| UN Security Council Resolution 814 | |
|---|---|
Somalia | |
| Date | 26 March 1993 |
| Meeting no. | 3,188 |
| Code | S/RES/814 (Document) |
| Subject | Somalia |
Voting summary | 15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council resolution 814, adopted unanimously on 26 March 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992), 751 (1992), 767 (1992), 775 (1992) and 794 (1993) on the ongoing civil war in Somalia, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, authorised an extension of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) until 31 October 1993.
United Nations Security Council resolution 733, adopted unanimously on 23 January 1992, after expressing its alarm at the situation in Somalia regarding the heavy loss of life, destruction to property and threat to regional stability, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, decided to place a "general and complete" arms embargo on the country for the purposes of establishing peace and stability. The situation was brought to the attention of the Security Council by the Somali government.
United Nations Security Council resolution 746, adopted unanimously on 17 March 1992, after reaffirming Resolution 733 (1992), noting a ceasefire agreement in Mogadishu and a report by the Secretary-General, the Council urged the continuation of the United Nations humanitarian work in Somalia and strongly supported the Secretary-General's decision to dispatch a technical team there.
United Nations Security Council resolution 751 is a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted unanimously on April 24, 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992) and 746 (1992) and considering a report by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on the ongoing civil war in Somalia. The Council established a United Nations Operation in Somalia I with an immediate deployment of 50 observers in the capital Mogadishu to monitor the ceasefire.
Contents
The resolution began by indicating its appreciation to the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for convening the Conference on National Reconciliation for Somalia in which some progress was made and that a wide range of Somali people were represented. It also welcomed the convening of the Third United Nations Coordination Meeting for Humanitarian Assistance for Somalia in Addis Ababa from 11 to 13 March 1993. The Council then requested the Secretary-General, through his Special Representative, to:
Boutros Boutros-Ghali was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from January 1992 to December 1996. An academic and former Vice Foreign Minister of Egypt, Boutros-Ghali oversaw the UN at a time when it dealt with several world crises, including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide. He was then the first Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie from 16 November 1997 to 31 December 2002.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 2,739,551 inhabitants.
- (a) assist in the provision of relief to Somalia in accordance with the rehabilitation programme drawn up by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs;
- (b) assist in the repatriation of refugees and displaced persons within the country;
- (c) promote political reconciliation, including the re-establishment of national and regional institutions and civil administrations through broad participation of all sectors of Somali society;
- (d) facilitate the re-establishment of the Somali police and restoration of law and order, including investigations into violations of international humanitarian law;
- (e) assist in demining and in the development of public information services;
- (f) create conditions under which Somali civil society may have a role at every level in the process of political reconciliation.
The Council then extended and strengthened the mandate of UNOSOM II under Chapter VII, emphasising the need for disarmament and the need to support the Unified Task Force (UNITAF). It demanded Somali parties fulfil their obligations to the agreements they signed and ensure the safety of United Nations personnel and those of international organisations, as well as requesting the Secretary-General to enforce from inside Somalia the arms embargo imposed in Resolution 733 alongside Member States.
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms. General and Complete Disarmament was defined by the United Nations General Assembly as the elimination of all WMD, coupled with the “balanced reduction of armed forces and conventional armaments, based on the principle of undiminished security of the parties with a view to promoting or enhancing stability at a lower military level, taking into account the need of all States to protect their security.”
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a US-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force, which operated in Somalia between 5 December, 1992 – 4 May 1993. A United States initiative, UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794 to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.
An arms embargo is an embargo that applies solely to weaponry, and may also apply to "dual-use technology". An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:
The resolution then requested the Secretary-General to provide security during the repatriation of refugees and the assisted resettlement of displaced persons, reiterating its call for all Somali parties to cease and desist from violations of international humanitarian law. It also directed Boutros-Ghali to direct the Force Commander of UNOSOM II to organize a prompt, smooth and phased transition from UNITAF to UNOSOM II, and to maintain the fund for receiving contributions to UNOSOM II. [1]
A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum. The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The United Nations have a second Office for refugees, the UNRWA, which is solely responsible for supporting the large majority of Palestinian refugees.
Resolution 814 concluded by welcoming the efforts United Nations agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia; requests the Secretary-General to seek further financing for institutions in Somalia and for him to keep the Council fully informed on the situation in the country. [2]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.
