United Nations Security Council Resolution 1236 – Timor
Resolution 1236 (1999)
The Security Council,
Recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in East Timor,
Recalling also General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), 1541 (XV) and2625 (XXV) and the resolutions of the General Assembly on the question of EastTimor, in particular resolution 37/30,
Bearing in mind the sustained efforts of the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal since July 1983, through the good offices of the Secretary-General, tofind a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable solution to thequestion of East Timor,
Welcoming the progress made at the last round of talks between theGovernments of Portugal and Indonesia, under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, leading to the conclusion of a series of agreements in New York on 5 May 1999,
Commending in particular the efforts of the Personal Representative of theSecretary-General in this regard,
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General (S/1999/513),
Taking note of the concerns expressed in the report of the Secretary-General regarding the security situation in East Timor,
- Welcomes the concluding of the Agreement between Indonesia andPortugal on 5 May 1999 on the question of East Timor (the General Agreement)(S/1999/513, Annex I);
2. Welcomes also the concluding of the Agreements between the UnitedNations and the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal on the same date regardingsecurity arrangements (S/1999/513, Annex III) and the modalities for the popular consultation of the East Timorese through a direct ballot (S/1999/513,Annex II);
3. Welcomes further the intention of the Secretary-General to establishas soon as practicable a United Nations presence in East Timor, with a view toassisting in the implementation of these Agreements in particular through:
(a) Conducting a popular consultation of the East Timorese people on the acceptance or rejection of a constitutional framework for an autonomy for East Timor, scheduled for 8 August 1999, in accordance with the General Agreement;
(b) Making available a number of civilian police officers to act as advisers to the Indonesian Police in the discharge of their duties in East Timor and, at the time of the consultation, to supervise the escort of ballot papers and boxes to and from the polling sites;
4. Stresses the importance of the requests made to the Secretary-Generalin the General Agreement to report the result of the popular consultation to theSecurity Council and the General Assembly, as well as to the Governments ofIndonesia and Portugal and the East Timorese people, and, during the interimperiod between the conclusion of the popular consultation and the start of theimplementation of either option, an autonomy within Indonesia or transition toindependence, to maintain an adequate United Nations presence in East Timor;
5. Stresses also the responsibility of the Government of Indonesia tomaintain peace and security in East Timor in order to ensure that theconsultation is carried out in a fair and peaceful way and in an atmosphere freeof intimidation, violence or interference from any side and to ensure the safetyand security of United Nations and other international staff and observers inEast Timor;
6. Stresses further the importance of the assistance of the Government ofIndonesia in ensuring that the United Nations is able to carry out all the tasksentrusted to it for the implementation of the Agreements;
7. Welcomes the establishment by the Secretary-General of a Trust Fund toenable Member States to make voluntary contributions to assist in the financingof the United Nations presence in East Timor, and urges all Member States whoare in a position to do so to contribute without delay;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council closelyinformed of the situation in East Timor, to report to it as soon as possible,and in any event by 24 May 1999, on the implementation of this resolution and ofthe Agreements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, inter alia specifyingthe detailed modalities of the consultation process, to make detailedrecommendations to the Council for decision on the mandate, size, structure andbudget of the United Nations Mission, including civilian police officers envisaged in paragraph 3 above, and to report to the Council thereafter everyfourteen days;
9. Expresses its intention to take a prompt decision on the establishmentof a United Nations Mission on the basis of the report referred to inparagraph 8 above;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Council prior to thestart of voter registration on whether, on the basis of the objective evaluationof the United Nations Mission, the necessary security situation exists for thepeaceful implementation of the consultation process;
11. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
Adopted by the Security Council at its 3998th meeting,on 7 May 1999.
