27 June 1995

Doc. 7336

REPORT

on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina

(Rapporteur: Mr BLOETZER,

Switzerland, Group of the European People's Party)

I. Draft resolution

1.       The Assembly strongly welcomes the creation of the rapid reaction force, to which all Council of Europe member states should contribute financially, as a first step towards the strengthening of UNPROFOR.

2.       The continued warfare in Bosnia-Herzegovina, because of UNPROFOR's inability up to now to fulfill its mandate and the total lack of respect for UN Security Council resolutions in particular by the Bosnian Serbs, result in ever-increasing, massive human suffering. The remaining credibility of the United Nations and other international organisations is rapidly disappearing.

3.       The Assembly considers that this deplorable situation has been brought about by a failure to tackle the causes of the crisis and the application of half-hearted, insufficient means to address the symptoms.

4.       Time has come to realise that the parties to the conflict should not be treated on an equal basis, but to recognise that there is a legitimate, and internationally recognised government which is defending itself against an aggressor, the Bosnian Serb Army, whose leaders stand accused of war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague.

5.       By their continued rejection of the Contact Group's Peace Plan, their recent taking of UN and other observers as hostages and their daily terrorist attacks against civilians the Bosnian Serbs make any peace-keeping impossible.

6.       A withdrawal of UNPROFOR cannot be accepted as it would signal the capitulation of the world community to an aggressor, thus creating a fatal precedent, and, moreover, creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

7.       Therefore, UNPROFOR must be reinforced to give it the military capability to take effective action, and thus constitute a credible deterrent, under the mandate already extended to it by UN Security Council Resolution 836.

8.       There are no cheap and easy solutions to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. If the international community genuinely wants it to end a drastic change in policy is indispensable and will inevitably entail great costs and risks.

9.       Consequently, the Assembly calls on all member states of the Council of Europe and all those states that are candidates to accession, in particular those that are members of the UN Security Council, rapidly to implement such a change in policy.

II. Explanatory memorandum

by Mr BLOETZER

1.       On 29 May 1995, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights decided to propose the holding of an urgent procedure debate on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the June 1995 part-session.

2.       At its meeting on 1 June 1995, the Political Affairs Committee decided to support this request.

3.       On 26 June 1995, the Assembly decided to hold an urgent procedure debate on Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday 29 June 1995 in the afternoon, and to seize the Political Affairs Committee for report and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography and the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries for opinion.

Reporting committee: Political Affairs Committee.

Committees for opinion: Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography and Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: to be examined by the Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme.

Reference to committee: Reference No. 2014 of 26 June 1995 (request for an urgent debate)

Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 27 June 1995 by 19 votes to 10 and 6 abstentions.

Members of the committee: Mr Kelchtermans (Chairman), Lord Finsberg (Vice-Chairman), MM. Bàrsony (Vice-Chairman), Alvarez-Cascos (Alternate: Puche), Antretter, Mrs Baarveld-Schlaman, Mr Baumel, Mrs Belohorska, MM. Bergqvist, Bernardini, Björck, Bloetzer (Alternate: Gross), Bokov, Büchel, Bühler, Cerqueda Pascuet, Eörsi, Fassino, Galanos, Gjellerod, Gotzev, Gricius, Güner, Hardy, Irmer, Iwinski, Kalus, Kaspereit, Kirsteins, La Loggia, Mrs Lentz-Cornette, MM. van der Linden, Machete, Martins, Masseret, Mimaroglu, Mitchell, Mühlemann, Paasilinna, Pahor (Alternate: Mozetic), Mrs Papandreou (Alternate: Vrettos), MM. Pavlidis, Pozzo, de Puig, Radulescu Botica, Schieder, Schwimmer (Alternate: Mautner-Markhof), Seeuws, Severin, Sir Dudley Smith, Mr Spacek , Mrs Ragnarsdottir, Mrs Suchocka (Alternate: Uczkiewicz), MM. Thoresen (Alternate: Berg), Mrs Veidemann (Alternate: Kelam), Vella.

NB. The names of those members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretaries to the committee: Mr Hartland, Mr Kleijssen et Ms Chatzivassiliou.