SECURITY COUNCIL IN 1996 RECOMMENDS KOFI ANNAN AS SECRETARY-GENERAL, FACES MULTITUDE OF CRISES IN BALKANS, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

14 January 1997

Press Release
SC/6313

SECURITY COUNCIL IN 1996 RECOMMENDS KOFI ANNAN AS SECRETARY-GENERAL, FACES MULTITUDE OF CRISES IN BALKANS, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

19970114 Iraq "Oil-for-Food" Formula Implemented, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sanctions Lifted; Debates Held on Afghanistan, Jerusalem Incident, Lebanon

The Security Council, on 13 December, recommended Kofi Annan to the General Assembly for appointment as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term of office from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001, the culmination of a year in which the Council faced crises ranging from the Balkans and the Caucasus to the Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as questions on the Korean peninsula, the downing of two American civilian aircraft by the Cuban Air Force and the situation in the Middle East.

The recommendation for Secretary-General was the outcome of a private meeting in which two resolutions were adopted. In its second action, the Council praised former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's contributions to international peace, security and development and his efforts to solve international problems in the economic, social and cultural fields. Mr. Boutros-Ghali's attempt to obtain a second term of office failed after the United States cast a negative vote in a 19 November private meeting.

Mr. Annan was appointed and sworn in by the Assembly on 17 December. The first sub-Saharan African to become Secretary-General, he is a native of the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence from colonialism, Ghana. He begins his term of office in the year in which Ghana will commemorate the fortieth anniversary of its independence in 1957.

Early in the year, on 8 January, as the Council met and strongly condemned human rights violations in Croatia, it paid tribute to the former President of France, François Mitterrand, who had died on that day.

Speaking on behalf of the Council, its then President, Sir John Weston (United Kingdom), described Mr. Mitterrand as a friend of the United Nations and a strong defender of its principles and objectives. The French representative responded with a statement from French President Jacques Chirac, describing Mr. Mitterrand as a person who had, for 14 years, written an important page in the history of France.

In the 117 open meetings held in 1996, during which it adopted 57 resolutions and 49 presidential statements, the question of sanctions was a major focus of the Council's work, as it:

-- Lifted arms and trade sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

-- Eased sanctions on Iraq and, after years of consideration and months of negotiation, allowed implementation of the "oil-for-food" formula, in which Iraq may sell up to $1 billion of oil every 90 days to finance purchases of food and medicine; and

-- Imposed sanctions on Sudanese aircraft, which would commence unless the Sudan complied with demands to extradite suspects in the June 1995 attempted assassination of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt at a summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa.

Continuing a trend that it had started in 1995, the Council held a series of "orientation debates" -- which allow for an exchange of views in open meetings with the participation of non-members of the Council -- to discuss developments in Afghanistan, the opening of a tunnel near Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and demining in the context of peace-keeping.

Another emerging trend in the Council's activities during 1996 was the granting of shorter and conditional peace-keeping mandates, including resolutions that:

-- Authorized the deployment of a humanitarian force to help refugees and others caught in fighting in eastern Zaire;

-- Authorized the formation of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) to succeed the multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

-- Established the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) in Croatia;

-- Created the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) to succeed the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH);

-- Set up a United Nations office to follow up the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR); and

-- Granted ever shorter mission mandates, linked to progress in peace processes or other conditions in, for instance, Angola and Liberia.

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Two issues considered by the Council led to resumed sessions of the General Assembly: the 24 February downing by the Cuban Air Force of two civilian aircraft; and Israel's aggression against Lebanon, particularly the Qana massacre, which accused in April at a base of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Following are regional summaries of Council activity:

Great Lakes Region

As the refugee crisis in eastern Zaire intensified, the Council adopted resolution 1080 (1996) on 15 November, authorizing a Canadian initiative to lead the deployment of a temporary multinational force to facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian help to the Rwandan refugees and civilians caught in the fighting between rebel and government forces in Zaire. Shortly after, however, a majority of the Rwandan refugees returned to their country in a massive exodus, preempting the need for the deployment of such a force, and the Council then accepted, in a letter dated 23 December, another Canadian proposal: to terminate the force's mandate effective 31 December, since its raison d'être had ceased to exist.

That was the final Council action during the year on matters relating to the countries of the Great Lakes region, which included orientation debates and adoption of presidential statements and resolutions.

In an orientation debate on 28 August, speakers condemned the 25 July coup d'état that deposed President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and returned Major Pierre Buyoya to power in Burundi, and called it an obstacle to the progress that was being made in a regional search for a comprehensive solution to the problems in that country. Speakers at the Council meeting supported the sanctions imposed on Burundi by countries of the Great Lakes region after their 31 July summit at Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. The representative of Burundi, however, said that the United Nations Charter had been violated by the imposition of sanctions, which he described as economic aggression. The new Government had stepped in to prevent the repetition of the Rwandan disaster in Burundi, he stressed.

Two days later, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1072 (1996), which condemned the removal of Burundi's legitimate Government and called on Major Buyoya to restore the previous order and lift the ban on political parties. It demanded that all sides cease hostilities and initiate negotiations towards a political settlement.

The Council closely followed events in Burundi throughout the year seeking restraint, an end to violence and international efforts to prevent genocide. On 5 January, the Council issued a presidential statement condemning those responsible for daily killings, massacres, torture and

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arbitrary detentions. It called on all sides to respect and implement the 10 September 1994 Convention of Government, which constituted the institutional framework for national reconciliation.

Then, on 29 January, the Council adopted resolution 1040 (1996), in which it declared its readiness to consider banning the supply of arms and related matériel to Burundi and imposed restrictions against leaders who encouraged violence. Later on, it adopted resolution 1049 (1996) on 5 March encouraging the Secretary-General to continue consultations with concerned Member States and the OAU on a contingency planning to support a comprehensive dialogue and for a rapid response to widespread violence or a serious deterioration of the situation in Burundi.

In a report to the Council, the Secretary-General had urged the international community to consider establishing a stand-by multinational intervention force that would be sent to Burundi should large-scale ethnic violence erupt. The representative of Burundi said his country's army would confront any foreign expeditionary force, regardless of its humanitarian intent.

Further, noting the widespread use of weapons in Burundi and various statements calling for the arming of civilians, the Council issued a presidential statement on 25 April, calling on all Burundians to renounce violence and show the political will to settle their differences peacefully. In another statement on 15 May, it asked the Secretary-General and Member States to urgently facilitate contingency planning for a rapid humanitarian response, should the situation deteriorate.

The day before the 25 July coup d'état, the Council, in a presidential statement, strongly condemned any attempt to overthrow the legitimate Government by force. It also condemned the massacre of civilians, including over 300 women, children and old men, in the Bugendana commune in Gitega province and asked Burundi's authorities to investigate the matter. Four days after the coup, in another presidential statement, the Council condemned the change in government.

In Rwanda, the withdrawal of UNAMIR was completed on 19 April. Prior to its completion, the Council adopted resolution 1050 (1996) on 8 March to encourage the Secretary-General to maintain a United Nations office to help promote national reconciliation, strengthen the judicial system, assist the return of refugees and rehabilitate the infrastructure. The office would be headed by the Secretary-General's Special Representative for that country. The Rwandan Government accepted establishment of the office on 23 April.

Also on 23 April, the Council met on the report of the International Commission of Inquiry, which investigated reports on the supply of arms and related matériel to former Rwandan government forces, and called upon States

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in the Great Lakes region to ensure that their territories were not used as bases for armed groups to launch incursions against any country. By adopting resolution 1053 (1996), the Council asked the Secretary-General to maintain the Commission. It also urged the States in the Great Lakes region to intensify their efforts to prevent military training and the supply of weapons to militias or former Rwandan government forces and to effectively implement the arms embargo imposed by resolution 1011 (1995).

The Security Council also asked the Secretary-General to consult with States neighbouring Rwanda, in particular Zaire, on appropriate measures to improve the implementation of the arms embargo. The measures could include the deployment of United Nations observers at airfields and border crossing points. However, the arms restrictions placed on the Government of Rwanda by resolution 918 (1994) were ended by the Council, effective 1 September. They were lifted in accordance with resolution 1011 (1995), said the Chairman of the related sanctions committee. Restrictions on the supply of arms and related matériel to non-governmental forces remained.

Angola and Liberia

On 6 February, 25 speakers addressed the situation in Angola. During the debate, the representative of the United States said that the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III), which cost about $1 million daily, must not be undermined by the failure of Angolan leaders to seek peace. The representative of the Russian Federation asked the international community to stop accepting the endless manoeuvres of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

The UNITA was again criticized during another exchange of views on Angola held on 10 October. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zimbabwe, speaking as Chairman of the ministerial delegation of the Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), told the Council that it was time to say "enough is enough" to the "scheming, selfishness, greed and self-aggrandizement" which had stymied Angola's peace process. As the first of 35 speakers at that meeting, he proposed that, if UNITA failed to comply with the Lusaka Protocol, which was signed by UNITA and the Government of Angola in November 1994, its bank accounts should be frozen, its offices closed and its leaders and personnel denied visas.

Regarding UNAVEM, whose mandate was to expire on 11 October, some speakers agreed with the Secretary-General's recommendation that the Council consider only a short extension, until 11 December. On 11 October, the Council adopted resolution 1075 (1996), expressing its readiness to consider enacting trade measures against UNITA and restricting the travel of its personnel unless it made "substantial and genuine progress" in its peace efforts by 20 November.

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During the year, the Council extended the mandate of UNAVEM through resolutions 1045 (1996), 1055 (1996), 1064 (1996), 1075 (1996) and 1087 (1996). The latter, adopted on 11 December 1996, extended the Mission's mandate until the end of February 1997 and approved the Secretary-General's recommendation of a resumption of the withdrawal of the military units of UNAVEM at a pace commensurate with progress made in the Angolan peace process. The Council asked the Secretary-General to report, no later than 10 February, on a plan for a limited follow-on United Nations presence in Angola.

During a 25 January debate on the situation in Liberia, which was addressed by 26 speakers, the international community was asked not to yield to the prevailing mood of "Afro-pessimism" and make that country an orphan in the quest for peace. The representative of Ghana recalled a statement by his President that, while the international community was ready to spend $5 million a day on peace-keeping in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it fell silent when asked to help Liberia.

When factional fighting broke out in Monrovia on 6 April 1996, the Council issued a presidential statement on 9 April calling on the Liberian National Transitional Government and other parties to separate their forces and re-establish law and order in the country. At another Council debate on 28 May, speakers said the deteriorating situation in Liberia showed the faction leaders' lack of commitment to peace and jeopardized international support for peace efforts. The factional leaders were urged to put the need of the Liberian people before their own personal ends in order to avoid the sort of situation which prevailed in Somalia. Council members supported the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), to enable the parties to fulfil their agreements under the Abuja accords of August 1995, seen as the foundation for a political settlement in Liberia.

Three days later, the Council demanded, in resolution 1059 (1996), that the Liberian parties restore the cease-fire in their nation, withdraw all fighters and arms from Monrovia and restore that city as a safe haven. It also demanded that they allow the deployment of the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG). The Council action was informed by a report of the Secretary-General which stated that, since the fighting broke out on 6 April, the Liberian leaders had shown disrespect for the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the international community, forcing most of their personnel to move to other countries.

The Council extended UNOMIL's mandate twice, but the extensions were granted with some conditions attached. For example, resolution 1071 (1996) of 30 August, which extended UNOMIL until 30 November, stressed that the continued support of the international community for Liberia's peace process depended on the factions' commitment to resolve their differences peacefully.

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Resolution 1083 (1996), of 27 November 1996, which extended UNOMIL through 28 February 1997, strongly condemned the deployment of children for combat and demanded that the parties stop it immediately and demobilize all child soldiers.

Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone

In an orientation debate held on 15 March regarding the situation in Somalia, several delegations stressed that the international community had not abandoned that country. Some representatives spoke of the hardships in Somalia, with the rise in malnutrition and fears of the outbreaks of diseases. The observer for the OAU noted that, some months before the Council's meeting, 600,000 Somalis had fled to other countries, with another 500,000 internally displaced. In a 20 December statement, in response to renewed fighting in Mogadishu, the Council called on all Somali factions to cease hostilities and to restore an effective cease-fire.

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on 16 August, the Council decided to impose sanctions on the Sudan in relation to the attempted assassination of President Mubarak at an OAU summit in Addis Ababa. It also decided to specify in 90 days when those sanctions, which affected Sudanese aircraft, would go into effect, if the Sudan did not comply with earlier Council resolutions 1044 (1996) and 1054 (1996), which had demanded that it extradite to Ethiopia three suspects wanted for the attempt on President Mubarak's life.

Voting 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (China, Russian Federation), the Council adopted resolution 1070 (1996), which decided that all States shall deny Sudanese aircraft permission to take off from, land in or overfly their territories. To inform its decision as to when to put the sanctions into effect, the Council asked the Secretary-General to report by 15 November on the Sudan's compliance with its resolutions.

Regarding the West African country of Sierra Leone, a Council statement on 4 December welcomed the Peace Agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) reached in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on 30 November. It was signed by Sierra Leone's President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and the RUF leader, Foday Saybana Sankoh.

The conflict in Sierra Leone began in March 1991. At the request of the then National Provisional Ruling Council in November 1994, then Secretary- General Boutros-Ghali established good offices to encourage talks between the Government and the RUF. Multi-party legislative and presidential elections were held on 26 and 27 February in Sierra Leone, and President Kabbah was inaugurated President on 29 March.

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Western Sahara

Action on the situation in Western Sahara, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 May 1997. By resolution 1084 (1996), it asked the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the parties to the conflict in the territory to implement the Settlement Plan. In a report to the Council, the Secretary-General warned that the international community would not indefinitely extend the Mission unless tangible progress was made towards settling the Western Sahara question.

In resolution 1056 (1996) of 29 May, the Council reduced the Mission's military component by 20 per cent, from 288 to 239, on the understanding that it would not impair effective monitoring of the cease-fire in the territory. By the terms of the resolution, the Council suspended the identification process aimed at listing those eligible for the planned referendum. The suspension would remain in effect until the Moroccan Government and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y Río de Oro (POLISARIO) showed their commitment to resuming and completing the process without further obstacles. The Council then called on the parties to show political will and flexibility to permit the resumption and early completion of the identification process.

An earlier resolution, 1042 (1996) of 31 January, had expressed the Council's support for the Secretary-General's intention to withdraw MINURSO in the absence of meaningful progress to complete the Settlement Plan. The Plan, accepted by the two parties on 30 August 1988 and approved by the Council on 27 June 1990 in resolution 658 (1990), entails the holding of a referendum to enable Western Saharans to choose between independence from or integration with Morocco.

Middle East

The situation in the occupied Arab territories was the subject of a 27 September orientation debate during which 50 representatives addressed Israel's opening of an entrance to a tunnel near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and the shooting by Israeli forces of Palestinians protesting the action. Many speakers, some of whom were foreign ministers, called on Israel to close the tunnel, lift its closure of the occupied Arab territories and refrain from increasing settlements there.

Following that debate, the Council adopted resolution 1073 (1996) on 28 September -- by a vote of 14 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (United States) -- calling for a reversal of all acts which had aggravated the situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

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Earlier in the year, at a 15 April meeting in response to the security measures Israel imposed on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, most of the 38 speakers who addressed the Council called for an end to those measures, after describing them as a form of collective punishment that threatened the Middle East peace process. Several speakers said that such measures, as the demolition of houses, the confiscation of land and restrictions on the movement of people and goods, strengthened the hands of extremists on both sides who were calling for violence to undermine peace.

Addressing the Council, the representative of Israel said that during eight days in February and March, Islamic fundamentalist terrorists from the West Bank and Gaza had perpetrated four separate suicide bombings within Israel, leaving 59 dead and 200 injured. His Government had closed Israel to West Bank and Gaza residents to restore a sense of security for an Israel that would continue to pursue peace and security and to fight the "dark forces of terrorism and fanaticism".

Later that day, 32 speakers addressed a Council meeting on the Israeli bombardment of towns in Lebanon, including the suburbs of Beirut. In a letter asking for the meeting, Lebanon's representative said the attacks killed, wounded or displaced thousands of persons and caused severe damage to property. He asked the Council to order Israel to stop its aggression and help Lebanon's recovery from the attacks. The representative of Israel said his country's Defence Forces were hitting back at Hezbollah strongholds after exhausting all political and diplomatic means. Israel had to defend its security by all necessary measures, if Lebanon could not control Hezbollah's acts, he emphasized.

Three days later, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1052 (1996) seeking an immediate cessation of hostilities, after rejecting an Arab- sponsored draft that would have strongly condemned the Israeli aggression. Sponsored by 19 Arab States, it received only 4 votes in favour (China, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia) to none against, with 11 abstentions. Resolution 1052 also deplored the 18 April shelling that caused a heavy loss of civilian lives at the Qana site of UNIFIL. In other action, the Council extended the mandate of UNIFIL until 31 January by resolution 1068 (1995) of 30 July 1996, which also welcomed the streamlining of UNIFIL to 4,483 troops.

As for the neighbouring United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Syrian Golan, the Council adopted resolutions 1057 (1996) of 30 May and 1081 (1996) of 27 November to extend its mandate, six months at a time, until 31 May 1997.

The Council's handling of matters in the Middle East, particularly the hostilities in Lebanon, led to a meeting of the General Assembly in resumed session, under its agenda item on the situation in the Middle East.

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Addressing the Assembly on 23 April, President Elias Hraoui of Lebanon said, "How could the Israeli people, once the victims of Auschwitz, Treblinka and others, accept that its State massacre more than a hundred men, women and children who were all innocent civilians in Qana that was once visited by Christ and was a scene of His miracles?" The representative of Israel said his country's goal was to create a situation where the Hezbollah could not renew terrorist attacks against it.

The Chairman of the Arab Group for the month of April, the representative of the United Arab Emirates, said that convening the meeting showed the international community's rejection of Israeli aggression, adding that it should adopt a resolution condemning it and adopting measures to end it. The representative of the United States said she would vote against the draft text circulating in the Assembly and expressed the hope the Assembly would endorse Council resolution 1052 (1996) without embroidery. "If the Assembly took action on a different resolution, it would be a divided house, a United Nations speaking with two voices and with no clear direction", she added.

The Assembly, on 25 April, condemned Israel's attacks, adopting a resolution to that effect by a vote of 64 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with 65 abstentions.

Afghanistan

In a further orientation debate, the situation in Afghanistan was first discussed by the Council in 1996 on 9 April.

Several delegations said foreign intervention was thwarting international efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan. They stressed, however, that the Afghan factions were responsible for reconciling their differences and called on them to cooperate with United Nations efforts to end the fighting in their country.

The representative of Afghanistan told the Council that Pakistan had created mercenaries called the Taliban and sent them into Afghanistan, along with Pakistani intelligence officers, in an effort to overthrow his Government. Pakistan's representative described such allegations as attempts by the Afghan Government to explain away its lack of support in Afghanistan. The Taliban controlled more than half of the country, compared to a central authority which held five of the country's 32 provinces, he added.

After the Taliban captured Kabul on 27 September and killed Afghanistan's former President Najibullah, the Council issued a statement on the next day, expressing dismay at the murder and demanding that all parties ensure the safety of United Nations and other international personnel. When the Council held a day-long 27-speakers orientation debate on the fall of Kabul, some

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Central Asian members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) said the events in Afghanistan threatened the subregion's political stability. Then, on 22 October, the Council adopted resolution 1076 (1996) denouncing discrimination against women and other violations of human rights in Afghanistan. It called on all Afghan parties to cease all armed hostilities and engage in a political dialogue to achieve national reconciliation. All States were asked to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.

Iraq/Kuwait

The Council's resolution 986 (1995) on the "oil-for-food" formula, which would ease the sanctions against Iraq and allow the country to export up to $2 billion worth of oil in six months to buy food, was implemented in 1996.

The process began with the 20 May signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Secretariat and the Iraqi Government on how to implement the resolution. Based on the memorandum, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 661 (1990), which was established to monitor the sanctions against Iraq, adopted on 8 August expedited procedures for implementing resolution 986. Independent experts and inspectors were later appointed to monitor the sale of Iraqi oil and the importation of food to the country. In a report of 9 December, the Secretary-General informed the Council that all the elements were in place to allow Iraq to begin selling oil, including the pricing mechanisms, and deployment of oil monitors and customs officials. The first Iraqi oil sales contract was approved the following day.

The Council also took several actions related to the question of Iraq's disarmament, including presidential statements calling on the Iraqi Government to grant greater access to the inspection teams working for the United Nations Special Commission on the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter on 27 March, the Council adopted resolution 1051 (1996) on an export/import monitoring mechanism to ensure that Iraq did not rebuild its mass destruction weapons programmes, and demanded that Iraq unconditionally meet its obligations to that mechanism. It approved the establishment of a joint unit at Headquarters to facilitate the mechanism's implementation, consisting of the Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A subsequent resolution 1060 (1996) of 12 June, also adopted under Chapter VII, demanded that Iraq grant the Special Commission's inspection teams immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to all areas or facilities they wished to inspect. When Iraq refused on 13 June to comply, the Council issued a statement on 14 June condemning that nation's non- compliance.

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Former Yugoslavia

While sanctions against Iraq were eased, they were lifted completely from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) on 1 October. Acting under Chapter VII, the Council adopted resolution 1074 (1996) to enact the provisions of resolution 1022 (1995), which had provided for the ending of the sanctions 10 days after the holding of free and fair elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as called for in the 1995 Dayton General Framework for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sanctions included weapons and trade embargoes, a flight ban and prohibitions on sports and cultural contacts. The Sanctions Committee established by resolution 724 (1991) to monitor the sanctions was dissolved on 15 November.

Most other action taken during the year concerned implementation of the Dayton Agreement. To encourage compliance, the Council issued statements that warned the parties that they could be subjected to sanctions if they failed to fulfil their commitments to the accords. For example, the Council, in a statement on 4 April, demanded that the parties release their prisoners, ensure the withdrawal of foreign forces and cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Through a statement of 8 August, the Council condemned the failure of the Republika Srpska and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to arrest Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, and Bosnian Serb commander, General Ratko Mladic, as requested by the Tribunal. It expressed the same sentiments on the failure of Bosnian Croat leaders and the Croatian Government to comply with the Tribunal's order regarding some persons indicted for war crimes. Noting that Mr. Karadzic had handed over his powers in the Republika on 30 June, the Council demanded the immediate arrest and transfer of all indicted persons to the Tribunal.

In a 10 October statement, the Council expressed concern that little progress had been made in investigating the violations of international humanitarian law in Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka, Sanski Most, Glamoc, Ozren and other part of Bosnia. It called on all parties to try to identify the fate of all those missing from those towns. It also expressed its concern that the exhumations by international authorities had been blocked by the Republika Srpska, and that the fate of only a few missing persons had been established. Then, on 12 December, by resolution 1088 (1996), the Council authorized Member States, acting through or in cooperation with NATO, to establish for 18 months a multinational Stabilization Force (SFOR) to succeed the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR), which was deployed to facilitate the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. In addition, by resolution 1088 (1996) the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) until 21 December. The Mission includes the International Police Task Force (IPTF).

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Regarding Croatia, the Council created, on 15 January, a transitional administration and peace-keeping mission to help demilitarize and return Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium to Croatia's control. Resolution 1037 (1996), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter, established the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), as cited in the Basic Agreement on the region signed on 12 November 1995 by the Croatian Government and local Serbs, with an initial deployment, civilian and military, of 5,000 troops. The resolution also authorized the Secretary-General to appoint a Transitional Administrator who would oversee the mission. Jacques Klein was appointed to that position. A later resolution 1079 (1996) of 15 November extended the mandate of UNTAES until 15 July.

Also on 15 January, the Council adopted resolution 1038 (1996) authorizing United Nations military observers to continue monitoring the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula for an initial period of three months, which would be extended. The latest extension, until 15 January 1997, for 100 observers of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) was granted in resolution 1069 (1996).

Georgia, Tajikistan

Acting on the situation in Georgia on 22 October, the Council decided that an office established in Sukhumi for promoting human rights in Abkhazia, Georgia, should become part of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), under the authority of the Head of Mission. It took that action by adopting resolution 1077 (1996) by a vote of 14 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (China). Speaking before action, the China's representative said the inclusion of the human rights office should not become a precedent for other peace-keeping operations.

The Council also extended UNOMIG through 31 January 1997. That resolution -- 1065 (1990) -- also condemned the Abkhaz side's obstructions to the return of refugees and displaced persons, stressing that it would not accept any linkage between their return and the question of the political status of Abkhazia. The Council also condemned the laying of mines in the Gali region, ethnic killings and other related violence.

Turning to the situation in Tajikistan, the Council on 20 September expressed concern about the fighting in the Tavildara region and the seizure of the towns of Jirgatal and Tajikabad by the Tajik opposition and demanded an immediate cessation of all acts of violence. In a presidential statement, the Council encouraged President Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) to meet as soon as possible to resolve the Tajik conflict peacefully.

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Adopting resolution 1089 (1996) on 13 December, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) until 15 March 1997, as long as the 1994 Tehran Agreement remained in force and as the parties were committed to a cease-fire and national reconciliation. The Council called upon them to comply with the Tehran Agreement, which called for a cease-fire and the cessation of hostile acts on the Tajik-Afghan border and within the country for the duration of the peace talks. Welcoming the 10-11 December meeting between the President of Tajikistan and the UTO leader, the Council encouraged them to continue their talks.

Cyprus

The latest text adopted by the Council on the island country, resolution 1092 (1996) of 23 December, deplored the violent incidents of 11 and 14 August, 8 September and 15 October, which led to the deaths of three Greek Cypriot civilians and a member of the Turkish Cypriot Security Forces. It deplored the disproportionate use of force by the Turkish/Turkish Cypriot side, as well as the passive role of the Cypriot police in response to demonstrations. The Council reiterated its grave concern about the excessive levels of the expansion and modernization of military forces and arms in Cyprus and called on all sides to reduce defence spending and the number of foreign troops on the island. It stressed its support for the Secretary- General's mission of good offices and called upon the parties to cooperate with the work of his Special Representative towards direct talks between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities in 1997 to secure an overall settlement.

In the resolution, the Council reaffirmed its position that a Cyprus settlement should be based on a State with a single sovereignty and a single citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity safeguarded. The State would comprise of two politically equal communities in a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation. Such a settlement must exclude union with any other country or any form of partition or secession. The resolution also extended the mandate of United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 30 June 1997.

Haiti

In the case of Haiti, the UNSMIH was created on 28 June by resolution 1063 (1996) to replace the UNMIH and help Haiti professionalize its police and maintain a stable environment for setting up an effective national police. The mandate of UNSMIH was later -- by resolution 1086 (1996) -- extended through 31 May 1997. The Mission's strength was reduced at that time to 500 soldiers and 300 civilian police from an initial strength of 600 troops and the same number of police officers. The UNMIH, which UNSMIH replaced as from 1 July, had 1,193 troops and 291 civilian staff, some of whom were transferred to the new Mission.

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Cuba

The shooting down of two civil aircraft by the Cuban Air Force on 24 February, with the death of four persons, led to three meetings of the Council and a resumed fiftieth session of the Assembly to discuss the matter under the agenda item on the "United Nations Decade of International Law"

Two meetings were held on 27 February. At the first, the representative of Cuba said there was proof that the two aircraft had been in Cuban airspace when they were downed. He accused the group behind the flights, "Brothers to the Rescue", of trying to subvert Cuba's constitutional order. At the second meeting, the Council adopted a presidential statement read by its then President, Madeleine K. Albright (United States), strongly deploring the Cuban action. It also asked the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to investigate the incident and report to the Council.

At the resumed Assembly session on 6 March, the Foreign Minister of Cuba, Roberto Robaina Gonzalez, said his Government had requested the resumption to inform the Assembly of the repeated violations of Cuba's sovereignty by airplanes coming from the United States territory and to give notice to the international community of the inadmissibility of those actions and their dangerous implications. Stating that Cuba's critical position concerning the role of the main bodies of the United Nations and particularly of the Security Council was well known, he said Cuba brought the issue to the Assembly, as it represented the international community much more fully.

The Permanent Representative of the United States said her Government had waived normal visa requirements to allow the Cuban Foreign Minister to travel promptly to New York. As President of the Security Council, she had offered him an opportunity to speak to that body as soon as he had arrived, but he had declined that offer. In response, Mr. Robaina said Cuba did not ask the Assembly to investigate the incident, but to listen to Cuba's presentation, adding that the United States did not seem to want the Assembly to listen. The United States representative then said the Security Council, on behalf of the international community, had made clear that the shooting down of the planes was an international crime and nothing the Foreign Minister had said or could say would change that fact.

The Council met for the third time on the matter on 26 July, upon receiving the ICAO report on the incident. By the terms of resolution 1067 (1996), adopted by a vote of 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (China, Russian Federation), it called upon Cuba to comply with the provisions of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. It also condemned the use of weapons against airborne civilian aircraft as incompatible with the rules of customary international law.

- 16 - Press Release SC/6313 14 January 1997

Other Matters

On 15 August, the Security Council held an orientation debate on demining in the context of peace-keeping operations, calling on the international community to take urgent steps to ban the production and use of anti-personnel land-mines. According to information presented during the debate, by some estimates about 64 countries were affected by the devices, with more than 110 million of them uncleared, and mines killed 500 people weekly. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was cited as having estimated that it would cost about $33 billion to clear the mines currently in place across the globe.

As a follow-up, the Council approved a presidential statement on 30 August which said that operational demining should be, wherever appropriate, an integral part of peace-keeping mandates. It, however, stressed the difference between operational mine clearance in peace-keeping, which was the responsibility of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, and longer-term humanitarian mine-clearance, which was the responsibility of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

Regarding Libya, the Council adopted a statement on 18 April, which called the flight, two days earlier, of a Libyan-registered aircraft from Tripoli to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a violation of resolution 748 (1992). It called on Libya to refrain from any more violations. Resolution 748 (1992) imposed aerial, arms and diplomatic sanctions against Libya, until the Government complied with requests to cooperate fully in establishing responsibility for terrorist acts against Pan Am flight 103 and the UTA flight 772.

In a statement on 12 April, the Council praised the previous day's signing by over 40 States in Cairo of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (the Treaty of Pelindaba) as an important contribution to international peace and security. It stated that the "historic event" formalized a 32-year commitment by the OAU, which had declared the continent a denuclearized zone.

At a 15 October meeting on the Korean peninsula, the Council issued a statement expressing "serious concern" over the 18 September grounding of a submarine from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the territory of the Republic of Korea. It called on both sides to settle all outstanding issues peacefully and to observe fully the Korean Armistice Agreement.

On its relations with troop-contributing States, the Council decided on 28 March not only to meet regularly with such States, but also to convene ad hoc meetings with them, should unforeseen developments, such as peace-keeping operations, require Council action. The meetings envisaged would be additions to those organized by the Secretariat for troop contributors to meet with the Secretary-General's special representatives or force commanders.

- 17 - Press Release SC/6313 14 January 1997

In addition, on 29 February, the Council appointed Canadian Justice Louise Arbour as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. She succeeded Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa, who resigned effective 1 October.

A day earlier, the Council voted concurrently with the General Assembly to elect Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela) to the International Court of Justice. Appointed to fill the seat left vacant by the death of his compatriot, Judge Andres Aguillar Mawdsley, his term of office will expire on 5 February 2000. Acting to fill the vacancies brought about by the expiration of five terms of office, on 6 November, the Council engaged in three rounds of secret balloting, concurrently with the Assembly, to elect Mohammed Bedjaoui (Algeria), Pieter H. Kooijmans (Netherlands), José Francisco Rezek (Brazil), Stephen M. Schwebel (United States) and Vladlen S. Vereshchetin (Russian Federation). Their nine-year terms will begin on 6 February 1997.

The Security Council adopted its fifty-first report to the General Assembly on 13 November. It covers the period from 16 June 1995 to 15 June 1996, during which the Council held 132 formal meetings, adopted 64 resolutions and issued 62 statements. The Council held 240 consultations, totalling some 377 hours, considered over 70 reports of the Secretary-General and more than 1,079 documents and communications.

Council Membership

The Security Council has 15 members. The permanent five are China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States. The 10 rotating members in 1996 were Botswana, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea and Poland.

On 1 January 1997, Costa Rica, Japan, Kenya, Portugal and Sweden replaced Botswana, Germany, Italy, Honduras and Indonesia, whose two-year terms expired on 31 December 1996.

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