Security Council extends UN force in Golan Heights for further six months
The Security Council today extended for a further six months the United Nations force that has monitored the ceasefire
between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for over 30 years.
In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer
Force (UNDOF) until 30 June 2008.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had recommended the extension of the Force in a recent report, noting that while the
situation in the Golan Heights has been "generally quiet" recently, the overall region remains tense.
Mr. Ban's report also drew attention to the growing financial shortfall faced by UNDOF, which supervises the
disengagement accord between Syrian and Israeli forces after the 1973 war. As of the end of August, some $24 million is
owed to the countries that contribute troops to the Force: Austria, Canada, India, Japan, Poland and Slovakia.
ENDS