Sixth Committee (Legal) — 75th session

Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives (Agenda item 84)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/75/100)

The item entitled “Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives” was included in the agenda of the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly at the request of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (A/35/142).

The Assembly had the item on its agenda annually at its thirty-fifth to forty-third sessions, and biennially thereafter (resolutions 35/168, 36/33, 37/108, 38/136, 39/83, 40/73, 41/78, 41/79, 42/154, 43/167, 45/39, 47/31, 49/49, 51/156, 53/97, 55/149, 57/15, 59/37, 61/31, 63/126, 65/30, 67/94, 69/121, 71/145 and 73/205).

At its seventy-third session, the Assembly allocated the item to the Sixth Committee, where statements in the debate were made by 21 delegations (see A/C.6/73/SR.17 and 18). The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its seventy-fifth session a report containing information on the state of ratification of and accessions to the instruments relevant to the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives and a summary of the reports received from States on serious violations involving diplomatic and consular missions and representatives and actions taken against offenders, as well as of the views of States with respect to any measures needed or already taken to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives (resolution 73/205).

Consideration at the seventy-fifth session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 16th and 19th meetings, on 10 and 19 November 2020 (see A/C.6/75/SR.16 and 19). For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the report of the Secretary-General (A/75/168).

During the general debate on the item, statements were made by the representatives of the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania, the country of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia aligned themselves with the statement),  Finland (also on behalf of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (Nordic countries)), the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, United States of America, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Russian Federation, Mexico, Islamic Republic of Iran, Cameroon,  China, Brazil, Turkey and Cuba [in English]. The representatives of Iraq and Ecuador spoke in the exercise of the right of reply. 

Delegations generally welcomed the Secretary-General’s report on the topic (A/75/168) and highlighted the importance of the reporting mechanism established by the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on this topic over the years. Delegations reiterated that an obligation to protect foreign emissaries had existed in the legal systems of all cultures across the centuries. The immunities thus enshrined in international law were a cornerstone of friendly international relations among States.

Delegations generally urged States to strictly observe and enforce relevant customary international law and treaty law, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. They stressed the need for those States that had not already done so to become parties to the relevant international instruments and welcomed recent new ratifications and accessions to those instruments.

States were also urged to take into account their special duties as receiving states, to investigate violations and to engage in a dialogue with diplomatic and consular missions. Several delegations provided information on specific incidents involving their diplomatic and consular missions and representatives, as well as measures they had taken in relation to incidents occurring in their territory. In this regard, concern was expressed regarding the number of such incidents, and delegations generally condemned violations and expressed solidarity with victims.

A number of delegations restated their view that the General Assembly should address new challenges in the digital era and highlighted the need to ensure the respect for diplomatic and consular immunities, including those of archives, documents and communications, offline and online.

In relation to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, several delegations emphasized that the duty to respect local law under the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations had to be balanced with preserving, to the extent possible and reasonable, the exercise of diplomatic and consular functions and the enjoyment of privileges and immunities of diplomatic and consular representatives.

Summaries of plenary meetings

16th meeting (10 November 2020, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary

19th meeting (19 November 2020, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 19th meeting, on 19 November, the representative of Finland, on behalf of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland, subsequently joined by Brazil, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Sweden and Uruguay, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives” (A/C.6/75/L.16).

At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/75/L.16 without a vote.

Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, strongly condemn all acts of violence against diplomatic and consular missions and representatives, as well as against missions and representatives to international intergovernmental organizations and officials of such organizations, and emphasize that such acts can never be justified. The Assembly would also urge States to strictly observe, implement and enforce, including during a period of armed conflict, all the applicable principles and rules of international law. In addition, the Assembly would urge States to strictly comply with the applicable rules of international law governing the protection and inviolability of premises of diplomatic missions, consular premises and premises of permanent missions with diplomatic status to international intergovernmental organizations.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-seventh session (2022).

Full texts of reports (A/75/168)

State Original report Translation
Austria English  
Belarus English  
Russian English
Belgium French English
Costa Rica Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Cuba Spanish English
Ecuador Spanish E, F, R, C, A
El Salvador Spanish English
Finland English  
Germany English  
Iran [Islamic Republic of] English  
Ireland English  
Italy English  
Peru Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Philippines English  
Qatar Arabic English
Turkey English  
United States of America English  
Venezuela Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A
Spanish E, F, R, C, A

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