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Mr. Chairman,
My delegation aligns itself to the statement made by the distinguished representative of Cuba, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. At the out set, we would also like to express our appreciation for the delegations of Mexico and Liechtenstein for their contributions to the work on this agenda item.
Mr. Chairman,
We respect the supremacy of the rule of law at national and international levels. It is upholding of the rule of law which could ensure peace and security and equitable development opportunities for all.
We have taken note of the Secretary-General's proposal regarding baskets of rule of law in the fields of peacekeeping, human rights, development, and others areas. We have noted with appreciation the establishment of the rule of law assistance and support group. We have also taken note of the activities of rule of law assistance unit, which is being run by a competent team of experts.
Mr. Chairman,
We support the role of the UN in the endeavours to promote rule of law. However, we would like to highlight some observations:
a. The rule of law work, on different baskets of the rule of law, should be dealt in respective committees. The debate on the issue in the plenary will require establishment of dedicated rule of law teams in the permanent missions to the United Nations. This will require more resource, coordination and coherence and will be difficult for the small delegations to manage. This will also open a window for creation of more rule of law related baskets. Hence, we support consideration of the agenda within respective committees.
b. Secondly, my delegation supports delimitation of the subject of rule of law to ensure there is no overlap in the work of the Committees on this agenda item.
c. We also support identification of the scope of the rule of law at national and international levels. We propose this assignment may be undertaken by the Sixth Committee.
d. We would like to emphasize that new rule of law related mandates may not be created by way of interpretation of the existing mandates.
e. We don't support a monitoring role for any UN subsidiary body, may that be the UNDP, at the national level.
f. Rule of law development activities at the national level must be on the request and in close consultation with the host governments.
Mr. Chairman,
To conclude, allow me to express our support for the topic identified by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for future consideration; "Identification of the scope of rule of law at national and international levels".
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.