The United States of America today examined the effeciency and effectiveness of Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations.
Counselor for Legal Affairs John R. Arbogast said the United States support the Committee’s “recognition of the value of ongoing efforts within the United Nations to improve the workings of the Organization” as reflected in its report.
“One recurring crucial issue in this regard as it pertains to the Charter Committee is the question of Committee efficiency, a matter that is examined in some detail in the Committee’s report. We urge that the Committee remain focused on ways to improve its productivity throughout its sessions, and to seriously consider such steps as biennial meetings and/or shortened sessions.” -Mr. Arbogast
He said a key aspect of Committee efficiency is the fact that the Charter Committee has a number of longstanding proposals before it.
“We believe many of the issues they consider have been taken up and addressed elsewhere in the United Nations. There is also a considerable degree of overlap in these proposals. These are reasons why the Committee has shown little enthusiasm for acting on or discussing these proposals in depth.” -Mr. Arbogast
He cited that with regard to items on the Committee’s agenda concerning international peace and security, the United States continues to believe that the Committee should not pursue activities in this area that would be duplicative or inconsistent with the roles of the principal organs of the United Nations as set forth in the Charter.
“This includes consideration of a revised working paper calling for a new, open-ended working group “to study the proper implementation of the Charter…with respect to the functional relationship of its organs.” This also includes questions relating to sanctions. It would, for example, be inappropriate for the Charter Committee to devise norms concerning the design and implementation of sanctions.” -Mr. Arbogast
He said positive developments have occurred elsewhere in the United Nations that are designed to ensure that the UN system of targeted sanctions remains a robust tool for combating threats to international peace and security.
