A/RES/54/27 Page 2 Recalling also that the Decade was closed by the General Assembly in plenary meeting on 17 November 1999,2 Recalling with gratitude the initiatives for the celebration of the centennial of the first International Peace Conference by the Governments of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Russian Federation with regard to the themes of the Conference: development of international law relating to disarmament and arms control, humanitarian law and laws of war, and peaceful settlement of disputes,3 Recalling that those initiatives called for, inter alia, discussions on the themes on the basis of in-depth reports at the global, regional and national levels by intergovernmental, governmental, diplomatic, academic and civil society experts at conferences, seminars and other meetings, as well as through the Internet, to be reported on to the General Assembly for consideration at its fifty-fourth session,4 Noting that the general outcome of those discussions was that, while progressive development and codification of international law remains important, the furtherance of the rule of international law would best be served by the faithful compliance of States with existing international obligations, focusing more on the timely implementation of these obligations, Noting also that the year 1999 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949,5 Noting further that the Permanent Court of Arbitration was established in 1899 as a result of the first International Peace Conference, Convinced that the legacies of the first International Peace Conference have been enhanced by the centennial initiatives and by the discussions in the General Assembly in plenary meeting at the closing of the Decade, 1. Takes note with interest of the outcome of the action dedicated to the centennial of the first International Peace Conference, reported by the co-hosts, the Governments of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Russian Federation;6 2. Commends all who, through their efforts, wisdom and expertise, contributed to the success of the celebration of the centennial of the first International Peace Conference; 2 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Plenary Meetings, 54th and 55th meetings (A/54/PV.54 and 55), and corrigendum. 3 See resolutions 51/159, 52/154 and 53/99; see also A/C.6/52/3, A/C.6/53/10 and A/C.6/53/11. 4 See “The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the Twenty-first Century” (A/54/98, annex). 5 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973. 6 A/54/381, annex. /...