Statement of Bangladesh at the 293rd Plenary Meeting of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization at the Sixth Committee of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly
(delivered by Counselor Mosammat Shahanara Monica)
Tuesday, 18 February 2020, Conference Room 3
Madame Chairperson,
I congratulate you on your election as the chairperson of this session. Our delegation assures of extending full support to you in steering the work of the current session.
Bangladesh aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
We take note of the Report of the Special Committee adopted in October 2019 and the corresponding report of the Secretary-General.
We subscribe to the view that the reform of the United Nations should be carried out in accordance with the principles and procedures established by the Charter -preserving the legal framework of the Charter as a constitutional instrument and maintaining the status of General Assembly as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.
We also maintain that peace and security is intractably linked to sustainable development, and that the implementation of Agenda 2030 constitute an important precondition towards ensuring sustaining peace. As such, there is a need to achieve the right balance envisaged by the Charter between the functions and powers of the principal organs of the United Nations, especially the General Assembly, Security Council and the Economic and Social Council to achieve such goals. We believe the Special Committee could be an appropriate forum for examining the legal aspects of those issues, without duplicating the efforts being made in other forums of the United Nations.
On the question of the implementation of sanctions, we would like to reiterate that sanctions should be applied only as a last resort, when repeated failure of a member State to fulfill its obligation under the Charter poses genuine threat to international peace and security, without affecting the civilian population and third parties.
In this regard, we acknowledge the report of the Secretary-General, which highlighted arrangements in the Secretariat related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions. However, we also recognize that the Secretariat lacks adequate resource and capacity, and hence we support the demands for strengthening the Secretariat to fulfill its responsibility.
Pacific settlement of disputes is one of the underlying issues for the Charter Committee’s work, as reinforced by the Manila Declaration of 1982. We appreciate the annual thematic debates organized by the Committee revolved around useful exchange of information on state practices on the use of the peaceful means stipulated in Article 33 of the Charter. We share the view that after exhaustion of the Committee’s discussion in this connection, a good basis would be created for advancing the appropriate application of the tools at the disposal of the UN for conflict prevention and sustaining peace.
In this regard, Bangladesh would like to reaffirm its unwavering support to the role of the international adjudicating bodies, including the International Court of Justice, as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, and we call for effective actions towards implementation of the Judgments and the Orders issued by of the Court in exercise of its functions.
We reiterate that the working method of the Committee should be guided by substance. We should also conjure the political will to put aside the culture of deferral, and take forward the Committee’s work.
I thank you, Madam Chair.
___