UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations
G E N E R A L A S S E M B L Y
FORTY-EIGHTH SESSION
Official Records
85th
PLENARY MEETING
Monday, 20 December 1993
at 3 p.m.
NEW YORK
President: Mr. INSANALLY
(Guyana)
__________
The meeting was called to order at 3.30 p.m.
AGENDA ITEMS 108 (continued), 109 (continued),
110 to 115 (continued), 172 (continued), 12 (continued)
RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION
(a) RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO S E L F -
DETERMINATION: REPORT OF THE THIRD
COMMITTEE (PART I) (A/48/626)
(b) EFFECTIVE REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT TO
SELF-DETERMINATION THROUGH
AUTONOMY: REPORT OF THE THIRD
COMMITTEE (PART II) (A/48/626/Add.1)
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING QUESTIONS
RELATING TO THE WORLD SOCIAL SITUATION
AND TO YOUTH, AGEING, DISABLED PERSONS
AND THE FAMILY: REPORT OF THE THIRD
COMMITTEE (A/48/627)
CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE (A/48/628)
ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN: REPORT OF THE
THIRD COMMITTEE (A/48/629)
INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONTROL: REPORT OF
THE THIRD COMMITTEE (A/48/630)
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, QUESTIONS
RELATING TO REFUGEES, RETURNEES AND
DISPLACED PERSONS AND HUMANITARIAN
QUESTIONS: REPORT OF THE THIRD
COMMITTEE (A/48/631)
HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS: REPORT OF THE
THIRD COMMITTEE (PART I) (A/48/632)
(a) IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
INSTRUMENTS: REPORT OF THE THIRD
COMMITTEE (PART II) (A/48/632/Add.1)
(b) HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS, INCLUDING
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR
IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVE ENJOYMENT OF
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL
FREEDOMS:
(i) REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
(PARTS III AND V) (A/48/632/Add.2 AND
Add.4)
(ii) REPORTS OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/795, A/48/796)
(c) HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS AND REPORTS
OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND
REPRESENTATIVES:
(i) REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
(PART IV) (A/48/632/Add.3)
This record is subject to correction.
Corrections should be sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned
within one week of the date of publication to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Section,
Room C-178, and incorporated in a copy of the record.
Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.
When the result of a recorded and/or roll-call vote is followed by an asterisk,
see the annex to the record.
93-87437 (E)
Distr. GENERAL
A/48/PV.85
24 January 1994
ENGLISH
2 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
(ii) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/797)
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ESTONIA AND
LATVIA: REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
(A/48/633)
NECESSITY OF ADOPTING EFFECTIVE MEASURES
FOR THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE
RIGHTS OF CHILDREN THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD WHO ARE VICTIMS OF ESPECIALLY
DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING ARMED
CONFLICTS:
(a) REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
(A/48/634)
(b) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/798)
REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COUNCIL: REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
(A/48/624)
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will consider first
part I of the report (A/48/626) of the Third Committee on
sub-item (a) of agenda item 108, entitled "Right of peoples
to self-determination".
The Assembly will now take a decision on the three
draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 18 of part I of its report.
Draft resolution I is entitled "Use of mercenaries as a
means to violate human rights and to impede the exercise of
the right of peoples to self-determination".
The voting process has now begun. A recorded vote
has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda,
Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin,
Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia,
Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, India,
Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malawi,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico,
Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia,
Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama,
Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar,
Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad
and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab
Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela,
Viet Nam, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic,
France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands,
Portugal, Romania, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, United States of America
Abstaining: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated
States of), New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of
Korea, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Turkey
Draft resolution I was adopted by 108 votes to 14, with
39 abstentions (resolution 48/92).*
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"Universal realization of the right of peoples to selfdetermination".
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/93).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"Importance of the universal realization of the right of
peoples to self-determination and of the speedy granting of
independence to colonial countries and peoples for the
effective guarantee and observance of human rights".
The voting process has now begun. A recorded vote
has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize,
Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia,
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 3
Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic
Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands,
Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab
Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia,
Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
Against: Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation,
Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, United States of America
Abstaining: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican
Republic, Estonia, Fiji, Greece, Honduras, Ireland, Jamaica,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of),
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal,
Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, San Marino,
Slovenia, Spain, the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay
Draft resolution III was adopted by 101 votes to 26,
with 37 abstentions (resolution 48/94).*
The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of
Mongolia for an explanation of vote.
Ms. ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia): My delegation cast
a positive vote in favour of draft resolution III, entitled
"Importance of the universal realization of the right of
peoples to self-determination and of the speedy granting of
independence to colonial countries and peoples for the
effective guarantee and observance of human rights". We
did so because support for the right of peoples to selfdetermination
has always been my Government’s consistent
policy and position of principle.
While my delegation fully supports the general thrust of
the resolution, we would have preferred more balanced
language in some paragraphs, in particular, paragraph 2, to
make them reflect more clearly the rapidly changing
international situation.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (a)
of agenda item 108?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
part II of the report (A/48/626/Add.1) of the Third
Committee on sub-item (b) of agenda item 108, entitled
"Effective realization of the right of self-determination
through autonomy".
Members will recall that, in accordance with the
decision taken by the General Assembly at its 3rd plenary
meeting, on 24 September, sub-item (b) of agenda item 108
was introduced at the Assembly’s 36th plenary meeting on
25 October.
The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft
decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph
11 of part III of its report.
The draft decision was adopted by the Third Committee
without a vote. May I consider that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
The draft decision was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (b)
of agenda item 108 as well as its consideration of agenda
item 108 as a whole?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report (A/48/627) of the Third Committee on agenda
item 109, entitled "Social development, including questions
relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing,
disabled persons and the family".
The Assembly has before it six draft resolutions
recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 28 of
that report and one draft decision recommended by the Third
Committee in paragraph 29.
The Assembly will first take decisions on the six draft
resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 28 of its report.
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Positive and
full inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of
4 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
society and the leadership role of the United Nations
therein". The Third Committee adopted this draft resolution
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/95).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for
Persons with Disabilities". The Third Committee adopted it
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/96).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"International Day of Disabled Persons". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May
I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution III was adopted (resolution 48/97).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IV, entitled
"Implementation of the International Plan of Action on
Ageing", was adopted by the Third Committee without a
vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the
same?
Draft resolution IV was adopted (resolution 48/98).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution V, which is
entitled "Towards full integration of persons with disabilities
in society: a continuing world programme of action", was
adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take
it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution V was adopted (resolution 48/99).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VI is entitled
"World Summit for Social Development". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution VI was adopted (resolution 48/100).
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now take a
decision on the draft decision recommended by the Third
Committee in paragraph 29 of its report (A/48/627). The
draft decision, entitled "Documents considered by the
General Assembly in connection with the question of social
development, including questions relating to the world social
situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the
family", was adopted by the Third Committee. May I take
it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The draft decision was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 109?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report (A/48/628) of the Third Committee on agenda
item 110, entitled "Crime prevention and criminal justice".
The Assembly will now take a decision on the three
draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 18 of that report.
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "United
Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders". A recorded vote has been
requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain,
Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China,
Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire,
Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,
Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt,
El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,
Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq,
Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall
Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger,
Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea,
Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic,
Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zaire,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: United States of America
Abstaining: Albania, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 5
Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Micronesia (Federated
States of), Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian
Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon
Islands, Spain, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Draft resolution I was adopted by 119 votes to 1, with
49 abstentions (resolution 48/101).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II, which is
entitled "Prevention of alien smuggling", was adopted by the
Third Committee. May I take it that the Assembly wishes
to do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/102).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"Crime prevention and criminal justice". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution. May I take it that
the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution III was adopted (resolution 48/103).
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 110?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report (A/48/629) of the Third Committee on agenda
item 111, entitled "Advancement of women".
The Assembly will now take a decision on the eight
draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 23 of that report.
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Declaration
on the elimination of violence against women". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May
I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/104).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women". The Third Committee adopted it
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly also wishes
to do so?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/105).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat".
The Third Committee adopted this draft resolution without
a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the
same?
Draft resolution III was adopted (resolution 48/106).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IV is entitled
"United Nations Development Fund for Women". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May
I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution IV was adopted (resolution 48/107).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution V is entitled
"Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies
for the Advancement of Women". The Third Committee
adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution V was adopted (resolution 48/108).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VI is entitled
"Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas".
The Third Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take
it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution VI was adopted (resolution 48/109).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VII is entitled
"Violence against women migrant workers". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May
I take it that the Assembly also wishes to do so?
Draft resolution VII was adopted (resolution 48/110).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VIII is entitled
"Merger of the International Research and Training Institute
for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations
Development Fund for Women". The Third Committee
adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution VIII was adopted (resolution 48/111).
The PRESIDENT: I call now on representatives who
wish to speak in explanation of vote.
Mr. TROTTIER (Canada): My delegation was pleased
to join in the consensus on draft resolution I, "Declaration on
the elimination of violence against women". The
Declaration is a significant step forward in dealing with a
problem that is all too common throughout the world, and in
all societies. The Declaration is the first United Nations
6 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
instrument to contain an extensive definition of the forms of
violence against women.
We are pleased that the Declaration was adopted by
consensus. My delegation takes particular satisfaction in the
adoption of the Declaration, as it derives from a 1991
Canadian initiative in the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women.
Ms. WONG (Australia): Australia warmly welcomes
the adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration on
the Elimination of Violence against Women. Adoption of
the Declaration is a significant indication of the international
commitment to the elimination of violence against women,
and a major step towards that end. Adoption of the
Declaration significantly reinforces our common
commitment, enshrined in the United Nations Charter and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to promote
universal respect for fundamental human rights and the equal
rights of women and men. Adoption of the Declaration is an
important expression of support for the human rights of
women and for the work of the United Nations in promoting
equality for women.
We have long recognized the need to have women’s
rights accepted more fully as human rights, and to have
violence against women properly recognized as the human
rights violation that it is. In that context, we also look
forward to the appointment at the next session of the
Commission on Human Rights of a special rapporteur on
violence against women. We must now maintain the
momentum in our endeavours to bring an end to so
fundamental a human rights violation suffered by women.
We look forward to further follow-up next year at the
Commission on the Status of Women.
Mrs. LIMJUCO (Philippines): We welcome the
adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women, and we hope it will be the beginning of a
new era for women.
Mr. McKINNON (New Zealand): I would like to join
the representatives of Canada, Australia and the Philippines
in extending a particular welcome to the adoption of the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
My delegation would wish to pay a tribute to those agencies
and individuals that have helped develop the Declaration.
In the view of my Government, the Declaration is a
very important addition to the body of international human
rights instruments. It underlines that the adoption of the
Declaration by the international community sends an
unambiguous message that all forms of gender-based
violence are unacceptable. My Government expresses the
hope that the adoption of this Declaration by the General
Assembly will signal an end to social and official tolerance
of such violence.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 111?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: We shall now consider the report
of the Third Committee (A/48/630) on agenda item 112,
entitled "International drug control". The Assembly will
take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the
Committee in paragraph 7 of that report. The draft
resolution is entitled "International action to combat drug
abuse and illicit production and trafficking".
The Third Committee adopted the draft resolution
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 48/112).
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 112?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now proceed to
consider the report of the Third Committee (A/48/631) on
agenda item 113, entitled "Report of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to
refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian
questions". The Assembly will take a decision on the six
draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 31 of that report.
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Convening
of a United Nations conference for the comprehensive
consideration and review of the problems of refugees,
returnees, displaced persons and migrants". The Committee
adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that
the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/113).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"Emergency international assistance to refugees and
displaced persons in Azerbaijan". The Committee adopted
draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the
General Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/114).
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 7
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme
of the High Commissioner for Refugees".
The Committee adopted draft resolution III without a
vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do
the same?
Draft resolution III was adopted (resolution 48/115).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IV, entitled
"Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees", was adopted by the Third Committee. May I
take it that the General Assembly too wishes to adopt the
draft resolution?
Draft resolution IV was adopted (resolution 48/116).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution V is entitled
"International Conference on Central American Refugees".
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution V. May I
take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution V was adopted (resolution 48/117).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VI, entitled
"Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in
Africa", was adopted by the Third Committee. May I take
it that the General Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft
resolution?
Draft resolution VI was adopted (resolution 48/118).
The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of the
United States of America, who wishes to speak in
explanation of vote.
Mr. MARRERO (United States of America): The
United States delegation did not participate in the adoption
of draft resolution VI, entitled "Assistance to refugees,
returnees and displaced persons in Africa", under agenda
item 113, for the reasons we have previously stated in the
Third Committee.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item
113?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: We turn now to part I of the report
of the Third Committee (A/48/632) on agenda item 114,
entitled "Human rights questions". May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to take note of part I of the report?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
part II of the report of the Third Committee
(A/48/632/Add.1) on agenda item 114 (a), entitled
"Implementation of human rights instruments". The
Assembly will take a decision on the two draft resolutions
recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 11 of
that report.
Draft resolution I is entitled "International Covenants on
Human Rights". The Third Committee adopted draft
resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly
wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/119).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II, entitled
"Effective implementation of international instruments on
human rights, including reporting obligations under
international instruments on human rights", was adopted by
the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the
General Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/120).
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the
Assembly’s wish to conclude this stage of its consideration
of agenda item 114 (a)?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
parts III and V (A/48/632/Add.2 and 4) of the report of the
Third Committee on sub-item (b) of agenda item 114,
entitled "Human rights questions, including alternative
approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human
rights and fundamental freedoms".
The Assembly will first consider part III
(A/48/632/Add.2).
In accordance with the decision taken at the
84th meeting, I call on the representative of Bolivia.
Mr. CAMACHO OMISTE (Bolivia) (interpretation
from Spanish): The delegation of Bolivia has asked to speak
in order to refer, under agenda item 114 (b), to the
proclamation of the International Decade of the World’s
Indigenous People by draft resolution XI, which we cosponsored.
While we feel that pueblos, the word we use in Bolivia,
is more appropriate than the poblociones used in the Spanish
title of the draft resolution, my delegation fully supports the
8 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
important recommendation of the World Conference on
Human Rights, held last June in Vienna, that an international
decade of the world’s indigenous people be proclaimed - a
recommendation which will be approved at this meeting of
the General Assembly.
In Bolivia - as the President of our Republic,
Mr. Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, told the Assembly - we do
not merely pay lip service to indigenous participation in our
Government. We are proud that after 500 years an Aymará
indigenous person, Mr. Victor Hugo Cárdenas, a man of
great intellect, is the Republic’s constitutional Vice-
President. His presence, along with that of other important
leaders at the highest levels of the Executive and in the
Parliament, is conclusive proof that in Bolivia we are ready
to remedy age-old injustices of exclusion and
marginalization. This shows the changes we are making,
going beyond promises and statements. Our belief is that in
our country, and at the world level, we have to achieve unity
through diversity.
The Government of Bolivia is, through me, expressing
its particular interest in this item. We would commend the
General Assembly for its proclamation of the International
Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, and we express
our deepest desire that effective follow-up action will be
taken in planning the Decade so that it may be highly
successful.
Because of Bolivia’s great interest in this question of
indigenous peoples, my Government wishes formally to
extend an invitation for the first meeting to prepare the
programme of activities and projects for the International
Decade of the World’s Indigenous People to be held in the
city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, in the first quarter of 1994.
Details will be worked out with the Secretary-General and
relevant United Nations bodies. The Government of Bolivia
hopes that this initiative will be given proper attention.
The PRESIDENT: I shall now call on those
representatives who wish to explain their votes or positions
before the voting.
Mr. FERNANDEZ PALACIOS (Cuba) (interpretation
from Spanish): Draft resolution XII, entitled "Enhancing the
effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine
elections", continues along a road which is taking it further
away from the norms established by Member States in
respect of national electoral procedures.
The draft resolution makes the legitimacy of elections,
which are sovereign acts of States and peoples, contingent
on an assessment made by the United Nations, at the same
time subordinating the granting of electoral assistance to the
results of that assessment, which violates the principle of
sovereignty and is counter to the Charter and international
law. The Secretariat has no right to pass judgement on the
electoral procedures of Member States, since only those
States themselves have the power to decide on their electoral
processes and on the need for assistance with them.
The United Nations must confine itself to facilitating
assistance requested of it by a decision of the appropriate
intergovernmental bodies. It is in no way appropriate for the
Electoral Assistance Unit to assume functions belonging to
Member States. The Electoral Assistance Unit has neither
the right nor the power to monitor the political institutions
of States or to provide guidance to them on developing their
institutions, whether under pretexts relating to the provision
of electoral assistance or any other pretext.
Paragraphs 3 and 4, which are included in the text for
the first time, are an attempt to transform the United Nations
Electoral Assistance Unit into an instrument for political
interference and ideological influence in States which request
electoral assistance. My delegation also has serious
reservations about the content of paragraphs 9 and 10, which
we believe are further proof of what seems to be becoming
a dangerous practice in the work of the Third Committee.
We believe that it is time to abide by the provisions of
resolution 45/248 B, which reaffirmed that the Fifth
Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the
General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for
administrative and budgetary matters. At the same time,
concern was expressed over the tendency of substantive
Committees and other intergovernmental bodies to involve
themselves with administrative and budgetary matters. We
must recall, as we did last year, that the guidelines
mentioned in paragraph 10, a revised version of which has
now been requested, have never been considered or approved
by Member States.
For all of these reasons, Cuba will not be able to vote
in favour of, or to accept a consensus on, this draft
resolution.
Ms. FENG Cui (China) (interpretation from Chinese):
The Chinese delegation will support draft resolution XI on
the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People,
which is contained in document A/48/632/Add.2. The
Chinese delegation would like, before casting its vote, to
make the following observations.
First, there is not at present any clear definition of
"indigenous people". However, it is universally recognized
that "indigenous people" and "national minority" are
completely different concepts and that the protection of the
rights of minority nationalities and the restoration of the
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 9
rights of indigenous people are completely different
obligations.
We hope that, in organizing activities in respect of
indigenous people and in preparing the relevant documents
and publications, the United Nations Secretariat and the
relevant bodies of the United Nations system will avoid
unnecessary complication by ensuring that "national
minority" is not confused with "indigenous people".
Secondly, China has always been a unified country
embracing many nationalities. All 56 Chinese nationalities
are original inhabitants of China. They have been there
throughout a long process of history. Unlike some other
regions of the world, China does not have what are referred
to as "indigenous people".
Thirdly, the Chinese Government supports the General
Assembly’s declaration of the International Decade of the
World’s Indigenous People. We hope that the United
Nations and the relevant international organizations and
countries will work effectively in organizing the activities of
the Decade.
The Chinese delegation states these positions so that
they may be reflected in the records of the Assembly.
Mrs. LIMJUCO (Philippines): I should like to refer to
draft resolution VIII in part III of the report
(A/48/632/Add.2), which is entitled "Elimination of all forms
of religious intolerance". My delegation would have become
a sponsor of this draft resolution had not the 13-hour
difference between my capital and New York prevented our
receipt of timely advice on the matter.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly now has before it
21 draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee
in paragraph 88 of part III of its report (A/48/632/Add.2).
I shall put these draft resolutions to the Assembly
individually - with the exception of draft resolution XI,
action on which is postponed until tomorrow afternoon.
After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will
again have an opportunity to explain their votes.
Draft resolution I is entitled "World Conference on
Human Rights". The report of the Fifth Committee on the
programme budget implications of the draft resolution is
contained in document A/48/795. The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that
the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/121).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"Human rights and terrorism". The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that
the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/122).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution III is entitled
"Alternative approaches and ways and means within the
United Nations system for improving the effective enjoyment
of human rights and fundamental freedoms".
The voting process has now begun. A recorded vote
has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil,
Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad,
Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica,
Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,
Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq,
Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger,
Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,
Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab
Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela,
Viet Nam, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Sweden,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
United States of America
Abstaining: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated
States of), New Zealand, Panama, Republic of Korea,
10 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands,
Turkey, Ukraine
Draft resolution III was adopted by 115 votes to 34,
with 21 abstentions (resolution 48/123).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IV is entitled
"Respect for the principles of national sovereignty and noninterference
in the internal affairs of States in their electoral
processes".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin,
Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African
Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo,
Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,
Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq,
Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali,
Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates,
United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen,
Zaire, Zimbabwe
Against: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic
of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian
Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, United States of America
Abstaining: Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Fiji, Georgia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Micronesia
(Federated States of), Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines,
Solomon Islands, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Zambia
Draft resolution IV was adopted by 101 votes to 51,
with 17 abstentions (resolution 48/124).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution V is entitled
"Strengthening of United Nations action in the human rights
field through the promotion of international cooperation and
the importance of non-selectivity, impartiality and
objectivity". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution
V without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes
to do likewise?
Draft resolution V was adopted (resolution 48/125).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VI is entitled
"United Nations year for tolerance". The Third Committee
adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution VI was adopted (resolution 48/126).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VII is entitled
"Human rights education decade". The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution VII without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution VII was adopted (resolution 48/127).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VIII is entitled
"Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance". The
Third Committee adopted draft resolution VIII without a
vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do
likewise?
Draft resolution VIII was adopted (resolution 48/128).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IX is entitled
"Strengthening of the Centre for Human Rights of the
Secretariat". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution
IX without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes
to do the same?
Draft resolution IX was adopted (resolution 48/129).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution X is entitled
"Right to development". The Third Committee adopted draft
resolution X without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution X was adopted (resolution 48/130).
The PRESIDENT: Members will recall that, as
indicated earlier, action on draft resolution XI, entitled
"International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People", is
postponed until tomorrow afternoon.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 11
Draft resolution XII is entitled "Enhancing the
effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine
elections". A separate, recorded vote has been requested on
operative paragraph 3.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola,
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape
Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia,
Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland,
France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico,
Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,
Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda,
Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland,
Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo,
Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania,
United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen,
Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: China, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Iraq, Myanmar
Abstaining: Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Philippines, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic,
Thailand, Uganda, Viet Nam
Operative paragraph 3 was retained by 149 votes to 5,
with 9 abstentions.
The PRESIDENT: A separate, recorded vote has been
requested on operative paragraph 4.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola,
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape
Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia,
Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland,
France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico,
Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,
Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda,
Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland,
Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo,
Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania,
United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen,
Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: China, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Iraq, Myanmar
Abstaining: Djibouti, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Philippines, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Uganda,
Viet Nam
Operative paragraph 4 was retained by 150 votes to 5,
with 8 abstentions.
The PRESIDENT: I now put to the vote draft
resolution XII as a whole.
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola,
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,
12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape
Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia,
Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany,
Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated
States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua
New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,
Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian
F e d e r a t i o n , R w a n d a , S a i n t L u c i a ,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon
Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden,
Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America,
Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia
Against: None
Abstaining: China, Cuba, Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Iraq, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Myanmar,
Philippines, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda,
United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe
Draft resolution XII, as a whole, was adopted by 153
votes to none, with 13 abstentions (resolution 48/131).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XIII is entitled
"Strengthening of the rule of law". The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution XIII without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XIII was adopted (resolution 48/132).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XIV is entitled
"International Year of the World’s Indigenous People, 1993".
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution XIV without
a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do
likewise?
Draft resolution XIV was adopted (resolution 48/133).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XV is entitled
"National institutions for the promotion and protection of
human rights". The Third Committee adopted draft
resolution XV without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XV was adopted (resolution 48/134).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XVI is entitled
"Internally displaced persons". The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution XVI without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution XVI was adopted (resolution 48/135).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XVII is entitled
"Plight of street children". The Third Committee adopted
draft resolution XVII without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XVII was adopted (resolution 48/136).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XVIII is entitled
"Human rights in the administration of justice". The Third
Committee adopted draft resolution XVIII without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution XVIII was adopted (resolution
48/137).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XIX is entitled
"Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National
or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities". The Third
Committee adopted draft resolution XIX without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution XIX was adopted (resolution 48/138).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XX is entitled
"Human rights and mass exoduses". The Third Committee
adopted draft resolution XX without a vote. May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XX was adopted (resolution 48/139).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XXI is entitled
"Human rights and scientific and technological progress".
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution XXI without
a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the
same?
Draft resolution XXI was adopted (resolution 48/140).
The PRESIDENT: We shall now consider part V
(A/48/632/Add.4) of the report of the Third Committee on
sub-item (b) of agenda item 114.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 13
I call on those representatives who wish to explain their
positions.
Mr. HYON (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea):
My delegation would like to explain its position on the
establishment of a High Commissioner for the promotion
and protection of all human rights, proposed in document
A/48/632/Add.4.
The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea made it clear at the World Conference on Human
Rights and in the Third Committee that it opposed the
establishment of the post of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
It is a well-known fact that in international relations the
sovereignty of independent States is being interfered with,
unreasonable pressure is being imposed, and partiality,
double standards and selectivity are being enforced under the
pretext of the human rights issue.
It is indeed regrettable that even international treaties
and instruments are being abused by some countries or
groups of countries for political purposes. Several
developing countries have been victimized. Given those
circumstances it is by no means an accident that many
developing countries expressed concern at the Vienna
Conference and at this session of the General Assembly, in
particular in meetings of the Working Group of the Third
Committee, about whether the proposed post could truly
contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights,
in conformity with the United Nations Charter.
Based on the views I have just expressed, my
delegation believes that the establishment of the post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights should not have been
discussed until the United Nations had been truly
democratized. Only then would international cooperation in
the field of human rights be constructive and based on
principles of impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity and
non-politicization, and thereby enable due progress to be
made in international efforts for the promotion of human
rights. My delegation would stress that if the post of High
Commissioner that is to be established is abused through its
use as a tool for infringing upon the sovereignty of other
countries, in a manner incompatible with its mandate - and,
in particular, with the Charter of the United Nations - this
will be resolutely rejected.
Mr. ELARABY (Egypt) (interpretation from Arabic):
I should like at the outset to express my delegation’s
appreciation to Ambassador Eliasson on the success of his
outstanding and tireless efforts.
The Egyptian delegation has asked to make a statement
prior to the adoption of the draft resolution which was issued
in the Third Committee as document A/C.3/48/L.85 to
highlight the following points, on the basis of which my
delegation joined the consensus.
The idea of establishing the post of United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights has been the subject
of deliberation in United Nations forums for nearly half a
century.
While the reality of the world political situation had
prevented the achievement of that aim in the past, the
consensus that has been achieved in the form of the draft
resolution before us today is, by its very nature, a
compromise between various alternative proposals
concerning the nature of the post that were characterized by
significant conceptual and philosophical differences. The
nature and thrust of the final agreement reached, therefore,
differs from the alternatives previously submitted.
There is no doubt that the establishment of this post
through an international convention would have lent its
mandate an obligatory character and would have imparted a
new and unprecedented dimension to the activities of the
United Nations in the field of human rights.
It is a virtual certainty that a thorough assessment of the
activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights
and an evaluation of its existing mechanisms with a view to
determining their current effectiveness and their future
suitability to the role of the organization would have
contributed significantly to the drafting of a more clearly
defined mandate for the office of High Commissioner.
Now that it has been decided to establish a post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights and that agreement has
been reached on its mandate, it is of the utmost importance
to reaffirm several basic principles that will govern the High
Commissioner’s work and the fulfilment of his mandate.
The responsibility for the universal promotion and
protection of human rights without discrimination or
selectivity between civil and political rights, on the one
hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, including the
right to development, on the other hand, is a cardinal
principle. The universality of human rights and the universal
nature of the High Commissioner’s mandate confer upon the
Commissioner a responsibility whose impartial fulfilment
will directly reflect on the credibility of the post itself.
The second principle I wish to emphasize is the
importance of adherence by the Commissioner to the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations
14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
in the discharge of his mandate, especially respect for the
sovereignty of States and their national legislation.
Finally, I wish to emphasize that the responsibility of
formulating the policies of the United Nations is the
responsibility of the Member States through the deliberative
organs. It will therefore fall to the High Commissioner to
implement the policies laid down by those organs of the
United Nations.
Respect for the principles I have mentioned is key to
the success of the work of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and to the promotion of the role of the United
Nations in field of human rights. On the basis of these
principles the delegation of Egypt is pleased to join the
consensus on the draft resolution before us.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly has before it a draft
resolution recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 14 of part V of its report (A/48/632/Add.4) and a
draft decision recommended by the Committee in paragraph
15.
We turn first to the draft resolution in paragraph 14 of
part V of the report. The report of the Fifth Committee on
the programme budget implications of the draft resolution is
contained in document A/48/796. The draft resolution,
entitled "High Commissioner for the promotion and
protection of all human rights", was adopted by the Third
Committee by consensus. May I consider that the Assembly
wishes to do the same?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 48/141).
The PRESIDENT: Lastly, we turn to the draft
decision, "Reports considered under the item entitled
’Human rights questions’," in paragraph 15 of part V of the
Committee’s report (A/48/632/Add.4). May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to adopt the draft decision?
The draft decision was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: I shall now call upon those
representatives wishing to make statements in explanation of
vote or position.
Mr. WISNUMURTI (Indonesia): It is a privilege for
me to speak on behalf of States members of the Non-
Aligned Movement.
The draft resolution creating the post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights that the Assembly has just
adopted by consensus constitutes a significant step towards
the promotion and protection of human rights through
international cooperation, as called for by the Charter of the
United Nations. The process through which the decision to
create the post of High Commissioner was made is also a
source of satisfaction. The adoption of the draft resolution
by consensus is a manifestation not only of a spirit of
cooperation and compromise among the Members of the
United Nations but of a genuine will towards mutual
understanding and accommodation of each other’s interests
and concerns. I believe it reflects the positive environment
in which all human-rights issues should be discussed at all
levels. We hope that the High Commissioner, whose post
was created in such a cooperative manner, will discharge his
or her mandate in the same spirit.
The positive roles played by Ambassador Eduard Kukan
of the Slovak Republic, Chairman of the Third Committee,
and Ambassador Ayala Lasso of Ecuador, Chairman of the
Working Group dealing with this matter, have led to the
successful outcome of our work. The leadership, wisdom
and diplomatic skill of Ambassador Ayala Lasso certainly
contributed to the consensus so essential to ensuring the
effective implementation of the resolution just adopted.
We, the non-aligned countries, joined the consensus
because we believe that the establishment of the post of
High Commissioner for Human Rights, with an appropriate
mandate as provided for in the resolution, could make a
positive contribution to the work of the United Nations in
the field of human rights. It is important to note that the
resolution sets forth the guiding principles to be observed by
the High Commissioner in discharging his or her mandate,
including the principles of impartiality, objectivity and
non-selectivity, in the spirit of constructive international
dialogue and cooperation; and the need to respect the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and domestic jurisdiction of
States, as well as the principle that all human rights are
universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, and
that as such they should be given the same emphasis.
It is also gratifying to note that the right to
development, as established in the Declaration on the Right
to Development, is given prominence in the resolution as
one of the guiding principles and as a part of the High
Commissioner’s mandate. Equally important is the
reaffirmation in the resolution that various historical, cultural
and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind by the
High Commissioner. We, the non-aligned countries, are
confident that the High Commissioner will, in carrying out
his or her duties, be continuously guided by these essential
guidelines.
Mr. Elaraby (Egypt), Vice-President, took the Chair.
One of the most crucial elements of the resolution is the
mandate of the High Commissioner. As a result of our joint
efforts to reach a consensus through negotiation, we have
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 15
established a mandate that is wide-ranging and yet clearly
defined so as to enable the High Commissioner to operate
effectively while observing the guiding principles provided
in the resolution. In this connection, it is pertinent to note
that the High Commissioner will have to play an active role
and engage in dialogue with all Governments in
implementing his or her mandate. We wish to emphasize
the word "dialogue", a modality which will allow the High
Commissioner to promote and protect all human rights
through international cooperation, as foreseen in the Charter,
and to refrain from adopting antagonistic and confrontational
approaches and actions and self-serving rhetoric. It is our
considered view that this cooperative spirit should also
govern the annual report of the High Commissioner
requested in the resolution.
We consider it essential that the establishment of the
post of High Commissioner should also enhance the
effectiveness of other bodies of the United Nations dealing
with human rights issues, in particular the Centre for Human
Rights. The ability of the Centre to provide technical
assistance and other support to developing countries is of
particular importance to the non-aligned countries. It is for
this reason that we hope that the High Commissioner will
work in a cooperative fashion with the Member States, not
only on various human rights matters, but also on the
process of strengthening essential United Nations human
rights mechanisms.
The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement look
forward to productive cooperation with the new High
Commissioner and to strengthening the ability of the United
Nations to promote and protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
Before concluding, I wish to express our hope that all
of the States Members of the Organization will demonstrate
the same determination, seriousness and spirit of cooperation
and mutual accommodation thus far displayed in the
Open-ended Working Group of the Third Committee as it
begins to address other aspects of the implementation of the
recommendations of the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action early next year.
Mr. TAYLHARDAT (Venezuela) (interpretation from
Spanish): The representative of Indonesia has just made a
statement on behalf of the members of the Movement of
Non-Aligned Countries, of which Venezuela is one, and of
course my delegation fully agrees with everything he said.
However, my delegation would like to express its pleasure
at our country’s being able unreservedly to characterize this
decision as one of historic significance for the United
Nations and its Member States.
The establishment by consensus of the post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights is the clearest possible
demonstration of the importance that Member States attach
to the promotion and protection of human rights and to the
universal recognition of the fundamental role to be played by
the international community in its efforts to ensure full
respect for those rights. The mandate established in the
resolution gives the High Commissioner all the powers
necessary to discharge the functions that our Organization is
called upon to assume in protecting the rights and
fundamental freedoms of the individual in any and every
part of the world.
The resolution we have adopted contains a careful
balance in the definition of the work to be done by the High
Commissioner. For my country, the essential aspect of this
mandate is that relating to the promotion and protection of
all human rights by all people. In implementing this, the
High Commissioner should enjoy the institutional support of
the Organization and the necessary cooperation of all
Member States. We are convinced that the decision we have
taken will help to focus appropriate and timely attention on
the complex and varied problems of human rights facing the
international community today.
I cannot conclude without highlighting the importance
of the broad participation of delegations in the negotiating
process and of the constructive spirit and constant flexibility
demonstrated by those who were involved. Finally, a word
of congratulation goes to Ambassador José Ayala Lasso of
Ecuador, who was able to lead this complex negotiating
process to success.
Mr. SREENIVASAN (India): We endorse the
statement made in explanation of vote by the Permanent
Representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Movement of
Non-Aligned Countries. The historic consensus that we have
reached on the establishment of the post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights is reflective of the
post-Vienna phase of international cooperation in the
promotion and protection of human rights. Human rights
ceased to be an ideological issue at the end of the cold war,
but soon thereafter there was a tendency to make human
rights a North-South issue, some States claiming to be the
champions of human rights and criticizing other, mostly
poorer, nations as violators.
The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna was
a turning-point because there we adopted a global approach,
not only to different categories of human rights, but also to
the reasons for violations and their possible remedies. It was
the consensus in Vienna on ways and means to promote and
protect all human rights for all people that has led today to
the consensus on the mandate of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights. We hope that the actions of the High
16 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Commissioner will also be guided by this consensual
approach, which will strengthen his credibility and avoid the
politicization of human rights issues.
We note that the High Commissioner is to function
within the framework of the United Nations Charter and
under the direction and authority of the Secretary-General.
He has the obligation to respect the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and domestic jurisdiction of States while promoting
universal respect for, and observance of, all human rights.
He cannot be selective or discriminatory in his mission
because all human rights are indivisible and interdependent.
Moreover, he has the particular responsibility for promoting
balanced and sustainable development and ensuring the
realization of the right to development, particularly by
enhancing the support of the relevant bodies of the United
Nations system for that purpose.
The dialogue in which the High Commissioner engages
with Governments should be at the appropriate level and in
a spirit of cooperation rather than confrontation, and it
should reflect the principles of universality, objectivity and
non-selectivity. In the ultimate analysis, it is the
Governments themselves that are accountable to their people
and responsible for the promotion and protection of their
human rights. The role of the United Nations and the High
Commissioner should be to assist this process as requested.
A major function of the High Commissioner will be the
coordination of human rights activities throughout the United
Nations system. In my delegation’s view, such coordination
would relate to all United Nations organs, bodies and
specialized agencies mandated to deal with human rights in
accordance with the Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action.
The President returned to the Chair.
The report the High Commissioner submits on his
activities to the Commission on Human Rights will enable
the Commission to assess the human-rights situation in the
world and to take remedial measures wherever feasible.
The Vienna Declaration stipulates that States should
eliminate all violations of human rights and their causes, as
well as obstacles to the enjoyment of these rights. Among
the obstacles are extreme poverty, all forms of racism and
racial discrimination, and acts, methods and practices of
terrorism. We are glad to note that the international
community expects the High Commissioner to play a
constructive role in assisting States to combat these
obstacles.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Chairman of the
Third Committee, Ambassador Eduard Kukan of Slovakia,
for facilitating a consensus on the mandate of the Working
Group that dealt with this matter. The Chairman of the
Working Group, Ambassador José Ayala Lasso of Ecuador,
has won universal acclaim for his wisdom, diplomatic skills
and deep knowledge of human-rights issues. The guidance
of Ambassador Ayala Lasso at different stages of the work
was of immense value to the Working Group. At moments
of uncertainty and crisis, the confidence and optimism of the
Chairman held the Working Group together. My delegation
was privileged to work closely with him and to render
assistance to the extent possible.
The success of the post of High Commissioner will
depend on his capacity to protect and promote human rights
in a spirit of cooperation with the Member States. India
remains fully committed to the protection and promotion of
human rights. We shall extend our cooperation to the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the letter
and spirit of the United Nations Charter and of the resolution
we have just adopted by consensus.
Mr. ALI (Iraq) (interpretation from Arabic): First, my
delegation would like to express its full support for the
statement of the representative of Indonesia, who spoke a
moment ago on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Secondly, the delegation of Iraq joined the consensus on
the resolution we have just adopted, entitled "High
Commissioner for the Protection and Promotion of all
Human Rights". My delegation’s position throughout the
talks in the Third Committee and in the meetings of the
Working Group was in conformity with that of the nonaligned
countries.
Now my delegation would like to express the hope that
the High Commissioner for Human Rights, when appointed,
will discharge his mandate in accordance with the purposes
and principles for which the post was established - namely,
the protection and promotion of human rights for all, as
indicated in operative paragraph 4 and other paragraphs of
the resolution. My delegation also hopes this post will not
be exploited and abused by some, as is the case with regard
to the Rapporteurs and Special Representatives of the
Commission on Human Rights, in the service of purely
political interests which aim at abusing certain countries,
interfering in their internal affairs and infringing on their
national sovereignty.
Mr. MARRERO (United States of America): This is a
historic occasion. By its action today to establish the office
of High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United
Nations has struck an important blow for freedom. In
creating this office, the nations of the world have reaffirmed
the importance, indeed the indispensability, of respect for
human rights. They have declared their commitment to
putting people first, to holding the dignity and development
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 17
of individuals above all other considerations. They have
restored human rights to the prominence intended by the
framers of the Charter of this great Organization.
Creating an office of High Commissioner is a major
step forward. It reflects United States policy, dating back to
the time of Eleanor Roosevelt, that the United Nations
should be a force for enhancing human dignity and respect
for basic civil and political rights.
There is much a High Commissioner will be able to do,
but we should have no illusions. The power to grant or
deny basic rights will remain in the hands of national
Governments. It will remain our task to persuade
Governments that nations are not weakened - but, rather,
strengthened - when their citizens are able to live free from
repression and fear. A strong High Commissioner can be an
important ally in this effort.
The Assembly’s action this year, after numerous past
efforts to create an office of High Commissioner failed, is
representative of a new spirit of cooperation and seriousness
of purpose within this body.
As powerful as today’s action is, it is in the years ahead
that the merit of our decision will be revealed: in the daily
work of the High Commissioner, as he or she brings to the
United Nations system a new vigour in its promotion of
human rights, in its protection of victims and in its effort to
create the conditions essential for lives of fulfilment, dignity
and respect. This decision will bring new hope to
individuals who are oppressed, wherever they may be. May
the High Commissioner serve as a beacon of freedom and
justice.
We eagerly await the nomination by the
Secretary-General of an outstanding candidate for the post.
We believe that every effort should be made to have a High
Commissioner in place before the session of the Commission
on Human Rights at the end of January. For our part, we
pledge to work closely with the High Commissioner, to offer
assistance whenever and wherever we can and to join with
other Governments to support the achievement of human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
Finally, I wish to commend the efforts of Ambassador
Kukan in guiding the work of the Third Committee in this
respect. And I cannot conclude without adding the voice of
my delegation to the voices of those who have praised the
diplomatic skills of Ambassador José Ayala Lasso, the
Permanent Representative of Ecuador. His outstanding
leadership in guiding the Working Group of the Third
Committee that drafted this resolution will be long
remembered by my delegation. We wish to commend also
the important contributions made to this effort by
Ambassadors Chew of Singapore and Saboya of Brazil.
Mr. NOTERDAEME (Belgium) (interpretation from
French): On behalf of the European Union, I wish to say
that the establishment of a post of High Commissioner for
Human Rights was recommended by the World Conference
on Human Rights held in Vienna. Thus, it is a priority issue
for the European Union at this session. The result that has
been achieved is for us most significant.
The decision the Assembly has just taken therefore
marks an important step for the United Nations in the field
of human rights. The European Union is very happy to note
that the international community achieved the consensus
necessary to establish the post of High Commissioner for
Human Rights. The draft resolution we have just adopted
reflects a consensus position of the General Assembly, and
it will allow the future High Commissioner to assume his
functions in the best conditions.
The European Union wishes to thank the Chairman of
the Working Group, Ambassador Ayala Lasso, who made
this remarkable result possible.
The European Union hopes that the High Commissioner
for Human Rights will be appointed as soon as possible. It
also hopes that the Secretary-General will take the measures
necessary to implement this decision while bearing in mind
that the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be called
upon to direct the Centre for Human Rights, which must be
strengthened if it is to carry out all the tasks entrusted to it.
Mr. KALPAGÉ (Sri Lanka): The consensus we have
reached for the creation of the post of United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights is an achievement we all
share. That achievement is all the more notable because it
has crowned a critical exercise in which differing approaches
to human rights sometimes came perilously close to being
resolved by resorting to a vote. Had the decision been
anything less than unanimous, it would have vitiated the
fundamental goal which was sought: the universal
promotion of human rights. Human rights is too serious a
matter to have been left to the blunt expedient of a vote.
There is little need for my delegation to explain or
interpret the consensus reached on the nature of the High
Commissioner’s functions and mandate. The resolution
speaks for itself. However, a few remarks may be useful on
the significance of the agreement reached and our
expectations.
First, the sometimes rough course traversed in the
drafting has had a sobering effect. The complexity of the
Office of the High Commissioner and the intense interest
18 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
displayed by delegations in long hours of drafting have
clearly shown that no delegation or group of delegations can
claim an exclusive patent to interpret, shape and apply
human rights. The process towards consensus was a
collective exercise to which all contributed. The
representative of Indonesia, current Chairman of the
non-aligned group, has already expressed the views of the
group. It is useful to record that it was the non-aligned
group which maintained that a consensual approach would
be the most positive. If in the debate discordant notes were
heard, the eventual achievement of harmony has vindicated
the persistence of the non-aligned group in striving for
consensus. My own delegation greatly valued the
opportunity to contribute to the consensus-building within
the non-aligned group as well as in the Working Group. My
delegation wishes to convey our deep appreciation to
Ambassador José Ayala Lasso of Ecuador, Chairman of the
Working Group, for the results he achieved with patience,
understanding and consummate diplomatic skill.
Secondly, the consensus was made possible because the
international human rights debate has now been largely freed
from the ideological gridlock of cold-war polemics. We
now have a challenging opportunity to move away from any
politically motivated prescriptive inquisitions to a more
productive, positive and cooperative approach, free of
subjectivity and selectivity. Let us ensure that cold-war
confrontation will not be replaced by a no-less-sterile
North-South dispute on approaches to the promotion of
human rights and the work of the High Commissioner.
Thirdly, the consensus has confirmed the functional
relevance, in considering human rights, of the right to
development. As the Secretary-General pointed out at the
Vienna Conference on Human Rights, international
acceptance and cooperation in the realization of the right to
development is central to a modern concept of the
universality of human rights. Developing countries therefore
expect the High Commissioner to play a catalytic role in
promoting and protecting this right as an integral and
functional part of human rights.
Finally, ensuring human rights for its citizens is a
fundamental responsibility of each and every State. Beyond
international instruments of human rights, the obligation of
a State is first to the people it represents and serves. Any
State which chooses to ignore this does so at its own peril.
We expect that the dialogue with Governments and the
promotional activities which the High Commissioner is to
undertake will assist States in answering this compulsion.
As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, voluntary cooperation
with the United Nations in the promotion of human rights
has been a practical and consistent policy of my
Government. This policy, which underlies our relations with
United Nations human rights bodies such as the Commission
on Human Rights, and indeed with many non-governmental
organizations, will continue with respect to the High
Commissioner as well. The policy of candour and
cooperation with international human rights bodies is of
course the logical extension of the responsibility the
Government owes to our own people, irrespective of ethnic,
religious or other factors. This is, after all, the ultimate
responsibility of any State.
Mr. TROTTIER (Canada): My delegation attaches a
great deal of importance to the consensus adoption of this
resolution. In our view, it represents a recognition by the
entire international community of the vital role that the High
Commissioner will be playing and is a pledge of cooperation
by each and every State Member of the United Nations.
Our satisfaction is all the greater because the mandate
of the High Commissioner is very substantive and will allow
the High Commissioner to take all appropriate steps to
promote and protect all human rights.
This resolution significantly increases the ability of the
United Nations and the international community to influence
States to fulfil their responsibility for ensuring respect for all
human rights. In the view of my delegation, the adoption
today of the resolution on the High Commissioner represents
a significant landmark in the efforts of the international
community and this Organization to protect all human rights.
We look forward to the early implementation of this
resolution and, in particular, to the early nomination of a
candidate for the position of High Commissioner.
Finally, my delegation wants to signal the cooperation
of delegations from all regions in reaching agreement on this
resolution. We agree with the representative of Sri Lanka
that this is an achievement which all members of this
Assembly share. We particularly want to salute the roles
played in this process by the Chairman of the Third
Committee, Ambassador Kukan, and the Chairman of the
Working Group, Ambassador Ayala Lasso, as well as by
Ambassador Chew of Singapore and Ambassador Saboya of
Brazil.
Mrs. CASTRO de BARISH (Costa Rica) (interpretation
from Spanish): Costa Rica noted with enthusiasm and
satisfaction the very significant fact that, during the
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
on Friday, 10 December, there began the final stage of the
process of the adoption by the open-ended Working Group
of the Third Committee of the draft resolution which was
adopted today by consensus, as it appears in the report of the
Third Committee (A/48/632). Under this resolution, the
Assembly has taken the decision to create the post of High
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 19
Commissioner for the promotion and protection of all human
rights.
We in Costa Rica feel very honoured to have been able
to contribute to the adoption of this resolution through a long
process that began in 1952 with the proposal by Uruguay,
and continued in 1965 with that made by Costa Rica. That
process came to fruition this year, 1993, through the
assistance and support of many delegations. This marks an
important milestone in the realization of one of the major
priorities of the United Nations and, at the same time, a
legitimate concern of the international community.
It is clear that the positive results achieved at the
Vienna Conference are a recognition of the growing
commitment to human rights throughout the world. For this
reason, my delegation is very much aware that this joint
effort, which brought all of us together in a spirit of
cooperation and political will, was a recognition and
acceptance of the recommendations of the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action, which were also
adopted by consensus by the participants in that important
event.
My delegation pays tribute to the Chairman of the
Working Group of the Third Committee, Ambassador José
Ayala Lasso of Ecuador, for his effective and firm guidance
of the deliberations of the Group, his diplomatic tact, his
understanding and his great effort to bring together, in one
working document, opposing positions, which is what
allowed us to succeed in carrying out the mandate of the
Third Committee. Similarly, we recognize the valuable
collaboration of Ambassador Gilberto Saboya of Brazil and
Ambassador Chew Tai Soo of Singapore, who, with wisdom
and dedication, facilitated continuity in the work of the
Group when its Chairman was temporarily absent.
It is also right to recognize, as many other speakers
have done, the Chairman of the Third Committee,
Ambassador Eduard Kukan of Slovakia, for his great
patience, understanding and wisdom in capturing the timely
moment when it was necessary to establish the open-ended
Working Group of the Third Committee. That was a
decisive step in this process of joint action, consensus and
collective efforts by all delegations.
My delegation stresses that, both in the Vienna
Declaration and in the Programme of Action, there were
recommendations on topics considered and adopted by
consensus in the Third Committee and during this session,
now, in the Assembly. I mention here in particular the
human rights education decade; we are pleased to note
paragraph 4 (e) of the mandate of the High Commissioner.
We are convinced in this respect that the High
Commissioner will make great efforts towards this laudable
goal.
It is clear that to reach this agreement, especially on the
mandate of the High Commissioner, it was not possible to
include all the elements we had wanted to in order that his
work could be as effective as possible - neither politicized
nor selective - and carried out always in consultation with
the Secretary-General. All of us are fully aware that though
each Member State is bound by the values and principles of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the
instruments adopted to that end, it does not mean that human
rights are universally observed and protected.
We also recognize that at each annual session of the
General Assembly and of the Commission on Human Rights
and the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities, we receive ample evidence
demonstrating what a long road we yet have to travel before
human rights are truly observed and protected throughout the
world. We therefore consider it of great importance that the
High Commissioner establish a dialogue with every
Government in carrying out his mandate, with a view to
achieving respect for all human rights, and as the
representative of Indonesia said, that he be able to establish
full cooperation with all Member States of the United
Nations and rely upon it.
We emphasize the importance of the High
Commissioner’s functions in coordinating activities for the
promotion and the protection of human rights throughout the
United Nations system and the need to rationalize, adapt,
strengthen and simplify the United Nations machinery in the
sphere of human rights, with a view to increasing its
efficiency and effectiveness. This will undoubtedly
contribute to improving the image of the United Nations in
the area of human rights, including the right to development.
In order to achieve all that we are proposing, it is
essential to nominate an ideal person, especially in this first
instance, for the success of the conduct of the High
Commissioner and the credibility of the United Nations with
respect to its aims and purposes on behalf of all human
beings throughout the world.
Mr. JARAMILLO (Colombia) (interpretation from
Spanish): I fully endorse what the Ambassador of Indonesia
so rightly said on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
We are pleased by today’s adoption of the resolution
establishing the post of High Commissioner for the
promotion and protection of all human rights. The
resolution is the result of a broad consensus achieved thanks
to the political will of all countries participating in the work
of the Working Group of the Third Committee, and
20 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
especially thanks to the excellent work of the Chairman of
the Group, Ambassador Ayala Lasso of Ecuador.
Approving the establishment of the post of High
Commissioner by consensus was one of the basic conditions
for the success of the future activities of the High
Commissioner. We are all very much aware of that, which
is why when the World Conference in Vienna had ended we
carefully analysed the conclusions and recommendations of
the Declaration and the Programme of Action.
In this context, we deemed it necessary, from the
beginning of this session of the General Assembly, to
establish a working group to study and make
recommendations on these issues. The time before the
establishment of the Working Group was not wasted; it was
used to move forward in informal consultations between
various regional groups and to understand the usefulness of
creating, among other things, the post of High Commissioner
for Human Rights.
The establishment of the Group was auspicious and
timely. In addition to dispelling doubts as to procedures in
the Third Committee, it made possible the discovery of the
skill, poise, firmness and, above all, experience of our
colleague Ambassador Ayala Lasso. I should like to pay
him a public tribute for his leadership and to express our
pride that he is from a neighbouring country in the Latin
American region. The way in which he led the deliberations
is a guarantee that the post we create today will meet the
expectations of all countries, thus dissipating any fear or
doubt about the mandate of the High Commissioner.
We hope that Ambassador Ayala Lasso will continue to
participate with the same enthusiasm in human rights
activities within the framework of the United Nations. It has
emerged most clearly from this process that Ambassador
Ayala Lasso’s competence, knowledge and aptitude in the
sphere of human rights show him to be without a doubt one
of the people most suited to the task at hand.
Finally, we should like to give our support to the
establishment of the post of High Commissioner as soon as
possible, because today we know that he will be working
within the structure of the United Nations and under the
authority of the Secretary-General, bearing in mind the
guidelines of the three intergovernmental bodies dealing with
these matters.
His clearly established mandate is to promote and
protect the effective enjoyment of all human rights by all
citizens of the world. He will have to organize and
coordinate the activities within the United Nations system in
this area, and he will have to promote the right to
development as one of the central goals of his activities.
Colombia urges the Working Group to continue
working on the tasks assigned to it with the same dynamism
and seriousness it showed in the first stage. It is also
important to implement the recommendations of the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action, and my delegation
therefore will continue to work actively and constructively
during this second stage of the process.
Mr. CHEN Jian (China) (interpretation from Chinese):
The draft resolution on the establishment of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted to
the General Assembly today by the Third Committee is the
result of arduous consultations and the concerted endeavours
of many countries in the Third Committee. Here, I would
like to express my thanks and admiration to Ambassador
Ayala Lasso of Ecuador, Chairman of the Working Group of
the Third Committee, for his excellent work. His courage,
fairness, political sensitivity and vast diplomatic experience
have steered our work to success. I also wish to express my
appreciation to Ambassador Eduard Kukan of Slovakia,
Chairman of the Third Committee, and to Ambassador
Saboya of Brazil and Ambassador Chew of Singapore for
their contributions.
We highly value the positive and constructive role
played by the Non-Aligned Movement in the production of
this draft resolution. It was their recommendation of setting
up a Working Group and the document they promptly
submitted that enabled various parties to carry out useful
dialogues on an equal footing and to achieve a balanced
outcome acceptable to all. For this reason, I wish to extend
my sincere congratulations and heartfelt respects to
Indonesia, Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, and
Malaysia, Chairman of the Human Rights Working Group of
the Non-Aligned Movement. We support the principled
position stated just now by the Indonesian Ambassador on
behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Chinese Government always respects the promotion
and protection of human rights as one of the aims embodied
in the United Nations Charter, and supports all practical
recommendations that serve this purpose. Based on this
principled position of the Chinese Government, the Chinese
delegation has actively and earnestly participated in the
consultations on this draft resolution and has made its own
contributions towards the achievement of the consensus.
The establishment of the High Commissioner, as an
important step in implementing the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action, has an immediate bearing on the
interests of various countries. Meanwhile, the question of
human rights is also an issue that has yet to be completely
freed from various abnormalities left over from the cold war.
In recent years in particular, the question of human rights
has frequently been used to make selective accusations and
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 21
political attacks against some countries, to interfere in the
internal affairs of other countries and to infringe upon State
sovereignty in the pursuit of power politics, thus producing
damaging effects on international cooperation in the field of
human rights.
In view of the above, the Chinese delegation has, from
the very beginning, maintained that the High Commissioner
must be established on the basis of a high degree of
transparency and democracy and through full and democratic
consultations, and that the decision must be made by
consensus. We felt that, although this might take more time,
it would help deepen mutual understanding, remove
suspicion and mistrust and, moreover, take into full account
the concerns and interests of various parties so that the new
High Commissioner would be recognized by all parties and
receive extensive support and cooperation in his or her work.
We are glad to note that this position has finally been
understood and appreciated by various parties.
Consensus has not been reached easily. We hope that
in the appointment and the work of the High Commissioner
this consensus will be highly valued and strictly respected.
We attach particular importance to the following aspects of
this consensus:
Efforts should be made to realize the purposes and
principles of the United Nations Charter and it should be
stressed that all human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated and that as such they should
be given the same emphasis. It should also be stressed that
the promotion and protection of human rights must be based
on the principle of fairness, objectivity and non-selectivity
and carried out in the spirit of constructiveness, international
dialogue and cooperation.
The High Commissioner, in carrying out his or her
mandates, should act in accordance with the provisions of
the draft resolution, respect the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and domestic jurisdiction of States, give
consideration to the particularities of different countries and
regions as well as the significance of various historical,
cultural and religious backgrounds and provide services and
assistance at the request of the countries concerned. It is the
duty of States to promote and protect all human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
The High Commissioner should in particular make
earnest efforts to promote the balanced and sustainable
development of all peoples, and to ensure the realization of
the right to development, because this is the urgent issue
confronting most United Nations Members and it should be
given priority in the field of human rights.
In addition, the High Commissioner should report
annually on his or her activities.
In our view, only by strictly observing the
above-mentioned important principles and provisions can the
High Commissioner carry out his or her work in a smooth
manner and receive support and cooperation from the
Member States.
We expect also that the High Commissioner will work
under the direction and authority of the United Nations
Secretary-General, within the framework of the overall
competence, authority and decisions of the General
Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the
Commission on Human Rights, so as to fulfil correctly the
obligations entrusted to him or her by this draft resolution.
We also wish to point out that this draft resolution has
failed to attach sufficient importance to some issues of
concern to the third world countries. It fails, as well, to
point out explicitly the existing serious obstacles to
international cooperation for the universal realization of
human rights.
In the past two months or more, the Third Committee,
in its consideration of this question, witnessed various
differences and experienced many difficulties and even some
episodes of potential confrontation. During the whole
process, the representatives of the Non-Aligned Movement
and the Chinese delegation always stood for reaching
consensus through the Working Group and democratic
consultations, and resisted various attempts at interference.
We are glad to see that this constructive attitude has led to
positive results. We hope that helpful lessons will be drawn
from this process.
It shows, at least in our view, that in this large United
Nations forum of 184 countries consultations must be
conducted on the basis of respect for democracy, sovereignty
and equality, allowing for full expression of various opinions
and seeking common ground while preserving differences.
This is the only correct approach for resolving differences
and enhancing international cooperation.
The world is diversified, and cooperation can be
strengthened only by respecting that diversity. The
aforementioned principles should be observed by the High
Commissioner when performing his or her mandate and
should be followed by the United Nations as well in its
consideration of other major and sensitive issues involving
the interests of various countries. Only by so doing can the
United Nations genuinely become a democratic institution in
which all countries, large and small, can jointly participate
in decision-making on an equal footing.
22 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Mr. JALLOW (Gambia): Today we have fulfilled one
of the important recommendations of the World Conference
on Human Rights. Indeed, the establishment of the office of
High Commissioner for Human Rights is an important
milestone in our efforts to achieve the universal promotion
and protection of human rights.
The adoption of the resolution for the establishment of
the office of High Commissioner for Human Rights
demonstrates once more the international community’s
commitment to the strengthening of the United Nations
human-rights machinery and the universal enjoyment of all
human rights.
Lastly, it is the view of my delegation that the
resolution would not have been adopted by consensus had it
not been for the leadership and forbearance of Ambassador
Eduard Kukan of the Slovak Republic, Chairman of the
Third Committee, and the wisdom, patience and
understanding of Ambassador Ayala Lasso, Chairman of the
Working Group - and, of course, the constructive manner in
which delegations deliberated on the matter.
My delegation hopes that the international community
will continue to give to the United Nations and the High
Commissioner the same support and advice - and guidance
- that characterized the deliberations of the Third Committee
and the Working Group.
The PRESIDENT: If I might be allowed, I wish to
join in the well-deserved tribute that has been paid today to
the Chairman of the Third Committee, Ambassador Kukan
of the Slovak Republic, and very particularly to Ambassador
José Ayala Lasso of Ecuador for the excellent work done in
the Working Group over which he presided to forge a
consensus decision on this very important issue. My
commendation extends, of course, to all those who
cooperated with him to make agreement possible, notably
Ambassador Chew Tai Soo of Singapore and Ambassador
Saboya of Brazil.
We have thus concluded this stage of our consideration
of sub-item (b) of agenda item 114.
The Assembly will now consider part IV of the report
(A/48/632/Add.3) of the Third Committee on sub-item (c) of
agenda item 114, "Human rights situations and reports of
special rapporteurs and representatives".
The representative of the United Arab Emirates has
asked to make a statement, and I now call upon him.
Mr. AL-KINDI (United Arab Emirates) (interpretation
from Arabic): I should like to make a clarification. My
delegation did not participate in the voting on the draft
resolution on the human rights situation in the Sudan when
it was put to the vote in the Third Committee.
Notwithstanding, the name of the United Arab Emirates
appears in the Arabic-language version of document
A/48/632/Add.3 as one of the countries that voted in favour
of the draft resolution with regard to agenda item 114 (c).
Such was not the case. The error does not occur in the
English-language version of the document.
In the Third Committee we more than once had
occasion to draw attention to mistakes made by members of
the Arabic Section in the Secretariat, and for that reason I
should like once again to draw the Secretariat’s attention to
the need to avoid such mistakes in the future. I hope that
the Secretariat will reissue the document to which I have
referred, duly corrected.
The PRESIDENT: I shall request the Secretariat to
rectify the error the representative of the United Arab
Emirates has drawn to our attention.
Mr. REMIREZ de ESTENOZ (Cuba) (interpretation
from Spanish): The General Assembly is this morning
concluding an exercise that, aside from being selective and
discriminatory, constitutes one of the most blatant injustices
in the recent history of the United Nations and an
inexcusable concession to the use of force by a major Power
against a small country.
The resolution submitted by the United States against
Cuba is a dark page in the annals of the Organization and
damages its prestige and credibility. In terms both of its
content and of the procedures used to reach this point, the
resolution will go down in history as an example of the way
in which, under present circumstances, a major Power can
impose its might on justice, reason and truth.
We do not deem it necessary to recall how this process
was conceived and carried out. All delegations here present,
including those that lent themselves to this manoeuvre, know
that the so-called situation of human rights in Cuba was, in
all historical truth, fabricated by the Government of the
United States, which imposed in Geneva the application
against Cuba of a special mechanism to monitor human
rights as part and parcel of the United States policy of
aggression and destabilization against my country. In the
case of Cuba, such a mechanism was vitiated from the very
beginning because it involved a flagrant violation of existing
procedures.
We are faced with an illegally conceived, artificial
scenario, and it is thus legally and morally null and void in
all its aspects so far as Cuba is concerned.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 23
The facts speak for themselves. The report of the
spurious Special Rapporteur and his presentation clearly
demonstrated the injustice of applying such a discriminatory
and selective mechanism against Cuba. The so-called
Special Rapporteur, having been unable to demonstrate
something that does not exist, had no option other than to
use the argument - an unacceptable argument - of
questioning the political, constitutional and legal system that
the Cuban people themselves selected in all freedom and
sovereignty. Indeed, in his report and his presentation he
was not even able to justify his own existence.
The Government of the United States, promoter of the
farce that led to this situation, has no moral or political
authority whatsoever to stand as judge and jury of human
rights in Cuba, as it has not only been a consummate
violator of those rights in its own territory and supported all
military dictatorships and repressive regimes that have
existed since the end of the Second World War, but also -
and most particularly in its policies and by maintaining an
inhuman and criminal blockade against my country - it is
massively, flagrantly and systematically violating the human
rights of more than 11 million Cubans, including two million
children.
Such a double standard cannot but provoke the most
resolute rejection of those who are not ready to tolerate the
United Nations and its system increasingly being used as an
instrument of those who, shielded by their power and
resorting to the most gross exercise of pressure, intend to
use this Organization to further their own foreign policy
objectives.
Cuba, whose people has struggled for more than a
century to preserve its independence and dignity as a nation,
resolutely rejects this draft resolution and any other attempt
to impose upon us unjust and discriminatory treatment.
Above and beyond anything decided here today, Cuba
is resolutely determined to defend its national sovereignty,
its dignity and successes it has achieved in providing a better
life for its people. I can assert before this Assembly that
Cuba is proud of its achievements in the defence of true
human rights. Its cooperation and active participation in this
field spring from the profoundly human roots of all its
actions. In reaffirming our commitment to the true
inalienable rights of mankind, I would also like to reaffirm
our view that the struggle against the hegemony of a major
Power in this Organization and the imposition of its will is
part and parcel of the defence of those inalienable rights.
Thus, we totally oppose the shameful draft resolution which
will be voted on today in this Hall, and we call on all
delegations not to support such a farce.
Mr. ACHARYA (Nepal): The General Assembly is
today taking action on the reports of the Third Committee
relating to human rights issues. An outstanding achievement
of the Third Committee at the current session has been the
unanimous recommendation for the creation of the post of
High Commissioner for Human Rights. This important
achievement is clearly a reflection of the global consensus
on the philosophy of human rights and on the Programme of
Action to promote all human rights achieved at the Vienna
World Conference on Human Rights.
My delegation is happy that the world has finally
reached the stage at which no Government can insulate itself
against the repercussions arising from serious violations of
human rights and fundamental freedoms. Taking joint or
separate action to protect and promote human rights has
become an established norm of international life. The
international community needs to be even-handed and
objective in further strengthening the spirit of constructive
dialogue and cooperation in this area.
As the Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. Girija Prasad
Koirala stated in his address to the General Assembly at its
current session, human rights cannot be secure without a
universal conscience on the part of all peoples to uphold
each other’s rights in full understanding of the just demands
of the individual, the community, the State and the
international order. Adherence to objectivity and nonselectivity
will have immense influence on the ability of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights - who is to be
appointed shortly - to carry out his mandate successfully.
With these considerations in mind, my delegation hopes
that the General Assembly at its next session will examine
more closely the option of avoiding country-specific human
rights resolutions unless there is an international consensus
for such action.
Mr. MARRERO (United States of America): The
United States would like to direct the attention of the
General Assembly to the interim report prepared by
Professor Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, Special Representative of
the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human
rights in Iran. In the report, Professor Galindo Pohl noted
that two Iranian Baha’is, Bakshu’llah Mithaqui and Kayvan
Khalajabadi, who have been held without charge since April
1989, were informed on 31 August 1992 that an Islamic
revolutionary court in Karaj had condemned them to death.
The Special Representative also reported that these sentences
were being appealed. We were informed on
17 December 1993 that these death sentences were
reaffirmed by another court on 23 November 1993. The
sentences are reportedly being appealed to the Iranian
Supreme Court. We have also learned that a third Baha’i,
24 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Ramadan-Ali Dhulfaqari, was recently condemned to death
in Rafsanjan for apostasy.
It is clear from these and other cases that the regime in
Tehran continues to flout the human rights of its own
citizens, unrelentingly persecuting some simply because of
their religious beliefs. The United States intends to vote in
favour of the draft resolution introduced here on the subject
of the human rights situation in Iran. We urge all nations
who oppose racism, intolerance and the deliberate abuse of
human rights to do the same.
The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of
Oman, on a point of order.
Mr. AL-TAEE (Oman) (interpretation from Arabic):
I should like to draw the Secretariat’s attention to the fact
that my country’s delegation did not participate in the vote
on draft resolution A/48/L.65 in the Third Committee. Any
indication to the contrary should be corrected as appropriate.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly has before it 13
draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 67 of Part IV of its report (document
A/48/632/Add.3).
I shall put the 13 draft resolutions to the Assembly one
by one. After all the decisions have been taken,
representatives will again have the opportunity to explain
their vote.
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Situation of
human rights in Cuba".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile,
Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany,
Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius,
Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Nepal,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama,
Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,
Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of
America, Uruguay, Zaire
Against: China, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic
of), Iraq, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Sudan, Syrian
Arab Republic, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet
Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Abstaining: Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and
Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize,
Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia,
Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Jamaica,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Maldives, Mali,
Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname,
Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia,
Ukraine, Venezuela
Draft resolution I was adopted by 74 votes to 20, with
61 abstentions (resolution 48/142).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled "Rape
and abuse of women in the areas of armed conflict in the
former Yugoslavia". The Third Committee adopted this
draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/143).
The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of
Kuwait on a point of order.
Mr. AL SAEID (Kuwait) (interpretation from Arabic):
I should like to draw attention to the fact that, at the Third
Committee’s 52nd meeting, my delegation joined in
sponsoring the draft resolution which in the Committee
appeared in document A/C.3/48/L.51, and which has just
been adopted by the Assembly as draft resolution II.
The PRESIDENT: I shall ask the Secretariat to take
note of the remarks of the representative of Kuwait and to
take the necessary action.
Draft resolution III is entitled "Situation of human
rights in Iraq". A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin,
Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil,
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 25
Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Comoros,
Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El
Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of),
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius,
Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco,
Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Niger, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,
Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San
Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland,
Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America,
Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia
Against: Iraq, Sudan
Abstaining: Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Brunei
Darussalam, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba,
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra
Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United
Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe
Draft resolution III was adopted by 116 votes to 2,
with 43 abstentions (resolution 48/144).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IV is entitled
"Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize,
Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands,
Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of),
Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway,
Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal,
Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines, San Marino, Slovenia, Solomon Islands,
Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
United States of America, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia
Against: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, Cuba, Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia,
Iran (Islamic Republic of), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkmenistan, Viet Nam
Abstaining: Albania, Angola, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire,
Cyprus, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana,
Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Lesotho, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines,
Poland, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United
Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Zimbabwe
Draft resolution IV was adopted by 74 votes to 23,
with 51 abstentions (resolution 48/145).*
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution V is entitled
"Situation of human rights in Somalia". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution V was adopted (resolution 48/146).
The PRESIDENT: We turn now to draft resolution
VI, entitled "Situation of human rights in the Sudan". A
recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin,
Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde,
Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon,
Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada,
Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta,
Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated
26 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Papua New
Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,
Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San
Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States
of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, India, Indonesia,
Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Viet Nam
Abstaining: Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Guinea,
Jamaica, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger,
Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Swaziland,
Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda
Draft resolution VI was adopted by 111 votes to 13,
with 30 abstentions (resolution 48/147).*
The PRESIDENT: We now turn to draft
resolution VII, entitled "International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families".
As was indicated by the Rapporteur of the Third
Committee this morning, this draft resolution belongs to subitem
(a) of agenda item 114 - "Implementation of human
rights instruments". The draft resolution should therefore
have appeared as a recommendation of the Third Committee
in its report (A/48/632/Add.1) on sub-item (a) of agenda
item 114. This change will be reflected in the official
records of the Assembly.
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VII
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do the same?
Draft resolution VII was adopted (resolution 48/148).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution VIII is entitled
"Situation of human rights in El Salvador". The Third
Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May
I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution VIII was adopted (resolution 48/149).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution IX is entitled
"Situation of human rights in Myanmar". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take that the
Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution IX was adopted (resolution 48/150).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution X is entitled
"Human rights in Haiti". The Third Committee adopted this
draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do likewise?
Draft resolution X was adopted (resolution 48/151).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XI is entitled
"Situation of human rights in Afghanistan". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XI was adopted (resolution 48/152).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XII is entitled
"Situation of human rights in the territory of the former
Yugoslavia: violations of human rights in the Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
The report of the Fifth Committee on the programme budget
implications of the draft resolution is contained in document
A/48/797.
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution XII
without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to
do likewise?
Draft resolution XII was adopted (resolution 48/153).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution XIII is entitled
"Situation of human rights in Cambodia". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution XIII was adopted (resolution 48/154).
The PRESIDENT: I shall now call on those
representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote
after the voting.
Mr. NIETO (Argentina) (interpretation from Spanish):
The delegation of Argentina voted in favour of draft
resolution I, which is contained in document A/48/632/Add.3
and is entitled "Situation of human rights in Cuba", for a
reason of principle.
The Argentine Republic cannot accept the decision of
a State Member of the Organization and member of the
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 27
Commission on Human Rights to deny the Special
Rapporteur entry to its territory. We say this irrespective of
the fact that the human-rights situation in Cuba is essentially
the same as it was last year, when resolution 47/139 was
adopted, and without prejudice to the concurrence of our two
delegations’ views during this session of the General
Assembly on certain aspects of the issue of human rights.
Finally, my delegation would like to appeal cordially to
the Government of Cuba to facilitate the work of the Special
Rapporteur, with the understanding that this will contribute
to the achievement of the full enjoyment of human rights in
Latin America and to the strengthening of democracy at the
regional level in a framework of cooperation, friendship and
mutual respect between all the States of the American
continent.
Mr. JAAFARI (Syrian Arab Republic) (interpretation
from Arabic): My delegation voted in favour of the draft
resolution in document A/48/L.57, on human rights in Iraq,
as we did last year.
We note with concern, however, that the draft
resolution submitted this year once again deals with
questions of human rights in Iraq selectively, on an ethnic
and sectarian basis. This could affect the unity and
territorial integrity of Iraq.
There is an even more difficult problem in the
resolution we have just adopted - namely, that it endorses
the setting up of an institutional system to monitor human
rights inside a Member State through the deployment of a
group of human-rights monitors in Iraq. This constitutes
interference in the internal affairs of a Member State and
establishes a precedent in the history of the United Nations
that runs counter to the purposes and principles of the
Charter. I hope my statement will be reflected in the record
of the meeting.
Mr. PARSHIKOV (Russian Federation) (interpretation
from Russian): My delegation would like to explain its vote
on the resolution regarding the situation of human rights in
the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
The Russian delegation has had many other
opportunities to set forth its overall approach to the humanrights
aspects of the Yugoslav tragedy. Quite naturally, our
attitude towards the resolution just adopted by the General
Assembly is determined by Russia’s overall position on
Yugoslav affairs. We have always believed that a vicious,
large-scale war such as the one in the former Yugoslavia
cannot be seen just in black and white, that there are not
simply devils and angels.
In the Commission on Human Rights, in the Security
Council and in the General Assembly, Russia has
consistently defended the principle of an objective,
dispassionate and just approach to assessing the degree of
guilt of each party to the conflict. Russia unambiguously
and unequivocally condemns violations of human rights and
humanitarian standards by anyone in the former Yugoslavia.
From the very outset, we have firmly supported the idea of
establishing a fact-finding war-crimes commission and an
international tribunal to examine these issues. Russia has no
intention of shielding anyone or suppressing information on
unseemly actions by one side. But it seems to us shortsighted
to attempt to whip up hysteria around the situation
in the former Yugoslavia by just taking prejudiced and
single-minded approaches to the problem. We feel that it is
wrong when the anger of world public opinion is directed
against only one side, while others are forgiven their sins,
thus giving them a sense of having got away with
something. This is especially unacceptable to us when all
the burden of guilt for what is going on in the former
Yugoslavia is being placed upon an entire people, when
hatred towards the Serbian people is being incited in order
to make them an international pariah. That is a short-sighted
and dangerous position, responsibility for which is shared by
some of the mass media and certain actors on the political
scene.
Is it logical and objective for the Assembly, under
paragraph 4 of the resolution, to place the primary
responsibility for violations of human rights in the territory
of the former Yugoslavia on the Bosnian and Croatian Serbs
and on the Government of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia? The resolution is also out of line in the
paragraphs regarding the situation in Kosovo, which is an
integral part of a sovereign State with territorial integrity.
The wording on Kosovo could well, in our view, inflame
national separatist extremism in that part of the Balkans even
before the international community has been able to settle
the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Russian delegation decided not to break the
consensus on this resolution. That does not, however, mean
that we agree with specific provisions in it. Therefore, if
there had been a vote, the Russian delegation could not have
supported, in particular, the second preambular paragraph
and operative paragraphs 4, 18 and 19.
Mr. IM (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea): My
delegation wishes to draw the Assembly’s attention to
paragraph 29 of document A/48/632/Add.3, which describes
the Republic of Korea as a co-sponsor of draft resolution
A/48/L.65 and Rev.1.
28 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
This is incorrect information, and my delegation
requests that my country’s name be deleted from that
paragraph.
The PRESIDENT: I thank the representative of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The point will be
noted by the Secretariat.
May I take it that the General Assembly decides to
conclude its consideration of agenda item 114 (a) and to
conclude this stage of its consideration of agenda
item 114 (c)?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 115,
entitled "Situation of human rights in Estonia and Latvia"
(document A/48/633).
The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft
resolution recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 14 of that report. The draft resolution was adopted
by the Third Committee. May I consider that the Assembly
wishes to do the same?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 48/155).
The PRESIDENT: I now call on the representative of
Lithuania for an explanation of Lithuania’s position on the
resolution just adopted.
Ms. DAMUSIS (Lithuania): Lithuania joined the
consensus to adopt this General Assembly resolution though
we believe it does not adequately reflect the current situation
in Estonia and Latvia - the relative political stability, a
tradition of multi-cultural tolerance and the absence of
violence.
The United Nations fact-finding missions to these two
countries confirmed that there are "no gross or systematic
violations of human rights in Latvia" and "no evidence of
discrimination along ethnic or religious lines in Estonia".
My delegation also feels that the resolution did not go
far enough in noting the spirit of openness and cooperation
surrounding the United Nations and other fact-finding
missions to Estonia and Latvia. We believe that the
resolution should have welcomed positive developments in
Estonia and Latvia as well as the steps taken by both
Governments to implement recommendations by international
experts.
Lithuania very much regrets that the resolution does not
consider the consequences of Soviet deportation, colonization
and rectification policies, which dramatically altered the
demographics of all three Baltic States. These historical
circumstances need not be brushed aside as irrelevant or
outdated; they should be recognized as contributing factors
to the feelings of insecurity among small States which find
themselves in the shadow of bigger States that are troubled
by political instability and aggressive nationalism.
We thus feel strongly that it is crucial to discourage the
linkage of strategic interests in neighbouring States with
human rights issues. Respect for human rights and
observance of the principles of international law must
remain, in Lithuania’s view, the building-blocks of stability
and democratic security in the world.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item
115?
It was so decided
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report (A/48/634) of the Third Committee on agenda
item 172, entitled "Necessity of adopting effective measures
for the promotion and protection of the rights of children
throughout the world who are victims of especially difficult
circumstances, including armed conflicts".
The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft
resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 15 of its report.
Draft resolution I is entitled "Need to adopt efficient
international measures for the prevention of the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography". The
Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote.
May I consider that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 48/156).
The PRESIDENT: Draft resolution II is entitled
"Protection of children affected by armed conflicts". The
report of the Fifth Committee on the programme budget
implications of the draft resolution is contained in document
A/48/798. Draft resolution II was adopted by the Third
Committee. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do
likewise?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 48/157).
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 172?
It was so decided.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 29
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now consider
the report (A/48/624) of the Third Committee on agenda
item 12, entitled "Report of the Economic and Social
Council".
The Assembly will now take a decision on the four
draft decisions recommended by the Third Committee in
paragraph 11 of its report.
We turn first to draft decision I entitled "Organization
of work of the Third Committee and draft biennial
programme of work of the Committee for 1994-1995".
May I take it that the Assembly would like to adopt
draft decision I, as orally revised, subject of course to a
decision tomorrow afternoon on draft resolution XI
contained in paragraph 88 of the report of the Third
Committee on sub-item (b) of agenda item 114, contained in
document A/48/632/Add.2?
Draft decision I was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: Draft decision II is entitled
"Promotion of press freedom in the world". May I take it
that the Assembly wishes to adopt draft decision II?
Draft decision II was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: Draft decision III is entitled
"International Year of the Elderly". May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to adopt draft decision III?
Draft decision III was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: Draft decision IV is entitled
"Report of the Economic and Social Council". May I take
it that the Assembly wishes to adopt draft decision IV?
Draft decision IV was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of the
report of the Economic and Social Council allocated to the
Third Committee?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 48
DECLARATION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF HEADS OF
STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY ON THE
AERIAL AND NAVAL MILITARY ATTACK
AGAINST THE SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S LIBYAN
ARAB JAMAHIRIYA BY THE PRESENT UNITED
STATES ADMINISTRATION IN APRIL 1986
The PRESIDENT: Following consultations, it is my
understanding that consideration of this item may be
deferred to the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly.
May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to defer
consideration of the item and to include it in the provisional
agenda of the forty-ninth session?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 48?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 49
ARMED ISRAELI AGGRESSION AGAINST THE
IRAQI NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS AND ITS GRAVE
CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ESTABLISHED
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM CONCERNING THE
PEACEFUL USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY, THE
NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly decided on
24 September 1993 to include this item in the agenda of the
forty-eighth session of the General Assembly. May I take
it that it is the wish of the Assembly to defer consideration
of this item to a later date during this session and to include
it in the draft agenda of the forty-ninth session?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 50
LAUNCHING OF GLOBAL NEGOTIATIONS ON
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION FOR
DEVELOPMENT
The PRESIDENT: In connection with this item,
representatives will recall that on 24 September 1993 the
Assembly decided to include this item in the agenda of the
forty-eighth session. May I take it that it is the Assembly’s
30 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
wish to defer consideration of this item and to include it in
the provisional agenda of the forty-ninth session?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 50?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 51
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTIONS OF
THE UNITED NATIONS
The PRESIDENT: It is my understanding that there is
no request to consider this agenda item at the present
session. May I take it that it is the wish of the General
Assembly to defer consideration of this item to the fortyninth
session and to include it in the provisional agenda of
that session?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that it is the wish of
the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 51?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 35 (continued)
QUESTION OF PALESTINE
(a) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE
EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF
THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE (A/48/35)
(b) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
(A/48/607)
(c) DRAFT RESOLUTIONS (A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42,
A/48/L.43, A/48/L.44, A/48/L.45)
(d) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/787)
The PRESIDENT: Members will recall that the
General Assembly concluded its debate on this agenda item
at its 66th meeting on 30 November.
I call on the Chairman of the Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
to introduce draft resolutions A/48/L.41 to A/48/L.45.
Mr. CISSE (Senegal), Chairman of the Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
people (interpretation from French): At the outset, I should
like to announce that the following countries have become
co-sponsors of some of the draft resolutions: Comoros,
India, Madagascar, Pakistan and Ukraine have become cosponsors
of draft resolutions A/48/L.41 and A/48/L.42;
Comoros, India, Madagascar and Pakistan have become cosponsors
of draft resolution A/48/L.43; and Comoros, India
and Pakistan have become co-sponsors of draft resolution
A/48/L.44.
On behalf of the Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, I have the
honour to introduce to the Assembly draft resolutions
A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42, A/48/L.43, A/48/L.44 and A/48/L.45.
These texts have been drafted in the light of recent
developments in the peace process, which our Committee
has welcomed and supported. They seek to contribute to the
building of peace in the region while remaining firm on the
fundamental principles laid down by the international
community.
The first three draft resolutions, A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42
and A/48/L.43, give mandates to the Committee, the
Division for Palestinian Rights and the Department of Public
Information to undertake a programme of work in their
fields of competence in keeping with the new requirements.
In draft resolution A/48/L.41, the Assembly welcomes
the signing of the "Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements" by the Government of
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization on
13 September 1993, in Washington. The Assembly
reaffirms the ongoing responsibility of the United Nations
with respect to the question of Palestine until it is resolved
in all its aspects in accordance with international legitimacy.
The Assembly also considers that the Committee can make
a valuable and positive contribution to international efforts
to promote the effective implementation of the Declaration
of Principles and to mobilize international support and
assistance to the Palestinian people during the transitional period.
Further, the Assembly endorses the Committee’s
recommendations and requests the Committee to continue to
keep under review the situation relating to the question of
Palestine and to submit reports and make suggestions to the
General Assembly or the Security Council, as appropriate.
The Assembly also authorizes the Committee to continue to
exert all efforts to promote the exercise of the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people and to mobilize the needed
support and assistance for them. The Committee is also
requested to continue to adjust its programme in light of
developments and to report thereon to the General Assembly
at its forty-ninth session and thereafter.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 31
The Assembly also requests the Committee to continue
to extend its cooperation to non-governmental organizations
and to take the necessary steps to involve additional nongovernmental
organizations in its work.
In draft resolution A/48/L.42, which deals specifically
with the work of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the
Secretariat, the General Assembly requests the Secretary--
General to provide the Division with the necessary resources
and to ensure that it continues to discharge the tasks detailed
in previous resolutions which have mandated the
organization of regional seminars and meetings of
non-governmental organizations and to launch a programme
of research, studies and publications. The Assembly also
invites continued cooperation with the Division by the
Department of Public Information and other Secretariat
Units, and invites all Governments and organizations to do
likewise. It also requests the continued observance each
year, on 29 November, of the International Day of Solidarity
with the Palestinian People by organizing, inter alia, of an
exhibit on Palestinian rights.
Concerning draft resolution A/48/L.43, I should like to
inform the General Assembly that the sponsors have agreed
to add, at the end of sub-paragraph (b) of operative
paragraph 2, the following words: "including materials
concerning the recent developments in that regard". By draft
resolution A/48/L.43, which concerns the role of the
Department of Public Information, the General Assembly
requests the Department, acting in full cooperation and
coordination with the Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to continue,
with the necessary flexibility as may be required by
developments, its special information programme on the
question of Palestine, with particular emphasis on public
opinion in Europe and North America. In particular, the
Assembly requests the Department to disseminate
information on all the activities of the United Nations system
relating to the question of Palestine; to continue to issue and
update publications on the various aspects of the question of
Palestine; to expand its audiovisual material on the subject;
to organize and promote fact-finding news missions for
journalists to the area, including the occupied territories; to
organize international, regional and national encounters for
journalists; and to provide assistance to the Palestinian
people in the field of media development in cooperation with
specialized United Nations agencies, particularly the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Draft resolution A/48/L.44 is entitled "Peaceful
Settlement of the question of Palestine". The sponsors
would like to request that the word "reaffirms" in operative
paragraph 5, line 2 be underscored. The General Assembly
expresses its support for the ongoing peace process, which
began in Madrid in 1991, and the Declaration of Principles
on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, and expresses
the hope that the process will lead to the establishment of a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region. It
stresses the need for the United Nations to play a more
active and expanded role in the current peace process and in
the implementation of the Declaration of Principles, and
urges Member States to provide economic and technical
assistance to the Palestinian people.
The Assembly stresses the upcoming negotiations on
the final settlement by reaffirming the following principles
to be respected for the achievement of a final settlement and
a comprehensive peace, namely, the realization of the
legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, primarily
the right to self-determination; the withdrawal of Israel from
the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including
Jerusalem, and from the other occupied Arab territories;
guaranteeing arrangements for peace and security of all
States in the region, including those named in resolution
181 (II) of 29 November 1947, within secure and
internationally recognized boundaries; resolving the problem
of the Palestine refugees in conformity with General
Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, and
subsequent relevant resolutions; resolving the problem of the
Israeli settlements, which are illegal and an obstacle to
peace, in conformity with relevant United Nations
resolutions; and, finally, guaranteeing freedom of access to
Holy Places, religious buildings and sites.
The draft resolution requests the Secretary-General to
continue his efforts for the promotion of peace in the region
and to submit progress reports on developments in this
matter.
Concerning draft resolution in A/48/L.45, I should like
to inform the General Assembly that the sponsors are not
insisting that it be put to a vote.
The draft resolutions I have just introduced were
formulated with a firm resolve to contribute to the peace
process that is now under way, and to make real progress
towards a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the
question of Palestine. A great number of delegations have
been consulted in drawing up these texts, which voice the
position of the overwhelming majority of the international
community at this critical moment in the lengthy history of
the question of Palestine. On behalf of the Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People, I invite delegations to reaffirm their adherence to
this objective and constructive approach by voting in favour
of the proposed draft resolutions.
Mr. JACOB (Israel): Israel will vote against draft
resolutions A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42, A/48/L.43 and A/48/L.44.
32 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
In the course of the current session of the General
Assembly, we have repeatedly made the following
observation: we believe that the criteria for adopting
resolutions on Middle East issues in the General Assembly
should not be the content, tone or language of previous
resolutions; rather, the criteria should be the reflection of the
positive developments in the peace process and our hopes
for a better future for our region. Regrettably, the draft
resolutions before us do not meet these criteria.
In draft resolution A/48/L.41 the Assembly would
endorse and authorize the work of the Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,
while in draft resolution A/48/L.42 it would support the
work of the Division for Palestinian Rights. These two
bodies are highly biased and needlessly expend a great deal
of time, energy and money.
Under draft resolution A/48/L.43 the Assembly would
request the Department of Public Information, among other
things, to disseminate information on all the activities of the
United Nations system relating to the question of Palestine.
The undertakings stipulated in these draft resolutions
are a waste of money that could be put to much better use.
For instance, these funds could be invested in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip for the benefit of the Palestinian residents
living in those areas.
Draft resolution A/48/L.44, while no longer calling for
the convening of an international peace conference on the
Middle East, still contains the so-called principles for the
achievement of a comprehensive peace. These principles
prejudge and even predetermine the outcome of the ongoing
negotiations. Thus, the draft resolution clearly contradicts
itself. On the one hand, it claims to support the peace
process that began in Madrid. On the other hand, it ignores
the basic principle of direct negotiations without
preconditions, upon which the Madrid process is based.
Israel has long advocated direct negotiations as the only
framework for advancing peace in the Middle East, and
recent achievements vindicate this approach. Any attempt to
internationalize the issues or perpetuate the existence of
bodies dedicated to internationalizing the issues will lead us
nowhere. Let us remain committed to the process under
way. Israel, for its part, will do everything necessary to
bring this process to a successful conclusion.
Mr. SIDOROV (Russian Federation) (interpretation
from Russian): Despite all the complexities of the peace
process in the Middle East, a new qualitative step in its
development has been taken, as has been reflected in the
General Assembly’s adoption of the resolutions on the
Middle East peace process. It is clear that the General
Assembly is called upon further to promote the necessary
support for the Arab-Israeli negotiating process, in particular
on its most complex and sensitive area: that concerning
Palestine and Israel.
However, the Russian delegation notes with regret that
the sponsors of the draft resolutions on the question of
Palestine have not done everything necessary for their
contents to be in step with the new political realities in the
Middle East.
While draft resolution A/48/L.44, on the peaceful
settlement of the question of Palestine, also contains a
reference to the positive changes in the peace process in the
Middle East, it retains the entire traditional array of
principles for a Middle East settlement, which are an attempt
to predetermine the discussion of these problems at the
Arab-Israeli bilateral negotiations and could complicate the
course of these negotiations.
As for draft resolutions A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42 and
A/48/L.43, concerning the Committee on the Inalienable
Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian
Rights and the United Nations Secretariat’s Department of
Public Information, they in fact continue to guide the activity
of these bodies towards the implementation of old objectives,
not taking into account the new realities.
In the light of all of those considerations, the delegation
of the Russian Federation, as a co-sponsor of the Middle
East peace process, will abstain in the voting on the draft
resolutions submitted under agenda item 35.
Mr. HANSON (United States of America): The draft
resolutions we are voting upon today make up the last group
in a large category of unbalanced and outdated Middle East
resolutions. The parties in the region have moved beyond
these resolutions, and the General Assembly should do so as
well.
We had hoped that all of these draft resolutions would
be deferred. Indeed, we are pleased that last year’s
resolution in this group concerning the intifadah has been
deferred. We note that the traditional draft resolution on an
international peace conference has been greatly modified.
Yet none of these draft resolutions reflects the new reality
that exists today in the Middle East.
Three of the draft resolutions before us concern
institutions, activities and related costs that should be
re-examined. My Government, for its part, does not have a
predetermined position on how such a review should be
conducted, nor on what its conclusions should be. I can say
conclusively, however, that, with this autumn’s
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 33
breakthroughs in the Madrid process, the General Assembly
should look again at its long-standing, traditional activities.
These draft resolutions entail the expenditure of
resources, both human and financial. Some of those
resources are probably being spent in a worthwhile way;
others are not. Let us look more closely at how these
resources can best be allocated towards the achievement of
a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
This year’s draft resolution entitled "Peaceful settlement
of the question of Palestine" is greatly improved over its
predecessor texts that called for an international peace
conference on the Middle East. This draft resolution,
however, speaks conclusively to issues under direct
negotiation between parties in the region. The General
Assembly should support the process of those negotiations
in order for all the parties to resolve their differences
directly, without prejudging the outcome of the negotiations.
At this important moment, we want to avoid focusing on
issues or statements that divide and polarize.
The other draft resolutions introduced under this agenda
item are largely unchanged from those submitted last year.
My Government voted against those resolutions at that time
and will do so again today. We note that two of these texts
recognize the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the
Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization. This breakthrough and the process that has
followed from it confirm our view that these and other
Middle East draft resolutions should have been deferred this
year.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now take a
decision on draft resolutions A/48/L.41 to A/48/L.45. The
report of the Fifth Committee on the programme budget
implications of draft resolutions A/48/L.41, A/48/L.42 and
A/48/L.43 is contained in document A/48/787.
We now turn to draft resolution A/48/L.41, entitled
"Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People". A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados,
Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile,
China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba,
Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti,
Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana,
Greece, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea,
Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic,
Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
Against: Dominican Republic, Israel, United States of
America
Abstaining: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dominica, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands,
Micronesia (Federated States of), Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania,
Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland
Draft resolution A/48/L.41 was adopted by 106 votes
to 3, with 40 abstentions (resolution 48/158 A).
The PRESIDENT: We now turn to draft resolution
A/48/L.42, entitled "Division for Palestinian Rights of the
Secretariat".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile,
China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba,
Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti,
Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana,
Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea,
34 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic,
Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
Against: Israel, United States of America
Abstaining: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France,
Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of),
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Draft resolution A/48/L.42 was adopted by 107 votes
to 2, with 41 abstentions (resolution 48/158 B).
The PRESIDENT: We now turn to draft resolution
A/48/L.43, entitled "Department of Public Information of the
Secretariat".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium,
Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile,
China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire,
Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia,
Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic
of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of),
Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova,
Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad
and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab
Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela,
Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: Israel, United States of America
Abstaining: Georgia, Russian Federation
Draft resolution A/48/L.43 was adopted by 147 votes
to 2, with 2 abstentions (resolution 48/158 C).
The PRESIDENT: We now turn to draft resolution
A/48/L.44, entitled "Peaceful settlement of the question of
Palestine".
A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan,
Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde,
Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti,
Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Gambia, Guatemala,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia,
Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian
Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Against: Dominican Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands,
Micronesia (Federated States of), United States of America
Abstaining: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria,
Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia,
Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 35
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland,
Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova,
Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, Uruguay
Draft resolution A/48/L.44 as orally revised was
adopted by 92 votes to 5, with 51 abstentions (resolution
48/158 D).
The PRESIDENT: With regard to draft resolution
A/48/L.45, as was indicated earlier, the sponsors have agreed
not to press that draft resolution to a vote.
I shall now call on those representatives who wish to
explain their votes on the resolutions just adopted. May I
remind them that explanations of vote are limited to 10
minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.
Mr. NOTREDAEME (Belgium) (interpretation from
French): I am speaking on behalf of the European Union.
The Union has taken note of the important adoption of the
resolutions submitted this year on the item "Question of
Palestine", on which the General Assembly has just voted.
We wish to make a few comments of a general nature on
some of them.
The political context in which the activities of the
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian Rights and
the Department of Public Information have taken place in
the past has now been deeply affected by the signing of the
Israeli-Palestinian agreement on 13 September last in
Washington, D.C. As we see it, the moment has come to
put the past characterized by confrontation and conflict
behind us and to open the door to peaceful coexistence
between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
In the light of the recent agreement of 13 September,
the European Union feels that the mission and composition
of the three organs I have just mentioned and which have
been entrusted with following the question of Palestine and
reporting to Member States and public opinion should be
adapted without delay in order to reflect faithfully the speedy
evolution of progress made in the peace process. In our
opinion, the credibility of our Organization is at stake. It
cannot lag behind these important events, which have
aroused such hope among the peoples of the Middle East.
Mr. SKOKNIC (Chile) (interpretation from Spanish):
In connection with agenda item 35, "Question of Palestine",
and with draft resolution A/48/L.44 on the peaceful
settlement of the question of Palestine, the Government of
Chile wishes to reiterate once again its conviction that
Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) are
the appropriate framework for ensuring both the right of
Israel to live within secure and internationally recognized
borders and the right of the Palestinian people to establish its
sovereign State.
In this context, Chile considers of paramount
importance the Middle East peace process begun in Madrid
in 1991. We reiterate our pleasure at the historic agreement
signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in
Washington, D.C. last September. It represents significant
progress towards the establishment of a broad, just and
lasting peace in the region, and the international community
should support and uphold it in every way.
The world Organization has a very important role to
play in this process for the benefit of international and
regional peace and security.
Mr. ABOLHASSANI SHAHREZA (Islamic Republic
of Iran): My delegation voted in favour of draft resolutions
A/48/L.41, L.42 and L.43. I would, however, like to express
my delegations reservations concerning those parts of the
draft resolutions that might be construed as any form of
recognition of Israel.
My delegation did not participate in the vote on draft
resolution A/48/L.44, since we believe that the recent
agreements will not lead to the full restoration of the
legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Mr. AMER (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (interpretation
from Arabic): My delegation’s vote in favour of the
resolutions just adopted by the General Assembly under
agenda item 35, "Question of Palestine", is not to be
construed in any way as implying recognition of those who
occupy the territory of Palestine. We wish also to make it
clear that our positive vote does not mean that we agree with
everything contained in those resolutions.
The United Nations and other international and regional
organizations have adopted numerous decisions on the
question of Palestine and on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Those
decisions, which have been repeatedly reaffirmed by the
international community over the past 4 decades, continue to
constitute the best framework for a just, comprehensive
solution that would lead to the liberation of the occupied
Arab territories and enable the Palestinian people to return
to its homeland, to exercise self-determination and to
establish its own independent State in Palestine, with Al-
Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
To achieve this the international community must
continue to adhere to those principles and work to implement
36 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
them: that is the only guarantee of an end to the plight of
the Palestinian people and of real peace in the Middle East.
The continued crimes against the Palestinian people
make it imperative that the international community adopt
the measures necessary to put an immediate end to those
crimes. This is not merely a moral duty and a human duty;
it is a clear legal obligation under the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949.
The PRESIDENT: We have heard the last speaker in
explanation of vote after the voting. Now, in accordance
with General Assembly resolutions 3237 (XXIX) of
22 November 1974 and 43/177 of 15 December 1988, I call
upon the Observer of Palestine.
Mr. AL-KIDWA (Palestine): On behalf of the
Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United
Nations, I convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to all
the Member States that expressed support for the just cause
of the Palestinian people by supporting the draft resolutions
just adopted by the General Assembly under agenda item 35,
"Question of Palestine". I should also like to express
particular appreciation to the members of the Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People and to the Committee’s Chairman and the other
members of its Bureau.
The General Assembly’s adoption today of the four
draft resolutions, especially A/48/L.44, entitled "Peaceful
settlement of the question of Palestine", is a necessary step
in the fulfilment of the permanent responsibility of the
United Nations with respect to the question of Palestine until
that question is truly solved in all its aspects and a final
settlement is genuinely achieved. In adopting the draft
resolutions, the General Assembly has upheld the legal,
political and moral values long held by the international
community.
We regret some surprising votes, and we regret some of
the explanations of vote made before the voting, which
reflected positions unacceptable to the Palestinian side and
which were not in line with the spirit that has prevailed
throughout the forty-eighth session. This year, our
delegation, in full cooperation with the Group of Arab States
and other concerned Member States, made great efforts to
revise the traditional set of resolutions annually adopted by
the General Assembly. Those revisions were undertaken in
the light of the recent important positive political
developments that have taken place, while recognizing that
those developments deal only with transitional arrangements
and not with final settlement issues.
The outcome of our serious efforts was a set of more
cohesive resolutions, fewer in number and shorter in length
and reflecting the new emerging factors while retaining the
positions of principle upon which the resolutions were
originally based, principles solidly grounded in the Charter
of the United Nations and other international legal standards
and instruments.
At this time, let me stress the importance of continuity
in the international community’s solidarity with and support
for the Palestinian people. We also stress the importance of
full and effective engagement by the United Nations in the
peace process and in providing assistance to our people. We
look forward with great hope to the future, and we stand
ready to work with others as we jointly strive for a better
future and for peace in the Middle East and throughout the
world.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly has concluded the
present stage of its consideration of agenda item 35.
AGENDA ITEMS 38 (continued) AND 39 (continued)
ELIMINATION OF APARTHEID AND
ESTABLISHMENT OF A UNITED, DEMOCRATIC
AND NON-RACIAL SOUTH AFRICA
(a) REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE
AGAINST APARTHEID (A/48/22)
(b) REPORT OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL
GROUP TO MONITOR THE SUPPLY AND
SHIPPING OF OIL AND PETROLEUM
PRODUCTS TO SOUTH AFRICA (A/48/43)
(c) REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
(A/48/467 and Add.1, A/48/523, A/48/691)
(d) REPORT OF THE SPECIAL POLITICAL AND
DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE (FOURTH
COMMITTEE) (A/48/657)
(e) DRAFT RESOLUTIONS (A/48/L.29, A/48/L.30,
A/48/L.31/Rev.1, A/48/L.36)
(f) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/788)
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING
PROGRAMME FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
(a) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
(A/48/524)
(b) DRAFT RESOLUTION (A/48/L.37)
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 37
The PRESIDENT: Members will recall that the
General Assembly concluded its debate on these agenda
items at its 80th plenary meeting, held on 15 December.
The Assembly will now take a decision on draft
resolutions A/48/L.29, A/48/L.30, A/48/L.31/Rev.1,
A/48/L.36 and A/48/L.37. The report of the Fifth
Committee on the programme budget implications of draft
resolutions A/48/L.29, A/48/L.30 and A/48/L.31/Rev.1 is
contained in document A/48/788.
We turn first to draft resolution A/48/L.29, entitled
"International efforts towards the total eradication of
apartheid and support for the establishment of a united, nonracial
and democratic South Africa". May I take it that the
Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/48/L.29?
Draft resolution A/48/L.29 was adopted (resolution
48/159 A).
The PRESIDENT: We turn next to draft resolution
A/48/L.30, entitled "Programme of work of the Special
Committee against Apartheid". May I take it that the
Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/48/L.30?
Draft resolution A/48/L.30 was adopted (resolution
48/159 B).
The PRESIDENT: We now turn to draft resolution
A/48/L.31/Rev.1, entitled "Work of the Intergovernmental
Group to Monitor the Supply and Shipping of Oil and
Petroleum Products to South Africa". May I take it that the
Assembly wishes to adopt draft resolution A/48/L.31/Rev.1?
Draft resolution A/48/L.31/Rev.1 was adopted
(resolution 48/159 C).
The PRESIDENT: We proceed now to draft resolution
A/48/L.36, entitled "United Nations Trust Fund for South
Africa". May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt
draft resolution A/48/L.36?
Draft resolution A/48/L.36 was adopted (resolution
48/159 D).
The PRESIDENT: We turn last to draft resolution
A/48/L.37, entitled "United Nations Educational and Training
Programme for Southern Africa". I have been asked to
announce that there is an additional co-sponsor of this draft
resolution - namely, Ukraine.
May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft
resolution A/48/L.37?
Draft resolution A/48/L.37 was adopted (resolution
48/160).
The PRESIDENT: In accordance with the decision
taken by the General Assembly at its 3rd plenary meeting,
on 24 September 1993, I now call on the representative of
the African National Congress of South Africa.
Mr. MAKHUBELA (African National Congress of
South Africa): On behalf of the African National Congress,
let me convey our gratitude to the Member States and to the
General Assembly for having succeeded in adopting these
resolutions on South Africa.
It is our hope that the just-adopted resolutions will send
a clear signal to those who are not willing to participate in
the peaceful transformation of South Africa. This is indeed
a vindication of the fact that the international community is
behind the peace-loving people of South Africa. However,
the international community should still exercise a certain
leverage in ensuring the peaceful transition in South Africa.
It is quite clear that there are those who are not willing to
participate in this peaceful transition, and they are doing
everything to delay it.
We would also like to take this opportunity to convey
our gratitude to the Special Committee against Apartheid, the
Intergovernmental Group to Monitor the Supply and
Shipping of Oil and Petroleum Products to South Africa
(IGG) and the Commission against Apartheid in Sport for
having successfully persuaded the international community
to keep the South African issue on the international agenda.
The PRESIDENT: In accordance with the decision
referred to earlier, I now call on the representative of the
Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania.
Mr. MIYENI (Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania): It
is a great honour for me to address this body at the end of
its consideration of agenda item 38, entitled "Elimination of
apartheid and establishment of a united, democratic and nonracial
South Africa".
The international community has remained supportive
of the Azanian people through the toughest times of their
history. The international community and member States
made various contributions to the struggle against colonial
apartheid. Most of all we thank the Organization of African
Unity for having recognized our liberation movement,
thereby opening a gateway for other international
organizations to contribute to our struggle against colonial
apartheid.
The United Nations made an outstanding contribution
to our cause through the Office of the Secretary-General. I
38 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
take this opportunity to thank Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the
diligent Secretary-General of the United Nations, for his
resolve to bring justice and peace to occupied Azania, in
pursuance of the relevant resolutions of the General
Assembly and the Security Council. My delegation has
confidence that his guidance of the United Nations will be
in the interest of the oppressed African majority, and all
Azanian people.
It has become apparent in recent years that the
international community treats the oppressed and the
oppressors equally when dealing with the colonial apartheid
issue. The international community does not want to
recognize who the aggressor is, and to punish that aggressor,
it stands most of the time by Mr. De Klerk’s side. The
international community is continually losing its focus on the
real issue and fails to help or stand in solidarity with the
oppressed masses. If this trend continues, the emerging new
world order will be meaningless for the oppressed peoples
of the world. We hope that the Secretary-General, Mr.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, will help us make the United Nations
relevant and meaningful to the oppressed majority.
Among the United Nations organs, the most active and
visible structure is the Centre against Apartheid. The Centre
against Apartheid spearheaded campaigns that isolated South
Africa from the international community in various fields -
cultural, sports, economic, educational and technological.
We thank the staff members of the Centre against Apartheid
for their useful and selfless contribution, and we offer
special thanks to Mr. Johan Nordenfelt, Head of the Centre
against Apartheid.
The Special Committee against Apartheid, composed of
several Member States, cannot be left out of these
expressions of thanks. Its contribution to the eradication of
apartheid is immeasurable. We give special thanks to
Nigeria and Guinea, both of which have chaired the Special
Committee. Nigeria was Chairman of the Special
Committee from 1962 to 1972. Guinea took over from
Nigeria in 1972 and was Chairman until 1974. Nigeria
again assumed the position of Chairman of the Special
Committee against Apartheid in 1974 and continues to be its
Chairman. We all are aware, I hope, of Ambassador
Ibrahim Gambari’s hard work against the forces of apartheid.
His work for our freedom is priceless. We also feel deep
gratitude to the Nigerian people for having dedicated human
resources and time to our cause here at the United Nations.
We have shared with the Nigerian people many of their
Ambassadors to the United Nations.
Our gratitude extends to the front-line States for the
hard work and time they devoted to the meetings at which
resolutions were shaped and drafted. This was not always
an easy task. The big task of chairing those meetings fell on
the shoulders of Zimbabwe, Chairman of the group of frontl
i n e S t a t e s . We t h a n k A m b a s s a d o r
Simbarashe Simbanenduku Mumbengegwi for his wise
conduct and counsel during these meetings.
Without the contribution of the Intergovernmental
Group to Monitor the Supply and Shipping of Oil and
Petroleum Products to South Africa (IGG), I would not have
been able to speak as I am speaking here now. Depriving
South Africa of petroleum products has been one of the
cornerstones of our struggle against apartheid. We wish to
thank all the IGG member States and all the United Nations
Member States that respected the oil embargo against South
Africa. We extend special gratitude to Ambassador
Anthony B. Nyakyi of the United Republic of Tanzania, who
was the last Chairman of the IGG.
The Commission against Apartheid in Sports has a task
which has a direct impact on the lives of Africans in Azania.
Sport was the only activity that has allowed oppressed
Azanians to enjoy pleasant times in the midst of all the pain
and suffering in the country of their origin. The regime’s
neglect of sports amongst the African community brought
misery to the oppressed people. There is a continued trend
of disparity in the promotion of sports and distribution of
sports facilities between populations of different composition
in Azania. The Commission against Apartheid in Sports is
helpful in highlighting and reducing this disparity between
different Azanian communities. We thank the Chairman of
the Commission, Ambassador E. Besley Maycock, for his
work. The Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania is of the view
that this Commission should meet as soon as possible to
decide on its fate now that changes are under way.
The strength of the foundation of the new society which
is being born in Azania will be judged by the level of
education in our country. In this regard, I pay tribute to the
United Nations Education and Training Programme for
southern Africa (UNETPSA) for its vigorous campaign for
education in Southern Africa, particularly Azania. The PAC
supports the call by the Chairman of the Advisory
Committee of UNETPSA, Ambassador Martin Huslid of
Norway, who said:
"I therefore once again ask for the support of the
Member States to enable UNETPSA to help meet the
demand for education and training opportunities for
disadvantaged South Africans in South Africa and
abroad." (Official Records of the General Assembly,
Forty-eighth Session, Plenary Meetings, 76th meeting,
p. 15)
The United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa has
played a very important role in the education of and legal
assistance and relief for Azanian refugees. I hope that this
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 39
Fund will continue to exist and to receive the support of
Member States to help build a new society. We offer
special thanks to Sweden, which chairs this Trust Fund.
Throughout our struggle, many contributions were made
by what is now the Special Political and Decolonization
Committee. Since its formation in 1962 the Decolonization
Committee has spearheaded the cause of colonized people
throughout the world. Azania is about to join the many
other countries to whose freedom from colonialism this
Committee has contributed. Indeed, there are 18 more
countries that are still under one form or another of
colonialism. I pay special tribute to the Special Political and
Decolonization Committee, and hope that its purpose will be
achieved before the end of the century.
Colonialism in whatever form is unacceptable anywhere
in the world. I offer special thanks to the Committee of 24,
its Member States and its Chairman, Ambassador Renagi
Renagi Lohia of Papua New Guinea.
Finally, we thank the United Nations Member States for
their contributions and support for our struggle. We hope
they will continue to support us to the very end. The
statement of the Ambassador of the United Republic of
Tanzania, Mr. Anthony B. Nyakyi, captured the essence of
the feelings of the Azanians when he said:
"It is quite clear that the people of South Africa have
high expectations about what the Organization can do
to help in the peace process." (Official Records of the
General Assembly, Forty-eighth Session, Plenary
Meetings, 78th meeting, p. 14)
I urge the Assembly not to let us down.
The PRESIDENT: We have thus concluded this stage
of our consideration of agenda item 38.
May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to
conclude its consideration of agenda item 39?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 40 (continued)
THE SITUATION IN CENTRAL AMERICA:
PROCEDURES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
FIRM AND LASTING PEACE AND PROGRESS IN
FASHIONING A REGION OF PEACE, FREEDOM,
DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT
(a) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
(A/48/586)
(b) DRAFT RESOLUTION (A/48/L.21/Rev.1)
(c) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/789)
The PRESIDENT: Members will recall that the
Assembly concluded its debate on this agenda item at its
57th meeting, on 17 November.
The Assembly will now take a decision on draft
resolution A/48/L.21/Rev.1. The report of the Fifth
Committee on the programme budget implications of the
draft resolution is contained in document A/48/789. May I
take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution
A/48/L.21/Rev.1?
Draft resolution A/48/L.21/Rev.1 was adopted
(resolution 48/161).
The PRESIDENT: May I take it also that it is the
wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of
agenda item 40?
It was so decided.
AGENDA ITEM 56
RESTRUCTURING AND REVITALIZATION OF THE
UNITED NATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND RELATED FIELDS
(a) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
(A/48/639)
(b) DRAFT RESOLUTION (A/48/L.33)
(c) REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
(A/48/790)
The PRESIDENT: May I take it that the General
Assembly takes note of the report (A/48/639) of the
Secretary-General?
It was so decided.
The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of
Benin to introduce draft resolution A/48/L.33.
Mr. MONGBE (Benin) (interpretation from French):
On 1 November last year, Sir, you did me the signal honour
of putting my name forward for the chairmanship of the
open-ended Working Group responsible for working on the
restructuring and revitalization of the economic, social and
related sectors of the United Nations. Today I have the
pleasure of informing you of the results of the serious and
40 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
determined negotiations conducted by the Working Group
with a view to finding a way out of the deadlock that had
been reached on 25 June 1993.
Before I turn to the contents of draft resolution
A/48/L.33, which is the result of the combined efforts and
the expression of the political will of the delegations of the
Member and Observer States of our Organization, allow me
to pay tribute to all those who have given so exceptionally
freely of themselves in reviving the negotiations after they
had come up against a wall of mutual incomprehension on
the part of the various interested parties last summer.
The first person I wish to mention is Mr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations, who
on 29 July, at the high-level segment of the substantive
session of the Economic and Social Council in Geneva, most
movingly described how serious the situation of our
Organization would be unless this longed-for restructuring
and revitalization took place. I should also like to mention
Ambassador Juan Somavia of Chile, President of the
Economic and Social Council, who prevailed upon the
Bureau of the Council to write to the President of the
General Assembly recommending that the matter should be
taken up again, although its essential element - draft
resolution A/47/L.58 - no longer had a sponsor.
Your predecessor as President, Mr. Ganev, subsequently
conducted the negotiations with courage and wisdom. They
resulted in a revised version of the previous draft resolution,
which appeared as document A/47/L.58/Rev.1. The essential
difference between the two versions lies in the size of the
governing bodies of the various funds and programmes
concerned with operational development activities. In
substance, draft resolution A/47/L.58/Rev.1 comprises a
proposal from the Group of 77, admirably led by
Ambassador Luis Fernando Jaramillo of Colombia.
Despite the commendable efforts of President Ganev,
the negotiations were to reach a deadlock again, since not all
delegations were satisfied with the new text. That was the
stage that had been reached when the forty-seventh session
of the General Assembly came to an end on 20 September
1993.
Chronologically speaking, the next person who deserves
particular praise is you yourself, Sir, since, in your capacity
as President of the forty-eighth session of the General
Assembly and as a man concerned to save our Organization
in the economic, social and related fields, which are all so
vital, you decided to take the matter up again.
The intensive consultations you organized and
conducted with great patience and perspicacity led you to
decide to establish an open-ended Working Group to
re-examine the question with a precise and useful mandate,
which may be summed up as follows: to reconsider the
matter of restructuring and revitalizing the economic, social
and related sectors of the United Nations, taking into
consideration the composition, role and functioning of the
governing bodies of funds and programmes concerned with
operational development activities.
The Working Group, which you, Mr. President, were so
kind as to entrust to my chairmanship, completed its task on
Monday, 29 November, in a friendly atmosphere. I am
therefore introducing the following draft resolution, which
was largely put together at the last session by my friend
Ambassador Ramiro Piriz Ballon of Uruguay. I should here
like to express to him my great admiration and
acknowledgement.
As members will note, draft resolution A/48/L.33
comprises, in addition to the main text, two annexes - the
first dealing in detail with the further measures for the
rationalization and revitalization of the United Nations in the
economic, social and related fields and the second
concentrating on the division of labour between the General
Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.
In terms of institutional reforms, annex I allows for a
clear distinction between the functions of the Assembly and
those of the Council on matters relating to the economic,
social and related fields. It reiterates the fact that the
Assembly is the highest intergovernmental mechanism for
the formulation and appraisal of policy on such matters and
strengthens the coordinating role of the Economic and Social
Council.
It stipulates additional measures that will significantly
revitalize the Council and its high-level segment, its
coordination segment and what will now be called the
"Operational activities of the United Nations for international
development cooperation segment". It also proposes the
establishment of a segment under which the Council will
supervise the activities of its subsidiary bodies.
The scope of the new operational activities segment has
been enlarged and its functions fine-tuned. The Economic
and Social Committees of the Council, as we have known
them, will cease to exist as of 1994 and will be subsumed
into the plenary. All this is to ensure not only a more
effective round of deliberations, but also to allow the
Council to focus its attention on its coordination role and on
the work of its subsidiary bodies.
This annex also establishes new Executive Boards of
identical size and composition to replace the current
governing bodies of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Fund for Population
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 41
Activities (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF).
These 36-member Boards will be under the authority of
the Council and will report directly to it. Their specific
functions, the frequency of their meetings and the right of
participation in their deliberations are carefully spelled out
in section 3 of annex I. Similar, eventual arrangements are
envisaged for the Committee on Food Aid Policies and
Programmes of the World Food Programme (WFP), as
mentioned in paragraph 30.
Taking into account the standardization decided upon
regarding the membership of the various Executive Boards
of the subsidiary bodies concerned with operational activities
for development, and following the consultations held by my
predecessor, Mr. Ramiro Piriz Ballon, and myself, Japan
should henceforth be considered as being among the Group
of Western European and Other States - whose members are
already the main donors - as far as eligibility in those
Executive Boards is concerned.
The need for a separate Executive Board for the
UNFPA will be considered following the International
Conference on Population and Development, to be held in
Cairo in 1994.
Reference to the question of the membership of each
Executive Board is made in paragraph 25, where it is
emphasized that the most effective and broadest participation
should be ensured.
In this connection, elections to the Executive Boards
ought to take into account existing arrangements, systems or
methods of representation, or others to be formulated with
this in mind by the regional groups.
The establishment of such mechanisms within the
regional groups where these mechanisms do not yet exist, or
the strengthening or improvement of such machinery where
it does exist, should be encouraged.
Each Executive Board shall meet in an annual
substantive session at such times as it determines.
The regular meetings of the Boards, which shall take
place between the annual sessions, shall be held at premises
of the headquarters of the respective organizations when
such premises have the facilities to accommodate such
meetings, including adequate interpretation facilities. The
right of participation in the Board’s deliberations, without
the right to vote, shall also be reserved to a Member State
when its country programme is under consideration. The
Executive Boards may also invite States members of the
respective funds and programmes, and participants who
express a special interest in the item or items under
consideration, to participate in the deliberations without the
right to vote, out of respect for the principle of universality
so cherished by the United Nations system.
The Assembly will note that this annex also refers to
resources for operational activities. In this connection, and
with a view to making possible the establishment of a new
funding system, the Secretary-General is requested to review
and analyse possible changes and improvements in the
present funding system and to submit a report with his
recommendations in April 1994. Intergovernmental
consultations on the matter are envisaged for the month of
May 1994.
With respect to the ongoing process of reform in the
Secretariat, the Secretary-General is requested to submit an
additional report examining ways and means of enhancing
the reporting modalities in the economic, social and related
fields. This report would be made available to the Economic
and Social Council at its 1994 substantive session and should
include recommendations on the establishment of a system
of integrated reports.
Draft resolution A/48/L.33 calls for a review in 1995.
It may be worth noting that the text before the Assembly
carefully delineates what kind of review should be
undertaken, making it clear that this represents a critical step
forward in the ongoing reform process.
Annex II contains provisions that will change
fundamentally the methodology of work of the plenary and
Second Committee of the General Assembly and of the
Economic and Social Council.
The intention is to continue the rationalization of the
work of those bodies by clustering the consideration of
major issues in the economic, social and related fields
around a limited number of agenda items and sub-items.
The steps taken so far for the restructuring and revitalization
of the United Nations in those fields, pursuant to General
Assembly resolutions 45/264 and 46/235, including the
creation of the high-level, coordination and operational
activities segments of the Council’s annual substantive
session, are thus complemented and strengthened.
Several specific aspects of the division of labour
between the Assembly and the Council deserve mention.
First, as I mentioned earlier, the two Committees of the
Council are subsumed into the plenary.
Secondly, the items for the agenda of the substantive
session of the Council are enumerated, as are the items to be
42 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
considered by the Second Committee of the General
Assembly.
Thirdly, in order to strengthen the coordination of
humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United
Nations, including special economic assistance, all assistance
questions are to be considered in the plenary of the General
Assembly. Draft resolutions on those questions would be
dealt with in informal consultations.
The far-reaching, beneficial consequences of the
adoption of draft resolution A/48/L.33 for the
intergovernmental machinery cannot be overemphasized. By
enhancing the complementarity of the work of the General
Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and their
subsidiary bodies, the draft resolution would reduce the
present overlap and unnecessary, indeed harmful, duplication
of the work, the debates and the agenda items of those two
organs and their subsidiary bodies.
The adoption of this carefully negotiated package of
reforms would bring about further revitalization of the
Economic and Social Council and would clearly delineate
lines of responsibility and communication between the
Council and the Executive Boards, as well as a far more
effective division of labour throughout the system.
The Working Group could never have accomplished its
task if the various delegations, interest groups and regional
groups had not demonstrated unflagging vigour, patience and
good will in bringing the political will of States to bear on
the task of making the world Organization more effective,
more efficient and better able to respond to the challenges of
our time.
This is the place and time for me to express my
gratitude to all those who took part in the work of the
Group, sparing no effort - even the effort of overcoming the
drowsiness and fatigue induced by some of our night
meetings. I shall never forget the time we spent together,
sometimes tense, but always marked by frankness and
courtesy.
I could never find words adequate to thank everyone
who in one way or another provided direct, personal
assistance to me, any more than I could cite them all by
name. But let me single out for special mention
Ms. Irene Freudenschuss-Reichl of Austria, who did such
excellent work in presiding over the drafting committee,
which often helped me find consensus texts.
I also thank the members of the secretariats of the
Economic and Social Council and the Second Committee,
who were generous enough to put their skill and dedication
at the disposal of the Working Group.
Finally, I sincerely thank the representatives of
subsidiary bodies, the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United
Nations Fund for Population Activities and the World Food
Programme for their very useful technical advice.
In conclusion, on behalf of Benin, I recommend the
adoption by the General Assembly without a vote draft of
resolution A/48/L.33, on the restructuring and revitalization
of the United Nations in the economic, social and related
fields.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year.
The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now take a
decision on draft resolution A/48/L.33. The report of the
Fifth Committee on the programme budget implications of
the draft resolution is contained in document A/48/790. May
I take it that the General Assembly decides to adopt the draft
resolution by consensus?
Daft resolution A/48/L.33 was adopted (resolution
48/162).
The PRESIDENT: I shall now call on those
representatives who wish to speak in explanation of position.
May I remind delegations that explanations of vote or
position are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by
delegations from their seats.
Mr. PORTOCARERO (Belgium) (interpretation from
French): I have the honour of addressing the General
Assembly on behalf of the European Union.
The resolution we have just adopted, supplemented by
important annexes, resulted from a long and often delicate
negotiating process. We welcome the results achieved and
thank all those who played an active role in them. In
particular, we thank Ambassador Mongbe of Benin, who
guided our work in its final stages and whose personal
efforts went a long way towards helping us reach consensus.
During the negotiations we had many opportunities to
express our views on the restructuring, but let me now recall
that we see this as an evolutionary process. We have laid
down the principal guidelines, leaving the parties in the
system with enough flexibility to implement reforms
appropriate to their specific situations. In the next stages of
the process, we shall be addressing the methods of work of
the Executive Boards and engaging in consultations on
questions of financing.
Having charted the road we are to travel, we hope to
have made a contribution, especially with respect to the
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 43
operational sector, to a better managed, better-performing
system. It will be up to us as Member States, donors and
beneficiaries alike, to provide the necessary follow-up to
what we have just adopted, and we are ready to work closely
with the relevant secretariats to that end. It is clear that,
without new methods of work, the impact of institutional
reform will be considerably diminished. Hence, in the
Executive Boards we shall continue our efforts at
rationalization.
Several aspects of the reform concerning the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are of particular
relevance to us. We reaffirm our commitment to the
Programme as a vital element of the United Nations
operational system. I echo Ambassador Mongbe in stating
our commitment to the principle of alternating the annual
sessions of the UNDP Governing Council between Geneva
and New York. Furthermore, nothing in the reforms we
have just adopted prejudges future utilization of the various
official languages of the United Nations in accordance with
the rules of the Governing Council. Both of those elements
are essential to the universal nature of UNDP, and we shall
bear them in mind whenever we work to define the
principles governing reform.
With this resolution we are also undertaking substantive
reform of the functioning of the Economic and Social
Council and a needed revision of the agenda of the Second
Committee. We are convinced that the reform of the
Economic and Social Council will give the Council its
proper place as a Charter organ; this had been jeopardized
by the poor functioning of the Council. By making use of
the various sectors as appropriate, we will be able to sharpen
the focus of our debates, thus helping enhance the visibility
and credibility of the United Nations in these sectors. We
reaffirm our commitment to respecting the balance between
economic and social issues. Here, the Secretariat’s proposals
on the division of working time in the Council’s substantive
sessions are the least we can implement.
With respect to the agenda of the Second Committee,
we hope that the more transparent, logical structure we have
outlined will enable us to rationalize the Committee’s
functioning to a large extent.
Mrs. MENENDEZ (Spain) (interpretation from
Spanish): My delegation wishes first to state its complete
support for the comments just made by the representative of
Belgium on behalf of the European Union. Let me also say
how pleased we are that draft resolution A/48/L.33 was
adopted by consensus following long and difficult
negotiations.
In this respect we congratulate Ambassador Mongbe,
the Permanent Representative of Benin, on his work as
Chairman of the Ad Hoc Group on the restructuring and
revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social
and related fields.
It is clear that, as with any compromise text, the
resolution just adopted, by its very nature, suffers from a
certain lack of precision. We are particularly concerned
about paragraph 27 of annex I, which states:
"The regular meetings of the Boards, which shall
be held between the annual sessions, shall be held at
the premises of the headquarters of the respective
organization as of the date when such premises are
rendered possible to accommodate such meetings."
The headquarters of the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the
United Nations Population Fund do not at present have
adequate facilities to host such meetings. It is our
understanding, therefore, that until the interpretation and
document distribution services in all the official languages
of the United Nations can be made available such meetings
cannot be held at those headquarters.
Spain firmly supports the process of reform,
restructuring and revitalization in the economic and social
fields. We cannot, however, agree to its being carried out at
the cost of failing to use all the official languages of the
United Nations, without which neither the desirable
understanding between delegations nor the transparency of
our discussions can be guaranteed.
Mr. RAMIREZ (Colombia)(interpretation from
Spanish): On behalf of the Group of 77 and the People’s
Republic of China I should like to reiterate our support for
the text of the resolution we have just adopted. Given the
delicate balance of interests that the text has sought to
reflect, it is essential to make clear how the Group of 77 and
the People’s Republic of China view the scope of the
following elements of the resolution.
First, the reference to annual sessions of the Executive
Boards is to substantive meetings, where decisions relating
to the functions set out in the resolution will be taken.
Secondly, it is our understanding that the resolution
gives a mandate for the Funds and Programmes to adapt
their premises to make available to Member States the
necessary facilities for the Boards to meet at their respective
headquarters. That means providing room for the 36
principal members and observer States that wish to be
present at the sessions. The facilities should allow the use
of all the official languages, as provided in the present rules
of procedure.
44 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Thirdly, the presence of observers at meetings of
Executive Boards is a sovereign right of members of Funds
and Programmes. For that purpose, all members should
receive timely notice of the agendas and scheduling of
meetings.
Fourthly, we adopted the resolution on the
understanding that observers wishing to make statements
could express their wish to do so to the Boards. In practice,
that expression of interest should be sufficient for the Boards
to consider it and authorize the observers to contribute to the
discussion in which they have expressed a special interest.
Lastly, we should like to point out that an essential part
of the resolution is the requirement that decision-making
procedures be maintained unchanged.
Mr. AL-SAMEEN (Oman)(interpretation from Arabic):
On behalf of the Group of Arab States, over which it is my
country’s honour to preside this month, I support the
statement made by the representative of the Group of 77.
I, too, should like to make a few comments about this
agenda item and the provisions of paragraph 27 of annex I
of the resolution we have just adopted. We would
emphasize the need for the appropriate organization of
sessions of the Economic and Social Council and meetings
of the Executive Boards of the Funds, and Programmes on
their activities, as well as those of other United Nations
bodies and organs, including inter-session meetings.
We would also emphasize the important need to provide
interpretations and translations in Arabic, because it is both
an official language and a working language of the United
Nations, along with other languages. In this connection, we
call for the full and effective implementation of rules 51, 52,
54 and 56 of the rules of procedure of the General
Assembly, as well as of later amendments adopted by the
Assembly on 31 December 1984.
We joined in the consensus adoption of the resolution.
However, we must emphasize the need to use Arabic at the
headquarters of the Executive Boards in order to facilitate
the participation of Arab delegations in their work.
Lastly, I would re-emphasize the need to make Arabic
one of the languages to be used in the headquarters of all the
Boards. Statements referring to the rationalization of
expenses are unrealistic. Such rationalization could have a
negative effect on the outcome of meetings owing to a lack
of interpretation.
Mr. KÄÄRIÄ (Finland): On behalf of the Nordic
countries, I should like first to thank Ambassador Mongbe
of Benin for the work he did as Chairman of the Working
Group established by you, Mr. President, and congratulate
him on guiding the process to a successful conclusion. In
the same vein, I should like to thank Ambassador Piriz-
Ballon of Uruguay, who guided the process during the fortyseventh
session of the General Assembly. Last, but not
least, let me thank Mr. William Ehlers of Uruguay, who
dedicated so much of his time to the endless hours of
informal consultations at last year’s session.
The Nordic countries welcome the consensus on the
restructuring and revitalization of the economic, social and
related sectors of the United Nations reached in the Ad Hoc
Working Group established by you, Sir. The result does not
meet the expectations the Nordic countries had for the
reforms, particularly for the governance and financing of the
United Nations operational activities for development. But
it is a first step in the right direction in a process that we see
as ongoing. Therefore, and in the spirit of compromise, the
Nordic countries were able to support the resolution that has
just been adopted.
This stage of the reform process, which was given
political impetus at the High-Level Session of the Economic
and Social Council in 1992, took almost one and a half years
to complete. During that period delegations were engaged
in very detailed discussions on the substance of the reforms.
This, in our view, should facilitate the implementation of the
resolution, because there should be no ambiguity as to how
the text before us should be interpreted.
The resolution clarifies the roles and division of labour
between the General Assembly, the Economic and Social
Council and the new governing Bodies of the Funds and
Programmes of the United Nations. It gives the Economic
and Social Council a more dynamic role in providing policy
guidance to the operational agencies for development in the
implementation of the policies laid down by the General
Assembly, and underlines its role in providing coordination
to the United Nations system.
As to the new executive boards for the funds and
programmes, the agreement reached will make it possible to
increase the efficiency of governance while taking into
account the need for universality and representation.
The concerns of a number of small countries about their
opportunities of participating in the work of the executive
boards, which stalled the process last June, have been taken
into account in the present agreement. To that end, it was
agreed that, in addition to the regular meetings of each board
during the year, a short annual meeting would be arranged
that would be open to all member States of the respective
funds and programmes. In addition, and as a compromise,
the size of the boards was increased from 30 to 36.
85th meeting - Monday, 20 December l993 45
On the other hand, the participation of non-members of
the boards in the deliberations of the boards is now made
possible on an exceptional basis only, and provided that the
board itself agrees to granting a non-member the opportunity
of making a statement. However, the right of participation
is always reserved to the country whose programme is under
consideration.
The Nordic countries have all along stressed the link
between governance and financing and are therefore looking
forward to the consultations in May next year on the reform
of the financing mechanisms of the funds and programmes.
We are also looking forward to discussing further reform
steps in the same direction during the comprehensive review
process, which has been advanced to 1995.
Mr. FERNANDEZ DE COSSIO DOMINGUEZ (Cuba)
(interpretation from Spanish): At the outset, I should like to
note that my delegation fully supports the statement just
made by the representative of Colombia on the behalf of the
Group of 77.
The Cuban Government, as a member of that Group,
has joined, with serious reservations, the consensus on the
package before us today on the restructuring and
revitalization of the United Nations in the economic and
social fields.
We agree that the negotiating effort over the past year
has yielded a set of measures that are certainly capable of
improving our deliberative working mechanisms in the
Second Committee and in the Economic and Social Council,
although this in no way guarantees the necessary
improvement in the provision of assistance from funds and
programmes.
At the same time, and as part of the package, a decision
- an unjust decision, in our opinion - has been taken to
reduce the membership of the governing bodies of the
assistance programmes and funds. Cuba, as a member of the
Group of 77, has accepted this measure because of the open
threats made that there would be a substantial reduction in
the resources of the funds and programmes if the developing
countries did not agree to this reduction in membership.
Everyone here is aware that the purpose of restricting
participation in the governing bodies has nothing to do with
efficiency and that the developing countries have repeatedly
rejected that argument.
This decision has been taken under the pressure of a
constant threat to resources. Such pressure is inappropriate
in this forum and is contrary to the democratic principles of
the Organization. That is why it is my delegation’s
understanding that the review process described in
paragraphs 37 and 38 of annex I to the resolution should
provide for an automatic return to the current membership of
the governing bodies of the funds and programmes if
assistance resources are not increased substantially by the
date established for the review, thereby proving that the
argument about efficiency is only a pretext to decrease
contributions to the funds and programmes and, at the same
time, to reduce the participation of the developing countries
in their administration.
As for the contents of paragraph 27 of annex I to the
resolution, it is Cuba’s understanding that they in no way
restrict the open-ended nature of the deliberations of the
executive boards, on the basis of the present rules of
procedure, or the opportunity for observers to participate in
the negotiations by speaking in any of the official languages
of the United Nations.
Cuba intends vigorously to defend its rights relating to
these issues.
Mr. JUILLARD (France) (interpretation from French):
The French delegation fully agrees with the statement made
by the representative of Belgium on behalf of the European
Union. We should like to point out that the forthcoming
extrasessional meetings of the Executive Boards of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) at their
headquarters should in no way lead to a reduction or the
elimination of conference services supplied so far to the
Executive Boards of those two organizations. If it were to
appear that the convening of these meetings at the
headquarters of UNDP and UNICEF might in any way
jeopardize the provision of such services, those meetings
should not be held.
Mr. SINON (Malaysia): My delegation wishes to
express its support for draft resolution A/48/L.33 and for the
statement just made by the representative of Colombia on
behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
My delegation wishes, however, to re-emphasize the
need to ensure that the work of the executive boards of the
programmes and funds of the United Nations continues to be
representative, transparent and universal and to facilitate the
full and effective participation of all member States. In this
regard, my delegation’s understanding of paragraph 27 of
annex I to the resolution is that all Member States that are
not members of an executive board will continue to be
allowed to participate as observers, unencumbered and
unrestricted. If that is not the case, my delegation would
like to place on record its reservations with respect to
paragraph 27.
With the agreement reached in this resolution, it is my
delegation’s understanding that there will be a substantial
46 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
increase in resources made available to the development
activities of the United Nations, in particular with regard to
the full and immediate fulfilment of the commitment to
provide 0.7 per cent of gross national product to official
development assistance. This agreement should serve as a
further step towards the fulfilment of that obligation.
Mr. MARRERO (United States of America): I should
like to associate my delegation with the comments of
previous speakers who have commended the outstanding
work of Ambassador Piriz Ballon of Uruguay and
Ambassador Mongbé of Benin in securing agreement on the
resolution that has just been approved. We fully support this
measure and believe that it represents an important
improvement in the work of the General Assembly, the
Economic and Social Council and the development
programmes and funds.
We look forward to the work to be done in the coming
year in implementing this resolution and to the continuing
process of reform in the United Nations.
The PRESIDENT: I should like to say a word of
special thanks to the Ambassador of Benin, who, at my
request, undertook very extensive and very delicate
consultations, which, happily, have resulted in the resolution
that has just been adopted by consensus. My appreciation
extends to those who helped to make the negotiations a
success. I am deeply indebted to all of them - especially to
the delegation of Uruguay, which did much preparatory
work.
May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to
conclude its consideration of agenda item 56?
It was so decided.
The meeting rose at 8.15 p.m.
ANNEX
Changes in recorded and/or roll-call votes
Resolution 48/92
Subsequent to the voting, the delegation of Madagascar
advised the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour.
Resolution 48/94
Subsequent to the voting, the delegation of Madagascar
advised the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour.
Resolution 48/145
Subsequent to the voting, the delegations of Chad and
Samoa advised the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in
favour.
Resolution 48/147
Subsequent to the voting, the delegation of Samoa
advised the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour.