United Nations Security Council Resolution 419 – Benin

Resolution 419 (1977) of 24 November 1977

The Security Council,

Having heard the statement of the Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of Benin to the United Nations, especially regarding the threats of aggression by mercenaries,

Deeply concerned over the danger which international mercenaries represent for all States, in particular the smaller ones,

Convinced of the necessity of cooperation between ail States, in conformity with paragraph 10 of resolution 405 (1977) of 14 April 1977, to collect more information about the mercenaries who operated against the People’s Republic of Benin on 16 January 1977,

1. Reaffirms its resolution 405 ( 1977), in which it had, among other provisions, taken note of the report70 of the Security Council Special Mission to the People’s Republic of Benin established under resolution 404 (1977) of 8 February 1977 and strongly condemned the act of armed aggression perpetrated against the People’s Republic of Benin on 16 January 1977 and all forms of external interference in the interna! affairs of Member States, including the use of interna-tional mercenaries to destabilize States and/or to violate their territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence;

2. Takes note of the report on the evaluation of damages contained in document S/12415;73

3. Calls upon all States to work in close co-operation in order to gather all useful information concerning all mercenaries involved in the events of 16 January 1977, in compliance with paragraph 10 of resolution 405 ( 1977);

4. Takes note of the desire of the Government of Benin to have the mercenaries who participated in the attacking forces against the People’s Republic of Benin on 16 January 1977 subjected to due process of law;

5. Appeals to all States and all appropriate international organizations, including the United Nations and its specializcd agencies, to assist Benin to repair the damage caused by the act of aggression;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide all necessary assistance to Benin for the implementation of paragraph 5 of the present resolution;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to watch over the implementation of the present resolution, with particular reference to paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6, and to report to the Security Council not later than 30 September 1978;

8. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted at the 2049th meeting without a vote.