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United Nations Transitional Force In Cambodia (UNTAC)
Prince Norodom SIHANOUK (centre, with hands clasped), President of the
Supreme National Council, and Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Cambodia (to the right of Prince Sihanouk),
arriving at UNTAC's provincial headquarters in Siem Reap, Cambodia 05 August 1992 - UN photo.
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| Cambodian Election Held Under Supervision of UNTAC - UN photo |
SUMMARY
In one of its most complex operations, the United Nations in Cambodia oversaw a transition that led to the restoration of civil rule after years of civil war and foreign intervention.
After the intervention in Cambodia
by Viet Nam in December 1978, the General Assembly in 1979 called for
the withdrawal of all foreign forces, non-interference by other States
in the country's internal affairs and self-determination for the Cambodian
people. It also appealed to all States and national and international
organizations to render humanitarian relief to the civilian population.
In 1981, the Assembly requested
the United Nations Secretary-General to exercise his good offices to contribute
to a comprehensive political settlement. It also appealed for continued
relief assistance to Cambodians still in need, especially those along
the Thai-Cambodian border and in holding centres in Thailand.
Over the years, the Secretary-General
developed his good offices among the Governments and parties involved.
After a visit to the region in 1985, he listed a series of objectives
on which there was convergence, thus detailing for the first time the
main elements of a comprehensive political settlement. These included:
withdrawal of all foreign forces from Cambodia; non-return to the universally
condemned policies of the recent past; promotion of national reconciliation;
exercise by the Cambodian people of the right to determine their own destiny;
respect for the country's independence, territorial integrity and non-aligned
status; and international guarantees for supervising the implementation
of the agreements reached. He then sought to identify how this settlement
could be achieved.
In 1988, the Secretary-General
reported to the General Assembly that he had formulated a number of specific
ideas for a settlement framework, and that he had asked his Special Representative
to visit the region and present those ideas to the four Cambodian parties
and States concerned.
The Secretary-General's proposals
gave momentum to the negotiations. Also in 1988, the first face-to-face
talks among the four Cambodian parties took place in Jakarta. In April
1989, Viet Nam announced the withdrawal of its troops from Cambodia. In
July-August 1989, the parties and 17 countries attended the Paris Conference
on Cambodia also attended by the Secretary-General. In September, Viet
Nam announced that the troop withdrawal had been completed .
At the same time, the United
Nations ran a programme of humanitarian assistance to the Cambodian people,
in Cupertino since 1980, funded by voluntary contributions from Member
States, and consisting of three major components -- the operations within
Cambodia, at the border and within Thailand. Assistance was provided by
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and by the
United Nations Border Relief Operations (UNBRO), set up in 1982. Other
bodies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, also
contributed.
In January 1990, the five permanent
members of the Security Council -- China, France, the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom and the United States -- started a series of high-level
meetings on Cambodia. They called for a major United Nations role in bringing
peace to the country, including peacekeeping forces, supervision of free
elections and an administrative structure in the period leading up to
the elections.
In August, the five permanent
members announced agreement on the main elements of a political settlement
to end the conflict in Cambodia. The plan called for the control and/or
supervision by the United Nations of the country's administrative structures,
followed by United Nations -- supervised elections. The plan was accepted
by all Cambodian parties and by Viet Nam, and was endorsed in September
by the Security Council
In November, the "Five"
agreed on a draft text on Cambodia which covered a proposed mandate for
a United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia; withdrawal, ceasefire
and related measures; elections; repatriation of refugees; and principles
for a new constitution.
On 1 May 1991, a ceasefire
went into effect in Cambodia, following an appeal by the Secretary-General
and the Foreign Ministers of France and Indonesia. The Secretary-General
sent a team to the area to review the situation.
In June, the Cambodian parties
discussed the November 1990 draft agreements and other pending issues
at a meeting in Jakarta convened by the French and Indonesian Foreign
Ministers. Later on, they decided to implement an unlimited ceasefire
and to stop receiving military assistance.
In October, the Security
Council established an advance mission, the United Nations Advance Mission
in Cambodia (UNAMIC),
to assist the Cambodian parties in maintaining the ceasefire.
On 23 October, the
parties signed in Paris the Agreements on the Comprehensive Political
Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict -- a peace treaty to end the conflict
and prepare the country for elections. The Agreements assigned to the
United Nations an unprecedented role. The United Nations was to set up
an operation, the United Nations Transitional
Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), which would: supervise
the ceasefire, the end of foreign military assistance and the withdrawal
of foreign forces; regroup, canton and disarm all armed forces of the
Cambodian parties, and ensure a 70 per cent level of demobilization; control
and supervise the activities of the administrative structures, including
the police; ensure and respect of human rights; and organize and conduct
free and fair elections.
In February 1992, the Security
Council authorized the establishment of UNTAC. The Council stressed that
it was vital that elections be held by May 1993, and called on all parties
to comply scrupulously with the Paris Agreements. UNTAC was to comprise
between 15,000 and 20,000 United Nations personnel, including human rights,
civil administrative and military components, as well as a police component
of some 3,600 police monitors.
The deployment of UNTAC began
officially on 15 March 1992, with the arrival in the capital city of Phnom
Penh of the Head of UNTAC, the Secretary-General's Special Representative
for Cambodia. The first contingent of UNTAC's military component had also
arrived, and by early May, some 4,000 United Nations personnel, including
some 3,600 troops, were in place.
UNTAC assumed control of key
sectors of the country's administrative structures -- foreign affairs,
defence, security, finance and communications -- in order to build a stable
environment conducive to national elections. At the same, UNHCR oversaw
the successful repatriation and resettlement of some 360,000 refugees
and displaced persons. At its peak, UNTAC numbered over 21,000 military
and civilian personnel from more than 100 countries.
A major step towards normalization
occurred with the elections of May 1993. Twenty parties took part in the
elections. UNTAC oversaw the electoral campaign and registration of voters,
as well as the elections. Over 4.2 million people -- nearly 90 per cent
of the registered voters -- cast their ballots to elect a Constituent
Assembly. The head of UNTAC declared the elections free and fair. In September,
the Constitution was proclaimed and an new government, led by two prime
ministers, was inaugurated.
After the withdrawal of UNTAC,
several United Nations agencies have remained in the country to support
reconstruction and development. In 1993, in conformity with the Paris
Agreements, the Secretary-General appointed a Special Representative for
Human Rights to assist the Government in promoting and protecting human
rights. Working closely with the Special Representative, a Cambodia Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights sought to strengthen
civil society and build institutions and legal structures for human rights
and democracy. In 1994, the Secretary-General appointed a Representative
for Cambodia to serve as a liaison with the Government, monitor the political
situation and report on developments relating to peace and security.
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