PRESS STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL
New York, 9 September 1999
THE SITUATION IN EAST TIMOR
Council members had briefings on 9 September from the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and the Council
President on the situation in East Timor and the progress of the Security Council mission in Jakarta; they expressed
their gravest concern at the continuing and very serious security situation in East Timor.
Council members recalled the 8 September statement to the press. They highlighted the need for UNAMET to maintain a
presence in East Timor and again called on the Indonesian authorities to take urgent and effective steps to guarantee
the Mission's safety and security. They paid warm tribute to the courage and dedication of UNAMET staff who remain in
East Timor;
Council Members also emphasized that UNAMET should resume its work in all regions of East Timor as soon as conditions of
security have been established. They requested the Secretary-General to ensure that UNAMET is in a position to redeploy
quickly at that time;
Council members were appalled by the growing humanitarian crisis in East Timor. They emphasized the need for urgent
humanitarian assistance to be provided to the East Timorese people. Recognizing that this could only be done in safe
conditions, they called on the Indonesian authorities to assist the deployment of international humanitarian staff and
to provide security for their work. They welcomed both the agreement of the Government of Indonesia that the ICRC could
restart its work in East Timor and the dispatch of a United Nations inter-agency emergency response team to Indonesia
and West Timor. They urged the Indonesian Government facilitate the access of the team to East Timor.
Council members once again underlined their determination to ensure that the 5 May Agreements are implemented in full
and that violence in East Timor is brought to an end. They noted the efforts of the Government of Indonesia and they
will continue to monitor the situation closely. If the security situation does not improve within a very short period of
time, they will consider further action to help the Government of Indonesia to achieve this objective, taking into
account the views of the Security Council mission in Jakarta.