David Nason, New York – The Security Council has extended the UN presence in East Timor by implementing the mandate of the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste, which will operate until May 20 next year. Under the unanimously adopted Resolution 1599, the office – given the acronym UNOTIL – will replace the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET), which is backed by more than 300 armed peacekeepers, mainly from Brazil, Fiji and Australia.

The peacekeeping force has been helping local units patrol the disputed border between East Timor and Indonesian-controlled West Timor, but will not be part of the scaled-down UNOTIL.

Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan backed East Timor's request to retain a reduced deployment of about 150 peacekeepers, but the Security Council adopted the US position that peacekeepers were no longer needed.

Instead, UNOTIL will have the services of 15 military advisers and an extra 20 police advisers to add to the 40 advisers being retained under the new mandate.