SECURITY COUNCIL STRONGLY CONDEMNS HUMANITARIAN LAW VIOLATIONS BY BOSNIAN SERBS, PARAMILITARY FORCES; CITES SUMMARY EXECUTIONS, MASS EXPULSIONS
Press Release
SC/6149
SECURITY COUNCIL STRONGLY CONDEMNS HUMANITARIAN LAW VIOLATIONS BY BOSNIAN SERBS, PARAMILITARY FORCES; CITES SUMMARY EXECUTIONS, MASS EXPULSIONS
19951221 Unanimously Adopted Resolution 1034 (1995) Demands Access to Detainees, Calls for Cooperation with International TribunalThe Security Council this afternoon condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights by Bosnian Serb and paramilitary forces in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most, violations which the Council said were characterized by "a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances".
The Council expressed condemnation of those acts, described in the Secretary-General's report of 27 November 1995, by its unanimous adoption of resolution 1034 (1995). It also condemned all violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, demanding that all concerned comply fully with their obligations in that regard and reiterating that all who committed such violations would be held individually responsible.
In further provisions of the 20-paragraph resolution, the Council reaffirmed its earlier demand that the Bosnian Serb party give immediate and unimpeded access to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international agencies to persons detained or reported missing from Srebrenica, Zepa and the regions of Banja Luka and Sanski Most who were within areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the control of Bosnian Serb forces. It demanded again that the Bosnian Serb party permit ICRC representatives to visit and register any persons detained against their will and have access to any site they might deem important.
Affirming that the violations of humanitarian law and human rights in the four areas in question from July to October 1995 must be investigated by the relevant United Nations and other international organizations, the Council noted that the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had issued indictments against the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic for their direct involvement in atrocities committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995.
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The Council underlined the urgent need for all the parties to enable the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal to gather the evidence necessary for the Tribunal to perform its task. It reiterated its demand that all parties, particularly the Bosnian Serb party, refrain from destroying, altering, concealing or damaging any evidence of violations of international humanitarian law. It called upon all States, particularly those in the region of the former Yugoslavia, and all parties to the conflict there, to cooperate fully with the International Tribunal, including by the establishment of offices of the Tribunal when the latter deemed that necessary.
Reiterating its demand that all detention camps throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be immediately closed, the Council urged the parties to ensure respect for the norms of international humanitarian law and human rights of the civilian population in those areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina now under their control, but which will be transferred to another party under the terms of the Peace Agreement.
The Council also condemned the widespread looting and destruction of houses and other property, in particular by Bosnian Croat forces in the area of Mrkonjic Grad and Sipovo, demanding that all sides immediately stop such actions, investigate them and ensure that those who violated the law be held individually responsible for such acts.
It demanded that all sides refrain from laying mines, in particular in areas currently under their control but due under the terms of the Peace Agreement to be transferred to another party. It urged Member States to continue to assist the efforts of the United Nations, humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations to alleviate the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons. It requested the Secretary- General to keep Council members regularly informed on progress in the investigation of the violations in question.
In remarks after the vote, the representative of the Russian Federation stressed that ethnic or any other kind of selectivity in implementation of the resolution's provisions was inadmissible. The Council could not walk with closed eyes past the obvious fact that violations of international humanitarian law had been committed by both sides, he said.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Germany, Oman, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Botswana, China, Honduras, Nigeria, Indonesia, United States, France, Italy, Argentina and Rwanda.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. and adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
Council Work Programme
The Security Council meets this afternoon to consider the report of the Secretary-General on violations of humanitarian law and human rights in the regions of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most (document S/1995/988). The report provides an overview of the current state of information on the key issues of missing persons, executions, involvement of Bosnian Serb leaders, and involvement of Serbian paramilitary forces. The bulk of the information in the detailed 16-page report was gathered from refugees and displaced persons reaching territories held by Bosnian Government forces or the Republic of Croatia. A debriefing report by the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, dated 30 October 1995, contains additional evidence provided by the Netherlands Battalion of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) of substantial human rights violations.
In his concluding observations, the Secretary-General states: "As if the savagery of the war in the Balkans since 1991 was not enough, the past few months have seen further despicable acts of cruelty and violence, as illustrated by the catalogue of reported atrocities described in the present report". Together with other accounts, he says, the reports provide undeniable evidence of a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances. The report states that the events of the past few months in Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka, Sanski Most and elsewhere in former Yugoslavia "have amply demonstrated mankind's tragic capability for intolerance and inhumanity".
The full horror has yet to be properly investigated and revealed, the report states. Access to the areas in question by the relevant United Nations and other international organizations and institutions is crucial. The international community should insist that the Bosnian Serb leadership give full cooperation to all relevant international mechanisms in order that these events may be thoroughly investigated and the truth established.
On 16 November 1995, the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia issued further indictments against the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic for their direct and individual responsibilities for the atrocities committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995 after the fall of the enclave to Bosnian Serb forces. They are charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
It is imperative, the Secretary-General concludes, that the Prosecutor be provided with the ability and powers to gather the necessary evidence effectively and swiftly in a form that can be presented to the International
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Tribunal. Moreover, States have an obligation to take the actions needed to create the conditions essential for the Tribunal to perform its mandated task.
Also before the Council was a draft resolution (document S/1995/1047), sponsored by Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States, the text of which reads as follows:
"The Security Council,
"Reaffirming all its earlier relevant resolutions on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including its resolution 1019 (1995) of 9 November 1995 and condemning the Bosnian Serb party's failure, despite repeated calls that it should do so, to comply with the demands contained therein,
"Having considered the report of the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 1019 (1995) on violations of international humanitarian law in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most of 27 November 1995 (S/1995/988),
"Gravely concerned at the information contained the above-mentioned report that there is overwhelming evidence of a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsion, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances,
"Reiterating its strong support for the work of the International Tribunal established pursuant to its resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993,
"Noting that the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Annexes thereto (collectively the Peace Agreement, S/1995/999, annex) initialled at Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November 1995 provides that no person who is serving a sentence imposed by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and no person who is under indictment by the Tribunal and who has failed to comply with an order to appear before the Tribunal, may stand as a candidate or hold any appointive, elective, or other public office in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
"Condemning the failure of the Bosnian Serb party to comply with their commitments in respect of giving access to displaced persons and to persons detained or reported missing,
"Reiterating its concern expressed in the statement of its President of 7 December 1995 (S/PRST/1995/60),
"Deeply concerned by the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons as a result of hostilities in the former Yugoslavia,
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"1. Strongly condemns all violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and demands that all concerned comply fully with their obligations in this regard and reiterates that all those who commit violations of international humanitarian law will be held individually responsible in respect of such acts;
"2. Condemns in particular in the strongest possible terms the violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights by Bosnian Serb and paramilitary forces in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most as described in the report of the Secretary-General of 27 November 1995 and showing a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances;
"3. Notes with the utmost concern the substantial evidence referred to in the report of the Secretary-General of 27 November 1995 that an unknown but large number of men in the area of Srebrenica, namely in Nova Kasaba-Konjevic Polje (Kaldrumica), Kravice, Rasica Gai, Zabrde and two sites in Karakaj, and possibly also in Bratunac and Potocari, have been summarily executed by Bosnian Serb and paramilitary forces and condemns in the strongest terms the commission of such acts;
"4. Reiterates its strong support for the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in seeking access to displaced persons and to persons detained or reported missing and calls on all parties to comply with their commitments in respect of such access;
"5. Reaffirms its demand that the Bosnian Serb party give immediate and unimpeded access to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the ICRC and other international agencies to persons displaced and to persons detained or reported missing from Srebrenica, Zepa and the regions of Banja Luka and Sanski Most who are within the areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the control of Bosnian Serb forces and that the Bosnian Serb party permit representatives of the ICRC (i) to visit and register any persons detained against their will, whether civilians or members of the forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and (ii) to have access to any site it may deem important;
"6. Affirms that the violations of humanitarian law and human rights in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most from July to October 1995 must be fully and properly investigated by the relevant United Nations and other international organizations and institutions;
"7. Takes note that the International Tribunal established pursuant to resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993 issued on 16 November 1995 indictments against the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic for their
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direct and individual responsibilities for the atrocities committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995;
"8. Reaffirms its demand that the Bosnian Serb party give immediate and unrestricted access to the areas in question, including for the purpose of the investigation of the atrocities, to representatives of the relevant United Nations and other international organizations and institutions, including the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights;
"9. Underlines in particular the urgent necessity for all the parties to enable the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal to gather effectively and swiftly the evidence necessary for the Tribunal to perform its task;
"10. Stresses the obligations of all the parties to cooperate with and provide unrestricted access to the relevant United Nations and other international organizations and institutions so as to facilitate their investigations and takes note of their commitment under the General Framework Agreement in this regard;
"11. Reiterates its demand that all parties, and in particular the Bosnian Serb party, refrain from any action intended to destroy, alter, conceal or damage any evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and that they preserve such evidence;
"12. Reiterates further its demand that all States, in particular those in the region of the former Yugoslavia, and all parties to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, comply fully and in good faith with the obligations contained in paragraph 4 of resolution 827 (1993) to cooperate fully with the International Tribunal and calls on them to create the conditions essential for the Tribunal to perform the task for which it has been created, including the establishment of offices of the Tribunal when the latter deems it necessary;
"13. Reiterates its demand that all detention camps throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be immediately closed;
"14. Urges the parties to ensure full respect for the norms of international humanitarian law and of human rights of the civilian population, living in the areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina now under their control, which under the Peace Agreement will be transferred to another party;
"15. Condemns the widespread looting and destruction of houses and other property, in particular by HVO forces in the area of Mrkonjic Grad and Sipovo, and demands that all sides immediately stop such action, investigate them and make sure that those who violated the law be held individually responsible in respect of such acts;
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"16. Demands that all sides refrain from laying mines, in particular in those areas now under their control, which under the Peace Agreement will be transferred to another party;
"17. Urges Member States to continue to assist the efforts of the United Nations, humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations under way in the former Yugoslavia to alleviate the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons;
"18. Also urges all the parties to the conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia to fully cooperate with those efforts with the view to create conditions, conducive to the repatriation and return of refugees and displaced persons in safety and dignity;
"19. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council regularly informed on progress reached in the investigation of the violations of international humanitarian law referred to in the report mentioned above;
"20. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter."
Statements
IVAN Z. MISIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) said that although long overdue, the draft resolution before the Council could ultimately have some positive effects. It could not bring the dead back to life, but it could possibly halt further production of criminals and encourage others to deny protection to them, and instead, provide the required cooperation and assistance to the Tribunal in The Hague. If implemented, it could certainly have a positive impact on the establishment of mutual confidence and the healing of the survivors' wounds.
The Secretary-General's report confirmed that paramilitary forces, war materiel, special police forces, vehicles, oil and many other items had regularly and without interruption been delivered from Serbia to the Pale Serbs. That flow of men and materiel, not to mention direct involvement of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) military leaders, had played a very important role in the brutal overrunning of the safe areas and led to the exodus of tens of thousands of civilians and the liquidation of thousands of war prisoners and unarmed civilians.
The report therefore indirectly confirmed that the previous decisions of the Council to suspend sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro had not been based on proper evidence, he said. The report confirmed the Pale Serbs' continued brazen violation of resolution 1019, the clear concealment of the truth regarding the fate of missing persons, and the likely destruction of evidence of the crimes committed under Ratko Mladic's orders.
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Recalling statements to the Council by the representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he argued that those statements were brazen attempts to convince the international community that the evacuation of the Srebrenica population and the treatment of the town's civilians and defenders had been in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. However, according to the report of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, which had to a large extent served as a point of reference for the Secretary-General's report, none of those statements had any basis in fact. Nor did such claims mention how some Western journalists had been treated by the authorities of the Republika Srpska.
But those claims were neither surprising nor shocking, he said. It was difficult to expect anything else from a man who, as a leading diplomat of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, had attempted to convince the world that the Belgrade regime had nothing to do with the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina; that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbs had only responded to the alleged terror of the Muslims and Croats, and so on. What could after all be expected of a man who had not shied away from instructing his diplomats to claim that massacres in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Gorazde and elsewhere had been invented and staged by "Muslim forces"?
Through its acceptance of the Dayton Agreement and a range of other commitments, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Government had at least formally rejected the policies of Karadzic and Mladic, who had been characterized as war profiteers and criminals even by Serbian officials and the controlled Belgrade media. Was it possible that that had gone by unnoticed by the observer for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia? Or perhaps the case of a double game on the part of the regime in Belgrade?
Recalling the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia calls for guarantees of protection, freedom, security, equality and human rights for Sarajevo Serbs, he stated that those Serbs were the very ones who had engaged in the destruction of Sarajevo for three and a half years and killed so many Muslims, Croats, Jews, and others, as well as many of those 80,000 Serbs who remained in the besieged Sarajevo. They were not Serb civilians but extreme nationalists and militant fanatics who wanted to erase the traces of that multi-ethnic city, so that a Serb-only Sarajevo could be built on its ruins.
There had long been no Bosniac Muslims or Bosnian Croats in the parts of Sarajevo occupied by Karadzic's and Mladic's Serbs, just as there were none remaining in other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by Serb forces, he said. The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina would not expel any Serb civilians from the so-called Serb-held parts of Sarajevo. It had never propagated the idea or practice of ethnically pure territories, as had Karadzic, Mladic and their hordes. The Serb people should, rather, be protected from those who had dragged them into shameful aggression, forced them to expel Bosniacs and Croats, and incited them to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide.
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HUSEYIN CELEM (Turkey) said the commitments undertaken through the Dayton Agreement which was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995 should be implemented in good faith. The report of the Secretary-General on the crimes and violations of international humanitarian law committed in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most by the Pale Serbs illustrated a disturbing and dark chapter of recent history. The International Tribunal had issued further indictments against Karadzic and Mladic for their direct and individual responsibilities for the atrocities committed against the Bosnian people living in Srebrenica. They were charged with crimes against humanity and genocide. It was the commitment of not only the parties to the agreement but also the international community to bring those criminals to justice. The Implementation Force (IFOR) would detain any persons indicted by the International Tribunal who came into contact with it and transfer them to the Tribunal.
He said he was appalled to learn of attempts to distort the facts in order to conceal the crimes of the indicted war criminals. It should be borne in mind that only those who remained true to their words and obligations could be considered as a reliable party to the peace and reconciliation process. He reiterated the call upon the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to start its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal without further delay.
He said the memories of those who had lost their lives in the name of "ethnic cleansing" for the past four years should not and would not be forgotten. If peace was to prevail, those who were responsible for the cruelest crimes against humanity should not go unpunished, nor should the victims be denied justice. Lasting peace must be accompanied by a sense of justice in the minds of all the citizens, and in particular, the victims of atrocities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international community must not fail to effectively prevent the recurrence of mass executions, concentration camps, "ethnic cleansing", genocide, campaigns of rape and terror.
He welcomed the resolution before the Council and looked forward to its full implementation.
GERHARD HENZE (Germany) said the report of the Secretary-General on violations of international humanitarian law committed by Bosnian Serbs was a sad and worrying summary of the current state of information on the key issues of missing persons, executions, and the involvement of Bosnian Serb leaders and of Serbian paramilitary forces in those crimes. Together with France, this delegation had taken the initiative for the draft resolution that was before the Council. The Council could not shy away from a specific, clear and unequivocal reaction to the specific crimes and violations of international humanitarian law described in the report.
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He said it was of the utmost importance that the same legal standards, the same norms of law and the same critical objectivity were applied everywhere -- be it in the areas in question, in other parts of the former Yugoslavia or elsewhere in the world. There must be no selectivity, no attempts to either "diminish" or "enlarge" violations of international humanitarian law committed by one side for partisan reasons of "political convenience". He opposed attempts to "balance" the crimes committed by one side with human rights violations committed by another or to equate behaviours which could not be equated. That would weaken and obfuscate justice. It was equally important that the Council honour the principle of the separation of powers in the sense of that the judicial prerogatives and competences of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were fully respected.
As the Secretary-General had observed, he said there was undeniable evidence of a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances. He feared that most of the missing men of Srebrenica were dead.
As the best current estimate of the number of missing persons was currently between 3,500 and 5,500 men and taking into account the available evidence of executions, it must be assumed that such a high, yet still unknown number of Bosnian men had been killed in summary executions. As executions on such a scale normally could not be attributed to individual acts, there must have been some kind of order or instruction to kill the Bosnian men from Srebrenica. There was no doubt that Bosnian Serb leader Mladic was present in persona in the Srebrenica area during those critical days.
Regarding the assertions and allegations contained in the letter of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia representative Mr. Jovanovic to the President of the Security Council dated 18 December asserting that Bosnian Muslims who died in Srebrenica in July had been killed by other Muslims, not by Bosnian Serbs, he supported the comments made by the representative of the United Kingdom that the letter left one with incredulity and a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
There could be no peace in Bosnia without achieving as much justice as possible, he said. Justice must take its course: those who were responsible must be held responsible. The Secretary-General had stated that the full truth about the human rights violations and crimes in question had yet to be established. He stressed the importance of a full investigation of the violations in question; access to the area; and firm and steady support from the international community for the efforts of the International Tribunal. The international community bore a great moral responsibility in that respect. He hoped that after the signing of the Peace Agreement in Paris, this would be the last resolution on the matter and that the cooperation with the International Tribunal promised in Dayton would be forthcoming and real.
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SALIM BIN MOHAMMED AL-KHUSSAIBY (Oman) said that nearly four months ago there was a city called Srebrenica with more than 8,000 inhabitants, mainly Bosnian Moslems. The city had vanished before the eyes of the international community in one of the most brutal crimes in modern history. It was another heavy price the Bosnians had to pay for their freedom and independence. In the nearly four months since then, the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations had sought to gain access to the areas where specific accounts of violations of humanitarian law were reported to have taken place. But despite repeated calls by the Council, the party concerned failed to grant such an access.
Oman believed, he continued, that investigation of those crimes was an inseparable component of the Peace Agreement recently signed in Paris. Crimes of such magnitude could not be ignored.
Through the draft resolution before the Council this afternoon, members had the opportunity to express in a united voice and in the strongest possible terms their condemnation of all violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights committed in the territory of Bosnia. Furthermore, he said, they would be supporting the work of the International Criminal Tribunal by reiterating the demand on all parties and all States in the region of the former Yugoslavia to comply fully with the obligations contained in the Council's resolution 827 of 1993, which called for the creation of conditions essential for the Tribunal to perform the task for which it had been created.
The resolution would not bring back to life those thousands of people who were killed in Srebrenica and Zepa and other areas, but it was the very minimum the international community could and should do at this stage. The world owed it to the people of Bosnia to investigate the fate of their relatives, something that would serve as a living memory for generations to come. But ironically, even as the Council deliberated the issue today, detention camps still existed throughout the territory of Bosnia, and atrocities continued to be committed. Oman firmly believed that such phenomena should come to an end immediately, and that the parties concerned should live up to their commitments in full.
Sir JOHN WESTON (United Kingdom) said the adoption of the draft resolution, of which the United Kingdom was a co-sponsor, was a clear signal that the Council would not forget what had happened in Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka or Sanski Most. He condemned the violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that had taken place. Those who attempted to deny such events only brought themselves into disrepute. Given the scale on which such human rights abuses had occurred, the Council should focus in particular on those events. The Council's commitment was to human rights irrespective of ethnic background, nationality or religion. By focusing in the resolution on crimes committed against non-Serbs, the Council did not in any way condone or ignore other human rights violations that had been
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committed against members of the Serb population. Nor did the resolution seek to condemn the Bosnian Serb people: such crimes were committed by individuals, and it was as individuals that those involved would be held responsible.
He said his Government was also disturbed by continued reports of house burning, looting and destruction of property in those areas which the parties had agreed at Dayton should be transferred to the other entity. Such actions must stop immediately. To ensure that what had happened in Srebrenica, or indeed anywhere else, did not happen again, there must be urgent and full implementation of the Paris Peace Agreement. That agreement set out a road map designed to re-establish the rule of law throughout all the communities in Bosnia. But implementation itself would prove incomplete if those responsible for the acts referred to in the Secretary-General's report were not brought to justice.
It was essential that all support fully the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, he said. He welcomed the progress made so far by the Tribunal, including their indictments in relation to the events that took place in Srebrenica. It was essential that the UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were given full access to those displaced, or those detained or missing from Srebrenica and elsewhere. If there was to be a lasting and durable peace in Bosnia, it must be based upon reconciliation between the communities; and that reconciliation could only be incomplete if it was not also accompanied by justice.
KAREL KOVANDA (Czech Republic) recalled that the Council had just commended the leaders of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for having signed the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shortly before that it had suspended economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He hoped those developments would stanch the torrent of destruction in the former Yugoslavia. The deployment of IFOR constituted a serious commitment by the international community to achieve that end.
Today, however, he continued, the Council was dealing with violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights. He expressed gratitude to the Secretary-General for his report, which in his words provided "undeniable evidence of a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, forced labour and large-scale disappearances". The worst possible fate could be inferred concerning the thousands missing in Srebrenica. And the more time elapsed since the tragedies of Srebrenica and Zepa, the less chance the world would ever had to find out exactly what really happened there, and who exactly was responsible.
Some had described the Secretary-General's report as containing "shortcomings", as providing "insufficient evidence", as containing "arbitrary
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statements", he said. They had argued that it was renegade Muslims who slaughtered thousands of their co-religionists, that the "alleged" mass killings and disappearance furthered a "propaganda campaign" of the Bosnian Government. The Czech Republic would be the first to welcome factual rebuttals of the information contained in the Secretary-General's report. It would most of all delight in finding out that thousands had not been killed at all, that in fact they had been forgotten, sequestered perhaps in some barn in a hidden mountain valley. However, he was not aware of any such factual evidence. He was not aware of any evidence better than that provided in the Secretary-General's report, and he agreed with him that it was undeniable.
He was shocked that some parties were still not cooperating with the international community in allowing search for the requisite evidence. The Security Council had always insisted on individual responsibility of the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing. Individual responsibility applied of course to all parties. In that connection he was deeply concerned by recent reports on violation of human rights of the civilian population, and of arson and looting in those areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina which the peace agreement would transfer to another authority. In particular, that concerned crimes imputed to the Bosnian Croats in the area of Mrkonjic-Grac and Sipovo.
A durable peace in the Balkans was first of all in the interest of the parties of the conflict themselves, he said. He feared that there would not be a lasting peace in Bosnia until the world had dug out the truth, literally perhaps, about the massacres under consideration today.
LEGWAILA J.M.J. LEGWAILA (Bostwana) said the report of the Secretary- General confirmed beyond doubt that massive violations of international humanitarian law and human rights had occurred in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most. Those despicable crimes had shocked the conscience of the international community and deserved the strongest condemnation.
He regretted that the Bosnian Serbs had refused to heed Council resolutions and Presidential statements calling for international access to Srebrenica, Zepa and other affected areas. Sadly it might no longer be possible to secure such access now that the Serbs had been allowed to keep those enclaves under the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Serbian allegation that the gruesome massacres which had taken place in Srebrenica, Zepa and other areas had been the work of the Bosnian Muslims was ludicrous as it was incomprehensible.
If the Bosnian Serbs were totally blameless why had it taken Mr. Jovanovic so long to inform the Council of those heinous crimes? he asked. The denial of access to the international humanitarian organizations to the affected areas by the Bosnian Serbs and the belated attempt to recreate the
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events in those areas only confirmed their involvement in those bestial crimes. The international community must dismiss with contempt Mr. Jovanovic's letter and stand firm on its demand for access to all the affected areas.
He said the work of the International Tribunal responsible for bringing to justice those who had committed those violations of humanitarian law must be expedited. Persons who had committed violations of international humanitarian law and human rights must know that they would not go unpunished. All cases of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights must be fully investigated and those found responsible punished accordingly.
He underlined the urgent need for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to allow the establishment of offices of the Tribunal on its territory. That would convince all and sundry that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had met the requirements for readmittance into the family of nations.
QIN HUASUN (China) said that his delegation had been deeply concerned about violations of international humanitarian law in the region of the former Yugoslavia. China urged the parties concerned to immediately stop such activities and cooperate with international humanitarian organizations to find out the truth. It also hoped that the parties concerned would maintain the momentum for peace and create favourable conditions for genuine and lasting peace and stability in the region.
China would vote in favour of today's draft resolution, he said. However, in dealing with violations of international humanitarian law in the region, the Council should distinguish its purview from that of other bodies and refrain from intervening in what fell under the purview of others. Some elements in the draft resolution should be dealt with by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or other related United Nations bodies, and he had reservations in that connection.
JULIO RENDON BARNICA (Honduras) said he was stupefied at the acts of barbarism, intolerance and violence perpetrated against the civilian population during the Balkan conflict. Such acts merited repudiation by the international community and the strongest condemnation by the Council. From the time of the fall of Srebrenica on 11 July this year, Bosnian Serb forces, with the apparent participation of their leaders, had carried out a series of actions against life and human dignity in the region of Srebrenica, and even today it was unknown what the fate of thousands of their victims had been.
The international community could not remain indifferent, he said. It must react vigorously and responsibly to ensure that all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law should be prosecuted. Eyewitness accounts of those violations should be systematically corroborated, as should
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be the reports of participation by Serbian leaders and the Serbian paramilitary forces.
Honduras rejected any attempt to hide or destroy evidence of those violations, just as it rejected the presentation by third parties of documents which in one form or another attempted to deny the facts or minimize the seriousness of the acts committed, he said.
IBRAHIM A. GAMBARI (Nigeria) welcomed the recent positive developments in the former Yugoslavia, which could usher in an era of peace in a region ravaged by four years of war. However, the prospect of peace might not be realized unless there was justice for the many victims of the war.
He expressed concern over the report of the Secretary-General confirming earlier reports of a consistent pattern of summary executions, rape, mass expulsion, arbitrary detention, forced labour and large-scale disappearances in the areas of Srebrenica, Zepa, Banja Luka and Sanski Most, all in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That report highlighted the fact that the Bosnian Serb forces and their paramilitary allies had been responsible for the atrocities. More worrisome was the indication contained in the report that a full account of the horror had yet to be properly investigated and revealed.
He called on the Bosnian Serbs to give immediate and full access to the relevant United Nations agencies as well as the ICRC to the areas where those atrocities appeared to have taken place, so that the whole truth might be told. He also called on those concerned to do nothing to tamper with evidence or attempt to conceal or damage them. Furthermore, he urged the parties in the former Yugoslavia to cooperate fully with the Prosecutor and the International Tribunal responsible for the prosecution of those responsible for serious war crimes.
The recent widespread looting, burning and destruction of houses and other property, in particular, by Bosnian Croat forces after the Dayton Accord was regrettable, he continued. It showed that some of the parties had not got the message that such activities would not be tolerated by the international community and that they were unhelpful to future peaceful coexistence of all ethnic groups in the territory. He called on the parties to turn a new page in the history of the Balkans, one that would emphasize tolerance, peaceful coexistence, diversity and accommodation. He said he would vote in favour of the draft resolution before the Council.
MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia) said the draft resolution was necessary in view of the persistent and stubborn refusal of the Bosnian Serb party to comply with the decisions of the Security Council despite repeated and unequivocal calls by the international community. It reaffirmed Council resolution 1019 (1995) and provided a most comprehensive and incisive
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elaboration of the Council's views on the question of the violation of international humanitarian law by the Bosnian Serbs. The Council's consideration of the draft resolution acquired greater meaning and urgency against the backdrop of the recent signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If that Agreement was to lead to a lasting peace, a thorough and complete investigation of the atrocities which had been committed by the Bosnian Serbs was imperative so that appropriate sanctions against the perpetrators of such blatantly horrendous acts of terror and violence could be imposed.
He expressed concern that there had been little progress in determining the fate of the missing persons. It was most unfortunate that some quarters had chosen to cast doubts on the accuracy of the reports which had been submitted by the Secretary-General and which were based on impeccable sources. Such attempts, including the deliberate misrepresentation of facts, were beyond the realm of comprehension and totally lacking in credibility. The veracity of such claims could only be confirmed if the Bosnian Serbs complied with the demands of the international community to fully cooperate and provide access to sites where mass killings were suspected so that a complete investigation could take place. The refusal of the Bosnian Serbs to allow access raised serious doubts about their claims of innocence.
His Government associated itself with the demands in the draft resolution for the Bosnian Serb party to give forthwith unconditional access to persons displaced and to persons detained or reported missing, as well as to areas where atrocities had taken place, to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the ICRC and other international agencies. He reaffirmed the importance of cooperation by the parties concerned, in particular the Bosnian Serbs, with the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the discharge of its duties. He also underlined the call for the parties concerned to fully cooperate with the efforts of the United Nations, humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations to create the necessary conditions for the repatriation and return of refugees and displaced persons in safety and dignity. He would vote in favour of the draft resolution.
MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT (United States) said that after a week of stressing the positive in the former Yugoslavia, the resolution before the Council today served as a reminder of the urgency and necessity of peace in that region. While she hoped that the killings in Srebrenica, Zepa, Sanski Most, Banja Luka and other locations occupied by the Bosnian Serbs would prove to be the last chapters in a brutal and savage war, the world must not excuse, minimize or accept a distorted version of what had happened in those places. The recent letter received by the Council from Mr. Jovanovic, claiming that the Bosnian Serbs were innocent of killing unarmed men from Srebrenica was not only a "big" lie, it was a profoundly insulting lie. She said that according
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to the United Nations estimates, between 3,500 and 5,500 Muslim men forced to flee Srebrenica remained unaccounted for.
Noting that the Bosnian Serbs had claimed that reporters had free access to investigate the Srebrenica atrocities, she said "that is plainly untrue". American journalist David Rohde was taken captive by the Pale authorities when he returned to the area of the mass graves in October. The truth was that although the Bosnian Serbs had promised access to the area, they had not yet lived up to their word, either with respect to the press or to the war crimes tribunal.
The resolution also condemned the burning and looting of houses and territory which, under the Dayton Agreement, were to be returned to Bosnian Serb control. Although the nature and extent of those violations of human rights could not be "balanced" against those committed by the Bosnian Serbs, the United States deplored them and joined the Council in urging an end to all such practices.
Measures to protect human rights were a central part of the Dayton Agreement. Her Government took those measures very seriously and expected the parties to meet, in full, their obligation to assist in the implementation process. She reminded the parties that there would be consequences if they failed to do so.
Action on Resolution
The Council then unanimously adopted the draft resolution as resolution 1034 (1995).
ALAIN DEJAMMET (France) said the massacres of civilians in Srebrenica demanded justice and justice required identification and condemnation of those who had inspired and carried out those crimes.
He said it was the duty and honour of the Council to act swiftly. France, in close cooperation with Germany, had wished to present to the Council the resolution just adopted. The Council must remind all those who were responsible for the suffering and horrors perpetrated against the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina that they could not escape justice.
F. PAOLO FULCI (Italy) said that the Security Council could not remain indifferent or passive before the acts outlined in the Secretary-General's report. The extreme gravity of the episodes denounced in that report did not in any way condone other deeds that might be less grave but were also deserving of condemnation. This was why the resolution condemned the widespread looting and destruction of houses and other property, in particular by Bosnian Croat forces, and demanded that all sides refrain from laying
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mines, in particular in those areas which under the Peace Agreement would be transferred to another party.
He said the Bosnian Serb authorities had only one way to get out of the predicament into which they had put themselves: to allow access to persons detained or reported missing and to the places where the mass graves were allegedly located, and to fully collaborate with the International Tribunal for the punishment of those responsible for the very serious crimes denounced in the report. Any attempt to distort the facts, or to attribute responsibility to other parties was totally unacceptable, and would not be accepted.
ERNESTO CARDENAS (Argentina) said that all Member States of the United Nations should cooperate to ensure that those responsible for crimes of the magnitude of those described in the Secretary-General's report were brought to justice. Only in that way would it be possible, both in the Balkans and elsewhere, finally to eradicate such terrible actions, which flouted the basic moral and legal principles on the basis of which the international community created coexistence. Only in that way was true peace possible, and only thus could there be any hope of lasting peace. Only thus -- should humanity again be tempted down that path of horror -- would it see clearly the inevitable consequences of succumbing to that temptation.
He concluded by referring in his turn to the letter from Mr. Jovanovic to the Council. The communication was unacceptable, he said. It was inspired by an impulse directly opposed to the spirit of the resolution adopted today. As such it was truly deplorable.
VENUSTE HABIYAREMYE (Rwanda) said he did not have the words to express the sympathy he felt for the people who had been the victims of such atrocities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The resolution just adopted must help to bring an end to the suffering of the people of that area. He hoped that justice would be done and that an end would be brought to the problems experienced by the people of the region.
SERGEI LAVROV (Russian Federation) said that the demands and appeals of the Council continued to be ignored. The contents of the Secretary-General's report on events in Bosnia and Herzegovina attested to the need for the Council to act. Russia's position remained unchanged. It was against any violations of the kind described in the report, no matter who their perpetrator. The Council's reaction to such acts could not be selective or one-sided in nature. It could not bypass, its eyes closed, the obvious fact that both sides in the conflict were guilty.
The resolution adopted tonight was based on the Secretary-General's report, and the Russian Federation supported the demands it contained, he said. Unimpeded access to the areas in question must be granted the United
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Nations and other international organizations. There was an urgent need to obtain answers on the fate of those still missing. But there must be no ethnic or any other kind of selectivity in implementation of the resolution's provisions.
He was satisfied that the final draft of the resolution contained the Council's condemnation of the scorched-earth tactics of Bosnian Croat forces in areas earmarked in the Peace Agreement for transfer to another authority. He noted that the language of the resolution referred to those forces, against his own objections, as "HVO" units, when they were in fact Bosnian Croats. That should have been spelled out. Failure to do so raised fears of a double standard.
He warned that the possible mass exodus of Bosnian Serbs from the Sarajevo area was not just a humanitarian disaster but a potentially destabilizing factor. Tonight's statement by the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina had done little to allay such fears.
Returning to the "inadmissibility" of a selective approach to implementation of the resolution, he warned that the International Tribunal must not attempt to make use of international humanitarian law as an instrument for achieving political goals.
As for the letter from Mr. Jovanovic, he noted that it had not been circulated as a Council document. However, since it had been much discussed tonight, he explained that in his capacity as Council President he had presided over informal discussions of the letter. At the Council's request, he had then met with Mr. Jovanovic, and had informally briefed the press on the episode.
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