Reviewing the activities of the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, Sixth Committee speakers debated the effective use of remote education and the advantages of in-person trainings, while also calling attention to gender balance, equitable geographical representation and multilingualism in the Programme’s endeavours.
The Sixth Committee had before it the Secretary-General’s report, “United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law” (document A/77/515.)
Harold Adlai Agyeman (Ghana), Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance, recalled the challenges encountered during the COVID19 pandemic and the Programme’s pivoting to a remote online format for regional workshops held for Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbeans as interim programmes. He also underscored the importance of materials including language diversity, different legal traditions and gender balance among the Programme’s participants and Regional Course faculty.
Emphasizing that the Programme of Assistance enhances the legal capacities of national experts and strengthens the collective commitments to peace and development, he stressed that continuing education in international law was essential at a time when “the headwinds of unilateralism threaten to dismantle the established norms and values that have held together the international order over the past seven decades.”
Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, also calling attention to the great value of the Programme’s activities, said that during the pandemic, his office organized virtual events to respond to the high demand of international law trainings. With the resumption of the traditional format of in-person meetings, he reported that the International Law Fellowship Programme was held in The Hague in 2022 and that a number of regional in-person courses were being planned for the upcoming month.
Huw Llewellyn, Acting Secretary of the Advisory Committee, providing an overview of the Programme’s activities during the reporting period, underlined the importance of the traditional in-person format. That format enables participants to build relationships for future cooperation and share ideas, experiences and best practices. Turning to the Audiovisual Library of International Law, which provides free online training to an unlimited number of people around the world, he reported that it has been visited by almost 2.7 million users.
Alice Hicuburundi, Principal Legal Officer of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, updated the Committee on the implementation of the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea. As of October 2022, 33 fellows from 30 developing countries have undertaken the Fellowship. Of these, 15 are women and 18 are men. Stressing the importance of enabling developing countries to build and maintain the capacity to actively participate in ocean-related processes, she urged that Member States make voluntary financial contributions so that a regular award may be granted every year.
Echoing that stance, the representative of Cambodia, speaking for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), pointed out that the Programme plays a key role in promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels, which contributes to strengthening international peace and security. Voluntary contributions would help further expand and enhance such activities. He also added his support for programme activities to be conducted in traditional in-person format as they promote in-depth discussions and foster friendly relations and cooperation between participants.
Lebanon’s representative also highlighted the considerable benefits offered by the traditional training format that allow for the creation of in-depth and long-lasting bonds between attendees. He also suggested that the Programme achieve more visibility through liaising with universities and non-governmental organizations, using social media platforms and creating alumni networks.
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, recommended that the Regional Courses include contemporary issues of international law and contain a specific regional focus. In addition to encouraging more participation of women in the training activities, she highlighted the essential role of multilingualism in ensuring equal and broad access to the training materials.
The representative of Colombia said that the Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean has allowed Colombian lawyers to build national capacity. He also underscored the need to increase the number of publications available in Spanish in the Audiovisual Library in order to disseminated international law in one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
The representative of Pakistan, speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, recognized the importance and utility of the Audiovisual Library in providing high-quality training to an unlimited number of individuals around the world. Voicing support for the off-site recording sessions, he said that the format not only promoted a broader geographical and linguistic representation of the recorded lectures, but also recorded lecturers of speakers who were unable to travel to New York.
The Sixth Committee also concluded its debate on the law of transboundary aquifers (For background, see Press Release GA/L/3666.), as speakers spotlighted the importance of establishing bilateral and regional legal frameworks of managing aquifer systems while also underlining the importance of exchanging scientific understanding and information.
The representative of Chile underscored the need to apply the principle of equitable and reasonable use and the principle of not causing significant harm with regard to the utilization of the resources from shared groundwater. In this regard, he also stressed the importance of technical capacity and scientific understanding on how aquifers function to ensure their proper management.
Japan’s representative pointed out that large portion of the world’s fresh water exists in underground aquifers, which frequently occur across national boundaries and tend to be overexploited, seriously depleted and damaged by pollution. Thus, they require proper management mechanisms. The International Law Commission’s draft articles provide a valuable platform for the establishment of bilateral or regional legal frameworks to manage these systems, he said.
Also speaking on the law of transboundary aquifers were representatives of the Russian Federation, Algeria, Türkiye and the Netherlands.
Speaking on the Programme of Assistance were representatives of Iran (for the Non-Aligned Movement), Morocco (for the African Group), Finland (also for Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), Singapore, United States, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, El Salvador, Cuba, Portugal, Ireland, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, China, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Korea and Ethiopia.
Source: United Nation