Definition of aggression – GA resolution

Resolution 2330 (XXII)

Need to expedite the drafting of a definition of aggression in the light of the present international situation

The General Assembly

Considering that in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations all Members of the United Nations must refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,

Considering that one of the main purposes of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security and, to that end, to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace,

Convinced that a primary problem confronting the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace remains the strengthening of the will of States to respect all obligations under the Charter,

Considering that there is a widespread conviction that a definition of aggression would have considerable importance for the maintenance of international peace and for the adoption of effective measures under the Charter for preventing acts of aggression,

Noting that there is still no generally recognized definition of aggression,

1. Recognizes that there is a widespread conviction of the need to expedite the definition of aggression;

2. Establishes a Special Committee on the Question of Defining Aggression, composed of thirty-five Member States to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly, taking into consideration the principle of equitable geographical representation and the necessity that the principal legal systems of the world should be represented;

3. Instructs the Special Committee, having regard to the present resolution and the international legal instruments relating to the matter and the relevant precedents, methods, practices, and criteria and the debates in the Sixth Committee and in plenary meetings of the Assembly, to consider all aspects of the question so that an adequate definition of aggression may be prepared and to submit to the General Assembly at its twenty-third session a report which will reflect all the views expressed and the proposals made;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Special Committee with the necessary facilities and services;

5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its twenty-third session an item entitled "report of the Special Committee on the Question of Defining Aggression'.

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