United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan

Development of United Nations involvement

Tajikistan was in a state of political turmoil for months after the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991. The United Tajik Opposition, an alliance of democratic, liberal and Islamic forces were able to take power in mid-1992 for a short time, after which Emomali Sharipani Ramona's government forces were able to regain control militarily. According to the United Nations, "by mid-1993, in a country of under 6 million, an estimated 50,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed, some 600,000 had been displaced internally, and an additional 60,000 had crossed the border into northern Afghanistan." Although most organized hostilities had ended by the end of 1993, UTO insurgents continued to fight Tajik government forces and their Russian Federation allies along the Tajik-Afghan border. The first peacekeeping forces, the Commonwealth of Independent States Collective Peacekeeping Forces in Tajikistan, were organized in late 1993, with forces contributed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

There were a number of regional attempts at peace in 1992 and 1993, none of which were particularly successful. After a direct appeal by Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali sent missions to the area for fact-finding and observation of the humanitarian situation. Subsequently, Boutros-Ghali authorized a Special Envoy for Tajikistan to seek an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between the two sides and neighboring nations. In September 1994, after talks in Moscow and Tehran, the Tehran Agreement (or the Agreement on a Temporary Ceasefire and the Cessation of Other Hostile Acts on the Tajik-Afghan Border and within the Country for the Duration of the Talks) was signed, with the stipulation that the ceasefire would be enacted as soon as UN peacekeeping observers were deployed. It went into effect 20 October 1994, after the first 15 observers arrived. The United Nations Security Council then began considering deployment of a peacekeeping mission to the area to investigate and report of ceasefire violations. Resolution 968 (1994) of 16 December 1994 formally established the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan.

Initially, UNMOT was planned to exist for only six months when it was established, however it was extended several times to observe the progress of peace. In July 1995, the opposition forces began to return to central Tajikistan from Afghanistan, and fierce clashes erupted thereafter until December 1996, when a general ceasefire was once again in place. In 1997, the secretary-general recommended that UNMOT should be strengthened. UNMOT extended several times until May 2000, constrained by the progress of peace.