Sixth Committee (Legal) — 78th session
Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (Agenda item 82)
- Authority: resolution 77/109
Documentation
- A/78/33 — Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization
- A/78/114 — Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions
- A/78/296 — Report of the Secretary-General on the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council
- A/C.6/78/L.5 — Draft resolution
Summary of work
Background (source: A/78/100)
The item entitled “Need to consider suggestions regarding the review of the Charter of the United Nations” was included in the agenda of the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly at the request of Colombia (A/7659). The Assembly had the item on its agenda biennially at its twenty-fifth to twenty-ninth sessions (resolutions 2697 (XXV), 2968 (XXVII) and 3349 (XXIX)).
At its twenty-ninth session, under the item entitled “Need to consider suggestions regarding the review of the Charter of the United Nations”, the Assembly decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations to consider any specific proposals that Governments might make with a view to enhancing the ability of the United Nations to achieve its purposes, as well as other suggestions for the more effective functioning of the United Nations that might not require amendments to the Charter (resolution 3349 (XXIX)).
The item entitled “Strengthening of the role of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, the development of cooperation among all nations and the promotion of the rules of international law in relations between States” was included in the agenda of the twenty-seventh session of the Assembly at the request of Romania (A/8792). The Assembly had the item on its agenda annually at its twenty-seventh to twenty-ninth sessions (resolutions 2925 (XXVII), 3073 (XXVIII) and 3282 (XXIX)).
At its thirtieth session, under the item “Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization”, the Assembly decided to reconvene the Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations as the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization to examine suggestions and proposals regarding the Charter and the strengthening of the role of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, the development of cooperation among all nations and the promotion of the rules of international law. The Assembly also decided that the Special Committee should submit an annual report to the Assembly (resolution 3499 (XXX)).
The Assembly has had the item entitled “Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization” on its agenda annually since its thirty-first session (resolutions 31/28, 32/45, 33/94, 34/147, 35/164, 36/122, 36/123, 37/114, 38/141, 39/88 A and B, 40/78, 41/83, 42/157, 43/51, 43/170, 44/37, 45/44, 45/45, 46/58, 46/59, 47/38, 48/36, 49/57, 49/58, 50/50 to 50/52, 51/208, 51/209, 52/161 to 52/163, 53/106, 53/107, 54/106 to 54/108, 55/156, 55/157, 56/86, 56/87, 57/24 to 57/26, 58/80, 58/248, 59/44, 59/45, 60/23, 61/37, 61/38, 62/69, 63/127, 64/115, 65/31, 66/101, 67/95, 67/96, 68/115, 69/122, 70/117, 71/146, 71/147, 72/118, 73/206, 74/190, 75/140, 76/115, 76/116 and 77/109).
At its seventy-seventh session, the Assembly allocated the item to the Sixth Committee, where statements in the debate were made by 29 delegations (see A/C.6/77/SR.33–34). The Assembly decided that the Special Committee would hold its next session from 21 February to 1 March 2023 and requested the Special Committee to submit a report on its work to the Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. The Assembly also requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its seventy-eighth session a report on both the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council and a report on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (resolution 77/109).
The Special Committee met at United Nations Headquarters from 21 February to 1 March 2023 and adopted its report (A/78/33).
Consideration at the seventy-eighth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 22nd, 33rd, 34th and 37th meetings, on 20 October, 2 and 17 November 2023, respectively (see A/C.6/78/SR.22, 33, 34 and 37).
The Chair of the 2023 session of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization introduced [in French] the report of the Special Committee (A/78/33). The Senior Political Affairs Officer, Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs made a statement on the status of the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, while the Director of the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs made a statement on the status of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs.
Statements were made by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Uganda (on behalf of the African Group), the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations) [in English], Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)), the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the potential candidate country Georgia, and the EFTA country, Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Monaco and San Marino aligned themselves with the statement)), Georgia (on behalf of Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova), the United States of America, Belarus, Mexico, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Russian Federation, the Syrian Arab Republic, Sudan, Qatar, Cuba, El Salvador, Pakistan, Equatorial Guinea, China, India, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Philippines, the Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, the Republic of Korea, Egypt, Nicaragua, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Algeria.
A statement was also made by the observer for the State of Palestine.
Several delegations emphasized the importance of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization. Some delegations regretted the failure to reach consensus for the adoption of a full report on the work of the Special Committee in 2023. Relatedly, several delegations raised concerns about the increasing politicization of the work of the Special Committee.
Some delegations encouraged the striking of an appropriate balance between the main organs of the United Nations, in particular the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council. In that regard, several delegations called for Security Council reform and expressed concern about the Council’s encroachment on the role of the General Assembly.
In the context of the maintenance of international peace and security, several delegations expressed concern over sanctions imposed by the Security Council, underscoring that they should be employed only as a last resort and in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other rules of international law, in particular those relating to human rights, refugee and international humanitarian law. In that regard, the view was expressed that the objectives of sanctions should be clearly defined and that sanctions should be limited to a specified timeframe, with clear conditions for the imposition and lifting of sanctions and subject to periodical review. Some delegations reiterated the importance of the Security Council considering, when designing sanctions regimes, the need to avoid unintended adverse socio-economic and humanitarian consequences for the civilian populations. Some delegations also voiced concern about the use of unilateral coercive measures. According to another view, targeted sanctions were a legitimate instrument of foreign policy, which enable States to address threats to international peace and security.
The relevance of the document "Introduction and implementation of sanctions imposed by the United Nations” annexed to General Assembly resolution 64/115 of 16 December 2009 was reiterated. Delegations welcomed the regular briefings by the Secretariat on this document. At the same time, the Secretariat was requested to provide more information on the perceived objective assessments of the short-term and long-term socio-economic and humanitarian consequences of sanctions, including on the methodology used for the assessment of the humanitarian implications of sanctions.
Some delegations encouraged further discussions of various proposals before the Committee, including proposals by Libya, Belarus and the Russian Federation, Cuba, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Iran. Support was expressed for the proposal of the Russian Federation regarding establishing a website and updating the Handbook on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes. Interest was also expressed by some delegations in the working paper submitted by Mexico for the Special Committee to consider the substantive and procedural aspects of Article 51 of the Charter relating to the right to self-defence.
Delegations highlighted the importance of the peaceful settlement of disputes. In this regard, the central role of the International Court of Justice was highlighted. Several delegations recognized the significance of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes of 1982. The importance of multilateralism and preventive diplomacy was emphasized. It was also emphasized that the rulings of international tribunals should be respected.
Delegations also highlighted the importance of the annual thematic debate on the means for the settlement of disputes, which this year focused on the use of regional agencies or arrangements, and welcomed the opportunity to discuss in the 2024 session of the Special Committee the subtopic “Exchange of information on State practices regarding the use of good offices”.
Delegations expressed appreciation for the progress made by the Secretariat in the preparation of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council and for its efforts to reduce the backlog. Some delegations called for further efforts to eliminate the Repertory backlog, and others stressed the need to continue making the publications available online. Several delegations expressed their gratitude to Member States that contributed to the Trust Fund established to eliminate the backlog of the Repertory.
Delegations were urged to engage in meaningful discussion on all items and proposals on the agenda of the Special Committee. At the same time, several delegations called for the Special Committee to address existing issues with its working methods. It was also suggested that the topics on the agenda of the Special Committee should be reviewed, taking into account their practical relevance, potential duplication and likelihood of consensus.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
22nd meeting (20 October 2023, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
33rd meeting (2 November 2023, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
34th meeting (2 November 2023, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
37th meeting (17 November 2023, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 37th meeting, on 17 November, the representative of Egypt, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization” (A/C.6/78/L.5).
At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.5, without a vote.
Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.5, the Assembly would, inter alia, request the Special Committee to continue its consideration of the questions of the maintenance of international peace and security, to keep on its agenda the question of the peaceful settlement of disputes between States and to consider any proposal referred by the General Assembly in the implementation of the decisions of the high-level plenary meeting of the sixtieth session of the Assembly that concern the Charter and any amendments thereto. Moreover, it would decide to undertake an annual thematic debate in the Special Committee to discuss the means for the settlement of disputes, and invite Member States to focus their comments at the next session of the Special Committee on the subtopic “Exchange of information on State practices regarding the use of good offices”.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-ninth session (2024).
