Court could
complement the role of the International Court of Justice as the principal
judicial organ of the United Nations; and drew attention to the recent
establishment of the Financial Assistance Fund and to the decentralization
of the functioning of the Court. In conclusion, he reiterated the
Administrative Council's invitation to all States that did not yet
participate in the work of the Court, to consider acceding to the Hague
Convention of 1907. The Secretary-General and other members of the
International Bureau continued to address an increasing number of groups of
lawyers, students and other visitors to the Peace Palace. The Court
further indicated that a number of experts in environmental law had
encouraged its International Bureau to establish a working group to examine
the need for the establishment of new international arrangements or
institutions for resolving environmental disputes and to explore a possible
role for the Court in that connection. The International Bureau of the
Court had requested two experts in international environmental law to draft
an initial working paper for discussion by the working group once it had
been constituted.
36. UNEP pointed out that it was studying dispute avoidance and settlement
among various relevant emerging legal issues in the light of sustainable
development. Relevant activities were to be continued in late 1995 and
subsequently, according to its decision 18/9 of 26 May 1995.
37. AALCC observed that it had always attached great significance to the
cardinal principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes. Its secretariat
had proposed to continue to monitor the work of the Special Committee on
the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of
the Organization with regard to the peaceful settlement of disputes. The
AALCC secretariat had also proposed to organize an International Seminar on
the "Work and role of the International Court of Justice". The seminar
would aim at promoting awareness of the work of the World Court on the eve
of its fiftieth anniversary. The Seminar was intended to be convened with
the assistance of the International Court of Justice. As regards disputes
stemming from international economic and trade law matters, the AALCC
secretariat would, during the term of the Decade, continue to exhort and
urge member States to resolve their differences in accordance with the
arbitration and/or conciliatory rules framed by the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). AALCC would also
endeavour to expand and enlarge the activities of its regional centres of
arbitration functioning at Cairo, Kuala Lumpur and Lagos. The Lagos
Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration was reactivated
recently and has facilities for handling arbitration. The Centre provided
secretariat support services, of which parties and arbitrators alike may
avail themselves. Steps had been initiated to establish and make
operational a similar centre at Nairobi to serve the countries in eastern
and southern Africa. The question of the resolution of disputes relating
to international economic and trade law had also been discussed at an
international seminar on globalization and harmonization of commercial and
arbitration laws organized by the AALCC secretariat in March 1995.
38. IISL pointed out that one of its Standing Committees was dealing with
dispute settlement and also had begun to collect examples from different
national jurisdictions of case-law arising from space activities with the
intention of publishing them.
39. The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) observed that progress made in the world-wide acceptance of
international arbitration was exemplified by the fact that parties involved
in ICC arbitrations had originated from 100 countries last year. The Court
also indicated that a report of a working group of the ICC Commission on
International Arbitration, examining intellectual property disputes in
arbitration, was expected to be released in 1996.
C. Encouragement of the progressive development
of international law and its codification Under
paragraph 1 of this section of the programme, international organizations,
including the United Nations system of organizations and regional
organizations, are invited to submit to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations summary information regarding the programme and results of their
work relevant to the progressive development of international law and its
codification, including their suggestions for future work in their
specialized field, with an indication of the appropriate forum to undertake
such work. Similarly, the Secretary-General is requested to prepare a
report on relevant activities of the United Nations (see sect. III below).
Under paragraph 2 of this section of the programme, States are invited,
on the basis of the information mentioned in paragraph 1, to submit
suggestions for consideration by the Sixth Committee. In particular,
efforts should be made to identify areas of international law which might
be ripe for progressive development or codification.
40. ILO stated that it had adopted 175 Conventions and 182
Recommendations, including the most recent Convention and Recommendation on
part-time work of June 1994. The agenda of the eighty-second session of
the International Labour Conference to be held in June included the
consideration of the adoption of international labour standards on safety
and health in mines and the extension of the Labour Inspection Convention
of 1947 (No. 81) to activities in the non-commercial services sector. The
agenda of the maritime session of the International Labour Conference to be
convened in January 1996 included the adoption of revised international
labour standards on maritime labour inspection, seafarers' wages, hours of
work and manning at sea, recruitment and placement of seafarers and
additions to the appendix to the ILO Convention on minimum standards in
merchant shipping. ILO further observed that it had sponsored jointly with
FAO, IAEA, WHO, the OECD/NEA and PAHO, the International Basic Safety
Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of
Radiation Sources (BSS), which marked the culmination of efforts over
several decades towards the harmonization of radiation protection and
safety standards internationally. Moreover, ILO hoped that the
establishment of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management
of Chemicals, involving UNEP, FAO, WHO, the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), OECD and ILO, would facilitate the
elaboration of a legally binding instrument on prior informed consent (see
also para. 111 below). ILO had also been involved in preliminary
discussions on possible means for international harmonization of the
classification and labelling of chemicals.
41. WHO observed that, on 14 May 1993, the forty-sixth World Health
Assembly had adopted resolution 46.40, by which it decided to request the
International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the question
whether, in view of the health and environmental effects, the use of
nuclear weapons by a State in war or other armed conflict would be a breach
of its obligations under international law, including the WHO Constitution.
Consequently, the Director-General filed in the Registry of the Court on 3
September 1993 said request for an advisory opinion. WHO also observed
that it had held an inter-regional meeting at New Delhi from 13 to 16 March
1995 regarding prevention and control of a plague epidemic, which, inter
alia, considered the need to revise any of the provisions of the
International Health Regulations. Subsequently, the forty-eighth World
Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA48.7 of 12 May 1995, entitled
"Revision and updating of the International Health Regulations", in which
it urged member States to participate in the revision of the International
Health Regulations and requested the Director-General to take steps to
prepare a revision of the Regulations for submission to the Assembly. The
Assembly also adopted resolution WHA48.11 of 12 May 1995, entitled "An
international strategy for tobacco control", in which it requested the
Director-General to report to the forty-ninth World Health Assembly on the
feasibility of developing an international instrument to be adopted by the
United Nations, taking into account existing trade conventions and other
treaties.
42. FAO indicated that it was elaborating an International Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fishing. Moreover, the 1983 International Undertaking on
Plant Genetic Resources was being revised, and the possibility that the
revised text might become a protocol to the Convention on Biological
Diversity was being considered. Further proposed action included the
development of a holistic normative framework to facilitate the cooperation
of all concerned in meeting conflicting demands on land resources while
avoiding land degradation, as well as the negotiation of regional or
subregional cooperative agreements on mountains, possibly leading to the
development of a global mountain charter and action plan.
43. OSCE stated that the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of
Security adopted at Budapest in December 1994 was an important milestone on
the road leading to cooperative security. The Code, reaffirming the
continuing validity of the comprehensive concept of security, set
politically binding norms and principles guiding the role of armed forces
in democratic societies and the relation, among States as well as the
relations of States vis-a-vis their nationals in the military field. The
Code underscored, inter alia, the determination of participating States to
act in solidarity if OSCE norms and commitments were violated and to
facilitate concerted responses to security challenges they might face.
44. AALCC indicated that it continued to study the progress of work of
both the International Law Commission and the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law and to comment thereon as part of its modest
contribution to the progressive development and codification of
international law. The Consultative Committee attached great significance
to the items currently on the agenda of the International Law Commission,
as they were of particular relevance to its members. The Committee further
reported that its secretariat had drawn up model legislation on the rights
and duties of refugees in the light of the codified principles of
international law and the practice of States in the region. The
secretariat would also continue to examine the question of the
establishment of safety zones for displaced persons in the country of
origin.
45. ICRC pointed out that, following a meeting of technical experts
(Geneva, August 1990), Switzerland, the depositary State of the Geneva
Conventions and their Additional Protocols, had invited the States parties
thereto to revise annex I of Additional Protocol I, relative to the
identification of installations and means of medical transport. The
proposed amendments entered into force on 1 March 1994 and covered the
latest technological developments that facilitated the identification of
means of medical transport in times of armed conflict. Moreover, as part
of the preparations for the Review Conference of the 1980 United Nations
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, scheduled for September-October
1995, ICRC had participated in the work of governmental experts and had
submitted proposals on the regulation of the use of land-mines, blinding
laser weapons and other new weapons.
46. The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
observed that a Steering Committee had been established to consider the
possible revision of the 1907 Convention on the Pacific Settlement of
International Disputes.
47. ICEL reported that it had cooperated over the past years with the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(IUCN) and the Natural Resources Commission on Environmental Law on a draft
International Covenant on Environment and Development. The project aimed
at consolidating major existing and emerging legal principles relating to
environmental conservation and sustainable development into an
internationally binding legal instrument, thus contributing to the
progressive development of international environmental law. In 1994, the
fifth and final draft was completed and the document was launched during
the United Nations Congress on Public International Law held in New York
from 13 to 17 March 1995. It was also distributed at the third session of
the Commission on Sustainable Development. Moreover, in cooperation with
the IUCN and the Natural Resources Environmental Law Centre, UNESCO and
ICRC, ICEL had continued preparatory work on drafting an instrument
designed to improve the protection of the environment in times of armed
conflict.
D. Encouragement of the teaching, study, dissemination
and wider appreciation of international law
1. Promotion of the United Nations Programme of Assistance
in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider
Appreciation of International Law Under paragraph 1 of
this section of the programme, States and other public or private bodies
are encouraged to contribute to the strengthening of the United Nations
Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider
Appreciation of International Law.
48. UNITAR observed that 158 persons from 67 countries had filed
applications for the 1995 Hague Fellowship Programme organized under the
United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study,
Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law. Nominations had
been received from five different regions: 66 from Africa, 50 from Asia
and the Pacific, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 14 from Arab
States and 2 from Europe. A Joint Selection Committee under the
chairmanship of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations had awarded 18
fellowships. The training programme was to take place at The Hague, from 3
July to 11 August 1995. Participants would attend the special seminars
organized by UNITAR as well as selected lectures on private and public
international law held at the Hague Academy of International Law.
2. Promotion of the teaching of international law for students
and teachers at schools and at higher education levels and
international cooperation for that purpose * Under
paragraph 2 of this section of the programme, States should encourage their
educational institutions to introduce courses in international law for
students studying law, political science, social sciences and other
relevant disciplines; they should study the possibility of introducing
topics of international law in the curricula of schools at the primary and
secondary levels. Cooperation between institutions at the university level
among developing countries, on the one hand, and their cooperation with
those of developed countries on the other, should be encouraged.
Under paragraph 3, States should consider convening conferences of
experts at the national and regional levels in order to study the question
of preparing model curricula and materials for courses in international
law, training of teachers in international law, preparation of textbooks on
international law and the use of modern technology to facilitate the
teaching of and research in international law.
Under paragraph 7, cooperation is encouraged among developing countries,
as well as between developing countries, in particular among those persons
who are involved in the practice of international law, for exchanging
experience and for mutual assistance in the field of international law,
including assistance in providing textbooks and manuals of international
law.
49. UNEP pointed out that it continued its assistance to the law faculty
of a university in Sri Lanka for the development of a postgraduate
programme in environmental law, including international environmental law,
expected to commence in October 1995. That was the first of UNEP's
projects regarding assistance for the development of environmental law
curricula in universities of developing countries.
50. UNESCO observed that it was preparing a manual for human rights
teaching for university-level use, which contained a chapter on
humanitarian law and human rights. It further stated that the network of
UNESCO chairs on education and training for human rights was especially
active in the area of international humanitarian law. Thus, the UNESCO
chairs at Nicolas Copernicus University of Torun, Poland, and Comenius
University of Bratislava, Slovakia, were carrying out activities in this
area in close cooperation with their national Red Cross organizations as
well as ICRC. UNESCO also published in 1994 the third edition of the World
Directory of Human Rights Research and Training Institutions and the fourth
edition of the World Directory of Peace Research and Training Institutions.
51. The Institute of International Law indicated that the Committee
established in 1991 to consider the question of the teaching of
international law was continuing its work under the guidance of its
Rapporteur, Professor Ronald St. John Mcdonald.
52. The International Council of Environmental Law observed that, with the
assistance of the Karl Schmitz Scholl Fund, it had set up a special fund
for legal studies in the field of trade and the environment.
53. The International Institute of Space Law of the International
Astronautical Federation reported that it had sponsored an international
moot court competition, named in honour of Manfred Lachs, late Judge of the
International Court of Justice. Preliminary rounds had been held in Europe
and in the United States of America, with the final competition being held
as part of the annual Conference of the Institute, and judged by three
Judges of the International Court of Justice.
3. Organization of and participation in international and regional
seminars and symposia for experts on international law Under
paragraph 4 of this section of the programme, States, the United Nations
system of organizations and regional organizations should consider
organizing seminars, symposia, training courses, lectures and meetings and
undertaking studies on various aspects of international law.
54. The Cook Islands suggested that the United Nations convene a meeting
of the legal advisers of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of small States
to discuss their role, the special operational and logistical problems they
faced, inter alia, regarding participation in the multilateral treaty-
making process and the fulfilment of reporting obligations, and possible
means to resolve such problems through cooperation at the regional and
global levels.
55. UNCTAD observed that from time to time it organized seminars on the
legal aspects of restrictive business practices, technology and maritime
multi-modal transport.
56. UNEP stated that it had organized a working group of experts to
discuss liability and compensation for environmental damage from military
activities (London, February 1995) as well as expert meetings to be held in
1995 and 1996 to discuss the concept, the requirements and the implications
of sustainable development; compliance implementation mechanisms; and
dispute avoidance and settlement procedures. These meetings were convened
within the framework of studies conducted by UNEP on the above issues.
57. ILO reported that it had organized the following seminars and
workshops in 1995: a Central American subregional tripartite seminar on
the application of international labour standards (11-22 September);
tripartite seminars on national legislation and international labour
standards for selected French-speaking African countries (24-28 April 1995,
Libreville and 2-6 May, Ouagadougou); a subregional tripartite seminar for
economies in transition in East Asia on the promotion of equality of
opportunity and treatment in employment (24-28 April 1995, Thailand); a
southern African subregional workshop on international labour standards
relevant to women workers (Lilongwe); a tripartite seminar on national
legislation and international labour standards for Portuguese-speaking
African countries (30 May-2 June, Portugal); a Caribbean subregional
employers' seminar on international labour standards (Port-of-Spain); and
an Asian-Pacific regional workers' education seminar on basic human rights
and development (24-28 April, Manila). The International Training Centre
of ILO organized a seminar on international labour standards (22 May-2
June, Turin/Geneva) and a tripartite programme on the dissemination of such
standards (2-11 October, Mexico City).
58. UNESCO indicated that it had organized an international symposium on
the right to humanitarian assistance from 25 to 27 January 1995, at UNESCO
headquarters. Participants included jurists, theoreticians and
participants in intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental
humanitarian assistance. The symposium provided an opportunity to explore
different aspects of the concept of the right to humanitarian assistance,
to consider the sudden growth of ideas and guidelines for action in this
area and to identify the main directions and possible options for the
various organizations concerned. Furthermore, the UNESCO Chair of Human
Rights and Democracy in Moscow, in cooperation with the Russian National
Commission for UNESCO and ICRC, organized an international conference on
international humanitarian law in Moscow on 25 April 1995.
59. AALCC stated that it had organized a seminar on the question of an
international criminal court in January 1995 which furnished a forum for an
informal exchange of views on the draft adopted by the International Law
Commission at its forty-sixth session. It also proposed to hold a seminar
on international nuclear law in collaboration with the International Atomic
Energy Agency.
60. The International Institute of Humanitarian Law indicated that it had
organized the following seminars and round tables: eleventh seminar of
European governmental experts regarding the East-West European dialogue on
current refugee problems and displaced persons; fifth seminar for Arab
experts on current problems of refugees in Arab countries; meeting of a
group of experts on current problems of migration; and the twentieth
international round table on current problems of international humanitarian
law (San Remo, 6-9 September 1995).
61. The International Institute of Space Law of the International
Astronautical Federation pointed out that its annual colloquium had been
held at the same time and place as the annual Congress of the Federation,
which included a round table on scientific and legal questions. Currently,
the following issues, inter alia, were being discussed by the Institute:
intellectual property, space debris, developments in international
organizations dealing with space matters, verification and the common
heritage of mankind. The Institute further observed that it had
established a number of standing committees and working groups dealing,
inter alia, with the clarification of the legal terminology relating to
space activities and dispute settlement.
4. Training in international law for legal professionals
and government officials organized by States and
international organizations Under paragraph 5 of this
section of the programme, States are encouraged to organize special
training in international law for legal professionals, including judges,
and personnel of ministries of foreign affairs and other relevant
ministries as well as military personnel. The United Nations Institute for
Training and Research, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, The Hague Academy of International Law, the
International Institute of Humanitarian Law, regional organizations and the
International Committee of the Red Cross are invited to continue
cooperating in this respect with States.
Under paragraph 6, and in connection with the training of military
personnel, States are encouraged to foster the teaching and dissemination
of the principles governing the protection of the environment in times of
armed conflict and should consider the possibility of making use of the
guidelines for military manuals and instructions prepared by the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
62. Cyprus reported that the management courses which its Police Academy
had organized upon the promotion of members of the Police Force to the post
of Inspector, Chief Inspector, Superintendent and Chief Superintendent had
included, in the curriculum for the last two years, lectures on the subject
of human rights. The precise theme of the lectures was "International
conventions and human rights" and they contained a detailed analysis of all
conventions concerning human rights, with particular emphasis on those to
which the Republic of Cyprus had become a signatory and thereafter ratified
by law. The first part of the lectures covered the Charter of the United
Nations and treaties, declarations, covenants, etc., under the United
Nations regime as well as international agreements brought into operation
by international organizations such as the ILO. This included conventions
covering a variety of human rights as well as those focusing on specific
rights such as racial discrimination, torture, etc. The second part dealt
with conventions at the regional level. Particular attention was devoted to
the oldest one, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights,
since it had proved a unique international legal instrument both as regards
the extent of the rights it protected as well as the machinery for their
implementation. The lectures also dealt with other European Conventions as
well as the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe. Owing to
the growing importance attached to human rights and the keen interest shown
in the lectures, the idea of doubling their number was being considered.
The lectures were given by an Officer of the Legal Service of the Republic.
63. Cyprus also indicated that the International Association for the
Protection of Human Rights in Cyprus was a very active non-governmental
organization. It organized lectures, seminars and conferences on a regular
basis covering various aspects of the international law of human rights.
Eminent jurists as well as distinguished practising lawyers in the field of
international law from across Europe participated in such conferences,
making valuable contributions. Through such meetings the opportunity was
given to Cypriot lawyers and other legal professionals to acquaint
themselves better with the principles in this area. The organization by the
Association, on an almost biannual basis in conjunction with the
Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, of a two-day
conference featuring distinguished speakers, was by now well established.
The one held recently on 6 May 1995 on the topic of "Human rights in the
emerging European order" covered the following subjects: (a) European
Convention on Human Rights and the Central and Eastern European countries;
(b) effects of the 9th and 11th Protocols to the European Convention on
Human Rights; (c) the European Union and human rights: current issues and
prospects; (d) emergence of particular protection of minorities in Europe;
and (e) problems regarding the implementation of human rights norms in
Europe. Contributions had been made by members of the European Commission
of Human Rights as well as professors of international law from the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece, etc. The
conferences had proved very successful and the detailed minutes of their
proceedings were published by the Association.
64. Other activities of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights
in Cyprus included the issuance of a bulletin and a newsletter on current
matters in Cyprus and world affairs in the area of human rights. A seminar
organized by the Association was to be held in October 1995, in which
jurists and professors of international law holding seats in well-known
universities in Europe would participate. The seminar would deal with the
Report on Human Rights of the State Department of the United States to the
Congress, and in particular the parts which concerned Cyprus, Greece and
Turkey. The Association had also called on major establishments,
companies, etc., to provide funds for the enlargement of the library of the
Association. The ultimate goal was for the offices of the Association to
become a Centre for International Law in Cyprus. Serious thought was also
being given to the organization by the Association, in cooperation with a
university or an institute abroad, of two-month courses on the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, to cover a thorough study of
the rights protected, the procedure available with respect to individual
petitions and, generally, an effective examination of the whole mechanism
available.
65. UNITAR indicated that it provided training to legal professionals in a
variety of areas. It thus organized the second training programme in
environmental law and policy in association with UNEP and the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), aimed at enhancing
endogenous capacitybuilding for improved sustainable development. UNITAR
also organized jointly with the International Peace Academy a Fellowship
Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy which offered advanced
training in conflict analysis, negotiation and mediation to international
and national civil servants wishing to learn or refine these skills. The
programme was based on the latest knowledge in the field and was taught by
distinguished experts from both academic and applied settings, including
current and former United Nations Secretariat staff. Development of a Case
Handbook on Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy was also planned. UNITAR,
moreover, had organized a Training Programme in Debt and Financial
Management for senior officers, mid-level managers, law professors and
lawyers. The programme focused on the legal elements in the overall
process of international loan negotiations, dealing in particular with
those clauses in a loan agreement of most relevance to the borrower and for
which improvements could be sought in its favour. From time to time,
UNITAR also held high-level awareness seminars for senior government
officials with a view to keeping them abreast of and involved in the move
towards better debt and financial management through proper involvement of
lawyers at every stage of the borrowing process. UNITAR had further
developed a training package for workshops in multilateral loan
negotiations. Regarding international trade law, UNITAR had organized a
workshop on procedures for the settlement of trade disputes within the
framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for members of permanent
missions in Geneva and, upon request, in developing countries. Members of
permanent missions in Geneva could also attend a UNITAR workshop on
multilateral treaty-making as well as a seminar on the practices and
procedures of selected United Nations bodies and organizations of the
United Nations system based in Geneva. A similar seminar was organized at
Vienna.
66. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme reported that
it carried out seminars to train judges and prosecutors in drug-related
matters. It also organized and conducted regional legal workshops to help
States identify and overcome legal cooperation problems.
67. UNEP indicated that it provided officials from developing countries
with legal training in order to enhance their capacities in dealing with
international environmental law, including the implementation of the
conventions and guidelines concluded under its auspices.
68. ILO observed that its International Training Centre in Turin had
recently published in French and Spanish a Trainers' Guide on International
Labour Standards and Development, already published in English in 1992 and
in Arabic in 1994. A videotape accompanying the Trainers' Guide was also
available in English, French and Spanish. A human rights reporting package
comprising a Manual on Human Rights Reporting, a Trainers' Guide on Human
Rights Reporting and a pocket guide on Basic Human Rights Instruments was
also due to be published in 1995 in English and French by the Turin Centre.
69. ICRC indicated that as part of the follow-up to the International
Conference for the Protection of War Victims (Geneva, 1993), the meeting of
the intergovernmental group of experts for the protection of war victims
which had met at Geneva in January 1995 adopted a recommendation calling
upon ICRC to prepare, inter alia, in cooperation with experts from various
geographical regions, a model manual for armed forces on the law of
international and non-international armed conflicts. To that end, a
meeting of government experts might be convened in 1996. The experts'
future work on the model manual would also include an examination of the
guidelines for military manuals and instructions on the protection of the
environment in times of armed conflict.
70. The International Institute of Humanitarian Law reported that it had
organized in 1995 five courses on international humanitarian law for armed
forces. It had also organized two refugee law courses for government
officials.
71. The International Institute of Space Law of the International
Astronautical Federation stated that it had been organizing for a number of
years a symposium on space law matters for the delegates and staff
attending the meetings of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The topic of the 1995 programme was
technical and policy issues related to the use of the space environment.
5. Publication of the practice of States and international and
regional organizations in the field of international law
Under paragraph 8 of this section of the programme, States and
international and regional organizations should endeavour to publish, if
they have not already done so, summaries, repertories or yearbooks of their
practice.
72. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme reported that
it collected national drug control laws and regulations, published them to
ensure mutual disclosure among parties and prepared an annual analytical
index of such legislation allowing for easy retrieval of the laws'
contents.
73. UNEP observed that, in order to inform Governments and other relevant
parties regularly about its activities in the field of environmental law,
it had started issuing a Biannual Bulletin of Environmental Law, which
contained information on UNEP's work on international legal instruments, in
particular legislation, as well as information on recent activities of
convention secretariats administered by UNEP.
74. ILO indicated that it would publish in 1995 a revised Manual of
Procedures relating to International Labour Conventions and
Recommendations. A new edition of the ILO computer-based system of ILO
Conventions and Recommendations and recent practice of ILO supervisory
bodies (ILOLEX) had been issued earlier in the year, holding 56,000 full-
text documents. A new edition of ILOLEX, including all general surveys on
law and practice under selected ILO Conventions and Recommendations of the
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
as from 1985, would be issued during 1996. The most recent general survey,
concerning the Termination of Employment Convention (No. 158) and
Recommendation (No. 166), 1982, was examined by the Committee of Experts in
February 1995 and published in April 1995. A general survey on the
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111) would be
examined by the Committee of Experts at its next meeting in December 1995,
with publication expected for early 1996. ILOLEX information seminars were
organized throughout the year in various regions.
75. UNESCO observed that an information document was elaborated for each
session of the General Conference on the standard-setting activities of the
Organization.
76. FAO reported that it had issued the publication "Water policy and
legislation review and reform: selected country experiences (Australia
(state of Victoria), Chile, England and Wales, France)".
77. The International Council of Environmental Law stated that, in
partnership with the Environmental Law Centre of IUCN, it maintained what
was probably the world's most extensive collection of documents on
environmental law and policy (international treaties, supranational
instruments, national legislation, soft law, literature and documents of
international organizations, especially the United Nations system).
Material was collected from all countries and in all languages in order to
maintain as broad a coverage as possible. Bibliographic references to the
documents were entered into the computerized Environmental Law Information
System (ELIS) data bank. ELIS was a special sectoral source for the UNEP
information referral service INFOTERRA. Upon request, it also carried out
information retrieval for the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
78. The International Institute of Space Law of the International
Astronautical Federation stated that it would publish a collection of
national judicial decisions relating to space activities.
6. Publication by States and international organizations
of international legal instruments and legal studies
Under paragraph 9 of this section of the programme, States and
international organizations should encourage the publication of important
international legal instruments and studies by highly qualified publicists,
bearing in mind the possibility of assistance from private sources.
79. UNITAR observed that it had just published the fifth, entirely revised
edition of Shabtai Rosenne's comprehensive study on the structure and
functioning of the International Court of Justice, entitled The World
Court: What it is and how it works. Moreover, publication is expected
shortly of the report on a research project conducted by the coordinator of
the UNITAR/IPA Fellowship Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy
on the topic "The United Nations as a dispute settlement system: improving
mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts".
80. UNESCO stated that it had published in 1994: "Human rights:
principal international instruments (as of 31 May 1994); The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights: Forty-fifth Anniversary, 1948-1993"; the
second edition of Access to Human Rights Documentation: Documentation,
Bibliographies and Data Base on Human Rights; and Jiri Toman, La protection
des biens culturels en cas de conflit arme (Commentaire de la Convention de
La Haye du 14 mai 1954).
81. FAO reported that it had published the following studies: "Evaluation
des impacts sur l'environnement pour un developpement rural durable: etude
juridique"; "Regime juridique du controle et de la certification de la
qualite des denrees alimentaires: puissance publique et producteurs";
"Preparing national regulations for water resources management -Principles
and practice"; "Le droit international et l'amenagement du littoral"; and
"Legal and institutional aspects of integrated coastal area management in
national legislation". Moreover, research was in progress on the legal
aspects of privatization of water services, with emphasis on irrigation
water use, and on customary water rights in African countries, which would
be published in the Legislative Studies series.
82. AALCC observed that the reports of its annual sessions continued to be
published, also including research studies prepared by the secretariat on
select topics. The Consultative Committee also published the outcome and
proceedings of the special meeting on developing legal and institutional
guidelines for privatization and post-privatization regulatory framework,
held at Tokyo in January 1994, which included the draft text of such
guidelines. The Secretariat had taken steps to ensure the widest possible
dissemination of the above publications in the Afro-Asian region.
83. The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
indicated that, as part of a continuing programme aimed at promoting
awareness of the Court and its services, it had sent copies of the PCA
Optional Rules to the legal advisers of the ministries of foreign affairs
of all States Members of the United Nations, as well as to the legal
advisers of the major international organizations and a large number of
private lawyers. The proceedings of the first conference of members of the
Court (September 1993), published early in 1994, had also been widely
distributed. The International Bureau had also contributed papers and
articles on the Court to a number of conferences and publications,
including a conference on "International legal issues arising under the
United Nations Decade of International Law" in Doha, Qatar, (March 1994);
UN Forum 94/1, the publication of the Dutch Association for the United
Nations; the Yearbook Commercial Arbitration; the Venice Conference on the
Environment; the XIIIth meeting of the International Association of Law
Librarians (The Hague, September 1994); and the Leiden Journal of
International Law.
84. ICRC reported that the work of experts on the law of war at sea, which
had begun in 1987, had led to the adoption in 1994 of the San Remo manual
on international law applicable to armed conflicts at sea and an annex
entitled Explanation. ICRC had taken an active part in that work, and the
Manual could be viewed as a modern version of the Oxford manual on the laws
of naval war adopted by the Institute of International Law in 1913. In
addition to State practice, the new Manual took into account developments
in modern technology and their effects in certain areas governed by
international law, such as the air, the sea and the environment.
85. ICEL indicated that it had issued the following publications: the
journal Environmental policy and law, which highlighted current
developments in the field; a loose-leaf collection entitled International
environmental law: multilateral treaties - in cooperation with the
Environmental Law Centre of the IUCN; a loose-leaf collection entitled
International Environmental Soft Law; a loose-leaf collection entitled
Conservation in Sustainable Development (formerly International Protection
of the Environment); the bibliography ICEL References; and the monthly
Environmental Notes for Parliamentarians - in cooperation with the Inter-
Parliamentary Union.
86. The International Institute of Space Law of the International
Astronautical Federation pointed out that the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics published the proceedings of its annual
colloquium.
7. Wider publication of the judgements and advisory opinions of
international courts and tribunals and summaries thereof
Under paragraph 10 of this section of the programme, the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, in cooperation with the Registry of the
International Court of Justice, is encouraged to update the publication
Summaries of the Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the
International Court of Justice (1949-1991), in all the official languages
of the Organization and within the existing overall level of
appropriations.
Under paragraph 11, international courts and tribunals, including the
European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights, are invited to disseminate more widely their judgements and
advisory opinions, and to consider preparing thematic or analytical
summaries thereof.
87. Updating of the publication Summaries of the Judgments, Advisory
Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice (1949-1991) to
cover the period 1992-1995 is already under way, and is to be completed
during the present term of the Decade.
8. Publication by international organizations of treaties
concluded under their auspices, publication of the
United Nations Treaty Series and the United Nations
Juridical Yearbook ** Under paragraph 12 of this section
of the programme, international organizations are requested to publish
treaties concluded under their auspices, if they have not yet done so.
Timely publication of the United Nations Treaty Series is encouraged and
efforts directed towards adopting an electronic form of publication should
be continued. Timely publication of the United Nations Juridical Yearbook
is also encouraged.
88. UNEP reported that it disseminated the texts of international legal
instruments concluded under UNEP's auspices as well as a biannual Register
of International Treaties and Other Agreements in the Field of the
Environment to Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and, upon request, to universities, research institutions and
students. It had thus disseminated the recently adopted Code of Ethics on
the International Trade in Chemicals to regional and national industry
associations throughout the world, to all governments and to relevant
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
89. ILO observed that an updated edition of its compendium of
International Labour Conventions and Recommendations would be published in
late August 1995, to be followed by updated editions in French and Spanish.
90. UNESCO indicated that it had published the Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its
Protocol and had distributed it widely in a four-language version to
intergovernmental organizations, delegations and national commissions, and
also to research establishments, universities, non-governmental
organizations and individuals who, for professional reasons, were concerned
with international and public law. Moreover, it published periodically an
updated supplement to the publication UNESCO's Standard-Setting
Instruments.
91. Efforts have continued to be made to eliminate the backlog in the
publication of the United Nations Juridical Yearbook. The 1990 and 1986
editions came out in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and the 1991, 1992 and
1987 editions are in the press. The calendar of production of subsequent
editions provides for submission of the 1993 edition by the end of 1995,
the 1994 and 1988 editions in 1996 and the 1995 and 1989 editions in 1997.
This calendar, under which work proceeds simultaneously at both ends, will,
it is to be hoped, make it possible to bridge the gap and eliminate the
backlog by the end of 1997, while at the same time keeping readers of the
Yearbook abreast of contemporary developments.
92. With the objective of ensuring an effective service by providing easy
access to its treaty collection (over 40,000 at present), the Treaty
Section of the Office of Legal Affairs is rapidly advancing its programme
of computerization of the United Nations Treaty Series. Funding has been
approved by the General Assembly for the current biennium to convert the
text of the Treaty Series to optical disk format and to provide on-line
access to text and editorial data to Member States and other users. The
project is expected to be completed by the end of 1995.
93. The publication Multilateral Treaties deposited with the Secretary-
General, Status as at [31 December of each year], which is now available on
electronic format, will be accessible on-line to Member States and other
users in the course of 1995. This project is being implemented in
conjunction with the Electronic Services Division Internet access.
Consideration is being given to levying a fee from users.
E. Procedures and organizational aspects
1. Role of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly
of the United Nations
94. No comments to be reported under this heading.
2. The United Nations Congress on Public International Law By paragraph
10 of General Assembly resolution 48/30, the Assembly decided that a United
Nations Congress on Public International Law should be held in 1995. By
paragraph 9 of its resolution 49/50 and paragraph 3 of this section of the
programme, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to proceed with the
organization of the Congress to be held from 13 to 17 March 1995, within
existing resources and assisted by voluntary contributions, taking into
account the guidance provided at the forty-eighth and forty-ninth sessions
of the General Assembly, and to keep the Member States informed of the
status of the preparations.
95. Pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 48/30 of 9 December 1993 and
49/50 of 9 December 1994, the Secretariat proceeded, within existing
resources and taking into account the guidance provided at the forty-eighth
and forty-ninth sessions of the General Assembly, with the organization of
the United Nations Congress on Public International Law and kept Member
States informed of the status of the preparations. The Congress was held
at United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 17 March 1995, during the year of
the celebration of the Organization's fiftieth anniversary, under the
general theme: "Towards the twenty-first century: international law as a
language for international relations". The purpose of the Congress was,
inter alia, to assist the legal profession, the international community, in
particular, States that have recently joined it, and the general public in
meeting the challenges and expectations of the present-day world.
96. The Congress was organized within the framework of the United Nations
Decade of International Law and it marked the Decade's mid-point.
Consequently, the four aims of the Decade were reflected in four of the
five topics which were chosen for the plenary meetings of the Congress.
The first topic, which provided the theme for the first day of the
Congress, concerned "The principles of international law: theoretical and
practical aspects of their promotion and implementation". The topic
selected for the second day of the Congress was entitled "Means of peaceful
settlement of disputes between States, including resort to and full respect
for the International Court of Justice". The topic of the third day was
entitled "Conceptual and practical aspects of the codification and
progressive development of international law: new developments and
priorities". The topic for the fourth day was "New approaches to research,
education and training in the field of international law and its wider
appreciation". Finally, the fifth day of the Congress was devoted to the
theme "Towards the twenty-first century: new challenges and expectations".
97. The Congress, a unique event in the history of the United Nations, was
opened by the Legal Counsel of the United Nations and closed with an
address by the Secretary-General of the Organization. It offered
participants, including members of parliaments, diplomats and other
government officials, members of international courts and tribunals,
national and international judges, arbitrators, practising lawyers,
professors of international law and other members of academe representing
all geographical regions of the world an opportunity to exchange views on
the codification, progressive development and implementation of public
international law, both in theory and in practice, as well as on its
teaching and dissemination.
98. The Secretariat is currently compiling the proceedings of the
Congress.
3. Establishment of national, subregional and regional
committees for implementation of the programme Under
paragraph 5 of this section of the programme, States are encouraged to
establish, as necessary, national, subregional and regional committees
which may assist in the implementation of the programme for the Decade.
99. The Cook Islands pointed out that while there was no society of
international law yet established in the Cook Islands, the Government of
the Cook Islands had followed with interest developments relating to the
Decade and deliberations within the United Nations in relation thereto.
4. Question of the provision of adequate financing for the
implementation of the programme for the Decade Under
paragraph 6 of this section of the programme, it is recognized that, within
the existing overall level of appropriations, adequate financing for the
implementation of the programme for the Decade is necessary and should be
provided. Voluntary contributions from Governments, international
organizations and other sources, including the private sector, would be
useful and are strongly encouraged. To this end, the establishment of a
trust fund to be administered by the Secretary-General might be considered
by the General Assembly.
100. With reference to paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 49/50,
in which the Assembly appealed, inter alia, to international organizations
to make financial contributions or contributions in kind for the purpose of
facilitating the implementation of the programme for the third term of the
Decade (1995-1996), UNESCO indicated that it was pursuing this objective on
a general level through the promotion of international cooperation in the
field of international law, and more specifically, was distributing its
numerous publications world wide.
III. ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS RELEVANT TO
THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW AND ITS CODIFICATION
A. The law relating to human rights
Commission on Human Rights - Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities
101. Currently, the Commission on Human Rights is working, on the basis of
a study and a draft body of principles elaborated by the Subcommission, on
a draft declaration on the rights and responsibilities of individuals,
groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized
human rights and fundamental freedoms; it is also working on a declaration
on the rights of indigenous peoples on the basis of a draft prepared by the
Subcommission. The Commission is, moreover, elaborating a draft optional
protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, designed to establish a preventive
system of visits to places of detention. It is also working on an optional
protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflicts and on a possible optional protocol to the same
Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography. The Commission is further considering the question of the
elaboration, on the basis of a study prepared by the Subcommission, of a
third optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights aimed at guaranteeing under all circumstances the right to
a fair trial and a remedy, as well as the question of minimum humanitarian
standards.
102. The Subcommission is studying a number of questions, such as the
right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of gross
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and human rights and
the environment.
Commission on the Status of Women
103. The Commission is considering the elaboration of a draft optional
protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women that would introduce the right of individuals
to petition the treaty's monitoring body in cases of violations of the
Convention.
B. The law relating to disarmament
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons
104. The 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons decided on 11 May to extend the
Treaty indefinitely. The Conference also adopted texts on strengthening
the review process for the Treaty, on principles and objectives for nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament and on the creation of a zone free of
nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Conference on Disarmament
105. The Conference on Disarmament is currently working on the elaboration
of a comprehensive and verifiable nuclear test-ban treaty. It also
recently established an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of a treaty on
the prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons
and other nuclear explosive devices. The Conference is further pursuing
its deliberations on effective international arrangements to assure non-
nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.
C. The law relating to outer space
106. The Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer
Space is currently continuing, inter alia, its consideration of matters
relating to the definition and delimitation of outer space and to the
character and utilization of the geostationary orbit, including
consideration of ways and means to ensure the rational and equitable use of
the geostationary orbit without prejudice to the role of the International
Telecommunication Union, as well as its consideration of the legal aspects
related to the application of the principle that the exploration and
utilization of outer space should be carried out for the benefit and in the
interest of all States, taking into particular account the needs of
developing countries.
D. The law relating to economic development
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
107. The Joint UNCTAD/International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Maritime Liens and Mortgages and
Related Subjects, at its seventh session, held at Geneva from 5 to 9
December 1994, began the consideration of the possible review of the 1952
International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to
the Arrest of Seagoing Ships.
108. The United Nations Conference on Natural Rubber adopted the
International Natural Rubber Agreement on 17 February 1995.
E. The law relating to international trade
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
109. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted at
its twenty-eighth session a draft convention on independent guarantees and
stand-by letters of credit. UNCITRAL is also continuing work on a draft
model law on legal aspects of electronic data exchange in international
trade.
F. The law relating to crime prevention and criminal justice
110. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is
considering the question of the elaboration of a convention on
transnational crimes not already covered by existing international
instruments and a convention against illicit trafficking in children. It
is also working on a draft code of conduct aimed at preventing the
corruption of public officials.
G. The law relating to environment
United Nations Environment Programme
111. UNEP is continuing its work towards the development of an
international legally binding instrument for the application of the prior
informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals in international
trade, in cooperation with other relevant international organizations and
taking into account the need to harmonize the provisions of such an
instrument with relevant international trade rules (see also para. 40
above).
112. Regarding protection of the marine environment, the Global Programme
of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based
Activities, expected to be adopted at an intergovernmental conference on
the subject to be held in Washington, D.C., from 23 October to 3 November
1995, would contribute to the effective implementation of relevant
provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and
various regional maritime conventions and protocols.
113. UNEP assisted, through its coordinating role, in the development of
the Lusaka Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operations directed at
Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora, concluded on 9 September 1994, which
is the first regional agreement on enforcement measures to counter illegal
trade in wildlife in Africa.
114. UNEP is further preparing a study on the need for and feasibility of
new international environmental instruments aimed at sustainable
development.
H. The law of the sea
115. The significant development in the area of the law of the sea during
1995 centred around the establishment of the three institutions called for
under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The other major
development during the year was the adoption of the Agreement for the
implementation of the provisions of the Convention relating to the
conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory
fish stocks.
116. The Convention authorizes the establishment of three new
institutions, the International Seabed Authority, the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf.
117. Two organizational meetings of the Assembly of the International
Seabed Authority were held during 1995. At the first meeting, held from 27
February to 17 March, the Assembly elected its President and adopted its
rules of procedure. The Assembly also devoted substantial attention to the
composition and election of the members of the Council but was unable to
come to a final agreement on the matter. The second meeting, which
constituted the third and final part of the first session of the Assembly,
was held in Jamaica from 7 to 18 August 1995. At that meeting the Assembly
was expected to set up the Council and elect the Secretary-General of the
Authority. The Council is one of the two main organs of the Authority, the
other being the Assembly. The Assembly consists of all the parties to the
Convention as well as all those States which have agreed to the provisional
application of the 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI
of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 2/ The Council
will consist of 36 members elected by the Assembly, reflecting four main
elements: States with a special interest in deep seabed mining, such as
the largest consumers or largest producers of the categories of minerals to
be mined from the seabed; States that have pioneered large investments and
activity in the Area; developing countries with special interests, such as
land-locked or populous States; and an equitable geographical
representation, as well as a balance between developed and developing
States.
118. Two Meetings of States Parties to the Convention were scheduled for
1995, to deal with organizational matters and practical arrangements for
the establishment of the Tribunal. An earlier Meeting of States Parties
was held in November 1994 at which a decision was taken to postpone once
only the election of the judges, bearing in mind the desire to achieve
universal participation in the Convention and the provisions of annex VI,
articles 2 and 3, of the Convention. 3/ The Meeting also decided that the
elections of judges for the Tribunal would be held on 1 August 1996 and
requested the Secretary-General to designate a United Nations staff member
to be charged with making preparations of a practical nature for the
organization of the Tribunal, including the establishment of a library.
That request was subsequently endorsed by the General Assembly.
119. The States parties held the second Meeting in New York from 15 to 19
May 1995 and decided on a series of organizational matters, including the
official languages of the Tribunal, which will be English and French. The
States parties also decided to discuss the initial budget of the Tribunal
at the next Meeting, which will be held in New York from 27 November to 1
December 1995. 4/
120. The third institution envisaged under the Law of the Sea Convention
is the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. A meeting of
group of experts is scheduled to be held in New York from 11 to 14
September 1995 in order to assist the Secretariat in finalizing the working
papers which would facilitate the start-up activities of the Commission.
The States parties will meet in New York on 29 April to 10 May 1996 to
elect the members of the Commission.
121. Another major development in the law of the sea was the adoption on 4
August 1995 of the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982
relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. 5/ The Agreement was elaborated by the
United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks, which had been convened by the General Assembly in response to
a recommendation of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in its Agenda 21, chapter 17, programme area C.
122. The elements of the Agreement are the following:
-Basic principles and minimum international standards for the
conservation and management of the fish stocks;
-Obligations to ensure the compatibility of measures taken both within
and outside areas under national jurisdiction;
-Effective mechanisms for securing compliance and enforcement of
regionally and globally agreed management measures through enhanced flag
State duties and a scheme for boarding and inspection by non-flag States on
the high seas;
-A globally agreed framework for stronger regional cooperation in the
conservation and management of fisheries resources, taking into account the
requirements of developing States;
-A compulsory binding dispute settlement mechanism which relies
essentially on the UNCLOS system.
123. The Agreement will be opened for signature on 4 December 1995 and
will enter into force 30 days after the date of the deposit of the
thirtieth instrument of ratification or accession.
I. Work of the International Law Commission
124. At its forty-seventh session, the Commission dealt with all the
topics on its agenda.
125. As regards the draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of
Mankind, the Commission received from the Drafting Committee a number of
articles adopted on second reading by the Committee. Noting, however, that
those texts were of an interim character and should in any event be
accompanied by commentaries, it decided to defer the final adoption of the
texts in question until after the Drafting Committee had completed its
second reading of the entire draft.
126. In connection with the topic "State responsibility" the Commission,
after considering the Special Rapporteur's seventh report which was devoted
to the question of the legal consequences of internationally wrongful acts
characterized as crimes in article 19 of Part One of the draft, decided to
refer the draft articles contained therein to the Drafting Committee. The
Commission furthermore adopted for inclusion in Part Three of the draft a
set of seven articles and an annex thereto on the settlement of disputes
arising out of the interpretation and application of the future convention
on the topic.
127. Concerning the topic "International liability for injurious
consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law", the
Commission, after considering the tenth and eleventh reports of the Special
Rapporteur, established a Working Group under the topic to deal with the
identification of dangerous activities. The conclusions of the Working
Group were endorsed by the Commission in an amended form. The Commission
furthermore adopted four articles concerning the general principles
applicable in this area of the law, namely articles A (Freedom of action
and the limits thereto), B (Prevention) and D (Cooperation) plus, as a
working hypothesis, article C on liability and reparation.
128. The Commission also started its consideration of two new topics,
namely, "The law and practice relating to reservations to treaties" and
"State succession and its impact on the nationality of natural and legal
persons".
129. As to its future programme of work, the Commission decided to propose
to the General Assembly "Diplomatic protection" as a new topic for
inclusion in its agenda and to prepare a feasibility study on the topic
provisionally entitled "Rights and duties of States for the protection of
the environment".
J. Work of the Special Committee on the Charter of the
United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role
of the Organization
130. At its 1995 session, the Special Committee continued its work on the
basis of the mandate contained in paragraph 4 of General Assembly
resolution 49/58 of 9 December 1994. It completed and submitted to the
Assembly for consideration draft United Nations Model Rules for the
Conciliation of Disputes between States. The Special Committee also
continued its work on the question of the implementation of the Charter
provisions related to assistance to third States affected by the
application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. In addition, it
examined the question of the deletion of the enemy State clauses of the
Charter, and started consideration of a proposal on establishment of a
dispute settlement service offering or responding with its services early
in disputes.
K. Work of the Sixth Committee
131. As regards the progressive development of international law and its
codification, the Sixth Committee, at the forty-ninth session of the
General Assembly, completed the elaboration of what subsequently became the
Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel,
adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1994.
132. Concerning the draft statute for an international criminal court
elaborated in 1994 by the International Law Commission, the General
Assembly decided, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, to
establish an ad hoc Committee to review the major substantive and
administrative issues arising out of the draft and, in the light of that
review, to consider arrangements for the convening of an international
conference of plenipotentiaries (resolution 49/53 of 9 December 1994). The
Committee met from 3 to 13 April and from 14 to 25 August 1995.
133. As regards the draft articles on the law of the non-navigational uses
of international watercourses also originating in the International Law
Commission, the General Assembly decided that, at the beginning of its
fifty-first session, the Sixth Committee shall convene from 7 to 25 October
1996 as a Working Group of the Whole to elaborate a framework convention on
the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses on the
basis of the draft articles and in the light of the written comments and
observations of States and views expressed in the debate at the forty-ninth
session of the Assembly (resolution 49/52 of 9 December 1994).
134. With respect to the draft articles on the jurisdictional immunities
of States and their property completed by the International Law Commission
in 1991, the General Assembly accepted the recommendation of the Commission
for the convening of an international conference to conclude a convention
on the subject and decided to resume at its fifty-second session
consideration of the issues of substance arising out of the draft articles,
in the light of the reports of the Working Group on the subject and the
comments submitted by States thereon, and to determine, at its fifty-second
or fifty-third session, the arrangements for the conference (resolution
49/61 of 9 December 1994).
135. The General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee,
also adopted two declarations: the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate
International Terrorism (resolution 49/60 of 9 December 1994) and the
Declaration on the Enhancement of Cooperation between the United Nations
and Regional Arrangements or Agencies in the Maintenance of International
Peace and Security, elaborated within the framework of the Special
Committee on the Charter (resolution 49/57 of 9 December 1994).
Notes
1/ The Convention, opened for signature on 15 December 1992, entered
into force on 5 December 1994 with 12 ratifications.
2/ See A/49/323, paras. 175 and 176.
3/ See SPLOS/3, para. 10.
4/ See SPLOS/4, para. 43.
5/ A/CONF.164/37.
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