Sixth Committee (Legal) — 71st session

United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law (Agenda item 77)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/71/100)

The United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law was established by the General Assembly at its twentieth session, in 1965 (resolution 2099 (XX)), to contribute towards a better knowledge of international law as a means of strengthening international peace and security and of promoting friendly relations and cooperation among States. The Assembly authorized the continuation of the Programme annually until its twenty-sixth session, biennially until its sixty-fourth session and annually thereafter (resolutions 2204 (XXI), 2313 (XXII), 2464 (XXIII), 2550 (XXIV), 2698 (XXV), 2838 (XXVI), 3106 (XXVIII), 3502 (XXX), 32/146, 34/144, 36/108, 38/129, 40/66, 42/148, 44/28, 46/50, 48/29, 50/43, 52/152, 54/102, 56/77, 58/73, 60/19, 62/62, 64/113, 65/25, 66/97, 67/91, 68/110, 69/117 and 70/116).

In the performance of the functions entrusted to him by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General is assisted by the Advisory Committee on the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, the members of which are appointed by the Assembly.

At its seventieth session, the General Assembly approved the guidelines and recommendations contained in section III of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Assistance to the General Assembly at its seventieth session and authorized the Secretary-General to carry out the activities specified therein in 2016 and 2017. The Assembly appointed the following 25 Member States as members of the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance for a period of four years, beginning on 1 January 2016: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czechia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America and Uruguay. It requested the Secretary-General to report to it at its seventy-first session on the implementation of the Programme of Assistance in 2016 and, following consultations with the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance, to submit recommendations regarding the Programme in subsequent years (resolution 70/116).

Consideration at the seventy-first session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 17th, 18th, 30th and 32nd meetings, on 17 and 20 October and on 3 and 7 November 2016 (A/C.6/71/SR.17, 18, 30 and 32).

For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the following documents:

During the 17th meeting, statements were made by the Secretary and the Chair of the Advisory Committee on the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination, and Wider Appreciation of International Law.

Statements were made by the representatives of the Dominican Republic (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)), Thailand (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), South Africa (on behalf of the African Group), Cambodia (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)), the European Union, also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA country Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia, aligned themselves with the statement), Qatar, El Salvador, Singapore, the Sudan, the Russian Federation, Ethiopia, Chile, Lebanon, the United States of America, Brazil, Myanmar, Nigeria, Algeria, Peru, China [in English], the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Malaysia, Morocco and Paraguay.

Delegations welcomed the report of the Secretary-General (A/71/432) and reiterated the key role of the Programme of Assistance to further international peace and security, to promote friendly relations and cooperation among States, and to support the rule of law. They highlighted the benefits of the Programme to enhance knowledge of international law across all regions, and recognized that the Programme was one of the cornerstones of the efforts of the United Nations in this regard. Delegations noted that knowledge and understanding of the substantive norms of international law was a necessary premise for their observance and was at the heart of the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Several delegations stressed the importance of the Programme as a key capacity-building activity to improve the participation of developing countries in multilateral frameworks and instruments.

Delegations once again commended the work of the Office of Legal Affairs, in particular that of the Codification Division, and that of the Chair of the Advisory Committee.

Delegations expressed their satisfaction that resources had been provided in the regular budget of the 2016–2017 biennium for the organization of the three Regional Courses to be held each year and for the continuation of the Audiovisual Library of International Law. Several delegations expressed their commitment to include the necessary funding for the training courses and the Audiovisual Library, in the regular budget of the United Nations for the biennium 2018–2019, and for years to come. In this respect, references were made to the commitment in the Ministerial Declaration of the Group of 77 and China to include the International Law Fellowship Programme, the seminars and regional training on treaty law and practice and the legal publications and training materials, as well as necessary funding for the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, in the regular budget of the Organization.

Several delegations once again expressed their appreciation to those States who had made voluntary contributions, including in-kind contributions, to the activities of the Programme, and encouraged continued and enhanced voluntary contributions. While the importance of ensuring that any voluntary contributions, financial or in-kind, were used to provide additional fellowships to those covered through the regular budget was stressed, some delegations also emphasized the need to award additional fellowships for the training courses from available resources in the regular budget given the large number of applicants for these courses. Furthermore, some delegations noted with concern that the Codification Division was dependent on voluntary contributions to recruit temporary staff to perform functions related to the implementation of certain activities under the Programme.

Delegations praised the Audiovisual Library of International Law as an essential research and teaching resource, offering easy and free access to a vast range of materials, and noted the large and increasing number of users of the resource. These delegations welcomed the use of modern technology in this regard. Some delegations also praised the Secretariat’s efforts to make the materials available in alternative forms when high-speed Internet access is lacking, and the need for advancing multilingualism was stressed. It was also suggested that alternative methods for disseminating information on the Audiovisual Library be considered in order to increase awareness.

Delegations expressed their strong appreciation for and support of the Regional Courses in International Law and for the International Law Fellowship Programme. They noted their satisfaction at the convening of, in 2016, the Regional Course for Africa, the Regional Course for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Regional Course for Asia-Pacific. Delegations also looked forward to the convening of all three Regional Courses, and the International Law Fellowship Programme, in 2017.

Several delegations expressed support for establishing permanent venues for the Regional Courses, which would provide enhanced efficiency and greater certainty. Ethiopia, Uruguay and Thailand were commended for hosting the Regional Courses in their respective regions in 2016 and Thailand and Ethiopia expressed their willingness to serve as permanent hosts of the Regional Courses. Some delegations also expressed their gratitude to Chile and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for agreeing to host a Regional Course in 2017.

Some delegations noted the holding of the International Law Seminar for Arab States that took place in November 2015 in Cairo, and expressed regret that the second Seminar was cancelled due to a lack of funding. It was hoped that further Seminars would be conducted in the future. A number of delegations also expressed their support for the seminars on treaty law and practice provided by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs. Appreciation was also expressed for the International Law Seminar for African Universities, held in Ghana in August 2016, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Programme of Assistance.

With respect to legal publications, delegations emphasized the significance of the many publications produced by the Office of Legal Affairs, including in hard copy, and regretted that no publication had been issued by the Codification Division since 2014. In this regard, a concern was voiced that desk-top publishing had been discontinued as a result of insufficient resources and some delegations emphasized the need for the necessary resources to be provided for the resumption of the desktop publishing programme of the Codification Division. Several delegations welcomed the preparation of the International Law Handbook, in English and French, for distribution and dissemination in 2017. The exploration by the Office of Legal Affairs of the possibility of cooperating with universities in the preparation of the different language versions of the Handbook was appreciated and it was hoped that other language versions would soon be made available. Some delegations stressed again the necessity of having the summaries of the decisions of the International Court of Justice in all official languages of the United Nations. Support was also expressed for the publications and websites produced by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS).

Some delegations further noted the importance of the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, and acknowledged the work of DOALOS in this endeavour. Regret was expressed that no award had been made in 2016 and it was hoped that funds could be mobilized for the 2017 fellowship award.

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 30th meeting, on 3 November, the representative of Ghana, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law” (A/C.6/71/L.17). At its 32nd meeting, on 7 November, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/71/L.17, without a vote.

Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, note with satisfaction that resources have been provided under the programme budget for the organization of the Regional Courses in International Law on an annual basis and the further development of the Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Assembly would also authorize the Secretary-General to carry out the activities specified in his reports on this item, including the following activities to be financed from the provisions in the regular budget: the International Law Fellowship Programme and the Regional Courses in International Law for Africa, for Latin-America and the Caribbean and for Asia-Pacific, with a minimum of 20 fellowships for each course; the Audiovisual Library of International Law; and the dissemination of legal publications and lectures of the Audiovisual Library to developing countries to the extent that there are sufficient resources. In addition, the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to expand those activities to be financed from voluntary contributions. It would commend the Codification Division for the cost-saving measures undertaken with regard to the training courses to increase the number of fellowships for such courses financed from provisions in the regular budget, taking into account the number of applications. Furthermore, the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to award additional fellowships for the training courses from resources under the programme budget and from voluntary contributions. It would also authorize the Secretary-General to award a minimum of one scholarship in 2017 under the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, taking note of paragraph 8 of resolution 69/117 of 10 December 2014 and paragraph 4 of resolution 70/116 of 14 December 2015.

Under the terms of the same draft resolution, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to continue to include resources under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2018–2019 for the International Law Fellowship Programme, the Regional Courses in International Law for Africa, for Asia-Pacific and for Latin America and the Caribbean each year and for the continuation and further development of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law. The General Assembly would also reiterate its appreciation for the efforts that were undertaken by the Office of Legal Affairs to bring up to date the United Nations legal publications, in particular the desktop publishing initiative undertaken by the Codification Division from 2003 to 2013; express its regret once again that none of the publications referred to in the report of the Secretary-General have been issued since 2014, when desktop publishing was discontinued owing to lack of resources, notwithstanding its resolutions 68/110, 69/117 and 70/116; reiterate its recommendation that the necessary resources be made available to resume this successful initiative; and express its appreciation for the preparation of the International Law Handbook.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-second session (2017).

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