Brutal conflict: 'an affront to the world's conscience.' (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Tragedy in the former Yugoslavia continued to "drain the attention, resources, and emotion of the international community", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported on 10 September.

The "most visible and successful contribution" of the world community in that region was in the humanitarian sphere, the Secretary-General stated. Unfortunately, conditions for assistance efforts had "steadily deteriorated". Relief operations were "obstructed, sabotaged or diverted for military purposes". The personnel of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations were "increasingly targeted deliberately", he lamented.

Peace remained elusive, fighting was widespread, and new outbursts had taken place in central and southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Secretary-General stated (A/48/1).

Strenuous efforts by the UN, the European Community and the Co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia - undertaken during July, August and September 1993 - failed to bring about a political settlement.

Hopes for an overall agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina did not materialize, as the Bosnian Assembly on 29 September rejected a new peace package, although the choice, according to the Co-Chairmen (S/26395), was "between a negotiated peace and the continuation of war".

The ongoing brutal conflict was accompanied by massive and systematic violations of human rights, the Secretary-General observed. The "daily horrors" inflicted on suffering civilians constituted an "affront to the world's conscience".

From 1 July through 30 September, some 257 violations of the ban on military flights in the airspace of Bosnia and Herzegovina, imposed under Security Council resolution 816 (1993), were reported - 132 more than in April, May and June. That brought to 881 the total number of apparent violations since monitoring began in November 1992 under Council resolution 781 (1992).

In Croatia, the situation remained tense, the Secretary-General reported. Demilitarization of the UN Protected Areas (UNPAs) had not taken place due to local Serb resistance. Croatia's frustration with the lack of progress in recovering its sovereign territory had led to incursions against Serbs, setting back the peace process even further.

Peace prospects for Bosnia and Herzegovina and a possible role for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in support of UNPROFOR were discussed on 1 September in Geneva by Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Manfred Woerner, NATO's Secretary-General.

The creation of a permanent NATO-UNPROFOR joint staff to implement a peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina was considered by UNPROFOR Commander General Jean Cot and Admiral Mike Boorda, NATO Allied Forces South Commander, in Zagreb on 28 September.

Also, the General Assembly on 15 and 17 September selected 11 judges to serve on the International Tribunal established under Council resolution 827 (1993) to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991. The Council, in its resolution 857 (1993), had provided a list of candidates.

Between 1 July and 4 October, the Security Council met, either formally or for consultations, on 11 occasions to discuss the former Yugoslavia, adopting 6 resolutions and issuing 5 statements.

In adopting resolution 871 (1993) on 4 October, the Council extended the mandate of UNPROFOR for another six months, until 31 March 1094.

Faces of sorrow

Of more than 24,000 UNPROFOR soldiers and 3,000 civilians, 54 had been killed and 585 wounded, the Secretary-General said on 21 September, at the opening at UN Headquarters of a photo exhibition with the theme "Faces of Sorrow".

The UN provided the "only tangible sign of hope", he stressed, assisting 3.6 million refugees and displaced persons, feeding 2.3 million people, supplying desperately-needed help for thousands of sick and wounded, and delivering more than 145,000 tons of food and medicine. And the cost to the UN had already exceeded $2.5 billion, he added.

But international support for humanitarian operations was dwindling and the sums actually received fell "far short of requirements", the Secretary-General stated in his annual report. The UN role in the former Yugoslavia was "under serious challenge", he said.

If the present "downward spiral" continued, the Security Council might not be able to achieve its political objectives, he warned. The ultimate consequences would be "further large population displacements", with serious destabilizing effects on neighbouring countries and the whole region, amounting to a "humanitarian catastrophe".

Resolution 859:

Settlement in Bosnia urged

The grave situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remained a "threat to international peace and security", the Security Council stated on 24 August.

In unanimously adopting revolution 859 (1993), it urged the parties to conclude "as soon as possible a just and comprehensive political settlement freely agreed by all of them". Essential in that regard was an "immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities throughout the Republic".

The Council also demanded an "unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance" and full respect "by all parties at all times" for the safety and operational effectiveness of UNPROFOR and UNHCR personnel.

The Council affirmed the continuing relevance of: Bosnia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence; the fact that neither a change in the State's name nor changes in its internal organization would affect Bosnia's continued membership in the UN; principles adopted by the international Conference on the Former Yugoslavia (26-27 August 1992, London); recognition and respect for the right of all displaced persons to "return to their homes in safety and honour"; and the maintenance of Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, as a "united city and a multicultural, multi-ethnic and pluri-religious centre".

A military offensive by the Bosnian Serbs on Mount Igman, aimed at further isolating Sarajevo and "escalating the recent unprecedented and unacceptable pressures" on Bosnia's Government and people before the Geneva talks, was condemned by the Security Council on 22 July.

In a statement (S/26134) by its President, Sir David Hannay of the, United Kingdom, the Council demanded an "immediate end" to all attacks on Sarajevo, as well as all violations of international humanitarian law. It reaffirmed the unacceptability of ethnic cleansing, the forceful acquisition of territory or any dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An end to the disruption of public utilities by the Bosnian Serbs and to the "blocking of, and interference with, the delivery of humanitarian relief" by the Bosnian Serb and the Bosnian Croat parties was also demanded. The Council stressed that it would keep all options open.

Seeking solution

A constitutional agreement for a Union of Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina - providing that the territory of the Muslim-majority Republic would be no less than 30 per cent of the Union's entire territory, and that each constituent republic would determine its own name - was reached by the three Bosnian sides on 30 July in Geneva.

According to the co-Chairmen's 5 August report (S/26260), the parties also agreed on: an authority to "ensure access in sensitive areas of the country after UNPROFOR withdraws", as foreseen under the Vance-Owen peace plan; access to the sea for the Muslim-majority Republic; military aspects of implementing a peaceful settlement; and territorial arrangements.

Deliberations to settle the remaining issues continued throughout August. As a result, arrangements to place Sarajevo and Mostar under the administration of the UN and the European Community respectively for two years were worked out, the Co-Chairmen reported (S/26337) on 20 August.

Detailed agreements had also been reached on some other territorial issues, and all of the annexes to the constitutional agreement, as well as a preliminary bilateral treaty between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia on access to two Adriatic ports, had been finalized, they stated.

When talks in Geneva resumed on 31 August, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic informed the Co-Chairmen that he was authorized to sign the peace agreement, provided the Muslim-majority Republic was given an additional 4 per cent of Bosnia's territory. Both Radovan Karadzic and Mate Boban - leaders of Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats respectively - stated that they could sign the accord only as it was.

Peace or war?

A peace package - "distilled from the three parties' own ideas" - was presented on 1 September to the Geneva peace talks by the Co-Chairmen. The choice was "between a negotiated peace and the continuation of war", they reported. "If the conflict persists over the next winter, it might be difficult, if not impossible, to assure continued humanitarian relief and assistance" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they said.

The Croat and Serb delegations were ready to sign the package, but President Izetbegovic "still wanted further consideration" of some territorial issues, including the question of access to the Adriatic sea, the Co-Chairmen reported (S/26486) on 23 September.

However, there had been some "promising political developments", they said. On 14 September, Presidents Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia met in Geneva and agreed to set up a working group on territorial delimitation between the Muslim-majority Republic and the Croat-majority Republic in the Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also agreed on a cease-fire, but that was subsequently violated.

President Izetbegovic and Dr. Karadzic's representative, Momcilo Krajisnik, also agreed to form a similar working group and cease hostilities. Fighting between Serbs and Muslims remained at a "relatively low level", the Co-Chairmen stated.

A team of experts from France and Germany, studying the possibilities of building a commercial port for the Muslim side on the Adriatic sea, recommended the use of a port in Ploce with connections to Bosnia and Herzegovina through the Neretva river.

In addition, an early resumption of talks was urged by the Secretary-General at his 9 September meeting in New York with President Izetbegovic. The Secretary-General also explained the procedure for first use of air power in support of UNPROFOR.

Package rejected

A meeting of the three parties - President Izetbegovic, Mr. Karadzic and Mr. Boban - was organized by the Co-Chairmen aboard HMS Invincible in the Adriatic sea on 20 September. It was also attended by Presidents Momir Bulatovic of Montenegro, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Vitaly Churkin of the Russian Federation and Ambassador Charles Redman of the United States, as observers.

Agreements reached at the meeting included the following:

* Muslim and Croat parties agreed on establishing an exit to the sea for the Muslim-majority Republic through the Croat-majority Republic via the Access Authority Throughway from Poplat to Neum, and agreed that a port facility should be between Visici and Celjevo on the Neretva;

* Croatia agreed to a 99-year lease for a separate port facility at Ploce for the Muslim-majority Republic;

* All parties agreed that, as soon as relations between croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were normalized, there should be a treaty "covering an exchange of territory involving also the Union of Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina", so that there would be "no net loss of territory to the Republic of Croatia", the Co-Chairmen stated.

Earlier, the Serb and the Croat sides had made it clear that if the 1 September peace package, which they considered final, was not signed by the Muslim party, they would "withdraw their concessions".

Also on 20 September, the Co-Chairmen managed to mediate further territorial agreements, namely, that the southern border of the Muslim-majority Republic would "be moved down from Recice to just above, Visici", and that an "additional area of land" along the Drina river between Gorazde and Visegrad would be given to the Muslim side by the Serb party.

The new peace package - although not yet signed, as President Izetbegovic had to present it first to his Assembly - indicated a "striking and important" dedication to achieving results, Co-Chairman Thorvald Stoltenberg, also the Secretary-General's Special Representative, stated on 21 September..

Nevertheless, the proposed agreement was rejected by the Bosnian Parliament on 29 September.

Resolutions 869, 870, 871:

UNPROFOR extended

An extention of UNPROFOR's mandate for six months - until 31 March 1994 - was approved by the Security Council on 4 October. In unanimously adopting resolution 871 (1993), the Council also authorized UNPROFOR, in carrying out its mandate in Croatia and acting in self-defence, to "take the necessary measures, including the use of force", to ensure its security and freedom of movement.

Stressing the crucial importance of full and prompt implementation of the UN peace-keeping plan for Croatia, including the demilitarization of the UNPAs, as approved in resolution 743 (1992), the Council called on all concerned, particularly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), to cooperate in its full implementation. Continued noncooperation, it warned, would have "serious consequences", adding that "full normalization of the international community's position towards those concerned" would take into account their actions in implementing all relevant Council resolutions.

The Council stressed the importance of the restoration of Croatia's authority in the "pink zones" - Serb-populated parts of Croatia lying outside the UNPAs - and called for the revival of the Joint Commission established under resolution 762 (1992).

Earlier, the Council acted twice to extend UNPROFOR's mandate: for a 24-hour period, in resolution 869 (1993) of 30 September; and for another four days, in resolution 870 (1993) on 1 October.

On 28 September, Croatian President Tudjman told the General Assembly that if UNPROFOR'S mandate was not amended "within the next 48 hours" to promote energetic implementation of relevant Council resolutions, Croatia would "renounce" the UN peace-keeping operation on its territory and ask it to leave by 30 November 1993.

While the Force had achieved some initial positive results, President Tudjman stated, it had been "misused by Serbian extremist insurgents" to freeze territorial gains, continue "ethnic cleansing" and consolidate occupation. Besides, "lack of determination" by the international community had allowed the Serbian side to ignore all Council resolutions, he stressed.

Situation in Croatia

Deep concern was expressed by the Security Council on 15 July over hostilities in the UNPAs, "including, in particular, by the Krajina Serbs",

In a statement (S/26084) by its President, Thomas L. Richardson of the United Kingdom, the Council demanded that those hostilities "cease immediately" and called on all concerned to refrain from any action which would undermine efforts to maintain peace.

Freedom of access to UNPROFOR, particularly to the Maslenica crossing, was also urged.

The Croatian Government was called upon to refrain from the "planned unilateral reopening" of the Maslenica bridge and Zemunik airport on 18 July, as that step would jeopardize efforts to achieve a "negotiated settlement" to the problem.

Recalling its resolution 802 (1993), which had demanded that Croatian armed forces withdraw from the areas in question, the Council stated that it continued to attach the "highest importance" to reopening the Maslenica crossing to civilian traffic. It also reaffirmed its support for Croatia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

An agreement requiring withdrawal of Croatian armed forces and police from the area and placing the Maslenica bridge under UNPROFOR's exclusive control was reached by the parties on 15 and 16 July at Erdut.

However, the Security Council on 30 July had demanded the accord's implementation. In a statement (S/26199) by its President, the Council called for "maximum restraint" from all parties to permit the "immediate deployment" of UNPROFOR.

To that end, the Force had moved 2,000 troops into the area, but had been "unable to deploy" them because the Croatian military authorities "would not allow UNPROFOR full access ... nor provide any cooperation", the Secretary-General reported (S/26310) on 16 August.

Meanwhile, talks under the auspices of the Co-Chairmen continued in Geneva, Zagreb and Knin. Although failing to achieve an overall cease-fire agreement, both sides had agreed to a meeting "on board a ship in the Adriatic on 12 September", the Secretary-General reported (S/26470) on 20 September.

The situation, however, grew worse on 10 and 11 September, as "shelling intensified on both sides of the confrontation line". According to the report, the Croatian side "used aircraft to bomb Serb positions, and the Serbs fired rockets and heavy missiles at Croatian population centres".

A cease-fire came on 15 September, following the intervention of Special Representative Stoltenberg and the UNPROFOR Commander, General Jean Cot, as well as a call from the Council.

In a 14 September statement (S/26436) by its President, Adolfo Raul Taylhardat of Venezuela, the Council had urged the Croatian, Government to withdraw its forces "to positions occupied before 9 September," and the Serbian forces to "halt all provocative military actions".

Croatian withdrawal, however, had begun "after some delay", the Secretary-General said. UNPROFOR had moved some 500 to 600 troops into the area to "replace the withdrawing Croatian forces".

Mandate and credibility

UNPROFOR's mandate "cannot be implemented without the cooperation" of the Serb authorities in Knin and the Croatian Government, the Secretary-General concluded on 20 September. The Force's credibility had been undermined, as each side blamed the Force for "failing to fulfil its expectations".

In addition, the "continuing uncertainty" over a settlement in Bosnia and Herzegovina also significantly affected the solution of the problem, he said. Thus, fighting continued with "more death and destruction", attitudes becoming "more polarized", peoples and economies facing "increasing deprivation", and UNPROFOR personnel "often exposed to physical danger".

In view of that danger and the criticism of UNPROFOR by both sides, the Secretary-General had been "sorely tempted" to recommend the withdrawal of the Force altogether. But such a step, he was convinced, "could only result in further conflict".

The "fundamental solution", however, had to be sought, "through political dialogue" between the parties, as they bore the primary responsibility in that regard, the report stated. UNPROFOR's principal objective could only be to keep the peace, "thereby permitting negotiations to take place on an overall political settlement".

Other components

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 11,500-strong Force is mandated primarily to protect Sarajevo airport, humanitarian convoys and the "safe areas" - Srebrenica, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zepa, Gorazde and Bihac-pronounced as such in Security Council resolutions 819 (1993) and 824 (1993).

In recent months, hostilities between Croats and government forces in central and southern Bosnia had "seriously undermined" the capability of UNPROFOR, UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies, the Secretary-General reported on 20 September. Intense fighting had blocked the main supply routes and further restricted freedom of movement.

In addition, UNPROFOR's French troops were subjected to a heavy attack by Bosnian Serbs on 25 July. Condemning such "heinous action", the Secretary-General stated that it was an "attack on the entire people of Bosnia and Herzegovina who depend on the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance".

To ensure the survival of up to 2.2 million people during the coming winter, UNPROFOR and UNHCR launched "Operation Lifeline", but that initiative would only work effectively if there was a political agreement leading to peace and if adequate funding was forthcoming, the Secretary-General stressed.

In The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Force enjoyed an "excellent cooperative relationship" with the Government, the Secretary-General stated. UNPROFOR's 1,190 military, civilian and police personnel mounted regular patrols and, in cooperation with the country's authorities and CSCE's sanctions assistance mission, monitored traffic crossing the border with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

"This first venture into the field of ~preventive deployment' by the United Nations has so far been successful", the Secretary-General stated.

Resolution 855:

Support for CSCE efforts

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was called upon by the Security Council on 9 August to cooperate with the CSCE by taking "practical steps needed for the resumption" of its missions in Kosovo, Sandjak and Vojvodina, and to agree to increase the number of monitors, as decided by the CSCE.

In adopting resolution 855 (1993) by a vote of 14 to none, with one abstention (China), the Council also urged Yugoslavia to "assure the monitors safety and security", and to allow them the "free and unimpeded access necessary to accomplish their mission in full".

Explaining its vote, China said the matter of CSCE presence in Yugoslavia should be solved between them, as "any outside interference or pressure" would "only further complicate the issue". Preventive diplomacy should be carried out at the explicit request or with prior consent" of the parties concerned, it noted.

Hungary expressed particular concern about the situation of the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina, which was being "continuously threatened" and lived under conditions of intimidation and harassment". Although the world community had "well-founded reasons" to concentrate its attention on Kosovo, the situation was also "very fragile" in Vojvodina and Sandjak, where the human rights and fundamental freedoms of ethnic communities were "far from being fully respected", it stated.

Resolution 857:

Judges for Tribunal

A list of 23 candidates eligible for election as judges on the International Tribunal, set up under Council resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991, was put forward by the Council on 20 August, in its resolution 857 (1993).

The General Assembly on 15 September elected 8 of 11 judges for the Tribunal and, on 17 September, it filled the remaining three vacancies.

The nine men and two women, elected for four-year terms, are: Gabrielle Kirk McDonald (United States), Jules Deschenes (Canada), Antonio Cassese (Italy), Georges Michel Abi-Saab (Egypt), Li Haopei (China), Germain Le Foyer De Costil (France), Lal Chan Vohrah (Malaysia), Sir Ninian Stephen (Australia), Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte (Nigeria), Rustam S. Sidhwa (Pakistan), and Elizabeth Odio Benito, (Costa Rica).

ICJ rules on genocide

An interim Order of provisional measures, calling upon the Yugoslav Government to take immediately all measures within its power to prevent commission of the crime of genocide, was issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 13 September.

Reaffirming its ruling of 8 April, when Bosnia and Herzegovina first appealed to ICJ under the provisions of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the World Court held that the "present perilous situation" demanded not an indication of additional measures, but an "immediate and effective implementation" of measures set up earlier.

The Court recorded that, despite its 8 April Order and many Security Council resolutions, "great suffering and loss of life has been sustained by the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina in circumstances which shock the conscience of mankind and flagrantly conflict with moral law".

It was also stated that the "grave risk" of aggravating or extending the commission of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina had been "deepened by the persistence of conflicts" and the "commission of heinous acts in the course of those conflicts".

The 15-member Court was "not satisfied that all that might have been done has been done" to prevent genocide. It reminded the parties that they were obliged to take the Court's provisional measures "seriously into account".

The Court declined to adopt more far-reaching injunctions requested by Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as measures to interdict plans to partition Bosnian territory, or declare illegal the annexation of its territory, as it could order interim measures only within the scope of the Genocide Convention and was not entitled to deal with broader claims.

The Court also declined to order an injunction sought by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia requiring Bosnia and Herzegovina to take all measures within its power to prevent commission of the crime of genocide against the Serbs in Bosnia.

War crimes

From July through September, two sessions were held by the Commission of Experts set up under Security Council resolution 780 (1992) to examine and analyse information on possible breaches of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

At its sixth session (13-14 July, Geneva), the five-member Commission considered an oral report by the Rapporteur for on-site investigation William J. Fenric of Canada, who had visited Sarajevo from 24 June to 9 July. It decided, among other things, to continue investigations into mass graves, systematic sexual assaults, prison camps, and destruction of cultural property and civilian objects.

Testimony from alleged war criminals detained by the Croatian authorities was presented to the Commission's seventh session (30-31 August, Geneva) by its Acting Chairman, Torkel Opsahl of Norway, who had returned from a mission to Zagreb. The Commission decided to work out guidelines for future interviews of witnesses and the hearing of testimonies of alleged war criminals.

Among subjects discussed were: a database of alleged rights violations; mass graves, camps and detention facilities; allegations of systematic rape; mortar shelling in the Dobrinja district of Sarajevo; a report on the battle of Sarajevo; and the law of armed conflict.

Mr. Opsahl died on 16 September. His untimely death, the Secretary-General stated, was a "great loss to the United Nations, to the Commission of Experts and the international legal community".

In other developments, a 50-person engineering unit was provided "free of cost to the United Nations" by the Netherlands to assist in the excavation of a mass grave site at Ovcara near Vukovar, the Secretary-General reported (S/26373) on 20 August. He suggested that the unit temporarily function within UNPROFOR, which would involve the Force's "temporary expansion" at no additional cost.

Detention camps

Profound concern over reports that Bosnian Croats were holding Bosnian Muslims in detention camps under deplorable conditions was expressed by the Security Council on 14 September.

In a statement (S/26437) by Council President Adolfo Raul Taylhardat of Venezuela, it stressed that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) "must be given access to all detainees in Bosnia wherever they may be held". It also called on the Bosnian Croats to supply immediately to the ICRC "complete information" on all camps where prisoners were being held.

Inhumane treatment and abuses in detention centres violated international humanitarian law, the Council stated. Moreover, persons who committed or ordered the commission of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions were "individually responsible in respect of such breaches".

The Council also called upon Croatia to "use its influence with the Bosnian Croats to secure compliance" with the current statement.

Alarm over reports of detentions, harassment and widespread forced displacement of thousands of Muslims in western Bosnia and Herzegovina by Bosnian Croat forces had been expressed by the UNHCR on 20 August.

"Credible reports" from people fleeing the region pointed to a "new campaign" of ethnic cleansing, which was "as brutal as any so far witnessed in the Bosnian conflict", the agency stated. Up to 15,000 mostly draft-age Muslim men were believed to be held in "extremely poor conditions" in detention centres guarded by Bosnian Croat forces in Rodoc, Gabela and Dreteli.

Detainees were "extremely crowded" and food rations consisted of a "piece of bread, a bowl of soup and a cup of tea per person per day", the UNHCR reported. They had also been "forced to dig trenches at night on the front lines, resulting in several deaths".

Despite numerous efforts, the UNHCR had been prevented from delivering aid to Mostar since 15 June.

"For more than a year now, the UNHCR and its partners have struggled against all odds to help the people of Sarajevo to stay alive", High Commissioner Sadako Ogata stated on 9 July. "Under the most appalling conditions, the brave people of Sarajevo have survived a massive military onslaught that has left thousands dead and the city in ruins. Now, after months of horror and hardship, they face the very real threat of death not only by bombs and bullets, but by thirst, disease and starvation".

She condemned the actions of those who were "blocking the delivery of food, medicine, fuel, water, power, gas and other humanitarian assistance in a cowardly attempt to starve and kill innocent civilians".

Massive violations

The eruption of hostilities between Croat and government forces in central Bosnia and Herzegovina involved "massive and systematic violations" of human rights and international humanitarian law, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, reported (S/26469) on 18 May.

Forced displacement and detention of civilians, arbitrary executions, attacks on towns and destruction of villages and religious sites had become "part of a deliberate and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing" conducted by the Croat forces, Mr. Mazowiecki said.

On the other hand, arbitrary executions and torture had been carried out by government forces, and there was a real "danger of retaliation for ethnic cleansing committed by Croat forces against Croat civilians".

The peace plan, which provided Bosnia and Herzegovina's division along ethnic lines, had been used to create "ethnically homogenous areas", he reported. Moreover, the lack of an effective international response to counter the Serb policy of ethnic cleansing had created the "precedent of impunity" and "encouraged Croat forces to adopt the same policy".

Without stopping the war and without "sufficient pressure to force an end to human rights violations", any attempts to find a just and lasting political solution would be "doomed to fail", Mr. Mazowiecki observed.

Visible toll

Conditions in Sarajevo had "deteriorated dramatically" since his October 1992 mission, Special Rapporteur Mazowiecki reported (S/26383) on 26 August, after visiting the city on 11 and 12 August.

The 16-month siege had taken a "visible physical and psychological toll" on the population, and the "whole fabric of ordinary life" had been destroyed. In addition, tensions between the Muslims, Serbs and Croats were mounting.

Also of great concern was the fact that the basic human needs of civilians were being "used as a weapon of war", and the rule of law was in the process of collapsing". Hostilities were conducted in a manner, which not only violated the "most basic human rights of the inhabitants", but was also in "fundamental breach of the laws of war", Mr. Mazowiecki stressed.

Those breaches included: starvation of a besieged population as a method of warfare: use of civilians as military targets and their "deliberate killing and wounding"; denial and destruction of electricity, water and gas supplies, foodstuffs and medical supplies "essential to the survival of the civilian population"; repeated shelling of hospitals; and detention of civilians as hostages.

Tragically, that pattern had been reported in other besieged areas of Bosnia, "most graphically in recent days from Mostar", Mr. Mazowiecki stated. The level of suffering inflicted on civilians was a "cause of profound concern".

Such practices deserved the "strongest possible condemnation", he stressed in an 6 September report (S/26415). In times of war, civilian populations "should remain under the protection of international law".

Besides, "sniping at civilians" to kill or wound those taking no part in hostilities constituted a war crime, Mr. Mazowiecki stated. Therefore, snipers should be "among those tried and sentenced for grave breaches of humanitarian law".

Severe food

shortages

More than 4.2 million people in the former Yugoslavia would experience severe food shortages in the coming winter, unless pledges of food aid were urgently made, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on 27 September.

Although about 86 per cent of food aid requirements for September-December 1993 had been met, very little had been pledged beyond January 1994, which could result in "critical food shortages at the height of winter", WFP stated.

For January-June 1994, emergency food requirements were estimated at over 450,000 metric tonnes of which only 17 per cent had been pledged, leaving a shortfall of some 371,000 tonnes.

"Present supplies are insufficient to allow stockpiling, and unless new pledges are confirmed and deliveries made before January, millions of people will be without basic food supplies during the bitter winter months", said WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini.

WFP had been responsible for procuring and delivering all international food aid for the former Yugoslavia since September 1992. By the end of September 1993, the Programme had mobilized over 320,000 tonnes of commodities, valued at some $225 million. The food is delivered by WFP to the UNHCR central warehouses for onward distribution.

Medical and other essential supplies, including fuel, were also running short, posing serious health risks to populations of besieged towns.

In an urgent message to Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), on 8 July warned of a possible "massive loss of life" in Sarajevo and other Bosnian cities unless essential supplies were allowed to reach them.

Suffering the

unspeakable

"Having suffered the unspeakable for more than one year, the people of Sarajevo, especially the wounded and the sick, are now facing the imminent collapse of what is left of the health infrastructure", Dr. Nakajima stated.

"The heroism of medical personnel and of international aid workers cannot provide an answer to the crisis at hand. In the absense of respect for what constitute minimum standards of civilized behaviour, a catastrophe will take place, the likes of which Europe and the world have not seen since the dark days of the Second World War."

In contrast, a joint reconstruction programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, operated by the UN Office at Vienna and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), had achieved "great success" during the summer, the organizers stated on 20 August.

Funded through donations exceeding $2 million in cash and in-kind services, the programme involved 45 volunteers from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, working on schools, clinics and housing for the elderly on all sides of the confrontation in the UNPA Sector West.

Among the programme's recent priorities were: a campaign to raise $1 million to reestablish basic pediatrics, gynecology, internal medicine and surgery services at the local hospital; and an assistance project for Bosnian women.

Border observers

Deployment of international observers along Bosnia and Herzegovina's borders, especially on its border with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, would facilitate the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, Council President Sir David Hannay wrote (S/26049) to the Secretary-General on 7 July.

Council members invited the Secretary-General to establish whether Member States were read to "make qualified personnel available to act as observers", and to explore all possibilities for implementation, of the "border monitors concept". with a view to obtaining "full cooperation from the authorities in the neighbouring countries".

On 1 July, the Secretary-General had reported (S/26018) that there were two alternative options for the observers' deployment: border monitoring and border control.

In view of the fact that worldwide resources for additional peace-keeping troops were "increasingly stretched", it would be "unrealistic" for the Council to authorize the border control option, he stated.

Even for border monitoring, substantial additional resources would be required, and even if the necessary personnel and finance were available, that option's effectiveness would "depend entirely" on the cooperation of neighbouring countries and the parties concerned, the Secretary-General stressed.

New rules

New rules for the delivery of medical, food or other essential humanitarian supplies to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were announced on 29 July by Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg of Brazil, Chairman of the Security Council Committee established under resolution 724 (1991).

According to the rules, all parties wishing to transport supplies through Yugoslav maritime ports would be required, among other things, to provide the Committee with: a justification for exceptional authorization for entering the territorial sea of Yugoslavia: the name, type, international call sign and registry of the ship involved, as well as the name of the company of its ownership or charter; the particulars on all cargo on the vessel: and the proposed inspection and monitoring regimes, to be undertaken at the expense of the shipper.

In a related development, the Committee on 8 July and 10 August made its recommendations (S/26040 & Add. 1) to the Security Council on how to assist States adversely affected by sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Request for help had so far been submitted by six countries - Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Uganda and the Ukraine.

Greece/Macedonia

The first direct meeting between representatives of Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia took place on 23 August in New York under the good offices of Cyrus Vance, former Co-Chairman of the Steering Committee.

Both parties had agreed to "commence direct discussions on a continuing basis" in Mr. Vance's presence in New York on 28 September, the Secretary-General reported (S/26483) on 22 September. They had welcomed that "new phase" in the effort to resolve remaining differences, which would hopefully lead to a "new era" in their relations.

The 28 September meeting was held in a "cordial and businesslike atmosphere", Mr. Vance said after the talks. In view of the 10 October Greek elections, both parties agreed that further direct talks on the substance of the remaining issues should be deferred.

In his report, the Secretary-General stated that it had "not proved possible" to resolve the differences between the two countries before the opening of the forty-eighth General Assembly, as called for in Council resolution 845 (1993).

Nevertheless, their direct discussions in Mr. Vance's presence demonstrated the "desire on both sides to come to a resolution". Normalization of relations between them would "contribute to peace and stability in the region", he stressed.