U.N., Citing Geneva Accords, Demands Release of Prisoners, Withdrawal of Foreign Forces
(UNITED NATIONS, April 4—Reuters) The Security Council demanded on Thursday that the parties to the Bosnia peace accord comply without further delay with commitments concerning the release of prisoners, the withdrawal of foreign forces, the return of refugees and cooperation with the international war crimes tribunal.
A statement read at a brief public meeting said the council was "particularly concerned at the failure to date by all parties to comply fully with the provisions of the peace agreement concerning the release of prisoners, in spite of the repeated commitments by the parties to do so." This obligation was unconditional and failure to do so was a "serious case of non-compliance," it said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday the continued detention of 88 people—28 by the mainly Muslim Bosnian government, 16 by the Bosnian Serbs and 44 by the Bosnian Croats—was an unacceptable violation of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war. The Security Council statement, prompted by recent progress reports on the peace agreement negotiated in Dayton, Ohio, last November, said compliance with its military aspects, monitored by a 60,000-strong NATO-led force, was generally satisfactory.
Seeks Demonstration of Committments
The main emphasis by the international community and the Bosnian parties themselves should now shift to the civil aspects of the agreement. The council demanded that the Bosnian parties "demonstrate a genuine commitment to confidence and security building measures, regional arms control, reconciliation and the building of a common future.""In that context, it demands that the parties comply fully, unconditionally and without any further delay with their commitments regarding the release of prisoners, implementation of the constitutional framework, withdrawal of foreign forces, ensuring freedom of movement, cooperation with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, return of refugees, and respect for human rights and international humanitarian law."
The council expressed deep concern over recent developments in the Sarajevo area which caused thousands of Bosnian Serbs civilians to leave their homes—a reference to mainly Serb suburbs which came under government control. It called for greater efforts toward "reconciliation and the reconstitution of a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic Sarajevo, as a city of Bosniacs, Serbs, Croats, and others, and as the capital and seat of the future common institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina."
United Nations Text of Security Council Statement
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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
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