Written Answers - Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia.
Ivor Callely
Ceist:
70
Mr. Callely
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the current situation regarding Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and other areas of former Yugoslavia; the progress, if any, being made in resolving this conflict; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2436/96]
The peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was concluded between the parties on 21 November and signed in Paris on 14 December, is now being implemented. A wide range of international organisations have a role in assisting with and monitoring its implementation. These include the Office of the High Representative, Carl Bildt, the United Nations, and the international Implementation Force, IFOR.
To date, two reports on the operations of IFOR have been transmitted to the United Nations Security Council, the most recent of these on 23 January. On that date, the assessment of the IFOR command was that a spirit of good co-operation was continuing between the parties and the Implementation Force and that substantial progress had been made in complying with the terms of the peace agreement. Overall, the country-wide cease-fire was continuing to hold firm and the number of breaches of the ceasefire was diminishing. Most importantly, the parties had, by 19 January — the deadline specified under the agreement — complied with the requirement to withdraw their forces from the 4 kilometre wide zone of separation. Considerable progress had been made with regard to mine clearance, although, due to the scale of the problem, it had not been possible for this to be completed by the same date. The assessment was that the parties were also making every effort to ensure that all foreign forces leave Bosnia and Herzegovina as required by the agreement.
However, on one issue, that of prisoner releases, there was non-compliance on all sides. The terms of the agreement specified that all prisoners should be released on 19 January. In the event, 217 prisoners were exchanged under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), leaving some 645 still detained. Intensive negotiations, involving the High Representative, the ICRC and IFOR, ensued and most of the remaining prisoners were freed on 27 and 28 January. The issue of some 37 prisoners who should have been freed, but remain in detention, continues to be a cause of concern.
With regard to civilian aspects of the implementation of the agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the High Representative has been reporting regularly to the EU Council of Foreign Ministers on this issue, most recently on 29 January. Arrangements to co-ordinate the efforts of the many organisations which will be involved in the implementation of the non-military aspects of the agreement, including the Joint Civilian Commission within Bosnia and Herzegovina, are now in place. Work in relation to ensuring the observance of human rights throughout that country is well under way. Mechanisms for the channelling of rehabilitation and reconstruction aid are in place, and the most urgent work, concerned with the restoration of basic amenities, is going ahead in many locations.
Tension persists over some issues, most notably over the future status of a member of Serb-populated suburbs of Sarajevo which are to be restored to the control of the Bosnian Federation. The high representative is working closely with the parties on confidence-building measures aimed at creating conditions under which the Serb population will feel that they can continue to reside in the Bosnian capital in safety.
The deployment of the United Nations International Police Task Force will be an important contribution to this effort, as well as to the broader effort towards fully implementing the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Government has made available an Assistant Garda Commissioner, Peter Fitzgerald, for the post of Commissioner of the Task Force. He has already assumed his duties in Sarajevo.
The implementation of other provisions of the agreement, including steps towards the establishment of new constitutional structures by the parties within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the task of assessing the suitability of conditions for elections — which is being carried out by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), assisted by the European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM) — and negotiations on confidence and security-building measures and arms control measures in the context of regional stabilisation arrangements, are proceeding well at this stage.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead agency concerned with assistance to refugees and displaced persons. The UNHCR has prepared a plan for the phased return of these people, in safety and on a voluntary basis. The parties have accepted this plan, and the various international organisations involved in the implementation of the agreement, including the EU and its member states, stand ready to assist in putting it into operation.
With regard to Croatia, an agreement was reached on 12 November between the Croatian Government and the Serbs who have control of the Eastern Slavonia region of that country. Under the terms of this Agreement, Eastern Slavonia will revert to the control of the Croatian Government after a transition period. During this period, the United Nations Transitional Administration, which was established by a UN Security Council resolution on 15 January, will ensure implementation of the agreement. The transitional administration will have both military and civilian components. A ceasefire which is in force in and around Eastern Slavonia is holding, with only sporadic breaches.
Serbia was less directly affected by the fighting in former Yugoslavia. Sanctions which had been in force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, were suspended by the United Nations Security Council following signature of the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina by President Milosevic. However, the situation regarding respect for human and minority rights in the federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and particularly in those areas where there is a significant non-Serb population, including Kosovo, Vojvodina and Sandjak, continues to be of concern, and is being pursued at every opportunity by the EU with the authorities in Belgrade.
