United Nations Security Council Resolution 1484, adopted unanimously on 30 May 2003, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the Council authorised Operation Artemis in Bunia, the capital of

Ituri Province Ituri is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri was ...

, amid the deteriorating security situation in the area. As part of the

Ituri Conflict The Ituri conflict (french: Guerre d'Ituri) is an ongoing conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the two groups had ...

Lendu and Hema

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s were battling for control of the town after

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

n troops withdrew after the signing of a peace agreement, and Congolese police fled. During discussions regarding the deployment of an international force, Council diplomats were mindful of a repetition of the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

in 1994. A French-led force was later agreed to.

Resolution

Observations

The Security Council was determined to promote the Congolese peace process, including the establishment of an inclusive transitional government. There was concern at fighting in the Ituri region in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the humanitarian situation in the town of Bunia. Furthermore, there was an urgent need for a secure base to allow the interim administration in Ituri to function. The preamble of the resolution also praised the

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was est ...

(MONUC) for its efforts to stabilise the situation in Bunia and Ituri, particularly the performance of the

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an contingent (soon to be joined by a

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

i force). It deplored attacks on MONUC and the resulting loss of life. Determining the situation to be a threat to international peace and security in the region, the Council considered requests from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ituri parties,

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and

to deploy a multinational force in Bunia.

Acts

Acting under

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 an ...

, the Council authorised the deployment of a temporary multinational force in Bunia to work in close co-ordination with MONUC until 1 September 2003. It was mandated to assist the MONUC contingent already in Bunia; stabilise the security situation; improve the humanitarian situation; protect Bunia Airport and

internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...

s; and contribute to the protection of the civilian population, United Nations and humanitarian personnel. It stressed the temporary nature of the force in order to allow MONUC's presence to be reinforced in Bunia by mid-August 2003. All states participating in the force were authorised to use all necessary measures to fulfil its mandate. The

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

was called upon to contribute to the multinational force through the provision of personnel, equipment, logistical and financial support. The resolution demanded that the parties to the conflict in the Ituri region immediately end hostilities and strongly condemned deliberate killings of MONUC and humanitarian personnel, reiterating the need for respect of

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war ('' jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by pr ...

. Furthermore, the Council demanded that all Congolese parties and states in the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

respect human rights, end support for armed groups and militias, and co-operate with the international force and MONUC in Bunia.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2003 1484 2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1484 1484 May 2003 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links