S/PV.4224 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Solomon Islands in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them a letter dated 10 November 2000 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Solomon Islands to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2000/1088). 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 supports the Townsville Peace Agreement, concluded on 15 October 2000 (S/2000/1088), for the cessation of hostilities between the Malaita Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Movement and for the restoration of peace and ethnic harmony in Solomon Islands. “The Security Council encourages all parties to cooperate in promoting reconciliation, so that the objectives of the Townsville Peace Agreement can be met, and urges all parties to continue to cooperate in accordance with the Townsville Peace Agreement, namely, to restore and maintain peace and ethnic harmony, to renounce the use of armed force and violence, to settle their differences through consultation and peaceful negotiation and to confirm their respect for human rights and the rule of law. “The Security Council commends those countries in the region that have supported the resolution of the conflict, and welcomes the establishment, as outlined in the Townsville Peace Agreement, of the International Peace Monitoring Team composed of unarmed military personnel and civilian police from Australia and New Zealand, the mandate of which is based on Annex II of the said Agreement and agreed by the parties. It also encourages other nations, in particular those in the region, to participate and assist in the implementation of this peace agreement.” This document will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2000/33. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.