The United Nations General Assembly designated 12 December as the International Day of Neutrality by the Resolution A/RES/71/275. Neutrality — defined as the legal status arising from the abstention of a state from all participation in a war between other states, the maintenance of an attitude of impartiality toward the belligerents, and the recognition by the belligerents of this abstention and impartiality — is critically important for the United Nations to gain and maintain the confidence and cooperation of all in order to operate independently and effectively, especially in situations that are politically charged. As Article 2 of the UN Charter obligates member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means and to refrain from the threat, or the use of force in their relations.

FORUM: "Studying dispute settlement in international law and conflict resolution. " International Neutrality Day 2020.:

Participants are invited to better understand the procedures and institutions of international dispute settlement, and suggestions for further reading support exploration of relevant issues;

The UN General Assembly Proposes that the Secretary-General of the United Nations should continue to

- Cooperate closely with neutral States, with a view to implementing the principles of preventive diplomacy and using those principles in their Mediation activities;

- Underlining that the national policies of neutrality of some States can contribute to the strengthening of international peace and Human Security in relevant regions and at the global level and can play an important role in developing peaceful, friendly and mutually beneficial International relations between the countries of the world,

- Recognizing that such national policies of Political neutrality are aimed at promoting the use of preventive Diplomacy, including through the prevention of Armed Conflicts, mediation, good offices, fact-finding missions, Programme on Negotiation, the use of Special envoys, informal consultations, peacebuilding and targeted Socio-economics development activities.

AUDIO-VIDEO PODCASTS

EVENTS: The United Nations General Assembly Invites all United Nations member states, UN specialized agencies; organizations of the United Nations system and other international and Regional organizations, as well as Non-governmental organizations and Individual persons, to mark the observance of the day, by means of education and the holding of events aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the public in this field.

CAMPAIGN: "Toward a Peaceful settlement of International Disputes."

Addressing inter-state dispute settlement

Addressing not only inter-state dispute settlement but also the settlement of disputes involving non-State actors, The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes offers a clear and systematic plan of the procedures for dispute settlement in international law. In light of the diversification of dispute settlement procedures, traditional means of international dispute settlement are discussed alongside newly developing fields such as the dispute settlement system under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the World Trade Organization dispute settlement systems, the peaceful settlement of international environmental disputes, intra-state disputes, mixed arbitration, the United Nations Compensation Commission, and the World Bank Inspection Panel.

Addressing Environment-related disputes.

The environment’ is increasingly featuring as a factor in disagreements between countries in various international forums – and, indeed, the number of available forums in which these disputes can be heard is itself increasing. This is a reflection partly of the steady expansion of international environmental obligations, partly of the growing reach and complexity of other international regimes (e.g. the multilateral trading system) and partly of the growing understanding – and evidence – of the environmental implications of almost any economic act or policy.

Addressing Negotiations to improve Trade dispute settlement procedures

Resolving trade disputes is one of the core activities of the WTO. A dispute arises when a member government believes another member government is violating an agreement or a commitment that it has made in the WTO. The WTO has one of the most active international dispute settlement mechanisms in the world. Since 1995, 597 disputes have been brought to the WTO and over 350 rulings have been issued. The Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), the WTO's “rule book” for settling trade disputes between Members, has been the subject of review since the 1990s. The subsequent mandate given to Members was simple: “agree to negotiations on improvements and clarifications of the Dispute Settlement Understanding”.