General Assembly Session 52 meeting 92

The President

May I, on behalf of all Member States, extend our deepest sympathy to the Governments and peoples of Bangladesh and China for the tragic loss of life and extensive material damage which have resulted from the recent floods. May I also express the hope that the international community will show its solidarity and respond promptly and generously to any request for help.

The President

In a letter contained in document A/52/785/Add.11, the Secretary-General informs me that since the issuance of his communications contained in documents A/52/785 and addenda 1 to 10, Seychelles has made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter.

May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of this information?

The President

I should now like to draw the attention of representatives to document A/52/340/Add.2, which contains a letter dated 19 August 1998 addressed to me by the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences.

As Members are aware, the Assembly, in paragraph 7 of its resolution 40/243, decided that no subsidiary organ of the General Assembly should be permitted to meet at United Nations Headquarters during a regular session of the Assembly unless explicitly authorized by the Assembly.

As indicated in the letter I have just mentioned, the Committee on Conferences has received a request from the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund to meet in New York from 8 to 11 September 1998. The meeting of the Executive Board straddles two regular sessions of the General Assembly.

Therefore, so as to enable the Executive Board to meet without the interruption that would be necessary if the request were submitted for approval to the Assembly at its fifty-third session, the request is being transmitted to the Assembly at its fifty-second session.

May I take it that the General Assembly authorizes the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund to meet in New York during the main part of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly?

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Germany to introduce draft resolution A/52/L.80.

Mr. Henze (Germany)

It is my pleasure and honour to introduce a draft resolution on the Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship between the United Nations and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the General Assembly today. Thirty-eight countries are listed as sponsors on the draft resolution. In addition to these, Panama, the Philippines and Sri Lanka have also signed, bringing the number to 41. I am very happy and grateful that there has been such broad support for the draft.

The United Nations and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea signed an Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship last December. In that context, may I recall resolution 51/34 of December 1996, in which the General Assembly invited the Secretary-General to conclude such an agreement. Meanwhile, the Agreement was approved by the Tribunal in March and by the States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea this year. The text of the Agreement, which is attached to the draft resolution, by and large follows the lines drawn in the Agreement concerning the Relationship between the United Nations and the International Seabed Authority. This latter agreement was approved without a vote by the General Assembly in its resolution 52/27 of November 1997.

It is my firm belief that the draft resolution represents a totally uncontroversial item. I therefore request delegations to kindly lend it their support.

The President

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 51/204 of 17 December 1996, I now call on Mr. Gritakumar E. Chitty, Registrar for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Mr. Chitty (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea)

It is indeed a pleasure and an honour for me to address the General Assembly at its fifty-second session on behalf of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the occasion of the consideration by the Assembly of the draft resolution on the Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship between the United Nations and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. I do so in particular on behalf of the President of the Tribunal, Judge Thomas Mensah, and the other Judges. President Mensah regrets his inability to be present here today.

On behalf of the Tribunal, I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for your very positive remarks and the kind words addressed to the Tribunal during the discussion last December by the General Assembly of the item "Oceans and the law of the sea", and for the distribution of the statement of the President of the Tribunal on that occasion. He was not able to deliver it in person due to the institution of proceedings before the Tribunal in a case submitted to it. I also wish to express my personal congratulations to you, Sir, for your leadership in bringing this challenging fifty-second session to a successful conclusion.

Our special thanks also go to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his continuing support and direct and personal interest in the work of the Tribunal, and most importantly, for bringing about the early conclusion of this Agreement on Relationship and Cooperation between the Tribunal and the United Nations. His warm congratulations to the Tribunal on its achievements on the occasion of its first anniversary augured well for the Tribunal. Shortly thereafter, the Tribunal received and commenced deliberations on its first case.

I would like to express the special gratitude of the Tribunal to the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany for the initiative taken in sponsoring this draft resolution. The Tribunal is very appreciative of the generous assistance and hospitality accorded to it by the German Federal Government and the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The Tribunal looks forward to the move, at the beginning of the year 2000, to the excellent facilities of its permanent headquarters, which are presently under construction.

The Tribunal is also appreciative of the strong support extended to it by the 41 Member States that have sponsored draft resolution A/52/L.80, which it is hoped will shortly be adopted with widespread approval.

The Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship finds its origins in the draft prepared by the Preparatory Commission for the International Seabed Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Negotiations between the Office of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations and the Registry of the Tribunal proceeded on the basis of this draft. The negotiations were constructive and expeditious and resulted in early agreement upon the terms for conclusion of the relationship Agreement. On behalf of the Tribunal, I would like to convey special thanks to the Office of the Legal Counsel for the cooperation it extended at all times.

The Agreement was signed at United Nations Headquarters on 18 December 1997 by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Tribunal. Article 14 of the Agreement requires that the General Assembly and the Tribunal approve the Agreement as a condition for its entry into force. The Tribunal confirmed its approval of the Agreement on 12 March 1998. The approval of the Agreement today by the General Assembly would conclude the process, which has been marked by a spirit of cooperation in the negotiations, which the Tribunal looks forward to as being the hallmark of the implementation of the relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the Tribunal.

The Agreement formalizes the essential cooperation and interaction between the Tribunal and the United Nations, just as the Convention on the Law of the Sea itself foresaw the need for such an arrangement in establishing the new institutions under the Convention and in entrusting substantial functions to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Tribunal is most grateful for the support of the United Nations in various and diverse respects. This is exemplified by the support of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Hans Corell, and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea during the start-up, preparatory and organizational phases of the Tribunal with the temporary assignment of staff to the Tribunal.

The Tribunal also extends its appreciation to the Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Mr. Ismat Steiner, and the members of the Division for the assistance provided during the important period of the constitution of the Tribunal and for their ongoing support.

The approval of the Agreement by the General Assembly will pave the way for further and more efficient cooperation. The Agreement provides, inter alia, for the exchange of information and documents between the United Nations and the Tribunal and for cooperation on a range of matters. These provisions will promote the Tribunal's objective to be a user-friendly, cost-effective and efficient institution. The Tribunal has placed great importance on these principles in its rules of procedure and has endeavoured to achieve efficiency and effectiveness by setting short time limits for each step in the proceedings before the Tribunal. The rules provide for prompt hearings and recognize the opportunities that modern technology has to offer in expediting and facilitating proceedings before the Tribunal.

These initiatives are reflected in the expeditious disposal by the Tribunal of the first case submitted to it, a case concerning the prompt release of an arrested vessel and its crew. The judgement of the Tribunal at the conclusion of the proceedings, which lasted less than four weeks, was complied with, and the vessel and crew were subsequently released. Following the proceedings on the prompt release of the vessel and its crew, the parties, by joint agreement, have submitted the dispute on the merits of the case to the Tribunal.

I shall be most pleased to inform the Tribunal of the deliberations of the General Assembly and of its decisions at the fifty-second session under this item when the Tribunal convenes in Hamburg in two weeks for its sixth session.

The Tribunal would welcome and appreciate the widest possible support for this draft resolution. It is most fitting that this Agreement should enter into force during the International Year of the Ocean.

I thank you and wish this session of the General Assembly a successful conclusion.

The President

We shall now proceed to consider the draft resolution contained in document A/52/L.80, which was just introduced by the representative of Germany. Since there are no speakers in explanation of vote, the Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution, entitled "Agreement on cooperation and relationship between the United Nations and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea".

May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/52/L.80?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 39 and to conclude its consideration of agenda item 39 as a whole?

The President

I would like to draw the attention of delegations to a letter dated 21 August 1998 from the President of the Economic and Social Council addressed to me. This letter is contained in document A/52/1022, to which is annexed Economic and Social Council resolution 1998/46 entitled "Further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields".

May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of document A/52/1022?

The President

Before giving the floor to the first speaker on the list of speakers, I should like to congratulate the Economic and Social Council on its success in negotiating resolution 1998/46 on the reform and revitalization of the Council and its subsidiary bodies.

Mr. Chowdhury (Bangladesh)

The Assembly will recall that in its resolution 52/12 B the Assembly, inter alia, invited the Economic and Social Council to consider, at its organizational and substantive sessions in 1998 -- as part of the review of the mandates, composition, functions and working methods of its functional commissions and expert groups and bodies, as mandated by the General Assembly in resolution 50/227 -- the recommendations of the Secretary-General relating to the reform of these subsidiary bodies and to report thereon to the Assembly as early as possible during its fifty-second session.

In that same resolution, the Assembly also invited the Council, in consultation with Member States and appropriate intergovernmental regional bodies, to conduct a general review of the regional commissions at its substantive session of 1998, bearing in mind the relevant provisions of resolution 50/227 and the individual reviews each commission had already carried out, in order to consider the competencies of the regional commissions, taking into account the competencies of global bodies and other regional and subregional intergovernmental bodies, and to submit a report thereon to the General Assembly before the end of its fifty-second session.

As a Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, I was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting consultations as mandated by Assembly resolution 50/227 and later reinforced by resolution 52/12 B on United Nations reforms. The process started back in March 1997 and ended successfully with the adoption of a resolution at the last substantive session of the Council in July. The mandate, although an arduous one, was carried out in time.

Any reform initiative of the United Nations, in order to withstand the test of time, must involve the entire membership of the United Nations. The enthusiasm with which the Member States engaged in this prolonged activity is a testimony to the seriousness and commitment with which they view the importance of measures that are needed for making the United Nations more efficient and effective. The broad participation in the negotiation process, the rich inputs provided by the membership and the support and contribution of the delegations made this undertaking a success. It is an achievement for all of us.

The review has resulted in an agreement on specific measures to streamline and improve the working methods of the subsidiary machinery of the Economic and Social Council. The adoption of this package resulted in a decrease in the number of members of one of the subsidiary bodies, the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, from 53 to 33. The Committee for Development Planning has been renamed the Committee for Development Policy with retention of its acronym CDP. It is comprised of 24 independent experts with a good mix of expertise who are to be nominated by the Secretary-General after consultation with the interested Governments and then approved by ECOSOC. The review process resulted in the termination of mandates of two subsidiary bodies: the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for Development. It gave rise to a new body, named the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for Development, with the acronym CENRD.

In addition to the achievement of an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the subsidiary bodies, it has been estimated by the Secretariat that the process would result in a reduction in real terms of more than $150,000 during the biennium 1998-1999. This is the first time we are saving money while also looking forward to an efficient and effective functioning of the system.

By the Council's action at its last substantive session, we completed one of the most complex, laborious and substantive exercise for the review of the subsidiary bodies of the Council. This is the first time since the creation of these bodies that such an extensive and important review has been undertaken and -- I must emphasize -- successfully completed.

The fifty-second session of the Assembly, which we are concluding today, has been called the reform Assembly. The action by the Council has contributed in a very effective way to the reform process being pursued so vigorously at the United Nations. It is our hope that the momentum and positive interaction generated by this review of the subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council will be maintained and continued in the days ahead, so that the efficiency and effectiveness of the bodies engaged in the economic and social fields contribute substantially to the objectives of international cooperation for development.

In closing, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all delegations for their constant support in making this result possible.

Mr. Manz (Austria)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia -- and the associated country Cyprus, as well as the countries of the European Free Trade Association members of the European Economic Area, Iceland and Norway, align themselves with this statement.

Let me, at the outset, commend Ambassador Chowdhury for his engagement and very able leadership in steering us through the process of reviewing the subsidiary machinery of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The European Union has always considered resolution 50/227 and resolution 52/12 B as important steps in, among other things, strengthening and revitalizing ECOSOC. We see the intergovernmental machinery as an integral part of the overall reform process, in tandem with and mutually supportive of the reform efforts at the organizational and managerial levels. The proliferation of the subsidiary machinery of ECOSOC which has taken place over the years has resulted in weakening the Council's overall guidance and coordination role. The European Union has therefore attached high importance to the review process mandated by resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B and has sought to contribute substantively to the negotiations.

The review process did not result in far-reaching institutional changes. Nevertheless, the outcome represents a first step forward in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the intergovernmental structure.

Let me now make some specific remarks on the measures contained in the three annexes to ECOSOC resolution 1998/46, reproduced in document A/52/1022.

With regard to the four priority bodies, we would like to highlight the merger of the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for Development and the Committee on Natural Resources into a single expert body. With ensured coherence between the respective work programmes of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the new Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for Development, the output of the latter body should be more useful in the intergovernmental process. The new arrangements for the Committee for Development Planning should also help to bring the work of this body much better in line with the needs and interests of the intergovernmental bodies, in particular ECOSOC. The work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, by concentrating on the needs of the CSD and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), should become more focused. This should also be facilitated by the reduction in its membership.

We hope that the recommendations which came out of the review of the functional commissions with conference follow-up responsibilities will ensure a better use of their potential within the overall United Nations structure and give their work added value in the implementation of United Nations conferences. Focusing on the exchange of experiences in the implementation of the conference outcomes and on the review of progress in this respect should help them to fulfil this task. This process should be supported by improved working methods such as refocusing the general debates and expanding interaction with experts and civil society. The role of the bureaus of the functional commissions, as well as enhanced coordination among them and the bureau of ECOSOC, will be crucial not only for a more effective role of the individual commissions but also for increasing the overall coherence of their work.

It should be clearly understood that each functional commission should be encouraged to adopt practices best suited to its particular mandate and responsibilities. The recommendations contained in the respective annex may therefore not necessarily be appropriate or sensible for all functional commissions to adopt in every case.

While the distinct nature of each of the regional commissions and its main responsibility towards the needs of the region are recognized, the regional commissions should also contribute to improving the United Nations overall relevance and effectiveness. The measures contained in annex III should help in this respect by determining the Secretariat's responsibilities, which should consequently lead to a more focused division of labour between Headquarters and the regional and national levels.

We welcome the efforts by the Secretary-General to overcome the shortcomings in coordinating regional activities within the United Nations system. However, arrangements proposed to this end -- such as the yearly meetings among the relevant United Nations entities engaged in regional activities held under the direct aegis of the Secretary-General -- should be determined by the needs of each region and should build on already existing coordination mechanisms and focus on issues where coordination is required at the regional level. The recommendation on close cooperation between the regional commissions and other, non-United Nations regional or subregional bodies should help to reinforce synergies and avoid duplications, thereby ensuring an optimal use of resources. We hope that the measures contained in the final part will improve not only the interaction between ECOSOC and the regional commissions, but also among the regional commissions themselves.

The review process has not been completed. We should strive for its completion as soon as possible. We still have to address the remaining Track 2 proposals of the Secretary-General which aim to strengthen the coordination role of ECOSOC as well as the rationalization of its subsidiary machinery. As to the outcome of the review process, it is clear that the focus must be now on the implementation of these measures. But at some point in time, preferably in 2001, the effectiveness of these new arrangements will have to be reviewed.

Mr. Hapsoro (Indonesia)

I am pleased to take the floor in order to address a few brief remarks to the Assembly on the resolution entitled "Further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields".

Let me, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, express heartfelt appreciation to Ambassador Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, who has been a valuable resource to all of us in the very complex and prolonged negotiations on this resolution during the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) last July. Under his stewardship we have made considerable progress in the efforts to undertake a review in accordance with General Assembly resolution 50/227 of the mandates, composition, function and working methods of the Council's functional commissions, expert groups and bodies and of the regional commissions.

Indeed, thanks to Ambassador Chowdhury's considerable skills and expertise we have been able to move forward in several areas, although we recognize that due to the complexity of the undertakings, additional time will be needed. The Group would therefore like to agree with the statement made by Ambassador Chowdhury, that this is the first time in our history that such an undertaking -- such an overview -- has been successfully completed.

The Group of 77 and China are of the view that given the progress achieved thus far, and with additional deliberations, we can work together to improve the coordination of the activities of ECOSOC and strengthen and harmonize its work with a view to strengthening efforts in restructuring and revitalizing the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields. In this regard we would like to express our confidence that the measures we have adopted will enhance the positive interaction among the organs within the United Nations system which deal with the aforementioned issues.

I believe that it is safe to say that while the negotiations that we have undertaken over the past several months have not been easy, we have nevertheless managed to reach a consensus on several critical and important issues. We are also encouraged by the spirit of partnership and flexibility, which was quite remarkable during the negotiations and which facilitated our work so that we were able to arrive at a consensus.

We note that we have remaining tasks ahead, mandated by resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B, but we are optimistic that with additional time and further refection on the respective positions on outstanding items, we are well positioned to successfully complete those tasks.

My statement would not be complete without mentioning the critical issues on which we have not been very successful so far. The Assembly may recall that when we adopted resolution 50/227, we did so with the conviction that its successful implementation required the implementation of all its provisions. So far the provision on resources has been left behind and the implementation has fallen short. It is therefore very urgent that this issue, too, be addressed in the near future. In this context we hope that the discussion during the fifty-third session on funding for operational activities will facilitate the full implementation of resolution 50/227.

In conclusion, the Group of 77 and China will continue to work to improve, restructure and revitalize the work of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields. It is our expectation that as we approach the year 2000, we can benefit from the successful implementation of what we adopted today, and it is our earnest hope that we will come to a successful conclusion in our endeavour.

Ms. King (United States)

A problem occurred in a Python script. Here is the sequence of function calls leading up to the error, in the order they occurred.

<type 'exceptions.UnicodeEncodeError'>: 'ascii' codec can't encode character u'\xed' in position 569: ordinal not in range(128)
      args = ('ascii', u'\n\t<p id="pg007-bk01-pa01">The United States welc...s one of this institution\'s principal organs.</p>', 569, 570, 'ordinal not in range(128)')
      encoding = 'ascii'
      end = 570
      message = ''
      object = u'\n\t<p id="pg007-bk01-pa01">The United States welc...s one of this institution\'s principal organs.</p>'
      reason = 'ordinal not in range(128)'
      start = 569