Assembly adopts declaration on protection and welfare of children; also acts on diplomats' safety, host country relations.

The General Assembly on 3 December adopted a Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, which proclaims that every State should give a high priority to family and child welfare and that child welfare depends upon good family welfare. Resolution 41/85 containing the text of the 24-article Declaration was adopted without a vote.

The Assembly in 1986 adopted 15 resolutions and 3 decisions on the recommendation of its Sixth Committee (Legal), covering a wide variety of legal issues. Among other things, it strongly condemned acts of violence against diplomatic and consular missions and representatives, as well as against missions and representatives to international intergovernmental organizations and officials of such organizations, and urged States to take all necessary measures to ensure effectively the protection, security and safety of all diplomatic and consular missions and representatives.

In connection with the report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country, the Assembly strongly condemned "criminal acts" violating the security of missions accredited to the United Nations and the safety of their personnel and urged the host country, the United States, to take all necessary measures to prevent any such acts, including harassment and activities violating the security of missions and the safety of their personnel.

The Assembly decided that the Special Committee on Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Principle of Non-Use of Force in International Relations should complete a draft declaration on the non-use of force in international relations.

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on Strengthening of the Role of the Organization was requested to accord priority in 1987 to the question of maintenance of international peace and security in all its aspects in order to strengthen the role of the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, and to enable it to discharge fully its responsibilities under the Charter.

The Assembly again urged all States to observe and promote in good faith the provisions of the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes. The International Law Commission was invited to continue its work on elaboration of a draft Code of Offences against the Peace and Security of Mankind. The Assembly also welcomed the adoption, on 20 March 1986, of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations, and considered that the Convention "should be signed on behalf of the United Nations".

Other texts approved related to a proposed international convention against the recruitment and training of mercenaries, the progressive development of principles and norms of international law relating to a new international economic order, development and strengthening of good-neighbourliness between States, the work of the International Law Commission and of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the observer status of national liberation movements, the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, a draft body of principles for the protection of all persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, and draft standard rules for United Nations conferences.

Protection of children: In adopting the Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally by resolution 41/85, the Assembly noted with appreciation the work done on the question in both its Third and Legal Committees, as well as the joint efforts of Member States representing different legal systems, during the consultations held at Headquarters in September 1985 and early in the forty-first session.

The Declaration, among other things, states that in all matters relating to the placement of a child outside the care of the child's own parents, the best interests of the child, particularly "his or her need for affection and right to security and continuing care", should be of paramount importance.

The Declaration recommends that Governments determine the adequacy of their national child welfare services and consider appropriate actions. The child should at all times have a name, a nationality and a legal representative and should not, as a result of a foster placement, adoption or any alternative regime, be deprived of these, unless the child thereby acquires a new name, nationality or legal representative.

Governments should also establish policy, legislation and effective supervision for the protection of children involved in intercountry adoption, says the Declaration. Such adoption should, wherever possible, only be undertaken when such measures have been established in the States concerned.

In the Declaration, the Assembly also recognized that under the principal legal systems of the world, various other alternative valuable institutions existed, such as the Kafala of Islamic Law, which provided substitute care to children who could not be cared for by their own parents.

In May 1975, the Economic and Social Council decided that a group of experts with experience in family and child welfare should prepare a draft declaration and guidelines for Governments on the adoption and foster placement of children. The draft Declaration has been considered by the General Assembly since 1979 and has been on the Sixth Committee's agenda since 1982. The urgent need to complete the work was illustrated by a 1982 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, which estimated that some 70 million children were living without families. In 1985 the Assembly decided tha Committee should hold informal consultations early in the Assembly's 1986 session to achieve agreement on the remaining questions, in particular on the term "the sole criterion" in article 5, and on the proposal to include a principle on the problem of abduction of children for purposes of their illicit placement.

Safety of diplomats: By resolution 41/78, adopted without vote, the Assembly urged all States to observe and implement the principles and rules of international law governing diplomatic and consular relations, and called on States that had not yet done so to consider becoming parties to the relevant instruments. It recommended that States should co-operate closely with regard to practical measures designed to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives and with regard to exchange of information on the circumstances of all serious violations. All States were asked to report to the Secretary-General as promptly as possible serious violations of the security of diplomats; the States in which the violation had taken place were asked to report promptly on measures taken to bring the offender to justice.

Under the same item, the Assembly also adopted unanimously resolution 41/79 dealing with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In it, the Assembly reaffirmed the essential role which the Convention had played over 25 years and would continue to play in promoting co-operation and understanding among States, in creating normal conditions for the activities of diplomatic missions and representatives and in the progressive development of international law in that field. The Assembly noted with satisfaction that 149 States were parties to the Convention and recommended to States that had not yet become parties to consider doing so at an early date.

Host country relations: In resolution 41/82, adopted without vote, the Assembly urged the host country and Member States that had raised the issues in response to the request and action by the host country to reduce the size of their missions to "follow the path of consultations" with a view to reaching solutions to this matter in accordance with the 1947 United Nations Headquarters Agreement. The Secretary-General was asked to remain actively engaged in all aspects of the relations of the United Nations with the host country.

The Assembly stressed the importance of a positive perception of the work of the United Nations, expressed concern about a negative public image and urged that efforts be continued to build up public awareness by explaining, through all available means, the importance played by the United Nations and the missions accredited to it for the strengthening of international peace and security.

Treaty-making

Non-use of force: The Assembly, in adopting without a vote resolution 41/76, decided that the Special Committee on Non-use of Force shall hold its session for a period of three weeks in 1987 and informal consultations at the appropriate time to enable the work on a draft declaration on enhancement of the effectiveness of the principle of non-use of force in international relations to be completed. The Committee was asked to be mindful of the importance of reaching general agreement whenever it has significance for the outcome of its work. (The 1987 session of the Special Committee is scheduled to be held from 9 to 27 March.)

Charter Committee: By resolution 41/83, adopted without vote, the Assembly requested the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization to accord priority in 1987 to the question of maintenance of international peace and security in all its aspects, and in doing so: (i) to concentrate its efforts on the question of the prevention and removal of threats to peace and of situations that might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, on the basis of the working paper and on any other proposals specific to this question; (ii) to continue its consideration of the proposal contained in the working paper on the role of Member States and of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security The Special Committee was also asked to continue its work in 1987 on the question of the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, and to keep the question of the rationalization of the United Nations procedures under active review. The Secretary-General was asked to continue preparing a draft handbook on the peaceful settlement of disputes between States. (The Special Committee is to meet from 9 to 27 February 1987.)

Dispute settlement: In resolution 41/74, adopted without vote, the Assembly stressed the need to continue efforts to strengthen the process of the peaceful settlement of disputes through progressive development and codification of international law and through enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations in this field.

Before adopting the resolution as a whole, the Assembly adopted by a vote of 117 in favour to none against, with 32 abstentions the provision of the text, which stated that the question of the peaceful settlement of disputes should be examined at its forty-second session as a separate agenda item, in conjunction with the item on the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

Good-neighbourliness: By adopting without a vote resolution 41/84, the Assembly reaffirmed that good-neighbourliness fully conformed with the purposes of the United Nations and should be founded upon the strict observance of the principles of the United Nations Charter and of the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States, and it called on States to develop good-neighbourly relations, acting on the basis of these principles. The Assembly decided to continue and complete at its forty-second session the task of identifying and clarifying the elements of good-neighbourliness within the framework of a sub-committee on good-neighbourliness.

The assembly also noted the report of the Sub-Committee on Good-Neighbourliness (A/C.6/41/L.14), which functioned within the Sixth Committee during the forty-first session of the Assembly. The Sub-Committee had examined "possible elements" pertaining to the issue and stated that although some progress had been achieved there was no general agreement on those elements. It was felt that a considerable amount of work remained to be done.