The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 32/44 of 8 December 1977, 34/51
of 23 November 1979, 37/116 of 16 December 1982, 39/77 of 13 December
1984, 41/72 of 3 December 1986, 43/161 of 9 December 1988, 45/38
of 28 November 1990 and 47/30 of 25 November 1992,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on
the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions
of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts,
Convinced of the continuing value of established humanitarian
rules relating to armed conflicts and the need to respect and
ensure respect for these rules in all circumstances within the
scope of the relevant international instruments, pending the earliest
possible termination of such conflicts,
Noting with satisfaction that, pursuant to article 90 of
Protocol I, the International Fact-Finding Commission has become
operational,
Noting the fact that annex I of Protocol I has been revised,
Stressing the need for consolidating and implementing the
existing body of international humanitarian law and for the universal
acceptance of such law,
Mindful of the role of the International Committee of the
Red Cross in offering protection to the victims of armed conflicts,
Noting with appreciation the continuing efforts of the
International Committee of the Red Cross to promote and to disseminate
knowledge of the two additional Protocols,
1. Appreciates the virtually universal acceptance of the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the increasingly wide acceptance
of the two additional Protocols of 1977;
2. Notes, however, the fact that, in comparison with the
Geneva Conventions, the number of States parties to the two additional
Protocols is still limited;
3. Appeals to all States parties to the Geneva Conventions
of 1949 that have not yet done so to consider becoming parties
to the additional Protocols at the earliest possible date;
4. Calls upon all States which are already parties to Protocol
I, or those States not parties, on becoming parties to Protocol
I, to make the declaration provided for under article 90 of that
Protocol;
5. Takes note of the declaration adopted at the International
Conference for the Protection of War Victims, held at Geneva from
30 August to 1 September 1993, reaffirming the necessity of preventive
measures and of making the implementation of international humanitarian
law more effective;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General
Assembly at its fifty-first session a report on the status of
the additional Protocols based on information received from Member
States;
7. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fifty-first session the item entitled "Status of the Protocols
Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the
protection of victims of armed conflicts".
84th plenary meeting
9 December 1994