Statement of the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations

October 10

Mr. Chairman:

I have the honour to speak at this plenary session on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC.

Prior to 1966, the efforts for harmonization and unification of the legal aspects of the commerce among the countries was not done in a universal form due to the lack of an inclusive institution to promote appropriate measures and solutions for States with different legal systems and in different stages of economic development. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was established on December 17, 1966, as a response to that need.

The composition of the UNCITRAL ensures the representation of the various geographic regions and the principal economic and legal systems of the world. Its working method also is enshrined in one of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, which is the principle of sovereign equality for decision-making. In this regard, the creation of the UNCITRAL represented, for developing countries, the opportunity to participate in the activities of harmonization, unification and modernization of international trade law, in order to ensure their inclusion in trade on equal terms. (See doc. A/6396, para. 210)

The success of UNCITRAL as the core legal body of the United Nations System in the field is linked then to its inclusive nature and the interests of all peoples, especially developing countries, to improve the conditions conducive to the extensive development of international trade. (See Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966)

Taking into account the above, the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States reiterate the importance of structure, composition and the inclusive working methods by UNCITRAL, since this harmonization, unification and progressive development guarantees international trade law, respecting the principle of sovereign equality of States, and giving the texts emanating from it, a worldwide acceptance.

Mr. Chairman

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States would like to thank the Report on the Works of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on his Forty-Nineth Session, document (A/71/17), which shows in detail the hard efforts of the Commission in the diverse matter under it study.

The conclusion of the draft Model Law on Secured by the Group VI stands out in particular. This progress reflects the importance of the regional work in the framework of the Specialized Conference on Private International Law (CIDIP) of the Organization of American States (OAS) to promote at the global level new issues and impact on policies encourage development. In this regard, it is important to recall resolution AG/RES.1922 (XXXIII-O/03), adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the CIDIP, on June 10, 2003, instructed the Permanent Council of the OAS explore joint activities the United Nations Commission on International trade Law (UNCITRAL), among other international organizations, that shall be developed instruments similar to the Model inter-American Law on Secured Transactions; the Working Group prepared the Model Law VI reference, based inter alia, on the recommendations of the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions, which was itself inspired by the Inter-American Model Law on Secured Transactions.

Undoubtedly, the draft Model Law will stimulate access to credit predictable, equitable and efficient conditions, paying special attention to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and taking into account

the needs of modern financing companies in they find it difficult to access credit, such as those owned by women.

Also congratulates the Working Group III for the completion and approval of the "Technical Notes on the settlement of disputes online", same that are expected to be useful for all States, particularly developing countries and States with economies in transition.

In particular, CELAC wishes to highlight the work of the Working Group I "microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises", which is the result of an initiative by the countries in development, particularly in the Latin American region, which succeeded, for the first time in 48 years that the Commission concerned issues related to the theme 'societies' from a legal and commercial perspective, taking into account the dynamics and needs of developing countries related to the reduction of legal obstacles.

CELAC expresses support for including the topic of reforms of the investor-State dispute settlement system in the future work agenda of the Commission. In the commission It was said that criticism had developed towards investor-State arbitration in general, which included the alleged lack of impartiality and accountability of the arbitrators, the lack of transparency of the procedure, and the absence of consistency of the jurisprudence, all of which had triggered a growing demand for changes from a number of States, international organizations and civil society groups. It was further said that reforms had been undertaken to address those criticisms, and it would therefore be timely to consider the matter at a multilateral level to avoid the development of a fragmented system.

In this order, CELAC encourages the Commission to continue the review on how the project described in document A/CN.9/890 might be best carried forward, and invites member states to approve as a topic of future work at the forthcoming session of the Commission, taking into consideration the views of all States and other stakeholders, including how this project might interact with other initiatives in this area and which format and processes should be used.

CELAC Member States would like to reiterate that the challenges of our Organization in the codification of International Trade Law are increasing over time; the volume and characteristics of global trade without pause undergo transformation due to the relentless and ongoing technological development and the diversification of business activities. This implies that the work of the Commission should go along with the dynamics of trade activities as close as possible.

We know and are aware that the challenge is not simple; trade activities exceed in speed our efforts of codification. However, the more than 40 years of work of the Commission show that will, determination, wide participation and inclusiveness can yield substantive progress toward achieving the Commission’s objectives: to modernize and to harmonize international trade rules.

Each progress being made in this area contributes to the establishment of clear rules that facilitate the exchange of goods and services.

Mr. Chairman,

CELAC Member States support the works of the Commission and value the efforts of member to attain the proposed objectives. Our active participation in the working groups as well as in the Commission, either as members or as observers attests our commitment with UNCITRAL.

For CELAC Member States, participating in the Sessions involves a significant effort. For this reason, Mr.

Chairman, we would like to address specifically paragraphs 393, 394, 395 y 396 on “The dates and venues of future meetings” of the Report of the Commission.

The current modality, alternating venues for the meetings between New York and Vienna easies the participation of our countries, since it is a valid alternative for those countries that do not have permanent diplomatic representation in Austria.

The CELAC Member States emphasize anew on the pursuance of present work, meeting alternately in New York and in Vienna. We understand that budget limitations of the Organization, but we consider that making logistics easier for the participation of a wide participation of members contribute to enrich the debates and attain substantive results.

This year at the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Commission on International Trade Law; we can say that important progress has been achieved since then and we have to continue to combine efforts to realize greater achievements.

The member countries of CELAC congratulated UNCITRAL for the work it has done over the past five decades, contributing very significantly to boost international trade. In this regard, we must continue efforts to realize

major achievements that allow greater development and welfare of the global society.

Finally, we reiterate CELAC’s commitment strengthening the rule of law in this matter, taking into account the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, particularly relevant targets Development Goal 16: "To promote peaceful and inclusive for sustainable development partnerships, facilitate access to justice for all and to create effective, accountable and inclusive institutions all levels"

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.