Sommaire: EU Presidency Statement - Mandate Review, Cluster F and H (New York, 26 April 2006)
General Assembly, Fourth Informal Plenary Meeting on Mandate Review; Statement by Mr. Alexander Marschik, Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union.
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Croatia, Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro as well as Moldova align themselves with this statement.
Today, following the Programme of Work presented by Co-Chairs, I will focus my remarks on Cluster F "Promotion of justice and international law" and Cluster H "Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism", based on the Secretary-General's Report "Mandating and Delivering […]" (A/60/733).
Cluster F "Promotion of justice and international law"
Mr Chairman,
The European Union recognises the essential role of the United Nations in the field of international law and the rule of law. We will focus today in particular on the role of the General Assembly through its Sixth Committee and the valuable assistance and advice provided by the Office of Legal Affairs. The EU has constantly promoted a rules-based international order and we note with appreciation the great expansion of the mandates in this field.
The relevance of international law for the UN is also reflected in the conclusions of the 2005 World Summit, which emphasised the need for universal adherence to and implementation of the rule of law at both the national and international levels and reaffirmed the commitment of Member States to an international order based on the rule of law and international law. We like to recall that in order to strengthen the UN activities to promote the rule of law, the World Summit supported the idea of
establishing a rule of law assistance unit within the Secretariat and we renew our call to the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly without delay on the progress achieved to this effect.
As regards the proposals contained in the Secretary-General's Report, the European Union acknowledges the need to streamline, simplify and consolidate reporting obligations in this area. We agree, in principle, to regularly consider the number, scope and frequency of special reports in addition to the annual comprehensive reports on law of the sea and fisheries. However, due consideration should be given to the substance of these additional special reports. At the same time, Member States may
also wish to review the scope and format of the annual comprehensive reports.
In an attempt to contribute to the reorganisation of the existing institutional architecture to enhance the Organisation's overall effectiveness, the European Union supports the proposal to discontinue the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organisation. The Committee's mandate, as noted in the Report of the Secretary-General, has been duplicated by the work of other intergovernmental bodies. We reiterate our position that the
Committee should avoid dealing with issues that are currently being examined elsewhere.
Regarding the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the European Union welcomes the effort, with the participation of the Office of Legal Affairs, to consolidate and update the rules and make them available in all official languages, both in print and online. The European Union also supports the proposal that the Office of Legal Affairs prepare briefing packages for the presiding officers of the organs, together with oral briefings, on the application and interpretation of the rules, and
make precedents and past practice available in the public domain with respect to rules and practices of the intergovernmental bodies of the Organisation. In the long term, we would encourage a study of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and compare them with best practices of other international organisations.
Cluster H "Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Combating International Terrorism"
Mr Chairman,
Referring to the recommendations contained in paragraphs 119 to 121 of the Report, the European Union supports the overall objective set in these key areas by the Secretary-General, i.e. to identify any unnecessary overlap or duplication of UN activities, so that resources saved can be shifted to the many important aspects of work in the field that are currently under-resourced. Therefore, we support the recommendation that member states should examine the proliferation of reporting and
documentation requirements in these areas, with the aim of streamlining or merging them where possible and transferring freed resources to higher-priority activities, including the monitoring of certain conferences and conventions.
However, the EU is not persuaded by the proposal to merge the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and, respectively, the two corresponding funds. The European Union supported the integration of the former Centre for International Crime Prevention and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and their administrative functions into a single UNODC. But we believe that, given the distinct mandates of the drug and the crime
programme and of the two commissions, they, while complementary, have separate roles to play in delivering strong, effective policy-making.
Politically sensitive decisions should only be pursued after clarification of adequate added value and efficiency. The European Union is, therefore, at this juncture, not in a position to support pursuing a possible merger of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and of the two funds.
Nevertheless, the European Union strongly welcomes the idea of continuing to seek alternative measures to increase the efficiency of each commission as the governing bodies for the UNODC as well as in the UN's drug control and crime prevention-related activities in general. We look forward to studying further proposals that may help us identify unnecessary overlap or duplication. The overarching strategy under consideration will have to take into account cross-cutting issues between the two
mandates, the question of complementarity, the potential for synergies and the importance of clear policy guidance.
With regard to terrorism, the EU is looking forward to the discussions on the comprehensive UN counter-terrorism strategy in May. This debate will also take into account the current work of the UN while reflecting on the future. The European Union thanks the Secretary-General for his proposals concerning the Counter-Terrorism Committee, the 1267-Committee and the 1540-Committee established by the Security Council. The European Union supports the idea that, while taking into account and
respecting their different mandates, the Committees should intensify their efforts to increase cooperation and coordination among them and their experts in monitoring the implementation of the respective Security Council resolutions. We believe more can be done in regard to information sharing and coordinating expert visits to countries. As stated at the World Summit, we encourage the Security Council to consider ways to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement role in counter-terrorism,
including by consolidating State reporting requirements.
Mr Chairman,
As we have emphasised, the EU is examining all mandates with an open mind, including those initiated or co-sponsored by its members. We will continue reviewing the mandates and will deliver more detailed proposals on particular mandates contained in the Registry at a later stage.
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