STATEMENT BY
MS. AIDA SAFURA NIZA OTHMAN
ADVISER
PERMANENT MISSION OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
ON AGENDA ITEM 81:
UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF ASSISTANCE
IN THE TEACHING, STUDY, DISSEMINATION AND WIDER APPRECIATION
OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
AT THE SIXTH COMMITTEE OF
THE 76TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
NEW YORK, 21 OCTOBER 2021
Madam Chair,
Malaysia aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia on behalf of ASEAN.
2. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/404) and commend the Office of the Legal Affairs, in particular the Codification Division and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), for their untiring efforts in implementing the various activities under the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study and Wider Appreciation of International Law (the Programme of Assistance).
3. My delegation wishes to also take this opportunity to congratulate Ambassador Harold Adlai Agyeman of Ghana for taking on the Chairmanship of the Advisory Committee. We are confident that the Committee is in good hands under your leadership, and assure you of our full support.
Madam Chair,
4. My delegation particularly commends the efforts of the Codification Division in exploring innovative means to continue pursuing the objectives of the Programme despite the challenges posed by the pandemic for the second year in a row. We appreciate the development of the remote self-paced learning curriculum, which drew on readily available resources such as the International Law Handbook and the Audiovisual Library. We also appreciate the pilot online Regional Workshops as important interim means of capacity-building until the Regional Courses could resume in-person. We are further heartened to note that the alumni network of participants continues to benefit under the Programme of Assistance through various online interactive sessions. We are hopeful that the participant selected for the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea would be able to commence her fellowship in 2022.
5. While these online measures could not replace the in-depth exchanges and long-lasting bonds created with in-person trainings, we continue to encourage the use of information and communications technologies to disseminate knowledge of international law to a broader audience. The Audiovisual Library of International Law, which provides online access to a wealth of international law-related materials to countless users in both the developed and developing world, plays an important role to ensure the continuation of the activities of the Programme of Assistance, especially during this challenging period. Dissemination of legal materials in hard copy as well as USB flash drives should also continue to aid participants in developing countries with limited Internet access.
Madam Chair,
6. My delegation continues to believe that the Programme of Assistance is important to our fundamental quest in instilling the rule of law in international relations. We support allocating funding to the Programme in the regular budget to ensure its continued effectiveness and further development, and appreciate the voluntary contributions by Member States towards the Programme’s unhindered implementation. Malaysia is further pleased to participate in the Advisory Committee, and will continue to support the Programme for the benefit of generations of legal practitioners, now and in the future.
Thank you.