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Statement New York, 21 October 2004
As the current Chairman of AALCO, it is my pleasure to introduce the agenda item entitled “Co-operation between the United Nations and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization”. It was a matter of pride for AALCO and its Member States that the General Assembly of the United Nations accorded the organization permanent observer status in 1980. A program of cooperation was then established pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 36/38 of 18 November 1981. Since then, AALCO has enjoyed meaningful and fruitful cooperation with the United Nations. The Organization has had as many as 16 cooperation arrangements with the United Nations, its Agencies and other Inter-governmental Organizations. Mr. President, My country, the Republic of Indonesia, had the honor of hosting in Bali in June this year, the 43rd Annual Session of AALCO. In this connection, let me recall that Indonesia had the privilege of hosting the historic Conference of the Asian-African States in 1955. AALCO was established a year later, in 1956, as an important outcome of that Conference. Since then AALCO’s membership and activities have grown immensely. It was established initially by seven States and now comprises 47 Members. To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bandung Conference, the AALCO met for its 21st Session in Indonesia in 1980. As one of the original members, it was indeed an honour for Indonesia to host the 43rd meeting. It discussed 16 items with the objective of contributing to the progressive development of international law. Among those issues were the transnational crimes of trafficking in women and children, corruption, deportation of Palestinians, jurisdictional immunities of states and their property, extra-territorial application of national legislation and the expressions of folklore and its international protection. A one-day Special Meeting was also organized on 23 June 2004 on the agenda item “Establishing Cooperation against Trafficking in Women and Children”. The broad range of legal issues reflects the role of AALCO in the promotion and codification of international law. It is consistent with the role that the organization has played since its inception in 1956 in fostering the common interest of Asian and African States on the promotion of international law. In a nutshell, AALCO has a unique role to play in the field of international legal development. While assisting its member States in consideration of legal issues of common concern, it has to develop Asian-African approaches towards all branches of international law. These approaches would contribute to international law making process and making it more equitable and acceptable for Asian-African countries. It is no coincidence that the convening of the annual conference of the AALCO has been held on the eve of the Golden Jubilee Commemoration of the Asian-African Conference, in Bandung in April 2005. The Asian-African Conference was the defining moment in the history of these two continents and its resultant “Spirit of Bandung” became the underlying inspiration for the relentless efforts towards a just, peaceful, progressive and prosperous world. The Golden Jubilee is expected, therefore, to reinvigorate the important contributions of the Asian-Africa Conference of 1955 to the promotion of a just and equitable world order. Mr. President, Mr. President, AALCO is committed to continuing its close and effective cooperation with the United Nations. Continuing efforts of the AALCO towards strengthening the role of the United Nations and its various organs in enhancing the rule of law and wider adherence to related international instruments need to be recognized. With that objective in view, I would like to place before this august Assembly the draft resolution contained in Document A/59/L.1. The draft resolution as of now has been jointly sponsored by Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Syria. This draft resolution underlines the importance of enhancing existing cooperation between the United Nations and AALCO in the codification of international law. It also acknowledges the important co-operation arrangements with the United Nations, its Agencies and other inter-governmental organizations with a view to promoting such co-operation in the field of international law, including wider acceptance of international law conventions among the States in the Asian and African regions. In conclusion, my delegation believes that the contribution of AALCO to the promotion of international law will enhance the goals of the United Nations, and this draft resolution serves to provide wider opportunity to achieve this objective. Therefore, I urge the General Assembly to adopt this resolution in support of this fruitful cooperation. I thank you for your kind consideration.
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