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, 47/30 of
25 November 1992 and 49/48 of 9 December 1994,
 
      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,
 
      Recalling the possibility of making use of the International
Fact-Finding Commission in relation to an armed conflict, pursuant to article
90 of Protocol I,
 
      Stressing the need for consolidating the existing body of international
humanitarian law through its universal acceptance and the need for wide
dissemination and full implementation of such law at the national level,
 
      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 disseminate knowledge of the two
additional Protocols,
 
      Noting that the Twenty-sixth International Conference of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent was held at Geneva from 3 to 7 December 1995,
 
      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.    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;
 
      3.    Calls upon all States that 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;
 
      4.    Calls upon all States parties to the additional Protocols to
ensure their wide dissemination and full implementation;
 
      5.    Notes with satisfaction that the Twenty-sixth International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent endorsed the Final Declaration of
the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims, adopted on 1
September 1993, which reaffirms the necessity of making the implementation of
international humanitarian law more effective;
 
      6.    Notes that the Twenty-sixth International Conference also endorsed
the recommendations elaborated by an intergovernmental group of experts which
aim at translating the Final Declaration into concrete measures, including the
recommendation that the depositary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 organize
periodic meetings of States parties to these Conventions to consider general
problems regarding the application of international humanitarian law;
 
      7.    Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly
at its fifty-third session a report on the status of the additional Protocols
based on information received from Member States;
 
      8.    Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third
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".