Resolution on the impending catastrophe in Bosnia and the violation of human rights in former Yugoslavia

RESOLUTION B3-1421 and B3-1454/92

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the statement on 15 October 1992 by Mr Cyrus Vance, Chief United Nations mediator for the peace negotiations to end the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovinia, that a catastrophe of "untold dimensions" would take place unless the distribution of relief supplies was accelerated,

B. having regard to the warning of Ms Sadako Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, that "we are poised on the edge of a humanitarian nightmare" since nearly three million people in Bosnia-Herzegovinia are refugees, displaced persons or besieged, and are "dependent on external aid",

C. having regard to the statement by Mr Cedric Thornberry, the senior UN official in Belgrade, that "we are going to see a disaster in Central Europe we have not seen since the Second World War and the days immediately following it",

D. having regard to the reports by the special United Nations representative Mr Masowietski and Amnesty International,

1. Expresses its horror at the crimes against humanity committed in former Yugoslavia;

2. Calls on the Council and European Political Cooperation to concentrate their policy immediately on mounting effective measures to stop these crimes and those who commit them;

3. Deplores the delay in deploying new forces to protect relief convoys, a deployment which, in the words of Mr Vance, has been "extraordinarily slow";

4. Warns that the spectacle of mass starvation in a part of Europe this winter will further undermine confidence in the Community's capacity to act;

5. Calls on the Member States, in accordance with the principle of equal burden-sharing, to open their borders to refugees defined as emergency cases by the UNCHR;

6. Calls on the Member States and the international organizations to do all in their power to re-establish communications (telephone, radio, post) between Sarajevo and the rest of the world;

7. Believes that the reaction of the Member States, from the last Luxembourg Presidency to the present British Presidency, to the crises in former Yugoslavia can be characterized as "too little and too late";

8. Insists that the Community and its Member States should match their words with deeds;

9. Calls on European Political Cooperation and the United Nations to insist that every agreement on a ceasefire or weapons ban will include a clause warning that, if necessary, it will be imposed by force, since until now, agreed ceasefires and bans have been flagrantly violated;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, European Political Cooperation, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, Mr Vance, Lord Owen and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.