STATEMENT BY MR NATHANIEL KHNG, MINISTER-COUNSELLOR (LEGAL), PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON AGENDA ITEM 76, ON RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES FOR INTERNATIONALLY WRONGFUL ACTS, SIXTH COMMITTEE, 13 OCTOBER 2025
13 October 2025
A concise summary of the main points regarding this article.
Thank you, Mr Chairperson,
1 Singapore thanks the Secretary-General for his two reports which compile the comments and information received from governments (A/80/156) as well as the decisions of international courts, tribunals, and other bodies (A/80/77), on the International Law Commission’s Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. These reports are a useful resource in informing the views of States on the Articles and demonstrating the Articles’ contribution to the law on State responsibility.
2 As Singapore has previously expressed its views on the substance of the Articles in A/CN.4/488 and Add. 1-3, we will focus on the question of future action based on the Articles instead. In this regard, we thank the Secretariat for its comprehensive note on the various procedural options open to States regarding action taken on the work products of the International Law Commission.
Mr Chairperson,
3 The Articles have remained under the consideration of the Sixth Committee since 2001. The length of time which the Sixth Committee has been using to carefully deliberate over our next steps only serves to underscore the fundamental importance of the issues which the Articles seek to address.
4 Given the significance of the Articles’ subject-matter, and the many complex challenges facing the international legal order at present, Singapore remains of the view that any decision on the future of the Articles must be taken on the basis of consensus. This will ensure that the Articles can command broad acceptance and serve as a reliable framework of rules to govern inter-State relations in their eventual form.
5 Singapore remains committed to the Committee’s process in deciding how to take the Articles forward so that they may best serve the needs of the international community. We look forward to a fruitful exchange of views on these issues in the working group at this session of the Committee.
6 Thank you, Mr Chairperson.
