STATEMENT BY MS DIANE TAN, DELEGATE TO THE 75TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ON AGENDA ITEM 79, ON THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF ASSISTANCE IN THE TEACHING, STUDY, DISSEMINATION AND WIDER APPRECIATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, 6 NOVEMBER 2020

1 Singapore associates itself with the statement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the statement of the Group of 77 and China. We thank the Secretary-General for his report, A/75/389, on this agenda item.

2 Singapore strongly identifies with the goals and purposes of the Programme of Assistance. We have sought to contribute to the teaching, study, dissemination, and wider appreciation of international law through capacity building and information sharing. Initatives that we have undertaken in this connection include international law-related courses under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, which is our primary platform for assisting fellow developing countries. In 2019, we ran courses on International Law of the Sea, International Trade Law and International Air Law. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to conduct in-person training, the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore has continued to organise a wide range of courses to allow for the continuation of training in international law in the virtual world, including an e-Conference series on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different areas of international law.

3 Singapore welcomes the various activities of the Codification Division to promote international law during the period under review. In relation to the Lecture Series in the Audiovisual Library of International Law, we commend the Codification Division for the newly launched Mini-Series. To better achieve the primary objective of providing a general overview of core topics of international law to users with basic or limited knowledge of international law, we suggest that the Codification Division consider recording new lectures that are tailored to the needs of such users for all topics covered by the Mini-Series. More generally, we encourage the Codification Division to continue their efforts to promote a broader geographical representation of lectures in the Lecture Series, including by conducting off-site recordings. We also encourage the Codification Division to look into upgrading the website of the Audiovisual Library. This is long overdue. A revamped website with new tools, such as a search engine to allow users to be able to more easily navigate the extensive information available, will make the Audiovisual Library an even more useful resource for capacity building.

4 Singapore reiterates our support for the Programme of Assistance and looks forward to continuing to contribute to it in our capacity as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance. 

5 To conclude, as this is her final year as Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance, we wish to express our gratitude to Ambassaador Martha Pobee, the Permanent Representative of Ghana, for her leadership and contributions.

6 Thank you.

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