Reaffirming the Central Role of the United Nations in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security and the Promotion of International Cooperation

A/RES/58/317View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 59 Strengthening of the United Nations System, published in 2004.

What’s in this document?

14 operative paragraphs

Reiterates the need for full observance of the Charter of the United Nations and the unrestricted application of all the principles and the achievement of the purposes that it enshrines, including, inter alia, the principles regarding the sovereign equality of Member States and the necessity of respecting the political independence of nations, and reaffirms the central role of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security and the strengthening of international cooperation in conformity with the Charter;

Reaffirms the irreplaceable role of the United Nations and the necessity of ensuring the equal participation of all Member States, in a transparent manner, in a multilateral system, guided by the Charter and founded on universally recognized values and norms;

Also reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism, which entails, inter alia, respect for the Charter and the principles and norms of international law and the adoption of measures to prevent the use or the threat of use of force and the exercise of pressure and coercion as a means for obtaining certain political objectives, and in this context underlines the fact that Member States have committed themselves to refraining in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, and to upholding the principle of settlement of international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner as not to endanger international peace and security and justice, bearing in mind the need to allay the legitimate concern of Member States with regard to ensuring lasting safety and security for their peoples;

Re-emphasizes the respective prerogatives and functions of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council as defined in the Charter, and the need to enhance the coordination among these organs, which constitute the framework for the achievement of the purposes of the United Nations, and underlines its conviction regarding the need to sustain as a priority in the process of reform of the United Nations, the revitalization and strengthening of the Assembly and the reforms of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, with a view to strengthening further the capacity of the United Nations so as to enable it to improve its performance in undertaking its functions and responsibilities, mindful, in this context, of the need to involve all Member States in these processes in order to ensure that their perspectives, concerns and interests will be taken fully into account;

Welcomes the establishment by the Secretary-General of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and takes note of its terms of reference;³

³A/58/612, annex I.

Calls upon all States to cooperate fully through constructive dialogue in order to ensure the full enjoyment, promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, as well as in the promotion of the peaceful resolution of international problems, including those of a humanitarian character, the prevention and end of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and the prosecution of those responsible for such crimes, and, in their actions towards that purpose, calls upon them to comply strictly with the principles and norms of international law, inter alia, by fully respecting their obligations under international human rights instruments and humanitarian law;

Reaffirms the right to self-determination of peoples that remain under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, in conformity with the Charter and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations;

Expresses its deep concern over any act or threat of foreign intervention or occupation of any State or territory in contravention of the Charter;

Underlines the need to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations in the areas of prevention and resolution of armed conflict, including relevant peace-building and development activities, as well as in the areas of peacemaking and peacekeeping, in accordance with the Charter, and calls for the building up of consensus among Member States in defining the scope, orientation and needs of such capacity in the light of current and evolving challenges and threats to international peace and security, taking into consideration, in this context, the need for partnership between the United Nations and relevant regional and subregional intergovernmental organizations in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter;

Reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stresses the importance of their full and equal participation in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution and the rebuilding of post-conflict societies;

Condemns acts of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomsoever committed, reiterates its call upon all States to adopt and implement further measures to prevent terrorism and to strengthen international cooperation in combating terrorism, and reaffirms that measures taken by States must be in accordance with the Charter and must comply with their obligations under international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations;

Reaffirms the importance of achieving the total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction globally, in particular nuclear weapons, which pose the greatest danger to mankind and the survival of civilization, reiterates in this context its deep concern over the slow pace of progress towards nuclear disarmament, emphasizes that the achievement of genuine peace and security demands that the policies of States be directed towards the elimination of the threat of war, in particular nuclear war, bearing also in mind all the resulting predictable consequences of the resurgence of a new arms race among States, also reaffirms the need for all Member States to fulfil their obligations in relation to arms control and disarmament and to prevent the proliferation in all its aspects of weapons of mass destruction, and further reaffirms that the ultimate objective of the efforts of States in the disarmament process is general and complete disarmament;

Reiterates its call upon all States urging them, as well as the relevant United Nations bodies, to take appropriate measures to fully implement the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects;⁴

⁴See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), chap. IV, para. 24.

Emphasizes that the United Nations has a central role in promoting and coordinating international cooperation for development, as well as in the follow-up to international economic affairs and the outcome of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields and in promoting policy coherence on global economic, social and development issues, in consonance with the relevant provisions of the Charter, and expresses its commitment to work for the strengthening of its role as coordinator of the efforts carried out by the international community in this regard, with a view to ensuring the achievement of a fair, democratic, transparent and equitable international economic environment, in which the opportunities offered by globalization are to the advantage of all countries, in particular the developing countries.

Reaffirming the Central Role of the United Nations in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security and the Promotion of International Cooperation

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