SECURITY COUNCIL, ACTING ON SITUATION IN AFRICA, ASKS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO AID AFRICAN ORGANIZATIONS IN STRENGTHENING PEACEKEEPING MECHANISMS
Press Release
SC/6575
SECURITY COUNCIL, ACTING ON SITUATION IN AFRICA, ASKS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO AID AFRICAN ORGANIZATIONS IN STRENGTHENING PEACEKEEPING MECHANISMS
19980918 Resolution 1197 (1998) Adopted Unanimously; Council Urges Help in Establishing OAU Early Warning SystemThe Security Council this afternoon urged the Secretary-General to assist in the establishment within the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of an early warning system and in strengthening in making operational the OAU's conflict-management centre and its situation room.
By the unanimous adoption of resolution 1197 (1998), the Council also invited the Secretary-General to assist the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa to establish logistics assessment teams, and to determine the logistical and financial requirements of regional or subregional peacekeeping operations authorized by the Council. The Council welcomed the proposal by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to establish a "council of elders" within its Mechanism for the Prevention, Management, Resolution of Conflict, Peacekeeping and Security to facilitate mediation efforts. It urged the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, to facilitate establishment of the council and to help ensure its success.
The Council action this afternoon follows its consideration of the Secretary-General's report of 13 April on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in the African continent (document A/52/871-S/198/318). Key recommendations of the report refer specifically to arms and arms trafficking, sanctions, refugees, structural adjustment, development assistance, debt and trade, the Security Council, and international business and practices.
The report was submitted in response to the Council's request made at a meeting at the level of foreign ministers last September held to consider concerted ways to promote peace and security in Africa. Following its consideration of the report on 24 April, the Council adopted resolution 1160 (1998), by which it established an ad hoc working group to review all the Secretary-General's recommendations related to the maintenance of international peace and security in Africa and prepare a framework for their implementation.
By part II of this afternoon's resolution, the Council endorsed the establishment of a United Nations Preventative Action Liaison Office in the OAU. The Council urged the Secretary-General to consider ways of making the Office more effective and to consider the possibility of appointing liaison officers to peacekeeping operations of the OAU and of subregional organizations in Africa authorized by the Council.
The Council also invited the Secretary-General to: adopt measures to improve the flow of information between the United Nations and the OAU; develop common indicators for early warning; arrange occasional visits of staff at the working level between the United Nations and the OAU; and arrange joint expert meetings on certain specific areas of early warning and prevention.
The Secretary-General was asked to implement the present resolution within the course of his ongoing efforts to develop cooperation with the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa and, where necessary, drawing on the United Nations Trust Fund for Improving Preparedness for Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa.
The meeting, which began at 1:14 p.m., was adjourned at 1:16 p.m.
Resolution Adopted
The full text of resolution 1197 (1998) reads as follows:
"The Security Council,
"Reaffirming its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
"Having considered the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General of 13 April 1998 on "The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa", which was submitted to the General Assembly (A/52/871) and to the Security Council (S/1998/318), regarding the need for the United Nations to provide support for regional and subregional initiatives and the strengthening of coordination between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in the area of conflict prevention and the maintenance of peace,
"Recalling the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations on regional arrangements or agencies, which set out the basic principles governing their activities, and establish the legal framework for cooperation with the United Nations, in the area of the maintenance of international peace and security,
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"Recalling also the agreement of 15 November 1965 on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as updated and signed on 9 October 1990 between the two Secretaries-General of the two organizations,
"Recalling further the resolutions of the General Assembly on the enhancement of cooperation between the United Nations and the OAU, in particular resolutions 43/12 of 25 October 1988, 43/27 of 18 November 1988, 44/17 of 1 November 1991, 47/148 of 18 December 1992, 48/25 of 29 November 1993, 49/64 of 15 December 1994, and 50/158 of 21 December 1995,
"Mindful of the need for continued cooperation between the United Nations and its relevant bodies and specialized agencies, on the one hand, and the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa, on the other,
"Welcoming the high-level meeting between the United Nations and regional organizations held in New York on 28 July 1998 and encouraging the holding of such meetings at regular intervals,
"Noting that subregional arrangements in Africa, as well as the OAU through its Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, are developing their capacities in preventive diplomacy, and encouraging African States to make use of these arrangements and mechanisms in the prevention of conflict and maintenance of peace in Africa,
I
"1. Urges the Secretary-General, through the use of the United Nations Trust Fund for Improving Preparedness for Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa, to assist in the establishment within the OAU of an early warning system based on the model currently being used by the United Nations, and to assist in strengthening in making operational the OAU conflict management centre and its situation room;
"2. Encourages contributions to the United Nations Trust Fund for Improving Preparedness for Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa and to the OAU Peace Fund and encourages also the Secretary-General to develop a strategy for the purpose of enhancing contributions to the Trust Fund;
"3. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to assist Member States in the further development of commonly accepted peacekeeping doctrine and to share existing peacekeeping doctrine and concepts of operations with the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa;
"4. Invites the Secretary-General to assist the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa to establish logistics assessment teams through the sharing of information on the establishment, composition, methods and
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functioning of United Nations logistics assessment teams, and also invites the Secretary-General to assist the OAU and subregional organizations, as appropriate, to determine the logistics and financial requirements of regional or subregional peacekeeping operations authorized by the Council;
"5. Encourages the establishment of partnerships between States and regional and subregional organizations involved in peacekeeping operations, in which one or more States or organizations contribute troops and others contribute equipment, and encourages the Secretary-General to facilitate efforts to that end, and requests him to consider developing a framework to coordinate such partnerships;
"6. Commends the various initiatives taken by several States to enhance African preparedness to participate in the military, police, humanitarian and other civilian components of peacekeeping operations, and in this context encourages join training and simulation exercises and seminars with African peacekeepers;
"7. Welcomes the proposal by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to establish a Council of Elders within its Mechanism for the Prevention, Management, Resolution of Conflicts, Peacekeeping and Security for the purpose of facilitating mediation efforts and urges the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, to assist in facilitating its establishment and to help to ensure its effectiveness;
II
"8. Endorses the establishment of a United Nations Preventive Action Liaison Office in the OAU and urges the Secretary-General to consider ways of making this office more effective and also the possibility of appointing liaison officers to peacekeeping operations of the OAU and of subregional organizations in Africa which are authorized by the Council;
"9. Encourages the enhancement of consultation and coordination between the United Nations and the OAU and between the United Nations and subregional organizations in Africa, both at the field and headquarters level, and recognizes that the nomination of joint Special Representatives may be useful to further these aims;
"10. Welcomes the fact that both the United Nations and the OAU have agreed to strengthen and broaden their cooperation on measures to prevent and resolve conflicts in Africa, and in this regard invites the Secretary-General to:
(a) Adopt measures for an improved flow of information through systematic mechanisms between the United Nations and the OAU and between the United Nations and subregional organizations in Africa,
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(b) Develop, in collaboration with the OAU and with subregional organizations in Africa, common indicators for early warning, and share, as appropriate, early warning information both on the ground with their field representatives and with their headquarters,
(c) Arrange, in collaboration with the OAU and with subregional organizations in Africa, occasional visits of staff at working level between the United Nations and the OAU and between the United Nations and subregional organizations in Africa,
(d) Arrange, in collaboration with the OAU and with subregional organizations in Africa, joint expert meetings on certain specific areas of early warning and prevention, including joint reviews of potential and existing conflicts with a view to coordinating initiatives and actions;
"11. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the present resolution in the course of its ongoing efforts to develop cooperation with the OAU and subregional organizations in Africa and, where necessary, drawing on the United Nations Trust Fund for Improving Preparedness for Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa and to keep the Council informed periodically, as necessary, on the implementation of the present resolution;
"12. Decides to remain seized of the matter."
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