U.N. Peacekeeping Force OKd for Central America

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the creation of a multinational peacekeeping force in Central America, the first major U.N. operation in the Western Hemisphere.

The United States voted in favor of the force, to be known as ONUCA, which grew from a regional peace accord signed in May at Tela, Honduras, by the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The 625-member observer group will monitor the region’s borders, particularly between Honduras and Nicaragua and between Honduras and El Salvador, to prevent cross-border attacks and to assure that weapons are not flowing to rebel groups.

The force is primarily intended to prevent fighting between Nicaragua’s Sandinista army and the U.S.-backed Contras and to monitor possible shipments of arms from the Sandinistas to leftist guerrillas fighting the government of El Salvador.

The U.N. voted to create and fund the peacekeeping force for six months, but the international body customarily renews such forces for as long as they are needed. The United States, which provides 25% of the U.N.’s budget, ordinarily pays 31.5% of the cost of peacekeeping operations, an American official said.

Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar told the council that its decision will help renew the Central American peace process.

“The need for (the operation) is, if anything, greater now than before,” he said.

Speaking in support of the resolution, U.S. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering said it is in the interest of Central America that the U.N. force has enough staff to fulfill its mandate.

“Verification is key to the success of the peace process,” he said.