During the Month of September 1997
Under the US Presidency
Introduction/Summary
Highlights of the Month of September in the Security Council included:
- Renewal of mandates for the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) and the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) (Western Sahara), termination of UNOMIL;
- Review of reports on resolution 1111 (1997) (Iraq), MISAB (Central African Republic), the Stabilization Force (SFOR) and UNMIBH (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Afghanistan and Somalia;
- Adoption of resolutions 1128 (1997) (Tajikistan), 1129 (1997) (Iraq), 1130 (1997) (Angola), and 1131 (1997) (Western Sahara);
- Holding of a special ministerial meeting on Africa.
Africa
The Council devoted most of its work in September to African issues. On Angola, the Council tracked UNITA compliance with resolution 1127 (1997). The Council adopted resolution 1130 (1997) calling on UNITA to comply with resolution 1127 (1997), but also deferring implementation of sanctions against UNITA for one month. The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Hédi Annabi, briefed the Council on progress in the Central African Republic in implementing the peace accords, collecting weapons and the deployment of the multinational force.
The Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, Mr. Mohammed Sahnoun, briefed members of the Security Council on the continuing difficult situation in the Republic of the Congo. Mr. Sahnoun updated the Council on the efforts he and President Bongo of Gabon were making to resolve the conflict between the Government and supporters of former Congolese President Sassou-Nguessou. Mr. Richardson also reported to the Council on conversations he had held in his capacity as Council President with Foreign Minister Karaha of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who reported on shelling attacks from Brazzaville into Kinshasa.
Members of the Council continued to follow developments within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Secretary-General's Chief of Staff, Iqbal Riza, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Hédi Annabi, both briefed Security Council members on United Nations efforts to enable the human rights investigative mission to go forward. Mr. Richardson, in his capacity as Council president, also urged President Kabila to cooperate with the mission.
Members of the Council considered the issue of refugees in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Early in the month, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, briefed Council members on developments in Burundi and Rwanda. The Council President issued a press statement expressing the Council's support for the Arusha talks and its concern over the forced repatriation of more than 800 Rwandan refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees briefed Council members on the Great Lakes region. Following that meeting, the President sought meetings with the Permanent Representatives of Rwanda, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to urge their Governments to adhere strictly to international refugee conventions. The President also met the Chargé d'affaires of OAU, who pledged that OAU would convey a similar message regarding adherence to international refugee conventions to the relative Governments.
Mr. Annabi briefed members of the Council on the completion of the mandate of UNOMIL and United Nations plans for a post-UNOMIL presence. Council members met to discuss the situation in Sierra Leone. The Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Ibrahima Fall, apprised Council members of efforts by ECOWAS to restore the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone to power. Mr. Fall also briefed Council members on Somalia.
The Council took action on the situation in Western Sahara in September. The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. James Baker III, briefed the members of the Council on his efforts to bring the involved parties to an agreement on implementing the Settlement Plan. The Council adopted resolution 1131 (1997), by which it extended the mandate of MINURSO for three weeks, pending further developments.
The Council held a special ministerial meeting on Africa on 25 September. President Mugabe of Zimbabwe, in his capacity as OAU Chairman, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 15 Council States and the OAU Secretary-General all spoke at the ministerial meeting. The Council issued a presidential statement on Africa, which noted positive developments, expressed concern over the number and intensity of conflicts on the continent and asked the Secretary-General to prepare a comprehensive report by February 1998 on the sources of conflict in Africa, ways to address these conflicts and how to lay the foundation for long-term peace and economic growth in Africa.
Europe
The Secretariat briefed the members of the Council on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on the report of UNMIBH and providing an update on the municipal elections held there on 13 and 14 September. The President, on behalf of the Council, told the press that the elections had been generally peaceful, with high participation from all ethnic groups.
A presidential statement was issued concerning the situation in Eastern Slavonia in Croatia, calling upon the Government of Croatia to meet specific obligations concerning displaced persons and refugees, local government administrations and the welfare and pension payment systems, national reconciliation, the amnesty law and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Liviu Bota, briefed the members of the Council on the next steps in Georgia. The President told the press that Council members were concerned over the slow pace of progress in the Georgia conflict, and expressed its support for Mr. Bota's intention to reconvene the Geneva meeting of the parties under the Chairmanship of the United Nations, with the Russian Federation as facilitator and with the support of the Friends of the Secretary-General for Georgia and OSCE.
Asia/the Middle East
The Council adopted resolution 1128 (1997) to renew the mandate of UNMOT. The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, Lakhdar Brahimi, briefed the members of the Council on Afghanistan and stressed the fundamental importance of arranging a ceasefire in that country. Mr. Brahimi indicated his determination to continue to work with internal Afghan factions and also external parties and neighbours of Afghanistan.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, Mr. Thomas Hammarberg, briefed members of the Council on developments in Cambodia and informed Council members that he believed that the Council's previous presidential statement on the Human Rights Centre had been helpful.
On Iraq, the Council adopted resolution 1129 (1997) authorizing Iraq, on an exceptional basis, to sell oil under resolution 1111 (1997) in incremental periods of 120 and 60 days, respectively, instead of the two 90-day periods stipulated under resolution 1111 (1997). The Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission, Richard Butler, briefed members of the Council on two Iraqi attempts to block access to inspection sites and otherwise interfere with Special Commission activities. The President told the press that Council members were gravely concerned about these events, in particular the one in which Iraqi authorities endangered the safety of Special Commission personnel aboard a helicopter.
The President also spoke to the press to offer the Council's condolences to the families of the victims of the bombing on Ben Yahuda Street in Jerusalem. The President repeated the Council's condemnation of terrorism and urged progress in the Middle East peace process.
Meetings of the Presidency
During the month, Mr. Richardson, in his capacity as President of the Security Council, met, inter alia, with the President of Colombia, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Costa Rica, Romania, Cuba and Yugoslavia and the Permanent Representatives and Chargés d'affaires of Kuwait, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Eritrea, Gabon, Nigeria, Tunisia, Comoros and Iraq to discuss issues of concern to those Governments.
