The General Assembly,
Recalling paragraph 17 of its resolution 46/50 of 9 December 1991, paragraph 1 of section IV of the annex to its resolution 45/40 of 28 November 1990 and paragraph 1 of section IV of the annex to its resolution 47/32 of 25 November 1992,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law and the guidelines and recommendations on future implementation of the Programme within the framework of the United Nations Decade of International Law, which were adopted by the Advisory Committee on the Programme and are contained in section III of that report,
Bearing in mind that the encouragement of the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law is one of the main objectives of the United Nations Decade of International Law, as declared in its resolution 44/23 of 17 November 1989 and further expanded in section IV of the programme for the activities to be commenced during the first term (1990-1992) of the Decade, which is contained in the annex to resolution 45/40, and in section IV of the programme for the activities for the second term (1993-1994) of the Decade, contained in the annex to resolution 47/32,
Considering that international law should occupy an appropriate place in the teaching of legal disciplines at all universities,
Noting with appreciation the efforts made by States at the bilateral level to provide assistance in the teaching and study of international law,
Convinced, nevertheless, that States and international organizations and institutions should be encouraged to give further support to the Programme and increase their activities to promote the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law, in particular those activities which are of special benefit to persons from developing countries,
Reaffirming its resolutions 2464 (XXIII) of 20 December 1968, 2550 (XXIV) of 12 December 1969, 2838 (XXVI) of 18 December 1971, 3106 (XXVIII) of 12 December 1973, 3502 (XXX) of 15 December 1975, 32/146 of 16 December 1977, 36/108 of 10 December 1981 and 38/129 of 19 December 1983, in which it stated or recalled that in the conduct of the Programme it was desirable to use as far as possible the resources and facilities made available by Member States, international organizations and others, as well as its resolutions 34/144 of 17 December 1979, 40/66 of 11 December 1985, 42/148 of 7 December 1987, 44/28 of 4 December 1989 and 46/50, in which, in addition, it expressed or reaffirmed the hope that, in appointing lecturers for the seminars to be held within the framework of the fellowship programme in international law, account would be taken of the need to secure representation of major legal systems and balance among various geographical regions,
1. Approves the guidelines and recommendations contained in section III of the report of the Secretary-General, and adopted by the Advisory Committee on the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, in particular those designed to achieve the best possible results in the administration of the Programme within a policy of maximum financial restraint;
2. Authorizes the Secretary-General to carry out in 1994 and 1995 the activities specified in his report, including the provision of:
(a) A number of international law fellowships in both 1994 and 1995, to be determined in the light of the overall resources for the Programme and to be awarded at the request of Governments of developing countries;
(b) A minimum of one scholarship in both 1994 and 1995 under the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, subject to the availability of new voluntary contributions made specifically to the fellowship fund;
(c) Subject to the overall resources for the Programme, assistance in the form of a travel grant for one participant from each developing country, who would be invited to possible regional courses to be organized in 1994 and 1995; and to finance the above activities from provisions in the regular budget, when appropriate, as well as from voluntary financial contributions earmarked for each of the activities concerned, which would be received as a result of the requests set out in paragraphs 14, 15, and 16 below;
3. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his constructive efforts to promote training and assistance in international law within the framework of the Programme in 1992 and 1993, in particular for the organization of the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth sessions of the International Law Seminar, held at Geneva from 1 to 19 June 1992 and 1 to 18 June 1993, respectively, and for the activities of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat related to the fellowship programme in international law and to the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, carried out, respectively, through its Codification Division and its Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to consider the possibility of admitting, for participation in the various components of the Programme of Assistance, candidates from countries willing to bear the entire cost of such participation;
5. Also requests the Secretary-General to consider the relative advantages of using available resources and voluntary contributions for regional, subregional or national courses, as against courses organized within the United Nations system;
6. Welcomes, in particular, the publication, in a single volume and in all official languages of the Organization, of the Summaries of the Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice (1948-1991), carried out through the joint efforts of the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs and its secretariat for the Programme of Assistance and of the Registry of the International Court of Justice;
7. Invites interested States to consider the option of financing the translation and publication of the Judgments of the International Court of Justice;
8. Welcomes the efforts undertaken by the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat to bring up to date the United Nations Treaty Series and the United Nations Juridical Yearbook;
9. Expresses its appreciation to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for its participation in the Programme through the activities described in the report of the Secretary-General;
10. Also expresses its appreciation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for its participation in the Programme, through the activities described in the report of the Secretary-General;
11. Further expresses its appreciation to the Hague Academy of International Law for the valuable contributions it has made to the Programme by enabling selected candidates under the international law fellowship programme to attend its annual international law courses and by providing facilities for seminars organized under the fellowship programme in international law in conjunction with the Academy courses and for its constructive efforts in organizing the regional training and refresher course held at Harare in 1993;
12. Notes with appreciation the contributions made by the Hague Academy of International Law to the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law, and calls upon Member States and interested organizations to give favourable consideration to the appeal of the Academy for a continuation of and, if possible, an increase in their financial contributions in order to enable it to carry on with the above-mentioned activities, in particular the summer courses, regional courses and programmes of the Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations;
13. Urges all States and relevant international organizations, whether regional or universal, to make all possible efforts to implement the goals and carry out the activities contemplated in section IV of the programme of activities for the second term (1993-1994) of the United Nations Decade of International Law, dealing with the encouragement of the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law and contained in the annex to its resolution 47/32;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to publicize the Programme and periodically to invite Member States, universities, philanthropic foundations and other interested national and international institutions and organizations, as well as individuals, to make voluntary contributions towards the financing of the Programme or otherwise to assist in its implementation and possible expansion;
15. Reiterates its request to Member States and to interested organizations and individuals to make voluntary contributions, inter alia, for the International Law Seminar, for the fellowship programme in international law and for the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, and expresses its appreciation to those Member States, institutions and individuals which have made voluntary contributions for this purpose;
16. Urges in particular all Governments to make voluntary contributions for the organization of regional refresher courses in international law by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, especially with a view to covering the amount needed for the financing of the daily subsistence allowance for up to twenty-five participants in each regional course, thus alleviating the burden on prospective host countries and making it possible for the Institute to continue to organize the regional courses;
17. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation of the Programme during 1994 and 1995 and, following consultations with the Advisory Committee on the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, to submit recommendations regarding the execution of the Programme in subsequent years;
18. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fiftieth session the item entitled "United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law".
73rd plenary meeting
9 December 1993
