Indonesian President Habibie's decision to hold a referendum to determine the future of East Timor put the former Portuguese colony on the road to independence. With the United Nations mediating, Portugal and Indonesia agreed to have the United Nations administer the vote on whether to accept or reject autonomy with Indonesia. In June, the Security Council authorized the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which successfully conducted the balloting on August 30. Following the decisive rejection of autonomy in favor of independence by the East Timorese, pro-autonomy militias, backed by Indonesian military, reacted by launching a campaign of terror that forced 250,000 East Timorese to flee the territory. The international community responded by organizing the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET). Under Australian leadership, INTERFET restored law and order and began the process of returning refugees and displaced persons to their homes in East Timor. In October, the Security Council approved establishment of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to prepare the territory for independence.

The Security Council mandated two new peacekeeping missions for Africa in 1999. Following the resumption of armed conflict by Revolutionary United Front insurgents in Sierra Leone, the government and the rebels negotiated a cease-fire and signed the Lome Peace Agreement. The United Nations initially expanded the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone, but a decision by the West African States Military Observer Group to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Sierra Leone led the United Nations to establish a broader mandate for peacekeeping under the UN Mission in Sierra Leone. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a multi-state war continued, involving troops from at least six countries and Congolese rebel factions. Following a cease-fire agreement signed in Lusaka at mid-year, the Security Council established MONUC, a 90– member military liaison mission seen as the first of a three-phased UN effort to implement the cease-fire and resolve the conflict.

In other African operations, the United Nations continued its mission in Western Sahara, worked toward transitioning from peacekeeping to peace-building in the Central African Republic, and terminated its UN Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) because of resumed hostilities. MONUA was succeeded by the UN Office in Angola, a small peacebuilding office established by the Security Council.

Recognition of the important role of civilian police (CIVPOL) in peacekeeping missions led to sharp increases in demand during 1999. The rise was attributable primarily to two of the new missions: UNMIK, with plans for 4,718 CIVPOL, and UNTAET, with a mandate for 1,640 CIVPOL. This sudden and large surge in requirements overwhelmed the capacity of member nations to keep the system supplied; by the end of the year there were only 1,972 CIVPOL operating in support of UNMIK and 370 with UNTAET. The U.S. contribution was 434 and 43, respectively. Accordingly, the United States intensified efforts to increase internal and international capacities for recruiting, training, and deploying CIVPOL to

peacekeeping missions around the world. Between March and December, the United States increased its CIVPOL contribution from 225 to 647, nearly 200 percent. International CIVPOL contributions rose from 2,400 to 4,386 during the same period, an 83 percent increase that was still far short of the nearly 9,000 required. On top of increasing requirements for sheer numbers of police, the changing nature of international policing, from missions requiring "monitors" to situations demanding "armed enforcement," compounded difficulties in recruiting and training sufficient personnel.

Protection of U.S. forces serving in UN peacekeeping operations remained a top priority for the U.S. Government. In 1999, the United States continued to closely examine force protection aspects of all peacekeeping operations to which its forces were deployed as part of a systematic effort to identify potential threats and implement protection measures. Force protection concerns were paramount in determining the location and scope of activities for military liaison officers and military observers serving with UNAMET and UNTAET in East Timor. In Georgia, the United States continued to restrict the area of operations of its two military observers serving with the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in light of security considerations. This decision permitted the United States to continue making a valuable contribution to UNOMIG while meeting force protection requirements.

The "Demining 2010 Initiative" was launched in October 1997, with the goal of increasing assistance to victims of landmines and removing all mines that threaten civilians by the year 2010. The United States is working to build effective international coordination and sustainable supportfrom public and private sources to reach this goal.

During 1999, the U.S. Government continued to provide support to UN Humanitarian Demining, contributing $5.8 million to various UN demining efforts worldwide such as the Mine Action Program for Afghanistan, run by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance. The U.S. Government also expanded its bilateral humanitarian demining program in 1999 from 21 to 33 countries, raising its total humanitarian demining assistance to $383.8 million worldwide.

Disarmament Issues

Disarmament Commission

As mandated by the UN General Assembly, the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) provides a forum for deliberation on disarmament issues when the Assembly is not in session. The UNDC, traditionally operating by consensus, considers and makes recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament, and follows up the relevant decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and special sessions devoted to disarmament.

The 1999 UNDC met April 12-30 and formed working groups to consider three agenda items: (1) Establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free

Zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the states of the region concerned, (2) Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament, and (3) Guidelines on Conventional Arms Control/Limitation and Disarmament, with particular emphasis on consolidation of peace in the context of General Assembly Resolution 51/45N of 10 December 1996. The session took place in a generally favorable atmosphere and completed its multi-year consideration of all three items on its agenda. The UNDC approved two consensus documents: NuclearWeapon-Free Zones and Consolidation of Peace through Practical Disarmament. India denied consensus on a document regarding the Fourth Special Session on Disarmament, fearing widespread criticism at such a meeting. On the two documents adopted, the United States made formal interpretive statements reemphasizing the U.S. position that the provisions of a nuclear-weapon-free zone treaty cannot affect the right to individual and collective self-defense, as recognized in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and stressing the importance of a comprehensive and balanced approach to the consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures.

Conference on Disarmament

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is the principal global multilateral negotiating forum of the international community. Despite the fact that the CD is financed through the UN scale of assessments and submits a report to the United Nations annually, it is an autonomous organization that makes all of its decisions by consensus. In 1999, the CD expanded its membership from 61 to 66 states with the addition of Ecuador, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Tunisia. Forty-five states were granted observer status; 21 states had membership applications on file. The member states of the CD are divided into three geopolitical groupings-Western Group, Eastern Group, and Non-Aligned Group-with China as an independent member.

The CD met three times in 1999 for a total of 24 weeks. The session ended without agreement on a work program, accomplishment of any substantive work, establishment of negotiating bodies, or the appointment of any special coordinators. U.S. objectives included reestablishing a negotiating committee on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, and facilitating negotiations on a transfer-ban on anti-personnel landmines by having a special coordinator appointed. These goals were not achieved because of continued insistence by some members that the CD's overall work program should also include ambitious work on nuclear disarmament and outer space.

First Committee

The 1999 UN First Committee (UNFC) convened to address disarmament and international security issues from October 11 through November 9. This session considered 49 resolutions and 3 decisions. Seventeen items were introduced on nuclear weapons; four on other weapons of mass destruction; one on outer space; seven on conventional weapons; six on

confidence-building measures; eight on disarmament machinery; and nine on other issues, including science and technology, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) report, and the Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament. The United States voted "yes" or joined consensus on 35 resolutions/decisions, voted "no" on 11 resolutions, abstained on 5, and did not participate in the vote on disarmament and development. One resolution (Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty) was withdrawn from consideration after it was introduced but before it was due to be voted on.

The United States also cosponsored 10 resolutions. However, it did not independently sponsor any resolutions, nor did it put forward its annual resolution on bilateral nuclear reductions because of a lack of support from Russia, the other primary cosponsor. A biennual U.S. resolution on compliance with arms control agreements was put forward as a procedural decision, which served to keep the item on the General Assembly agenda.

The U.S. Senate's failure to consent to U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and U.S. plans for limited missile defense provided the backdrop for UNFC action. Many delegations asserted that these developments damaged prospects for nuclear disarmament and demonstrated that the United States had retreated from its traditional leadership in the field. Russia's resolution on preservation of and compliance with the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty was a focal point of the session. After a lengthy and comprehensive campaign by cosponsors to win support, it barely passed, garnering more abstentions than "yes" votes. The final tally was 80 to 4 (U.S.), with 68 abstentions (Resolution 54/54A). Many delegations acknowledged the U.S. view that a multilateral forum like the UN General Assembly should not take sides in ongoing negotiations related to a bilateral treaty. However, they also made it clear that they believed that strategic stability and issues related to missile defense were legitimate issues of concern to the international community.

The 1998 resolution on a new agenda for nuclear disarmament was reintroduced with some drafting changes, but with the same substantive thrust. It became the second focal point of the session, but like the ABM treaty, there were a significant number of abstentions. The final vote was 111 to 13 (U.S.), with 39 abstentions (Resolution 54/54G).

Other Issues

Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was formed in 1958 pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 1348 (XIII), which was submitted by the United States and 19 other states. The resolution established the ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and laid the foundation for COPUOS as the only standing body of the General Assembly to consider international cooperation in the explora

tion of outer space. The Committee has been responsible for the elaboration and adoption by consensus of five multilateral treaties governing space activities, and two sets of nonbinding principles concerning the use of nuclear power sources in outer space and remote sensing of the Earth from space. These treaties form the basis for international law in the use and exploration of outer space.

Resolution 54/67, "International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space," was adopted without a vote by the General Assembly. The resolution renewed the mandate of the COPUOS and set the program of work for the COPUOS and its Legal and Scientific and Technical Subcommittees.

The UN General Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the Third UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), held July 19-30, in Vienna, Austria, which focused on the theme, "Space Benefits for Humanity in the 21st Century." UNISPACE III was the last global UN conference of this century and brought together a unique mix of government and industry representatives to discuss the use of space technology to improve the quality of life and stimulate economic growth around the world. Twenty-five hundred participants from 100 nations attended. The Department of State chaired the interagency working group responsible for U.S. participation in the conference.

By all measures, this conference was a success for the United States. Unprecedented financial and management reform measures were adopted that kept conference expenditures within the UN regular budget. It underscored the significant role the private sector has and will continue to play in the use of outer space, and also highlighted the tremendous potential for international cooperation in the post-Cold War era.

Non-Self-Governing Territories

Chapter XI of the UN Charter sets forth responsibilities of states for the "...administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government." These "non-self-governing territories" (NSGTs) are considered annually by the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Committee of 24 or C-24) and by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly. The C-24 makes suggestions and recommendations to the Fourth Committee regarding implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 of 1960 (Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples), specific issues affecting the decolonization process, and the activities of specialized agencies and other UN bodies in those territories.

An informal dialogue between the United States and the United Kingdom and the Chairman of the Fourth Committee was initiated in 1996 in an effort to arrive at a consensus "omnibus" resolution to address 12 nonself-governing territories, including the three NSGTs of the United States: