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The Work of the Sixth Committee at the Forty-ninth Session of the UN General Assembly
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2017
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1 For a general description of the Sixth Committee and its role in the progressive development and codification of international law, see Virginia Morris and M.-Christiane Bourloyannis, The Work of the Sixth Committee at the Forty-seventh Session of the UN General Assembly, 87 AJIL 306, 306 nn.1, 2 (1993).
2 For an extensive summary of the debate and the action taken by the committee with respect to the various items, see the summary records published in UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.1–41 (1994). The statements quoted in this article were taken from the actual speeches in the committee and therefore may vary slightly from the summary records, which were not available at the time.
3 For the draft resolutions and decisions contained in the reports of the Sixth Committee to the General Assembly on the various items, see UN Docs. A/49/734-A/49/747 (1994).
4 GA Res. 49/48–49/61 and Dec. 49/423–26.
5 Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its twenty-seventh session, UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 17, UN Doc. A/49/17 & Corr.1 (1994).
6 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.3–5 & 37 (1994).
7 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.4 (1994).
8 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.37 (1994).
9 See Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/32 concerning the granting of travel assistance to delegates of developing countries, UN Doc. A/49/427 (1994).
10 UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.37 (1994).
11 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.6 (1994).
12 See UN Doc. A/49/325 (1994).
13 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, opened for signature Dec. 12, 1977, 1125 UNTS 3; and Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, opened for signature Dec. 12, 1977, 1125 UNTS 609.
14 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.6–7 & 39 (1994). The Sixth Committee had before it in connection with the item the report of the Secretary-General containing information on the topic submitted by twelve states, as well as the list of states parties to the Additional Protocols as of June 30, 1994, UN Doc. A/49/255 and Corr. I (English only) and Add.1 (1994).
15 UN Docs. A/INF/48/4 (1993) and A/49/295 & Adds.1 & 2 (1994).
16 Under the reporting procedures, all states are requested to promptly provide information on serious violations of diplomatic and consular law, measures taken to bring the offender to justice (including the final outcome of the proceedings) and measures taken to prevent the recurrence of such violations. These procedures were established by the General Assembly in 1980 and subsequently revised on several occasions, most recently in 1988. GA Res. 35/168, UN GAOR, 35th Sess., Supp. No. 48, at 266, UN Doc. A/35/48 (1981); GA Res. 42/154, UN GAOR, 42d Sess., Supp. No. 49, at 294, UN Doc. A/42/49 (1988).
17 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.6–7 & 39 (1994).
18 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.6 (1994).
19 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.7 (1994).
20 See id.
21 Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 33, UN Doc. A/49/33 (1994) [hereinafter Special Committee Report].
22 Id., para. 89.
23 UN Doc. A/47/277–S/24111, paras. 60-65 (1992), reprinted in 31 ILM 953, 970-71 (1992).
24 See Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 1, UN Doc. A/49/1, paras. 728–39 (1994).
25 A number of countries affected by sanctions imposed by the Security Council submitted a revised working paper on this topic at the 1994 session of the Special Committee, providing, in particular, for the establishment by the General Assembly of a trust fund to alleviate the economic losses of states. Special Committee Report, supra note 21, para. 52.
26 Guatemala submitted a revised set of draft rules to the 1994 session of the Special Committee. Id., para. 105.
27 Cuba submitted a revised proposal on this question to the 1994 session of the Special Committee. Id., para. 94. See also the general debate, id., paras. 36–42.
28 Sierra Leone submitted a proposal on this issue at the 1994 session of the Special Committee. Id., para. 109.
29 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.8–12, 39 & 40 (1994).
30 GA Res. 48/26, UN GAOR, 48th Sess., Supp. No. 49, Vol. 1, at 29, UN Doc. A/48/49 (1993).
31 See Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council, UN GAOR, 48th Sess., Supp. No. 47, para. 8, UN Doc. A/48/47 (1994).
32 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.8 (1994).
33 The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abstained. It had also requested a separate vote on the paragraphs of the resolution dealing with the deletion of the “enemy State” clauses, on the grounds that such provisions were still valid with regard to Japan, which, in its view, had not atoned for its actions in respect of Korea. This motion was rejected by 103 votes to 3, with 7 abstentions. See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.40 (1994).
34 See UN Doc. A/49/231 (1994).
35 It must be noted that the United Nations Charter does not contain any provisions on observer status in the General Assembly.
36 GA Res. 45/6, UN GAOR, 45th Sess., Supp. No. 49A, Vol. 1, at 15, UN Doc. A/45/49 (1990).
37 See UN Doc. A/49/231, at 2 (1994). Nongovernmental organizations may be granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with Article 71 of the Charter and Council Resolution 1296 (XLTV) of May 23, 1968. ESC Res. 1296, UN ESCOR, 44th Sess., Supp. No. 1, at 21, UN Doc. E/4548 (1968).
38 GA Res. 48/265, UN GAOR, 48th Sess., Supp. No. 49, Vol. 2, at 14, UN Doc. A/48/49/Add.1 (1994).
39 This organization groups together national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which are autonomous national organizations within their own countries. Statutes pf the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Arts. 3, 6, in International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] and the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Compendium of Reference Texts on the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (1990). The ICRC is “an independent humanitarian organization having a status of its own.” Id., Art. 5.
40 UN Doc. A/49/192, Ann. II (1994). Observer status was granted to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies by GA Res. 49/2 (Oct. 19, 1994).
41 See UN Doc. A/49/231, at 2 (1994).
42 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.10 & 40 (1994).
43 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.13 (1994). The working group was chaired by one of the vice-chairmen of the committee, Suresh Chatuverdi (India).
44 For the oral report of the chairman of the working group, see UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.40 (1994).
45 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.13–15 & 39 (1994). The committee had before it the report of the Secretary-General containing the views of member states on various proposals that had been made on this matter, as well as on practical measures to eliminate acts of terrorism, ways and means of enhancing the role of the United Nations and relevant specialized agencies in combating international terrorism, and ways and means of considering this question within the Sixth Committee. UN Doc. A/49/257 & Adds.1–3 (1994). The report also contains a list of states parties to multilateral conventions relating to various aspects of the problem of international terrorism that were concluded under the auspices of the United Nations system.
46 Informal consultations were chaired by Sylvia Fernández de Gurmendi (Argentina), rapporteur of the Sixth Committee.
47 This proposal was formally made by Syria in 1987. See UN Doc. A/42/193 (1987).
48 UN Doc. A/C.6/49/L.17*, annex, para. 3 (1994).
49 Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-sixth session, UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 10, UN Doc. A/49/10 (1994). The committee also had before it in connection with this item a note by the Secretary-General containing the draft articles adopted by the Commission at its forty-sixth session. See UN Doc. A/49/355 (1994).
50 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.16 (1994).
51 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.16–28 & 41 (1994).
52 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.17 (1994).
53 Before acting on the draft resolution, the committee decided by a vote of 93 to 2, with 20 abstentions, to retain a preambular paragraph indicating that existing international watercourse agreements would not be affected by the adoption of a new framework convention unless the parties to those agreements so decided.
54 According to the annex, the working group will discuss the draft on an article-by-article basis, refer articles to a drafting committee to make recommendations in the light of the discussion, and endeavor to adopt all texts by general agreement or take decisions in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly if agreement cannot be reached within a reasonable period of time. The drafting committee will also be responsible for preparing a preamble and a set of final clauses for consideration by the working group.
55 The resolution provides that the ad hoc committee will meet from April 3 to 13, and may also meet from August 14 to 25, 1995, depending on the progress achieved at the initial session.
Under a proposed amendment to this resolution, the Assembly would have decided to convene a conference to elaborate and adopt a statute for a court no later than 1997. Notwithstanding the broad support for convening such a conference expressed in the debate, the committee decided by a vote of 58 to 29, with 36 abstentions, to take no action on the amendment to preserve a consensus regarding future work on the Draft Statute.
56 GA Res. 48/37, UN GAOR, supra note 30, at 333.
57 See Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of an International Convention Dealing with the Safety and Security of United Nations and Associated Personnel, UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 22, UN Doc. A/49/22 (1994).
58 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.3 (1994). The working group was chaired by Philippe Kirsch (Canada), chairman of the ad hoc committee.
59 UN Doc. A/C.6/49/L.4, annex (1994), reprinted in 34 ILM 482 (1995) [hereinafter Convention].
60 See Virginia Morris & M.-Christiane Bourloyannis-Vrailas, The Work of the Sixth Committee at the Forty-eighth Session of the UN General Assembly, 88 AJIL 343, 348 (1994).
61 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.29 (1994) (statement by chairman of the working group).
62 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.29–31 & 35 (1994).
63 Convention, supra note 59, Art. 1, para. (a).
64 Id., para. (b).
65 Convention, supra note 59, Art. 2, para. 2.
66 Dec. 14, 1973, 28 UST 1975, 1065 UNTS 167.
67 For more detailed examinations of the Convention, see Evan T. Bloom, Protecting Peacekeepers: The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, infra p. 621; M.-Christiane Bourloyannis-Vrailas, The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, 44 Int’l & Comp. L.Q. (forthcoming July 1995).
68 Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-third session, UN GAOR, 46th Sess., Supp. No. 10, at 11, UN Doc. A/46/10 (1991).
69 The reports of the working group are contained in UN Docs. A/C.6/47/L.10 (1992) and A/C.6/48/ L.4 & Corr.2 (1993).
70 May 16, 1972, 1972 ETS No. 74, 11 ILM 470 (1972).
71 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/L.2 (1994).
72 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.7, 32, 33, 37, 38, 40 & 41 (1994).
73 The report of the working group, chaired by Ernst K. Martens (Germany), is contained in UN Doc. A/C.6/49/L.10 (1994). For the debate in the Sixth Committee, see UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.34-37 & 41 (1994).
74 The program for the second term of the Decade (1993–1994) was adopted by the General Assembly in 1992, annex to GA Res. 47/32, UN GAOR, 47th Sess., Supp. No. 49, at 285, UN Doc. A/47/49 (1992).
75 The report of the Secretary-General contains an analysis of replies received from states and international governmental and nongovernmental organizations on implementation of the program for the second term of the Decade, as well as information on UN activities relevant to the progressive development of international law and its codification. UN Doc. A/49/323 and Adds.1 & 2 (1994). The guidelines for military manuals and instructions on the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, prepared by the ICRC and annexed to the Secretary-General’s report, are a revised version of the guidelines submitted by the ICRC at the previous session that takes into account comments made by states. For the previous version, see UN Doc. A/48/269, annex (1993).
76 The selection of lecturers was among the major issues raised in the working group’s discussion. See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/L.10, paras. 11–13 (1994).
77 See UN Docs. A/49/258 (containing the views submitted by states) and A/C.6/49/2 (1994) (containing an analytical report prepared pursuant to GA Decision 48/415 (1993)).
78 See UN Docs. A/C.6/49/SR.38–39 (1994).
79 UN Doc. A/C.6/49/2, at 12 (1994).
80 The committee’s report describes its consideration of various topics during the past year, including the security of missions and safety of their personnel; issues relating to the implementation of the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, including travel regulations, immigration and customs procedures, and security arrangements; the responsibilities of permanent missions and their personnel, particularly with respect to financial indebtedness; and transportation matters such as parking arrangements. UN GAOR, 49th Sess., Supp. No. 26, UN Doc. A/49/26 (1994).
81 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.39 (1994).
82 Id.
83 112 S.Ct 2188 (1992).
84 See UN Docs. A/47/249/Add.1, appendix (1992) and A/C.6/47/SR.38 (1992).
85 See UN Doc. A/C.6/49/SR.39 (1994).