Former Yugoslavia.

The first year of the implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina was overall a "year of success", High Representative Carl Bildt reported on 9 December. "But each step forward we have taken has also demonstrated how many more are the steps which must be taken for the peace process to be self-sustaining and stable", he stressed.

While human rights was the "key to most other aspects of political and civilian implementation" of the Peace Agreement, the High Representative regretted to report that overall situation remained "deeply unsatisfactory throughout the territory of the country".

There was no denying that the "drift towards ethnic separation" was continuing, and the forces of ethnic separation were "still stronger than the forces of ethnic reintegration. But the trend is by no means irreversible", he stated. "As peace takes hold, and as the economy throughout the country starts to revive, the interaction between the different parts of the country is bound to increase. If human rights are respected, we will then start to see the country coming back together again. It must be a central aim of the international efforts to ensure that this will be the case," Mr. Bildt stressed.

Also, "our commitment to peace in this part of Europe must be longer than one year and wider in geographic scope than just Bosnia". The international community must be ready to "do whatever can be done in order to facilitate the full respect for human and political rights for each and everyone" in Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), Mr. Bildt stated.

In a 22 January letter, transmitting the first monthly report on the Stabilization Force (SFOR) operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, established under Security Council resolution 1088 (1996) to succeed the Implementation Force (IFOR), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Javier Solana said that the overall situation in the theatre had been calm. However, "ethnic tensions persist and we in the international community cannot afford to underestimate the challenges ahead. As we face these challenges, I can assure you that SFOR will implement its mandate as professionally as IFOR, and it will play its full part in helping to bring lasting peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina," Mr. Solana assured.

On 24 March, he reported that approximately 31,000 SFOR troops were deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Concepts are now in place for the use and exercising of operational reserves from within the theatre and strategic reserves from outside the theatre in order to give the force enhanced flexibility and to reinforce its deterrent role", the report said.

Resolution 1103: UNMBIH increased

In order to enable the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMBIH) to monitor, restructure and retrain police in the Brcko area and carry out its mandate under the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Agreement), the Security Council on 31 March increased the Mission's strength by 186 police and 11 civilian personnel.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1103 (1997), the Council also decided to "consider expeditiously" the Secretary-General's recommendations that the International Police Task Force (IPTF) be strengthened with an additional 120 police personnel, so that it could effectively carry out all its tasks related to the investigation of human rights abuses by local police.

Member States were urged to provide "qualified police monitors and other forms of assistance and support" to the United Nations IPTF, as the Council called upon all parties to the Peace Agreement to implement all its aspects and "cooperate in full with the UN-IPTF in the conduct of its activities".

On 4 February, Kai Eide of Norway was named the Secretary-General's Special Representative and Coordinator of United Nations Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A 'tremendous experience'

Peter Fitzgerald, the outgoing Commissioner of the IPTF in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the press at Headquarters on 12 February that his year in office had been a "tremendous experience". He was confident that his successor, Manfred Seitner of Denmark, who was very experienced, had a "good foundation to build on".

Following some initial difficulties after its establishment in December 1995, the IPTF had "successfully achieved the aim of transferring jurisdiction" from former Serb-held suburbs to the Federation and had "immediately set up a process of democracy for the local police", Mr. Fitzgerald stated. It also introduced a policy of "no checkpoints without the permission of IPTF", although before its arrival there had been "checkpoints by heavily armed local police officers every few hundred yards", and a policy of "no long-barrelled weapons for the police", he said.

Under agreements reached with the Federation police, its size had been reduced from 23,000 to 11,500. A "very substantial vetting process" had been introduced, whereby the backgrounds of all the policemen joining the force were checked, with candidates also being obliged to undergo psychological tests and take an "examination on the principles of democratic policing and human rights", he stated. The training process of the police had already started, and a "very substantial training programme" had been drawn up for the future, Mr. Fitzgerald stressed.

Brcko area

On 14 February, parties to the General Framework Agreement were reminded by the Security Council of their obligation to implement without delay the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on the disputed portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line in the Brcko area.

In a statement by its President, Njuguna M. Mahugu of Kenya, the Council also underscored the "importance of prompt and full cooperation" of the parties - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska - in carrying out their commitments to implement the Peace Agreement in its entirety.

The decision taken on 14 February in Rome by the three-member Arbitral Tribunal, consisting of a representative of each party and a Presiding Arbitrator appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice, called for international supervision of the implementation of the Dayton accords in the Brcko area. It also stipulated that the Office of the High Representative would establish as soon as feasible an office and staff in Brcko under a Deputy High Representative - the Brcko Supervisor - to supervise the peace accords' implementation for a period of not less than one year and to strengthen local democratic institutions. On 7 March, Robert W. Farrand of the United States was appointed to that post.

The Brcko Supervisor was to have the authority to promulgate binding regulations and orders, which would prevail against any conflicting laws of the local authorities. Also, in close liaison with SFOR and IPTF, he would seek to ensure freedom of movement on all significant roads, bridges and port facilities, and relevant authorities would undertake normal democratic policing functions and services for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the area. A programme for the early return of former residents of the area would also be established.

The decision declared that the future status of Brcko would remain unresolved until 15 March 1998, in light of the "inability of the arbitrators representing the two parties to reach agreement on final allocation of political responsibilities". Should the Presiding Arbitrator conclude that there had been a lack of compliance with the Dayton accords, it might be necessary to proclaim the town of Brcko a special district in which the "laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina and those promulgated by local authorities will be exclusively applicable".

'Tensions persist'

Reviewing the situation on the ground, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 14 March reported that tensions had persisted between the different ethnic communities in Bosnia, which was reflected in the violence that erupted "all too often" when displaced persons attempted to return to their homes. While admirable progress had been achieved in such areas as the establishment of joint institutions, progress in other areas remained "dangerously slow", he stressed.

The Secretary-General expressed particular concern about the status of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. "I can only repeat my deep conviction that there will be no genuine peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina without justice. Reconciliation cannot take root if the people suspected of unspeakable crimes are able to move openly and live with impunity in the society", he stated.

Prosecution demanded

The Security Council on 11 March demanded that authorities in West Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina suspend and prosecute police officers involved in a 10 February "violent assault against a group of civilians attempting to visit a graveyard" in the presence of the UN-IPTF, in which "one person died and others were injured".

Through a statement by Council President Zbigniew Wlosowicz of Poland, it also strongly condemned attempts by those authorities to "place conditions upon the arrest and prosecution of the police officers identified in the UN-IPTF report as having fired upon the group of civilians".

According to the report, a procession of several hundred Bosniacs, led by religious and political leaders, travelled from East Mostar, across the former confrontation line, to visit a cemetery in West Mostar, in observance of the Bajram religious holiday, only to be attacked by West Mostar police wielding batons. As the Bosniacs retreated, a plain-clothes policeman discharged a pistol in the air, and "at least two plain-clothes officers" then fired into the retreating marchers, killing 1 person and wounding 20.

Serbs in Croatia

The Security Council on 19 March, in expressing concern over little progress with regard to the return of Croatian Serbs to the Western Slavonia and Krajina regions - formerly known as Sectors West, North and South - called upon the Government of Croatia to: "accelerate its efforts to improve conditions of personal and economic security"; remove bureaucratic obstacles to the rapid issue of documentation to all Serb families; and "resolve promptly the property issue, by a return of property or a just compensation, in order to facilitate the return of Croatian Serbs" to those Sectors.

Through a presidential statement, the Council also called upon the Croatian Government to "remove uncertainty about the implementation of its amnesty law", finalize without delay the list of war crime suspects, and put an "end to arbitrary arrests, particularly of Serbs returning to Croatia".

The Secretary-General on 5 March reported that inter-ethnic relations in the former Sectors continued to be characterized by hostility, "as when Croatian Serbs attempting to seek government assistance through local officials are turned away with derogatory comments based on their national origin".

It was therefore clear that "if there is to be genuine improvement in the disturbing situation in the former Sectors, efforts by both international and local organizations to promote confidence and reconciliation will continue to be needed for the foreseeable future", he stated.

In a 20 December statement by its President, Francesco Paolo Fulci of Italy, the Council had expressed its "concern at continued acts of harassment, looting and physical attacks against Croatian Serbs and, in particular, involvement by Croatian uniformed military and police officials in a number of those incidents".

Also, in stressing the importance of Croatia's commitments in relation to the Council of Europe, including those under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Council reiterated its call upon the Croatian Government to cooperate fully with the International Tribunal and investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law, especially those committed in the course of military operations in 1995.

Free and fair elections

On 7 March, the Croatian Government was urged to "redouble its efforts to ensure the completion of the necessary technical preparations for the holding of elections" on 13 April in the region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium.

In a presidential statement, the Council also shared the Secretary-General's view that, with the full cooperation of the parties, 13 April was a "realistic and achievable date for the holding of free and fair elections in the region". It stressed that they would depend on the "readiness of the Government of Croatia to meet all pre-conditions, including the issuance of documents, provision of data and timely completion of the technical arrangements required for certification".

The Council also underlined that it was "in the best interests of the members of the Serb community to collect their citizenship documents, to participate fully in those elections, and to take part in Croatian political life as equal citizens". Deploring "disruptive activities by some elements of the Serb community in the region, creating an atmosphere of political agitation and uncertainty", the Council called upon all its residents to "follow wise leadership, to stay in the region and to take up their futures as citizens of the Republic of Croatia".

In addition, the Council stressed that the long-term success of peaceful reintegration would be determined by the Government's commitment to reconciliation and to ensuring that resident Serbs in the region would enjoy equal rights. Concern was expressed that no progress had been made on the future of displaced persons and their equal treatment with respect to housing, access to reconstruction grants, loans and property compensation.

On 31 January, the Security Council had emphasized that the holding of elections in the region and their certification by the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) would "only be possible if the Croatian authorities fulfil their obligations" to issue citizenship and identity documents for all eligible voters and provide all information required by UNTAES. Through a statement by Council President Hisashi Owada of Japan, it also called upon the Croatian Government to implement fully its oral and written commitments to the UNTAES officials on the completion of the region's reintegration under UNTAES.

In a 13 January letter to the Council, Croatia had guaranteed the local Serb community representation and a "voice at local, regional and national governments", provided for a limited deferment of military service and affirmed its intention to protect the local Serbs' legal and civil rights.

In that regard, the Council shared the view of Transitional Administrator Jacques Paul Klein that the full implementation of those rights constituted a "solid basis for the holding of elections simultaneously with nationwide elections in Croatia", and offered "substantial progress towards the completion of the process of peaceful reintegration of the region".

Secretary-General Annan on 22 January wrote to the Council that the support of the international community for those measures would, over the coming months, be "crucial for the holding of elections and the completion of the process of peaceful reintegration". It was also his view that the "political package, taken in conjunction with the Basic Agreement and resolution 1037 (1996) and the guarantees contained in the Affidavit of Employment signed by the Government of Croatia on 16 December 1996, constitutes a comprehensive framework of guarantees for Serbs who choose to stay in Croatia as equal citizens enjoying full rights under the Croatian Constitution in accordance with international law and under international monitoring", he stated.

On 23 January, Major-General W. Hanset of Belgium was named UNTAES Force Commander, succeeding Major-General J. Schoups, his compatriot, who had completed his tour of duty on 15 January.

'Irreversible change'

The change in the demography of the former UN sectors in Croatia "may be irreversible", the Secretary-General had reported on 5 December. As many as 200,000 Croatian Serbs had fled to the FRY and Bosnia and Herzegovina following the 1995 Croatia's military offensives, while some 10,000 Croatian Serbs, mostly elderly persons, remained.

Over 55,000 Croat displaced persons and refugees had been resettled there since early 1996, with "more arriving every day".

However, "while re-entry into Croatia by citizens of Croat nationality occurs routinely in most cases, the process is far more difficult for Croatian Serbs with equally defensible claims to citizenship", he added.

Resolution 1093: UNMOP extended

The Security Council on 14 January, urging Croatia and the FRY to implement fully their 1996 Agreement on Normalization of Relations, authorized the United Nations military observers to continue monitoring the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula until 15 July 1997. Those observers, a total of 28, form the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), established on 1 February 1996.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1093 (1997), the Council also called upon the parties to "cease and refrain from all violations and from military or other activities which may increase tension, to cooperate fully with the United Nations military observers, and to ensure their safety and freedom of movement, including through the removal of land-mines".

The Secretary-General on 31 December, in recommending a further six-month extension of UNMOP, said its continued presence was "indispensable if the full benefits of the Agreement on Normalization of Relations are to be realized". While Prevlaka remained a "stable area", it was "also a tense area", and the potential for military confrontation still existed, he added.

President Izetbegovic receives International Democracy Award

The decision by the Centre for Democracy to grant the 1996 International Democracy Award to President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was in recognition of his "outstanding contribution and continuing commitment to peace and democracy", General Assembly President Razali Ismail of Malaysia declared at the award ceremony on 25 March at Headquarters. "It befits a man of high principle, who has stood for individual liberties, human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy for all in the former Socialist Yugoslav Federation, for which he was twice jailed by the former communist regime in Belgrade from 1946 to 1949 and 1983 to 1988", Ambassador Razali stated.

"Ten years of imprisonment did little to change President Izetbegovic's commitment to the principles of democracy and pluralism", the Assembly President went on. After his release from prison, Mr. Izetbegovic had "led his country in its first democratic, multi-party elections in 1990 ... struggled against the forces of unilateralism and tyranny to maintain the democratic and multi-ethnic character of a free and independent Bosnia and Herzegovina ... stayed in Sarajevo to lead his people in the face of repeated bombardments by the Serbs, and at great danger to his personal safety. He went around his beloved country organizing his army in defence of Bosnia's sovereignty and independence", Mr. Razali stated.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a message at the ceremony delivered on his behalf by S. Iqbal Riza, Chef de Cabinet and his former Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said President Izetbegovic's example had "inspired not only his fellow Bosnians, but other peoples around the world in their own struggle for freedom and the rule of law".

The Centre for Democracy had "chosen wisely this year in focusing its attention on Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the country continues its difficult transition from violent conflict to stability, reconstruction and reconciliation, only a democratic approach can provide a sound foundation for progress towards durable peace", he stressed.