ABSTRACT

The International Convention against the Taking of Hostages was the result of the work of a General Assembly ad hoc committee usually referred to as the Hostages Committee. Work on the Convention began formally in August of 1977. The main areas of disagreement centered around the questions of how a hostages convention should deal with recognized national liberation movements, the inclusion of a requirement for prosecution or extradition of an alleged offender, and the protection of only "innocent" hostages. The problem of "state terrorism" was dealt with by recognition that under the proposed convention the principle of individual responsibility would arise if a government official of any state committed an act of hostage taking. The Hostages Committee adopted language to the effect that nothing in the hostages convention should be construed to justify violation of the territorial integrity or political independence of a state and that the principles of the UN Charter were to be upheld.