OPENING STATEMENT OF DR. M. JAVAD ZARIF, DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER FOR LEGAL AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN;

AND PRESIDENT OF THE THIRTY-SIXTH SESSION OF THE AALCC.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Honourable Mr. M. Thambi Durai, Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs of India

Honourable Ministers,

Distinguished Secretary General Mr. Tang Chengyuan,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates and Observers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Committee and the attending delegations, to extend to Your Excellency, Minister Thambi Durai our sincere appreciation for honouring the opening of the Thirty-seventh Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee and for hosting this session of the Committee in India.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Progressive development of international law and promotion of respect for its generally accepted norms and rules play a central role in the establishment of a new more stable and more equitable global order. The presence and participation of all regions of the world in this complex process of evolution ensures not only the preservation of their views and interests, but more importantly the wider acceptability and true universality of the newly developed rules, which is the single most effective method to guarantee universal compliance. The Asian Africa Legal Consultative Committee provides a unique mechanism for a significant majority of members of the international community to participate more actively in this process. For this reason, the Committee deserves our unreserved support, encouragement and wider utilisation.

It has been an honour and a privilege for me to serve as the President of the AALCC during the last one year, and it is my pleasant duty today to report to you briefly on the its activities since our 36^th Session held in Tehran.

A significant accomplishment during this year was the resolution of permanent Headquarters of the AALCC. You all recall that the 36^th Session of the Committee had mandated the convening of a special session in New Delhi in July 1997 to finalise the Headquarters issue. Accordingly, the Committee met in two sessions in June and October, and agreed that the permanent Headquarters of the AALCC shall be established in New Delhi. I wish to avail this opportunity to thank the State of Qatar and His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, for the magnanimity and understanding towards arriving at a solution to this problem.

I would also wish to thank the Government of India for hosting the AALCC Headquarters in New Delhi and the generous financial contribution towards the construction of the Headquarters building. India has hosted the AALCC Secretariat since its inception in 1956 and has been one of the strong supporters of the activities of the Committee. It is my hope that, in the years to come, it would extend the same enthusiastic backing for the AALCC. One priority area would be expediting the arrangements for the construction of the AALCC Headquarters. It is a source of great satisfaction that we shall all participate in the inauguration of construction of the new headquarters building this afternoon. This strengthens the hope that with the dawn of the new century the AALCC Secretariat will start functioning from its new premises.

During last year, the AALCC was also actively involved in various activities towards promotion of international law. The activities for the past year had an auspicious beginning with the Agreement to establish the Teheran Arbitration Centre, signed between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Secretary General of the AALCC, coinciding with the thirty sixth session of the Committee in Teheran.

Furthermore, pursuant to the mandate given by the Committee at its thirty-sixth session, two special meetings were convened. First, the AALCC seminar on “Extra-territorial Application of National Legislation: Sanctions Against Third Parties” was held in Tehran between 24 and 25 January 1998. It was attended by senior government officials, eminent scholars and distinguished international lawyers from Member and Observer States of the AALCC. The lively and interesting deliberations revealed a general agreement that unilateral imposition of economic sanctions through extraterritorial application of national legislation undermines a number of accepted norms and principles of international law. Against this backdrop, the Seminar proposed that AALCC along with the International Law Commission undertake a serious study of the subject and attempt to formulate principles and rules relating to this issue in all its implications. The other recommendations of the Seminar are equally important, and I urge that this Session give due consideration to these proposals with a view to formulating the future work programme for the AALCC Secretariat.

Secondly, a two-day expert group meeting on the Status and Treatment of Refugees, jointly organised by the AALCC and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, was held at Tehran on 11 and 12 March. This meeting was mandated by the 36^th Session which called for an indepth study of the recommendations made at the Manila Session to Commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the AALCC’s Bangkok Principles on Refugees. The meeting held an elaborate and incisive analysis of the issues pertaining to the review of the Bangkok Principles. The subject matter of refugees has been, and continues to be, a topic with serious implications for the Afro-Asian region. I hope the deliberations at this Session would help the Committee to build upon the substantial work done on the subject so far.

Moreover, the Meeting of the Legal Advisers of the AALCC was convened at the United Nations Office in October 1997 in New York. Such meetings are held every year with the view to facilitate informal exchange of views between Member States of AALCC on matters of common concern. This year , we had useful exchange of views as regards the United Nations Decade of International Law and the proposal for holding a Special Meeting on the Reservation to Treaties.

Distinguished Colleagues,

The agenda for our current session includes topics which are of immense importance to the Member States. The Special Meeting on the Reservation to Treaties, which will be held as part of this session, would serve as a platform for cohesively articulating the views of Asian-African States on this important subject. I believe that the deliberations on this subject could provide valuable input for the future work of the International Law Commission relating to Reservations to Normative Multilateral Treaties, including human rights treaties.

The forthcoming diplomatic conference in Rome to establish an international criminal court is a historic occasion which requires collective preparation and active participation by our group. As many key points remain unresolved, the deliberations on the subject during this session are certainly timely and of immense importance.

Other important items for consideration during this session include: the environmental issues, more particularly, the outcome of the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Review of the Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change; and legal protection of migrant workers.

Another interesting feature of the agenda is the study on the dispute settlement mechanism under the WTO. This is a subject of importance for all countries of the Afro-Asian region. In the light of the rapid liberalization process triggered by the completion of the Uruguay Round Negotiations, it is important that we study the substantive and procedural aspects of the WTO dispute settlement framework. The current session can review the working of the dispute settlement body since its establishment and identify the beneficial as well as adverse impacts it has made on the economies of the developing countries.

The current session would also provide the platform for the commemoration of the 20^th anniversary of AALCC’s Integrated Dispute Settlement Scheme. The Committee has, since the mid-seventies, played a significant role in the promotion of international commercial arbitration in the Asian and African region. The regional arbitration centres established under the auspices of the AALCC have now grown into influential professional organisations. This occasion could well be an opportunity to look back the long road we have travelled and perhaps identify further measures for more effective functioning of these centres.

The Secretariat has prepared concise and useful material on each of these topics, which could provide a background for the deliberations to be held in the next few days.

Excellencies,

It is my firm conviction that the AALCC is a unique legal institution of its kind, which could provide the focal point for articulating and collating the views of the Afro-Asian States, particularly the developing countries, so that they may find their rightful place in the evolving new international order. In spite of the varied activities it undertakes, the AALCC has been long working on a very modest budget. The growing compartmentalisation and specialisation of international law warrants that the Committee enlarge the scope of its enquiry and activities in the years to come, in order to serve the Member States more efficiently. Against this backdrop, I am of the view that the Member States may wish to consider suitable measures for strengthening the financial base of the Committee so as to enable it to contribute more to the collective interests of the Afro-Asian region.

May I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Secretary General Mr. Tang Chengyuan and his colleagues in the Secretariat for the efficient work they are undertaking on behalf of all of us, and specially thank them for the sincere co-operation extended to me in discharge of my duties as the President of the Committee.

I am sure that all members of the delegations will enjoy a memorable stay in this ancient and beautiful country, which has historical ties and distinguished relations with my country as well as all other members of the Committee. Let me once again on behalf of all extend to the Government and people of India my appreciation for their gracious hospitality.

I wish you all success in your deliberations over the next six days.

Thank you very much for your attention.