Sixth Committee (Legal) — 78th session
Expulsion of Aliens (Agenda item 81)
- Authority: resolution 75/137
Documentation
- Draft articles on the expulsion of aliens, and commentaries
- A/C.6/78/L.16 — Draft resolution
Summary of work
Background (source: A/78/100)
At its sixty-ninth session, in 2014, the General Assembly, under the item entitled “Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its sixty-sixth session”, considered chapter IV of the report of the Commission, which contained the draft articles on the expulsion of aliens together with a recommendation, in paragraph 42, that the Assembly: (a) take note of the draft articles on the expulsion of aliens in a resolution, annex the articles to the resolution and encourage their widest possible dissemination; and (b) consider, at a later stage, the elaboration of a convention on the basis of the draft articles. The Assembly welcomed the conclusion of the work of the Commission on the expulsion of aliens, expressed its appreciation to the Commission for its continuing contribution to the codification and progressive development of international law, took note of the recommendation of the International Law Commission contained in paragraph 42 of its report and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session an item entitled “Expulsion of aliens” (resolution 69/119).
The Assembly has had the item on its agenda triennially since its seventy-second session (resolutions 72/117 and 75/137).
At its seventy-fifth session, the Assembly allocated the item to the Sixth Committee, where statements in the debate were made by 13 delegations (see A/C.6/75/SR.16). The Assembly decided to include the item in the provisional agenda of its seventy-eighth session, with a view to examining, inter alia, the question of the form that might be given to the articles or any other appropriate action (resolution 75/137).
Consideration at the seventy-eighth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its its 34th and 37th meetings on 2 and 17 November 2023, respectively (see A/C.6/78/SR.34 and 37).
Statements were made by the representatives of Singapore, Brazil, the United States of America, Belarus, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa, Cuba [in English], Cameroon, El Salvador, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, Chile, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A statement was also made by the observer for the Holy See.
A number of delegations reiterated the importance of the topic, while acknowledging its complexity. The connection between the topic and human rights law was also stressed. The importance of striking a balance between State sovereignty and the human rights of the person expelled or in the process of expulsion was highlighted.
Some delegations expressed concern over the content of the draft articles and noted the divergence of opinions among States on the topic. The view was expressed that the draft articles did not reflect customary international law. Some delegations were of the view that no convention should be elaborated on the basis of the draft articles. Other delegations affirmed that the draft articles constituted an important contribution as guidelines to States and could form the basis for discussion. Some other delegations expressed the view that the draft articles could potentially become an international legal instrument. It was suggested that a working group of the Sixth Committee could be established, at a future session, with a view to discussing the fate of the draft articles.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
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 2023, the representative of Haiti, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Expulsion of aliens” (A/C.6/78/L.16). At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.16 without a vote. The representative of El Salvador (on behalf of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador) spoke in explanation of position after the adoption of the draft resolution.
Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would decide to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session an item entitled “Expulsion of aliens”, with a view to examining, inter alia, the question of the form that might be given to the articles or any other appropriate action, and invite Member States to further engage on the subject and to address in their interventions not only this question, but also their views on the content of the articles.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
This agenda item will thus be considered at the eighty-first session (2026).
