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324 Political and security questions

Chapter V

Europe and the Mediterranean

In 2000, prospects for achieving peace and secu-rity in Europe and the Mediterranean were notvery encouraging as most of the major conflictsaffecting the region were no nearer to a solution,particularly in the Balkans, which continued todefy the peacemaking efforts of the UnitedNations and the international community. How-ever, there was hope that a new climate had beencreated with the election in September of the newPresident of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(FRY), Vojislav Kostunica, replacing SlobodanMilosevic, and the establishment of a new Gov-ernment in Croatia. The election of the newPresident in FRY also raised hopes that the long-standing dispute regarding issues of successionrelated to the break-up of the former SocialistFederal Republic of Yugoslavia would soon be re-solved. A first step in that regard was the admis-sion of FRY to United Nations membership on1 November.

Despite their declared willingness to resolvetheir dispute over the Prevlaka peninsulathrough bilateral negotiations, Croatia and FRYmade no real progress in that regard. The fifthmeeting on bilateral negotiations did not takeplace, with both sides continuing to blame eachother for the delay. However, the Secretary-General observed that the political changes in thetwo countries might lead to the resumption of ne-gotiations on Prevlaka.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Peace Imple-mentation Council, which continued to overseeand facilitate implementation of the 1995 Gen-eral Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosniaand Herzegovina (also known as the Peace Agree-ment), noted the slow pace of implementationand, in order to accelerate it, set key strategic tar-gets for the consolidation of State institutions,economic reform and refugee return. Municipalelections were held in April and a general elec-tion took place in November. The United Na-tions Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina elabo-rated a comprehensive mandate implementationplan aimed at completing its core mandate byDecember 2002.

In 2000, the United Nations Interim Adminis-tration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) made signifi-cant progress in implementing the provisions ofSecurity Council resolution 1244(1999) on thedevelopment of provisional institutions for dem-

ocratic and autonomous self-government in theKosovo province of FRY and in promoting the re-turn of the territory to a viable administrativestructure and economic and social recovery andreconstruction. As a first step towards a return tonormalcy, municipal elections were successfullyheld on 28 October, paving the way for the estab-lishment of functioning municipal assemblies inKosovo. The political changes in Belgrade re-newed hope for the constructive political dia-logue on the future of Kosovo. Despite thosepositive developments, the Security Council re-mained concerned over the post-election vio-lence, particularly the potentially explosive situa-tion in the ground safety zone between Kosovoand Serbia proper. In a 19 December statement,the Council condemned the violence by Albanianextremist groups in southern Serbia and calledfor their dissolution. It called on UNMIK and theinternational security presence to continue totake all necessary efforts to address the problem.

With regard to Georgia, the Council, in No-vember, noted with concern the continued fail-ure of the parties to achieve a comprehensivesettlement, including the political status ofAbkhazia within the State of Georgia, and calledon them to take immediate measures to move be-yond the impasse. Efforts to reach a settlement ofthe armed conflict between Armenia and Azer-baijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region inAzerbaijan were also fruitless.

In the Mediterranean, despite the momentumgenerated by five rounds of proximity talks to re-solve the Cyprus problem, meaningful negotia-tions on a permanent solution had yet to begin.

The former Yugoslavia

UN operationsThe United Nations continued to work

towards restoring peace and stability in the terri-tories of the former Yugoslavia through its peace-keeping missions: the United Nations Mission inBosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH); the UnitedNations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UN-MOP), which continued to monitor the demilitari-zation of the Prevlaka peninsula; and the United

Europe and the Mediterranean 325

Nations Interim Administration Mission in theFRY province of Kosovo (UNMIK), established tooversee the development of provisional demo-cratic self-governing institutions. The SecurityCouncil extended UNMIBH's mandate, which in-cluded the International Police Task Force, until21 June 2001, and that of UNMOP to 15 January2001.

FinancingIn March [A/54/803], the Secretary-General

submitted to the General Assembly the financialperformance report of the United Nations Pro-tection Force (UNPROFOR), which ended in 1999,the United Nations Confidence Restoration Op-eration in Croatia (UNCRO), which ended in 1996,the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force(UNPREDEP)—known collectively as the UnitedNations Peace Forces (UNPF)—and UNPF head-quarters (UNPF-HQ).

Requirements to meet the shortfall in re-sources for reimbursement of contingent-ownedequipment totalled $138.5 million. In addition,funds were needed to settle outstanding govern-ment claims for which no obligations existed, aswell as for death and disability claims, since allsuch obligated funds had been exhausted.Amounts owed to Governments in respect of allclaims totalled $179.9 million. Since all those re-quirements could be met from unencumberedappropriations, the Secretary-General sought theAssembly's concurrence to retain that amountfrom the total appropriations balance of$304.2 million gross ($304.9 million net).

The recommendations of the Advisory Com-mittee on Administrative and Budgetary Ques-tions (ACABQ) on the Secretary-General's reportwere contained in an April report [A/54/835].

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION

On 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,on the recommendation of the Fifth (Adminis-trative and Budgetary) Committee [A/54/900],adopted resolution 54/269 without vote [agendaitem 133].

Financing of the United Nations Protection Force,the United Nations Confidence Restoration

Operation in Croatia, the United NationsPreventive Deployment Force and the

United Nations Peace Forces headquartersThe General Assembly,Having considered the report of the Secretary-General

on the financing of the United Nations ProtectionForce, the United Nations Confidence Restoration Op-eration in Croatia, the United Nations Preventive De-ployment Force and the United Nations Peace Forcesheadquarters and the related report of the AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and Budgetary Ques-tions,

Recalling Security Council resolutions 727(1992) of8 January 1992 and 740(1992) of 7 February 1992, inwhich the Council endorsed the sending of a group ofmilitary liaison officers to Yugoslavia to promote main-tenance of the ceasefire,

Recalling also Security Council resolution 743(1992)of 21 February 1992, by which the Council establishedthe United Nations Protection Force, and the subse-quent resolutions by which the Council extended andexpanded its mandate,

Recalling further Security Council resolution981(1995) of 31 March 1995, by which the Council es-tablished the United Nations Confidence RestorationOperation in Croatia, to be known as UNCRO,

Recalling Security Council resolution 983(1995) of31 March 1995, by which the Council decided that theUnited Nations Protection Force within the formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia should be known asthe United Nations Preventive Deployment Force,

Recalling also Security Council resolution 1025( 1995)of 30 November 1995, in which the Council decided toterminate the mandate of the United Nations Confi-dence Restoration Operation in Croatia on 15 January1996,

Recalling further Security Council resolution1031(1995) of 15 December 1995, in which the Councildecided to terminate the mandate of the United Na-tions Protection Force on the date on which theSecretary-General reported that the transfer of author-ity from the United Nations Protection Force to the Im-plementation Force had taken place,

Recalling the letter dated 1 February 1996 from thePresident of the Security Council to the Secretary-General informing him of the Council's concurrencein principle that the United Nations Preventive De-ployment Force should become an independent mis-sion,

Recalling also its resolution 46/233 of 19 March 1992on the financing of the United Nations ProtectionForce and its subsequent resolutions and decisionsthereon, the latest of which was decision 53/477 of8 June 1999,

Reaffirming that the costs of the combined Forces areexpenses of the Organization to be borne by MemberStates in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of theCharter of the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by thecombined Forces, a different procedure is requiredfrom that applied to meet expenditures of the regularbudget of the United Nations,

Taking into account the fact that the economicallymore developed countries are in a position to makerelatively larger contributions and that the economi-cally less developed countries have a relatively limitedcapacity to contribute towards such an operation,

Bearing in mind the special responsibilities of theStates permanent members of the Security Council, asindicated in General Assembly resolution 1874(S-IV) of27 June 1963, in the financing of such operations,

Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the combined Forces by certain Gov-ernments,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide thecombined Forces with the necessary financial re-


sources to enable them to meet their outstanding li-abilities,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to thecombined Forces as at 30 April 2000, including the con-tributions outstanding in the amount of 622.7 millionUnited States dollars, representing 13 per cent of thetotal assessed contributions from the inception of theUnited Nations Protection Force to the period ending30 June 1997, notes that some 49 per cent of the Mem-ber States have paid their assessed contributions in full,and urges all other Member States concerned, in par-ticular those in arrears, to ensure payment of their out-standing assessed contributions;

2. Expresses its appreciation to those Member Stateswhich have paid their assessed contributions in full;

3. Expresses concern about the financial situationwith regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular asregards the reimbursements to troop contributors thatbear additional burdens owing to overdue payments byMember States of their assessments;

4. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the combined Forces in full;

5. Expresses concern at the delay experienced by theSecretary-General in deploying and providing ade-quate resources to some recent peacekeeping missions,in particular those in Africa;

6. Emphasizes that all future and existing peace-keeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial andadministrative arrangements;

7. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missionsshall be provided with adequate resources for theeffective and efficient discharge of their respectivemandates;

8. Endorses the conclusions and recommendationscontained in the report of the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions, and requeststhe Secretary-General to ensure their full implementa-tion;

9. Authorizes the Secretary-General to retain anamount of 1,193,000 dollars gross (963,300 dollars net)from the amount of 1,199,200 dollars gross (1,070,300dollars net) concurred in by the Advisory Committeefrom the unencumbered balance of 3,467,200 dollarsgross (4,094,200 dollars net) for the period from 1 July1996 to 30 June 1997 to meet the cost of completing theliquidation of the mission;

10. Also authorizes the Secretary-General to retain anamount of 179,899,700 dollars gross and net from thebalance of appropriations of 304,179,027 dollars gross(304,955,370 dollars net) to meet the cost of outstand-ing Government claims;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to present a moredetailed explanation of the amounts required for reim-bursement of contingent-owned equipment, includingthe impact of the retroactive application of the newprocedures for contingent-owned equipment, in thecontext of the final report on the combined Forces, andto reconsider the question at its fifty-fifth session;

12. Decides to keep under review the amounts bud-geted for reimbursement of contingent-owned equip-ment;

13. Decides also to suspend for the immediate futurethe provisions of regulations 4.3, 4.4 and 5.2 (d) of thefinancial regulations of the United Nations in respect

of the remaining surplus of 124,279,327 dollars gross(125,055,670 dollars net) in order to allow for reim-bursements to troop contributors and in the light of thecash shortage of the combined Forces, and requests theSecretary-General to provide an updated report in oneyear;

14. Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shallbe financed by borrowing funds from other activepeacekeeping missions;

15. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Protection Force, the United NationsConfidence Restoration Operation in Croatia, theUnited Nations Preventive Deployment Force and theUnited Nations Peace Forces headquarters".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on the financing of UNPROFOR, UNCRO,UNPREDEP and UNPF-HQ would remain for con-sideration at the resumed fifty-fifth (2001) ses-sion (decision 55/458) and that the Fifth Com-mittee should continue to consider the item atthat session (decision 55/455).

(Details on the financing of the respectivepeacekeeping operations in the former Yugosla-via are described in the relevant sections below.)

UNTAES and UN Civilian Police Support GroupOn 17 January, the Secretary-General sub-

mitted to the General Assembly the financial per-formance report of the Civilian Police SupportGroup from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999[A/54/713]. Having terminated the mandate of theUnited Nations Transitional Administration forEastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium(UNTAES) on 15 January 1998 by resolution1120(1997) [YUN 1997, p. 324], the Security Council,by resolution 1145(1997) [ibid., p. 332], establishedthe Civilian Police Support Group for a singlenine-month period ending on 15 October 1998.

Expenditures for the period covered totalled$6.6 million gross ($6.1 million net), resulting inan unencumbered balance of $877,160 gross($894,960 net), which resulted mainly from staffvacancies, early repatriation of civilian police, theavailability of some supplies from the UNTAESstock and the use of the mission's vehicles totransport equipment to the United Nations Lo-gistics Base in Brindisi, Italy. The cost of com-pleting the liquidation of UNTAES, as well as thefinal audit, could be met from the unencum-bered balance, resulting in an adjusted unen-cumbered balance of $263,160 gross ($359,960net).

On 3 April [A/54/823], ACABQ commented onthe Secretary-General's report.


On 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee


[A/54/905], adopted resolution 54/274 withoutvote [agenda item 145].

Financing of the Civilian Police Support GroupThe General Assembly,Having considered the report of the Secretary-General

on the financing of the Civilian Police Support Groupand the related reports of the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions,

Recalling Security Council resolution 1037(1996) of15 January 1996, by which the Council established theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for East-ern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium for an ini-tial period of twelve months, and resolution 1145(1997)of 19 December 1997, in which the Council noted thetermination of the Transitional Administration on15 January 1998 and established, with effect from16 January 1998, the Civilian Police Support Group fora single period of up to nine months,

Recalling also its decision 50/481 of 11 April 1996 onthe financing of the Transitional Administration andits subsequent resolutions thereon, the latest of whichwas resolution 53/234 of 8 June 1999,

Reaffirming that the costs of the TransitionalAdministration and the Support Group are expensesof the Organization to be borne by Member States inaccordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charterof the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by theTransitional Administration and the Support Group, adifferent procedure is required from that applied tomeet expenditures of the regular budget of the UnitedNations,



Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Transitional Administration,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theaccount of the missions with the necessary financial re-sources to enable them to meet their outstanding li-abilities,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for East-ern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium and theCivilian Police Support Group as at 30 April 2000, in-cluding the contributions outstanding in the amountof 29.8 million United States dollars, representing7 per cent of the total assessed contributions from theinception of the Transitional Administration to the pe-riod ending 30 June 1999, notes that some 29 per centof the Member States have paid their assessed contribu-tions in full, and urges all other Member States con-cerned, in particular those in arrears, to ensure pay-ment of their outstanding assessed contributions;



4. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the missions in full;




8. Endorses the conclusions and recommendationscontained in the report of the Advisory Committee onAdministrative and Budgetary Questions;

9. Decides that Member States that have fulfilledtheir financial obligations to the Transitional Adminis-tration and the Support Group shall be credited theirrespective share of the remaining unencumbered bal-ance of 601,200 dollars gross (541,500 dollars net) in re-spect of the period ending 30 June 1998 and of the un-encumbered balance of 263,160 dollars gross (359,960dollars net) in respect of the period ending 30 June1999;

10. Decides also that, for Member States that have notfulfilled their obligations to the Transitional Adminis-tration and the Support Group, their share of the re-maining unencumbered balance of 601,200 dollarsgross (541,500 dollars net) in respect of the period end-ing 30 June 1998 and of the unencumbered balance of263,160 dollars gross (359,960 dollars net) in respect ofthe period ending 30 June 1999 shall be set off againsttheir outstanding obligations;


12. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for East-ern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium and theCivilian Police Support Group".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on the financing of UNTAES and the Ci-vilian Police Support Group would remain forconsideration at the resumed fifty-fifth (2001)session (decision 55/458) and that the FifthCommittee should continue to consider the itemat that session (decision 55/455).

UNPREDEPOn 7 February, the Secretary-General sub-

mitted to the General Assembly the financial per-formance report of the United Nations Preven-tive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) covering1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999 [A/54/740]. The man-


date of UNPREDEP, which operated within theformer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FY-ROM), terminated on 28 February 1999 [YUN 1999,p. 370]. Expenditures for the period totalled$41.9 million gross ($40.9 million net), resultingin an unencumbered balance of $1.2 milliongross ($1.1 million net), resulting mainly fromlower costs of troop rotation and rapid liquida-tion of the mission during the period fromMarch to June 1999. However, an amount of$904,000, which was not obligated for troop rota-tion, was still required.

On 3 April [A/54/824], ACABQ commented onthe Secretary-General's report.


On 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee[A/54/906], adopted resolution 54/275 withoutvote [agenda item 146].

Financing of the United NationsPreventive Deployment Force

The General Assembly,Having considered the report of the Secretary-General

on the financing of the United Nations Preventive De-ployment Force and the related reports of the AdvisoryCommittee on Administrative and Budgetary Ques-tions,

Recalling Security Council resolutions 983(1995) of31 March 1995, by which the Council decided that theUnited Nations Protection Force within the formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia should be known asthe United Nations Preventive Deployment Force, and1186(1998) of 21 July 1998, by which the Council ex-tended the mandate of the Force until 28 February1999,

Recalling also its decision 50/481 of 11 April 1996 onthe financing of the Force and its subsequent resolu-tions thereon, the latest of which was resolution53/20 B of 8 June 1999,

Reaffirming that the costs of the Force are expenses ofthe Organization to be borne by Member States inaccordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charterof the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by theForce, a different procedure is required from that ap-plied to meet expenditures of the regular budget of theUnited Nations,



Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Force by certain Governments,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theaccount of the Force with the necessary financial re-sources to enable it to meet its outstanding liabilities,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Preventive Deployment Force as at30 April 2000, including the contributions outstand-ing in the amount of 10.8 million United States dollars,representing 8 per cent of the total assessed contribu-tions from the inception of the Force to the period end-ing 30 June 1999, notes that some 42 per cent of theMember States have paid their assessed contributionsin full, and urges all other Member States concerned,in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment oftheir outstanding assessed contributions;



4. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the Force in full;





9. Authorizes the Secretary-General to retain theamount of 904,000 dollars from the unencumberedbalance of 1,161,700 dollars gross (1,104,300 dollarsnet) in respect of the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June1999 to cover the costs of outstanding claims from aGovernment for the rotation of its troops during theprior period;

10. Decides that Member States that have fulfilledtheir financial obligations to the Force shall be creditedtheir respective share of the remaining unencumberedbalance of 257,700 dollars gross (200,300 dollars net) inrespect of the period ending 30 June 1999;

11. Decides also that, for Member States that have notfulfilled their obligations to the Force, their share ofthe remaining unencumbered balance of 257,700 dol-lars gross (200,300 dollars net) in respect of the periodending 30 June 1999 shall be set off against their out-standing obligations;


13. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Preventive Deployment Force".

In September [A/55/390], the Secretary-General submitted details of the final dispositionof UNPREDEP's assets, with an inventory value as


at 1 March of some $20.2 million, 46 per cent ofwhich had been transferred to other peace-keeping operations or to the United Nations Lo-gistics Base.

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on the financing of UNPREDEP would re-main for consideration at the resumed fifty-fifth(2001) session (decision 55/458) and that theFifth Committee would continue to consider theitem at that session (decision 55/455).

State succession issuesOn 3 February [A/54/742], four of the five suc-

cessor States of the former Socialist FederalRepublic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) (Bosnia and Her-zegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and FYROM) drewthe attention of the General Assembly Presidentto the draft resolution [A/54/L.62] on the issue ofsuccession [YUN 1999, p. 306], consideration ofwhich had been postponed pending further con-sultations. The four States stated that they wouldcontinue to work with interested delegations toensure full implementation of relevant Assemblyresolutions, in particular resolution 47/1 [YUN1992, p. 139], and underlined the importance of theprinciple of equality of all five successor States toSFRY.

In a 10 February letter [S/2000/109] to the Secu-rity Council President, the four States recon-firmed their readiness, in view of the expressedreadiness of FRY, to resume negotiations to solvepromptly the issue on the basis of the equality ofall five successor States. The four States affirmedthat settlement of the issue would contribute topolitical stabilization, economic cooperation andthe improvement of relations.

On 25 April [S/2000/348], FRY transmitted to theCouncil President a copy of a letter from the headof its delegation to the negotiations of the PeaceImplementation Council (PIC) (see p. 331) to theNegotiations Mediator, Sir Arthur Watts. Thehead of the delegation indicated that he had beeninformed that, at the PIC meeting (Sarajevo, Bos-nia and Herzegovina, 4 April), discussion of thecontinuation of work on succession issues wasavoided. Despite the fact that all involved were in-terested in negotiations, PIC had demonstrated asurprising lack of interest and had blocked thenegotiations for more than a year without any ex-planation, taking upon itself prerogatives that itwas not entitled to per se, nor were they estab-lished by the agreement. The only rational expla-nation for such conduct was that succession issueshad assumed a political character, with all its im-plications at the current juncture of internation-al relations. Although he could not advise as tothe current position of the Yugoslav Government

on the standstill in the negotiations, he was cer-tain that it insisted on the continuation of the ne-gotiations on the basis of the Mediator's last pro-posal.

On 24 May [A/54/881], FRY said that statementsmade by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia andSlovenia in the Assembly's Fifth Committee con-cerning FRY's status in the United Nations wereunfounded and tendentious. FRY repeated itsprevious arguments in connection with the issue[YUN 1999, p. 305] and stated that the contentionthat FRY's status in the United Nations was linkedwith, and contingent upon, the solution of thesuccession issues of the former SFRY was un-founded and aimed at confusing Member States.FRY's status should be resolved in accordancewith the Charter and relevant UN rules, whilethe succession issues of the division of assets andliabilities of the former SFRY were subject to ne-gotiations between it and the other former Yugo-slav republics based on international law, leadingto solutions acceptable by all.

The Presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia, Slovenia and FYROM, in a joint statementforwarded to the Secretary-General and theSecurity Council President on 21 September[A/55/411, S/2000/897], said that, at a meeting heldduring the course of the Millennium Summit(see p. 47), they had discussed the succession tothe former SFRY and had confirmed their com-mon position in that regard. They underlinedthe importance of the consistent implementationof all the international community's decisions re-lated to the succession that confirmed the legalequality of all the successors, and agreed that theexisting illegal practice in the United Nations bediscontinued. The four States would continue toensure equal treatment of all of the successorStates in international organizations and empha-sized that FRY had to complete the procedure foradmission to those organizations, as the othershad done. They agreed to seek the support of theEuropean Union (EU), the United States andother UN Member States to achieve their aims inrelation to succession. The Presidents also agreedthat, following democratic changes in FRY, theywould advocate the lifting of sanctions and theswift admission of FRY to the United Nations andother international organizations, when and ifthat State so requested.

On 24 September, Vojislav Kostunica waselected President of FRY, replacing Slobodan Mi-losevic. The new Government dropped any claimto being the sole successor State to SFRY and wasrecognized by the international community.

On 27 October [A/55/528-S/2000/1043], FRY sub-mitted to the Secretary-General its applicationfor admission to membership of the United


Nations. On 1 November (resolution 55/12), theGeneral Assembly, on the recommendation ofthe Security Council, admitted FRY to UN mem-bership (see p. 1365).

Prevlaka peninsulaThe United Nations continued in 2000 to assist

Croatia and FRY in their efforts to arrive at a per-manent solution to the disputed issue of the Pre-vlaka peninsula. The United Nations Mission ofObservers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) continued tomonitor the demilitarization of the peninsulaand neighbouring areas in Croatia and FRY. TheSecurity Council renewed its mandate until 15January 2001.

During the year, despite the declared willing-ness of Croatia and FRY to resolve their disputethrough bilateral negotiations, in accordancewith the Agreement on Normalization of Rela-tions between them, signed in Belgrade in 1996[YUN 1996, p. 340], no progress was made in that re-gard. Their positions regarding the options forconfidence-building, proposed by the Secretariatin 1999 [YUN 1999, p. 312], remained far apart. Thefifth meeting on bilateral negotiations did nottake place, and both sides continued to blameeach other for the delay in restarting those nego-tiations. However, in December, the Secretary-General observed that the change in the FRYPresidency and elections to the Serbian Parlia-ment, as well as the establishment of the new Gov-ernment in Croatia, gave hope that a climate con-ducive to the resumption of negotiations wasbeing created.

On the ground, the Secretary-General re-ported that the situation in the UN-controlledzones remained calm and free from any signifi-cant incidents.

Bilateral negotiationsOn 10 January [S/2000/8], Croatia, in a letter to

the Security Council President, summarized itsposition, contained in earlier submissions to theCouncil, on the disputed issue of the Prevlakapeninsula. It indicated that, as long as the Yugo-slav side refused to honour its obligations andpersisted in its quest to alter existing internation-al borders between Croatia and FRY, Croatia hadno justifiable basis on which to proceed with bi-lateral negotiations on a permanent solution ofthe security issue of Prevlaka. Croatia stoodready to engage in serious negotiations on the fu-ture bilateral security regime for Prevlaka andthe neighbouring areas of Dubrovnik and theBay of Kotor, starting from full respect for theexisting, internationally recognized Croatianborder. Croatia noted that the absence of the

Montenegrin representatives from the Yugoslavdelegation rendered the legitimacy of any out-come doubtful. Moreover, several policy andlegal measures taken by the international com-munity against high-level Yugoslav federal offi-cials in the past months compounded the prob-lems in case of the resumption of bilateralnegotiations.

On 8 February [S/2000/95], FRY forwarded tothe Council President a memorandum on thefacts, testifying that the Prevlaka peninsula wasan integral part of FRY. Croatia rejected that as-sertion on 3 March [S/2000/180].

On 6 March [S/2000/268], FRY proposed that ne-gotiations should continue based on a mutuallyagreed agenda, which could include the presen-tation of their respective positions concerningthe arguments on which both sides based theirperceptions of the extension of the State border,including the questions of the 1992 map, signedby the then FRY President and the Head of theGeneral Staff of the Yugoslav Army, and theauthenticity of the signatures of those individ-uals.

Reporting on 29 March [S/2000/268] on thestatus of bilateral negotiations between FRY andCroatia, as requested by Security Council resolu-tion 1285(2000) of 13 January (see p. 332), FRYsaid that no meeting had taken place since March1999 [YUN 1999, p. 307], as Croatia had failed to con-vene the fifth meeting. FRY reiterated its readi-ness to resume negotiations and engage in sub-stantive discussions of the arguments the twosides had exchanged after four rounds of nego-tiations and referred to its 6 March proposals (seeabove). FRY was of the opinion that serious nego-tiations could be possible only through direct dia-logue during meetings of delegations rather thanby letters.

Referring to the special emphasis placed onconfidence-building measures in resolution1258(2000) and in the Secretary-General's last re-port on UNMOP [YUN 1999, p. 312], FRY consideredthem unacceptable in the Blue Zone (UN-controlled zone). The measures would amount toa revision of the concept of the Blue Zone, whichdid not allow the authorities and citizens of thetwo sides in the Zone, would imply movement ofcivilians in the Zone and the legalization of theborder crossing at Kobila, and would legalize thepresence of Croatians in the Zone and exonerateCroatia from the continued violation of the BlueZone regime. There were no civilians who for "le-gitimate business" should be allowed in the Zonepending a solution of the disputed issue of Pre-vlaka. The two parties had committed them-selves, in the Agreement on Normalization of Re-lations between them [YUN 1996, p. 340], to respect


the existing regime established through UNmonitoring, pending an agreement on Prevlaka,so that any unilateral request to change that pro-vision constituted a violation of it.

Croatia responded on 5 April [S/2000/289] thatconfirmation of the authenticity of the 1992 mapand signatures by UN officials involved in nego-tiations at the time could avert FRY from its on-going insistence on framing the Prevlaka issue asa territorial dispute and would jump-start the ne-gotiations. Croatia reiterated its request that theUnited Nations make inquiries with its formerofficials and confirm the authenticity of the mapand signatures. Croatia stated that FRY's rejectionof the Secretary-General's confidence-buildingmeasures had not come as a surprise, since FRYhad continuously avoided the 1992 [YUN 1992,p. 343] and 1996 [YUN 1996, p. 340] agreements, par-ticularly those parts relating to normalizing traf-fic and establishing joint customs controls at theborder crossing points. The Secretary-General'sproposal to allow limited civilian access to theBlue Zone served as a reminder of the mutuallyassumed legal obligations of the two countries. Itwas Croatia's view that the Secretary-General'srecognition of the legitimate interests of thelocal population might contribute to the stabilityand normalization of the area.

The Secretary-General, reporting to the Secu-rity Council on UNMOP [S/2000/647], said that, on10 April, Croatia invited representatives of FRY toattend a fifth round of discussions in Croatia at adate to be determined.

FRY, on 16 June [S/2000/602], in response toCroatia's 5 April letter, contended that therewere differences in the interpretation of the ruleof uti possidetis, which both sides had accepted,manifested in their separate perception of theextension of the border in the disputed area. TheCroatian side invoked geographic maps as thesole piece of evidence, while the Yugoslav side in-voked the federal laws of SFRY and republicanlaws, which delineated the exercise of authorityin the disputed area. FRY annexed to the commu-nication an 8 June letter from the head of its dele-gation to the negotiations, in which he acknow-ledged receipt of Croatia's confirmation of theholding of the fifth meeting at a date to be agreedthrough diplomatic channels and proposed theagenda item "Manner of the establishment of theborder considering the application of the rule utipossidetis".

In a further communication [S/2000/954] sub-mitted to the Secretary-General in October, FRYstated that the situation regarding bilateral nego-tiations remained unchanged as the Croatianside, for a year and a half, had persisted in its re-fusal to convene the fifth meeting. The FRY head

of delegation had pointed out in August that thenegotiations between the two delegations couldnot be substituted for correspondence and theYugoslav side could not accept an agenda for thenext meeting, proposed by the head of the Croa-tian delegation in July, that prejudged the solu-tion of the disputed issue of Prevlaka to the detri-ment of the Yugoslav side. FRY had proposed thatthe method for establishing the border be consid-ered at the next meeting in view of the applica-tion of the rule of uti possidetis on which both sideshad agreed. There were, however, differences inthe perception of the application of that rule thatneeded to be resolved by negotiations. Theagenda proposed by the Yugoslav side did notprejudge the outcome of the negotiations. Itsbasic positions on the solution of the issue re-mained the same and it reiterated its readiness tocontinue the bilateral negotiations.

The Secretary-General, in a December reporton UNMOP [S/2000/1251], observed that regionaldevelopments and a movement towards stabiliza-tion of the political situation, in particular in FRY,had given rise to the hope that a climate condu-cive to the resumption of negotiations was beingcreated. In FRY, the change in the Presidency wasfollowed by elections to the Serbian Parliamentand the new leadership was consolidating its po-sition. In Croatia, the Government sworn intooffice a year earlier was well established. In thelight of those developments and his meetingswith the Croatian President and the YugoslavForeign Minister, the Secretary-General trustedthat both sides would be able to resume negotia-tions in the near future and find ways to bridgetheir differences on the disputed Prevlaka issue.

UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP)The United Nations Mission of Observers in

Prevlaka, which became a separate mission in1996 [YUN 1996, p. 330], continued in 2000 to moni-tor the demilitarization of the disputed Prevlakapeninsula and the neighbouring areas in Croatiaand FRY. The Mission, which comprised 27 mili-tary observers under the command of Chief Mili-tary Observer Colonel Graeme Williams (NewZealand), also held regular meetings with localauthorities and maintained contact with authori-ties in Belgrade and Zagreb. UNMOP's area of re-sponsibility consisted of two UN-designatedzones: a demilitarized zone (DMZ) (Yellow Zone)and a UN-controlled zone (Blue Zone).

The Security Council twice extended UNMOP'smandate during the year, to 15 July 2000 and to15 January 2001.

Although an independent mission, UNMOPwas treated for administrative and budgetary


purposes as part of UNMIBH. (For details on thefinancing of UNMOP, see p. 346.)

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (January)

On 13 January (meeting 4088], the Security Coun-cil, having considered the Secretary-General'sDecember 1999 report on UNMOP [YUN 1999, p. 312],unanimously adopted resolution 1285(2000).The draft [S/2000/10] was submitted by Canada,France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Rus-sian Federation, the United Kingdom and theUnited States.

The Security Council,Recalling all its relevant resolutions, in particular

resolutions 779(1992) of 6 October 1992, 981(1995) of31 March 1995, 1147(1998) of 13 January 1998,1183(1998) of 15 July 1998, 1222(1999) of 15 January1999 and 1252(1999) of 15 July 1999,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-Generalof 31 December 1999 on the United Nations Mission ofObservers in Prevlaka,

Recalling the letter dated 24 December 1999 from theCharge d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia addressed to theSecretary-General and the letter dated 10 January 2000from the Permanent Representative of Croatia to theUnited Nations addressed to the President of the Secu-rity Council, concerning the disputed issue of Pre-vlaka,

Reaffirming once again its commitment to the indepen-dence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Re-public of Croatia within its internationally recognizedborders,

Noting once again the Joint Declaration signed atGeneva on 30 September 1992 by the Presidents of theRepublic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugo-slavia, in particular articles 1 and 3, the latter reaffirm-ing their agreement concerning the demilitarization ofthe Prevlaka peninsula,

Reiterating its concern about violations of the demili-tarization regime, including limitations placed on thefree movement of United Nations military observers,while noting some positive development in those fieldsas outlined in the report of the Secretary-General,

Noting with satisfaction that the opening of crossingpoints between Croatia and the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia (Montenegro) in the demilitarized zonecontinues to facilitate civilian and commercial traffic inboth directions without security incidents and contin-ues to represent a significant confidence-buildingmeasure in the normalization of relations between thetwo parties, and urging the parties to utilize theseopenings as a basis for further confidence-buildingmeasures to achieve the normalization of relations be-tween them,

Reiterating its serious concerns about the lack of sub-stantive progress towards a settlement of the disputedissue of Prevlaka in the continuing bilateral negotia-tions between the parties pursuant to the Agreementon Normalization of Relations between the Republic ofCroatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 23August 1996, and calling for the resumption of discus-sions,

Reiterating its call upon the parties urgently to put inplace a comprehensive demining programme,

Commending the role played by the United NationsMission of Observers in Prevlaka, and noting that thepresence of the United Nations military observers con-tinues to be essential to maintain conditions that areconducive to a negotiated settlement of the disputedissue of Prevlaka,

1. Authorizes the United Nations military observersto continue monitoring the demilitarization of thePrevlaka peninsula, in accordance with resolutions779(1992) and 981(1995) and paragraphs 19 and 20 ofthe report of the Secretary-General of 13 December1995, until 15 July 2000;

2. Reiterates its calls upon the parties to cease all vio-lations of the demilitarization regime in the UnitedNations designated zones, to take steps further to re-duce tension and to improve safety and security in thearea, to cooperate fully with the United Nations mili-tary observers and to ensure their safety and full andunrestricted freedom of movement;

3. Notes with satisfaction that, pursuant to its requestin resolution 1252(1999), the parties have been pro-vided with recommendations and options to developconfidence-building measures, encourages the partiesto take concrete steps to implement such recommenda-tions and options with a view to, inter alia, furtherfacilitating the freedom of movement of the civilianpopulation, and requests the Secretary-General to re-port on the matter by 15 April 2000;

4. Urges once again that the parties abide by theirmutual commitments and implement fully the Agree-ment on Normalization of Relations between theRepublic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugo-slavia, and stresses in particular the urgent need forthem to fulfil rapidly and in good faith their commit-ment to reach a negotiated resolution of the disputedissue of Prevlaka in accordance with article 4 of theAgreement;

5. Requests the parties to continue to report at leastbimonthly to the Secretary-General on the status oftheir bilateral negotiations;

6. Requests the United Nations military observersand the multinational Stabilization Force authorized bythe Council in resolution 1088(1996) of 12 December1996 and extended by resolution 1247(1999) of 18 June1999 to cooperate fully with each other;

7. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Report of Secretary-General (April). TheSecretary-General, in an April report on UNMOP[S/2000/305], stated that the situation remainedstable and calm, with both sides continuing to re-spect the DMZ. However, on 7 March, elements ofthe newly formed Montenegrin Special Policewere observed conducting training exerciseswithin the zone. They remained there, bolsteringthe Border Police presence. In the UN-controlled zone, the long-standing violations ofthe security regime remained unchanged withpolice from both sides maintaining positionsthere. On two occasions, Croatian buses carryinglocal schoolchildren were observed in the zone.In January, in the context of the Croatian presi-


dential election campaign, several senior Croa-tian political figures entered the zone.

Concerning the confidence-building meas-ures conveyed to the parties by the Secretariat in1999 [YUN 1999, p. 312], preliminary consultationson the options presented continued, includingon the commencement of demarcation of theborder, the regularization of the crossing point atDebeli Brijeg, the introduction of a limited accessregime for local civilians in the UN-controlledzone and the replacement of the crossing point atCape Kobila by alternative arrangements workedout under the controlled access regime. The par-ties favoured some elements of the options pack-age but rejected others, reflecting their overallviews in the dispute. Their positions on the pack-age remained far apart.

Communications. On 16 June [S/2000/602], FRYadvised the Security Council President of a num-ber of long-standing violations of the security re-gime in the Blue Zone by Croatia, including theinstallation of a telephone booth at Cape Kobilaborder crossing, which it demanded be removedand the border crossing closed until a solution tothe disputed issue of Prevlaka was found. Notingthat the Council, in resolution 1285(2000), hadcalled for an end to the violations of the demilita-rization regime in the Blue Zone, while theSecretary-General had described the presence ofcivilians there as a violation of the agreed securityregime, FRY called for strict implementation ofthe decisions and positions of the Council andthe Secretary-General.

On 30 June [S/2000/642], the Foreign Ministersof Croatia and the FRY Republic of Montenegro,in a joint communique, expressed their contin-ued support for full demilitarization on bothsides of the border in the Prevlaka peninsula as ameans of reducing tensions and stabilizing theentire area. The opening of the border crossingsDebeli Brijeg and Konfin had resulted in demon-strable confidence-building among the localpopulation on both sides of the border and pro-vided an impetus for the renewed commercialand other ties between Croatia and Montenegro.Complete demining and unhindered civilianaccess throughout the entire Prevlaka range andthe opportunity to use the natural resourceswould further strengthen stability and confi-dence, restart the tourist economy and thus con-stitute another step towards full normalization ofrelations.

Croatia and Montenegro considered UNMOP'smandate to be successful and remained confi-dent that substantial reduction of its personnelshould be able to start in the nearest possible fu-ture, consistent with the increased development

of mutual trust and the willingness of Croatiaand Montenegro to take responsibility for the se-curity of the area.

Report of Secretary-General (July). TheSecretary-General, in his July report on UNMOP[S/2000/647], said that neither Croatia nor FRY hadput in place a comprehensive demining pro-gramme in the UNMOP area of responsibility. Asa result, the situation of identified minefields re-mained unchanged. He also reported a signifi-cant increase in the number of Montenegrin Spe-cial Police in the DMZ, which did not constitute aviolation of the security regime. In June, a Yugo-slav army truck armed with a machine gun andcarrying some 20 soldiers was observed withinthe DMZ. The violations of the security regime inthe UN-controlled zone remained unchanged.

The Secretary-General observed that UNMOP'sefforts to convince the parties to devise means forimplementing the confidence-building meas-ures proposed by the Secretariat had not beensuccessful and the positions of the parties in thatregard continued to reflect their differing inter-pretations of the Prevlaka dispute. Against thatbackground, Croatia's invitation to FRY to attendthe fifth round of negotiations and FRY's accept-ance was a positive development. However,because of the still unsettled general politicalcircumstances in the area, expectations for sub-stantive progress remained limited. To maintainthe conditions of stability that were essential toany meaningful progress towards a political set-tlement, the Secretary-General recommendedthat UNMOP's mandate be extended until 15January 2001.

That recommendation was supported by FRYin a 6 July letter to the Council President[S/2000/653].

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (July)

On 13 July [meeting 4170], the Security Councilunanimously adopted resolution 1307(2000).The draft [S/2000/681] was prepared in consulta-tions among Council members.


resolutions 779(1992) of 6 October 1992, 981(1995) of31 March 1995, 1147(1998) of 13 January 1998,1183(1998) of 15 July 1998, 1222(1999) of 15 January1999, 1252(1999) of 15 July 1999 and 1285(2000) of13 January 2000,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-Generalof 3 July 2000 on the United Nations Mission of Ob-servers in Prevlaka,

Recalling the letter dated 5 April 2000 from the Per-manent Representative of Croatia to the UnitedNations addressed to the Secretary-General and theletter dated 16 June 2000 from the Charge d'affairesa.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic


of Yugoslavia addressed to the President of the Secu-rity Council, concerning the disputed issue of Pre-vlaka,

Reaffirming once again its commitment to indepen-dence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Re-public of Croatia within its internationally recognizedborders,

Noting once again the Joint Declaration signed atGeneva on 30 September 1992 by the Presidents of theRepublic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugo-slavia, in particular articles 1 and 3, the latter reaffirm-ing their agreement concerning the demilitarization ofthe Prevlaka peninsula,

Noting with satisfaction that the overall situation in thearea of responsibility of the Mission has remainedstable and calm,

Reiterating its concern about continuing violations ofthe demilitarization regime, including limitationsplaced on the free movement of United Nations mili-tary observers,

Noting with satisfaction that the opening of crossingpoints between Croatia and the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia (Montenegro) in the demilitarized zone con-tinues to facilitate civilian and commercial traffic inboth directions without security incidents and contin-ues to represent a significant confidence-buildingmeasure in the normalization of relations between thetwo parties, and urging the parties to utilize these open-ings as a basis for further confidence-building measuresto achieve the normalization of relations between them,

Reiterating its serious concerns about the lack of sub-stantive progress towards a settlement of the disputedissue of Prevlaka in the continuing bilateral negotia-tions between the parties pursuant to the Agreementon Normalization of Relations between the Republic ofCroatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 23August 1996, noting positive developments in this re-gard, and calling for the resumption of discussions,

Expressing its concern over the delay in putting in placea comprehensive demining programme by the parties,

Commending the role played by the Mission, and not-ing that the presence of the United Nations militaryobservers continues to be essential to maintaining con-ditions that are conducive to a negotiated settlement ofthe disputed issue of Prevlaka,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in theConvention on the Safety of United Nations and Asso-ciated Personnel of 9 December 1994 and the state-ment by its President of 9 February 2000,

Welcoming and encouraging efforts by the United Na-tions to sensitize peacekeeping personnel in the pre-vention and control of HIV/AIDS and other communi-cable diseases in all its peacekeeping operations,

1. Authorizes the United Nations military observersto continue monitoring the demilitarization of thePrevlaka peninsula, in accordance with resolutions779(1992) and 981(1995) and paragraphs 19 and 20 ofthe report of the Secretary-General of 13 December1995, until 15 January 2001;

2. Reiterates its call upon the parties to cease all viola-tions of the demilitarized regime in the United Na-tions designated zones, to take steps further to reducetension and to improve safety and security in the area,to cooperate fully with the United Nations military ob-servers and to ensure their safety and full and unre-stricted freedom of movement;

3. Notes with concern the lack of progress by the par-ties in devising means of implementing the recommen-dations and options to develop confidence-buildingmeasures with which they were provided pursuant toits request in resolution 1252(1999), encourages theparties to take concrete steps to implement such recom-mendations and options with a view to, inter alia, fur-ther facilitating the freedom of movement of the civil-ian population, and requests the Secretary-General toreport on the matter by 15 October 2000;

4. Urges once again that the parties abide by their mu-tual commitments and implement fully the Agreementon Normalization of Relations between the Republic ofCroatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, andstresses in particular the urgent need for them to fulfilrapidly and in good faith their commitment to reach anegotiated resolution of the disputed issue of Prevlakain accordance with article 4 of the Agreement;

5. Requests the parties to continue to report at leastbi-monthly to the Secretary-General on the status oftheir bilateral negotiations;

6. Reiterates its call upon the parties to put a compre-hensive demining programme in place in the identi-fied minefields in the area of responsibility of theUnited Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka;

7. Requests the United Nations military observersand the multinational Stabilization Force authorized bythe Council in resolution 1088(1996) of 12 December1996 and extended by resolution 1305(2000) of 21 June2000 to cooperate fully with each other;

8. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Communications. On 17 July [S/2000/702], FRY,in response to Council resolution 1307(2000),said that the provision of the resolution relative tothe border crossings containing a reference toMontenegro by the name of Yugoslavia was notacceptable and attempted to circumvent the factthat the issue could be resolved only with FRY as asovereign State. Under its constitution, bordercrossings and relations with sovereign States fellwithin the exclusive competence of the FRYauthorities. The opening of border crossingswithout FRY's agreement was contrary to interna-tional law and the relevant domestic laws and FRYcould not accept the support provided to the un-dertaking in the resolution.

On 4 September [S/2000/858], FRY said that im-plementation of the Agreement on Normaliza-tion of Relations [YUN 1996, p. 340] had stagnatedfor more than a year due to Croatia's passive atti-tude and lack of cooperation. Croatia had unilat-erally discontinued negotiations on the issue ofmissing persons and, from March 1999 to July2000, despite several Yugoslav initiatives, had notcalled a meeting between the FRY Commission forhumanitarian issues and missing persons andCroatia's Commission for detained and missingpersons. Croatia continued to obstruct imple-mentation of the 1998 agreement between theMinisters for Foreign Affairs of the two sides onthe exchange of all detainees. The recent release


of five Serbs was not satisfactory and FRY ex-pected that all persons covered by that agreementwould be released. In addition, Croatia did notaccept a FRY proposal to hold a meeting, at theend of June in Belgrade, of the Joint Yugoslav-Croatian Commission for the implementation ofarticle 7 of the Agreement on Normalization ofRelations, which concerned the return of refu-gees and restitution of their property. It was alsodelaying the continuation of work of the Com-missions for the resolution of the question ofPrevlaka. While the Commissions had not metfor more than a year, Croatia had held talks withMontenegro and border crossings between Croa-tia and FRY had been illegally opened on a part ofthe FRY-Croatian border in Montenegro, violat-ing the border regime between the two countries.Moreover, Croatia had avoided the talks on theestablishment of the borderline between the twocountries on the Danube. It slowly and inade-quately fulfilled its obligations under the BasicAgreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia,Baranja and Western Sirmium [YUN 1995, p. 587]and the letter of intent concerning the unim-peded and free return of expelled and displacedSerbs, protection of human rights and security ofall Serbs living in the area, restitution of propertyand compensation for seized, destroyed or dam-aged property.

Croatia had unilaterally joined separate nego-tiations with Montenegro, a federal unit of FRY,in flagrant violation of the Agreement on Nor-malization of Relations. FRY expressed its con-cern over the continued violations, delays andavoidance to carry out further scheduled andagreed activities and steps in the implementationof that Agreement and called on Croatia to re-spect the process of normalization of relationswith FRY on the basis of the Agreement.

Report of Secretary-General (October). In Oc-tober [S/2000/976], the Secretary-General re-ported no significant change in the overall situa-tion in the UNMOP area of responsibility. On 23September, the eve of FRY's elections, sevenYugoslav army officers were observed in HercegNovi, guarding a municipal building in the DMZ.On the same day, the Montenegrin police de-ployed an anti-aircraft weapon at Debeli Brijegon the border between Croatia and FRY, also inthe DMZ. The Yugoslav Army personnel werewithdrawn on 24 September but the heavyweapon remained in place. In the UN-controlledzone, the presence of unmanned checkpoints ofCroatia and FRY for the purpose of operating acrossing regime at Cape Kobila continued to vio-late the security regime. On 26 August, the Croa-tian President and an official party entered thezone without prior authorization, constituting

the highest level of violation the zone had re-corded since 1992.

The Secretary-General observed that, al-though the UN-controlled zones remained de-militarized and free of significant incidents, anddespite the prevailing calm on the ground, therewas still no movement towards a political settle-ment. Consultations on the confidence-buildingmeasures had not been followed by significantprogress.

Communication. On 22 December [S/2000/1235], FRY said that it appreciated UNMOP's contri-bution to the maintenance of stability and secu-rity in Prevlaka thus far and its presence contin-ued to be necessary to strengthen confidence andcreate conditions for finding an acceptable solu-tion to the question. The major democraticchanges that had taken place in FRY and the es-tablishment of a new Government in Croatiawould make it possible to step up the solution ofthe question of Prevlaka in a mutually acceptableway. FRY, therefore, invited Croatia to engage, assoon as possible, in concrete negotiations in thespirit of the current democratic changes in an at-tempt to solve the question of Prevlaka in goodfaith. As those negotiations would take sometime, FRY expected that the Council would extendUNMOP's mandate until 15 July 2001.

Report of Secretary-General (December). Inhis December report on UNMOP [S/2000/1251], theSecretary-General said that Croatia's invitationin April to FRY to attend a fifth round of negotia-tions, together with FRY's acceptance, had notbeen followed so far by a meeting of the negotiat-ing teams. Continued long-standing violations ofthe established security regime did not facilitatethe establishment of mutual confidence. For thatreason, the restrictions of movement imposed onUNMOP military observers on the Croatian sideof the DMZ should be lifted. In the UN-controlledzone, the Montenegrin and Croatian police pres-ence should be withdrawn and the violation ofthe security regime through continued operationof the checkpoints at Cape Kobila should be re-solved. The Secretary-General recommendedthat UNMOP's mandate be extended until 15 July2001.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The United Nations continued to supportefforts towards the full implementation of the1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace inBosnia and Herzegovina (the Peace Agreement)[YUN 1995, p. 544] through the Office of the High


Representative responsible for the Agreement'scivilian aspects [YUN 1996, p. 293] and the UnitedNations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UN-MIBH) [ibid., p. 294], the key components of whichwere the International Police Task Force (IPTF)and the Mine Action Centre (MAC). Both thoseentities worked in cooperation with the multi-national Stabilization Force (SFOR), led by theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),which was responsible for the Agreement's mili-tary aspects.

The Peace Implementation Council (PIC),which continued to oversee and facilitate theAgreement's implementation, met in May to re-view progress in that regard. It issued a Declara-tion (see p. 338), in which it noted the slow pace ofimplementation and agreed on steps to acceler-ate it by setting key strategic targets for the con-solidation of State institutions, economic reformand refugee return. Municipal elections wereheld in April and a general election in November.

UNMIBH elaborated a comprehensive man-date implementation plan aimed at completingits core mandate by December 2002. The Secu-rity Council extended the UNMIBH mandate un-til July 2001.

Implementation of Peace AgreementCommunications. On 28 January [S/2000/77],

Bosnia and Herzegovina transmitted to the Secu-rity Council President the 25 January statementof the Secretary-General's Special Representa-tive and Coordinator of United Nations Opera-tions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques PaulKlein, before the Council of Europe on the sub-ject of Bosnia and Herzegovina's admission tomembership of that Council.

The Special Representative argued that realprogress had been made in Bosnia and Herze-govina, although much more needed to beachieved for peace implementation to be self-sustaining. Five years after the conclusion of thePeace Agreement, the construction of the State ofBosnia and Herzegovina was still dogged by twomajor impediments: the building of a State iden-tity and the continued domination of the politicalprocess by wartime leaders and recently enrichedelites. Accession to the Council of Europe wouldpromote State identity through a sense of belong-ing to a common value system based on respectfor individual freedoms, rule of law and partici-patory government. It would enable Bosnia andHerzegovina to be confident in its relations withits neighbours and to fulfil its promise of beingthe most multi-ethnic democratic country in theBalkans. While Bosnia and Herzegovina still hada distance to go in fully meeting European stand-

ards, to deny accession would only reward thosewho caused its misfortunes. The dramaticchange in Zagreb (Croatia), the expansion of theEU, and the strategic position of Bosnia and Her-zegovina in the vision for a strong Europe arguedfor accession to be given.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, in agreeing with theSpecial Representative's overriding theme, said,in its letter of transmittal, that the longer the po-sition of Bosnia and Herzegovina in relevant es-tablished institutions was blocked from without,the more that would encourage forces within thecountry not to fulfil commitments for member-ship.

On 9 February [S/2000/108], Bosnia and Herze-govina transmitted to the Secretary-General aproposal from the Co-Chairman of its Council ofMinisters with respect to the Peace Agreement,entitled "Memorandum on Change". Thoughnot a proposal of the Government, Bosnia andHerzegovina said that the proposal reflected thedisappointment with the progress and develop-ment of the peace process. The Co-Chairmanargued that the limited effects of the PeaceAgreement and the fundamental changes in cir-cumstances since its adoption pointed to theneed to review the entire project, to remedy cer-tain structural defects and to redefine the tacticsfor implementation. That was necessary to en-sure the mass, rapid and secure return of refu-gees; to overcome the extended constitutionalcrisis; to define a well-thought-out strategy forthe country's economic development; and to findsolutions to the issue of the organization of themilitary. All those changes could be achieved in arelatively short period if the international com-munity concentrated its efforts and made use ofthe resources at its disposal. Agreement could bereached within the framework of countries signa-tory to the Peace Agreement, with commitmenton the part of PIC and a further expansion of theauthority of the High Representative.

On 29 February [A/54/777-S/2000/170], Bosniaand Herzegovina forwarded to the Secretary-General the text of the "Position of the CroatLeadership regarding the process of deconstitui-zation of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Ac-cording to the leadership of the Croat commu-nity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the signingof the Peace Agreement, the international com-munity, instead of upgrading the rights and pow-ers of the Croat community and making it a moreequal partner of the Serbs and Bosniacs in thebuilding of a common State, had limited themand, in fact, deconstituted the Croats, furtheralienating them. Therefore, Croat support forthe Federation and a unified State had declineddramatically. Among the grievances cited were


limits on the powers of the cantons in areas suchas education, language, media, policing and theuse of symbols; efforts to "unitarize" and central-ize the Federation, especially in judicial and in-ternal affairs, and outvoting the Croat membersof the Federation Government and its deputies inthe House of Representatives on questions of vi-tal national interest; the process, at the State level,towards eliminating the principle of consensusand parity in the common institutions of Bosniaand Herzegovina, which would lead to a one-party State; and the issue of the constituent rightof the Croats to elect their own officials, or to berepresented by persons of their own choosing.The Croat leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovinacontinued to believe that the international com-munity should assist it in finding ways to enfran-chise the Croatian community and to harmonizethe Peace Agreement in terms of standardizinginstitutions for all three communities so that theCroats could also develop a stake in Bosnia andHerzegovina as the other two communitiesalready had. If the situation was not reversed, theCroat leadership and people in Bosnia and Her-zegovina reserved their right to decide unilater-ally what modalities to pursue to protect theirrights as a sovereign and constituent people un-der the Constitution.

On 22 March [S/2000/248], Ante Jelavic, Mem-ber of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzego-vina, referring to the International Tribunal forthe Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (see PART FOUR,Chapter II) and its role in the success or failure ofthe Peace Agreement, stated that, as the Tribunalentered its eighth year, it was time to review itswork. Issues such as its most recent judgement,the lack of progress regarding the Srebrenicacase (see p. 353), the make-up of indictments andthe imprisoned, as well as the Tribunal's compe-tence over individual versus institutional respon-sibility should be of particular concern. Mr. Je-lavic proposed that the Security Council considerwhether the time was appropriate to undertakethat review and appoint a commission to recom-mend possible changes. The Council should alsoreview the establishment of a new body to addressappeals and the issue of proper defence of theaccused. Those issues represented a stumblingblock to the peace process in Bosnia and Herze-govina and the region and required the Council'simmediate attention.

On 5 April [S/2000/290], the FRY Federal Minis-ter for Foreign Affairs condemned the 3 April ar-rest by SFOR of Momcilo Krajisnik (see p. 1221),the Speaker of the Republika Srpska Parliamentand a member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's col-lective Presidency. He contended that some ofthe Tribunal's activities violated the Peace Agree-

ment, the UN Charter, the Universal Declarationof Human Rights and international law andbrought into question peace and security in Bos-nia and Herzegovina and the region. The Fed-eral Minister called for the abolition of ICTY andthat its records be forwarded to the regularcourts of UN Member States to be acted upon inaccordance with their internal laws.

On 4 May [S/2000/381], Bosnia and Herzegovinasaid that it would like to encourage a debate with-in the Council and the adoption of standards ofprotocol in dealing with individuals who deniedICTY's authority, and by extension the Counciland the United Nations as a whole. It set outnorms of protocol and behaviour that could beconsidered.

Implementation of New York DeclarationOn 6 March [S/2000/211], Bosnia and Herze-

govina submitted the report of its Presidency onthe implementation of the New York Declara-tion, adopted in November 1999 [YUN 1999, p. 314].The Presidency reported that it had passed thedraft Law on Border Service, but the Parliamentfailed to do likewise, obliging the High Represen-tative to impose it. The training of future borderstaff was running as envisaged. The first BorderService unit was formed and would assume du-ties in March. In February, the Presidency ap-pointed the Director and Deputy Director of theBorder Service and requested the Service to pre-sent a plan for harmonizing its organization andstructure. It established the secretariat of thePresidency and adopted the Book of Rules ofthe Organization and the Job Classification inthe secretariat and appointed its senior staff. Thefilling of other vacancies was in progress. ThePresidency harmonized the new structure of theCouncil of Ministers, adopted the budget forBosnia and Herzegovina's institutions, and de-termined foundations for the Electoral Law,which was being discussed in Parliament.

A decision was taken to accede to the RegionalCentre South-East Europe Cooperative Initiativefor the struggle against international crime andto sign the civic-legal convention of the Councilof Europe for the struggle against corruption. Acentral database within the Ministry of CivilAffairs and Communications was in its final stageof establishment and changes to the Law on Pass-ports had been forwarded to the Parliament. ThePresidency appointed those members of theCommittee for the Implementation of the Re-turn Programme nominated by the Council ofMinisters and entity Governments. The Commit-tee met on 23 February and prepared a report onthe situation regarding the return of refugees


and internally displaced persons, which was sub-mitted to the Security Council.

Security Council consideration. On 9 May[S/PV.4136], the Security Council met to considerthe situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. TheHigh Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch (Aus-tria), told the Council that time was running outfor international engagement in Bosnia and Her-zegovina and donor fatigue had set in. The$5.1 billion, four-year reconstruction aid packagewas all spoken for and SFOR had reduced its troopnumbers by nearly a third. It was therefore neces-sary to focus on economic reform, acceleration ofthe return of refugees and displaced persons,and the consolidation of institutions, especiallythose at the State level.

On the economic front, the country was still fartoo dependent on international aid; to have anyhope of a secure future, the economy had to be-come self-sustaining fast. Domestic and foreigninvestments were needed. However, the country'sindustry was still geared to the old commandeconomy model. The Government's urgent taskwas to create an enabling environment for invest-ors and to encourage small and medium-sizedenterprises. The lack of a reliable banking sys-tem was another important obstacle to private in-vestment, closely connected to the payment bu-reaux system. The numerous private banks weretoo small to provide the working capital neces-sary to kick-start enterprise. Overhauling thebanking sector should encourage the participa-tion of foreign banks and thus the necessary in-jection of capital. The process of privatizationwas in its first stage and the opening of the booksof big State-sector companies to independentaudit prior to evaluation had met with fierce pol-itical resistance.

As to the return of refugees and displaced per-sons, there had been twice as many returns so farin 2000 as in the same period in 1999 and thattrend was likely to continue.

Concerning the consolidation of common in-stitutions, the rule of law at the State and entitylevels was actively being promoted and there wasa major public affairs campaign to promote re-spect for property rights as part of efforts to ac-celerate returns. However, the High Representa-tive reported that, despite the Presidency'spledge before the Council in the New York Decla-ration to establish the State Border Service, it hadfailed to do so, forcing him to impose it. Al-though the Presidency passed the draft electionlaw to the Parliament as promised, its membersstood by as the draft law was voted down. TheNew York Declaration also committed the Presi-dency to resolving the institutional crisis con-cerning the State Council of Ministers. Its mem-

bers failed to meet the deadline for agreement ona new arrangement to replace the policy of rotat-ing the chairmanship of the Council of Minis-ters, as a result of which that common institutionfell into abeyance in February. The new law pro-posed by the Presidency still followed old pat-terns of ethnic parity and rotation. The ethnicagenda had once again taken precedence overwhat was best for the people of Bosnia and Her-zegovina. All those actions confirmed that theleaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina were still farfrom ready to take responsibility for their coun-try.

The High Representative said that the estab-lishment of the concept of ownership was start-ing to take root, as demonstrated by the result ofthe municipal elections held across the countryon 8 April. He was encouraged by that develop-ment, as political pluralism was a sure sign thatdemocracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was ma-turing. While the nationalist parties were stillstrong, their grip was weakening. The reform ofthe media, the professionalization of the policeand the insistence on economic reform weresteadily eroding their source of power. The HighRepresentative declared that it was imperative topersevere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because ifthe project there failed, ethnically pure mini-States were likely to dominate South-East Europein the twenty-first century.

Declaration of Peace Implementation CouncilThe Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and

the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina met inBrussels, Belgium, on 23 and 24 May to reviewprogress in implementing the Peace Agreement[YUN 1995, p. 544] and to set priorities for a newaccelerated phase of peace implementation.

In its 25 May declaration [S/2000/586], PIC un-derscored that much had been accomplished andthe building of the State of Bosnia and Herze-govina had begun. In particular, the securitysituation had stabilized, major reconstructionhad been completed, the return of refugees anddisplaced persons was accelerating, the BrckoDistrict was established and political pluralismwas gaining strength. However, PIC was dissatis-fied with the slow pace of domestic peace imple-mentation since its Madrid meeting [YUN 1998,p. 329]. PIC urged the High Representative to en-sure full and accelerated implementation in allsectors of civilian implementation, including re-moving obstacles to economic reform.

PIC agreed on steps to accelerate implementa-tion of the Peace Agreement in the period up tothe next scheduled presidential elections in 2002,focusing on deepening economic reform andcreating the conditions for market-driven eco-


nomic growth; accelerating the return of dis-placed persons and refugees; and fostering func-tional and democratically accountable commoninstitutions supported by an effective merit-based civil service and a sound financial basis.PIC reaffirmed its commitment to Bosnia andHerzegovina integrating into European struc-tures. It would continue to assist the countrythrough a civilian and military presence and be-lieved that SFOR's current level of active engage-ment was essential to successful peace implemen-tation. PIC expected Bosnia and Herzegovinaand relevant countries to cooperate with ICTY tobring to justice all political or military leadersindicted for war crimes.

The Council, urging donors to conditionassistance on the implementation of concreteand specific reforms, cited a number of them, in-cluding: the creation of a single economic space;enabling private sector growth; expeditious andtransparent privatization; and anti-corruptionmeasures. PIC urged the authorities to collabo-rate closely with international financial institu-tions and other donors in the design and imple-mentation of economic reforms.

PIC noted the significant progress made con-cerning the return of displaced persons and refu-gees but that the clear will of citizens to returnwas not matched by authorities at all levels. Theslow progress in urban returns reflected theunwillingness by all sides to implement propertylegislation and enforce the legal rights of all citi-zens. The High Representative was urged to takeaction against prominent Bosnians who contin-ued to occupy contested property. The Councilendorsed the Reconstruction and Return TaskForce programme to accelerate the pace ofreturn.

As to the goal of fostering and consolidatinginstitutions, PIC noted that many public institu-tions, particularly State institutions, continued tofail, due to the lack of political will on the part ofthe ruling political parties and the existence ofparallel institutions. It supported the High Rep-resentative's efforts to empower State institutionsand requested the donor community to funnel itsassistance through those institutions. The Presi-dency and the Parliamentary Assembly shouldre-establish the Council of Ministers and assureadequate funding for State-level ministries.

Noting the limited progress in judicial reform,PIC called for a truly independent and impartialjudiciary. In that regard, it considered thestrengthening of the Constitutional Court andthe establishment of a State court to be major pri-orities.

PIC requested the Bosnia and Herzegovinaauthorities, in collaboration with UNMIBH, to ac-

celerate deployment of the State Border Serviceand insisted that they complete the police re-structuring process without delay. It endorsedthe merger of the Human Rights Chamber withthe Constitutional Court.

PIC also endorsed the holding of general elec-tions in November, to be supervised by the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE). It requested OSCE to incorporatethe provisions of the draft Election Law in the"provisional rules and regulations" as the basisfor conducting those elections. The Councilurged Bosnia and Herzegovina to put its intelli-gence services under democratic control and toconsolidate them, and develop the StandingCommittee on Military Matters into a State de-fence structure so that it could develop and over-see a common security policy. It welcomed thecommitment to further reduce military expendi-ture by 15 per cent in 2000.

Appended to the declaration was a list of issueson which PIC demanded prompt action andwhich would be reflected in the strategy and pro-gramming of the donor community: the econ-omy, return issues, institutions, exhumations,military issues, public security, the media, sportand education. Bosnia and Herzegovina wouldpresent reports to the PIC Steering Board everysix months on the implementation of the pro-gramme set out in the declaration and the appen-dix, the first of which would be in October.

Prior to the PIC meeting, the EU, in a 22 Maystatement [S/2000/486], said that the programmepresented by PIC would empower the people ofBosnia and Herzegovina to seize the opportuni-ties open to those in a modern European State,and to choose the path of prosperity and demo-cratic freedoms.

In communications of 20 and 23 May [S/2000/458, S/2000/472], FRY condemned the failure of theEU Presidency to extend an invitation to it to par-ticipate in the PIC ministerial meeting and re-quested an urgent meeting of the Security Coun-cil to consider the matter.

Civilian aspectsThe civilian aspects of the 1995 Peace Agree-

ment [YUN 1995, p. 544] entailed a wide range of ac-tivities, including humanitarian aid, infrastruc-ture rehabilitation, establishment of politicaland constitutional institutions, promotion of re-spect for human rights and the holding of freeand fair elections. The High Representative, whochaired the PIC Steering Board and other key im-plementation bodies, was the final authority withregard to implementing the civilian aspects.UNMIBH, which comprised a UN civilian office,IPTF and MAC, reported to the Secretary-General


through his Special Representative and Coordi-nator of United Nations Operations in Bosniaand Herzegovina, Jacques Paul Klein (UnitedStates).

Reports of High Representative. The HighRepresentative, Wolfgang Petritsch (Austria), re-ported on the implementation process duringthe year, covering the periods from October 1999to mid-April 2000 [S/2000/376] and mid-Aprilto October 2000 [S/2000/999]. A later report[S/2001/219] covered activities during the remain-der of the year. He described progress in the civil-ian implementation of the Peace Agreement,which he had been mandated to monitor, mobil-ize and coordinate. (For details, see below underspecific subjects.)

UN Mission in Bosniaand Herzegovina (UNMIBH)

Report of Secretary-General (March). On 15March [S/2000/215], the Secretary-General, re-porting on UNMIBH activities in police restruc-turing, said that data collection and initialscreening for the Law Enforcement PersonnelRegistry had proceeded quickly. On 1 March,over 5,500 officers had registered and 3,300 hadbeen pre-screened, of whom only 120 did notmeet required minimum standards. Steady pro-gress was also being made in changing the com-position of the police force to better reflect themulti-ethnic character of the communities itserved. Over 320 minority police officers were at-tending courses or had already graduated frompolice academies in both Bosnia and Herze-govina entities. Graduates of the first multi-ethnic classes were completing field trainingbefore permanent deployment. The third multi-ethnic police academy class in Republika Srpskabegan in February. On 1 March, UNMIBH estab-lished the inter-entity Ministerial ConsultativeMeeting on Police Matters to facilitate inter-entity law enforcement agreements and establishprocedures for recruitment and voluntary rede-ployment of minority officers. UNMIBH also ini-tiated a police commissioner programme aimedat instituting a single chain of command in thecantonal police forces under a professional andindependent police commissioner, selected onmerit rather than ethnicity and insulated frompolitical influences. That was intended to helpremove political control and parallel chains ofcommand in the Federation's police structures, aserious problem in ethnically mixed cantons.Both the Sarajevo Canton and the FederationMinistry of the Interior had begun the process ofcreating such posts.

In terms of the integration of the specializedpolice forces, in January, the Federal Ministry ofthe Interior finalized the restructuring of theAnti-Terrorist Unit, proportionally staffed byCroats and Bosniacs. In Republika Srpska, eligi-ble members of the former Police Anti-TerroristBrigade had started training for entry into thenew specialized force. When fully staffed, IPTFco-locators would be appointed and the forcetransferred from SFOR supervision to civiliancontrol. In February, UNMIBH organized the firstmeeting of commanders and deputy command-ers of all cantonal specialized police units, atwhich Bosniacs and Croats agreed on improvedoperational cooperation and joint exercises.Those units would eventually replace interna-tional intervention in riot control and in case ofserious threat to public security. UNMIBH was as-sisting in drafting amendments to the FederationCourt Police Law and related rules and regula-tions for the establishment of court police.

UNMIBH faced severe obstruction and delay inintegrating Bosniac and Croat police officers inCanton 7 (Herzegovina-Neretva) and in estab-lishing the State Border Service. In Mostar, se-nior Croat authorities refused to allow Bosniacofficers to work in the Croat-controlled westernpart of the city in the same building as their Croatcounterparts. Local Croat obstruction affected allaspects of the international community's work inthat canton. There had been only minimalachievements in technical aspects of integrationof the cantonal Ministry of the Interior.

Concerning the State Border Service Law,which the High Representative imposed on 13January, the Joint Presidency had accepted UN-MIBH's draft organizational structure, the three-phase implementation plan and the deploymentof the first operational support team at Sarajevoairport to prepare the police there for transitionto the State Border Service.

The reform of the police continued. As at1 March, 643 IPTF officers were fully co-locatedat 204 local police locations and 52 police stationswere staffed on a 24-hour basis. The co-locationprogramme had already produced tangible re-sults, such as improved response of local police toIPTF advice and interventions and increasedawareness among the local population of thepresence of international monitors, which hadresulted in increased complaints against the po-lice and other ministerial organizations.

Random IPTF inspections of police stationscontinued to reveal instances of non-compliancewith its policies, particularly the continued pres-ence of mono-ethnic intelligence agencies insidemulti-ethnic police buildings. During a 9 Febru-ary weapons inspection of the Glamoc police sta-


tion, the Canton 10 Ministry of Interior buildingand the Livno police station, IPFT discovered anintelligence-gathering complex and confiscatedunauthorized weapons, explosives and eaves-dropping equipment.

In terms of police training, UNMIBH hadshifted its advanced training activities towardsthe training of local police trainers. Its humanrights office continued to conduct independentinvestigations of alleged human rights abusesby local police officers and to monitor investiga-tions by local law enforcement in crucial cases.Breaches of human rights by seven police offi-cials in the Federation led to their de-certification on 14 January.

UNMIBH released three public reports withspecific recommendations to improve judicialpractice and procedure: the report on arrestwarrants, amnesty and trials in absentia resultedin the adoption of remedial measures in the can-tonal and municipal courts in Sarajevo; the in-terim report on delays in detention led to the de-velopment of a methodology for countrywidefollow-up of its recommendations in that regard;and the summary of conclusions of conferenceson judicial independence led the Ministry ofJustice in Canton 9 (Sarajevo) to separate theMinistry's budget from that for judicial institu-tions. UNMIBH intended to use the Canton 9 bud-get as a model for judicial reform throughout thecountry.

The Secretary-General observed that those de-velopments demonstrated that, while tangibleprogress was possible, it required intensive, coor-dinated and robust international engagement.Progress had been made in police restructuring,but there were many areas where UNMIBH had towork with other members of the internationalcommunity to achieve common goals in areas ofshared responsibility. At a time of increasing callson limited resources, it was essential that all in-ternational organizations involved in peace im-plementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina redou-ble their efforts to make timely progress.

Security Council consideration (March). TheSecurity Council, on 22 March [S/PV.4117 & Corr.1],considered the Secretary-General's report onUNMIBH. The Council President, summarizingthe debate, said that Council members welcomedthe 6 March report of the Joint Presidency ofBosnia and Herzegovina (see p. 337) concerningthe implementation of the New York Declarationand urged all parties to redouble their effortsto implement the outstanding commitments.Council members also urged those concerned toensure without further delay the integration ofthe Ministry of the Interior, as well as the chain ofcommand and communications system of the po-

lice throughout the Federation, and in particularin Mostar. The Council also urged the parties, inparticular the Republika Srpska authorities, toincrease the number of minority police officers,in accordance with their obligations.

Report of Secretary-General (June). In June[S/2000/529], the Secretary-General reported that,since 1 March, an additional 4,000 police officershad been registered, bringing the total near tothe 20,000 ceiling. Of those registered, 2,295 hadbeen authorized to exercise police powers, 2,600were provisionally authorized, pending back-ground checks, and the remainder were still inthe pre-screening stage. On 15 May, UNMIBHissued comprehensive policy instructions toregulate all aspects of recruitment for the localpolice forces and authorization to exercise policepowers. Progress continued in the recruitmentand selection of minority cadets for police acade-mies in both entities. A total of 393 minority po-lice officers (203 in the Federation and 190 in Re-publika Srpska) were attending or had graduatedfrom the two police academies. The RepublikaSrpska academy was preparing procedures forthe selection and testing of cadets for the fourthclass, scheduled for September. Under the aus-pices of the Ministerial Consultative Meeting onPolice Matters, an agreement on the voluntarydeployment of serving police officers wishing toreturn to their former place of employment wassigned on 12 May by both entities. UNMIBH wasidentifying housing and other requirements fora target group of 200 such officers to be deployedbetween the entities in 2000.

Despite those efforts, progress in the represen-tation of minorities in the local police was unsat-isfactory. In the Federation, there was no signifi-cant recruitment of minority police other thancadets, and only about 600 of the Federation's11,500 officers were minorities. The situation waseven more disappointing in Republika Srpska,where there were currently only 57 minority po-lice officers in a force of approximately 8,500.

In the area of police reform, the institutionof the police commissioner programme contin-ued. UNMIBH and the Ministry of the Interiorof Canton 9 (Sarajevo) had agreed on a job de-scription and selection and review procedures,as well as on the structural changes necessaryin the Ministry. Preparations for political andlegal implementation were ongoing. Discussionson a similar position in the Federation Ministryof the Interior were at an advanced stage. In aneffort to integrate parallel police structures inthe Croat-dominated Canton 7 (Herzegovina-Neretva), the Cantonal Assembly endorsed, on 18May, an UNMIBH-brokered agreement on a per-manent solution and interim measures for the


immediate integration of the divided Ministry ofthe Interior, enabling Bosniacs to work with theirCroat counterparts in west Mostar for the firsttime since the war. Another significant develop-ment was the appointment of judges from differ-ent ethnicities to the nine new municipal courts,making it possible to recommence the processingof long-delayed criminal cases. In Bosniac major-ity cantons, the contracts of 40 police officerswere terminated by the new Minister of the Inte-rior on grounds of fraud. UNMIBH workedclosely with the new authorities to secure impor-tant changes in senior police management.

In Republika Srpska, spontaneous minorityreturns were beginning, but were not being en-couraged or supported. Evictions of "double oc-cupants" in towns were exceedingly slow andlittle progress was seen following the Marchagreement between Republika Srpska and Croa-tia to begin cross-border refugee returns withinthree months.

With regard to human rights, UNMIBH and theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM)assisted in 43 cases involving 185 foreign nation-als brought into the country for the purpose offorced prostitution. UNMIBH completed a com-prehensive report on trafficking in human be-ings in cooperation with the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR). It also broadened its approach frominvestigating individual cases to improving theinstitutional integrity of the police forces. Tosupport minority returns, UNMIBH adopted astricter policy on local police illegally occupyingresidential premises, involving loss of authoriza-tion to exercise police powers.

The judicial system assessment programme,established in 1998 [YUN 1998, p. 342] and sched-uled to conclude in December 2000, found thatthe entire judiciary was, to a greater or lesser de-gree, politically, professionally and structurallydysfunctional throughout Bosnia and Herze-govina. The programme, which had created aworking relationship with the judiciary and localofficials, advised the judiciary on a daily basis,produced more than a dozen reports on differentaspects of the judicial system, including recom-mendations for legislative, structural and politi-cal reform, monitored cases and worked withIPTF on joint police/judiciary issues. It alsoplayed a crucial role in creating the legal frame-work for the judicial review of all judges andprosecutors. The Secretary-General's SpecialRepresentative was in discussion with the HighRepresentative to find a way to hand over the pro-gramme's work to either the Council of Europe,the Office of the High Representative itself or anappropriate UN agency, with UNMIBH retaining

appropriate expertise to assist and advise IPTF inits work.

The Secretary-General observed that the re-cent achievements required consolidation, andUNMIBH should address core mandate areaswhere little progress was possible in the past,such as minority police recruitment and findingadequate housing for returning minorities, in-cluding police officers. UNMIBH would have tomonitor police performance closely, especiallywith regard to the ethnic minority population.To provide more focus to its work, UNMIBH waspreparing a strategic and operational frameworkfor the fulfilment of its core mandate by Decem-ber 2002, which would identify specific achiev-able goals to complete its mission, the pro-grammes and modalities to achieve them and atime line for the completion of each programme.The process would involve the continuous reviewof resource levels and progressive resource re-allocation and reduction as programme objec-tives were met. Consideration would be given tofollow-up arrangements once the core mandatewas implemented.

The Secretary-General recommended that theSecurity Council extend UNMIBH's mandate un-til 21 June 2001.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (June)

On 21 June [meeting 4162], the Security Counciladopted resolution 1305(2000) by vote (14-0-1).The draft [S/2000/591] was submitted by Canada,France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, theUnited Kingdom and the United States.

The Security Council,Recalling all its relevant resolutions concerning the

conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, including resolu-tions 1031(1995) of 15 December 1995, 1035(1995) of 21December 1995, 1088(1996) of 12 December 1996,1144(1997) of 19 December 1997, 1168(1998) of 21 May1998, 1174(1998) of 15 June 1998, 1184(1998) of 16 July1998 and 1247(1999) of 18 June 1999,

Reaffirming its commitment to a political settlement ofthe conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, preserving thesovereignty and territorial integrity of all States therewithin their internationally recognized borders,

Underlining its commitment to supporting the imple-mentation of the General Framework Agreement forPeace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the annexesthereto (collectively the "Peace Agreement"),

Emphasizing its appreciation to the High Representa-tive for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement onBosnia and Herzegovina, the Commander and person-nel of the multinational Stabilization Force, the SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General and the per-sonnel of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia andHerzegovina, including the Commissioner and per-sonnel of the International Police Task Force, the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,and the personnel of other international organizationsand agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina for their con-


tributions to the implementation of the Peace Agree-ment,

Noting thai the States in the region must play a con-structive role in the successful development of thepeace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and notingespecially the obligations of the Republic of Croatiaand the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in this regardas signatories to the Peace Agreement,

Welcoming, in this regard, the recent positive stepstaken by the Republic of Croatia to strengthen its bilat-eral relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well asits increasing cooperation with all relevant internation-al organizations in implementing the Peace Agree-ment,

Emphasizing that a comprehensive and coordinatedreturn of refugees and displaced persons throughoutthe region continues to be crucial to lasting peace,

Taking note of the declaration of the ministerial meet-ing of the Peace Implementation Council held in Brus-sels on 23 and 24 May 2000 and the conclusions of itsprevious meetings,

Taking note also of the reports of the High Represen-tative, including his latest report of 3 May 2000,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-Generalof 2 June 2000, and noting that the judicial system as-sessment programme of the Mission will be concludedby December 2000,

Determining that the situation in the region contin-ues to constitute a threat to international peace andsecurity,

Determined to promote the peaceful resolution of theconflicts in accordance with the purposes and princi-ples of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in theConvention on the Safety of United Nations and Asso-ciated Personnel of 9 December 1994 and the state-ment by its President of 9 February 2000,


Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter,I

1. Reaffirms once again its support for the GeneralFramework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herze-govina and the annexes thereto (collectively the "PeaceAgreement"), as well as for the Dayton Agreement onImplementing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzego-vina of 10 November 1995, calls upon the parties tocomply strictly with their obligations under thoseAgreements, and expresses its intention to keep the im-plementation of the Peace Agreement and the situa-tion in Bosnia and Herzegovina under review;

2. Reiterates that the primary responsibility for thefurther successful implementation of the Peace Agree-ment lies with the authorities in Bosnia and Herze-govina themselves and that the continued willingnessof the international community and major donors toassume the political, military and economic burdenof implementation and reconstruction efforts will bedetermined by the compliance and active participationby all the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in im-plementing the Peace Agreement and rebuilding a civilsociety, in particular in full cooperation with the Inter-national Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Re-

sponsible for Serious Violations of International Hu-manitarian Law Committed in the Territory of theFormer Yugoslavia since 1991, in strengthening jointinstitutions and in facilitating returns of refugees anddisplaced persons;

3. Reminds the parties once again that, in accord-ance with the Peace Agreement, they have committedthemselves to cooperate fully with all entities involvedin the implementation of this peace settlement, as de-scribed in the Peace Agreement, or which are other-wise authorized by the Security Council, including theInternational Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, as itcarries out its responsibilities for dispensing justice im-partially, and underlines the fact that full cooperationby States and entities with the International Tribunalincludes, inter alia, the surrender for trial of all per-sons indicted by the Tribunal and provision of informa-tion to assist in Tribunal investigations;

4. Emphasizes its full support for the continued role ofthe High Representative for the Implementation of thePeace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina in moni-toring the implementation of the Peace Agreementand giving guidance to and coordinating the activitiesof the civilian organizations and agencies involved inassisting the parties to implement the Peace Agree-ment, and reaffirms that the High Representative is thefinal authority in theatre regarding the interpretationof annex 10 on civilian implementation of the PeaceAgreement and that in case of dispute he may give hisinterpretation and make recommendations, and makebinding decisions as he judges necessary on issues aselaborated by the Peace Implementation Council inBonn on 9 and 10 December 1997;

5. Expresses its support for the declaration of the min-isterial meeting of the Peace Implementation Councilheld in Brussels on 23 and 24 May 2000;

6. Recognizes that the parties have authorized themultinational force referred to in paragraph 10 belowto take such actions as required, including the use ofnecessary force, to ensure compliance with annex 1-Aof the Peace Agreement;

7. Reaffirms its intention to keep the situation in Bos-nia and Herzegovina under close review, taking into ac-count the reports submitted pursuant to paragraphs 18and 25 below, and any recommendations those reportsmight include, and its readiness to consider the impo-sition of measures if any party fails significantly tomeet its obligations under the Peace Agreement;

II8. Pays tribute to those Member States which partici-

pated in the multinational Stabilization Force estab-lished in accordance with resolution 1088(1996), andwelcomes their willingness to assist the parties to thePeace Agreement by continuing to deploy a multi-national Stabilization Force;

9. Notes the support of the parties to the PeaceAgreement for the continuation of the StabilizationForce, set out in the declaration of the ministerialmeeting of the Peace Implementation Council in Ma-drid on 16 December 1998;

10. Authorizes the Member States acting through orin cooperation with the organization referred to inannex 1-A of the Peace Agreement to continue for afurther planned period of twelve months the Stabiliza-tion Force as established in accordance with resolution


1088(1996) under unified command and control in or-der to f u l f i l the role specified in annexes 1-A and 2 ofthe Peace Agreement, and expresses its intention to re-view the situation with a view to extending this authori-zation further as necessary in the light of develop-ments in the implementation of the Peace Agreementand the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

11. Also authorizes the Member States acting underparagraph 10 above to take all necessary measures toeffect the implementation of and to ensure compliancewith annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement, stresses thatthe parties shall continue to be held equally responsiblefor compliance with that annex and shall be equallysubject to such enforcement action by the StabilizationForce as may be necessary to ensure implementation ofthat annex and the protection of the Force, and notesthat the parties have consented to the Force taking suchmeasures;

12. Authorizes Member States to take all necessarymeasures, at the request of the Stabilization Force,either in defence of the Force or to assist the Force incarrying out its mission, and recognizes the right of theForce to take all necessary measures to defend itselffrom attack or threat of attack;

13. Authorizes the Member States acting under para-graph 10 above, in accordance with annex 1-A of thePeace Agreement, to take all necessary measures to en-sure compliance with the rules and procedures estab-lished by the Commander of the Stabilization Force,governing command and control of airspace over Bos-nia and Herzegovina with respect to all civilian andmilitary air traffic;

14. Requests the authorities in Bosnia and Herze-govina to cooperate with the Commander of the Stabi-lization Force to ensure the effective management ofthe airports of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the light ofthe responsibilities conferred on the Force by annex1-A of the Peace Agreement with regard to the airspaceof Bosnia and Herzegovina;

15. Demands that the parties respect the security andfreedom of movement of the Stabilization Force and ofother international personnel;

16. Invites all States, in particular those in the re-gion, to continue to provide appropriate support andfacilities, including transit facilities, for the MemberStates acting under paragraph 10 above;

17. Recalls all the agreements concerning the statusof forces as referred to in appendix B to annex 1-A ofthe Peace Agreement, and reminds the parties of theirobligation to continue to comply therewith;

18. Requests the Member States acting through or incooperation with the organization referred to in annex1-A of the Peace Agreement to continue to report to theCouncil, through the appropriate channels and at leastat monthly intervals;

* *Reaffirming the legal basis in the Charter of the

United Nations on which the International Police TaskForce was given its mandate in resolution 1035(1995),

III19. Decides to extend the mandate of the United Na-

tions Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in-cludes the International Police Task Force, for an addi-tional period terminating on 21 June 2001, and also

decides that the Task Force shall continue to be en-trusted with the tasks set out in annex 11 of the PeaceAgreement, including the tasks referred to in the con-clusions of the London, Bonn, Luxembourg, Madridand Brussels Peace Implementation Conferences andagreed by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

20. Requests the Secretary-General to keep theCouncil regularly informed and to report at least everysix months on the implementation of the mandate ofthe Mission as a whole;

21. Reiterates that the successful implementation ofthe tasks of the International Police Task Force rests onthe quality, experience and professional skills of itspersonnel, and once again urges Member States, withthe support of the Secretary-General, to ensure theprovision of such qualified personnel;

22. Reaffirms the responsibility of the parties to co-operate fully with, and to instruct their respective re-sponsible officials and authorities to provide their fullsupport to, the International Police Task Force on allrelevant matters;

23. Reiterates its call upon all concerned to ensurethe closest possible coordination between the HighRepresentative, the Stabilization Force, the Missionand the relevant civilian organizations and agencies soas to ensure the successful implementation of the PeaceAgreement and of the priority objectives of the civilianconsolidation plan, as well as the security of Interna-tional Police Task Force personnel;

24. Urges Member States, in response to demonstra-ble progress by the parties in restructuring their law en-forcement institutions, to intensify their efforts to pro-vide, on a voluntary-funded basis and in coordinationwith the International Police Task Force, training,equipment and related assistance for local police forcesin Bosnia and Herzegovina;

25. Requests the Secretary-General to continue tosubmit to the Council reports from the High Represen-tative, in accordance with annex 10 of the Peace Agree-ment and the conclusions of the Peace ImplementationConference held in London on 4 and 5 December1996, and later Peace Implementation Conferences, onthe implementation of the Peace Agreement and inparticular on compliance by the parties with their com-mitments under that Agreement;

26. Decides to remain seized of the matter.VOTE ON RESOLUTION 1305(2000):

In favour: Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, China, France, Jamaica,Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, Netherlands, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom,United States.

Against: None.Abstaining: Russian Federation.

Speaking before the vote, the Russian Fed-eration said that, although it agreed with thegeneral thrust of the draft resolution, it couldnot support it, particularly paragraph 5, bywhich the Council would express support forthe declaration of the May PIC meeting in Brus-sels (see p. 338). The Russian Federation didnot participate in that meeting since FRY, oneof the signatories to the Peace Agreement, wasnot allowed to work in that forum. The RussianFederation opposed attempts to oust FRY fromall multilateral mechanisms. The policy of fur-


ther isolating FRY and enforcing a blockadeagainst it reflected the desire of certain indi-vidual States unilaterally to undo the Council'sdecisions. Moreover, it had serious problemswith the provision extending U N M I B I I ' s re-porting period from three to six months, sinceit would weaken the Council's oversight of theBosnian settlement process.

Security Council consideration (August). At a15 August meeting [S/PV.4188], the Council re-ceived a briefing from the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations in whichhe focused on police restructuring and reformand strengthening of common institutions inBosnia and Herzegovina. He reported that IPTFhad reduced the allowed maximum policestrength in the Federation to 10,600 because ofthe opening of the State Border Service and re-duced needs in some of the smaller Federationcantons. The registration of police officers con-tinued and UNMIBH was on track to conclude thefull registration by mid-December.

With regard to inter-entity police cooperationand the strengthening of common institutions, amajor initiative was taken on 27 June with theestablishment of Joint Entity Task Forces on Ille-gal Immigration and Organized Crime throughthe Ministerial Consultative Meeting on PoliceMatters. The Doboj Public Security Centre in Re-publika Srpska and the Canton 2 (Posavina) Min-istry of the Interior in the Federation cooperatedin breaking up a group involved in drug smug-gling and the production of counterfeit deutschemarks. In the Federation, Croat and Bosniac offi-cers were cooperating with the Mostar police incarrying out the joint investigation and subse-quent arrest of a group producing counterfeitpassports.

A significant step towards building State insti-tutions was the inauguration of the State BorderService entry point at the Sarajevo airport on6 June. In late July and early August, the Serviceopened three additional crossing points atDoljani/Metkovic, formerly controlled by theCroatian police; at Izacic, formerly controlledby Bosniac police; and at Zvornik, formerlycontrolled by Serb police. There were currently358 officers assigned to the Service.

The return of minority refugees and displacedpersons continued to show progress, including toformer hard-line areas in Republika Srpska, with300 Bosnian families having returned to thePrijedor, Doboj, Visegrad and Foca municipali-ties. Over the past six months, the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refu-gees (UNHCR) had registered over 19,500 minor-ity internally displaced persons and refugees re-

turning, compared to just over 2,000 registeredfor the same period in 1999.

Report of Secretary-General (November). Inhis November report on UNMIBH [S/2000/1137),the Secretary-General said that the comprehen-sive Mandate Implementation Plan developed byUNMIBH, which aimed to provide a clear focus forfulfilling the mandate by the end of 2002, di-vided the Mission's work into six core pro-grammes: police reforms; police restructuring;police and criminal justice cooperation;institution-building and inter-police force coop-eration; public awareness; and general supportfor the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovinain the UN system, in particular in UN peace op-erations. The programmes addressed the threelevels of law enforcement: the individual policeofficer, organizational structures of police forcesand the required support for democratic policingin society at large. The Plan would assist UNMIBHin evaluating progress and reviewing internal re-source allocation and resource levels.

An initial survey indicated that UNMIBH hadmade considerable progress in the past 18months in establishing the Brcko District policeforce and in providing basic training for local po-lice officers. At the same time, IPTF's averagestrength had fallen from 1,959 during 1998/99 to1,709 as at 30 June. UNMIBH believed that a forceof 1,850 IPTF officers was a realistic figure for the2001/02 period.

On police reform, the Secretary-General re-ported that 6,200 of the 20,120 personnel regis-tered as at 20 November had been provisionallyauthorized to exercise police powers and had re-ceived UNMIBH identification cards. In phase 2of the project, UNMIBH would conduct detailedchecks of wartime background and othercharacter-related issues to weed out individualssuspected of war crimes or other offences beforegranting final certification. Over 300 police hadvacated illegally occupied properties. While thataddressed the legal problem, it opened that offinding permanent housing solutions for thou-sands of displaced police officers.

In terms of police restructuring, UNMIBH haddetermined the maximum strength and targetedethnic composition of local police forces, takinginto account the transfer of border functionsfrom ministries of the interior to the State BorderService. The total number of police in Bosniaand Herzegovina might not exceed 18,438, com-prising 7,835 in Republika Srpska and 10,603 inthe Federation. Those levels were subject to fur-ther review.

Under the police commissioner project, legis-lation had been passed in Canton 9 (Sarajevo)and an independent selection and review board


formed to review the 18 applications received. InCantons 1, 5 and 6, political consensus had beenreached and new posts were being established.The next priority was to extend the project to Re-publika Srpska. Substantial progress was alsomade with regard to the UNMIBH voluntary rede-ployment initiative, which commenced in May.Some 250 officers had applied for redeployment,of whom 30 had been successfully placed.

The absence of mechanisms to protect judgesand witnesses remained a major impediment toestablishing the rule of law, especially since po-lice operations against organized crime and cor-ruption had become more effective. UNMIBHhad made little progress in securing funding toestablish a dedicated court police service. Otheroptions were therefore being reviewed, includingthe use of regular police. UNMIBH was workingwith local authorities and the judiciary in threecantons to develop an operational plan, as well asbudgetary requirements for establishing such aservice. If funding was not available, UNMIBHwould review the entire project and seek alterna-tive means of providing court and judicial secu-rity.

The Secretary-General stated that the lack oflocal and international funding had made it im-possible to expand the State Border Service be-yond the four border entry points. Current fund-ing levels were barely sufficient to meet salariesand local operational costs, and the planned de-ployment of a further eight Service units beforethe end of the year was doubtful and might not beeven possible in 2001 owing to the dire financialsituation of the entity and State budgets. He re-ported also that, since the inauguration of thatService in June, the magnitude of illegal migra-tion through Bosnia and Herzegovina to WesternEurope had become apparent. In addition, thepast months had witnessed a dramatic increase inthe number of women victims of trafficking seek-ing UNMIBH assistance. He was concerned that,owing to a lack of funding, IOM was substantiallyreducing operations in that area, exposing vic-tims to further risk following their release fromlocal police custody. To address those problemsand encourage inter-entity law enforcement co-operation, a Cooperative Law Enforcement Ar-rangement on Illegal Immigration and Organ-ized Crime, signed on 26 September, hadestablished a Joint Entity Task Force to exchangeintelligence information, coordinate plans tostem the flow of illegal migrants and pursuecriminal elements involved in human trafficking.The Task Force would also assist the Brcko Su-pervisor in closing the so-called "Arizona Mar-ket", a long-standing hotbed of criminal activity.The ministers of the interior of both entities had

agreed to seek entity approval to request the Stateauthorities to establish a centralized information-gathering mechanism to combat illegal activities.

In his concluding observations, the Secretary-General said that meeting UNMIBH's timetable tocomplete its core mandate by December 2002would depend on the provision by internationaldonors of the necessary financial resources. Thevoluntary redeployment programme for minor-ity police officers was nearly stalled because of in-sufficient funding, and local funding for theState Border Service was barely sufficient to paysalary and operating costs. The InternationalMonetary Fund doubted that the State budget for2001 would be able to meet even those costs forthe full year. The Secretary-General appealedto Member States to contribute generously toUNMIBH priority projects and to the Trust Fundfor the Police Assistance Programme in Bosniaand Herzegovina.

Later developments. In a later report[S/2001/571 & Corr.1], the Secretary-General indi-cated that UNMIBH's judicial system assessmentprogramme was dissolved on 1 December and itsfunctions subsumed into the Independent Judi-cial Commission established within the Office ofthe High Representative, which had been giventhe mandate for judicial reform in Bosnia andHerzegovina. UNMIBH retained a small CriminalJustice Advisory Unit to support IPTF on crimi-nal procedure and the criminal justice process,advising on the structure and functioning of thejudiciary, acting as a liaison between IPTF and ju-dicial officials and the courts and encouragingcooperation between the police, prosecutors andthe courts.

UNMIBH financingIn January, the Secretary-General submitted to

the General Assembly the UNMIBH financial per-formance report for the period 1 July 1998 to 30June 1999 [A/54/697] and the proposed budget of$153,588,000 gross ($145,543,200 net) for themaintenance of the Mission, including UNMOP(see p. 331) and the United Nations liaison officesin Belgrade and Zagreb for the period 1 July 2000to 30 June 2001 [A/54/712]. ACABQ's commentsand recommendations with regard to those re-ports were submitted in April [A/54/841/Add.6].The Assembly also considered the report of theOffice of Internal Oversight Services on the in-vestigation into allegations of fraud in travel atUNMIBH [YUN 1999, p. 321].


On 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee


[A/54/904], adopted resolution 54/273 withoutvote [agenda item 144].

Financing of the United Nations Missionin Bosnia and Herzegovina

The General Assembly,Having considered the reports of the Secretary-

General on the financing of the United Nations Mis-sion in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the related reportsof the Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions,

Having considered also the report of the Office of In-ternal Oversight Services on the investigation into alle-gations of fraud in travel at the United Nations Missionin Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Recalling Security Council resolution 1035(1995) of21 December 1995, by which the Council establishedthe United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herze-govina for an initial period of one year, and Councilresolution 1247(1999) of 18 June 1999, by which theCouncil extended the mandate of the Mission until 21June 2000,

Recalling also Security Council resolution 1285(2000)of 13 January 2000, in which the Council authorizedthe United Nations military observers to continue tomonitor the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsulauntil 15 July 2000,

Recalling further its decision 50/481 of 11 April 1996on the financing of the Mission and its subsequentresolutions and decisions thereon, the latest of whichwas resolution 53/233 of 8 June 1999,

Reaffirming that the costs of the Mission are ex-penses of the Organization to be borne by MemberStates in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of theCharter of the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by theMission, a different procedure is required from thatapplied to meet expenditures of the regular budget ofthe United Nations,



Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Mission,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theMission with the necessary financial resources to en-able it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevantresolutions of the Security Council,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina asat 30 April 2000, including the contributions outstand-ing in the amount of 53.6 million United States dollars,representing 8 per cent of the total assessed contribu-tions from the inception of the Mission to the periodending 21 June 2000, notes that some 41 per cent of theMember States have paid their assessed contributionsin full, and urges all other Member States concerned,in particular those in arrears, to ensure the payment oftheir outstanding assessed contributions;


3. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the Mission in full and on time;



6. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missionsshall be provided with adequate resources for the effect-ive and efficient discharge of their respective mandates;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to make the full-est possible use of facilities and equipment at theUnited Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in or-der to minimize the costs of procurement for the Mis-sion, and for this purpose requests the Secretary-General to speed up the implementation of the assetmanagement system at all peacekeeping missions inaccordance with General Assembly resolution 52/1 Aof 15 October 1997;


9. Takes note of the report of the Office of InternalOversight Services on the investigation into allegationsof fraud in travel at the United Nations Mission in Bos-nia and Herzegovina;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to take all neces-sary action to ensure that the Mission is administeredwith a maximum of efficiency and economy;

11. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order toreduce the cost of employing General Service staff, tocontinue efforts to recruit local staff for the Missionagainst General Service posts, commensurate with therequirements of the Mission;

12. Decides to appropriate the amount of158,707,667 dollars gross (149,375,001 dollars net) forthe maintenance of the Mission for the period from1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, inclusive of the amount of7,530,382 dollars gross (6,372,279 dollars net) for thesupport account for peacekeeping operations and theamount of 1,177,285 dollars gross (1,047,522 dollars net)for the United Nations Logistics Base, to be appor-tioned, as an ad hoc arrangement, among MemberStates at a monthly rate of 13,225,639 dollars gross(12,447,917 dollars net) in accordance with the com-position of groups set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 ofGeneral Assembly resolution 43/232 of 1 March 1989,as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolutions 44/192 Bof 21 December 1989, 45/269 of 27 August 1991,46/198 A of 20 December 1991, 47/218 A of 23 Decem-ber 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July 1995, 49/249 B of 14 Sep-tember 1995, 50/224 of 11 April 1996, 51/218 A to C of18 December 1996 and 52/230 of 31 March 1998 and itsdecisions 48/472 A of 23 December 1993, 50/451 B of23 December 1995 and 54/456 to 54/458 of 23 Decem-ber 1999, and taking into account the scale of assess-ments for the year 2000, as set out in its resolutions52/215 A of 22 December 1997 and 54/237 A of 23 De-


cember 1999, and for the year 2001, subject to the deci-sion of the Security Council to extend the Mission be-yond 30 June 2000;

13. Decides also that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X) of 15 December 1955,there shall be set off against the apportionment amongMember States, as provided for in paragraph 12 above,their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund ofthe estimated staff assessment income of 9,332,666dollars approved for the Mission for the period from1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001;

14. Decides further that, for Member States that havefulfilled their financial obligations to the Mission,there shall be set off against the apportionment, as pro-vided for in paragraph 12 above, their respective shareof the unencumbered balance of 19,642,720 dollarsgross (17,805,020 dollars net) in respect of the periodending 30 June 1999;

15. Decides that, for Member States that have not ful-filled their financial obligations to the Mission, theirshare of the unencumbered balance of 19,642,720 dol-lars gross (17,805,020 dollars net) in respect of the pe-riod ending 30 June 1999 shall be set off against theiroutstanding obligations;


17. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue totake additional measures to ensure the safety and secu-rity of all personnel under the auspices of the UnitedNations participating in the Mission;

18. Invites voluntary contributions to the Mission incash and in the form of services and supplies accepta-ble to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as ap-propriate, in accordance with the procedure and prac-tices established by the General Assembly;

19. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe agenda item on the financing of UNMIBHshould remain for consideration at its resumedfifty-fifth (2001) session (decision 55/458) andthat the Fifth Committee should continue consid-eration of the item at that session (decision55/455).

International Police Task Force (IPTF)During 2000, the authorized strength of

UNMIBH's International Police Task Force re-mained at 2,057. Owing to continued require-ments in the Kosovo province of FRY and else-where, the actual strength as at December stoodbelow that number, at 1,808. UNMIBH assessedthat a strength of 1,850 officers would be realisticfor the 2001/02 period.

In February, General Vincent Coeurderoy(France) was appointed to succeed Detlef Buwitt(Germany) as Commissioner of IPTF [S/2000/117,S/2000/118].

IPTF continued to assist in the restructuringand reform of the police services in the Federa-

tion and to monitor local police. Together withmore specialized monitoring, such as co-locationand support for local investigations, basic moni-toring continued to be the core task of the major-ity of officers. As at 1 March, 643 IPTF officerswere fully co-located at 204 local police locations.Full co-location was completed in all Brcko Dis-trict police stations on 25 May. IPTF levels in thatdistrict were being reviewed so that they could beadjusted in accordance with progress made andofficers redeployed to other high-priority re-gions. IPTF continued its training and certifica-tion programmes and the random inspection ofpolice stations.

Civil affairsIn October [S/2000/999], the High Representa-

tive reported that the Council of Ministers wasfinally instituted. The new Law on the Council ofMinisters was adopted on 13 April but it was notuntil 6 June that the Bosnia and HerzegovinaHouse of Representatives approved SpasojeTusevljak as Chair of the Council. On 22 June,the House approved the Ministers and DeputyMinisters nominated by the Chair. The Councilhad met regularly since its establishment and hadadopted proposed legislation related to the Statetreasury, travel documents and political party fi-nancing. Three new Ministries (the Ministry ofthe Treasury for the Institutions of Bosnia andHerzegovina, the Ministry for European Integra-tion and the Ministry for Human Rights andRefugees) were established.

However, overall progress in strengtheningState institutions remained slow. Frequent delaysin decision-making resulted in a serious backlogof legislation to be adopted, further hamperingthe work of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Parlia-mentary Assembly. The lack of commitmentamong politicians to strengthen the State contin-ued to block the effective functioning of commoninstitutions. Pending the adoption of a State-level Civil Service law, the High Representativehad insisted on competitive recruitment of civilservants to new Ministries. The Ministry of Euro-pean Integration had set a good example in thatregard.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency hadreached agreement on a number of areas, hadratified several agreements and treaties andagreed to the Rule Book on Internal Organiza-tion of the Auditing Office for Bosnia and Herze-govina Institutions. However, there was little orno progress in other areas. The Presidency secre-tariat had not been fully established and theHigh Representative was not satisfied with themethod of staff recruitment. Important deci-sions continued to require the constant applica-


tion of pressure from the international commu-nity due to the lack of dialogue and constructiveengagement in decision-making among the threePresidency members, who continued to act andtake decisions along strict ethnic lines. In July,the Chair of the Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, an-nounced his resignation, to take effect at the endof his term on 12 October.

The Parliamentary Assembly had adopted its2000 work plan, as well as laws on party financ-ing, the Council of Ministers and succession. Thelatter law contradicted the Constitution and theHigh Representative had decided to imposeamendments so that the most important institu-tions served the interests of the citizens and notthose of the ruling nationalistic elite. The Assem-bly also adopted the Law on State Treasury butfailed to adopt the Law on Travel Documents,which had to be imposed by the High Represen-tative in order to provide for a single nationalpassport. The Office of the High Representativestrengthened basic civil information manage-ment by establishing on 28 June the Central Reg-istry of Passports in the Ministry of Civil Affairsand Communications. Legal working groupswere also established to finalize the draft laws onidentification cards, unique citizen number andresidency. A joint working group of the Ministryof Civil Affairs and Communications/entityMinistry of the Interior was drafting State-levellaws on data protection and mandatory data ex-change to create protections for the first post-warcitizens register.

The 1 July decision of the Bosnia and Herze-govina Constitutional Court on the ConstituentPeoples' Case that no ethnic group constituent onthe territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina shouldbe excluded for exercising its rights in the entitieswas the most debated and sometimes contestedjuridical and political issue. In Republika Srpska,the decision was seen as politically motivated,while in the Federation it was welcomed by mostpolitical parties.

The High Representative reported that he haddismissed 21 public officials for serious andpersistent obstruction of the Peace Agreement;19 of those officials were to be barred from hold-ing any public elected and appointed office.

ElectionsThe High Representative reported in May

[S/2000/376] that Bosnia and Herzegovina hadheld its second municipal elections on 8 Aprilwithout significant incident or disruption. Theywere the first to be held under the new Provi-sional Election Commission rules. Participationwas high (around 66 per cent), with a higherturnout in Republika Srpska, despite calls by na-

tionalist Serb radicals for a boycott. Althoughparty pluralism improved, nationalist partiescontinued to dominate in predominantly Croator Serb municipalities. The multi-ethnic SocialDemocratic Party (SDP) gained significantground against the main Bosniac nationalistparty, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in theBosniac-majority areas of the Federation. Themain Croat party, the nationalist Croat Demo-cratic Community (HDZ), retained most of its mu-nicipal seats. In Republika Srpska, the resultswere mixed, with the nationalist Serb DemocraticParty retaining most of the municipalities it con-trolled, while the moderate forces made limitedadvances and a new party successfully made itsappearance.

General elections were held on 11 Novemberfor the Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Repre-sentatives, the Federation and Republika Srpskaparliaments, the Republika Srpska President andVice-President, and Cantonal Assemblies in theFederation and the Srebrenica municipality. Su-pervised by OSCE, the elections were generallyjudged to be free and fair, except for the action byHDZ, which organized a "referendum" on elec-tion day. Voter turnout was estimated at 70 percent, higher than that in the April municipal elec-tions, although it varied from region to region.At the State level and in the Federation, moderatenon-nationalist parties, which had formed apost-election coalition named "Alliance forChange", had made important gains. The multi-ethnic SDP polled well, but not as well as hoped,and smaller parties, such as the Party of Demo-cratic Progress and the Party for Bosnia and Her-zegovina, also gained ground. The Croat opposi-tion parties—the New Croat Initiative and theCroatian Peasants Party of Bosnia and Herze-govina—survived. Overall the election resultsconfirmed the pluralist nature of the politicallandscape and a continuation of growing supportfor more moderate political parties.

Republika Srpska issuesThe High Representative reported during

2000 on issues related specifically to RepublikaSrpska, the entity of the Republic of Bosnia andHerzegovina where primarily Bosnian Serbs re-sided. In May [S/2000/376], he indicated that theruling Sloga coalition (the three Serb govern-ment parties) had come under considerable pres-sure as a result of internal and external disaffec-tion. The Socialist Party of Republika Srpska(SPRS) withdrew from Sloga, with its anti-government faction forming the new DemocraticSocialist Party. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Do-dik had withstood those repeated attacks on hisauthority. Vice President Mirko Sarovic of the


Serb Democratic Party (SDS) attempted to assumethe Presidency of Republika Srpska.

In October [S/2000/999], the High Representa-tive said that, in recent months, the political cli-mate had deteriorated, almost short of collapse,with indications that FRY played a significantrole. That crisis required frequent interventionsby his Office to make sure that the entity parlia-ment passed important legislation to provide visi-ble support for the Government. With the grow-ing economic problems in the entity, the cleavageamong and within the Sloga parties after the mu-nicipal elections resulted in a split within two ofthe three coalition partners. As a result of thosedefections, Sloga was unable to prevent the mostradical nationalist parties from challenging theDodik Government in the entity parliament. On7 September, Prime Minister Dodik lost a confi-dence vote. The High Representative urged theGovernment to stay in office until the elections inNovember (see p. 349). Following the elections, anew entity parliament was constituted by the endof the year. The SDS leadership, including Re-publika Srpska's newly elected President, Mr. Sa-rovic, issued a 12 December statement endorsingthe Peace Agreement and all PIC documents andexpressing the party's readiness to cooperate im-mediately with the international community atall levels, including ICTY.

Brcko DistrictOn 8 March, the Brcko District was officially

proclaimed, with the appointment of the interimgovernment and District Assembly selected bythe Supervisor based on professional credentials.Little progress was made on the privatization ofState-owned enterprises. The Supervisor wasworking with the German Development Agencyto establish an expedited privatization pro-gramme for the District. All elements of the Bos-nia and Herzegovina army and police were re-moved from within the boundaries of the pre-warBrcko municipality and entity armed forces lo-cated there would either be disbanded or relo-cated under the directives issued by SFOR and incompliance with the provisions of the Brcko Fi-nal Award [YUN 1999, p. 324]. The tri-ethnic 320-strong Brcko District Police Service was fully re-structured and integrated.

In October [S/2000/999], the High Representa-tive reported that the multi-ethnic governmentand Assembly were in place and fully opera-tional. The Assembly had already adopted 10District laws and others were being prepared. Ineducation, a school opened with multi-ethnicstaff and pupils and would serve as a model forthe rest of the District. Returns were moving for-

ward; it was estimated that, since April, a littleover 1,300 properties had been reinstated. By theend of the year [S/2001/219], over 5,000 minorityreturns were reported. Following an inter-entitymeeting on 19 September, with the participationof the Brcko District Government, various work-ing groups were created to tackle cooperationand participation of the entities' governments inthe development of the Brcko District on crucialissues such as returns and reconstruction, reve-nues, pensions, health care and other social pro-grammes and economic development.

ReturnsApproximately 67,000 minority returns were

registered in 2000 compared with 41,000 in 1999.The actual number was even greater than the reg-istered figures showed, as individuals of all eth-nic groups were spontaneously exercising theirchoice to return. Further, returns in 2000 wereno longer limited to a few areas and took place allacross Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Sre-brenica. However, the High Representative saidthat that progress highlighted the need for tar-geted programmes to ensure that past and futurereturns were sustainable. Access to personaldocuments, employment, quality education,pensions and utilities remained a problem inmany areas. The Return and Restitution TaskForce and the Economic Task Force were workingwith donors and community leaders to developeconomic opportunities to maintain the momen-tum on returns.

Human rightsIn May [S/2000/376], the High Representative

reported continued improvements in the imple-mentation of the decisions of the Human RightsChamber, recommendations of the Ombudsper-son and those of the Commission for Real Prop-erty Claims of Displaced Persons (CRPC). Com-pensation awards issued by the Chamber in bothentities had been almost paid in full. However,property-related matters continued to be amongthe most difficult to implement. Property deci-sions were generally only implemented withstrong international pressure and there was noindication that the Governments had taken stepsto prevent property-related violations of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights andother international human rights instruments.

The draft Ombuds-Institution legislation wasadopted by the Federation House of Representa-tives, although progress in the House of Peopleswas slow. At the State level, it was with the appro-priate Minister. Republika Srpska adopted itsOmbudsman legislation in February and Om-


budsmen were appointed in mid-November, tak-ing up their duties in Banja Luka and four fieldoffices (Prijedor, Doboj, Foca and Bijelina). On10 November, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Fed-eration and Republika Srpska signed agreementsproviding for the continued operation of the Bos-nia and Herzegovina Ombudsman, the HumanRights Chamber and CRPC, until at least 31 De-cember 2003. The Mostar "Liska Street" incidentof February 1997 [YUN 1997, p. 307] was being inves-tigated by Mostar judicial authorities as recom-mended in the special report of the Ombudsmanof Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Continued difficulties were anticipated in theimplementation of the human rights institu-tions' decisions requiring the eviction of currentoccupants of previously abandoned accommoda-tion. In addition, Republika Srpska had not com-plied with the order of the Human Rights Cham-ber to provide all available information on theFather Matanovic case, involving the disappear-ance of a priest and his family near the end of thewar. Following repeated interventions by theHigh Representative, Banja Luka authorities, inNovember, gave an "urban permit" to recon-struct the former Ferhadija mosque, as requiredby a decision of the Human Rights Chamber. Abuilding permit was expected to follow the sub-mission of building plans.

The Republika Srpska Labour Law enteredinto force on 16 November, offering rights thatwere harmonized with those of Federation law.On the initiative of OHCHR, the Council of Minis-ters, on 2 December, decided to establish a Work-ing Group to Combat Trafficking in HumanBeings.

Judicial reformThe High Representative reported in May

[S/2000/376] that the priorities outlined in theComprehensive Judicial Reform Strategy [YUN1999, p. 326] were being implemented. Notably, thegoal of creating an independent and impartialjudiciary was advancing considerably by the com-pletion of laws regulating the selection and dis-missal of judges and prosecutors. The Federa-tion House of Representatives passed the Law onJudicial and Prosecutorial Service, and Repub-lika Srpska, the Law on Courts and Court Serv-ice. However, those laws remained to be passed bythe domestic bodies. The High Representativehad emphasized the implementation of the im-posed amendments to the Federation Law on theSupreme Court and the Law on the FederationProsecutor's Office, creating a trial chamberwithin the Supreme Court for certain "federalcrimes" with an inter-ethnic dimension. Casesprimarily relating to drug trafficking had already

been sent from the cantons to the new chamberand his Office continued to support full fundingby the Federation Government. The High Repre-sentative continued to promote the establishmentof a nationwide structure for judicial training. AJoint Advisory Board linking relevant officialsfrom both entities was formed in February andhis Office had taken the lead in bringing togetherthose parties in Government and the internation-al community whose cooperation was essential toachieve that goal.

In Republika Srpska, the High Judicial Coun-cil and the High Prosecutorial Council, estab-lished in accordance with the Law on Courts andCourt Service, had begun their work, providingfor a non-politicized mechanism for the appoint-ment, discipline and dismissal of judges andprosecutors. The Councils, under internationaloversight, would conduct an extraordinary re-view to scrutinize all sitting judges and prosecu-tors to make sure they met basic standards of edu-cation and training and had proven capable ofindependently and impartially performing theirfunctions. Under a similar legal structure, theFederation and cantonal judicial commissionshad commenced their judicial reviews.

The Coordinating Board for education ofjudges and prosecutors had been established todraft the Law on Judges and Prosecutors Insti-tute in both entities. To promote a coherent, con-solidated approach to the issues of judicial re-form and the promotion of the rule of law, theHigh Representative established on 1 Decemberthe Independent Judicial Commission (IJC). IJCwould be the focal point for international assist-ance to judicial reform initiatives, assist in theidentification and design of specific pro-grammes, monitor the status of the judicial sys-tem and support domestic training organiza-tions. It would operate independently, reportingto the High Representative, and was expected tobe operational by January 2001.

The Herzegovina-Neretva Cantonal Court,with panels consisting of representatives of allthree peoples presiding, had begun to try warcrime cases on Bosnian soil.

Economic reform and reconstructionThe May PIC meeting in Brussels (see p. 338)

had put economic reform at the centre of the in-ternational community's strategy for Bosnia andHerzegovina, the objective being to deepen thatreform and create conditions for self-sustainingmarket-driven economic growth. The strategywas aimed at creating a single economic space,enabling private sector growth and fostering pri-vatization. To create a single economic space, sig-nificant steps were taken, which either had been


or were expected to be completed before the endof the year. They included an agreed law on theBosnia and Herzegovina Chamber of Commerceand a draft Law on Statistics, which were readyfor parliamentary procedure; banks from oneentity being able to open branches in the otherwithout having to satisfy capital requirements re-quested of foreign banks; ongoing tax harmoni-zation and the establishment of a working groupto review double taxation cases; and approval ofthe State Treasury Law. The Bosnia and Herze-govina Treasury was already set up and the nomi-nation of supreme auditors was under way.

Concerning private sector growth, several newinitiatives were creating a more favourable envi-ronment for enterprises in Bosnia and Herze-govina. To facilitate clear ownership titles, thebase of any market economy, a working group ona new law on land registry and cadastres, at-tended by both entities, would be preparing thenecessary by-laws by the end of the year. Furtherprogress was achieved in preparing a full set oflaws in standardization, metrology and intellec-tual property. The final draft of a new obligationlaw was expected to be ready by mid-2001.

As to privatization, international standardtender regulations had been approved. The In-ternational Advisory Group for banking sectorissues was focusing on a unified approach to bankprivatization and reform, effective regulationand supervision, and deposit insurance. On 23May, the High Representative issued a decisionamending banking laws in both entities, provid-ing protection for bank supervisors, examinersand officials of the banking agencies from per-sonal liability arising from the normal perform-ance of their duties. The Federation amendedthe Law on Deposit Insurance in April, providinga proper legal framework for setting up a systemto improve security for deposits. RepublikaSrpska was to harmonize its Law on Deposit In-surance shortly and the international communitywas ready to provide considerable funds andtechnical assistance for deposit insurance. To re-duce the risks for domestic and foreign direct in-vestors participating in privatization and to re-move obstacles to economic growth, the HighRepresentative issued a decision protecting buy-ers of privatized assets from restitutions in kindwithout preventing claimants from seeking legalrecourse.

In other areas, the entity Governments created,in March, the new joint Bosnia and HerzegovinaRoad Infrastructure Public Corporation. TheCommission on Public Corporations recom-mended the establishment of three further jointpublic corporations for natural gas transmission,broadcasting transmission infrastructure and

power transmission. In the energy sector, the Of-fice of the High Representative, in cooperationwith the World Bank and other internationalagencies, was developing and promoting a pack-age of measures that included creating an inde-pendent regulatory commission for the energymarket, an open privatization process that wouldattract foreign investors and establishing a joint,high-voltage transmission company. The newtelephone numbering plan for Bosnia and Her-zegovina had been successfully implemented andinterconnection agreements signed. A new policyfor the telecommunications sector was devel-oped, which foresaw the liberalization of the tele-com market, except for international telephoneservices. Measures to strengthen the role and ca-pability of the Telecommunication RegulatoryAuthority were also under way.

Media issuesEfforts to reform the public broadcasting sec-

tor had resulted in encouraging progress. In Feb-ruary, the illegal broadcasts of HDZ-controlledErotel TV were halted. The management of Ra-dio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina(RTVBIH) was replaced by the Public Broadcast-ing Service Board of Governors, and a new Direc-tor and a Deputy Director of Federation RadioTelevision were appointed. The property of theold broadcaster (RTVBIH) was being assessedwith a view to apportioning it to the national Pub-lic Broadcasting System (PBS) and Federation Ra-dio Television and to extracting the transmissionsystem for use by a nationwide transmission com-pany, TRANSCO.

Given the failure of the Republika Srpska Gov-ernment and National Assembly to adopt ade-quate public broadcasting legislation, the HighRepresentative appointed a more diverse Boardof Governors for Radio-Television RepublikaSrpska (RTRS) and assigned to it preparation of adraft law on public broadcasting for the entity.The Government pledged to create a newsubscription-fee arrangement eliminating exces-sive service charges. However, the financial situa-tion of RTRS remained critical with little actionby the Republika Srpska Government to alleviatethe situation.

A draft Freedom of Information Law, pre-pared by an expert group in coordination withOSCE and the Office of the High Representative,was adopted for discussion in both houses of theBosnia and Herzegovina Parliament. Anotherexpert group was preparing a draft DefamationLaw.

The Independent Media Commission (IMC)was working to evolve into a TelecommunicationsRegulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


From 1 June, all heads of department posts wereheld by Bosnia and Herzegovina nationals; theremaining international members were reducedto three and shifted to advisory roles. IMC waspreparing to issue long-term licences that wouldrequire broadcasters to meet internationalnorms. It was also working to ensure develop-ment of a fully coordinated frequency plan andbetter population coverage for the nationalbroadcasters. It had launched the Advertisingand Sponsorship Code and helped in the estab-lishment of the Bosnia and Herzegovina PressCouncil.

The High Representative, in order to imple-ment the reform of the public broadcasting sec-tor, issued on 23 October his second decision onrestructuring the Public Broadcasting System,placing emphasis on ensuring that the threemain public broadcasters, PBS, Federation RadioTelevision and RTRS, were economically viable,transparently financed and professionally run.The new system took into account the mutual in-terests of those broadcasting companies, whichwould remain independent, but would work to-gether to improve the public service in both enti-ties and across the whole of Bosnia and Herze-govina.

SrebrenicaOn 13 July [meeting 4169], following consulta-

tions among Security Council members, thePresident made statement S/PRST/2000/23 incommemoration of the tragic events in Sre-brenica five years earlier [YUN 1995, p. 529]:

Five years after the fall of Srebrenica in Bosniaand Herzegovina, the Security Council pays tributeto the victims of one of the worst civilian massacresin Europe since the end of the Second World War. Inthe week after the fall of Srebrenica, a United Na-tions designated safe area, thousands of innocent ci-vilians were murdered, and thousands of othersforcibly relocated as a result of the policy of ethniccleansing.

The tragic events at Srebrenica must not be forgot-ten. The Council regrets the deplorable events andrecalls its resolve to ensure that justice is carried outfully through the work of the International Tribunalfor the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Seri-ous Violations of International Humanitarian LawCommitted in the Territory of the Former Yugosla-via since 1991, and that such crimes are not repeatedin the future. The Council stresses the importancethat lessons be learned and acknowledges the reportof the Secretary-General on Srebrenica [YUN 1999,p. 327]. The Council reiterates its commitment to thefull implementation of the Dayton-Paris PeaceAgreement and to the establishment of multi-ethnicdemocracy and the rule of law throughout the terri-tory of the former Yugoslavia.

I invite the members of the Council to stand andobserve a minute of silence in honour of the victimsof the Srebrenica massacre.

In an 18 July letter [S/2000/709], FRY said thatthe Council President's statement was notfounded on facts and material evidence and waspart of the long propaganda campaign carriedout by countries opposed to the stabilization ofthe situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in aneffort to undermine and revise the Peace Agree-ment and destabilize the entire region. The state-ment was also a function of the continued politi-cal pressure being brought to bear on RepublikaSrpska, FRY and the Serbian people in general.

The High Representative reported that, on 25October [S/2001/219], he had issued a decision onthe location of a cemetery and memorial site forthe victims of the Srebrenica massacre to helpBosnia and Herzegovina come to terms with itspast. The allocated land was in Potocari near Sre-brenica. A plan was being developed to imple-ment that decision, as was an inter-agency plan tocreate conditions for sustainable return to Sre-brenica.

The Secretary-General, in his November re-port on UNMIBH [S/2000/1137], said that the legacyof Srebrenica continued to be of deep concern.The High Representative had exercised his au-thority to end the stalemate over the location of apermanent burial site for the remains of the vic-tims and a memorial, and had established a trustfund for that purpose. That had helped to clearthe way for concerted efforts at reconciliation, aswell as to address the many problems of the fami-lies of victims wishing to return and the situationof displaced local Serb residents wishing to re-claim their own homes elsewhere or to remain inthe area. The Secretary-General had requestedhis Special Representative to examine ways inwhich the United Nations, with other principalorganizations, could play a special role in helpingthe people of Srebrenica.


On 14 November [meeting 61], the General As-sembly adopted resolution 55/24 [draft: A/55/L.31& Add.1] without vote [agenda item 45].

The situation in Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe General Assembly,Recalling its resolutions 46/242 of 25 August 1992,

47/1 of 22 September 1992, 47/121 of 18 December1992, 48/88 of 20 December 1993, 49/10 of 3 Novem-ber 1994, 51/203 of 17 December 1996, 52/150 of 15 De-cember 1997, 53/35 of 30 November 1998, 54/119 of 16December 1999 and all relevant resolutions of the Se-curity Council regarding the situation in Bosnia andHerzegovina,


Reaffirming its support for the independence, sover-eignty, legal continuity and territorial integrity of Bos-nia and Herzegovina, within its internationally recog-nized borders,

Reaffirming its support also for the equality of thethree constituent peoples and others in Bosnia andHerzegovina as a united country, with two multi-ethnicentities,

Welcoming the General Framework Agreement forPeace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the annexesthereto (collectively the "Peace Agreement"), signed inParis on 14 December 1995,

Welcoming also the accomplishments achieved in im-plementation of the Peace Agreement, including thestabilization of the security situation, major recon-struction, the acceleration of the return of refugeesand internally displaced persons, including to minor-ity areas, the establishment of the Brcko District andthe strengthening of political pluralism,

Welcoming further the efforts for the respect, promo-tion and protection of human rights and the strength-ening of the rule of law in all of Bosnia and Herze-govina and for the development of the commoninstitutions that will ensure that Bosnia and Herze-govina functions as an integrated modern State,accountable to its citizens,

Supporting those institutions and organizations ofBosnia and Herzegovina that are engaged in the imple-mentation of the Peace Agreement and the process ofreconciliation and reintegration, and noting, however,the slow progress in the development of efficient com-mon institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Concerned by the continuing obstructions faced byrefugees and displaced persons wishing to return totheir pre-war homes, in particular in areas where theywould be an ethnic minority, emphasizing the need foran unreserved commitment by all political authorities,including at the entity and local levels, also emphasizingthe need for all parties and the relevant States and inter-national organizations to create the conditions neces-sary to facilitate a secure and dignified return, particu-larly in urban areas such as Sarajevo, Banja Luka andMostar, and stressing the need for a regional approachto the issue of refugees and displaced persons,

Supporting fully the efforts of the International Tri-bunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible forSerious Violations of International Humanitarian LawCommitted in the Territory of the Former Yugoslaviasince 1991, stressing the importance and urgency of thework of the International Tribunal as an element of theprocess of reconciliation and as a factor contributing tothe maintenance of international peace and security inBosnia and Herzegovina and in the region as a whole,demanding that States and parties to the Peace Agree-ment meet their obligations to cooperate fully with theTribunal, as required by Security Council resolutions827(1993) of 25 May 1993, 1022(1995) of 22 November1995 and 1207(1998) of 17 November 1998, includingwith respect to surrendering persons sought by the Tri-bunal, and welcoming the efforts to secure compliancewith the orders of the Tribunal, consistent with theSecurity Council mandate,

Noting improved cooperation between the Interna-tional Tribunal and the States and entities in the re-gion, as stated in the seventh annual report of the Tri-bunal, also noting that a number of individuals named

in public indictments still remain at large, calling uponall the States and entities in the region to continue toimprove cooperation and to comply fully with their ob-ligations, and welcoming the efforts of the High Repre-sentative for the Implementation of the Peace Agree-ment on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Commanderof the multinational Stabilization Force in implement-ing the provisions of the Peace Agreement,

Welcoming the mutual recognition among all the suc-cessor States of the former Socialist Federal Republicof Yugoslavia within their internationally recognizedborders, and stressing the importance of full normali-zation of relations among those States, including theunconditional establishment of diplomatic relations inaccordance with the Peace Agreement and the settle-ment of all issues relating to the succession of theformer Yugoslavia on the basis of the legal equality ofall five successor States, in order to contribute to theachievement of lasting peace and stability in the area,

Noting the significant improvement of relations be-tween Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic ofCroatia following the elections held in Croatia in Janu-ary 2000,

Welcoming the important political change followingthe recent elections in the Federal Republic of Yugosla-via, and noting the significance of this change for theregion as a whole,

Welcoming also the successful summit meeting ofheads of State and Government to launch the StabilityPact for South-Eastern Europe in Sarajevo on 29 and30 July 1999, and stressing that the Stability Pact offersa broad regional framework for further progress inBosnia and Herzegovina,

Noting that democratization in the region will en-hance the prospects for a lasting peace and help toguarantee full respect for human rights in Bosnia andHerzegovina and in the region,

Stressing the importance of full respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms for the success of thepeace efforts for the region, and calling upon the Gov-ernments and authorities in the region, as well as therelevant international organizations, to facilitate suchfull respect,

Concerned about the plight of thousands of familiesof missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, andsupporting fully the efforts of the International Com-mission on Missing Persons to resolve the fate of themissing persons,

Reaffirming the importance of the early adoption of apermanent electoral law, consistent, inter alia, with theruling of the Constitutional Court on the equality ofthe three constituent peoples throughout the territoryof Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling upon the Parlia-mentary Assembly elected in November to adopt thislaw expeditiously, noting that such adoption is a pre-requisite of membership of the Council of Europe, andreaffirming the importance of genuine democraticrepresentation of all three constituent peoples in allcommon institutions,

Stressing the importance of faster integration of thecountries of the region into the political and economicmainstream of Europe, on the basis of individual mer-its and achievements, also stressing in particular thepositive impact that the early admission to the Councilof Europe could have on Bosnia and Herzegovina andthe region in search of sustainable economic and polit-


ical stability, and noting the importance of Bosnia andHerzegovina establishing its place in Euro-Atlantic in-stitutions,

Noting the positive impact of the five pledging con-ferences, held on 21 December 1995, 13 and 14 April1996, 25 July 1997, 8 and 9 May 1998 and 30 May 1999and chaired by the World Bank and the EuropeanUnion, on the peace process and reintegration of thecountry as well as the reconstruction effort, stressingthe importance and urgency of providing the financialassistance and technical cooperation pledged for re-construction efforts, and stressing the role of economicrevitalization in the process of reconciliation, in the im-provement of living conditions and in the maintenanceof a durable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and inthe region,

Stressing that the provision of reconstruction aid andfinancial assistance is conditional upon the partiesmeeting their obligations under the Peace Agreement,

Recognizing the importance of demining for the nor-malization of life and for the return of refugees and in-ternally displaced persons,

Welcoming the achievements, and encouraging fur-ther efforts at reducing the military assets in line withthe Agreement on Subregional Arms Control,

Noting with appreciation that Bosnia and Herzegovinais beginning to participate in the peacekeeping opera-tions of the United Nations,

Welcoming the important efforts of the EuropeanUnion to promote reform and stability through its sta-bilization and association process, and recognizing thework of the European Union and other donors in pro-viding humanitarian and economic assistance for re-construction,

1. Expresses its full support for the General Frame-work Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovinaand the annexes thereto (collectively the "Peace Agree-ment"), which constitute the key mechanism for theachievement of a durable and just peace in Bosnia andHerzegovina, leading to stability and cooperation inthe region and the reintegration of Bosnia and Herze-govina at all levels;

2. Reaffirms its support for the New York Declaration,adopted on 15 November 1999, in which the Joint Presi-dency of Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed to importantsteps for moving forward the process of fully imple-menting the Peace Agreement, notes that the progressof its implementation has been slow, and urges the par-ties to take the additional steps necessary to complywith all of its aspects;

3. Notes the progress that has been made towardsthe implementation of the Peace Agreement, and reit-erates its demands for the full, comprehensive and con-sistent implementation thereof;

4. Supports fully the efforts of the High Representa-tive for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement onBosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the PeaceAgreement and subsequent Peace ImplementationCouncil declarations, and calls upon all parties to co-operate fully and in good faith with him;

5. Stresses the importance for the peace process inBosnia and Herzegovina and the region as a whole ofthe activities related to the Stability Pact for South-

authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take concretesteps to play an active role in it;

6. Welcomes the Zagreb summit to be held on 24November 2000;

7. Notes the progress achieved with the concept of"ownership" as presented by the High Representative,also notes the continuing need for the High Represen-tative to use fully the authority of his office to deal withobstructionists, and stresses the need for the politicalleaders to assume more responsibility in the process ofthe implementation of the Peace Agreement;

8. Recognizes that the role of the international com-munity remains essential, welcomes the readiness ofthe international community to continue its effortstowards a self-sustaining peace, and recalls that the re-sponsibility for consolidating peace and security pri-marily lies with the authorities of Bosnia and Herze-govina;

9. Welcomes the ruling of the Constitutional Courtof Bosnia and Herzegovina on the equality of all threeconstituent peoples throughout the territory of Bosniaand Herzegovina, urges the entity parliaments andcantonal assemblies to implement it accordingly, andalso urges the Constitutional Court to rule further onthe status of those other than the three constituent peo-ples;

10. Also welcomes the vital contribution of the multi-national Stabilization Force in providing a secure envi-ronment for the implementation of civilian aspects ofthe Peace Agreement, calls for the fullest cooperationby all parties in this regard, expresses its full supportfor the efforts of the United Nations InternationalPolice Task Force in carrying out its mandate, andcommends its efforts in the establishment of the rule oflaw in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

11. Underlines the fact that the assistance providedby the international community remains strictly condi-tional upon compliance with the Peace Agreement andsubsequent obligations, including in particular coop-eration with the International Tribunal for the Prose-cution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations ofInternational Humanitarian Law Committed in theTerritory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 andfacilitation of the return of refugees and displaced per-sons;

12. Insists upon the need to surrender all indicteesto the International Tribunal for trial, notes that theTribunal has the authority to address individual re-sponsibility for the perpetration of the crime of geno-cide, crimes against humanity and other serious viola-tions of international humanitarian law in Bosnia andHerzegovina, and demands that all the parties fulfiltheir obligations to hand over to the Tribunal all in-dicted persons in territories under their control andotherwise to comply fully with the orders of the Tribu-nal and to cooperate with the work of the Tribunal, in-cluding with exhumations and other investigative acts,in accordance with article 29 of the statute of the Tri-bunal, with all relevant Security Council resolutionsand in accordance with the relevant provisions of thePeace Agreement, in particular the Constitution ofBosnia and Herzegovina;

13. Welcomes the support given by Member States sofar, and urges Member States, taking into account theorders and requests of the International Tribunal, tooffer the Tribunal their full support, including finan-cial support, in order to ensure the achievement of thepurpose of the Tribunal, and to carry out their obliga-

Eastern Europe launched in Sarajevo, and urges the


tions under the statute of the Tribunal and all relevantSecurity Council resolutions;

14. Reaffirms once again the right of refugees anddisplaced persons to return voluntarily to their homesof origin in secure and dignified conditions in accord-ance with the Peace Agreement, in particular annex 7thereof, and the realization of the same in cooperationwith the Office of the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees and host countries, calls upon allparties to improve substantially their cooperation withthe international community at the State, entity andlocal levels, in order to establish immediately the con-ditions necessary for the return of refugees and dis-placed persons to their homes and for the freedom ofmovement and communication of all the citizens ofBosnia and Herzegovina, encourages the relevant in-ternational organizations to enhance the conditions tofacilitate both spontaneous and organized return, inaccordance with relevant provisions of the PeaceAgreement, in particular the Constitution of Bosniaand Herzegovina, and welcomes continued and newefforts by the United Nations agencies, the EuropeanUnion, bilateral and other donors and intergovern-mental and non-governmental organizations to estab-lish and implement projects designed to facilitate theaccelerated voluntary and orderly return of refugeesand displaced persons to all regions of Bosnia and Her-zegovina, including projects that would help to create asafe and secure environment with increased economicopportunity;

15. Encourages the acceleration of the peaceful, or-derly and phased return of refugees and displaced per-sons, including in areas where they would be the ethnicminority, strongly condemns all acts of intimidation,violence and killings, including those acts designed todiscourage the voluntary return of refugees and dis-placed persons, and demands that such acts be investi-gated and prosecuted;

16. Welcomes the report of the Panel on United Na-tions Peace Operations, and takes note of the recom-mendations stemming from and relevant to the reportof the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assem-bly resolution 53/35 on the fall of Srebrenica;

17. Reaffirms the previous conclusions of the PeaceImplementation Council on the importance of reformof the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reiterates itssupport for the decision of the High Representative of30 July 1999 on the restructuring of the public broad-casting system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, notes thatits implementation remains behind schedule, and callsupon the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to im-plement that decision in full;

18. Stresses the importance of establishing,strengthening and expanding throughout all of Bosniaand Herzegovina free and pluralistic media, deploresany action that seeks to intimidate or restrict the free-dom of the media, and condemns violent acts of intimi-dation against journalists;

19. Reaffirms once again its support for the principlethat all statements and commitments made under du-ress, particularly those regarding land and property, arewholly null and void, in accordance with the relevantprovisions of the Peace Agreement, and in that regardsupports the effective engagement of the Commissionfor Real Property Claims of Displaced Persons andRefugees, and calls upon all sides to implement the

property laws imposed on 27 October 1999, in particularby evicting illegal occupants from the homes of return-ing refugees, and to ensure respect for individual rightsto return and the establishment of the rule of law;

20. Emphasizes the importance of economic revitali-zation and reconstruction for the successful consolida-tion of the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina,recognizes the important contribution of the interna-tional community in this regard, and invites it to con-tinue its efforts;

21. Notes that corruption and the lack of transpar-ency seriously hamper the economic development ofBosnia and Herzegovina, emphasizes the importanceof combating corruption, welcomes the important con-tribution made in this regard by the Customs and Fis-cal Assistance Office, and expresses its full support forthe efforts of the Government of Bosnia and Herze-govina and its local bodies and of others that are sup-portive in this regard;

22. Supports the efforts by the High Representativeand the Commander of the multinational StabilizationForce, in accordance with the Peace Agreement andsubsequent Peace Implementation Council declara-tions, to weaken the continued political and economicinfluence of remaining parallel nationalist structuresobstructing the peace implementation;

23. Stresses the need for a more comprehensive ap-proach to implementing economic reforms, and un-derlines the fact that a self-sustainable, market-oriented economy operating in a single economicspace, expeditious and transparent privatization, im-proved banking and capital markets, reformed finan-cial systems, the provision of adequate social protec-tion and the adoption by both entities of a law onpension reforms that meet sound economic standardsare crucial for achieving lasting peace and stability inBosnia and Herzegovina;

24. Welcomes the proclamation of the Brcko Districtand the appointment of an interim government andDistrict Assembly, expresses its support for implemen-tation of the final arbitration award in accordance withthe Peace Agreement, and stresses that the obligationto cooperate fully with the Supervisor for Brcko is anessential obligation for both of the entities;

25. Also welcomes the Mostar Document adopted on12 July 2000 by the representatives of the city of Mostarand its six city municipalities under the auspices of theEuropean Union, and calls for its implementation;

26. Notes that the pledged reduction of 15 per centin the military assets of each entity was achieved in1999, urges the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovinato fulfil their commitment to a further 15 per cent re-duction in 2000 in the areas of military budgets, per-sonnel, equipment and structure, and encourages theauthorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to redefinetheir defence policies with particular reference to en-suring that the size and structure of the military isaffordable, that it is consistent with the legitimate secu-rity needs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and contributesto regional security;

27. Stresses the need for timely information aboutthe level of cooperation and compliance with the Inter-national Tribunal and its orders, the status and pro-gramme for the return of refugees and displaced per-sons to and within Bosnia and Herzegovina and the


status and implementation of the Agreement on Sub-regional Arms Control;

28. Welcomes the establishment of the Missing Per-sons Institute on 15 August 2000 in Sarajevo by the In-ternational Commission on Missing Persons, and sup-ports the programmes put in place to resolve thecontinuing problem of missing persons within five toseven years;

29. Also welcomes the efforts of international re-gional organizations, Member States and non-governmental organizations, including through theBoard of Donors, and the Slovenian InternationalTrust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistancein Bosnia and Herzegovina, and invites Member Statesto continue to support the mine-action activities in Bos-nia and Herzegovina;

30. Commends the efforts of the international com-munity, including the Council of Europe, the Euro-pean Union, the European Community MonitoringMission, the European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment, the International Committee of the RedCross, the International Monetary Fund, the multina-tional Stabilization Force, non-governmental organiza-tions, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, theIslamic Development Bank, the Islamic Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, the Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe, the Peace ImplementationCouncil and the World Bank, in their roles in the im-plementation of the Peace Agreement;

31. Commends, in particular, the efforts of the Inter-national Tribunal, the Office of the High Representa-tive for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement onBosnia and Herzegovina, the Office of the Special Rap-porteur of the Commission on Human Rights on thesituation of human rights in the territory of the formerYugoslavia, the Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees, the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Human Rights, theUnited Nations International Police Task Force, theUnited Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina,the United Nations Development Programme and theother United Nations agencies in the peace process,and encourages their further engagement in the peaceprocess in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

32. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-sixth session the item entitled "The situation inBosnia and Herzegovina".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on the situation in Bosnia and Herze-govina would remain for consideration duringits resumed fifty-fifth (2001) session (decision55/458).

Military aspects of Agreement

Stabilization ForceDuring 2000, the NATO Secretary-General re-

ported 10 times to the Security Council, inaccordance with resolution 1088(1996) [YUN 1996,p. 310], on the activities of the multinational Stabi-lization Force (SFOR), also known as OperationJoint Guard [S/2000/46, S/2000/190, S/2000/297,

S/2000/399, S/2000/555, S/2000/690, S/2000/792,S/2000/872, S/2000/967, S/2000/1164]. The Strength ofthe Force, which operated under NATO's leader-ship, fell from approximately 24,000 at the begin-ning of the year to 22,000 in December. Thetroops, which were deployed in Bosnia and Her-zegovina and Croatia, were contributed by allNATO members and 15 non-NATO countries. TheSecurity Council, by resolution 1305(2000) of 21June, authorized the continuation of SFOR for afurther period of 12 months (see p. 342).

During the year, SFOR continued to conductsurveillance and reconnaissance by ground andair patrols, and to monitor entity compliancewith Council resolution 1160(1998) (YUN 1998,p. 369], prohibiting the transport of weapons andthe movement of controlled petroleum productsinto FRY. It also supported IPTF by providing se-curity for its inspection of local police stationsand in conducting prison inspections, and pro-vided assistance to international institutions inBosnia and Herzegovina, including the Office ofthe High Representative. SFOR maintained a safeenvironment for and assisted OSCE in its supervi-sion of the 11 November elections, delivered bal-lots to counting centres and assisted civil authori-ties in ensuring a safe and secure environmentfollowing the announcement of the results.

On 3 April, the meeting of the Standing Com-mittee on Military Matters (SCMM) addressed thefurther reduction by 15 per cent of the entityarmed forces (EAF) by the end of 2000. Thatplanned reduction followed the 15 per cent re-duction achieved at the end of 1999. At its 8 De-cember meeting, SCMM decided that the targetdate for the completion of the 15 per cent reduc-tion of EAF could slip from 31 December 2000 to31 January 2001. SFOR would begin the develop-ment of a joint SFOR-EAF training and exerciseplan in 2001. SCMM also agreed on plans for theexpansion of its secretariat and indicated that itwould consider the draft defence policy for Bos-nia and Herzegovina and the future EAF restruc-turing in January 2001.

Communications. FRY, in letters of 31 May[S/2000/509] and 6 September [S/2000/852], pro-tested the violation of its airspace by SFOR mili-tary aircraft and helicopters, stating that it wouldno longer tolerate such action. On 20 September[S/2000/884], FRY requested an explanation for thecontinued monitoring of the movement of con-trolled petroleum products into FRY. The Secu-rity Council had terminated sanctions against itby resolution 1074(1996) [YUN 1996, p. 316], andresolution 1088(1996) [ibid., p. 310], by which SFORwas established, contained no sanctions monitor-ing provisions.


Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

In 2000, the United Nations Interim Adminis-tration Mission in Kosovo ( U N M I K ) , in implemen-tation of Security Council resolution 1244(1999),made significant progress towards developingprovisional institutions for democratic andautonomous self-government in the Kosovo prov-ince of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY),promoting the return of the territory to a viableadministrative structure and economic and socialrecovery and reconstruction. Nevertheless, thecontinuing violence in the province, mostlyagainst Kosovo Serbs, and the slow pace in imple-menting some of the resolution's political provi-sions, especially with regard to the process of rec-onciliation and return of refugees and displacedpersons, led the Council to send a mission to Ko-sovo in April to assess the situation there and lookfor ways to enhance support for implementationof the resolution.

As a first step towards a return to normalcy,municipal elections were successfully held on 28October, despite the non-participation of the Ko-sovo Serb community, paving the way for the es-tablishment of functioning municipal assembliesin Kosovo.

At the same time, relations between the FRYfederal Government and the Republic of Monte-negro deteriorated as that Republic asserted con-trol over its own affairs in the face of a deepeningconstitutional crisis. That crisis was avoided fol-lowing the election on 24 September of a new fed-eral President, Vojislav Kostunica. The politicalchanges in Belgrade renewed hope for the con-structive political dialogue on the future ofKosovo.

Despite those positive developments, theCouncil remained concerned over the post-election violence, particularly the potentiallyexplosive situation in the ground safety zone be-tween Kosovo and Serbia proper. In a 19 Decem-ber statement, the Council condemned the vio-lent action by Albanian extremist groups insouthern Serbia and called for their dissolution.It called on UNMIK and the international securitypresence to continue to make all necessary effortsto address the problem.

Situation in Kosovo

Implementation of resolution 1244(1999)In 2000, the United Nations continued to work

towards the full implementation of SecurityCouncil resolution 1244(1999) [YUN 1999, p. 353],

which set out the modalities for a political solu-tion to the crisis in the Kosovo province of FRY.The civilian aspects of that solution were beingimplemented by U N M I K and the military aspectsby the international security presence (KFOR),also known as Operation Joint Guardian.

During the year, the Council received a num-ber of communications from FRY conveying its as-sessment of the status of implementation of reso-lution 1244(1999) and recommendations foraction by the Council to address the situation.

Communications. On 10 January [S/2000/19],FRY listed a number of violations of resolution1244(1999) by the Secretary-General's SpecialRepresentative, KFOR and UNMIK, which it de-manded that the Council address in order to havethe situation in Kosovo and Metohija restored toits prior state. On 14 January [S/2000/25], FRYlisted crimes committed on 29 December 1999and 11 January 2000, which, it said, provided tell-ing evidence that the terrorists of the so-calledKosovo Liberation Army (KLA) continued to killand ethnically cleanse non-Albanians. On 19January [S/2000/41], FRY called for an urgentmeeting of the Security Council, since none ofits requests regarding illegal acts by KFOR andUNMIK had been acted upon. It asserted that, be-cause of the failure to implement, and/or an ar-bitrary interpretation of their mandate estab-lished by resolution 1244(1999), KFOR andUNMIK and the Special Representative and Headof UNMIK, in particular, bore direct responsibil-ity for the current situation in the province, char-acterized by lawlessness, chaos, massive crime,destruction and usurpation of public and privateproperty and everyday terror, killings, kidnap-pings and ethnic cleansing of Serbs and othernon-Albanians. Since 12 June 1999, over 350,000people, mostly Serbs and Montenegrins, but alsoRoma, Muslims, Turks, Goranci and others, hadbeen driven out of Kosovo and Metohija. A totalof 793 persons had been killed, 611 wounded and688 abducted.

On 25 January [S/2000/51], FRY drew the CouncilPresident's attention to the inauguration of theso-called Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), which itclaimed amounted to an attempt to legalize theterrorist separatist KLA, and its drive to impose it-self as a security factor. FRY requested that thecrimes committed by members of KLA, now KPC,be condemned and that the organization be fullydemilitarized and disarmed, its structures dis-banded and its leaders, who were guilty of crimesagainst non-Albanians, brought to justice.

Regarding further complaints of violations ofand failure to implement resolution 1244(1999),FRY, on 11 February [S/2000/110], stated that the es-calation of ethnic Albanian terrorism was evi-


denced by the upsurge in the number of terroristattacks committed recently, including the shell-ing of the Serbian village of Gorazdevac on7 January and the mortar attack on a UNHCR busferrying Serbs on 2 February, among others (seebelow). Those atrocities had shattered the trustof the Serbian community in the ability of the in-ternational presences to provide protection man-dated by resolution 1244(1999). Ethnic Albanianterrorists were also responsible for destroyingmore than 50,000 homes and wiping out the Ser-bian historical heritage in Kosovo and Metohija,and more than 350,000 Serbs, Montenegrins,Roma, Muslims, Turks, Goranci and other non-Albanians had been ethnically cleansed. FRY saidthat the Secretary-General's Special Representa-tive had illegally established the so-called InterimAdministration Council, a de facto provincial"Government", composed exclusively of Albani-ans, mostly KLA leaders and Albanian separatistparties, in an attempt to legalize an ethnicallypure Kosovo and Metohija and sever its ties withSerbia and FRY.

FRY demanded that the Council take the mostenergetic steps to implement resolution 1244(1999) and redress the current situation, includ-ing by rescinding the illegal regulations of theSpecial Representative and bringing back thefunctioning of State and public services inaccordance with the laws of Serbia and FRY. Italso demanded that the Yugoslav border, cus-toms and passport control authorities return tothe Yugoslav international borders in Kosovo andMetohija.

Those demands and others were formallycompiled in memorandums forwarded to theCouncil President on 2 March [S/2000/176] and 3April [S/2000/284], in which FRY also provided itsown assessment of current developments in Ko-sovo and Metohija. Appended to the memoran-dum of 3 April was a list of terrorist acts andother violations of resolution 1244(1999) report-edly committed between 10 June 1999 and 30March 2000.

FRY contended that the 10-month-long inter-national security and civilian presence in thesouthern Serb province was devastating. By theiroverall conduct, KFOR and UNMIK had con-firmed that the presence of international forcesunder UN auspices was a complete fiasco. TheSecurity Council bore primary responsibility forthe tragic consequences, since it failed to takemeasures to ensure strict implementation ofresolution 1244(1999) and related documents.There was no longer an excuse for the furtherstay of the mission of the international commu-nity, which should be ended as soon as possible.FRY expected that its previous initiative for a

Council mission to visit the country and see first-hand the dramatic developments in the southernSerb province would be implemented in the nearfuture.

On 10 March [S/2000/206], FRY expressed its dis-pleasure at a statement made by the Secretary-General at a 7 March press conference to theeffect that he would provide a basis for discussingthe issue of the autonomy of Kosovo and Meto-hija in the Security Council in support of his Spe-cial Representative's contention that it was neces-sary to open the question of the political futureof that Serbian province. FRY protested theSecretary-General's announced intention of in-troducing the question of autonomy in the Coun-cil.

Mitrovica incidentThe Secretary-General, in his March report on

UNMIK [S/2000/177], informed the Security Coun-cil that, on 2 February, a clearly marked UNHCRhumanitarian shuttle bus carrying 49 KosovoSerb passengers and escorted by two KFOR vehi-cles was targeted by a rocket, resulting in two per-sons being killed and three injured. Followingthe attack, violence broke out in northern Mitro-vica on 3 and 4 February, resulting in eightdeaths and at least 20 to 30 persons seriously in-jured, the displacement of over 1,650 Kosovo Al-banians from northern Mitrovica and the reduc-tion of the number of Kosovo Serbs in thesouthern part of the city to just 20 individuals,the majority of whom were living at a monasteryunder KFOR protection. Some 5,000 KosovoSerbs remained in isolated enclaves in the south-ern outskirts of the city, as well as some 2,000 Ko-sovo Albanians in the northern outskirts. UNMIKand non-governmental organizations (NGOs)were also affected by the violence, and interna-tional and local staff had to be relocated. Nine ve-hicles belonging to UNMIK, UNHCR, OSCE and in-ternational NGOs were burned or looted. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)office was burned and several NGO offices andone KFOR office were looted.

Following a period of tense calm, violenceagain broke out in Mitrovica on 13 and 14 Febru-ary. On 13 February, a grenade attack against aBosniac cafe in northern Mitrovica injured sevenpersons. Shortly thereafter, snipers firing fromapartment buildings at KFOR positions on theground seriously wounded two KFOR soldiers.One suspected sniper was killed and anotherwounded, both Kosovo Albanians. A total of46 persons, the majority of whom were KosovoAlbanians, were taken into custody. On 21 Febru-ary, a public march of Kosovo Albanians fromPristina to Mitrovica also led to a confrontation


with KFOR forces. To improve security in Mitro-vica, the KFOR Commander launched OperationIbar on 20 February, during which part of the citywas cordoned off and buildings searched.

Communications. In bringing those incidentsto the attention of the Security Council Presidenton 3, 13 and 21 February [S/2000/86, S/2000/111,S/2000/140], FRY said that it was obvious that a con-centrated attack had been planned to drive Serbs,Montenegrins, Goranci, Slav Muslims and Turksout of Kosovska Mitrovica, the only remainingmulti-ethnic and multi-religious community inKosovo and Metohija, and complete the processof ethnic cleansing of non-Albanians living inisolated enclaves. It accused UNMIK and KFOR ofnot doing anything to put an end to ethnic Alba-nian terror and vandalism and of complicity inthose practices. FRY said that it found theSecretary-General's reaction to the attack on theUNHCR bus unacceptable, as he did not condemnthe rampant terrorism. It warned the Councilthat failure to confront the security situation inKosovo and Metohija would cause an escalationof terrorism throughout the region and result inthe destabilization of the Balkans and South-EastEurope. It called for an urgent meeting of theCouncil and for action to put an end to ongoingand future attacks of armed ethnic Albanian ter-rorists on the unprotected Serbian population.

The EU, on 23 February [S/2000/158], expressedconcern over the events in Mitrovica and reiter-ated its strong condemnation of all acts of vio-lence and public disturbance. It reaffirmed itssupport for the efforts of UNMIK and KFOR in theimplementation of resolution 1244(1999) andwarned that defiance and threats to the interna-tional presence in Kosovo would not be tolerated.

On 28 February [S/2000/156], FRY protested themost recent attacks by ethnic Albanian terroristseparatists, in which a Yugoslav police officer anda physician were killed and three police officersand another physician wounded. On 8 March[S/2000/199], it said that the escalation of violenceby ethnic Albanian terrorists against Serbs inKosovska Mitrovica was further evidence that theterrorist-separatist KLA had not been disarmedand continued its attempts to drive all Serbs andother non-Albanians out of Kosovo and Meto-hija. It asked the Council to take urgent measuresto protect them in accordance with resolution1244(1999).

On 15 March [S/2000/219], FRY protested KFOR'sestablishment of an extended security zone innorthern Kosovska Mitrovica in the town quartercalled Bosnjacka mahala. It said that 16 Serb civil-ians were injured, two seriously, when they wereassailed with stun grenades and tear gas as theygathered around the so-called Mali most (Little

Bridge). By those actions, KFOR continued to as-sist ethnic Albanian terrorists in putting pressureon the Serbian population to move out of Kosovoand Metohija, with the aim of ethnically cleans-ing it. FRY expected the Council to ensure min-imum security and relatively normal living con-ditions to the Serbian population in KosovskaMitrovica, the last Serb refuge in Kosovo and Me-tohija. On 22 March [S/2000/244], FRY indicatedthat a railway bridge at Zvecan, near KosovskaMitrovica, an area inhabited almost exclusivelyby Serbs, was dynamited on the night of 21/22March. Other acts of violence in Orahovac andGnjilane were brought to the Council's attentionon 29 March [S/2000/270] and 12 April [S/2000/310].

Between April and September, FRY transmittednumerous letters to the Security Council Presi-dent describing other instances of violent actsagainst Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian mi-norities [S/2000/332, S/2000/342, S/2000/357, S/2000/374, S/2000/388, S/2000/497, S/2000/508, S/2000/526,S/2000/531, S/2000/543, S/2000/588, S/2000/613, S/2000/636, S/2000/675, S/2000/708, S/2000/815, S/2000/830,S/2000/843, S/2000/877].

Special Security Council briefingOn 28 February [S/PV.4105], Carl Bildt, Special

Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Balkans,briefed the Security Council on the situation inthe region. He said that, although the war in Ko-sovo ended with Council resolution 1244(1999),and with a military-technical agreement, therewas no proper peace agreement, a key factor thatmade UNMIK's task so demanding and difficult.Since the core issues of the conflict concerningthe long-term position of Kosovo were not set-tled, it had made it much more difficult to movetowards stability for the region as a whole andthere were too many expectations and fears gen-erated by those unresolved issues.

The starting points for a settlement in Kosovowere: the Council's support for the search for aregional settlement, including dialogue withinthe Council on the shape of such a settlement; theStates of the region actively participating, includ-ing not only Belgrade and the political represen-tatives of the Kosovo Albanians but the leaders ofFYROM and Albania; a true deal had to meet theminimum demands of everyone but the maxi-mum demands of no one, as was the case of thePeace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina[YUN 1995, p. 544]; and, most difficult, the agree-ment had to be set within the context of a widerarrangement for the region as a whole, and pre-ferably within the wider European context.

However, the situation was handicapped by theregime in Belgrade, as the indictment of its keypolitical and military leaders for crimes against


humanity de facto excommunicated them fromany dialogue or diplomatic contact. In addition,there was the situation between Serbia and Mon-tenegro (see p. 381), which were headed on a col-lision course as long as there was no change in theregime in Belgrade. The confrontation betweenMontenegro and Serbia was a confrontation overthe future of FRY and had obvious implicationsfor the implementation of resolution 1244(1999).

The Special Envoy said the tensions along thefault lines between those wider interests could beseen on a daily basis in Mitrovica in northernKosovo. One should not pretend not to recognizethose extremist groups or individuals on bothsides who were determined to exploit those ten-sions, be they in northern Kosovo, Serbia orFYROM. There was a clash between the forces ofintegration and those of disintegration in theregion.

Security Council mission to KosovoConcerned about obstacles to the implementa-

tion of resolution 1244(1999) [YUN 1999, p. 353], theSecurity Council, on 14 April [S/2000/320], ac-cepted the invitation of the Special Representa-tive and Head of U N M I K and decided to send amission to Kosovo. The mission, which com-prised the Ambassadors of Argentina, Bangla-desh (head of mission), Canada, China, France,Jamaica, Malaysia, the Russian Federation andUkraine, visited Kosovo from 27 to 29 April. Itsobjectives were to look for ways to enhance sup-port for the implementation of resolution1244(1999); to observe UNMIK's operations andactivities and gain a greater understanding of thesituation on the ground in order to comprehendbetter the difficult challenges UNMIK faced; toconvey a strong message to all concerned on theneed to reject violence, ensure public safety andorder, promote stability, safety and security, sup-port the full and effective implementation ofresolution 1244(1999), and fully cooperate withU N M I K to that end; and to review implementa-tion of prohibitions imposed by Council resolu-tion 1160(1998) [YUN 1998, p. 369].

On 7 April [S/2000/303], FRY said that it attachedgreat importance to the envisaged visit, which itsaw as an expression of the Council's readinessand openness to familiarize itself in greater de-tail with the situation in Kosovo and Metohijaand to halt the ongoing violations of resolution1244(1999). It undertook to assist and cooperatewith the mission in fulfilling its mandate.

Report of mission. During its visit to Kosovo[S/2000/363], the mission consulted with a widerange of representatives at all levels and from allcommunities. It found that UNMIK had made sig-nificant progress in implementing resolution

1244(1999) but its full and effective implementa-tion required sustained effort by UNMIK andKFOR, the full participation of local communitiesand support by the international community. Allethnic communities expressed a desire to live inpeace together but were still deeply divided andthe healing would require a long time. Despiteimprovement in the overall level of violence andcriminality, attacks against minorities continuedand special protection measures had to be con-stantly maintained, making KFOR's continuedassistance and joint security operations withUNMIK police vital.

Inadequate physical, social and economic se-curity remained a major concern. Lack of free-dom of movement, access to education, healthcare, social services and employment hamperedthe return of internally displaced persons, pri-marily Serbs and Roma, and impeded the inte-gration of ethnic minorities into public life.

There had been some positive signs of recon-ciliation but the painful issues of missing personsand detainees, continuing violence, and the re-turn of internally displaced persons and refugeescontinued to be major impediments in that re-gard and undermined efforts to create a climateof tolerance and security. The mission noted thestrong support of the different ethnic communi-ties for the appointment of a special envoy for de-tainees and missing persons.

The recent participation of the Serbs as ob-servers in the Joint Interim Administrative Struc-tures, including the Kosovo Transitional Counciland the Interim Administrative Council, was en-couraging and hopefully would lead to their fullparticipation and a larger representation ofnon-Albanians in the Structures. Bosniac andRoma representatives, however, had yet to jointhe Transitional Council.

The mission noted that a major effort by the in-ternational presences and long-term nurturingwould be necessary to achieve progress in recon-ciliation. Nonetheless, several examples of morepositive relations between communities were ob-served at the local level, where discussions wereless politically charged and focused on practicalmodes of cooperation. The mission welcomedthe renewal of contacts between leaders of bothcommunities in Mitrovica, and believed that jointcommunity-based programmes had a potentialfor confidence-building and reconciliation.

The lack of an effective and unbiased rule oflaw was a recurring theme at many of the mis-sion's meetings. UNMIK's intention to recruit in-ternational judges and prosecutors and theirstaff to work with local counterparts would becritical in redressing the perceived culture of im-punity undermining the judicial system. To in-


crease the judiciary's effectiveness, substantialvoluntary assistance, in both personnel and ma-terial resources, was required. Regarding thelack of sufficient policing resources, UNMIKshould continue accelerating its training pro-grammes for the Kosovo Police Service (KPS).The multi-ethnic and gender-sensitive KPS devel-opment programme and the OSCE-led KosovoPolice School should serve as models for futureinstitutions in Kosovo. The mission was apprecia-tive of the fact that human rights education andAIDS awareness were part of UNMIK's police cur-riculum.

While noting the serious staffing constraintsUNMIK faced in civil administration and police,the mission recognized the significant imbalancein wages between its locally recruited civil servicestaff and the rest of the Kosovo population andfelt that both issues should be pursued throughthe appropriate General Assembly process.

To ensure an organized, expeditious and sus-tainable return, significant resources would berequired to create appropriate conditions for thereturnees by increasing Kosovo's absorbing ca-pacity.

The mission stated that it was unfortunate thatall factions of the Kosovo Serb community hadchosen not to participate in the civil and voterregistration processes, due to the lack of physicalsecurity and freedom of movement. Substantialefforts by UNMIK and KFOR, with strong supportfrom the international community, were essentialto encourage and create the conditions for Serbparticipation, including those displaced outsideKosovo.

The mission noted UNMIK's intention to con-tinue working to establish a joint committee to en-hance dialogue with FRY authorities, and KFOR'sregular contact with them on military issues with-in the framework of the Joint ImplementationCommittee. It was cognizant of the imperative forU N M I K to foster economic recovery as a means ofunderpinning confidence-building and recon-ciliation efforts at the local level and welcomed thedeployment of EU economic reconstruction rep-resentatives at the municipal level. It supportedUNMIK's view that UNMIK should guide economicinvestment priorities to ensure maximum effect-iveness of donated funds. Property issues, how-ever, remained unresolved and could potentiallyundermine international efforts aimed at Koso-vo's economic recovery and even peace initiatives.

The mission felt that detailed information onKFOR's activities in the implementation of resolu-tion 1160(1998) should be provided to the Com-mittee established for that purpose.

Emphasizing that UNMIK had been deployedfor only some 10 months, the mission stated that

expectations for its achievements should be real-istic. Reconciliation was a protracted process, andthe international community had to be patientand persistent. U N M I K and KFOR had made sig-nificant progress in implementing their man-dates and should be commended. The missionnoted the enormity of the task facing UNMIK, andcommended, in particular, its efforts in capacity-and institution-building. Further efforts toensure full implementation of resolution 1244(1999) remained a high priority of the Council.

In presenting the report to the Council on 11May [S/PV.4138], the head of the mission said thatin its interaction with the ethnic communities themission sensed a clear desire of people to live to-gether in peace and engage in economic recon-struction and the restitution of law and order. Itsstrong message to those communities to reject allviolence was taken seriously, with the full under-standing that a multi-ethnic society representedthe best hope for the people of Kosovo.

The mission recognized the shortage in meet-ing the staffing requirements for civil adminis-tration and the civilian police as a serious con-straint for UNMIK's operations and asked theSecretariat and contributing countries to takesteps in that regard with seriousness and ur-gency.

Communications. In a 12 May letter [S/2000/429], FRY said that the Council's mission was theimportant initial step to obtain first-hand know-ledge of the dramatic situation brought about bysystematic violations of resolution 1244(1999).Regrettably, the violations were not reflected inthe mission's report, which, in part, diverted at-tention from the true problems and even glossedover the policy and behaviour of UNMIK andKFOR and, in particular, the Secretary-General'sSpecial Representative. The report was silentabout daily instances of terrorism and the re-sponsibility for rampant crime and lawlessness,but was loud in endorsing views that set verystrict conditions for and prevented the return ofexpelled Serbs, Muslims, Roma, Goranci, Turksand other non-Albanians. Notwithstanding itsshortcomings, the mission's report had borneout the validity of FRY's warnings that, even 11months after the adoption of resolution 1244(1999), UNMIK and KFOR had not fulfilled a sin-gle obligation entrusted to them. FRY reiteratedits readiness to conclude an agreement on thestatus and cooperation with those missions, in-cluding the establishment of a joint coordinationcommittee.

FRY, on 12 May [S/2000/428], 7 June [S/2000/547],23 August [S/2000/829] and 26 September[S/2000/905], forwarded to the Council Presidentfurther memorandums containing its position


on the implementation of resolution 1244(1999)and violations of it, as well as an overview of ter-rorist and other acts of violence.

On 8 June [S/2000/553], FRY declared null andvoid all acts and decisions taken by the SpecialRepresentative. It called on the Council to put anend to his activities, withdraw UNMIK and KFORfrom Kosovo and take measures to ensure the fulland consistent implementation of resolution1244(1999). It asked the Council to consider thosedemands and provide an answer at its 9 Junemeeting (see p. 365).

UN Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo

Special Representative and Head of UNMIK.During 2000, Bernard Kouchner (France) con-tinued as the Secretary-General's Special Repre-sentative and Head of UNMIK. On 8 December[S/2000/1179], the Secretary-General informed theSecurity Council of his intention to appoint HansHaekkerup (Denmark) to replace Mr. Kouchner.The Council took note of that intention on 12 De-cember [S/2000/1180].

Communication. On 6 January [S/2000/6], FRYsaid that the Secretary-General's December 1999report on UNMIK [YUN 1999, p. 361] gave cause forconcern because of the contradiction between theclaim that UNMIK had made progress and thefacts presented in the report testifying that theSerbs and other non-Albanians were threatenedand their human rights were being violated.Those facts corroborated FRY's position that thesecurity situation in Kosovo and Metohija wasdifficult, compounded by gross violations of hu-man rights by the so-called KLA, the abuse of ju-veniles and the presence of organized crime. Theprovisions of Security Council resolution1244(1999) continued to be violated. In particu-lar, FRY's sovereignty and territorial integritywere not being abided by; conditions were not be-ing created for normal life; violence continuedunabated, particularly against non-Albanians;public law and order were non-existent; noproper border-monitoring activities had been es-tablished; the provisions on the return of anagreed number of Yugoslav Army and Serbianpolice personnel had not been implemented; andno secure environment had been created for thereturn of refugees and internally displaced per-sons. The report failed to assess blame for thesituation and identify perpetrators or to proposemeasures to deal with it.

Report of Secretary-General (March). TheSecretary-General, in his March report on UN-MIK [S/2000/177], stated that the three majorKosovo Albanian rival political parties (the Dem-ocratic League of Kosovo (LDK) of Ibrahim

Rugova, the party coalition of United Demo-cratic Movement of Rexhep Qosja and the Partyfor Democratic Progress of Kosovo (PPDK) ofHashim Thaci) had begun to work together in anew cooperative relationship in the Interim Ad-ministrative Council (IAC) and the Joint InterimAdministrative Structure (JIAS). On the otherhand, the Kosovo Serb political landscape re-mained diversified and dominated by divisionsamong three major political forces: the moderateKosovo Serb National Council (SNC), mainly inthe Pristina and the Gnjilane regions, andheaded by Bishop Artemije and Momcilo Traj-kovic; the SNC Mitrovica, led by Oliver Ivanovicand Vuko Antonijevic; and the pro-BelgradeSerb National Assembly led by Veljko Odalovic.

IAC met on average twice a week and had be-come involved in substantive issues, such as theevents in Mitrovica (see p. 359) and draft regula-tions for municipal elections. Its work was ham-pered in February by friction linked to the disso-lution of the parties' respective parallelstructures and funds controlled by them. Morerecently, IAC members had exercised construc-tive political leadership. To ensure the participa-tion of Kosovo Serb representatives in JIAS, anagreement in principle was reached between UN-MIK and the Kosovo SNC on the need to enhancesecurity, increase UNMIK's presence in Serb-populated areas and ensure greater access of theSerb population to essential public services.However, persisting political divisions withinthe Serb community and the deterioration of thesecurity situation in Mitrovica hampered effortsto secure their participation in JIAS and finaliza-tion of the agreement. The UNMIK Task Forcecharged with developing a strategy to imple-ment JIAS had, with IAC, identified 20 depart-ments needed to administer Kosovo, each co-directed by an international and a local co-head.To date, 14 Kosovo and 16 international co-headshad been appointed, including three women.

Regarding the formation of municipal struc-tures, by the end of February, 27 municipal coun-cils and 12 administrative boards had been estab-lished. UNMIK administrators were continuingconsultations to finalize the remaining munici-pal councils and administrative boards and toovercome disagreement among the variousKosovo Albanian political parties over the distri-bution of representatives. The limited participa-tion of minorities within municipal structures re-mained a matter of concern and had beenhampered by the withdrawal of their support inprotest against ethnically motivated violence.

On 31 January, in accordance with the JIASagreement [YUN 1999, p. 361], all parallel Kosovo Al-banian bodies declared that they had ceased to


exist and the so-called "ministries" of the self-proclaimed "Interim Government" officiallystopped their work on that date. That was con-firmed on 2 February by Dr. Rugova, the LDKPresident, and by Bujar Bukoshi, the "PrimeMinister" of the parallel "Government". The in-tegration of those structures into JIAS was smoothand UNMIK and KFOR had established monitor-ing mechanisms, especially of the former parallellaw enforcement structures.

The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) wasenlarged from 12 to 35 members on 9 February tobetter reflect Kosovo's pluralistic composition.The advisory bodies established by UNMIK,through which the local population and leader-ship were able to participate in the interimadministration, were to be dissolved or absorbedinto JIAS. UNMIK maintained channels of com-munication with the FRY Government, which alsoestablished the Committee for Cooperation withUNMIK in Pristina, with sub-offices in the Mitro-vica and Gnjilane regions. Cooperation also tookplace through the Joint Implementation Com-mittee established within the framework of themilitary-technical agreement [YUN 1999, p. 356].Cooperation focused on humanitarian assistanceto the Kosovo Serb community.

With the exception of events in Mitrovica, vio-lent crime in Kosovo continued to follow a slowdownward trend. However, an upsurge in gre-nade and arson attacks against Kosovo Serb en-claves was noted. In addition, on 26 February, aprominent Kosovo Serb medical doctor was killedin Gnjilane, and a Russian Federation KFOR sol-dier, who was shot in Srbica on 29 February, diedfrom his wounds. Cross-boundary incursions byYugoslav police were also reported in theGnjilane region. International patrols along Ko-sovo's eastern boundary with Serbia had beenstepped up and permanent boundary check-points established. KFOR and UNMIK reportedseeing armed Albanians in military uniforms inthe area of Dobrosin.

The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) was for-mally established on 21 January, with the ap-pointment by the Special Representative of 46KPC leaders. KPC's strength as at 25 Februarystood at 544 persons, out of a total authorizedstrength of 5,052. UNMIK regional administra-tors had begun identifying humanitarian andpublic works projects for KPC, and the first train-ing courses for KPC personnel had begun. Minor-ity communities had expressed concern aboutKPC with regard to its creation and composition,as well as the proposed location of KPC buildings,the alleged involvement of enrolled or aspiringKPC members in illegal law enforcement activi-

ties, their participation in political rallies andother incidents of ethnic intolerance.

Report of Secretary-General (June). In June[S/2000/538], the Secretary-General reported that,on 2 April, SNC Gracanica joined JIAS as an ob-server for an initial period of three months butlisted additional conditions to be met before itjoined as a full member. One Kosovo Serb repre-sented the community in IAC and four in KTC,while two others were appointed as co-heads forthe Departments of Agriculture and of Labourand Employment.

The trend towards pluralism within the Ko-sovo Albanian political landscape continued,with an increased number of political partiesgrowing out of the former KLA. Altogether, some30 Kosovo Albanian parties were active within theprovince. The Bosniac community was repre-sented by three parties, and the Kosovo Turkishcommunity fielded two.

On 11 April, for the first time, IAC held itsmeetings with both the Kosovo Serb and KosovoAlbanian representatives. IAC endorsed key regu-lations, including those establishing the JIAS de-partments, implementing the tax administrationand creating the Central Election Commission,the Civil Registry and the Victim Recovery andIdentification Commission, and addressed sub-stantive issues, including the Kosovo consoli-dated budget, local administration, reconstruc-tion, health, education, utilities and privatesector development. It had also become increas-ingly vocal and active in promoting tolerance be-tween ethnic communities and in condemningviolence.

On 12 April, four Kosovo Serb representativesfrom SNC Gracanica returned to KTC as observersand two representatives of the Bosniac commu-nity rejoined on 3 May. On 17 May, a representa-tive of the Roma community attended KTC for thefirst time. Consultations to nominate a secondKosovo Turkish representative continued. How-ever, the representative of the Albanian party, theNational Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo,resigned from that body on 10 May, protestingthat UNMIK and the international communitywere not doing enough to solve the issue of Ko-sovo Albanian missing persons and detainees inSerbia proper. The expanded KTC focused onmissing persons and detainees, civil registration,security, education, the judicial system, privatesector development and the registration of politi-cal parties. On 10 May, it endorsed a statement ontolerance, condemning the crimes that took placein Kosovo before, during and after the recentconflict and urging all inhabitants of Kosovo torefrain from violence. It also called on the federalauthorities to hand over all Kosovo Albanians


and members of other Kosovo communities inprison in Serbia proper. Four KTC workinggroups were set up on tolerance and protection oflocal communities; detainees and missing per-sons; economic affairs and public utilities; andeducation. They formed another practical linkbetween JIAS and the local population. TheWorking Group on Detainees and Missing Per-sons had begun to compile the information avail-able on such persons of all ethnic communities.

Progress was also made in the establishment ofmunicipal bodies. As at 29 May, a total of 27 outof 30 municipal councils had been established, aswell as 27 out of 30 municipal administrativeboards that managed the municipal services de-partments. All municipal councils and adminis-trative boards had ad interim status in view of theupcoming municipal elections (see p. 367).

In keeping with UNMIK's mandate to organizeand oversee the development of provisional insti-tutions for democratic and autonomous self-government pending a political settlement, theSpecial Representative informed the SecurityCouncil on 6 March that he would develop a"contract" on self-government (see p. 367), whichwould build on existing joint bodies of JIAS, in-cluding IAC, and KTC. An important step wouldbe the October municipal elections.

To advance meaningful dialogue with FRY,U N M I K suggested the establishment of a per-manent joint consultative committee, whichwould deal with transboundary issues.

Although the general security situation in Ko-sovo had not changed significantly, in southernSerbia proper a series of violent incidents in thefirst quarter of the year gave rise to concern overthe situation and its likely impact on Kosovo (seebelow).

Communications. On 15 June [S/2000/595], FRYcommented that the Secretary-General's June re-port was selective in reflecting UNMIK's "suc-cesses" and biased in its appraisal of the situa-tion, in particular the security situation. Thereport was characterized by generalization of theproblems facing the Serbian population andshowed an absence of criticism and condemna-tion of those responsible for the violence againstSerbs. The situation in southern Serbia wasraised without authority so as to project a pictureof an alleged threat to Kosovo and Metohija. Call-ing on Member States to contribute to the releaseof Albanians detained in Serbia was an invitationto interference in its internal affairs, while nomention was made of Serbs detained in labourcamps by ethnic Albanian terrorists. No firm evi-dence was given to corroborate the claims of massgraves, and scant attention was accorded to thereturn of 350,000 Serb refugees and other non-

Albanians, for whom U N M I K and KFOR hadfailed to create the conditions for safe return.

On 22 August [S/2000/824], the Russian Federa-tion said that the Head of U N M I K and the KFORCommander had unilaterally adopted a 17August joint declaration on the status of UNMIKand KFOR and their personnel in Kosovo, whichamounted to a de facto self-proclamation of suchstatus without any form of agreement with theYugoslav authorities. The generally recognizedpractice of deploying peacekeeping operationsrequired the signing of appropriate agreementswith the host country, in that case FRY, which hadrepeated its readiness to begin consultations onthe status of international presences in Kosovo.Moscow believed that the so-called "document"adopted by them was dangerous and harmfuland ran counter to the provisions of resolution1244(1999) on FRY's sovereignty and territorialintegrity.

Security Council consideration. During theSecurity Council's consideration of theSecretary-General's June report on 9 June[S/PV.4153], the Special Representative said thatprogress had been made in the 12 months sinceUNMIK started its operations in Kosovo. The jobof implementing resolution 1244(1999) was acomplex one. UNMIK had to provide an interimadministration and establish provisional institu-tions for democratic and autonomous govern-ance. That was being accomplished in fourphases: the emergency phase, during which ithad to deal with refugees; the demilitarizationphase, which, while imperfect, met with some de-gree of success; the establishment of a politicaladministration; and the elections, for whichpreparations were being made. Despite UNMIK'ssuccesses, there were many negative aspects andchallenges relating to the departure of the non-Albanian population and particularly the pre-carious security situation for that population. Inaddition, the interim status of Kosovo and theambiguities in resolution 1244(1999) had to bedealt with, especially providing an explanationon the meaning of "substantial autonomy". TheUnited Nations was not in Kosovo for 12 monthsor 24 months; it would undoubtedly be there for asignificant number of years.

The Council President informed the Councilthat, on 8 June, he had received a delegation ofSerbs from Kosovo, which shared with him thedifficulties that community was encountering,particularly violence. The decision of some Serbsin Kosovo to participate in the joint adminis-tration structures had entailed personal risks tothem and was fraught with considerable sacri-fices. However, those sacrifices had not been re-warded by improvement in the fate of the com-


munity and their participation in the jointstructures had become difficult to justify. Thedelegation wished the international communityto indicate that it would no longer tolerate vio-lence against the Serb population and that theperpetrators should be brought to justice. Spe-cific measures were necessary, including addi-tional forces to ensure security in the Serb en-claves. The Serb community should also have itsown information media, the border with Albaniashould be better controlled and voter registrationshould be carried out on a stricter basis.

The Council continued to consider the situa-tion in Kosovo on 13 July [S/PV.4171], 24 August[S/PV.4190] and 27 September [S/PV.4200].

Following the 13 July meeting, FRY, on 18 July[S/2000/710], expressed its disappointment that,during the debate, there was no clear condemna-tion of the ethnic cleansing and terror against theSerbs, Turks, Roma, Muslims and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. The situationcalled for vigorous measures to eradicate terror-ism, organized crime and the systematic violationof resolution 1244(1999). In a later communica-tion [S/2000/859], FRY complained about the non-implementation of the provisions of resolution1244(1999) relating to the return of an agreednumber of Yugoslav and Serbian military and po-lice personnel to Kosovo and Metohija, despiteseveral requests to UNMIK and KFOR in that re-gard. The deterioration in the overall situation inKosovo and Metohija bore witness to the need fora speedy deployment of those personnel. FRY hadtherefore established a combined detachment forspecial purposes, the Kosovo and Metohija De-tachment of Peace, ready to be deployed there.That would help implement key provisions ofresolution 1244(1999) and create a secure envi-ronment for all residents of Kosovo and Meto-hija.

On 10 August [A/56/2], the Council membersauthorized the President to make a press state-ment expressing their concern over FRY's dis-regard for international obligations with regardto the arrest and detention of two British, two Ca-nadian and four Netherlands citizens. Councilmembers urged FRY authorities to fulfil all of therequirements of the relevant provisions of inter-national law without delay.

Report of Secretary-General (September). InSeptember [S/2000/878], the Secretary-General re-ported that UNMIK had made substantial pro-gress in consolidating the participation of mod-erate Kosovo Serb elements in the joint interimadministration. SNC Gracanica, which had tem-porarily suspended its participation in both IACand KTC at the beginning of June, lifted that sus-pension on 25 June following initiatives by the in-

ternational community to encourage it to rejoin,including direct meetings between members ofthe Security Council and an SNC Gracanica dele-gation in New York. In addition, the Special Rep-resentative signed a Joint Understanding withBishop Artemije of SNC Gracanica, outliningsteps to enhance security and access to servicesfor the Kosovo Serb population. Since then, SNCGracanica representatives had played an increas-ingly constructive role in IAC and KTC, a positionunanimously supported by its general member-ship in early August.

While the Understanding was well received bythe Kosovo Serb community, Kosovo Albanianleaders feared that it would devolve elements ofgovernance and delegate security powers to theKosovo Serb population. Provisions in the regula-tion on self-government of municipalities, whichcalled for the establishment of local communityoffices—a mechanism designed to improve mi-nority access to municipal services—were criti-cized on similar grounds. That concern over po-tential divisions of the province culminated in thewalk-out of Hashim Thaci and his party, PPDK,from IAC and KTC. Local co-heads of administra-tive departments nominated by PPDK also sus-pended their work. Following intensive efforts byUNMIK, the draft regulation was endorsed by IACon 11 July, and PPDK resumed its participation inboth bodies shortly thereafter.

Despite tension over the signing of the Under-standing, encouraging signs of inter-ethnic polit-ical dialogue emerged. From 21 to 23 July, 40 rep-resentatives of Kosovo Serb and Albaniancommunities met in Airlie, Virginia, UnitedStates, at a conference convened by the UnitedStates Institute of Peace. The conference pro-duced the unanimously supported Airlie Decla-ration, in which all participants agreed thatbuilding democracy in Kosovo was of the highestpriority and that free elections were a key ele-ment in the process. The Declaration also recog-nized the fundamental right of all Kosovo resi-dents to return to the province and that thecultivation of a strong and vibrant multi-ethniccivil society was essential for Kosovo's future.The conference participants also committedthemselves to a "pact against violence" to pro-mote tolerance, prevent negative exploitation ofethnic issues and enable physical integration andpolitical participation by all residents of the prov-ince. The IAC and KTC representatives expressedstrong support for the Airlie Declaration, anddiscussions were taking place on how to trans-form it into concrete initiatives.

As part of the continued development of Koso-vo's provisional institutions, the Special Repre-sentative presented his initial concept of a "pact"


for Kosovo society, formerly referred to as the"contract", and which would involve elaborationof a legal framework for substantial autonomyand community protection during the interimadministrative period but would not address theissue of Kosovo's final status. It would includemechanisms to protect the rights of Kosovo's vari-ous ethnic communities and the establishment ofKosovo-wide institutions for genuine self-government. The first element of the pact, theregulation on self-government of municipalities(regulation 2000/45), which the Special Repre-sentative signed on 11 August, determined thenature and competencies of the municipalities,their elected and administrative bodies, and theirrelations with the central authorities. Most of thedocument's provisions would enter into forceafter the 28 October municipal elections, whenmunicipalities would be delegated responsibili-ties in areas such as education, housing, primaryhealth care and other social services. Funding forthe municipalities would come from the centralauthority and local sources, but they would be al-lowed to generate revenue through licences, feesand fines. The regulation also included meas-ures to ensure the non-discriminatory provisionof municipal services and fair representation ofminority communities within the municipalstructures. As part of that effort, UNMIK had es-tablished local community offices in all but sevenof Kosovo's municipalities.

UNMIK continued to strengthen ongoing andregular contacts with FRY, which focused on anumber of issues, including the civil registrationprocess, the upcoming municipal elections, thesecurity of the Kosovo Serb community, return-ees, detainees and missing persons. It also con-cluded a memorandum of understanding withFYROM on 30 June to improve cooperation be-tween the two customs services, coordinate andharmonize customs procedures, expedite theflow of passengers and cargo, and normalizetrade.

One of UNMIK's main concerns in the pre-election period was the rise in politically moti-vated violence, particularly against LDK mem-bers. Initiatives to address that threat includedthe establishment of an Information Coordina-tion Group and an Operational Task Force toidentify trends and implement security strate-gies to respond to and deter political violence.The Task Force developed procedures to providesecurity support to at-risk candidates and for ma-jor events during the election campaign period.Incidents of civil unrest occurred in various Ko-sovo Serb communities across the province; at-tacks against those communities in Gnjilane andPrizren were followed by attacks against UNMIK

and KFOR personnel. KFOR discovered two con-crete bunkers filled with a large cache of weap-ons and a training site near Klecka village in thecentral Drenica Valley on 15 June, and anothersubstantial cache on 18 June. According to docu-ments found at the site, the weapons belonged tothe former KLA. Activities related to the FRY elec-tions on 24 September were a potential source ofconcern.

Municipal electionsUNMIK, in accordance with its mandate as set

out in Security Council resolution 1244(1999),and in cooperation with OSCE, conducted mu-nicipal elections throughout Kosovo on 28 Octo-ber, as part of the political transition process.During the year, a large part of its activities werefocused on putting in place measures to imple-ment that mandate, in the face of increasing pol-itical violence within Kosovo and objections fromFRY.

On 28 April [S/2000/372], FRY, in a position pa-per on the holding of elections in Kosovo, saidthat free, democratic and fair elections, includ-ing voter registration, could be carried out only ifthe necessary conditions were established andimplementation of resolution 1244(1999) wasachieved. That implied that basic elements of apolitical settlement for Kosovo and Metohijashould be reached in accordance with that reso-lution.

In conditions of continued terror, ethniccleansing of Serbs and other non-Albanians, thelack of conditions for the return of more than350,000 expelled persons and the illegal pres-ence of 250,000 foreign nationals, preconditionsdid not exist for the registration of the popula-tion in preparation for elections. FRY could notbe a front to legalize activities contrary to resolu-tion 1244(1999); therefore, any registration of thepopulation of the province not carried out on thebasis of the laws of FRY and Serbia could not belegal or binding.

In June [S/2000/538], the Secretary-General re-ported that UNMIK had begun the process of pol-itical party registration, in accordance with UN-MIK regulation 2000/16, and political partycertification. Party supporter lists had beenissued to some 30 parties, which were collectingthe necessary signatures for registration and cer-tification. The scale and complexity of electionpreparations led, in April, to the establishment ofthe Political Party Consultative Forum to keep allparties informed of decisions of the Central Elec-tion Commission regarding the electoral process.Political party training activities were also heldaround Kosovo to address such issues as publicand media relations, the basic principles of party


organization and platform development. Par-ticular attention was paid to including Serbs andother ethnic minority parties in those activities.U N M I K also continued to work with internationaland local women's groups to promote the partici-pation of women voters in the municipal elec-tions and to encourage female candidates to runfor office.

On 14 August [S/2000/800], FRY, drawing atten-tion to the announcement by the Special Repre-sentative that local elections would be held inKosovo and Metohija on 28 October, said thatholding those elections amounted to a fait ac-compli, support for ethnic Albanian separatismand terrorism, did not contribute to achievinga peaceful solution and could lead to the desta-bilization of Kosovo and the entire region. Thefallacy of such a policy had been pointed out alsoby other important international actors, includ-ing some permanent members of the SecurityCouncil.

In September [S/2000/878], the Secretary-General reported that his Special Representativehad signed two regulations establishing the legalfoundations of the municipal elections. The first(regulation 2000/39 of 8 July) established that aproportional representation system with openlists would be used. It was supported by all par-ties except PPDK. The first term of office wouldbe for two years and parties were to submit candi-date lists on which at least 30 per cent of the first15 candidates had to be women. The secondregulation (2000/43 of 27 July) determined thenames and boundaries of Kosovo's 30 munici-palities. The Central Election Commission hadadopted electoral rules to govern key elements ofthe election process. Procedures to prevent voterfraud and ensure secrecy of balloting and secu-rity in voting centres were already adopted. TheCommission certified 19 political parties, 2 coali-tions, 3 citizens' initiatives and 15 independentcandidates. The Secretary-General said that thefirst phase of the civil registration process wassuccessfully completed on a timely basis, withsome 90 per cent of the Albanian population par-ticipating. Despite UNMIK's efforts to ensure thatthe registration was simple and safe, widespreadintimidation by hard-line Kosovo Serb elementsdissuaded the majority of Serbs from participat-ing in the process. In addition, Kosovo Turkishparticipation was limited because of ongoing di-vision within that community over demands re-garding the status of the Turkish language anddissatisfaction with the representation of theircommunity. Some elements of the Kosovo Turk-ish leadership repeatedly rejected UNMIK pro-posals designed to ensure the full use of theTurkish language in municipalities where that

community resided and continued to demandthe adoption of Turkish as a third national lan-guage.

To heighten the level of dialogue between UN-M IK and the local population, the Special Repre-sentative launched a public outreach campaign,including "town hall" meetings, in which heurged participation in the elections and calledfor tolerance among ethnic communities.

On 4 October [S/2000/964], Turkey informedthe Secretary-General that the Turkish minority,owing to the delay in the preparation of docu-ments to reflect the understanding reached be-tween the Turkish community representativesand UNMIK, were not able to complete their regis-tration, and hence could not take part in the localelections in Kosovo. However, remarks made byUN representatives on the issue during the Secu-rity Council briefings on Kosovo on 24 Augustand 27 September did not fully reflect the realnature of the question, nor did the comments inthe Secretary-General's September report (seeabove). Turkey clarified that the insistence of theTurkish community in Kosovo was to preservetheir legitimate and acquired rights and was notan excessive drive by some splinter group. TheTurkish community wanted those rights to bewell and properly secured and for the Turkishlanguage to have equal status with Albanian andSerbian, as stipulated in the 1974 Constitution.Thus, the comments on the "non-participation"of the Turkish community in the local electionswere likely to cause confusion in the minds of theinternational community about the legitimatedemands of the Kosovo Turks. Attached to Tur-key's letter was a 15 September letter from theSpecial Representative containing the text, re-sulting from discussions held in August, entitled"To the Turkish Community", which outlinedthe main principles and ideas, as well as opera-tional steps, that UNMIK would develop to guar-antee the rights of the Turkish community inKosovo.

On 27 October [S/2000/1039], FRY again ex-pressed concern over the holding of the electionsthe next day and repeated its earlier reasons whythe conditions for a free expression of will anddemocratic, free and fair elections had not beencreated. Holding elections, it said, where no se-curity and freedom of movement existed formembers of all ethnic communities led to theconclusion that the elections would be a competi-tion of political parties of the Albanian ethniccommunity alone.

In December [S/2000/1196], the Secretary-General reported that municipal elections wereheld on 28 October in 30 municipal assembliesthroughout Kosovo. Turnout was massive (79 per


cent of the electorate), but Kosovo Serbs did notparticipate and voter turnout for Roma andTurks was low to negligible. On 7 November, theSpecial Representative certified the election re-sults, except in the three northern Kosovo Serbmajority municipalities of Leposavic, Zubin Po-tok and Zvecan, where voter turnout was negligi-ble. In the 27 municipalities where the resultswere certified, LDK won in 21 municipalities, withapproximately 58 per cent of the vote, and PPDKin six municipalities, mainly in the Drenica Val-ley, with 27 per cent. The Alliance for the Futureof Kosovo got 8 per cent of the vote, while the restof the parties obtained less than 1 per cent. Anumber of parties and other organizations thatobtained elected seats in the municipal assem-blies requested seats in KTC, arguing that theelectoral results proved their popular support.UNMIK intended to expand KTC's membership toreflect Kosovo's political, religious and ethnic di-versity.

Security Council consideration. During theSecurity Council's consideration of the situationin Kosovo on 16 November [S/PV.4225], the SpecialRepresentative observed that the municipal elec-tions were a technical success and a victory for theburgeoning democracy, especially taking into ac-count the context in which they took place andeverything that had occurred over the past 17months. He referred to his political plan for sub-stantial autonomy, the "pact" (see p. 366), and ad-vised that the process of defining that substantialautonomy and developing institutions of self-government, as set down in resolution 1244(1999), should be hastened. That was more ur-gent following the municipal elections. Actionshould be taken to organize elections throughoutKosovo, most likely to elect a Parliament. Hetherefore proposed that general elections beheld, possibly in the spring of 2001. A workinggroup, involving the Group of Eight industrial-ized countries, the United Nations and the Con-tact Group, had been established to consider apossible provisional constitution.

In response to a question, the Special Repre-sentative said that he was of the opinion that, al-though the return of a limited number of FRYarmed forces was provided for in resolution1244(1999), he did not think that that was cur-rently possible and the issue needed to be ad-dressed through negotiations.

Report of Secretary-General (December). InDecember [S/2000/1196], the Secretary-General re-ported that, following the successful 28 Octobermunicipal elections, major progress was made inestablishing functioning municipal assemblies.On 11 November, more than 800 members of thenew assemblies took their oath of office and se-

lected their Presidents and Deputy Presidents.To ensure that all of Kosovo's communities wererepresented in the new municipal structures, theSpecial Representative appointed representativesof minority communities to elected assemblies inareas where they lived, mainly Kosovo Turks,Bosniacs, Roma, Ashkalija and Egyptians. Theintegration of Kosovo Serb appointees into the27 elected municipal assemblies was slower, ow-ing to demands from some of their leaders thatthey be allowed to set up their own municipalstructures separate and apart from the elected as-semblies. That issue proved particularly conten-tious in Mitrovica and Strepce, where KosovoSerbs refused to participate in the elected assem-blies altogether. However, UNMIK appointed as-semblies in the three northern municipalities ofLeposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan, where theresults of the elections were not certified. The as-semblies consisted of 18 seats, two of which werereserved for Kosovo Albanians, which remainedvacant in both Zvecan and Leposavic, as theirleaders showed little interest in identifying po-tential appointees.

The changes in the Government in Belgrade atthe beginning of October (see p. 384) had influ-enced Kosovo's political life. While Kosovo Alba-nian leaders welcomed those changes, they weresceptical as to whether that alone would place FRYand its Republic of Serbia on the path to true de-mocracy. They were also concerned about a per-ceived shift in the attention and priorities of theinternational community within the region, andat the prospect of increased competition for in-ternational political and financial support. In ad-dition, Kosovo Albanian leaders perceived Presi-dent Kostunica's victory as a threat to theiraspirations for independence for the province.

In the Kosovo Serb community, SNC Gracanicaviewed those changes as having created the con-ditions for a constructive political dialogue onKosovo's future and continued to support UN-MIK. For their part, the representatives of SNCMitrovica expressed optimism that changes inBelgrade would trigger a process through whichKosovo could be reintegrated into Serbia properand indicated a willingness to improve its rela-tions with UNMIK, but shied away from joiningKTC in the immediate future. In general, withtheir attention focused on Belgrade, Kosovo Serbpolitical groups had not articulated a clear policyon a number of critical issues, including futureparticipation of Kosovo Serbs in JIAS. Neverthe-less, a more constructive attitude towards UNMIKwas increasingly evident.

UNMIK continued to place primary emphasison combating politically motivated violence. APolitical Violence Task Force, staffed by U N M I K


Political Violence Task Force, staffed by U N M I Kpolice and KFOR, established a Kosovo-wide net-work of officials to coordinate activities betweenthem at the local, regional and central levels. TheTask Force worked with the Information Coordi-nation Group. The pre-election period saw a sig-nificant drop in the level of politically motivatedviolence. In the post-election period, however, thenumber of attacks returned to a level comparableto that of mid-summer.

Joint security operations between UNMIK po-lice and KFOR became a cornerstone of their mili-tary and civilian law enforcement mandates. In apre-emptive joint operation late in September,three Kosovo Serb males were arrested in Gra-canica and a significant quantity of weapons andbomb-making equipment was discovered. On 14October, UNMIK police and KFOR conducted ajoint operation in Pristina where 27 Kosovo Alba-nians were arrested, three of whom were suspectsin major crimes, 17 weapons were seized and$50,000 in cash was confiscated. On 17 Novem-ber, a major operation against trafficking in ille-gal weapons and drugs was organized in KosovoPolje, with five major arrests made of persons al-legedly involved in the trafficking of women. Asimilar operation carried out in Pristina on 18November resulted in the arrest of six persons.

Later developments. In a later report on UN-MIK [S/2001/218], the Secretary-General indicatedthat a pattern of threats and violence emerged inDecember. Mitrovica city remained tense and theregion had seen several outbreaks of violent pub-lic disorder in both Kosovo Serb and KosovoAlbanian areas. Riots and vandalism in Lepo-savic and Zubin Potok in December appeared tohave been organized to destabilize the area be-fore the 23 December Serbian parliamentaryelections.

UNMIK regulationsPursuant to resolution 1244(1999) [YUN 1999,

p. 353], the Secretary-General submitted to the Se-curity Council, in March [S/2000/177/Add.1,2], thetexts of regulations 1999/24-27, 2000/1-5 and2000/6-17 issued by the Special Representative.In May [S/2000/177/Add.3], he submitted the textsof regulations 2000/18-27 and, in June [S/2000/538/Add.1], the texts of regulations 2000/28-37.The texts of regulations 2000/38-49 were sub-mitted in September [S/2000/878/Add.1] and thoseof regulations 2000/50-61 were transmitted inDecember [S/2000/1196/Add.1].

On 9 February [S/2000/102], FRY declared thatthe UNMIK draft regulation entitled "Privilegesand immunities accorded to foreign governmentliaison offices in Kosovo" violated its sovereigntyand territorial integrity, which were guaranteed

by Council resolution 1244(1999). In that regard,on 16 February [S/2000/132], FRY said that the Spe-cial Representative's intention to allow Albaniato open a representative office in the Serbianprovince of FRY would further encourage ethnicAlbanian separatism, serve to promote the ideaof a Greater Albania and destabilize the region.It said that representative offices of foreignand/or international organizations might beopened in the territory of FRY with the agree-ment and approval of that country's Govern-ment. On 1 August, it again protested overregulation 2000/42 concerning the establish-ment and functioning of those liaison offices[S/2000/757].

In other communications, FRY protested the is-suance of travel documents to residents of theSerbian province of Kosovo [S/2000/178] and UN-MIK's decision to issue postage stamps for the re-sumption of postal traffic in Kosovo and Meto-hija [S/2000/336]. It expressed concern overregulation 2000/18 of 29 March on issuing per-sonal documents, primarily passports and iden-tity cards, to residents of Kosovo and Metohija[S/2000/337]. In that regard, the EU issued a state-ment on 3 May [S/2000/403] welcoming that regu-lation and encouraging its member States andthose States neighbouring Kosovo to recognizethe travel documents.

UNMIK policeAt the end of 2000, UNMIK's police strength

stood at 4,411 from 53 countries, out of anauthorized strength of 4,718, deployed in thePristina, Mitrovica, Prizren, Gnjilane and Pec re-gions, and with the UNMIK border police, specialpolice units, at the main headquarters, the Ko-sovo Police Service (KPS) development centre andthe internal training centre.

UNMIK police had full responsibility for ex-ecutive law enforcement in the Pristina andPrizren regions, as well as at the Pristina airport'sinternational border crossing point, and investi-gative authority in the Gnjilane and Mitrovica re-gions, the Pec municipality and the internationalborder crossing points of Djeneral Jankovic(Blace) and Globocica. They continued to run thePristina and Mitrovica detention facilities, to de-velop and implement joint security operationswith KFOR, including vehicle and foot patrols,weapons and ordnance searches and to build upa joint operations centre. UNMIK police carriedout investigation, patrolling and public orderfunctions, border policing and traffic control,and worked towards the development of profes-sional capacities to counter organized crimeaffecting the Kosovo region through the estab-lishment of a comprehensive criminal intelli-


gence structure. They were responsible for estab-lishing KPS, the future police in Kosovo. Trainingprovided by the OSCE-run KPS school was coordi-nated with the U N M I K police field training pro-gramme. By December, of the 3,500 KPS cadetsenvisioned for training by January 2001, 2,516had graduated from the KPS school and were de-ployed with U N M I K police field training officersthroughout Kosovo.

UNMIK police developed a Special SecurityTask Force charged with designing measures tocombat ethnically targeted violence, particularlythe threat facing the Kosovo Serb community. Itworked closely with KFOR to enhance joint secu-rity operations, including building a "partner-ship for security" at the local community andneighbourhood levels, and in educating the localpopulation about crime prevention and generalsecurity practices. The Task Force also worked tostrengthen information-sharing with local resi-dents and develop recommendations for preven-tive investigation and enforcement measures.UNMIK police provided protection for at-risk per-sons, including international judges and prose-cutors, key UNMIK partners within the minoritycommunities, visiting dignitaries and other high-profile individuals.

UNMIK financingThe Secretary-General submitted in March

[A/54/807 & Corr.1] the proposed budget for themaintenance of UNMIK for the period 1 July 2000to 30 June 2001 in the amount of $461,380,600gross ($434,981,000 net), which ACABQ consid-ered in March and April [A/54/841, A/54/842].ACABQ recommended that UNMIK's require-ments be re-examined in September and that theGeneral Assembly authorize commitment withassessment of $220 million gross to allow UNMIKto continue its activities to 31 December 2000. Italso recommended that authority be granted toenter into contractural arrangements for staff forup to one year and that the Secretary-General beallowed to redeploy posts among various officesof the Mission.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION (June)

On 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee[A/54/674/Add.1], adopted resolution 54/245 Bwithout vote [agenda item 166].

Financing of the United Nations InterimAdministration Mission in Kosovo


on the financing of the United Nations InterimAdministration Mission in Kosovo and the related re-

ports of the Advisory Committee on Administrativeand Budgetary Questions,

Bearing in mind Security Council resolution1244(1999) of 10 June 1999 regarding the establish-ment of the United Nations Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo,

Recalling its resolutions 53/241 of 28 July 1999 and54/245 A of 23 December 1999 on the financing of theMission,

Acknowledging the complexity of the Mission,Reaffirming that the costs of the Mission are expenses

of the Organization to be borne by Member States inaccordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charterof the United Nations,




Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Mission by certain Govern-ments,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theMission with the necessary financial resources to en-able it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevantresolution of the Security Council,

Recalling its resolutions 51/243 of 15 September 1997and 52/234 of 26 June 1998,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission inKosovo as at 30 April 2000, including the contributionsoutstanding in the amount of 105.5 million UnitedStates dollars, representing 25 per cent of the total as-sessed contributions, notes that some 23 per cent of theMember States have paid their assessed contributionsin full, and urges all other Member States concerned,in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment oftheir outstanding assessed contributions;








8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General tomake the fullest possible use of facilities and equip-ment at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi,Italy, in order to minimize the costs of procurement forthe Mission, and for this purpose requests theSecretary-General to speed up the implementation ofthe asset management system at all peacekeeping mis-sions in accordance with General Assembly resolution52/1 A of 15 October 1997;


10. Requests the Secretary-General to take all neces-sary action to ensure that the Mission is administeredwith a maximum of efficiency and economy;

11. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order toreduce the cost of employing General Service staff, tocontinue efforts to recruit local staff for the Missionagainst General Service posts, commensurate with therequirements of the Mission;

12. Authorizes the Secretary-General to enter intocommitments in an amount not exceeding 220 milliondollars gross (207,407,400 dollars net) for the operationof the Mission for the period from 1 July to 31 Decem-ber 2000;

13. Decides, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportionthe amount of 220 million dollars gross (207,407,400dollars net) for the period from 1 July to 31 December2000 among Member States in accordance with thecomposition of groups set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 ofGeneral Assembly resolution 43/232 of 1 March 1989,as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolutions 44/192 Bof 21 December 1989, 45/269 of 27 August 1991,46/198 A of 20 December 1991, 47/218 A of 23 Decem-ber 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July 1995, 49/249 B of 14 Sep-tember 1995, 50/224 of 11 April 1996, 51/218 A to C of18 December 1996 and 52/230 of 31 March 1998 and itsdecisions 48/472 A of 23 December 1993, 50/451 B of23 December 1995 and 54/456 to 54/458 of 23 Decem-ber 1999, and taking into account the scale of assess-ments for the year 2000, as set out in its resolutions52/215 A of 22 December 1997 and 54/237 A of 23 De-cember 1999;

14. Decides also that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X) of 15 December 1955,there shall be set off against the apportionment amongMember States, as provided for in paragraph 13 above,their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund ofthe estimated staff assessment income of 12,592,600dollars approved for the Mission for the period from1 July to 31 December 2000;



17. Invites voluntary contributions to the Mission incash and in the form of services and supplies accepta-ble to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as ap-

propriate, in accordance with the procedure and prac-tices established by the General Assembly;

18. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission inKosovo".

The Secretary-General resubmitted the UN-MIK budget proposal for the period 1 July 2000 to30 June 2001 in October [A/55/477] in the amountof $474,401,800 gross ($446,239,700 net). In No-vember [A/55/624], ACABQ recommended that theAssembly appropriate for the maintenance ofUNMIK an amount of $450 million, reflecting areduction of some 5 per cent from the proposedamount, inclusive of the $220 million alreadyauthorized by resolution 54/245 B.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION (December)

On 23 December [meeting 89], the General As-sembly, on the recommendation of the Fifth Com-mittee [A/55/663], adopted resolution 55/227 Awithout vote [agenda item 133].

Financing of the United Nations InterimAdministration Mission in Kosovo


on the financing of the United Nations InterimAdministration Mission in Kosovo and the related re-port of the Advisory Committee on Administrative andBudgetary Questions,

Bearing in mind Security Council resolution1244(1999) of 10 June 1999 regarding the establish-ment of the United Nations Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo,

Recalling its resolution 53/241 of 28 July 1999 on thefinancing of the Mission and its subsequent resolu-tions thereon, the latest of which was resolution54/245 B of 15 June 2000,

Acknowledging the complexity of the Mission,Reaffirming that the costs of the Mission are expenses

of the Organization to be borne by Member States inaccordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charterof the United Nations,


Taking into account the fact that the economicallymore developed countries are in a position to makerelatively larger contributions and that the economi-cally less developed countries have a relatively limitedcapacity to contribute towards such operations,


Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Mission by certain Govern-ments,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theMission with the necessary financial resources to en-


able it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevantresolution of the Security Council,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission inKosovo as at 31 October 2000, including the contribu-tions outstanding in the amount of 125 million UnitedStates dollars, representing 20 per cent of the total as-sessed contributions from the inception of the Missionto the period ending 31 December 2000, notes thatsome 19 per cent of the Member States have paid theirassessed contributions in full, and urges all otherMember States concerned, in particular those inarrears, to ensure payment of their outstanding as-sessed contributions;







8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General tomake the fullest possible use of facilities and equip-ment at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi,Italy, in order to minimize the costs of procurement forthe Mission, and for this purpose requests theSecretary-General to speed up the implementation ofthe asset management system at all peacekeeping mis-sions in accordance with its resolution 52/1 A of 15 Oc-tober 1997;


10. Notes the increase in the number of high-levelposts, and requests the Secretary-General to review thismatter and to report thereon in the context of his nextbudget presentation;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to provide infor-mation, in the context of future budget submissions,on the level of interaction between the InternationalTribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsiblefor Serious Violations of International HumanitarianLaw Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugo-slavia since 1991 and the Mission;

12. Also requests the Secretary-General to include infuture budget submissions information on the guide-lines applied to determine the financing through as-sessed contributions and other sources of income;

13. Further requests the Secretary-General to take allnecessary action to ensure that the Mission is adminis-tered with a maximum of efficiency and economy;

14. Requests the Secretary-General, in order to re-duce the cost of employing General Service staff, tocontinue efforts to recruit local staff for the Missionagainst General Service posts, commensurate with therequirements of the Mission;

15. Decides to appropriate the amount of 450 mil-lion dollars gross (422,053,500 dollars net) for themaintenance of the Mission for the period from 1 July2000 to 30 June 2001, inclusive of the amount of220 million dollars gross (207,407,400 dollars net)authorized by the General Assembly in its resolution54/245 B;

16. Decides also, as an ad hoc arrangement, and tak-ing into account the amount of 220 million dollarsgross (207,407,400 dollars net) already apportioned inaccordance with its resolution 54/245 B for the periodfrom 1 July to 31 December 2000, to apportion theadditional amount of 230 million dollars gross(214,646,100 dollars net) for the period from 1 Januaryto 30 June 2001 among Member States in accordancewith the composition of groups set out in paragraphs 3and 4 of General Assembly resolution 43/232 of1 March 1989, as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolu-tions 44/192 B of 21 December 1989, 45/269 of27 August 1991, 46/198 A of 20 December 1991,47/218 A of 23 December 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July1995, 49/249 B of 14 September 1995, 50/224 of11 April 1996, 51/218 A to C of 18 December 1996,52/230 of 31 March 1998 and 55/236 of 23 December2000 and its decisions 48/472 A of 23 December 1993,50/451 B of 23 December 1995 and 54/456 to 54/458of 23 December 1999, and taking into account the scaleof assessments for the year 2001, as set out in its resolu-tion 55/5 B of 23 December 2000;

17. Decides further that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X) of 15 December 1955,there shall be set off against the apportionment amongMember States, as provided for in paragraph 16 above,their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund ofthe estimated additional staff assessment income of15,353,900 dollars approved for the Mission for the pe-riod from 1 January to 30 June 2001;



20. Invites voluntary contributions to the Mission incash and in the form of services and supplies accepta-ble to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as ap-propriate, in accordance with the procedure and prac-tices established by the General Assembly;

21. Decides to keep under review during its fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of the UnitedNations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on UNMIK financing would remain forconsideration at its resumed fifty-fifth (2001) ses-sion (decision 55/458) and that the Fifth Com-mittee would consider the item at that session(decision 55/455).


Protection of minorities and human rightsOne of UNMIK's major preoccupations was the

continued widespread harassment, attack, mur-der and forcible eviction of non-Albanian mi-norities across the province of Kosovo. The attackon the UNHCR bus on 2 February (see p. 359), oneof eight bus lines that shuttled minorities livingin isolated communities, caused the UNHCR busline programme to be temporarily suspendedand was a serious setback to UNMIK efforts to pro-mote freedom of movement and protect minori-ties. The poor security conditions and the conse-quent restrictions on freedom of movement ledto difficulties for minority populations in gain-ing access to basic public services and were deter-mining factors in the departure of Kosovo Serbsand other non-Albanian groups from Kosovo.The Kosovo Albanian minority in northern Mi-trovica was subjected to similar problems, par-ticularly since the violence of 3 February, whichled to the departure or forcible expulsion ofsome 1,650 Kosovo Albanians from their homes.Many Kosovo Serbs and Roma lived under heavyKFOR guard or in mono-ethnic enclaves. In life-threatening situations or particularly vulnerablecircumstances, UNHCR resorted to assisting mi-norities wishing to depart to Serbia and to Mon-tenegro.

The inter-agency Ad Hoc Task Force on Mi-norities continued to work towards enhancing thephysical protection and freedom of movement ofminority populations and to engage in longer-term confidence-building measures. Measuresundertaken by the Task Force had led to an im-provement in living conditions and the situationof minority groups around the province. Thosemeasures included targeted deployment of KFORand UNMIK police officers to protect those mostat risk; installation of enhanced physical securitymeasures in minorities' homes; improved free-dom of movement through the eight KFOR-escorted UNHCR bus lines between minorityenclaves and an U N M I K train service between Ko-sovo Polje and the Mitrovica region; a targeteddistribution network to enhance access to healthcare and food; and the provision of satellite andmobile phones to isolated minority communities.Confidence-building measures, such as facilitat-ing contact between community leaders, werealso under way.

U N M I K promoted inter-community dialoguethrough a series of round-table discussions. Atsuch a meeting on 12 April, Kosovo Albanian andother minority leaders met for the first time andadopted a declaration recognizing the Romacommunities as an integral part of Kosovo societyand agreeing to draft a platform for action tosolve the problems of Roma, Ashkalija and Egyp-

tians, which was endorsed by IAC and KTC.UNHCR facilitated two visits by Kosovo Albanianpolitical leaders to Kosovo Roma and Ashkalijacommunities in June and August, designed todemonstrate the commitment of Kosovo Alba-nian leaders to inter-ethnic tolerance, non-discrimination and the return of displaced per-sons.

The Special Representative launched a newinitiative to improve conditions and services forKosovo's non-Serb minority communities, whichenvisaged special support programmes in areassuch as health, education, social welfare and pub-lic services. He had also intensified direct con-tacts with those communities in support of theinitiative.

Violations of human rights continued to be ofserious concern to UNMIK. Problems surround-ing residential property, incidents of illegal evic-tions and construction continued to be reported.UNMIK police confirmed that trafficking in per-sons was a growing and serious problem in Ko-sovo. A regulation designed to ensure adequatelegal and other protection to victims was underreview. A safe house for victims of trafficking hadbeen set up to provide them with physical assist-ance until they were repatriated to their countryof origin. As at September, 65 females hadreceived assistance. Some enrolled or self-proclaimed KPC members had been accused ofhuman rights violations and illegal police activi-ties, the collection of illegal taxes from businessesand participating in demonstrations, sometimesin the guise of crowd control.

The criminal justice system remained ill-equipped to provide adequate redress for humanrights violations. The irregular conduct of somecriminal trials involving members of ethnic mi-norities had highlighted the need to ensure theimpartiality of the courts and the equal treat-ment of all defendants. Although the issue of de-lays in the court system was being addressed, de-fendants continued to face lengthy pre-trialdetention and difficulties in gaining timely ac-cess to review mechanisms. Problems related toaccess to and effectiveness of counsel affected thequality of representation. The court system alsosuffered from inconsistencies in the approach tothe applicable law and from lack of understand-ing of relevant international human rights laws.

UNMIK's efforts to create mechanisms for en-suring respect for human rights took a step for-ward with the establishment of the ombudspersoninstitution on 21 November. The ombudspersonwould investigate and mediate complaints fromindividuals, groups and organizations regardinghuman rights violations and other abuses ofpower by authorities.


Some 800 Kosovo Albanians were being heldin prisons in Serbia proper and, according toICRC, 3,476 cases of missing persons from Kosovoremained unresolved, of whom some 600 wereethnic Serbs and Roma. U N M I K established a Bu-reau for Detainees and Missing Persons in Octo-ber to coordinate the activities of the principalagencies involved in those issues. To facilitate theBureau's work, two resource centres were opened,one in Pristina and the other in Gracanica.

The issue of Kosovo Albanian detainees in Ser-bia proper was highlighted following riots in pris-ons throughout Serbia. Concern for their safetyduring those riots led to marches and hungerstrikes throughout Kosovo and a general strikeon 14 November. UNMIK officials met with FRYand Serbian officials in Pristina on 15 November,which led to concrete initiatives concerning thewelfare and safety of detainees. FRY also providedthe first official list of Kosovo Albanian detaineesin its prisons and informed UNMIK that an am-nesty law covering political prisoners detained inSerbia proper would be presented to FRY's parlia-ment as soon as possible.

Communications. On 16 March [S/2000/222],FRY informed the Security Council that, as at9 March, 1,330 persons, relocated from Kosovoand Metohija, were in Serbia's penal-correctionalinstitutions.

On 17 and 26 April [S/2000/325, S/2000/352], FRYbrought to the attention of the Security CouncilPresident the fate of 43 Serbs, who, it said, weredetained arbitrarily and without legal groundsby KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovska Mitrovica, 37 ofwhom were on hunger strike, protesting the end-less postponement of their cases. FRY said it was ablatant violation of basic human rights and abreach of judicial procedure. FRY informed theCouncil President of the deterioration of the de-tainees' health in a letter of 10 May [S/2000/407]. Itcalled on him to use his influence to put an end totheir suffering and forestall tragic consequences.FRY also drew attention to the case of Serb na-tional Miroljub Momcilovic and his two sons, whohad been detained at Camp Bondsteel, the mili-tary base of the United States KFOR contingent,since 10 July 1999, charged with murdering anethnic Albanian [S/2000/737].

In another complaint [S/2000/272], FRY pro-tested the violence committed by members ofKFOR and UNMIK against residents of Lepine,which, it said, was telling evidence of their repre-hensible attitude towards the Serbian commu-nity. It was necessary to conduct a thorough inves-tigation and punish those responsible. FRY alsoprotested the systematic and deliberate harass-ment of diplomatic representatives accredited toBelgrade [S/2000/887].

In February, FRY forwarded to the CouncilPresident its positions and comments on theOSCE report entitled "Kosovo/Kossova as Seen, asTold", on the situation of human rights in Kosovoand Metohija from October 1998 to October 1999[S/2000/103]. It described the report as being one-sided and its publication as an abuse of that or-ganization as an instrument for political pur-poses.

Establishment of thejudicial system and the rule of law

U N M I K accorded priority attention to the es-tablishment of an effective judicial and penalmanagement system. The Secretary-General re-ported in June [S/2000/538] that, despite the ap-pointment of more than 400 judges, prosecutorsand lay judges and the increased capacity of thecourts, the unwillingness of witnesses to testifyand the ethnic bias and risk of intimidation ofsome judicial personnel hampered the adminis-tration of justice. Of the appointed judges, prose-cutors and lay judges, only 46 were non-ethnicKosovo Albanians and 7 of those were KosovoSerbs. Since the swearing in of the appointees inJanuary and February, a total of 116 trials hadbeen conducted in Kosovo's district courts: 31 inGnjilane, 26 in Pristina, 21 in Pec, 32 in Prizrenand 6 in Mitrovica.

To build public confidence in the judicial sys-tem, UNMIK planned to take immediate meas-ures, in particular the appointment of interna-tional judges and prosecutors throughoutKosovo. Preparations were under way to establisha Kosovo war and ethnic crimes court, which wasa factor in the re-establishment of the rule of law,in consolidating peace through justice and inpaving the way towards reconciliation.

The Kosovo Judicial Institute began function-ing during the first week of March and con-ducted induction seminars for judges and prose-cutors in all five regions of Kosovo. The Institutewas preparing two round-table seminars, one onthe collaboration between the police and thecourts during the investigative stage and theother on juvenile justice.

On 9 August, the Special Representative ap-pointed an additional 136 local professionaljudges, including 16 from non-Albanian ethnicgroups and 24 women. The new appointmentsbrought the judicial personnel in Kosovo to thelevel sufficient to meet the demand facing thecourt system. A total of 56 courts and 13 prosecu-tors' offices were staffed. Seven internationaljudges and three international prosecutors wereappointed to the Kosovo district courts and therewere plans to have as many as 12 such judges andfive prosecutors. Refurbishment of judicial es-


tablishments was ongoing under a capital projectto improve those facilities. The increased humanand material resources resulted in greater levelsof activity.

UNMIK, with assistance from the Council ofEurope, organized training seminars for localjudges and prosecutors on the European Conven-tion on Human Rights and Fundamental Free-doms. In June, it opened the Kosovo Law Centre,an NGO, which served as a research centre andpublishing house for the legal community andhoused a library of legal and human rights docu-ments.

On 17 October, OSCE published its six-monthreview of Kosovo's criminal justice system, whichfound that, although substantial progress hadbeen made in 2000 in establishing a functioningjustice system, significant problems remained.They included a lack of clarity among localjudges as to whether international human rightsstandards were the supreme law in Kosovo, con-tinued application of laws that could be in breachof international standards, and evidence of biason the part of the local judiciary against minori-ties. In response, the UNMIK Department of Jus-tice established a joint working group with OSCEto study the report and develop ways to imple-ment its recommendations.

ReturnsDuring 2000, over 104,000 Kosovo Albanians

returned to the province, including 12,500forced returns. As at September, more than880,000 persons had returned to Kosovo sinceJune 1999. Most of the returns were conducted inan organized manner with the assistance ofUNHCR and the International Organization forMigration. While the voluntary returns were on-going, forced returns started at the end ofMarch. At the Intergovernmental Consultationson Asylum and Migration (Geneva, March), UN-MIK and UNHCR urged host Governments to en-sure orderly, humane and phased returns.UNMIK also urged that they establish a clear pol-icy for returns on a voluntary basis. Fearing thedestabilizing effect of uncontrolled large-scalereturns, the Special Representative issued anopen letter on 13 April, appealing to host coun-tries to minimize the practice of forced returnsand to participate actively with UNMIK in the re-ception of returnees to Kosovo.

A Joint Committee on Returns for KosovoSerbs was established on 2 May to explore pros-pects for the safe, orderly and sustainable returnof those displaced Kosovo Serbs wishing to goback to their homes and to coordinate efforts andinitiatives in that regard. The Steering Commit-tee of the Joint Committee conducted assessments

of potential return locations throughout theprovince. UNHCR organized a go-and-see visit fordisplaced Serbs to five villages in Osojane. In ameeting with the FRY Minister for Refugees inAugust, the UNHCR Special Envoy for FRYstressed that it was not possible to promote re-turns until conditions for a safe, dignified andsustainable return were in place. The Envoy andthe new FRY President Kostunica agreed in mid-November on the need to find a balance betweenhope and caution with respect to Kosovo Serb re-turns. However, as there were some small-scalespontaneous returns to a number of existing Serbcommunities, a system was put in place to trackthose returns so that assistance could be deliv-ered. As many as 2,000 Kosovo Serbs might havereturned to their places of origin over the courseof the year.

Sectoral developmentsUNMIK made considerable progress in estab-

lishing normality and improving the living con-ditions of the Kosovo population. By 8 February,some 90 per cent of the $29.6 million pledged tothe UNMIK Trust Fund had been received. TheFund was used to finance quick-impact projects,including the payment of stipends to Kosovocivil servants and a winterization programme."Kosovo: Reconstruction 2000", a comprehensivepublic reconstruction and investment pro-gramme, was presented to donors to better targetresources in support of UNMIK's priorities for re-construction. Donors pledged a total of 2.6 bil-lion deutsche mark (DM). A number of high-priority needs remained without funding,including rehabilitation of the courts, schools,hospitals and other public buildings; the devel-opment of multiple solid waste disposal facilitiesand environmental clean-up; and the develop-ment of local human resources.

The Central Housing Committee was estab-lished as the coordinating board for housing re-construction, and UNMIK and its partners hadagreed on a common approach to reconstructionto maximize the impact of available aid and to en-sure fair and transparent distribution. Coordina-tion structures were also being established at thelocal level. Some 20,000 houses were rebuilt dur-ing the year for vulnerable families whose houseshad been damaged or destroyed during the con-flict. A similar number had been rebuilt by thelocal population themselves. The new public re-construction and investment programme 2001-2003 would outline a medium-term road map fordonors, refining and building on priorities set in"Kosovo: Reconstruction 2000".

In other sectoral areas, a health facility masterplan to guide donors and NGOs in the reconstruc-


tion of health-care facilities had been prepared.A $3 million World Bank-funded project was ini-tiated to design a strategy for health-care financ-ing, strengthen the capacity of the health insur-ance fund, prepare an implementation plan forrestructuring the health sector and monitor theimpact of social reforms. Significant progresswas made in refurbishing and re-equippinghealth-care institutions throughout Kosovo, in-cluding the construction of three mental healthcentres.

UNMIK, with international agencies, donorsand local participants, initiated the formulationof a blueprint for the education system in Kosovo.The World Bank sponsored a project at PristinaUniversity, which included the formulation ofnew statutes, the introduction of a modern man-agement system and the establishment of a pro-gramme for the certification of physicians andlawyers. Some 1.8 million textbooks were printedand distributed to students of all ethnic groupsafter being screened for content. A school reha-bilitation and reconstruction cell was establishedto oversee the building and rehabilitation ofschools.

Efforts to rehabilitate and improve the trans-port and infrastructure sector had intensified.Eleven projects in various regions had been initi-ated on facilitating and managing urban traffic,maintaining streets and installing traffic signsand signals. Major road repair and rehabilitationworks were undertaken throughout Kosovo, aswell as repair to damaged bridges. Significantprogress was also made in upgrading Pristina air-port.

UNMIK, together with the Food and Agricul-ture Organization of the United Nations and theWorld Bank, was making vigorous efforts to revi-talize agricultural activity. A $25 million WorldBank-funded project to relaunch farming activi-ties and reorganize veterinary services was initi-ated. The EU was committing DM 20 million toagricultural projects in 2000.

The development of a non-politicized andefficient civil service for Kosovo remained one ofUNMIK's important objectives. Progress wasmade in developing a professional local civil serv-ice at the central and municipal levels. A signifi-cant achievement was the smooth transition fromthe system of stipend payments to salary pay-ments for all public employees paid from the Ko-sovo consolidated fund. The Institute for CivilAdministration, the official training body for thepublic sector, was formally opened on 20 Septem-ber.

To encourage the restart of economic activity,manage existing assets and attract new invest-ment, a private sector development strategy was

finalized. It included a transparent process to de-termine ownership of commercial assets andproperty and to pay fair compensation. To fosterthe development of the private sector, regula-tions covering business organizations, foreign in-vestment, sales contracts and secured transac-tions were to be issued by the end of the year. Aregulation on bankruptcy was also in prep-aration. Extensive efforts to assist the courts todeal with those new regulations and to developthe necessary administrative procedures and reg-istries to implement them were under way. Stepswere taken to commercialize viable sociallyowned enterprises and teams were established tohelp them attract foreign investment partnersand bring them under private management. Aprogramme of technical assistance for small andmedium-sized private enterprises was launchedto help them draw up business plans, assist withfinancing and improve management. In addi-tion, a women's business association assistedwomen to identify and develop opportunities inthe private sector.

On 14 August, UNMIK assumed responsibilityfor and subsequently shut down the Zvecan leadsmelter in the Mitrovica region, which was part ofthe Trepca mining complex. The smelter's op-eration had resulted in a major health hazard.Clean-up operations were under way and medi-cal facilities had been set up to test levels of leadin the blood of workers and the local population.An initial inspection of the smelter indicatedwidespread neglect and poor safety and environ-mental standards. UNMIK administrators wouldrepair or replace safety and production equip-ment throughout the facility. As part of thateffort, up to 2,000 local Trepca workers would beemployed over the next year. Most of the $16 mil-lion required for Trepca's renovation had alreadybeen raised.

Communications. FRY, on 19 July [S/2000/716],requested an urgent meeting of the SecurityCouncil to consider UNMIK's intention to takeover the metallurgical section of Trepca and thethreatened use of force to do so. It said that thequestion of the ownership of the corporation wascomplex, with a number of private entities layingclaim to it, and should be resolved by an arbitra-tion tribunal or competent court. The takeoverwould have serious reverberations for the ethniccleansing of Serbs in Mitrovica, all the more so asthe section was a key source of income for the Ser-bian population of the town. On 14 August[S/2000/801] and 12 September [S/2000/866], FRYlodged a strong protest over the armed attack onand takeover of Trepca by KFOR. It demandedthat the Council condemn the takeover and re-store the status quo ante so that Trepca and its


employees could continue normal work. On 14September [S/2000/871], FRY advised that over60,000 litres of sulphuric acid had been releasedinto the Ibar River from a Trepca battery plant.The disaster was illustrative of the tragic conse-quences of the seizure of Trepca. FRY had re-quested the United Nations Environment Pro-gramme to help relieve the consequences of thedisaster and called for the reinstatement of theTrepca management and employees.

International security presence (KFOR)During the year, the Secretary-General sub-

mitted to the Security Council, in accordancewith resolution 1244(1999) [YUN 1999, p. 353], re-ports on the activities of KFOR, also known as Op-eration Joint Guardian, covering the period24 November 1999 to 22 November 2000[S/2000/50, S/2000/152, S/2000/235, S/2000/318,S/2000/489, S/2000/634, S/2000/814, S/2000/891,S/2000/1024, S/2000/1120, S/2000/1246]. Later reportscovered activities in the remainder of the year[S/2001/52, S/2001/205]. As at 10 December, theForce, which operated under NATO leadership,comprised 44,000 troops from all the NATO coun-tries, as well as from non-NATO countries. On 18April, Lieutenant-General Juan Ortuño as-sumed command of KFOR from General KlausReinhardt; on 16 October, Lieutenant-GeneralCarlo Cabigiosu succeeded Lieutenant-GeneralOrtuño.

KFOR continued to uncover and confiscatecaches of weapons, ammunition and explosivesduring house searches and at traffic controlcheckpoints. Among the most significant findswere the discovery on 10 May near Glogovac of 2sagger missiles, 20 rocket-propelled grenade war-heads, 7 grenade launchers, a machine gun andammunition. Most explosives recovered were de-stroyed in situ. Confiscated weapons were beingdestroyed as part of the commercial destructionprogramme.

KFOR continued to work closely with theUnited Nations Mine Action Coordination Cen-tre and other demining organizations in Kosovo,focusing on the eradication of cluster-bombunits, with ordnance disposal teams destroyingbomblets marked during the winter. The Forceprovided appropriate control of Kosovo's inter-nal and external borders and recognized crossingpoints, and tightened control of the provincialborders and boundaries to prevent extremistsbased in Kosovo from operating elsewhere. Allbut two of the recognized crossing points withineach Multinational Brigade into the groundsafety zone (see below) had been closed. Al-though those measures generally appeared tohave been effective, KFOR noted a number of inci-

dents relating to illegal border crossings. KFORalso supported U N M I K at all levels of the civilianadministration. In March, they established a sys-tematic framework to identify, coordinate and su-pervise the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), estab-lished in 1999 [YUN 1999, p. 366]. They alsocontinued to ensure KPC's adherence to its civil-ian mandate. KFOR worked, at the district level,with the appointed civil administrators and pro-vided personnel liaison with UNMIK civiladministration officers in each district. KFORcontinued to provide humanitarian assistance tointernational organizations and NGOs through-out Kosovo on a daily basis and on request, with afocus on the distribution of stoves, firewood,fuel, water, shelter kits and construction mate-rial. Troops also supported the food distributionefforts of international organizations, protectedand escorted refugees and internally displacedpersons and assisted NGOs in providing humani-tarian aid to remote and isolated minorities andwith a spring/summer housing and school con-struction programme.

Communications. In February [S/2000/139] andMay [S/2000/425], FRY complained about viola-tions of its airspace by NATO and SFOR.

Situation in the ground safety zoneIn July [S/2000/744], FRY brought to the Security

Council's attention the security situation in theground safety zone (GSZ), the buffer zone that ex-tended 5 kilometres beyond the Kosovo and Me-tohija administrative border into the rest of FRY,which was seriously threatened by persistent at-tacks on civilians and police by Albanian terror-ists infiltrating from Kosovo and Metohija andoften from Albania. Those attacks intensified inJune and July, in particular. Heavy weapons wereused ever more frequently and more ruthlessly. Itwas evident that their aim was to destabilize theGSZ. Failure of the international presences to takeaction had emboldened Albanian terrorists andaccounted for the tragic loss of lives and extensivematerial damage. FRY called on the Council tocondemn the attacks and to take effective meas-ures to put an end to them and prevent theirspread outside Kosovo and Metohija.

The Secretary-General, in December [S/2000/1196], said that on 22 November the house of thesenior FRY representative in Kosovo, AmbassadorVucikevic of the FRY liaison committee with UN-MIK, was fire-bombed, resulting in the death of aSerb security guard and injury to three other per-sons. The following day, a senior LDK politicianwas murdered in central Pristina. In mid-November, three Serb police officers were killedin the GSZ.


SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (November)

On 22 November [meeting 4232], following con-sultations among Security Council members, thePresident made statement S/PRST/2000/35 onbehalf of the Council:

The Security Council expresses its shock at, andstrongly condemns, the criminal attacks perpetratedon the home of the head of the liaison committee ofthe Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Pristina on22 November 2000, as well as on Serbian policemenin the south of Serbia on 21 November 2000, both ofwhich resulted in several deaths and injuries.

The Council calls for an immediate and full inves-tigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Fully aware of all the measures already taken toprovide security for all inhabitants of that region,the Council calls upon the Kosovo Force and theUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission inKosovo to continue to make all necessary efforts, in-cluding along the ground safety zone, to prevent fur-ther attacks.

The Council demands that all those concerned re-frain from any act of violence, in particular againstethnic minorities, and cooperate with the Force andthe Mission.

The Council will continue to follow the matterclosely.

Communications. On 27 November [S/2000/1147], the EU condemned the attacks on the Yugo-slav representative in Pristina and on the threeSerb policemen, which it said were a reminder tothe international community that extremistforces, bent on preventing coexistence betweencommunities, were determined to continue theiractivities against Kosovo Serbs, in spite of resolu-tion 1244(1999), the results of the 28 October mu-nicipal elections in Kosovo and the democraticchange in FRY since the elections on 24 Septem-ber.

On the same date [S/2000/1123], FRY PresidentKostunica warned of the deteriorating situationin the Presevo Valley in the GSZ inside Serbiaproper. He said that KFOR and UNMIK hadallowed the crossing of large groups of armed Al-banian paramilitaries into the zone, forcinglightly armed local police to leave their check-points. He hoped the Security Council would actpromptly to address the situation and assured itthat FRY police and military would not enter theGSZ to fight the terrorists. However, viable condi-tions for the return of local police to the zone hadto be created as soon as possible.

On 6 December [S/2000/1160], FRY said that ithad taken urgent diplomatic steps to calm thesituation in the GSZ, requesting UNMIK and KFORto take appropriate measures. However, no meas-ures were being taken to compel the infiltratedarmed groups to withdraw and disarm withoutdelay. According to reports, over 1,000 terroristsfrom Kosovo and Metohija were still in the GSZ,

from where they threatened the security of citi-zens and major routes in southern Serbia, cuttingoff communications of some tens of thousandsof Serbs with other parts of Serbia. Consideringthe gravity of the situation, FRY requested theCouncil urgently to consider the question again,condemn the terrorist acts of the Albanianextremists and ask KFOR and UNMIK to takeeffective measures to compel them to withdrawand to have the GSZ fully respected. The requestfor an urgent meeting of the Council was reiter-ated by President Kostunica on 13 December[S/2000/1184].

FRY, in a Declaration on the Principles of theProtection of the National and State Interests ofthe Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [S/2000/1219],adopted by the FRY Government and the interimGovernment of Serbia at their joint session in Bu-janovac on 16 December and submitted for adop-tion to the Federal Assembly, requested theCouncil to set the shortest deadline and takemeasures for an urgent withdrawal of Albanianterrorists from the GSZ. Otherwise it would in-voke its legal and legitimate right to solve thatproblem by itself by resorting to all internation-ally allowed measures to combat terrorism.

Report of Secretary-General. The Secretary-General, in his 15 December report on UNMIK[S/2000/1196], confirmed that there was an escala-tion of armed confrontation in mid-Novemberbetween Serbian security forces and the self-styled Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedjaand Bujanovac (UCPMB) in the GSZ. Initially lim-ited to harassing fire against the Serbian police,the attacks increased in size, duration, sophistica-tion and aggressiveness. On 23 November, threeSerb police were killed in attacks some 5 kilome-tres south-west of Bujanovac, triggering an in-flux of almost 5,000 displaced persons from theGSZ and other locations into Kosovo.

UNHCR had reported that the internally dis-placed persons had fled out of fear of beingcaught between firing lines, and of a general con-cern about the build-up of police and militaryforces in Presevo Valley. While ethnic Albanianrepresentatives claimed not to be disturbed by lo-cal police from southern Serbia proper, they in-dicated that the presence of security forces pre-viously stationed in Kosovo served as a majorsource of intimidation. KFOR responded toarmed activity in Presevo Valley, including bymounting successful operations to interdictUCPMB operations financially and logistically. Itgarnered support among key Kosovo Albanianleaders, encouraging them to exert their influ-ence to moderate the activities of the Albanianextremists. By the beginning of December, thesituation had begun to calm, with some 2,000 in-


ternally displaced persons returning to theirhomes.

In early December, the Special Envoy ofUNHCR travelled to Belgrade and southern Ser-bia proper to assess the humanitarian situation.Government officials in Belgrade with whom theSpecial Envoy met were eager to find a solution tothe problem in the Presevo Valley and were com-mitted to the return of internally displaced per-sons to their homes. They acknowledged that eth-nic Albanians had been the victims of social andinstitutional discrimination and accepted thatconfidence-building measures, such as the inclu-sion of Albanians in the local police force and in-creased representation in political structures,would go a long way towards decreasing tensionsand longer-term stability in the region.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (December)

The Security Council met on 19 December[meeting 4249] to consider the Secretary-General'sDecember report on UNMIK [S/2000/1196]. On thesame day [meeting 4250], following consultationsamong its members, the President made state-ment S/PRST/2000/40 on behalf of the Coun-cil:

The Security Council welcomes the briefing byMr. Hedi Annabi on 19 December and the presenceof the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Re-public of Yugoslavia at the meeting.

The Council expresses its grave concern at thesituation in certain municipalities in southern Ser-bia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and particularlyin the ground safety zone, as defined in the military-technical Agreement referred to in annex II toresolution 1244(1999) of 10 June 1999. It stronglycondemns the violent action by ethnic Albanian ex-tremist groups in southern Serbia, and calls for animmediate and complete cessation of violence in thisarea. The Council reiterates its resolution 1244(1999) in its entirety.

The Council calls for the dissolution of ethnic Al-banian extremist groups. The Council also calls forthe immediate withdrawal from the area, and in par-ticular from the ground safety zone, of all non-residents engaged in extremist activities.

The Council welcomes the start of a dialogue be-tween the Serbian and Yugoslav authorities and rep-resentatives of the affected communities whichcould facilitate a lasting settlement to the problem.

In this regard, the Council welcomes the commit-ment of the Yugoslav authorities to work towards apeaceful settlement, based on democratic principles,and to respect the provisions of resolution 1244(1999) and the military-technical Agreement, as ex-pressed in the letter dated 13 December 2000 fromthe President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslaviato the President of the Security Council.

The Council welcomes specific measures taken bythe international security presence to address theproblem, including increased surveillance of the

border, confiscation of weapons and the disruptionof identified and illegal activity within Kosovo in thevicinity of the eastern administrative boundary. Itwelcomes the constructive dialogue between the Ko-sovo Force and the Yugoslav and Serbian authorities,including through the Joint Implementation Com-mission. The Council calls upon the Kosovo Forceand the United Nations Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo to continue to make all necessaryefforts to address the problem. The Council alsocalls on Kosovo Albanian leaders to contribute to thestability of the situation.

The Council welcomes the detailed public state-ment by the Secretary-General of the North AtlanticTreaty Organization of 29 November 2000, and thestrong message which this sent to extremist groupsin the Presevo-Medvedja-Bujanovac area.

The Council will remain actively seized of the mat-ter.

Sanctions against FRY

Sanctions Committee activitiesOn 27 June [S/2000/633], the Security Council

Committee established pursuant to resolution1160(1998) [YUN 1998, p. 369], which imposed anarms embargo on FRY, transmitted to the CouncilPresident a report covering its work from 1 Janu-ary to 31 December 1999. During that period, theCommittee had received only one reply (Oman)on measures that States had been requested to in-stitute in meeting their obligations in respect ofthe prohibitions imposed by the resolution. TheCommittee had brought to the attention of Bos-nia and Herzegovina that it was the only countrybordering FRY that had not reported on stepstaken to give effect to those prohibitions. It didnot approve a request from Bulgaria for the ship-ment of industrial explosives to FRY, and ruledthat the matter of the export of ammunition forM84 tanks from FRY to Kuwait under a 1989 con-tract did not fall within its mandate. The Com-mittee reminded Albania, as a neighbour of FRY,that it had an important role in ensuring imple-mentation of resolution 1160(1998), in particularthe provision requiring States to prevent the saleor supply to FRY, including Kosovo, by their na-tionals or from their territories, of arms and re-lated materiel and spare parts, and to preventarming and training for terrorist activities there.The Committee requested the Secretary-Generalto forward its invitation to UNMIK and KFOR toconsider arrangements that would allow them toreport on possible violations of the prohibitions.

At several meetings, the Committee consid-ered reports on violations of the prohibitions es-tablished by resolutions 1160(1998) and 1199(1998) [YUN 1998, p. 377]. OSCE had indicated thatsmuggling from Albania to Kosovo continued.


The Committee reported that its work contin-ued to be affected by the absence of an effectivemonitoring mechanism and the lack of informa-tion on possible violations. The information pro-vided by the Secretariat from public sources onpossible violations did not often allow the Com-mittee to forward information to Member Statesenabling them to launch investigations on possi-ble violations. With a view to assisting and en-couraging Governments to implement the armsembargo and other prohibitions, the Committeewas contemplating sending a mission to the re-gion, headed by its Chairman.

In a report covering its work from 1 January to31 December 2000 [S/2001/102], the Committee in-dicated that it had received no replies concerningmeasures that States had been requested to insti-tute in meeting their obligations under para-graph 12 of resolution 1160(1998). The Commit-tee approved, under the no-objection procedure,three requests from the United Kingdom for ap-proval to transfer demining equipment to hu-manitarian demining organizations working forUNMIK in Kosovo.

On 20 June, the Committee drew theSecretary-General's attention to the section ofthe report of the Council mission to Kosovo onthe implementation of resolution 1244(1999)[S/2000/363] (see p. 361). The mission had been re-quested, among other actions, to review ongoingimplementation of the prohibitions imposed byresolution 1160(1998). The mission highlightedthe discussions it had held with KFOR onstrengthening the monitoring of the arms em-bargo. The Committee supported the findingscontained in the mission's report, in particularthat detailed information on KFOR activities inthe implementation of resolution 1160(1998)should be provided to the Committee by theNATO Secretary-General on a regular basis.

The UN Department for Disarmament Affairs,replying to a Committee request for advice, saidthat the spare parts for MI-8 helicopters, report-edly detained on a Bulgarian lorry for lack of aspecial export permit, could be used for bothmilitary and civilian purposes. The Committeereceived information from FYROM on two inci-dents of arms trafficking on its territory, andraised no objection to a request from Bulgaria forapproval to export the chemical substance pen-taerythritol tetranitrate to FRY to be used in themanufacture of medications.

On 5 June, FYROM informed the Committee ofviolations of the prohibitions under resolution1160(1998) and of that country's actions to pre-vent arms trafficking in its territory. The Com-mittee also received several reports on KFORactivities and reports on activities of the

Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Both reported no violations.

EU sanctionsOn 31 July [S/2000/753], FRY drew the attention

of the Security Council President to the lack of le-gal basis for the EU sanctions imposed on it andthe damage they had caused to the economy andsociety. Imposed since 1998, those sanctions werewithout legal grounding in any UN document,violated several provisions of the UN Charterand were contrary to the goals of the Internation-al Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, adopted by the General Assembly in reso-lution 2200 A (XXI) [YUN 1966, p. 419].

A 30 June EU decision strengthened financialsanctions against FRY. The list of 190 firms in FRYthat were allowed transactions with partners inEU member States constituted a flagrant viola-tion of the rights of free movement of goods andcapital, discriminated against economic subjectsin FRY and violated the rights to life, to work, todevelopment and to education, as well as theright to association of economic and social factorsin a sovereign European country. The EU sanc-tions stopped and hindered FRY's stable and dy-namic economic development, caused a rise inunemployment and the standard of living of thepopulation to fall and affected neighbouringcountries and all of South-Eastern Europe. FRYcalled on the Council to declare them illegal andpropose that they be lifted urgently. FRY reservedthe right to protect its interests and to request ma-terial and other indemnity from the EU in court.

On 20 September [S/2000/885], FRY drew atten-tion to the announcement by the EU and theUnited States that they were ready to lift sanc-tions on FRY if its voters elected the oppositioncandidate in the 24 September presidential elec-tions.

The EU announced the lifting of all sanctionsagainst FRY, including the oil and air embargoes,on 11 October, following the presidential elec-tions (see p. 384).

Internal and external conflict

Relations with MontenegroSlovenia transmitted to the Security Council

President on 21 June [S/2000/611] a non-paper en-titled "Montenegro and the Balkan crisis", pre-pared by the Government of the FRY Republic ofMontenegro and submitted in the context of theCouncil's debate on the situation in the Balkanson 23 June. Slovenia said, in its letter of transmit-tal, that it believed the document could usefullycontribute to the understanding of that situation


by the general membership of the United Na-tions.

In the non-paper, Montenegro declared thatthe policy of destruction, autocracy, confronta-tion with the international community and self-isolation of the Belgrade leadership was notreconcilable with the democratic choice of thecitizens of Montenegro. That leadership was alsousing all methods to destabilize Montenegroand undermine its choice. Montenegro and theinternational community were facing the possi-bility of a new crisis breaking out. It remainedcommitted and open to cooperation with Serbia,which it had offered as a basis for new relations,full equality of the two States and the creation ofa common framework for the citizens of the twocountries. Montenegro stated that peace, stabil-ity and prosperity of the former Yugoslavia andthe Balkans depended on establishing new dem-ocratic relations in Serbia by organizing freeand fair elections; strengthening the political-diplomatic isolation of the current policy andregime in Serbia; and creation of internationalsupport to Montenegro in its commitment to de-mocracy, transformation of its economy and inte-gration into all European and international pro-cesses. The Government of Montenegro did notaccept the leadership of Serbia and its politicaland diplomatic representatives and services to bethe representatives of the policy and interests ofMontenegro.

FRY, on 24 June [S/2000/625], protesting the cir-culation of Montenegro's non-paper, said that itwas unacceptable and contrary to the Charterand international law to allow a part of a sover-eign country to communicate with the Council.Slovenia's request for the text to be circulated wasa direct interference in FRY's internal affairs,which was a dangerous provocation for peace andsecurity in the region and beyond. It was unac-ceptable for Slovenia to figure as a "representa-tive" of Montenegro, which was an equal federalunit of FRY.

Security Council consideration (23 June). On22 June [S/2000/617], FRY informed the SecurityCouncil President that certain persons would beattending the Council's meeting on 23 June,claiming to represent Montenegro. Consideringthat Montenegro was part of FRY, allowing anyother persons to represent a part of a sovereignterritory violated FRY's Constitution and theCharter and was in breach of international law,the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations[YUN 1961, p. 512] and the Agreement between theUnited Nations and the United States of Amer-ica regarding the Headquarters of the UnitedNations [YUN 1947-48, p. 199]. FRY asked the Council

to reject the dangerous precedent and protect theCouncil's integrity and the Charter.

During the Council's 23 June meeting[S/PV.4164], the President stated that, since it wasnot possible to reach an understanding in priorconsultations, the Council would have to decideon whether to invite the Secretary-General's Spe-cial Envoy for the Balkans to participate in the de-bate. It would also have to decide on requestsfrom a number of Member States and the EU toparticipate under either rule 37 or rule 39 of theCouncil's provisional rules of procedure, and ona similar request from Vladislav Jovanovic, FRYCharge d'affaires, which referred to neither rule.

The Council, by a vote of 4 in favour, 10 againstand 1 abstention, did not adopt a Russian Federa-tion proposal that a single decision be taken on allthe requests, considered as a whole. By the no-objection procedure, it invited those MemberStates that had requested to participate, the Spe-cial Envoy for the Balkans and the EU Secretary-General to participate. By a vote of 4 in favour,7 against and 4 abstentions, Mr. Jovanovic'srequest was not approved.

Following the vote, China expressed regret re-garding the Council's decision. It said that FRYwas an important country of the Balkan regionand a party to the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement[YUN 1995, p. 544]. It did not matter whether or notone agreed with FRY's policy; excluding FRY andnot allowing it to speak would not solve the Bal-kan problem. The Council should not deprive asovereign State of its right to state its positionwhen it wanted to do so.

Argentina said that its abstention did not im-ply support for, endorsement of or sympathy forthe Belgrade regime, but it had serious doubtsregarding the underlying reasons for denyingMr. Jovanovic's participation in the debate.

The Russian Federation said that a very dan-gerous precedent was being created when Statesthat were unpalatable for political reasons wereexcluded from participation in the work of theUnited Nations. The Council meeting on theBalkans without FRY's full participation lost itspractical meaning.

On 23 June [S/2000/621], FRY, in protesting theCouncil's decision, said that, as a country situ-ated in the Balkans, a signatory and a guarantorof the Peace Agreement, as well as a country withwhose agreement the international civil and mili-tary presences had been deployed in its territory,FRY had more right than any other country toparticipate in the meeting. The rejection of its re-quest was discriminatory and contrary to theprinciples of the Charter.

The Special Envoy for the Balkans, briefingthe Council, said he believed that the most press-


ing issue in the region was the question of the fu-ture of FRY. There could not be self-sustainingstability in the region if there was not self-sustaining stability in its different parts. In thatrespect, the situation in FRY gave cause for con-cern. In his opinion, Yugoslavia's current struc-tures were unsustainable, primarily due to theacute constitutional crisis between the Republicof Montenegro and the federal authorities in Bel-grade, where the federal institutions had beengrossly misused to exclude the representatives ofthe elected authorities of Montenegro. Theywere on a slow but steady collision course. He be-lieved that it was important that the electedauthorities in Montenegro be supported in theirefforts to pave the way for the new deal they wereseeking. Added to that acute constitutional crisiswas the unresolved issue of the future status ofKosovo. Although on paper still an integral partof the Republic of Serbia, the reality was differ-ent. He failed to see any circumstances underwhich a peace agreement would not have to in-clude a clear constitutional separation betweenthe two.

The search for peace was handicapped by thefact that key persons in public positions in FRYwere refusing to respect indictments that hadbeen issued by ICTY. That situation was danger-ous for FRY and the wider region. It was impor-tant to recall that, in the Dayton-Paris PeaceAgreement, FRY subscribed to the position thatpersons indicted by the Tribunal and not cooper-ating with it could not hold public office. Whatwas being demanded of them was no more thanwhat they themselves had previously agreed todemand of others as part of the search for peacein the region, and the sooner the authoritiesthere saw the logic of that, the sooner all couldwork together to create self-sustaining structureswithin FRY's borders and as part of the search forself-sustaining stability in the region as a whole.

Communications. On 11 July [S/2000/679],Slovenia forwarded to the Security Council Presi-dent the text of an 8 July resolution adopted bythe Parliament of the FRY Republic of Montene-gro on the protection of rights and interests ofMontenegro and its citizens. By that resolution,the Parliament declared its intention not to rec-ognize any legal or political act passed by the fed-eral legislative, executive and judicial authoritieswithout participation of its own representatives,or any amendments to the FRY Constitutionadopted by the federal Parliament against themajority will of the citizens of Montenegro. TheParliament called on the citizens of Montenegroand Serbia, as well as the international commu-nity, to help find peaceful solutions to the prob-

lems between Montenegro and the State authori-ties.

On 18 July [S/2000/724], FRY called the resolu-tion a gross interference in its internal affairs.Slovenia had no right to circulate Montenegro'spaper as a Council document. FRY called on theCouncil to reject the document as it contravenedCouncil procedures and practice.

Earlier, on 11 July [S/2000/749], the Presidentsof Croatia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, in ajoint statement following their meeting in Du-brovnik, Croatia, on 10 and 11 July, expressedtheir disquiet over the latest developments in FRY,especially the constitutional changes adopted bythe Yugoslav Parliament, which jeopardized de-mocracy, discriminated between the subjects ofthe Federation and rejected internationally re-spected principles. They held that, although theobjective of those changes was to abolish thestanding of Montenegro, they might in realitylead to FRY's dissolution. The international com-munity should do its utmost to protect the hu-man, civic and constitutional rights of FRY citi-zens and those of Montenegro, and prevent thecurrent situation from evolving into a new waveof violence. They would deem unacceptable anypower-based or confrontational solution the Bel-grade regime might seek.

On 13 July [S/2000/692], Slovenia forwarded tothe Council President a letter from the Ministerfor Foreign Affairs of Montenegro regardingMontenegro's representation in international re-lations and an aide-memoire on Montenegro'shistory, which further clarified some of Monte-negro's views on the problem expressed in its ear-lier document (see p. 381). The aide-memoiresaid that the authorities in Serbia had never ac-cepted the outcome of the 1997 and 1998 presi-dential elections in Montenegro and had ob-structed the formation of common federal Statebodies based on the majority will of the citizensof Montenegro. Instead, they appointed theirpartisan and political sympathizers, who were theopposition in Montenegro, to be Montenegro'srepresentatives to the federal bodies. Since then,Montenegro had no access to the federal authori-ties, did not participate in their work and did notrecognize their legitimacy. Montenegro gave ex-amples of how the federal authorities had beenused against it with a view to its economic andgeneral exhaustion, political destabilization andthe toppling of the democratically elected gov-ernment. They included the removal of legalMontenegrin authorities from all institutions ofthe federal State and the work of those bodies, in-cluding in defence, internal and foreign affairs,finances, foreign trade, customs and the centralbank, and the imposition of a comprehensive


blockage of the overall payment operations andcommodity trade with Montenegro for severalmonths. Montenegro had therefore assumedcontrol of the activities in foreign trade and im-port and export of goods and services, insuranceand investment guarantees, production coopera-tion and joint ventures, the tax system, customs,border control, and monetary operations by le-galizing the deutsche mark as parallel legaltender, together with the dinar.

On 27 July [S/2000/745], Serbia's Ministries ofFinance and Justice issued a notification that allsales contracts concluded anywhere between Al-banians and displaced Serbs and Montenegrinsand members of other national communitiesafter 10 June 1999 and relating to immovableproperty in Kosovo and Metohija were invalid.

FRY relations with other StatesOn 25 February [S/2000/154], FRY drew the at-

tention of the Security Council President to thenegotiations between UNMIK and FYROM con-cerning a memorandum on the construction ofborder infrastructure and customs cooperationat the Yugoslav-FYROM border. Stating that UN-MIK was not authorized to enter into agreementswith neighbouring States without its consent,FRY said that it would consider null and void anyagreement reached by UNMIK in contraventionof its authority changing the nature of bordercrossings between the two countries.

FYROM, for its part, drew attention on 8 June[S/2000/552] to several incidents at the FYROM bor-der with the Kosovo province of FRY, which, itsaid, risked endangering the security situation inthe region. The two most serious were the abduc-tion on 2 April of four FYROM Army soldiers whowere held for 24 hours before being released andthe wounding by sniper shots coming from Ko-sovo of two soldiers on 5 June. The Governmenthad requested an urgent investigation and thetaking of immediate measures to identify and ap-prehend the perpetrators of those terrorist acts.It said that such incidents, most likely connectedto the growing organized crime in Kosovo, pre-sented a threat to FYROM's stability and that ofneighbouring countries and could underminejoint efforts for stabilizing and promoting secu-rity in the region, particularly in Kosovo.

FRY protested on 25 May the visit of the Al-banian President to Kosovo and Metohija(S/2000/490]. According to media reports, he hadcalled on Kosovo and Metohija Albanians to worktowards the creation of a "Greater Albania" thatwould include, in addition to the Serbian prov-ince and Albania, parts of FRY's Republic ofMontenegro and FYROM. The illegal visit of thehighest-ranking Albanian official to a sovereign

territory without prior agreement of its Govern-ment was contrary to international law and vio-lated FRY's sovereignty and territorial integrityand resolution 1244(1999). FRY accused UNMIK,by failing to prevent that illegal act, of aligning it-self with and giving UN approval to those whocommitted terror and crimes against the Serbsand other non-Albanians, and asked the Councilto condemn the practice of illegal visits.

On 2 August [S/2000/765], FRY protested the es-tablishment, on 24 July, of the Albanian liaisonoffice in Pristina. It repeated its request for theCouncil to annul UNMIK's decision to allow Alba-nia to establish the liaison office to serve the goalsof furthering Albania's illegitimate and hostileclaims against FRY. FRY reiterated its protest andrequest on 6 October [S/2000/965], citing reportsthat the "mission" would be further strength-ened and transformed into a diplomatic repre-sentative office, which would render an inter-State character to Albania/Kosovo relations.

On 25 September [A/55/421], FRY drew theSecretary-General's attention to the statementmade by the Albanian Minister for Foreign Af-fairs on 16 September to the fifty-fifth session ofthe General Assembly, which, it said, was illustra-tive of the persistence of Albania's policy of in-terference in FRY's internal affairs, paternalismin its relations with the ethnic Albanian minorityin FRY and the territorial aspirations towardsparts of FRY.

In other communications, FRY protested thevisit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Ivan Kos-tov, to the Bulgarian units within KFOR on 19March [S/2000/246]; the visit of Queen Rania ofJordan to Kosovo and Metohija on 27 Marchwithout its approval [S/2000/314]; the UNMIK ini-tiative to host a conference on traffic corridors ofthe Balkans in Skopje, FYROM, in April, to whichthe "territory of Kosovo" was to be invited[S/2000/313]; and the UNMIK practice of flyingAlbanian flags on UN buildings in Kosovo andMetohija, despite its protests [S/2000/331]. FRYbrought to the Council President's attention on19 May [S/2000/457] UNMIK's intention to con-clude an agreement with the Red Crescent ofSaudi Arabia on the construction of a culturalcentre near an Orthodox cemetery in Pristina.

Change of GovernmentOn 7 October, Vojislav Kostunica, who was

elected President of FRY on 24 September, tookoffice. He replaced Slobodan Milosevic, who hadbeen charged with crimes against humanity byICTY in 1999 [YUN 1999, p. 1214]. The new Govern-ment, which was formed on 4 November,dropped any claim to being the sole successor


State of the former Socialist Federal Republic ofYugoslavia (which dissolved in 1992), and was rec-ognized by the international community.

Communications. In a 3 March statement[S/2000/196], the EU expressed concern about thecontinued violations by Serbian authorities of theright of free expression of opinion. It stated thatpublic threats against the independent mediashowed that the regime pursued an arbitrary anddiscriminatory policy to clamp down on indepen-dent voices, as demonstrated by the indictment ofDusan Mihajlovic, President of the New Democ-racy Party, for allegedly spreading false informa-tion and disrupting law and order. The EU statedthat the Serbian people should be allowed tofreely express their political will. On 10 May[S/2000/438], the EU said that it was disturbed bythe intensification of repression against demo-cratic forces, civil society and independent mediain Serbia. The measures taken by FRY authoritiesto prevent a lawful and democratic rally in Poza-revac on 9 May was one more denial of democ-racy and a violation of the right to freedom of ex-pression. The EU also condemned the recentarbitrary arrests of politicians, journalists andstudents and reiterated its support for the strug-gle of the Serbian people for freedom and de-mocracy.

On 18 and 22 May [S/2000/463, S/2000/485], theEU condemned the takeover of Belgrade's inde-pendent television station, Studio B, on 17 May,and the simultaneous actions against RadioB292, Radio Index, the daily newspaper Blic, andTV Mladenovac. That action, following continu-ing mass arrests and detention of opposition rep-resentatives and student leaders, heavy punish-ment of independent media, repression ofjournalists and obstacles to public rallies of thedemocratic forces, was the latest in a series of re-pressive actions by the Milosevic regime. Increas-ing repression by that regime was leading FRYinto a position of greater distance from free anddemocratic Europe, increasing its isolation andrunning against the wishes of the Serbian people.FRY remained the only South-Eastern EuropeanState still isolated from the mainstream ofEurope, and President Milosevic's regime alonewas responsible for that situation.

On 20 September [S/2000/885], FRY drew the at-tention of the Security Council President to theannouncement by the EU and the United Statesthat they were ready to lift sanctions on FRY if itsvoters elected the opposition candidate at the 24September presidential elections. In addition,the United States and some EU member Statescontinued to finance the activities of a number ofpolitical organizations and media in FRY and hadsubstantially increased funding during the elec-

tion campaign. Those actions, designed to swingthe will of its electorate, constituted a flagrantviolation of the Charter, relevant OSCE docu-ments and international law and was condemnedby the FRY Government. Those countries had en-croached upon the inalienable right of Yugoslavvoters to elect their own legitimate representa-tives and violated General Assembly resolution54/168 [YUN 1999, p. 632] regarding respect for theprinciples of national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States intheir electoral processes. FRY requested theCouncil to consider the issue at its next meeting.

FRY also lodged a protest on 18 September[A/55/395-S/2000/880] regarding the establishmenton 15 August of a "United States Bureau forYugoslavia" in Budapest, Hungary, to assist theopposition in FRY and Serbia to swing the will ofthe people in the forthcoming elections, to estab-lish and fund pro-United States and pro-NATOorganizations in FRY, and to finance oppositionparties and the so-called independent media.Hungary's consent to the opening of the "Bu-reau" and the use of Hungarian territory againsta third country were unprecedented in interna-tional relations. FRY protested United States ac-tivities from Hungary and other countries, aimedat overt interference in FRY's internal affairs, de-stabilization of the country and the violation ofits sovereignty and territorial integrity. It ex-pected the Council to condemn that behaviourand to call on the United States to respect theCharter, United States international obligationsand international law. FRY further elaboratedthose views and observations in a memorandumof 5 October [S/2000/961] regarding the electionsin FRY in September-October. It also accusedNATO countries, the EU and other EuropeanStates of exerting political, psychological andmilitary pressures, of subversive activities and offunding the opposition.

EU statement. On 11 October [A/55/486-S/2000/991], the EU welcomed the election of Mr.Kostunica as FRY's new President. It said that thepeople of FRY had chosen democracy andEurope. As a result, the EU decided to lift all sanc-tions imposed on the country since 1998, with theexception of the provisions affecting formerPresident Milosevic and those associated withhim. The EU also decided to lift the oil and airembargoes immediately and to allow FRY to bene-fit from the Community Assistance to Recon-struction, Development and Stabilization pro-gramme. The activities of the European Agencyfor Reconstruction would also be extended toFRY.

Among other initiatives, the EU Finance Minis-ters would examine, in consultation with interna-


tional financial institutions, the conditions forintegrating FRY into the international financialcommunity as rapidly as possible. The Council ofthe EU had asked the European Commission andthe World Bank, under the aegis of the SteeringCommittee for the Balkans, to be jointly respon-sible for evaluating FRY's needs and for coordi-nating economic and financial assistance to it.

Each of the 15 EU member States expressed itsdesire to re-establish or to normalize diplomaticrelations with FRY and hoped that FRY would starta reconciliation process with its neighbours andre-establish relationships of trust and coopera-tion. The EU would help meet those objectives asfar as it was able.

Georgia

At the end of 2000, there was still no break-through in efforts to reach a political settlementof the Abkhaz/Georgian conflict. During theyear, the Secretary-General's Special Representa-tive, the Russian Federation, in its capacity asfacilitator, the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General (France, Germany, the Russian Federa-tion, the United Kingdom and the United States)and OSCE worked with the Georgian and Abkhazsides to reinvigorate the peace process and en-gage in bilateral discussions on specific relatedissues. Through those efforts, three meetings ofthe Coordinating Council were held during theyear, at which agreement was reached on revital-izing the Council's working groups on security,on refugees and internally displaced persons andon social and economic questions. The SpecialRepresentative continued to refine the draftdocument "Basic principles for the distributionof constitutional competences between Tbilisiand Sukhumi" but the Group of Friends of theSecretary-General could not arrive at a sharedposition on the draft proposal.

Meanwhile, to address the deteriorating secu-rity situation in the zone of conflict, the partiessigned a 3 May Protocol on the stabilization of thesituation in the security zone. They also reacheddecisions on accelerating work on the draft proto-col on the return of refugees to the Gali districtand measures for economic rehabilitation, andthe agreement on peace and guarantees for thenon-resumption of hostilities. Special effortswere also made to improve confidence-buildingmeasures.

The Security Council, in November, notedwith concern the continued failure of the partiesto achieve a comprehensive settlement, including

the political status of Abkhazia within the Stateof Georgia, and called on them to take immediatemeasures to move beyond the impasse and tospare no effort to achieve progress without fur-ther delay.

UN Observer Mission in GeorgiaThe United Nations Observer Mission in

Georgia (UNOMIG), established by SecurityCouncil resolution 858(1993) [YUN 1993, p. 509],continued to monitor and verify compliance withthe 1994 Agreement on a Ceasefire and Separa-tion of Forces (Moscow Agreement) [YUN 1994,p. 583] and to fulfil other tasks as mandated byresolution 937(1994) [ibid., p. 584]. The Mission op-erated in close collaboration with the collectivepeacekeeping force of the Commonwealth of In-dependent States (CIS) that had been in the zoneof conflict, at the request of the parties, since1994 [ibid, p. 583]. The Council extended the Mis-sion's mandate twice during the year, the firsttime until 31 July 2000 and the second until 31January 2001.

UNOMIG's main headquarters was located inSukhumi (Abkhazia, Georgia), with administra-tive headquarters in Pitsunda, a liaison office inthe Georgian capital of Tbilisi and team basesand a sector headquarters in each of the Gali andZugdidi sectors. A team base in the Kodori Valleywas manned by observers operating fromSukhumi. UNOMIG, as at October 2000, had astrength of 103 military observers.

The Mission was headed by Dieter Boden(Germany). Major-General Anis Ahmed Bajwa(Pakistan) succeeded Major-General Tariq Wa-seem Ghazi (Pakistan) as UNOMIG's Chief Mili-tary Observer in mid-January [S/2000/15,S/2000/16].

ActivitiesReport of Secretary-General (January). The

Secretary-General, in response to resolution1255(1999) [YUN 1999, p. 380], submitted a Januaryreport [S/2000/39] on the situation in Abkhazia,Georgia, including UNOMIG operations. Hestated that, since assuming his duties in Novem-ber 1999, his Special Representative had met withGeorgia's President, Eduard Shevardnadze,Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba, other repre-sentatives of both sides, the Russian Federation,in its capacity as facilitator, OSCE and membersof the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General. The negotiating process resumed on 18and 19 January, with the convening of the ninthsession of the Coordinating Council of the Geor-gian and Abkhaz sides in Tbilisi, after a nine-month hiatus. The session, organized around


small bilateral working groups, reached agree-ment on the protocol establishing a mechanismfor joint investigation of violations of the MoscowAgreement and other violent incidents in thezone of conflict; the disinterring and reburial ofGeorgian remains buried near Sukhumi and as-sistance from the Georgian side in locating theburied remains of Abkhaz killed during the war;and further steps for the rehabilitation and useof the Inguri dam and power station. They alsoagreed to renew negotiations on a draft docu-ment on peace and the non-resumption of hos-tilities, and requested the Special Representativeto carry out preparatory work for a third meetingon confidence-building measures. In parallel tothose talks, the Special Representative called forwork to proceed on issues relating to a compre-hensive settlement of the conflict. Pursuant to Se-curity Council resolution 1255(1999), a draftdocument entitled "Basic principles for the dis-tribution of constitutional competences betweenTbilisi and Sukhumi" was submitted for com-ments to the Russian Federation, OSCE and theFriends of the Secretary-General. Although theAbkhaz side had so far been reluctant to discussthat subject, the Secretary-General envisagedthat ways of moving the issue forward would beexplored at a later stage.

The Secretary-General reported that the situa-tion in the UNOMIG area of responsibility re-mained calm but unstable and there were no seri-ous violations of the Moscow Agreement. Twoviolent incidents in January, the detonation of amine by a civilian bus and the abduction of twoUNOMIG observers (who were subsequently re-leased unharmed), created serious concernabout security in the area and hindered UN andNGO activities. Meanwhile, despite the lack ofproper security conditions for returning refu-gees and internally displaced persons, and thelack of agreement on that issue, a process of ad-ministrative and economic normalization wasunder way in the Gali district, affecting positivelythe lives of its residents, who were showing signsof optimism for a better future.

The Secretary-General observed that the criti-cal issue of the return of refugees and internallydisplaced persons needed to be addressed ur-gently. He called on the two sides and the interna-tional community to find a formula for their re-turn. Since negotiations on earlier draftdocuments addressing the issue had reached astandstill, he urged the two sides to put forwardand implement new approaches to resolving theproblem of displacement, including the revivalof Working Group II of the Coordinating Coun-cil. The Secretary-General recommended that

the Security Council extend UNOMIG's mandateuntil 31 July 2000.

Communication. On 26 January [S/2000/52],the Russian Federation informed the CouncilPresident that the CIS Council of Heads of Statehad decided to extend the presence of its collec-tive peacekeeping force in Abkhazia, Georgia, fora further six months and to continue as soon aspossible the consultations on ensuring imple-mentation of previous decisions of the Council ofHeads of State, particularly with respect to theexpansion of the security zone and elaboration ofa procedure for its implementation.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (January)

On 31 January [meeting 4094], the Security Coun-cil unanimously adopted resolution 1287(2000).The draft [S/2000/56] was prepared in consulta-tions among Council members.


resolution 1255(1999) of 30 July 1999, and the state-ment by its President of 12 November 1999,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-Generalof 19 January 2000,

Recalling the conclusions of the summits of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,held in Lisbon in December 1996 and in Istanbul on 18and 19 November 1999, regarding the situation inAbkhazia, Georgia,

Stressing that the lack of progress on key issues of acomprehensive settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia,Georgia, is unacceptable,

Welcoming the results of the ninth session of the Co-ordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz sidesheld under the chairmanship of the Special Represen-tative of the Secretary-General with the participationof the Russian Federation, in its capacity as facilitator,as well as of the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General and of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in Tbilisi on 18 and 19 January2000, in particular the signing by the parties of the Pro-tocol establishing a mechanism for joint investigationof violations of the Agreement on a Ceasefire andSeparation of Forces, signed in Moscow on 14 May1994, and other violent incidents in the conflict zone,and their decision to renew negotiations under UnitedNations auspices and with the facilitation of the Rus-sian Federation on the draft agreement on peace andguarantees for the prevention of armed confrontationsand on the preparation of a draft of a new protocol onthe return of refugees to the Gali region and measuresto restore the economy,

Welcoming the decision on further measures for thesettlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia,adopted by the Council of Heads of State of the Com-monwealth of Independent States on 30 December1999,

Deeply concerned that, although currently calm, thegeneral situation in the conflict zone remains volatile,

Welcoming and encouraging efforts by the United Na-tions to sensitize peacekeeping personnel in the pre-


vention and control of HIV/AIDS and other communi-cable diseases in all its peacekeeping operations,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in theConvention on the Safety of United Nations and Asso-ciated Personnel of 9 December 1994,

Welcoming the important contributions that theUnited Nations Observer Mission in Georgia and thecollective peacekeeping force of the Commonwealth ofIndependent States continue to make in stabilizing thesituation in the conflict zone, noting that the workingrelationship between the Mission and the collectivepeacekeeping force has been good at all levels, andstressing the importance of continuing and increasingclose cooperation and coordination between them inthe performance of their respective mandates,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of19 January 2000;

2. Encourages the parties to seize the opportunity ofthe appointment of a new Special Representative of theSecretary-General to renew their commitment to thepeace process;

3. Strongly supports the sustained efforts of theSecretary-General and his Special Representative withthe assistance of the Russian Federation, in its capacityas facilitator, as well as of the Group of Friends of theSecretary-General and of the Organization for Secu-rity and Cooperation in Europe, to promote the stabili-zation of the situation and the achievement of a com-prehensive political settlement, which includes asettlement on the political status of Abkhazia withinthe State of Georgia;

4. Reiterates its call for the parties to the conflict todeepen their commitment to the United Nations-ledpeace process, continue to expand their dialogue, anddisplay without delay the necessary will to achieve sub-stantial results on the key issues of the negotiations, inparticular on the distribution of constitutional compe-tences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi as part of a com-prehensive settlement, with full respect for the sover-eignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within itsinternationally recognized borders;

5. Reiterates that it considers unacceptable and ille-gitimate the holding of self-styled elections and refer-endum in Abkhazia, Georgia;

6. Calls upon the parties to continue to enhance theirefforts to implement fully the confidence-buildingmeasures on which they agreed at the Athens and Is-tanbul meetings of 16 to 18 October 1998 and 7 to 9June 1999 respectively, and recalls the invitation of theGovernment of Ukraine to host a third meeting aimedat building confidence, improving security and devel-oping cooperation between the parties;

7. Reaffirms the necessity for the parties strictly torespect human rights, and supports the efforts of theSecretary-General to find ways to improve their observ-ance as an integral part of the work towards a compre-hensive political settlement;

8. Reaffirms also the unacceptability of the demo-graphic changes resulting from the conflict and the im-prescriptible right of all refugees and displaced per-sons affected by the conflict to return to their homes insecure conditions, in accordance with internationallaw and as set out in the Quadripartite Agreement onthe Voluntary Return of Refugees and Displaced Per-sons, of 4 April 1994, and calls upon the parties to ad-dress this issue urgently by agreeing and implementing

effective measures to guarantee the security of thosewho exercise their unconditional right to return, in-cluding those who have already returned;

9. Demands that both sides observe strictly theAgreement on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces;

10. Welcomes the fact that the United Nations Ob-server Mission in Georgia is keeping its security ar-rangements under constant review in order to ensurethe highest possible level of security for its staff;

11. Decides to extend the mandate of the Mission fora new period terminating on 31 July 2000, subject to areview by the Council of the mandate of the Mission inthe event of any changes that may be made in the man-date or in the presence of the collective peacekeepingforce of the Commonwealth of Independent States,and expresses its intention to conduct a thorough re-view of the operation at the end of its current mandate,in the light of steps taken by the parties to achieve acomprehensive settlement;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to continue tokeep the Council regularly informed and to reportthree months from the date of the adoption of the pres-ent resolution on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia;

13. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Report of Secretary-General (April). In hisApril report on the situation in Abkhazia, Geor-gia [S/2000/345], the Secretary-General said that,accompanied by his Special Representative, hehad visited Moscow from 27 to 29 January anddiscussed the Abkhaz/Georgian peace processwith the Russian Federation Acting President,Vladimir Putin, and other officials. The SpecialRepresentative also continued consultations andpreparatory work within the framework of theUN-led Geneva peace process. At the same time,work continued on the distribution of constitu-tional competences between Tbilisi andSukhumi. A revised draft paper on that issue wasdistributed in mid-March to the Russian Federa-tion and members of the Group of Friends of theSecretary-General, incorporating their com-ments on the original draft. Further discussionswere continuing on finalizing the draft with aview to submitting it to the two sides in the nearfuture. The Abkhaz side had indicated its inter-est in not being excluded from those discussions,though its basic position on the question of thestatus of those negotiations had not changed. InFebruary and in April, the Abkhaz leader drewthe Secretary-General's attention to some legalaspects related to the settlement of the conflictand asserted that, during the negotiations, theUN position had departed from principlesagreed on in earlier signed documents. TheUnder-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,replying on the Secretary-General's behalf,stressed that the United Nations had consistentlymaintained that a comprehensive settlement hadto be based on the principles of full respect forthe sovereignty and territorial integrity of Geor-


gia and the right of all refugees and internallydisplaced persons to a safe, secure and voluntaryreturn to Abkhazia within Georgia.

To alleviate the deteriorating security situa-tion, the Special Representative, at the request ofthe leaders of the two sides, convened a meetingin Sukhumi on 3 February between the StateMinister of Georgia and the de facto "Prime Min-ister" of Abkhazia, with the participation of theCommander of the CIS peacekeeping force. Themeeting resulted in the signing of a Protocol on aseries of concrete measures to improve the situa-tion. Discussions at a further meeting betweenthe two sides in Sukhumi on 27 and 28 Februaryfocused on the non-use of force, the return ofrefugees and internally displaced persons to theGali district and economic rehabilitation meas-ures, based on two draft texts entitled "Agree-ment on peace and guarantees for the preventionof armed confrontation" and "Protocol on the re-turn of refugees to the Gali district and measuresfor economic rehabilitation". The two sides clari-fied their views, produced new working drafts ofboth documents and agreed to continue bilateralconsultations. On 26 March, the Georgian pressagency Caucasus Press and Abkhaz counterpartsreached agreements on bilateral cooperation ininformation.

UNOMIG continued its daily ground patrolsfrom Sukhumi and the two sector headquartersin Gali and Zugdidi, as well as weekly helicopterpatrols of its area of responsibility, except in theupper Kodori Valley, where the Georgianauthorities had been unable to provide securityguarantees for UNOMIG to carry out its observa-tion mandate there and to bring to justice theperpetrators of the October 1999 hostage-takingincident [YUN 1999, p. 382]. Since its establishmentin January, the Joint Investigation Group hadtaken up five new investigations and 14 investiga-tions begun earlier continued. By emphasizingtransparency in investigations and allowing per-sonal contacts at the working level, the Group hadreduced mistrust and tension on the ground andhad itself become a valuable element of im-proved security, despite the still unresolved issueof the status of the Georgian representatives inthe Group.

The Secretary-General reported that tensionsreached a peak on 25 January, when two Abkhazmilitiamen were killed in an ambush near Dika-zurga in the Gali district. Three Abkhaz men, re-portedly linked to organized crime, were alsokilled and two Abkhaz who survived the shootingwere taken into custody by Georgian law enforce-ment personnel. Demonstrations in the after-math of those incidents created tension andraised fears of retaliatory measures. Those events

occurred against a background of tit-for-tat ab-ductions on both sides of the ceasefire line. Im-plementation of the 3 February Protocol to ad-dress the situation (see above) resulted in therelease of one abductee by the Abkhaz side, butthe process broke down because of Georgia's de-clared inability to implement some of the Proto-col's provisions within the established timeframe. Further exchanges between the two sideseventually took place on 29 March, following me-diation efforts by the Special Representative andthe Chief Military Observer. The successful ex-change noticeably improved mutual confidencein the conflict zone and decreased tensions. How-ever, in April, two serious ambush attacks againstAbkhaz law enforcement personnel in the lowerGali district, in which eight militiamen werekilled and seven wounded, sharply heightenedtensions and fears of retaliation. At the urging ofthe Special Representative and the Chief MilitaryObserver, the two sides engaged in direct bilat-eral communications to discuss the matter.

UNOMIG's efforts to implement the 3 FebruaryProtocol had met with mixed results, since theverification of the numbers of security personnelon both sides of the ceasefire line and their re-duction, in accordance with pre-established ceil-ings, were hampered by sometimes imprecise in-formation from local commanders and bydiscrepancies in figures. In terms of the with-drawal of illegal armed groups from the securityand restricted weapons zones, UNOMIG had de-ployed the necessary observation and reportingmechanism but had no mandate to actually re-move such groups.

With regard to the humanitarian situation, theactivities of the humanitarian community re-mained limited in the Gali district and failed tomeet required needs. International aid agenciescontinued to find it difficult to assist returneesbecause of the security conditions. Looting asso-ciated with criminal activities compelled agen-cies at times to deliver humanitarian assistanceunder the armed protection of the CIS peace-keeping force. In the absence of security guaran-tees, agencies were reluctant to undertake pro-grammes to encourage returns. Georgia, theUnited Nations Development Programme(UNDP), UNHCR, the World Bank and the UnitedNations Office for the Coordination of Humani-tarian Affairs developed a new approach to assistinternally displaced persons, which recognizedtheir right to be treated in the same manner as allGeorgian citizens and favoured giving them theopportunity to build skills and a level of self-reliance that would enable them to reintegrateinto society. President Shevardnadze establisheda commission to facilitate the elaboration of the


new approach in conjunction with UN agenciesand the World Bank. Preliminary pledges to theSelf-Reliance Pilot Fund, established under thenew approach to finance innovative projects tocontribute to the self-sufficiency of internallydisplaced persons, totalled over $1 million.

The United Nations Human Rights Office inAbkhazia, Georgia, continued to monitor the hu-man rights situation in the region. Most of thecases of human rights violations related to prop-erty rights and residence permits; pension enti-tlements and humanitarian allowances; robber-ies; and harassment in the workplace or in theneighbourhood on ethnic or gender grounds.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (May)

On 11 May [meeting 4137], following consulta-tions among Security Council members, thePresident made statement S/PRST/2000/16 onbehalf of the Council:

The Security Council has considered the report ofthe Secretary-General of 24 April 2000 concerningthe situation in Abkhazia, Georgia.

The Council welcomes the efforts by the SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General to enhancecontacts at all levels between the Georgian andAbkhaz sides, and calls upon the parties to continueto expand such contacts. It supports the appeal bythe Secretary-General to both sides to make moreactive use of the Coordinating Council machinery,and actively to consider the paper prepared by theSpecial Representative concerning the implementa-tion of the agreed confidence-building measures. Inthis context, the Council recalls with appreciationthe invitation of the Government of Ukraine to hosta meeting in Yalta.

The Council believes that resolution of issues re-lated to the improvement of the humanitarian situa-tion, to socio-economic development and to ensur-ing stability in the conflict zone would facilitate thepeace process. In this regard, it calls upon the partiesto finalize their work on and to sign a draft agree-ment on peace and guarantees for the prevention ofarmed confrontation and a draft protocol on the re-turn of refugees to the Gali region and measures foreconomic rehabilitation.

The Council notes with deep concern the contin-ued failure of the parties to achieve a comprehensivepolitical settlement, which includes a settlement onthe political status of Abkhazia within the State ofGeorgia. It also notes the adverse impact that thisfailure has on the humanitarian situation, economicdevelopment and stability in the region. It calls uponthe parties to display the political will required for abreakthrough and to spare no efforts in order toachieve substantive progress without further delay.In this regard, it joins the Secretary-General in en-couraging the parties to be ready to consider propo-sals, based on the Council decisions, to be presentedin due course by the Special Representative on thequestion of the distribution of constitutional com-petences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi.

The Council strongly reaffirms the imprescripti-ble right of all refugees and internally displaced per-sons directly affected by the conflict to return totheir homes in secure and dignified conditions. Itcalls upon the parties to agree upon and to take, inthe nearest future, concrete steps towards imple-menting effective measures to guarantee the securityof those who exercise their unconditional right to re-turn, including those who have already returned. Inparticular, the undefined and insecure status ofspontaneous returnees to the Gali district is a matterthat must be addressed urgently. The Council en-courages the Abkhaz side to continue the process ofimprovement of security conditions for returnees,which, the Secretary-General notes, may be begin-ning in the Gali region.

The Council encourages the Special Representa-tive, in this context, to continue his efforts, in closecooperation with the Russian Federation, in its ca-pacity as facilitator, the Group of Friends of theSecretary-General and the Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe.

The Council expresses its appreciation for themeasures undertaken by the Government of Geor-gia, the United Nations Development Programme,the Office of the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees and the Office for the Coordina-tion of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Bank, inorder to improve the situation of those refugees andinternally displaced persons who have not been in aposition to exercise their right of return, to developtheir skills and to increase their self-reliance.

The Council notes that the situation on theground in the area of responsibility of the UnitedNations Observer Mission in Georgia has remainedgenerally calm although unstable during the report-ing period. It welcomes all the efforts that have beenundertaken, in particular by the Special Representa-tive, with a view to alleviating tensions and increas-ing confidence between the parties. It regrets thatthe Protocol of 3 February 2000 has not been imple-mented in full and, in particular, that the with-drawal of illegal armed groups has not been broughtabout. It is concerned at the tension created by re-cent attacks against Abkhaz militiamen. It deploresthese attacks and the high level of criminal activity inthe conflict zone, as well as acts of violence againstMission personnel and members of their families. Inthis context, the Council recalls the relevant princi-ples contained in the Convention on the Safety ofUnited Nations and Associated Personnel of 9 De-cember 1994 and the statement by its President of 9February 2000. It calls upon the parties to refrainfrom any actions which could increase tensions onthe ground and to ensure the safety of Mission per-sonnel.

The Council welcomes the important contribu-tion that the Mission and the collective peacekeepingforce of the Commonwealth of Independent Statescontinue to make in stabilizing the situation in theconflict zone, notes that the working relationship be-tween the Mission and the collective peacekeepingforce has been good at all levels, and stresses the im-portance of continuing and increasing close coop-eration and coordination between them in the per-formance of their respective mandates.


Communications. Georgia, on 15 June [S/2000/594], expressed concern over the intensified vio-lence in Abkhazia, Georgia. It contended that theAbkhaz regime had not spared efforts to legalizethe forcibly changed demographic situation as aconsequence of the ethnic cleansing, and was cre-ating unbearable living conditions for the Geor-gian returnees in the Gali district. Moreover,threats to repeat the Gali events of May 1998 [YUN1998, p. 394] had become a common denominatorof the developments in the region.

Georgia declared that it would make all effortsto promote security in the zone of conflict andachieve a comprehensive resolution. In that re-spect, it attached great importance to the docu-ment on the distribution of constitutional com-petences between the central authorities ofGeorgia and the authorities of Abkhazia, Geor-gia, drafted by the United Nations and the Groupof Friends of the Secretary-General. Implemen-tation of the UNDP economic rehabilitation pro-gramme for the region, which was equally impor-tant for the settlement of the conflict, would startas soon as the political status of Abkhazia withinGeorgia was determined.

Georgia reaffirmed the unacceptability of vio-lence directed at undermining the process ofpeaceful resolution and condemned the tensionsin the zone of conflict stemming from the failureof the Abkhaz side to meet its obligations underthe peace process and Security Council resolu-tions. It called on the Secretary-General, his Spe-cial Representative, the Security Council, theGroup of Friends of the Secretary-General, theRussian Federation and UN specialized agenciesto intensify their efforts in the Gali district to en-sure security, as well as full implementation ofCouncil resolutions.

On 26 June [S/2000/629], the Russian Federa-tion informed the Council President that the CISCouncil of Heads of State, on 21 June, had de-cided to extend the stay of the collective peace-keeping force until 31 December 2000.

Report of Secretary-General (July). TheSecretary-General reported in July [S/2000/697]that his Special Representative had continuedconsultations with all parties concerned but pro-gress was slow, mainly owing to a lack of effort bythe two sides to achieve tangible results. Delayswere also caused by the reshuffling of key playersin the Government of Georgia following the re-election on 9 April of President Shevardnadze.On 4 July, the President named the newly ap-pointed State Minister as head of the Georgiandelegation to the Coordinating Council and cre-ated the new post of Minister for Special Assign-ments, with direct responsibility for conflict set-tlement in Georgia.

The Special Representative continued to workclosely with the Group of Friends to refine fur-ther the draft document on the distribution ofcompetences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi anddiscussed the issue with the Russian Federationin Moscow on 9 and 10 May. A 25 May version ofthe draft document was circulated among theGroup of Friends in the expectation that it mightserve in the near future as a basis on which toopen a political dialogue between the Georgianand Abkhaz sides. However, differences of viewshad since arisen among the Group of Friendsthemselves concerning both content and strategy,and strong concerted efforts were urgentlyneeded to produce a coordinated draft and ap-proach. Meanwhile, the Georgian side continuedto express its eagerness to commence negotia-tions on Abkhazia's future status on the basis ofthe document. The Abkhaz side, however, main-tained that it would not engage in a dialogue withthe Georgian side on the issue but did not wish tobe left out of the debate completely. In consulta-tions with the Special Representative, it renewedits interest in the convening of a conference of ex-perts to discuss legal aspects of the conflict.

On 3 May, the Special Representative chaired ahigh-level emergency meeting of both sides toaddress the rapidly deteriorating security situa-tion on the ground in the wake of the killing ofsome 12 members of the Abkhaz militia in a se-ries of ambushes in the Gali district. Followingthe meeting, a draft Protocol on the stabilizationof the situation in the security zone was pro-duced, which provided for the monitoring byUNOMIG and the CIS peacekeeping force of anagreed ceiling in the number of armed law en-forcement personnel stationed in the securityzone, and for the creation of a new structure ofincreased cooperation by the two sides in thefight against crime.

On 11 July, the Special Representative con-vened the tenth session of the CoordinatingCouncil in Sukhumi, at which the Protocol wassigned. The Council decided that WorkingGroup I on security issues should meet monthlyto monitor its implementation and that the twosides would accelerate work on the draft Protocolon the return of refugees to the Gali district andmeasures for economic rehabilitation and theagreement on peace and guarantees for the non-resumption of hostilities, which had been dis-cussed intermittently since 1998. The Counciltook note of the Special Representative's sugges-tions to improve implementation of confidence-building measures, including the creation of adatabase of existing projects.

A number of confidence-building projectswere carried out. Of particular significance was


the agreement reached in June that books andmaterials pertaining to Abkhazia, Georgia, wouldbe sought among Georgian holdings and given tothe Abkhaz side as a partial replacement for theAbkhaz Archives destroyed during the 1992-1993war. The first presentation of such materials wasmade by the Georgian side during the 11 July ses-sion of the Coordinating Council and further co-operation in that area was planned.

The Joint Fact-finding Group established on19 January continued to meet weekly. While theAbkhaz side formally refused to work with theGeorgian representatives, all of whom weremembers of the Abkhaz "government-in-exile",there was satisfactory cooperation on the groundwith local officials from Zugdidi representing theGeorgian side. UNOMIG successfully introducedthe concept of "quick reaction investigators",military observers posted in both sectors whosetask was to go to the scene of an incident asquickly as possible after it occurred to record evi-dence before it was lost or contaminated.

The general situation in the conflict zone re-mained relatively calm although unstable, withpeaks in tension in April and in the days leadingup to the Georgian National Day on 26 May. Thetension was defused due to the efforts of the twosides and to preventive measures taken byUNOMIG, including active liaison at every leveland nearly doubling of the regular air andground patrolling, thus creating a far more visi-ble presence and providing the ability to dispelrumours through accurate reporting.

There was one confirmed violation of the Mos-cow Agreement on 12 June, when a UNOMIG heli-copter patrol spotted an armoured vehicle at anAbkhaz observation post within the restrictedweapons zone. The armoured vehicle, which hadapparently been deployed in response to anarmed attack on the post several days earlier, waswithdrawn to a heavy weapons storage site.There were few exchanges of fire across theceasefire line, but a number of ambushes werecarried out in which 25 people were killed.

Endemic crime throughout the area remaineda serious problem. Organized crime, particularlysmuggling, was growing in scope and profitabil-ity, and there were indications that it was reach-ing into institutions on both sides.

The spring and summer seasons had broughtlocal residents displaced from the Gali districtback home to farm their land; up to 80 per cent ofthe pre-war population was reported to have re-turned. Funding for schools in the Gali districthad increased slightly, including allocation offunds in the Georgian budget. There were alsosigns that the Abkhaz authorities were taking a

more pragmatic and flexible view on the use ofthe Georgian language in Gali district schools at-tended by Mingrelian children.

The security and safety of its personnel re-mained the highest priority for UNOMIG. On 17April, the father of a UNOMIG interpreter wasshot dead during a robbery attempt in Gali town,on 26 April, the home of another UNOMIG inter-preter was looted and, on 15 June, a group ofarmed men opened fire on the vehicles of aUNOMIG ground patrol in the lower Gali area. On1 June, in the Kodori Valley, a UNOMIG foot pa-trol was taken hostage. They were released un-harmed on 5 June, following consultations by theSpecial Representative with all the parties con-cerned. After the incident, the Special Represen-tative reminded Georgia of the internationalcommunity's expectation that the perpetratorswould be brought to justice and UNOMIG wouldbe provided with the security it required to im-plement its mandate in the Kodori Valley.UNOMIG patrols to the upper Kodori Valley re-mained suspended.

In June, an International Monetary Fund (IMF)mission visited Georgia to assist in developing a fi-nancial programme for the year 2000 and in out-lining the macroeconomic programme for 2001.During the mission, it was agreed that adjustmentefforts by Georgia were needed to create condi-tions to allow the resumption of the suspendedIMF programme, including revising its budgetand establishing a track record in implementingthe budget and other financial policies by the endof November, implementation of measures totackle problems of governance and corruptionand elaboration of a poverty-reduction strategy.With support from the United Nations, the WorldBank and IMF, the Government had started to pre-pare a comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty.

The Secretary-General said that, despite theslow progress, UNOMIG continued to play an es-sential role in the search for a peaceful solutionto the Abkhaz/Georgian conflict through its sus-tained efforts to further the peace process. It re-mained a central element in efforts to stabilizethe situation. He therefore recommended thatthe Council extend the UNOMIG mandate until 31January 2001.

Communication. In a 25 July communique[S/2000/742], the Russian Federation rejected asgroundless and detrimental to Russian-Georgianrelations remarks made by the head of the Geor-gian delegation to an Economic and Social Coun-cil meeting to the effect that the Russian Federa-tion was involved in the outbreak of theAbkhaz/Georgian conflict and that Russianpeacekeepers deployed in the zone of separationwere not carrying out their mission effectively.


The Russian Federation recalled that it was theonly country to send peacekeepers, who at timeslaid down their lives to prevent new outbreaks ofviolence between the sides. The fact that the con-flict between Tbilisi and Sukhumi had not beensettled was evidence that the sides themselves hadnot done everything to restore lost confidenceand convince each other of the desirability andpossibility of living in one common home.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (July)

On 28 July [meeting 4179], the Security Councilunanimously adopted resolution 1311(2000).The draft [S/2000/743] was prepared in consulta-tions among Council members.


resolution 1287(2000) of 31 January 2000, and thestatement by its President of 11 May 2000, as well asresolution 1308(2000) of 17 July 2000,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-Generalof 21 July 2000,

Recalling the conclusions of the summits of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,held in Lisbon in December 1996 and in Istanbul on 18and 19 November 1999, regarding the situation inAbkhazia, Georgia,

Stressing that the lack of progress on key issues of acomprehensive settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia,Georgia, is unacceptable,

Recalling that, according to its statute, the Coordi-nating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz sidesshould meet every two months, and welcoming, in thisregard, the resumption of its work,

Welcoming the results of the tenth session of the Co-ordinating Council in Sukhumi on 11 July 2000, inparticular the signing by the two sides, the Special Rep-resentative of the Secretary-General and the Com-mander of the collective peacekeeping force of theCommonwealth of Independent States of the Protocolrelated to the stabilization of the situation in the secu-rity zone, and the decision that the two sides would ac-celerate work on the draft protocol on the return ofrefugees to the Gali region and measures for economicrehabilitation and on the draft agreement on peaceand guarantees for the prevention for the non-resumption of hostilities,

Deeply concerned that, although currently relativelycalm, the general situation in the conflict zone remainsunstable,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in theConvention on the Safety of United Nations and Asso-ciated Personnel of 9 December 1994,

Welcoming the important contributions that theUnited Nations Observer Mission in Georgia and thecollective peacekeeping force continue to make in sta-bilizing the situation in the conflict zone, noting thatthe working relationship between the Mission and thecollective peacekeeping force has been excellent at alllevels, stressing the importance of continuing and in-creasing close cooperation and coordination betweenthem in the performance of their respective mandates,and welcoming also the decision on the extension of

the stay of the collective peacekeeping force in the con-flict zone in Abkhazia, Georgia, adopted by the Coun-cil of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Indepen-dent States on 21 June 2000,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of21 July 2000;

2. Strongly supports the sustained efforts of theSecretary-General and his Special Representative withthe assistance of the Russian Federation, in its capacityas facilitator, as well as of the Group of Friends of theSecretary-General and of the Organization for Secu-rity and Cooperation in Europe, to promote the stabili-zation of the situation and the achievement of a com-prehensive political settlement, which includes asettlement on the political status of Abkhazia withinthe State of Georgia;

3. Also strongly supports the efforts of the SpecialRepresentative on the question of the distribution ofcompetences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi, and, inparticular, his intention to submit, in the near future,proposals to the parties as a basis for meaningful nego-tiations on that issue;

4. Underlines the responsibility of the parties to theconflict to engage in negotiations on the key outstand-ing issues in the United Nations-led peace process, in-cluding on the distribution of competences betweenTbilisi and Sukhumi as part of a comprehensive settle-ment;

5. Welcomes the commitment of the parties not touse force for the resolution of any disputed questions,which must be addressed through negotiations and bypeaceful means only, and to refrain from propagandaaimed at the resolution of the conflict by force;

6. Calls upon the parties to the conflict to implementearlier agreed confidence-building measures and de-velop further measures on the basis of the relevantdocument signed in Sukhumi on 11 July 2000, and re-calls, in this context, the invitation of the Governmentof Ukraine to host, in Yalta, a third meeting aimed atbuilding confidence, improving security and develop-ing cooperation between the parties;

7. Reaffirms the unacceptability of the demographicchanges resulting from the conflict and the impre-scriptible right of all refugees and displaced personsaffected by the conflict to return to their homes in se-cure and dignified conditions, in accordance with in-ternational law and as set out in the QuadripartiteAgreement on the Voluntary Return of Refugees andDisplaced Persons, of 4 April 1994, and calls upon theparties to address this issue urgently by agreeing uponand implementing effective measures to guarantee thesecurity of those who exercise their unconditionalright to return, including those who have already re-turned;

8. Urges the parties, in this context, to addressurgently and in a concerted manner, as a first step, theundefined and insecure status of spontaneous return-ees to the Gali district, including through the re-establishment of functioning local administrativestructures in which the returnee population is appro-priately represented;

9. Welcomes steps taken by the Government of Geor-gia, the United Nations Development Programme, theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humani-tarian Affairs and the World Bank, aiming at ensuring


that the internally displaced persons enjoy their rightto be treated in the same manner as all Georgian citi-zens with full respect, in principle and in practice, fortheir imprescriptible right to return to their homes insecure and dignified conditions;

10. Deplores all violent incidents, as well as the devel-opment of criminal activity, in the conflict zone, andcalls upon the two sides to take urgent measures to co-operate with each other in the fight against crime of allsorts and in improving the work of their respective lawenforcement organs;

11. Demands that both sides observe strictly theAgreement on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces,signed in Moscow on 14 May 1994;

12. Welcomes the fact that the United Nations Ob-server Mission in Georgia is keeping its security ar-rangements under constant review in order to ensurethe highest possible level of security for its staff;

13. Decides to extend the mandate of the Mission fora new period terminating on 31 January 2001, subject toa review by the Council of the mandate in the event ofany changes that may be made in the mandate or in thepresence of the collective peacekeeping force of theCommonwealth of Independent States, and expressesits intention to conduct a thorough review of the opera-tion at the end of its current mandate, in the light ofsteps taken by the parties to achieve a comprehensivesettlement;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue tokeep the Council regularly informed and to reportthree months from the date of the adoption of the pres-ent resolution on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia;


Report of Secretary-General (October). In Oc-tober [S/2000/1023], the Secretary-General statedthat he had discussed issues related to the com-prehensive political settlement of the conflict inAbkhazia, Georgia, with President Shevardnadzein New York on 5 September. Meanwhile, hisSpecial Representative, in continuing efforts tomove the peace process forward, chaired a seriesof bilateral consultations on key aspects of thepolitical settlement, confidence-building con-tacts between the two sides in a variety of fieldsand steps to reinvigorate the machinery of theCoordinating Council, including the Council'sthree working groups. That included the revivalof Working Group I on security issues, whichconvened twice during the reporting period, aswell as separate visits to Sukhumi for consulta-tions with the Abkhaz side by the heads ofUNHCR and UNDP in Georgia, as coordinators ofWorking Group II on refugees and internally dis-placed persons and of Working Group III on so-cial and economic questions, respectively. Unfor-tunately, the efforts of the Group of Friends,including visits by the Special Representative tocapitals, to arrive at a coordinated draft docu-ment on basic principles for the distribution ofcompetences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi hadnot succeeded.

On 6 and 7 August in Tbilisi, and again on 20August in Sukhumi, the Special Representativechaired consultations between the Georgian Min-ister for Special Affairs and the personal represen-tative of Abkhaz leader Ardzinba on the basis ofthe 11 July Protocol (see p. 391). Although theGeorgian side put forward new versions of thedraft protocol on the return of refugees to the Galidistrict and measures for economic rehabilitationand the draft agreement on peace and guaranteesfor the prevention of hostilities, disagreement be-tween the two sides persisted. The consultationsalso included broader discussions of central as-pects of a comprehensive political settlement. Onthe basis of the 11 July Protocol, both sides sub-mitted to the Special Representative proposalsconcerning further work in confidence-buildingmeasures, with a view to preparing for the thirdmeeting on confidence-building measures to beconvened in Yalta, Ukraine, in November.

The Special Representative and UNOMIG con-tinued to provide good offices and substantial lo-gistical support for a wide array of cooperationprojects between the two sides. Georgia agreed toan Abkhaz request that the United Nations Edu-cational, Scientific and Cultural Organizationfund the renovation of cultural monuments inAbkhazia, Georgia. On 28 and 29 September inSukhumi, the United Nations facilitated the firstcontact between Georgian and Abkhaz technicalexperts and their Russian colleagues on a solu-tion to the problem of safe storage of radioactivematerials located at the Physico-technical Insti-tute in Sukhumi. On 5 and 6 October, a delega-tion from the European Commission visited theInguri power station and dam to concretize plansfor their repair. The Director of the GeorgianNational Library gathered further materials topresent to the Abkhaz side; the third round ofrestoration of films shot during the last centuryin Abkhazia, Georgia, was completed, with fi-nancing from Germany. Many of those projectswere also facilitated by the Georgian/Abkhaz Co-ordination Commission.

On 22 September, the Ministers of Educationof the two sides met in Sukhumi to discuss coop-eration in improving education in the Gali dis-trict and resolving the matter of the language ofeducation used in schools. On 9 October, theAbkhaz de facto "Minister of Health" travelled toTbilisi and met her counterpart to discuss poten-tial collaboration.

After extensive consultations in the aftermathof the hostage-taking incidents in the upper Ko-dori Valley, Georgia assured UNOMIG in Augustthat the necessary security conditions existed toresume helicopter patrolling of the valley. Thatdevelopment took place as the CIS peacekeeping


force prepared to open a new checkpoint on theceasefire line between the upper Kodori Valleyand the Abkhaz-controlled lower part, which wasexpected to enhance general security in the areaand improve freedom of movement for UNOMIGpatrols.

On 20 August in Sukhumi, and on 4 October inTbilisi, the Chief Military Observer chaired ses-sions of Working Group I of the CoordinatingCouncil dealing with security issues, which fo-cused on the implementation of the specific secu-rity agreements listed in the Protocol to the 3 Mayhigh-level meeting in Gali and on improving thefunctioning and efficacy of the Joint Fact-finding Group. Among the measures discussed,and later carried out on the ground, were theverification by UNOMIG and the CIS peace-keeping force of the strength of the respective se-curity personnel of the two sides in the securityzone and the establishment of better communica-tions between the heads of Georgian and Abkhazlaw enforcement agencies in the security zone.

Although attendance was sporadic, the JointFact-finding Group continued to convene weekly,despite rising frustration on all sides with thelack of progress on specific cases. On 22 Septem-ber, the Special Representative and the Abkhazde facto "Prime Minister" officially opened abridge located along the main trunk roadthrough the conflict zone, which had been reno-vated by UNOMIG. A number of road surface re-pairs and road reconstruction projects were alsocompleted, and projects in the Kodori Valley andon the road leading to the Inguri hydroelectricpower station were under way.

The Secretary-General concluded that the im-provement in the security climate might be attrib-uted in part to the reactivation of Working GroupI and the increasing cooperation of the Georgianand Abkhaz sides in implementing agreementsreached in the Coordinating Council. In the Galisector, the usual summer lull in partisan andcriminal activity had been particularly notice-able. However, the undercurrent of endemic law-lessness continued, and the hazelnut harvest wasthe trigger for a sudden rise in armed robberies,primarily in the Gali security zone. To improvethe security climate, the Abkhaz administrationof the Gali district increased militia patrollingand formed additional village guards, while theCIS peacekeeping force introduced daily ar-moured patrols to provide security and escort lo-cal residents bringing large quantities of hazel-nuts to collection points. While those initiativeshad some positive impact, they could not addressthe underlying reasons for the general climate ofinsecurity.

In the Zugdidi sector, the appearance of sev-eral notorious figures from the criminal andrebel underworlds gave rise to concern at theoverall political and security climate in whichUNOMIG was operating. On 12 September, Geor-gian police in Zugdidi arrested the leader of apartisan group (the so-called "Forest Brothers")and a reputed organized crime figure in the zoneof conflict. Meanwhile, a leader of the group thattook UNOMIG members hostage in Zugdidi inFebruary 1998 made threatening demands to theGovernment of Georgia for the release fromprison of some of his allies. On 15 August, a legalassistant to the United Nations Human RightsOffice in Sukuhumi was shot and killed.

During the reporting period, the humanita-rian situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, was exacer-bated by the continued deterioration of the infra-structure, the lack of economic development andthe precarious security situation. UNHCR, in con-sultations with the Georgian and Abkhaz sides,explored the possibility of reanimating WorkingGroup II on refugees and internally displacedpersons. In September, it conducted a prelimi-nary assessment of needs among spontaneous re-turnees to the Gali district, and concluded that alimited resumption of protection monitoringhad become necessary in view of the size of thereturnee population.

The Secretary-General said that it was encour-aging that the two sides had demonstrated a will-ingness to engage in talks on key aspects of a pol-itical settlement. However, the lack of progress indefining the status of Abkhazia within the Stateof Georgia was regrettable. He appealed to bothsides to undertake immediate efforts to move be-yond that impasse. Negotiations on the draft pa-per on basic principles for the distribution ofcompetences between Tbilisi and Sukhumishould be the next step. In that context, it was im-perative that the members of the Group ofFriends reach as soon as possible a shared posi-tion on the draft paper, which took into accountthe Security Council's view that any solution tothe conflict had to be based on the territorial in-tegrity of Georgia.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION (November)

On 14 November [meeting 4221], following con-sultations among Security Council members, thePresident made statement S/PRST/2000/32 onbehalf of the Council:

The Security Council has considered the report ofthe Secretary-General of 25 October 2000 concern-ing the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia.

The Council welcomes the efforts by the SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General to enhancecontacts at all levels between the Georgian and


Abkhaz sides, in close cooperation with the RussianFederation, in its capacity as facilitator, as well as theGroup of Friends of the Secretary-General and theOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope. It notes with appreciation the expansion ofsuch contacts, which resulted recently in a series ofmeetings and steps towards the implementation ofconcrete cooperation projects between the two sides.It notes the holding of the eleventh session of the Co-ordinating Council and urges further reinvigora-tion of this mechanism. It welcomes the readiness ofthe Government of Ukraine to host the third meet-ing on confidence-building measures in Yalta at theend of November and notes the important contribu-tion a successful conference held in a timely fashionwould make to the peace process.

The Council notes with deep concern, however,the continued failure of the parties to achieve a com-prehensive political settlement, which includes a set-tlement of the political status of Abkhazia within theState of Georgia. It calls upon the parties, in particu-lar the Abkhaz side, to undertake immediate effortsto move beyond the impasse and urges them to spareno effort in order to achieve substantive progresswithout further delay. In this regard, it strongly sup-ports the efforts of the Special Representative of theSecretary-General, undertaken with the support ofthe Group of Friends of the Secretary-General, toaddress the issue of the future constitutional statusof Abkhazia and, in particular, his intention to sub-mit, in the near future, a draft paper containing pro-posals to the parties on the question of the distribu-tion of competences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi asa basis for meaningful negotiations on that issue.

The Council calls upon the parties to agree uponand to take, in the nearest future, concrete steps to-wards implementing effective measures to guaran-tee the security of the refugees and internally dis-placed persons who exercise their unconditionalright to return to their homes. In particular, the un-defined and insecure status of spontaneous return-ees to the Gali district is a matter that must be ad-dressed urgently. The Council therefore urges theparties to engage in genuine negotiations to resolveconcrete aspects of the matter and not to link thisissue to political matters. In this regard, it joins theSecretary-General in encouraging the Abkhaz sideto muster the requisite political will to resolve theproblem of Georgian language education in theschools of the district, as well as to find the resourcesthat those schools need, which, the Secretary-General notes, may affect directly the magnitude ofthe seasonal migration in the area.

The Council welcomes the results achieved withinthe framework of the policy implemented by theGovernment of Georgia, the United Nations Devel-opment Programme, the Office of the United Na-tions High Commissioner for Refugees, the Officefor the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs andthe World Bank, aimed at ensuring that the inter-nally displaced persons enjoy their right to betreated in the same manner as all other Georgiancitizens.

The Council notes that the situation on theground in the area of responsibility of the UnitedNations Observer Mission in Georgia has remained

generally calm although unstable during the report-ing period. It welcomes all the efforts that have beenundertaken, in particular by the Special Representa-tive, with a view to alleviating tensions and increas-ing confidence between the parties. It urges the par-ties to cooperate closely in combating crime andimproving the work of their respective law enforce-ment agencies.

The Council strongly condemns the murder ofMr. Zurab Achba, legal assistant to the United Na-tions Human Rights Office in Sukhumi, recalls thecommitment of the Abkhaz side to keep the Missionfully informed on the course of the investigationinto this crime, and urges the Abkhaz side to shedlight on this matter. It also deplores abductions ofUnited Nations and humanitarian personnel. In thiscontext, the Council recalls the relevant principlescontained in the Convention on the Safety of UnitedNations and Associated Personnel of 9 December1994 and the statement by its President of 9 Febru-ary 2000. It calls upon the parties to refrain from anyactions that could increase tensions on the groundand to ensure the safety of Mission personnel.

The Council welcomes the contribution that theMission and the collective peacekeeping force of theCommonwealth of Independent States continue tomake in stabilizing the situation in the conflict zone,notes that the working relationship between the Mis-sion and the collective peacekeeping force has re-mained close, and stresses the importance of con-tinuing and increasing active cooperation andcoordination between them in the performance oftheir respective mandates. It calls on the parties toobserve their obligations to prevent acts that violatethe Agreement on a Ceasefire and Separation ofForces, signed in Moscow on 14 May 1994, and couldpose a threat to the life and security of personnel ofthe Mission, the collective peacekeeping force andother international personnel.

Communications. On 13 November [S/2000/1100], Georgia said that, on 8 and 9 November, theAbkhaz "military forces" reportedly conductedtraining exercises in the restricted weapon zone,employing heavy armaments and firing a num-ber of missiles. The Abkhaz side impeded the in-ternational observers deployed in the conflictzone from surveying the restricted weapon zoneand ignored their requests to meet withthe "commanders of the units" participating inthe exercises. During the military manoeuvres,the airspace of the territory was also closed. TheAbkhaz side deliberately violated commitmentsundertaken in the 1994 Moscow Agreement [YUN1994, p. 583], and the inaction of the CIS peace-keeping force was also alarming. The Georgianside condemned the exercises and called on theAbkhaz side to refrain from actions that under-mined the results achieved in the process of con-flict resolution.

On 7 December [S/2000/1163], Georgia pro-tested the participation by the so-called "Minis-ters for Foreign Affairs" of Abkhazia and Tskhin-


vali, the separatist regions of Georgia, in themeeting of representatives of self-proclaimed re-publics on the territory of the former Soviet Un-ion (Tiraspol, Moldova, 20-22 November).

The Russian Federation, in a 7 Decemberstatement [S/2000/1176], said it had introduced on5 December a visa regime with Georgia; thesituation remained calm at the crossing points onthe Russian-Georgian border. The Russian sidewas taking all measures to reduce to a minimumany inconvenience and planned to propose to theGeorgian side in the near future the opening ofadditional consular offices in Georgia. It wasamazed at attempts to depict the Russian Federa-tion's legitimate actions to ensure its security asinterference in Georgia's internal affairs. Geor-gian leaders knew that the Russian Federationcontinued to respect Georgia's sovereignty andterritorial integrity and favoured the develop-ment of good-neighbourly relations. The intro-duction of the visa regime in no way affectedthose fundamental principles.

In a 19 December statement [S/2000/1221], Geor-gia said that it had responded with understand-ing to the introduction of the visa regime, since itassumed that it was to be in full compliance withthe norms of international law. Its initial protestswere caused by the Russian Federation's violationof that principle, which was manifested in a sim-plified border crossing on some segments of theState border between Georgia and the RussianFederation, in particular those of the Abkhazia,Georgia, and Tskhinvali regions. If the true senseof the introduction of a visa regime was to pre-vent the movement of terrorists and their accom-plices, then intensified control over border cross-ings should have been introduced specifically forthe area where separatist regimes predomi-nated. There were serious grounds for presum-ing that the unilateral introduction of a simpli-fied border crossing on some segments of theState border between Georgia and the RussianFederation was an attempt to support separatistregimes.

Further report of Secretary-General. In a laterreport [S/2001/59], the Secretary-General statedthat the eleventh session of the CoordinatingCouncil was held on 24 October in Tbilisi. TheCouncil confirmed the reactivation of WorkingGroup I on security matters, whose recommen-dations were adopted. The Working Group sub-sequently held its sixth session on 13 December inSukhumi, at which it reached agreement on theneed to modify slightly the boundaries of the re-stricted weapon zone to exclude exercise areasused by the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, whichwere situated on the fringes of the zone. It alsoconsidered a proposal that a joint information

centre be established to collect and provide infor-mation on criminal activity in the zone of con-flict. After an interruption of almost three years,Working Group III on social and economic ques-tions held its third session on 5 December in Tbi-lisi, at which agreement was reached on a numberof specific projects aimed at rehabilitating thecommunications systems in the zone of conflictand adjacent areas. Efforts were continuing onthe convening of Working Group II on refugees.

From 14 to 18 November, the AssistantSecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operationsvisited the UNOMIG area of operations to reviewits work and the ongoing peace efforts. Underthe aegis of the United Nations, a joint assess-ment mission, including OSCE, UNHCR, UNDPand the Council of Europe, was carried out in theGali district between 20 and 24 November toevaluate conditions for the safe, secure and digni-fied return of refugees and displaced persons tothe district. The mission, in its preliminary find-ings attached to the Secretary-General's report,recommended that the Special Representativeexplore the opening in Gali city of a branch of-fice of the UN Human Rights Office; considerwith the two sides how to improve law enforce-ment training and further integration of thelocal population in the law enforcement struc-tures; seek broader cooperation between the lawenforcement organs of both sides; and assist infinding a non-discriminatory solution to thequestion of the language of instruction in Galidistrict schools.

With regard to the situation on the ground, theSecretary-General reported that the most seriousviolation of the Moscow Agreement was anAbkhaz military exercise on 9 and 10 Novemberat the training area near Ochamchira, involvingthe use of heavy weapons, during which UNIMOGand CIS peacekeepers were prohibited from fly-ing over the area. In another violation, a detach-ment from the Abkhaz "armed forces" was de-ployed from 21 to 28 November in a village in thesecurity zone. On 10 December, two UNOMIG ve-hicles, returning from a patrol in the lower Ko-dori Valley, were ambushed and two military ob-servers abducted and moved to the upper part ofthe valley, which was under Georgian control.The officers were released on 13 December. TheSpecial Representative reminded the Georgianside that no one had been brought to justice forprevious deeds in the Kodori Valley and that cli-mate of impunity could not be allowed to con-tinue.

FinancingOn 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,

having considered the Secretary-General's re-


ports on UNOMIG's financial performance for theperiod 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999 [A/54/721], theproposed budget for the Mission's maintenancefor the period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001[A/54/735] and ACABQ's comments and recommen-dations thereon [A/54/841 & Add.5], adopted with-out vote, on the recommendation of the FifthCommittee [A/54/902], resolution 54/271 [agendaitem 137].

Financing of the United NationsObserver Mission in Georgia


General on the financing of the United Nations Ob-server Mission in Georgia and the related reports ofthe Advisory Committee on Administrative and Bud-getary Questions,

Recalling Security Council resolution 854(1993) of6 August 1993, by which the Council approved the de-ployment of an advance team of up to ten United Na-tions military observers for a period of three monthsand the incorporation of the advance team into aUnited Nations observer mission if such a mission wasformally established by the Council,

Recalling also Security Council resolution 858(1993)of 24 August 1993, by which the Council decided to es-tablish the United Nations Observer Mission in Geor-gia, and the subsequent resolutions by which the Coun-cil extended the mandate of the Observer Mission, thelatest of which was resolution 1287(2000) of 31 January2000,

Recalling further its decision 48/475 A of 23 Decem-ber 1993 on the financing of the Observer Mission andits subsequent resolutions and decisions thereon, thelatest of which was resolution 53/232 of 8 June 1999,

Reaffirming that the costs of the Observer Mission areexpenses of the Organization to be borne by MemberStates in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of theCharter of the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by theObserver Mission, a different procedure is requiredfrom that applied to meet expenditures of the regularbudget of the United Nations,



Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Observer Mission,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theObserver Mission with the necessary financial re-sources to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities underthe relevant resolutions of the Security Council,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Observer Mission in Georgia as at 30April 2000, including the contributions outstanding inthe amount of 11.6 million United States dollars, repre-senting 10 per cent of the total assessed contributions

from the inception of the Observer Mission to the pe-riod ending 30 June 2000, notes that some 20 per centof the Member States have paid their assessed contribu-tions in full, and urges all other Member States con-cerned, in particular those in arrears, to ensure pay-ment of their outstanding assessed contributions;


3. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the Observer Mission in full and on time;




7. Requests the Secretary-General to make the fullestpossible use of facilities and equipment at the UnitedNations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in order tominimize the costs of procurement for the ObserverMission, and for this purpose requests the Secretary-General to speed up the implementation of the assetmanagement system at all peacekeeping missions inaccordance with General Assembly resolution 52/1 Aof 15 October 1997;


9. Requests the Secretary-General to take all neces-sary action to ensure that the Observer Mission is ad-ministered with a maximum of efficiency and econ-omy;

10. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order toreduce the cost of employing General Service staff, tocontinue efforts to recruit local staff for the ObserverMission against General Service posts, commensuratewith the requirements of the Mission;

11. Decides, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportionthe additional amount of 290,200 dollars gross(485,200 dollars net) already appropriated by the Gen-eral Assembly in its resolution 53/232 in respect of theperiod ending 30 June 1998 among Member States inaccordance with the composition of groups set out inparagraphs 3 and 4 of General Assembly resolution43/232 of 1 March 1989, as adjusted by the Assembly inits resolutions 44/192 B of 21 December 1989, 45/269of 27 August 1991, 46/198 A of 20 December 1991,47/218 A of 23 December 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July1995, 49/249 B of 14 September 1995, 50/224 of 11April 1996, 51/218 A to C of 18 December 1996 and52/230 of 31 March 1998 and its decisions 48/472 A of23 December 1993, 50/451 B of 23 December 1995 and54/456 to 54/458 of 23 December 1999, and takinginto account the scale of assessments for the year 1998,as set out in its resolution 52/215 A of 22 December1997;


12. Decides also that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X) of 15 December 1955, theapportionment among Member States, as provided forin paragraph 11 above, shall take into consideration thedecrease in their respective share in the Tax Equaliza-tion Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of195,000 dollars approved for the Observer Mission forthe period ending 30 June 1998;

13. Decides further to appropriate the amount of1,076,720 dollars gross (1,073,320 dollars net) for themaintenance of the Observer Mission in respect of theperiod ending 30 June 1999, in addition to the amountof 19,439,280 dollars gross (18,452,580 dollars net) al-ready appropriated under the terms of General Assem-bly resolution 52/242 of 26 June 1998 and inclusive ofthe amount of 1,076,720 dollars gross (1,073,320 dollarsnet) from the amount of 1,534,400 dollars gross(1,426,600 dollars net) authorized by the AdvisoryCommittee under the terms of section IV of Assemblyresolution 49/233 A of 23 December 1994;

14. Decides, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportionamong Member States the additional amount of1,076,720 dollars gross (1,073,320 dollars net) for themaintenance of the Observer Mission in respect of theperiod ending 30 June 1999, in accordance with thescheme set out in the present resolution and takinginto account the scale of assessments for the year 1999,as set out in its resolutions 52/215 A and 54/237 A of 23December 1999;

15. Decides also that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X), there shall be set offagainst the apportionment among Member States, asprovided for in paragraph 14 above, their respectiveshare in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimatedadditional staff assessment income of 3,400 dollars ap-proved for the Observer Mission in respect of the pe-riod ending 30 June 1999;

16. Decides further to appropriate to the Special Ac-count for the United Nations Observer Mission inGeorgia the amount of 30,048,197 dollars gross(28,295,699 dollars net) for the maintenance of the Ob-server Mission for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30June 2001, inclusive of the amount of 1,425,532 dollarsgross (1,206,299 dollars net) for the support accountfor peacekeeping operations and the amount of222,865 dollars gross (198,300 dollars net) for theUnited Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi;

17. Decides, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportionamong Member States the amount of 2,504,016 dollarsgross (2,357,975 dollars net) for the period from 1 to 31July 2000 in accordance with the scheme set out in thepresent resolution and taking into account the scale ofassessments for the year 2000, as set out in its resolu-tions 52/215 A and 54/237 A;

18. Decides also that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X), there shall be set offagainst the apportionment among Member States, asprovided for in paragraph 17 above, their respectiveshare in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimatedstaff assessment income of 146,041 dollars approvedfor the Observer Mission for the period from 1 to 31July 2000;

19. Decides further, as an ad hoc arrangement, to ap-portion among Member States the amount of27,544,181 dollars gross (25,937,724 dollars net) for theperiod from 1 August 2000 to 30 June 2001, at a

monthly rate of 2,504,016 dollars gross (2,357,975 dol-lars net), in accordance with the scheme set out in thepresent resolution and taking into account the scale ofassessments for the year 2000, as set out in its resolu-tions 52/215 A and 54/237 A, and for the year 2001,subject to the decision of the Security Council to ex-tend the mandate of the Observer Mission beyond 31July 2000;

20. Decides that, in accordance with the provisionsof its resolution 973(X), there shall be set off againstthe apportionment among Member States, as providedfor in paragraph 19 above, their respective share in theTax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assess-ment income of 1,606,457 dollars approved for the Ob-server Mission for the period from 1 August 2000 to 30June 2001;


22. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue totake additional measures to ensure the safety and secu-rity of all personnel under the auspices of the UnitedNations participating in the Observer Mission;

23. Invites voluntary contributions to the ObserverMission in cash and in the form of services and suppliesacceptable to the Secretary-General, to be adminis-tered, as appropriate, in accordance with the proce-dure and practices established by the General Assem-bly;

24. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Observer Mission in Georgia".

In December [A/55/682], the Secretary-Generalsubmitted the UNOMIG financial performancereport for the period 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000.

The Assembly, on 23 December, decided thatthe item on UNOMIG financing would remain forconsideration at the resumed fifty-fifth (2001)session (decision 55/458) and that the itemwould be considered by the Fifth Committee atthat session (decision 55/455).

Armenia-Azerbaijan

In 2000, Armenia and Azerbaijan made noprogress in efforts to reach a settlement of thearmed conflict between them, which had eruptedin 1992 [YUN 1992, p. 388] over the Nagorny Kara-bakh region in Azerbaijan, despite the efforts ofthe Minsk Group of OSCE (France, the RussianFederation and the United States) to advance thepeace process. Both sides addressed communica-tions to the Secretary-General during the year re-garding developments in the conflict. NagornyKarabakh's communications were transmitted byArmenia.

Communications. In a 15 February statement[S/2000/138], Azerbaijan referred to press reports


indicating that the "prime minister" of the so-called "Nagorny Karabakh republic" began a"business visit" on 11 February to several WesternEuropean countries, at the invitation of business-men from Hungary, Italy and Switzerland. Thevisit was reportedly to encourage European com-panies to invest in Nagorny Karabakh's economy,present a programme for the development of theagro-industrial complex and mining industryand the promotion of tourism in Nagorny Kara-bakh, and to establish joint enterprises.

Azerbaijan stated that Armenia, which seizedpower in the Nagorny Karabakh region of Azer-baijan, and the illegitimate regime that it estab-lished some 10 years previously continued to dic-tate their will to the international community.Armenia had recently been attempting tostrengthen its military occupation through eco-nomic means by announcing a Programme forthe Rehabilitation and Development of NagornyKarabakh and was seeking, through that "pro-gramme", to attract investors to the occupied ter-ritories.

Azerbaijan was interested in normalizing lifein the region and in its comprehensive economicdevelopment but that would be possible onlyafter a just and consistent settlement of the con-flict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and com-plete agreement on peace. The World Bank, theEU and other influential international organiza-tions had already expressed their readiness to in-vest in the region, but only after the conse-quences of the occupation had been eliminatedand peace achieved.

Over the preceding year, there had been someprospects for a peaceful settlement. The Presi-dents of Azerbaijan and Armenia had held talkswith a view to solving the problem through peace-ful means and had decided at their last meetingin Davos, Switzerland, to continue those talks. Inthe circumstances, any cooperation with the ille-gitimate regime and the conduct in the NagornyKarabakh region of any activities that contra-vened the laws of Azerbaijan would be a seriousblow to the fragile peace that was being observed.

Azerbaijan viewed the establishment by anycountry or international economic and financialorganizations of military, political or economicties with the Nagorny Karabakh region of Azer-baijan before a peace agreement was reached as aviolation of inter-State, intergovernmental andother bilateral agreements with Azerbaijan, andinterference in its internal affairs. It called on allStates and organizations not to undertake suchmeasures.

In response, the "Ministry of Foreign Affairsof the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic", in a 15March statement [S/2000/221] submitted to the

Secretary-General by Armenia, said that Azerbai-jan's 15 February statement could negatively in-fluence the peacemaking process. Efforts hadbeen made in the "Nagorno-Karabagh Republic"over the last year towards the maintenance of sta-bility in the society, the consolidation of law andorder and the creation of favourable conditionsfor the development of entrepreneurship, whichhad stimulated the serious interest of foreign fi-nancial and industrial circles. It was significantthat no State, except Armenia and the UnitedStates, assisted the "Nagorno-Karabagh Repub-lic" in resolving humanitarian problems.

Azerbaijan had for two years rejected the peaceproposals put forward by the OSCE Minsk GroupCo-Chairmen, which were the most acceptablecompromise for settling the conflict. Azerbai-jan's irreconcilable position disclosed that its realintentions were to isolate Nagorny Karabakh andpreserve and aggravate the economic and hu-manitarian crisis with the aim of displacing theautochthonal Armenian population from the re-gion.

The Nagorny Karabakh leadership wished toreassure international organizations and Statesinterested in the quickest possible final settle-ment of the Karabakh conflict of its adherence tothe principle of a political settlement andstressed that the constructive mood of its peoplewas indisputable evidence of its aspirations forpeace and stability.

On 17 April [S/2000/329], Azerbaijan, referringto the Nagorny Karabakh statement, reiteratedthat there was no such administrative-territorialentity as the "Nagorny Karabakh Republic".There was a Nagorny Karabakh region of the Re-public of Azerbaijan, which was occupied by thearmed forces of Armenia. The statement circu-lated by Armenia was misleading and showedthat country's true intent to legitimize the occu-pation of an integral part of its country. None ofthe Security Council resolutions reaffirming Az-erbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrityand demanding the immediate, complete andunconditional withdrawal of the occupyingforces had been implemented, which allowed theArmenian aggressors to feel comfortable and tocontinue their annexationist policy.

Azerbaijan informed the Secretary-General, ina 20 April statement [S/2000/371], of Armenianmedia reports that elections to the "Parliament"of the so-called "Nagorny Karabakh Republic"were scheduled for 18 June. The holding of thoseelections was completely illegal and a flagrantviolation of international law. Azerbaijan wouldnot recognize the results and it was certain thatStates and parliaments throughout the worldwould take the same position. It called on all in-


ternational organizations, the United Nations,the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council ofEurope, and States members of the OSCE MinskGroup and its Co-Chairmen to condemn the ille-gal elections and to use all possible means to avertthat political farce and to refuse to recognize theresults. Similar sentiments were expressed in astatement by the head of the Azerbaijan commu-nity of Nagorny Karabakh to the Co-Chair menof the OSCE Minsk Group, transmitted to theSecretary-General by Azerbaijan in the samecommunication. The head of that communitydescribed the elections as nothing more than anartificial freezing of the forthcoming talks withinthe OSCE Minsk process. Those sentiments wereechoed by Azerbaijan's Milli Mejlis (Parliament)in a 28 April statement [S/2000/390], in which itsaid that the holding of the illegal "elections"would have an adverse effect on the course of thepeace talks and called on the Armenian commu-nity of Nagorny Karabakh to renounce those ac-tions and put an end to the violations of Azerbai-jan's Constitution. It called on the Armenianside to take a constructive position in the peaceprocess and to refrain from actions that couldcomplicate the OSCE Minsk Group talks.

On 2 May [S/2000/375 & Corr.1], Azerbaijan ex-pressed concern over the command staff trainingcarried out from 27 to 30 March between RussianFederation military personnel and the nationalarmy of Armenia at the Marshal Bagramyan mili-tary training ground in the Armavir district. Itwas also following with concern the situation aris-ing out of the signing on 1 March of a protocoltransferring the Russian military base from Ka-fan to Gyumri for a period of 25 years and thesigning on 16 March of a treaty between Armeniaand the Russian Federation on joint military re-sponsibilities in anti-aircraft defence and on themilitary training of Armenian forces on Russianmilitary training grounds. Azerbaijan called onthe Russian Federation to suspend plans to ex-pand and strengthen the military alliance be-tween itself and Armenia until the conflict be-tween Armenia and Azerbaijan over NagornyKarabakh had been settled and to reconsider itsposition on that question.

On 9 October [S/2000/978], Azerbaijan charac-terized as a gross violation of its national legisla-tion and of the norms and principles of inter-national law, reports of the signing by Armeniaand the "Nagorny Karabakh" occupation regimeof a memorandum on mutual cooperation invarious areas and on additions to the laws of thatregime relating to "local self-government" and"administrative-territorial units". Azerbaijan didnot recognize the legality of such decisions and

rejected actions that consolidated the conse-quences of Armenia's aggression against it.

In a 19 October statement [S/2000/1034], trans-mitted by Armenia, the "Nagorny KarabakhMinistry of Foreign Affairs" said that Azerbai-jan's claims in its 9 October statement were grossinterference in its internal affairs. It remindedAzerbaijan that, even in the Soviet period, ques-tions regarding the administrative and territorialdivision of Nagorny Karabakh fell within thecompetence of its authorities. It drew the inter-national community's attention to the fact thatthe actions of Azerbaijani officials ran counter toits stated readiness to establish peace and stabil-ity in the region and its policy aimed at disrupt-ing the socio-economic development of NagornyKarabakh was openly hostile.

Cyprus

United Nations efforts to achieve a resolutionof the Cyprus problem gained momentum in2000 as five rounds of the proximity talks, initi-ated by the Secretary-General in 1999 [YUN 1999,p. 389], were held and further sessions were sched-uled. The talks were aimed at preparing theground for meaningful negotiations leading to acomprehensive settlement of the Cyprus ques-tion. Increasing contacts between Greek andTurkish Cypriots, which were an important fac-tor in improving the political climate on the is-land, continued during the year. That climatewas further enhanced by the May decision of theTurkish Cypriot side to lift onerous measures af-fecting visits to Greek Cypriots and Maronites liv-ing in the north.

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force inCyprus (UNFICYP) continued to assist in the resto-ration of normal conditions and in humanitarianfunctions. The Security Council twice extendedits mandate, the second time until 15 June 2001.

By decision 54/493 of 5 September, the Gen-eral Assembly included in the draft agenda of itsfifty-fifth session the item entitled "Question ofCyprus". On 23 December (decision 55/458), itdecided that the item would remain for consid-eration during its resumed fifty-fifth (2001) ses-sion and that it would be considered by the FifthCommittee at that session (decision 55/455).

IncidentsCommunications. Throughout 2000, the

Secretary-General received numerous lettersfrom the Government of Cyprus and from theTurkish Cypriot authorities containing charges


and countercharges, protests and accusationsand explanations of position. The letters fromthe "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" weretransmitted by Turkey.

In communications dated between 3 Januaryand 18 December, Cyprus protested violations ofits airspace and unauthorized intrusions into theflight information region of Nicosia by militaryaircraft of the Turkish Air Force and Turkey trans-mitted letters from the "Representative of theTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" refutingthose allegations, stating that the flights tookplace within its sovereign airspace [A/54/698-S/2000/4, A/54/728-S/2000/66, A/54/743-S/2000/100,A/54/790-S/2000/204, A/54/816-S/2000/263, A/54/852-S/2000/370, A/54/892-S/2000/539, A/54/911-S/2000/551,A/54/937-S/2000/666, A/54/951-S/2000/755, A/54/955-S/2000/763, A/54/963-S/2000/813, A/55/454-S/2000/959,A/55/503-S/2000/1004, A/55/527-S/2000/1041, A/55/693-S/2000/1193, A/55/701 -S/2000/1210].

In other letters communicated to theSecretary-General between 9 February and 7 De-cember, the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cy-prus" drew attention to a paper submitted by the"Greek Cypriot administration" and statementsmade by its representatives in several UN bodies,which the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cy-prus" described as containing false allegationsand misrepresentations of the Cyprus situation[A/54/747-E/2000/6, A/55/445-S/2000/940, A/55/539-S/2000/1064, A/55/627-S/2000/1094, A/55/646-S/2000/1115, A/55/672-S/2000/1161]. Also submitted to theSecretary-General was a letter from Cyprus[A/55/524-S/2000/1035] on its application for mem-bership in the EU and the response of Turkey[A/55/547-S/2000/1075], which also transmitted theviews of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cy-prus" on the subject.

Good offices mission

Proximity talksPursuant to Security Council resolution

1250(1999) [YUN 1999, p. 388], proximity talks con-tinued in 2000 with the two Cyprus parties, led byCyprus President Glafcos Clerides and TurkishCypriot Leader Rauf R. Denktash, to prepare theground for meaningful negotiations leading to acomprehensive settlement. The talks were facili-tated on the Secretary-General's behalf by hisSpecial Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto. Thefirst round of talks was held in 1999 [ibid., p. 389].During 2000, five rounds of proximity talks tookplace: the second from 31 January to 8 February;the third from 5 to 12 July and the fourth from 24July to 4 August, all in Geneva; the fifth was held

from 12 to 26 September in New York; and thesixth from 1 to 10 November, again in Geneva.

During informal consultations of the SecurityCouncil on 15 February [A/55/2], the Special Ad-viser briefed Council members on the results ofthe second round of proximity talks. Followingthose consultations, the Council President, in astatement to the press on behalf of the Council,said that negotiation of a comprehensive settle-ment in Cyprus was a matter that the Council con-tinued to follow with the closest interest; it hadstated repeatedly that the status quo in Cyprus wasunacceptable. Council members commended thecontinuing commitment shown by the parties tothe talks and the fact that they had been conductedin a positive atmosphere and without precondi-tions. They encouraged all concerned to continuetheir efforts towards a comprehensive settlementof the Cyprus question and looked forward to theresumption of the talks in New York on 23 May.

In May [S/2000/496], the Secretary-General re-ported that, following the second round of prox-imity talks, his Special Adviser met separatelywith the two leaders and visited Athens, Greece,and Ankara, Turkey, in connection with thosetalks. However, the third round of talks, sched-uled for 23 May in New York, had to be put off forhealth reasons. Both leaders accepted theSecretary-General's invitation to meet in Genevastarting 5 July.

On 10 May [S/2000/431], the Secretary-Generalinformed the Council President that, to give pri-ority to the good offices effort under way, he hadasked his Special Adviser to remain in New Yorkfor the time being.

On 13 July [A/54/938-S/2000/688], the "TurkishRepublic of Northern Cyprus", in a letter trans-mitted to the Secretary-General by Turkey, com-plained that, while the third round of talks wasbeing held in Geneva, Greek Cypriot rearma-ment activities continued, casting a shadow onthe spirit and purpose of the talks, which wereaimed at preparing the ground for meaningfulnegotiations to a peaceful settlement. It also drewattention to a 27 February statement by the Cyp-riot Defence Minister to the effect that the cur-rent process of proximity talks and the expectedthird round would not have an effect on their re-armament efforts. The "Turkish Republic ofNorthern Cyprus" believed that the Councilshould take note of those serious developments,which did not augur well for the success of theproximity talks, and urge the Greek side to stopits arming frenzy.

Cyprus, on 20 July [A/54/944-S/2000/711], re-called that the Special Envoy, on 12 July, the lastday of the third round of the proximity talks, hadreiterated an appeal on the Secretary-General's


behalf to the two sides to play down the tone, sizeand content of the official rhetoric during the pe-riod between the last and the forthcoming roundof talks. Cyprus drew attention to provocative ac-tions by the Turkish side, which ignored the ap-peal, including violations of the airspace of theRepublic of Cyprus and reinforcement of theTurkish occupying forces. Cyprus protestedthose actions and expressed the hope that thenecessary positive attitude would be shown byTurkey so that the proximity talks in progress, aswell as other efforts for finding a just and viablesolution to the Cyprus problem, would not be ad-versely affected.

On 28 November [S/2000/1188], the Secretary-General, reporting to the Council on his goodoffices mission in Cyprus, stated that, in further-ance of the mission, which included consulta-tions in the region, as well as with various capi-tals, the Special Adviser had been assisted by asmall team of Secretariat and UNFICYP staff, a le-gal adviser and international consultants. TheSecretary-General expected the mission to con-tinue from January until at least June 2001, atwhich point resource requirements in support ofthat mandate could be incorporated into UNFI-CYP's budget, on which he would report sepa-rately. On 14 December [S/2000/1189], the Counciltook note of the contents of the Secretary-General's letter and his expectations regardingthe continuation of his mission of good offices inCyprus.

Goodwill measuresAs indicated during the second round of prox-

imity talks, the "Turkish Cypriot Republic ofNorthern Cyprus", in a 19 May communication[A/54/878-S/2000/462] transmitted by Turkey, an-nounced a series of unilateral goodwill measuresaimed at further enhancing the living standardsof the Greek Cypriots and Maronites residing inthe "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".Those measures included reducing crossing fees;issuing permits for visits to close relatives for areasonable period of time, with the possibility ofextension for family, health or other extenuatingcircumstances; removal of the age restriction ap-plied to Greek Cypriot students wishing to visittheir families and who had yet to fulfil militaryservice; the granting of permission to the spouseof a Greek Cypriot or Maronite residing in theNorth who married a Greek Cypriot or Maroniteor any other third party national residing outsidethe "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" totake up residency in the "Turkish Republic ofNorthern Cyprus"; ensuring the freedom ofmovement throughout the territory of the "Turk-

ish Republic of Northern Cyprus", on a par withits citizens; and allowing any Maronite or GreekCypriot residing in the "Turkish Cypriot Repub-lic of Northern Cyprus" to apply for citizenship.

UNFICYPThe United Nations Peacekeeping Force in

Cyprus, established by Security Council resolu-tion 186(1964) [YUN 1964, p. 165], continued in 2000to monitor the ceasefire lines between the Turk-ish and Turkish Cypriot forces on the northernside and the Cypriot National Guard on thesouthern side; to maintain the military status quoand prevent a recurrence of fighting; and to un-dertake humanitarian and economic activities.In the absence of a formal ceasefire agreement,the military status quo, as recorded by UNFICYPin 1974, remained the standard by which theForce judged whether changes constituted viola-tions of the status quo.

UNFICYP, under the overall authority of theDeputy Special Representative and Chief of Mis-sion, continued to keep the area between theceasefire lines, known as the buffer zone, underconstant surveillance through a system of obser-vation posts, and through air, vehicle and footpatrols.

During the year, Alvaro de Soto continued asthe Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cy-prus. On 10 May [S/2000/431], the Secretary-General informed the Council of his intention toappoint Zbigniew Wlosowicz (Poland) as ActingSpecial Representative and Chief of Mission ofUNFICYP as of 1 June; he would succeed JamesHolger, whose term came to an end on 31 May.

As at 31 December, UNFICYP, under the com-mand of Major-General Victory Rana (Nepal),comprised 1,213 troops and 33 civilian police.The military personnel were from Argentina,Austria, Canada, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, theNetherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.The Argentine contingent included soldiersfrom Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The civilianpolice were from Australia and Ireland. The ci-vilian component comprised 42 internationaland 147 local staff.

ActivitiesReport of Secretary-General (May). The

Secretary-General, in his report covering devel-opments and UNFICYP activities from 30 Novem-ber 1999 to 31 May 2000 [S/2000/496 & Corr.1], saidthat the situation along the ceasefire lines re-mained stable, with a significant reduction in theoverall number of incidents. Threats against UNsoldiers on patrol remained a concern. Local re-strictions by the National Guard on the freedom


of movement of the United Nations in the area ofthe Kokkina pocket and Kato Pyrgos at the west-ern end of the buffer zone had impeded access toa number of UN observation posts. Efforts con-tinued to have those restrictions removed. Airviolations of the UN buffer zone increased. Inaddition, National Guard personnel in militaryvehicles were observed in the zone on 4 April.

Contacts between Greek Cypriots and TurkishCypriots on the island increased, most of themoccurring with UNFICYP's help. For the first timein several years, two meetings took place betweenpolitical party representatives from both sides.UNFICYP continued to support civilian activitiesin the buffer zone, including farming, industryand recreational activities. Regular contacts andcooperation continued with both sides to resolvequestions concerning movement and access,shared resources, such as water, and proposedworks in the buffer zone. UNFICYP also main-tained liaison with the police on both sides andcarried out humanitarian tasks. On 5 May, theTurkish Cypriot authorities announced meas-ures to ease restrictions affecting movement be-tween the two sides, which had been instituted inFebruary 1998 [YUN 1998, p. 413]. UNFICYP helpedto arrange several large pilgrimages of GreekCypriots and Turkish Cypriots to their respectiveholy places.

After an interruption of more than three years,the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus metfrom November 1999 to January 2000 and dis-cussed the possibility of resuming its investiga-tive work.

The Secretary-General recommended that theSecurity Council extend UNFICYP's mandate fora further period of six months, until 15 Decem-ber 2000.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION

On 14 June [meeting 4155], the Security Councilunanimously adopted resolution 1303(2000).The draft [S/2000/549] was prepared in consulta-tions among Council members.

The Security Council,Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of 26

May 2000 on the United Nations operation in Cyprus,in particular the call to the parties to assess and addressthe humanitarian issue of missing persons with due ur-gency and seriousness,

Noting that the Government of Cyprus has agreedthat in view of the prevailing conditions in the island itis necessary to keep the United Nations PeacekeepingForce in Cyprus beyond 15 June 2000,


1. Reaffirms all its relevant resolutions on Cyprus, inparticular resolutions 1251(1999) of 29 June 1999 and1283(1999) of 15 December 1999;

2. Decides to extend the mandate of the United Na-tions Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for a furtherperiod ending 15 December 2000;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a reportby 1 December 2000 on the implementation of thepresent resolution;


Report of Secretary-General (December). InDecember [S/2000/1138], the Secretary-General re-ported no significant change in the militarysituation along the ceasefire lines. However, airviolations of the buffer zone by Turkish militaryaircraft rose to 47, compared with 7 in the sameperiod the previous year. In addition, on 22 Octo-ber, Turkish military aircraft reportedly camewithin a little over three nautical miles offshorefrom the Paphos air base, causing a NationalGuard air defence element to lock on its radar.Air violations of the buffer zone by military andcivilian aircraft from the other side decreased to10, compared with 18 in the same period the pre-vious year. On 30 June, the Turkish Cypriotauthorities and Turkish forces instituted a num-ber of measures against UNFICYP, the main onebeing the closure of all crossings of the Turkishforces' ceasefire line, except for the one at theformer Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia. In con-junction with existing restrictions on its move-ment in the north, that measure would have com-pletely isolated UN troops in three camps in thenorth and at Strovilia. Three additional crossingpoints were subsequently reopened to allow ac-cess to the camps from the south. The next day,the Turkish forces/Turkish Cypriot securityforces moved forward of their ceasefire line atStrovilia and had since controlled UNFICYP's ac-cess to its post there. Since October, the Turkishforces had prevented UNFICYP from movingalong the Famagusta-Dherinia road. The impactof those restrictions was significant: UNFICYP'soperational effectiveness had suffered; responsetimes had increased; and command, logistic andadministrative movements had lengthened sig-nificantly. The Turkish Cypriot authorities alsoimposed mandatory additional insurance forUN vehicles, which had to be obtained from in-surance companies in the north, and announcedthat they would require UNFICYP to pay for elec-tricity and other utilities for its bases in the north.

UNFICYP continued to monitor the status quoin the fenced area of Varosha, which continued tochange. There were frequent crossings of themaritime security line, the seaward extension ofthe median of the buffer zone, by Greek Cypriotfishing and tourist boats offshore from Dherinia,


occasionally triggering warning shots from theTurkish forces. In the north-west, the Turkishforces' supply boats on their way to and fromKokkina crossed the line on a daily basis.

Contacts between Greek Cypriots and TurkishCypriots continued to increase, including at largepublic events, such as the Festival of Mutual Un-derstanding organized by political parties in Sep-tember and the United Nations Day celebrationin October. Other initiatives ranged from meet-ings of politicians, youth workshops and a sum-mer school to forums for business representa-tives, media and teachers. Regarding the easingof certain restrictions on movement between thetwo sides, which the Turkish Cypriot authoritiesannounced in May, although crossing fees hadbeen reduced, Greek Cypriots seeking to extendtheir visits to relatives in the Karpas beyond threedays had encountered obstacles. The TurkishCypriot authorities had also been less forthcom-ing than in the past with respect to crossings ar-ranged by UNFICYP for humanitarian reasons.

UNFICYP assisted various projects in the bufferzone with the cooperation of the local authoritiesfrom both sides. Progress was achieved on watersupply matters, urban renovation work, use offarmland and roadways and other issues.

The Secretary-General recommended thatUNFICYP's mandate be extended until 15 June2001.

SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION

On 13 December [meeting 4246], the SecurityCouncil unanimously adopted resolution 1331(2000). The draft [S/2000/1177] was prepared inconsultations among Council members.

The Security Council,Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of

1 December 2000 on the United Nations operation inCyprus, in particular the call to the parties to assess andaddress the humanitarian issue of missing personswith due urgency and seriousness,

Noting that the Government of Cyprus has agreedthat in view of the prevailing conditions in the island itis necessary to keep the United Nations PeacekeepingForce in Cyprus beyond 15 December 2000,


1. Reaffirms all its relevant resolutions on Cyprus, inparticular resolution 1251(1999) of 29 June 1999 andsubsequent resolutions;

2. Decides to extend the mandate of the United Na-tions Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for a furtherperiod ending 15 June 2001;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a re-port, by 1 June 2001, on the implementation of thepresent resolution;

4. Urges the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkishforces to rescind the restrictions imposed on 30 June2000 on the operations of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus, and to restore the militarystatus quo ante at Strovilia;


On 28 December [A/55/717-S/2000/1241], Turkeytransmitted to the Secretary-General the views ofMr. Denktas regarding resolution 1331 (2000). Hecomplained that, while the resolution mentionedthe consent of the "so-called" Government of Cy-prus to the extension of UNFICYP's mandate, nomention was made of the consent of the TurkishCypriot party. Mr. Denktas reminded theSecretary-General that UNFICYP's deployment inthe territory of the "Turkish Republic of North-ern Cyprus" was subject to the approval of itsauthorities and the continuation of UNFICYP'soperations could be possible only with the coop-eration of the authorities and on the basis of aproperly authorized framework. It again stressedthe necessity of concluding an agreement to putits relations with UNFICYP on a sound basis. Mr.Denktas added that the resolution contradictedthe principle of the political equality of the twoparties, as well as the political, legal and practicalrealities prevailing in Cyprus.

FinancingOn 15 June [meeting 98], the General Assembly,

having considered the Secretary-General's re-port on UNFICYP's financial performance for theperiod 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999 [A/54/704], theproposed budget for UNFICYP's maintenance forthe period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 [A/54/729]and ACABQ's comments and recommendations[A/54/841 & Add.4], adopted, on the recommenda-tion of the Fifth Committee [A/54/901], resolution54/270 without vote [agenda item 136].

Financing of the United NationsPeacekeeping Force in Cyprus


General on the financing of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus and the related reports of theAdvisory Committee on Administrative and BudgetaryQuestions,

Recalling Security Council resolution 186(1964) of 4March 1964, by which the Council established theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, and thesubsequent resolutions by which the Council extendedthe mandate of the Force, the latest of which was reso-lution 1303(2000) of 14 June 2000,

Recalling also its resolution 53/231 of 8 June 1999 onthe financing of the Force,

Reaffirming that the costs of the Force that are notcovered by voluntary contributions are expenses of theOrganization to be borne by Member States in accord-


ance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of theUnited Nations,

Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributionshave been made to the Force by certain Governments,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the factthat, in order to meet the expenditures caused by theForce, a different procedure is required from that ap-plied to meet expenditures of the regular budget of theUnited Nations,



Expressing its appreciation to all those Member Statesand observer States which have made voluntary contri-butions to the Special Account established for thefinancing of the Force for the period prior to 16 June1993,

Noting that voluntary contributions were insufficientto cover all the costs of the Force, including those in-curred by troop-contributing Governments prior to 16June 1993, and regretting the absence of an adequateresponse to appeals for voluntary contributions, in-cluding that contained in the letter dated 17 May 1994from the Secretary-General to all Member States,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide theForce with the necessary financial resources to enableit to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolu-tions of the Security Council,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus as at 30April 2000, including the contributions outstanding inthe amount of 17.7 million United States dollars, repre-senting some 11.2 per cent of the total assessed contri-butions from 16 June 1993 to the period ending 15 June2000, notes that some 22 per cent of the Member Stateshave paid their assessed contributions in full, andurges all other Member States concerned, in particularthose in arrears, to ensure payment of their outstand-ing assessed contributions;



4. Urges all other Member States to make every pos-sible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contri-butions to the Force in full and on time;



7. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shallbe provided with adequate resources for the effectiveand efficient discharge of their respective mandates;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to make the fullestpossible use of facilities and equipment at the UnitedNations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in order to mini-mize the costs of procurement for the Force, and for thispurpose requests the Secretary-General to speed up theimplementation of the asset management system at allpeacekeeping missions in accordance with General As-sembly resolution 52/1 A of 15 October 1997;


10. Requests the Secretary-General to take all neces-sary action to ensure that the Force is administeredwith a maximum of efficiency and economy;

11. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order toreduce the cost of employing General Service staff, tocontinue efforts to recruit local staff for the Forceagainst General Service posts, commensurate with therequirements of the Force;

12. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account forthe United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus theamount of 43,422,065 dollars gross (41,404,128 dollarsnet) for the maintenance of the Force for the periodfrom 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, inclusive of theamount of 2,060,180 dollars gross (1,743,344 dollarsnet) for the support account for peacekeeping opera-tions, and the amount of 322,085 dollars gross (286,584dollars net) for the United Nations Logistics Base;

13. Decides also, as an ad hoc arrangement, takinginto consideration the funding through voluntary con-tributions of one third of the cost of the Force, equiva-lent to 13,801,375 dollars, by the Government of Cyprusand the annual pledge of 6.5 million dollars from theGovernment of Greece, to apportion among MemberStates the amount of 23,120,690 dollars gross(21,102,753 dollars net) for the period from 1 July 2000to 30 June 2001, at a monthly rate of 1,926,724 dollarsgross (1,758,563 dollars net), in accordance with thecomposition of groups set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 ofGeneral Assembly resolution 43/232 of 1 March 1989,as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolutions 44/192 Bof 21 December 1989, 45/269 of 27 August 1991,46/198 A of 20 December 1991, 47/218 A of 23 Decem-ber 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July 1995, 49/249 B of 14 Sep-tember 1995, 50/224 of 11 April 1996, 51/218 A to C of18 December 1996 and 52/230 of 31 March 1998 and itsdecisions 48/472 A of 23 December 1993, 50/451 B of23 December 1995 and 54/456 to 54/458 of 23 Decem-ber 1999, and taking into account the scale of assess-ments for the year 2000, as set out in its resolutions52/215 A of 22 December 1997 and 54/237 A of 23 De-cember 1999, and for the year 2001, subject to the deci-sion of the Security Council to extend the mandate ofthe Force;

14. Decides further that, in accordance with the provi-sions of its resolution 973(X) of 15 December 1955,there shall be set off against the apportionment amongMember States, as provided for in paragraph 13 above,their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund ofthe estimated staff assessment income of 2,017,937 dol-lars approved for the Force for the period from 1 July2000 to 30 June 2001;

15. Decides that, for Member States that have fu l -filled their financial obligations to the Force, there


shall be set off against the apportionment, as providedfor in paragraph 13 above, their respective share of theunencumbered balance of 374,000 dollars gross(421,700 dollars net) in respect of the period from1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999;

16. Decides also that, for Member States that have notfulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, theirshare of the unencumbered balance of 374,000 dollarsgross (421,700 dollars net) in respect of the period from1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999 shall be set off against theiroutstanding obligations;

17. Decides further to continue to maintain as sepa-rate the account established for the Force for the periodprior to 16 June 1993, invites Member States to makevoluntary contributions to that account, and requeststhe Secretary-General to continue his efforts in appeal-ing for voluntary contributions to the account;


19. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue totake additional measures to ensure the safety and secu-rity of all personnel under the auspices of the UnitedNations participating in the Force;

20. Invites voluntary contributions to the Force incash and in the form of services and supplies accepta-ble to the Secretary-General, to be administered, asappropriate, in accordance with the procedure andpractices established by the General Assembly;

21. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of itsfifty-fifth session the item entitled "Financing of theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus".

On 23 December, the Assembly decided thatthe item on UNFICYP's financing would remainfor consideration at the resumed fifty-fifth (2001)session (decision 55/458) and that the FifthCommittee would continue consideration of theitem at that session (decision 55/455).

Other issues

Cooperation with OSCEIn response to General Assembly resolution

54/117 [YUN 1999, p. 394], the Secretary-Generalsubmitted a June report [A/55/98], describing co-operation between the United Nations and theOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE).

During the year, a number of meetings tookplace between UN and OSCE officials in NewYork, Geneva and Vienna. Of particular note wasthe ninth high-level meeting of the UnitedNations-OSCE-Council of Europe tripartite pro-cess of informal consultations (Geneva, 24-25February), which discussed peace and stability inSouth-Eastern Europe. The meeting was pre-ceded by a target-oriented tripartite meeting on"Law enforcement, in particular the police: op-

erations in South-Eastern Europe". Such meet-ings demonstrated the continued relevance ofthe process of improving the complementarity ofactivities undertaken by participating organiza-tions. The two organizations also continued topractise a division of labour based on their com-parative advantages. UNDP's cooperation withOSCE, particularly with its Office for DemocraticInstitutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) andwith the High Commissioner on National Mi-norities ( l ICNM), included a continuous ex-change of information, publications and coordi-nation of activities and organization of events,such as the workshop for ombudsmen and hu-man rights institutions in Almaty, Kazakhstan.Other mutual activities included projects in hu-man rights protection institutions, gender issues,civil society and the rule of law; joint assistance inthe drafting of a law on ombudsman institutionsin Central Asia; and coordination of assistance toinstitutions in Albania, Estonia and Georgia.OSCE and UNDP also provided support for theholding of elections. The Economic Commissionfor Europe (ECE) and OSCE member Govern-ments had given a strong mandate to their re-spective organizations to foster cooperation inview of the challenges they both faced with re-gard to economic post-conflict reconstructionand the implementation of the Stability Pact inSouth-Eastern Europe [YUN 1999, p. 398]. The twoorganizations had begun to give more attentionto economic and environmental factors and theirsecurity implications. The relationship betweenUNHCR and OSCE had developed into a compre-hensive strategic partnership, focusing on theprevention of mass displacement, the recogni-tion of the critical linkage between displacementand security and the need to address the humandimension of conflict resolution. Cooperation atheadquarters level included consultations on op-erational design and policy development. How-ever, the field-level UNHCR-OSCE partnershipneeded to be continuously refined and focused tominimize duplication while maximizing syner-gies.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)and OSCE had a number of cooperative effortsunder way in the Kosovo province of FRY, includ-ing the implementation of the UNICEF juvenilejustice project and a number of complementaryjuvenile justice activities. The World Food Pro-gramme also maintained mutually beneficialcooperation with OSCE in Kosovo. In Albania,UNICEF and OSCE collaborated extensively oninstitution-building and on strengtheningthe rights of the child. The Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Hu-man Rights also maintained constructive contacts


with OSCE through its field offices in Bosnia andHerzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo, consulting ona wide range of human rights issues. The bulk ofcooperation between the Office for the Coordi-nation of Humanitarian Affairs and OSCE tookplace in the context of UN operations in Georgia,Tajikistan and, to a more limited extent, the Rus-sian Federation. They also cooperated on issuesof mutual interest, such as attracting donorassistance to the region and regular liaison withde facto authorities in situ, aimed at facilitatingthe creation of humanitarian space within whichagencies could operate.


On 19 December [meeting 86], the General As-sembly adopted resolution 55/179 [draft: A/55/L.69& Add.1, amended by A/55/L.70], by recorded vote(147-1-0) [agenda item 29].

Cooperation between the United Nationsand the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in EuropeThe General Assembly,Recalling the framework for cooperation and coordi-

nation between the United Nations and the Confer-ence on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signedon 26 May 1993, as well as its resolutions on coopera-tion between the two organizations,

Recalling also the principles embodied in the Hel-sinki Final Act and in the declaration at the 1992 Hel-sinki Summit by the heads of State or Government ofthe participating States of the Conference on Securityand Cooperation in Europe of their understandingthat the Conference is a regional arrangement in thesense of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Na-tions and as such provides an important link betweenEuropean and global security,

Acknowledging the increasing contribution of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe tothe establishment and maintenance of internationalpeace and security in its region through activities inearly warning and preventive diplomacy, includingthrough the activities of the High Commissioner onNational Minorities, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, as well as arms control and dis-armament,

Recalling the Charter for European Security adoptedat the Summit in Istanbul in November 1999, which re-affirms the Organization for Security and Cooperationin Europe as a primary organization for the peacefulsettlement of disputes within its region and as a key in-strument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisismanagement and post-conflict rehabilitation,

Recalling also the special ties between the Organiza-tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe and theMediterranean Partners for Cooperation, as well as be-tween that organization and the Asian Partners for Co-operation, Japan and the Republic of Korea, whichhave been further enhanced in 2000,

Underlining the continued importance of enhancedcooperation and coordination between the United Na-tions and the Organization for Security and Coopera-tion in Europe,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General;2. Notes with appreciation the further improvement

of cooperation and coordination between the UnitedNations and its agencies and the Organization for Se-curity and Cooperation in Europe, including at thelevel of activities in the field;

3. Welcomes, in this context, the participation of theDeputy Secretary-General in the meeting of the Minis-terial Council of the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe, which was held in Vienna inNovember 2000, and the participation of high-levelUnited Nations representatives in meetings of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;

4. Encourages further efforts of the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation in Europe to foster secu-rity and stability in its region through early warning,conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, as well as through continuedpromotion of democracy, the rule of law, human rightsand fundamental freedoms;

5. Also encourages the intention of the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation in Europe to create an en-vironment in which the dignity, well-being, safety andhuman rights of all people are ensured;

6. Welcomes the documents of the meeting of theMinisterial Council held in Vienna on enhancing theefforts of the Organization for Security and Coopera-tion in Europe to combat trafficking in human beingsand on the illicit trafficking in and the destabilizingaccumulation and uncontrolled spread of small armsand light weapons;

7. Also welcomes the continued close cooperation be-tween the Organization for Security and Cooperationin Europe and the United Nations High Commissionerfor Refugees and the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Human Rights;

8. Further welcomes the admission of the Federal Re-public of Yugoslavia into the Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe on 10 November 2000 afterthe vivid demonstration of the commitment of the peo-ple of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to democracy,and commends the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia forits commitment to the principles and standards of theOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europeand its readiness to cooperate with European institu-tions and with its neighbours offering new perspectivesfor peace and prosperity in South-Eastern Europe;

9. Notes with appreciation the readiness of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe toassist the Yugoslav people to this end and the prepared-ness of the Yugoslav Government to have a presence ofthe Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope in the country, and welcomes the steps under-taken by the Government to ensure an early amnestyfor all political prisoners;

10. Expresses its appreciation for the contribution bythe Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope to the United Nations Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo in implementing Security Councilresolution 1244(1999) of 10 June 1999, including theestablishment, pursuant to that resolution, of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in EuropeMission in Kosovo as an essential part of the broaderUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission in Ko-sovo, responsible for institution-building, includingthe training of a new Kosovo police service, judicial


personnel and civil administrators, the development offree media, democratization and governance, the or-ganization and supervision of elections and the moni-toring, protection and promotion of human rights, incooperation with, inter alia, the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights, and stresses thecommitment of the United Nations and the Organiza-tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe to the fullimplementation of resolution 1244(1999);

11. Commends the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for its substantial role in the prep-aration and organization of the local elections in Kosovoin view of the consolidation of stability and prosperity inKosovo on the basis of substantial autonomy, respectingthe sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FederalRepublic of Yugoslavia, pending a final settlement inaccordance with resolution 1244(1999);

12. Welcomes the role of the Organization for Secu-rity and Cooperation in Europe in the General Frame-work Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina,initialled in Dayton, United States of America, on 21November 1995, in particular in the fields of humanrights and judicial and police reform, and commendsthe Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope for its substantial role in the preparation andorganization of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

13. Underlines the importance of regional coopera-tion as a means of fostering good-neighbourly rela-tions, stability and economic development, welcomesthe implementation of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation in Europe as an impor-tant long-term and comprehensive initiative to pro-mote good-neighbourly relations, stability and eco-nomic development, and also welcomes thecommitment of participating States of the Organiza-tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe to contrib-ute further to the goals of the Stability Pact;

14. Welcomes the work of the Organization for Secu-rity and Cooperation in Europe in assisting in the im-plementation of articles II and IV of annex 1-B to theGeneral Framework Agreement and its contribution tothe creation of a framework for peace and stability inSouth-Eastern Europe;

15. Fully supports the activities of the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation in Europe to achieve apeaceful solution to the conflict in and around theNagorny-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbai-jan, and welcomes cooperation between the United Na-tions and the Organization for Security and Coopera-tion in Europe in this regard;

16. Welcomes, in view of lack of progress in the peaceprocess of the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, the inten-tion of the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group of the Or-ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe andthe Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Coopera-tion in Europe to intensity their efforts in fulfilling theirmandates and to further an atmosphere of mutual trustbetween all parties to the conflict, also welcomes the di-rect dialogue between the Presidents of the Republic ofAzerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, and encour-ages them to continue their efforts in working with theCo-Chairmen of the Minsk Group to expedite agree-ments that would serve as a basis for the resumption offull-scale negotiations within the Group;

17. Stresses the importance of all parties doing theirutmost to ensure that the ceasefire along the line ofcontact is strictly observed until a comprehensiveagreement resolving the conflict is signed, and com-mends the efforts taken by the Co-Chairmen of theMinsk Group since the Istanbul Summit to diminishtensions in the region and to prepare, in coordinationwith the United Nations and other international agen-cies, support measures that would facilitate the imple-mentation of a political settlement;

18. Welcomes efforts undertaken in 2000 to strength-en cooperation between the Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations inGeorgia, and with regard to Abkhazia, Georgia, wel-comes the completion of the joint assessment mission tothe Gali district in November 2000 to evaluate condi-tions for the return of refugees and internally displacedpersons to their former places of permanent residence;

19. Fully supports the efforts of the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe aimed at achiev-ing a settlement of the problems in the Transdniestrianregion of the Republic of Moldova, recalls the commit-ment by the Russian Federation to complete the with-drawal of the Russian forces from the territory of theRepublic of Moldova by the end of 2002, as agreed atthe Istanbul Summit, and welcomes the willingness ofthe Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope together with the Republic of Moldova to facili-tate this process, within their respective abilities, by theagreed deadline;

20. Welcomes the establishment of enhanced dia-logue between the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Central Asian participat-ing States and the readiness of that organization tocontribute, inter alia, together with the United Na-tions, to strengthening cooperation in the region, aswell as the commitment of that organization to pro-mote democratic institutions and assist the CentralAsian countries in addressing security issues, the prob-lem of organized crime and economic and environ-mental concerns, and takes note in this respect of theinternational conference on enhancing security andstability in Central Asia, held in Tashkent on 19 and 20October 2000, which was organized jointly by the Chairof the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope and the United Nations Office for Drug Con-trol and Crime Prevention with the assistance of theGovernment of Uzbekistan;

21. Also welcomes the in-depth discussions on coop-eration of the United Nations, the European Unionand the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope with regard to interaction and complementar-ity of rapid response mechanisms at the meeting of theMinisterial Council held in Vienna, and requeststhe Secretary-General to continue exploring with theChairman-in-Office and the Secretary-General of theOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europepossibilities for further enhancement of cooperation,information exchange and coordination between theUnited Nations and the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe;

22. Further welcomes the fact that Thailand has be-come a new Partner for Cooperation of the Organiza-tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe;

23. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-sixth session the item entitled "Cooperation


between the United Nations and the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe", and requests theSecretary-General to submit to the General Assemblyat its fifty-sixth session a report on cooperation be-tween the United Nations and the Organization for Se-curity and Cooperation in Europe in implementationof the present resolution.RECORDED VOTE ON RESOLUTION 55/179:

In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Australia,Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium,Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil,Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Can-ada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croa-tia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecua-dor, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France,Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala,Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland,Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz-stan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Maurita-nia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal,Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan,Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federa-tion, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singa-pore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, The former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republicof Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen,Yugoslavia, Zambia.

Against: Armenia.Abstaining: None.

Before the adoption of the resolution, a re-corded vote (62-1-65) was taken on an amend-ment, adding paragraph 15, introduced by Azer-baijan [A/55/L.70], stating specifically thatNagorny Karabakh was a region of Azerbaijan.

Cooperation with the Council of EuropeOn 20 October [meeting 38], the General Assem-

bly adopted resolution 55/3 [draft: A/55/L.8 &Add.1] without vote [agenda item 170].

Cooperation between the United Nationsand the Council of Europe

The General Assembly,Recalling the Agreement between the Council of

Europe and the Secretariat of the United Nationssigned on 15 December 1951 and the Arrangement onCooperation and Liaison between the secretariats ofthe United Nations and the Council of Europe of 19November 1971,

Acknowledging the contribution of the Council ofEurope to the protection and strengthening of democ-racy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and therule of law on the European continent, including its ac-tivities against racism and intolerance, the promotionof gender equality, social development and a commoncultural heritage,

Acknowledging also that, with its significant expertisein the field of human rights, democratic institutionsand the rule of law, the Council of Europe is also pro-moting the prevention of conflict and long-term post-conflict peace-building through political and institu-tional reform,

Stressing the importance of adherence to the stand-ards and principles of the Council of Europe and its

contribution to the solution of conflicts throughoutthe whole of Europe,

1. Notes with appreciation the further improvementof cooperation and coordination between the UnitedNations and its agencies and the Council of Europe,both at the level of headquarters and in the field;

2. Welcomes the increasingly close cooperation be-tween the Council of Europe, the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees and theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner forHuman Rights;

3. Welcomes also the close and fruitful cooperationbetween the Council of Europe and the InternationalLaw Commission of the United Nations, and the con-tribution of the Council of Europe to the United Na-tions Decade of International Law;

4. Welcomes further the contributions of the Councilof Europe to the twenty-third and twenty-fourth specialsessions of the General Assembly entitled, respectively,"Women 2000: gender equality, development andpeace for the twenty-first century", which was held inNew York from 5 to 9 June 2000, and "World Summitfor Social Development and beyond: achieving socialdevelopment for all in a globalizing world", which washeld in Geneva from 26 to 30 June 2000;

5. Expresses its appreciation to the Council of Europefor its organization of the European Conferenceagainst Racism, which was held in Strasbourg, France,from 11 to 13 October 2000, in preparation for theWorld Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimina-tion, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which willbe held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001;

6. Welcomes the participation of the Council ofEurope in the implementation of Security Councilresolution 1244(1999) of 10 June 1999, in its coopera-tion with the United Nations Interim AdministrationMission in Kosovo, notably with regard to the reform ofthe judiciary, the protection of minorities, propertyrights, registration and local democracy, as well as theobservation of the electoral process in Kosovo, as re-quested by the United Nations;

7. Welcomes also the readiness of the Council ofEurope to continue to fulfil the role assigned to it, un-der the General Framework Agreement for Peace inBosnia and Herzegovina, with regard to the protectionand promotion of human rights as well as in the field ofjudicial reform;

8. Welcomes further the major contribution of theCouncil of Europe to the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, launched at the initiative of the Euro-pean Union, and to the development of regional proj-ects to support its aims;

9. Welcomes the active role of the Council of Europein the tripartite meetings between the United Nations,the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope and the Council of Europe;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to continue ex-ploring, with the Chairman of the Committee of Min-isters and the Secretary-General of the Council ofEurope, possibilities for further enhancement of coop-eration, information exchange and coordination be-tween the United Nations and the Council of Europe;

11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of itsfifty-sixth session the item entitled "Cooperation be-tween the United Nations and the Council of Europe",and requests the Secretary-General to submit to the


General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session a report on co-operation between the United Nations and the Councilof Europe in implementation of the present resolution.

Strengthening of security and cooperationin the Mediterranean region

In response to General Assembly resolution54/59 [YUN 1999, p. 396], the Secretary-Generalsubmitted replies from Algeria, Jordan, Portu-gal, on behalf of the EU, Qatar and the RussianFederation [A/55/254] to his note verbale request-ing their views on ways to strengthen security andcooperation in the Mediterranean region.


On 20 November [meeting 69], the General As-sembly, on the recommendation of the First (Dis-armament and International Security) Commit-tee [A/55/564], adopted resolution 55/38 withoutvote [agenda item 78].

Strengthening of security and cooperationin the Mediterranean region

The General Assembly,Recalling its previous resolutions on the subject, in-

cluding resolution 54/59 of 1 December 1999,Reaffirming the primary role of the Mediterranean

countries in strengthening and promoting peace, secu-rity and cooperation in the Mediterranean region,

Bearing in mind all the previous declarations andcommitments, as well as all the initiatives taken by theriparian countries at the recent summits, ministerialmeetings and various forums concerning the questionof the Mediterranean region,

Recognizing the indivisible character of security inthe Mediterranean and that the enhancement of coop-eration among Mediterranean countries with a view topromoting the economic and social development of allpeoples of the region will contribute significantly tostability, peace and security in the region,

Recognizing also the efforts made so far and the deter-mination of the Mediterranean countries to intensifythe process of dialogue and consultations with a view toresolving the problems existing in the Mediterraneanregion and to eliminating the causes of tension and theconsequent threat to peace and security, and theirgrowing awareness of the need for further joint effortsto strengthen economic, social, cultural and environ-mental cooperation in the region,

Recognizing further that prospects for closer Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in all spheres can be en-hanced by positive developments worldwide, in parti-cular in Europe, in the Maghreb and in the Middle East,

Reaffirming the responsibility of all States to contrib-ute to the stability and prosperity of the Mediterra-nean region and their commitment to respecting thepurposes and principles of the Charter of the UnitedNations, as well as the provisions of the Declaration onPrinciples of International Law concerning FriendlyRelations and Cooperation among States in accord-ance with the Charter of the United Nations,

Noting the peace negotiations in the Middle East,which should be of a comprehensive nature and repre-

sent an appropriate framework for the peaceful settle-ment of contentious issues in the region,

Expressing its concern at the persistent tension andcontinuing military activities in parts of the Mediterra-nean that hinder efforts to strengthen security and co-operation in the region,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,1. Reaffirms that security in the Mediterranean is

closely linked to European security as well as to interna-tional peace and security;

2. Expresses its satisfaction at the continuing efforts byMediterranean countries to contribute actively to theelimination of all causes of tension in the region and tothe promotion of just and lasting solutions to thepersistent problems of the region through peacefulmeans, thus ensuring the withdrawal of foreign forcesof occupation and respecting the sovereignty, inde-pendence and territorial integrity of all countries of theMediterranean and the right of peoples to self-determination, and therefore calls for full adherence tothe principles of non-interference, non-intervention,non-use of force or threat of use of force and the inad-missibility of the acquisition of territory by force, inaccordance with the Charter and the relevant resolu-tions of the United Nations;

3. Commends the Mediterranean countries for theirefforts in meeting common challenges through coordi-nated overall responses, based on a spirit of multilat-eral partnership, towards the general objective of turn-ing the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue,exchanges and cooperation, guaranteeing peace, sta-bility and prosperity, and encourages them to strength-en such efforts through, inter alia, a lasting multilateraland action-oriented cooperative dialogue among Statesof the region;

4. Recognizes that the elimination of the economicand social disparities in levels of development andother obstacles, as well as respect and greater under-standing among cultures, in the Mediterranean areawill contribute to enhancing peace, security and coop-eration among Mediterranean countries through theexisting forums;

5. Calls upon all States of the Mediterranean regionthat have not yet done so to adhere to all the multilater-ally negotiated legal instruments related to the field ofdisarmament and non-proliferation, thus creating thenecessary conditions for strengthening peace and co-operation in the region;

6. Encourages all States of the region to favour thenecessary conditions for strengthening the confidence-building measures among them by promoting genuineopenness and transparency on all military matters, byparticipating, inter alia, in the United Nations systemfor the standardized reporting of military expendituresand by providing accurate data and information to theUnited Nations Register of Conventional Arms;

7. Encourages the Mediterranean countries tostrengthen further their cooperation in combating ter-rorism in all its forms and manifestations, internation-al crime and illicit arms transfers, and illicit drug pro-duction, consumption and trafficking, which pose aserious threat to peace, security and stability in the re-gion and therefore to the improvement of the currentpolitical, economic and social situation and whichjeopardize friendly relations among States, hinder thedevelopment of international cooperation and result


in the destruction of human rights, fundamental free-doms and the democratic basis of pluralistic society;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a reporton means to strengthen security and cooperation in theMediterranean region;

9. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of itsfifty-sixth session the item entitled "Strengthening ofsecurity and cooperation in the Mediterranean region".

Stability and development inSouth-Eastern Europe

On 12 February [A/54/755-S/2000/125], the ThirdMeeting of Heads of State and Government ofSouth-East European Countries (Bucharest, Ro-mania) adopted the Bucharest Declaration, inwhich they recognized their countries' responsi-bility to work within the international commu-nity to develop a shared strategy for stability andgrowth in the region and to cooperate with eachother and the international community to imple-ment that strategy. They expressed their appre-ciation to the EU for launching the Stability Pactfor South-Eastern Europe [YUN 1999, p. 398] andappreciated the first practical steps taken to im-plement it. They looked forward to the RegionalFinancing Conference to give strong impetus tothe Pact's implementation and reiterated theircommitment to carrying out the reform pro-cesses endorsed by the Stability Pact.

The heads of State and Government signed aCharter on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stabil-ity, Security and Cooperation in South-EasternEurope [A/54/781], emphasizing their commit-ment to economic and democratic reforms. TheCharter constituted a Code of Conduct for rela-tions among their countries and an action pro-gramme for future cooperation.

The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the coun-tries participating in the South-East EuropeanCooperation Process (SEECP), at their annualmeeting (Ohrid, FYROM, 14 July) [A/55/165], un-derlined the need for accelerated and full imple-mentation of the Stability Pact for South-EasternEurope as a prerequisite for political stability andwider democratization in the region. They wel-comed the progress in the realization of initia-tives and projects within the Pact, especially theInvestment Compact and the Anti-CorruptionInitiative.

The G-8 countries, in a statement on regionalissues, adopted at the Kyushu-Okinawa SummitMeeting (Okinawa, Japan, 21-23 July) [A/55/220-S/2000/759], expressed their commitment to sup-porting peace, stability, foreign and national in-vestment and development in South-East Europeand welcomed the coordination provided by theStability Pact, which was contributing to en-hanced regional political and economic coopera-

tion in South-Eastern Europe. They also sup-ported the projects being implemented withinthe framework of the Stability Pact by the WorldBank, the European Commission, the EuropeanInvestment Bank and the European Bank for Re-construction and Development.

Further support for the Stability Pact forSouth-Eastern Europe was expressed in the Za-greb Declaration [A/55/406-S/2000/892], adoptedby the Parliamentary Summit of the countriesparticipating in the Pact (Zagreb, Croatia, 11-13September).

The Foreign Ministers of the States participat-ing in SEECP, meeting on 12 September in NewYork [A/C.1/55/4], agreed that the activities of theProcess were in accordance with the commit-ments contained in the Millennium Declaration(see p. 49) for intensifying cooperation betweenthe United Nations and regional agencies, insti-tutions and organizations to strengthen interna-tional peace and security.

On 25 October [A/55/522-S/2000/1028], the headsof State and Government of the countries partici-pating in SEECP, at an informal summit in Skopje,FYROM, discussed the ongoing process of the Sta-bility Pact for South-Eastern Europe and statedtheir strong commitment to its early implemen-tation and to the undertaking of joint activities.They believed that SEECP represented a solid ba-sis for strengthening cooperation in the regionand expressed their commitment that it would as-sume a more important role in the future devel-opment of the region.


On 20 November [meeting 69], the General As-sembly, on the recommendation of the FirstCommittee [A/55/552], adopted resolution 55/27without vote [agenda items 66 & 67].

Maintenance of international security—good-neighbourliness, stability and

development in South-Eastern EuropeThe General Assembly,Recalling the purposes and principles of the Charter

of the United Nations and the Final Act of the Confer-ence on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signed atHelsinki on 1 August 1975,

Recalling also the United Nations Millennium Decla-ration,

Welcoming the democratic changes in the Federal Re-public of Yugoslavia and their positive effects on thepeace, stability and development of South-EasternEurope,

Recalling its resolutions 48/84 B of 16 December1993, 50/80 B of 12 December 1995, 51/55 of 10 De-cember 1996, 52/48 of 9 December 1997,53/71 of 4 De-cember 1998 and 54/62 of 1 December 1999,

Recalling also the Stability Pact for South-EasternEurope initiated by the European Union, adopted atCologne, Germany, on 10 June 1999 and endorsed at


the Sarajevo Summit of 30 July 1999, and stressing thecrucial importance of its implementation,

Recalling further the Sarajevo Summit Declaration, inwhich the participants affirm their collective and indi-vidual readiness to give concrete meaning to the Stabil-ity Pact for South-Eastern Europe by promoting politi-cal and economic reforms, development and enhancedsecurity in the region and also their commitment to makeevery effort to assist countries in the region in makingspeedy and measurable progress along this road,

Emphasizing the crucial importance of the full imple-mentation of Security Council resolution 1244(1999)of 10 June 1999 on Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugo-slavia,

Noting the importance of the activities of the inter-national organizations, such as the European Union,the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope, the Council of Europe, and the contribution ofthe Central European Initiative and the Black Sea Eco-nomic Cooperation for the implementation of the Sta-bility Pact for South-Eastern Europe,

Noting also the importance of the Charter on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Coop-eration in South-Eastern Europe, signed by the Statesparticipating in the South-East European CooperationProcess at Bucharest on 12 February 2000, and the jointstatement of the heads of State and Governmentadopted at Skopje on 25 October 2000,

Noting further the convening of the InternationalConference on War-Affected Children at Winnipeg,Canada, from 10 to 17 September 2000,

Emphasizing the importance of regional efforts inSouth-Eastern Europe on arms control, demining, dis-armament and confidence-building measures, andconcerned that, in spite of ongoing efforts, the illicittraffic in and circulation of small arms continue topersist,

Mindful of the importance of national and interna-tional activities by all relevant organizations aimed atthe creation of peace, security, stability, democracy, co-operation, economic development, the observance ofhuman rights and good-neighbourliness in South-Eastern Europe,

Affirming its determination that all nations should livetogether in peace with one another as good neighbours,

1. Affirms the urgency of consolidating South-Eastern Europe as a region of peace, security, stability,democracy, cooperation and economic developmentand for the promotion of good-neighbourliness andthe observance of human rights, thus contributing tothe maintenance of international peace and securityand enhancing the prospects for sustained develop-ment and prosperity for all peoples in the region as anintegral part of Europe;

2. Calls upon all participants in the Stability Pact forSouth-Eastern Europe, and all concerned internation-al organizations, to support the efforts of South-Eastern European States to overcome the negativeeffects of the Kosovo crisis and other recent crises so asto enable them to pursue sustainable development andtheir integration into the European structures, and wel-comes the results of the third meeting of the Working

Table on Security Issues of the Stability Pact, held atSofia on 4 and 5 October 2000;

3. Encourages all States to contribute to the full im-plementation of Security Council resolution 1244(1999) on Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, andwelcomes the efforts and supports the role of theUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission in Ko-sovo and the Kosovo Force in the implementation oftheir mandates under that resolution;

4. Calls upon all States, the relevant international or-ganizations and competent organs of the United Na-tions to respect the principles of territorial integrityand sovereignty of all States and the inviolability of in-ternational borders, to continue to take measures inaccordance with the Charter of the United Nations, asappropriate, to eliminate threats to international peaceand security and to help to prevent conflicts which canlead to the violent disintegration of States;

5. Stresses the importance of good-neighbourlinessand the development of friendly relations amongStates, and calls upon all States to resolve their disputeswith other States by peaceful means, in accordancewith the Charter of the United Nations;

6. Urges strengthening of the relations among theStates of South-Eastern Europe on the basis of respectfor international law and agreements, in accordancewith the principles of good-neighbourliness and mu-tual respect;

7. Stresses the importance of regional efforts aimedat preventing conflicts that endanger the maintenanceof international peace and security and, in this regard,notes with satisfaction the role of the MultinationalPeace Force for South-Eastern Europe;

8. Emphasizes the importance of regional efforts inSouth-Eastern Europe for arms control, disarmamentand confidence-building measures;

9. Recognizes the seriousness of the problem ofanti-personnel mines in South-Eastern Europe and, inthis context, welcomes the efforts of the internationalcommunity in support of mine action and encouragesStates to join and support these efforts;

10. Urges all States to take effective measures againstillicit traffic in and circulation of small arms and tohelp programmes and projects aimed at the safe de-struction of surplus stocks of small arms and lightweapons, and stresses the importance of closer coop-eration among States, inter alia, in crime prevention,combating illicit trade of people, drug trafficking andmoney-laundering;

11. Stresses that closer engagement of the South-Eastern European States in furthering cooperation onthe European continent will favourably influence thesecurity, political and economic situation in the region,as well as good-neighbourly relations among the States;

12. Calls upon all States and the relevant interna-tional organizations to communicate to the Secretary-General their views on the subject of the present reso-lution;

13. Decides to include in the provisional agenda ofits fifty-sixth session an item entitled "Maintenance ofinternational security—good-neighbourliness, stabilityand development in South-Eastern Europe".