Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
New York, 24 October 1970
The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations was adopted by the General Assembly on 24 October 1970 (resolution 26/25 (XXV)), during a commemorative session to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations (A/PV.1883).
The following statement was made by Mr. Edvard Hambro (Norway), President of the General Assembly, following the adoption of the Declaration:
“As a man of law I am particularly happy to have just announced the adoption of the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. This marks the culmination of many years of effort for the progressive development and codification of the concepts from which basic principles of the Charter are derived. The Assembly will remember that when we first embarked upon these efforts many doubted that it would be possible to obtain a result which would be acceptable to all the various political, economic and social systems represented in the United Nations. Today those doubts have been overcome. In a sense, however, the work has just begun. We have proclaimed the principles; from now on we must strive to make them a living reality in the life of States, because these principles lie at the very heart of peace, justice and progress.”
In the course of the Sixth Committee’s consideration of the item “Future work in the field of the codification and progressive development of international law”, at the sixteenth session of the General Assembly in 1961, twelve delegations put forward a proposal by which the General Assembly would inter alia decide to include a question entitled “Consideration of principles of international law relating to peaceful coexistence of States” in the provisional agenda of its following session, in 1962. Pursuant to an amendment made at the Sixth Committee, the expression “peaceful coexistence of States” in the twelve power draft resolution was replaced with “friendly relations and co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations” (A/C.6/L.492). On 18 December 1961, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, the General Assembly adopted resolution 1686 (XVI), in which it decided to place on the provisional agenda of its seventeenth session the question entitled “Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations”.
At its seventeenth session, following the discussion of the question in the Sixth Committee, the General Assembly adopted resolution 1815 (XVII) of 18 December 1962, by which it recognized the paramount importance of seven principles of international law concerning friendly relations and co-operation among States and resolved to undertake a study of those principles with a view to their progressive development and codification. It decided accordingly to place the same item on the provisional agenda of its eighteenth session in order to study four of those principles (the principle that States shall refrain 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, the principle that States shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, in accordance with the Charter, and the principle of sovereign equality of States) and to decide what other principles were to be given further consideration at subsequent sessions and the order of their priority. Finally, the Assembly invited Member States to submit in writing any views or suggestions that they may have on this item.
At its eighteenth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 1966 (XVIII) of 16 December 1963, by which it decided to establish a Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (also known as “the 1964 Special Committee”) composed of Member States to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly, which would draw up a report containing, for the purpose of the progressive development and codification of the four principles so as to secure their more effective application, the conclusions of its study and its recommendations.
The Special Committee met in Mexico City, from 27 August to 2 October 1964, and its report (A/5746) was considered by the General Assembly in the framework of the Sixth Committee, at its twentieth session, in 1965. In the introduction to its report, the Committee indicated that it had established a Drafting Committee of 14 members entrusted with the task of preparing—upon completion of the discussion in the full committee—a text presenting the points of consensus as well as the various proposals and views for which there was support. By resolution 2103 (XX) of 20 December 1965, the Assembly took note of the report and decided to reconstitute the Special Committee to complete consideration and elaboration of the seven principles set forth in its resolution 1815 (XVII) and to submit a comprehensive report on the results of its study to the Assembly at the twenty-first session, with a view to adopt a declaration containing an enunciation of these principles.
From 1966 to 1969, the Special Committee met on annual basis (New York, from 8 March to 25 April 1966; Geneva: 17 July to 19 August 1967; New York: 9 to 30 September 1968; New York: 18 August to 19 September 1969), submitting reports to the General Assembly (respectively, A/6230, A/6799, A/7326 and A/7619). From its twenty-first to twenty-fourth sessions (1966-1969), following consideration by the Sixth Committee, the General Assembly took note of these reports and requested the Special Committee to continue its study of the matter (see, respectively, resolutions 2181 (XXI) of 12 December 1966, 2327 (XXII) of 18 December 1967, 2463 (XXIII) of 20 December 1968 and 2533 (XXIV) of 8 December 1969). At the twenty-fourth session, in 1969, the General Assembly took a number of decisions relating to the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, and inter alia invited the Special Committee to expedite its work with a view to facilitating the adoption of an appropriate document by the General Assembly during a commemorative session to be held the following year (resolution 2499 A (XXIV) of 31 October 1969). For this reason, in resolution 2533 (XXIV), the General Assembly asked the Special Committee to meet in the first half of 1970 to continue and complete its work, requesting it to endeavour to resolve the remaining questions relating to the formulation of the seven principles, in order to submit a comprehensive report at the Assembly’s twenty-fifth session, in 1970.
Prior to the 1970 session of the Special Committee, informal consultations were held in Geneva from 16 to 20 February 1970. During the 1970 session, also held in Geneva from 31 March to 1 May 1970, the Special Committee decided to dispense with the general debate which at earlier sessions had preceded the consideration of the principles referred to it. Instead, consultations, which were coordinated by the Chairman of the Special Committee, were held at an informal level. The basis for the consultations was the draft prepared by the Drafting Committee as adopted by the Special Committee in 1969 (A/7619), including amendments and proposals submitted in its 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 sessions. After considering the outcome reached at the informal meetings, the Drafting Committee adopted a report containing a draft declaration on all seven principles. On 1 May 1970, the Special Committee adopted the report of the Drafting Committee (A/AC.125/L.86). The Special Committee heard the position of various Governments on its work and added these statements to the draft Declaration of Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States submitted to the General Assembly (see report of the Special Committee, A/8018).
The draft Declaration was considered by the General Assembly at its twenty-fifth session in 1970. The item was once again allocated to the Sixth Committee, which considered it from 23 to 28 September 1970 (meetings Nos. 1178 to 1184). Following this debate, sixty-four States sponsored a draft resolution, which contained the text of the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations in an annex. The draft resolution was adopted without objection by the Sixth Committee on 28 September 1970 (A/8082).
On the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, the General Assembly thus adopted, without a vote, resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, by which it approved the Declaration.
Selected preparatory documents
(in chronological order)
Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, Draft resolution on the consideration of principles of international law relating to peaceful coexistence of States (A/C.6/L.492, 13 December 1961)
Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, Summary records of meetings Nos. 713-730, held from 14 November to 13 December 1961 (A/C.6/SR.713-730)
General Assembly resolution 1686 (XVI) of 18 December 1961 (Future work in the field of the codification and progressive development of international law)
General Assembly resolution 1815 (XVII) of 18 December 1962 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
General Assembly resolution 1966 (XVIII) of 16 December 1963 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (A/5746, 16 November 1964)
General Assembly resolution 2103 (XX) of 20 December 1965 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (A/6230, 27 June 1966)
General Assembly resolution 2181 (XXI) of 12 December 1966 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (A/6799, 26 September 1967)
General Assembly resolution 2327 (XXII) of 18 December 1967 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (A/7326, November 1968)
General Assembly resolution 2463 (XXIII) of 20 December 1968 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (A/7619, October 1969)
General Assembly resolution 2499 A (XXIV) of 31 October 1969 (Celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations)
General Assembly resolution 2533 (XXIV) of 8 December 1969 (Consideration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
Report of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States, 31 March to 1 May 1970 (A/8018)
Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, 16 June 1969 to 15 June 1970 (A/8001 and Corr.1-2 and Add.1)
Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, Summary records of meetings Nos. 1178-1184, held from 23 to 28 September 1970 (A/C.6/SR.713-730)
Report of the Sixth Committee to the General Assembly (A/8082, 28 September 1970)
General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXXV) of 24 October 1970 (Declaration on principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations)
General Assembly, Verbatim records of plenary meetings Nos. 1860 and 1883, held on 28 September and 24 October 1970, respectively (A/PV.1860 and A/PV.1883)
| Statements | ||
| Twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly, 1883rd plenary meeting, United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States, 24 October 1970: Celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations | ||
| 14 November 1963 Meeting of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly on principles of international law concerning friendly relations and co-operation among States, United Nations Headquarters, New York. [Read more] |
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