Committee on UN Charter stresses duty of all members to fulfill charter obligations.

A call to all Member States to fulfil their obligations under the Charter was included in the annual report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization as adopted on 29 March at the end of the Committee's four-week session at Headquarters. The report also stressed the validity of the purposes and principles of the Charter.

The Committee also reaffirmed the importance of continuing its work on the basis of the mandate entrusted to it by the Assembly and expressed the desire that all States give full support to its efforts. It cited, in particular, efforts aimed at strengthening the role of the Organization as an instrument for maintaining international peace and security.

The three-part report deals with the maintenance of international peace and security, the peaceful settlement of disputes between countries and the rationalization of existing rules of procedure in the United Nations.

Maintenance of peace and security: Under the item, the committee had before it a revised version of the working paper submitted at the previous session by Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and Spain (A/AC. 182/L. 38/Rev. 1). The paper deals with the role of the Organization in defusing potential conflicts, with emphasis on the information-gathering capabilities of the United Nations and its fact-finding missions; preventive action, including action by the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General; and the monitoring and reasessment of the action taken.

It states that Member States and international organizations should fully co-operate with United Nations organs and support them in taking preventive action on situations giving rise to a dispute. The Secretary-General should also consider sending his representatives to areas where a situation exists, to gather information which should be subsequently conveyed to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The working paper also states that the Security Council should consider holding periodic meetings or consultations to review the international situation. States should be encouraged to approach United Nations organs in order to obtain suggestions on preventive means for dealing with situations. The Security Council should also consider sending fact-finding missions and use peace-keeping forces to prevent further deterioration of a matter and encourage efforts at the regional level.

Peaceful settlement of disputes: At its previous session, the Committee had recommended that the Secretary-General prepare a draft handbook on the peaceful settlement of disputes between States. During its 1985 session it considered a progress report of the Secretary-General on the elaboration of the handbook (A/A. 182/L. 42).

The handbook would deal with means of peaceful settlement of disputes; with procedures envisaged in the Charter, including the primary role of the Security Council, the important role of the General Assembly and the role of other principal organs of the United Nations; and with procedures envisaged in various international instruments.

Under the same item, the Committee had before it a working paper on the establishment of a commission of good offices, mediation and conciliation, submitted by Nigeria, the Philippines and Romania (A/C. 6/39/L. 2).

That paper proposes that a commission for good offices be opened within the United Nations to be at the permanent disposal of the competent organs of the Organization and interested States, in order to facilitate early and equitable solutions of international disputes, to defuse situations which could lead to international friction and to prevent conflicts among States.

The paper also suggests that when a dispute that is likely to endanger international peace is submitted to the Security Council, the Council should first consider the opportunity to recommed to the parties the setting up of a commission for good offices, mediation or conciliation, as an adequate means of solution. The commission would seek to clarify the aspects on which the parties agreed, as well as the differences of opinion and the factual elements of the dispute, and other adequate suggestions for beginning or resuming negotiations.

Likewise, when the General Assembly is seized with a dispute, it would first consider the opportunity to recommend to the parties the setting up of a commission for good offices, as an adequate means of a solution.

Rationalization of procedures: The Committee recommended that the agenda of the General Assembly sessions be simplified by grouping related items and by referring specific items to other United Nations organs or to the specialized agencies. It also recommended that the Assembly ensure that the same question was not considered by more than one Main Committee.