SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
SC/6416

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Security Council this morning adopted its fifty-second report to the General Assembly, covering the period from 16 June 1996 to 15 June 1997. The report, produced as a guide to the Council's activities during the 12-month period, will be submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with provisions of the United Nations Charter.

During the year under review, the Council held 115 formal meetings, adopted 52 resolutions and issued 54 statements. In addition, Council members held consultations of the whole, totalling some 342 hours. The Council considered over 105 reports of the Secretary-General and reviewed and processed more than 1,214 documents and communications from States and regional and other intergovernmental organizations.

Part I of the report deals with the questions considered by the Council under its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The situation in the former Yugoslavia received most of the Council's attention in open meetings, followed by Angola, the Great Lakes region of Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq and Kuwait, and Tajikistan and the Tajik-Afghan border.

The number of meetings devoted to those situations, as well as resolutions adopted and presidential statements made are as follows:

Situation Meetings Resolutions Statements

Former Yugoslavia 27 13 14 Angola 10 6 2 Great Lakes region 9 3 6 Middle East 8 5 4 Afghanistan 5 1 2 Burundi 5 1 3 Iraq and Kuwait 5 1 4 Tajikistan 5 3 2

Security Council - 2 - Press Release SC/6416 3815th Meeting (AM) 12 September 1997

The Council also met on Georgia, Central America (efforts towards peace in the region), Haiti, Liberia, Western Sahara, Somalia, Albania, Cyprus, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition, the Council considered the following: the shooting down of two civil aircraft on 24 February 1996; items relating to An Agenda for Peace; letter from the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia concerning the extradition of suspects wanted in the assassination attempt on the life of the President of Egypt in Addis Ababa on 26 June 1995; letters dated 23 September and 3 and 11 October 1996 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea addressed to the President of the Security Council and letters dated 23 September 1996 from the Permanent Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea addressed to the President of the Security Council and 27 September 1996 addressed to the Secretary-General; letters dated 20 and 23 December 1991 from France, the United Kingdom and the United States; and protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations. Part II of the report deals with other matters considered by the Council, such as election of five members of the International Court of Justice; consideration of its draft report to the General Assembly for the period from 16 June 1995 to 15 June 1996; and a recommendation regarding the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Council also addressed matters relating to its documentation and working methods and procedure. Part III covers the work of the Military Staff Committee, while Part IV lists communications on matters brought to the Council's attention, but not discussed at formal meetings. The report also covers the work of subsidiary organs of the Council which were active during the year under review. They include the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait; Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission; Security Council Special Commission set up to monitor the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; and Security Council Committees concerning Yugoslavia, Libya, Somalia, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Angola, Rwanda, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Liberia. Regarding the Council's membership, the report recalls that the General Assembly on 21 October 1996 elected Costa Rica, Japan, Kenya, Portugal and Sweden to fill the vacancies resulting from the expiration, on 31 December 1996, of the terms of office of Botswana, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia and Italy. Introducing the draft report, Ibrahima Fall, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said it contained more detailed information on the Sanctions Committees than had previously been done. The Council's report will be issued as document S/1997/706 and Corr.1. The meeting, which was called to order at 11.19 a.m., was adjourned at 11.24 a.m. * *** *