B3-1281, 1338, 1344 and 1345/93

Resolution on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to the failure of both the international community and the European Council to ensure that the principles and conditions set out by them on many occasions and by the European Parliament are implemented and guaranteed with a view to finding a solution to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia;

B.having regard to the continuing fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and expressing its indignation at the failure of international decision-making structures to achieve a peaceful settlement to this conflict,

C.aware of the grave risk that the conflicts now raging in Bosnia-Herzegovina and parts of Croatia will spread to other parts of Europe,

D.having regard to the statements made by Parliament, the Commission and the Council that any agreement on the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina must be agreed by all parties to the conflict and that territorial gains or violations of internationally recognized borders through the use of force cannot be accepted,

E.having regard to the continuing blockade of international aid convoys to the people in need in Bosnia-Herzegovina,

F.having regard to the reports by the UN rapporteur on the violation of human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina and by the International Committee of the Red Cross on the atrocious treatment of detainees by Serb and Croat forces,

G.fearing, realistically, that ethnic cleansing and the partition of Bosnia-Herzegovina constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for further developments in the former Yugoslavia, as demonstrated by the resumption of the war in Croatia and the conflicts in Kosovo and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia,

H.drawing attention to the sustained efforts of the Albanian people of Kosovo to assert their rights by peaceful means,

I.worried at the news that the government in Belgrade has decided not to extend the mandate of the long-term missions of the CSCE observers in Kosovo, Vojvodina and Sandjak,

1.Endorses the international criticism of the recent proposals by the co-Chairmen of the Geneva negotiations for a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as these proposals condone the destruction of a multi-ethnic society in Bosnia-Herzegovina and legitimise the violent aggression that has taken place there;

2.Considers that an acceptable solution is necessary to bring an immediate end to the barbaric conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina; therefore supports the demands made by the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina for changes in the proposals - such as access to the sea and the establishment of a territorial corridor between central Bosnia and the enclaves in the east - which are a necessary condition for guaranteeing the right of existence of the Muslim population in Bosnia-Herzegovina;

3.Urges the UN Security Council, the Community and its Member States to exert the necessary pressure on the Serb and Croat authorities to allow for an immediate resumption of the negotiations and the rapid conclusion of an agreement that is acceptable to all parties concerned;

4.Calls on the Member States of the European Community to initiate, or to support, military action under the authority of the United Nations to enforce the relevant Security Council resolutions;

5.Calls on the Community and its Member States to implement the decisions of the Atlantic Council of 9 August 1993 concerning further action to be taken on the basis of a resolution of the UN Security Council if no acceptable agreement can be reached in the Geneva negotiations;

6.Calls on the Community to ensure the continuation and stepping up of humanitarian aid to the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the protection of civilians in the besieged towns;

7.Calls for a plan for the reconstruction of the country, and for basic reconstruction activities to be begun with absolute priority for the besieged towns and those areas where the original population can return in peace and dignity;

8.Pays tribute to the courage of all EC and UN troops, monitors and aid workers who are - often at great risk to their own lives and safety - making every effort to provide some relief for the suffering people of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as was demonstrated again recently in the town of Mostar;

9.Stresses, in view of the confusion which exists at the scene of conflict, the importance of defining clearly the responsibilities of the various international organizations for promoting peace and security in the Balkans and the responsibilities of each of the Twelve in these matters, so as to stop the sterile disputes over competence between these organizations and states;

10.Urges the Community and its Member States to take all measures necessary to secure the immediate release of people detained by Croat and Serb forces; calls on the UN Security Council and particularly on EC Member States sitting on it to consider sanctions against Croatia because of its continuing support for the aggression against the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina;

11.Calls on the Member States of the Community to press for the early establishment of the international war crimes tribunal as proposed in Security Council Resolution 827;

12.Insists that it is the duty and in the interests of the Community and its Member States to take steps, if necessary by the deployment of military forces, to prevent the war spreading to countries neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina;

13.Believes that it is urgently necessary to take steps to prevent the outbreak of war in Kosovo and believes that the establishment of a zone under the aegis of the UN, within which the human rights of all the inhabitants would be respected, could provide the conditions in which a peaceful settlement of the just claims of the population could be achieved;

14.Calls on the Serbian police to provide explanations concerning the assassinations, to stop the violence committed against citizens of Albanian extraction and to release the innocent persons who are being held in the prisons of Kosovo;

15.Declares its support for Sarajevo's designation as the cultural capital of Europe and calls on the European Community to establish practical programmes to support the designation, in collaboration with those cities - such as Antwerp and Lisbon - which have been or will be cultural capitals of the European Community;

16.Calls for clarification on Council policy with regard to the future of the former Yugoslavia and the steps to be taken to avert new disasters and considers that this policy must be in line with the Community's task of restoring and preserving international law, in accordance with the criteria set out in the United Nations Charter and the Council of Europe Conventions;

17.Repeats its call of July 1993 for Lord Owen to account for his activities as soon as possible before the European Parliament;

18.Calls on the Council and the Commission to discuss and coordinate an extraordinary effort to receive refugees, to provide humanitarian aid, and to prepare in good time minimum urgent measures to cope with the imminent arrival of winter in the most tormented cities of the former Yugoslavia;

19.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish a winter programme for the 3.5 million refugees in the former Yugoslavia and to implement it in cooperation with the UNHCR;

20.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the co-chairmen of the Geneva negotiations, the members of the United Nations Security Council and the governments of all the states of the former Yugoslavia.