Series Military - S-1858

Chief Military Observer
The Chief Military Observer (CMO) was tasked with the command of the Military Division of UNOMIL. The CMO was posted at UNOMIL headquarters in Monrovia, Liberia, and reported directly to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on matters regarding military operations of the UNOMIL mandate. The post was held by Major General Daniel Ishmael Opande, succeeded in April 1997 by Major General Sikandar Shami.

The records contain incoming and outgoing code cables, exchanged between the CMO and United Nations Headquarters, New York (UN-NY) and between the SRSG and: Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Marrack Goulding; Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet; and Margaret Carey, Africa Specialist with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Topics of the cables pertain to military operations and developments of the mission.

The records also contain operational reports such as reconnaissance reports ordered by the CMO and conducted by Military Observers (MILOBS) and/or Electoral Officers to ascertain viability of establishing a field station; or to obtain data on the population and infrastructure necessary for electoral staff. Daily and weekly situation reports and monthly assessments of main developments sent to the SRSG relay information about developments in military and electoral operations.

There are also summaries of meetings of the inter-agency Ceasefire Violations Committee (CFVC), which was chaired by the CMO. The meeting summaries detail the Committee’s discussion of alleged ceasefire violations. The records also include letters of complaint sent by the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to the CMO, reporting factions’ allegations of ceasefire violations.