Security Council Renews Mandate of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force for Six Months, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2477 (2019)

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months, until 31 December 2019, requesting the Secretary-General to ensure that the Force has the required capacity and resources to fulfil the mandate in a safe and secure way.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2477 (2019), the 15-member organ also stressed the obligation on Israel and Syria to scrupulously and fully respect the terms of their 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and called on them to exercise maximum restraint and prevent any breaches of the ceasefire and the area of separation.

Further by the text, the Council underlined that there should be no military activity of armed opposition groups in the area of separation and urged Member States to convey strongly to the Syrian armed opposition groups in the Force’s area of operations that UNDOF remains an impartial entity.

The Council also called on all groups other than the Force to abandon all UNDOF positions and return the peacekeepers’ vehicles, weapons and other equipment, while also calling on all parties to cooperate fully with UNDOF, to respect its privileges and immunities and to ensure its freedom of movement, as well as the security of and unhindered and immediate access for the United Nations personnel carrying out their mandate.

The meeting began at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 9:34 a.m.