The 38th floor: Assembly elaborates on 'Agenda for Peace.' (United Nations General Assembly)

The forty-seventh General Assembly, in its final action of the session on 20 September, decided to consider ways and means consistent with the UN Charter to improve cooperation among competent IJN organs in order to strengthen the Organization's role in the promotion of peace.

It adopted a seven-part resolution (47/11/20 B) on the Secretary-General's wide-ranging strategy, "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277-S/24111), his report of 23 June 1992, issued in response to a request emanating from the historic 31 January 1992 Security council summit.

The Assembly also decided to consider the use of existing or new machinery to facilitate consideration of any situation - except those being considered by the Security Council - with a view to recommending measures for the peaceful adjustment of such a situation.

The resolution - the culmination of nine months of consultations by the Security Council and subsequent review by the Assembly - dealt with preventive deployment and demilitarized zones, use of the international Court of justice in the peaceful settlement of disputes, special economic problems arising from the implementation of preventive or enforcement measures, post-conflict peacebuilding, cooperation with regional arrangements and organizations, and safety of UN peace-keeping personnel.

An Agenda for Peace" sets out proposals for strengthening UN effectiveness in discharging its responsibilities under the Charter. The proposals, Secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali has stated, form "a consistent and integrated set of measures to address human security in all its aspects".

In the resolution, the General Assembly urges UN organs, within their respective mandates, to consider implementing preventive deployment and/or establishing a demilitarized zone to prevent conflict and promote efforts to achieve the peaceful settlement of disputes. States are encouraged to consider making greater use of the international Court of Justice for the peaceful settlement of disputes, and to consider the possibility of accepting the Court's jurisdiction.

Special economic problems

The Assembly decided to continue its examination of ways to implement Article 50 of the Charter, with a view to solving special economic problems of other Member States when preventive or enforcement measures were decided upon by the Security Council against a State. Article 50 states that, if the Council takes preventive or enforcement measures against any State, any other State...