In the preamble of the Resolution 1223, the Security Council continued to express concern over the humanitarian situation in Guinea-Bissau. It noted declarations by the President of Guinea-Bissau João Bernardo Vieira and the leader of the self-proclaimed military junta of never again resorting to the use of weapons and welcomed the swearing-in of a new Government of National Unity.[2] The Council noted that there serious obstacles remaining, partly due to the failure of civil servants and other officials to return to Guinea-Bissau from other countries.