Ambassador Marja Lehto becomes member of the International Law Commission of the UN

Press release 207/2016
4 November 2016

Ambassador Marja Lehto has been elected to the International Law Commission of the UN (ILC) for the term of 2017–2021 with the highest score of the entire election, 175. All the Nordic countries supported Lehto's candidacy.

Marja Lehto is the third Finn who has ever been a member of the ILC. Professor Erik Castrén served in the ILC in 1962–1971 and Professor Martti Koskenniemi in 2002–2006.

"Marja Lehto's election gives Finland international visibility and is evidence of esteem of Finnish and Nordic expertise in the UN. It opens up a new opportunity for influencing the development of the rules-based international system," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

There were 46 candidates for the 34 seats in the Commission. All four female candidates were elected.

The ILC is an expert body and a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, which was created for the purpose of progressive development and codification of international law in 1947. The ILC has prepared significant international agreements, such as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), the Statute for an International Criminal Court, and the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts.

This year, the ILC completed Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters. Other topics on its agenda include environmental protection in armed conflicts, crimes against humanity, and subsequent practice in relation to the interpretation of treaties.

International Law Commission http://legal.un.org/ilc/

Inquiries: Niina Nyrhinen, First Secretary, tel. +1 917 650 8751, Finland's Permanent Mission to the UN, Sari Mäkelä, Director, tel. +358 50 4360 769, and Tarja Långström, Counsellor, tel. +358 50 4626 827, Unit for Public International Law.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are of the format [email protected]