STATEMENT : RESUMED SESSION OF THE SIXTH COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA ITEM 86: PROTECTION OF PERSONS IN THE EVENT OF DISASTERS WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION

STATEMENT BY

MR. AHMAD GHAZALI MUHAMAD NADZRI

COUNSELLOR

PERMANENT MISSION OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

AT THE RESUMED SESSION OF THE SIXTH COMMITTEE MEETING

AGENDA ITEM 86: PROTECTION OF PERSONS IN THE EVENT OF DISASTERS

WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION ON CLUSTER IV:

Mr. Chair,

1.         In relation to draft Article 11, Malaysia suggests amending Article 11 by replacing the word “duty” with the word “right" and the phrase “has the duty” with the word “may." Malaysia believes that the affected State should retain its discretion to seek external assistance, consistent with the principle of national sovereignty. Additionally, Malaysia notes that draft Article 13 expressly provides that the provision of external assistance requires the consent of the affected State. Therefore, Malaysia considers that the proposed formulation aligns with the intended principle of this draft article.

2.         With regard to Article 13, Malaysia notes that paragraph 2 of Article 13 has been a focus of discussion in the Sixth Committee. Regarding this, Malaysia wishes to emphasize that the phrase “shall not be withheld arbitrarily” may be open to differing interpretations, as it could be construed as restricting the Affected State’s sovereign discretion to accept or decline offers of assistance. In this regard, Malaysia wishes to propose to delete paragraphs 1 and 2 and replace them with a new paragraph that is adopted from Article 3(1) AADMER, which is reproduced as follows:

“The affected State shall have the primary responsibility to respond to disasters occurring within its territory, and external assistance shall only be provided upon the request or with the consent of the affected State.”

The deletion of paragraph 1 is also proposed due to its redundancy, as draft article 14 already addresses the provision of external assistance.

3.         On draft Article 14, Malaysia’s proposal to add the word “and policy” is based on the principle that facilitation and assistance should be implemented in a manner that fully respects the affected state’s domestic legal and institutional frameworks, including its policy. In this regard, such a proposal is made to respect domestic legislation, national procedures, and security considerations.

4.         Malaysia reserves the right to provide additional, in-depth feedback on the draft articles as the discussions progress, including during subsequent clusters and stages of the process. This concludes our comments on Cluster IV.

I thank you.