UN Security Council resolution 1319

UN Security Council Resolution 1319
Date:	2000
Meeting:	4195
Identifier:	s / RES / 1319 (2000) ( document )
Poll:	Pro: 15  Ent. : 0  Cons: 0
Object:	The situation in East Timor
Result:	accepted
Composition of the Security Council 2000:
Permanent members:
CHN FRA GBR RUS USA
Non-permanent members:
ARG BGD CAN JAM MYS
MLI NAM NLD TUN UKR

With Resolution 1319 of the UN Security Council , the UN Security Council called on Indonesia to take action against the pro-Indonesian militias who had their bases in West Timor , to disarm them and to secure the refugee camps and the border. The resolution was passed on September 8, 2000 .

background

After the Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, East Timor (Timor-Leste) was initially under the United Nations' interim administration for East Timor (UNTAET). In the independence referendum on August 30, 1999, the population decided in favor of statehood and against internal autonomy within Indonesia. As a result, there was a final wave of violence by militias and Indonesian security personnel in which around 3,000 people died, the East Timor's infrastructure was destroyed and a large part of the population had to flee or was forcibly evacuated to West Timor by the Indonesians. The international community responded by sending the International Armed Forces East Timor (INTEFET) to restore law and order. UNTAET took over the development of state institutions and the preparation of the territory for state independence.

See also : Operation Donner

On February 23, 2000, the military command passed from INTERFET to UNTAET. But refugees in West Timor were held in camps and murdered months after they were officially handed over to the UN peacekeeping mission. On July 24, 2000, a UN soldier from New Zealand was killed in an exchange of fire with a pro-Indonesian militia on the border with Indonesia. On August 10, a Nepalese UN soldier died fighting with a militia. On September 6th, three UNHCR employees were murdered in a refugee camp in Atambua, Indonesia, in West Timor.

The resolution

Irish UN soldiers in East Timor (June 2000)

The UN Security Council recalled its previous resolutions and the statements of its President on the situation in East Timor, in particular the statements of the President of the Security Council dated August 3, 2000 (S / PRST / 2000/26) in which he expressed his particular concern about the The high number of East Timorese refugees still existing in camps in West Timor, the continued presence of militias in the camps and their attempts to intimidate the refugees and the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UN Security Council was appalled by the brutal murder of three United Nations employees on September 6, 2000 by a militia-led mob. The UN Security Council supports the statement on this case by the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan at the beginning of the Millennium Summit and the expression of concern by several heads of state and governments during this event (A / 55 / PV.6). The UN Security Council condemned this “outrageous and contemptuous” action against unarmed international workers who were in West Timor to help the refugees. The conviction of two UNTAET blue helmet soldiers and attacks on the presence of the United Nations in East Timor were repeated. The UN Security Council recalled its declaration at the summit of the UN Security Council, at the level of heads of state ( UN Security Council resolution 1318 of September 7, 2000), with particular reference to the need for effective measures for the security and security of United Nations employees. The outrage of the UN Security Council was emphasized because of the attacks reported in Betun (West Timor) on September 7, 2000, in which, according to the report, several refugees were killed. The UN Security Council welcomed the letter dated September 7, 2000 from Abdurrahman Wahid , the President of Indonesia to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in which the President expressed his outrage over the murder of UNHCR staff and stated his intention to conduct a full investigation and action to take against the guilty.

The UN Security Council called on the Indonesian government to immediately take further steps to fulfill its responsibility to immediately disarm and dismantle the militias, to restore order and calm in the affected areas of West Timor, to ensure security in the refugee camps and for humanitarian workers and to stop cross-border incursions into East Timor. It was stressed that those responsible for the attacks on the international workers in West and East Timor should be brought to justice. The UN Security Council recalled the letter of February 18, 2000 from the President of the UN Security Council (S / 2000/137), in which he noted that serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights are an obligation and that those responsible for these violations must be brought to justice . The UN Security Council has repeatedly reiterated its belief that the United Nations must play a role in protecting the rights of the people of East Timor. Those responsible in Indonesia were urged to take immediate effective measures to ensure the safe return of those refugees who so wished to East Timor. At the same time, a program should be created for those who do not want to return and have to be resettled. It was noted that the Indonesian government had decided to send additional troops to West Timor to improve the serious security situation. The UN Security Council pointed out, however, that UNHCR staff could not return to West Timor until a credible guarantee of security was in place, including real progress in disarming and disbanding the militias. It was stressed that UNTAET, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1272 of October 22, 1999, should respond robustly to the threat posed by the militias.

The Secretary-General was requested by the UN Security Council to report on the situation on the ground within a week of the adoption of this resolution. The UN Security Council decided to continue actively dealing with the matter.

Follow-up time

East Timor came to rest in 2001 and was given independence on May 20, 2002. The mandate of UNMISET was later extended to 2005, then replaced by the one-year follow-up mission to the United Nations Office in East Timor (UNOTIL). When unrest broke out in East Timor in 2006 , the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), together with the International Stabilization Force (ISF), became necessary. The UN missions in East Timor finally ended on December 31, 2012, but tens of thousands of refugees were still living in West Timor at that time, mostly former sympathizers and collaborators of the Indonesian occupation forces.

See also

• History of East Timor