The Brazil Presidency
January 1999
Introduction
This assessment of the work of the Security Council for the month of January 1999 has been prepared under the responsibility of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations.
January was an extremely busy month for the Security Council. Besides deliberating on the renewal of mandates for United Nations operations in Sierra Leone, Prevlaka (Croatia), Lebanon, Western Sahara and Abkhazia (Georgia), Council members were called upon to examine the situations in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti, Iraq and Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). An open briefing was given by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sergio Vieira de Mello on the topic "promoting peace and security: humanitarian activities relevant to the Security Council". The Council adopted s even resolutions — on UNOMSIL, Angola, UNMOP, UNIFIL, MINURSO, UNOMIG and Ethiopia and Eritrea. The President of the Council read out five statements — one each on Sierra Leone, Angola and UNIFIL and two on Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) — and issued two notes, one on the work of the sanctions committees and another on Iraq. The Council held 12 formal meetings. Informal consultations were held from Monday to Friday during the entire month, and also on Saturday, 30 January, when agreement was finally reached on the establishment of three panels on Iraq under the chairmanship of the President, Ambassador Celso L. N. Amorim, as specified in the note by the President dated 30 January (S/1999/100). Troop contributors' meetings were held on MONUA, UNOMSIL, UNMOP, UNIFIL and UNOMIG.
The President addressed the media after informal consultations, and on 13 occasions was authorized to make statements to the press on behalf of Council members — the texts of which are included in the present report. The President met privately with the Secretary-General and several of his representatives, as well as with the Acting President of the General Assembly. A meeting wi t h t h e President of the Economic and Social Council focused on ways to implement Article 65 of the Charter and enhance cooperation between the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, particularly in dealing with post-conflict situations. The President also met with the chairmen of the five regional groups, a number of representatives of States not members of the Security Council and the Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Several rounds of bilateral and multilateral consultations were held with Council members on the establishment of the Iraq panels. The President was visited by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, the Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone and the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia.
Countries not members of the Security Council were regularly briefed, upon the conclusio n of the daily informal consultations of the whole, by the President's staff.
Africa
Angola
Discussions on Angola resumed following the downing of a United Nations-chartered Hercules C-130 aircraft on 2 January, only two days after the adoption of resolution 1219 (1998), in which the Council had expressed its serious concern at the increase in incidents involving the disappearance of an aircraft, reportedly over territory controlled by UNITA. A MONUA troop-contributors' meeting was convened in the afternoon of Saturday, 2 January — the day the Government of Angola announced that the airplane had been shot down near Huambo airport. After informal consultatio n s o n 4 January, the President was authorized to make a statement to the press expressing Council members' outrage at the disappearance of a second United Nations-chartered aircraft over the territories held by UNITA, which brought to six the number of airplanes lost in the same area. In the course of the following days the Secretariat kept Council members regularly briefed on the search-and-rescue efforts. Benon Sevan was appointed Special Emissary of the Secretary-General to oversee the search-and-rescue operations regarding the two United Nations planes and to ascertain the fate of their missing passengers. During informal consultatio ns on 7 January, Council members were briefed on contacts between Mr. Sevan and the Angolan authorities. On the same day, the President was authorized to speak to the press in order to express support for the efforts of the Secretariat and to welcome the cooperation extended by the Government of Angola. The findings of a special team that managed to obtain access to the sites, as reported by the Secretariat to Council members on 11 January, concluded that there was very little possibility of survivors. The Council began to work on a draft resolution circulated by the Russian Federation. In its resolution 1221 (1999), adopted by consensus on 12 January under Chapter VII, the Council concluded that the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, had not complied with the demands outlined in resolution 1219 (1998) and expressed its readiness to take steps to reinforce the implementation of sanctions against UNITA and to consider the imposition of additional measures, including in the area of telecommunications.
Following the issuance of the report by the Secretary-General on MONUA (S/1999/49), the Council was briefed on 20 January by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, on the political and military situation in the country and by Mr. Vieira de Mello on the humanitarian situation. A draft presidential statement prepared by the "Troika" delegations (Portugal, the Russian Federation and the United States), became the basis for the presidential statement adopted the following day (S/PRST/1999/3). In that statement the Council expressed its alarm at the deterioration in the political and military situation in Angola and reaffirmed that the primary cause of the crisis in Angola was the refusal by UNITA to comply with the basic provisions of the Lusaka Protocol. It also underlined the importance attached by the Council to a continued multidisciplinary United Nations presence in Angola.
On 27 January Assis tant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi provided Council members with additional information regarding the investigative team's visit to the second crash site. This information confirmed the initial impression that there were no survivors.
Sierra Leone
The first days of January were marked by a dramatic deterioration in the security situation in Sierra Leone, with rebel forces penetrating the centre of Freetown and spreading terror among civilians. The first round of discussions was held on 6 January to take stock of the situation. On the following day a statement by the President, based on a draft circulated by the United Kingdom, was read in formal session. It expressed the Council's grave concern at the attacks by armed rebels of the former junta and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the capital and at the resulting suffering and loss of life. The Council reiterated its support for the legitimate and democratically elected Government of President Kabbah and commended the ECOMOG forces in Sierra Leone for the courage demonstrated in their efforts to maintain security in the country. The key contribution of UNOMSIL and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in their efforts to restore stability were also acknowledged.
In view of the gravity of the situation, a special report of the Secretary-General was issued, with revised recommendations, on 8 January. At a UNOMSIL troop contributors' meeting on 11 January questions arose regarding the safety of United Nations personnel, most of which had by then been evacuated to neighbouring Guinea. An emergency appeal was made for donors to provide assistance to ECOMOG. Under the circumstances it was felt that a short resolution should be adopted to extend the mandate of UNOMSIL until 13 March, while additional time would be set aside for discussions on Sierra Leone in view of the evolution of the political and humanitarian crisis. In its resolution 1220 (1999), adopted by consensus on 12 January, the Council took note of the Secretary-General's intention to reduce the number of military observers in UNOMSIL and to retain in Conakry a small number who would return to Sierra Leone when conditions allowed, as suggested in paragraph 37 of his special report on UNOMSIL (S/1999/20). Subsequently, on 22 January Council members were briefed on the political and humanitarian aspects of the conflict. By then Special Representative Francis Okelo had become actively involved in facilitating the political dialogue between the Government of Sierra Leone and RUF. Although the reb els still occupied much of the capital, ECOMOG had started to push them back from the Freetown peninsula. Notwithstanding these developments, the tense and volatile situation prompted the delivery of a statement to the press by the President, who was authorized to speak after the consultations on 22 January to urge the international community to give continued support to ECOMOG and press for a political solution to the crisis on the basis of respect for the democratically elected Government of President Kabbah.
Central African Republic
Mr. Annabi briefed Council members on 11 January on the increasing political tensions in the Central African Republic during the first days of the month, which had put MINURCA on a state of alert. The Secretary-General had asked Mr. Annabi to go to Bangui to express his concerns regarding developments that could affect the process of national reconciliation in the Central African Republic. Mr. Annabi presented an update to Council members on 13 January focusing both on the internal tensions arising from the political situation and on the risks of a possible s pillover from the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On the same day, the President made a statement to the press expressing Council members' support for Mr. Annabi's mission to Bangui.
Burundi
Council members were briefed on 19 January on the domestic and external aspects of the persistent instability in Burundi. It was noted that the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had negatively affected the internal security situation. In anticipation of the Arusha talks, it was felt that all parties should be encouraged to negotiate seriously in order to advance the peace process. A proposal by the Facilitator of the peace process, Julius Nyerere, for the lifting, or at least suspension, of the regional sanctions was supported by Council members, as expressed in a statement to the press by the President after the meeting. In that s tatement Council members also called upon the perpetrators of crimes against civilians to cease those actions and urged the international community to continue to provide financial support to the Arusha process.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The briefing given by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, on 13 January touched on the military aspects of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as on the humanitarian/human rights situation and developments on the diplomatic front. Concern was expressed with respect to the internationalization of the conflict, and particular attention was focused on reports of a recent massacre involving hundreds of civilians in South Kivu. In a statement to the press, the President expressed members' outrage at those reports and called for an international investigation of the killings. In his statement, the President urged the parties to reach a ceasefire agreement, and spoke of the need for the Council to maintain its involvement in the issue. Council members' commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was reaffirmed as a manifestation of their underlying concern with what was portrayed by some as a de facto partition of the country.
On 22 January, the Permanent Representative of Namibia, Ambassador Martin Andjaba, informed Council members about the summit meeting held at Windhoek on 18 January convened at the request of the President of Uganda. The meeting, which was chaired by Namibian President Sam Nujoma, was attended by the Presidents of Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe as well as by the National Defence Minister of Angola and the Executive Secretary of SADC. According to Ambassador Andjaba, the meeting contributed to promoting greater mutual understanding among participants. He stressed that this initiative did not constitute a departure from the Lu saka process, and that President Nujoma would report to President Chiluba of Zambia on the meeting's results.
Eritrea and Ethiopia
Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahima Fall's briefing on 22 January raised the level of Council members' concern with the continuing military build-up along the common border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. On the same day the President was authorized to make a statement to the press issuing a call to both sides to exercis e restraint and maintain their commitment to a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The statement expressed support for the mediation efforts of OAU and commended the efforts of United States Envoy Anthony Lake and the Secretary-General's decision to send Mohamed Sahnoun, Special Envoy for Africa, on a mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia. The President of the Council spoke to the representativ es of both Ethiopia and Eritrea, who subsequently indicated that their Governments would be ready to receive Mr. Sahnoun. Meanwhile, a draft resolution circulated by the United States delegation was discussed at the expert level on 28 January and adopted the following day. In its resolution 1226 (1999), adopted by consensus, the Council endorsed the decision by the Secretary-General to send his Special Envoy for Africa to the region in support of OAU efforts and strongly urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to maintain their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the border dispute, calling upon them to refrain from taking military action. The resolution highlighted the importance of the OAU Framework Agreement as a basis for the peaceful resolution of the border dispute.
Western Sahara
The Council adopted a technical "roll-over" resolution e xtending the mandate of MINURSO until 11 February, b y which time a new decision would be taken on the basis of the Secretary-General's report due to be issued before the end of January. Resolution 1224 (1999) was adopted by consensus on the afternoon of 28 January, after brief informal consultations on the draft. In paragraph 2, the Council asks the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed of all significant developments in the implementation of the settlement plan and the agreements reached between the parties, and, as appropriate, on the continuing viability of MINURSO.
Americas
Under-Secretary-General Miyet's briefing on Haiti on 19 January concentrated on the evolution of the country's political and electoral crisis. The fact that the crisis had been going on for a year and a half was widely deplored, although several Council members acknowledged with a measure of relief that President Préval had refrained from ruling by decree. The President of the Council was authorized to make a statement to the press expressing Council members' concern with the instability in Haiti and urging President Préval, the Hait i a n authorities and other political leaders to continue their efforts to reach a negotiated solution capable of preserving Haiti's democratic institutions, in accordance with its Constitution. Emphasis was placed on the need for the organization of free and fair elections through a credible provisional electoral council. The importance of continued support by the international community for the social and economic rehabilitation of Haiti was also highlighted. It was agreed that the Council would keep the matter under review.
Asia/Middle East
Afghanistan
Security Council members heard a briefing on Afghanistan by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, on 20 January. Mr. Brahimi spoke of increased fighting on the military front and increasing tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran. He had no progress to report on the political front. In his view the role of the neighbouring countries in bringing peace to Afghanistan remained essential. Concerns with human rights abuses and the safety of international and humanitarian personnel figured prominently among the issues raised by member States during t he discussions. In a statement to the press, the Presid e n t voiced Council members' demand that the Taliban, as well as other Afghan sides, stop fighting without delay, conclude a ceasefire and resume negotiations with the aim of creating a broadly based and fully representative government. In the statement, Council members expressed their very strong support and appreciation for the continuing efforts of the Secretary-General to secure the full implementation of Security Council resolutions and encouraged the "six plus two" group and the Special Envoy to intensify their efforts.
Iraq
In examining ways to implement all relevant Security Council resolutions on Iraq after the events of December 1998, Council members held extensive informal consultations on the different aspects of the issue, met in groups and discussed policy options privately with the President throughout the month of January. An intensification of the debate on Ir a q towards the end of the month made it possible to issue a note by the President (S/1999/100) in which the Council established three panels, on disarmament and current and future ongoing monitoring and verification issues; on humanitarian issues; and on prisoners of war and Kuwaiti property. Since these complex and lengthy discussions could be summarized only at the risk of oversimplification, the following paragraphs do not aim to present more than a brief outline of Council deliberation on Iraq during January.
On 5 January the Deputy to the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, Rolf Goran Knutsson, transmitted to the Council certain complaints by Iraq regarding humanitarian activities of non-governmental organizations and the United Nations in the north of the country, informed Council members of Baghdad's intention not to renew visas of United Nations staff from the United States and the United Kingdom and presented some limited and preliminary ind ications on the impact of military activity on the humanitarian programme. Council members did not reach agreement on the terms for a statement by the President to the press. An additional briefing on the humanitarian situation was scheduled for 14 January. The President presented some thoughts on Iraq during inf ormal consultations on 11 January. He differentiated between a short-term need to discuss practical measures to improve the humanitarian s ituation and a longer term perspective within which other matters would need t o b e considered. While acknowledging the different views of Council members on the impact of recent events for future United Nations activity in Iraq, he expressed his intention to continue to consult members individually or in groups on an informal basis.
The scheduled briefing by the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Mr. Sevan, provided Council members with a fuller — although still limited — picture of the humanitarian situation. Food basket distribution was described as normal, and no significant changes in health care services were reported. Some rice in storage had been destroyed, and there had been severe power cuts. The Council was informed of Iraq's refusal to participate in the Technical Subcommittee of the Tripartite Commission chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross, established to ascertain the whereabouts of unaccounted-for military personnel and civilians of Kuwaiti and third-c ountry nationality. Council members raised topics ranging from problems related to the sale of spare parts destined for the Iraqi oil industry to religious exemptions to the sanctions regime. The President was authorized to state to the press that Council members had displayed unanimous preoccupation with the need to improve the humanitarian programme in Iraq and showed a positive disposition to study practical steps to facilitate the operation of the existing mechanism, including the issue of spare parts. In the statement, Council members expressed interest in finding ways to address religious exemptions in a flexible way. As discussions on Iraq proceeded during the same day, Council members focused on a set of ideas presented by the delegation of France and on a contrib u tion by the Russian Federation to the French ideas, which, broadly speaking, called for a switch to long-term monitoring and to a lifting of the oil embargo. Canada proposed that two reports be requested, one on disarmament in Iraq and another on the humanitarian situation. Newspaper articles by Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, which allegedly questioned Kuwait's sovereignty, were brought to the Council's attention by the Permanent Representative of Bahrain. Regarding this last question, it was agreed that the President would state to the press that Council members had looked into the statement attributed to the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and reaffirmed the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Kuwait and Iraq and their borders, as stipulated in Security Council re solutions. Substantive discussions on Iraq proceeded on 15 January. It was during those consultations that the President first referred to the concept of an "OMV (ongoing monitoring and verification plan) plus" to deal with both remaining disarmament issues and long-term monitoring and verification of Iraq's capability in the field of weapons of mass destruction. The President opened the informal consultations on Friday, 22 January, with a presentation in which he elaborated on the idea of a strengthened ongoing monitoring and verification system. Argentina suggested that the two reports proposed by Canada be prepared under the coordination of the President. In endorsing that suggestion, Canada indicated that, as the delegation next in line to occupy the presidency, it would welcome Ambassador Amorim's involvement in the project, even after the end of the month. Bahrain called attention to the unresolved problems related to the Kuwaiti prisoners of war, property and archives. In summing up the discussions, the President mentioned the possibilit y o f establishing one or more "panels" for the elaboration of the reports, and suggested that further thought be given to their format and terms of reference.
Council members were handed copies of the so-called compendium of documents prepared by UNSCOM on the afternoon of 25 January. These documents were distributed without a symbol, in the same spirit as comments by IAEA had been circulated to Council members the previous week. In summing up the discussions, the President expressed his intention to further refine the panel concept and indicated that he would be speaking to the Secretary-General on the matter. After consulting individually and in small groups with all Council members on 26 January, the President scheduled additional consultations of the whole on Iraq during which Canada presented a non-paper with a proposal for the establishment of three expert panels. Although certain differences remained, the Canadian text was widely regarded as a basis for compromise.
By Friday Council members were still involved in efforts to iron out differences on a possible note on the establishment of the three panels. The President expressed his readiness to continue in his efforts to bridge the small remaining gaps on Saturday if necessary.
Consensus on the note (S/1999/100) was reached on Saturday, 30 January.
Lebanon
A meeting with UNIFIL troop contributors was held on 26 January. On the afternoon of the same day, Council members were briefed on the situation in South Lebanon, where both sides were said to be exercising a certain degree of restraint. Although UNIFIL had contributed to improving the local dynamics, the region remained subject to low-level hostilities. The draft resolution and presidential statement circulated on this occasion reproduced previously adopted language. In its resolution 1223 (1999), adopted by consensus on 28 January, the Council extended the mandate of UNIFIL until 31 July. The adoption of the resolution was followed by the reading of a presidential statement (S/PRST/1999/4).
Europe
Prevlaka, Croatia
A meeting with UNMOP troop contributors was held on 12 January. Informal consultations in the Council were held the following day. Council members agreed on a proposal to extend the Mission until 15 July. It was the view of the Council that after three rounds of bilateral discussions between representatives of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the two countries did not seem close to reaching an agreement, and the stabilizing role of UNMOP remained important. In its resolution 1222 (1999), adopted by consensus on 15 January, the Council extended the man date of the Mission for an additional six-month period and authorized the Secretary-General to consider reducing the number of military observers to as few as 22. It also requested the parties to report at least bimonthly to the Secretary-General on the status of the negotiations and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Council by 15 April 1999. Man y delegations supported the idea contained in the report of the Secretary-General on UNMOP (S/1999/16) that other alternatives, such as mediation or arbitration, should be considered after a certain period of time.
Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The first round of discussions on Kosovo took place on 7 January, on the basis of an oral briefing by Raymond Sommereyns, Director of the Americas and Europe Division of the Department of Political Affairs, in which he updated the information contained in the Secretary-General's monthly report pursuant to resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998) and 1203 (1998) (S/1998/1221). While the situation was described as relatively calm, it was recalled that the previous weeks had given rise to the highest levels of violence in Kosovo since October 1998. The absence of a United Nations polit ical presence in Kosovo imposed limitations on the Secretariat's capacity to independently assess the situation. Council members did not reach agreement on the terms of a statement to be delivered to the press by the President. The President thus announced to the press that Council members would continue to follow the situation closely.
Discussions resumed on the afternoon of 11 January as a result of heightening tensions prompted by actions of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which had killed three Serb policemen and had taken hostage eight servicemen of the Yugoslav army. Council members debated whether a presidential statement along the lines of declarations by OSCE and the European Union should be issued, with several delegations invoking the need for instructions. A draft was examined in informal consultations the next day. Although the President believed that it would be appropriate for the Council to react to the episode, a consensus did not emerge. The argument was made that negotiations for the liberation of the hostages would not be aided by a statement by the President. The hostages were subsequently freed.
The President took the decision to convene informal consultations on 18 January (a United Nations holiday) after being informed of the massacre of Kosovar Albanians in the village of Racak in southern Kosovo. A letter from the Permanent Representative of Albania had requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council. Although the details of the incident were not immediately available, Council members had at their disposal a report by the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, which provided the main input for the discussion. While a group of delegations worked on a draft presidential statement, consultations of the whole focused on the possible terms of a statement to the press by the President. Agreement was reached on a statement to the press, which called for an immediate and full investigation of the massacre in Racak and reminded the parties of their commitments under relevant Security Council resolutions, including full and co mplete cooperation with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The declaration of the head of the Kosovo Verification Mission as persona non grata by the Yugoslav authorities was deplored, and Belgrade was called upon to rescind this decision. Council members deplored actions endangering the Mission and all international personnel and indicated that they would continue to discuss the matter. After prolonged negotiations, a presidential statement was adopted on the evening of the following day (S/PRST/1999/2). The text addressed the same points as the ones mentioned in the press statement, elaborated on issues related to the Tribunal and mentioned the prospect of an emerging refugee crisis. The Racak incident represented a turning point in the evolution of the Kosovo crisis. On 29 January the foreign ministers of the Contact Group (France, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States met in London and established a framework and timetable for promoting a political settlement between the parties. A statement by the President negotiated in New York on the same day (S/PRST/1999/5) welcomed and supported those decisions, and declared that the Council would follow the negotiations closely and would welcome members of the Contact Group, keeping it informed about the progress reached in that political process.
Abkhazia, Georgia
A UNOMIG troop contributors' meeting was held on 26 January, which paved the way for the adoption by consensus of resolution 1225 (1999) two days later. The resolution extended the mandate of UNOMIG until 31 July. It expressed concern at the failure of the parties to conclude agreements on security and the non-use of force after bilateral contacts in Athens. The situation of refugees and displaced persons was highlighted as a matter of urgency in paragraphs 7 and 8.
Work of the sanctions committees
On 29 January Council members reached agreement on a note by the President on the work of the sanctions committees (S/1999/92). It was agreed that the President would transmit the document to the chairmen of the committees through a letter. The text represents the culmination of efforts carried out by successive presidents of the Council on the subject of sanctions. Along with resolution 51/242, annex II, adopted by the General Assembly on 15 September 1997, and Security Council resolution 1196 (1998), adopted on 16 September 1998, the note by the President stands as a consensus platform for the introduction of improvements into the current practices regarding sanctions regimes.
Humanitarian briefing
Mr. Vieira de Mello addressed the Council at a public meeting on 21 January on the topic "promoting peace and security: humanitarian activities relevant to the Secu rity Council". His remarks and interventions by Council members can be found in the record of the meeting (S/PV.3968). This initiative represented an innovative exercise to the extent that it was not limited to an exchange based on prepared statements and gave rise to an interactive debate. Among the issues raised were the importance of securing unimpeded access for those in need who are caught up in conflict situations, the integration of humanitarian assistance within peacekeeping operations and, more broadly, the relationship between humanitarian and political imperatives.
