SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
SC/6570/Rev.1*

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Over 12 Months, Council Held 103 Meetings, Adopted 61 Resolutions, Issued 41 Presidential Statements

The Security Council this morning adopted its fifty-third report to the General Assembly, covering the period from 16 June 1997 to 15 June 1998. 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 103 formal meetings, adopted 61 resolutions and issued 41 statements by the President. In addition, Council members held consultations of the whole, totalling some 588 hours. The Council considered over 92 reports of the Secretary-General and reviewed and processed more than 1,079 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. In open meetings, the Council devoted much of its attention to conflicts on the continent of Africa. The situation in the former Yugoslavia continued to be a prime concern of the Council as did Iraq and Kuwait.

The Council met most frequently on the following:

Situation Meetings Resolutions Statements

Former Yugoslavia 16 12 5 Iraq and Kuwait 14 8 6 Angola 10 8 2 Sierra Leone 10 4 5 Central African Republic 5 5 0 Africa 4 1 1 Western Sahara 4 4 0 Middle East 4 4 4 Tajikistan 4 3 1 Georgia 4 2 2

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* Revised to correct document symbol referred to in the next to last paragraph.

The Council also met on Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Haiti, Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia.

In addition, the Council considered items related to peacekeeping operations, including civilian police in peacekeeping operations, and the establishment of the Dag Hammarskjold Medal as a tribute for the sacrifice of those who had lost their life as a result of service in United Nations peacekeeping operations; protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations; letters dated 20 December 1991 from France, the United Kingdom and the United States concerning responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the bombing of Union de Transports Aeriens flight 772; a letter dated 31 March 1998 from Papua New Guinea transmitting the text of a ceasefire agreement signed by the parties to the nine-year conflict in that country; and the responsibility of the Council in the maintenance of international peace and security.

Part II of the report deals with other matters considered by the Council, such as the consideration of the draft report to the General Assembly and matters relating to documentation and working methods and procedures of the Council. Part III covers the work of the Military Staff Committee while Part IV lists communications on matters brought to the Council's attention.

Part V reviews the work of the subsidiary organs of the Council. It states that the period covered by the present report had been one of the most challenging with regard to the relationship between Iraq and the United Nations Special Commission established by Council resolution 687 (1991) to monitor the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Other subsidiary organs which were active during the year included the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission, the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the Former Yugoslavia; and Security Council Committees concerning Iraq and Kuwait, Libya, Somalia, Angola, Rwanda, Liberia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo.

Regarding the Council's membership, the report recalls that on 14 October 1997, the General Assembly elected Bahrain, Brazil, Gabon, Gambia and Slovenia to fill the vacancies resulting from the expiration on 31 December 1997 of the terms of office of Chile, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Poland and the Republic of Korea.

Introducing the draft report, the Director of the Security Council Affairs Division, Neylan Bali, said that it was the first report prepared in accordance with measures initiated in June 1997 aimed at enhancing the analytical nature of the report.

The Council's report will be issued as document A/53/2.

The meeting, which was called to order at 11:50 a.m., was adjourned at noon. * *** *

Security Council - 3 - Press Release SC/6570/Rev.1 3923rd Meeting (AM) 9 September 1998