UN General Assembly Resolution 3102 (XXVIII)

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Dec. 12, 1973

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that only complete respect for the Charter of the United Nations and general and complete dis-armament under effective international control can bring about full guarantees against armed conflicts and the suffering caused by such conflicts, and determined to continue all efforts to these ends,

Conscious of the fact that armed conflicts continue to cause untold human suffering and material devastation,

Convinced that in all such conflicts rules designed to reduce the suffering as much as possible and to increase the protection of non-combatants and civilian objects are needed,

Reaffirming the urgent need to ensure full and effective application by all parties to armed conflicts of existing legal rules relating to such conflicts, in particu-lar the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907,7 the Geneva Protocol of 19258 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949,9 and to supplement these rules by new ones which take into account the modern developments in methods and means of warfare and which are practicable,

Welcoming the convocation by the Swiss Federal Council of the first session of the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of Inter-national Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts, to be held at Geneva from 20 February to 29 March 1974, with a possible second session in 1975,

Welcoming as an excellent basis for discussion at this Conference the draft Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross after thorough consultations with government experts, particularly during conferences held at Geneva in 1971 and 1972, Recalling the successive resolutions adopted in the preceding years by the United Nations relating to human rights in armed conflicts, in particular General Assembly resolutions 2852 (XXVI) and 2853 (XXVI) of 20 December 1971 and 3032 (XXVII) of 18 De-cember 1972,

Noting resolution XIII adopted by the twenty-first International Conference of the Red Cross, held at Istanbul in 1969,10 and the resolution on the reaffirmation and development of international humanitarian law adopted by the twenty-second International Con-ference of the Red Cross, held at Teheran in 1973,11

Noting with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on respect for human rights in armed conflicts,13

Recalling resolution 3058 (XXVIII) of 2 November 1973 in which the General Assembly invited the Diplomatic Conference to submit its comments and advice regarding the draft articles on the protection of journal-ists engaged in dangerous missions in areas of armed conflict,

Recalling its resolution 3076 (XXVIII) of 6 December 1973 concerning napalm and other incendiary weapons and all aspects of their possible use as well as the resolution on the prohibition or restriction of use of certain weapons adopted by the twenty-second International Conference of the Red Cross, held at Teheran in 1973,13 inviting the Diplomatic Conference to take up the question of rules on the prohibition or restriction of use of specific conventional weapons which may cause unnecessary suffering or have indiscriminate effects,

Welcoming, in this regard, the survey prepared by the Secretariat on existing rules of international law concerning the prohibition or restriction of use of specific weapons,14

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Swiss Federal Council for convoking in 1974 the Diplomatic Confer-ence on the Reaffirmation and Development of Inter-national Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts and to the International Committee of the Red Cross for the extensive work it has performed in pre-paring the draft Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949;

2. Urges that the national liberation movements recognized by the various regional intergovernmental organizations concerned be invited to participate in the Diplomatic Conference as observers in accordance with the practice of the United Nations;

3. Urges all participants in the Diplomatic Confer-ence to do their utmost to reach agreement on addi-tional rules which may help to alleviate the suffering brought about by armed conflicts and to protect non-combatants and civilian objects in such conflicts;

4. Calls upon all parties to armed conflicts to ac-knowledge and to comply with their obligations under the humanitarian instruments and to observe the inter-national humanitarian rules which are applicable, in particular the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Geneva Conven-tions of 1949;

5. Urges that instruction concerning such rules be provided to armed forces and information concerning the same rules be given to civilians everywhere, with a view to securing their strict observance;

6. Requests again the Secretary-General to encourage the study and teaching of principles of international humanitarian rules applicable in armed conflicts;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its twenty-ninth session on relevant developments concerning human rights in armed con-flicts, in particular on the proceedings and results of the 1974 session of the Diplomatic Conference;

8. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its twenty-ninth session the item entitled “Respect for human rights in armed conflicts”.