27 July 1989

36th plenary meeting

Work of the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolutions 1983/7 of 26 May 1983, 1985/9 of 28 May 1985, 1986/66 of 23 July 1986 and 1987/54 of 28 May 1987,

Noting the ever-increasing volume of dangerous goods in world-wide commerce and the rapid expansion of technology and innovation,

Bearing in mind the continuing need to meet the growing concern for the protection of life and property through the safe transport of dangerous goods while facilitating trade,

Aware that, in order to achieve internationally harmonized laws, the specialized agencies and other international organizations and interested Member States are committed to taking the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods as a basis for the formulation of their requirements and regulations and therefore rely on the work of the Committee,

Reaffirming the desirability of widening the decision-making base of the Committee by encouraging the participation of developing countries and other non-member countries in its future work,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods in the biennium 1987-1988 and of the new and amended recommendations approved by the Committee for inclusion in its existing recommendations;

2. Welcomes and approves, in principle, the request of the Government of India to become a full member of the Committee as a suitable step towards widening its decision-making base;

3. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To incorporate in the existing recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods all of the new and amended recommendations approved by the Committee at its fifteenth session;

(b) To publish the new and amended recommendations in all the official languages of the United Nations, in the most cost-effective manner, not later than the end of 1989;

(c) To circulate the new and amended recommendations immediately after their publication to the Governments of Member States, the specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the other international organizations concerned;

4. Invites all Governments, the specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the other international organizations concerned to transmit to the Secretary-General their views on the Committee's work, together with any comments they may wish to make on the amended recommendations;

5. Invites all interested Governments and the international organizations concerned, when developing appropriate codes and regulations, to take full account of the recommendations of the Committee;

6. Endorses the decision of the Committee, aimed at increasing efficiency, to combine its two subsidiary bodies, the Group of Rapporteurs and the Group of Experts on Explosives, into a single Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, adequate time to be allocated during the sessions of the Sub-Committee to the discussion of matters relating to the transport of explosives;

7. Recommends that adequate funding be provided to support the work of the Committee, as indicated in the report of the Committee in its fifteenth session, if possible by setting up a special fund;

8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to make available, within existing resources, the staff necessary for the adequate servicing of the Committee, namely one Professional and one General Service post, and regrets that the requests made in its resolutions 1983/7, 1985/9, 1986/66 and 1987/54 have not yet been carried out;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Economic and Social Council in 1991.