Operation Restore Hope: UN-mandated force seeks to halt tragedy.

• Position: United Nations - Somalia

Gravely alarmed by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in famine-stricken Somalia and dismayed by the continued looting of relief supplies and attacks on UN peace-keepers there, the Security Council on 3 December called for the use of "all necessary means" to secure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the starving people of that Horn of Africa nation.

Contained in resolution 794 (1992), the Council action marked the first-ever UN sanction for the use of force to ensure the delivery of humanitarian relief. It stemmed from the assessment by the Secretary-General that the existing course of the UN Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) would not "be an adequate response to the tragedy", whose "unique character" was of a "deteriorating, complex and extraordinary nature, requiring an immediate and exceptional response".

During debate on the historic resolution, Council members said that an "approach different from the usual form of peace-keeping operation" was warranted by the "exceptional" circumstances of anarchy and human suffering in Somalia. The resolution, Hungary stated, could be "of fundamental importance in the life of the United Nations in that it opens up the possibility of joint, determined and innovative action by which it will be possible to put an end to the hardship of an entire people".

The unprecedented text cleared the way for the 9 December deployment of thousands of armed troops from the United States and other countries to escort relief convoys in Somalia so that the massive 100-day humanitarian relief operation begun in October could continue.

UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in a message to the people of Somalia on 8 December, said the military troops arriving in their country-known as the Unified Task Force, or UNITAF--came "to feed the starving, protect the defenceless and prepare the way for political, economic and social reconstruction"

By the text of resolution 794, adopted unanimously, the Council--acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which spells out action, including the use of, force, to be taken by the Council with respect to threats to peace and acts of aggression--authorized the Secretary-General to implement the 29 November offer by the United States to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia as soon as possible. The Council determined that "the magnitude of the human tragedy caused by the conflict in Somalia, further exacerbated by the obstacles being created to the distribution of humanitarian assistance, constitutes a threat to international peace and security".

It cited reports of "widespread violations of international humanitarian law" in Somalia, including reports of violence against personnel participating in impartial humanitarian relief activities and deliberate attacks on relief consignments and vehicles. Those committing such violations, in particular deliberately impeding delivery of food and medical supplies essential to the survival of the civilian population, would be held individually responsible.

The Secretary-General and Member States contributing to the international forces were authorized to make arrangements for the unified command and control of the forces. The further deployment of 3,500 personnel of UNOSOM, authorized by the Council in August, was to proceed at the discretion of the Secretary-General, who was invited to...