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Statement [on the Item Entitled "the Situation in Africa"]

S/PRST/1998/29No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 100The situation in Africa, published in 1998.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics
AfricaDispute SettlementGovernanceHuman RightsIllicit Arms TraffickingRegional ConflictsRegional CooperationSustainable DevelopmentWorking Groups

What does this mandate say?

12 paragraphs
At the 3931st meeting of the Security Council, held on 24 September 1998 in connection with the Council's consideration of the item entitled "The situation in Africa", the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:
"The Security Council met on 24 September 1998, at the level of Foreign Ministers, in accordance with its resolution 1170 (1998) of 28 May 1998, to assess progress in achieving peace and security in Africa since the last Ministerial Meeting on 25 September 1997. It recalls the statement of its President (S/PRST/1997/46) of 25 September 1997 and reiterates its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report of 13 April 1998 (A/52/871-S/1998/318).
"The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to Africa in the areas of conflict prevention and the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with its responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations. It also reaffirms the principles of the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States.
"The Security Council underlines that peaceful societies rest upon respect for fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person. It recognizes the close linkage between the promotion of economic and social development and the prevention of conflict. It stresses that the quest for peace in Africa requires a comprehensive, concerted and determined approach, encompassing the eradication of poverty, the promotion of democracy, sustainable development and respect for human rights, as well as conflict prevention and resolution, including peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance. It underlines that genuine political will is necessary, in Africa and beyond, to achieve durable results towards these ends, and stresses the urgent need for Member States, the United Nations system, including the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, the international financial institutions and other relevant organizations to continue to consider appropriate action in response to the comprehensive recommendations set out by the Secretary-General in his report.
"The Security Council recognizes the positive developments in Africa in the past year and welcomes progress achieved by African States in promoting democratization, economic reform, the protection of human rights and sustainable development. It commends efforts by African States and regional and subregional organizations, in particular the Organization of African Unity, to resolve conflicts by peaceful means. It welcomes progress made in Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, and in the peace process in Burundi. It urges all States and relevant bodies to provide financial and technical support to strengthen African regional and subregional arrangements for conflict prevention, the maintenance of peace and security and dispute settlement. It calls for an enhanced partnership between the United Nations and African regional and subregional organizations in support of these efforts.
"The Security Council expresses its continuing concern over the number and intensity of, and the interrelationship among, conflicts in Africa, and especially at the emergence of new conflicts during the past year. The border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the resurgence of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the impasse in the peace process in Angola, the continued violence in Sierra Leone, and the complex emergencies in Somalia and Sudan, among others, cause grave concern. These situations, which in some cases threaten the stability of large parts of the continent, call for concerted action by African States, the international community and the United Nations system to prevent further tragedy.
"The Security Council urgently calls on African States and all parties concerned to demonstrate the political will to settle their disputes by peaceful rather than military means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and to respect international humanitarian law and the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of States in the region. It also encourages States in the region to continue to improve the implementation of good governance and undertake the various reforms needed to promote economic growth. It calls upon the international community to assist those efforts initiated by African States and regional and subregional organizations aimed at such goals.
"For its part, the Security Council expresses its renewed commitment to contributing to conflict resolution in Africa. In this context, it recalls its decisions during the past year to authorize two new United Nations peacekeeping operations, in the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone, to assist efforts towards peace and national reconciliation. It also expresses its determination to improve further its ability to prevent conflicts, and to make its responses to conflicts more efficient and effective, and underlines its support for measures taken within the United Nations system to strengthen post-conflict peace-building efforts.
"The Security Council, based on the recommendations of its ad hoc Working Group established pursuant to its resolution 1170 (1998), has already begun to take concrete steps as part of a wider, comprehensive response to the recommendations put forward by the Secretary-General. It has taken action to help strengthen support for regional and subregional initiatives as well as to enhance coordination between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in the areas of conflict prevention and the maintenance of peace. It has also taken action in order to strengthen the effectiveness of arms embargoes imposed by the Council and addressed the need to support the strengthening of African peacekeeping capacity.
"The Security Council encourages the ad hoc Working Group to continue its work, in accordance with its mandate, and to elaborate further concrete recommendations to the Council, in particular on the need to stem illicit arms flows to and in Africa and with regard to measures to assist host Governments in Africa in maintaining the security and neutrality of refugee camps and to enhance the ability of the Council to monitor activities authorized by it but carried out by Member States or coalitions of Member States.
"The Security Council, recognizing that the challenge of achieving peace and security in Africa is a continuous process, will continue to assess progress in promoting peace and security in Africa at the level of Foreign Ministers, on a biennial basis, in accordance with its resolution 1170 (1998)."
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iParagraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

Table of contents

No headings found in this document.