United Nations Security Council resolution 1264, adopted unanimously on 15 September 1999, after recalling previous resolutions on

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

(Timor-Leste), the Council authorised the establishment of the multinational

International Force for East Timor The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...

(INTERFET) to restore peace and security in the territory, facilitate humanitarian assistance and protect the

United Nations Mission in East Timor The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was established by Security Council Resolution 1246 on 11 June 1999 for a period up to 31 August 1999. By Security Council Resolution 1257 of 3 August UNAMET was extended to 30 September 1999. ...

(UNAMET). The Security Council welcomed the successful conduct of the

East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum An independence referendum was held in East Timor on 30 August 1999. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for th ...

on 30 August 1999, in which the East Timorese people voted for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Meanwhile, there was concern about the deteriorating security situation and the violence that had displaced many residents. Attacks also took place against UNAMET and other international and national humanitarian personnel and this had particularly affected vulnerable groups. There were reports of widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law across East Timor, and Indonesia had accepted the presence of a United Nations international

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

force in the region. Acting under

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military an ...

, the Council condemned the violence in East Timor, called for those responsible to be brought to justice and emphasised the need for immediate unrestricted

humanitarian assistance Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

to the area. In this regard, it authorised the establishment of an Australian-led multinational force under joint command with the task of restoring peace, protecting the UNAMET mission and assisting in humanitarian operations using all necessary measures. The force consisted of 8,000 personnel from 17 countries. The

Government of Indonesia The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...

, which had temporary responsibility for the security of East Timor, would co-operate with the multinational force or INTERFET. The resolution noted that part of the agreement between Indonesia and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on the future of East Timor stipulated a peaceful and orderly transfer of authority in East Timor to the United Nations and INTERFET was asked to support the process. The multinational force would be present in East Timor for four months until replaced by a United Nations peacekeeping force and would be required to submit periodic reports on its progress. Finally, the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

was asked to make preparations for a transitional administration in East Timor that would include a peacekeeping operation during the implementation phase following the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 1999 1264 1999 in East Timor 1999 in Indonesia 1264 1264 September 1999 events

See also

References

External links