United Nations Security Council Resolution 985

This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Security Council at its 3517th meeting, on 13 April 1995.

The Security Council,

Recalling its resolutions 813 (1993) of 26 March 1993, 856 (1993) of 10 August 1993, 866 (1993) of 22 September 1993, 911 (1994) of 21 April 1994, 950 (1994) of 21 October 1994 and 972 (1995) of 13 January 1995,

Recalling also its resolution 788 (1992) of 19 November 1992, in which it decided, under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, that all States shall, for the purpose of establishing peace and stability in Liberia, immediately implement a general and complete embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Liberia until the Security Council decides otherwise, and in which it decided also that the embargo shall not apply to weapons and military equipment destined for the sole use of the peace-keeping forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Liberia, subject to any review that may be required in conformity with the report of the Secretary-General,

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General dated 24 February 1995 (S/1995/158) and 10 April 1995 (S/1995/279) on the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL),

Deeply concerned that the cease-fire in Liberia has broken down, precluding the full deployment of UNOMIL and preventing UNOMIL from fully carrying out its mandate,

Noting with deep concern that in violation of resolution 788 (1992) arms continue to be imported into Liberia, exacerbating the conflict,

Welcoming the decision of ECOWAS to hold a summit of Heads of State in May 1995,

1. Decides to extend the mandate of UNOMIL until 30 June 1995;

2. Urges all Liberian parties to implement the Akosombo Agreement (S/1994/1174) and the Accra Agreement (S/1995/7) by re-establishing an effective cease-fire, promptly installing the Council of State, and taking concrete steps towards the implementation of the other provisions of the Agreements;

3. Encourages the ECOWAS States to promote implementation of the Akosombo and Accra Agreements, and to continue to do all in their power to facilitate a political settlement in Liberia;

4. Urges all States, and in particular all neighbouring States, to comply fully with the embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Liberia imposed by resolution 788 (1992), and to that end decides to establish, in accordance with rule 28 of its provisional rules of procedure, a Committee of the Security Council, consisting of all the members of the Council, to undertake the following tasks and to report on its work to the Council with its observations and recommendations:

(a) To seek from all States information regarding the action taken by them concerning the effective implementation of the embargo imposed by paragraph 8 of resolution 788 (1992);

(b) To consider any information brought to its attention by States concerning violations of the embargo, and in that context to make recommendations to the Council on ways of increasing the effectiveness of the embargo;

(c) To recommend appropriate measures in response to violations of the embargo imposed by paragraph 8 of resolution 788 (1992) and provide information on a regular basis to the Secretary-General for general distribution to Member States;

5. Expresses its appreciation to the Chairman of ECOWAS for his initiative in organizing a regional summit on Liberia and to the Government of Nigeria for agreeing to host it, and urges all parties to participate;

6. Demands once more that all factions in Liberia strictly respect the status of personnel of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and UNOMIL, and those of organizations and personnel delivering humanitarian assistance throughout Liberia and further demands that these factions facilitate such deliveries and that they strictly abide by applicable rules of international humanitarian law;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council by 15 June 1995 on the situation in Liberia, including whether there is an effective cease-fire and whether UNOMIL can carry out its mandate, and on the status of contributions of financial and logistical resources from the international community in support of the troops participating in ECOMOG, and notes that the Council will consider the future of UNOMIL in the light of the Secretary-General’s report;

8. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.