S/PV.3424 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: "The Security Council strongly condemns the detention and mistreatment of 43 unarmed military observers of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) and 6 non-governmental organizations (NGO) staff, which are in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law as well as of the Cotonou Agreement. It demands that those responsible release immediately the detained personnel and return their property and that of UNOMIL and humanitarian organizations. It urges all parties to observe strictly the Cotonou Agreement and to ensure "The Security Council requests the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure that the Economic Community Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) continues to extend protection to the extent possible to UNOMIL personnel, in accordance with the exchange of letters of 7 October 1993 between the Secretary-General and the Chairman of ECOWAS defining the respective roles and responsibilities of the two missions in Liberia. It calls upon the international community to assist ECOWAS with the necessary resources to enable ECOMOG to fulfil its mandate effectively throughout Liberia. "The Security Council is following closely the situation in Liberia and in this connection welcomes the ongoing efforts, in particular those of the President of Ghana as Chairman of ECOWAS, to secure the release of the detained personnel." This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/1994/53. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda.