United Nations Security Council Resolution 1160
Encyclopedia
United Nations
Security Council Resolution
1160, adopted on March 31, 1998, after noting the situation in Kosovo
, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
, imposed an arms embargo
on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro
).
Some countries had suggested a comprehensive arms embargo to be imposed against Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo. The Security Council deplored the violence that the Serbian police force used against peaceful demonstrators in Kosovo and the terrorist acts of the Kosovo Liberation Army
. It reaffirmed the commitment to the sovereignty
and territorial integrity
of Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia and Montenegro was urged to seek a political solution to the conflict, while the Kosovar Albanians
were called upon to condemn all terrorist actions and pursue their goals through peaceful means. It was stated that the only way to avoid further violence was to allow the Kosovar Albanian community a genuine political process and prospects for meaningful autonomy
and self-determination
.
Acting under Chapter VII, the Council imposed an arms embargo on Serbia and Montenegro, and established a Committee to monitor its implementation and suggest improvements. The measures would be revised if it noted in reports from the Secretary-General Kofi Annan
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
, Contact Group and European Union
that Serbia and Montenegro had began a dialogue, withdrew its police forces, allowed access to humanitarian aid
agencies and accepted missions from the OSCE and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
to the region.
The resolution concluded by asking the Prosecutor
at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
to begin gathering information on human rights
issues, affirming that further measures would be imposed if there was no constructive progress. The arms embargo was lifted under Resolution 1367
(2001).
Resolution 1160 was approved by 14 votes to none against, with one abstention
from China
, which argued that it was an internal matter.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Security Council Resolution
United Nations Security Council Resolution
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security"....
1160, adopted on March 31, 1998, after noting the situation in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace...
, imposed an arms embargo
Arms embargo
An arms embargo is an embargo that applies to weaponry. It may also include "dual use" items. An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:# to signal disapproval of behavior by a certain actor,# to maintain neutral standing in an ongoing conflict, or...
on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
).
Some countries had suggested a comprehensive arms embargo to be imposed against Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo. The Security Council deplored the violence that the Serbian police force used against peaceful demonstrators in Kosovo and the terrorist acts of the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
. It reaffirmed the commitment to the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and territorial integrity
Territorial integrity
Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that nation-states should not attempt to promote secessionist movements or to promote border changes in other nation-states...
of Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia and Montenegro was urged to seek a political solution to the conflict, while the Kosovar Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
were called upon to condemn all terrorist actions and pursue their goals through peaceful means. It was stated that the only way to avoid further violence was to allow the Kosovar Albanian community a genuine political process and prospects for meaningful autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
and self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
.
Acting under Chapter VII, the Council imposed an arms embargo on Serbia and Montenegro, and established a Committee to monitor its implementation and suggest improvements. The measures would be revised if it noted in reports from the Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
, Contact Group and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
that Serbia and Montenegro had began a dialogue, withdrew its police forces, allowed access to humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
agencies and accepted missions from the OSCE and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
to the region.
The resolution concluded by asking the Prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
to begin gathering information on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
issues, affirming that further measures would be imposed if there was no constructive progress. The arms embargo was lifted under Resolution 1367
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1367
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1367, adopted unanimously on September 10, 2001, after recalling resolutions 1160 , 1199 , 1203 and reaffirming resolutions 1244 and 1345 in particular, the Council terminated the arms embargo against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after it had...
(2001).
Resolution 1160 was approved by 14 votes to none against, with one abstention
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
from China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, which argued that it was an internal matter.
See also
- Breakup of Yugoslavia
- Kosovo WarKosovo WarThe term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
- List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1101 to 1200 (1997 – 1998)