UN Mission in East Timor begins preparations for the popular consultation

The UN session opened days after the 12th NAM summit in Durban. Developing states carried debates over debt, sanctions, Palestine and reform of global institutions into the Assembly, where formal...

Indonesian President B. J. Habibie announced that East Timor could choose between special autonomy within Indonesia and separation. The proposal followed 24 years of Indonesian occupation and East...

The bombing began without explicit Security Council authorization. It intensified debate about humanitarian intervention, the UN Charter and whether powerful states applied sovereignty rules...

The agreements assigned the UN a role in organizing a direct popular consultation on a proposed autonomy arrangement. They followed prolonged East Timorese resistance and international pressure, but...

The Council authorized international civil and security presences and an interim UN administration in Kosovo. The decision followed NATO’s unauthorized bombing campaign and preserved a contested...

Nearly 98 percent of registered voters participated; 78.5 percent rejected special autonomy within Indonesia. The result expressed a clear popular demand for a transition toward independence after...

The Secretary-General announced that 78.5 percent had voted against autonomy and said the UN would support the East Timorese choice. Pro-integration militias then escalated violence and forced...

Resolution 1264 authorized a multinational force to restore peace and security after post-ballot violence. The intervention helped protect the transition, while also raising questions about the...

The ministers reiterated positions on Palestine and multilateral affairs while coordinating across the UN. The meeting reflected an effort to preserve a collective voice after the Cold War, even as...

The ministers marked the group’s 35th anniversary and prepared for the first South Summit. They urged developing countries to strengthen collective negotiating power and coordinate the G77 and NAM...