UNITED NATIONS IRAQ-KUWAIT OBSERVATION MISSIONLOCATION: The demilitarized zone along the boundary between Iraq and KuwaitHEADQUARTERS: Umm Qasr DURATION: April 1991 to present AUTHORIZED STRENGTH: 3,645 military personnel CURRENT STRENGTH: 243 military observers, 881 troops and support personnel, and 80 international and 130 local civilian staff FATALITIES: 3 FORCE COMMANDER: Major-General Krishna Narayan Singh Thapa (Nepal) BACKGROUND On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. The same day, the United Nations Security Council condemned the invasion and demanded Iraq's immediate and unconditional withdrawal. A few days later, the Council instituted economic sanctions against Iraq. The Council subsequently adopted a number of resolutions on various aspects of the situation and, on 29 November 1990, it decided to give Iraq until 15 January 1991 to implement those resolutions; if not, Member States cooperating with the Government of Kuwait were authorized to use "all necessary means" to uphold and implement the Council's resolutions and to restore international peace and security in the area. The deadline passed and the next day the armed forces of those States began air attacks against Iraq, followed on 24 February by a ground offensive. Hostilities were suspended on 27 February, by which time the Iraqi forces had vacated Kuwait. On 3 April 1991, while still maintaining the economic sanctions against Iraq, the Security Council adopted resolution 687 (1991), which set detailed conditions for a cease-fire and established the machinery for ensuring implementation of those conditions. Following Iraq's acceptance of the resolution's provisions, the cease-fire became a formal one. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIKOM By resolution 687 (1991) the Council established, among other things, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait, to be monitored by a United Nations observer unit, and requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Council for approval a plan for the unit's immediate deployment. The Secretary-General reported back on 5 April 1991, and on 9 April the Security Council approved his plan for the setting up of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) (resolution 689 (1991)). It decided further that the modalities for the Mission should be reviewed every six months. The mandate of the Mission is to monitor the DMZ and the Khawr 'Abd Allah waterway between Iraq and Kuwait; to deter violations of the boundary through its presence in, and surveillance of, the demilitarized zone; and to observe any hostile action mounted from the territory of one State against the other. The Khawr 'Abd Allah waterway is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) long. The DMZ, which is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) long, extends 10 kilometres (6 miles) into Iraq and 5 kilometres (3 miles) into Kuwait. The military observers of UNIKOM are unarmed. Responsibility for the maintenance of law and order in the DMZ rests with the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait in their respective parts of the zone. Police are allowed only sidearms. According to its original mandate, UNIKOM did not have the authority or the capacity to take physical action to prevent the entry of military personnel or equipment into the DMZ. UNIKOM'S ACTIVITIES The UNIKOM advance party arrived in the area on 13 April 1991. By 6 May, the Mission was fully deployed. UNIKOM then monitored the withdrawal of the armed forces that were still deployed in its assigned zone. That withdrawal having been completed, the DMZ established by the Security Council came into effect at 2000 hours GMT on 9 May, and UNIKOM assumed in full its observation responsibilities. Initially, to provide essential security during the setting-up phase, UNIKOM included five infantry companies, drawn from the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP ) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL ). These troops were withdrawn by the end of June 1991. UNIKOM's concept of operations is based on a combination of patrol and observation bases, observation points, ground and air patrols, investigation teams and liaison with the parties at all levels. UNIKOM enjoys full freedom of movement throughout the DMZ and observes the length and breadth of the zone. It verifies that no military personnel and equipment are within the zone and that no military fortifications and installations are maintained in it. For operational purposes, UNIKOM has divided the DMZ into three sectors. Each sector has a headquarters and six observation posts/patrol bases, from which the observers patrol their assigned sectors and visit temporary observation points established in areas of particular activity or where roads and tracks enter the DMZ. In fact, all movements, including supply runs, are used for observation. UNIKOM patrols the Khawr 'Abd Allah waterway by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. There are also air patrols in the DMZ, especially in the southern sector, where mines and unexploded ordnance limit UNIKOM's ability to carry out ground patrols. UNIKOM has also maintained contact and provided technical support to other United Nations missions working in Iraq and Kuwait, in particular to the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission until its dissolution in May 1993, and to the United Nations office dealing with the return of property from Iraq to Kuwait. UNIKOM has provided movement control in respect of all United Nations aircraft operating in the area. The Mission also provided assistance in connection with the relocation of Iraqi citizens from the Kuwaiti side of the border to Iraq, following the demarcation of the international boundary. This was completed in February 1994. UNIKOM headquarters is located at Umm Qasr. The Mission maintains liaison offices in Baghdad and Kuwait City and a logistic base at Doha (Kuwait). The latter is currently being moved to facilities in Kuwait City, which it will share with the liaison office. From May 1991 to November 1994, UNIKOM observed mainly three types of violations: minor incursions on the ground by small groups of soldiers, overflights by military aircraft, and the carrying by policemen of weapons other than sidearms. UNIKOM also investigated a number of complaints by Iraq and Kuwait. REINFORCEMENT OF UNIKOM DECIDED On 5 February 1993, following a series of incidents on the newly demarcated boundary between Iraq and Kuwait involving Iraqi intrusions into the Kuwaiti side of the DMZ and unauthorized retrieval of property from Kuwaiti territory, the Security Council, by its resolution 806 (1993), expanded the tasks of UNIKOM to include the capacity to take physical action to prevent or redress small- scale violations of the DMZ or the boundary. The Council increased the authorized strength of the Mission to 3,645 and requested the Secretary-General to plan and execute a phased deployment of the additional elements of UNIKOM. It also requested him to report on any steps he intended to take following an initial deployment. In his 2 April 1993 report, the Secretary-General informed the Security Council of his intention, in the first phase, to retain the military observers and to reinforce them by one mechanized infantry battalion to be deployed in the northern sector of the DMZ. The Mission's logistic support elements would also be slightly reinforced. On 13 April, the President of the Council informed the Secretary-General that the Council concurred with his recommendations. The infantry battalion from Bangladesh was fully deployed in January 1994. On 29 September 1994, in his periodic report on the operations of UNIKOM, the Secretary-General noted that the Mission "has continued to exercise a high degree of vigilance and through its patrols and liaison activities has contributed to the calm which has prevailed along the Iraq-Kuwait border". He recommended that UNIKOM be maintained. COMPOSITION The current authorized strength of UNIKOM is 3,645 military personnel, including 300 military observers. Initially, administrative and logistic support was provided by Canada (engineers), Chile (helicopters), Denmark (logistics) and Norway (medical). Chile withdrew its helicopter unit at the end of October 1992; it was replaced by a civilian unit, under contract to UNIKOM. Canada withdrew its engineer unit at the end of March 1993 and the Secretary-General accepted an offer from Argentina to replace it. The Norwegian medical unit was replaced in November 1993 by a combined medical team composed of 16 members from Bangladesh and 12 members from Austria. Two fixed-wing aircraft operated by civilians have been made available at no cost to the United Nations by the Government of Switzerland. The Mission also has the use of a chartered AN-26 aircraft for the transport of personnel and equipment between Kuwait City and Baghdad. In addition, UNIKOM includes 80 international and 130 local civilian staff. As at 30 November 1994, the following countries were providing military elements: COUNTRY, TROOPS, OBSERVERS
Figures may vary from month to month due to rotation. "Troops" include any infantry, logistics, engineering, air, medical, movcon, staff, etc. FINANCIAL ASPECTS The rough cost of UNIKOM in 1994 was approximately $68.6 million. Effective 1 November 1993, two thirds of the cost of the operation is being paid by the Government of Kuwait. The remainder is met by the assessed contributions of the United Nations Member States. As at 30 November 1994, total contributions outstanding to the UNIKOM Special Account for the period from the inception of the operation to 31 March 1995 amounted to approximately $31.3 million. Note: Data effective 30 November 1994
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