A/RES/61/172
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
1 March 2007
Sixty-first session
Agenda item 67 (b)
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2006
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/61/443/Add.2 and Corr.1)]
61/172. Hostage-taking
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1 which guarantees, inter
alia, the right to life, liberty and security of person, freedom from torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom of movement and protection from
arbitrary detention,
Recalling also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted on
25 June 1993 by the World Conference on Human Rights, 2
Taking into account the International Convention against the Taking of
Hostages, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/146 of 17 December
1979, which recognizes that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of
person and considers the taking of hostages to be an offence of grave concern to the
international community, as well as the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic
Agents, adopted by the Assembly in its resolution 3166 (XXVIII) of 14 December
1973,
Bearing in mind the relevant Security Council resolutions condemning all
cases of terrorism, including those of hostage-taking, in particular resolution
1440 (2002) of 24 October 2002,
Mindful of the fact that hostage-taking constitutes a war crime under the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court 3 and is also a grave breach of the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of victims of war, 4
Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, including the most recent, resolution
57/220 of 18 December 2002,
_______________
1
Resolution 217 A (III).
A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
3
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, No. 38544.
4
Ibid., vol. 75, Nos. 970–973.
2
06-50475