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The Council said the Joint Military Commission (JMC), created under the Lusaka agreement to ensure its implementation, "must be established soon on a permanent basis, so that it can react swiftly to events and provide credible and authoritative decisions". Under the terms of Thursday's resolution, MONUC and the JMC are to jointly monitor implementation of the agreement and "investigate any violations". Considering that international troops and civilian personnel would face "tremendous difficulties and risks", the resolution also gave MONUC a 'Chapter 7 mandate' to "protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence".
A MONUC official told IRIN on Friday that the mission had not yet had time to analyse the implications of the resolution, but that it had been assured there would be no deployment without the demonstrated cooperation of the Lusaka signatories. "Unless we get freedom of movement, the mission will not get off the ground," he added.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions