The 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare unequivocally makes the use of chemical and biological weapons an illegitimate means of waging war. Yet enforcement of the Protocol is hindered by the lack of an investigative mechanism to provide prompt and effective verification of an alleged violation. In response to controversy stemming from this omission, in 1982 the General Assembly requested that the Secretary-General enlist the assistance of experts to investigate alleged breaches of the Protocol and relevant rules of customary international law, devise procedures for timely and efficient investigation, and document information relating to the identification of chemical and biological warfare agents. In 1984 the Secretary-General submitted his Report on Chemical and Bacteriological (Biological) Weapons to the General Assembly, which included the provisional procedures recommended by the Group of Consultant Experts. Deeply concerned about the use of such weapons, and perceiving a need for more extensive guidance on the subject, the Canadian Government prepared the Handbook for the Investigation of Allegations of the Use of Chemical or Biological Weapons and presented it to the Secretary-General on December 4, 1985.

Forty-five years ago, U.S. Indian Commissioner John Collier helped persuade the members of the Pan American Union (now the Organization of American States) to establish the Inter-American Indian Institute “to elucidate the problems affecting the Indian groups within their respective jurisdictions, and to cooperate with one another, on a basis of mutual respect for the inherent rights of each to exercise absolute liberty in solving the ‘Indian Problem’ in America.” Operating under an international convention concluded in November 1940 and governed by a board of 21 state representatives, the Mexico City-based Institute is charged with “scientific investigations,” technical assistance to national Indian agencies and “the training of men and women experts devoted to the problems of the Indian.” Institute policy is also guided by an Inter-American Indian Congress of governmental administrators of Indian affairs, which is convened every four years.

In March 1982, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights initiated the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions. The Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions has done far more than merely study that grave human rights problem; he has received complaints about impending and past executions, issued appeals to governments about threatened executions and the need to investigate past killings, and reported publicly on much of his activity. The Commission on Human Rights not only has renewed the Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions in its subsequent annual sessions, but has followed this precedent by appointing in 1985 a similar Special Rapporteur on Torture and in 1986 a Special Rapporteur on Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

In a city that hosts a continuous series of international gatherings, last year’s path-breaking Geneva conference on satellite communications went largely unnoticed as the news media concentrated on preparations for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit. Yet for many of the 112 nations attending this 6-week-long assembly, the results of the meeting—the launch of a new global satellite plan—were arguably more significant (albeit less “telegenic”) than the East-West rapprochement that followed.

The United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT) has elected Herbert Reis of the United States, a former Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, as its Second Vice-President for the coming year. Mr. Reis has served on the tribunal for 5 years. Samar Sen of India and Arnold Kean of the United Kingdom were elected President and First Vice-President of the tribunal, respectively.