A/31/PV.99 General Assembly

Before we take up the agenda for this morning, I should like to call on two speakers in NEW YORk explanation of vote under agenda item 33, which was considered by the General Assembly yesterday.

My delegation did not take part in the vote which took place yesterday on resolutions 31/91 and 31/92 underitem 33. It had beenour clear understanding that the vote on these resolutions would not take place at the 98th plenary meeting. I should like to take this opportunity to say that if my delegation had been in a position to take part in the vote on those resolutions, it would have abstained on both of them. We should be grateful if the Secretariat couldnote this,so that it is made clear, in a foot-note to the record of the 98th plenary meeting.

Yesterday a vote was taken on a number of disarmament resolutions pertaining to the work of the FirstCommittee. At the end of that vote it was our understanding that we should vote upon the remaining draft resolutions from the First Committee on thiscoming Friday, December 17. That is why my delegation was not present when, contrary to our expectation, a vote was takenlate in the afternoon, upon the draft resolutions I and 11 in documentA/31/414, under item 33. In thissituation I would be grateful if the records of our proceedings would show that Denmark would have abstained in the vote on both resolutions had we been able to participate in that vote.

The General Assembly will now proceed to the election of 17 members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to replace the 17 outgoing members, namely: Australia, Austria, Chile, Egypt, France, Ghana, Guyana, Japan, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Somalia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Republic of Tanzania. Those members are eligible for immediate re- election. S. I should like to remind members that after 1 January 1977 the following States will still be members of the Commission: Argentina, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Gabon, Germany, Federal Repub- licof, Greece, Hungary, India, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic, United States of America and Zaire. Therefore, those States are not eligible for the election. Under rule92 of the rules of procedure, all elections must be held by secret ballot and there should be no nominations. I have, however, been asked by the A/31/PV.99 6. In accordance with existing practice the candidates in each group which receive the largest number of votes and not less than the majority required will be declared elected. In the case of a tie for the last place there will be a restricted ballot, limited to those candidates which have obtained an equal number of votes. May I take it that the Assembly agrees to this procedure?

Ballot papers are now being dis- tributed. I request representatives to write on each ballot paper the names of the States for which they wish to vote in each group. Ballot papers for a group which contain more names than the numberassigned to that groupwill be declared invalid. 136 o 136 8 128 65 A vote was taken by secret ballot. At the invitation 0/ the President, the following repre- sentatives acted astellers: group A, Mr. Villarreal (Panama): group B, Mr. Buteiko (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic): group ~ Mr. Bvrivtodes (Cyprus): group D, Mr. Lamdan (Israel): Group E, Mr. Kalilangwe (Malawi).

The result of the voting for the election of 17 members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law is asfollows: GROUP A 136o 136 1 135 68 Egypt ,......,.,...............,. 134 Ghana .. , , f ••• , • , ••••• 133 Nigeria .. , , 132 Burundl .. f • , 0 • • , • • • • • • • • • , , • • • • • • 130 United Republic of Tanzania 129 Ivory Coast , 0 •••••••• , • • •• 1 Lesotho .. ", . , , , .. , .. , , ... , . .. 1 GROUPB 136o 136 3 133 67 GROUPC 136 o 136 6 130 66 Number ofvotes obtained: German Democratic Republic 128 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . . . . . . . . 127 Romania 1 Yugoslavia 1 GROUPD Number ofvotes obtained: Colombla ., , ~ , 126 Chile t • • • , • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • , • • •• 92 Cuba ,' , t.. 5 Paraguay ..................,...,.. 1 GROUPE 136 o 136 1 135 68 Number ofvotes obtained: Austria ...........• f ••• , • , ••• , , , •• 135 Finland , ..... , ... " ... ,., .. , ..... 133 Australia .,..............,."..... 129 France , . , , , , . , . , t 129 United Kingdom of Great Britain and North- ernIreland . , . , .. , , , , , .. 129 Luxembourg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . .. 1

We turn first to the report of the Sixth Committee on agenda item 106[A/31/370/. We shall

We come next to the report of the Sixth Committee on agenda item 108[A/31/390/. We shall now take a decision on the three draft resolutions recom- mended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 49 of its report. 22. Draft resolution I isentitled"Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law." The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and flnancial implications of that draft resolution is in uocument Ai31/402. The Sixth Committee adopted draft resolution I by consensus. May I consider that the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Draft resolution 11 is entitled "Report of the United Nations Commission on Inter- national Trade Law". The Sixth Committee adopted draft resolution 11 by consensus. May Iconsider that theGeneral Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Draft resolution III is entitled "United Nations Conference on the Carriage of Goods by Sea". The report of the Fifth Committee on the admlnis- trative and financial implications of that draft resolution is in document A/31/444. The Sixth Committee adopted draft resolution III by consensus. May I consider that the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?

We turn next to the report of the Sixth Committee onagenda item 109/A/31/418J. We shall now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report. The Sixth Committee adopted that draft resolution by con- sensus. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to dolikewise?

I call on the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The reportof theCommittee on Relations with the Host Country, which we have just adopted, contains one inaccuracy, and I discovered it during this meeting since we have just received this document. I hope that this isa purely technical inaccuracy. There isno paragraph in thedocument indicating that,after

We come now to the report of the Sixth Committee on agenda item 113[A/31/429/. 29. I call on the representative of Uruguay, whowishes to explain his vote before the voting.

The draft resolution submitted to the General Assembly today by the Sixth Committee reproduces in almost identical terms the wording of resolution 3034 (XXVII) whereby in 1972 the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism was created. My delegation wishes to explain briefly why, contrary to what happened at the time, we shall support this draft resolution, although not the whole ofit. 31. We can say that we view with favour the renewal of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee after four years of postponement and inactivity by the General Assembly. As a member of the Committee, we undertake to contribute our best endeavours, as we did in 1972 and as we shall always do, in the search for solutions which will make it possible one day to eliminate from the face of thisearth all vestiges of this aberrant form of delinquency. In so doing we will not delude world public opinion and will thus help to recreate confidence in the actions and effectiveness of our Organization. But this draft resolution still suffers from the same failings it had in 1972 in what it says regarding the existing imbalance in describing certain acts of terrorism as compared to others. And this is reflected in operative paragraphs I and 4, from which it follows that four years later the General Assembly is still concerned with acts of terrorism in general but nevertheless condemns only a special kind of terrorism. 32. Moreover, operative paragraph 3 emphasizes and reaffirms a series of principles which, although undeniable, arenone the less expressed in a manner andin Rcontextthat is not clear and leaves doubts as to whether on the basis of those principles we are not justifying terrorist activities in some cases. TIle position of my delegation has at all times been to denounce and condemn any kind of terrorism wherever it originates, regardless of its causes or itsends. 33. In the Sixth Committee the delegation of Paraguay and my own attempted to restore balance in this draft resolution through a small amendment which consisted in condemning all acts of terrorism in cperatlve paragraph 1 rather than merely expressing concern about them. This would have made it possible to obtain massive support for this draft resolution and avoid most of the abstentions in the Committee. Sih-;e that amendment failed for purely procedural reasons, the objective sought by many could not be achieved.

We shall now take a decls.on on the draft resolution entitled "Measures to prevent international terrorism which endangers or takes innocent human lives or jeopardizes fundamental freedoms, and study of the under- lying causes of those forms of terrorism and actsof violence which lie in misery, frustration, grievance and despair and which cause some people to sacrifice human lives, including their own, in an attempt to effect radical changes" recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 10 of its report[A/31/429/. The report of the Fifth Committee on administrative and financial implications of that draft resolution isin document A/31/440.

I shall now call on those delega- tionsthat wish to explain theirvote.

My delegation voted against this draft resolution for three substantive reasons. First, the draft resolution does not include an adequate condemnation of terrorism. Secondly, other matters dealt with in this draft resolution-that is, the effective Imple- mentation of principles in the Charter of the United Nations, of a human rights regime, and of humanitarian law, all of which my delegation whole-heartedly supports- are not assisted by the characterization of the concepts involved in the terms in which they arecharacterized in this text. Indeed, it would seem to my delegation that the confusion of the various concepts in this draft resolution does a disservice to those objects which the General Assembly would wish to advance. Thirdly, the draft resolution is insufficiently directed towards the elaboration of measures to combatintemational terrorism and does not appear to my delegation to contain the basis of an effective and realistic programme. However, while this draft reso- lution cannot command the support of my delegation, we will continue to co-operate with all other States that are concerned to establish effective and appropriate measures to combatinternational terrorism.

My delegation abstained in the vote on the draft resolution contained in paragraph 10 of document AI 31/429, because, as we stated in the Sixth Committee at the appropriate time, we have serious reservations regarding the substantive part of the draft, more specifically operative paragraphs I and4. The delegation of Nicaragua strongly condemns any form of terrorism. The characteristic and illegal features of the offence, as well as the punishment of 39. The delegation of Nicaragua reiterates here, as it has done in other forums and on many other occasions, its sincere desire and unswerving determination to co-operate closely with all countries in the world which undertake the struggle for the elimination of international terrorism. My country will co-operate in thisjust and highly humanitarian task. We give th Ad Hoc Committee the support that it deserves and hope that, by extending its mandate-with which we fully agree-all possible progress will be made towards making the world a safer place.

We turn next to the report of the Sixth Committee on agenda item 123[A/31/430J. We shall now take a decision on the draft resolution entitled "Draftingof an international convention against the taking of hostages" recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report. The report of the Fifth Com- mittee on the administrative and financial implications of that draft resolution is in document A/31/44I. The Sixth Committee adopted the draft resolution by con- sensus. May I Jllsider that the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Under paragraphs I and 2 of the resolution just adopted, the General Assembly has decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on the Drafting of an International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, composed of 35 Member States, and requested the Presi- dent of the General Assembly, after consultationswith the Chairmen of the regional groups, to appoint the members of the Ad Hoc Committee on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and representing the principal legal systems of the world. The President will hold the necessary consultations and report to the Assembly at a later date. 42. I shall now call on those representatives '"'ho wish to explain their position on the draft resolution """ ' 13 just been adopted.

The delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany is gratified by the decision just taken at the thirty-first session of the General Assembly. We are pleased that the initiative for the drafting of an international convention against the taking of hostages, as announced in this Assembly on 28 September by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hans-Dletrlch Genscher [7th meeting!, has materialized in the resolution which hasne-w been adopted. 44. I do not wish to retrace in detail the difficult negotiations from which the text now before us emerged. Yet I think that we can allstatejointly today that we have been able in the United Nations, through patient negotla- 45. We are hopeful that the spirit of co-operation and conciliation which marked the atmosphere in the Sixth Committee and in the plenary meetings of the thirty-first General Assembly will continue to prevail in the Ad Hoc Committee which hasbeenestablished by your vote. We are fully aware of the problems which will confront the Committee. In their endeavours to solve these problems, the representatives of the 35 member States on this Committee, to be convened in New York in August of next year, can draw on model provisions contained, interalia, in the international conventions which have been cited in our resolution. These _provide foundations for the future work of this Commlttee. 46. The principle of "prosecution or extradition"-that is to say, that those whohave taken hostages should either be prosecuted or extradited to the competent authorities of another country for the purpose of prosecution without delay-in our view continues to be an essential element of effective co-operation within the community of nations for the repression of hostage-taking. The Ad Hoc Committtee can count on the active participation of the Federal Republic of Germany. 47. Let me thank you once again for your support of our humanitarian initiative, which is no longer ours alone but which has now become an initiative of the entire United Nations.

My delegation would like to clarify its position on the general agreement reached in the General Assembly with regard to the drafting of an International convention against the taking of hostages. In principle, it is our feeling that this Convention should go into the following aspects of the matter: first, the reasons which lead to the taking of hostages and the distinction to be drawn between criminal purposes and political purposes; secondly, the fact that racist regimes occupy foreign territories and keep hostages who are not freed unless certain conditions which they impose are met; thirdly, the fact that the convention should in no way jeopardize the rights of national liberation movements to resort to any means to secure their right to self-determination and independence; and fourthly, the fact that the convention should take due account of the fact that the phenomenon of the taking of hostages is not a separate thing in itself but is part and parcel of the whole phenomenon of international violence. These are the principles which were not specifically referred to in the draft resolution. If a vote had been taken my delegation would have abstained.

My delegation was pleased to vote in favour of this draft resolution in the Committee and to join in the consensus. The United States considers it important that action be taken to deal with the contemptible practice of taking hostages. It is important that the international community is now prepared to undertake the task of drafting an 50. My delegation is particularly pleased that the Sixth Committee has recommended a course of action which follows the model of the Convention on the protection of diplomats, and has avoided the introduction of irrelevant material and refrained from suggesting any exclusions of the type which have plagued the other items. We are confident that these decisions reflect the widespread recognition that no cause can excuse, andno motive justify, so condemnable an act as the taking of hostages. We hope and expect that the Ad Hoc Committee will have a draft 2 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970. 3 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed at Montreal on 23 September 1971. 4 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents (resolution 3166 (XXVIII».

My delegation wishes to associate itself with the resolution adopted by consensus a few moments ago. 52. Israel's position on the agenda item before us was set out by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yigal Allon, in his statement before the General Assembly on 7 October 1976,when he said: "Israel '" welcomes the proposal made on 28 Sep- tember by the Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany that the United Nations should draft a convention banning the taking of hostages internationally and providing for the prosecution or extradition of the perpetrators. This is an important step in the right direction and the General Assembly would lose all credibility ,JiS an effective internationalinstrumentality if it failed to take it." [22nd meeting, para. 146./ 53. My delegation wishes to express satisfaction that this first step in the right direction, as referred to by Foreign Minister Allon, hasnow been taken.