Return to 'normal life' in Sarajevo urged; new agreement, cease-fires reached, but situation 'far from stable.' (includes related article on book 'I Dream of Peace: Images of War by Children of Former Yugoslavia')

All parties to the Bosnian conflict were called upon by the Security Council on 4 March to cooperate with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in the consolidation of a cease-fire in and around Sarajevo. In unanimously adopting resolution 900 (1994), the Council also called upon the parties to achieve complete freedom of movement for the civilian population and humanitarian goods to, from and within Sarajevo, to remove any hindrance to such freedom of movement, and to help restore normal life to the city".

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was asked to appoint a senior civilian official to act under the authority of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the former Yugoslavia and to draw up an "overall assessment and plan of action" for the restoration of essential public services in the various opstinas of Sarajevo, other than Pale. William L. Eagleton of the United States was named Special Coordinator for Sarajevo on 29 March.

Taking note of the positive developments in and around Sarajevo, the Council stated they constituted "only a first step towards the restoration of peace and security throughout the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of a negotiated settlement between the parties".

Also, by resolution 900, the Secretary-General was invited to establish a voluntary trust fund for the restoration of essential public services in Sarajevo to promote a return to normal life in the city.

The Council asked the Secretary-General to report on the feasibility and modalities for extending UN protection, as defined in resolutions 824 (1993) and 836 (1993), to the cities of Maglai, Mostar and Vitez.

On 16 March, the Secretary-General reported (S/1994/300) that the Bosnian Government forces and those of the Bosnian Serbs had withdrawn or placed under UNPROFOR control their heavy weapons in and around Sarajevo. By then, restoration of public services was reported under way in the city with the hope of extension to the country as a whole.

In a gesture of normality, a special match between Sarajevo's soccer team and a team of UN peace-keepers was organized on 20 March at the city stadium. With the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) planes and UNPROFOR helicopters overhead, the crowd cheered a 4 to 0 victory by the Sarajevans.

Overall, the tragic conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, which had involved human rights violations "on a scale unprecedented in Europe since the Second World War", constituted a "very serious test of and challenge to the international system of human rights protection", according to Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Special Rapporteur of the Commission for Human Rights.

|Unprecedented preventive deployment'

The Council call for a return to a normal life in Sarajevo was symbolic of UN efforts throughout the former Yugoslavia in early 1994 to end the three-year-old crisis.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Yugoslavia, Yasushi Akashi, at a 29 March press briefing, summed up recent key UN action, expressing cautious optimism, while stressing that "the situation was still far from totally stable".

Cease-fire agreements were being promoted both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia. There had been an "unprecedented preventive deployment" of UNPROFOR troops in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, he said, in light of ethnic groups "vying for influence"

Negotiations continued under the auspices of the Co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the international Conference on the Former Yugoslavia--Thorvald Stoltenberg and David Owen. Ultimately, he said, the Bosnian Serb community would have to be brought into a federation such as the one agreed upon and signed in Washington, D.C. on I March by the Bosnian Presidency and the Bosnian Croat community.

The use of NATO aircraft--which occurred for the first time in late February--to protect the UN operation should be examined carefully. UNPROFOR "would not hesitate" to call for close air support from NATO "in any case where it had no other means of defending itself from a very deliberate attack", Mr. Akashi stated.

Still, he cautioned, "many years of experience in peace-keeping had taught the United Nations the limitations of force and the necessity for absolutely judicious use of it".

In other developments, the mandate of UNPROFOR was extended on 31 March for another six months until 30 September. Created in March 1992, the Force numbered around 22,000 at the end of March. In adopting resolution 908 (1994), the Council authorized an increase of up to 3,500 additional troops.

Lieutenant-General Bertrand Guillaume de Sauville de Lapresle of France was named UNPROFOR Force Commander on I February, to replace General Jean Cot.

Between 1 January and 31 March, the Security Council met, either formally or in consultation, on eight occasions to discuss the Yugoslav crisis, adopting two resolutions--on Sarajevo and on the UNPROFOR mandate--and issuing four statements.

Deadly attacks

A deadly mortar attack on 5 February on the central open-air market of Sarajevo--killing at least 58 civilians and wounding 142--was condemned by the Secretary-General as a "heinous act of violence". A similar attack took place in the Dobrinja suburb on 4 February, resulting in 10 deaths and 18 injuries.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said the market massacre was "further evidence of a total disregard for human life and humanitarian principles, and plumbs new depths in calculated barbarism".

In a statement by its Chairman Peter van Wulfften Palthe of the Netherlands, the Commission on Human Rights on 8 February declared that the deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of the civilian population of Saraievo was "part of a pattern of despicable and outrageous violations of international humanitarian law and human rights".

On 15 February, the Secretary-General informed (S/1994/182) the Council that there was "insufficient physical evidence to prove that one party or the other fired the mortar bomb". An investigative team concluded that the bomb in question could have been fired by either side.

On 7 January, the Council had demanded an immediate end to attacks against Sarajevo, which had resulted in a "high number of civilian casualties, seriously disrupted essential services and aggravated an already severe humanitarian situation". In that statement by Council President Karel Kovanda of the Czech Republic, any hostilities in the UN-designated "safe areas" were condemned. The "abhorrent practice of deliberate obstruction" of humanitarian aid convoys was strongly deplored, and all parties were told to facilitate timely delivery of such assistance.

The Council reaffirmed its commitment to implement all its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 836 (1993), by which it had authorized UNPROFOR to use force to protect Sarajevo and five other Bosnian towns previously declared as "safe areas".

|Operation Deny Flight'

In the first action by NATO forces to quell ongoing violations of the "no-fly" zone, four aircraft were shot down on 28 February near Banja Luka. UNPROFOR Commander Cot said NATO fighters from "Operation Deny Flight" engaged six Galeb ground support aircraft flying in violation of Council resolution 816 (1993), which prohibits unauthorized flights by all fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in the airspace of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two NATO warnings were ignored, a UN spokesman stated.

From 1 January through 31 March, some 405 violations of the ban on unauthorized flights in Bosnia and Herzegovina were reported, bringing to 1,565 the total number of apparent violations since monitoring began in November 1992 under Council resolution 781 (1992).

Good faith needed

Efforts to find a negotiated solution to the Bosnian conflict-based mostly on the HMS Invincible package that was concluded in September 1993--were continued throughout January, February and March.

"With most areas of an agreement now accepted by all three sides, the few areas outstanding can indeed be resolved through the demonstration of good faith and genuine willingness to achieve a negotiated solution", Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali stated on 7 January.

At resumed talks on 18 and 19 January in Geneva, President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina acknowledged that the Muslim-majority Republic was being offered 33.56 per cent of the territory within the proposed Union of three Republics, the Co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee reported (S/1994/64) on 21 January.

However, the Bosnian President suggested that the map be altered to include in the territory allocated to the Muslim-majority Republic "certain areas in eastern and western Bosnia where the Muslims had been in the majority before the outbreak of the conflict", as well as certain areas in central Bosnia, "while keeping within the target of 33.3 per cent".

To overcome that sticking point, establishment of an arbitration commission was proposed by the Co-Chairmen, but the Bosnian Muslims rejected the idea. The Bosnian Serbs stated then that they would be "unwilling to remain within a Union of three republics".

At the next round of talks (Geneva, 10-12 February) "all three sides had expressly reiterated their acceptance of a Union of Republics", the Co-Chairmen reported on 12 February. It was also agreed that during the European Union administration of Mostar and the UN administration of Sarajevo "final territorial delimitations would be worked out".

Also, the Bosnian Serbs agreed to negotiate a separate agreement on Sarajevo "in advance of an overall peace agreement", the Co-Chairmen said. But the Bosnian Presidency did not want to discuss that matter "until Serb withdrawal of heavy weapons was complete".

Although the concept of arbitration was accepted by all three sides, the Bosnian Presidency stated that, before an arbitration procedure could be used, there should be withdrawal of military forces from the areas in question.

The Co-Chairmen stated that they then consulted the parties on other possible avenues for overcoming the hurdle over the disputed territories and even asked them to suggest other possible procedures for reaching agreement, but no such suggestion was forthcoming.

Finally, it was agreed that the parties were to consult bilaterally and to have discussions with the special envoys of the Russian Federation and the United States.

Meanwhile, the working group of the international Conference on ethnic and national communities and minorities drew attention to the situation of Albanians in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where broad consensus necessary for a breakthrough had not yet materialized. Other working groups and organs dealt with: the humanitarian situation; succession issues; economic issues: confidence- and security-building and verification measures; and arbitration.

Croatian withdrawal demanded

Strongly condemning Croatia for deploying elements of its Army, along with heavy military equipment, in central and southern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Security Council on 3 February demanded their withdrawal.

In a statement by its President Roble Olhaye of Djibouti, the Council qualified Croatia's actions as a "serious hostile act" against a UN Member State, constituting a violation of international law, the UN Charter and Council resolutions, and demanded full respect for Bosnia's territorial integrity. If Croatia failed to immediately end "all forms of interference" in Bosnia, the Council would consider "other measures".

Cease-fire in UNPAs

A cease-fire agreement, aiming to "achieve and assure a lasting cessation of hostilities", was concluded on 29 March in Zagreb by the Government of Croatia and the local Serb authorities in the UN Protected Areas (UNPAs), the Secretary-General reported (S/1994/367) to the Security Council on 30 March.

Under that accord-signed in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Vitaly Churkin of the Russian Federation and Ambassador Peter Galbraith of the United States, and witnessed by representatives of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia and the UNPROFOR Force Commander --the parties agreed that all armed hostilities between them should end immediately, and a "cease-fire on all contact lines" should be "hay respected from 900 hours, 4 April 1994".

Other provisions provided for: separation of all units on the contact line; deployment of all indirect fire weapons out of range of the lines of separation, based on a mutual withdrawal not less than 1,000 metres from the contact line; cease-fire monitoring; establishment of joint commissions at all levels; and opening of a number of crossing points along the contact line.

The agreement said that "not later than 900 hours on 19 April 1994", the parties were to meet and negotiate the modalities for a reduction of forces in a 10-kilometre zone on either side of the contact line.

Earlier, Croat and local Serb authorities in Croatia had moved towards a cease-fire, with their Christmas Truce Agreement and its 13 January extension.

Bosnian-Croat agreements

A "very positive initiative", said Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali in welcoming the agreement reached on 1 March by the Bosnian Government and the Bosnian Croats to unite territories under their control within a federation.

The accord--the Framework Agreement on a Federation in the areas with a majority Bosnian and Croat population and the Outline of a Preliminary Agreement for a Confederation between Croatia and the Federation --was signed in Washington, D.C., under United States auspices.

The Steering Committee Co-Chairmen also welcomed the package and expressed gratitude to the United States for facilitating it. They said it was important that the two parties were reviving a relationship which had been strained by intense fighting in Central Bosnia and Mostar since 1993.

On 6 February, a cease-fire and disengagement agreement had been concluded under UNPROFOR auspices between the Bosnian Government and the Bosnian Croats.

However, the Co-Chairmen stressed that peace would not be achieved in Bosnia and Herzegovina until the three constituent peoples of the Republic agreed to a comprehensive settlement. They said they would help all parties to settle their differences, with the continuing assistance of the United States and the Russian Federation. In that regard, they welcomed the agreement reached on 1 March in Moscow to reopen the Tuzla airport.

On 24 March, the Secretary-General stated (S/1994/333) that Tuzla was a "unique place" in Bosnia where Serbs, Croats and Muslims co-existed "in the midst of tragic inter-communal conflict". An early start of a humanitarian airlift to Tuzla would "help ensure the welfare of the inhabitants of the wider Tuzla area and their ability to begin the reconstruction and rehabilitation of a region gravely affected by war", he said.

Resolution 908: UNPROFOR extended, reinforced

The Security Council on 31 March adopted resolution 908 (1994), extending the mandate of UNPROFOR until 30 September and authorizing an increase of up to 3,500 additional troops.

It also decided to consider, by 30 April at the latest, further troop requirements recommended by the Secretary-General, "with a view to providing UNPROFOR with the means necessary for the implementation of its mandate".

The Council approved UNPROFOR's plans to reopen Tuzla airport for humanitarian purposes and called on Member States to contribute personnel, equipment and training in support of those activities.

Member States, the Council stated, might take "all necessary measures to extend close air support" to the territory of Croatia, in defence of UNPROFOR personnel in the performance of its mandate, under the Council's authority and in close coordination with the Secretary-General and UNPROFOR. The Force was authorized to carry out tasks relating to the cease-fire entered into by the Bosnian Government and the Bosnian Croats.

The Council demanded that the Bosnian Serb party "cease forthwith all military operations against the town of Maglaj and remove all obstacles to free access to it". It called on the parties to honour their commitments to ensure the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNPROFOR unimpeded access throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina in performance of their mandates.

All concerned were called upon to cooperate with UNPROFOR in reaching and implementing an agreement on confidence-building measures in all regions of Croatia, including the UNPAs.

Also, the Council urged the parties to "seize the opportunity provided by UNPROFOR's continuation to bring the peace process to a successful conclusion".

The Council on 22 March agreed that Turkey be added to the Member States authorized to contribute military personnel to UNPROFOR.

An improvisational approach?

An increase of UNPROFOR's strength by some 8,250 additional troops, 150 military observers and 275 civilian police monitors was needed to implement Council resolution 900 on Sarajevo's situation, the Secretary-General reported (S/1994/291) on 11 March.

Due to the lack of military resources, UNPROFOR had been "forced to approach its many responsibilities in an improvisational manner", he lamented. it needed additional troops in order to "avoid losing the newly gained initiative".

The continuing conflict and tragedy in UNPROFOR's area of operations had led to "considerable, but unjustified, criticism" of the Force's effectiveness, the Secretary-General stated (S/1994/300) on 16 March. That, together with "mounting threats to the safety and security" of UN personnel and the "continuing failure of Member States to honour their financial obligations to UNPROFOR" had led him to consider seriously whether the continuation of the Force justified the UN's "enormous expenditure of resources"--over $1.6 billion as of 28 February--and lives--924 casualties, including 79 fatalities, in its two years of existence.

The diversity and scope of the Yugoslav problems required the "deployment of more military forces" than troop-contributing nations were prepared to make available, the Secretary-General observed.

An increase of UNPROFOR's strength by four mechanized infantry companies--one mechanized infantry battalion of 1,000 all ranks)--and four engineer companies--(of 600 all ranks)--was recommended (S/1994/367) by the Secretary-General on 30 March. Also, a helicopter squadron of at least six helicopters with 200 all ranks was required to effectively monitor the provisions of the 29 March cease-fire agreement between the Croatian Government a Serb authorities in the UNPAs in Croatia, the Secretary-General stated.

Maglaj siege

An immediate end of the nine-month siege of Maglaj--for which, it was stated, the Bosnian Serb party was primarily responsible--was demanded by the Security Council on 14 March. In a statement by Council President Jean-Bernard Merimee of France, it also strongly condemned the "indiscriminate shelling by the Bosnian Serb party" of the civilian population of Maglaj, which had resulted in "heavy casualties, loss of life and material destruction".

Noting with particular concern reports of "recurrent obstruction and looting of humanitarian aid convoys" and appalled that not one convoy had reached Maglaj since 25 October 1993, the Council demanded that the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian Croats allow immediate and unconditional passage to all humanitarian convoys and evacuation of those in need of urgent medical attention.

Recent attacks against UNPROFOR and UNHCR personnel were also condemned, as the Council demanded that the Bosnian Serb party permit "unimpeded and continuing access" by UNPROFOR to Maglaj.

Deep concern over the blockage of vital humanitarian convoys to the Maglaj-Tesani pocket in north-central Bosnia was expressed by High Commissioner Ogata on 10 March. "I strongly condemn the continued refusal by the warring sides to allow life-saving humanitarian aid to reach the innocent people of this pocket".

UNHCR estimated that more than 60,000 people might be trapped in the predominantly Muslim area. Surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, it included a largely Bosnian Croat enclave--Usora--in the north. Bosnian Croat forces were present south of the pocket on the main access road to Maglaj town, where at least 16,000 people were living in appalling conditions. The last UNHCR convoy had entered Tesanj on 10 December 1993.

Support for NATO ultimatum

Wide support for the 9 February decision of NATO, at the request of the UN, to use air strikes to halt attacks on Sarajevo was expressed during a Security Council discussion held on 14 and 15 February. Such a threat, however, must be seen in the wider context of political negotiations, speakers stressed.

Convened in response to urgent requests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan and the Russian Federation, the two-day discussion involved a total of 58 speakers, but no formal action was taken.

During Council debates, delegates expressed concerns that the use of air strikes could harm UNPROFOR troops in Bosnia. Several troop-contributing States supported the NATO ultimatum calling for the withdrawal of all heavy weapons from Sarajevo within 10 days under threat of force.

Recalling that resolution 836 (1993) provided for the use of all necessary means, including air strikes, to protect UN designated "safe areas", some speakers wanted air strikes against areas such as Bihac, also under Serbian attack.

Calls were also made for: lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia and Herzegovina so it could exercise its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter; changing the venue, from Geneva to New York, of the negotiations within the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia; and bringing to justice those who had committed war crimes.

Bosnia and Herzegovina believed that the NATO ultimatum was "most welcome and overdue". For those who only understood the language of force and the logic of war, the use of air strikes was the first step to counter their aggression and terrorism, it stressed.

France said the NATO action had the sole aim of providing the UN with the means of implementing Security Council decisions, and the first priority was to lift the siege of Sarajevo.

Those responsible for the recent shelling of civilian populations in Sarajevo must be punished, the Russian Federation stressed. International efforts must now focus on ending the conflict and preventing further bloodshed.

The United States believed that the Bosnian conflict should be resolved at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield. But "our diplomacy must be backed by a willingness to use force", for it was "only force plus diplomacy" that could "stop the slaughter in Sarajevo and break the stalemate in Geneva", it stated.

Contesting the airstrikes

The NATO decision to undertake airstrikes was contested by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

On 16 March, Yugoslavia presented an application to the International Court of Justice against the NATO Member States, claiming that the decision breached Articles 2 (4) and 5 3 (1) of the UN Charter, by "threatening to use force without the authorization of the Security Council and in the form of an ultimatum".

On 18 January, the Secretary-General informed (S/1994/50) the Council that operational arrangements for provision of NATO air power to support UNPROFOR in defending UN personnel who "may come under deliberate attack" had been in place since August 1993, tested in a number of exercises and were fully operational.

Tribunal: |New prospects'

The mandate of the International Tribunal for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia opened up "fundamentally new prospects for the punishment of war crimes", Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali stated on 21 January.

Although such crimes had "long been condemned by international law", the law, however, lacked an institution, the Secretary-General told the Tribunal's second session (17 January-11 February, The Hague). The new judicial body--also empowered to judge "all those who managed to have a hand, whether directly or indirectly, in the planning and preparations for human rights violations"--set an example for the future, he stressed.

In the post-cold-war era, the international community had to "invent new responses and find new solutions" to deal with confrontations which divide and tear peoples apart even inside individual States, Mr. Boutros-Ghali observed. "To build a diplomacy of democracy and human rights is one of the main challenges of our times".

During the four-week session, the Tribunal approved rules of procedure and evidence, based on both its Statute adopted by the Council in resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May and customary international law.

The new rules placed a strong emphasis on the obligation of nation States to cooperate with the Tribunal and take all necessary steps to comply with any of its orders, including the enactment of national legislation, where necessary, to remove any impediment to the surrender or extradition of suspects or accused.

The Tribunal's primacy over national court proceedings on the same subject matter was also confirmed. That would be especially important if it appeared that national court proceedings were not impartial or were designed to shield the accused from international criminal responsibility.

Claude Jorda of France was appointed Judge of the Tribunal until 17 September 1997, replacing German Foyer de Costil of France, who had resigned effective 1 January. Theodoor C. van Boven of the Netherlands was named Acting Registrar of the Tribunal on 21 January.

War crimes Commission

Reports on preliminary investigations of mass graves in the UNPAs in Sector East and Sector West in Croatia were considered by the Commission of Experts established under Security Council resolution 780 (1993), at its eleventh session on 16 February in Geneva. The Commission was created to examine and analyse information on possible breaches of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

The Commission approved an outline of its final report to the Secretary-General, after which it was to terminate its activities. Progress made in the ongoing investigations into destruction of cultural property and other violations of international humanitarian law, and into sexual assaults, rape, torture and detention camps, was also reviewed.

At its tenth session (12 January, Geneva), the Commission considered its cooperation with the Prosecutor of the international Tribunal, including the transfer of information in its possession.

The Commission's other ongoing studies--to be incorporated in its final report--included: sexual assault/rape investigation; the battle and siege of Sarajevo; "ethnic cleansing"; prison camps: mass graves: Dubrovnik; the battle of Vukovar, Medak and the Prijedor area.

Stupni Do massacre

The main suspects for crimes committed on 23 October 1993 in the village of Stupni Do "appear to be extremist elements of the Croatian Defense Council from Kiseljak, Travnik and Kakanj under the command of Ivica Rajic", the Secretary-General reported (S/1994/154) on 10 February.

An UNPROFOR investigation in Stupni Do--a small predominantly Bosnian Muslim village near the town of Vares, with some 224 Muslim residents and 11 refugees--determined that there had been 36 victims. All 52 houses in the village "showed sign of having been burnt", so "appearance of crematoria". About 14 bodies were discovered, most "burned beyond recognition", the Secretary-General said.

Evidence gathered would be used to identify the perpetrators for eventual trial before the international Tribunal.

Human rights violations

The conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, had once again proved that "human rights only play a secondary role in the context of international politics", Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur Mazowiecki reported (S/1994/265) on 1 March.

A number of formal steps which had been undertaken might be considered as a "substitute or excuse for political inertia", he said. The enormous efforts and sacrifices of the field officers of various international agencies had not compensated for that policy.

The international community had "tolerated massive violations of human rights and international humanitartian law", Mr. Mazowiecki said. Such a policy undermined some of the most fundamental principles upon which international law and the "system of human rights protection" had been built.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said, the "terrorization of civilian populations" and "ethnic cleansing" continued. Military attacks, such as sniper shootings, indiscriminate shelling, bombing and land-mining, as well as the "willingness of the belligerents to employ access to aid as an instrument of war", constituted flagrant violations of human rights and humanitarian law.

Although all sides had been guilty of such practices, the scale of those deeds as committed by Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat forces exceeded that of the other warring parties, the Special Rapporteur stressed.

In Croatia, the practice of "illegal and forced evictions" by the Croatian armed forces, as well as forced recruitment of Bosnian refugees, continued. Other causes for deep concern were: the continuation of "ethnic cleansing" in the UNPAs; Croatia's support, including direct involvement of its army, for Bosnian Croat forces which had been responsible for "ethnic cleansing" and other grave human rights violations in areas under their control; and the urgent need for humanitarian assistance for refugees and displaced persons.

Serious human rights violations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were also noted with concern, such as: the use of "brutal and excessive force" by the police; public incitement to "discrimination and hatred against ethnic and religious groups"; restrictions on the freedom of expression, especially the control of the media by the State; "refoulement and forced recruitment of refugees"; and "abusive and discriminatory treatment against ethnic and religious groups" in Kosovo, Sandzak and Vojvodina.

In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a "certain amount of progress" in eliminating discriminatory practices was noted. The Special Rapporteur said, although progress had also been accomplished as far as freedom of the media was concerned, full pluralism in that regard had not been achieved.

In Slovenia, in spite of all the difficulties attributed to the transition to a democratic society, the human rights situation was "by and large satisfactory", he reported. The fact that the country had met the conditions to obtain membership on the Council of Europe spoke for itself. The Special Rapporteur recommended that Slovenia, "barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be excluded from his mandate".

Disappearances, children of war

The problem of disappearances was a "very serious one" throughout the former Yugoslavia, Special Rapporteur Mazowiecki reported. And "worse still", it was growing rapidly. The UN was seized with more than 11,000 cases of missing persons and the number might grow to 15,000 in the coming months.

The plight of children was highlighted. "What they experience will have long-term repercussions for themselves and for the society to which they belong", Mr. Mazowiecki stated.

The rights of children had been "completely disregarded", he went on. Children were often victims of "ethnic cleansing", sniper and mortar attacks, "actively forced" to watch the killings of their parents or caretakers, subjected to detention and torture, and deprived of food. Violations of human rights, such as indiscriminate shelling of civilian centres and sniper attacks, were "quite often directed against children".

"Operation Reunite"

A high-tech computerized programme, "Operation ReUNite"--aimed at collecting and distributing information about children separated from their parents as a result of the Yugoslav conflict--was launched by UNHCR on 22 March.

Based on CD-ROM technology, the project was to send optical discs to 10 computerized centres in the former Yugoslavia and Western Europe where parents could scan files. One such disk--containing details and digitalized photographs of some 500 children--had already been prepared, UNHCR reported.

While many children knew where their parents lived, precise data on others were sketchy. Some, for example, could not remember their surnames or birth dates. The programme would enable parents to cross reference the computer files using nicknames, approximate age, sex, hair color and other data.

All parent/child information gathered during the operation was to be shared with the international Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)--the main body responsible for tracing and family reunification. UNHCR estimated that from 40,000 to 60,000 unaccompanied minors were scattered over 20 countries, with some 20,000 in Croatia.

100,000 tons topped

On 4 April, with the arrival of a Canadian C-1 30 cargo plane, the UNHCR airlift of humanitarian aid to Sarajevo had passed the 100,000 metric-ton mark.

For nearly two years, the international airlift had provided Sarajevo's 380,000 people with life-saving food, medical and other humanitarian supplies, surpassing in duration the Berlin airlift of 1948-1949, the UNHCR said. With land convoy routes often blocked, the airlift had been essential for the besieged city's survival. In some months, it had provided more than 90 per cent of the city's humanitarian aid requirements.

Currently, military aircraft from six nations, as well as planes from the ICRC and the United Kingdom's Overseas Development Administration, were participating in the operation, which was coordinated by UNHCR and UNPROFOR.

Averting catastrophe

Despite "numerous obstructions" by the warring parties, the UNHCR-led humanitarian aid effort in Bosnia and Herzegovina was keeping hundreds of thousands of people alive, High Commissioner Ogata reported on 19 january. But still, less than 50 per cent of food requirements had been met.

"I am particularly concerned about innocent civilians in places like Maglaj, Tesanj, east Mostar, Gorazde and parts of central Bosnia", she said. "We all know about the brutality of this war, but it is absolutely unconscionable that children in Maglaj have been reduced to skin and bones; that 65,000 people in Gorazde are denied children's shoes and shelter materials to keep out the cold; that 55,000 people in east Mostar have to live beneath the rubble of their destroyed city."

Apart from deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid, hungry civilians in central Bosnia were looting convoys and warehouses because their own leaders were reportedly diverting food to the military, UNHCR reported.

"The tragedy of Bosnia is that the commitment of all parties to allow unimpeded access for the delivery of aid has not been honoured", Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said on 3 February. Food distribution was currently averaging only 40 to 50 per cent of the minimum requirement and was becoming increasingly dependent on expensive airlift and airdrop operations.

Attacks on international relief personnel continued. A British relief worker--Paul Goodall--was killed and two others were injured on 27 January, when an armed gang hijacked their vehicle near Zenica, in Bosnia. Mr. Goodall was the eleventh person killed while working with the UNHCR relief operation in the former Yugoslavia.

Ban flouted

The Security Council on 14 March strongly condemned the flagrant violation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of its ban on the shipment of commodities and products to that country. It acted after a 6 March incident in which a Bulgarian convoy, using the Port of Prahovo on the Danube River, transported 6,000 tons of diesel oil to Yugoslavia.

In a statement by Council President Merimee, it held the Yugoslavian authorities fully accountable for the non-return of the convoy's cargo, and invited them to respect its commitments to guarantee the freedom and security of navigation on the Danube. The Bulgarian Government was also invited to assess the precis circumstances of the incident and to prosecute those responsible for it.

On 22 February, the Security Council Committee established under resolution 724 (1991) concerning Yugoslavia had stated that the neighbouring States deserved "much credit for the enforcement of the sanctions" mandated by the Council.

In other news, a border crossing point between Albania and Yugoslavia was approved by the Security Council Committee. At that crossing point, located at Hani i Hotit in Albania, the passage of all freight vehicles into or out of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia "shall not be prevented", Committee Chairman Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg of Brazil stated on 31 March.

Thus far, the Committee had approved the location of the road and rail border crossing points between Yugoslavia and Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Greece/FYROM

On 10 March, representatives of Greece and the FYROM had separate meetings with Secretary-General's Special Envoy Cyrus Vance in Geneva.

Greece believed that the authorities in Skopje had to meet the Greek requirements "before a dialogue could be resumed", the Secretary-General reported (S/1994/376) on 31 March. The FYROM wanted to first lift those requirements, and suggested a resumption of direct discussions under UN auspices, in order to find a "balanced solution to contentious issues".

Special Envoy Vance told the parties that the situation was "increasing in its gravity", and that if a mutually agreeable settlement could not be reached, "peace in the region might be put at risk". He urged them to "redouble their efforts to find common ground"

To help them do so, Mr. Vance submitted a "draft accord confirming the existing frontier as an inviolable international border and establishing measures for confidence-building, friendship and neighbourly cooperation", the Secretary-General said.

The saddest word . . .

"War is the saddest word that flows from my quivering lips", wrote 12-year-old Maid from Skopje in I Dream of Peace: Images of War by Children of Former Yugoslavia, a collection of writings and drawings from the former Yugoslavia. "It is a wicked bird that never comes to rest.... War is the evilest of birds, turning streets red with blood and the world into an inferno."

In a new book published by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the cruel Yugoslav conflict is seen through the eyes of Maida and more than 50 other children in the former Yugoslavia.

To be published in 10 languages in more than 18 countries--with a combined international first edition of some 200,000 copies--I Dream of Peace takes readers on a four-part journey into the hearts and minds of children whose secure world has been brutally turned upside down.

One entry, entitled "Cruel war", shows the immensity of the destruction wrought on their surroundings. Another--"The day they killed my house"--is a more intimate look at the anguish of the children. "My nightmare" vividly renders the horrors they have been forced to internalize. "When I close my eyes, I dream of peace", completes the horrifying voyage.

"In these pages", UNICEF Executive Director James Grant wrote in the introduction to the book, "the children deliver a serious message to adults: Understand the cruelties of this war and what it is doing to us, your children! Do whatever it takes to end it. Take our child's eye view of the promises and possibilities of peace!"

The writings and drawings in I Dream of Peace were created in 1992 and 1993 in schools and refugee camps on all sides of the conflict, as part of UNICEF's psychosocial programme for war-traumatized children in the former Yugoslavia. After three years of war, there are now nearly 4 million refugees, of whom more than 600,000 are children. An estimated 15,000 children have died and many more have been gravely injured.