EU Presidency Statement - Charter Committee

Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization; Statement by Konrad Bühler, Legal Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union.

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

At the outset, my delegation would like to warmly congratulate you and all members of the Bureau on your election. We are confident that you will guide the Special Committee in its deliberations in a very competent and efficient manner. We also would like to thank the staff of the UN Secretariat for their assistance in preparing this meeting.

Mr. Chairman,

The current mandate of the Special Committee under the terms of General Assembly resolution 60/23 is to continue consideration of all proposals before it. These include the proposals laid down in the Committee's Report 60/33 concerning the question of the maintenance of international peace and security, the question of the implementation of the provisions of the UN Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the Repertory of Practice of UN Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, suggestions to improve the working methods and enhance the efficiency of the Special Committee, as well as any proposal referred to it by the General Assembly in the implementation of the decisions of the World Summit in September 2005 that concern the Charter and any amendments thereto.

First, we would like to refer to the deliberations on the maintenance of international peace and security, in particular the implementation of the Charter provisions relating to assistance to third States affected by sanctions. The European Union believes that sanctions can be and have been effectively employed against States, entities and groups of individuals that threaten international peace and security. However, we realize that sanctions may entail unintended negative effects on civilian populations and on third states. While we realize the importance of the debate on how to further reduce unintended negative effects of sanctions, we note and welcome the continued practice of the Security Council of imposing targeted sanctions, which preserve the effectiveness of sanctions while minimizing their unintended negative impact.

The European Union welcomes the recognition in the 2005 World Summit Outcome that sanctions remain an important tool under the Charter to maintain international peace and security without recourse to the use of force and the resolve to ensure that sanctions are carefully targeted in support of clear objectives and that they are implemented in ways that balance effectiveness against the possible adverse consequences, including socio-economic and humanitarian consequences, for populations and for third States. We agree that sanctions should be implemented and monitored effectively with clear benchmarks, reviewed periodically, and remain in place for as limited a period as necessary to achieve their objectives and should be terminated once the objectives have been achieved.

Moreover, the European Union looks forward to consideration by the Security Council of ways to improve its monitoring of the implementation and effects of sanctions, to ensure that sanctions are implemented in an accountable manner, to review regularly the results of such monitoring and to develop a mechanism to address special economic problems arising from the application of sanctions in accordance with the Charter. The European Union supports the call upon the Security Council, with the support of the Secretary General, to ensure that fair and clear procedures exist for the listing and delisting of individuals and entities on sanctions lists, as well as for the granting of humanitarian exemptions. We also support efforts through the United Nations to strengthen State capacity to implement sanctions.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union welcomes the fact that important work on the issue of sanctions and related subjects is continuing in various other fora within the United Nations. The Secretary General has presented his report on the Implementation of the Charter provisions related to Assistance to Third States affected by the Application of Sanctions (A/60/320). The Security Council has established an Informal Working Group on General Issues of Sanctions. The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team established under Security Council resolution 1526 (2004) has prepared four reports with important recommendations to improve the Al-Qaeda/Taliban sanctions regime. Other Security Council Committees and expert groups continue to conduct important work in this regard. We also note that, in order to assist in the implementation of the decisions of the World Summit, the Secretary General has tasked the Office of Legal Affairs to begin an interdepartmental process to develop proposals and guidelines that would be available for consideration of the Security Council. Moreover, the European Union, in particular the European Commission and some EU Member States, has dedicated various conferences and workshops to specific questions related to sanctions. In this respect, I would like to mention a study on "Strengthening Targeted Sanctions through Clear and Fair Procedures", which was co-sponsored by two EU Member States and presented at UN headquarters last week.

We are aware of the revised working paper submitted by the Russian Federation (document A/60/33), which contains a draft Declaration on the basic conditions and standard criteria for the introduction and implementation of sanctions and other coercive measures. The paper provides food for thought for the consideration of sanctions. However, the European Union reiterates its position that the Special Committee should avoid dealing with issues that are currently examined elsewhere. In this context the European Union underlines the decisions by the World Summit regarding sanctions.

Second, regarding the peaceful settlement of disputes, the European Union reiterates its support for emphasizing the existing means of peaceful settlement, the need to have recourse to them at an early stage, and the principle of free choice of means, based on Article 33 of the UN Charter. We support the Summit Outcome Document's emphasis on the obligation of States to settle their disputes by peaceful means under Chapter VI of the Charter. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its inaugural sitting held on 18 April 1946, the European Union reaffirms its strong support for the International Court of Justice, as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and a cornerstone of the international legal order today. The European Union strongly supports the promotion of a culture of prevention of armed conflict and the need to strengthen the capacity of the UN in conflict prevention. The Secretary General plays a very important role in this regard, in particular through the mediation of disputes, and we support the efforts to strengthen his capacity in this area.

Third, as regards the Repertory of practice of UN organs and Repertoire of the practice of the Security Council, the European Union welcomes the conclusions of the Secretary General in his report on these publications (A/60/124). We take note of the current status of the publications, and particularly welcome the progress made in the preparation of Repertory studies and towards updating the Repertoire, as well as making both publications available on the internet.

Finally, Mr. Chairman,

The European Union supports the efforts to revisit the working methods of the Special Committee. To this end, we see merit in the revised working paper (A/60/33) introduced by Japan, and co-sponsored by the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Uganda and Australia. We regret that only minimal reforms in the working methods of the Committee have been achieved to date. The European Union reiterates that it stands ready to support initiatives aiming at a review of the Committee's working methods.

Thank you.

*Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• EU Presidency Statement - United Nations: Special Committee ont the Charter of the UN and on Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (7/2/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement - Charter of the UN and Strengthening the Role of the Organisation (16/10/2006)
• Calendar of Austrian Presidency January - June 2006 (1/1/2006)
• Directory of the Austrian Mission to the United Nations (1/1/2006)
• Austrian EU-Presidency Priorities 2006 (1/1/2006)