[Deciding to reinforce the protection of human rights; calling for the universal abolition of the death penalty; citing special concern in the areas of torture, racism, xenophobia,antisemitism, intolerance, the representation of women in all sectors of society; national minorities, common legal standards throughout Europe, social cohesion, refugees and asylum seekers, victims of conflicts, migrant workers, terrorism, drug trafficking, children, violence against women, the quality of life in disadvantaged areas, culture and education, European cultural and natural heritage, right to information, respect for private life, and social integration]

State responsibility has been on the agenda of the International Law Commission since its earliest days. Nearly fifty years ago, in 1949, the Commission identified state responsibility as one of fourteen topics in international law ready for codification. Only in 1956, however, did the Commission, with F.V. Garcia Amador as special rapporteur, begin in earnest its state responsibility codification project. Garcia Amador, whose work focused on the responsibility of states toward aliens on their territory, submitted a number of reports through 1961, but limited discussion was devoted to the topic. A review of the early history of the Commission's state responsibility project, as well as other efforts at codification of this area of law, may be found in the ILC's 1969 Yearbook

The United States agrees with the Commission that a statement of the law of state responsibility must provide guidance to states with respect to the following questions:When does an act of a state entail international responsibility? What actions are attributable to the state? What consequences flow from a state'sviolation of its international responsibility? Customary international law provides answers to these questions, but the Commission has in many instances not codified such norms but rather proposed new substantive rules. In particular, the sections on countermeasures, crimes, dispute settlement, and state injury contain provisions that are not supported by customary international law.