Mandate of UN Force in Golan Heights Extended by Security Council
New York, Jun 15 2005 5:00PM
The United Nations Security Council today decided to renew the mandate of the 31 year-old UN observer force in the Golan
Heights for a period of six months, until 31 December 2005.
The action comes after a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in which he found that the presence of the UN
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) remained essential in the context of a tense Middle East, even though the situation
in the Israel-Syria sector stayed "generally quiet."
UNDOF was established in May 1974 to monitor the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire in the Golan Heights. As of 6 June 2005, it
had 1,028 troops from Austria, Canada, Japan, Nepal, Poland and Slovakia and was assisted by 57 military observers from
the UN Troop Supervision Organization (UNTSO).
In its resolution extending UNDOF, the Council also welcomed efforts being undertaken by the force to put into place the
Secretary-General's zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation.
ENDS