Security Council discusses Supplement to 'Agenda for Peace.' (United Nations Security Council, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's position paper) (Peace-Keeping)

Endorsing the crucial importance of economic and social development as a secure basis for lasting peace, the Security Council on 22 February urged States to support UN efforts in preventive and post-conflict peace-building activities by providing the necessary assistance for the economic and social development of countries.

The action followed an intense review of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's position paper, "Supplement to An Agenda for Peace" (A/50/60S/1995/1) which was issued on 225 January.

"The times call for thinking afresh, for striving together and for creating new ways to overcome crises", the Secretary-General stated.

"This is because the different world that emerged when the cold war ceased is still a world not fully understood. The changed face of conflict today requires us to be perceptive, adaptive, creative and courageous, and to address simultaneously the immediate as well as the root causes of conflict, which all too often lie in the absence of economic opportunities and social inequities. Perhaps above all it requires a deeper commitment to cooperation and true multilateralism than humanity has ever achieved before".

In a statement by its President, Legwaila J. Legwaila of Botswana, the Council recognized the crucial importance of the availability of resources for activities to sustain international peace and security, and urged Member States to honour their financial obligations to the UN.

Discussions took place over three Council meetings held on 18 and 19 January, constituting the first stage of consideration of the position paper.

The Supplement details a wide range of issues, among them: the dramatic changes in the quantity and nature of activities in the field of peace and security since the Security Council Summit held on 31 January 1992, which had resulted in the Secretary-General's "An Agenda for Peace".

Other areas discussed were: UN instruments for conflict control and resolution, including preventive diplomacy and peacemaking; peace-keeping; post-conflict peace-building; sanctions; enforcement; disarmament; and the need for financial resources.

The failure of Member States to pay their assessed contributions for activities that they themselves had voted into being, the Secretary-General stressed, made it impossible to carry out those activities to the standard expected.

In its 22 February statement, the Council welcomed the Secretary-General's analysis of peace-keeping operations. It also urged him to strengthen Secretariat units dealing directly with sanctions, so that matters were addressed in an "effective, consistent and timely" manner.

The Council wanted appropriate measures taken to ensure that humanitarian...