THE PERMANENT MISSION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS TO THE UNITED NATIONS
231 East 46th St. New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 421-6925 Fax: (212) 759-2135
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THE PERMANENT MISSION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS TO THE UNITED NATIONS231 East 46th St. New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 421-6925 Fax: (212) 759-2135
|
The Bahamas and the Committee on Legal Matters(Sixth Committee)
Acting upon recommendations of
the Sixth (Legal) Committee, the General Assembly would normally adopt
resolutions and decisions addressing such legal issues as the International
Criminal Court, Terrorism, Protection of United Nations Personnel, Relations
with the Host Country, the Special Committee on the Charter, the UN Commission
on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Law Commission, and
Human Cloning. The committee also
deals with requests for observer status for organisations in the General
Assembly. The Sixth Committee, by its very
nature, is very technical, and ideally requires legal expertise. However, like its other counterparts, it is also charged with
setting policy. It is therefore
important for all delegations to be aware of the deliberations and to
participate as far as possible. Nowhere
is this more evident than in the deliberations on human cloning, which at
present remain in the context of setting policy. International Criminal Court The Bahamas welcomes the entry
into force of the Rome Statute, to which it is a signatory. Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism The Bahamas strongly supports the
work of the Ad Hoc Committee charged with the responsibility of drafting a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism and a convention for the
suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism.
The Government of The Bahamas is currently considering acceding to or
ratifying those counter-terrorism conventions to which it is not yet a party. International Convention Against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings
This item has been considered at
the last two sessions of the UNGA, which has resulted in the establishment of an
Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of considering the elaboration of an
international convention against the reproductive cloning of human beings. In 2003, some States introduced a
resolution seeking a complete ban on the reproductive cloning of human beings.
The Bahamas supports a ban on cloning for reproductive purposes. The merits of cloning for research or
“therapeutic” purposes remain under active consideration. In
the view of the Bahamas delegation, there is at present no international
consensus on the issue of human cloning. An
issue of this magnitude requires complete consensus. It is for this reason that The Bahamas
supported the motion during the 58th session of the UNGA in 2003 for
action to be deferred. Two
competing resolutions were under consideration - one calling for a complete ban
on human cloning, the other calling for a ban on cloning for reproductive
purposes but leaving the door open for research cloning to be regulated at the
national level.
The Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the United Nations is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, 14 January 2004, in New York City, H.E. Ms. Paulette A. Bethel, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of The Bahamas to the United Nations, signed a Joint Communiqué establishing formal diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. (click here for the official press release in pdf format)
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