Summary
The Security Council’s resolution of 12 March 2002, adopted at its 4489th meeting, which recalls resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and affirms “a vision of a region where two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders”, expresses grave concern at the continuation of the tragic and violent events since September 2000, welcomes the diplomatic efforts of special envoys from the United States, the Russian Federation, the European Union and the United Nations Special Coordinator and the contribution of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, demands an immediate cessation of all acts of violence including terror, provocation, incitement and destruction, calls on the Israeli and Palestinian sides to cooperate in implementing the Tenet work plan and Mitchell Report recommendations with the aim of resuming negotiations on a political settlement, and supports the Secretary-General’s efforts to halt the violence and resume the peace process (Resolution 1397 (2002) (12 March 2002), PDF p.1).
What the file is
United Nations document S/RES/1397 (2002), Distr.: General, 12 March 2002, 1 PDF page, about 264 words in the text copy. The text copy is clean and matches the original. No vote count is given in the file.
Section by section
- Preamble (PDF p.1). Recalling all previous relevant resolutions, in particular 242 (1967) and 338 (1973); affirming the two-State vision quoted in the Summary; grave concern at the continuation of the tragic and violent events since September 2000, especially the recent attacks and increased casualties; stressing the need to ensure the safety of civilians and to respect the universally accepted norms of international humanitarian law; welcoming and encouraging the diplomatic efforts of special envoys from the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the European Union and the United Nations Special Coordinator and others to bring about a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East; welcoming the contribution of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
- Operative paragraph 1 (PDF p.1). Demands immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction.
- Operative paragraph 2 (PDF p.1). Calls upon the Israeli and Palestinian sides and their leaders to cooperate in the implementation of the Tenet work plan and Mitchell Report recommendations with the aim of resuming negotiations on a political settlement.
- Operative paragraph 3 (PDF p.1). Expresses support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and others to assist the parties to halt the violence and to resume the peace process.
- Operative paragraph 4 (PDF p.1). Decides to remain seized of the matter.
Key passages
- “Affirming a vision of a region where two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders” (preamble, PDF p.1)
- “Demands immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction” (operative paragraph 1, PDF p.1)
Evidence the work relies on
A Security Council resolution, not an evidentiary work. Its stated bases are resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which it recalls, the Tenet work plan and Mitchell Report recommendations, whose implementation paragraph 2 calls for, and the diplomatic efforts it welcomes. It cites no figures; its reference to events since September 2000 gives no casualty count.
Analysis
Resolution 1397 is, in its own text, the first of the three sources in this batch to state the Council’s two-State vision in the form the later two reuse: the Roadmap’s covering letter presents its road map as realizing the vision as affirmed in Resolution 1397, and Resolution 1515 reaffirms the same vision and recalls 1397 among its bases. Within the resolution itself the vision is a preamble affirmation, not an operative demand; the operative paragraphs are a cessation demand, a call to implement the already-existing Tenet and Mitchell instruments, and support for the Secretary-General. It names Palestine as a State in the vision sentence while addressing its operative call to “the Israeli and Palestinian sides and their leaders”, and it gives no borders, timetable or mechanism beyond the instruments it invokes.
People, organizations, places and events
UN Security Council Resolution 1397, UN Security Council, UN Security Council Resolution 242, UN Security Council Resolution 338, Tenet Plan, Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, Second Intifada
Concepts
How it relates to other sources
This is the primary text for Resolution 1397, not previously held as a source in the wiki. It is the Council instrument that The Tenet Plan: Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire and Security Plan and Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee are called on to implement in paragraph 2, eleven months after the Mitchell Report and nine months after the Tenet Plan. The Roadmap annexed to A Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Quartet, transmitted 7 May 2003) lists UNSCR 1397 among the foundations of its settlement and among the bases of its Phase III permanent status agreement, and Resolution 1515 (2003) endorsing the Quartet Roadmap (19 November 2003) recalls it and reaffirms its vision. Its welcome of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s contribution precedes by fifteen days the Beirut summit record in Arab Peace Initiative and Beirut Declaration (Beirut summit, 27-28 March 2002), in which the Initiative presented by the same Crown Prince is adopted; the resolution itself does not describe the contribution.
Open questions
- No vote count is given in the file, so the resolution’s adoption margin cannot be stated from it.
- The contribution of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah welcomed in the preamble is not described in the file; its identification with the initiative later adopted at Beirut rests on the Beirut record and the Roadmap, not on this text.
- The special envoys welcomed in the preamble are identified only by their sending parties and offices, not by name.
Coverage
PDF p.1 of 1, read in full.