Iraq-Kuwait border drawn by UN Commission.

Stretching across 240 kilometres of windswept a series of 106 pillars stand like tomb-stones dividing the territories of Iraq and Kuwait. The recently erected markers are the result of two years of work by the UN Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission.

"It was such a unique, undertaking", said Miklos Pinther, Chief Cartographer for the UN, who served as Secretary of the Commission. "Everyone understood that they were making history."

The five-member Commission was established under Security Council resolution 687 (1991), which sets the terms of the cease-fire for the Persian Gulf war.

In May 1991, the body began its pain-staking work, summarized in its final report (S/25811). The Commission then met in September 1993 to certify three sets of technical documentation, including maps and reports from the survey team. Both countries received a set of documents, and another set was deposited in UN archives.

Although it was the first time that the UN was called on to demarcate an international boundary, it is unlikely to be the last. Similar requests might be in the offing from newly-formed nations in Eastern Europe, said Mr. Pinther.

"The Commission eventually completed its task much faster than you would normally do a job like this - and below our estimated budget", he said, adding that the boundary demarcation was paid for by Iraq and Kuwait.

In conducting negotiations between the two countries, the Commission had to overcome several hurdles. And, Mr. Pinther added, the field was extremely demanding.

"The initial Problem was the enormous amount of unexploded materials in the area - thing,l like mines, grenades and leftover. stuff from the war", he said. "They were scattered all over the place. The wind would blow them and the sand would cover them."

In order to clear the mines, a team of Canadian engineers accompanied the survey team. The UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) also assisted the Boundary Commission by providing a camp site and transportation.

"The logistics of moving pillars through the area were horrendous", recalled Mr. Pinther. "In many places, ground conditions were very poor. Cranes would get stuck in the sand."

Another problem was insufficient documentation for the boundary. "Geographic coordinates were not established for the boundary. That task was left for the Demarcation Commission", Mr. Pinther said. The Commission had to depend on letters between the two Governments, which only broadly described the border dividing the countries.

These communications had taken place between Iraq and Kuwait in 1932, when Iraq joined the League of Nations.

The survey team used first-rate equipment including the Global Position System (GPS) receivers to establish positions and distances by reading signals from satellites.

"This was the first international boundary measured With this GPS surveying system", Mr. Pinther said. "It allowed us to reduce the use of conventional systems, and it is much more accurate." Unaffected by heat and other atmospheric and ground conditions, the GPS survey network came within a centimetre of accuracy.

Survey team members, on the other hand, did notice the heat. "You almost think you're going to burn up", said Mr. Pinther. "Still, throughout the whole process, there was a kind of uplifting spirit among everyone,. You don't often get a chance to do things like this. We all thought it was pretty historic."