United Nations Security Council Resolution 916 – UN Operation in Mozambique

Resolution 916 (1994)

The Security Council,

Reaffirming its resolution 782 (1992) of 13 October 1992 and all subsequentresolutions,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the United NationsOperation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) dated 28 April 1994 (S/1994/511),

Reiterating the importance it attaches to the General Peace Agreement for Mozambique (S/24635, annex), and the timely fulfilment in good faith by allparties of their obligations under the Agreement,

Commending the efforts of the Secretary-General, his Special Representative, his Special Adviser and the personnel of ONUMOZ in seeking to implement fully the mandate entrusted to it,

Commending also the role played by the Organization of African Unity (OAU)through the Special Representative of its Secretary-General, in the implementation of the General Peace Agreement,

Reaffirming that the people of Mozambique bear the ultimate responsibilityfor the successful implementation of the General Peace Agreement,

Reaffirming also its convictio n that the resolution of the conflict inMozambique would contribute to peace and security,

Welcoming the progress made in the implementation of the General PeaceAgreement, and in particular the announcement by the President of Mozambiquethat elections will take place on 27 and 28 October 1994,

Expressing concern none the less at delays in the full implementation of some major aspects of the General Peace Agreement,

Emphasizing the need for the fullest possible cooperation by the Governmentof Mozambique and RENAMO with ONUMOZ, including with its police component,.1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 28 April 1994;

2. Welcomes also the maintenance of the cease-fire, the commencement ofdemobilization of all forces and the transfer of weapons to regional armsdepots, the swearing into office of the High Command and the beginning of thetraining programme for the new Mozambican Defence Force (FADM);

3. Welcomes further the commencement of the deployment of the UnitedNations police observers as authorized in paragraph 2 of resolution 898 (1994)of 23 February 1994 and stresses the importance it attaches to the fullestcooperation of the parties with the police observers of ONUMOZ;

4. Urges all the parties to respect fully their obligations under the General Peace Agreement, especially:(a) To allow ONUMOZ, including the police observers, unimpeded access to the areas under their control; and(b) To allow unimpeded access to the areas under their control to all political forces in the country, in order to ensure free political activity inthe whole territory of Mozambique;

5. Notes in particular the Secretary-General’s plan as set out in paragraph 21 to 25 of his report for the redeployment of ONUMOZ’s personnel without prejudice to the effective discharge of its mandate;

6. Welcomes the announcement by the President of Mozambique on11 April 1994 that elections will take place on 27 and 28 October 1994, theinauguration of the National Elections Commission and the establishment of itsprovincial offices throughout the country; and reiterates the importance itattaches to the elections taking place on these dates with electoralregistration commencing on 1 June 1994;

7. Calls upon the Mozambican parties to support the electoral process including the work of the National Elections Commission, as described in paragraph 51 of the Secretary-General’s report;

8. Expresses its concern, however, at continuing delays in theimplementation of major aspects of the General Peace Agreement, in particularassembly and demobilization of troops, militia and paramilitary forces, and theformation of the new Mozambican Defence Force in accordance with the revisedtimetable and in line with paragraph 10 of resolution 882 (1993) of5 November 1993, and calls upon the parties to comply fully with all theprovisions of the General Peace Agreement;

9. Commends in this respect the agreement between the President of Mozambique, Mr. Joaquim Chissano, and the President of RENAMO,Mr. Afonso Dhlakama, on 8 April 1994 that the Government of Mozambique would expedite the assembly of its troops and that RENAMO would accelerate the pace of its demobilization;

10. Urges the parties to meet the targets of 1 June 1994 for thecompletion of the assembly of forces and 15 July 1994 for the completion ofdemobilization;

11. Underlines the need for the parties to ensure that ONUMOZ is provided with accurate information on the numbers of troops which remain to be assembled and to allow ONUMOZ access to all their military bases to verify military equipment as well as the number of combatants still outside the assembly areas and to provide ONUMOZ with complete lists of such equipment;

12. Calls upon the parties to ensure that the maximum possible number ofsoldiers are trained for the new Mozambican Defence Force before the electionstake place and also calls upon the Government of Mozambique to providelogistical and technical support for the formation of the new Mozambican DefenceForce, including regular remuneration for the troops and to begin the transferof central defence facilities to its command;

13. Expresses its appreciation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland, France and Portugal for their contribution to theestablishment of the new Mozambican Defence Force and to Italy and Zimbabwe fortheir offers of additional assistance in this regard;

14. Emphasizes the importance of progress being made in the area of mineclearance and related training in Mozambique, welcomes the Secretary-General’sintention to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations programme in this area and expresses appreciation to those countries which have provided assistance in this regard;

15. Appeals to the international community to provide the necessary financial assistance to facilitate the implementation of the General Peace Agreement and also to make voluntary financial contributions to the technical assistance trust fund and the special trust fund for assistance to registered political parties;

16. Notes with appreciation the response of the international community tothe humanitarian assistance needs of Mozambique and appeals to the internationalcommunity to continue to provide appropriate and prompt assistance for theimplementation of the humanitarian programmes carried out in the framework ofthe General Peace Agreement;

17. Reiterates its encouragement to the international community to provide appropriate and prompt assistance for the implementation of the demobilization scheme as a complement to the existing efforts being made in the framework ofthe humanitarian assistance programme;

18. Commends the efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other humanitarian agencies operating in Mozambique and urges all Mozambican parties to continue to facilitate their unimpeded access to the civilian population in need and to continue to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian agencies in pursuingongoing programmes to assist the remaining displaced persons and refugees to beresettled;

19. Decides to renew the mandate of ONUMOZ for a final period until15 November 1994 at the strength described in paragraphs 22, 24 and 25 of theSecretary-General’s report of 28 April 1994 subject to the proviso that the Security Council will review the status of the mandate of ONUMOZ by 15 July 1994 based on a report by the Secretary-General as described in paragraph 55 of his report, and also by 5 September 1994 based on a further report by the Secretary-General;

20. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Security Council I slept regularly informed on the implementation of the General Peace Agreement, in particular on assembly and demobilization;

21. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 3375th meeting,on 5 May 1994.