Cooperation between UN and AALCO – SecGen report (excerpts)

Cooperation between the United Nations and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization

 Report of the Secretary-General 

   Introduction 

1.   The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 55/4 of 25 October 2000, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Asian African Legal Consultative Committee”.

2.   The General Assembly, by its resolution 35/2 of 13 October 1980, had requested the Secretary-General to invite the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC)* to participate in its sessions and its work in the capacity of observer. Subsequently, AALCO had established permanent observer missions to the United Nations, in New York and Vienna.

 *   Following a decision taken at the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee’s (AALCC) 40th session with effect from 24 June 2001, its name has been changed to “Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization” (AALCO). Consequently, the new name appears throughout the entire report.

3.   On the occasion of the commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of AALCO, the General Assembly, in its resolution 36/38 of 18 November 1981, had requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations to carry out consultations with the Secretary-General of AALCO with a view to further strengthening the cooperation between the two organizations and widening its scope. The item had been considered by the General Assembly annually until its forty-first session and thereafter biennially. It was most recently considered at the fifty-fifth session.

4.   At that session, in its resolution 55/4 of 25 October 2000, the General Assembly had noted with satisfaction the continuing efforts of AALCO towards strengthening the role of the United Nations and its various organs, including the International Court of Justice, through programmes and initiatives undertaken by AALCO. It had also noted with satisfaction the commendable progress achieved towards enhancing cooperation between the United Nations and AALCO in wider areas. The General Assembly had furthermore noted with appreciation the decision of AALCO to participate actively in the programmes of the United Nations Decade of International Law and programmes on environment and sustainable development as well as in the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. Moreover, the Assembly had noted with appreciation the initiative and efforts AALCO would undertake to promote the objectives and principles set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration,¹ including wider acceptance of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary General.

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 H.   Other issues before the organization

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3.   Deportation of Palestinians and other Israeli practices, among them the massive immigration and settlement of Jews in all occupied territories in violation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 

24.   Concerning the item “Deportation of Palestinians and other Israeli practices, among them the massive immigration and settlement of Jews in all occupied territories in violation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, which has been on the agenda of AALCO since 1989, the AALCO secretariat paper submitted at the 2000 Cairo session called for implementation of the General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the subject as well as other agreements signed between the various parties to ensure the establishment of just and lasting peace in the Middle East region.

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9.   Cooperation between the organization and the United Nations in the field of human rights

31.   Since its inception, AALCO has considered many questions having a human rights dimension, including refugees, internally displaced persons, the deportation of Palestinians in violation of international law, the legal protection of migrant workers and, most recently, the establishment of cooperation against trafficking in women and children.

32.   During the period under review, a representative of OHCHR participated in the fortieth session of the organization and the Secretary-General of AALCO attended the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. On 12 November 2001, AALCO and OHCHR signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to developing a programme of concrete cooperation. On that occasion, the Secretary-General of AALCO expressed the hope that the Memorandum of Understanding would mark a new era of activities in the organization related to the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

33.   He added that many States members of AALCO were concerned with various issues related to human rights and emphasized that it was an important subject in international law and that AALCO as a consultative body would deal with it in the best possible way to assist its member States.

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Notes

 ¹   General Assembly resolution 55/2.

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 *  A/57/50/Rev.1.